Domain of 2009 - Ghastria

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

How about his:

A displaced Richemuloise noble is causing a stir. She's brought the decadent parties of Richmulot with her and she's proving a hit. Her food is always succlent, always tastes good and never disappoints. It's the meat, the vegetables are always bland and the fruit is often too soft and too tasteless, but her meat is to die for.

Truth is, her meat really is to die for. She's found the easiest way for meat to stay fresh; she serves people people. She hires new maids, footmen, stableboys and servants who tend to be faceless and never remembered from the poor houses of the core, brings them over, fattens them up and has her minions butcher them, literally. And in her experiments, she's discovered different races taste differently. The current favoured flavour is Caliban, who have a suprisingly spicy and tender taste. Unfortunately for her, calibans who come to the island are rare and their comings and goings are noticeable...

[cure]

So we create a tremdenous bubble in the food market and . . . then . . . it pops, leading to all kinds of 'juicy' recriminations as contracts are broken, debts are reneged upon, supplies don't arrive, perhaps the currecny collapses.

[Pale]

Food seems to be the fixation here. I remember bits of D'Polarno's stories from the texts (Darklords, ya?), and I'm trying to puzzle out what else he might put his mind to. But if memory serves, his vibrancy fades and while he's interested in restoring that, he might not have the energy to muster up for it. Gets his mojo back once each season... but in the meantime, is he crippled by apathy and pessimism?

I'm not sure that finding ways around the pervasive "blandness" is the best way to go for a hook. I still do think there's some great ideas here, especially the "noble's retreat". D'Polarno could always be a controlling interest in a resort located outside his borders. Intrigues or efforts at recovery might bring the party by one of these resorts. While there, they might be invited to attend a grand party - D'Polarno night of excess. That might tie back into the "Wonka" aspect - getting that golden ticket/golden invitation to visit. After all, he does need to bring in fresh blood.

On the flipside, what if a monastary moved to the area, specifically because of the blandness? Something to help them distance themselves from material concerns? They may begin to notice the radical spike in flavors, colors, etc, on the days of D'Polarno's debaucheries and catch the parallel of "oh, hey, there's a lot of.. um.. corpses today..." They might look for someone to explain it, resolve it.

What happened to the artist? Or the magician who cast the spell? Were they the same? What would D'Polarno if one or the other appeared in his town - either them or a double (as in Strahd's Tatyana).

What if the same thing that he did to his old king happened to D'Polarno - a charismatic local? Too popular/necessary to kill, too powerful to allow to live? A mayor, or sheriff? Maybe a teacher or playwright? He might turn to the party to remove this thorn if they're making things inconvenient during or leading up to his events.

[cure]

An ascetic religious order makes a lot of sense, as per the previous post.

Having just reread "THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF THE MARQUIS STEZEN D’POLARNO" from the Book of Souls, I would suggest that Baron Camar D’Marosso be given the Voracious feat and a role rivalling D'Polarno himself. For D'Polarno is described as being without the willpower, and most of the time without the personality, to exercise much control over his domain. Baron D'Marrosso seems to be the man of action and even of decision. What must be explained, on this view of D'Marrosso, is the barons loyalty to the Marquis.

The wider issue is the seasonal stream of petty nobility or would be nobility that is destined to never return. Someone is apt to notice, the Marquis is likely to acquire a very bad reputation, and the stream is likely to dry up.

A possible solution involves the cannabalism practiced upon the remains of D'Polarno's victims. What if D'Polarno or D'Marosso was the head of a secret lodge of mildly powerful nobility from the Western Core that are united by their hunger for power and perhaps the flesh of their fellow man? Take the Masonic Lodge or Opus Dei, or at least the wilder tales about them, as a point of departure. The visiting nobility would each bring with them one or more deluded individuals who would first be served up to D'Polarno and then served up for dinner. The disapperance of such minor persons would be easily wallpapered over or simply dismissed, if anyone even noticed. Perhaps the consumption of one's fellow man is the rite of passage by which a noble proves himself or herself ultimately worthy of membership, and so the rite is not attended quarterly by all the membership.

Members would only see D'Polarno in the full vigour of life and would strive to live so fully as he, with D’Marosso actually pulling the strings and exercising some power beyond Ghastria via the group.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

The aristocratic lodge idea is a good one, perhaps something along the lines of the pseudo-Hermetic Edwardian occultists, a la Aleister Crowley. Even if the lodge can't really deliver on its promise of power, such cultish groups were often more about sex and drugs and defiance of convention than about advancing personal or political agendas.

Rather than drug orgies (which Azalin's parties already cover), members might be lured in by rumors -- the existence of which has already been established, in Objets d'Art -- that d'Polarno holds the secret of eternal youth ... and, unlike other rumored immortals, is willing to freely share it with those who impress him. Perhaps d'Morasso possesses a set of magical paints, with which he can temporarily erase the superficial wrinkles and flaws of aging? It doesn't actually make you younger, it just makes you look younger ... which is more than enough to convince the members that a permanent version of this treatment also exists. (Of course, those to whom the pair actually grant eternal life will have to give up their former identities, to maintain their anonymity and keep the secret from the unworthy; this handily accounts for their disappearances, in the surviving lodge members' eyes. )

[Pale]

Did a bit of poking around on D'Polarno's background. After he manifests his vitality, he gets an hour per person drained, to a maximum of 50. But that's still only once every 3 months or so. 50hrs of vibrancy every 3mo seems like a pretty difficult window of time to sell people on either his villainy or his ability to impart the same energy in others.

Perhaps d'Morasso possesses a set of magical paints, with which he can temporarily erase the superficial wrinkles and flaws of aging? It doesn't actually make you younger, it just makes you look younger ... which is more than enough to convince the members that a permanent version of this treatment also exists.

These paints could offer a good hook in a lot of places. Perhaps the pigments can -only- be manufactured using materials grown or harvested during D'Polarno's fetes? Or perhaps they could be used to paint "lesser" versions of paintings that mimic some elements of D'Palarno's own curse. "Bring us a sacrifice, we'll get you pigments that can be used to make you immortal (through a painting, ie, Dorian Grey) or that can be used to make you young (ground up into cosmetics)."


I'm not familiar with Camar D’Marosso, but I agree: if D'Polarno is so lethargic outside the small window when he's energized, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some other hand at work in Ghastria - for good or for ill. Even if he is loyal, he very well might be the power-behind-the-throne.

Still, there's a lot of leeway with D'Polarno's curse. Is he lethargic and sluggish, or merely sullen and dispirited? Flush with life and uninhibited certainly lends itself to more chaotic tendencies and hungers - while able - but the rest of the time, is he so depleted that he's idle, or does he actively plan for his next ...unveiling. And if so, how would that mind work? He very well might be far more plodding and meticulous, trying to eek out the maximum benefits. Scheduling musicians, dancing girls, esteemed chefs, exotic materials... These might be booked or simply kidnapped.

My worry about using D'Polarno is that he has a limited amount of time to "manifest" and then there's a lot of down-time before the players might see him in that state again. He might be great for a "characters stumble across a bad situation", but he's harder to expand into a larger role.

There's the old chestnut of having the players work for the villain, too - they might be periodically working for him to gather materials or information, and always see the dour side. Arrive one day too early, and into debauchery? There might be a lot of questions there.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

I'm not familiar with Camar D’Marosso, but I agree: if D'Polarno is so lethargic outside the small window when he's energized, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some other hand at work in Ghastria - for good or for ill. Even if he is loyal, he very well might be the power-behind-the-throne.

True, when the actual darklord is too inactive and/or constrained to build a plot around, it's a given that somebody else ought to share the spotlight to keep things interesting. That's why Touch of Death concentrated on villains other than the passively-grim Ahnktepot, and why I promoted Colin Graben (who didn't even have stats in Ship of Horrors) to a full-blown villain: he takes up slack for Meredoth, who's too darn powerful to use regularly and who barely pokes his nose out of the laboratory.

Making d'Polarno the only source for d'Marosso's magic paints/cosmetics would help ensure that Camar won't openly try to usurp Stezen's status, remaining content with the influence he possesses whenever his superior is listless and bland. When he's enervated, the Marquis might essentially hand over the job of running Ghastria to d'Marosso; his relationship to his right-hand man could resemble that of Susanna Clarke's uncharismatic Mr. Norrell to his deceitful associates-cum-manipulators, Drawlight and Lascalles.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

A displaced Richemuloise noble is causing a stir. [...] She hires new maids, footmen, stableboys and servants who tend to be faceless and never remembered from the poor houses of the core, brings them over, fattens them up and has her minions butcher them, literally.

IIRC, in either Gaz III or V there is a reference to a slave trade that starts in Richemulot and ends in Nova Vaasa, disappearing paupers from Richemulot's streets to have them pop up in the workhouses of Nova Vaasa. It wouldn't be too far a cry for some of those captured to be sent to Ghastria instead... and for this to cause some inter-domain conflict involving R and NV as slaves don't show up at the NV workhouses as they ought...

Also, when the ship captains drop off their cargo of hufu, what's to stop them from adding a mutinous crew member or two?

I'm not sure that finding ways around the pervasive "blandness" is the best way to go for a hook. [...] On the flipside, what if a monastary moved to the area, specifically because of the blandness?

As I'm a bit too focused on Darkon, I'd like to take that "pervasive blandness" idea with the idea of the apathy that fell upon Darkon during the Shrouded Years. Conclusion: Darkonian old folks resort in Ghastria.

Now that Azalin has returned and the Shroud has lifted, the pace of life is speeding up in Darkon again. Older nobles are having a bit of difficulty returning to this faster pace and wish for the previous years when things were a bit more lacksadaisacal. They've taken their money out of Darkon (leaving a power/monetary void behind which only shakes things up more), packed up on a ship out of Martira Bay, and take off to Ghastria.

In Ghastria, no one is really watching that closely so no one really notices when a few geriatrics die here and there. (Bubba-Hotep?) Their accumulated wealth is appreciated as it is spent frivolously on aspiring artists (like Stezen, but perhaps inspiring some competiton too), and no one really listens to the old peoples' complaints about the bland food because, being old, their sense of taste is pretty bad to begin with.

(Also: Richemulot + artist + competiton for Stezen = wereboar painter guy from CotN:Werebeasts. He could stand for a more calm climate after burning down a city block in Richemulot... and pigs are often brought along with new colonies, let loose, and turn back into feral boars...)

members might be lured in by rumors -- the existence of which has already been established, in Objets d'Art -- that d'Polarno holds the secret of eternal youth ... and, unlike other rumored immortals, is willing to freely share it with those who impress him.

Why does this make me think of Jason and the Argonauts where Medea tricks the daughters into believing the cauldron bestows eternal life (by chopping up a ram, throwing it in, and a live lamb jumps back out) and the daughters slaughter their father, throw him in the pot and... nothing? Well, it makes a great soup, anyway.

Any aspiring cultist who is stupid enough to submit gets what (s)he deserves. A good secret society needs people who can think for themselves and not blindly place their trust in others. Especially since, with D'Palarno being so lifeless most of the time, the group would have no use for those who rely on others too much but instead needs people of initiative.

[The Giamarga]

What happened to the artist? Or the magician who cast the spell? Were they the same?

The painter was Polarno himself. And the sorceress, the mistress of king oderic, who ensorcelled his self portrait is dead, and rumoured to have become a ghost. For the details on Polarno's history and on the Baron D'Marosso read John Baker's excellent "The Unauthorized Biography of the Marquis Stezen D'Polarno" in the Book of Souls.

Marosso is definately an interesting character and while his 2E incarnation was overshadowed by Stezen (ghoulish Brd6 with the herald kit vs. immmortal regenerating swashbuckly Ftr8) when converting them to 3E they almost become equals. Marosso was absent from Ghastria for a long time when it relocated to the Sea of Sorrows. In this time he traversed the core and was much more active than Polarno. H eonly recently returned to Ghastria. And while he obviously still admires his mentor he also comments critically on Polarno's inability to use the time that is given to him during the feasts.

[The Giamarga]

I'm not familiar with Camar D’Marosso, but I agree: if D'Polarno is so lethargic outside the small window when he's energized, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some other hand at work in Ghastria - for good or for ill. Even if he is loyal, he very well might be the power-behind-the-throne.

Still, there's a lot of leeway with D'Polarno's curse. Is he lethargic and sluggish, or merely sullen and dispirited? Flush with life and uninhibited certainly lends itself to more chaotic tendencies and hungers - while able - but the rest of the time, is he so depleted that he's idle, or does he actively plan for his next ...unveiling. And if so, how would that mind work? He very well might be far more plodding and meticulous, trying to eek out the maximum benefits. Scheduling musicians, dancing girls, esteemed chefs, exotic materials... These might be booked or simply kidnapped.

My worry about using D'Polarno is that he has a limited amount of time to "manifest" and then there's a lot of down-time before the players might see him in that state again. He might be great for a "characters stumble across a bad situation", but he's harder to expand into a larger role.

There's the old chestnut of having the players work for the villain, too - they might be periodically working for him to gather materials or information, and always see the dour side. Arrive one day too early, and into debauchery? There might be a lot of questions there.

Seriously, read the Book of Souls. article for more on Polarno and Marosso!

As i see it Polarno is not passive in his special downtime, but he is devoid of his usual passions and his verve. He meticously plans and plans to get the lost part of his soul back during the feast, but then flush with his lost vibrancy his plans run awry while he spends his time in idle revelry.

[Ken of Ghastria]

Making d'Polarno the only source for d'Marosso's magic paints/cosmetics would help ensure that Camar won't openly try to usurp Stezen's status, remaining content with the influence he possesses whenever his superior is listless and bland. When he's enervated, the Marquis might essentially hand over the job of running Ghastria to d'Marosso; his relationship to his right-hand man could resemble that of Susanna Clarke's uncharismatic Mr. Norrell to his deceitful associates-cum-manipulators, Drawlight and Lascalles.

That's a great comparison. Drawlight and Lascalles recognized that Norrell had the power, but they also knew that the man who controls everyone's access to that power is just as strong, if not more so. I don't see Stezen as being lethargic during his "off" periods as much as he is cold, distant, scheming, and a little grumpy, kind of like a feistier Soth or (to use another pop culture reference) a Vorlorn without the enigmatic comments.

Camar and possibly other agents act as his "pitchmen" around the Core, selling the nobles on the Ravenloft equivalent of time shares or describing the secret wonders of the d'Polarno's miraculous anti-aging secrets (as described above).

[cure]

I don't have access just now to Darklords, so I can't verify the note that begins the Unauthorised Biography to the effect that Objets d'Art is a rather significant departure from the original description of the Marquis. But if there is any truth in that, I would be strongly tempted to not take Objets d'Art too literally. This is not to say that the Unauthorised Biography should be trusted word for word either. But do we really need an extra dimensional gallery (as opposed to a real one perhaps filled with a hallucigenic airborne drug) and a Marquis with magical transformative powers affording immortality (rather than the elixir of youth being just a useful myth, fostered chiefly by his lack of aging and perhaps as Roti said some effective - and perhaps dangerous - anti-wrinkle cream)?

[cure]

It is in these terms the Baron describes the Marquis:

"However, I found that the curses of this land do indeed infect him. Notice how he is out there, dancing, carousing, drinking, and playing games? Well, just earlier today, he told me that he plans to paint another picture while he has his creativity. He told me he plans to show himself to the people while he has his charisma. And, he told me that he will look for a wife while he has his personality. He says those things all the time, and yet he never does anything he says he will do while he is frigid. He wastes the time all away with his frivolous frolicking. When his vitality leaves him, he always enters a rage as he realizes that he missed another opportunity. That is his curse. He retains all his ambition, but he no longer has any willpower with which to get things done. And he knows that he only has himself to blame."

I do not know whether this contradicts or agrees with the portrait painted in Darklords. But it seems that if things get done, it is because the Baron takes the initiative. I grant there is an ambiguity, but I think the willpower is always absent, lost in gloom and sullen anger when the Marquis is without his dashing charisma and in revelery when he has his overflowing personality.

[Pale]

Took a bit of searching, but I dug up a copy of that Biography. Previously, I've only ever had the old Darklords supplement to work from. There, his portrait was merely described as "magically prepared". There's a lot of room to play between the lines on that. I think D'Marosso is an interesting addition, but I suppose I'm more inclined to the original Darklords text.

I've been thinking, and I really like the idea that pigments made from items gathered during D'Polarno's manic swings can be used in greater effects. I tend to try to shy away from radical magic manifestations, so raw immortality might be a bit much, but certainly some youth-granting salves could work - and attract more visitors to the realm. ...Not that I want to see D'Polarno become Ravenloft's Mary-Kay.

When his vitality leaves him, he always enters a rage as he realizes that he missed another opportunity. That is his curse. He retains all his ambition, but he no longer has any willpower with which to get things done. And he knows that he only has himself to blame.

I think this is a fantastic exploration of the curse, and D'Polarno's own psychology. I think this fits wonderfully.

I certainly see the power that his handlers might come to have. They keep him focused - when he's down, they keep him moving forward, and when he's up, they make sure he doesn't go too wild.

[The Giamarga]

Another power behind the throne could be the ghost of the sorceress who originally cursed Stezen.