Ideas and questions

[Zilfer]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place!

So, first off I'd like to ask.

Do you all know eachother in real life? The one's that do the RPing thing down below? Could I jump into one? Probably have to find one and contact the one running it if it's run on the board or off line. <.< Don't know a little confused on that one.

Second, wanted to lay out what's going on in my campaign right now. (maybe doing so will give me ideas as well xD)

So ran through the original Ravenloft Campaign, Strahd Von Zarovich was after his wife <.< or the one he thinks should be his wife. The party came from Forgotten Realm's in a city that is my home base for campaigns. Ironically called Raven's Bluff. It's in the Vast if anyone knows were that is anyways I started the Campaign there and they were to be headed West (there's a whole ocean that way but the message they got from the guy said there was a land) Bartender claimed that every once in awhile there was always someone claiming to be from "Barovia" but that was just utter nonsense. Needless to say a heavy fog settled in this night. (Sure you know that that means) they head towards the harbor and instead find their way into a forest with tree's suddenly being in the middle of the road and the road getting more and more uneven like it wasn't well kept.

From there they made their way to Barovia and learned of Irena(Aka Tatyana reincarnated), and that she was being attacked, the father had died recently. So they took it upon themselves to defend her. This night Strahd walks in down stairs (I was actually at this part thinking of the old you have to invite a vampire in but decided against it) Anyways he got both the brother of Irena and a PC trapped with Suggestion and Charm person. He told the brother to go upstairs he was going to need his sword to defend Irena and he was no real threat, at least not as much as those coming to harm her. The PC was sent to the Bar for a free drink. (xD useless Bard)

He began to walk up the stairs and the real fight began once the Cleric told him to stop coming up the stairs. Strahd calmly continued up until she attacked yelling out to the others to wake up. (Then the scratchings at the window's began) Needless to say they managed to back him off and disappear.

(Putting more detail then you need to know or I need to retype/relive xD)

Anyways they headed off to the castle to hopefully defeat this guy, they found the gypsies along the way that read the fortune. They actually had Irena traveling with them so they could protect her. (Much good that did) They made it to the castle only to be greeted at the draw bridge by a cloaked figure that gave them the bundle of what might look like what might hold a small child. There was arm that was carved into that said "Welcome" (Picked that one up off searching Ravenloft Ideas on google. I liked it so I used it for this part.) The figure disappeared once they took the bundled arm. (Of course one of them joke the one who's holding the bundle that he threw it off the bridge so I made him do it. XD)

They go through the castle and eventually find most the items that made defeating Strahd easier. (that necklace made it too easy) I give them the happy ending at the end of the Module and then the next time they play they head into town and go back to Ismack (the brother of Irena), talk to him and are invited into the dining room where there sits Irena. They both act like nothing has happened, but they did thank the party for saving her from Strahd. They also ran into a fight at the bar between two swordsmen which I wanted to introduce. (Sakell and Miguel)

Decided Miguel used Dice to tell fortunes like in one of the Ravenloft who was cursed. The Party members don't know what he is but I used an Ice pack to emphasize his cold hand and shook everyone's hands around the table. More on this later, perhaps.

Miguel managed to convince them to let him give them a reading (even the superstitious fighter) and he told of Strahd still living but he wasn't in his castle but far underground in mines forging a sword to combat the Sun Sword. (Was thinking about using another motive of his from the Ravenloft module about the orb of darkness allowing him to come out during the day was intriguing)

Anyways the party is trying currently to find a way into the Mines. Miguel next session lent another helping hand introducing them to a character called Dice. He liked playing a game where you throw money into the pot equal to what dice you rolled and you kept going until everyone else tied dice. (if you want more specific's on how to play this gambling game just let me know) Anyways he upped the ante saying he would tell them if they were willing to up the stakes. They asked how, and he said that they would use years of their lives to which a few of them agreed and played. (this took up more of the night than I had planned I had no idea it would last somewhere around 2 hours) Needless to say one of the party members saw this as a chance to gain his youth back from a undead monster that had drained 10D4 years of his life making him go from 20 something to 50 something. Dice told them he could do one of two things should they win. Make them look that much younger than they won, or make their life that much longer. Well the 50 year old wanted to be younger but they upped the stakes further than even Dice, who gladly excepted. Dice rolls now weren't what you rolled was how many years went into the pot, no it was the number Times 10. He won a large pot and spend the rest of the hour trying to loose "Just enough" Years to make him twenty. (he luckily managed that) unforunately, the Rogue of the group was negative 576 or so years, and Dice turned to him with a wild smile offering him yet another "deal".

Something to this effect.

"Tell you what, you can work off your dept by working for me. Your soul will be mine for how many years you owe."

I want to yank this sometime during the campaign to force the rogue to do something but I don't know exactly what. Something that he obviously through this situation got himself into. xD Should be fun right?

So Dice told them of a creature called a Delver I believe it was who could borrow far under the earth, and so they went in search of this creature and found it. They are currently trying to figure out how they are going to communicate with this thing. BTW, they are all level 6's in this campaign setting.

Alright I'd appreciate any responses, thoughts, Ideas, things I did horrible, or did good. Definitely room for improvement I realize and there always will be for DM's everywhere.

Thanks.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Do you all know eachother in real life?

a few of us do, but very few. Personally, I don't know any of these freaks. But I love 'em all anyways.

This night Strahd walks in down stairs (I was actually at this part thinking of the old you have to invite a vampire in but decided against it)

Actually, according to Ravenloft canon, one of Strahd's darklord powers is that he doesn't need an invite for any home in Barovia, since it's all "his." So you're in the clear.

There was arm that was carved into that said "Welcome" (Picked that one up off searching Ravenloft Ideas on google. I liked it so I used it for this part.) The figure disappeared once they took the bundled arm.

creepy!

I want to yank this sometime during the campaign to force the rogue to do something but I don't know exactly what. Something that he obviously through this situation got himself into. xD Should be fun right?

Yikes, yes. Seems like the sort of thing that could come up at a very inconvenient time.

So Dice told them of a creature called a Delver I believe it was who could borrow far under the earth, and so they went in search of this creature and found it. They are currently trying to figure out how they are going to communicate with this thing.

hmm... is this something from one of the Monster manuals or did you make it up? I'm not familiar with it. Finding someone or some item that can communicate with it could be a whole quest in itself.

The first thing that comes to mind as a suggestion is Bluetspur. I'm not sure if you're using Barovia on its own (a la the original module) or as part of the larger Ravenloft world. But in Ravenloft lore, there was once a land called Bluetspur bordering Barovia. It disappeared during an event called the Grand Conjunction (known as The Great Upheaval to the natives of Ravenloft), becoming an isolated "Island of Terror" in the Mists. (I'm not sure how much Ravenloft lore you've seen, so if any of this is well known to you, sorry for stating the obvious.) But before the GC, it bordered Barovia on the south. This land was a barren wasteland above ground, with violent lightning storms, but Illithids (mind flayers) lived underground, ruled by the darklord, the "Illithid god-brain," a giant brain floating in a briny pool. They also kept human slaves. Some refugees from this place live in Immol, Barovia, calling themselves Thaani, and with murky memories of their former masters. It's possible that some of Bluetspur's underground tunnels and caves stretched into Barovia, and they might still be there, along with a few Illithids, or their pet aberrations. A Thaani guide (possibly a psionic) might be able to help your party down there.

Many RL DM's use the illithids of Bluetspur to evoke Lovecraftian horrors from beyond... For a really great example of this, check out Marcu Vasilis from the "Forgotten Children" netbook at kargatane.com and the accompanying article "The Realms Beyond" from their "Book of Souls" netbook.

Also of interest might be the Dark Delvers: http://fraternityofshadows.com/wiki/Dark_Delvers , a secret society of researchers that are obsessed with underground secrets. They are based in Darkon, but there's no reason a few mightn't have made their way to Barovia.


One more thing to consider: Since the Grand Conjunction, Barovia has shared a northern border with the Shadow Rift, the realm of the Shadow Fey. The Rift is basically a deep hole with a constant blanket of dark clouds a few hundred feet down in it. Far below those clouds is the land of the dark faeries, where the sun never shines (it's lethal to Shadow fey) and time runs 100 times faster than at the surface. There are natural underground passages called "Fractures" that connect the floor of the Rift to the surface of neighboring lands (anyone going down through the clouds fades into nothingness). So the shadow fey are another option for encounters in Barovia's underground.

[Zilfer]

Thanks for the ideas.

I only really have the original module so I didn't know it was connected to anything and from the books I was reading on ravenloft it looked like they were all boardered by mists. So if you try to cross the mist boarder you may not end up where you were headed but somewhere way off in the distance right? or if the Darklord doesn't want you to leave you'll end up walkin in circles. XD

Thanks for the info though it's great.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

it looked like they were all boardered by mists. So if you try to cross the mist boarder you may not end up where you were headed but somewhere way off in the distance right? or if the Darklord doesn't want you to leave you'll end up walkin in circles. XD

Not quite, but a common misconception. There are fan-made maps of Ravenloft both pre- and post-Grand Conjunction available in our Map Gallery. Domains that border each other are connected just as directly and invisibly as Canada is connected to the U.S. Most of the time, you wouldn't know that you'd crossed from Barovia to Borca. It's only at the "end of the world" where the Misty Border surrounds the Core that you'll find the Mists. Out in the Mists are "Island of Terror" domains that are alone, completely surrounded by Mists (which may have been what you saw in the books). Also, there are small "clusters" of 2-3 connected domains bordered by Mists, kind of like a miniature version of The Core. Walking into the Mists is usually a risky crapshoot. Unless you stick to a Mistway (known "currents" in the mist that are usually stable) or have a Vistani or Anchorite (priest of Ezra) to guide you, you could end up nearly anywhere.

Darklord border closure is another phenomenon entirely. Most Darklords have the ability to close their borders, trapping everyone inside with some supernatural force (a wall of fire, a mass of zombies, walking in circles like you said) linked to their personality. But this is a rare event, and most of the borders are open almost all the time.

[Zilfer]

Wow wall of fire and mass of zombies sealing off the boarder, that would be quite a sight to see in itself.

So this "Core" is what I was reading about and Barovia is outside of the core then? Yes the campaign is taking place mostly in Barovia at the moment I may expand where they can go once I take a look at those maps. If these boarders are like USA and Canada how would a Darklord tell if he was wondering too far and about to enter someone else's domain?

DMing tonight so we'll see how much trouble my group can get itself into. (grins)

Just read your larger post now that I had time.

To answer your first question of that big paragraph Yes it's a creature in the Monster Manual for DnD 3.0 which is what I run. Well a mix between 3.5 and 3.0, but a Delver burrows through rock so it's a possible way for them to get into mines down below, as well if they think they MAY be able to pull off a teleport spell.... need to look how that runs in Ravenloft though. I know summoning monsters is quite different, the Cleric who summoned a Griffin found that out. XD

Ravenloft history I don't know much, I keep seeing Grand Conjunction thrown around and a lot of Acronyms that I have to do a bit of guess work. So don't worry pretty much anything you tell me will be news to me, and i've been reading though trying to absorb so much information at once doesn't really work. I think I may have read about it, but it probably went through one ear and out the other. (Partly while I'm only dealing with Barovia for now, and Strahd)

[steveflam]

it looked like they were all boardered by mists. So if you try to cross the mist boarder you may not end up where you were headed but somewhere way off in the distance right? or if the Darklord doesn't want you to leave you'll end up walkin in circles. XD

Not quite, but a common misconception. There are fan-made maps of Ravenloft both pre- and post-Grand Conjunction available in our Map Gallery. Domains that border each other are connected just as directly and invisibly as Canada is connected to the U.S. Most of the time, you wouldn't know that you'd crossed from Barovia to Borca. It's only at the "end of the world" where the Misty Border surrounds the Core that you'll find the Mists. Out in the Mists are "Island of Terror" domains that are alone, completely surrounded by Mists (which may have been what you saw in the books). Also, there are small "clusters" of 2-3 connected domains bordered by Mists, kind of like a miniature version of The Core. Walking into the Mists is usually a risky crapshoot. Unless you stick to a Mistway (known "currents" in the mist that are usually stable) or have a Vistani or Anchorite (priest of Ezra) to guide you, you could end up nearly anywhere.

Darklord border closure is another phenomenon entirely. Most Darklords have the ability to close their borders, trapping everyone inside with some supernatural force (a wall of fire, a mass of zombies, walking in circles like you said) linked to their personality. But this is a rare event, and most of the borders are open almost all the time.

Doesn't Jester have two maps of the Core: Before and after?

[Zilfer]

Looks like it. The main difference is that huge hole in the middle of the map.^

[steveflam]

The Shadow Rift, you mean?

[Zilfer]

Yeah, that thing. I'm sure it's not a place you want to go too often unless your brave. XD Anything with Shadow and Rift put together doesn't sound like a welcoming place.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Wow wall of fire and mass of zombies sealing off the boarder, that would be quite a sight to see in itself.

Yup, but remember, it's rare. Your average Ravenloft native could live a lifetime and never see one. Strahd's is a choking poisonous fog.

So this "Core" is what I was reading about and Barovia is outside of the core then?

No, Barovia is part of the core. The Core is the main "continent" of the world. You can see Barovia in those maps, just south of the center. Part of the confusion may be that the Barovia of the module is just the village of Barovia, which is only one town in the domain/country of Barovia.

If these boarders are like USA and Canada how would a Darklord tell if he was wondering too far and about to enter someone else's domain?

Most Darklords have a sense of connection to their domain, and just "know" the extent of it, or have discovered the borders by trial and error. They simple can't enter another domain, even by accident. One of the Strahd novels shows him trying and hitting an invisible wall.

To answer your first question of that big paragraph Yes it's a creature in the Monster Manual for DnD 3.0

looks it up... Oh yeah, that thing. A bit more of a fantasy creature than you typically see in Ravenloft, but as a one-off with a decent backstory I wouldn't rule it out.

well if they think they MAY be able to pull off a teleport spell.... need to look how that runs in Ravenloft though.

works fine as long as they don't try to cross closed domain borders or go through the Mists.

Ravenloft history I don't know much, I keep seeing Grand Conjunction thrown around and a lot of Acronyms that I have to do a bit of guess work. So don't worry pretty much anything you tell me will be news to me, and i've been reading though trying to absorb so much information at once doesn't really work.

No worries, there's a lot of Ravenloft lore, and you really don't need to know or use any of it. You can have a whole campaign in Barovia if you like, and never need to worry about the rest.

Briefly, the Grand Conjunction was an apocalypse-like event where Ravenloft was broken and reformed. All the domains briefly returned to their worlds of origin until the Conjunction collapsed, and they all came back, though not always in the same place. That's why the map changed. Basically, the authors used this as excuse to move the "weirder" and less gothic, more fantastical domains off into the Mists, so the Core could be a bit more "normal"/"realistic". (well, aside from the Shadow Rift which is, admittedly, weird and abnormal.)


Feel free to browse our FAQ to help sort out stuff if you wish. I thought we had an acronym list in there, but I guess not. Something for the to-do list. But feel free to ask what anything means. Glad to help.

[Zilfer]

Thanks well we are about to start so wish me good luck tonight.

Yes I'm aware of Strahd's poisonous fog, I didn't want them to leave because of this. They obviously need to find a way to circumvent this and they have no idea about it currently at the moment so it would be bad if they left. XD

I'll probably hopefully keep them battling Strahd's forces for awhile before I actually allow them to kill him. I'm trying to think of him like a player character and ask myself ok If i was Strahd what would i know about the party? What would I do? I know undead now isn't going to work to well from the turn undeads they have. xD

Thanks again for the help, more questions forthcoming.....

[alhoon]

Do you all know eachother in real life?

a few of us do, but very few. Personally, I don't know any of these freaks. But I love 'em all anyways.

Don't believe him Zilfer! And certainly don't go to his home. It took Van Richten to save a few guys from there. It took Dru as much time to recapture those guys and stick them back in. Who could guess that deranged from the horror captives could have gone so far?
Makes me wonder how far my own captives could go if they were broken out by some self-righteous "hero". I bet missing their legs would be a problem to their escape plans.

[Zilfer]

Never ever go to your guy's houses, check.

Anything else I should be aware of?

[alhoon]

That your stories are interesting. A bit too fantasy thrown in for traditional Ravenloft but nevermind that. It's a game that each of us builds and plays as he/she/it wants. It seems your players have fun and that's what matters.

[Zilfer]

Well i'm sure some of the problem comes from never having played it before and also, the group hardly takes things too seriously.

Heh, someone did fail a horror save last session here and now he's obsessed with daggers going in the back of people's heads. XD