Godefroy

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Okay, guys, I'm watching my newborn son while I write this. I normally pride myself on the cohesiveness of my writing, but I'm understandably distracted, so please forgive me any lapses in my writing.
...
You present a very good point Ron. (One I had not considered, and which has already helped me to cement what I want to get out of Mordent!) The idea of 'legacies' being the theme is very interesting. I think 'Legacies' is a bit too broad to describe the theme of Mordent though. Many of the domains deal with legacies sought for, fought for, found, or lost.

I was likewise holding my infant son while I replied, so I probably wasn't as clear as I could have been either. (Congrats!) More specifically than just any old Legacy, what I meant was the particular idea of a noble family's version of legacy. As Ryan put it perfectly here:

He represents an outmoded age that refuses to pass away quietly.

In Godefroy's mind, the aristocrats are the "betters" of society, and should pass down their power, prestige, influence, and honor from father to son as they always have. In current day Mordent, this idea of family legacy is becoming antiquated, as part of his curse. Wilfred put this ideal of "family" over his actual family. He couldn't welcome Lilia/Amanda/Penelope (whatever her name was. ) into the family because she was a "useless" girl and not a son. He couldn't trust in his wife Estelle, but in his paranoia saw her betraying him. But even if she had been guilty of an affair (which she wasn't, I don't think), his reaction: killing her, killing the daughter who tried to stop him, and then killing his own prized horse to cover for it showed that he was far more worried about his appearance as an upstanding noble with a respectable family than any sort of true family connection. So for this the Dark Powers doom the "great families" of Mordent, make that age pass, and let his favored era linger only in as much as it haunts the present.

If you look at the picture of Godefroy in Domains of Dread and the Red Box, he's clearly Antony Hopkins.

Sir Anthony gets around Ravenloft quite a bit. He's clearly a Mesmerist in LoTB too, and possibly a fir in Gazetteer V.

[Jimsolo]

Right now, my campaign is telling a story of a reluctant homecoming. With the exception of one of the PCs, the whole party is composed of Outlanders. Unbeknownst to them, they are all actually descended from Ravenloft natives who escaped the Demiplane of Dread. Everywhere they've gone in Ravenloft, they've gotten the impression that they just aren't welcome. In some places the people are hostile, in some places it's the Domain itself that rejects them. In some places, the people were friendly enough, and the land was hospitable enough, but it soon became clear that the way of doing things in that place was so alien that they couldn't feel comfortable there.

Since arriving in Mordent, all that has changed. They've found that the new home they've settled in is warm and inviting. The people welcome them (not enthusiastically-that would just make them suspicious; however, they've found that ingratiating themselves to the populace has proven easy enough) and they aren't finding the region too alien in their customs and practices. One of the PCs has married and even started a family. As the group leader (and the only Ravenloft, and indeed, Mordent-born native) he has purchased a large manor. After upcoming plots are complete, he will eventually find himself the mayor of the town as well. (The mayor is going to croak in a future plot. Unless something goes horribly wrong, the PC will be the unanimous choice for a replacement.)

The future of the campaign holds the slow realization that despite their ongoing quest to return to their homelands, Ravenloft is where they truly belong. I'd like to get each of them to the point where they wouldn't even want to leave, even if they could. When the reveal comes that they are from Ravenloft, I want all of them to secretly think that they suspected it all along, or at least to not be too surprised.

In fitting with that, I think I know how to use Godefroy. Since he seems to confine himself to Mordentshire, I don't see him extending his reach all the way to the village my group is based in, (which is on the Arden river, just a little ways upriver from where it crosses into Richemulot, so pretty far from the big city) but I would like to at least make his influence felt. In keeping with that, I think that when he does eventually realize Frankie Drakeson (the landholder PC) is a rising star in the region, he is going to try to remove him from power, subtly at first but with increasing insistence.

One of the PCs is in actuality a descendent of the Mournesworth line. Should Godefroy discover this, he will do everything in his power to have Frankie removed and replaced by Joram (the Mournesworth descendent). This will eventually culminate with Godefroy conspiring to force the PCs to Mordentshire, and specifically, to Gryphon Hill, where he will have already prepared a scheme to divide the group and destroy them (hopefully resulting in the death of Frankie and his supporters while at the same time keeping Joram alive, in order to preserve the noble lineage of the domain).

I think that would work, anyway.

[Nemesio]

Sounds like a cool campaign.

[Jimsolo]

What doesn't work for you?

I think my biggest problem was the lack of a clear motivation for him. Now, having had a little time to chew over the answers you, Ron, and LesserEvil gave, I'm pretty confident running him with a strong drive to restore one of the noble families (preferably his own), make sure the commoners keep their grubby fingers out of the halls of power, and to make sure the domain is being run his way. Does that sound about right?

[The Pickled Punk]

We also know that (Godefroy) is engaged in correspondance with people (and, from the sound of their names, people outside Mordent) - he likes to send and receive letters. In that way, he's abreast of what's going on all over the place.

That's a really interesting fact that I never knew! How exactly does he send and receive mail? Does he need to possess someone, or can he become corporeal enough to write a letter and drop it off at the stagecoach? Does he do this through an alias? Who is he corresponding with? Other Darklords? Prince Othmar Bolshnik? Baron von Aubreker? Do they write back? It would be add an ironic twist to the frustrated commentaries Azalin Rex had for S. in Gaz. III, if Godefroy has been corresponding with Azalin Rex ever since Mordent and Darkon appeared!

This definitely opens more opportunities for my new campaign. Godefroy would most likely seek to correspond with aristocrats and nobles over all others, so he would probably have originally sent letters to Camille Boritsi and Claude Renier, as well Azalin and Strahd. Strahd would have probably thrown the letters into his fireplace in anger, over the memories of his failure in Mordent in I10, but the others would probably have written him back. I can see Jacqueline Renier continuing this correspondence after murdering Claude (she's not one to give up a resource), while Ivana Boritsi would only intermittently respond to his letters, and Ivan Dilisnya and Godefroy are now probably incense over an imagined slight. Godefroy would almost certainly write to Prince Othmar, and maybe encourage him to try to retain the Nova Vaasan throne. He might commisserate with Von Aubrecker, or write short letters to Azalin Rex.

Here are the darklords who are probably not on his mailing list: Adam (obviously), Alfred Timothy, Vlad Drakov (Godefroy probably views him as an upstart usurper, despite the fact that Godefroy is probably descended from warlords himself), Harkon Lukas (a commoner elected in a singing contest?! No way!), Gabrielle Aderre (a gypsy, a commoner, and a witch), Hazlik (the social structure and culture of Hazlan is too alien), the Hags and Tristessa. He might correspond with Dominic D'Honaire, via Mercel Guignol (without Godefroy being aware!), with Von Kharkov, The Brain (also through an intermediary), Lady Kazandra, and Sir Tristen Hiregaard (who leaves his letters where Malken can find them).

One possible way to use this, is that Godefroy is essentially running a Core wide information gathering network. Some of his correspondents (like Jacqueline Renier or Dominc D'honaire) can use Godefroy to send coded messages to agents of theirs in other Domains (especially in Falkovnia); in exchange they give him juicy gossip to spread about, apprise him of "heroes" who might be headed for Mordent to exorcise the House on Gryphon Hill, and treat him like a nobleman, inflating his ego. I've already placed an "unofficial ambassador" of Richemulot in Mordentshire, hinting to some of my players that Jacqueline is interested in Mordent. This gives me an added reason for this young wererat to remain in town: she's there to flatter Godefroy, so he'll continue to aid Richemulot. Now I'm probably going to add a few Obedient in town to serve the same function. This adds even more intrigue during the day to Mordentshire, which I've already made unnerving for the PCs at night!

[The Pickled Punk]

I think my biggest problem was the lack of a clear motivation for him. Now, having had a little time to chew over the answers you, Ron, and LesserEvil gave, I'm pretty confident running him with a strong drive to restore one of the noble families (preferably his own), make sure the commoners keep their grubby fingers out of the halls of power, and to make sure the domain is being run his way. Does that sound about right?

That sounds pretty good. Jim, the truth is, before I read Gaz III, I had a similar attitude towards Godefroy that you do: he seemed to be a ghost in a haunted house, but outside of that Mordent seemed like a decent place to live, especially with George Weathermay and Dr. Rudolph van Richten protecting it. Most times that I used Mordentshire was as a "base of operations" before the campaign moved on to Dementlieu, or Barovia, or Souragne, or whereever. In my current campaign I've been running a ghost story/murder mystery-turned monster hunt set in and around Mordentshire. The House on Gryphon Hill has appeared prominently as a background matter, with the ghost of the murder victim terrified of it. Godefroy has not played a part yet, but I'm now eager for him to do so. I don't think he cares about micro-managing Mordent, but he views it as "his", so it makes sense that he wants to be able influence matters.

One thing that I've always seen Godefroy as is a bully; my introduction to the character was in the Red Box, where they went into a bit of detail about how he murdered his wife and daughter, then covered up the crime by shooting his horse. I definitely saw him as brutish and nasty, but until the write up in Gaz III I saw him as very territorial when it came to the House on Gryphon Hill, but leaving the rest alone. It makes more sense that he'd try to bully people, by possessing them, by manifesting to them at night, by blackmailing them, or attacking them. Try playing up the bullying, domineering part of his character, as well as his cowardice. He tried to hide his crime, and now he runs from the spirits of his wife and daughter every night. He wants to be treated with respect, but the spirits in the House fear and hate him, while most of the living don't know he exists. That can play into how the Dark Powers torment him: reminding him of his character flaws, keeping him from being more than a shadowy ruler. He may have grandiose plans, but he needs to either use living patsies, or the ghosts he hordes in the House. And the House itself should be treated as a character in its own right; it has its own goals, which may not mesh with Godefroy's.

[Mangrum]

That's a really interesting fact that I never knew! How exactly does he send and receive mail? Does he need to possess someone, or can he become corporeal enough to write a letter and drop it off at the stagecoach? Does he do this through an alias? Who is he corresponding with? Other Darklords? Prince Othmar Bolshnik? Baron von Aubreker? Do they write back?

As the story presents it, Godefroy himself doesn't really understand how it works, though his theory is probably pretty close to the truth: The House does it, on behalf of its master. There's a certain table in the House where letters addressed to him sometimes appear. If he writes someone a letter and leaves it on that table, it eventually vanishes while his attention is elsewhere, presumably spirited away to its recipient. If not the House doing it directly, then Godefroy's correspondence is a little gift from the Dark Powers.

As for who he writes, he has "pen pals" across the Core, few to none of whom he's met in person, I imagine. Other like-minded souls. who may be living or dead, for all we know. The story may mention an individual or two, but I don't have the book in front of me.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

The story may mention an individual or two, but I don't have the book in front of me.

Nobody we've heard of before or since. He receives 3 letters in the story, one from a wizard named Schupert, another from Narvisek Grellar, a man with a penchant for vivisection, and a third from his dead wife, Estelle, which causes him to go into a panic.

[The Pickled Punk]

The story may mention an individual or two, but I don't have the book in front of me.

Nobody we've heard of before or since. He receives 3 letters in the story, one from a wizard named Schupert, another from Narvisek Grellar, a man with a penchant for vivisection, and a third from his dead wife, Estelle, which causes him to go into a panic.

Hmm... I'm beginning to suspect that these "letters" are somehow part of the Dark Powers toying with him...

Too bad, because the idea of Jacqueline Renier and/or Dominic D'Honaire corresponding with him (possibly without realizing he's a ghost) as part of their Byzantine schemes was a really cool idea. Maybe most of the letters (and correspondents) are fakes, but occaisionally he gets real letters from other Darklords?

[Ryan Naylor]

What doesn't work for you?

I think my biggest problem was the lack of a clear motivation for him. Now, having had a little time to chew over the answers you, Ron, and LesserEvil gave, I'm pretty confident running him with a strong drive to restore one of the noble families (preferably his own), make sure the commoners keep their grubby fingers out of the halls of power, and to make sure the domain is being run his way. Does that sound about right?

Your campaign sounds great.

Yes, that sounds perfectly consistent with how I understand his character. As you say though, "preferably his own" and "run his way".

I've inspired myself with the idea of him possessing people and attempting to father children (well, sons) through their bodies. Legacies of Blood has it that a few offcuts from the Godefroy line still exist (although, to be consistent with everything else ever published on Mordent, they can't be in any way considered closely or directly related to Wilifred - we're talking a cousin 300 years ago here). What about a family curse that the men of the family are notoriously violent on their wedding nights but claim to have no knowledge of it afterwards?

More than any other domain, I think the idea of family (legacy, I suppose, or households, as others have said) is central to Mordent - the sins of the fathers spilling down from generation to generation. The Fall of the House of Usher, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, the Woman in White, the Turn of the Screw... that sort of thing.

[Ryan Naylor]

As the story presents it, Godefroy himself doesn't really understand how it works, though his theory is probably pretty close to the truth: The House does it, on behalf of its master. There's a certain table in the House where letters addressed to him sometimes appear. If he writes someone a letter and leaves it on that table, it eventually vanishes while his attention is elsewhere, presumably spirited away to its recipient. If not the House doing it directly, then Godefroy's correspondence is a little gift from the Dark Powers.

As for who he writes, he has "pen pals" across the Core, few to none of whom he's met in person, I imagine. Other like-minded souls. who may be living or dead, for all we know. The story may mention an individual or two, but I don't have the book in front of me.

Hmm... I'm beginning to suspect that these "letters" are somehow part of the Dark Powers toying with him...

Too bad, because the idea of Jacqueline Renier and/or Dominic D'Honaire corresponding with him (possibly without realizing he's a ghost) as part of their Byzantine schemes was a really cool idea. Maybe most of the letters (and correspondents) are fakes, but occaisionally he gets real letters from other Darklords?

Continuity has moved on a bit since Tales of Ravenloft though.

My explanation is that Godefroy is waited on hand and foot by thousands and thousands of spirits that he has beaten the... spirit out of. He can drain them down to a Cha of 1, which is less sense of self than a giant centipede. At that point, they're not much more than an unseen servant, opening his doors, lighting his candles, shining his shoes, and, of course, sending his mail.

The ghosts are so weak, or Godefroy is such a snob, that he has literally become blind to their presence. He only notices his servants when they've done something wrong and anger him; the rest of the time, he doesn't even see that they're there anymore.

The story on has him receiving letters, not writing them. However, he is able to touch everything in Gryphon Manor when he wants to (perhaps it's so impregnated with ethereal resonance it seeps into the real world) so perhaps he can pick up a pen. Or he can dictate a letter to a servant, who can interact with the physical world. Or perhaps he possesses someone and write a letter from there. And this his ghosts drop it off at the stagecoach or deliver it.

It does add a whole new layer to the idea of a dead letter box though doesn't it?

Dominic d'Honaire, having grown up in Mordent, would likely recognise Godefroy's name and know the legend of Gryphon Manor. He might pass it off as a pseudonym though. Or he might like the idea of his "ghost" (Guignol) corresponding with another ghost.

I would think Godefroy would tolerate corresponding with the Reniers as well, since he'd recognise their name from Mordent's history (even if they are up-jumped merchant scum). In fact, he could see that as another Mordentish line that has fallen (tainted with the blood of commoners!) and try to do something about it. I imagine, given his contempt for women, that he's was more interested in Claude Renier than Jacqueline. Tying him in with the Cult of Simon Audaire, or having him skip from Claude to Jacques Renier, or some other male relative, might be interesting.

As I think about it, there are interesting parallels and foils between the Four Towers nations. Richemulot is literally a land without history - forward looking, crass, dynamic etc. In contrast, Mordent is a land steeped in history (real and false), fallen noble houses, that, despite its age, has lost its place in the modern world. It's seen as just a sleepy little adjunct to Dementlieu, after all, (as this thread shows) despite the presence of the Temple of Ezra, the Weathermays, Van Richten's shop, the original home of High Alchemy in Ravenloft, and the seed for several other domains. This is Godefroy's curse on a larger scale: Mordent's time has passed, even if it's yet to die, while around him, merchants, bankers, thieves and commoners control the lands and shape the future of the world.

Also, I don't think it's a coincidence (well, actually I do, but I'm making a point ) that the Four Towers nations are the ones where intrigue runs rife. You have intrigue and paranoia in Dementlieu, intrigue and corruption in Borca, and intrigue and intrigue in Richemulot. Mordent would be the odd one out, if Godefroy didn't have a vast network of spies in his own domain and elsewhere (and again, it ties back into Mordent's theme of hidden, historical wrongs - the intrigue is generational, rather than just immediate). In comparison, Paridon is based on paranoia, but not really intrigue, Nosos is based on the Industrial Revolution, and none of the more primitive domains have intrigue as a central core. How convenient that the Dark Powers grouped the intrigue domains together, and made them allies to have lots of traffic and ties and opportunities to spy on each other...


Anyway, back to the letters: Azalin and Strahd only have very hazy memories of their time in Mordent, so they wouldn't necessarily leap on the idea of correspondence. Azalin might; Strahd just wants to be left alone.

Von Kharkov is (in Godefroy's eyes) a savage, so I can't imagine he'd be too interested in him.

Othmar Bolshnik is a good choice.

Outside darklords, I can see him finding the Fraternity of Shadows useful (probably mutually), and we know he likes talking to wizards (particularly equally sexist ones). Merilee Markurza is very intelligent and has shown herself capable of working with other darklords. Jacqueline Montarri might find it mutually beneficial as well.

One possible way to use this, is that Godefroy is essentially running a Core wide information gathering network. Some of his correspondents (like Jacqueline Renier or Dominc D'honaire) can use Godefroy to send coded messages to agents of theirs in other Domains (especially in Falkovnia); in exchange they give him juicy gossip to spread about, apprise him of "heroes" who might be headed for Mordent to exorcise the House on Gryphon Hill, and treat him like a nobleman, inflating his ego. I've already placed an "unofficial ambassador" of Richemulot in Mordentshire, hinting to some of my players that Jacqueline is interested in Mordent. This gives me an added reason for this young wererat to remain in town: she's there to flatter Godefroy, so he'll continue to aid Richemulot. Now I'm probably going to add a few Obedient in town to serve the same function. This adds even more intrigue during the day to Mordentshire, which I've already made unnerving for the PCs at night!

I heartily approve of this idea.

[Ryan Naylor]

And the House itself should be treated as a character in its own right; it has its own goals, which may not mesh with Godefroy's.

I've said before that I don't like the idea of the House being truly sentient, because it overlaps with the House of Lament too much. However, I know others don't mind it.

I prefer to see it as a "bad place" (Overlook Hotel) rather than a "genius loci" (The Haunting) - probably empathic, but not intelligent.



On Godefroy's daughter's name: Despite the continuity snarl, Lilia could be a familiar form of Penelope. And Amanda could be her middle name.

Or perhaps Godefroy cares so little about his daughter, he can't even remember her name?

[High Priest Mikhal]

And the House itself should be treated as a character in its own right; it has its own goals, which may not mesh with Godefroy's.

I've said before that I don't like the idea of the House being truly sentient, because it overlaps with the House of Lament too much. However, I know others don't mind it.

I prefer to see it as a "bad place" (Overlook Hotel) rather than a "genius loci" (The Haunting) - probably empathic, but not intelligent.

Sounds like a phantasmagorum. That in itself could be part and parcel of his curse. The House torments him and yet he can't destroy it without destroying himself.

[Ryan Naylor]

A phantasmagorum is intelligent.

[Jimsolo]

And the House itself should be treated as a character in its own right; it has its own goals, which may not mesh with Godefroy's.

I've said before that I don't like the idea of the House being truly sentient, because it overlaps with the House of Lament too much. However, I know others don't mind it.

I prefer to see it as a "bad place" (Overlook Hotel) rather than a "genius loci" (The Haunting) - probably empathic, but not intelligent.



On Godefroy's daughter's name: Despite the continuity snarl, Lilia could be a familiar form of Penelope. And Amanda could be her middle name.

Or perhaps Godefroy cares so little about his daughter, he can't even remember her name?

Yeah, I'm definitely off the idea of the house as the Darklord. The correspondence angle gives me such a good way to enact my 'Godefroy driving a wedge in the party' plan. (The party wizard is notoriously shifty. Mysterious correspondence from an unseen benefactor, who is all too willing to both flatter the PC as well as point him in the direction of spells or magical items that have been long forgotten will be right up his alley.)

And so help me, if it ever comes to it, I may just have Godefroy forget his own daughter's name in conversation. "Little Penelope Amanda. Or was it Amanda Penelope? Oh to hell with it, it hardly matters now..."

Here's a question. Frankie's marriage was arranged through his association with Nathan Timothy, who happily provided one of his granddaughters (through William and Evelyn) in order to extend some influence into Mordent. I'm running a side plot which has been going for some time centered around the Timothy family, since Nathan Timothy has the capacity to spread his influence across many different domains. My question is, how do you think Godefroy feels towards the Timothys? Old name, to be sure, but just uppity commoners nevertheless. To my mind, it's a foregone conclusion that Godefroy would resent any attempt at a foreign monster trying to gain a foothold in his backyard.