Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by TheArcaneWeirdo »

Le Noir Faineant wrote: Wed Apr 29, 2026 2:34 am
SkiBird wrote: Sun Apr 26, 2026 5:47 amSo maybe for Sithicus and the Soth/Inza thing ... instead of becoming co-darklords (it's been done before with Ivan/Ivana), or the 'I was released ' angle (like with Nathan Timothy), and instead of Inza dying/escaping ... we get a brand new version of what a domain looks like when a former Darklord gets reinstated? Perhaps they 'share' the title but at different times. By share, I kinda sorta mean 'are trapped by.' Meaning, if one is in the seat, that's it, they are darklord, and the other is not (as in, free to leave). But then, like every 6 months or so ... or as a result of the machinations of the other ... they have to switch.

Soth rules from his keep (once he deposes Azrael, naturally). Inza rules from her Chasm. When one is in charge, the other can travel the demiplane (or Soth could venture freely into his memory mirrors). Something like that. And then, when enough time has passed, these Darklords could be required to switch?
I think I'd like that. :) -- That said, I think we're gonna get something else: They're going to retell Soth's story from the get-go, declare the James Lowder novels non-canon, and do a renarration of the kind that "The Legend of Zelda" does every couple of years. Soth apparently was one of the BBEGs for the (flopped?) 2022 Dragonlance remake. (That I only know from online summaries.) Difficult to think things won't pick up from where that one leaves off.
Yeah, but this rotation thing can be a cool homebrew take for our Post-ToUD revamp! (Check the 780 thread)
Like, if we manage to figure out how Soth both came back to life and got evil again. Preferably in a way that doesn't belittle him being the living (well, undead) proof that darklords can redeem themselves.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Le Noir Faineant »

TheArcaneWeirdo wrote: Wed Apr 29, 2026 2:47 pmYeah, but this rotation thing can be a cool homebrew take for our Post-ToUD revamp! (Check the 780 thread)
Like, if we manage to figure out how Soth both came back to life and got evil again. Preferably in a way that doesn't belittle him being the living (well, undead) proof that darklords can redeem themselves.
Didn't find what I was perhaps supposed to find in the 780 thread. -- My general problem with this is, it's all background stuff. What of this do the players in an actual game get to see, to understand, to influence, or to control?

That doesn't mean I don't like the idea: Just saying, make this specific for in-game application. How can you let the PCs shine with this?
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by TheArcaneWeirdo »

Le Noir Faineant wrote: Fri May 01, 2026 5:08 am
TheArcaneWeirdo wrote: Wed Apr 29, 2026 2:47 pmYeah, but this rotation thing can be a cool homebrew take for our Post-ToUD revamp! (Check the 780 thread)
Like, if we manage to figure out how Soth both came back to life and got evil again. Preferably in a way that doesn't belittle him being the living (well, undead) proof that darklords can redeem themselves.
Didn't find what I was perhaps supposed to find in the 780 thread. -- My general problem with this is, it's all background stuff. What of this do the players in an actual game get to see, to understand, to influence, or to control?

That doesn't mean I don't like the idea: Just saying, make this specific for in-game application. How can you let the PCs shine with this?
I think we're trying to figure out the background before we make an actual game out of it. It's a brainstorming thread, not a final product.
But maybe it's about time we move to the next stage...
"Not all that is violet is deadly, and not all that is deadly is violet." - "S", Gaz IV, page 13.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

New Wiz kids minis incoming to accompany this product:
https://techraptor.net/tabletop/news/wi ... tures-line
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by doctornecrotic »

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote: Mon May 18, 2026 7:53 pm New Wiz kids minis incoming to accompany this product:
https://techraptor.net/tabletop/news/wi ... tures-line
Compared to the Pathfinder minis that had mythos creatures many years back, these look good enough. I never personally used minis in my runs of Call of Cthulhu though, plus I only used the Mythos creatures in the Strange Aeons adventure path when running Pathfinder.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Igor the Henchman »

Huh.

Image

That's nice of them.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Speedwagon »

Awww! I love that!

Honestly, that's really cool. While we're not always in agreement of how things should be, I really appreciate the shout-outs and the respect given to those that came before. I thank the team behind this book for that!
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Joël of the FoS »

That's really cool. Appreciated!
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Igor the Henchman »

Another thing I liked is they gave Azalin his old curse back, and retconned Hazlik to avoid copying him. I like to imagine that the two of them bumped into each other in a school corridor, and Azalin was like "one of us is going back home to change, and it ain't going to be me."
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by alhoon »

Azalin is back and Hazlik is retconned?
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Igor the Henchman »

alhoon wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2026 3:30 pm Azalin is back and Hazlik is retconned?
Yep, they also gave Az an interesting new reaction power that lets him instantly learn any spell he manages to counterspell. But only for an hour, after which time it slips from his mind again.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by SkiBird »

Ravenloft: The Horrors Within has been released on DDB (early access for subscribers right now, I think).

Giving it a read through now.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by alhoon »

Igor the Henchman wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2026 3:33 pm
alhoon wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2026 3:30 pm Azalin is back and Hazlik is retconned?
Yep, they also gave Az an interesting new reaction power that lets him instantly learn any spell he manages to counterspell. But only for an hour, after which time it slips from his mind again.
Ouch. Thematic. Cruel, but thematic.

Now, on the other topic I forgot to address:

The FoS is addressed!? The Kargatane is addressed?!
I will buy it.
Perhaps it was a ploy to get some of us old fans to buy it. If so... it worked. I will buy it.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Igor the Henchman »

I will say this: the Innsmouth domain works. Yeah I know, it's a blatantly ridiculous concept, and a transparent gambit to market the book to Lovecraft fans, but damn if they haven't given it their all to make it work. The domain does a good job showcasing how Cthulhu would transform and corrupt the many fantasy creatures and worlds if he and the rest of the Mythos menagerie were allowed to invade the D&D multiverse, making a compelling case why he should remain imprisoned forever... except that setting him free might be the PCs' only chance to escape Ravenloft and go home.
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Re: Ravenloft Horror Within - source book set for June 2026

Post by Drinnik Shoehorn »

Igor the Henchman wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2026 12:57 pm Huh.

Image

That's nice of them.
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