Brainstorm: Demihuman Dominant Domains

[Hell_Born]

As I've stated in various threads during my time here, my interest in the Ravenloft setting is due to its unique role as a Gothic-flavored Dark Fantasy setting, and I often find myself disappointed in the canon due to its tendency to downplay the Fantasy aspect and just focus on pure Gothic Horror... which might have something to do with TSR tending to stick to a single mold for all their settings. One of the most glaring issues, in my eyes, is the complete lack of demihuman-based domains in Ravenloft canon. The only one that I can name is Sithicus, which is characterized by its sheer apathy and slow social disintegration... which wouldn't be so bad if we at least had other, more vibrant domains to counterbalance it!

So, would anyone be interested in brainstorming demihuman-centric domains for Ravenloft? I'm completely cool with whatever folks want to talk about; the only real "rule" is that each domain should have a majority-population of demihumans and we should try to make the darklord feel both Gothic and still tied to his or her race. The classic "dwarf-king/queen ruining his/her empire for greed" is one option, but so is "hardcore traditionalist dwarf being powerless to stop his/her people abandoning the old ways and changing the culture in ways s/he doesn't appreciate", you kn ow what I mean?

[Five]

I'm working on a cluster that somewhat fits the bill. Originally it was meant to be just a continent that could be inserted into any campaign setting, but out of a want to eventually put forth something other than two cents at a time to this community I was going to convert it to Ravenloft.

The Disputed Lands is an almost post-apocalyptic dual realm area that is based in part on the anime/manga "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", with elements of the Crusades thrown in. Centuries ago elves found themselves, or more specifically their immortality/connection to Nature, cursed. Unbeknownst to them this was due to a dark ritual performed by a very spiteful and overly-ambitious queen, where she traded racial Essence for personal Power. Ultimately she brought forth the Blight, an affliction that just about sterilised the species and one in which elves have found mortality in that their immortality is now an inevitable transmutation into plant-based horrors of every imaginable type once their natural lifespan, or, mortal form has come to an end. The source of this pact/transformation was a cabal of Ecomancers (a rip off of the Pirates of Dark Water), who, headed by the elf queen, sought to control Nature much like the Sorcerer Kings of Dark Sun (another inspiration), by imprisoning the avatar of the Goddess Terra. Hidden deep beneath the now grown-over ruins of Terra-Kai, a city more ancient than Mankind itself, the Goddess (her "mortal" form) is fed poison which she then radiates forth, corrupting the surrounding land, turning everything in its path into monstrous mutations of Nature. Anyway, it backfired big time and the elves got infected to the point where they can only slow the Blight by avoiding Nature, or, their former homes. So began the exodus to find a more suitable land...a mostly desert realm inhabited by the neighbouring humans (my version/twist of Al-Qadim, yet another source of inspiration).

War between the elves and genies, whom the elves thought able to help with their affliction, erupted when the genies refused to grant them even an audience, and over generations, and at great cost to the elves, the genies were eradicated. The humans, generational friends of the genies, were outraged and despite their fear of the elves (who had achieved the unthinkable and wiped out the genies) went to put an end to this pestilence that threatened their very way of life. Back and forth these crusades waged, pausing only long enough for both sides to gather their strength by birthing new generations of warriors.

Yet somewhere along the way a Ghul-Kin (http://www.mojobob.com/roleplay/monstro ... ulkin.html), transformed by an episode that I twisted out of the legend behind the Siege of Ma'arra, has assumed the role of Holy Pope/High Priest and is manipulating the humans into continuing their war on the elves, helped along with the partially-true stories of elves performing ghastly experiments on human captives in an effort to undo the Blight rotting their bodies. Elves who in the past have slighted this particular Ghul-kin (it was the other way around: he devoured a nursery of elves and was caught red-mouthed). He is also vaguely aware of the power that the elves/Blighted are manipulating..

Humans, now mostly confined to the few coastal cities left standing (one of which, named Rust or Godsburn to the locals, is where all dissidents/war heroes/threats to the Ghul-Kin Pope are kept under lock and key because to kill them outright is to risk turning the population on the elite few. It's just easier to label them heretics and let them rot with vice) are lorded over by an elite class consisting of other lesser Ghul-Kins and their more monstrous cousins the Great Ghuls (http://www.mojobob.com/roleplay/monstro ... lgrea.html), who are by and large kept rural for obvious reasons, and based largely off of the movie "The Hills Have Eyes". Rural humanity, those unwilling to participate in the endless war, are left to scavenge and fend for themselves in the most post-apocalyptic way the further they escape from the present and the closer they get to the former domain of the elves/Terra-Kai...

I have a current page count of 30, so there is a lot of details other than this. I'm just dropping that much to help you fire up the thoughts of this community.

Edited a few times for cleanup.

[ewancummins]

I kicked about an idea for a dwarf and dragon domain in which the dark-lord was a dragon who had been a dwarf but was cursed for his greed. This was inspired by Fafnir.
I never got further than that, though.

[Cromstar]

I kicked about an idea for a dwarf and dragon domain in which the dark-lord was a dragon who had been a dwarf but was cursed for his greed. This was inspired by Fafnir.
I never got further than that, though.

...imagine being a dragon who is too big to get past the dwarf-built traps designed to keep dragons away from your own gold.

[Mischief]

I have some Souragne revisions that I briefly drafted, but I don't think I will ever finish. Souragne has enlarged and how has three separate ecosystems. It has mangroves by the sea where a primarily seafaring, voodoo-using Vistani tasque who has made a pact with Misroi roosts and now "Zelda-wind-wakers" across all the seas in vardo-boat caravans. Souragne has the expected bayous where Misroi and the plantations are, but it has been greatly expanded by a slightly more upland Piney Woods and Sloughs like those of Eastern Texas. Misroi now shares his domain with a chromatic (red, or green, or red-green) dragon demilord.

Normally the Powers wouldn't bother with a chromatic dragon with an innate alignment, but her backstory is odd. She was one of a clutch of two born into lean times, so the parents chose to feed just one. The wyrmling was left to starve for the simple reason that her sibling was easier on the eyes. The wyrmling escaped into human society and survived (learning to polymorph by sheer will). She rejected draconic society in favor humanity, harbored murderous bitterness at all draconics, lived by a mix of draconic and human worldviews, and was drowned in an immense inferiority complex about her appearance so that she won't willingly polymorph to draconic or half-draconic form.

Her Act of Ultimate Darkness was organizing a company based on the mass slaughter of dragons, dragonborn, and kobolds for goods, meats, and products, and for cannibalism - of her own family and sibling that rejected her at that. Now in Souragne, she's a cattle rancher (because of her draconic appetite), and one who refuses to brand her cows and lets them wander (relying on her natural draconic ability to know each and every possession by sight, although she will steal others' cows.) -which if you live cattle land know is indicative of a criminally terrible personality.

Naturally, Souragne is now ground zero for Ravenloft's dragonborn and kobold races. The Piney Woods is almost completely dragonborn and kobold. They form enclaves for banditry and depredation of the surrounding more-human settlements and as protection from human bandits, counter-raids, and slavers. Escaped slaves and freedom fighters may shelter with them. The lowland counts numerous dragonborn and kobolds among their slaves, and a few, who by virtue of perfect scales, have managed to become landowners with slaves themselves. In the uplands, dragonborn and kobolds are more likely to work as ranch hands or in the classic, terrible, Upton Sinclair-esque, pigs-hanging-on-hooks meatpacking factories (at least one of which has become a Genius loci microdomain). A few have made it as sheriffs: Dragonborn with badges and guns - great combo this.

The most upland of Souragne, which is now starting to get a little dryer and hillier, is a black site where mysterious creatures in black cloaks attack if you get close. Rumor has it: aliens. That's pretty much the truth. Gith Spelljammers locked in combat crashed there, and they have been hiding out trying to repair their Spelljammers so they can return to the aether. It's not going well for them, and they risk being distracted by a supposed Illithid infestation elsewhere.

So revised Souragne: a little bit of everyone but especially humans (+Sea Vistani), dragonborn, kobolds, and gith.

[ewancummins]

Sea-gypsies= fun.

I'm very fond of the Rhennee, Greyhawk's lake/river gypsies.

[Mischief]

Sea-gypsies= fun.

I'm very fond of the Rhenee, Greyhawk's lake/river gypsies.

A little off topic for this thread, but the whole "plantation owner is the master of the voodoo cults, and also voodoo is evil" seemed a little ... insensitive and hamfisted, let's say. Here's a copy of the text I penned on the Sea Vistani.

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Voodoo is a unique branch of Vistani magic found among a seafaring group of Vistani known as the Sea Tasque. Those of the Sea Tasque have given up the horses and wheels of their vardos for winds and oars. Otherwise much is still the same. Each caravan is led by a Raunie who helms the main ship's wheel, embedded with her crystal ball, and uses divination magic to find the way. The sailcraft can fill their sails with mist and cut the sea. Seafaring Vistani offer the usual services, but often serve as couriers, merchants, or guides for other ships. Some caravans travel between port towns to open up floating shop by the docks, offering for sale goods, exotic foods, and delicious spices from far away. Those who live by the sea know colorful tents, sails, flags, and merry music on the waves indicates the weather will stay calm. No pirate dares prey upon a floating Vistani caravan, but the outcast Sea Tasque darklings are well known and much feared marauders who strike from the mists and vanish just as quickly.

The Sea Tasque has its home port on floating wooden structures nestled in the swampy mangroves of Souragne's seaward side in the middle of Darklord Anton Misroi's seat of power. (It's got a Cassadaga, Fl. vibe and reputation.) The ancestral raunie of the Sea Tasque made a pact with Misroi for use of and protection in his swampy land, and for empowerment to voodoo by tying his Darklord powers to their Vistani magic. Thus, the magic of the Vistani Voodoo 'queens' exists on a spectrum, depending how much is their own and how much they borrow from Misroi. The unsullied voodoo is a modification of the typical divination, blessings, curses, and charms Vistani practice. However, for the right price, a petitioner can seek empowered dark curses which get clear, consistent, and powerful results but carry the darklord's taint. Where on the spectrum between pure and fallen a given Vistani voodoo queen practices depends on the request, the willingness of the customer, and the personality of the queen herself.

As for Misroi, his life is a bit less lonely living alongside the Vistani, whom he arrogantly considers a lesser, rather uncivilized folk, but better than no one at all. His curse still manifests: the Vistani can't see Misroi or hear him at all, unless he attacks which would be a violation of the pact he made with them. In addition, Misroi can't understand the Vistani speech, even when they use a language he knows, unless that Vistana is invoking or channeling his powers with a chant or song. When Misroi appears before the Vistani, he slathers himself completely in a shell of mud and leaves so he can be seen and adorns one of several ritual masks and jewelry the Vistani have fashioned for him so that he can better communicate his attitude. The Vistani thus know Misroi as the "Mudman" who commands the dead and swamp. The current Sea Tasque leadership have settled into an uneasy détente with Anton Misroi; he simultaneously seeks more power and influence over 'his' Vistani, but rightfully fears they may pack up and leave him alone for good if he pushes too far.

[ewancummins]

There was a much more positive "voodoo" vibe with the Maiden of the Swamp, though,wasn't there?

[brilliantlight]

I made a halfling domain with its Dark Lord based loosely on Pol Pot which was in Quoth a couple years ago.

[Mischief]

There was a much more positive "voodoo" vibe with the Maiden of the Swamp, though,wasn't there?

I never made it that far in revising Souragne to fix Misroi's powers/backstory, which at the time I apparently decided was rubbish (and I think I still agree with past me. Past me also wrote I needed to "Tie Misroi down to the drawing board and stick him with ball points until I hit vitals.") Everything other than "plantation owner with swamp powers forced to be bored and alone" got tentatively binned.

I made a halfling domain with its Dark Lord based loosely on Pol Pot which was in Quoth a couple years ago.

Which one?


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually on topic post. Some of the concepts put into play in Dwarf Fortress would make for an interesting dwarf-dominant domain. Mass drunkenness and reliance on alcohol to maintain (anti)social order, insane leaders who demand increasingly bizarre artifacts dedicated to themselves as tribute (and who are regularly offed), loathsome dietary choices, terrifying berserker dwarf fighters who rip humanoid and animal limb to limb and keep fighting through grievous injury (probably the alcohol), and master-craftsman who enter a mad trance and are allowed to take anything and kill anyone whose body they need for the ingredients and materials they need craft an epic masterwork.

[The Lesser Evil]

My big challenge in coming up with demi/nonhuman domains is that demihumans in D&D tend to be humans with funny hats, that is humans with set fantasy cultural tropes. Very few would be alien enough to constitute something different from what I could do with humans. The main poddinl exception I could think of (a rogue modron darklord) would be very un-Ravenloft and perhaps atypical of fantasy in general.

That being said, I can think of a couple of ideas of elven darklords inspired from the different worlds of D&D (albeit with the humans in funny hats syndrom), as follows
1) The Eldreth Veluuthra is a CE elven supremacist/anti-human hate group from the Forgotten Realms. The Eldreth Veluuthra consider themselves in all ways like normal elves (albeit ones with the correct view on humans- which they eventually believe other elves will come around to). They see their mission is one of saving their fellow elves and nature from encroaching humanity. This to me seems like prime fodder for a darklord- perhaps one that, after killing all the humans in the area was taken to a domain where their twisted ideology of hatred was extended to its most logical conclusion- against elves of different subraces, religions, etc. . So you have different subraces of elves (or follow different gods of the Elven patheon, or etc) fighting against each other for all eternity over whom are the true elves. Thus the elven supremacist darklord is forever denied the opportunity to unite the elves and wage war against humans (or other humanoids) outside of his domain.

2) The elves of Aerenal in Eberron are atypical of elves in that they are ruled by an Neutral Good aligned Undying Court of positive energy powered undead known as Deathless. My idea for a darklord would be a elf that rejected the tradition of an undead gerontocracy and believed the living should not serve the dead- it should be the other way around. Thus, the rebel soon-to-be darklord embraced necromancy to control/destroy the deathless and their living allies and even animate negative energy powered undead to fight them. Not so sure what this DL's curse should be though- maybe seeing what the use of necromancy to control the dead can do to the soul.

[ewancummins]

How about a caveman domain?

[brilliantlight]

There was a much more positive "voodoo" vibe with the Maiden of the Swamp, though,wasn't there?

I never made it that far in revising Souragne to fix Misroi's powers/backstory, which at the time I apparently decided was rubbish (and I think I still agree with past me. Past me also wrote I needed to "Tie Misroi down to the drawing board and stick him with ball points until I hit vitals.") Everything other than "plantation owner with swamp powers forced to be bored and alone" got tentatively binned.

I made a halfling domain with its Dark Lord based loosely on Pol Pot which was in Quoth a couple years ago.

Which one?

QTR 23 "All too real" Metropia. Although the DL is based on Pol Pot the domain itself is far from Khmer Rouge Cambodia.

[KingCorn]

My big challenge in coming up with demi/nonhuman domains is that demihumans in D&D tend to be humans with funny hats, that is humans with set fantasy cultural tropes. Very few would be alien enough to constitute something different from what I could do with humans. The main poddinl exception I could think of (a rogue modron darklord) would be very un-Ravenloft and perhaps atypical of fantasy in general.

That being said, I can think of a couple of ideas of elven darklords inspired from the different worlds of D&D (albeit with the humans in funny hats syndrom), as follows
1) The Eldreth Veluuthra is a CE elven supremacist/anti-human hate group from the Forgotten Realms. The Eldreth Veluuthra consider themselves in all ways like normal elves (albeit ones with the correct view on humans- which they eventually believe other elves will come around to). They see their mission is one of saving their fellow elves and nature from encroaching humanity. This to me seems like prime fodder for a darklord- perhaps one that, after killing all the humans in the area was taken to a domain where their twisted ideology of hatred was extended to its most logical conclusion- against elves of different subraces, religions, etc. . So you have different subraces of elves (or follow different gods of the Elven patheon, or etc) fighting against each other for all eternity over whom are the true elves. Thus the elven supremacist darklord is forever denied the opportunity to unite the elves and wage war against humans (or other humanoids) outside of his domain.

2) The elves of Aerenal in Eberron are atypical of elves in that they are ruled by an Neutral Good aligned Undying Court of positive energy powered undead known as Deathless. My idea for a darklord would be a elf that rejected the tradition of an undead gerontocracy and believed the living should not serve the dead- it should be the other way around. Thus, the rebel soon-to-be darklord embraced necromancy to control/destroy the deathless and their living allies and even animate negative energy powered undead to fight them. Not so sure what this DL's curse should be though- maybe seeing what the use of necromancy to control the dead can do to the soul.

Or the DL is the Deathless itself. The deathless are meant to guide, but not expressly rule over the elves of Aerenal, acting sort of like old people in japanese families. As well, they DEPEND on their ancestors to worship them to keep them existing. One of them could have attempted to take control of all of aerenal, perhaps engaging in dark-powered necromancy as well as light in order to fuel his ambitions, perhaps looking to become a true god. Starting cults dedicated soley to him, and unearthing the necromancy secrets of the Qablarin Elves, he was eventually struck down. Now he rules over a domain split between light and dark, a demigod but in constant agony by his contradictory existance. His Moment of Darkness could be having his cults commit group suicide to fuel his ascension.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Dunno if this is quite what you were looking for, but I wrote up Saarkaath--a domain of orcs and half-orcs--for the Book of Sacrifices.

https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/wik ... h_(Domain)