Café de Nuit

Hi Everyone,

As issue 9 closes in, we turn to the big one zero:

Quoth the Raven X

And with a number like X, you know its gotta be good!

So, lets open up the discussion for the themes of this issue.

If someone would like to include another option, please click on Other and then insert your theme in a message.

Bogeymen.

Pleeeease... You've put it off for two issues already... Pretty pleeeease...

Also had to vote for Bogeymen

However, the oriental and frozen themes were very tempting.

I've got to vote for the Frozen Reaches theme... mainly because I actually have an article I'd like to submit along these lines. Been kicking the idea around for awhile, wrote a rough draft, lost the rough draft to a hard drive crash, you know how it goes.

Of course, I might want to wait and see if my article for QtR#9 is accepted first.

Other than the Frozen theme, I'd have to go with Criminals/Madmen or the Orient theme.

A 'Raven' issue on the Oriental domains would be interesting.

I suppose it's to much to hope that something about I'Cath might be included as well if it wins? I know most folks don't see to care for it, but something about Tsien Chiang's domain strikes me...

why is sri raji lumped into orient? It seemed like India to me. i would think an Indian would be offended at that.

Just curious (this would be for whenever QtR does broach exotic domains or arctic ones) I'm assuming it will be QtR#11 or further with everyone voting on shadow fay and bogey men.

Is it possible you guys would consider weaving the fan-fic domains in with the canon? or contacting those authors to see if they would work on such an approach?
It could be interesting to weave in the Empire's tropics close to The Verdurous Lands

or I'cath, Rokushima Taiyoo, and fan created oriential domains.

I've been attempting something along these lines working many of the fan created Sea domains, along with the canon, and magazine articles all into one work. The final step will be to add in the pirates and such of qtr#9 when it comes out next week.

What does the community thinks of this 'definitive ravenloft' idea?

My vote for Bogey men is adapting the city on the edge of midnight from the old d&d cartoon.
Its possible the kids actually stumbled into the Nightmare Lands in that one. I could see the Nightwalker and that place in one of those dream spheres.

daffy72 wrote:why is sri raji lumped into orient? It seemed like India to me. i would think an Indian would be offended at that.

I htink it is due to that it has a common asian theme with the rest, even if it isn't strictly oriental

Desmond, I'Cath is a great domain to run if you have access to A Chinese Ghost Story, but use the live action for a basis than the anime remake

I voted for The Evil that Men Do, after all men are the worse kind of monsters.....

daffy72 wrote:why is sri raji lumped into orient? It seemed like India to me. i would think an Indian would be offended at that.

Why?
What's there to be offended by?
The "Orient" refers to Asian cultures in general, if by a European point of view.
And last I checked, the Indian subcontinent is still firmly attached to Asia-proper.

although India is part of the asian continent (actually its a country that covers most of the India subcontinent along with Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, if you want to get technical) since it plowed into Asia, however as it is described in the ravenloft materials i would classify Sri Raji and the wildlands as 'tropics'

And the other as 'orient' as applied to ravenloft

since both of these places are steeped in such diverse cultures and completely different environments there is more then enough content to generate 2 quoth the ravens if you ask me, especially when you consider all the tropical and oriential domains already created by fans, hense my second post about a 'definitive ravenloft'

I don't see why we would need two Quoths to cover both. Yes, granted, both ends of Asia hold radically different and diverse cultures, but, they have all had influences on each other.
After all, Buddhism started in India, but has flourished throughout Asia, including China, and Japan. And one can even think of Tibet as being in the middle of a spectrum between Indian and Chinese cultures.
There are lots of common themes running throughout Asia: everyone loves lotuses, in India, they love lotuses, especially in metaphor, and in China, too, they love lotuses, especially in soups and dumplings.

The Orient generally refers to countries of Asia or the East. India technically qualifies. Although it really is a broad term that alot of people dislike being called. It conjurs up images and perceptions this 'mystical mysterious orient' of old, stereotypes that were big in the 19th century.

I'm going for boogey men cause it sounds like an interesting theme and I have some ideas cooking for feyers. Calling dibs now.

Though I dearly love Bogey Men, I had to vote for the evil that men do. Some of the most disturbing stuff could be brought into this section, and human evils can be inserted into pretty much any campaign--high magic or low, CL 2 or CL 9, any campaign can use a chilling madman. Bogey men are more for higher magic campaigns, things from the Orient wouldn't fit too well in Falkovnia . . . you get the picture. And in addition to that versatility, the variety would be huge!

I'm gonna let you guys decide this one. See, I'd love to do 'the Evil That Men Do' but most of my stuff would fall under the Masque of the Red Death setting, which is all well and good, but I couldn't do any RavenLoft Stuff and QtR seems to lean more in that direction. I'd also need someone to write up the ghosts and monster specifications for me. I have tons of research on historical crimes and criminals, but no access to the material to give them gaming statistics. I was able to write the article 'The Old Brewery' for the Karg's Book of Sacrifices but that had no stats. Anybody willing to team up?