MotRD system used in Ravenloft

[Undead Cabbage]

Hi everybody,

I’ve been toying with this idea while my D&D campaigning is on hiatus for the school year. What of the use of The Masque of the Red Death system in the Ravenloft world?

For example, in Ravenloft as opposed to having Wizards, fighters and such, characters would use the MotRD classes (e.g. some wizards would become occultists, other adepts, etc.). Magic would be much less casual, since casting it would require a longer time, a skill check, and (possibly) a powers check. Fire arms (and technology in general) would be much more advanced.

So some questions I’ve been wondering about are: What could be some advantages of doing it this way? Who would be converted to what for what reasons? Which parts (if any) of the MotRD system do you think might work in Ravenloft (i.e. all, some, none, etc.)? And most importantly, what do you think might be some disadvantages or challenges in borrowing the MotRD system into Ravenloft?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts

Sincerely
-The Undead Cabbage

[NeoTiamat]

Well........the advantages is that you get a setting more in tune with the source material, in terms of culture and technology. Dracula, Frankenstein, and the most Gothic literature was set in the Victorian Era, about two or three hundred years later in the timescale then Ravenloft is. This is the good part.

The bad part? Moving away from the general system, and a severe complication of all character classes and the like. As is Ravenloft uses the basic SRD, Fighters, Wizards, Rogues, etc. This is familiar to everyone who has ever played D&D. Thus, Ravenloft is still fairly similar mechanically to standard D&D. Sure you get Fear, Horror and Madness Checks, Power Checks, and a few alterations to magic and whatnot, but in general it is very similar.

If you use MotRD, suddenly you have entirely new character classes all around. Could be challenging in the extreme.

My verdict? For advanced players who know Ravenloft well, yes, but for newcomers to the setting or those not confident in themselves, no. Nice idea, but I think that the technical aspects would be too demanding to work well.

[alhoon]

I gave you the last option. Sorry.

Main reason: Casting a spell in Ravenloft should not be out of the question in battles. Ravenloft is Guns/spells world, even if mages/clerics are few.

Also it doesn't grip to me well to have Tepest thrown in the Victorian age.

[tec-goblin]

Well. MotRD IMO has the worst d20 rules I've ever seen. Only 3 particular pages in Midnight Archipelago from AEG are worst. (At least AEG's rules have fun, they give you inspiration to do heroic stuff - they just explode in your face when you actually use them).
While I DO use d20 modern (d20 past) in Ravenloft and it fits nice. But I did it also because I had added 7thSea and pirates etc to the game, and the magic was even more downplayed. For more medieval regions (Barovia, Tepest) it's a bit of problem.