Café de Nuit

We've voted, we've chosen, and the list of domains is already expanding. But there are still some domains that are struggling for your acceptance.

This holidays, as some of you go to the islands and to the beaches, there'll be a naval battle between island domains. As last week, we'll start with 4 domains, and this time in the end 2 of them will sink under the Sea of Sorrows! (Or perhaps the Nocturnal Sea?)

So, without further ado, here are your candidates:

Blaustein: A pirate haven dominated by the capricious whim of Bluebeard, a man whose given her heart to many a woman, but has kept none.
Dominia: A paradisical island which offers you a peace of mind unlike any other domain in the Core!
Ghastria: A big island where nothing tastes good, with a lord that will never grow old.
L'Ille de la Tempete: A small and perilous island with a lord that will quite literally fly to greet you.

Please, take the time to vote for one of them and, if possible, to explain your decision. Why you vote for that domain and not for the others? Which makes this domain special? What would you change in the others to make them worthy of inclusion?

The key feature of any domain, I belive, is can you have adventures there not pertaining to that dreadlord... a domain, unless it is a pocket one, should not be a one-trick pony. Blaustein and L'Ille de la Tempete, though they seem interesting enough, are not like that. Dominia is my second choice, as a sanatorium offers so many opportunities, if not for adventures, then at least repeat visits before one uncovers the Good Doctor's schtick. However, my first choice would have to be Ghastria... it's large, it's a renaissance domain (those are always fun), Marquis Stezen D'Polarn makes a decent villain but is not all-powerful, and as such there are always options for more adventures therein. So Ghastria it is then!

I'm voting for Blaustien. We've had some great conversations about Bluebeard on these boards, and I'm really interested in him as a Darklord right now. The idea of using Blaustein as a pirate haven also works wonders; I think the realm has la lot of potential as a place for lost treasures to be found as a a generic "wretched hive of scum and villany".

I think Dominia makes a better mini-domain in the Core proper near Lamordia - it's functional enough to deserve ready access. Ghastria doesn't excite my imagination, and L'isle de a Tempete is literally nothing but its Darklord.

I have to say that I was torn between Blaustein and Ghastria, but eventually Bluebeard's domain got my vote, mainly because of the ideas being discussed in this thread.

I have never liked Dominia (Or Dr. Dominiani, for that matter) very much, and the fact that the domain is an island disconnected from the Core does little to increase its appeal (It would have to be a more approachable place, as someone has already said).

The island of storms is more interesting now than it was before, and I know the FoS did a hard work to accomplish that, but it still lacks long-term interest.

I've been looking at this and have to honestly say that I can't choose.

All have there atmosphere and I feel the seas would be a bit empty without these domains.
And all these domains have, I feel, less writing then the Core domains.

So, My vote is no vote, since I can't make a choice and feel all of them should stay

Right now, only Blaustein and Ghastria are to be included in the project, with Dominia and L'ile probably disappearing or being absorved by other domains.

The voting isn't over, though. If anyone wants these domains to be included, vote now!

FWIW, I think it's a mistake to pit the solitary-confinement-domains, like Ile de la Tempete or Shadowborn Manor, against domains with an established native population. One-note domains are an important flavor-element in the setting from the metagame POV, IMO -- simplistic though they are, they're the ideal option for a pick-up game -- but they just can't compete with domains that have a whole bunch of stories to tell. Really, is it any surprise that Tempete or Keening lost out?

So I, for one, think that Ile de la Tempete and domains like it should be withdrawn from consideration, with the understanding that they can easily be re-inserted at a later time. (No offense, Joel!) Heck, many of the one-note domains could be better "Reanimated" as adventures than as atlas-entries.

I agree with Roti, in a way.

As it goes, RLR would probably be bigger than canon RL, and small island domains would probably not be seen on the map as canon RL's were, and -as Roti says -won't need entire atlas entries. Those domains would probably exist, but they would probably not be listed along other big domains, but perhaps along pocket domains and such.

...Unless L'Ile de la Tempete is selected, in which case it would have to be somehow retconned into being a more extensive and flavorful domain...

I think that they all, have some potential-and that Blaustein is the most open-ended and amenable to adventure.

Having said that, I vote for Dominia.

Why? Nothing to do with canon, I assure you. It's just that, well-has anybody here seen the movie Kafka? The one with Jeremy Irons in the lead? If not, rent it...i'll wait.

Okay. That's MY Dominia. I placed it in my Masque campaign instead of Ravenloft(that's just how we roll at my table, Masque all the way!)but it's still recognizeably Dominia. Only filtered through THAT FILM.

Heh heh heh.

Having said that, carry on. I'm still using AD&D 2nd anyway-but good luck.

It would seem that Blaustein and Ghastria would be the domains included, but Dominia's got enough votes not to be excluded right away.

So, I guess we may continue the poll for a while. Perhaps we may end up including the three domains.