Its been a long while since I came down these shadowed halls.
I have been looking at this myself, and one thing that has always stood out was how small the realms are. Everything was to close together, and fear does not seem to work when you bump into someone every five minutes.
As for whether it should become a world, or stay as the demiplanes. I personally think it should be a mixture of both.
With subtle hints at each argument suggested by NPC's, maybe a random guy who remembers being in a city of gold surrounded by angels and cherubs. But killed his bother in cold blood out of jealosy, since his creator loved his brother more. But many considure him mad and remember him being a lad who stole fruit from the local shop.
(maybe possibly hinting that no one ever really escapes, and when you die your soul becomes part of the mist (loved that from FF9) and then reborn and damned to live once more in this purgatory)
A friend of mine who was familiar with the setting and he gave me the best model of the Dread Powers. There aren't any. Not any more. There might have been at one point but there aren't any now. Ravenloft is like a rotting prison hulk adrift. No-one can get off it but it's shipping water and gradually decaying. Eventually, it might meet another Aship, and some souls might escape. After all, the gaolers have gone. all that's left is various groups of prisoners carving out their little domains amongst the locks and the bars are still there but the fabric of the world is slowly slipping away (into the Shadowfell?).
Also I love this idea, but maybe its more akin to a virus now. Growing and changing as it grabs more beings that pass its way. Its history adjusting as more lost souls are taken in.
Another thing I would like to redig up the stuff on dark lords of elemental dread, which a few of us did on the forums a long while back.
Another interesting item from dragon I also remember was the asylum that existed both in gothic earth and ravenloft (well actually it belonged where you wanted it, but to me an asylum where madness is so deep that even the building becomes confused where it is, interests me).
I am also considering rewritting the story about grand central and the sand oblivion that surrounds it, which is a domain of my own creation i did some time ago. Any decisions on guns yet? as I am toying with a very steampunk low magic realm.
The original idea was concerning a being known as the trainmaster who is only ever hinted at (he might be a darklord, he might be a darkpower, he might not even exist and be a tool to control the masses no one knows).
The idea is trains where used to pull people in from other worlds into the domains of dread. A one way trip from anywhere.
Not many people liked this at first, though with the idea suggested about the shadowfell pulling the dread domains in. This could make sense, if I enhance the mystery of what the trainmaster and its purpose is. It could be one of the reasons things are being pulled together "connected" through these parasitic railways that seem to grow in the gulf between worlds.
I am happy to expand on any of these ideas for you and your project if you desire them I need another way to get my mind going (writting block with my novel atm)
[quote="Kelliack"] It is the lost coin of the gods when they first flipped to see who would get which portfolio.[/quote]
as now that I reread it it does sound kinda pushy >_<...
You can always redeem yourself by evaluating those fan-made domains