Incorporation

[Hell_Born]

Hey there. I was just flicking through my copies of the Book of Vile Darkness, the Libris Mortis, the Lords of Madness and the Complete Arcane. I was just wondering if any of the following could be incorporated into Ravenloft:
Prestige Classes from BoVD
The Fleshwarper Prestige Class from LoM
The Warlock Class for CA
The Blood Magus and Acolyte of the Skin Prestige Classes from CA
Spells and Monsters from Libris Mortis and BoVD

[Brandi]

Prestige Classes from BoVD

The Disciple of [archdevil]/Thrall of [archdemon] classes will probably not work very well in Ravenloft. Summoning lesser devils/demons is a major perk of those prestige classes, and given the demiplane's Roach-Motel-like feel as far as summoned creatures are concerned, said disciples and thralls will probably find themselves messily killed once the beings they summoned realize they can't leave... Or, if you prefer, they tend to be candidates for transpositions and therefore cease being after a fairly short time.

Cancer mages and vermin lords seem to make a nice fit in Nosos, though.

[Faust]

I had done a nice adventure in rl featuring an alienist that was gone missing and some pseudonatural gremishka...

[Hell_Born]

On a completely unrelated topic; does anyone have even the faintest clue what that she-beast preparing to sacrifice the elf at the start of chapter two of the BoVD is?

[Joël of the FoS]

Lolth! The demon spider queen of drow elves.

Joël

[Hell_Born]

Uh... doesn't Lloth look more like a female drider? you know, drow woman from the waist up, giant spider from the waist down? Whilst definately verminoid from the waist down, it's too squat and short to resemble a spider. Plus there's the fact it's main arms split into two forearms, and the extra pair of normal(ish) arms growing out of its belly. Lloth has two drow arms and eight spider legs. That creature only has four legs and it has 10 limbs in all.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

From what I hear, Lloth looks like a spider with an elf head.

[Hell_Born]

I might just be out of date, but as far as I recall she has four forms: giant spider, giant spider with a (fanged?) drow woman's head instead of a spider's, drow woman and female drider.

[Hrtofdrkns]

Uh... doesn't Lloth look more like a female drider?

Well, she can look like anything, being a goddess and all.

I think the Warlock class is almost tailor-made for ravenloft. From the background about trading portions of your soul for power to the dark reputation, it's pure ravenloft.

Some of the invocations would requier powers checks (the dead walk...) but I really like the idea of the good warlock being the tormented soul out for redemption, using his power to fight the darkness.

The blood magus could be used with only slight modifications. Like the death knell spell-like ability requiring a powers check and the blood walk ability not allowing you to cross closed domain borders.

The acolyte of the skin might pose some problems. Binding a fiend to yourself has got to be worthy of a powers check, if not an act of ultimate darkness. Plus the rules about mental contact with a fiend causing madness saves is tough to work around. I would assume that at level 10 in the prestige class, as an outsider, you would get a reality wrinkle like a 20th level monk and possibly a phlyctery(sp?).

I'll try to look through my copy of libris mortis and think of ways to use it and get back to you.

[Ultramyth]

I think in a campaign where a lowly incubus (GC) is incredibly powerful and influential, much of the stuff in the book of vile darkness is inapropriate.

The presence of the book itself could be interesting. Perhaps a story could indeed be based around a wizard finding or obtaining a copy of the book, and undertaking to learn a new prestige class from the book. As was mentioned, then he could summon a demon or devil, being unaware of the implications of the Land of Mist and summoning, and the demon would become stuck. If the wizard was not killed outright, he would have to work to get rid of the evil he has unleashed.

It's the sort of thing that a campaign should be entirely focused around.

As far as I know, the most powerful fiend in Ravenloft would be Baltoi, the 'beast' of the Sleeping Beast mountains (she's a 17 HD Marileth Demon). However, Baltoi has been stripped of some of her powers and can't summon other demons, so she's no where near as powerful as a real Marileth (maybe CR16 instead of CR18?).

[Hell_Born]

I think that a 10th level Acolyte of the Skin wouldn't be an actual Outsider like a level 20 Monk but a Native Outsider like a Dread Genasi (it's rules state that it can still be brought back from the dead by Raise Dead or Resurrection, which normal Outsiders can't be), which means no reality wrinkle.

Anyway, if the monsters/prestige classes don't fit, how about the spells? Though pretty much every spell in the BoVD is ether a Powers Check of an Act of Ultimate Darkness IMO.

I know that Quoth the Raven #7 has rules for fiendish deals and Faustian bargains, but does anyone thinking that a Faustian bargain for magical power might allow the character to start taking levels in the Warlock class? Cause I'm having a little difficulty thinking up reasons for allowing Warlocks in my campaign, though they do fit the setting (there's aren't many fiends in Ravenloft afterall).

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

My tuppence worth:

BoVD PrCs that could be used:

Cancer Mage, Diabolist, Lifedrinker, Ur-Priest, Vermin Lord,
Warrior of Darkness

Libris Mortis:

Death's Chosen, Dirgesinger, Master of Shrouds, Sacred Purifier

Lords of Madness:

Fleshwarper

[Hrtofdrkns]

Warlocks are like sorcerers in that sometimes they just happen, no magical bloodline or anything.

Also, surely some carriers of warlock bloodlines were drawn into ravenloft along with domains, not as darklords, but as innocent bystanders. Just say that warlocks have always been around, but they are rarer then sorcerers so the players haven't met one till now.

I see no reason why a faustian pact couldn't give you the powers of a warlock. By all means, if that's the way you want it in your campaign, go for it.

[Hrtofdrkns]

Actually, you can have any prestige class you want in your campaign, and it's easy to explain how they got there. Just say they either wondered into or were taken by the mists.

IMHO, the dark powers seem to take those with either potetial for darklordship or anyone who just seems interesting. Many prestige classes fit one or both of these prerequisits.

[Hrtofdrkns]

Now for Libris Mortis;

I agree with Drinnik Shoehorn about the prestige classes. Death's Chosen could serve undead darklords as lutenints (sp). Dirgesingers could be a favored prestige class of Sithican elf bards, Masters of Shrouds are perfect for the Eternal Order, and Sacred Purifiers would belong to the church of the Morninglord or Ezra.

But I think that the other prestige classes have their place in ravenloft.
Masters of Radiance would belong to the Morninglord, Pale Masters could be made from any necromancer who becomes obsessed with death even more than the typical necromancer, True Necromancers could be found wherever arcane magic and clerics with the death domain are found.

Ephemeral Exemplars , Lurking Terrors, Master Vampires, and Tomb wardens could lurk all over the demiplane.

As for the spells, most would obviously requier powers checks. But you could use an awakened skeleton or zombie with class levels as a nasty suprise for players who consider the obedient dead to be nothing more than speed bumps.