Ethereal Resonance Question

[DeepShadow of FoS]

IMC the PC's have brought four ships into Ravenloft. These ships have been the residences of PC's and crew for a long time, and they hold memories good and bad. Would they gain ethereal resonance when they enter, or would the have to stay for a while?

[Darkknight]

JUst me... but I would gauge everything on the power of the expierences. Resonance is built from emotion and the levels vary. Everything has a resonance but the level is built on the power of the emotions at the place

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Yes, I plan to base what ethereal resonance I give them on the emotions of their experiences. The question was, do I count experiences prior to their arrival, or only the emotional situations that occur in Ravenloft.

[Ultramyth]

I think all situations. Ravenloft brings out the worst in everyone.

[Dion of the Fraternity]

Yes, I plan to base what ethereal resonance I give them on the emotions of their experiences. The question was, do I count experiences prior to their arrival, or only the emotional situations that occur in Ravenloft.

As a DM, maybe it would be best to stick to whatever strong emotions your PCs have. That way you could focuse less on outside influences and more on what the characters have brought to themselves.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Considering that a lot of Ravenloft's haunted locales display the ethereal imprints of events that happened generations *before* those places had become a part of the Land of Mists (e.g. Castle Tristenoira, Gryphon Manor), it's entirely plausible that the ships your PCs bring with them into the demiplane will also develop resonance appropriate to their histories. Note that this would be true of good emotions as well as traumatic ones, so a part of a ship where something wonderful happened in the past (like a beloved, slain party member being brought back to life) could provide a temporary refuge from the depressing grimness of Ravenloft, much like the chapel and Sergei's crypt do, in Strahd's castle.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

This is exactly what I was thinking. These ships are crewed in part or whole by redeemed pirates. Surely the mercy and redemption have left their mark on the ethereal resonance, as have any great acts of heroism or divine magic. The leader of the fleet is an epic-level paladin whose actions are truly legendary. Sounds like ethereal resonance potential for me.

Of course, it can't can't all be good, but I'd like to be fair.

[alhoon]

Yes, I plan to base what ethereal resonance I give them on the emotions of their experiences. The question was, do I count experiences prior to their arrival, or only the emotional situations that occur in Ravenloft.

Ah, that would be an easy question to answer IMC. Of course count the previous experiences. IMC I use ethereal resonance in all the worlds.
Since you seem to not follow that example, I would still say that previous emotions count. It would be very interesting IMO for the PCs to recognize that good&bad memorable moments "sleeping" in the ships memory somehow "awaken" in this strange land.
IMO it is the power of the memories that gives the place the EResonance.