We need a books & stories list

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Vecna Reborn
- Book of Inverted Darkness - Arcane text, scroll-form, used in Vecna's rite of rebirth (p27, 50)

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Children of the Night: Werebeasts
- The Book of the Dead - Akiri text. Based on realworld Book of the Dead? (p64)

Children of the Night: The Created
- Arkwright, Creighton. Notes on Animations - Book on creations of automata (p26)
- Van Richten, Rudolph. Guide to the Created - Guide to hunting constructs (p55)
- Redemption through Retribution - On the virtue of vengeance (p74)
- Mordenheim, Victor. Enigma Vitae - On vital force, its loss, and reviving it (p84)

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Carnival
- Van Richten, Rudolph. Guide to Fiends - Guide to hunting personifications of evil (p47)

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Don't know if we're including novels as "canon", but here's one:

Dance of the Dead

The Pirate's Pleasure -- Capt. Raoul Dumont's (cheesy) showboat musical of the Lady of the Sea (heavily referenced throughout DotD; spoken dialogue cited, p. 56-57; significance of the music revealed, p. 184)

"Alas! My Love Is No More" -- ballad from The Pirate's Pleasure (p. 49, 90, 124, 129)

"So Floweth Love" -- instrumental dance-piece from The Pirate's Pleasure (p. 87-88)


Other (title unspecified) lyrics from the musical -- (p. 2, 32)

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Yes, I'm counting the canon novels as being "canon" in terms of this list. The non-canon novels, however, I'm going to leave out (I don't recall which ones were non-canon offhand, but I'll check the FoS FAQ when I get around to it).

Just as a request, though: in the future, could you also include page numbers for your references? This is so that, if someone is interested in finding out more about a particular book/song/etc on the list, the original source and page is listed so that it can be quickly referenced.

And sorry about being gone for so long... My girlfriend is starting a Werewolf: the Apocalypse game soon, which I know sweet FA about, so I've been spending most of my time reading up on the setting, learning the Storyteller system, etc...

But here's the last of the 2E books that I hadn't finished. Then I'm getting into the 2E boxed sets, and that covers all of the game books. Then, I need to find the novels that aren't in my collection, and perhaps add the Kargatane and FoS stuff... Still a lot to do.

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Van Richten's Guide to Witches
Note: Page numbers refer to "Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III",
as that's the only place this book appeared.

- Sedgwick, Arthur. The Casebook of Alanik Ray (p202)
- van Richten, Rudolf. Guide to Ghosts (p227)
- Tales of the Ages - Holy text and history of the Halan faith (p239, p257)
- van Richten, Rudolf. Guide to Vistani (p250)

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Okay, I added page numbers for the "Dance of the Dead" citations from The Pirate's Pleasure. Sorry I forgot to include them before.

That novel also reveals the existence of the 'Bouki and Longears' folk tale(s) -- presumably the RL equivalent of the B'rer Rabbit stories -- on p. 93, although it doesn't offer an actual title. Given how low the literacy-rates and interest in scholarship are in Souragne, I doubt if the story has ever been formally documented ... though I suppose one of the in-game FoS might do so, now that there's a Frat cell operating out of that domain!

I have copies of all the old Ravenloft novels, so if you let me know which ones you're missing, I can check those for references, Cyc.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Okay, I added page numbers for the "Dance of the Dead" citations from The Pirate's Pleasure. Sorry I forgot to include them before.

Nah, don't worry about it. You didn't know why I was putting them there, so there was no reason for you to have specifically put them there.

That novel also reveals the existence of the 'Bouki and Longears' folk tale(s) -- presumably the RL equivalent of the B'rer Rabbit stories -- on p. 93, although it doesn't offer an actual title. Given how low the literacy-rates and interest in scholarship are in Souragne, I doubt if the story has ever been formally documented ... though I suppose one of the in-game FoS might do so, now that there's a Frat cell operating out of that domain!

I've been skipping those ones as well. There are a number of great stories and folktales mentioned through the 3E Books that, unfortunately, I've had to ignore in terms of this project, simply because there's no name to attach to them. So I've been skipping those same things, simply because of the lack of a book title. I would have liked to include them, but I'm crap when it comes to creating titles, so have just let it slide (hell, there are enough things already on the list, it's not a huge deal anyway).

I have copies of all the old Ravenloft novels, so if you let me know which ones you're missing, I can check those for references, Cyc.

Thanks, I'd really be appreciative! I'll try to get you a list when I can; all I can say is that I personally own only four novels (Vampire of the Mists, Knight of the Black Rose, I Strahd, and Heart of Midnight) but will try to get you a list before too long.

Also, I'm thinking of changing my mind on the canon vs. non-canon novels discussion above, because 1) like Mangrum said, they referenced the non-canon books as well, and 2) exactly why should non-canonness affect this particular project? Just because a native Ravenloft book was referenced from a non-canon novel doesn't make that dangerous or anything, so my above idea was kinda silly, really.

But yeah, take your time on it, and thank you for what help you can give!

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Sounds good. FWIW, I was re-reading Heart of Midnight anyway, so I've started bookmarking the songs in that novel and might as well post them when I finish. Guess that means you get to do the Strahd novels and KotBR, okay Cyc?

Certainly, if we're seriously considering doing this for the fan-made netbooks too (eek!), then we shouldn't close out the "non-canon" novels. It wouldn't hurt to designate them as such in the finished list, though, so DMs can make up their own minds on the issue.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Sounds good. FWIW, I was re-reading Heart of Midnight anyway, so I've started bookmarking the songs in that novel and might as well post them when I finish. Guess that means you get to do the Strahd novels and KotBR, okay Cyc?

Sounds cool. And I just picked up I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin off of eBay today, so I can do that as well. If I win Scholar of Decay (unlikely), then I'll also add that to my list.

Certainly, if we're seriously considering doing this for the fan-made netbooks too (eek!), then we shouldn't close out the "non-canon" novels. It wouldn't hurt to designate them as such in the finished list, though, so DMs can make up their own minds on the issue.

That's probably a good idea. Right now, though, I'm just focused on getting all of the references; I'll figure out how to organize it into a useable document later. (Read: I'm putting it off like it was my job)

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Realm of Terror Boxed Set (aka Black Box)
- von Zarovich, Strahd. Tome of Strahd - p8

Forbidden Lore Boxed Set
- von Zarovich, Strahd. Tome of Strahd - p6 of "Dark Recesses", offhand reference.
- von Zarovich, Strahd. Nova Arcanum - Strahd's book of new spells (p20 of Nova Arcanum)

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Castles Forlorn Boxed Set
- "Lament of the Dead" - Tragic song about Rivalin and Flora, Tristen ApBlanc's parents (p27 of The Weeping Land,
full text on p7 of Melancholy Meetings)
- Dawn of the Undead - (p15 of Eve Of Sorrows)
- The Purification of Corrupt Flesh - Textbook on curing/preventing undeath (p27 of Eve Of Sorrows)
- The Clan ApBlanc - Listing of notable members of clan ApBlanc as of 1920 FC, 533 BC (p27 of Eve Of Sorrows)

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Ravenloft 2nd Ed Boxed Set (aka Red Box)
- von Zarovich, Strahd. Tome of Strahd - p12RoT, p107RoT, p97DoD
- van Richten, Rudolph. Guide to Vampires - p147RoT

[cure]

From the library of Nightblood, The Book of Crypts, p. 79-80

Corpus Libram: thick volume on animal dissection and proposing theories on human dissestion
Gainful Decay: thin book on rotting substances, their study and arcane use
History of Death in Thay: a history of the disasters and wars of Thay
Machination of Mortality: illustrated work on torture machines
The NecroCompanion: wide-ranging Thavian almanac, from divination of future events via moon and star charting to grave humour
Catalogue of the Undead: detailed, volumous illustrated work ranging from the lowly to liches and dracoliches

[Lord Cyclohexane]

Thanks, cure! I already had those, but your descriptions of the books are much better than mine, so that'll work quite well. Thanks again!

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Shadowborn (novel)
- Book of Radiance - Holy scriptures of Belenus (p11)
- Librum of Belenus - Holy scriptures of Belenus (p26, 72)

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Sorry I got distracted from this stuff, Lord C: the semester got busy, and some other business arose that kept my Ravenloft brain-space otherwise occupied for a while.

Not all of these songs have titles, but I thought I'd list them all anyway and let you choose which to keep.

Heart of Midnight (novel)

Kartakan funeral dirge -- lyrics, p. 5-6

Dark Midwife, Kartakan Mora about death -- lyrics, p. 14; title, p. 48

Sundered Heart, tragic Kartakan love song -- lyrics, p. 52-53

The Ballad of Nunieve, tragic Kartakan folk song* -- lyrics, p. 76-80

[* - Lyrics are strongly suggestive of an encounter with the shadow fey ... even though this novel pre-dates their appearance in Ravenloft products! Go figure.]

Harkon Lukas's wolf-summoning song** -- lyrics, p. 144-145

[** - It's unclear if this is the Wolfsong spell Lukas teaches human bards as a joke, or merely the audible expression of his animal-control powers as a darklord.]

Hymns to Milil*** -- lyrics, p. 167 & 257 (untitled, used in exorcism); 170-171 (Song of Milil, possible holy omen overheard by priests); 189-190 (untitled, used in routine church services)

[*** - Gaz I replaced Milil, an FR deity, with the "Ancestral Choir". These hymns are therefore inconsistent with the 3E description of Kartakass.]

Harkon Lukas's self-composed song for/about Casimir -- lyrics, p. 237

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Thought I'd play catch-up with the novels, so here's three more I skimmed for references:

Tapestry of Dark Souls (novel)

Scroll, account of the Gathering Cloth's origin; oldest known document kept by the Order of the Guardians -- p. 1-6

Leith's account, autobiographical record -- original text, p. 8-86 (first third of the novel); altered by Brother Leo, p. 93

Untitled lament about golem-crafter & golem -- p. 154

Scroll, account of Morgoth's attack on the Guardians; penned by unnamed Brother -- p. 181-184


Carnival of Fear (novel)

Untitled book of morality-tales and children's rhymes; used to indoctrinate children in l'Morai's unforgiving laws -- p. 184

The Horse and the Spear, morality-tale from Marie's storybook -- title, p. 22; verse of a song based on this story, p. 293

The Ear-Tied Hare, morality-tale from Marie's storybook -- title, p. 22; full account, p. 182-184

Laughter and Blood, grim nursery rhyme from Marie's storybook -- p. 13

Grand Carnival l'Morai logbook, record of sentences and executions; last of multiple volumes documenting the "Puppet Show" that preceded Isolde's Carnival -- p. 175-176

Statutes of l'Morai, book of law-codes for city of l'Morai -- p. 179

Bawdy tavern song about a blind woman, lyrics -- p. 179


The Enemy Within (novel, non-canon; many elements incorporated in Gaz V)

Tristan Hiregaard's journal, BC 717* -- Tristan's entries, p. 12, 19, 62, 96, 107-108, 114, 155-156, 187, 231, 241, 284-286, 310-311; Malken's entries, p. 187, 267, 284, 311

[* - Due to timeline irregularities, this volume's date is debatable: events involving the Claws of Sehkmaa place it in 717, but Rozalia's curse seems to place it in 682, when Nova Vaasa joined the Core. Arthaus seems to have resolved this quandry by assuming Malken's darklordship predated the novel's events. IMO, Rozalia's vengeful curse merely made Tristan aware of his alter-ego's existence, as her specific intent was to make him suffer, not turn him into a darklord (which even a ticked-off Vistana's curse shouldn't have the power to do).]