I agree that Ravenloft works overall with many types of horror but it the predominant type is Gothic. I think the reason for this is that this type is often the most disturbing and hits the closest to home.
It is universal in its relatability. We can all imagine what it might be like to be the unfortunate noble reveler bricked into the niche in the catacomb in Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado'. Other types most certainly have thier place- Gothicism dominates for a reason however.
My reasoning for not allowing any races other than the core RL races is that the further you get from the human condition, the harder it is for players to identify with their characters. When you have the characters and players as one in the same- you can scare them. That's what has worked for me.
I must admit that I've had very good roleplayers use kobold, goblinoid and gnoll races for their chars. It can be done but again- these races aren't flashy in the least, which is essential.
Okay, according to the latest D&DI news, September is the last free "preview" month and payment will kick-in sometime in October.
So there is a very, very good chance you will need to pay to see the Ravenloft article.
While I'm personally curious, the content of the magazine is not so fabulous that I want to plop down $8 bucks for it.
Although, I might wait until mid-November and pay for a single month and thus be able to download both month's articles.
If they continue to put up Demonomicon articles as well as those of the Codex of Betrayal series, I may be tempted to put down $8 a month for them. But I'm also taking a wait and see approach. Updates have better be regular and good for me to pay for DDI. Their "regular" sourcebooks are expensive enough!
Initial notes from the new podcast: Domains of Dread are a concept mentioned in brief in the Manual of the Planes, and are part of the Shadowfell. They are 'twisted reflections of parts of the mortal world' ruled by a darklord. They are terrifying, scary, alien places where the PCs want to get home, not 'go through the Domains of Dread like a dungeon and kill the darklord. This will be a recurring feature.
Well, that pretty much drops the lid on it. Keywords are "twisted", "terrifying", "scary" and "utterly alien". I kinda preferred "breathtakingly beautiful by day, terrifying at night". Pity.
Oh, well. If that is how they choose to play it. I might even borrow a piece or two from their stuff, if its good - that's some consolation.
Talk about disappointing. Scratch that. Sounds like a festering ball of crap to me. Yep, I'll be using my own version. I'm certainly not going to use this Shadowfell garbage.
Man lives in the sunlit world
Of what he believes to be reality.
But, there is, unseen by most, an underworld,
A place that is just as real,
But not as brightly lit.....
A DARKSIDE.
Apparently these "Domains of Dread" will be a main feature, if not the main feature, of the Shadowfell. From the (very little) information given it sounds like the domains will be individual, rather than coherent (Islands of Terror rather than Clusters or Cores). I rather expect we'll find Strahd hangin' out in Castle Ravenloft somewhere in the Shadowfell next month; he's already been name-checked as a villain in the DMG, and it's the natural place to start.
So...the Shadowfell is the new Ravenloft? *scratches head* Well, I'll be curious to see what they do with it, anyway. It would be interesting if they organized it something like the Nightside of the Earth in Roger Zelazny's "Jack of Shadows".
I'm a bit confused, though. In the talk about the new Ravenloft novel, the character went from this new domain of Riverbend to Kartakass. How did that happen? Did the novel give the impression that Riverbend was just the Shadowfell reflection of Earth? If the "Domains of Dread" exist in the Shadowfell reflections of the world, then how would you have a character go from Riverbend (possibly a Shadowfell reflection of Earth) to Kartakass (which is most definitely not a Shadowfell reflection of Earth)? Who knows. Guess we'll have to wait to see what the specifics are in next months article.
Let me clarify the point above: From what I understand of the new cosmology, it seems as if there isn't one all-encompassing "Shadowfell" plane. The Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos are all-encompassing for every world. Whether you're in Faerun, Oerth, or Krynn, if you go to the Astral Sea, then you go to the same Astral Sea. It may be immensely huge, and you'll probably end up in different parts, but you'll still end up in the same Astral Sea. You can travel from the dominions controlled by the Faerunian gods to the dominions controlled by the Oerthian gods, and travellers from both Faerun and Oerth may eventually cross paths in the Astral Sea.
The Shadowfell and Feywild, however, are different. There aren't all-encompassing Feywild and Shadowfell planes. Instead, there's countless such planes, one for each world. Instead of there being "THE SHADOWFELL" there's the Faerun Shadowfell, the Oerth Shadowfell, the Krynn Shadowfell, etc. If you pop into the Krynn Shadowfell, then no matter how far you walk, you're never going to stumble into the Faerun Shadowfell, because they're not the same place. Travellers from Krynn who go into the Krynn Shadowfell will likely never encounter travellers from Oerth, as those travellers ended up in the Oerth Shadowfell, which is a completely separate plane.
So that's why I ask the question how the character was able to get from Riverbend to Kartakass. If my assumption is right, then Riverbend is in the Earth Shadowfell, while Kartakass is who-knows-where (Maybe the Faerun Shadowfell?). So was any special mention made as to how the character got there, or did they get there as easily as one gets to Waterdeep from Suzail?
In addition, why is escape from those domains so hard? Planar travel is supposed to be fairly easy, with travel to the Shadowfell and Feywild being relatively simple. So why is it that certain parts of the Shadowfell are "stickier" than the rest?
Man lives in the sunlit world
Of what he believes to be reality.
But, there is, unseen by most, an underworld,
A place that is just as real,
But not as brightly lit.....
A DARKSIDE.
Matthew L. Martin wrote:Initial notes from the new podcast: Domains of Dread are a concept mentioned in brief in the Manual of the Planes, and are part of the Shadowfell.
Hah, I knew it! I mentioned some time ago that the most logical starting point for 4e Domains of Dread would be the Shadowfell.
Lord Soth wrote:So that's why I ask the question how the character was able to get from Riverbend to Kartakass. If my assumption is right, then Riverbend is in the Earth Shadowfell, while Kartakass is who-knows-where (Maybe the Faerun Shadowfell?). So was any special mention made as to how the character got there, or did they get there as easily as one gets to Waterdeep from Suzail?
In addition, why is escape from those domains so hard? Planar travel is supposed to be fairly easy, with travel to the Shadowfell and Feywild being relatively simple. So why is it that certain parts of the Shadowfell are "stickier" than the rest?
Without any more information that you have, Lord Soth... I'd say it's a variation on Deep Ethereal vs. Boarder Ethereal... The Domains of Dread are all located within the Mists of Shadowfell, or whatever, which connect one to another, and makes them harder to escape. Just an idea...
Still, I don't see how they're gonna make an entire campaign setting out of this... it looks like they're doing to Ravenloft what they already did to Planescape... using some of the core concepts and making it part of the Core Setting, and disregarding the more distinctive elements that made that setting the setting it was. I'm guessing Spelljammer's next to get raided then? *sighs*
Greetings, Citizens! A reminder: Happiness is mandatory. Those not enjoying themselves shall find themselves terminated.
For the first time since maybe 1e, the geography of the Core (with the big C), if it even still exists, is relative.
Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course. Since the Domains of Dread are now part of the mutable Shadowfell, the world as we know it in 3e will very likely cease to exist as a semi-fixed geographical "place," which will instead be replaced by "dimensions." Interesting and intriguing, if you ask me.
And keeping in line with WoTC's "redesigning" of the other campaign settings (core D&D, Forgotten Realms), this is 90% retcon and 10% "let's keep things simple for the newbies".
I'm really going to be following the developments with interest and, hopefully, open mind.
DasSoviet wrote:Without any more information that you have, Lord Soth... I'd say it's a variation on Deep Ethereal vs. Boarder Ethereal... The Domains of Dread are all located within the Mists of Shadowfell, or whatever, which connect one to another, and makes them harder to escape. Just an idea...
Hmm. Let's say there's a Shadowfell mirror of our Earth. Step through a portal or cast a spell in New York, and you end up in Shadowfell New York, and so on. So would Shadowfell New Jersey be a Domain of Dread? New Jersey's already hard enough to get out of. Can't imagine it'd be any easier escaping the Dark Lord of Shadowfell New Jersey.
Man lives in the sunlit world
Of what he believes to be reality.
But, there is, unseen by most, an underworld,
A place that is just as real,
But not as brightly lit.....
A DARKSIDE.
Other types most certainly have thier place- Gothicism dominates for a reason however.
