Café de Nuit

Three questions:

1: Any mention of Soth/Sithicus/Azrael/Inza in any shape or form?
2: Is Godefroy still similar in terms of his curse & background?
3: Any mention of Hala/Lawgiver? (saw Ezra was included, but was wondering about the other faiths)

Any mention of Soth/Sithicus/Azrael/Inza in any shape or form?

There's a passing mention of a "tower like a blackened rose" within the domain of Klorr, which is an apocalyptic realm where darklord-less domains go to die.

FiranDarcalus wrote:Three questions:
2: Is Godefroy still similar in terms of his curse & background?
3: Any mention of Hala/Lawgiver? (saw Ezra was included, but was wondering about the other faiths)

Largely similar, except now Godefroy is being tormented by myriad ghosts, wants to end his afterlife, and the Alchemist's Apparatus has been integrated into his backstory.

No, there is no mention of any of Ravenloft's native faiths, outside of the new fictious pantheon invented by Ankhtepot in order to spit in the eye of the gods who damned him.

Does the theme of Soulless populations, who are created by the Dark Powers, continue through all the Domains of Dread, or is that specific to Barovia?

^yes and no. I believe somewhere in the book it is mentioned at least some of the people in the Domains of Dread are made up of shadowstuff, but are indistinguishable from anyone else. I'll see if I can't find the reference, but seems to also imply the PC's are 'bright souls' among the domains.

What about fear/horror/madness? I know it's now changed to fear & stress I believe? What were any of your impressions of how they are handling that now?

No, there is no mention of any of Ravenloft's native faiths, outside of the new fictious pantheon invented by Ankhtepot in order to spit in the eye of the gods who damned him.

I thought I heard that Ezra was mentioned. Was that a misunderstanding?

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:

No, there is no mention of any of Ravenloft's native faiths, outside of the new fictious pantheon invented by Ankhtepot in order to spit in the eye of the gods who damned him.

I thought I heard that Ezra was mentioned. Was that a misunderstanding?

Ezra is mentioned. I was asking if any of the other native deities aside from Ezra are mentioned. Apparently it's just the Lady of the Mists!

FiranDarcalus wrote:What about fear/horror/madness? I know it's now changed to fear & stress I believe? What were any of your impressions of how they are handling that now?

To be frank, I've never been the biggest fan of Fear/Horror/Madness. The new Fear & Stress mechanics are... well, they're serviceable, and they fit 5e's ideology of keeping mechanics as simple and uncomplicated as possible. The new "Fear Rules" are basically a list of suggested phobias and triggers that could cause a character to need to make a DC 15 Wisdom save or be Frightened for 1 round. Stress is a cumulative penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks.

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:I thought I heard that Ezra was mentioned. Was that a misunderstanding?

I was saying that only Ezra is mentioned of the original Ravenloft-unique faiths. And even Ezra is more "In Name Only" than anything. Our first introduction to her is in the Borca writeup, where it's mentioned that there's a temple to Ezra in the capital city. The paragraph-long writeup of the Church of Ezra in the "Other Groups" portion of the third chapter describes Ezra as "an aloof god who embodies the mists" and "largely serves as a formalization of local superstitions" - she's become the closest thing there is to a "default god" in the Domains of Dread. If desired, I can quote the entire entry from page 178. In the Dementlieu writeup, it's mentioned that Ezra's worship here centers around the "Mother of Tears Cathedral", whose teachings "put more emphasis on weeping for the horrors of the world than on taking any action to cure or combat them". It's literally not mentioned in relation to any domain other than Borca or Dementlieu.

While I have a nostalgia for Fear/Horror/Madness of old, I can say over time I've grown out of using the system and relied more on the players to play their characters in a way. It was a nice back up system to originally train my players per say but I hardly ever use it. Dark Powers checks I also miss but Dark Gift's are also fun and add a good amount of weird customization. If i'm honest most players don't get past stage 1 or 2 anyways, so it's about the same level for me.

EDIT: Got the book in D&D Beyond

Igor the Henchman wrote: There's a passing mention of a "tower like a blackened rose" within the domain of Klorr, which is an apocalyptic realm where darklord-less domains go to die.

Wait, Klorr as in Timepiece of Klorr? Cause if so, bout time he moved up in the world

KingCorn wrote: bout time

I see what you did there

KingCorn wrote:

Igor the Henchman wrote: There's a passing mention of a "tower like a blackened rose" within the domain of Klorr, which is an apocalyptic realm where darklord-less domains go to die.

Wait, Klorr as in Timepiece of Klorr? Cause if so, bout time he moved up in the world

What's the Timepiece of Klorr?

Hell_Born wrote:What's the Timepiece of Klorr?

A cursed pocket watch from Forbidden Lore 2e boxed set.
https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/wik ... e_of_Klorr

Other time devices created by Klorr appeared in 2e accessory book Forged of Darkness
https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/wiki/Klorr