An Illustrated History of the Core

[Ryan Naylor]

But there will always be a new King Crocodile.

[Bluebomber4evr]

But there will always be a new King Crocodile.

Ah yeah, I forgot about that.

[Jonathan Winters]

I'm not done reading all this, but will this ever be put into a Netbook?
Please?

Patrick

[Jimsolo]

A new animal could take over, I suppose. I think the major thematic feature of the Wildlands is it's hostility to humans, and the supremacy of nature. So long as that was preserved, I don't think I would cry too hard if the specific animal in charge was changed, or if the Wildlands expanded to include some other environments.

Saragoss isn't capable of much degeneration, since it's already pretty much at the level of post-Apocalyptic anarchy, but could it see some advancement? Maybe the rise of a group of pirates who survive on a floating raft of rigged-together wreckage. Like Deacon and the Smokers, they are always at the very edge of overconsumption, and must brutally seek out and pillage the ships and survivors of the Saragoss, not only to eat and drink, but to add to and repair their constantly-sinking home. Maybe some kind of aquatic elf or a water genasi leading them? Salt-Biter, of course, would be the principle enforcer for the gang. Only the leader would know about the were-shark, who lives with a burning desire to lead the gang. He would be much stronger than the leader he props up, but due to his inability to interact with the gang for any extended period of time, he can't take over.

Those are just my ideas, but leaving them alone works to, I suppose.

[Ryan Naylor]

I'm not done reading all this, but will this ever be put into a Netbook?
Please?

Patrick

I don't think I will, but I'm happy for the FoS people to collect it and host it.

[Jonathan Winters]

Thanks Ryan,

BTW, I don't have the skills for this but I was hoping to include the comments in there too. This is really interesting!

Patrick

[Ryan Naylor]

Could we see your thoughts on how the populations of the clusters would have reacted to finding new domains next to them.

Also would Al-Kathos not have been included in the Desert Gaz? as people have speculated in the past that it would have, possibly added to the cluster itself

Sorry; missed this one.

I don't really have anything to add to what is already written in RL3e about how the people of the Clusters react. To summarise:

Har'Akir and the Pharazian nomads have begun to trade (although that involves crossing Sebua, which is dangerous in itself). The followers of Diamabel are forbidden from leaving Phiraz, and the Akiri don't seem to want to leave Har'Akir, so the whole thing is dependent on the nomads. The Akiri like it, the nomads are getting richer and more powerful, and they're starting to pass things on to the Core via the Road of a Thousand Secrets.

In the Frozen Reaches, Sanguinia and Vorostokov had only just tentatively begun trade in 755 BC. Both are worried about the predators from the other domain: giant wolves and vrykolakas. However, Vorostokov is trapped in endless winter, whereas Sanguinia (presumably) has a brief summer. Sanguinia also has a much higher population, and its people are probably better adapted to their surrounds (since they've always been used to living on top of a mountain, whereas Vorostokov has only relatively recently becomes trapped in winter). On the other hand, Vorostokov has the only permanent link to the Core through the Bleak Road. I would imagine by the time of 775 BC, Vorostokov will have emptied of anyone who can get out (fleeing into Barovia or Sanguinia). The extra population could cause famine in Sanguinia (if it upsets whatever delicate equilibrium they've got). Zolnik will certainly do all he can to keep people there, because he doesn't want to rule an empty valley of endless winter. Mircea might be more welcoming to migrants.

Saragoss is essentially a hell of captive ships. Everpresent fog and chaotic currents prevents them from even noticing that Sri Raji is just over there; essentially, there're no bearings for anyone to find Sri Raji from. Also, ships can only escape via sea when a new ship enters. If they could escape to Sri Raji, they're facing an enormous climb up the back of Yahasha Mountain, right in Arijani's back pocket. And Arijani hates and fears outsiders, so I doubt they'd last long. The Sri Rajians go to that part of the domain as little as possible, so I'd be surprised if the average Rajian knew Saragoss was even there. They do, however, know that the Wildlands are there, and keep trying to exploit it's natural resources. For some reason though, the people that go there keep vanishing...

Paridon really becomes aware of Timor in 755 BC. A lot has been written on this, from Shadow of the Knife to the FoS gazetteer, so I'll leave that there.

And to answer your final question, we never planned to put Al Kathos into the Anmber Wastes. I think it might be too different in terms of flavour (Arabian nights fantasy vs crush the infidel realism) but too similar in style to Pharazia to fit there well, so I think it functions best as an Island.

[Ryan Naylor]

To round all this out, a history of the fiends of Ravenloft:

Inajira is the first to draw our attention, but one of the last to actually enter Ravenloft. He cuts a deal with Strahd in 347 BC to help him in battle in return for Strahd’s soul upon death. Strahd demands his Book of Keeping as collateral. Strahd then gets swept up by the Mists and turns into a vampire, so Inajira spends 400 years looking for his lost prize and his Book of Keeping. (Which implies that knowledge of Ravenloft isn’t – or wasn’t - widely distributed among the Planes). He finally catches the scent when Strahd returns to the Prime Material in the Grand Conjunction, and is caught when it collapses. So he enters Ravenloft in 740 BC. Since then, he’s lurked in Barovia (moving from town to town every few years), waiting for Strahd to blink and attacking him when he appears vulnerable. He spends his time trading for souls to keep his hand in, as it were.

Next in is Drigor. Mangrum’s timeline (arbitrarily) puts his date of arrival as 357 BC. I’m inclined to put it in 351 BC (just prior to the wedding) for two reasons: gehreleths hate yugoloths and do what they can to interfere with their plans, so it would make sense for Drigor to follow Inajira to Prime Material Barovia; and if Drigor was in Barovia for the whole time that Strahd was darklord, it would explain why he doesn’t suddenly notice an itchy blindspot appear in his mind when Drigor arrives, since his diaries suggest he can/could sense when anyone entered Barovia, and you’d think he’d mention it if he did. For similar reasons, I’d say Drigor sets up shop in Immol at first.

However, if you want to stick with 357 BC, this potentially coincides with the exodus of Vistani from Barovia until they return in 470 BC, so he might attribute Drigor’s reality wrinkle with that. His harsh punishment of the Vistani thief that leads to the exodus might be due to his unconscious sense of Drigor’s presence. Or, you know, just his personality.

In any event, the Madrigore family starts of Barovian. By 740 BC, 16 generations have been possessed by Drigor and compelled to write. I’d suggest he moves them to Mordent soon after the domain forms in 575 BC (Azalin and Strahd are unconscious or distracted with their war, depending on when it happens, so Strahd doesn’t notice Immol start to feel “good” again). Godefroy’s not a particularly active darklord, but he does value scholarship, so I can see them coming to some sort of arrangement. Then he moves again (it must be shortly after Dementlieu forms in 707 BC, because by the time Van Richten finds them in 741 BC, they’re an established part of Edrigan society). So he uproots the Madrigores and moves every 200 years or so. We don’t know where they are after 741 BC until they turn up in Gothic Earth having just escaped Ravenloft in 1898. They have been trapped for some time (somewhere), and it’s taken Drigor 200 years to destroy every copy of Van Richten’s Guide to Fiends or anywhere else that reveals his name.

Next in is the Whistling Fiend. A man in Darkon falls victim to a disease that sounds very much like transposition in 580 BC. Some wizards from Karg interfere, turning him into the Key to the Abyss. The Whistling Fiend comes through the living portal; it is unclear whether it was the fiend transposing the human. From there it destroys Creeana in 580 BC, pops up in Bakholis’ Invidia in 682 BC, conducts power rituals in Gabrielle Aderre’s Invidia and Barovia, and is also seen in Falkovnia. It’s land based powers also includes Har’Akir, so it must go there at some point. It is potentially destroyed in 754 BC in The Heart’s Final Beat.

Baltoi is hard to place. The fact that she has lent her name to an entire mountain range, and that wizard magic was used to send her to sleep suggest she’s been down there for a very long time. Gaz II says “long ago,” but not how long ago. It has to be at least several centuries. Anyway, she was dragged in along with the rest of Lamordia in 683 BC, and has been asleep the whole time apart from a few minor stirrings during thunder storms.

Next is the Black Duke. If you take Van Richten’s Guide to Fiends by itself, it is entirely possible the Black Duke never actually existed; the dates imply that the Order of Tramalaine (which summons him), the Brotherhood of the Whip and Sir Armand Ironhand (who makes him famous) are all in 541 BC, as part of Nova Vaasa’s false history. And then he’s never heard from again. As a kind of cosmic joke, Van Richten includes him in the Guide to Fiends, even though he never really existed. Such are the trials of research.

However, Gaz V canonises Mangrum’s timeline dates, so the Black Duke is summoned instead in 684 BC, which means he really existed. According to my article in CotN: D, he’s been building an empire in Nova Vaasa and Hazlan since then, but we don’t really know. It’s a long time for a fiend that powerful to be missing. He does have a land based power from Darkon, though. He could also have spent some time in Arak. Or somewhere further afield. Cornugons are the elite troops and guards in the Blood War, so I like the idea that he spends some time stalking the CE fiends (the Whistling Fiend particularly) and trying to destroy them. If a fiend is killed and its phylactery thrown into the Mists, it could be decades before someone finds it to release the fiend again, so perhaps that’s where they go when they go missing.

Styrix also comes in in 684 BC (it’s a busy few years for fiends, obviously). Azalin summons her to learn what outsiders might know about being trapped in Ravenloft, and when she can’t tell him anything, he dumps her (and starts cloning himself). She goes to Martira Bay and begins work on the Rift Spanner (which takes a year, and was “recently” completed when RLMCII was published – in 738 BC). Since then she’s been dithering around charging it and letting it lapse and then charging it again. Why doesn’t she just escape? Because then there’s no adventure. Incidentally, her presence in Martira Bay means that Azalin can’t modify memories or control undead with his darklord powers (as opposed to his normal magic) in Martira Bay. So that could be a good option for those wondering how to oppose Azalin with his memory modifying powers.

Next in is the Gentleman Caller. His first recorded appearance is (possibly) inspiring Renthon Vorishtok in Borca to write the Revelations of the Prince of Twilight in 702 BC (although this may be Loht or someone else entirely instead). In 705 BC, he sires Vigo Drakov. In about 710 BC, he fathers Chezna the Blood Cat (assuming she’s about 19 when she appears in the Awakening; she may be a bit older, but it seems reasonable if she’s level 2). Around 730 BC (perhaps) he fathers the Beast of the Hills and the Jongeleur (we don’t know how old they are, although we do know the Jongeleur’s served Ivana Boritsi since 746 BC, so this would be reasonable ages for them to be). He inspires the creation of the Pipes of Mordent in 734 BC. In about 738 BC (based on CotN:V’s publication date), he turns Marla into a penanggalan and helps her massacre the residents of one of Hala’s hospices in Falkovnia. In 742 BC he re-opens hostilities with Isolde by sending an assassin to murder the first of the Skurra (and the assassin becomes the first Abomination). Over the next 10 years, he sends 5 more assassins. In 743 BC, he fathers the Changeling on the Crimson Rose (leaving her rather psychologically scarred). In 747 BC he fathers Malocchio on Gabrielle Aderre. In 749 BC, he raises Baron Metus from the grave and shows Madame Radanavich how she can do the same with the spirits of Richten Haus. In 750 BC, he appears to Loht and tells him where to find the Sword of Arak. In 752 BC, he seduces Blasse and then tries to destroy Isolde via Professor Pacali. In 758 BC, he meets Our Hero in Tepest and tells her to stop following his by-blows around. What a busy boy he is.

Yagno Petrovna has Malistroi summoned in 715 BC, and then leaves him trapped in a magic circle until at least 745 BC, when Circle of Darkness is set.

Elsepeth transposes into Falkovnia in 729 BC. She pops up in Borca in 732 BC, and again in Darkon (Nartok) in 739 BC. She’s also got land based powers from Keening, Darkon and Dementlieu, so that tracks her pretty well. She spends her time seducing men and stealing their souls.

740 BC is a good year for outsiders; along with Inajira, the Chateaufaux demons wander in when part of Ravenloft forms a conjunction with Baator (which must have been unpleasant, and hopefully short). Isolde also arrives in Darkon in pursuit of the Gentleman Caller, and adopts the Carnival. The Chateaufaux demons go to Dementlieu in 741 BC, and then aren’t heard from again, although I quite like the FoS’s piece about the amnizu powering a mistway from Richemulot to Souragne. Based on real world publication, that must be 763 BC I think. We don’t know what happens to the barbazu.

And that is all the really big name canon fiends.

[Nemesio]

Always loved Ravenloft fiends and their reality wrinkles.

[Ryan Naylor]

A note on religions: Since they potentially have a major effect on international relations, I've tried to include seminal dates for the different churches of the Mists. Generally, they're quite easy to place - Ezra is clearly described, the Lawgiver come in with Nova Vaasa, the Eternal Order is a lot younger than you might think, etc. However, there is a question about when the Church of Hala enters Ravenloft. We know it's "several" centuries older than the Church of Ezra (VRMHCIII); Ezra was founded in 666, but became popular in 685. Assuming it came in with a domain rather than isolated travellers (which is a big assumption), that severely limits the domains that Hala could have come in with: Arak (with the native humans, obviously), Mordent, Darkon, Gundarak, and Invidia at the very latest. Gundarak is extremely unlikely (we know the Gundarak god was Erlin). Darkon is varied enough to be possible, and the Church of Hala is reasonably acceptable in Mordent, so that might be a possibility too. However, I think the best candidates are Arak (Hala fits in with the simple pastoral nature, and the Scourge explains why the Church doesn't seem to have a homeland) or Invidia (the Church was known, and witches feared, there from the very beginning of the domain; the only problem is Invidia formed quite late).

I leave that up to your discretion.

And finally (?), a timeline of the major events of the Core:

Year (BC) Event
347 Strand makes a deal with Inajira
351 Strahd becomes darklord of Barovia. Drigor may be trapped at the same time?
357 If not, Drigor enters Ravenloft?

470 Upheaval?: The Vistani enter Ravenloft.
475 The Cult of the Morninglord is founded.

542 Azalin enters Ravenloft in Barovia.
547 Tristen ApBlanc becomes darklord of Forlorn
c550 Ghastria forms as an Island of Terror
575 Arak forms around Gwydion and the Obsidian Gate. The Church of Hala enters Ravenloft?
579 Mordent is dragged into Ravenloft by Azalin and Strahd; Godefroy becomes lord when they leave.
Azalin becomes darklord of Darkon. Mordent moves from Barovia to Darkon. The Church of Hala enters Ravenloft?
580 The Whistling Fiend enters Ravenloft in Darkon.
581 Bluetspur forms.
588 The First Upheaval: The Scourge of Arak. Keening forms. Ghastria joins the Core.
593 Gundarak forms, with Gundar as darklord.
603 Invidia forms, with Bakholis as darklord. The Church of Hala enters Ravenloft?
613 Kartakass forms.
625 Valachan forms.
630 The Sea of Sorrows domain forms.
643? Blaustein forms, probably as an Island of Terror.
650? Ramsay Island forms as an island in the Sea of Sorrows
666 The First Book of Ezra is penned in Mordent.
667 Demise forms as an Island of Terror.

682 Nova Vaasa forms. The Church of the Lawgiver enters Ravenloft.
683 Lamordia forms.
The Nightmare Lands form, or at least appear.
684 Borca appears, with Camille Dilisnya as lord. According to the Dorvinians, Dorvinia also forms.
The Black Duke and Styrix are summoned into Ravenloft.
685 The Church of Ezra really starts to take off.
686 Demise joins the Core as an island in the Sea of Sorrows.
690 The Second Upheaval: Falkovnia forms, kicking off an age of war.
691 Tepest forms. Ghastria becomes an island in the Sea of Sorrows.
694 Richemulot forms, with Claude Renier as lord. Mordent moves from bordering Lamordia and Falkovnia to Richemulot.
695 Falkovnia invades Lamordia. They eventually reach a treaty.
The Eternal Order is founded around this time.
698 Markovia forms.
699 The Second Book of Ezra is penned.
700 Falkovnia invades Darkon, gaining up to Nartok before being repelled.
702 G’Henna forms.
The Gentleman Caller enters Ravenloft, probably in Borca.
704 Falkovnia invades Darkon but is defeated within minutes.
706 Falkovnia invades Borca, but is brought down by the treachery of spies.
707 Dementlieu forms.
Falkovnia invades Dementlieu, but is defeated by a whole sale defection among his war leaders.
708 Arkandale forms
709 The Dementlieuvian sect of the Church of Ezra is formed.
711 Falkovnia invades Darkon again.
Ivana Boritsi becomes darklord of Borca.
713 The Living Brain arrives in Dementlieu.
714 Hazlan forms.
715 Dorvinia forms. Unless you ask a Dorvinian.
Malistroi is summoned into Ravenloft in G’Henna.
716 Falkovnia invades Richemulot, possibly as a training exercise.
719 Falkovnia invades Markovia and G’Henna, possibly as a training exercise, possibly to steal a march on Azalin.
720 Sithicus forms.
724 Falkovnia invades Dementlieu and Richemulot.
726 Jacqueline Renier becomes darklord of Richemulot.
727 Falkovnia invades Dorvinia but is defeated by poison.
Dominic d’Honaire becomes Chief Advisor to the Lord Governor.
729 Gabrielle Aderre becomes darklord of Invidia.
The League of Five Nations is formed.
Elsepeth transposes into Ravenloft in Falkovnia.
730 Verbrek forms.
736 Daglan forms, with Radaga (briefly) as darklord. Daglan Daegon quickly takes over.
Duke Gundar is killed; Daclaud Heinfroth becomes darklord of Gundarak.
740 The Great Upheaval: The Grand Conjunction. Too many changes to count, but the absorption of Dorvinia, Arkandale, Gundarak and Arak, the loss of Daglan, the restructuring of Nova Vaasa and Valachan and the formation of the Shadow Rift are probably the major ones.
Markovia becomes an island in the Sea of Sorrows.
Dominia becomes an Island of Terror.
Inajira, Isolde and the Chateaufaux demons enter Ravenloft, in Barovia, Darkon and Dementlieu respectively.
741? Blaustein joins the Core as an island in the Sea of Sorrows.
744 Sithicus starts to collapse.
Castle Island forms.
747 Malocchio Aderre becomes political ruler of Invidia.
748 Dominia joins the Core as an island in the Sea of Sorrows.
749 The Drowning Deeps joins the Core as a mist-covered sea.
750 Upheaval: The Requiem.
The Nocturnal Sea forms.
751 The Darkonese sect of the Church of Ezra is recognised.
Falkovnia invades Darkon. Death begins hunting Azalin.
755 Necropolis forms.
763 Upheaval: The Dying Days begin.
764 The Final Sect of Ezra appears.
766 Hazlik commits genocide.
? The Core at War.
775 The Time of Unparalleled Darkness.

[JamesLowder]

I must say, while I really love all of James Lowder’s work, the Sithicus in SotBR annoyed me for being different to all the previous versions with its near complete lack of elves and so on. Apart from that though...

Thanks for the kind words. The elves were still there in Spectre, but I chose to focus on the mine and the humans in the domain. At one point I was even writing a short story about the elves in Sithicus for Dragon, set in between the two novels, but that got derailed for various reasons. So, yes, I was assuming they're still there.

Cheers,
Jim Lowder

[Nemesio]

The Bloody Cobbler was an awesome character.

[ewancummins]

The Bloody Cobbler is great! I used him once in my Ravenloft campaign here on FoS.

[HuManBing]

According to Ryan Naylor's timeline, the EO has been around for about four decades before the Black Box default period of 735. That's a decent amount of time for a state-sponsored religion to take hold... especially if it's merely playing off of widespread cultural superstitions that have been around for centuries before.

From the Death Trilogy adventures, the EO was even more recent than that. Absent any attempt at retcon, the religion seemed like it had taken hold across Darkon in the space of a handful of years. While possible, that would require a huge amount of cultural indoctrination from the top.

[Garudos Celestar]

From the Death Trilogy adventures, the EO was even more recent than that. Absent any attempt at retcon, the religion seemed like it had taken hold across Darkon in the space of a handful of years. While possible, that would require a huge amount of cultural indoctrination from the top.

Or a heavy dose of modify memory powers...

A note on religions: However, there is a question about when the Church of Hala enters Ravenloft. We know it's "several" centuries older than the Church of Ezra (VRMHCIII); Ezra was founded in 666, but became popular in 685. Assuming it came in with a domain rather than isolated travellers (which is a big assumption), that severely limits the domains that Hala could have come in with: Arak (with the native humans, obviously), Mordent, Darkon, Gundarak, and Invidia at the very latest. Gundarak is extremely unlikely (we know the Gundarak god was Erlin). Darkon is varied enough to be possible, and the Church of Hala is reasonably acceptable in Mordent, so that might be a possibility too. However, I think the best candidates are Arak (Hala fits in with the simple pastoral nature, and the Scourge explains why the Church doesn't seem to have a homeland) or Invidia (the Church was known, and witches feared, there from the very beginning of the domain; the only problem is Invidia formed quite late).

Don't underestimate the value of domains like Estrangia and Malkavnia in cases like this. They could easily be other options if you want to have the witches' little-known homeland lost to the Mists (especially Malkavnia, since we know so little about it). Also, it might have originated in the false history of a domain like Valachan or Tepest (which can give it as many centuries as we need).