What pulled you into the mists?

Discussing all things Ravenloft
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BigBadQDaddy
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Post by BigBadQDaddy »

gonzoron wrote:
dalewin wrote:Expedition to Castle Ravenloft gave me a taste of the setting and I set out to get all that I could after that.
Welcome! See, everybody, EtCR is good for something after all! ;)
That's true, right now it is holding up one end of my couch :P
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Igor the Henchman
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Post by Igor the Henchman »

Way to greet a newcomer's opinion, BBQD. The adventure has got mixed reactions on this forum some time back, but many people like it a lot.

Nice to have you on board, dalewin. :) Did you run Expedition adventure? I liked bits of it, but hesitated to DM it because of how combat-heavy it looked (especially the zombie-infested-town opening). Do you have comments on that?
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Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

Yeah, dalewin, we may razz EtCR a bit around here sometimes, but what I was driving at was that in your case, for all the faults that we RL grognards see in it, EtCR did exactly what it was supposed to do: introduce new players to Ravenloft.
"We're realistic heroes. We're not here to save the world, just nudge the world into a better place."
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BigBadQDaddy
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Post by BigBadQDaddy »

Igor the Henchman wrote:Way to greet a newcomer's opinion, BBQD. The adventure has got mixed reactions on this forum some time back, but many people like it a lot.
Just having a spirited jape. Meant no real offense. I own a copy as well and I have to say at least the cover art is inspiring.
So long as you have fun with the setting is all that matters. If you have that, comments from knuckleheads like myself don't mean a thing.
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Le Noir Faineant
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

Igor the Henchman wrote:Way to greet a newcomer's opinion, BBQD. The adventure has got mixed reactions on this forum some time back, but many people like it a lot.
Yeah?! - Who? - Names, please!


Dru, take a pen, and write their names on these letters:

Dear Brother or Sister in Shadow,

Please wear this medal from now on as a token of our appreciation.
It might say "Amulet of Incontinence" on the backside of the coin,
but trust us, this is just a misleading mislabeling by the Lamordian manufacture.
In thruth, this amulet will give eternal youth and never-ending riches.
Just wear it a few weeks, and the effects will surely take place.
You might feel a bit awkward in the beginning,
but ---of course---- it will get better after what we call an initial little uproar.
Just keep wearing it and let its magic embrace you.

Yours,

A Secret Admirer
Last edited by Le Noir Faineant on Thu Feb 26, 2009 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Le Noir Faineant
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

BTW, so noone is offended,
it is widely known that EtCR served as partial inspiration for RLO. :)
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ewancummins
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Post by ewancummins »

Rafael wrote:BTW, so noone is offended,
it is widely known that EtCR served as partial inspiration for RLO. :)
Ah, but where were the halfling gypsies?
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

ewancummins wrote:
Rafael wrote:BTW, so noone is offended,
it is widely known that EtCR served as partial inspiration for RLO. :)
Ah, but where were the halfling gypsies?
Image

Don't make me say anything nasty! :D
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BigBadQDaddy
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Post by BigBadQDaddy »

Rafael wrote:BTW, so noone is offended,
it is widely known that EtCR served as partial inspiration for RLO. :)
Yes Raf, but an inspiration to do a much better job :wink:
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Post by Shadow »

For me, it was the 2e hardcovers Domains of Dread. I saw it on the shelf at the local B. Daltons Bookstore and decided to give it a glance. Before reading the book, I had thought that Ravenloft was just "D&D with more zombies and vampires". The biggest irony was I never was much of a gothic horror fan. But as I flipped through the pages, I was intrigued. I liked the idea of a shifting demiplane, the inexplicable dark powers, and sinister villains. Most of all, I liked the sense of mystery and unknown that was inherent in the setting. I had had some bad experiences with Forgotten Realms and its fanboys (and fangirls)...I hated how 2e Forgotten Realms took pains to explain everything down to the details of Eliminster's underwear. (I hope that I didn't offend any FR fans, but the above was my impression of the Realms I had when playing with my high school group.)
Later I played in a Ravenloft game and had a great time. I played a barbarian/fighter who was determined to track down the fiend who killed his family while dealing with the psychological trauma from the event. After that game, I was hooked on the setting.
In the darkness of night look toward the stars
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Le Noir Faineant
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

BigBadQDaddy wrote:
Rafael wrote:BTW, so noone is offended,
it is widely known that EtCR served as partial inspiration for RLO. :)
Yes Raf, but an inspiration to do a much better job :wink:
:D :D :D
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order99
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Post by order99 »

It seems so long ago...I was on the run from the local Constabulary naturally.

I don't blame them, really-they had no way of knowing the horrible fate I had saved those poor children from,they couldn't possibly understand that I had freed their souls from a torment far worse than they could possibly imagine. The Demons were tenacious-the only way to loose them from the flesh of those poor creatures was to starve the hosts into a coma, often even to death itself...I would gladly have taken their places if I could. I would have gladly surrendered to the Constables, explained myself to their disbelieving ears and then laughed all the way to the Hangman's Noose, my soul clean before the Almighty...

But there were other Younglings to save, and who else could see the fiends but myself? No-tempting as it was to rest, I had to escape and continue the Work.

And there was Oric beckoning from the alley-Oric who had awakened me to the threat of the Demons, who had shown me how to SEE them, shown me the trick of using the filthy birds of this city as my eyes and ears, the trick of seeing in utter darkness...

Oric showed me one last Trick that night-and as I followed his passes and scribbled on the bricks with my blood-slimed chalk, the Wound opened wide, my escape was complete! I turned to Oric to express my gratitude one last time before we parted company-

-and the hailstorm shattered the window pane, taking Oric's smiling face with it.

I had always wondered why that face had seemed to familiar.

I stumbled into the Wound, assisted-no, PUSHED-by a multitude of hands, TINY hands...and suddenly the open countryside lay before me, cool and inviting. But the stars in this sky were not MY stars, the air smelled of unknown flowers and the noise, the NOISE of Voices In My Head and they never SHUT UP why Don't you GO AWAY, GET OUT OF MY HEA-

Oh.

Wait.

You were talking about the GAME weren't you?

Sorry, hard to focus sometimes. :oops:

I got into the RPG with the original Ravenloft module-needless to say, when I heard a boxed set was available, I snatched it up and had a wonderful time with it. My version of Ravenloft stole liberally from the Brothers Grimm-my players and I liked the idea of RL as the land of What Happened When You Left the Path

(like you did)

(should have left some breadcrumbs)

Shut. UP.

Ahem. Eventually, I found a neat little Boxed Set I thought was for Ravenloft-instead, I found the wonderful world of Masque of the Red Death. The mix of creeping horror amid the Victorian Era was irresistable, it was like mainlining every Gothic author I had ever enjoyed and then getting to play with all their toys

(those toys were for us)

(somebody's homesick)

(i don't want any more candy)

Ngh. Um, er, so then we alternated RL and Masque campaigns as inspiration drove us-I got a chance to play for a change as another DM took over RL, I got a chance to add some really neat twists and turns in Masque. To be honest(and I realize i'm in the minority here) i've always preferred Masque over RL-it might be the fact that it's so self-contained, less Metaplot perhaps, I just can't put my finger

(you're not supposed to touch me there)

(i'm hungry, i'm really hungry)

( i wanna go home, i wanna)

Oh, Lord. I do too. I want to go HOME. I miss

(mommy will save us, mommy's pretty and she's strong and she can)

I...it-please carry on this Thread without me. It's going to be one of THOSE nights. I'm going to brew a nice pot of tea and have a few soothing games of Russian Roulette-with a Derringer.

(yay)

(i wanna watch i)

( i win with the horsey piece, king me)
"And did she ever come out?"
"Not Yet".
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Le Noir Faineant
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

Order99, as we say on another message board: PUSH UPS for me. :D
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