Café de Nuit

Rock of the Fraternity wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 4:58 pm Post-Apocaloft Expansion
by M.T. Kelly

I am not acquainted with the Friday the 13th-franchise beyond superficial knowledge of its existence and Michael Meyers as the silent killer, but this article looks well-put together to me.

I remember liking the idea from the previous Post-Apocaloft article that the dreaded Red Death had been overtaken by history and other horrors, causing it to change into the Neo Red Death. Still, it suits the setting that the exiled Dark Power's evil is nor entirely gone, nor is its empowerment of villains.
The series of small domains, centered around the iconic villains of various slasher franchises, is clever, and offers opportunity to adopt many popular franchises to Ravenloft.

As I've already said, I am not familiar with the deep lore of Friday the 13th, but the background you gave - and which I assume ties into the plot of the movies - is good stuff and offers plenty of detail. That the identity of the Haddonfield Darklord is in question suits the article; though I usually like to be certain where a domain's evil comes from, the fact that Thorn has been affecting Michael (and now possibly Dr. Loomis as well) casts some doubt on him being responsible for everything that has gone wrong in this domain.

Thank you very much. There's nothing a writer loves more than a positive review. I should point out that Michael Myers is the Halloween franchise. Friday the 13th is Jason Voorhees, though as both killers are large, superstrong, silent, mute, and wear white masks, it's an easy mistake to make.

Piano Hero

Manofevil wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 10:59 pm Thank you very much. There's nothing a writer loves more than a positive review. I should point out that Michael Myers is the Halloween franchise. Friday the 13th is Jason Voorhees, though as both killers are large, superstrong, silent, mute, and wear white masks, it's an easy mistake to make.

Yeah, and I'm all about the easy mistakes. Oof! ^_^; Sorry about that.

The Broken Cog Cluster


A lot of people have tried to combine Nosos, Paridon, and Timor into a cluster due to the advanced technological culture they seem to share, all to varying degrees of success. By my count there's at least three versions of each domain out there for DMs to chose from. Doc Necrotic's attempt at expanding such a cluster with a handful of fan-made domains is ambitious, but let's see if anything worthwhile is brought to the table...

Right up front there is a lot (and I mean a lot!) of history thrown at us in the form of a timeline. Most of this, unfortunately, is false history. And not knowing up front who all the player are it's a bit hard to follow. I would suggest streamlining it (only putting important events that will be referred to later on) and not going into too much of the false history of things. Also, breaking it up and putting smaller, relevant pieces at the top of each domain's section would make it more digestible for the reader.

And now, on to the domains themselves...

Alleigosto – This domain's theme is clearly technology vs. tradition, with its darklord, Jereko Arcaico, serving as a sort of anti-Malus Sceleris. I find it interesting that instead of using its technological developments to spread this domain's influence, the ruling class is using them to keep the world out. At least, that was my read on things.

I find the darklord's Act of Ultimate Evil (which consigned him to Ravenloft) needed to more explicit. I get the general idea but the author really needs to drive home why this guy deserves his own domain.

As for the folk, I would have liked more identifying cultural features, things that would separate these people from the Zheresians or Nososians. Do their cities have unique architectural flourishes? What inventions make them so technologically advanced? There's a little too much telling and not enough showing going on.

(I know Steampunk is a popular aesthetic these days, but there's plenty of other genres that can be cribbed from – dieselpunk, retro-futurism, runepunk, etc – to use as a basis for “modern” cities. These concepts may provide a good template for the author to distinguish each domain better.)

I like the Dread Possibilities presented, but would have preferred they be broken up and added after the section where each topic is first mention. (But that might just be my ADHD acting up.)

Overall Grade: C+ – There's lots of good ideas here but it comes up a bit short on the execution.

Belagora – Is this a nation of philosophers? Exactly why do they see themselves as the pinnacle of enlightenment? I think this is a good attitude to introduce in order to differentiate them from Alleigosto, but once again, it needs to be explained more clearly. There's also some 1984 / Clockwork Orange vibes I get from this entry, which is a good thing and should be expanded upon.

I like the darklords' backstory (a council of leaders that crushed individuality in the people they ruled over have now lost their own individuality to a hivemind), but what exactly is their curse? It seems like their wish for total control over the populace has now come true instead of being used to torment them. During the course of my reviews, I have found that getting a darklord's backstory and curse just right is one of the hardest things to do, and in this case the author fails to sell me on this one.

The Dread Possibilities add some depth to the domain and explain how the darklords operate, but should have been better integrated into the description of the domain itself.

Overall Grade: C – It has some neat ideas, but they need to be fleshed out more.

Darkheath – This is a land that is on a perpetual war footing with a hint of colonial oppression mixed in. Unfortunately, I never liked this concept for a domain. The Burning Peaks cluster, among its many sins, tried this trope and it just felt flat to me.

This entry does have one interesting idea though – turning the undead into soldiers to fight on behalf of the ruling government. That's an interesting take, and I think the horror of the domain could have been amped up if it had been explored more. Does the populace know about this project? If they did, would they agree with it? If they disagree with reanimating the dead how would they feel about creating mechanical golems instead? Unfortunately, I think this concept is just mentioned one or two times and then abandoned.

Also, I'm a bit unclear on who the “enemy” is here – is it the Beastmen, the Thonians (whoever they are), or one of the other domains?

Overall Grade: D – There's gotta be more to a domain than just “war-torn ruins / a society on the edge of collapse.”

Ichthyos – Ah, a Lovecraftian domain! The author gets extra points just for including one of my favorite genres of horror.

This domain write-up, however, leaves me with a lot of questions. What's with adding harpies and cyclops? That's a weird mash-up of monsters. Are you saying there's a war between the followers of the Greek gods and the followers of Lovecraftian elder gods? That seems right out of left field.

Also, the town that's filled with mutated Deep Ones is a nice touch, but it being commonly known is a bit much for me. Lovecraft was right to keep such horrors in the shadows where they belong, not out in the open. Plus, it fails to answer one key question – what did the people of this domain get in exchange for their servitude to the Deep Ones? There doesn't seem much upside into being turned into a deep spawn.

I do love the description of the underwater abode of the Deep Ones in the Dread Possibility section, it feels much more menacing than anything going on on the surface.

Overall Grade: C – The whys need a lot of work but some of the descriptions are quite good.

Nosos – This one hits really close to home, as it feels a whole lot like our very own 21st century American society with synthetic substances everywhere – in our clothes, our foods, even our very bodies! I also love the idea of subscriptions for clean air and water. There's a lot of good concepts here that make it seem like a more realized city instead of just describing it as one huge dump.

Malus Scelerus has an interesting curse too, and, surprisingly, I don't hate it. I like the fact that he's not considered the biggest player in town; not every darklord has to be top dog, after all. I also like the addition of the Scorched Woodlands and the Incandescent Marsh.

The Dread Possibilities, on the other hand, seem like they are stream-of-conscious ramblings rather than clear scenarios.

Overall Grade: B – There are some neat ideas that fill out this domain, and I'm glad the author didn't try to reinvent the wheel or radically alter the domain from its original write-up.

Rockbaecche – This is a land ravished by plague, which is another tough sell for me. The martial law angle echoes 5e Falkovnia, while the plague aspect reminds me of 5e Richemulot. Not a good start.

But, I can see shades of Evil Dead and the evil Umbrella Corp. But once again, the darklord's curse seems kind of light – it seems like others are suffering more for his sins than he is. If he's the one that released the plague, shouldn't he be suffering from it as well?

I like the focus on this domain's railway system. That's the type of uniqueness I was looking for in the other domains.

My favorite Dread Possibility is the lighthouse that is haunting itself. At least, that's my read on it, since the keeper is said to be dead and there no mention that he was turned into a ghost.

Overall Grade: B – This entry has a lot of the elements I've been asking for and is the most realized original domain I've read so far.

Zheresia – This is another domain with a lot of things I like. I like the return of the countryside and people who were thought lost. That provides more room for doppelgangers to cause havoc! I also like making Timor a floating pocket domain that can appear underneath other domains. But besides those two innovations, however, there's not much to recommend this place.

The Dread Possibilities, on the other hand, are quite good. I especially like the Big Black Hound and the Hell Coal Express. That's a hundred times more awesome than the lame Cyre 1313 domain from Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft.

Overall Grade: C – This domain feels kind of like an afterthought, although I do like the changes made to it.

Post Apocaloft Expansion


I have to say I like the road trip style info dump regarding the fuller layout of Post Apocaloft. Having started in New York, NY (in QTR 28) and then skipping to Gunnison, CO (in QTR 30), the author starts filling in the nooks and crannies in between. I love the call outs to other movies, but even I, an avowed horror hound, didn't get all the references.

From what I could find online, I created this little cheat sheet:

Camp Crystal Lake / New Jersey = Friday the 13th / Jason
Springwood, OH = Nightmare on Elm Street / Freddy
Travis, IN = Sleepwalkers
Chicago, IL = Child's Play / Chucky
Destroit, MI = Evil Dead
Everett, WI = Dawn of the Dead
Gatlin, NE = Children of the Corn

(Looking at that list, I have to say I never realized how many horror movies were set in the Midwest!)

Anyway, much like Mistmaster's World of Ravenloft, M.T. Kelly's Post-Apocaloft is growing on me. But I still like the idea better than the execution. Once again we have an exhaustive rundown of the first 5 movies featuring Michael Myers. Now, I love the Halloween series; but I don't think every movie needs to be summarized so completely. I mean, at its heart this is just a big scary guy running around stabbing people. How many different iterations on that idea do we need to read about in order to get the point?

Instead of spending so much time on the movie plots, I really wish the author would have moved the plot forward. Or give bit players from the movies more of a spotlight. An NPC stat block or two wouldn't hurt. Anything to break up flow of the article more.

I will say, that the idea of not having a darklord for each “domain,” or, rather multiple possible darklords, is growing on me as well. It does offer some refreshing takes to the standard set-up of the movies. Concepts like the mask being the one who is controlling Michael is a good example of that.

Jeremy16 wrote: Tue Jun 17, 2025 12:36 pm The Broken Cog Cluster

Right up front there is a lot (and I mean a lot!) of history thrown at us in the form of a timeline. Most of this, unfortunately, is false history. And not knowing up front who all the player are it's a bit hard to follow. I would suggest streamlining it (only putting important events that will be referred to later on) and not going into too much of the false history of things. Also, breaking it up and putting smaller, relevant pieces at the top of each domain's section would make it more digestible for the reader.

I certainly regret putting a timeline at the front. It didn't really help with context for later anyway. Like many of the problems at hand, my concerns over space ultimately cut the article's potential back. My submission was far from the largest thing this magazine has seen, after all. Though, if I serialized it in chunks, I probably could have done much more instead of awkwardly filling in gaps this year.

And now, on to the domains themselves...

Alleigosto and Ichthyos

That's a fair point on culture. Both of these are supposed to sample the Mediterranean (primarily Italy and Greece respectively). For starters, I planned on having the former care more about clan and oaths than overworking one's self, to the ire of the commercial industry that has overtaken the domain at times. And the latter? Deeply depressive and resigned, save for those use old gods as an excuse for religious fervor. I thought I included ideas on building design and aesthetics, with the former taking heavily from multiple Italian cities and states (especially Venice but also the video game Dishonoured 2) and the latter being primarily coastal Greece with some inland communities as well. I did cut a fair bit, so I don't know if that accidentally got lost. I'll add that back in, as it does add a lot. Beyond the Automatons, as well as nautical craft, I could stand to expand more on distinctly Alleigoston inventions (besides stealing the steamship from Ichthyos). The Duke was basically doomed by killing his own and sparking a war, before cowering out and attempting to kill himself as he can't even stand behind his traditions as progress crushes him. That was my take at least. Also, this could be something that got cut, but being a deep one is part of the theology. It's a king of Ascension to Heaven, where all of your suffering was worth it and now you are part of something greater. Likewise, the greek monsters are a consequence of a rival cult of human defectors dedicated to the old ways. Are they memories pulled by the DP or a sign of the old gods returning? I guess it could be spelled out more.

Belagora

More like creepy pseudo-communist cult than a group of philosophers. Religion is a good way to separate Alleigosto, given some Soviet inspirations for Belagora. They more so view themselves as "rationalists" who seek to make proper sense of the lands around them. As for the Council, they are fully aware how alien they are. It at times deeply disturbs them, sometimes reminded of what they lost to achieve control. Now, could I add to this like maybe they experience stagnation during these trauma flashbacks? Possibly. Or at least something like that. Likewise, perhaps more occultism meets psychic surveillance would be a good idea. After all, this is paranormal psychic horror meets 20th century dystopia novel. I should embrace that.

Darkheath

It isn't buying me favors that this domain is steeped in Blackmoor/Mystara lore that I mostly relegated to a link in Threshold Magazine. I thought I played up the reluctant acceptance of literal dehumanization in the colony (undead/cybernetics/etc), but I could touch on that more. As for an enemy, it's basically a Blackmoor nightmare which played on the "enemies on all sides" sort of feel. The Beastman Crusades were basically a massive war response to "the threat of monstrous humanoids" D&D trope, this looks at that. Likewise, the Thonian Empire was once in charge of Blackmoor before they revolted and became their own thing. I did want to expand on other domains profiting off of Darkheath's suffering though, without getting directly involved (outside of say pirates from Rockbaecche or escaped convicts from Belagora). But, I guess a better theme is leaning more into sunk cost rather than endless war. After all, it's more about a man who won't let go and accept that he lost. Admittedly, a massive war zone makes it more apt as a one trick pony Island of Terror, but I think more can be explored here... especially in the relative safety of civilization.

Nosos

I wanted a touch of cyberpunk fiction in this one, or at least pushing steampunk back into cyberpunk territory. As for the dread possibilities, the first one is just a cheeky pop culture reference. Likewise, it was a pocket domain entry I compressed into a paragraph, it should be a pocket domain or something in greater detail. (I did this with Rock Phare too.) I think cosmic blights emerging upon the wider wastelands can work, a sort of pay off for mistway set up to explain a horror from Falkovnia being in Nosos now. Likewise, use of prisoners as a task force against threats feels appropriately Nosos. The Dread Possibility Engine is underdeveloped and I planned on addressing that. Likewise, I could expand on the conspiracy of Duke Arcaico funding unrest in Nosos, as cross domain interaction is fun to toy with.

Rockbaecche

Well, my initial purpose of this domain was to do 5e-Falkovnia better. Also, this was another domain informed too much by pop culture. Dishonoured (1) and 28 Days Later were major inspirations. You did help me realize that the railway was a solid touchstone for the domain, which why I should consider stuff like naval advancements for the western domains or the like. I was thinking how to tie the blight to him, beyond making his attempts to undo it fail. Some strain within him would pump up urgency, kind of like King Crocodile slowly dying. And as said before, Rock Phare was supposed to be a pocket domain. It needs the attention it deserves.

Zheresia

The ho-hum from a lot of this came from me not wanting to just quote the amazing Zherisia gazetteer or step on toes. Though, I could have referenced the former more and just cited. And once again, Hell Coal was a reaction to 5e. The Barmy Bomber was even a former player character who proved too evil. The hound is a nod to Black Shuck and related mythology.

You've given me quite a bit to think about and alter for an expansion article. I already planned on doing that, but more to work with is even better. When I have a minute, I want to make a brainstorm thread in conjunction with my document.

Jeremy16 wrote: Tue Jun 17, 2025 5:01 pm Post Apocaloft Expansion

Thank you very much for this review. It wasn’t just kind, it was thought-provoking.

I have to say I like the road trip style info dump regarding the fuller layout of Post Apocaloft. Having started in New York, NY (in QTR 28) and then skipping to Gunnison, CO (in QTR 30), the author starts filling in the nooks and crannies in between. I love the call outs to other movies, but even I, an avowed horror hound, didn't get all the references.

From what I could find online, I created this little cheat sheet:

Camp Crystal Lake / New Jersey = Friday the 13th / Jason
Springwood, OH = Nightmare on Elm Street / Freddy
Travis, IN = Sleepwalkers
Chicago, IL = Child's Play / Chucky
Destroit, MI = Evil Dead
Everett, WI = Dawn of the Dead
Gatlin, NE = Children of the Corn

That’s actually useful to me. I’ll show you how. Remember that this was supposed to based on post-apocalyptic and dystopian movies (and whatever anybody else would contribute). It was only when I realized that if the Neo-Red Death created a parallel world including all of those places, it surely wouldn’t leave anything behind, so as the mists part and more realms emerge, much of what happened in Ravenloft will happen in Post-apocaloft. Now I had Detroit marked out for Robocop and OCP. also I thought Chicago would be for Candyman and Cambion Green. You have made me realize that places like Chicago and Detroit will be (Ta-dah) CLUSTERS! Chicago is also the site of The Omen movies. los Angeles is also going to be the center of a major cluster that’s shared by four different domains. The Terminator domain will include its version of the city and reach all the way up into Canada and the Arctic circle. The Blade Runner domain will include its version of the city and reach east toward Las Vegas. The Demolition Man domain will include its version of the city and extend south to San Diego forming San Angeles. And the ‘Escape From LA’ domain will include its version of the city and extend west into the pacific where the earthquake left much of the city cut off from the mainland. The city itself will be very mercurial. Take too many wrong turns and you’ll be in a Terminator moonscape one minute, a dark city with mile high buildings the next, an incredibly friendly and polite suburb after that, and etc. I hope I live long enough to finish that.

(Looking at that list, I have to say I never realized how many horror movies were set in the Midwest!)

Yeah, TELL me about it.

Anyway, much like Mistmaster's World of Ravenloft, M.T. Kelly's Post-Apocaloft is growing on me. But I still like the idea better than the execution. Once again we have an exhaustive rundown of the first 5 movies featuring Michael Myers. Now, I love the Halloween series; but I don't think every movie needs to be summarized so completely. I mean, at its heart this is just a big scary guy running around stabbing people. How many different iterations on that idea do we need to read about in order to get the point?

I’m sorry, but I feel the need to be as exhaustive as I can because, by definition, each person killed generates a dread possibility. They could come back as a ghost or other undead, or they could have a grieving and/or vengeful family. Things like that. I guess I just didn’t have the strength to list them all. I still don’t.

Instead of spending so much time on the movie plots, I really wish the author would have moved the plot forward. Or give bit players from the movies more of a spotlight. An NPC stat block or two wouldn't hurt. Anything to break up flow of the article more.

And you’ve just hit my limitations right on the head. Such things are outside my skill set. They will have to be done by others.

I will say, that the idea of not having a darklord for each “domain,” or, rather multiple possible darklords, is growing on me as well. It does offer some refreshing takes to the standard set-up of the movies. Concepts like the mask being the one who is controlling Michael is a good example of that.

Well thank you very much. I’m very glad to hear that. I do wish I could be more linear about this. I know I wouldn’t like to read something that jumps all over the map, but you have to do it the way it comes to you. I’m almost done with the Children of the Corn chapter. I live in Nebraska so I have certain insights that I can add personally. Both the Terminator and Night,are and Elm Street chapters are going to be ENORMOUS undertakings. Like I said, I hope I live long enough to finish.

Thanks again.

Here's a bunch of quickie reviews...


The Arcane Age of Darkon

This is an interesting way to alternately frame the various demihuman races that inhabit this domain. The title is a bit misleading because I was expecting to be introduced to various wizards that supposedly inhabited that time period and be given some rich false history to play with. (Am I the only one that wants to see Wormschild, an ancient lich mentioned in GazII to be brought back?)


Strigoi of a Starving Land

This is an interesting group of characters; their personalities and relationships are perfect supernatural soap opera material... Have you been watching Dark Shadows, Ian?

Anyway, there's not a lot I can complain about here, it's a dang near perfect mix of Ravenloftian goodness – there's monsters, family secrets, vengeful ghosts, and dark romance. This article is chock full of adventure hooks and presents enough material to play an entire campaign in G'Henna without even coming in contact with its darklord. (And that's something that is always a welcome addition to any domain.)

And, of course, the stats were great, if I do say so myself ::


Puppeteer Parasite

This monster manual entry about these creepy ape-sloths is nice and quick. I do have one question, though... Do these parasites get absorbed into their host's body or do they sit on their backs like an artificial hunch?


Little Horrors

This article is not my cup of tea, but it did make me finally look up what the hell a “chibi” is. And Google says: “Basically, they're like the 'Power Puff Girls'”. Huh, I did not know that. I guess you learn something new every day....

Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jun 25, 2025 8:12 am Here's a bunch of quickie reviews...


Puppeteer Parasite

This monster manual entry about these creepy ape-sloths is nice and quick. I do have one question, though... Do these parasites get absorbed into their host's body or do they sit on their backs like an artificial hunch?

Ape sloths? That's a new description for them. They burrow in, essentially compressing themselves and fitting into the anatomy as best as they can. If I can muster the time, I plan on revisiting them in an expanded article for the Broken Cog, with other monsters as well. But, time will tell?

Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jun 25, 2025 8:12 am
The Arcane Age of Darkon

(Am I the only one that wants to see Wormschild, an ancient lich mentioned in GazII to be brought back?)

No, you are not alone, i'm a huge fan of "false" history anomalies rising in the current setting as it throw uncertainty in the face of players who know or have figured out when the domain was created

Excerpts from the Register of Monsters


I'm just gonna highlight a handful of my favorites from this entry, since I'm already on record as being a fan of this series.

Apokryltaros – It tickles my fancy that a creature described as a primordial god capable of vast destruction looks like a giant wasp pinned to the floor.

Atrotrin – “Even so, the Arotrin was a horror in its own right, with a breath that could dissolve metal, a gaze that could rot reality, wounds that bled monsters, and an aura of dread so awful that even the dead rose up to flee its wake.”

All of the Baron's descriptions are suitably over the top for its subject matter, but I wanted to highlight this passage as it reads almost like poetry.

Beimudan – Who here wouldn't want a Ten-Thousand Devils Cleaver Halberd?

Betavirus – I love this illustration; it perfectly encapsulates the “worlds spanning gaze” described above. The four giant eyeballs surrounding its head (which is also just a giant eyeball) is just icing on the cake!

Curse of Alokistocare – The upside down head really sells this one.

Eudoria – That is one evil wig!

Gargaaria – I just gotta say that a snail with a skull for its shell is metal as hell.

Hexacuunies – Holy shades of Azenwrath, Batman (I know, I know, that joke's getting old... but so am I so that makes it okay)!

Hisuima – A demonic creature with jade flesh that is broken down into parts and turned into living sculptures and sentient jewelry that feels pain? That's brilliant!

Iovirus – This may be a simple picture, but I love the pattern that the eyes and tentacles create. Very hypnotic!

Nanwang – Hey, Charlie Brown, it's the Great Pumpkin Kingdom! I can't say for sure that I know what a carnivorous pumpkin should look like, but I would say this picture is a good approximation.

Nyan Baohan – This creature sounds like it could serve as an object of veneration for a Richemulotesse mystery cult.

Omukade – This guy is not quite up to human-centipede levels of creepiness, but it's close.

Paraplasma – Who knew a cerebellum and a spinal cord could look this cuddly?

Scrying Beast – I hate looking at this picture for too long... which I feel is rather fitting.

Superbio – I love the family (?) portraits in the background!

Taruque & Telmanarath – Ew. Just ew.

Ten-Headed Rishi – I was picturing a demon that had one head with ten faces arranged around it, not each face stacked on top of one another. No wonder this thing is considered an abomination!

Throne Demon – This vignette has a strong fairy tale vibe that I like very much. The picture is one of the most horrifying I've seen, and that's saying a lot!

Vaapolisk – This thing reminds me of something I could find in a Legend of Zelda game.

Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jun 25, 2025 8:12 am This is an interesting group of characters; their personalities and relationships are perfect supernatural soap opera material... Have you been watching Dark Shadows, Ian?

No, I wasn't, but I read a lot of Stephen King and Uncanny X-Men back in the 80's.

Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jun 25, 2025 8:12 am Anyway, there's not a lot I can complain about here, it's a dang near perfect mix of Ravenloftian goodness – there's monsters, family secrets, vengeful ghosts, and dark romance. This article is chock full of adventure hooks and presents enough material to play an entire campaign in G'Henna without even coming in contact with its darklord. (And that's something that is always a welcome addition to any domain.)

Thank you!

Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jun 25, 2025 8:12 am And, of course, the stats were great, if I do say so myself ::

Well, I thought so! I do very much appreciate your assistance.

Barovia: Land of Strahd and Mysteries


Domain – I, like others, don't like how “cosmopolitan” this domain is described. One of the defining characteristics of Barovia is its isolation - both physically due to its rough terrain and socially because of its backwards people.

I know that Mistmaster's aim is to create a more cohesive world out of the Ravenloft domains, but even in Europe in the 20th century there were countries (such as Poland and Romania) that lagged far behind their more modern neighbors, and I think that aspect of this domain could have been left intact without affecting the article's verisimilitude.

NPCs - The usual cast of characters is there – Sergei von Zarovich, Leo Dilisnya, and Madam Eva – and it's extremely hard to wring any originality from such a well-documented group. But, where Mistmaster really shines is in the other NPCs he adds to the mix. The Axe Widow was my favorite. I also love that the ghost of Sergei is more active, freely roaming around and thwarting his brother's schemes. I don't like Baba Lysaga, but I didn't like her character in Curse of Strahd either.

And Lady Imix in Vallaki is a nice shout out to a character introduced way back in the Undead Sea Scrolls '03. I'm sure there are references to other articles that I didn't catch. It's nice to know the author did his homework when it comes to deep lore!

Secret Societies – I'm not a big fan of having too many of these in any one domain, but I do like the Order of the Red Cloak because it adds more opponents for PCs to fight than just Strahd. The Order of the Raven seems redundant, especially when the Keepers of the Feather are still active in this version of the domain. One or the other would do, but not both.

Count-King Strahd von Zarovich – This is a very streamlined entry that keeps all the salient points from his original origin. (Why, oh why, couldn't 5e have done the same thing?) I noticed that you mentioned Inajira but did not outline him under the NPCs section. Did I miss something?

I like all the nuances Mistmaster has added regarding Strahd's “regenerations” and also tying them more closely to Tatyanna's reincarnations. The addition of the Blood Rose is a nice touch. (It reminds me of Where the Red Ferns Grow, and who wasn't traumatized by that book as a kid?)

Overall - The highlight of this article for me is the breakdown of all the “different” Strahds that ruled throughout the domain's history and what they were best known for. It's an interesting approach and this lore can be added to the domain no matter what version DMs prefer to use.

Thaan Fallen


I'm just gonna get my conclusion out of the way right now: The main problem I have with Ian's articles is that they are too damn good! I barely have the heart to nitpick when so much effort has been put into bringing attention to a much neglected domain (at least, regarding the 3rd edition version). Nothing presented here seems out of place (except maybe the Sun Dragon) and his attempt at tying in all the disparate adventure modules and netbook articles is impressive.

All that being said, here's some things I feel deserve to be highlighted...

LANDSCAPE

The Vekle'far – Did you just take the 2e map from Domains of Dread and make it canon? Let me check, yep, it's all there. I just thought that plateau version of the domain was poetic license on the artist's part. But no... you took it an ran with it!

Weather - I love that Ian didn't flinch from all the hazards that were introduced in the Thoughts of Darkness module and kept the surface of the domain near inhospitable. He is able to keep it the mean but also breath some life into it.

Flora – Glassgrass, steelgrass, and bloodscrub are very evocative and recall to my mind the deserts of the American Southwest. In contrast, foxfire mushrooms seem out of place – not the fungi itself but their name. It doesn't match the rest of the naming conventions and no reason is given for the deviation. As for the underground flora, leathercap seems redundant next to leatherroot.

The Sparking Vortex – Excellent. I'm always a sucker for adding another clever Mistway to the bunch!

HISTORY

In general, I like how the author combined all the different sources, but noticed he left out a lot regarding
the history of the darklord, so it wasn't as clear of a timeline as I would have hoped. I know this article is technically written from the perspective of the common people of the domain, but the DM in me wanted the complete picture in one place.

The Ildi'Thaani - Ian provides a good Cliffs Notes version on this secret society, but something about it doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the domain's history. I guess it's the fact that there's been so many “lone survivor” stories attached to this domain over the years. Really, how many “lone survivors” can there be? Enough to form their own support group it seems. I guess what I'm saying is the origin story of this secret society doesn't make sense, but I can't blame the author on that as that is the way it was written in canon!

The Great Release – This is another neat reference to the events of Thoughts of Darkness. And I love its sequel, the Second Release, as well. It's a good reminder that there is still some fight left in the populace.

Settlements – This entire article is a great example of what the “afterlife” of a society that has fallen to invaders (or just fallen to ruin in general) would look like. It reminds me a little of Mad Max or the Zion scenes from the Matrix movies. Also, I love the entire concept of the nnarls and how they are presented.

SITES OF INTEREST (SURFACE)

I love all of these. I particularly like the detailed descriptions of the city of Thaan-Qurru, the stone giants inhabiting the Desolate Peaks, and Melesku'ta.

SITES OF INTEREST (UNDERGROUND)

The Oo'oo'padans - I get the need for a mushroom people community, but these guys seem a bit redundant when you already have a Myconid community. I know Myconids are historically peaceful, but the Oo'oo'padans take it to an extreme and their origin seems overly complicated. Why not go in the other direction and make these guys more warlike?

SITES OF INTEREST – MT MAKAB

Kraol – The description of the cave mummies is creepy.

NPCS

The Sun Dragon – This is the only inhabitant that I don't like. It reminds me too much of the Sleeping Beast in Lamordia.

The Hermits – I would normally say having three hermits (Dardan, Grath, and Queen Hazel) is one too many, but what the heck. The domain's big enough for all of them. And they are all sufficiently different to be distinct.

Thuxa – For some reason, in my mind, Bluetspur and Kalidnay are like two sides of the same coin. Both are barren wastelands, both feature a society struggling to survive, and both have some funky psionic stuff going on. So, I wish the author had mentioned a Mistway to connect the two Islands of Terror just for convenience's sake.

Thuxa herself is just the kind of side-ways threat (not quite darklord level, but strong enough to be a major player) that I enjoy seeing added to these domains. And her quest to become a Dragon could see her become a long term threat to the mindflayers, as well. Very nice.

Xhafer – I like the idea of a psionic version of a Brain in a Jar, but this one kinda falls flat for me. I would have liked to have seen his character developed more.

FACTIONS, CABALS, AND SECRET SOCIETIES

These are all pretty good. The only thing I wish Ian had added was the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power. Technically, they are located in Barovia, but they are heavily tied to Bluetspur. Plus, I think they could have added a much needed ray of hope to the land. There's got to be a way for all the psionically inclined individuals that tend to crop up here to escape this domain, and this group seems like they could run an “underground railroad” of sorts to do just that.

NEW MAGIC ITEMS

Speaking of the Brotherhood, there is a rather glaring omission here – what about the fabled Rod of Houtras and the Rod of Raston?

NEW MONSTERS

These entries, while welcome, are a little too prosaic for my taste. I would have liked more Lovecraftian horrors, since this is only canon domain semi-inspired by his writings. (But, then again, I will probably always be advocating for more Lovecraftian horror elements no matter what domain.) This just seems like a really good domain to add something so alien it could even give the mindflayers that rule the place a run for their money. The Color Out of Space, anyone?

Overall - While I like pretty much everything Ian did here, I have to say the most impressive bit is the language that he has developed basically from scratch. Everything else is great, too. The history of the Thaani struggle against the mindflayers is also well put together and very thorough - the ruins, the sense of decay, the struggling survivor - it's all here. Well done, once again!

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am Thaan Fallen

I'm just gonna get my conclusion out of the way right now: The main problem I have with Ian's articles is that they are too damn good!

I hope you're okay that I'm okay with that being your main problem.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am I barely have the heart to nitpick when so much effort has been put into bringing attention to a much neglected domain (at least, regarding the 3rd edition version). Nothing presented here seems out of place (except maybe the Sun Dragon) and his attempt at tying in all the disparate adventure modules and netbook articles is impressive.

Please do nitpick! My articles are better for knowing what you and others both like and dislike about them.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am All that being said, here's some things I feel deserve to be highlighted...

LANDSCAPE

The Vekle'far – Did you just take the 2e map from Domains of Dread and make it canon? Let me check, yep, it's all there. I just thought that plateau version of the domain was poetic license on the artist's part. But no... you took it an ran with it!

Yes. Yes, I did.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am Weather - I love that Ian didn't flinch from all the hazards that were introduced in the Thoughts of Darkness module and kept the surface of the domain near inhospitable. He is able to keep it the mean but also breath some life into it.

Flora – Glassgrass, steelgrass, and bloodscrub are very evocative and recall to my mind the deserts of the American Southwest. In contrast, foxfire mushrooms seem out of place – not the fungi itself but their name. It doesn't match the rest of the naming conventions and no reason is given for the deviation. As for the underground flora, leathercap seems redundant next to leatherroot.

I will agree that "foxfire mushrooms" is not as evocative. I just didn't find anything I liked better.

Same with the leathercap and leatherroot, actually. Leathercap was meant to be the material, and leatherroot, the thread. I can definitely see where the similarity of names makes this distinction even less prominent.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am The Sparking Vortex – Excellent. I'm always a sucker for adding another clever Mistway to the bunch!

HISTORY

In general, I like how the author combined all the different sources, but noticed he left out a lot regarding
the history of the darklord, so it wasn't as clear of a timeline as I would have hoped. I know this article is technically written from the perspective of the common people of the domain, but the DM in me wanted the complete picture in one place.

Yeahhhh. That's because I think the mind flayers are the third least interesting thing about Bluetspur.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am The Ildi'Thaani - Ian provides a good Cliffs Notes version on this secret society, but something about it doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the domain's history. I guess it's the fact that there's been so many “lone survivor” stories attached to this domain over the years. Really, how many “lone survivors” can there be? Enough to form their own support group it seems. I guess what I'm saying is the origin story of this secret society doesn't make sense, but I can't blame the author on that as that is the way it was written in canon!

I did the best I could!

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am The Great Release – This is another neat reference to the events of Thoughts of Darkness. And I love its sequel, the Second Release, as well. It's a good reminder that there is still some fight left in the populace.

Settlements – This entire article is a great example of what the “afterlife” of a society that has fallen to invaders (or just fallen to ruin in general) would look like. It reminds me a little of Mad Max or the Zion scenes from the Matrix movies. Also, I love the entire concept of the nnarls and how they are presented.

SITES OF INTEREST (SURFACE)

I love all of these. I particularly like the detailed descriptions of the city of Thaan-Qurru, the stone giants inhabiting the Desolate Peaks, and Melesku'ta.

SITES OF INTEREST (UNDERGROUND)

The Oo'oo'padans - I get the need for a mushroom people community, but these guys seem a bit redundant when you already have a Myconid community. I know Myconids are historically peaceful, but the Oo'oo'padans take it to an extreme and their origin seems overly complicated. Why not go in the other direction and make these guys more warlike?

The Oo'oo'padans were intended to be unsettling because they aren't just inhuman but post-human. The myconids were needed to explain the existence of the Oo'oo'padans.

Honestly, I hadn't thought of making the Oo'oo'padans warlike.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am SITES OF INTEREST – MT MAKAB

Kraol – The description of the cave mummies is creepy.

Sweet! I'm glad I decided to include them, then.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am NPCS

The Sun Dragon – This is the only inhabitant that I don't like. It reminds me too much of the Sleeping Beast in Lamordia.

I hadn't noticed the Sleeping Beast parallel. I was trying to figure out how to run a Spelljammer campaign when I created Arcturion. I mostly wanted a way to create miniature suns to use against the illithids. In retrospect, I think that releasing Arcturion might be a way to restore a true sun to Bluetspur.

I never did figure out how to run a Spelljammer campaign.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am The Hermits – I would normally say having three hermits (Dardan, Grath, and Queen Hazel) is one too many, but what the heck. The domain's big enough for all of them. And they are all sufficiently different to be distinct.

Thuxa – For some reason, in my mind, Bluetspur and Kalidnay are like two sides of the same coin. Both are barren wastelands, both feature a society struggling to survive, and both have some funky psionic stuff going on. So, I wish the author had mentioned a Mistway to connect the two Islands of Terror just for convenience's sake.

Thuxa herself is just the kind of side-ways threat (not quite darklord level, but strong enough to be a major player) that I enjoy seeing added to these domains. And her quest to become a Dragon could see her become a long term threat to the mindflayers, as well. Very nice.

Speedy gets credit for insisting that I include a tie-in to Kalidnay.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am Xhafer – I like the idea of a psionic version of a Brain in a Jar, but this one kinda falls flat for me. I would have liked to have seen his character developed more.

That's what "Four Came to Melesku'ta" was for.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am FACTIONS, CABALS, AND SECRET SOCIETIES

These are all pretty good. The only thing I wish Ian had added was the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power. Technically, they are located in Barovia, but they are heavily tied to Bluetspur. Plus, I think they could have added a much needed ray of hope to the land. There's got to be a way for all the psionically inclined individuals that tend to crop up here to escape this domain, and this group seems like they could run an “underground railroad” of sorts to do just that.

In early drafts I included the Brotherhood of Contemplative Power, but then I excluded them exactly because of their Barovian base. Good to know you wouldn't have minded.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am NEW MAGIC ITEMS

Speaking of the Brotherhood, there is a rather glaring omission here – what about the fabled Rod of Houtras and the Rod of Raston?

Yeahhhh. That's because I think the Rod of Houtras/Rod of Rastinon is the second least interesting thing about Bluetspur.

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am NEW MONSTERS

These entries, while welcome, are a little too prosaic for my taste. I would have liked more Lovecraftian horrors, since this is only canon domain semi-inspired by his writings. (But, then again, I will probably always be advocating for more Lovecraftian horror elements no matter what domain.) This just seems like a really good domain to add something so alien it could even give the mindflayers that rule the place a run for their money. The Color Out of Space, anyone?

I feel that Stanton F. Fink would do Lovecraftian horrors far better than I ever could!

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:42 am Overall - While I like pretty much everything Ian did here, I have to say the most impressive bit is the language that he has developed basically from scratch. Everything else is great, too. The history of the Thaani struggle against the mindflayers is also well put together and very thorough - the ruins, the sense of decay, the struggling survivor - it's all here. Well done, once again!

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Even the nitpicks!