Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
CONTRADICTIONS AND MYSTERIES
I brainstormed / proofread this article for Ian in its early stages, but will give my full review of the finished product here.
I appreciated your brainstorming and proofreading then, and I appreciate your full review now.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
The Books of Knowledge / The Recalled Book / The Four Ages – I find this to be a really quick and elegant way of explaining away any and all contradictions between the Rajian pantheon and the D&D prime material plane version (as well as the real world religion of Hinduism).
I would have liked to have a seen a little more comparison and contrast between the different ages, though. Just to get a glimpse of what a Rajian Golden Age would look like.
I suspect that that somewhere among my reference books there's some hint about the differences among the Four Ages, including why the Golden Age ended, but a quick rummage hasn't revealed anything. Suffice to say that in the Golden Age everybody sacrificed to the devas and otherwise fulfilled their dharma as they were supposed to. Nobody committed any Ultimate Acts of Darkness.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Sacrifices, Devotions, and Asceticism – I like this section a lot because it is the crux of what separates this religion from others. A lot of Ravenloft religions skate around the idea of sacrificial offerings completely (I can't even think of any rituals related to the Church of Ezra or the Eternal Order off the top of my head), but the Rajians puts it front and center. And the idea that the power granted by these sacrifices can be stolen by other spirits or even appropriated by humans can lead to all sorts of interesting scenarios, as demonstrated by the Tale of Bhajya the Ascetic.
Aspects and Avatars / Planting Seeds – Sleeper agents of the gods is a great hook; these could make great allies for anyone trying to confront the darklord. But, again, I would have liked to have seen a few examples to illustrate how they would operate in Ravenloft. I think the Subverted Temple / Imprisoned Proxy Dread Possibility attempts to do that, but without an idea of what powers these beings possess (and the limits thereof) it falls kinda flat for me.
Okay, noted.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Devas and Asuras – This is yet another facet of its unique mythology that separates it from other religions. I think this section could have been expanded to tell some stories to illustrate the contradictory character of each group of demigods. It wouldn't hurt to give a rough hierarchy of who's the leader of each group and the roles of their subordinates. It seems like of all sections, this was the most rushed when it should have been expanded.
Honestly, the lacunae arose because I was trying to avoid complicated details that I assumed would interest nobody but me.
As an example and to address your question about hierarchy: Indra is the king of the devas, at least during the Vedic era. After that, different branches of Hinduism hold different devas to be paramount. There is no consensus. The situation is just as bad among the asuras. According to Wikipedia, Vedic sources divide asuras into the Adityas (the "good" asuras, led by Varuna) and Danavas (the "evil" asuras, led by Vritra). However, from my reading I don't recall that split (and the implicit hierarchy) being so concrete. Oh, and just to complicate things, in the oldest available texts Indra and the other devas are also called asuras.
For simplicity's sake, then, I went with the post-Vedic division of "good" devas and "evil" asuras.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Dharma / Svadharma / Castes / Reincarnation – I feel like a few more connective sentences would have helped organize this section better. I know logically that all these concepts relate to each other but still can't explain how they all fit together. It certainly puts the contradictions of the Rajian religion in the spotlight, however, which is a good lead in to the rest of the article.
I have submitted errata to Joël to try to address this concern.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Deities of the Cities – These do a good job of weaving old material from the published books into a more coherent whole. There was a dearth of deities in
Web of Illusion but it was never clearly explained why.
The handling of religion in
Web of Illusion bothered me too. Hence this article!
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Dread Possibilities (Ratri) - Where are the stakes here? What happens to the nearby town and its people if one or the other of these beings escape? Would Arijani and the Dark Sisters step in personally, hire some heroes to check it out, or ignore it completely?
I see the Gharial of Shadows as something like a dragon, perhaps using a chiang lung as a base. Very, very bad things would happen to Pakat and its tasty, tasty inhabitants if the Gharial had a falling-out with its priests. The priests might even become desperate enough to release Bahaaduri to save their skins, but they are more likely to turn to foreign mercenaries.
As for Arijani, he would probably realize that the Gharial would
not be covered by his boon from Ravana's avatar, and so I suspect he would (1) want it destroyed and (2) want someone else to do the destroying. The Dark Sisters are his immediate tool at hand, but if they fail to subdue the beast, then Arijani might well turn to foreign mercenaries... but likely with plans to kill them if they do manage to destroy the Gharial.
On the other hand, if Bahaaduri were to escape, the immediate impact would be far less obvious, not least because she needs to realign with her goddess away from her darkless cell. A chance encounter with adventurers might provide allies to defend her from the priest's hired thugs for enough time to recover some of her power. Her immediate goal would probably be to eliminate the threat of the Gharial of Night. Her longer-term goal would be to re-establish a proper priesthood devoted to Ratri. For his part, likely Arijani would intervene only if he realizes that Bahaaduri is a proxy of Ratri and therefore is potentially unaffected by Ravana's boon.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Deities of the Temple – I'm assuming these figures are also taken from
Web of Illusion (I'm too lazy to dig out my copy for confirmation) and introducing them via dream sequence is a creative way for the narrator to encounter Arijani and live. I only wish a little more space was given to how these deities operate in the domain now that they are “under the heels of Kali.” Especially since these are the gods most people think of when discussing Hinduism.
My interpretation is that they mostly
don't operate in Sri Raji. Not unless they've got an avatar seeded somewhere in the domain.
That said, their priests would gain spells and granted abilities via the Unspoken Pact with the Dark Powers. At least as long as they don't turn such spells and granted abilities against Kali or her faithful.
(And, yes, those are the deities from
Web of Illusion.)
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
The Missing Deities – I like the breadcrumbs outlined here and really love the inclusion of the mysterious Soma (and its Dread Possibility). The original ingredients / recipe of Soma is one of the great mysteries of history and is an esoteric Easter egg that I very much appreciate.
Glad you like what I did with Soma.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Village Dieties – This hodgepodge of lesser gods opens the door for DMs to add their own deities into the mix as needed.
Exactly my intention. Hinduism has thrived in part because of its ability to assimilate local faiths, and I wanted to show that its Rajian reflection is similarly versatile.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Ravana – I would have loved more anecdotes like this scattered throughout the article to really bring the mythic dimensions of this pantheon alive.
I'm sorry I did not realize that at the time. I'm sure I could have come up with another legend or two.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
The Skull Bearers – I really like this “secret” society. The Hindu relationship to death is complex and this is a more nuanced take than we usually see in Ravenloft.
Because the Skull Bearers are based upon a real world tradition, I don't feel I can take too much credit for this society. However, I'm encouraged that you appreciate my Ravenloftification of it.
Jeremy16 wrote: Wed Jan 28, 2026 9:35 am
Siva – I feel like the idea that this goddess is trying to thwart Kali should have been given more room to breath, because it opens up a lot of interesting possibilities. It could tie together a whole bunch of disparate groups and creatures of the domain and give them a common goal. Or at least a common sponsor that is guiding their actions. Perhaps some unearthed tablets or temple could be discovered to spark a revival of this gods worship strong enough to significantly change the power dynamic in the domain, which I feel would be a great end of the world type campaign. What I'm trying to say is this idea has legs and like Ravana's rivalry should have been peppered throughout the article to give it a more epic scope.
I assumed that this notion would be too radical for a number of readers, and so I decided to save it for a surprise twist at the end. I'm actually quite pleased that you wish I'd given it more attention.
Thanks again for the detailed review!
I encourage them.