Café de Nuit

DEMENTLIEU


Simple Substitutions – The usual suspects here are the Brain (of Rudolf Aubrecker, detailed in RMCII) or Celeste D'Honaire-Loverde (detailed in LoTB). Both of these candidates would essentially use the same gimmick as Dominic but with subtle differences. Then there's some people that would be more than happy to replace Dominic with Saidra D'Honaire from VRGtR... I am just not one of them (I feel her backstory is weak and her gimmick is too limited)!

Evil Evolved – Instead of focusing on changing the darklord, let's shift the feel of the domain itself. Presently, Dementlieu is seen as the cultural center of the Core. What would happen if we introduced a little chaos into the mix?

Basically, I'm advocating for a Dementlieuse Revolution, with nobles being hunted down, imprisoned, and then sent to the guillotine. I want a revolving door of would-be rulers who promise to fix things but once they get into power just follow the same old despotic playbook – similar to when Napoleon took over France. I want whole new systems of measurements instituted ever few months that are tossed out every few months as one faction or another vies for the reins of power.

Naturally, in such an environment we could expect to fine a Robespierre type figure working behind the scenes to keep the chaos going. But my preference would be to make the infamous Guillotine itself be the true ruler of the domain. Historically, cursed or possessed items are hard to make into good darklords (looking at you, Ebonbane), but I think it'd be a worthwhile idea to explore.

(Alternatively, if you want to keep both Dominic or the Brain in play, this entire situation could just be an escalation of their covert conflict, with various catspaws that they send against each other.)

Extreme Makeover Edition – For some reason, I keep returning to the idea of a greater Reaver becoming the darklord of this domain. Perhaps it's the Lovecraft fan in me that wants to fulfill a grand Shadow Over Innsmouth scenario. I know it has been played around with in one or two places before (in the Hilda Borganov adventure in COTN: Werebeasts and Meerdorf from the Nocturnal Sea Gazetteer) but I want to see it enacted on a wider scale. And I think it would be poetic justices for this once great land of enlightened intellectualism to be reduced to a backwards, superstition-ridden domain with crumbling opera houses and empty theaters.

How about the ghost of an anarchist, similar to an odem or animator, which possesses people and objects (in particular, guillotines)?

Jeremy16 wrote: Sun Mar 15, 2026 4:09 pm

Mistmaster wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2026 9:42 am Well let Drakov take it over, only to discover that Darkon is too big to be governed with his iron hand approach and without magic and undead enforcer.

I'm trying to avoid swapping one darklord out for another. I want to advance the campaign setting, not just rearrange it.

Plus... Spoiler Alert: Vlad is not going to survive the ToUD in my version of things!

The more things change the more they remain the same. Beside, since when death is theend of something, in ravenloft? Turning Drakov in a Death Knight would be a nice evolution. To each their own however.

Mistmaster wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2026 9:42 am Well let Drakov take it over, only to discover that Darkon is too big to be governed with his iron hand approach and without magic and undead enforcer.

And then we can have the big invasion of the dead and, ahem, end up with (a much larger version of) 5e Falkovnia.

DEMISE – Move Althea over to Vechor, where she fits better thematically. You can either demote her from darklordship or keep her maze a pocket domain.

DOMINIA – I would split this domain down the middle, moving the good Dr. Heinforth and his asylum somewhere on the mainland (perhaps the island of Liffe) but keep the isolated fortress in the Sea of Sorrows and turn it into a prison akin to Alkatraz. Having a penal colony only approachable by water that houses the most infamous criminals of the Core is just rife with possibilities.

(The idea of creating a miniature prison domain within the wider prison plane of Ravenloft also tickles my fancy.)

But who would be the warden of this grim fastness? And would he be a darklord or something more mundane? I don't want another Sheriff von Zarovich situation where he is an over-the-top villain with no nuance, but then again... maybe I do! He can roam the domains with his own brute squad, bringing criminals to heel and blackmailing communities to either pay him off or he'll release the outlaws he's captured.

IanFordam wrote: Sun Mar 15, 2026 6:14 pm How about the ghost of an anarchist, similar to an odem or animator, which possesses people and objects (in particular, guillotines)?

This could work. I already have an idea for a headless ghost kicking around. Why not both? A guillotine possessed by the ghost of one of its victims, that can manifest sometimes as a headless ghost?

Jeremy16 wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2026 5:35 am DOMINIA – I would split this domain down the middle, moving the good Dr. Heinforth and his asylum somewhere on the mainland (perhaps the island of Liffe) but keep the isolated fortress in the Sea of Sorrows and turn it into a prison akin to Alkatraz. Having a penal colony only approachable by water that houses the most infamous criminals of the Core is just rife with possibilities.

(The idea of creating a miniature prison domain within the wider prison plane of Ravenloft also tickles my fancy.)

But who would be the warden of this grim fastness? And would he be a darklord or something more mundane? I don't want another Sheriff von Zarovich situation where he is an over-the-top villain with no nuance, but then again... maybe I do! He can roam the domains with his own brute squad, bringing criminals to heel and blackmailing communities to either pay him off or he'll release the outlaws he's captured.

Tossing a handful of ideas for 2e NPCs that could take on the role of a warden out there to see what sticks:

Hoelgar Amutsson (from Bleak House) - can't be bribed, but doesn't care if his underlings take bribes. Head of the Martira Bay Harbor Watch. Having him get driven out to take up a job elsewhere would make him a dark reflection of Alanik Ray (who was head of the Constabulary at the time of Bleak House).

Captain Alec Rapacion (from Book of Crypts) - a loup-garou serial killer who hires adventurers to investigate his murders.

Lord Haroln (from Vecna Reborn and Die Vecna Die!) - the head of Vecna's police and ambitious enough to be plotting (poorly) to overthrow Vecna. A vampire wizard/cleric who might be worth drawing out just to have some legacy of Vecna's passing.

The Dark wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2026 11:32 pm
Hoelgar Amutsson (from Bleak House) - can't be bribed, but doesn't care if his underlings take bribes. Head of the Martira Bay Harbor Watch. Having him get driven out to take up a job elsewhere would make him a dark reflection of Alanik Ray (who was head of the Constabulary at the time of Bleak House).

I like this idea

I see a lot of good ideas here as to how to make things worse, but I wanna through in a little hope too.

[Disclaimer: this is gonna be so copied from Elantris, and I know it. It's not my thought Darkon happens to have all the right components. Ravenloft is a setting that takes expies from literally every corner in media, I'm just 'acting like a Roman'.]

So.
Azalin's plan to ressurect Irik using a huge reality wrinkle worked... Almost.
He came back as some sort of undead. His memories, personality, mental faculities and alignment are all mostly unharmed, but he has the appearance of a not-especially-rotten zombie. Our 'beloved' wizard king dismissed him as another failed experiment, and we all know no good can come from that...
Unless...
Irik found his way into Necropolis, one of the few places where a zombie can really feel at home. He's taken surprisingly well the whole 'dying then being returned to life, transfered into a different world and abandoned by his dad again' thing. He's just a very nonchalant type. He learned quite a bit from his dad about planing and researching, but unlike him isn't a control freak. He's a talented artificer, and prefers the open-minded experimentation and exploration of artificery to the reptitive memorization and ritualism of traditional wizardry.
He's taken it upon himself to reform the slain city - not by undoing the magic that transformed it, he doesn't have the magical knowledge to do that yet, but by rehabilitating the undead citizens. In his mind, curses are a matter of perspective, eternal damnation is a self-fulfilling prophercy, undeath is a legit third alternative to life and death. As strange as it sounds, he believes that the absence of biological needs gives Necropolis the potential to become a near-utopia, a post-scarcity economy where people are free to dedicate themselves to art and studying!
He'd been facing strong opposition from various factions in the city, but slowly manages to talk sense into some of them. He gives people hope, a rare and much-needed element in the Land of Mists. Even Lowellyn Dachine (his... Brother? Too many weird revelations in this story) had been convinced to hear his arguments, and is considering to listen.
He made his base inside the ruins of the University of Aluk Il, which he's currently in the midst of rebuilding, alongside a few dozens of Slain allies and followers. As things are improving, he'd been allowing himself more time to skim through the dusty tomes and research the world he's been thrust into. He's getting close to the realisation that Ravenloft is the plane of eternal doom and gloom - would that knowledges break him at last, or would he prove to be as stubborn as (though much kinder than) his father?
And what happens when the rest of Darkon finds out what he had been up to?

(If you wanna go further with the Elantris parallel, maybe we can have some warden from Nevuchar Springs as the Hrathen expy?)

By 780 I think the mortals are starting to kick off. drakov, Dilisnya, d'Honaire and Weather may have shaken off their mortal coils, and Tristen Hiregaard likely has as well, passing Malken on to another host.

I don't think Tristen belongs in that list.

Like, according to LotB, the Hiregaards for some reason age at the same rate as half-elves. That is, almost half as fast as normal humans.

Tristen is in his late nineties by the time of Gaz V, isn't he? So... About 120 now?
If we go by the Pathfinder age chart, he isn't even in the 'venerable' category yet. That is, if you assume NPCs should strictly follow the same numbers we ascribe to PCs. But anyways, he still has over 3d20 years to live.

I get why some of you want him to pass away. He isn't a typical darklord, he's a complex person punished mostly for his father's sins. (I personally like this 'reluctant monster' dynamic, but admit it's breaking the setting's inner logic.)
The point is, it's not going to happen on its own. He's not dying of old age anytime soon.

If you want Tristen out of the game, we have either
- Get him killed in another way (My suggestion: Either by Othmar accusing him of betrayal or by the peasants when they finally revolt. Either way, paying the price of picking no side in the conflict.)
- Transfer Malken to a more evil host while Tristen is still alive
- Get Malken to redeem himself (Possibly involving Tristen finally going to therapy/otherwise processing his repressed trauma and them either merging or learning to communicate)
- Make sure someone around is even worse than Malken (Othmar. It's Othmar. Of course it's Othmar.)

Another idea I had in mind is that while Tristen isn't close to death yet, he is starting to feel his age.
And so is Malken, cause they're sharing the same fridging body.
And while Tristen is relatively chill about this, Malken isn't. Cause he can't sneak out of the tower windows anymore, he's too weak and his sense of balance is too poor to climb. He spends the majority of his transformations trapped and helpless with no way to contact his underlings.
How is an evil alter-ego supposed to run a criminal organisation like that?!
So. He needs a new host.
How is he going to get one?
There are two options:
1) He figured out that like Romil's death had transferred the curse to Tristen, so will Tristen's death transfer the curse to one of his sons. So now he's trying his best to get Tristen killed, in very creative ways.
2) Tristen is already trying to find a way to get rid of him, right? So maybe Malken is helping him, giving him clues as to how to seperate them, in hopes instead of eliminating him this will allow him to choose a new host or gain his own body. But will Tristen trust his aid in the first place?

If Tristen is still around, his 2e stats will have changed to Str 15, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 18/3 based on being 65 when he's statted up in The Awakening. Around 785 they'll change again to Str 14, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18/3 when he hits Venerable.

At that time, he had three sons and six grandsons who Malken could be transferred to in the case of Tristen's death, and it would go in order of age. In 780, 55 years later, there could be a whole bunch of great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons also vulnerable to the curse. Gaz V added a fourth son who's at least two dozen years younger than the six grandsons in The Awakening, and I'm not sure there's any clarity on whether it would jump to Mikhail (the youngest son) or Stepan (the oldest grandson) if the three elder sons all died.

The Dark wrote: Sun Apr 05, 2026 6:44 pm If Tristen is still around, his 2e stats will have changed to Str 15, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 18/3 based on being 65 when he's statted up in The Awakening. Around 785 they'll change again to Str 14, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18/3 when he hits Venerable.

Hold on.
A rule question I never managed to understand:
Are aging effects culmunative?

TheArcaneWeirdo wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 9:56 am

The Dark wrote: Sun Apr 05, 2026 6:44 pm If Tristen is still around, his 2e stats will have changed to Str 15, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 18/3 based on being 65 when he's statted up in The Awakening. Around 785 they'll change again to Str 14, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18/3 when he hits Venerable.

Hold on.
A rule question I never managed to understand:
Are aging effects culmunative?

Edit: I got the problem!
Your calculation feels weird to me because 2e aging effects are different.

I'm used to the rule being
Middle Aged: -1 to physical stats, +1 to mental stats
Old: -2 to physical stats, +2 to mental stats
Venerable: -3 to physical stats, +3 to mental stats.

But now when I googled it up, there are so many different homebrow rules for DND aging effects.
Which honestly makes sense, cause everyone's body is a little bit different.

TheArcaneWeirdo wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 10:08 am

TheArcaneWeirdo wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 9:56 am

The Dark wrote: Sun Apr 05, 2026 6:44 pm If Tristen is still around, his 2e stats will have changed to Str 15, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 18/3 based on being 65 when he's statted up in The Awakening. Around 785 they'll change again to Str 14, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18/3 when he hits Venerable.

Hold on.
A rule question I never managed to understand:
Are aging effects culmunative?

Edit: I got the problem!
Your calculation feels weird to me because 2e aging effects are different.

I'm used to the rule being
Middle Aged: -1 to physical stats, +1 to mental stats
Old: -2 to physical stats, +2 to mental stats
Venerable: -3 to physical stats, +3 to mental stats.

But now when I googled it up, there are so many different homebrow rules for DND aging effects.
Which honestly makes sense, cause everyone's body is a little bit different.

There are some variations, but 2e's default "use unless otherwise directed" version is:
Middle Age: -1 Str & Con, +1 Int & Wis
Old: -2 Str & Dex, -1 Con, +1 Wis
Venerable: -1 Str, Dex, Con, +1 Int & Wis

Domains of Dread uses this for all of its demihumans.