Café de Nuit

Wha...

Beguiler.

It fits her to the T. Witch-like but also a courtier, emphasis on enchantment spells. It even fits her Ezra impersonation scheme.

The Giamarga wrote: Wha...

Beguiler.

It fits her to the T. Witch-like but also a courtier, emphasis on enchantment spells. It even fits her Ezra impersonation scheme.

Oooohhh, I do rather like that.

I like the Beguiler idea for Anneliese! Go forth and design!

If you're needing some good guys, a possible NPC could be Nahasia D'Polarno, a PC from the Juste Desserts link above. She was a ward in the D'Polarno residence. I hadn't worked out all the details of her mysterious past, but I had already determined that she had spent the last 250-300 years as a baby trapped in a painiting using the Pigments of Immortality. Why she had been painted and why she had been released, I can't remember, but she had no memory of that time.

Wow, this has been a long month, heh. I figured I'd throw some ideas into the ring, just as a mental exercise if nothing else.

First I want to reinforce a point that was made and overlooked.

Lord Cyclohexane wrote: (Also: Richemulot + artist + competiton for Stezen = wereboar painter guy from CotN:Werebeasts. He could stand for a more calm climate after burning down a city block in Richemulot... and pigs are often brought along with new colonies, let loose, and turn back into feral boars...)

This guy is fantastic! And I love the idea that his artistic side gets the better of him and he comes here ... but unlike Stezen's blandness, Henri Milton finds himself invigorated here! He finds himself overflowing with energy, and hunger. Imagine well informed PCs who are called in by the Marquis himself about a disappearance of local Ghastrians, just before his big plans.

I also loved the Borcan story arc! How fantastic.

Also, the "seeing through paintings eyes, hearing through their ears" just BEGS to have a story around it. Perhaps a disgraced artist, driven mad, lands in the ports of Lamordia or Nova Vaasa, talking about the "painting's eyes, they moved!" He begins painting eyeless and earless horrors, begging that they be brought back to Ghastria.

Or perhaps someone in town begins breaking into homes, though they aren't stealing anything, just strangely defacing the portraits around the domain, oddly ripping off the eyes and ears, or painting over them with tar.

I'm curious--why is this still "domain of the month"? The most recent post was over a month ago. And it was "domain of the month" when I joined.

Guess we shouldn't have assigned the task of rotating our "Domain of the Month" topics to Madame Eva...

*lol* Roti.

Boring answer: I have a more or less informal way to oversee the DoM threads. When it's been a while without post (hear that this is highly subjective and depends on my attention level at the moment), I switch to another domain. But it's about a month or so.

Ghastria has been a surprise since it resurrected each time I was thinking of replacing it.

And it's part of the SoSorrows, which is the subject of our next FoS domains Report, so that is why I took longer for this one!

Joël

A nice addition to the SoS project would be excerpts from the lord's, or rather from the lord's ghoulish henchman's, secret cookbook, chiefly the stuff related to cannabolishm.

I just found this on WotC site:

Artifacts

Gray Portrait: Initially only a blank canvas, a gray portrait becomes a picture of the owner after one week. After this time, it magically absorbs all the negative effects of aging and prevents the owner from dying of old age. If the portrait is destroyed, the owner immediately suffers all the negative effects of age and instantly dies if he has outlived his natural lifespan. If the owner is killed by any means, the canvas becomes blank again.

Aura: Strong necromancy [Evil]; Caster Level: 20th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, temporal stasis; Weight: 10 lbs.

from Fey Feature: Magic of Delight and Despair (Part 1 of 2) by Gwendolyn F. M. Kestrel and Faith M. Price.

For Stezen you just have to add some hefty CHA drain effect, immunity to energy drain and the offensive energy drain.

This is Stezen's background on the Trading card:
Stezen D'Polarno had a great love of life, but he was scheming and self-serving. When he betrayed the king, half of his soul was trapped in a portrait - the half that was vibrant. When Stezen came to Ravenloft, he discovered that once each season he could regain his vibrancy by forcing people to look at the painting and then stealing their life force.

And here are some excerpts on the painting from Darklords:
[...] When people gaze at the painting, the marquis need only wish to have his soul returned to him. The painting then drains the lifeforce from the unwary victims and deposits that energy with the darklord. Up to 50 people can be drained by the painting at one time, and Stezen gains one hour of reniewed vigor for each person so attacked. His ability and combat scores are not altered by this transfer, but his personality changes radically.

[...]casts a modified magic jar spell[...]

[...] Virtually nothing can destroy the painting. Flames lap at it harmlessly. If it is slashed it mends itself. If it is removed from the domain, it returns. Only if the Marquis dies can the painting be destroyed, for then its powers are lost.

Here's another thread resurrection. Grab the article from QTR #20 if you want to follow along...

There's a lot in here that I like - maybe a little too much. Cutting back on a few of the (admittedly pretty good) ideas presented here may be best. Sometimes less is more.

Geography - I like the idyllic description and the contrast it has with the other islands in the Sea of Sorrows. I'm getting a New Zealand vibe from this place. Very well done.

The Ghastrian Shallows – This is a great idea. Am I right in thinking this area falls outside the Darklord's curse and gives the populace a slight reprieve from the overall blandness of Ghastrian food?

Topography - Every forest needs an enchanted grove. Perhaps this would be a good place to provide details on a specific fey (maybe an Alven from Demise that has strayed far afield?).

The Farmer's Lament – I love all the theories surrounding this phenomenon. Having an occassional High Harvest (linked to the Darklord's revelries) is also a stroke of genius!

East Riding - I love “hanging the lampshade” on both East Riding's name and its position inland. The descriptions of the shops and art galleries remind me of a Cap Cod artist colony, which is something I think should be highlight. I also like the callback to ol' Henri Milton from COTN: Werebeasts. Andre du Cire (from COTN: The Created), on the other hand, seems out of place. Exactly how much traffic could a wax museum get on such a tiny island? Best to keep him in the more densely populated Core.

The Docks – Every island needs a town like this. I just think a little more thought could be put into the name. Something like Warton (short for Wharf Town) would seem more in line with domain's language and naming conventions.

Settlements – The contrasts between the villages should be more clearly deliniated - East Riding as the flighty arts center, The Docks as the busy trading center, and Norshore is where the down-to-earth types farm and fish. Maybe there is even a friendly rivalry between all of these communities - one that culminates in an annual fair where inhabitants come together and compete in crafting bees and feats of skill. Artists bring their best portfolio items, farmers bring samples of their best crops, etc.

Baron Camar D'Marosso – I believe having a good right-hand man (or woman) always enhances a Darklord. I like the ups and downs in their relationship throughout the years. I don't know how many ghouls could realistically survive on such a small island, however. It's best to limit the Baron's ghoulish brethern to a handful of nobles or trusted advisors and leave it at that.

The Unseen Menace – Is this a callback to the Nocturnal Sea Gazeteer? If so, it's a little too subtle and doesn't fit in with the rest of the domain's themes.

Blackwell's Watermen – Now this is more like it! This scenario is a good use of aquatic monsters that isn't too over the top; it's just the right mixture of intrigue and danger.

Lady Annelise – I like having her around because she ties-in to the Darklord's history so well, but I'm not really sure what can be done with her. I get that having someone like this, who knows all of the Darklord's dirty secrets, shouldn't be that easy available, but she is limited as presented. Exactly how does she communicate without talking?

Slaver Cove – This is another concept that seems out of place. Leave the human trafficking to Blaustein. Not every island in the Sea of Sorrows has to one of these places.

The Painted Gods – This is a neat way to add ancient dead to the domain, but I wouldn't have quite so many. Again, one or two powerful mummies with lesser minions would be more than enough for such a small island.

Umbral Grey – This is another great callback to the Book of Souls article, but what is the use of a poison that is so easily identifiable and only able to be masked by a select few who won't willingly give away the secret?

Flora and Fauna – Give me a good ol' fashioned haunted orchard here. This seems like the perfect place for a straw golem or pumpkin-headed scarecrow to be lurking about. (Maybe that's just from my love of Scooby Doo.) A more genteel version of the Wild Hunt also comes to mind. Anyone up for a Wild Fox Hunt? No? Well, it was worth a shot.

Ghastrian Spirits – I love it, way to think outside the box! Just provide some picturesque label names such as the Silver Lady or Devil's Phlegm and you're set.

Whaling – I just don't see a booming whale harvesting industry growing up without a more massive infrastructure in place. Leave that to the colder (and larger) waters of the Nocturnal Sea. Lobster fishng, on the other hand, make much more sense. Plus, it would be ironic that Ghastrian lobsters are a prized delicacy in the Core but worthless on the island itself.

The People - The racial make-up (split between Mordentish and Dementlieuse) is spot on. I love the concept that everyone has a side hustle. Island Time is a nice touch, too.

The Tortured Artist and the Muse – these ideas are okay, but seem half-formed. Astoflo Pagnatto is too generic – why would a red widow be interested in him instead of easier prey? A ghostly muse inspiring others to greatness but never getting the acclaim she craves sounds like an interesting hook, but why is she repeating the same actions and expecting different results?

Achemy – Again, this isn't something that has to be everywhere.

Food - The focus on scent and texture instead of taste is really neat. And the locals passing off soured food to newcomers is a nice detail.

Divinitie de la C'air – Having a large group of ghouls on a small island just seems like a bad idea. Maybe explain that the group's membership has been dwindling over the years - from over a dozen down to maybe four or five. Everyone else has either left, gone bankrupt, or died.

Religion - I like the idea of the Church of Ezra moving in and repairing the ruined chapel. I don't like the idea of different sects competing for followers, though. The Darkonian sect, for instance, doesn't seem like something that would travel much further than Darkon's borders. If you want, you could say that they made an attempt but their approach clashed too much with Ghastrian culture.

The Writer and the Seer – I'm partial to quick sketches of prominent personalities like these two.

History – This is an amazing condensation of various articles and sources. I love the idea of a peasant revolution where athe Darklord finally getting called out because of their unnaturally long life. Did I miss an adventure somewhere, or is the episode highlighting the Marquis' near death experience spun out of whole cloth? If so, bravo! Turning the “first” Polarno into a mythic Marquis de Sade figure is a great touch.

The Polonoists – This group just left me cold. Is their aim political power? How does that make them different from any other group of nobles? That seems kinda humdrum for a society of deviants. If you want to make them real nasty combine them with the Divinitie de la C'air.

Pasques – Taking a festival of renewal and turning it into a bad luck omen is a good twist. I love how it ties back to Polarno's overindulgence.

Javier Villafane – Another character that doesn't seem to fit the island. Is he Scarface or a Citizen Kane? Either way, he seems like he would be more at home on Blaustein.

Additional Thoughts

I'm tempted to just leave my review at that, but I'm even more tempted to add my own two cents...

Would it be too much to bring back King Oderic as a wraith bent on deposing Polarno? Probably.

Does Polarno have a love life – either real or rumored?

Marquis Manor – should it have a more specific name?

Why not highlight a couple of cursed art pieces (culled form canon adventures or novels) that Polarno has collected?

And finally...

What is Polarno's endgame? We know his dearest wish is to have his soul restored, but what has he been doing to achieve this? Has he tracked down any famous wizards and blackmailed help from them (buying their silence by feeding their vices)? Maybe he is playing a cat-and-mouse game with Annelise, hoping to catch her and wring the secret of his enchantment out of her. Heck, maybe such long term planning is beyond him after all these years of indulging his baser instincts. (Maybe I just expect too much from Darklords these days.)