APRIL FOOLS: What we do know about VR Guide to Ravenloft?

[Joël of the FoS]

EDIT on April 2nd: Collected below are the April Fools 2021 posts originally posted on the Real VRGtR news thread. Thanks everyone who played along with us!

The FoS got our advance for-review copy a few days ago, and midnight last night was the embargo not to speak about it. So now we can reveal a few things.

Major things confirmed :

- Yes, as announced, all domains are island in the mists, no surprise. There is very few politics between domains.
- As mentionned in the Wes Schneider interview (see link above), there are mistways-like « conduits » between some of the domains. Some are difficult but I think most are easily reached (unless borders are sealed).
- it’s about one domain per 3-5 pages.

We've been talking it over amongst ourselves in the meantime and will cross-post some of our thoughts/reviews from the FoS private board. Our conclusion is well, it seems more solid than we first expected, and for exemple :

Jester’s comment : Darkon was well handled, and it was nice they kept Death as a local power while not being a separate lord, so Il Aluk/Necropolis is still connected.

Ron : Of all the old domains I thought might be updated, Ramsay's Isle was was not even on the list. But, I guess someone on the team has a soft spot for that old Dungeon adventure. It's weird to see the tiny island expanded to a major continent, though I guess that's necessary if you're going to run more than a one-shot there. And the Ramsay family themselves being race-swapped to Dragonborn is a really odd choice, but it works surprisingly well!

Joël : the integration of CoS into Barovia expands that land sandbox and is quite well made. Expect some fan favorite returning in 5e.

Joël : The new take on Vechor is strange (even for Vechor !). While Vechor is kept as an everchanging place and Easan the Mad is darklord, but there is a now a « mirror » domain to it called Controversy? It’s a partitioned realm where the population is always divided : 50 % for / 50 % against any idea, or any new proposition. Even a convicted serial killer will have half of the population defending him. So while everybody angrily discuss (without really listening, and no one changes their mind), nothing can move and all is fixed into immobility as people fight verbally and insult each other. I won’t reveal who the darklord is (but it’s a known and loved Ravenloft NPC return, yeah!). Half the people think is he uninteresting and bland, the other half do admire him as some kind of rock star like icon. You probably have guessed by now who that darklord is?

Joël : Darkon has new epic feature close to Martyra Bay - Bayblaadenn arena, where people fight until they die, while people cheer on and take bets. A kind of Roman era arena, or perhaps like the Walking Dead Governor's fight arena, or the angry energy of old Il Morai Carnival, bread and games, angry valve for the population and all that. The enigmatic master of the arena is called Tuuber, depending on the day and wanted features (think Toben the Many, but I think cooler). Quite exciting creature’s background (his/her), I think.

Jester: There are many new domains in the book, I counted 6 new ones. The new domain that jumped out at me was Erendelle. Being a land of eternal winter, at first I assumed it was a copy of Vorostokov (which isn’t in the book), with a female darklord. But then I realized it was a different take on the Snow Queen myth. And the inclusion of the dying sister as a possible redemption element or final sin gives the DM some options.

Joël : There a new domain in the book, I think we can now talk about it (we got early copies and the silence embargo fell last night), called Monopolistic. I had to read it thrice to get it, as it was not obvious at first and I think the proposition is quite subtle and complex. I think it replaces Paridon as Paridon is not in the book. You'll see Monopolistic is a nearly all built, densely populated city, a quite modern domain like Paridon. This said, the darklord curse is about trying to buy as much land as he can, while other people charge him for every move he makes. Odd, but it has possibilities, especially when the Boritsi Trade Co gets in the buying game (won't say more until the book is out not to keep the surprise).

Ron : Now I come to Bolasia.... I'm a big Magic: The Gathering fan, but was very wary when WotC started "crossing the streams" between MtG and D&D a few years back, with the Theros and Ravnica books. Ravenloft even got a shout-out in one of the online-only supplements, which said you could place Curse of Strahd in Innistrad. I didn't think things would go much further than that, but here we are with one of the big bads of Magic getting his own domain. Nicol Bolas, the scheming mastermind elder dragon. I suppose if anyone from Magic earned a domain, it would be him. But in the lore of Magic, he's already trapped in his meditation plane, so seeing him here ruling a thriving society that doesn't believe he exists is a little odd. Hopefully everyone who's been wanting a dragon darklord will be pleased.

Ron : I never really got into the Wildlands in the past, so the revamp here is quite welcome. Rather than the cliche King Crocodile, we've got four co-darklords, all hippos. A strange-seeming choice unless you know that the hippopotamus is actually the world's deadliest land mammal. Anyway, four different darklords, with each claiming a quarter of the domain, scheming against each other and using the other animals as their proxies to wage a war over territory and more importantly, the scarce food in the domain. I like how there is a parallel between how hungry they are for power and also for food. Well done!

Ron : OK, we all knew it was coming eventually, but I didn't expect the crossovers to include Nerf so soon. I was expecting that to be in the Free RPG Day supplement, but here it is in the main book. Despite what was surely corporate meddling to fit this in. HOWEVER, they managed to find a very clever way to make it work, by taking some inspiration here from the classic Icelandic body horror film, Mjúkur Svampapúki Elskan. Once again the writers are showing they know their obscure horror sources. I did think they went a little too far, though... did the terrain AND the native wildlife have to be made of the same "unsettlingly spongy substance"? I do like the new weapons introduced here, and I might use them for less lethal encounters.

We’ll post more in the coming hours and days.

Do you have any specific question on the book?

We cannot spoil everything (no I won’t put the list of all covered domains!), but if you have specific questions, please ask ahead.

EDIT on April 2nd: April Fools!

[Jack the Reaper]

Thanks for all the info! What about Lamordia and Falkovnia and their new Darklords? Are they really all bad or is there a chance for redemption?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Well, I'm still not 100% clear on how much we are allowed to reveal, but I like the new Falkovnia. (It will never be "my" Falkovnia, but it is cool.) As some had predicted, the zombie outbreak is due to a military experiment gone wrong. A biomancer named Davril, working for Horstmann, crossed sharks with humans to create supersoldiers, but something went wrong and created the zombies, who all have fish branded on their heads instead of hawks.

As for Lamordia, maybe because these are review copies they aren't finished, but as far as I can tell nothing at all has changed other than the names and genders of Victor and Adam. Literally nothing! It seems they cut and pasted from the Domains of Dread and did a search and replace, changing Adam to Elise, Elise to Adam and Victor to Viktra, then changing all the pronouns to they/them. This is unusually lazy for WotC, so I have to believe it's just supposed to be a placeholder/outline and the final version will be fleshed out. (or flesh-golemed out...)

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Joël : I won’t reveal who the darklord is (but it’s a known and loved Ravenloft NPC return, yeah!). Half the people think is he uninteresting and bland, the other half do admire him as some kind of rock star like icon. You probably have guessed by now who that darklord is?

Someone with a harpsichord I guess...?

Joël : Darkon has new epic feature close to Martyra Bay - Bayblaadenn arena, where people fight until they die, while people cheer on and take bets. A kind of Roman era arena.

Since there is no Falkovnia as we know it...

Joël : There a new domain in the book, I think we can now talk about it (we got early copies and the silence embargo fell last night), called Monopolistic.
....
This said, the darklord curse is about trying to buy as much land as he can, while other people charge him for every move he makes.

The darklord is the old man from monopoly boardgame... Hasbro did it again...
https://monopoly.hasbro.com/el-gr

Ron : Now I come to Bolasia.... I'm a big Magic: The Gathering fan

More game promotion...

Ron : I never really got into the Wildlands in the past, so the revamp here is quite welcome. Rather than the cliche King Crocodile, we've got four co-darklords, all hippos... I like how there is a parallel between how hungry they are for power and also for food. Well done!

Another game promotion Hungry Hungry Hippos by Hasbro...
https://www.amazon.in/Hasbro-98936-Hung ... B008FD8ETS

Ron : OK, we all knew it was coming eventually, but I didn't expect the crossovers to include Nerf so soon.... I do like the new weapons introduced here, and I might use them for less lethal encounters.

You said it, I rest my case...

"unsettlingly spongy substance"?

Darklord: Spongebob Squarepants

https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Game-Life ... B0006I5G14

We cannot spoil everything.

You didn't spoil it, they (Hasbro) did...

Thanks for the info though.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

A biomancer named Davril, working for Horstmann, crossed sharks with humans to create supersoldiers, but something went wrong and created the zombies, who all have fish branded on their heads instead of hawks.

https://www.amazon.com/Elefun-Friends-S ... B079Z817JG

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Ron : I never really got into the Wildlands in the past, so the revamp here is quite welcome. Rather than the cliche King Crocodile, we've got four co-darklords, all hippos. A strange-seeming choice unless you know that the hippopotamus is actually the world's deadliest land mammal. Anyway, four different darklords, with each claiming a quarter of the domain, scheming against each other and using the other animals as their proxies to wage a war over territory and more importantly, the scarce food in the domain. I like how there is a parallel between how hungry they are for power and also for food. Well done!

So... (Please forgive me for saying this, but the image leaped out at me and it won't leave me alone.) So the Wildlands have basically become a game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

A biomancer named Davril, working for Horstmann, crossed sharks with humans to create supersoldiers, but something went wrong and created the zombies, who all have fish branded on their heads instead of hawks.

https://www.amazon.com/Elefun-Friends-S ... B079Z817JG

Now I think you're stretching.... Yes, a few of these domains seem to be cross-promotion with other Hasbro brands, but they seem to be sticking to the most famous ones. The Falkovnian fish motif stuff seems to be good old fashioned Lovecraft. You know, Innsmouth, Deep Ones, Primaprilis, that sort of thing.

[SilentRave]

Hey Joël, I do have some questions.

First of, as everything has become an Island of Terror, or isolated domains or whatever the terminology might be in the book, is there any reason behind it ? Is there any concurrent metaplot or otherwise plot device that would explain such a radical change or does it boil down to a hard reboot?

Is there any coherence as of the history of Ravenloft? For example is there any reason that in CoS, even though it takes place in 735 BC there's a temple dedicated to Vecna who hasn't entered Ravenloft up until 750?

Are there any rules as of how magic and intentions work in Ravenloft? For example cursing or how spells might work, or power checks?

Is the Gentleman Caller mentioned ?

Lastly, does anything happen in Ravenloft? Has it become a stale boat in the ocean ? If there are no intrigues or interactions between domains, what's going on ?

[Joël of the FoS]

Hungry Hippos? Never heard of that?

EDIT: I see you guys make links with Hasbro toys and games. Not sure if it is intentional. I'll finish it (got my copy only yesterday) and be back on this.

Hey Joël, I do have some questions.

First of, as everything has become an Island of Terror, or isolated domains or whatever the terminology might be in the book, is there any reason behind it ? Is there any concurrent metaplot or otherwise plot device that would explain such a radical change or does it boil down to a hard reboot?

I won't spoil the surprise, but it involves someone's neverending plans to leave Ravenloft, good old Azalin, heh heh. And the help of a certain Ghaele. Did'nt know they could be fooled to fall in love. But her hatred when he left her for a younger girl was earth shattering. I guess Azalin's plan didn't work as supposed ...

Is there any coherence as of the history of Ravenloft? For example is there any reason that in CoS, even though it takes place in 735 BC there's a temple dedicated to Vecna who hasn't entered Ravenloft up until 750?

There is very few backstory that refers to the Core history itself. Each domains have their backstory, more or less mingled and changed from2e/3e era, but there is few explanations as to why the Core is shattered. Other than what I previously wrote. The whole explanation takes one paragraph!

Are there any rules as of how magic and intentions work in Ravenloft? For example cursing or how spells might work, or power checks?

Same as before there, few changes. One main thing added : the path to becoming darklord now has a chance that you sex change.

Is the Gentleman Caller mentioned ?

I saw a mention in the flavor blurb intro text, but I'm not sure I saw his name elsewhere. His metaplot is clearly to as important as before. FoS Guys?

Lastly, does anything happen in Ravenloft? Has it become a stale boat in the ocean ? If there are no intrigues or interactions between domains, what's going on ?

Very few of the previous domains interactions remains. The islands float into something they refered once as the great milkshake. There is trade, the "conduits" and the vistanis, and that's it. Each domain is a solid stand alone, but the whole feels more artificial.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Hungry Hippos? Never heard of that?

Then feast your eyes on this.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Is the Gentleman Caller mentioned ?

I saw a mention in the flavor blurb intro text, but I'm not sure I saw his name elsewhere. His metaplot is clearly to as important as before. FoS Guys?

Not by name, but I think I spotted him on page 83. What do you make of the reference to the "Mysterious gentleman" who created the iron golem that can disguise itself as a vardo as a trap for Madame Eva?

[Rock of the Fraternity]

That sounds like an insult to Madame Eva's intelligence.
It's not like a Vistana will just happily wander into an unknown vardo, the way a hermit crab walks into a new shell.

[SilentRave]

Is the Gentleman Caller mentioned ?

I saw a mention in the flavor blurb intro text, but I'm not sure I saw his name elsewhere. His metaplot is clearly to as important as before. FoS Guys?

Not by name, but I think I spotted him on page 83. What do you make of the reference to the "Mysterious gentleman" who created the iron golem that can disguise itself as a vardo as a trap for Madame Eva?

Tbh most of what has been revealed so far smells really fishy and feels weird and out of place for me... Yeah I don't know how that would work. To my knowledge Madam Eva is way more tenacious than a mere mouse but I'm speaking out of context here so take what I say with that in mind.

I won't spoil the surprise, but it involves someone's neverending plans to leave Ravenloft, good old Azalin, heh heh. And the help of a certain Ghaele. Did'nt know they could be fooled to fall in love. But her hatred when he left her for a younger girl was earth shattering. I guess Azalin's plan didn't work as supposed ...

I'm not sure I follow but does that mean Azalin fell for Isolde and machinated another plot like the GC because he suddenly became a simp? It would be really disappointing if for whatever reason the Demiplane's changes boil down in a paragraph à la Rime of the Frostmaiden metaplot reveal, and on top of that the reason is the one mentioned... At least tie the Monolith and Vecna to it to make a bit of sense

[onmyoji]

Joël : the integration of CoS into Barovia expands that land sandbox and is quite well made. Expect some fan favorite returning in 5e.

Did they update the Barovia map to post-GC where we have Teufeldorf, Zeidenberg, and Immol? Or is it basically the same map as in CoS?

— onmyoji

[SilentRave]

Joël : I won’t reveal who the darklord is (but it’s a known and loved Ravenloft NPC return, yeah!). Half the people think is he uninteresting and bland, the other half do admire him as some kind of rock star like icon. You probably have guessed by now who that darklord is?

Someone with a harpsichord I guess...?

Joël : Darkon has new epic feature close to Martyra Bay - Bayblaadenn arena, where people fight until they die, while people cheer on and take bets. A kind of Roman era arena.

Since there is no Falkovnia as we know it...

Joël : There a new domain in the book, I think we can now talk about it (we got early copies and the silence embargo fell last night), called Monopolistic.
....
This said, the darklord curse is about trying to buy as much land as he can, while other people charge him for every move he makes.

The darklord is the old man from monopoly boardgame... Hasbro did it again...
https://monopoly.hasbro.com/el-gr

Ron : Now I come to Bolasia.... I'm a big Magic: The Gathering fan

More game promotion...

Ron : I never really got into the Wildlands in the past, so the revamp here is quite welcome. Rather than the cliche King Crocodile, we've got four co-darklords, all hippos... I like how there is a parallel between how hungry they are for power and also for food. Well done!

Another game promotion Hungry Hungry Hippos by Hasbro...
https://www.amazon.in/Hasbro-98936-Hung ... B008FD8ETS

Ron : OK, we all knew it was coming eventually, but I didn't expect the crossovers to include Nerf so soon.... I do like the new weapons introduced here, and I might use them for less lethal encounters.

You said it, I rest my case...

"unsettlingly spongy substance"?

Darklord: Spongebob Squarepants

https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Game-Life ... B0006I5G14

We cannot spoil everything.

You didn't spoil it, they (Hasbro) did...

Thanks for the info though.

It does feel like an April's Fools joke ngl...