Café de Nuit

“The dreamer whose dreams are non-utilitarian has no place in this world. In this world the poet is anathema, the thinker a fool, the artist an escapist, the man of vision a criminal.” (Henry Miller)

The Fraternity of Shadows is now accepting submissions for the next Quoth the Raven, our annual Ravenloft netbook.

This year's issue will be #32 and the theme is...

Anathema

※ the curse
※ can describe a person or thing that is cursed
※ "disfavour of God"
※ shunning, ostracism
※ anathema sit ("let him be anathema"), the excommunication within an ecclesiastical community
※ can describe something or someone which/who is being hated or avoided
※ a votive offering
※ (obsolete) a pile of stones thrown by passersby at the scene of a crime, saying "curse" (tribute)

Anathema derives from Ancient Greek: ἀνάθεμα, anáthema, meaning "an offering" or "anything dedicated", itself derived from the verb ἀνατίθημι, anatíthēmi, meaning "to offer up". In the Old Testament, חֵרֶם (chērem) referred to both objects consecrated to divine use and those dedicated to destruction in the Lord's name, such as enemies and their weapons during religious wars. Since weapons of the enemy were considered unholy, the meaning became "anything dedicated to evil" or "a curse".

By the 6th century, the liturgical meaning evolved again to mean a formal ecclesiastical curse of excommunication and the condemnation of heretical doctrines, the severest form of separation from the Christian church issued against a heretic or group of heretics by church officials.

In 1526, the word anathema appeared in modern English for the first time and was used in the sense of "something accursed". The "consecrated object" meaning was also adopted a short time later, but is no longer widely used.

Its most common modern usage is in secular contexts, where it is used to mean something or someone that is detested or shunned.


From Pharaoh Anhktepot the living dead anathema of the Akiri Gods, to the rats infesting the streets of Pont-a-Museau.

From the calibans of Tepest and the heretics of Nidala, to the ceremony of Zhakata's Taking and the leader of the Red Vardo Traders.

The Land of Mists is full of stories, objects and people that fit the description of anathema.


As always, we are looking for anything related to Ravenloft, Masque of the Red Death, or horror in general. The theme is deliberately open ended, but still a suggestion, not a restriction. If you have something great that doesn't fit in with the theme, send it in anyway!

Ruleset doesn't matter! We accept articles using any edition of D&D rules, or even other systems. Some of the best articles don't have any rules text at all! And if you're interested in having your rules converted to another system, let us know. There are lots of volunteers eager to help.

See our submission guidelines for official rules.

Submit your articles to QTR@fraternityofshadows.com. The deadline is September 30th, 2025, but feel free to send your articles in early, especially if you're looking for feedback.

Anathema huh? I've got a few ideas for that! Thanks for putting this up! I'm looking forward to seeing all the different submissions this year for QtR!

OK. Not exactly a theme I havethings ready for, but this time I think I will able able to submit at least two things if not three.

I have submitted my Falkovnia article and I would be happy to have feedback.

Received! Thanks MM!

Hello, I submitted an article back in July (the 23rd) and I just want to ask if it's been received.

The Lady Fordam thinks I should write an article about how the Graben family decorates their manor for various holidays.

"I bet they throw a killer Halloween party," she says.

LeMaxul wrote: Fri Aug 08, 2025 3:31 am Hello, I submitted an article back in July (the 23rd) and I just want to ask if it's been received.

(sorry I saw this a while ago and just noticed I didn't answer)

No? Where did you send it?

Please send again at paquinjoel @videotron.ca (remove the space before @)

Joël of the FoS wrote: Mon Aug 18, 2025 7:04 pm Please send again at paquinjoel @videotron.ca (remove the space before @)

Thanks for the heads up. I sent it to that email address. Earlier, I sent it to QTR@fraternityofshadows.com; I guess that email is out of order/use.

I have sent my second article.

I finally got off my butt and finished the article I've been working on for the last two years. Just submitted it today.

I need to edit my work some more, but I should have sent two articles in. One's an expansion to last year's article and the other is a list of monsters.

Good subject! I do not have, at the time, anything ready and unfortunately I doubt I will be ready to submit any of my half-cooked ideas within a month, but it is a very interesting subject.

What we have so far:

Curse of Captain Garvyn (story) By Ian Fordam
Darkon’s History Explored (expansion of Arcane Age of Darkon QtR 31) By Matt “strahdsbuddy” Doyle
Falkovnia, Land of Militarism and Tyranny (domain variant) By Mistmaster
Righteous Rulership By Ian Fordam
Hot Time in a Cold Place (adventure) By Ian Fordam
The Dark One (religion) By Le Maxul
The Goblinwood, Land of the Goblins and other Forsaken people (new domain) By Mistmaster

Added Sept 13th: The Bright Triad (faction) By Jeremy16 (aka Jeremy Roby)

The estimated count of pages so far is about 250.

If your submission is not on this list, ring me a bell!
If you want to be referenced by any other name, please let me know here!

Joël

Update!


What we have so far:

Darkon’s History Explored (expansion of Arcane Age of Darkon QtR 31) By Matt “strahdsbuddy” Doyle
Falkovnia, Land of Militarism and Tyranny (domain variant) By Mistmaster

A Graben Island cycle:
Curse of Captain Garvyn (story) By Ian Fordam
Righteous Rulership (story) By Ian Fordam
Hot Time in a Cold Place (adventure) By Ian Fordam

The Dark One (religion) By Le Maxul
The Goblinwood, Land of the Goblins and other Forsaken people (new domain) By Mistmaster
The Bright Triad (faction) By Jeremy16 (aka Jeremy Roby)

A Sri Raji cycle:
A Show of Strenght (fiction) By Ian Fordam
Contradictions and Mysteries (Sri Rajian Pantheon) By Ian Fordam
Beneath the Heels of the Dancing Goddess (expansion of Sri Raji, with maps) By Ian Fordam & Adam “Speedwagon” El Akkad & Jeremy Roby

The estimated count of pages so far is about 340!

If your submission is not on this list, ring me a bell!
If you want to be referenced by any other name, please let me know here!

Joël