In the interest of also being A Member Of Society - because I am new here and hopefully doing this right - my main reason for joining was because I have become absolutely obsessed with learning more about Ravenloft.
And maybe taking the easy route, I've started looking into Forlorn first.
I've read most of the Castle Forlorn module thus far and I've started making a little note list on the side of the theming I like and what I think would work for the people I'd probably play it with.
So guess my biggest question would be has anyone run it, or thought about running it, and how do you make (or change) themes to be more cohesive?
Forlorn, and specifically Tristen, really feels like a hodge-podge of cool ideas that were just tossed at the wall to see what stuck.
Re: Forlorn
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2026 3:06 pm
by Rock of the Fraternity
As far as I know, it's definitely not the most popular of the domains.
There were 2 5e modules that take heavy inspiration from Lisa Smedman's work, called "Castles Forlorn" by Oliver Darkshire and "Standing Forlorn" also by Oliver Darkshire. I think they're still up on DMsGuild, but maybe they aren't anymore. I'd also recommend DM of the Mists' video of how he ran Forlorn ( And Gazetteer Volume I gives it the most depth in its 3e incarnation.
Re: Forlorn
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2026 6:32 pm
by Mephisto of the FoS
Oh! Forlorn is one of my favourite domains with many echoes of Scottish inspired popular culture, like Nessie, Urquhart Castle, the moving forest of Birnam Wood from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, as well as many more like the games the goblyns play and others. I really love how the box set is written and I believe it gives many possibilities on how to run it. The Ravenloft Gazetteer I adds a lot to the domain with in game worldview of the druids as well as many more, language, toxic plants etc.
The domain was an absolute nightmare for the PCs running from goblyns in knee deep mud without any trees for cover, a nightly visit by the Wild Hunt which fortunately for them ended up joining the pack, a visit to the lake and an attack by a nauseous monster, the Maw of Arawn and of course the castle or should I say castles.
The Castle at first seemed to them as a place they could possibly somehow rest, but when they started witnessing the time shifts they were utterly horrified. Castle time B was truly horrifying for them battling against Marc ApBlancs men and the master of the castle himself.
Great atmosphere in general.
Re: Forlorn
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2026 7:04 pm
by Drinnik Shoehorn
I’m one of the minority that really likes Forlorn.
One piece of advice I’d give, though, is give your players a reason to be in the castle; following a lead, looking for an item, chasing an NPC, etc, and don’t just have the go to Tristenoira just to go through the time travel plot.
Have a maguffin to get them there, and keep Tristan and his backstory as the surprise rather than the reason they’re there.
Re: Forlorn
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2026 3:53 am
by Mephisto of the FoS
Drinnik Shoehorn wrote: Sun Nov 01, 2026 7:04 pm
One piece of advice I’d give, though, is give your players a reason to be in the castle
I had them sent there by a chronomancer who wanted trusted eyewitness reports from people who visited Castle Tristenoira. He was smart enough to not join them so it was not a bodyguard kind of adventure "Protect the master of time!" thing. He hadn't told them exactly what they whould face, he didn't disclose to them the time-shifts etc. so they were still perplexed and horrifyed by what they witnessed.
The only thing I haven't gotten though is this. What happens if someone is in the collapsed tower when they are in times A or B and then time shift to Castle C.
A) Do they fall down from the height they were?
B) Do they appear on the collapsed ground below?
C) Temporal shifts don't work when you are already inside the tower, only when entering or exiting from the main keep?
Personally my dream was always to try to build it, now with 3D printing I have even more options to do that (last week I finished printing Castle Hunadora as I imagined it https://tabletopterrain.com/cdn/shop/fi ... &width=900)
