Ravenloft

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This article is about Dungeons & Dragons Campaign setting. For the original AD&D module, see Ravenloft (D&D module).
Ravenloft

The Ravenloft logo.
Designer Bruce Nesmith and Andria Hayday, after Hickman (the I-6 and I-10 adventures)
Publisher TSR, White Wolf
Publication date 1990
Genre(s) Gothic horror
System AD&D 2nd Edition, d20 System

Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence called a "pocket dimension" with the name "the Demiplane of Dread", which consists of a collection of land pieces called "domains" brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark Powers". Each domain is mystically ruled by a being called a "darklord", which is a person or monster who has committed an act or acts of evil so foul as to attract special attention from the Dark Powers. The darklords are imprisoned within the borders of their domains and cannot escape by any means, although most can seal their domain borders with a thought. Within their domains, the darklords are forever tormented by the objects of their desire (often the objects they committed their crimes to achieve), which the Dark Powers dangle before them like the fruits of Tantalus. Each darklord's desires and motivations differ; some desire love, others hunger for glorious victory, or one might envy the defeat and humiliation of their enemies like another rival darklord.

Contents

[edit] Setting

Ravenloft is primarily a Gothic horror setting. Dungeon Masters are encouraged to use scenes that build apprehension and fear, culminating in the eventual face-to-face meeting with the nameless evil. Characters have a much greater significance attached to their acts, especially if they are morally impure, as they risk coming under the influence of the Dark Powers (through the game process called "dark powers checks") and gradually transforming themselves into figures of evil.

The magical mists of Ravenloft could appear anywhere in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, drawing evil-doers (or player characters) into the Ravenloft setting.

[edit] The Dark Powers

The Dark Powers are a malevolent force who control the Demiplane of Dread. Their exact nature and number are purposely kept vague, allowing for plot development in accordance with the Gothic tradition of storytelling—where the heroes are frequently outclassed and outnumbered by unknowably evil forces beyond their control.

The Dark Powers most frequently serve as a plot device for Ravenloft, especially concerning the Dark Lords, the de facto visible rulers of the Ravenloft Demiplane. Where the players are often tormented and opposed by the Dark Lords, the Dark Lords are themselves tormented and opposed by the Dark Powers. Of course, the difference lies in order of power—while many D&D adventures focus on allowing a band of heroes to prevail over a Dark Lord (much as in the spirit of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula), no such victory over the Dark Powers is conceivable.

Most frequently, the Dark Powers make their wishes and intents known through subtle manipulations of fate. Thus, Barovia's vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich's many attempts to win back his love, Tatyana, are doomed to failure, but the Dark Powers arrange such that he never truly loses hope. Each time, for example, Strahd's own actions may be partially culpable for his failure, and as such he may go through crippling self-recrimination, rather than cursing the gods solely and giving up. Most other Dark Lords have similar tales of frustration, kept all the more unbearable because the flicker of the possibility of success is never truly extinguished.

Not all Dark Lords acknowledge the Dark Powers directly, however. Strahd, for example, in his own memoirs, speaks only of a force known as "Death," who mocks him with the voices of his family and former colleagues throughout his life. Vlad Drakov, the Dark Lord of Falkovnia whose military expeditions are doomed to constant failure, seems even to be totally oblivious of any non-mortal factors in his repeated defeats.

The Dark Powers also seem capable of non-evil manipulations. Although their machinations are often directly responsible for the misery of many of Ravenloft's inhabitants, they also appear to play a role as dispenser of justice. Some tales of innocents, who have escaped Ravenloft for happier environs, are attributed to the Dark Powers, who have judged a being worthy of reward and release from their misty domain.

The precise nature of the Dark Powers of Ravenloft is never explicitly described in the game material, with the exception of a few of the novels based on the setting, and even those are considered non-canon. In a sense, the Dark Powers are intended to be eternal unknowns, an array of capricious, unforeseeable wills whose motives and actions the player characters cannot hope to understand.

[edit] Inspirations

Ravenloft (RL) is noted for its use of analogues of fictional characters from Gothic and horror literature and, rarely, historical figures. Examples include Count Strahd von Zarovich and Vlad Drakov, who are analogous to Bram Stoker's character Count Dracula and his historical inspiration, Vlad Ţepeş, respectively; Doctor Victor Mordenheim and his creation, Adam, analogous to Mary Shelley's characters Doctor Frankenstein and his Creature; heroic Dr. Rudolph van Richten is analogous to Abraham Van Helsing; and Frantisek Markov, an analogue of H.G. Wells' character Doctor Moreau. The Vistani are a horror-film-inspired stereotypical representation of Gypsies. The Vistani often have fortune-telling powers, often using the Tarokka, a fantasy version of the Tarot. Other notable mirror images in Ravenloft included Sir Tristen Hiregaard and his alter ego Malken, who are also directly inspired from the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story (written by Robert Louis Stevenson); a lesser known Darklord by the name of Maligno (A puppet that comes to life) who is an obvious darkly twisted version of the Carlo Collodi's "Pinocchio" story; and the three hags who are closely related to the three witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth and to other mythological female trios that predate the play.

In addition to borrowing from the world of literary horror, Ravenloft incorporated characters and features from existing Dungeons & Dragons settings. Lord Soth, a villain from the Dragonlance setting, appeared as a darklord in Ravenloft, as did the Greyhawk lich-god Vecna and his traitorous former lieutenant, the vampire Kas. The Lost King Gondegal, from the Forgotten Realms setting, also appeared, though not as a darklord. These are examples of characters already well-established in their respective origin campaign settings. Some Ravenloft characters were given backstories saying they hailed from existing campaign settings, although in some cases the original settings have no record of them. The lich Azalin Rex was retroactively attached to Greyhawk, for example.

[edit] System

Since 2001, Ravenloft has used the d20 System, with a few modifications. Additional new saves are used within Ravenloft: Fear, Horror and Madness, as well as the standard Fortitude, Will and Reflex saves. New Prestige Classes, spells and feats have also been added.

[edit] History

First published as a stand alone Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure module also called Ravenloft ("I6"), it was popular enough to spawn a Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebook, a sequel module (I10: The House on Gryphon Hill), and in 1990 was launched as a full-fledged campaign setting with the Realm of Terror boxed set, popularly known as the "Black Box". The campaign setting was revised twice during Second Edition - first as the Ravenloft Campaign Setting "Red Box", then as the Domains of Dread hardback - before Wizards of the Coast cancelled the line after acquiring TSR. In 1991, the "Black Box" won the Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement of 1990.[1]

TSR also published a series of novels set in Ravenloft. Each novel was typically focused on one of the darklords that inhabited the Ravenloft world, with several focusing on the figure of Count Strahd von Zarovich. Many of these early novels were by authors who would later receive wider fame as horror/dark fantasy authors. These authors have included Elaine Bergstrom, P. N. Elrod, Christie Golden and Laurel K. Hamilton.[2]

Ravenloft was licensed to Arthaus Games for Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition and revised "3.5" Third Edition and published by White Wolf Game Studio through the Sword & Sorcery Studios imprint. Arthaus' license to the Ravenloft setting was allowed to revert to Wizards of the Coast on August 15, 2005, but Sword & Sorcery retained the right to continue to sell its backstock until June 2006. The timing of this reversion meant that the Ravenloft supplement Van Richten's Guide to the Mists did not see print; instead, it was released as a free download in late September 2005.[1]

The campaign setting published by White Wolf introduced a number of alterations, many based on conflicts with existing Wizards of the Coast intellectual property. Lord Soth, a character created for the Dragonlance setting, was removed from Ravenloft; the island featuring the demi-god Vecna and his rival, Kas, was likewise excised due to the characters' origins in the Greyhawk setting; any references to D&D pantheon gods have been replaced with Ravenloft-specific names (for example, Bane is referred to as "The Lawgiver").

In October 2006, Wizards of the Coast released Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, a hardcover version of the original 1st edition adventure updated for the Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5 rule set. The 2006 version includes maps from the original Ravenloft adventure, and new character generation options. Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is a stand-alone supplement, set for any D&D worlds, and only requires the three core books for usage. This book is completely distinct from the Ravenloft of the Arthaus Games product line (and doesn't acknowledge it whatsoever).[2]

With the 4th edition of D&D coming in 2008, the future of the Ravenloft setting is unknown, though there is speculation among fans that it will be given minimal treatment, if at all (unless another gaming company pursues a license from Wizards of the Coast). However, in 2007, Wizards of the Coast announced the printing of two new Ravenloft novels for 2008, Black Crusade and The Sleep of Reason[3], fueling more speculations. A short story by Ari Marmell, "Before I Wake," based around the realms of Darkon, Lamordia and Bluetspur was released on October 31st 2007 on the Wizards of the Coast website as a special for Halloween and featured characters inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and Clarke Ashton Smith [4].

[edit] Novels

A number of tie-in novels were released, set in the Demiplane of Dread:

[edit] Notes

White Wolf, Inc. hosts a Ravenloft RPG Chat Game called Rookhausen, which is an online text-based role-playing game. Rookhausen was created by Conrad Hubbard, and expanded upon by the efforts of numerous volunteer Dungeon Masters and players.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Origins Award Winners (1990). Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  2. ^ Melton, Gordon (1994). The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, 1st, Detroit, MI: Visible Ink Press, 852. ISBN 0-8103-2295-1. 

[edit] External links

  • Fraternity of Shadows - the largest Ravenloft fansite, with many Ravenloft netbook, information, official book errata, etc. The site also has a large FAQ section, should you need more game information on Ravenloft.
  • Secrets of the Kargatane - no longer updated, this website was once one of the largest sources of Ravenloft information on the Internet
  • Midway Haven Alchemical Observatory - another popular Ravenloft fansite that supplies netbooks and features light-hearted takes on Ravenloft in general. The Midway Haven website is expected to expand in early 2007, when its in-game storyline takes its characters to new and bizarre directions.
  • The Lonesome Road - Original source for Ravenloft material.
  • The Mordent Cartographical Society - This website contains maps and information on the Domains.
  • White Wolf Downloads - a page where you can download extracts of d20 System Ravenloft products and the entire unpublished Van Richten's Guide to the Mists.
  • Barovia.de - dark fantasyart, and adventures of Ravenloft
  • Ravenloft UK - a UK-based Ravenloft fansite
  • TSR Archive Ravenloft product list
  • Ravenloft Prisoners of the Mist - A Persistent world based in the Ravenloft setting for a game called Neverwinter Nights.
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Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings

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