Black Crusade and Malosia

[Jack the Reaper]

I've just finished reading Black Crusade, and first of all I must say it is the darkest, scariest Ravenloft novel ever written; a real, visceral horror literature, unlike the original novels which mostly looked like D&D with vampires and zombies (though some of them where very good, of course). So if you haven't read it yet, now is the time - it is even downloadable for free!

(Spoilers ahead)

However, the ending, though unsurprising for anyone versed in the Dark Powers' ways, left many questions unanswered.
First, how did Diedrich become the darklord of Malosia? True, he was zealot and sometimes cruel, but he didn't do any Act of Unspeakable Evil! Most of the time he tried to do the right thing, and wasn't selfish and evil like a typical darklord. So while Lambrecht definitely didn't fit the role - he was a way too pathetic - Diedrich didn't fit it either.

Second, what is going to happen after the book's ending? Will Diedrich become a king? A high priest? What would his rule look like? What kind of evil is he supposed to manifest? Would he continue the church's war against witchcraft, thus making Malosia a copy of Nidala\Tepest?

If you have any answers or interesting ideas how to flesh Malosia out and make it a domain compatible for roleplaying in the Ravenloft setting, I would like to hear. For a start, I think it should be added to the Duskreach cluster, along with Kislova, Estrangia, Daglan and Donskyar - they seem to have some things in common.
Any more thoughts?

[brothersale]

Check out the Book of Storms for a version of the domain
http://mhobservatory.blogspot.co.uk/201 ... ition.html

[Jack the Reaper]

Check out the Book of Storms for a version of the domain
http://mhobservatory.blogspot.co.uk/201 ... ition.html

Wow! A great netbook. A shame I haven't heard of it before. Thanks!

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Diedrich did abandon someone - the witch - to be killed for something she did not do. He arranged for false witness to be given. And his quest in Malosia was motivated as much by a desire for revenge on someone who tried to kill him as anything else. He is rigid and intolerant, brutal and willing to ally himself with an obvious church of evil to get what he wants.
His whole quest in Malosia could be seen as his AoUD.

[Jack the Reaper]

Diedrich did abandon someone - the witch - to be killed for something she did not do. He arranged for false witness to be given. And his quest in Malosia was motivated as much by a desire for revenge on someone who tried to kill him as anything else. He is rigid and intolerant, brutal and willing to ally himself with an obvious church of evil to get what he wants.
His whole quest in Malosia could be seen as his AoUD.

Those acts make him an antihero, not a villain. Van Richten and George Weathermay have done similar things and they are still considered heroes.

[Mistmaster]

An act of ultimate darkness is neither enought nor it is necessary to gain darklordship. Failing 5 consecutive power checks is.

[IrvyneWolfe]

I always thought his AoUD was taking his half of the Grimoire into the city to face Lambert knowing that bringing the two halves so close was going to cause utter chaos to break out. However all that mattered was his grudge with Lambert. The callousness, the disregard for the suffering of people, and essentially recreating the sack of Jerusalem in Malosia... that's what earned him his position of dark lord.