New to Ravenloft? Or new to our forum? introduce yourself!

[jamesfirecat]

Hey everybody I'm James Firecat. I've been a fan of D&D since I was young and liked to pass time in college reading D&D adventure books, but when I got my hands on a Ravenloft book (House on Gryphon Hill) I found it way more interesting than most of the standard D&D books.

To that end I plan spending some /have already spent some of my free time writing a series of stories that are basically going to be watching over the shoulder as a group of adventurers go through Ravenloft modules, with a heft does of Terry Pratchett thrown in as well.

Just to drive the point home if its not already obvious I'm doing this with a Galaxy Quest mindset (I kid because I love/respect) I only do this sort of stuff because I love the source material so much that I can't resist doing my own spin on it.

I don't know if that mixture makes me an idiot or a genius but I'm having fun writing these stories so hopefully you will all get at least some fun out of reading them as well (expect to see the first one go up in the fanfiction section soon) even if only to laugh at how I set out to do the impossible and fail spectacularly! But then isn't struggling beyond the limits of rationality to achieve something you probably shouldn't have wanted in the first part what the Dark Powers love most?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Welcome, james! We'll be looking forward to seeing your work!

[jamesfirecat]

Thanks for the warm welcome and don't worry I'll be careful to watch my language from here on out,

[Mister]

Hello.

Years and years ago, I bought the original I6 while on vacation - it was captivating, and I've returned to Ravenloft as an idea many times. I think that the lore is some of the best around and while I've been familiar with the Cafe and the Kargatane, it hasn't been until very recently that I've had the chance to start hosting my own game again after... well, a really long time. I'd say years and years, to mirror the start of this note, but it's really somewhere between "years and years' and "decades and decades" and "decades" doesn't have the same resonance.

At any rate, I have some ideas and I want to get some input on them. It's tough to work out what might be solid and what might not make for a good story. I'm kind of coming from a low-magic angle and I want to emphasize human endeavors - not high fantasy.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Welcome, Mister! We look forward to helping you however we can!

[Dark Angel]

At any rate, I have some ideas and I want to get some input on them. It's tough to work out what might be solid and what might not make for a good story. I'm kind of coming from a low-magic angle and I want to emphasize human endeavors - not high fantasy.

And that is why I love this world. Welcome aboard!

[atheran]

Well... Hello everyone!

I'm not sure why it took me so long to find about Ravenloft but it did.
Playing d&d since 2nd ed. Stuck at 3.5 for a decade or so and hated 4th with all my soul.
Played a bit of WoD a long time ago and I loved it but I couldn't find any storyteller near where I live ever since. I love gothic horror and horror in general especially lovecraft.

As for DMing I was running FR for years. At start by books but as it is normal I started customising stuff more and more to import stuff from 2nd ed like the speed factor or changing the vampires to the vampires of WoD (using a class system to substitute for the different clans in WoD) and at the end trying to make my game more rich more realistic and less of a "hold my hand" that it originally is. Then I wanted to add some horror in it and I found the EtCR which I do not really like myself but I have to start a new adventure for my party in like... 4 days

Anyways what I plan for the near future is to try and change the adventure to more Ravenloft like and much more dreadfully than it is. Both by adding or changing the fluff or the rules or the monsters in it but most importantly creating the enviroment to captivate the players in a horror story (starting with EtCR and continuing in the setting with some custom adventures) with using lights music etc.

Anyways because I'm typing from my phone I stop it here. I just know I'm glad I found you all.

EDIT: At first I was thinking about running the Grand Conjunction campaign followed by the Grim Harvest. But I decided not to for two reasons. First I'd have to convert all of it to 3.5 and change stuff around as well (no giant frogs please!) and also its my first time playing ravenloft. Same for my players. Without knowing the time line or the setting by heart I'm hesitant to start such major story that affected the whole setting. Amiright? Or you'd suggest to play that if only to avoid EtCR?

Also, trying to survive the cold and the snow of the Balinoks to reach the small village of Barovia seems a lot scarier to me than having them land in the swamps. At least for a first impression of ravenloft.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Welcome, atheran! Glad you found us, and we hope to be helpful with your game.

FYI, we have a strict rule about edition-bashing and other flaming. So while you might not like 4e or EtCR personally, please try to keep your comments constructive. There are fans of both here.

[atheran]

Well of course... I merely stated what I like and what I don't. I have friends playing 4e. I'm not to judge who likes what nor I wish to do so. I did not mean to flame or anything and the reason I said I do not like expedition is simply because I feel it could as well be set in FR or anywhere for that matter. It simply misses the flavour of ravenloft. That said it could be an awesome adventure after all once someone customises the fluff a bit to make it fit a setting of his choice.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Understood, carry on. Just wanted to preempt any possible issues.

[Jester of the FoS]

I don't know if you can still find it, but WotC used to have an art gallery for EtCR available that provided some pretty nice maps for the castle, usable for any edition.

[Falk Soldat]

Hi. I've played Ravenloft since 2nd Ed. Glad to join the forum!

[TheSalemlord]

Hi!, Welcome Aboard Falk Soldat!!

[Xararion]

Greetings to all members of the fraternity.

It has been years since I paid any attention to affairs of dungeons and dragons. But even during that downtime where I wouldn't open a players handbook of any edition, I still read up on the setting of Ravenloft, and entertained myself at reading the Van Richten guides. Now however, the fifth edition is upon us, and rumours are reaching my ear that Ravenloft might receive a resurrection spell from WotC in this edition. First of all, here is hoping that whatever is brought back doesn't come back wrong.
While I have never had the pleasure of playing in, or running, a successful campaign set in Ravenloft, I still tend to always return to it. And now that there are groups I have access to where I might find interested parties, and a new edition ahead of us, what better time than that to plan an expedition to the mists. I'll probably find the Vault and The study most helpful in my quest to write a new journeybook to the mists. I've noticed people on the forums already making rules that would enable Ravenloft to be ran, so perhaps my wait until the next expedition will be shorter than expected.

Cheers.

[Addar's Heir]

Well...hello there. My name is Tim. I've been using the website as a wonderful resource to help me with writing my book log which I take with me any time I go hunting for Ravenloft books, novels, boxsets, modules and the like. I've only recently gotten into Ravenloft. Years ago I played 2nd edtion D&D but never had a DM willing to play Ravenloft and at the time I was too young to buy anything RPG related. It also didn't help my family was against it. Anyways I'm digressing. I got back into RPGing about a year ago after a hiatus. But now that I'm back into gaming I've made it a goal to get everything 2nd edition Ravenloft possible(I found the Red Box a few weeks ago for $35...sorry couldn't contain the excitement.) While I have yet to play or run a Ravenloft game I'm reading everything I can get my hands on. But I figured here would be a good place to join and discuss the game with people that have more knowledge than I do about the game. I just hope I don't bring up questions that may have already been answered. Oh and as for the name well, I have always liked unicorns and Addar is the only named unicorn I can find in Ravenloft so I had to go with that.

Aside from RPGs, namely D&D though I've played WoD too, I also collect toys; He-Man, She-Ra, My Little Pony (over 300 from all generations, no I'm not a brony), Voltron, Power Rangers, Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya and a slew of other things. Yes I watch the cartoons as well. I also enjoy writing and seeing that there is a yearly magazine I may try to get involved with that if at all possible. Anyways I'm glad to be here and hope to make this a regular board for me.