Domain information questions

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SpringHeeledJack
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Domain information questions

Post by SpringHeeledJack »

I am looking for some information that I cannot seem to find concerning the cultures and original world of the following domains ( I have listed what I have so far):

Dementlieu: Renaissance France

Mordent: England possibly Renaissance.

Richmulot: Rural France. Chivalric(?)

Valachan: Medieval but culture unknown.

Verbrek: Medival but culture unknown.

My best guess on worlds of origin is that the first three could be from the same world or very similar worlds.

I am asking because of a hook I am working on within my campaign that has the possibility of certain domains being from the same world with the dark powers playing some sort of game with the origin world in question.

I was also wondering if there were any domains that came from Gothic Earth?

Thanks for your help.
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by jamesfirecat »

SpringHeeledJack wrote:I am looking for some information that I cannot seem to find concerning the cultures and original world of the following domains ( I have listed what I have so far):

Dementlieu: Renaissance France

Mordent: England possibly Renaissance.

Richmulot: Rural France. Chivalric(?)

Valachan: Medieval but culture unknown.

Verbrek: Medival but culture unknown.

My best guess on worlds of origin is that the first three could be from the same world or very similar worlds.

I am asking because of a hook I am working on within my campaign that has the possibility of certain domains being from the same world with the dark powers playing some sort of game with the origin world in question.

I was also wondering if there were any domains that came from Gothic Earth?

Thanks for your help.

Conventional wisdom as far as I recall is that Richemulot isn't based on anywhere and indeed most likely could not have been based on anywhere "real", it is just too convenient to the Renier family and their lycanthropic lifestyle for anyone to have actually built a city/nation to look like Richemulot from the ground up rather than the Dark Powers creating it.

The sewer system is huge and twisting to a degree that no one who was building one to actually just dispose of sewage would make.

The buildings are all huge and in fairly good repair for the most part even if it seems like nobody is living in them, ensuring that people will keep being drawn to Richemulot's cities (where they can wind up being prey for the wererats)

Any sort of genuine historical record stops dead at exactly the year that it first showed up in Ravenloft....

The weird thing for me is how Dementlieu somehow managed to become the culture capital when it's existed the shortest of the three domains, it's like when they showed up Mordent and Richemulot just threw up their hands and went "well what do you know we've been doing this high class thing wrong the entire time, we should go copy whatever they're doing!" (Richemulot more than Mordent granted)
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by thekristhomas »

Mordent is from an undefined prime material world, with Dementlieu, Richmulot, and Verbrek all being spawned by the DPs for DLs who are natives of Mordent, so while it is not necessary, it may be possible that these domains are all copies of locations from the same prime, although they can't be in the same position in both worlds as in Prime Mordent the town of Osterton would be somewhere in Dementlieu.

Valachan is a different case as it's DL comes from a specified game world (Toril) via Darkon.

As for domains from Gothic Earth, Odiare and I think the Sea of Sorrows

Edit:
It is generally supposed that Barovia is from the same unspecified prime as Mordent (though I'm not sure that it is canonically so) if this is the case though, then we could also suppose that Borca, Markovia and G'Henna might also be copies of locales from that world.
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by SpringHeeledJack »

Thanks for the replies. This gives me some ideas to work with and an angle for the campaign. I had the thought of a couple other domains coming in from the same world and a threat forming to break all the associated domains off the core and into a cluster.

If the above domains are all part of the same world it could mean that the Dark Powers are very interested in the goings on there.
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Re: Domain information questions

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Outlander darklords/demilords by World of Origin:
Addar (demilord of a pocket domain in the Phantasmal Forest): the Great Kingdom (potential canon; former mount of one of the paladins that worked with Kateri Shadowborne or even Kateri herself)
Ankhtepot: the Black Lands
Anton Misroi: Oerth (Sasserine) <- this was in an offhand mention in an issue of Dungeon magazine
Azalin Rex: Oerth (Knurl)
Baron Lyron Evensong (DL of Liffe): Krynn
Baron Urik von Kharkov: Toril (Faerun- Thay, though educated in Cormyr)
Captain Pieter van Riese: Gothic Earth (netbook canon only)
Chardath Spulzeer (Darklord of Aggarath): Toril (Faerun, Tethyr with a decadent family line from the Dalelands)
Claude Renier: Mordent's unnamed homeworld
Draga Saltbiter: Toril (Faerun, priest of Umberlee)
Easan the Mad: Oerth (elven kingdom neighboring the Empire of Iuz)
Ebonbane: The Great Kingdom
Elena Faith-Hold: The Great Kingdom
Gregor Zolnik: Cerilia (Birthright Campaign Setting)
Harkon Lukas: Toril (Faerun/Cormyr)
Hazlik: Toril (Faerun, Red Wizard of Thay)
Jaqueline Renier: Unnamed homeworld of Mordent
Kas the Destroyer: Oerth
King Doerdon and his Jester (Risibolos): Oerth
Lord Soth: Krynn
Lord Wilfred Godefroy: unnamed homeworld of Mordent
Malbus: Toril (Zakhara)
Maligno: Gothic Earth (Italy)
Meredoth: Mystara/Known World (Alphatian Empire)
Malek/Romir/Tristen: Toril (Faerun/Vaasa)
Nightblood (the Living Crypt): Toril (Faerun, Red Wizard of Thay)
Thakok-An: Athas (Kalidnay)
Tiyet: the Black Lands
Vecna: Oerth
Vlad Drakov: Krynn (Taladas)
Last edited by The Lesser Evil on Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by The Lesser Evil »

Also note that even if a darklord hails from a Prime Material World or a family that comes from a Prime Material World, that does not mean his domain will reflect the world or way of life he/she is used to. (That's because many domains are created out of whole cloth rather than drawn or copied from the Prime Material Plane.)

Lord Soth didn't come from a kingdom dominated by elves; he was granted that domain because he hates elves. Kartakass isn't a representation of Cormyr either. G'Henna is pretty much a complete inversion of the Barovia that Yagno Petrovna came from.

Basically, it is of my opinion that a domain usually reflects who the darklord is and what their curse is more so than where they come from.
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by Dark Angel »

Whether or not most even consider this a domain, Vorostokov is given a Gothic Earth background coming from Gothic Russia. That is established in a netbook, so take that as you will.
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by jamesfirecat »

Dark Angel wrote:Whether or not most even consider this a domain, Vorostokov is given a Gothic Earth background coming from Gothic Russia. That is established in a netbook, so take that as you will.
Really?

I've heard otherwise when talking about Vorostokov elsewhere on this board....

Resonant Curse wrote:

Well, Vorostokov is taken from Cerilia in the Birthright campaign setting, and there are other places there that speak the language, but yes, the only place in Ravenloft.


Make of this what you will since all I know is it doesn't really talk about where it came from in "Dark of the Moon" the main Ravenloft adventure sent there and everything feels very Russian barring the fact that they decided to give the werewolves you encounter there a fancy french name for some reason....
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Re: Domain information questions

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jamesfirecat wrote:
Dark Angel wrote:Whether or not most even consider this a domain, Vorostokov is given a Gothic Earth background coming from Gothic Russia. That is established in a netbook, so take that as you will.
Really?

I've heard otherwise when talking about Vorostokov elsewhere on this board....

Resonant Curse wrote:

Well, Vorostokov is taken from Cerilia in the Birthright campaign setting, and there are other places there that speak the language, but yes, the only place in Ravenloft.


Make of this what you will since all I know is it doesn't really talk about where it came from in "Dark of the Moon" the main Ravenloft adventure sent there and everything feels very Russian barring the fact that they decided to give the werewolves you encounter there a fancy french name for some reason....
God sleep deprivation sucks....

You are correct and I am 100% wrong. I meant to say Sanguinia. Ugh. Sorry about that.
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by The Lesser Evil »

Some of these connections to other campaign worlds were retconned in by Domains of Dread, such as the Gregor Zolnik/Cerilia thing. (They also gave him some bloodline abilities in that book.)

As another example, take Meredoth. In Ships of Horror, it said to put Meredoth from whatever campaign world the characters were from. In Domains of Dread they made him from Mystara.

Domains of Dread also established that Odiare and Maligno were from Gothic Earth (Italy).

Those are the three retcons I can recall in DoD.
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by SpringHeeledJack »

The Lesser Evil wrote: Basically, it is of my opinion that a domain usually reflects who the darklord is and what their curse is more so than where they come from.
thekristhomas wrote:Mordent is from an undefined prime material world, with Dementlieu, Richmulot, and Verbrek all being spawned by the DPs for DLs who are natives of Mordent, so while it is not necessary, it may be possible that these domains are all copies of locations from the same prime, although they can't be in the same position in both worlds as in Prime Mordent the town of Osterton would be somewhere in Dementlieu.

These two things gives me exactly what I need to set up some situations in my campaign.

Now another question.

Let's say, for sake of argument, that something happens to rip the Mordent connected domains from the core creating a type of supercluster. Now I know that the politics would change and the only being possibly even capable would be Azlan with one of his schemes and his motivation would possibly be an escape or removing his Strahd problem. What do you think would be the fallout if this happened?
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by thekristhomas »

The Lesser Evil wrote:G'Henna is pretty much a complete inversion of the Barovia that Yagno Petrovna came from.
A twisted reflection of a twisted reflection? I had never considered this before, I like it!
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Re: Domain information questions

Post by Dion of the Fraternity »

The Lesser Evil wrote:Basically, it is of my opinion that a domain usually reflects who the darklord is and what their curse is more so than where they come from.
If Sheena Easton were to become a darklord, her domain would be a gingerbread house.
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Re: Domain information questions

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SpringHeeledJack wrote:
The Lesser Evil wrote: Basically, it is of my opinion that a domain usually reflects who the darklord is and what their curse is more so than where they come from.
thekristhomas wrote:Mordent is from an undefined prime material world, with Dementlieu, Richmulot, and Verbrek all being spawned by the DPs for DLs who are natives of Mordent, so while it is not necessary, it may be possible that these domains are all copies of locations from the same prime, although they can't be in the same position in both worlds as in Prime Mordent the town of Osterton would be somewhere in Dementlieu.

These two things gives me exactly what I need to set up some situations in my campaign.

Now another question.

Let's say, for sake of argument, that something happens to rip the Mordent connected domains from the core creating a type of supercluster. Now I know that the politics would change and the only being possibly even capable would be Azlan with one of his schemes and his motivation would possibly be an escape or removing his Strahd problem. What do you think would be the fallout if this happened?
This "supercluster" is similar to what happens in my version of the GC. Firstly, unlike the Barovian supercluster (Barovia, Borca, Markovia, G'Henna) the Mordentish realms have previously been well disposed to each other politically (with the possible exception of Arkandale/Verbrek which is a political non-entity), so initially I would imagine that any panic caused by the loss of all the other domains would be followed by a period of diplomatic discussion, where there great and the good (ahem) try to work out exactly what has happened (remembering that these are some of the most advanced and educated domains in the core) commitees and fact finding parties (adventurers, yay) being the order of the day, with lots of talk of "we're all in this together".

What would happen next would depend on the arrangement of said supercluster, if Richemulot and Arkandale/Verbrek share a border, then we have a domain of werewolves bordering on a domain of wererats, one should expect conflict.

In terms of culture Richemulot and Dementlieu are High Mordentish with Mordent and Arkandale/Verbrek being Low Mordentish, so I could imagine Mordent siding with Arkandale/Verbrek in any conflict (plus IMC Mordent claims Arkandale under Nathan Timothy as part of it's territory, kinda like the Hudson Bay Company, with Verbrek being "wilderness" yet to be exploited)

Ultimately, even with the vagueries of borders and the DPs, Richemulot would dominate, it's population and capability to mobilise said far exceeds those of the other domains. What form this domination might take, is another matter. D'Honaire might have to contend with wererat agent provocateurs pushing the proles towards Le Revolution (I have no idea if that's good French), the Reniers might seek to re-establish their claim over Mordent (Reniers being the original landowners) though what Godefroy would do about that is open for debate.

In Arkandale/Verbrek, I would expect Richemuloise expansion to follow a similar pattern to that of Mordentish expansion. They would probably make some headway in the small settlements on the Musarde (remember that part of the reason Nathan Timothy loses his domain is because he doesn't really bother, he may even strike a deal with the rats if there's enough profit for him) but in the rest of the territory face opposition from Alfreds guerrilla warfare, which, if one considers that Richemuloise troops would be trained in urban warfare and fields tactics designed for use against Falkovnian troops, should prove quite effective.
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Re: Domain information questions

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On the local level, Verbrek would be the odd man out, since it was never a member of the Treaty of Four Towers, nor a "civilized" realm dominated by humans. Its mostly isolationist nature may mean that it is the last one to figure out what has happened, most likely upon encountering explorers or lumberjacks from nearby domains wandering about the domain. If Alfred Timothy were to send out his werewolves to explore or strike against civliization, he'd probably start with Mordent, since it of the Mordent supercluster domains has the most wilderness and the least people.

I don't think the wererat of Richemulot vs. werewolf of Verbrek thing would happen naturally. (The two domains shared a border before and never interacted much. Rather, any provocation would take some specific circumstances to happen. Jacqueline Renier might decide that, with Falknovia gone (from their concerns), Richemulot needs a new source for political prestige. She may call for some war with the werewolves if they seem a source of popular menace, perhaps to defend Mordent from "the Werewolf Scourge". Godefrey may agitate to get as many foreign souls to perish on his soil such that he may get as many ghosts under his control as he can.

I think the economies of these nations would take all take a hit, as several trading partners would be lost. They would lose access to Falkovnian grains and possibly access to sea. This might cause a food shortage. Of the economies thus affected, Dementlieu might take the greatest hit, as they depend upon tourism and trade to export the source of their wealth: culture.

Back in the Core, the lost of a fair portion of the Western Core redefines the geographical boundaries, especially shorelines. Suddenly, Falkovnia has access to coastal waters, something that it's never had before. It might furiously start scrambling to begin constructing a navy. Of course, the time it begins making significant headway, Darkon might send its navy and blow up whatever they had going, possibly causing another round of conflict between the two nations.

Falkovnia's success on the seas depends upon several factors. Drakov is not an experienced seaman nor are any of his cronies. He also refuses to use gunpowder which denies him the opportunity for cannons. The sea is not something that favors man-to-man combat as much as the land. Darkon is also ahead of the game it that it's the only Core nation that has a navy (albeit a small one).

However, Drakov's science department has been noted to be working on unwieldly alchemical weapons of war. If his science guys can turns these clunkers into effective shipboard weapons, then that will give Drakov more of an edge. In addition, Darkon's small, three warship navy is mostly used to posturing and showing off more than actual warfare. In Falkovnia, they may be facing a much more daring and organized enemy that could shake them up more than they expect.

In any case, the presence of the many (un)natural hazards of the Sea of Sorrows (and Captain Pieter van Riese himself) may preclude large scale naval warfare from going far from coastal waters. If Darkov can somehow make it to the islands of the Sea of Sorrows, I imagine he would be repelled by the beastmen of Markovia after the the Falkovnians tried to settle there and use the island as a strategic point in their island invasions. Blaustein would probably also resist, as, although their nation is much less in number, they are far more experienced seamen and proven sea raiders. Of all of the nations in the Sea of Sorrows to get annexed, I think it would likely be Ghastria.

Meanwhile, back inland at the Core, Borca is in for trouble. Three of its four partners of its Treaty of Four Towers are gone. Worse, Borca will be sandwiched between two, or possibly three different nations. Falkovnia and Invidia might now share a border, and that makes it much easier to wage war and ally together. OTOH, Valachan may block some or all of Falkovnia and Invidia. In that case, Drakov and Malocchi may try to make a sandwich or piner sort of attack on Valchan. The appearance of a new neighbor will invariably cause Drakov to try his hand at invading a new country.
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