Tracy Hickman on I6

[Le Noir Faineant]

Hi all,

Some of you (MARAUDAR! ) might still recall how I argued to locate the original settings for the original Ravenloft module.

Well, among other things, Tracy Hickman answered to this question a while ago, and I'd like to share it now!

Original thread: http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewt ... 11&t=28816

In sum:

5) What non-Dragonlance product are you most happy with?

I think the best adventure we ever wrote was 'Ravenloft.' That's the original module as opposed to the derivative products that followed it. It was about as perfect a design as we've ever accomplished.

Hello Tracy and Laura,

Did you guys consider the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche for the background relationship of Tatyana and Count Strahd von Zarovich in Ravenloft?

Obrig.

The relationship between Strahd and Tatyana is a classic and tragic one and my attempt to bring some motivation to the character of the vampire. I believe it is fair to say that Eros and Psyche were part of that.

Tracy Hickman

Hi, Mr. Hickman, and welcome!

I have a question for you about Ravenloft. I once read that part of your inspiration for Ravenloft was the Land of Grey Mists from Tom Moldvay's Castle Amber module. Is this true?

While I have a great admiration for Tom Moldvay and his work, I do not recall it inspiring Ravenloft. My wife and I took our inspiration from the original Brahm Stoker Dracula text and the old classic films. Our primary motivation was to create a game that set the vampire in its proper environment.

Tracy Hickman

1) Anymore information that you are willing to give us on the creation of Ravenloft (the module)? I found several parts of this adventure particularly interesting - the catacombs packed full of the family and friends of the von Zarovichs, the witches who lived in the proverbial attic of one of the towers and the living tower.

I'll do my best on these!

1) Ravenloft was by far our finest achievement in role playing game adventures. We originally were frustrated by the appearance of a vampire in the middle of a standard 'dungeon crawl' adventure that a friend was running for us. It felt to us that the monster appeared out of no where and had no motivation for being in this dungeon at all. That was when Laura and I decided to create an adventure build around the creature and with a setting that gave the vampire context and motivation. We played the adventure every halloween for years ... and the polish, I think, shows.

Tracy Hickman

Hello Mr Hickman!

Wow, what an honour, to write to the man who helped forge significant part of my youth! Thank you for the many good memories!

DL was my introduction to D&D, the video game for Deathgate my reason to learn the English language, and Ravenloft is still my all-time favourite adventure!

Since I almost always have a copy of the Ravenloft adventure at hand to run it for my friends when they ask for a quick game, and since I have experimented with inserting it into a variety of game settings already,
I just wanted to ask what setting you had in mind when you created the adventure. How did you design the adventure?
- Was it a spawn of an ongoing campaign, or did you just sit down and say "okay, I am writing a vampire adventure now"?

Many thanks, and welcome to DF!

Yours,

Rafael

We literally sat down and says 'we're going to write a vampire adventure that makes sense!'

Tracy Hickman

Yes, good question Rafe.

Tracy: On what world was Barovia located before it got picked up by the Mists of Ravenloft?

Here I'm going to say something with which many of you are going to disagree but which I nevertheless believe: I think that places like Barovia exist in their OWN place and are not tied to any other multi-poly-omni-verse. I see no reason why there should be ANY link, passage, conduit, ethereal tether, logical or illogical relationship between different worlds or settings. You CANNOT get to Krynn from Barovia -- no matter who says so -- as they are separate places in their own special universes.

Taking Kender to Ravenloft is like one of those horrible cross-over episodes where the Fonz shows up on 'Mork and Mindy' to boost its ratings. (Ok ... I know that Mork from Ork originally appeared on 'Happy Days' but the analogy still applies.) The point is that doing so 'jumps the shark' for me.

Of course, if this answer does not satisfy you then ... Barovia was previously located on Procyon 3. Just go to the binary gas giant, hang a left and look for the grey shrouded planet. Can't miss it.

Tracy Hickman

I can't believe no one has asked:

Who's hotter?

Morgan Ironwolf, Aleena, or Goldmoon?

Laurana ... definitely Laurana.

Tracy Hickman

Yours,

Rafe

[Le Noir Faineant]

Emphasis mine:

"Here I'm going to say something with which many of you are going to disagree but which I nevertheless believe: I think that places like Barovia exist in their OWN place and are not tied to any other multi-poly-omni-verse."

[HuManBing]

You CANNOT get to Krynn from Barovia -- no matter who says so -- as they are separate places in their own special universes.

If that's true, can we have our Death Knight darklord back, please?

[alhoon]

She also states that she disagrees with Kender to Ravenloft, so I guess an extension goes for everything from Dragonlance to Ravenloft.

I.e it's not important where the adventurers/villains that landed in Ravenloft hail from. They should be original.

[steveflam]

You CANNOT get to Krynn from Barovia -- no matter who says so -- as they are separate places in their own special universes.

If that's true, can we have our Death Knight darklord back, please?

I second that!

[Rotipher of the FoS]

She also states that she disagrees with Kender to Ravenloft

Just FYI, Tracy Hickman is male. He and Laura Hickman, I6's other author, are married.

Not sure how he wound up with a girl's name, but it's a common mistake.

[ewancummins]

She also states that she disagrees with Kender to Ravenloft

Just FYI, Tracy Hickman is male. He and Laura Hickman, I6's other author, are married.

Not sure how he wound up with a girl's name, but it's a common mistake.

It isn't actually a girl's name. It was originally a masculine name derived from a French [Norman] place name. Quite a few men in the English speaking world are named Tracy [Traci or Tracey are common feminine spellings of the same name].

[Le Noir Faineant]

You CANNOT get to Krynn from Barovia -- no matter who says so -- as they are separate places in their own special universes.

If that's true, can we have our Death Knight darklord back, please?

I second that!

And I whip you for it!

The cool the Sithicus domain is, I, as an author, would be really angry if people used my work this way.

[maraudar]

Thank god he didnt say Aquaria Rafe. I would never have heard the end of it would I?


Maraudar

[Ryan Naylor]

The cool the Sithicus domain is, I, as an author, would be really angry if people used my work this way.

It is an unfortunate effect of working in a shared worlds system, though, and one that everyone else has learnt to be gracious about.

[Le Noir Faineant]

The cool the Sithicus domain is, I, as an author, would be really angry if people used my work this way.

It is an unfortunate effect of working in a shared worlds system, though, and one that everyone else has learnt to be gracious about.

Sure. Though I'd say the Soth-Ravenloft rendition was one of the most intriguing ways a character was ever ported to another setting. - And, with all the due respect to Mr Hickman's merits, he should be a bit more defensive when it comes to rant about bastardizing established settings; I still cry every time I even think of Dragons of the Summer Flame or The War of Souls.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Thank god he didnt say Aquaria Rafe. I would never have heard the end of it would I?


Maraudar

I only barely resisted!

[Ryan Naylor]

The cool the Sithicus domain is, I, as an author, would be really angry if people used my work this way.

It is an unfortunate effect of working in a shared worlds system, though, and one that everyone else has learnt to be gracious about.

Sure. Though I'd say the Soth-Ravenloft rendition was one of the most intriguing ways a character was ever ported to another setting. - And, with all the due respect to Mr Hickman's merits, he should be a bit more defensive when it comes to rant about bastardizing established settings; I still cry every time I even think of Dragons of the Summer Flame or The War of Souls.

Very true. I do too. Dragons of Summer Flame especially seemed to me just to be a giantic "Take That" to fans of Dragonlance, and the War of Souls an attwmpt to try to rescue what they'd done.

Anyway. I may start ranting if I keep on like this. I shall say that I think Knight and Shadow of the Black Rose are two of the best renditions of Soth out there, that took DL Soth and made him seem deeper without changing him in the slightest, and leave it at that.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Very true. I do too. Dragons of Summer Flame especially seemed to me just to be a giantic "Take That" to fans of Dragonlance, and the War of Souls an attwmpt to try to rescue what they'd done.

Anyway. I may start ranting if I keep on like this. I shall say that I think Knight and Shadow of the Black Rose are two of the best renditions of Soth out there, that took DL Soth and made him seem deeper without changing him in the slightest, and leave it at that.

We agree there. As to the rant, I have no problem with stating that Mr Hickman should please please please never touch any of his older creations again. The new DL novels are like the last visions of Colonel Kurtz, just more disturbing and horrible. Superman flying backwards against earth rotation to travel back in time made more sense than some of the passages in those slight-above-Mike-Hammer-novels. Oh, wait, that'd be wrong, because I'd prefer Mike Hammer over any emo Silvanestis any time now.

On another note, Ravenloft's Soth was one of the most memorable characters, and Sithicus is one of the most interesting domains out there.

Should I ever find the time to make a campaign than is placed elsewhere than Barovia, it would be Sithicus.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

The cool the Sithicus domain is, I, as an author, would be really angry if people used my work this way.

Well, I wonder what Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Robert Louis Stephenson, et al.. would have to say about Ravenloft from that perspective.