Purpose of Darkon's "Claiming"

[DeepShadow of FoS]

IIRC the original text said that memory rewriting was Darkon's border closure, but that would mean Azalin has the borders closed all the time. I also recall that he developed this border closure deliberately, as one of the few Darklords who actually deliberately embraced getting a domain. So...why?

If Azalin didn't want it, he could remove it easily. So...why does it happen? What does he get out of it?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

IIRC the original text said that memory rewriting was Darkon's border closure, but that would mean Azalin has the borders closed all the time. I also recall that he developed this border closure deliberately, as one of the few Darklords who actually deliberately embraced getting a domain. So...why?

Not quite. The black box states that the wall of undead is his border closure. It just mentions the memory rewriting in the section about "The Folk".

If Azalin didn't want it, he could remove it easily. So...why does it happen? What does he get out of it?

But this is true. From the Shadows is where we first see his library, the Book of Names, etc. In there we learn that crossing out a name in the book with a quill of law will undo that person's memory loss. He could easily command a minion to cross out all the names in the book if he wanted. So clearly, whether he pursued this or was just given it by the DPs, he doesn't mind that it happens, or he would have put a stop to it long ago. Why? it gives him information and control, the two things he most craves.

[Mistmaster]

I actually rule it a bit differently; The memory changes must actually be done on the Book of Names, it's not automathic.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

IIRC the original text said that memory rewriting was Darkon's border closure, but that would mean Azalin has the borders closed all the time. I also recall that he developed this border closure deliberately, as one of the few Darklords who actually deliberately embraced getting a domain. So...why?

Not quite. The black box states that the wall of undead is his border closure. It just mentions the memory rewriting in the section about "The Folk".

Yeah, I can't find the section that I recall reading, but I'm glad I checked. It says there that Claiming convinces people that they were born in Darkon or neighboring domains.

...Neighboring...domains...

So, this rules out a lot of the complications that we see normally, with ambassadors and merchants and stuff like that. I really sounds like this is specifically targeted at Outlanders, as befits the Weekend In Hell style of the Black Box. Given how the Mists worked back then, saying it targeted Outlanders is pretty close to saying it targeted adventurers. Which all makes a LOT more sense. Focusing it on Outlanders would also give him information on what was going on outside of RL, as their histories would be recorded before they were Claimed. So that's certainly beneficial.

If Azalin didn't want it, he could remove it easily. So...why does it happen? What does he get out of it?

But this is true. From the Shadows is where we first see his library, the Book of Names, etc. In there we learn that crossing out a name in the book with a quill of law will undo that person's memory loss. He could easily command a minion to cross out all the names in the book if he wanted. So clearly, whether he pursued this or was just given it by the DPs, he doesn't mind that it happens, or he would have put a stop to it long ago. Why? it gives him information and control, the two things he most craves.

Yeah, I guess my issue is whether he gains enough to make it worth all the complications with merchants, ambassadors and expatriates.

I'm struggling to recall where, but I could have sworn that I read somewhere that Azalin entered the Mists with an image of the domain he wanted, and this Book of Names was part of his vision. If so, why was it so important? And could it be connected to the other major tweak the DP's gave him in the area of memory--the inability to learn new spells? Maybe they gave him this pair of major artifacts he requested, but whatever plans he had for them were thwarted by his curse. This would explain why he originally embraced DLship and then turned right around and wanted nothing more than escape.

[The Lesser Evil]

Azalin can exempt people from Darkon's memory effects; he did specifically with Myar Hiregaard, whom is a Nova Vaasan ambassador currently residing in Tempe Falls (see Gaz II p. 44). Generally, merchants and ambassadors might avoid memory alteration if they travel across the border once a month as the memory distortion time effectively resets.

I don't ever recall reading anywhere he entered the Mists with the idea of ruling his own domain- that would seem counter to his plans of escaping it.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I don't ever recall reading anywhere he entered the Mists with the idea of ruling his own domain- that would seem counter to his plans of escaping it.

Realm of Terror (Black Box) p 91: "The lich eventually discovered that any powerful personality might be granted a land in Ravenloft. Rather than stay in Barovia, he walked into Strahd's choking fog. The poison did not affect him. His forceful personality created Darkon..." The Red Box has the same text with minor edits.

King of the Dead is a bit murkier about it, what with the added bit of Azalin's amnesia, and I Strahd, The War the With Azalin skips over this bit, with Strahd waking up after their Wacky Adventures in Mordent and finding that Darkon exists, among other domains. Gaz II says only that regarding the Mordent excursion, "For Azalin, this event was the final straw. Shortly thereafter, the left Barovia forever."

So it seems more that he wanted to be away from Strahd, knew he'd likely get his own domain, and figured he could plot his escape from there just as well as from Barovia, without the annoyance of Strahd's presence.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

The memory rewrite is especially useful against adventurers - any Oerthians who recall the title of Azal'Lan or even the name Firan Zal'Honan, as well as experts in rooting out liches would be stymied without him having to lift a bony digit - but it's also pretty convenient when dealing with natives of the demiplane. Azalin has a huge country, and he can always use more subjects to keep it running, not to mention freshen up the present bloodlines. His 'stock', if you will.

[ewancummins]

I like to run it straight.

Darkon lies under an enchantment. It's the land of fairy-tale creatures and sorcery. Witch Country.

[Mistmaster]

I like to run it straight.

Darkon lies under an enchantment. It's the land of fairy-tale creatures and sorcery. Witch Country.

That is more Tepest for me.

[ewancummins]

I like to run it straight.

Darkon lies under an enchantment. It's the land of fairy-tale creatures and sorcery. Witch Country.

That is more Tepest for me.

The biggest difference as I see it is that mages and demihumans are part of society in Darkon, as opposed to existing outside the social order if not opposed to it, as in Tepest and a number of other realms. Darkon is more 'fantastic' than a number of other domains, and it includes things like good and evil wizards, dwarfs, elfs, even hippogriffs and dragons.

[tomokaicho]

The Darkon memory thing is something I'd just drop from the game altogether.

[Mischief]

The Darkon memory thing is something I'd just drop from the game altogether.

Agreed. The Gazetteers and the Wiki page actually explain that "yeah Azalin's supercontrol over everything undead and his memory-draining domain are hard to work with, but here is how you work around it". That such a warning exists and is necessary is a klaxon indicator that the domain mechanic and Azalin's supporting powers are poorly conceived from the perspective of the wider Ravenloft setting and thus need a little downwards adjustment. Which is why I ditched the memory drain in my 5e redo for a more general and weaker mass suggestion / makes people feel like they should submit more to authority, and mind overwrites must be actively targeted. Taking a hatchet to Azalin's power level means you can develop Darkon as a proper setting without an artificial clock hanging over the PCs heads.

[ewancummins]

I don't give Azalin any control over it.

I never liked that bit.

As a poster noted above, the Black Box is clear about how it works. Outsiders lose their old memories and come to believe their families have lived in Darkon or in neighboring domains for generations.

This 'claiming' effect has come into play in my long-running online campaign here on FoS.

LordSkybolt plays a magic investigator from Furyondy, a kingdom on the Oerth. That PC, Alain, went to Darkon to track down a magic item and ended up staying there long enough to lose his memories and become attached to Darkon. He thought he was the last of an old family.

Later, a quest took him out of the bounds of the domain and he began to recover his memories.
He returned and lost them again, and when he read his journals...
Found nothing to make him think anything had messed with his mind.

I do use the bit from later materials about how the memory alteration can alter things like journals and diaries, with the words shifting over time. That's creepy, so I kept it.

Alain left Darkon a third time, and soon realized that something was wrong. Papers and records in his old home in Richemulot didn't match the story in his travelling journal. Nor did the memories of his friends and allies. He doesn't understand what happened, not exactly. He does realize he was under some kind of curse or enchantment that lost its power when he left Darkon. Could it be connected with the vague and unsettling legends he's heard about Darkon? Possibly. Or maybe it's the work of an evil wizard, someone he's crossed in the past.

[tomokaicho]

Agreed. The Gazetteers and the Wiki page actually explain that "yeah Azalin's supercontrol over everything undead and his memory-draining domain are hard to work with, but here is how you work around it". That such a warning exists and is necessary is a klaxon indicator that the domain mechanic and Azalin's supporting powers are poorly conceived from the perspective of the wider Ravenloft setting and thus need a little downwards adjustment. Which is why I ditched the memory drain in my 5e redo for a more general and weaker mass suggestion / makes people feel like they should submit more to authority, and mind overwrites must be actively targeted. Taking a hatchet to Azalin's power level means you can develop Darkon as a proper setting without an artificial clock hanging over the PCs heads.

Its more bother than it's worth, and it obviously isn't central to the narrative. Instead of making it this all pervasive thing, I'd scale it down and make it more subjective (meaning, under DM control). Here is my suggestion for revising this feature.

Darkon only "claims" people with no family ties or very weak family ties. For example, Alfonso is a recent migrant to Dakron and has no living family. Darkon claims him. If however Alfonso has a beloved uncle in Richemulot, Darkon could not claim him. If on the other hand he had a living uncle but was estranged from him, Darkon claims him.

So you still have this phenomenon of people visiting Graves of "relatives" in Darkon, and it is commented on by the local people as a curiousity. Darkon can only claim a person disconnected from family - so even an outlander from another world cannot be claimed by Darkon if he feels (in his subjective mind) connected to his family back in his homeworld.

Now the DM is back in control, Darkon keeps some of its lore, and it's more interesting.

[Mischief]

I don't give Azalin any control over it.

I never liked that bit.

As a poster noted above, the Black Box is clear about how it works. Outsiders lose their old memories and come to believe their families have lived in Darkon or in neighboring domains for generations.

The whole idea has gotten pretty muddled with time though (I haven't been around long enough, but I think most people think it gets everyone).

The problem that now arises by putting a restriction on it so the BoN only affects outsiders is the BoN looks like a tool the DM inserted for their own convenience than something that it makes sense for Azalin to possess. Unless Azalin is making a point of collecting outsiders and studying their histories for some plot, then it's only a matter of time before outsiders try to pick a fight with him or break in to his castle, which I imagine canon Azalin detests.

Why not make BoN universal in Ravenloft affecting all outsiders and Azalin just happens to have it at his castle then?

But overall I think @tomokaicho is playing the right tune with this point:

it obviously isn't central to the narrative.

His/her idea for fixing it, hoovering up all the potentially more disorderly drifters, does make sense from Azalin's perspective as a control freak. It's pretty clever too.

In my rewrite, the BoN must be actively targeted, affects all non Darkonians (and maybe even Darkonians too, I didn't specify), and works much faster. Azalin is using it to collect outsiders and their stories to see if any will be useful for plots or even to dispatch on errands (after returning the memories) because they are likely to have unusual skillsets. Because Azalin is picking people out, the signal to noise ratio is much better, so Azalin actually reads the BoN fairly often to study what he has collected and then releases those who aren't interesting. You still have the same basic plotline, but instead of being a tool of control it's more oriented towards forcing the PCs to have to deal with Azalin diplomatically or get involved in one of his schemes.