Suffer not the Caliban

[Mephisto of the FoS]

I’ve always been a big proponent of everyone in the half-whatever races or the races with some sort of something being sterile.

Yes like mules or ligers.

Otherwise though yeah normal human kids unless they get tainted separately. That raises the question of what happens to those kids though. Would Caliban parents want to raise normal human kids in their isolated Caliban only village or try to filter them into normal human society?

Well first caliban village in my opinion is something really rare if not unheard of. Then I believe it depends on the parents character and the attachment style (secure, anxious, avoidant, fearful) each person is different and that applies to calibans too. Some people may want their child to be raised properly by them, another may believe the child may have more options in life if raised in a "normal" society and may leave the child in a monastery...

The Monastery of the Quickening Thunderbolt perhaps?...
https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/wik ... hunderbolt

[Rock of the Fraternity]

One idea I've been tossing around in my head for The Lost Journals is a nomadic tribe in Nova Vaasa made up of calibans and humans who do not fit in with the Vaasi culture. Ones that take in abandoned caliban children and raise them with a sense of pride in what and who they are and act as a counter to the overwhelmingly lawful evil culture of the domain. Naturally the Church of Bane (The Lawgiver) and the people hate and fear them, but those same people are absolutely terrified of plains cats and the lands outside the cities have little to offer beyond farming or the odd mine. So it's perfectly logical for a tribe of such to exist and go largely unnoticed (more likely ignored) by the Vaasi people.

The Duremkites might be more well-disposed, even helpful, to such outcasts. They believe in the strong sheltering the weak, after all.

[Baron Von Stanton]

Demonspawn seems like a very direct way of saying it. Would there be another term for use in polite company? Shadowtouched, shadowtwisted?

If we want to use the High Mordentish term, why not enfants oubliés?

[alhoon]

They are not demonspawn though; Malocchio is not a caliban. Demonspawn are half-fiends. Down the line, they become tieflings.
Being a round a fiend would produce calibans, but that doesn't make them demonspawn in my opinion.

[Baron Von Stanton]

They are not demonspawn though; Malocchio is not a caliban. Demonspawn are half-fiends. Down the line, they become tieflings.
Being a round a fiend would produce calibans, but that doesn't make them demonspawn in my opinion.

This is true, but on the other hand, one of the two most cruelest insults ever bestowed is the grossly inaccurate insult.

[alhoon]

This is true, but on the other hand, one of the two most cruelest insults ever bestowed is the grossly inaccurate insult.

A grave insult to both Calibans and Malocchio!

[Mistmaster]

Accursed forever is the hand of the child slayer (every children) Beside in some istance Caliban deformities are not evident or manifest themselves at puberty. (Un the Mistworld I have made them like Mutants in Marvel comics)

That actually sounds like it would be more prone to freaking people out. Going back to the reference to mutants, most of the ones who looked significantly different from baseline humans spent a lot of the comics’ run hiding in the sewers as Morelos’s.

Only if the family and the comunity is not very strong. (And it is Morlock)

[Baron Von Stanton]

This is true, but on the other hand, one of the two most cruelest insults ever bestowed is the grossly inaccurate insult.

A grave insult to both Calibans and Malocchio!

No where near as insulting as the Mother's Day card he received from Gabrielle that began with "Il mio amato figlio, il più grande ingrato"

[Pizza]

Accursed forever is the hand of the child slayer (every children) Beside in some istance Caliban deformities are not evident or manifest themselves at puberty. (Un the Mistworld I have made them like Mutants in Marvel comics)

That actually sounds like it would be more prone to freaking people out. Going back to the reference to mutants, most of the ones who looked significantly different from baseline humans spent a lot of the comics’ run hiding in the sewers as Morelos’s.

Only if the family and the comunity is not very strong. (And it is Morlock)

Autocorrect is my greatest enemy, and of course this time my keyboard remembered it was supposed to be Portuguese and not English.

[tomokaicho]

Your point about the unlikely survival of Calibans in a superstitious world like Ravenloft is thought-provoking. However, I'd argue that mercy for these misshapen beings can arise from unlikely sources. Let's use the Tepestani Inquisition as an example.

While it's easy to presume that the Inquisition, in their hunt for the fey and "fey-like", would regard a Caliban as a demonchild or changeling, I believe it's just as possible for them to demonstrate compassion. Wyan's primary objective is to liberate the victims of the fey, and it's feasible that some inquisitors could view Calibans as victims of fey enchantment or curse, deserving of their aid rather than hostility.

Their use of the witch pins and the fairy stools might inadvertently benefit Calibans. These devices detect fey magic and identify spellcasters, so non-magical Calibans might evade their scrutiny or even be seen as harmless. This could explain the survival of a good number of non-magical Calibans.

Furthermore, their investigations might lead them to delve into genealogical records. They might discover a link between the birth of Calibans and incestuous relationships. In this case, they could perceive Calibans not as demonchildren but as unfortunate outcomes of moral transgressions. This understanding could alter the Inquisition's stance on Calibans, encouraging sympathy and protection rather than fear and persecution.

Beyond Tepest, other societies within Ravenloft might have their unique outlooks on Calibans, regarding them as victims or omens, which could lead to their preservation. The diversity of attitudes and beliefs within this realm could contribute to the surprising survival rate of Calibans.

[Baron Von Stanton]

Your point about the unlikely survival of Calibans in a superstitious world like Ravenloft is thought-provoking. However, I'd argue that mercy for these misshapen beings can arise from unlikely sources. Let's use the Tepestani Inquisition as an example.

While it's easy to presume that the Inquisition, in their hunt for the fey and "fey-like", would regard a Caliban as a demonchild or changeling, I believe it's just as possible for them to demonstrate compassion. Wyan's primary objective is to liberate the victims of the fey, and it's feasible that some inquisitors could view Calibans as victims of fey enchantment or curse, deserving of their aid rather than hostility.

Their use of the witch pins and the fairy stools might inadvertently benefit Calibans. These devices detect fey magic and identify spellcasters, so non-magical Calibans might evade their scrutiny or even be seen as harmless. This could explain the survival of a good number of non-magical Calibans.

Furthermore, their investigations might lead them to delve into genealogical records. They might discover a link between the birth of Calibans and incestuous relationships. In this case, they could perceive Calibans not as demonchildren but as unfortunate outcomes of moral transgressions. This understanding could alter the Inquisition's stance on Calibans, encouraging sympathy and protection rather than fear and persecution.

Beyond Tepest, other societies within Ravenloft might have their unique outlooks on Calibans, regarding them as victims or omens, which could lead to their preservation. The diversity of attitudes and beliefs within this realm could contribute to the surprising survival rate of Calibans.

Plus, I would think that going on a campaign of euthanizing demonspawn [sic] would greatly focus the Dark Powers' attentions.

[hidajiremi]

Accursed forever is the hand of the child slayer (every children)

This is why a lot of historical cultures practiced infant exposure rather than outright infant murder, since abandoning your child in the wilderness meant that it was technically on the gods for whether or not the child survived. And a lot of those children did wind up getting found and saved by travelers! Because for a lot of history, it was less important that your child was "attractive" than if they were hard-working and loyal. Not to mention that humans are actually pretty against child-murder in general.

[Mistmaster]

Accursed forever is the hand of the child slayer (every children)

This is why a lot of historical cultures practiced infant exposure rather than outright infant murder, since abandoning your child in the wilderness meant that it was technically on the gods for whether or not the child survived. And a lot of those children did wind up getting found and saved by travelers! Because for a lot of history, it was less important that your child was "attractive" than if they were hard-working and loyal. Not to mention that humans are actually pretty against child-murder in general.

Indeed.

[alhoon]

Not to mention that humans are actually pretty against child-murder in general.

Especially when it comes to "our" children (village, country, etc) instead of "their" children (the bad guys we fight!).

But to return to the Caliban, I would see that more would see a twisted caliban child as not "our" child and even attack their wife for infidelity etc.

[Baron Von Stanton]

Not to mention that humans are actually pretty against child-murder in general.

Especially when it comes to "our" children (village, country, etc) instead of "their" children (the bad guys we fight!).

But to return to the Caliban, I would see that more would see a twisted caliban child as not "our" child and even attack their wife for infidelity etc.

This reminds me of a news article in a Chinese newspaper I read a while back about how a businessman in Hong Kong sued his wife when it was revealed that she had extensive (beautifying) plastic surgery due to their newborn child inheriting her "old" face.