Quoth the Raven #28 review thread

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Yikes, those are scary!
I wonder how their philosophy would fare if they become trapped in the demiplane's Border Ethereal, though. There are other things in the Mists; things that defy reason.

I'd say that they would get angry, but they are probably incapable of feeling anger. The interesting things about the Ethergaunts is that their philosophy, their lack of emotion, might even make them ineligible targets to be Darklords. It's hard to imagine that they would experience torment at all.

That doesn't mean the Ethergaunts won't be useful to the Dark Powers. Their mere presence in the Dread Domains will spread evil, and their philosophy could easily infect people that are capable of emotions.

Given that the Ethergaunts live on the etheral plane, they likely avoid the demiplane of Ravenloft. If they ended up in the Dread Domains, it would be due to happenstance or bad luck.

I'd imagine they avoid the Demiplane like the plague, given how illogical a place it can be, and would be emotionlessly agitated if they wound up trapped in the Border Ethereal.
After all, getting trapped there would say bad things about their competence and power.

[tomokaicho]

I'd imagine they avoid the Demiplane like the plague, given how illogical a place it can be, and would be emotionlessly agitated if they wound up trapped in the Border Ethereal.
After all, getting trapped there would say bad things about their competence and power.

True. Although they would not be the first delusional creatures to be trapped in the Dread Domains.

Their hatred of religion has interesting implications, and this hatred of religion (or at least 'true religion) may be shared with the Dark Powers.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

I'd imagine they avoid the Demiplane like the plague, given how illogical a place it can be, and would be emotionlessly agitated if they wound up trapped in the Border Ethereal.
After all, getting trapped there would say bad things about their competence and power.

True. Although they would not be the first delusional creatures to be trapped in the Dread Domains.

Their hatred of religion has interesting implications, and this hatred of religion (or at least 'true religion) may be shared with the Dark Powers.

I'm not sure I'd say the Dark Powers 'hate' religion.
In some ways, I personally find the depiction of religion in Ravenloft more accurate than in many other settings: faith is what draws people to the religions of the Demiplane, and each church's rules are subject to interpretation by the people.
The Dark Powers generally refuse to let the gods play in their sandbox, but they haven't completely cut them off from the people. Like so much in the Demiplane, this might be an experiment, it might be a cruel game, or it might be a lesson for gods and mortals both.

[tomokaicho]

Pretty much all of the Ravenloft religions are either of dubious provenance (Zhakata, The Wolf God, Ezra) or are heretical to their original religions (Lawgiver/Bane, Morninglord/Lathander). Unless you are an outlander cleric, I don't even know if it is possible to profess a true faith in the Dread Domains. In this I am speaking in an objective sense, because the existence of the gods in most D&D settings can be verified. Even an outlander cleric runs the risk of heretical or blasphemous straying because the link from cleric to deity is subject to a man-in-the-middle attack by the Dark Powers. There is no direct phone line to his god.

Has there ever been a person in Ravenloft that has died and then passed on to whatever paradise (or punishment) that awaits them on the Outer Planes? Certainly, we don't have any example of any. Perhaps the dead are harvested by the Dark Powers for mysterious purposes.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

As a note I based the Teusten Society on the Teusten people found in the Adlatum Sourcebook created and published by a Dragonlance fan site, the Dragonlance equivalent of the Fraternity of Shadows, named Dragonlance Nexus.
https://dragonlancenexus.com/adlatum1/w ... cebook.pdf p.21

(My article was based on Mistipedia-like info found at the Nexus I hadn't had any knowledge of the netbook before, I just discovered it, hence this post...)

Adlatum is one of the official continents of Krynn such as Ansalon, Taladas etc. I know Drakov originates from Taladas but...

The origins of the Teusten people are muddled by the passing of centuries. Some believe they branched off from the earliest Midland humans; others believe they emigrated from whatever mysterious distant continent that the Corinesti are believed to trade with across the western ocean. Either way, they are generally seen as reclusive and dangerous.

The mysterious distant continent believed to exist across the western ocean is Taladas.

A basic map of the world of Krynn, including all 3 continents.


I based the society in the similarities of the Teusten people with real history Vikings and the appropriation of Norse cultural markers by the Nazis. Thus I made a connection between the Falkovnian fanatics adoration of the Teusten of Krynn (that Drakov may or may not have lineage to) and the Nazi's misuse of Old Norse symbols, imagery and mythology for their propaganda of hate and destruction.

The racial discrimination and warmongering of Falkovnia may be based on the following.

A love of conflict and combat is what the Teusten live for, whether on land or at sea. They despise most cultures and will even go so far as to attack a few other races on sight, but their anger is not directed to the world in general—just those who they see do not have the right to exist in it.

The Teusten people are not fond of other races, especially not dwarves. Due to a long-standing history of conflict, any dwarf seen by a Teusten would be enslaved or killed on sight.

Another oddity of the Teusten people is the fact that their main language is a variation of dwarven and that many Teusten people are well versed in Hammertalk (dwarven). Any respectable Teusten would claim that this is because they had once tried to educate the lowly race in the past out of pity, but that over time they “stole” the language and the art of Hammertalk and claimed it to be their own.

[KingCorn]

Okay, now I can appreciate the article their alot more, since I did not realize the Teutson thing was another reference to Dragonlance. I'm admittidly not that knowledgable about the setting.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Actually this is where my main info came from.

https://dragonlance.fandom.com/wiki/Teusten

It has also a description under Magic and Mysticism that explains Vlad Drakov's distaste for magic but his belief that magical equipment are acceptable for battle and why battling Azalin the wizard king of Darkon may not just be because of the domains size but because of Azalin's arcane abilities.

Magic and Mysticism
Magic of any sort is not often practiced in Teusten, but the people love to get their hands on magical items and use them to create their own tales of glory. To many in Teusten, an enemy with magic makes them all the grander and makes the story of a sword or axe wielding Teusten slaughtering them all the more grandiose. As such, most Teustens will not learn magic simply because a wizard defeating a powerful wizard is not as glorious as a fighter defeating a powerful wizard. Still, if that fighter ended up getting his hands on a magic weapon prior to defeating the powerful wizard, the story still is considered epic, and thus the use of magic items is “accepted.”

The following may also explain the absence of an official state supported religion in Falkovnia.

The issue of divine magic is different. In earlier years, clerics used healing magic and other battle-ready spells in Teusten just as often as an wizard in other lands, but that changed after the Starfall (Cataclysm). According to the Vroevadle, their gods never left. A test had been put forth to see who was truly faithful. In those times, clerics of the Vroevadle had faith in the gods for the sake of faith, and not for the bribery of magic spells. After the return of the gods, the clerics of the Vroevadle gained the ability to cast spells again, but many of them refuse this temptation saying that they are clerics for the purpose of praising the gods, not to become a holy-wizard. As such, divine magic in Teusten is a great rarity even though most of their clerics are capable of casting.

And something extra on demihuman slavery that can be used for Falkovnia.

Slavery is an acceptable part of life in Teusten. Although most dwarves are killed on sight, there are still several kept for labor. The same is true for minotaurs, humans, or elves. Elves are often seen as a weak race, and the Corinesti are believed to not deserve the sea, above or below. Those elves who prove themselves in physical labor are bragged about by their owners as “the best of their race.” Minotaurs are highly prized and respected by the Teusten. They are seen as greater fighters, and many people long for the peace between Teusten and Sakkaras to end so a great battle of strength can begin once again between them.

Thus Calibans may also be prized as slaves for their strength but not respected.

The info we have on Vlad Drakov from his time in Dragonlance is the following

Drakov hails from the kingdom of Thenol, which lies in the realm of Taladas on the planet of Krynn. In Thenol, Drakov headed a mercenary band known as "Talonsof the Hawk". His nickname was "the Hawk", and his men werecalled "Talons". He was noted for his ruthless and brutal tactics. He worked for whomever paid him the most money, usually the evil fanaticsof Hith.

On the Adlatum Sourcebook it mentions under the description Adventurers.

Many Teustens seek adventure in the northwest, anywhere from Blight Bay to the Broken Lands,but may be seen as far south as the Iron Isles. A brave few risk exploring the world further away, but stories are told of heroes who’ve sailed off the map to the west, daring to find the dark lands only the Corinesti are said to go. When adventuring most Teustens are in groups comprised of their own kind, but sometimes a slave of another race, or a kunda may be brought along as well to aggrandize their heroics into legends if they do not feel like exaggerating things on their own. It is almost unheard of to see a Teusten in a well-rounded group of adventurers comprised of an assortment of races.

Vlad Drakov may have been the descendant of Teustener explorers who ended up in Taladas bringing with them their aggressive culture and raising him under those standards.

[tomokaicho]

As a note I based the Teusten Society on the Teusten people found in the Adlatum Sourcebook created and published by a Dragonlance fan site, the Dragonlance equivalent of the Fraternity of Shadows, named Dragonlance Nexus.
https://dragonlancenexus.com/adlatum1/w ... cebook.pdf p.21

The High Arcanist prestige class on page 39 of the Adlatum Sourcebook is very good and is easily repurposed as a prestige class for wizards serving the Falkovnian state by simply changing the code of conduct to serve Falkovnia instead of Eltarn.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

The High Arcanist prestige class on page 39 of the Adlatum Sourcebook is very good and is easily repurposed as a prestige class for wizards serving the Falkovnian state by simply changing the code of conduct to serve Falkovnia instead of Eltarn.

The High Arcanist prestige class is too much dependent/based on the moons of Krynn which makes it a bit not fitting to Falkovnia, but in general it has some nice aspects. Maybe a new prestige class is appropriate for Falkovnia, perhaps Arcanist of the Ministry of the Arcane (AotMA) or Ministry Arcanist (MiAr).

[tomokaicho]

The High Arcanist prestige class is too much dependent/based on the moons of Krynn which makes it a bit not fitting to Falkovnia, but in general it has some nice aspects. Maybe a new prestige class is appropriate for Falkovnia, perhaps Arcanist of the Ministry of the Arcane (AotMA) or Ministry Arcanist (MiAr).

Just offer "any item creation or metamagic feat" for which the character can meet the prerequisites. Its already an option for characters that already have Lunar Devotion, so one could just remove that and replace it with the option. All that said, my personal preference is for a Player's Handbook 2 style affiliation over prestige classes for everything.