Pocket Domain idea - the Sweet Lilly

[Bloody Morgan]

Hey all,

I've been running this idea through my head in various forms for the last year or so, and I decided to throw it up here for some feedback. This is by no means a complete description - just a few bullet points on the nature of the Domain. I'm interested in seeing if anyone thinks it has merit, or can point out any problems with it that I might have missed. Though it likely doesn't need to be said, the concept is inspired by Moby Dick.

This Pocket Domain consists of a single ship - the Sweet Lilly. The captain is the Darklord.

He grew up on the docks of Mordentshire, joining with fishing and trading ships and slowly working up through the ranks until he became a captain. As his position grew so did his greed. He ran his crew ragged, risked their lives & saw them maimed in his service, etc. but kept them so afraid of him that he never suffered a mutiny.

The Dark Powers finally cursed him for ruining so many lives. The Sweet Lilly was attacked by a Kraken, most of the crew died, and the captain lost his leg. From then on he desired nothing but vengeance. He takes on crews at any port in the domain, then goes hunting for the beast that maimed him. Whenever he gets close to the kraken it inevitably ends in a nasty fight - men die, the kraken is wounded but gets away and the ship is badly damaged. It then returns to a port, repairs and takes on a new crew.

Ironically, since the captain was cursed, the Powers have made sure that the Lilly has no problem making money. It comes across wrecks taken from other worlds on a regular basis, and the loot from these pays the crew & makes for repairs. Those who walk away from the ship when it docks do so as rich men, which helps draw other desperate sailors to it to fill out the crew.

The Kraken itself rarely bothers anyone else in Ravenloft, only targeting another ship if the Sweet Lilly - and the captain - is close enough to see. I see it as having the Mist subtype. When not near the ship, it simply fades into the Mists.

The ship cannot be physically sunk as long as the captain remains alive, and the kraken cannot kill him. No matter how much damage should be done, it always somehow survives long enough to reach a port and get repaired, though it may be missing sails, listing badly and taking on water.

The Sweet Lilly can turn up in any sea in Ravenloft, though it's most commonly found in the Sea of Sorrows. It can travel any Mistway that it can reach without fear of misdirection, though sometimes it pursues the kraken into the Mists and uncovers lands unknown before and after. The crew can come from any Domain - they are all lost, desperate men who have nothing else. Each should have a story to tell as to what drove them from their homes, some suitable terror haunting them.

I see it working in a few ways in a campaign. The biggest advantage is that it shouldn't be immediately obvious that it is a Domain or that the captain is a Darklord. The captain himself has taken a vow not to set foot on land until he has captured his quarry, and so has not realised that he is physically imprisoned on the ship. PCs might be shipwrecked and be picked up the the Sweet Lilly. They might also hear of it's unfailing ability to traverse the Mists and buy or work passage for a time, along the way having to deal with the mad captain and the desperate crew. The crew themselves can provide a whole rake of plothooks from almost any domain if coerced into telling their stories.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Bloody Morgan

[vipera aspis]

This is an awesome plot hook machine. Also a great way to pull people into Ravenloft. It travels along to sword coast picks up some mates(what adventures wouldn't what a hand in slaying a Kraken) and comes home to ravenlofts' seas in a horrible storm for the battle. suddenly an epic heroic battle has become a fight for survial in a strange, dark land. I wonder if they would believe it to be Maztica? Or if a GM could play it off as Maztica for a while, until the grim truth rears it's head.

[Lost Heretic]

Hmm...yeah. If they arrived in Vechor I think a good DM could pull it off as being Maztica.

[Desertrising]

I love the idea and believe it has a lot of merit. There are however a couple of things which I was wondering about.

It is my belief that each Darklord knows that they are imprisoned. What they do not know (or are unwilling to consider) is the way out. I think that the captain should know he is imprisoned and somewhere he also realizes he will never be able to kill the kraken, yet he refuses to give up the hunt.

Perhaps this knowledge of his own imprisonment leads him to occasionaly sabatoge plans that could actually work against the kraken. He is so jealous that at the end of the journey they will be able to leave he losses it, even at the cost of defeating his arch nemesis?

At the same time this is your creation and it should work however you choose. I just thought I would add my two cents.

[Mortepierre]

I wonder if they would believe it to be Maztica? Or if a GM could play it off as Maztica for a while, until the grim truth rears it's head.

Well, you could always use Mictlan (from Ryan Naylor / Book of Shadows).. except I don't think it had access to a sea. Hmm.. time to re-read that netbook

[Bloody Morgan]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

This is an awesome plot hook machine. Also a great way to pull people into Ravenloft. It travels along to sword coast picks up some mates(what adventures wouldn't what a hand in slaying a Kraken) and comes home to ravenlofts' seas in a horrible storm for the battle. suddenly an epic heroic battle has become a fight for survial in a strange, dark land. I wonder if they would believe it to be Maztica? Or if a GM could play it off as Maztica for a while, until the grim truth rears it's head.

Hmm. I honestly hadn't considered making the ship able to leave Ravenloft. I like the idea of it calling desperate souls from many worlds, and it's certainly a good way to get players into Ravenloft. But I'm afriad of the implications - that means it can sail out of the demiplane as well, making it an unusually reliable way of escaping.

Your post did give me a nice image of it being there when people are dragged into the Mists at sea though. The players are left adrift - either shipwrecked or thrown overboard, the Mists fall in and the Sweet Lilly is heard ringing it's bell. It's certainly a less immediatly violent way of doing it than most of the seafaring Darklords would provide.

When I said it found unheard of lands, I more meant that it has briefly visited Islands of Terror which are otherwise totally isolated from everywhere else, such as the uncountable number of fan-domains. It can't reliably find any of them again and again, but as it sails the Mists it sometimes bumps into them. It's not a bad way to bring in a fan domain without having to account for it's presence being felt by the rest of the setting.

But I also love the idea of it stealing people from Neverwinter or Stormreach. Hmm. Perhaps it only docks during times when the sea-mists have risen, and the crew wander ashore looking for supplies and skilled hands? But how to stop the existing crew just wandering off? No idea.

It is my belief that each Darklord knows that they are imprisoned. What they do not know (or are unwilling to consider) is the way out. I think that the captain should know he is imprisoned and somewhere he also realizes he will never be able to kill the kraken, yet he refuses to give up the hunt.

That's a good point. Personally, I like the idea of the Darklord unawares, but does it exist anywhere else in canon? I don't want to make this one too out there.

On the other hand, I think that if he ever did give up the hunt his curse would be broken. He just never will. I don't see this domain as being particularly long-running. Perhaps 10 years old when the PCs meet him. Perhaps it will only last another 10 before the captain breaks or someone kills him - he's not immortal, though he cannot drown or be killed by the kraken. But that's still long enough to have some fun with it.

Perhaps this knowledge of his own imprisonment leads him to occasionaly sabatoge plans that could actually work against the kraken. He is so jealous that at the end of the journey they will be able to leave he looses it, even at the cost of defeating his arch nemesis?

You mean that he - in a way - refuses to let his crew leave him? Hmm. That makes it a lot harder to bring on new crew. I saw the ship as being legend in some harbours. Most of those who sign on never come back, dying somewhere on the sea. But there are a rare one or two who walk away rich from the spoils of the wrecks they found, carrying the shares of their dead shipmates too. Not many, but just enough to tempt the desperate to sign on. In this way the Dark Powers ensure that the ship keeps running and the captain stays chasing an impossible goal. The other option would be pressganging, and I don't see that working quite as well on a hunting ship with a small crew.

At the same time this is your creation and it should work however you choose. I just thought I would add my two cents.

I put it up here for comments - thanks for yours!

Well, you could always use Mictlan (from Ryan Naylor / Book of Shadows).. except I don't think it had access to a sea. Hmm.. time to re-read that netbook

I had actually forgotten that one. Must go check if it has a coast. I'd like to have a few sample crew if I do write this up, and that could be fun to draw from. The bunch in Moby Dick are a bizarre and mixed group, so there's plenty of room for people from the more obscure domains.

[abe]

what sort of powers would this darklord have?

[Bloody Morgan]

Sorry, I missed that comment abe. Though none, really. Or at least no concious power.

Y'know, reading over what you all suggested, and what I want for this character, I'm not sure if making the ship a pocket domain is the way to go. Limits it too much, and creates too many assumptions about the captain.

Perhaps he's just someone the Dark Powers have choosen to torment without giving him powers (except an incredible tenacity) or limitations. That would sidestep a lot of the above, and allow him to remain relatively ignorant of the supernatural hand in his torment. There's a big step between cursing "The Fates" and realising that you're physically incapable of stepping off your ship.

Time to rethink, methinks...

Thanks again all!

[WolfKook]

I wonder if they would believe it to be Maztica? Or if a GM could play it off as Maztica for a while, until the grim truth rears it's head.

Well, you could always use Mictlan (from Ryan Naylor / Book of Shadows).. except I don't think it had access to a sea. Hmm.. time to re-read that netbook

It hasn't...

...But it will.

[Bloody Morgan]

It's not like the Dark Powers to let a thing like a long history of being landlocked stop them before...

:coughnovavassacough:

[Sylaire]

Sorry, I missed that comment abe. Though none, really. Or at least no concious power.

Y'know, reading over what you all suggested, and what I want for this character, I'm not sure if making the ship a pocket domain is the way to go. Limits it too much, and creates too many assumptions about the captain.

Perhaps he's just someone the Dark Powers have choosen to torment without giving him powers (except an incredible tenacity) or limitations. That would sidestep a lot of the above, and allow him to remain relatively ignorant of the supernatural hand in his torment. There's a big step between cursing "The Fates" and realising that you're physically incapable of stepping off your ship.

Time to rethink, methinks...

Thanks again all!

I suppose what you could do is, instead of making the ship his domain, you could make his quest the domain, or at least his curse. That is, he can sail the Sweet Lilly after the Kraken, he can stop for supplies, hire crew, etc., but if he tries to give up his quest, pursue a normal business, etc., etc., he suffers (not unlike Nathan Timothy when he was darklord of Arkandale). So in essence, his punishment for tormenting so many in quest of the Kraken is that he himself is condemned to continue the pursuit until either it or him is dead (to what extent he's actually able to kill it will depend on your personal sense of irony; possibly only it can now kill him).

In any case, call me Ishmael and sign me up for this one; I like the idea a lot!