Sounds good, albeit a bit ambitious for a first-time exercise in domain design. It might be prudent to start small -- hunting grounds for Black Elk and his tribe, a mid-sized town and a few villages for the Andalus, plus some surrounding wilderness for monsters -- rather than construct an entire civilization (let alone, two ) from scratch. That's plenty of territory to set an adventure or three in, to try out your new domain and see if your players like it.
Remember, you can always add some adjacent domains to create a "New World"-themed cluster, if you need to expand upon your initial ideas. Until then, things like secret societies and backstabbing nobles might be better scaled down a bit (feuding merchants? farmers conspiring to take each others' land? a rural pagan cult a la The Wicker Man?), so you won't lose the "frontier" aspects of the theme you'd started out with. Ravenloft's got a more-than-adequate supply of stuck-up, scheming nobles already, IMO; the rustic atmosphere of this domain strikes me as far more original and interesting.
New domain maybe? help!!
- Rotipher of the FoS
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- The Arcanist
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Yeah, that's why I presented it as different options, which could be mixed yeah but dont need to be.
Mentioned the scheming nobles because that's the style many people like, personally i find it one of the harder to write and find a group with which you'll pull it off.
Feys and werebeasts fitted with the ancient natural kingdom idea, but it could start looking a bit like kartakass.
That's why I mentioned I liked the most and found more fitting with the paranoia the idea of ghosts, tormenting the people by themselves or in small groups, and with the fiendish ghost of the chief's grandson in the mix.
Could come up as a domain where the darklord is more as a victim of his own sins plotting revenge but just trying to survive; than the cursed ruler tormenting it's people but missing that which would truly make him/her happy, nothing wrong with that, but most domains are like that already.
This leaves a place to put an evil ruler that will draw off attention from the darklord so you can have him die without the domain shattering and trashing all your work.
Even better could be to have a good ruler, but possessed by an evil ghost, perhaps the grandson himself... does he have a name BTW? Either way, the ruler is good and fights the ghost for control of his body alone fearful of losing his position if his people think he's gone mad, but he IS becoming mad and the once charismatic and beloved king is becoming a recluse while fighting this losing battle...
Imagine the face of your players when after half a campaign fighting this vile man who seems to have enslaved the spirits of the conquered nation and manipulated his own to do his dark wishes, turns out to be a victim himself of the true mastermind...
Now imagine if they discover this after (or just when) they kill him?
and the ghost had arrangements for them to be caught in the act?
and being branded traitors to their country?
traitors who murdered the beloved and good king?
and one of their old "allies" staged this? (being possessed seems likely)
and their true allies turn their back on them as they are murderers?
who has paranoia now?
All this becomes aggravated of course if it was a good queen instead of a king.
Finally, it could be hard to pull off, but if they are forced to ally with a former bitter rival... who did know the condition of the king/queen... could give it a nice twist.
Mentioned the scheming nobles because that's the style many people like, personally i find it one of the harder to write and find a group with which you'll pull it off.
Feys and werebeasts fitted with the ancient natural kingdom idea, but it could start looking a bit like kartakass.
That's why I mentioned I liked the most and found more fitting with the paranoia the idea of ghosts, tormenting the people by themselves or in small groups, and with the fiendish ghost of the chief's grandson in the mix.
Could come up as a domain where the darklord is more as a victim of his own sins plotting revenge but just trying to survive; than the cursed ruler tormenting it's people but missing that which would truly make him/her happy, nothing wrong with that, but most domains are like that already.
This leaves a place to put an evil ruler that will draw off attention from the darklord so you can have him die without the domain shattering and trashing all your work.
Even better could be to have a good ruler, but possessed by an evil ghost, perhaps the grandson himself... does he have a name BTW? Either way, the ruler is good and fights the ghost for control of his body alone fearful of losing his position if his people think he's gone mad, but he IS becoming mad and the once charismatic and beloved king is becoming a recluse while fighting this losing battle...
Imagine the face of your players when after half a campaign fighting this vile man who seems to have enslaved the spirits of the conquered nation and manipulated his own to do his dark wishes, turns out to be a victim himself of the true mastermind...
Now imagine if they discover this after (or just when) they kill him?
and the ghost had arrangements for them to be caught in the act?
and being branded traitors to their country?
traitors who murdered the beloved and good king?
and one of their old "allies" staged this? (being possessed seems likely)
and their true allies turn their back on them as they are murderers?
who has paranoia now?
All this becomes aggravated of course if it was a good queen instead of a king.
Finally, it could be hard to pull off, but if they are forced to ally with a former bitter rival... who did know the condition of the king/queen... could give it a nice twist.
We both may be ghoul meat tonight, but I'll catch your people before the flesh eaters find me Vistana!
Malodorous Goat Refugee
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Er, are we sure the unholy-scion grandson is dead? I thought part of the idea was that the scion is still free to abuse his grandfather's tribe, and the grandfather is powerless to hold back the horror which he unleashed.
Perhaps the daughter's the one who returned as a ghost, and she keeps searching for someone who can stop her son's reign of terror and bring her grandfather to justice? She'd tell her own people the truth, as she'd threatened, but the tribe either won't believe her, won't trust a ghost, or can't detect that she's there.
The possessing spirit is a creepy idea, but I'm not sure it necessarily fits with this domain concept. There's already plenty to work with, I think, so the "kill the guy, then learn he's a possessed puppet after it's too late" idea might be better reserved for an odem-hunting scenario -- the kind that can be set just about anywhere -- rather than tied down to this one domain.
Perhaps the daughter's the one who returned as a ghost, and she keeps searching for someone who can stop her son's reign of terror and bring her grandfather to justice? She'd tell her own people the truth, as she'd threatened, but the tribe either won't believe her, won't trust a ghost, or can't detect that she's there.
The possessing spirit is a creepy idea, but I'm not sure it necessarily fits with this domain concept. There's already plenty to work with, I think, so the "kill the guy, then learn he's a possessed puppet after it's too late" idea might be better reserved for an odem-hunting scenario -- the kind that can be set just about anywhere -- rather than tied down to this one domain.
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
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Actually, no, we are not sure the grandson is dead, just mentioned the possibility that the chief already killed him at least once and he keeps returning in different bodies to torment him to add to wednesday's idea of paranoia in the domain, then just kinda kept working on the combo of possessing ghosts and paranoia.
We both may be ghoul meat tonight, but I'll catch your people before the flesh eaters find me Vistana!
Malodorous Goat Refugee
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I love all the ideas so far. I personally had originally intended for the unholy scion to be still alive and perhaps have some form of limited immortality. maybe something along the lines of Harkon Lukas ability to posses and transform Dire Wolves upon his death, only applied to elves instead of wolves. I had, originally, been looking to do a bit of the darklord bait and switch with the unholy scion (he really does need a name but at the moment I am blank). I assumed that the unholy scion would be the most obvious pick for darklord, and the whole we finally managed to kill him and nothing happened scene might be fairly priceless. I had considered having the unholy scions corrupting influence occur not only through the subtle corruption of Tamassee culture but also have obvious physical symptoms apparent in Black Elks followers. Maybe a change in skin color or perhaps the addition of the fiendish template?
It is said that whomsoever the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. In fact, whomsoever the God's wish to destroy they first hand the equivalent of a stick with a fizzing fuse and acme dynamite company written on the side of it. - Terry Pratchett
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Just curious about the Andalus motive for taking the Tamassee lands as I missed the exact motive listed... Here are some and I would appreciate your take on the reason they were there wednesdays_spear...
Were they settlers like the american colonists and they just believe the Elves of Tamassee culture to be savage and a ruse to grab more land for either expansion or mineral/material exploitation...
If it is just land expansion then since they were pulled into the mists those in charge of the Andalus colonies may have lost contact with the home country if they were on good terms with them to begin with in the first place... If they were still a supported effort then no influx of new colonists, skilled hands, warriors, or supplies may have ground such expansion to a halt... This could defintiely create fear and paranoia in the Andalus sides leaders and they may have to lie to their people to keep them from fleeing or openly revolting against further expansion...
If however you add a material aspect such as Gold or such then not only can they have the previous fear but they could also be praying on the fear by realizing that those riches are within their grasp and not having to send the main land its cut... The greed may motivate them to try and force them to send in less valuable citizens for the material wealth and keep back soldiers to defend the important people and their wealth...
Heck they could send adventurers to the sites of suspected riches and warn them of demon spawn in the woods and hills containing such... If greedy enough and paranoid enough you get the situation where they do not wish to share with those outsiders fearing competition and they may backstab them...
Maybe there is a curse on the gold or other desired material that who ever seeks it most will never feel satisfied...
Advanced cultures take more resources to run so it could be any number of things, from Metals, to lumber, to even just stone... But if they are taking it from another cultures holy land what level of evil if any is involved in taking something that is just in the dirt if you don't believe it is holy yourself... Morally unclear from some views...
But I missed the motive in the post for them being there but you did mention spanish influence along the lines of Zorro and one of the themes of Zorro was helping the oppressed against the the rich and powerful Don's greed and corruption...
Hope you like the ideas or they are usefull...
Were they settlers like the american colonists and they just believe the Elves of Tamassee culture to be savage and a ruse to grab more land for either expansion or mineral/material exploitation...
If it is just land expansion then since they were pulled into the mists those in charge of the Andalus colonies may have lost contact with the home country if they were on good terms with them to begin with in the first place... If they were still a supported effort then no influx of new colonists, skilled hands, warriors, or supplies may have ground such expansion to a halt... This could defintiely create fear and paranoia in the Andalus sides leaders and they may have to lie to their people to keep them from fleeing or openly revolting against further expansion...
If however you add a material aspect such as Gold or such then not only can they have the previous fear but they could also be praying on the fear by realizing that those riches are within their grasp and not having to send the main land its cut... The greed may motivate them to try and force them to send in less valuable citizens for the material wealth and keep back soldiers to defend the important people and their wealth...
Heck they could send adventurers to the sites of suspected riches and warn them of demon spawn in the woods and hills containing such... If greedy enough and paranoid enough you get the situation where they do not wish to share with those outsiders fearing competition and they may backstab them...
Maybe there is a curse on the gold or other desired material that who ever seeks it most will never feel satisfied...
Advanced cultures take more resources to run so it could be any number of things, from Metals, to lumber, to even just stone... But if they are taking it from another cultures holy land what level of evil if any is involved in taking something that is just in the dirt if you don't believe it is holy yourself... Morally unclear from some views...
But I missed the motive in the post for them being there but you did mention spanish influence along the lines of Zorro and one of the themes of Zorro was helping the oppressed against the the rich and powerful Don's greed and corruption...
Hope you like the ideas or they are usefull...
"There is only one true answer to any and every question. The rest are just vagaries and obfuscations."