Café de Nuit

It's that time again, to be thinking about this year's issue of QtR. For the theme, we'd like to get some suggestions from our readers and contributors... What would you like to see the topic be?

Remember that not every article needs to reflect the theme, but the theme should be open ended enough that many different articles can fit under the umbrella.

For examples, past themes have included: Barovia, Lost Legacies, Dark Desire, Bad Luck, Cats, Technology, etc.

How about keeping it kinda simple this go around? Something like "back to the basics" of horror, or maybe something like "back to our roots" perhaps?

Lights in the Darkness; a panoramic of the forces of good in Ravenloft.

Mistmaster wrote:Lights in the Darkness; a panoramic of the forces of good in Ravenloft.

I like this one.

Behind the Wall of Sleep

An homage of sorts to Lovecraft, and a licence for the contributors to delve deep into the fears of the people of Ravenloft, perhaps even the monsters themselves. Should they choose to do so.

Hell, "sleep" can mean anything to anyone. Or anything...

I intend to submit one piece based on the most recent Jungle Book Movie for RavenLoft and another about Buck from Jack London's 'The Call of the Wild' for MotRD. Make of that what you will thematically.

Burdens of the Common Man

What is life like for a 0-level John Citizen in Ravenloft? How do they handle living in a world where vampires are very real, a conga line of real zombies pass your door in haloween, and Fluffy is looking frisky again as the full moon approaches. What's it like for the 'Beat Cop' Lamplighter to deal with a ghost? How does Sue the Seamstress when Mr Loup next door asks to have his torn suit fixed and the 'cat fur' brushed off? How exactly can a mob of nobodies take down an invincible monster with pitchforks?

Houses of Eternity
Funerary practices of RL. We all know about Hara'kir and its Egyptian theme. What about other domains? Do they plant them in the ground? Vaults? Cremation? Sky burial? What rituals and superstitions do they have for the dearly departed, and to make sure they _stay_ departed? How do they prevent opportunistic necromancers, mad scientists or hungry ghouls away. Are there spirits/undead whose job it is to protect the graves (Graveyard ghosts, etc) or do they have more mortal guardians - guardian clerics, etc. And what do the locals say when hero types come a poking around the dearly departed...

Gotta say, I like all of the themes suggested above. Forces of Good (followed by Darkness Unbound in a later edition?); unwonted heroes, or, common folk in/or during uncommon occurrences; and funerary customs, which imo should've been part of every domain write-up in all editions of RL, if only for thematic flavour. If not domain entries, then under "Faiths".

Also, reading about an author's definition of horror and how they apply it (we all have our own key holes), or Ravenloft for that matter, could be an interesting read too. At least, that it what I assume Lord_Pruitt meant...(elaboration?)

Hmm.

Mind. Running. Away.

I know it's not original, but what if we flipped the theme darkness within the light. Focus on the good within Ravenloft, but with the twist that no one in Ravenloft is without taint or sin.

Ravenloft has got already a lot of darkness in it; it need a bit of unadultered light in it.

Mistmaster wrote:Ravenloft has got already a lot of darkness in it; it need a bit of unadultered light in it.

Yes, but does not the Shadow live in symbiosis with the Light?



j/k

"Tales of the Fully Natural"
Exploring the places, people, and things of Ravenloft that aren't of the supernatural variety. As the tiger said to the man with the spear, "I'm not a rahkshasa, so what's the worst that could happen?" Many fixate on the unusual, the magical, or the supernatural monsters or heroes of Ravenloft. But the natural world has never been shy of its own share of wonders, malicious and benign. For every cursed grove in the forest, a killer lion stalks the hinterlands. For every paladin wielding a magic blade, a nimble thief steals from under a mage's nose. Those who get caught up in the sinister webs of vampires may overlook the human serial killer stalking the same streets.

Five wrote: Also, reading about an author's definition of horror and how they apply it (we all have our own key holes), or Ravenloft for that matter, could be an interesting read too. At least, that it what I assume Lord_Pruitt meant...(elaboration?)

Hmm.

Mind. Running. Away.

Yes. What gothic horror means to us, up close and personal. What works for one group may not work for another - some examples of how the DM has inspired the players to feel some of the terror within the Realm.

What if we took the idea of Good people in Ravenloft and made the theme "Van Richten's Arsenal 5th Edition". That is to say, a series of articles, perhaps in first person, on a topic updating or adding to the 5th edition the way the original Van Richten's arsenal dealt with 3rd edition. Like equipment, magic alterations, character classes, domain politics, whatever. Look for ways to either update known elements of Ravenloft to the new rules or use aspects of 5th edition in clever ways to enhance Ravenloft.

How much time do we have left before our entries need to be in?