Celesete Loverde-D'Honaire

[FiranDarcalus]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently running a campaign in 5th ed, but using the White Wolf world of Ravenloft as my baseline. Game is set in approx 759 BC, and is currently set between Mordent & Dementlieu. One of the background events I'm planning as the campaign runs forward, which the PC's will not have any particular part to play in, but I thought would be fun to implement just for the fact that it makes the world feel alive, is the assassination and death of Dominic.

I'm thinking of him being assassinated by Hélène du Suis. Gaz 3 states that although she sits on the Conseil, Dominic has yet to make her an Obedient because he's infatuated by her. It also mentions that she is trying to play the Brain & Dominic off against the other for her own personal gain I'm thinking that The Brain offers her some kind of deal that seems too good to pass up & Hélène offs old Dominic (maybe poison at a romantic dinner?).

Anyway, this is all a setup for me to have Céleste Loverde-D'Honaire become the new Darklord of Dementlieu. Legacy of the Blood does mention her title as 'Heir to Darkness' (or something like that), so there's obviously an implication that she could be a nice little set up to replace Dominic. In fact, I never really understood why they didn't, for 5th ed, just replace Dominic with her instead of going the Saidra route, but I digress. Anyway, I have really liked Céleste's character since I read about her, and I think she could be an interesting character to replace Dominic.

What I was hoping my fellow Fraternity members could help me with, is to figure out:

A) What, if any part could she have to play in her uncle's assassination & most importantly
B) What would be her curse. There's obviously not a ton of info about her, aside from being obsessed with controlling others' minds & being frail and sickly. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be an interesting curse for her? If so, I would really appreciate any bits of 2 cents you might have.

Thanks everyone!!

[Mephisto of the FoS]

A) What, if any part could she have to play in her uncle's assassination & most importantly

Yes I believe as a heir to her uncle's darkness she should have a role in the assassination attempt, don't forget that Dominic but also the Brain can feel each others effect on the minds of people, so what if the one behind this plot is actually non other than the young Céleste Loverde-D'Honaire, maybe she manipulates DuSuis not in a "magical" way but through an emotional maybe? I would say to check The Favourite (2018) by Giorgos Lanthimos, it is a good referance to the era but also of emotional manipulation games. Another historical era film reference for manipulation could be Dangerous Liaisons (1988).

B) What would be her curse. There's obviously not a ton of info about her, aside from being obsessed with controlling others' minds & being frail and sickly. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be an interesting curse for her?

Since she is obsessed with controlling other's minds I would steal that from her, now she seems to be unable to control other's minds and has to use "natural" means for that like emotional manipulation, maybe she is still frail and sickly or maybe her reward as a darklord is to be in a better shape, invigorated etc.

[Baron Von Stanton]

B) What would be her curse. There's obviously not a ton of info about her, aside from being obsessed with controlling others' minds & being frail and sickly. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be an interesting curse for her?

Since she is obsessed with controlling other's minds I would still that from her, now she seems to be unable to control other's minds and has to use "natural" means for that like emotional manipulation, maybe she is still frail and sickly or maybe her reward as a darklord is to be in a better shape, invigorated etc.

On the other hand, sometimes the most bitterest pill to swallow is the one that you wanted all along.
But, that, while Celeste has the mind control powers she wanted, mind control is now the only way she can interact with her subjects as anyone who isn't psychically protected become mindless drones in her immediate presence, waiting for her command to do literally any action more thought-involved than breathing or farting.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

mind control is now the only way she can interact with her subjects as anyone who isn't psychically protected become mindless drones in her immediate presence

Hmmm... what if she can utterly control anyone in her presence (needing a very high DC save to resist her power) but her domination does not work outside a specific radius (much like a small reality wrinkle a few feet or yards) when someone exits her radius they have no recollection of what occured, as if they were in a trance the whole time, so that her power does not betray her darklordship.

As such though her powers of control are immence (having whta she desired) but they don't work longterm as they were with Dominic, making them almost useless.

So you have a powerful dark gift (her heart's desire) with a curse that makes it almost useless, but making her feel uttersly alone at the same time.

The only problem with this senario is that people who observe her from far away can see a freail girl walking around "mindless" subjects, which make the whole thing seem a bit off.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few distance away from Chateaufaux...

Carlus the Barbarian: Oh... look there in the middle of the square!... All theses people are numb and motionless! I bet my fury underpants that dark magic is behind all this!

Aeldar of the Renegade Cloaks: Indeed mighty Carlus! Do you see this? (passing a spyglass to his fellow barbarian) There seems to be a sickly girl walking among all those zombie-like commoners. I bet she is the one responsible for this mass enchantment!

Carlus the Barbarian: Time to put that trebuchet from Falkovnia, you placed in that magic pouch of yours, to good use then wise wizard!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdyMm8OwZkU

[FiranDarcalus]

Interesting so far. What do you all think about this: she can use her mind control whenever she wants, and it is not noticeable, just like Dominic. When she uses her power, she feels alive and on top of the world (massive high....endorphins and all are activated), but when the withdrawal hits once the high wears off, she becomes terribly ill, her frailty being affected and ends up bedridden.

So it's this terrible dance of trying to ensure she can, as often as possible, control minds so she can chase that high, but inevitably knows it's transitory, as she will lose the high & become terribly ill. And of course, she can't go around controlling everyone, or she'll run out of victims.

And to Mephisto's point, the control is limited, either by radius or by time.

I don't know, it's just the first things to pop into my mind. What do y'all think? I like this thought experiment though. Keep it coming!!

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Interesting so far. What do you all think about this: she can use her mind control whenever she wants, and it is not noticeable, just like Dominic. When she uses her power, she feels alive and on top of the world (massive high....endorphins and all are activated), but when the withdrawal hits once the high wears off, she becomes terribly ill, her frailty being affected and ends up bedridden.

Well in Talon's image of her she looks like a chronic drug user, but I miss somehow (maybe it's me) the tragedy in this version. Not to imply that drug addiction is not tragic, just that it is a common thing in our societies, and also in Ravenloft (having images of opium houses in Hazlan...) making it not so unique. At the same time though it suits her description of being mind control obsessed but also frail and sickly.

But my main point is that Celeste is accustomed to feel sickly and frail all her life, her desire is to control people. I believe her darklord curse should make her frustrated about her mind control power since that is what she desires most, it doesn't work properly or not at all. In the extreme I propose of her darklord curse being losing her mind control powers, which could make her focus on experiments of how to gain her powers back, making her more like a Countess Bathory style villain (the historical one without the vampire aspect). It could be that you can use a French Revolution background for your adventure with elements from the Reign of Terror (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror).
Maybe Celeste is using the Reign of Terror to disguise her experiments, too many chopped off heads to study the human brain... Maybe ultimately trying to capture the of none other than Rudolph von Aubrecker himself...

But honestly I believe this version could make Dementlieu go of the rails losing the manipulating aspect of the domain, but on the other hand a new darklord means a new version of the domain. A sickly darklord's projection on the domain could be that of a domain in chaos, were only famine and sickness are abundant, since basic community structures (even if unfair) have been destroyed during the revolution. The farmers have revolted and there is not much food, artisans and merchants are being robbed and trading is slowed down, people who were working in key places of the public sector have been executed and maybe people who don't know the job are placed in their positions making the community structure of the domain collapse and the now non existent aristocracy, although it will probably won't be missed, has created a power vacuum in the Dementlieuese society. Vlad Drakov fearing the revolution may inspire Falkovnian's to revolt may try to take advantage of the chaos and attack or place one of his own in power (something he may be able to do as it is not an actual conquest through military means). Maybe someone like Marcos Vedarrak perhaps could feign of betraying Fakovnia and become head of the Revolutional Committee, as he has mental powers Celeste becomes really jealous off him but also fears him cause maybe she started the revolution through her manipulations but it is beyond her control now to control it (as she has lost her powers).

Maybe later it could be combined with the 5th edition Ravenloft in a reestablished aristocracy, but without the cinderella aspect... Everyone pretending to be wealthy etc. making the whole aristocracy being a facade does not compute to me economically and logistically. Why would anyone work for a bankrupt aristocrat, when aristocrats can barely afford to pay for their own expenses to attend a ball? Too superficial world designing for my taste.

[The Lesser Evil]

I think the differences between Celeste and Dominic are pretty important in differentiating what their curses (and powers) would be. Dominic plays people against each other out of boredom and malice/spite, whereas Celeste simply wants power and prestige. She recognizes that Dominic has some sort of special way of manipulating others and feels envy of his abilities. In absence of knowing his secret, she turns to formal education and medical training with a facade of benevolence. Harming others is not a goal in and of itself, but rather an instrumental means of convenience. So it seems to me that her curse should reflect something of inconvenience. The text seems to imply a highly mysterious nature to her physical frailty, which may preclude drug use as the signs may or may not be noticeable. The text mentions loved ones casually joking it has link to her keen mind and strong, "demanding" soul. One could take this to mean that it might be her curse- manipulations causing her a physical backlash of sorts. However even if this is the case, I think there are better interpretations/options

Dominic's powers rely upon domination, but Celeste has turned to the analytical method, which is unique among the psychological approaches in the Realm of Dread for a basis in empathy, talking to the person, and knowing what they're going through. She has to go through channels that Dominic doesn't. So perhaps rather than domination she has some sort of divination ability- perhaps a detect thoughts? But use of this ability comes with a cost- perhaps she learns things she does not want to know- knowledge that burdens her or complicates her plans. Or perhaps she takes on the emotional states of those she mindreads? In either case, she must use her skills and connections to exploit the knowledge she gains- making her always short of Dominic's abilities. She may never discover the secret of his power- or if she does, she may never find a way to attain it.

Her curse could also have an external component. As a respected medical practitioner, part of her ability to influence people would probably come from professional authority- for example, to diagnose people as of unsound minds and have them locked away indefinitely. If she gained enough power, she might be able to create powerful enough organization of medical professionals to partially supplant or replace a fallen aristocracy. However, she may have to share power with other individuals. Perhaps her colleagues included a cadre of just as selfish individuals as herself and maybe several few well-meaning individuals that would oppose her unwittingly in trying to reduce abuse of power. Thus, to fully exploit her power, she has to go through a maze of bureaucracy of competing interests. This would be an affair that takes up more of her time and effort.

As for a possible role in unseating Dominic, I would think that it'd be an indirect one. (She seems highly wary of acting in any fashion against Dominic.) As of mid to late 750s BC, she is seemingly adopting a strategy of conflict avoidance, which may lead to her leaving the domain for Richemulot so as not to alienate any competing interests of her family. By 759 BC, she will be 20, which might mean she is still be working with Wilhelm Mikki in Chateaufaux. The "Something in the Water" dread possibility (Gaz III p. 31) suggests that there may be some unrest in Chateaufaux soon, and the blame may come upon Wilhelm Mikki. If so, Celeste might be forced to flee that town, and maybe the whole domain in general if widespread social unrest erupts as a result of general revolution. Outside of Dementlieu, she might somehow push influential Richemuloise figures she's treating into worsening the conflict or helping to unseat Dominic in an unstable situation. Within the domain, she might use her medical connections to get certain defenders of d'Honaire involuntarily committed or otherwise incapacitate the ability to come to his defense. An even less direct method could be feeding the Brain information about Dominic's plans, to the extent she is able to know about them. It is mentioned that she has convinced James Mousel into helping her delve into the source of Dominic’s influence. Of course, whatever she did, Celeste would have had to performed some evil deeds to displace the Brain as the next darklord.