Publication Year and Campaign Year

[jinat]

Hello

Is there any type of synergy between actual years and campaign years aligning ? So if we cant figure out when something takes place its publication date gives us a guideline ?

Also does anybody have campaign year for all the adventures in Chilling Tales, since they all have Van Richten at different levels so i am assuming those adventures run across several years ?


Thankyou

[Mephisto of the FoS]

In the years of TSR every publication year is supposed to be a Ravenloft year. In 2e Domains of Dread there is a timeline with adventure reference. The timeline for Chilling Tales adventures can be found in Ravenloft Timeline: by John W. Mangrum and can be downloaded from
http://fraternityofshadows.com/Mausoleum.html

[Mephisto of the FoS]

After 737 BC Dr. Van Richten publishes the Guide to the Lich. Although Dr. Van Richten expects Azalin to “repay” him somehow for publicly labeling him a lich, retaliation never comes. Although annoyed, Azalin alternately respects and is amused by the doctor, and so lets it pass. But Azalin's vassalich hunts him down to gain his master's favour.

738 BC Emil Bollenbach creates his first “super-golem,” but fortunately his attempt to tranplant Dr. Van Richten’s brain into his creation is thwarted by adventurers. Emil escapes death, but keeps a low profile for more than a decade. (Chilling Tales: “The Surgeon’s Blade”) [CotN:C pg. 50; CT pg. 32 places this adventure 8 years after Emil’s disappearance (i.e., 746), but the dating used in CotN:C fits VR’s chronology better.]


741 BC Hoping to find some comfort, Van Richten visits his old friend Henri Milano, the mayor of Chateaufaux. He discovers a conspiracy of fiendish proportions. (CT: The Taskmaster’s Leash) [CT pg. 56: The adventure takes place after Van Richten writes his Guide to Fiends, but before he retires.]

These are the ones I found the rest can be speculated according to his level.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Timeline of Second Edition Adventures
https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/Dra ... eline.html

[jinat]

In the years of TSR every publication year is supposed to be a Ravenloft year. In 2e Domains of Dread there is a timeline with adventure reference. The timeline for Chilling Tales adventures can be found in Ravenloft Timeline: by John W. Mangrum and can be downloaded from
http://fraternityofshadows.com/Mausoleum.html

Only dates Surgeons Blade and Taskmasters Leash

[jinat]

Timeline of Second Edition Adventures
https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/Dra ... eline.html

Does not tell the dates of the chilling tales adventures and for some reason Adam's Wrath which i have always found contradictory dates

[Joël of the FoS]

There was a link with real world years and various RL editions' current time, but there are no links with adventures, AFAIK.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Does not tell the dates of the chilling tales adventures and for some reason Adam's Wrath which i have always found contradictory dates.

As Mangrum has written in his timeline

"After Gen Con, I decided to update the timeline, conforming it to all the new data from Domains of Dread. Unfortunately, I found that, like all Ravenloft sources, even the mighty DoD had its flaws. When it was just being revisionist and not causing problems, I went with the changes.
But a few dates don’t work. For reference, here are the timeline entries I ultimately chose to disregard:

452 The vampire Jander Sunstar is drawn into Ravenloft.
575 The domain of Lamordia is formed.
583 The monster Adam abducts Elise.
734 Rudolph van Richten vows to pursue and destroy the evil."

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Also does anybody have campaign year for all the adventures in Chilling Tales, since they all have Van Richten at different levels so i am assuming those adventures run across several years ?

By comparing Van Richten's level from Chilling Tales and Jester's Dr. Rudolph van Richten: A Hero through the Ages article from QtR2 as well as Van Richtens Guides I have made a possible timeline for Chilling Tales adventures. As I have written in other posts I really like Lisa Smedman's ideas and writings but she has the flaw of usually not following canon just creating canon.

Through Darkened Eyes Van Richten is 4th level and still has a grudge on the Vistani and especially the Gojanovic tribe whose oma is the sister of Madame Irena Radanavich. So I would place it around 706 BC, Van Richten is in his middle 30's.

Undying Justice is set in Levkarest and Van Richten tells the story of the Thundering Carriage or Phantom Army. According to the FoS and John Mangrum's timeline he witnessed those events in 727 BC and 728 BC. Van Richten would have more levels than just 5 (remember that was 2e) maybe instead of his Exp 5th level he has reached 2nd level as a Rogue. He has witnessed the Thundering Carriage and battled the Phantom Army as suggested in the adventure and this could be placed around 730 BC.

BUT
My suggestion, since Van Richten does not actively participate in the adventure, is to have him be still naive or skeptical about the supernatural. Maybe someone else mentions the Phantom Army or the Thundering Carriage or some other ghost story during the dinner. When Tatenna asks Van Richten as a monster hunter for help in banishing the spirit in his manor, Van Richten dismisses it as superstition instead of the suggested minor poltergeist excuse presented in the adventure. I would place this adventure in Camille Dillisnya's reign before 711 BC for some fleshing out of Borca's past, maybe the PCs latter on are somehow involved in the assassination attempt against the darklord, only to have Camille die by Nostalia's kiss. Since Van Richten does not participate I would keep him at 5th level as suggested in the adventure, he is still an Amateur as written in Jester's article.

Gazing into the Abyss is clearly around the publication of Van Richten's Guide to the Lich in 737 BC which would make Van Richten be Dr. Van Richten, The Expert (Male human, Exp 5/Rog 3/Sch 2 or 1) and not 6th level as written in the adventure.

Family Feud is another adventure where Van Richten is naive and ignorant so I would have him still be an amateur and place this otherwise bad two page adventure between 710 BC (when he began hunting werebeasts and 724 BC (where he travelled to Sithicus, Valachan was then south of Sithicus) his racist ideas about the Vistani have been toned down by now, maybe also after the encounter in Through Darkened Eyes.

The Sea Wolf published in Dungeon Magazine #55 and originally written for Chilling Tales but didn't make it through (probably in editing because of space) and was substituted by Family Feud. This adventure has Van Richten be 5th level and is set in a sea voyage from Mordent to Martira Bay (through Port-a-Lucine and Ludendorf) and then return back. Since it happens on a paddle steamer aka sternwheeler ship I would place this adventure in the Musarde river instead, making a voyage from Mortigny to Karina through Arkandale. As for the time this would occur I suggest being between 710 BC and 729 BC when Invidia was still ruled by Baron Bakholis to have another possible adventure following this one, set in a domain ruled by a now dead darklord.

The Surgeon's Blade as written in John Mangrum's timeline could occur in 738 BC. I would though change Van Richten's level from 6th to that suggested by Jester as Van Richten the Expert (Male human, Exp 5/Rog 3/Sch 2 or 1)

The Scarlet Kiss has Van Richten be 7th level and it takes place in Mordentshire, Van Richten's home town. I would place this around 735 BC, although Realm of Terror has Van Richten be only a 3rd lvl thief, with no chance of having survived all those encounters he began writing that same year. Maybe The Scarlet Kiss encounter was the one that made him begin writing his guides as he came really close to dying and becoming what he hated most, a vampire.

Ancient Dead which is set in Har'Akir and Van Richten is 8th level (2e), since in the Red Box he is 10th level, this is before the Grand Conjunction I would set this adventure between 735 BC and 738 BC and Van Richten would have the Expert stats.

The Taskmasters Leash happens after the Grand Conjunction and Van Richten is 10th lvl (2e) so I would use the Expert stats once more.

Going back to Unduying Justice, Merilee Markuza killed Claudia DeShanes according to the timelines in 727 BC when Van Richten encountered the Thundering Carriage. This is supposed to be Van Richten's first encounter with ghosts, (although I find it hard to believe that he encountered werebeasts, liches and ancient dead before encountering ghosts) while hunting down the child vampire who killed Claudia DeShanes. Claudia DeShanes is Van Richten's assistant mentioned hunting down Ancient Dead with him in VRGttAncientDead. But Van Richten begun hunting Ancient Dead after Liches, which he began in 713 BC etc.

What I believe is that Van Richten canon timelines are really messed up, and this is because Markuza who was detailed in Darklords accessory RR1 describes Claudia's death and VRGtGhosts RR5 mentions that Van Richten witnessed the Thundering Carriage after Claudia's Death (having in between Book of Crypts RR2, Van Richten's Guide to Vampires RR3 and Islands of Terror RR4). William W Connors who wrote both the Merille part and Phantom Carriage in VRGtGhosts thus began making a continuity with the "monster eye witness section".
Then Skip Williams mentions Claudia in VRGttAncient Dead and follows events after Van Richtens discovery/speculation that Azalin is a lich and he banishes himself from Darkon. I believe Skip Williams had no date continuation in mind he just used some established characters without thinking how to connect all these chronologically.
So this is what makes the whole thing be chaotic. I believe that normally Van Richten would have encountered the supernatural according to the Guides, and in the series that they were published first Vampires, then Ghosts, Liches etc. What I suggest is that DeShanes maybe never participated in hunting down ancient dead as mentioned many times in VRGtAncient Dead.
I mean Claudia DeShanes is supposed to be a psychic, and psychics were first introduced in VRGtGhosts maybe there has been a misunderstanding in the timeline. When Van Richtens mentions researching and following the trail of the vampire child in VRGtGhosts he talks in plural, suggesting that he was with someone else when he encountered the Thundering Carriage, probably Claudia.It would make sense to use her psychic spiritualist powers to battle ghosts.
The problem is that William W. Connors first introduced Claudia through her death in Darklords and then reintroduces her in VRGtGhosts though her discovery as a spiritualist by Arametrius, before Van Richten encounters the Thundering Carriage. It states that she worked with Van Richten for a little more than year before her death. I believe William W. Connors made a mistake in his writings by introducing the Phantom Carriage as the first ghostly encounter Van Richten had and then forgetting to correct it when he introduced Claudia.
Also Skip Williams would have been easy if Claudia was referred only on p.10 of VRGtAncient Dead as Van Richten could have mistakenly assumed the "handsome youth clad only in white linen loincloth" was a vampire, but Claudia is mentioned in other parts of Van Richten's Journal along with the word mummy, so this complicates things.
I believe that Claudia indeed worked with Van Richten for more than a year before her death in Lamordia and during that time they were hunting also ghosts. It is just that the thundering Carriage made a really big impression to him. So I suggest that he has been battling ghosts before 727 BC (and not after as stated in FoS timeline) and leave the rest as they are. Also his really slow level advancement in more than four decades of battling monsters can be explained by surviving deadly undead encounters, but with having his life energy (levels) being drained multiple times.

Hope all these were helpful.

[jinat]

Sir appreciate your response and information shared beyond measure.

Thankyou Very Much