Suffer not the Caliban

[Pizza]

On earth you can find lots of examples in history of deformed or even just unwanted infants being killed by being left outside and exposed to the elements. In Ravenloft, the people are supposed to be very superstitious and wary of the strange and unusual. How is it that any large number of Caliban survive more than a day or two after birth much less to reach adulthood? Sure you’d have one here or there, but a large number?

[Igor the Henchman]

It's sometimes easy to forget, but Ravenloft does have a fair share of good people who don't go for child murder.

[Mistmaster]

Accursed forever is the hand of the child slayer (every children) Beside in some istance Caliban deformities are not evident or manifest themselves at puberty. (Un the Mistworld I have made them like Mutants in Marvel comics)

[Jeremy16]

I'm reading a book right now where someone was born with a cleft pallet and considered a demon by the local villagers. The father knew that according to tradition he had to take the baby out in the forest and kill it, but couldn't bring himself to do that to his son. So, the family ended up moving away from their home village, living deep within the woods and keeping to themselves.

Clearly, that type of infanticide sounds more cut and dry in theory than it actually is in practice. So, I would say that it isn't strange at all that there are calibans that survive to adulthood.

[Baron Von Stanton]

On earth you can find lots of examples in history of deformed or even just unwanted infants being killed by being left outside and exposed to the elements. In Ravenloft, the people are supposed to be very superstitious and wary of the strange and unusual. How is it that any large number of Caliban survive more than a day or two after birth much less to reach adulthood? Sure you’d have one here or there, but a large number?

In addition to what Igor said, many cultures attach harsh taboos about needing to commit "necessary" infanticide, whether social stigma or the idea that such exposed infants return from death as horrific, revenge-obsessed evil spirits.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Another fun wrinkle is that even with all the superstition and supernatural horror, a not inconsiderable part of the Core is more scientifically and socially advanced than most settings.
There could be significant opposition growing to exposing newborn children to the elements due to physical defects, when belief in the supernatural is waning and science advances.

[Baron Von Stanton]

Another fun wrinkle is that even with all the superstition and supernatural horror, a not inconsiderable part of the Core is more scientifically and socially advanced than most settings.
There could be significant opposition growing to exposing newborn children to the elements due to physical defects, when belief in the supernatural is waning and science advances.

Why would one need to expose a newborn caliban in Mordent, Lamordia or Darkon, for example, when there are plenty of orphanages willing to accept them?

[alhoon]

On earth you can find lots of examples in history of deformed or even just unwanted infants being killed by being left outside and exposed to the elements. In Ravenloft, the people are supposed to be very superstitious and wary of the strange and unusual. How is it that any large number of Caliban survive more than a day or two after birth much less to reach adulthood? Sure you’d have one here or there, but a large number?

Honestly, suspension of disbelief. You could say that not everyone goes for infanticide as Igor said or you could go with "hags take them and use them for evil!" or "the carnival or similar freak shows take them" or something. Or you can say that Calibans are very rare.

Why would one need to expose a newborn caliban in Mordent, Lamordia or Darkon, for example, when there are plenty of orphanages willing to accept them?

Out of shame. "My wife obviously cuckolded me with a monster!" is another reason. Furthermore in developed states of the 16th and 17th century, infanticide by exposure was not unheard of, even if punished.
Even in 2020s in Africa, there are thousands of kids killed as "Demonspawn". It is very disturbing but you can google it.

All in all, there's a good reason to say that calibans are rare, even in those domains.

There could be significant opposition growing to exposing newborn children to the elements due to physical defects, when belief in the supernatural is waning and science advances.

I would not say science is advancing to be honest, nor that belief in the supernatural is waning, when most states have supernatural phenomena and spellcasters. Remember, clerics are spellcasters too.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

All in all, there's a good reason to say that calibans are rare, even in those domains.

I agree and I believe canon supports that.

Calibans are a human subspecies (possibly meaning that the term caliban is a game term and not an in-world term) only found in the Demiplane of Dread, representing individuals corrupted by malefic spiritual energies either in utero, at conception, or at birth. The sources of contamination are multitudinous, and include black magic, dark alchemy, curses, the malign aura of powerful and malicious magical beings such as hags or fiends, the taint of unholy acts such as rape, incest, necrophilia or cannibalism, or even prolonged exposure to intense negative emotions. The corruption imbues calibans with preternatural strength and vitality, but curses them with all manner of deformities and mental maladies, which lead to them being at best ostracized from human society.

The caliban race was introduced to Ravenloft canon with the Ravenloft Campaign Setting in Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, replacing the Half-Orc of D&D "canon" as the "big brutish bruiser" race by possessing a backstory that better meshed with Ravenloft's own lore. Mechanically, calibans simply used the half-orc racial profile.

They are in game terms demonspawn" and not just believed to be as described by Alhoon, so I guess infanticide actually happens in Ravenloft. Don't forget that the Vistani would normally kill a child if they signs showed that it was the Dukkar, as in the case of the Jongleur. So yes I believe Calibans should be rare and as it is explained before they were created to replace thematically the half-orc and I believe it was good that they did that as a Caliban suits the setting better. Now if someone wants they can possibly create a village of calibans in a remote place, maybe they gathered for safety of numbers or to have a sense of belonging, but I would consider these communities extremely rare and similar to leper colonies (which exist to this day). Leprosy was historically believed to be extremely contagious but divinely ordained, leading to enormous stigma against its sufferers, so it has similarities with calibans who are believed (though probably for good reason in contrary to lepers) that they are corrupted.

I would personally in in-world terms consider them human (though cursed or demonspawn) and call them with different names than caliban which separates them as a fantasy race from other races.

[High Priest Mikhal]

One idea I've been tossing around in my head for The Lost Journals is a nomadic tribe in Nova Vaasa made up of calibans and humans who do not fit in with the Vaasi culture. Ones that take in abandoned caliban children and raise them with a sense of pride in what and who they are and act as a counter to the overwhelmingly lawful evil culture of the domain. Naturally the Church of Bane (The Lawgiver) and the people hate and fear them, but those same people are absolutely terrified of plains cats and the lands outside the cities have little to offer beyond farming or the odd mine. So it's perfectly logical for a tribe of such to exist and go largely unnoticed (more likely ignored) by the Vaasi people.

This also leads me to a question: since calibans are "created" by the warping of an unborn child in the womb by dark magic or the corrupting aura of a hag, do calibans give birth to normal humans if either is absent? Or are the changes genetic?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

This also leads me to a question: since calibans are "created" by the warping of an unborn child in the womb by dark magic or the corrupting aura of a hag, do calibans give birth to normal humans if either is absent? Or are the changes genetic?

I guess it depends but probably if there is no corrupting effect or curse still involved they give birth to humans and not calibans.

[High Priest Mikhal]

I guess it depends but probably if there is no corrupting effect or curse still involved they give birth to humans and not calibans.

That's what I'm leaning towards myself.

[Pizza]

Accursed forever is the hand of the child slayer (every children) Beside in some istance Caliban deformities are not evident or manifest themselves at puberty. (Un the Mistworld I have made them like Mutants in Marvel comics)

That actually sounds like it would be more prone to freaking people out. Going back to the reference to mutants, most of the ones who looked significantly different from baseline humans spent a lot of the comics’ run hiding in the sewers as Morelos’s.

[Pizza]

All in all, there's a good reason to say that calibans are rare, even in those domains.

I agree and I believe canon supports that.

Calibans are a human subspecies (possibly meaning that the term caliban is a game term and not an in-world term) only found in the Demiplane of Dread, representing individuals corrupted by malefic spiritual energies either in utero, at conception, or at birth. The sources of contamination are multitudinous, and include black magic, dark alchemy, curses, the malign aura of powerful and malicious magical beings such as hags or fiends, the taint of unholy acts such as rape, incest, necrophilia or cannibalism, or even prolonged exposure to intense negative emotions. The corruption imbues calibans with preternatural strength and vitality, but curses them with all manner of deformities and mental maladies, which lead to them being at best ostracized from human society.

The caliban race was introduced to Ravenloft canon with the Ravenloft Campaign Setting in Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, replacing the Half-Orc of D&D "canon" as the "big brutish bruiser" race by possessing a backstory that better meshed with Ravenloft's own lore. Mechanically, calibans simply used the half-orc racial profile.

They are in game terms demonspawn" and not just believed to be as described by Alhoon, so I guess infanticide actually happens in Ravenloft. Don't forget that the Vistani would normally kill a child if they signs showed that it was the Dukkar, as in the case of the Jongleur. So yes I believe Calibans should be rare and as it is explained before they were created to replace thematically the half-orc and I believe it was good that they did that as a Caliban suits the setting better. Now if someone wants they can possibly create a village of calibans in a remote place, maybe they gathered for safety of numbers or to have a sense of belonging, but I would consider these communities extremely rare and similar to leper colonies (which exist to this day). Leprosy was historically believed to be extremely contagious but divinely ordained, leading to enormous stigma against its sufferers, so it has similarities with calibans who are believed (though probably for good reason in contrary to lepers) that they are corrupted.

I would personally in in-world terms consider them human (though cursed or demonspawn) and call them with different names than caliban which separates them as a fantasy race from other races.

Demonspawn seems like a very direct way of saying it. Would there be another term for use in polite company? Shadowtouched, shadowtwisted?

[Pizza]

One idea I've been tossing around in my head for The Lost Journals is a nomadic tribe in Nova Vaasa made up of calibans and humans who do not fit in with the Vaasi culture. Ones that take in abandoned caliban children and raise them with a sense of pride in what and who they are and act as a counter to the overwhelmingly lawful evil culture of the domain. Naturally the Church of Bane (The Lawgiver) and the people hate and fear them, but those same people are absolutely terrified of plains cats and the lands outside the cities have little to offer beyond farming or the odd mine. So it's perfectly logical for a tribe of such to exist and go largely unnoticed (more likely ignored) by the Vaasi people.

This also leads me to a question: since calibans are "created" by the warping of an unborn child in the womb by dark magic or the corrupting aura of a hag, do calibans give birth to normal humans if either is absent? Or are the changes genetic?

I’ve always been a big proponent of everyone in the half-whatever races or the races with some sort of something (evil permeating the land, great-grandma got it on with a demon or angel or dragon or whatever) being sterile. Easy built in pathos if you want to use it and easy to avoid it if you don’t.

Otherwise though yeah normal human kids unless they get tainted separately. That raises the question of what happens to those kids though. Would Caliban parents want to raise normal human kids in their isolated Caliban only village or try to filter them into normal human society?