The Ravenloft FAQ

[Jester of the FoS]

In the next few weeks the FAQ (seen to the left <---- ) will be undergoing an overhaul. I'm in the last stages of the polishing and am just waiting on feedback from the rest of the Fraternity.
But what do you want in an FAQ? Are there any huge pressing questions that need to be answered? Glaring ommissions?

Later tonight (or tommorow if I get lazy or forgetfull) I'll post the rough index of questions as a preview. But feel free to fire away before hand.

[Jester of the FoS]

Section I: Basics FAQ

1 - What is Ravenloft?
2 - What do I need to play?
3 - What is the history of the Ravenloft setting?
4 - What is a darklord?
5 - What is the Core?
6 - What are Islands and Clusters?
7 - What are Pocket Domains?
8 - How many domains are there?
9 - How to find more info on _____?
10 - Where is Ravenloft?
11 - What are the Mists?
12 – How do you leave a domain?
13 – Can you become a darklord without doing something evil?


Section II: Setting FAQ

* The Grand Conjunction FAQ

1a) - What was the Grand Conjunction/Great Upheaval?
1b) - What changed during the Grand Conjunction?
1c) - What adventures make up the Grand Conjunction, and how to run them ?

* The Grim Harvest FAQ

2a) - What was the Grim Harvest?
2b) - What happened to Azalin? Did he succeed?
2c) - What products make up the Grim Harvest series?
2d) - What is Death Undaunted? Will it ever be released?

* People and Places

3 - How big is the Core? Why are there no map scales?
4 - What are Outlanders?
5 - Who is the Dukkar?
6 - Who is the Gentleman Caller?
7 - Who is Doctor Rudolph Van Richten? Is he really dead?
8 - Who are the Weathermay-Foxgrove twins?
9 - Who is S? Who is S’s patron?
10 - Tristen Hiregaard's history seems to vary a lot between products. Which is the canon version?
11 - Some people say that Soth never came to Ravenloft. Where is Soth officially?
12 - Who is Jander Sunstar? I thought he died?
13 - What is in the Shadow Rift? Who rules it?
14 - What are the names of the days/months?
15 - What is the common language spoken?

* Other mysteries of the Mists FAQ

16 - What are the Dark Powers?
17 - Who are the Vistani?
18 - How are the domains created?
19 - What happens when a darklord dies?
20 - Are the people in Ravenloft real?
21 - If you die in Ravenloft, what happens to your soul?
22 - What is mist travelling ?
23 - Are there any religions in Ravenloft?
24 - What and when is the Time of Unparalleled Darkness?
25 - Are the stars, sun and moon different between different domains?
26 - Can I use a spelljamming vessel (from the Spelljammer second edition setting) to fly away from Ravenloft?
27 - What are the known crossover with Ravenloft and other official D&D words ?

Section III: Masque of the Red Death

1 - What is Masque of the Red Death?
2 - What is the Red Death? Is it a Dark Power?
3 - Where are the rules of Mystics learning new domains?

Section IV: Rules and DMing FAQ

1 - How often should I use fear or horror saves?
2 - What is the difference between fear and horror?
3 - Are Paladins immune to fear checks? What about horror?
4 - Where can I get rules for vampire player characters?
5 - Where can I get rules for lycanthropic player characters?
6 - Should I take epic levels or Dark Sun/Planescape characters into Ravenloft?
7 - How does a reality wrinkle work?
8 - I don't like having level draining in my 2nd Ed. AD&D campaign. Should I replace it with something else?
9 - Where are there Prestige Classes for Ravenloft?
10 - Where are the Psionics rules?
11 - Where are the darklord stats?

Section V: Ravenloft Products

1 - Where can I find a list of upcoming Ravenloft releases?
2 - Are there any more Ravenloft novels coming out?
3 - Which products are considered non-canonical?
4 - Lots of Ravenloft products are now out of print. Where can I find these older releases?
5 - What are some good Ravenloft adventures for low-level characters?
6 - Are there ever going to be any adventures released using 3rd Edition rules?
7 – What is the difference between the Ravenloft Campaign Setting and the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook.

Section VI: Ravenloft on the Net
1 - Does Wizards of the Coast have an official website?
2 - Does Arthaus / Swords and Sorcery have an official website?
3 - Is there a Ravenloft Mailing List?
4 - How does Ravenloft fit into the Open Gaming License (OGL)?

Section VII: The Fraternity of Shadows
1 - Who are the Fraternity of Shadows (FoS)?
2 - What is the ‘canon’ Fraternity of Shadows society?
3 - What is the Undead Sea Scrolls (USS) and Quoth the Raven (QtR)?
4 - Can I become a member of the FoS? How do I join?
5 - Are the FoS related to the Kargat/Kargatane?

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

It needs a little scrub for spelling but except for that it looks fine mate

I would like to see some other questions answered though ni the FAQ in case they ever come up (some of these are silly ones, heheheh)

Is it true that all Ravenloft DM's have 15 toes on their right foot?
Who are Socko and Drusilla?
Where is the Manoir de Penombre?
Are there any maps of the Manoir de Penombre?
I wish to use the FoS in my games, are there any game statistics for them?

[Shadowsworn]

Would it be possible to put JWM's timeline on the actual site, like the timeline of adventures that you have with the reviews? It'd seem quite convenient, and would answer a lot of questions for people new to the setting, imo.

[Jester of the FoS]

Would it be possible to put JWM's timeline on the actual site, like the timeline of adventures that you have with the reviews? It'd seem quite convenient, and would answer a lot of questions for people new to the setting, imo.

We'd love to. However it is his intellectual property and we cannot host it without his permission.

[Scipio]

It needs a little scrub for spelling but except for that it looks fine mate

I would like to see some other questions answered though ni the FAQ in case they ever come up (some of these are silly ones, heheheh)

Is it true that all Ravenloft DM's have 15 toes on their right foot?
Who are Socko and Drusilla?
Where is the Manoir de Penombre?
Are there any maps of the Manoir de Penombre?
I wish to use the FoS in my games, are there any game statistics for them?

Of course not all DM's have 15 toes on their right foot. There has to be at least one Ravenloft DM out there with 16. Oh and if you want silly questions:
What's with the "magical, headless, flying torso?"

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

It needs a little scrub for spelling but except for that it looks fine mate

I would like to see some other questions answered though ni the FAQ in case they ever come up (some of these are silly ones, heheheh)

Is it true that all Ravenloft DM's have 15 toes on their right foot?
Who are Socko and Drusilla?
Where is the Manoir de Penombre?
Are there any maps of the Manoir de Penombre?
I wish to use the FoS in my games, are there any game statistics for them?

Of course not all DM's have 15 toes on their right foot. There has to be at least one Ravenloft DM out there with 16. Oh and if you want silly questions:
What's with the "magical, headless, flying torso?"

Seriously, though, what is with the "magical flying headless torso"?

[The Giamarga]

Well you could add some more stuff to the crosover list. See the origin of domain lords thread...

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Went through the exisiting FAQ and found a few things. You've probably noticed some of them already:

"What do I need to play" makes no mention of the MM or Denizens of D__. I suppose you could play with no monsters or even animals at all, but it would be unusual.

You also might want a mention of the SRD.

"What is the timeline history of the RL setting" House on Gryphon Hill, not Hills. Also, link to the 3e reviews is broken.

"How many domains are there" the link to the list is broken (I'm not going to check the rest of the links, but you should make sure they all work in the new version)

"Who is the Gentleman Caller" needs to add his appearance in Gaz V, probable reference in Gaz II (Vigo), and mention in Gaz IV (Invidia section.)

"What is mist travelling" might want to mention mistways.

"Are there any religions..." might want to mention Yutow, confirmed in Gaz IV, and the Ancestral Choir from Gaz II. Niether are in R3e, and also any other religions from the Gaz's I'm forgetting.

"What is the TouD" Might want to mention the connection with the church of Ezra from HoL.

"Tristen Hiregaad's history.." Might want to mention the latest version in Gaz V.

"Some people say Soth..." Update to include Soth's appearances and death in the new DL products.

"How does reality wrinkle works." Fix grammar of question.

"How does Ravenloft fit into the Open Gaming License (OGL)?" I would change "the FoS will not accept d20 material in our netbooks" to "the FoS will not accept d20 OGL material in our netbooks" The former implies no 3e stuff at all.

"Who are the Fraternity of Shadows (FoS)?" Your membership list needs updating, no?

"What is the Undead Sea Scrolls (USS) and Quoth the Raven (QtR)?" The future plans are obviously out of date...

In the new question: "What is the difference between the Ravenloft Campaign Setting and the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook." you might want to explain the differences between the Denizens of D__ books and between SotDR and RLDMG.

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

In the new question: "What is the difference between the Ravenloft Campaign Setting and the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook." you might want to explain the differences between the Denizens of D__ books and between SotDR and RLDMG.

I agree about mentioning books like Denizens of Darkness and Denizens of Dread with this question.

[Coan]

I'd like to see some more questions on Masque of the Red Death. Just to give it some coverage.

I'll review the book and see if there are any common questions people may ask about it.

[Jester of the FoS]

It needs a little scrub for spelling but except for that it looks fine mate

How about sending me the mistakes?

[Joël of the FoS]

I just saw the new FAQ is online.

Congratulation David, it's a great work.

Joël

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Great job. you might want to fix the link in the "What do I need to play?" section, though.

[Jester of the FoS]

Great job. you might want to fix the link in the "What do I need to play?" section, though.

Which link is that? Although I'd like to take credit for all the links that was done by someone else. That's a work-in-progress and there are a few links still with typos or other problems (link to 3E products in "What is the timeline history?" and the list of domains in "How many domains are there?' for example).
Better to have the questions answered now than wait till all the bugs are fixed. Plus more eyes with all you readers out there.

So if you spot a spelling mistake, typo or glaring omission or even have a suggestion for a new question post it here or PM me.