Blaustein!

[Joël of the FoS]

Did anyone search the netbooks to find references to Blaustein/Bluebeard?

Yes! There were not tons of them, but I got them all.

Joël

[The Giamarga]

Can you email them to me please?

[Joël of the FoS]

Sent!

[Rotipher of the FoS]

One intriguing question hit me just now, BTW ... namely, who says that the bloody key Bluebeard uses to trap his wives is his only cursed key?

I like it. the theme is very fitting. But he does not even need a such key for trapping them. See how he read and manipulated the good Lord Henredon in Sight & Sound.

True, he's a formidable manipulator. But Henredon wasn't one of his own subjects, hence he had no obligation to obey Bluebeard to begin with. To set someone up for a proper loyalty test, he does need some legitimate grounds to expect their obedience.

Given his power to manipulate what his subjects remember, it's possible that using the key(s) has become more than a logistical convenience for Bluebeard: each bloodied key provides an objective way to validate his accusation. If he were to judge native Blausteiners on the basis of his own suspicions, alone, he would risk accidentally imposing guilt upon an innocent party, simply by the act of accusing them. To a Lawful Evil tyrant who believes himself to be upholding justice, that sort of mistake would be inexcusable. But the keys can't be fooled, even by Bluebeard's own manipulative powers.

[cure]

As cure first suggested, Blaustein is a pirate haven. But Darklords and RL3e say that any foreign ship is boarded by angry Blausteiners. Let’s add something to make it more practical in game: the ships not bearing a Blaustein flag are boarded. So pirates and other raiders and other criminal dwellers know and use that flag. Other foreign ship not knowing this are boarded and brought to Bluebeard.

I’d really like to keep that slaving idea, which didn’t get any reaction so far. Bluebeard and his thugs are providing living bodies to Markov and Heinfroth, as well as to other paying customers on the core with special tastes.

[...]

Now for the Blausteiners. You have the young Blausteiners – raiders, shady traders, slavers, whale fishers, etc (all tough guys). They revel in these tough / brutish activities, and alcohol is flowing in their veins. This is the source of revenues for the island, and Bluebeard has a % of the take (those evading this “tax” are punished by horrible death).

When they get older (40? 50?), if they reach this age, it’s time to retire. They proved their worthiness. They move one level up literally, moving in small mansions closer to the castle. They become (try hard anyway) gentlemen and gentlewomen. The façade is well maintained, and at first glance, they could look OK in a Dementelieuse salon, if a little outdated in fashion, and a few scars and broken limbs. But when alcohol is flowing, sometimes, this veneer melts and the pirate talk is back, as with the violence of the early age.

Does that make sense for you guys?

Joël

So the whole male Blausteiner populace are pirates and thugs? Hmmm... Does this really fit for Bluebeards aspirations to noblesse? Is this the culture that his "theme" creates? And then how does he keep his rule over the scum? Sure the natives are loyal due to the powers the DPs granted Bluebeard, but what about all those foreigner cutthroat pirates and criminals who might choose to make a grab for power?

I don't think anyone's suggesting that Bluebeard himself was ever a pirate, but only that his policies as a ruler make his island a convenient place for pirates to visit. Not unlike how 18th-century governors and town officials in the American colonies deliberately turned a blind eye to how the cheap goods brought in by "merchant seamen" were quite often pirated from other countries' cargo ships. (Hey, it was good for the economy at the time....)

Of course, if Bluebeard has chosen to directly fund or employ pirates from time to time, none of the Blausteiners will remember him doing so. The fact that this guy's been getting away with murder repeatedly is part of his image; the possibility that he gets away with other crimes just as casually, making him less of a one-trick-pony, shouldn't be ruled out.

Bluebeard is protrayed as very brutal but also cunning, diplomatic, perceptive and manipulative in Sight & Sound. He manoeuvers to get Henredon's own consent to giving up his tongue before he brutally rips it out and he maintains a gentlemanly demeanor even through provocation.

I think the answer to how he rules might be his reading of people and cunning brutal manipulation. If Roti's exmaple of the 18th centurygovernor in the colonies should hold that I also think that this precludes a native culture where all the males are pirates.

But I'm still torn wether to give him any Thug elvels or not...

Perhaps there is some ambiguity in what is suggested by 'a pirate port.'

It could mean a port that is peopled from end to end with pirates. Or it could mean a port that doesn't ask a sailor his business provided that it not errupt in the taverns, spill unto the streets, or disturb the local population. I am not sure of Mangrum's intention, for he initially suggested the idea, but my vision is the second of these possibilities.

It is with this in mind that I penned the following:

Lord Bluebeard has declared the harbour and docks of Blaustein an open port subject to the law that any vessel violating the peace shall be seized along with her cargo. Agreeing to not break the peace is a small price for a pirate ship to pay and small indeed when one considers that a foreign naval vessel pursuing a pirate into the harbour would find herself subject to the fire of the lord’s artillery and to seizure by the lord’s men. Blaustein then is a pirate port. Few brigs call it home although it is an obvious but distant destination for a brig fleeing pursuit or in need of significant repair. Principally it is home to caravels that raid coastal shipping between Mordentshire, Port-a-Lucine and Ludendorf and to carracks and galleons that prey upon the carracks and galleons trading with Paridon or more rarely Rokushima Taiyoo.

Incidently, the description of the types of vessels presupposes another of Mangrum's suggestions, that the size of the sea, the distance between the islands and the distance from the Core, be greatly increased. Whereas expanding the size of the Core itself is, understandably, controversial, putting more space between things at sea seems to me to be such a good idea as to be self-evident. Otherwise, anything beyond a brig or a caravel is gross overkill.

[Joël of the FoS]

I have the bulk (70%) of Blausteiners into conventional piracy of course, but mainly what they do is: shady traders, "no questions asked" smuggling, boat snatching and resell, slave and body parts trading, and similar. It's not just pirating, it's all shady dealings as well. It's getting drunk too.

Then a sizable number (25%) of people are raising the kids, warehouse management, boat repair, tavern hosting, cleaning town, etc. For those without an heart for piracy & etc, and those too maimed too be on sea.

And 5% are the Worthy.

Joël

[Strahdsbuddy]

Agree wholeheartedly with cure's suggestion of distance. Ghastria may be just off the coast to support Domain of the Month suggestions that it is a Resort of sorts, but Blaustein and Markovia and other islands (or other Cores IMC) shouldnt be so close to Mordent. If the Core is supposed to feel claustrophobic, The Sea is intimidating by its very vastness. I'm not suggesting turning it into the Pacific, but sliding the Mists back a little would do little harm.

BTW, are there good rules for ships size and movement in any rulebook, Ravenloft or otherwise?

[cure]

BTW, are there good rules for ships size and movement in any rulebook, Ravenloft or otherwise?

Stormwrack in WOTC's d20 line.

[The Giamarga]

There's also a few D20 books from 3rd Party Publishers:Broadsides!, Seas of Blood, and the Seafarers Handbook come to mind. [Edit: Also Dead Mans's CHest by Necromancer Games]

Speaking of d20 seafaring stuff: Nick Logue's http://www.sinisteradventures.com has a few mini pdfs including one on underwater combat by Wolfgang Baur. The big book Razor Coast is still a w.i.p. and i think a bit behind schedule...

[EDIT] Razor Coast will soon be available at Frog God Games and it's gorgeous!

[nothri]

"The setting demands a strong woman of some sort, either as a rebuttal or a continuation of Bettleheim's themes. A female pirate? A duaghter of one of Bluebeard's former wives, come seeking vengeance? Not sure yet. "

"That way, Bluebeard can have a visible foreign presence in residence on his isle, that'll lull visitors and brides into believing the place is far more tolerant of outsiders than it really is. He could even use the local Pave as a confidante of sorts: people whose memories you know you can muck with probably aren't much use for that, but a cleric whose staunch faith and honest pledge of silence guarantee his trustworthiness would be ideal."

It seemed like it was worth repeating these two thoughts side by side. Perhaps the Lawgiver's faith failed to find purchase here until a female took over the church. She has made her own vows that prevent her being accessible to Bluebeard, but her devotion to him via the Lawgiver's doctrines, her beauty, and the fact she isn't a puppet he can control all have stayed his hand. Perhaps he has even confessed to her his crimes, as suggested above. In this way the Lawgiver faith itself might not have much of a foothold, but it is tolerated and silently ignored by the populace at large while gathering a small number of adherents...perhaps from the faux aristocracy?

[Germaine]

My apologies for resurrecting such an ancient thread, but I find Blaustein rather intriguing, and figured I'd throw in my two cents' worth.

First of all, has anyone here ever seen Catherine Breillat's film version of Bluebeard? While I'm not sure how well it fits with the Darklords version, it presents an interesting take on the character, and what I feel is the only remotely sympathetic portrait of him that I've ever encountered. Here, he seems to be a very wealthy and not-so-handsome nobleman who had the potential to be decent, but has suffered so much disappointment, rejection, and betrayal throughout his life that he is thoroughly insecure and paranoid, unable to fully trust even those he truly cares for or who may care for him. Much more "Gothic", I think, than simply a misogynistic control freak.

Also, on the subject of the land and its mysteries, no one has apparently mentioned the mysterious and infamous rare gemstones ( from a Kargatane BoS article, I believe) that allegedly give the domain its name. I think they could be an intriguing Dread Possibility, at the very least.

By the way, while there is no official "appearnce date" for Blaustein, and 697 would be an interesting little shoutout, the pre-GC Darklords does indeed mention Bluebeard being in Ravenloft for "a century"- thus placing, I should think, Blaustein's formation in the early to mid- 630s- most likely at or around the appearance of the SoS in 630.

[cure]

Also, on the subject of the land and its mysteries, no one has apparently mentioned the mysterious and infamous rare gemstones ( from a Kargatane BoS article, I believe) that allegedly give the domain its name. I think they could be an intriguing Dread Possibility, at the very least.

Could you please shed a bit more light on this in the hope of tracking it down?

[Germaine]

Sadly, there isn't a great deal of light to be shed, but the reference is to a Chris Nichols entry in the Book of Sacrifices article "Myths of the Mists". Blausteins are basically incredibly rare and valuable flawless blue gems that are also rumored to be cursed. Those who own them are said to completely shut themselves away from the world to the most extreme degree.

That's about it, really, but I thought it was an intriguing idea, and also something that might have made it into the Blaustein gazetteer, had the official line made it that far.

[Jennifer]

Hello all,
With interest I read all the fleshing out of Blaustein. As you can read in the Veranda, my party recently visited Blaustein. Althoug they did not spend much time there, the Island reminded me of a book I once read (I can't rember writer or title I am afraid, might even be Dutch fantasy ).

The book was about a conflict between two types of magic users. The second type had lived isolated (hidden? exiled? I can't remember) on an island for some time. This island was extremely poor in tillable soil. So every able bodied man, woman and teen worked the fields of the island. De old and infirm also preformed their duties to society as a whole. They were ruled by a coldhearted leader, who sacrificed everything for the good of the larger group. Since he was the main antagonist in the story, the protagonists hoped to make the populace rebel against the leader of the island. They soon realised this would be impossible, since it was very clear that he ruled with an iron fist for the good of all his people and he personally did not gain from the hard labour of his underlings. He was however an evil bastard who was willing to ruin and enslave the rest of the world in revenge/ to feed his own people.

That is how I see Bluebeard as well, and the adoration of his people. Yes he might be a brutal captain, but his island is poor and if people do not obey the one voice of their leader, they will all perish. And since he devotes all his time to his people and their well-being, they are happy to work hard form him.
The fruit of their labours might be added to by opening the ports to all comers and charging them a large fee for the protection of Blue Beard.

It is a lie of course, the people are not completley isolated, the might leave at any time.
Regards,
Jennifer

[The Wolfman]

I haven't had the chance yet to read the entire thread, so I apologize if I'm repeating anyone here. Anyway, if you go with the Caribbean idea (I gotta say, I'm confused about the native language being Lamordian, but oh well), there's some definite Voodoo possibilities--you can link the Domain to Souragne by Mistway (although the Mistway should be on the water, not the land).

This link (http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com ... ths_revea/) is about some cave art found in the Dominican Republic. That could easily bring up the idea of an earlier, primitive society--perhaps of humans, perhaps of things, which could be anything from a water-based monster to something more like a Deep One. Likewise, Costa Rico has those giant "mysterious" stone balls which could also be an artifact from whoever those primitives are.