4e's first "classic" Domain of Dread

[Hell_Born]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.aspx ... d/20100126

We all wondered, and most of us probably dreaded, when Dragon would finally have a Domains of Dread article that would be a 4e conversion of one of the classical DoDs of Ravenloft. Well, it's finally happened. The Endless Road is clearly based off the former domain of the Headless Horseman, whose first official 2e stats were in the sourcebook "Darklords" (I've temporarily misplaced my copy, so I can't refresh myself as to details such as the original name), but as I don't have DDI, I can't tell how close it is to the original or not.

One major change, suggested by the opening text, is that the Headless Horseman is no longer the Darklord, but part of the Darklord's Curse. Personally, this makes a bit of sense to me, as I recall that his basic background in "Darklords" was that he was decapitated by another Darklord and transformed into an undead monster with a "wandering" domain that could appear on any stretch of road, consisting of the Headless Horseman making a ride-by attack against a party, then passing on and leaving them to fight off a swarm of undead heads trailing in his wake.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. Could those members of this board who have subscriptions please share the relevant details of this domain and their opinion of it here?

[Jester of the FoS]

This excites me. I'm very, very happy they've brought-back a classic domain, albeit a C domain. Still, the Horseman was such a mediocre one-note darklord I'm impressed someone came-up with a way to make the domain more than just a random encounter.
The idea of having him be the curse is brilliant and just the right amount of twist

If I wasn't broke I might subscribe for a month just for this.

[Mortavius]

I've only just started reading this, but it looks promising; they've fleshed out the road a lot more. It focuses on the manor house of the Darklord, but beyond that is a hamlet called Havenshire, woods, a swamp, etc. Havenshire is protected from the Horseman by a large river (the horseman can only cross running water that his steed can jump over), but the hamlet is running out of space and resources. The people are terrified of going beyond it's borders, and they are very xenophobic of outsiders, even to the point of not having any Inns.

There is a large cemetary with an undead population living beneath it, ruled by a creature known as the White Reeve. It has designs on the domain, but doesn't want to take action until it knows it can ascend to control.

As well, although it is difficult and he can't go far, the Horseman CAN leave the road for brief periods, so no one is truly safe, even if they aren't directly ON the road.

It is correct; the Horseman is no longer the Darklord, but a manifestation of the Darklord's (Eli) curse. And I think the backstory is very fitting and gothic. The Horseman actually hunts Eli.

[The Giamarga]

What's the horseman's build? I've been wondering how to convert him to 3E. The trading card and Darklords mention a rumor that he was a bard and involved with Ivana Boritsi but his 2E stats and real world fluff suggest a more fighter like demeanor. does he still wield a sickle and are the flying heads still there or is he now more like in Sleepy Hollow?

[Paladyn]

"It was a Hadless Horsman! A Headless Horseman!!"

I'm very pleased to see one of favorite characters and clasic domain as well to be back! What a pity I don't have DDI subscription!

[Deewun]

I'm also a big fan of this. I REALLY like it, actually. I want to start putting together these domains in 4e as a map, perhaps connecting to Vechor? as a new continent. But that is a little off-topic.

The heads trailing behind ole-headless is fantastic, and he has an instant kill move which REALLY excites me.

As for what he is, they have him built as a Brute, with his steed as a Skirmisher. Fighting him with heads and horse is a terrifying prospect.

All the work on fleshing out the domain into more than just a road is really well done. I'm a big fan, like I said.

[Hell_Born]

So how do they handle the swarm of crawling heads, anyway? And what is the Darklord? Male? Female? Human? Or another race? Did they murder the Headless Horseman prior to being cursed to this place, or is the Horseman merely an eerie manifestation of the curse laid against them?

[Joël of the FoS]

At first glance, this is fun

Possibly the best in 4e so far.

But forget the rumore that the HH's head is in Borca! Unless the HH is already introduced in your campaign, this guy could be added to a RL campaign. A sort of large oubliette?

What's the horseman's build? I've been wondering how to convert him to 3E. The Trading card and Darklords mention a rumor that he is a bard but his 2E build is more fighter like.

The Headless Horseman Level 15 Elite Brute
Medium shadow humanoid (blind, undead)
HP 362

Also what's his fluff/background story?

He's a hero who's glory has overshadowed the local lord, who had him killed over a lie.

Joël

[Dion of the Fraternity]

DUPE THREAD!!!

http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... php?t=6842 [/url]

[Joël of the FoS]

I like the idea that the tomb is always 149 miles off the crossroad Fun and gothic ideas to spice the run, anyone?

[alhoon]

Didn't the HH had a devastating, beheading attack? Also, I don't think that he is part of the darklord's curse as it is described, but he's the darklord himself.

[Mortavius]

The HH does have a beheading attack; it's usable on those who are bloddied, and if it succeeds the victim is immediately reduced to 0 hp. Even if it misses the victim takes a large amount of damage.

And the new description has the HH is NOT the Darklord alhoon. He is a manifestation of the curse of the real Darklord. In the new history, the HH did nothing to warrant being a darklord. His killer however...

[Herman Strauss]

Actually I don't remember him doing anything in 2e to warrant being a darklord!
Even in the old days I think he was build more Gothic D&D than Ravenloft anyway.
From what I read here they turned him into something the players can use to actually kill a darklord with (an interesting story device if it is so)

[Hell_Born]

When he was first introduced in 2e, via the Darklords book, the Headless Horseman had indeed done nothing warranting his position. In that book, he was given three backgrounds; one each from Falkovnia, Barovia, and Borca. The Falkovnian legend was that he was wrongfully beheaded by Drakov's men. The Barovian legend was that he was being pursued by Strahd's minions and chose to decapitate himself rather then die at their claws. Borca's version was that he was a bard who had the misfortune of being called to Ivana Boritsi's private baths under a sickle-moon, yet was unable to entertain her, so she chopped his head off and threw his body into the river.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Let's face it: if TSR's writers had thought of Oubliettes, way back when, the HH would never have been a darklord in the first place. They only made him one because at the time, every chunk of landscape in Ravenloft had to have a darklord.

I don't think those alternate histories rule out the possibility that the 2E Horseman did do something worthy of darklordship, that nobody else knows about. All three stories would've been made up to account for his existence, blaming whomever scares the story's inventor the most. But the 4E HH seems (aside from the Those-Who-Follow gimmick) to be a completely different entity ... which is perfectly reasonable, as there were more headless-rider figures in IRL folklore than just the Sleepy Hollow fake.