Top 5 Favorite Domains
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:59 pm
We seem to have a lot of focus on negative impressions, and while that can certainly be productive, I'd like to share some of our positive feelings on the setting. What are your five favorite domains? Any particular reasons? I'll even go ahead and create a separate thread for Darklords, because I think that they are two very different questions.
Here's mine, in no particular order:
Lamordia - I love the willful ignorance of the populace with regard to magic, since I think provides a level of creepiness that I as the DM can pull out or put away as the situation warrants. I think that the quaint, enlightened rustic feel of the setting makes it the perfect backdrop for my favorite types of stories: giving the PC's something to love and cherish and then doing something terrible with it. Whether it is a town that they can feel safe and at home in, or an NPC who's kindness and warmth of personality makes them feel welcome, Lamordia provides one of the best backdrops. The blandness of the people and the places allow the 'bait' to stand out as being preferable without making the PC's feel like they're living in hell.
Mordent - This is one of the main reasons that I wanted to do two separate threads for the Darklords and their domains. I have a real dislike for Godefroy, but absolutely love Mordent. (I have seriously thought about making Gryphon Manor itself the real Darklord should my PC's ever investigate such things...) Between the fog-shrouded moors and the sucking bogs, this domain sums up everything I enjoy about the Gothic setting. Once the Lamordia storyline wraps up, this is where I aim to send my PC's. The Gazetteer III brings this domain to life in a phenomenal way, and illustrates the 'secret-under-every-rock' aspect of storytelling that I prefer most. A domain of endless ghost stories? Yes, please!
Rokushima Taiyoo - This one seems to be a domain that I alone love. I see it frequently held up as one people dislike intensely. Personally, I love it. I think that (like Mordent) the Darklord needs work. ("Maybe you just don't like ghosts," says my wife.) Any way you want to cut it, I still like the setting. I think that it gives you the opportunity to take the 'dying glory' theme that we see in some of the best fantasy stories about elves and instead use it with humans. My PC's have had several interactions with Rokuans without ever having set foot in the domain. The flow of goods and people to and from a crime-ridden, war torn land is just as potent a storytelling tool at the other end of the trade routes from said land. Someday I may even send them there.
Souragne - Southern American Victorian horror isn't technically Gothic horror, I suppose, but to hell with it, I like it anyway, and think it makes fertile ground for good storytelling! I struggled with whether or not to include this, since I already have Mordent on the list and the two have some striking similarities. Still, I think the feel of each domain is sufficiently different as to merit Souragne's inclusion. I was raised on stories about all the terrible things that happen out in the swamp, and while you can polish those up a bit and give them a more civilized European feel in order to include those stories in a campaign in Mordent, they feel far more at home in the backwaters of Souragne, where the people know how to keep a secret, and towns watch out for their own. And of course, everyone knows not to wander into the swamp at night...
Barovia - Sometimes I like to feel like a little rebel, the guy who likes the underdogs that no one else does. Other times, I turn around and go with the crowd. I know that liking Barovia isn't original, but sometimes the original is still the best. Tiny villages in a ruggedly gorgeous wilderness setting, filled with every kind of ghostie and ghoulie that walks, crawls, or flies across the moon on cursed wings? Hard to top that. Barovia's hands-off political approach and isolated communities make it perfect for development as a DM, since I can have the locals in any particular village doing whatever I want without feeling like it flies in the face of the established setting. So long as they pay their taxes and don't threaten their lord's plans, the smaller movers and shakers in the domain can do whatever they like. Whether that's an asylum which specializes in 'curing' Outlanders of their 'delusions' or a cult of werewolves who seduce and then eat their victims, Barovia provides a welcome home to them all.
Honorable Mention. The Carnival - I felt like it would be cheating to include the Carnival, since one could make the argument that it isn't so much a domain as just the reality wrinkle of a single unique outsider, albeit a reality wrinkle with a bunch of people living in it. Nevertheless, I really love this 'domain.' The Carnival product was one of the best things to ever come out of the Ravenloft line, and I always have to fight the urge to shoehorn it into my games. With a delightful smorgasboard of well-written NPC's, a half-dozen already suggested storylines, and ample room to create more of each, the Carnival is a dream for my style of DM'ing. You can even choose alternative 'truths' for several of the Carnival's elements, (such as Isolde's true nature or the truth behind the Skurra) with suggested alternatives provided. You could argue that it isn't tecnically a domain, but it certainly deserves to be listed with them. (And definitely among the best!)
Here's mine, in no particular order:
Lamordia - I love the willful ignorance of the populace with regard to magic, since I think provides a level of creepiness that I as the DM can pull out or put away as the situation warrants. I think that the quaint, enlightened rustic feel of the setting makes it the perfect backdrop for my favorite types of stories: giving the PC's something to love and cherish and then doing something terrible with it. Whether it is a town that they can feel safe and at home in, or an NPC who's kindness and warmth of personality makes them feel welcome, Lamordia provides one of the best backdrops. The blandness of the people and the places allow the 'bait' to stand out as being preferable without making the PC's feel like they're living in hell.
Mordent - This is one of the main reasons that I wanted to do two separate threads for the Darklords and their domains. I have a real dislike for Godefroy, but absolutely love Mordent. (I have seriously thought about making Gryphon Manor itself the real Darklord should my PC's ever investigate such things...) Between the fog-shrouded moors and the sucking bogs, this domain sums up everything I enjoy about the Gothic setting. Once the Lamordia storyline wraps up, this is where I aim to send my PC's. The Gazetteer III brings this domain to life in a phenomenal way, and illustrates the 'secret-under-every-rock' aspect of storytelling that I prefer most. A domain of endless ghost stories? Yes, please!
Rokushima Taiyoo - This one seems to be a domain that I alone love. I see it frequently held up as one people dislike intensely. Personally, I love it. I think that (like Mordent) the Darklord needs work. ("Maybe you just don't like ghosts," says my wife.) Any way you want to cut it, I still like the setting. I think that it gives you the opportunity to take the 'dying glory' theme that we see in some of the best fantasy stories about elves and instead use it with humans. My PC's have had several interactions with Rokuans without ever having set foot in the domain. The flow of goods and people to and from a crime-ridden, war torn land is just as potent a storytelling tool at the other end of the trade routes from said land. Someday I may even send them there.
Souragne - Southern American Victorian horror isn't technically Gothic horror, I suppose, but to hell with it, I like it anyway, and think it makes fertile ground for good storytelling! I struggled with whether or not to include this, since I already have Mordent on the list and the two have some striking similarities. Still, I think the feel of each domain is sufficiently different as to merit Souragne's inclusion. I was raised on stories about all the terrible things that happen out in the swamp, and while you can polish those up a bit and give them a more civilized European feel in order to include those stories in a campaign in Mordent, they feel far more at home in the backwaters of Souragne, where the people know how to keep a secret, and towns watch out for their own. And of course, everyone knows not to wander into the swamp at night...
Barovia - Sometimes I like to feel like a little rebel, the guy who likes the underdogs that no one else does. Other times, I turn around and go with the crowd. I know that liking Barovia isn't original, but sometimes the original is still the best. Tiny villages in a ruggedly gorgeous wilderness setting, filled with every kind of ghostie and ghoulie that walks, crawls, or flies across the moon on cursed wings? Hard to top that. Barovia's hands-off political approach and isolated communities make it perfect for development as a DM, since I can have the locals in any particular village doing whatever I want without feeling like it flies in the face of the established setting. So long as they pay their taxes and don't threaten their lord's plans, the smaller movers and shakers in the domain can do whatever they like. Whether that's an asylum which specializes in 'curing' Outlanders of their 'delusions' or a cult of werewolves who seduce and then eat their victims, Barovia provides a welcome home to them all.
Honorable Mention. The Carnival - I felt like it would be cheating to include the Carnival, since one could make the argument that it isn't so much a domain as just the reality wrinkle of a single unique outsider, albeit a reality wrinkle with a bunch of people living in it. Nevertheless, I really love this 'domain.' The Carnival product was one of the best things to ever come out of the Ravenloft line, and I always have to fight the urge to shoehorn it into my games. With a delightful smorgasboard of well-written NPC's, a half-dozen already suggested storylines, and ample room to create more of each, the Carnival is a dream for my style of DM'ing. You can even choose alternative 'truths' for several of the Carnival's elements, (such as Isolde's true nature or the truth behind the Skurra) with suggested alternatives provided. You could argue that it isn't tecnically a domain, but it certainly deserves to be listed with them. (And definitely among the best!)