Redo Necropolis

[brilliantlight]

As is Necropolis is the most useless realm, unless you are playing an undead party. Let's change it a bit so it isn't instant death. The way I see saving it is to make it a domain where the undead are in charge not the only inhabitants. Vampires keep humanoids alive for "breeding stock" and "blood bags" while they use skeletons and zombies as enforcers. When people die their bodies are given to the ghouls who are also used as executioners. Any other ideas? You aren't going to die entering the domain but it will be very difficult to get out again unless you have a pass from Death.

[ewancummins]

As is Necropolis is the most useless realm, unless you are playing an undead party. Let's change it a bit so it isn't instant death. The way I see saving it is to make it a domain where the undead are in charge not the only inhabitants. Vampires keep humanoids alive for "breeding stock" and "blood bags" while they use skeletons and zombies as enforcers. When people die their bodies are given to the ghouls who are also used as executioners. Any other ideas? You aren't going to die entering the domain but it will be very difficult to get out again unless you have a pass from Death.

Healing magic may be weakened by the "negative energy" of the domain. Maybe it only turns lost HP into subdual (NONLETHAL) damage, rather than restoring lost HP instantly.

Turning undead is probably at the maximum level of difficulty, using sinkhole of evil rules.

There may be a faction war between Kargat vamps still loyal to Azalin and those who have made a pragmatic arrangement with the Darklord of Necropolis.

You might make use of the Necropolitan template/ monster from Libris Mortis.

[Resonant Curse]

This makes it a bit of a redux of Vecna's domain, so maybe look at that as an inspiration.

[ewancummins]

This makes it a bit of a redux of Vecna's domain, so maybe look at that as an inspiration.

Skulls!



But, yeah, Vecna's domain might be worth a close look.

I only know of it from Domains of Dread, which I do not own but have read.

[Resonant Curse]

This makes it a bit of a redux of Vecna's domain, so maybe look at that as an inspiration.

Skulls!



But, yeah, Vecna's domain might be worth a close look.

I only know of it from Domains of Dread, which I do not own but have read.

Vecna Reborn and Die Vecna Die are the two main sources. There was a Dragon Article on the Secret Library of Vecna from it, but that would not be overly helpful.

[brilliantlight]

This makes it a bit of a redux of Vecna's domain, so maybe look at that as an inspiration.

True enough but with a few changes, Death isn't a god and IIRC there are no vampires in Vecna's domain just skeletons and the like. Vecna isnpired or not it seems to be the sort of place that fits it.

[Resonant Curse]

This makes it a bit of a redux of Vecna's domain, so maybe look at that as an inspiration.

True enough but with a few changes, Death isn't a god and IIRC there are no vampires in Vecna's domain just skeletons and the like. Vecna isnpired or not it seems to be the sort of place that fits it.

There are plenty of vampires, liches, mummies, death knights and other powerful undead. One of the 12 Lords of the city of Cavitius is a vampire, Haroln.

[Dark Angel]

This makes it a bit of a redux of Vecna's domain, so maybe look at that as an inspiration.

True enough but with a few changes, Death isn't a god and IIRC there are no vampires in Vecna's domain just skeletons and the like. Vecna isnpired or not it seems to be the sort of place that fits it.

There are plenty of vampires, liches, mummies, death knights and other powerful undead. One of the 12 Lords of the city of Cavitius is a vampire, Haroln.

I recall only three lords of Cavitus of note (not saying there were only 3, but I am pretty sure they did not really give much thought to the other 9). The vampire one (Haroln), an undead hag, and I think the third was a ghoul lord. I remember those three had very basic write ups and would have noted others as potential candidates for darklordship after Vecna jumps ship (I ran the adventure, but didn't end the campaign as per Die, Vecna Die suggestions).

The closer parallel to Vecna's domain was the wasting sands that occupy 99% of the domain (i.e. here is the railroad, next stop the only other place I want the players to go to). They were not instantly lethal, draining a single level/HD (as per 2nd edition rules, mind you) for every hour walking on it. Necropolis could have something similar like losing a point of Constitution for every day there, keeping the death effects the same (drop dead, reanimate into an undead almost instantly). This way players and other living creatures (vampire larders, for example) would be able to live and operate there, but still be in harm's way the entire time. Whether or not the draining effect it permanent, cumulative, or both (a person with 16 Con could only ever spend 16 days within the shroud total before succumbing, but regain the lost Con when not within the area of effect). That could be a newer twist for a player group to have to both work around and potentially sacrifice themselves for.

[brilliantlight]

True enough but with a few changes, Death isn't a god and IIRC there are no vampires in Vecna's domain just skeletons and the like. Vecna isnpired or not it seems to be the sort of place that fits it.

There are plenty of vampires, liches, mummies, death knights and other powerful undead. One of the 12 Lords of the city of Cavitius is a vampire, Haroln.

I recall only three lords of Cavitus of note (not saying there were only 3, but I am pretty sure they did not really give much thought to the other 9). The vampire one (Haroln), an undead hag, and I think the third was a ghoul lord. I remember those three had very basic write ups and would have noted others as potential candidates for darklordship after Vecna jumps ship (I ran the adventure, but didn't end the campaign as per Die, Vecna Die suggestions).

The closer parallel to Vecna's domain was the wasting sands that occupy 99% of the domain (i.e. here is the railroad, next stop the only other place I want the players to go to). They were not instantly lethal, draining a single level/HD (as per 2nd edition rules, mind you) for every hour walking on it. Necropolis could have something similar like losing a point of Constitution for every day there, keeping the death effects the same (drop dead, reanimate into an undead almost instantly). This way players and other living creatures (vampire larders, for example) would be able to live and operate there, but still be in harm's way the entire time. Whether or not the draining effect it permanent, cumulative, or both (a person with 16 Con could only ever spend 16 days within the shroud total before succumbing, but regain the lost Con when not within the area of effect). That could be a newer twist for a player group to have to both work around and potentially sacrifice themselves for.

Too limiting and too much like Cavitius IMO. It shouldn't be a near carbon copy of that domain. Maybe anyone entering loses a level when they leave so anyone without access to a restoration spell one way or another would become less powerful when they left and anyone who is merely first level would die and be raised instantly as a skeleton. That would keep people in.

[Five]

Level it and re-corrupt it through a crusade. Kind of fitting, given the nature of such a thing.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8442&hilit=ravenloft+crusade

Recently, an invitation was sent to all of the religious organisations in Ravenloft to gather and discuss their theological differences. This massive undertaking has been, for myself and my game wants, arranged by an overly ambitious and recently "returned" Mournesworth (I've touched on my basic design in another thread). Consider him a secret benefactor/investor. More on him later. But to keep this idea more accessible, this individual will furthermore be removed from the equation and be reduced to that of, say, "secret benefactor".

During the course of this highly-aggressive and ultimately disasterous debate, several delegates have agreed that more attention needs to be put into the facts and rumours surrounding the denizens and overall "condition" of Necropolis. Thus an uneasy alliance is formed, and the first seed of the "Holistic Crusade" sown.

Adventurers and other mercenary-type groups were assembled and sent to recon the site in question (captained by representatives of the churches of course). And when a ravaged group reports the general concept behind that death field (later on I'll have to dig through my books to fill in things specifically), then another plan and another wave of investigators is launched into action to disable or counteract this baffling anomaly. After several tries, success! Fast forward and we come to the present.

Large numbers of multi-national, cleric-led groups are gearing up to march on Necropolis. Other groups are preaching for recruit in practically every domain found in the Core. The plan is to send wave after wave of crusaders against Necropolis until the Evil can be purged...

...

My linear plot, that is to say plot unaltered by the PC's actions, is roughly as follows:

Mournesworth. This guy is a master thief and confidence man, extremely charismatic, and as theirs is a most solemn practise his ripping people off in their greatest time of need had to be stopped. He got cut-off from the family and disowned. Pissed off, he exacted his revenge (yet to be detailed), and eventually (unknowingly) found himself back where his family had started. As the dead has always been his family's business, his knowledge on that end of things is quite staggering (it was his lack of moral decency that kept him on the outside looking in). In no time at all his schemes for running the business his own way (decades in the making) began to play out. Quickly, and through several elaborate cons, he amassed a sizable fortune, yet that wasn't enough for him. Having heard some of the rumours involving a veritable city of graves (Necropolis), this gentleman bastard has become obsessed with claiming it as his own. His dream is to both unify and monopolise the Core's burial grounds. But he's too smart to think he can do it alone. All he needs to do is find a way to get the grounds (Necropolis) cleared, and set up shop...

Enter whispers to the religious leaders, and thanks to your idea, extra (I should say preliminary and supportive) financial backing. Yeah, I'm going to take that idea and have it that Mournesworth, bold as only he can be, approached a baron in Darkon, who turned out to be a high-ranking Kargat agent. The baron reported Mournesworth's schemes to Azalin and Azalin, after some thought, gave the baron the go-ahead (along with the neccessary funds).

Crusade starts rolling.

End result, again from a linear point of view, has the crusade levelling Necropolis. Mournesworth is granted his reward and will move in to transform the city from a city of the dead to a religious mecca. Only thing is, he somehow (have still to figure out how) takes on Death's mantle. That, and burying a city of the dead comes with its own price.

The transformation is my attempt to inject a more blasphemous flavour into Ravenloft. And to have such evil beneath the very feet of Ravenloft's most holy is, I feel, darkly ironic...

I never did use the hook. My table split due to Life. But somewhere in that thread could be some loose change to pocket...dunno

[tomokaicho]

I agree. Necropolis never seemed well thought out to me. Just make it so if someone dies in Necropolis, they rise as undead.

[Five]

As an add-on to the above hook (or, as the original idea behind it):

The following excerpt is copied from the thread "My Savage Worlds-Ravenloft redu". The idea of trains in Ravenloft and the potential community input can be that indepth that it might water down that thread, so I've decided to do a spinoff thread that will hopefully string together various ideas for trains and railways in general.

By all means check the thread out if you think you can help BedrockBrendan specifically. My Savage Worlds experience is limited to the reading (unplayed) of the Savage World of Solomon Kane, so I was feeling a little gimp...

-I want a railroad, but having tracks cross over multiple domains could present issues with local lords disrupting the rails. To remedy this I will make a new lord, who is essentially in control of the rails and trains (a sort of railroad tycon domain lord).

The Mournesworth family (Gaz III) just up and vanished. I don't know if the family was detailed any further than this, but you could easily write their comeback. They disappeared, lived in some sort of accelerated timeline, came back and have upped their services to include a train. The London Necropolis Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Necropolis_Company), and the London Necropolis Railway/funeral trains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Necropolis_Railway) would be a good basejump I think.

As to the placement of the tracks, why not have them run directly along the borders of the domains? A sort of pocket/crease domain. No interference with the other lords, and no extra work having to mishmash domain technologies.

In theory the Mournesworth family receives payment from mourning family members (or religious emissaries) to transport the deceased to their land of birth. In practise the Mournesworths receive money from anybody willing to pay the handling fee and deliver the deceased to the agreed upon location. Further still, one Mournesworth employee is more than willing to take payment to deliver living bodies, which they induce a deathlike (zombi) state on the individual in question and deliver them to their nefarious paymasters.

Most domain lords would be willing to "allow" such a business arrangement I think. It's both harmless and harmful, depending on one's needs, or, use of the railway. Simple transactions to political labyrinths. DM's wet dream.

Also, as an alternate idea, the terminal could very well be Necropolis (scaled down from undead city to religious mecca with some undead characters placed in the various stratas of society). The Mournesworth have made a deal with Death (or have somehow assumed its mantle) and forgot to cross their t's and dot their i's...

Now, issues with the various Cultural Levels of the Core's domains can give a DM a nasty hangover so I would simplify things a bit.

As the funeral train is in and of itself more suited for GE, I would change the transportation of bodies in RL to the newly transformed Necropolis from train to horse-drawn wagons. As the Mother Churches would now be located in Necropolis (the laity have been cajoled by religious fervor into believing that this place is the holiest of holy now, thanks to the success of the crusade and a blend of brilliant ongoing propaganda and true honest belief), the "satellite" churches would simply send a driver loaded with the grieving family's deceased to Necropolis for burial. Other drivers carry the funeral procession. It's a wagons (north) west funeral procession that can be quite queer for adventurers to stumble upon in their travels throughout the core! For the further out domains Death (Mournesworth) could have the ability to grant his (too much so?) solemn drivers the ability to traverse the mists much like the Vistani. Or the priests "treat" the bodies to delay decay. DM's choice of course.

Necropolis as the central burial grounds for RL, with Death in his pocket and agents placed all about, and all under the illusion of holy reverence...Azalin couldn't be more pleased with himself in his new bid to beef up his Resurrectionist Army!

Yeah, Necropolis in my mind should revert back to Darkon with Death's destruction, and the mantle of "Death" that is picked up by Mournesworth is more along the lines of demi-darklord. It helps add to Azalin's portfolio...

[Five]

Some names for these drivers:

"Funeral Porter", "Shepherd" (polite).

"Pale Riders" (slang); "The Pale" being one of many nicknames for Necropolis itself, and death in general.

"Riders of the Worm", or "Worm Riders" (vulgar); a mostly exaggerated reference to the condition of the corpses these men and women haul in their "corpse carts".

"Deathsmen" (vulgar-slang), "Corpsemen" (slang); no difference is ever made between the sexes of the drivers, nor do any of the drivers seemingly care, as many of them don't or can't speak (Dread Possibility).

"Ghost Riders" (slang), "Spirit Guide" (polite); usually used by rural or overly-superstitious folk.

"Soul Suckers" (vulgar); usually followed by an obvious spit of disgust and/or sign of faith.

[ewancummins]

I agree. Necropolis never seemed well thought out to me. Just make it so if someone dies in Necropolis, they rise as undead.

Nice. Simple.

[Five]

It looks like I blundered in and hi-jacked this thread. That wasn't my intention and for that I apologize.

As is Necropolis is the most useless realm, unless you are playing an undead party. Let's change it a bit so it isn't instant death. The way I see saving it is to make it a domain where the undead are in charge not the only inhabitants. Vampires keep humanoids alive for "breeding stock" and "blood bags" while they use skeletons and zombies as enforcers. When people die their bodies are given to the ghouls who are also used as executioners. Any other ideas? You aren't going to die entering the domain but it will be very difficult to get out again unless you have a pass from Death.

Aside from tomokaicho's idea for the dead rising in Necropolis (ala Walking Dead?), in addition to the ghouls getting first dibs on creamy corpsicles (true to carrion creatures they are drawn to the dying and lurk in wait for dying time..?), what about applying the sickened condition to all living creatures that enter Necropolis. This last as long as they are in the domain, and could be justified by the overwhelming negative energy found in the city. An emotional/spiritual miasma, whatever you want to call it. This would replace, in part, that lame 2d4 negative levels per round Shroud. It's a good idea, just too quick for my liking.

You could alter it further by imposing a (much) slower cumulative ability and/or energy drain as well. The longer one stays in Necropolis the more life is drained, the more their soul is stained, etc. For the 5E ruleset I'd probably go simple and treat it as a daily Life Drain, as per the Wight: target must succeed a DC 13 Con saving throw or take (3) 1d6 necrotic damage. Given that it's RL/focused I'd probably up the DC to 15, or if I know the mission will be short a 20, for story (urgency). Either way, max hit point total is reduced this amount with the difference of no recovery with a long rest when within the Shroud. I want my PCs in Necropolis but at a cost.

That could tie in to brilliantlight's idea:

Maybe anyone entering loses a level when they leave so anyone without access to a restoration spell one way or another would become less powerful when they left and anyone who is merely first level would die and be raised instantly as a skeleton. That would keep people in.

in that the drain, whatever you decide it to be, could act as some sort progressively foul and unholy dependence. If you become too addicted then the only hope you have for survival would be to stay, and the longer you stay the more wasted you (your soul) will become...details intentionally left vague.

However, a fresh bloom of Necropolitan Amaranth worn against the skin (Gaz II, p. 57) wards off the sickness, and placing the seeds under the tongue grants the "addict" a chance at recovery. Initial and secondary damage (1d2 and 1 negative levels for the 3E ruleset) remains the same, and both are permanent. Sweating out the absorbed negative energy is very violent (Fortitude save to remain conscious), a sickening spectacle to behold (ash-like foam from the mouth, cracked grayish skin with blackened veins, black bleeding from the eyes, etc/whatever), and forces the victim to become a burden unto others (DM's/Player's choice of conditions).

I also like the idea of humanoids (husks) being in Necropolis. I always was a fan of the concepts behind Rifts' Vampire Kingdoms, and this could work in RL too but on a much, much smaller scale. As in large familial estates/neighbourhoods, violent clashes over food thefts, street trash extras ("young" punk vampire pimps, junky ghouls, zombie servants, skeletal guards, shadow messengers/spies, ancient dead-run pawn/curios shops), etc.

Re-reading/editing this post and it strikes me now as some sort of undead Chernobyl...