Unofficial Domains

[Strahdsbuddy]

I've counted around 40 unofficial domains (not published in books) among the BoS, QtR, USS and Navigaccio series. Does this sound about right? I realize we've been at this for 20 years, but that seemed like a lot to me for some reason. I've been drawing my TouD map, which is essentially a congealing of all domains as the demiplane becomes a "real" world so I thought I would ask the community if there wee any that really appealed to them. The authors are certainly welcome to comment on their own creations, we will make this a little geography thread!

This is not a complete list, I'm sure, and I will edit it as people remind me of what I've missed.

Book of Sacrifices: (Farelle)
Saarkaath
Igid Rabi-i
Cumbre deOro
San Bartolome
Locknar Cove
Book of Secrets: Wayward
Seradan
Book of Shadows: Tsuu-Y-Teke
Vultharesk
Mictlan
Book of Sorrows: Romanga
Whal
Book of Souls: Carcharodan Island
(Kislova)
Vin'Ejal
Navigaccio: Charity Cove
Dorjiloku
Huninfjord
Kung Thorm Sound
Mubonyete
Tragathos
Xi'anlin
Nebula Obscura: Chanhok Mun
Dur-Anea
Hiva Motu
Sanzhou Grove
Ukhu Pacha
QtR2: (Shining Bay)
Okraine
QtR5: Aljaugasba
QtR9: Nedragonne
QtR15: Fairhafen
USS 01: Arlington Farm
Gustavstan
Hibernate
Miseria
Nueva Aragona
USS 02: Callista
Immerabt
Incitatus
Lost Wizard's Tower
Northlands
Olympus
Stonewall
Vulnara
Yatehcaa
USS 03: Nzari
Dungeon Mag: Eyrie
Dr. Ramsey's Island
Nocturnal Sea Gaz: The Deep or Shay-lot

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

check here:
http://fraternityofshadows.com/forum/vi ... =12&t=4376
and here:
http://fraternityofshadows.com/forum/vi ... =12&t=5776

to see if you missed any.

Also, this project was never completed:
http://fraternityofshadows.com/forum/vi ... f=1&t=6366

(WolfKook, you still out there? we miss you!)
but included some great ones. (and I'm not usually a fan of new domains).

[Strahdsbuddy]

Doh! I missed that in my search. Feel free to delete this thread, Joel's is MUCH better.

I also was enjoying the "reanimated" thread, at least academically. Like you, Ron, I think there is still plenty to do with the realms as they are, and every single earth culture does not need its own domain. That said, i think Dion did a great job of proving that statement wrong! Large landmasses without clear darklords sort of appeal to me. Initially I was looking at the scales of these domains and saying "whoa! That's twice the size of the Core" (yes I know some people change the scale) but now that I think about it, I think it would be a nice balance. The relatively tightly populated Core as the center if the demiplane, and the unexplored tracts of domains and clusters that are still forming on the shores of the seas with only a few settlements and miles and miles of space.

As an American, I often wonder if we have a difficult time thinking something the size of Delaware is big enough for a domain; we constantly have to make it the size of California. Or, as has been mentioned before, in the technological age we live in, our world seems much smaller. 100 miles is nothing to us, but would be a darn big deal to a Ravenloft resident.

[ewancummins]

As an American, I often wonder if we have a difficult time thinking something the size of Delaware is big enough for a domain; we constantly have to make it the size of California. Or, as has been mentioned before, in the technological age we live in, our world seems much smaller. 100 miles is nothing to us, but would be a darn big deal to a Ravenloft resident.

It's funny that you should mention Delaware.

I resized the entire Core to be about like the 13 Colonies in the 1770s, with roughly similiar population figures (although I might bump those up a bit). That gives me plenty of civilization, but also some real wilderness/frontier.

[Strahdsbuddy]

You're absolutely right. My argument FOR keeping the scale/population the same is one of subtlety. What can you do with 1000 vampires that you can't do with 10? What can you do with a map the size of Europe that you can't do with a map the size of Switzerland. Let me assure you as someone who is attempting to build the entire map piece by piece (in minecraft, no I haven't given up yet) Switzerland is PLENTY large enough for a person on foot. There's room for large cities like Lekar and Egertus, small ones like Port-a-Lucine, tiny ones like Barovia, as well as individual hovels and lairs. In fact, while planning it all out, I was more concerned with the miles of dead space between things on the SMALLER map. I couldn't imagine populating a map 10 times larger, it would take weeks to get from Vallaki to Levkarest, without much in between.

It not perfect by any means, but I think a game like Minecraft gives a good idea of scale; actually walking the distances is quite large enough.

I'd say the 13 colonies is a decent comparison, though still probably a little large in scale. Maybe without New Hampshire and Vermont. I see you are from CT, I live in MA and am from PA, went to college in NY. This is the most built-up part of our country, jet western PA is actually like primordial forest. Nothing like Montana or Wyoming, but still there is a native elk herd in PA, and that's a pretty good indicator that it is under developed. NY is the same upstate, the Adirondaks are desolate, and the Seneca region of Southwestern NY can be pretty wild too. Imagine driving across NY and having ONLY Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo without all those little towns in between and I think you might have an idea of what Ravenloft would look like. In fact, this IS what its like driving across Montana, if you've ever been out west.

FWIW, my Mordent resembles the colonial Hudson River Valley more than the English countryside. I think the colonies provide a good feel for horror so I'd say the feel is pretty much interchangable with the original idea.

[ewancummins]

Nice!

I'm originally from Oregon. I've lived, briefly, in Montana.

I mean 13 colonies without those extensive Western land claims, BTW. It's still a tiny continent by Earth standards (of course, RL isn't Earth )

My maps are roughly x3 with x5 or x6 population figures for most domains. I assume a lot of farms, little villages, abbeys, and so on that don't show up on the big map. This way, I can add small settlements and other features at will, without harming SoD. I enlarged some island beyond x3 scale, and kept other small.

I keep most of the old central Balinoks area as land, and I reduced the size of the Shadow Rift relative to other features. That central region is wilderness, not really part of any human kingdom (that doesn't mean it isn't divided into domains with darklords- but it's not as if PCs or most NPCs have any idea about that sort of thing).

Have you used the Headless Horseman in Mordent?

[alhoon]

Doh! I missed that in my search. Feel free to delete this thread, Joel's is MUCH better.

Well... yours gives the list, Gotten's give the description. I think we could do with both.

[Strahdsbuddy]

Sounds like we're both travelers, Ewan; I'm on my 5th state myself. I spent 2001-02 in Montana and Wyoming. Pretty country.

I'd like to know the scale of the Core in use by the authors of these domains. For instance, Whal is described as being 150mi x 50 mi, which is about half the size of the Core (according to the Black box scale). Vorostokov is slightly bigger than the Core. For comparison, Darkon is about a third of the Core. The scale of Vorostokov makes sense for the horror feel of the place: instead of nowhere to run, there's everywhere to run, there's just nothing to run TO. Now, does the Core itself have to have that feel? I appreciate that the little villages and castles we all place could use some "breathing room" between canon sites, I'm just not convinced it doesn't exist. In the case of Whal, which I always thought was a cool and necessary addition to the setting, what is the justification for a landmass of such size for a domain that is essentially maritime? I'm not saying Tykus is wrong, I'm just curious what his reasoning was. Markovia is 1/10th the size and could serve the same purpose.

[ewancummins]

I find that tiny domains that are packed closely together, as in the Black Box, do not mesh well with the varying 'Cultural Levels' shown in later sourcebooks. What about diffusion? I find that an expanded Core, with longer travel times and bigger 'buffer zones' of wilderness, is a more plausible arrangement for a Core with divergent CLs.

YMMV

[Strahdsbuddy]

Agreeing to disagree is fine with me; I absolutely see your point, just not sure if I need it IMC.

When my next two "map" projects come out, they will be at Black Box scale as much as possible, and since one of them is Minecraft, I'm awfully glad I have always chosen the smaller scale....it is already getting out of hand. The other map, one with every domain having a physical location rather than floating in Mist, will be easier to adjust for individual preferences.

Other thoughts on the fan-made domains? Mictlan is easily my favorite, it is something that was needed from the very beginning.

[riMkrad]

Travelers? I've resided (chronologically) in Kentucky, California, Idaho, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Iowa, Washington, California, Virginia, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, New York, and back to Pennsylvania. A bit of wanderlust for the bard in me.

[Galeros]

There will also be all of the elemental domains that we are working on in the Dread Elemental Domains thread.

Grave
Blood
Pyre
Mist
Positive Energy
Negative Energy
Metamorphosis
Bone
Glare
Thunder
Noxious Fumes
Toxin
Cinder
Fever

A few of the names are subject to change, but that is fourteen more domains.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Don't forget the undersea domain from the NS book, which was created fresh for that project.

[Strahdsbuddy]

Don't forget the undersea domain from the NS book, which was created fresh for that project.

Absolutely, Roti! That's just about canon as far as I'm concerned, what a fantastic addition! But Shay-lot definitely needs to be included.

[Strahdsbuddy]

Discovering more domains, these in Dungeon magazine: Eyrie (more of a pocket, really) and the Island of Dr. Ramsay.

Ramsay's island has a nice map, which is of paramount interest to me. I have to say if anyone has Dungeon #76, and has read the adventure, why is the island so bag? Similar to my Whal argument, why does Ramsay need a domain the size of Barovia? While I understand why individual DMs change scale, I presume the scale in Dungeon magazine, by comparison, would be more or less canon.

Ramsay's island is 4 times the size of Markovia, and would constitute a major discovery in the Sea of Sorrows, rather than just being glanced over like Dominia. In fact, Dominia's size makes more sense for the scope of the Ramsay adventure, imo. Maybe a little bigger, but not enormous.