Review thread of VRGtRL 5e

[Jeremy16]

Here's another mini-review to read between QTR articles...


DOMINIC D'HONAIRE (old and busted)
Appearance – aging, balding hippy with a ponytail
AoUD – manipulating everyone around him
Curse – the more he loves someone the uglier he becomes to them (basically every boy's worst fear)
Domain – originally spun off from Mordent, served as cultural center of the entire Core
Gothic Level – (6) mesmerism, mind control, and and other supernatural charms are classic traits of gothic villains

SAIDRA D'HONAIRE (new hotness)
Appearance – a phantom that loves to play dress up
AoUD – went to a ball, had a great time, died of the plague after wooing (and killing) her long lost brother... wait, what was that last part?
Domain – a city full of people obsessed with keeping up with the Kardashians, haunted at night by a deadly crimson mist
Torment (because curse is apparently too strong of a word) – afraid of being outed as a fraud
Wokeness Level – (9) Cinderella's all grown up and took over the ball


OVERALL IMPRESSION


Despite her name, Saidra D'Honaire is not a gender-swapped darklord, per se, but an entirely new villain. Her name is really just a cheap ploy to cash in on some respectability amongst fans. Which is ironic, because this concept is good enough to be its own domain.

I must give kudos to the writers for attempting to give a new take on a classic fairytale, but the modern elements they grafted onto it – fear of missing out, conspicuous consumption – don't really gel. I know fairytale retellings and updates are a whole fantasy subgenre in and of itself, but something about shoehorning it into Ravenloft doesn't work for me.

It could be that the DPs are cast in the role usually reserved for the fairy godmother, rescuing the protagonist from the literal brink of death. But, why are the DPs even interested in her at all? What is Saidra's act of ultimate darkness that drew their attention in the first place? She was pretentious and hypocritical, but so is every politician and ruler ever. Compared to other darklords here crimes are small potatoes. It's write-ups like these that make me wonder about the DP's (and the author's) decision making process.

The ballroom unmasking scenario is intriguing, I admit, but why throw away the rest of such a useful domain? Dementlieu used to be a welcome beacon of light and reason compared to its more primitive neighbors. And its High Renaissance culture provided interesting roleplaying opportunities beyond the typical hack-n-slash adventures. Now, it's reduced in both size and scope to a mere one trick pony that repeats the same drama every week.

And, is it my imagination or did the plague that killed everyone at the end of the ball come out of left field? It seems like that element was tacked on just to supply the requisite “And then, they all died...” ending that so many of these darklord backstories relie on.

[Hell_Born]

It could be that the DPs are cast in the role usually reserved for the fairy godmother, rescuing the protagonist from the literal brink of death. But, why are the DPs even interested in her at all? What is Saidra's act of ultimate darkness that drew their attention in the first place? She was pretentious and hypocritical, but so is every politician and ruler ever. Compared to other darklords here crimes are small potatoes. It's write-ups like these that make me wonder about the DP's (and the author's) decision making process.

Yeah, this is a definite issue I noticed with the darklords in this book, especially the women. I think Saidra is second-worst in this department, with the worst being Ramya, who in my opinion didn't really do anything to actually deserve the Darklord title! Her brother rebelled against her being appointed as the heir apparent by their father, she crushed his rebellion but let him live, and the second time he did it, he murdered her under a flag of truce before desecrating her remains, whereupon she rose up as a Death Knight and killed him... literally how is she the villain in this story?

[Jeremy16]

Up next, one of the more controversial domain updates...


VLAD DRAKOV (old and busted)
Appearance – heavy metal lead singer
AoUD – killed lots and lots of people by impalement
Curse – unable to win a definitive victory or be treated as an equal by his fellow darklords
Domain – equal parts Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, served as the breadbasket of the Core, continual thorn in the side of neighboring domains
Gothic Level – (6) sometimes humans are the real monsters

VLADESKA DRAKOV (new hotness)
Appearance – not shown, just picture Vlad in drag I guess
AoUD – killed lots and lots of people
Domain – the ruined husk of a once prosperous domain beset by monthly zombie attacks
Torment (because curse is apparently too strong of a word) – never able to enjoy ruling over her own domain
Wokeness Level – (10) they turned Dracula into a lady!


OVERALL IMPRESSION


Vlad Drakov was based off of Vlad Tepes, the Transylvanian prince that inspired the main character of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Vladeska Drakov, however, is based off of Vlad Drakov, so she starts her existence with one strike against her already – nobody likes a derivative of a derivative.

A second strike against her is the fact that she is a gender-swapped darklord. If the author really wanted to have a female Dracula in Ravenloft, why not base her off the almost equally famous Elizabeth Bathory, the Hungarian noblewoman who bathed in the blood of virgins? Now there's a lady whose level of depravity could match Vlad Drakov! Hell, you could even wedge her into Falkovnia's history, having her gradually grow in power and take over rulership from an aging Drakov. (See how easy it is to both respect the source material and add a new twist?)

Instead we get a generic female warlord with pretty much the same backstory with nary a line about how she came to power or assembled her band of bloodthirsty cutthroats. At least throw in something about an overbearing father that never let her play with the boys and how she's overcompensating by proving she's just as good as any man with a sword. That would at least bring an added (if overly cliched) motivation to her character instead of the bland she wants to conquer everything because of course she does.

The concept of a siege of undead is serviceable, but it could easily have been presented as a brand new place. I fail to see why there was a need to trash such a classic domain in exchange for a by-the-numbers The Walking Dead imitation.

[alhoon]

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Despite her name, Saidra D'Honaire is not a gender-swapped darklord, per se, but an entirely new villain. Her name is really just a cheap ploy to cash in on some respectability amongst fans. Which is ironic, because this concept is good enough to be its own domain.

I must give kudos to the writers for attempting to give a new take on a classic fairytale, but the modern elements they grafted onto it – fear of missing out, conspicuous consumption – don't really gel. I know fairytale retellings and updates are a whole fantasy subgenre in and of itself, but something about shoehorning it into Ravenloft doesn't work for me.

On the contrary, I find Saidra a better darklord than Dominic. I will probably keep them both but from the two, I prefer Saidra. I found that the modern elements as you call it, which are not actually modern as fear of missing out and gluttony/pretentiousness were with us for long in songs and fairy tales, fit well in Ravenloft.
The gaps in the story come with the society IMO. You can feed a city of that size with a sliver of sea and farm, even if the locals eat very little. But the "Mirage" connecting to Dementlieu as a broken mirror that someone from FoS suggested (see previous pages) fixes that.

[Jeremy16]

On the contrary, I find Saidra a better darklord than Dominic. I will probably keep them both but from the two, I prefer Saidra. I found that the modern elements as you call it, which are not actually modern as fear of missing out and gluttony/pretentiousness were with us for long in songs and fairy tales, fit well in Ravenloft.

It may just me my Amerocentric view, but when I think of conspicuous consumption I think of the rise of Wall Street in the 1980s. I'm sure there's more history to it than that, tho'. Heck, now that I think about it you could point at the Gilded Age in the 1890s and say the same thing. So, I guess you are right there.

I believe FOMO, however, has only became prominent after the rise of social media. Which is clearly as modern a concept as you can get.

The gaps in the story come with the society IMO. You can feed a city of that size with a sliver of sea and farm, even if the locals eat very little. But the "Mirage" connecting to Dementlieu as a broken mirror that someone from FoS suggested (see previous pages) fixes that.

I did say this set-up was good even if it wasn't my cup of tea. My main bone of contention was having it replace Dementlieu. That is a theme I return to again and again in these reviews... Even when these new domains are well put together, they trash the old domains needlessly. Half of these entries could have been new domains but the writers (probably by editorial edict) super-imposed them over old ones.

[Jeremy16]

Here's a rare upbeat review...


ANKHTEPOT (old and busted)
Appearance – corpse wrapped in linen
AoUD – sacrificed his subjects in a ritual to give him immortality because he feared dying and being judged by the gods for his evil deeds
Curse – attained the eternal life he sought but rules over a tiny backwater domain
Domain – desert sands and ancient ruins
Gothic Level – (5) mummies and their curses are a staple of the genre

ANKHTEPOT (new hotness)
Appearance – corpse wrapped in linen with gold bling
AoUD – attempted to usurp control of his nation by killing the pharaoh he served
Domain – desert sands and ruins with giant sandstorms
Torment (because curse is apparently too strong of a word) – unable to truly die until he recovers his lost ka
Wokeness Level – (4) he gets extra points for coming from a non-European culture, but he's still a man


OVERALL IMPRESSION


Poor Anhktepot... he's been demoted from a pharaoh to a high priest. But, at least his domain has been given several upgrades - there's tombs, temples, and monsters galore! I've always felt that this domain was too limited in its previous incarnation, so I am glad that it has been expanded on here.

In fact, there's a lot I like in this write-up. Ankhtepot has a more active role in events that occur in his domain, unlike before where he was more of legendary bogeyman that stayed in his out of the way tomb and was never directly encountered by the populace.

I also like the strange animal-headed gods, the despotic and corrupt priesthood, and the various desert sandstorms and oases. Even with all these additions this place stays true to the original domain conceit from the Black Box, which makes it one of the better retcons in this volume. I'm guessing that is because there's only so much you can fiddle with when you're dealing with a domain based on ancient Egypt.

Anhktepot's search for his lost ka is another great improvement over the original. Yes, it's a glorified treasure hunt, but treasure hunts are fun. It's basically the same framework used in Curse of Strahd except instead of a darklord hunting for the reincarnated soul of his lost love you have the darklord searching for a portion of his own soul.

Some things do seem off, however. I don't like linking up every tomb in the land into one big underground labyrinth. Just limit this to the area surrounding Ankhtepot's tomb and the assorted pyramids spread across the domain. The DPs are once again cast in the role of evil fairy godmothers, granting the darklord's wish to rule but making his life a living hell. Also, having gods with made-up names instead of just using their real world Egyptian counterparts is weird. Is using the names of ancient pantheons forbidden now? If so, just tell me the new names and run with it, don't give me a convoluted backstory about why they're different now.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

The domain of Bluetspur and its Darklord are next in line...

OVERALL IMPRESSION

It's hard to do an apples to apples comparison here. The Illithid God-Brain was introduced in Thoughts of Darkness way back in 2nd edition and has never really been updated since (excepting fan-canon). I have to give the writers kudos for attempting to rehabilitate such an obtuse entity. Its history and current plans kinda fall flat for me, but at least all the classic elements (an actual curse and some pretty heinous behavior) are in place here, unlike some other Darklords I will mention later on...

At least they should had written in VRGtR what was so evil about that Illithid God-Brain did to make it stand out from the rest. But since Eldrich Horrors are about beings not having a morality at all that would be hard for someone to figure out, especially since most of VRGtR has poor ideas. The fan made article in Book of Sacrifices covers that, by making the a human psion take over the dying Elder-Brains'... Brain

PS
I guess not even the dying Elder Brain concept wasn't an original idea in VRGtR.

[alhoon]

I believe FOMO, however, has only became prominent after the rise of social media. Which is clearly as modern a concept as you can get.

I respectfully disagree. There have been colonial wars because kings didn't want to miss out and there were wannabees trying to impress their peers at all ages and in all strata of society.

I did say this set-up was good even if it wasn't my cup of tea. My main bone of contention was having it replace Dementlieu. That is a theme I return to again and again in these reviews... Even when these new domains are well put together, they trash the old domains needlessly. Half of these entries could have been new domains but the writers (probably by editorial edict) super-imposed them over old ones.

For starters, I mistyped when writing the post you quoted as there should have been a "not" there, i.e. a sliver of farms and sea cannot feed a city of that size. Furthermore, I agree that Saidra's domain doesn't have to replace Dementlieu. In my mind, it is "Mirage", not "Dementlieu".

However, I simply ignore the needless replacements without much contention. I don't mind if a "new generation of gamers" won't see the original Dementlieu. The old material is still there and if their games and curiosity brings them to check deeper, they can find it.

[Jeremy16]

For starters, I mistyped when writing the post you quoted as there should have been a "not" there, i.e. a sliver of farms and sea cannot feed a city of that size. Furthermore, I agree that Saidra's domain doesn't have to replace Dementlieu. In my mind, it is "Mirage", not "Dementlieu".

However, I simply ignore the needless replacements without much contention. I don't mind if a "new generation of gamers" won't see the original Dementlieu. The old material is still there and if their games and curiosity brings them to check deeper, they can find it.

While, for the most part, I have very negative views of these new domains as presented, I actually do agree with the more "integrationist" camp on these boards that doesn't want to discourage new players from diving into the Land of the Mists. Additionally, taking what you like and leaving behind what you don't has always been a valid approach for DMs. That's just the nature of the game.

In general, however, we (meaning fans) should not have to "fix" the developer's mistakes in order to to make their setting "work". That's what they get paid for, after all. And, if they do a poor job of it they deserve to have that pointed out.

I will attempt a deeper analysis on all these issues in my summary after these posts on domains are complete.

[Jeremy16]

Next up is everyone's second favorite evil wizard (right behind Azalin and coming in front of Meredoth)...


HAZLIK (old and busted)
Appearance – bald wizard with red tattoos all over his body
AoUD – dude was just minding his own business gathering mushrooms in the woods when he was swallowed up by the mists
Curse – has nightmares where his former rivals taunt him over his many failures
Domain – ruled by a wizard that originally hated magic, inhabited by two groups of people (Mulan and Rashemi) constantly at each other's throats, brings a little bit of a Middle Eastern flavor to the Core
Gothic Level – (3) this domain and darklord has always been an odd duck when stacked up against more traditional gothic tropes

HAZLIK (new hotness)
Appearance – bald wizard with gold tattoos all over his body
AoUD – betrayed his rival (and lover) by turning him into a dimensional portal (?) which he then used to escape the vengeance of everyone he ever wronged
Domain – festering magical hellhole with giant sand worms and magical pollution
Torment (because curse is apparently too strong of a word) – has nightmares where his former rival (and lover) taunt him over his many failures plus he can't learn new magic
Wokeness Level – (5) gay is okay now, and he is an equal opportunity exploiter


OVERALL IMPRESSION


There's a lot going on in this entry, so let me try and boil down my complaints to the most egregious elements...

This domain is waaaaayyyyy over the top in its focus on wild magic and the destruction of the environment (yet another modern fear shoe-horned into a fantasy world). As written, this place seems like it would be more at home in Eberron or on Athas. It highlights the overall tendency of the writers to concentrate more on the fantasy aspect to the detriment of the horror aspect.

I know disaster and apocalyptic horror is big these days, but by my count this is the third domain that is seemingly coming undone right before our eyes. Are the writers really so uninspired that they can't come up with a unique hook? The Black Box had 32 new domains and over 20 new darklords. Not all were winners, sure, but at least the original authors tried.

It's clear that this book's approach in labeling an entire domain as representative of this or that type of horror is very limiting. It's a one size fits all approach and really is a step backward for the setting. The domains introduced in 2E were a bit one-note, yes, but at least they grew in 3E to encompass all types of different adventures. Here there is one interesting scenario detailed then the PCs are assumed to split the scene.

And what's with Hazlik stealing Azalin's curse!?! I honestly wonder which happened first - Hazlik's curse getting revamped, or Azalin's curse being scrapped and thus freeing it up to be recycled? The world may never know... or care.

[Jeremy16]

Here's another positive review...


TSIEN CHIANG (old and busted)

Appearance – never shown
AoUD – killed her emperor, blasphemed the gods, and attempted to murder her daughter
Curse – never mentioned
Domain – four groves surrounded by four towers, solely inhabited by the darklord and her four daughters
Gothic Level – (1) a laughably one-dimensional caricature

TSIEN CHIANG (new hotness)
Appearance – your stereotypical dragon lady
AoUD – used her magic bell (which she made with forbidden magic) to destroy her own nation
Domain – a city that exists half in dream and half in reality, overrun by vampires during the night
Torment (because curse is apparently too strong of a word) – always seeking but never attaining perfection
Wokeness Level – (7) she's Asian and she's a woman, plus her origin story gives her anti-colonial cred


OVERALL IMPRESSION


Wow. This is one domain I never expected to see again. Don't let it's name fool you, though, because this is another brand new domain using the name of an older one just to give it a little more cred with older fans.

There are a lot of dichotomies here. First we are supposed to feel sorry for Tsien because she was orphaned, but then feel bad because she betrayed her adopted dragon protector. Then, we are supposed to feel good that she used her powers to save her people, but bad again after she became a despotic control freak.

Surprisingly, I like this write-up. The back and forth nature of her origin is further highlighted by the mechanics of the city shifting between the real world and its dream version. In fact, this domain cleaves more closely to what I call the Ravenloft model (a darklord's curse and domain should reflect that darklord's personality) more than anything else I've seen so far. I think that's why so many people respond so well to this particular entry.

The original version of Tsien Chiang was an over-the-top misogynist with an unhealthy fascination with the number four and her domain was a glorified murder park. Any retcon would be an improvement. It's significant only for being Ravenloft's first oriental domain and was a feeble tie-in to D&D's Kara-Tur line of products (back when every setting had to have a representative domain in Ravenloft).

[Jeremy16]

Next up is Sri Raji... or is it?


ARIJANI (old and busted)
Appearance – a tiger-headed man
AoUD – manipulated others into killing his fellow rakhasas, betrayed his father (the god of the demons) by personally killing his physical avatar
Curse – unable to cast any illusion that allows him to blend in with normal people or appear friendly
Domain – dense jungle, little civilization
Gothic Level – (3) never really fit-in or gelled with the gothic aesthetic

RAMYA VASAVADAN (new hotness)
Appearance – your stereotypical Hindu goddess
AoUD – came back from the dead to kill her backstabbing siblings
Domain – dense jungle, home to palaces and temples and other exotic locales
Torment (because curse is apparently too strong of a word) – in a never-ending power struggle with her two backstabbing siblings
Wokeness Level – (6) she's Hindu and she's a woman


OVERALL IMPRESSION


Uh, is it just my imagination or was Ramya totally justified in her revenge against Arijana and Revna? So, why is she the darklord exactly? Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a warring triumvirate, but I think the DPs (and writers) need to come up with a better justification for picking their darklords. They used to be people or creatures that were undeniably evil and beyond redemption. The rules seem to be much looser these days.

Now, I will be the first to admit that non-European cultures got short shrift in the 2E era. Even when domains such as Har'Akir and Sri Raji got extensive write-ups, they had fewer inhabitants and little focus on the centers of commerce, learning, and religion that make a world come alive and keep PCs interested. So, this much more dynamic approach and livelier domain write-up is a much needed improvement.

While the political dynamics of the domain are a good framework for adventures, the renown system that this entire scenario is built around seems really bland. It could literally be used in any any other domain and work just as well; heck, it's even a better fit for a domain like Kartakass!

[alhoon]

I haven't read that domain, but I would like to say that in my opinion you can be a bad person doing something that wouldn't necessarily be bad, but becomes bad because you do it for the wrong reasons. Also, what you describe, coming back from the dead to seek revenge shows... obsession.

[Jeremy16]

Hell_Born went into more detail in the posting below, but I whole-heartedly agree with his assessment. If dark deeds count for anything in the darklord sweepstakes, then Ramya definitely comes in third place in this scenario!

Yeah, this is a definite issue I noticed with the darklords in this book, especially the women. I think Saidra is second-worst in this department, with the worst being Ramya, who in my opinion didn't really do anything to actually deserve the Darklord title! Her brother rebelled against her being appointed as the heir apparent by their father, she crushed his rebellion but let him live, and the second time he did it, he murdered her under a flag of truce before desecrating her remains, whereupon she rose up as a Death Knight and killed him... literally how is she the villain in this story?

[alhoon]

Eh... because she's a death knight. A creature of evil. She was once good, like Strahd was. Perhaps she was pure and admired, perhaps she was overlooked as naive and incompetent.
Now she a creature wholly consumed by evil and probably laughs at the naivety of her breathing days.
Because that's what a Death Knight is. She's not the first to be good-turned-evil.

It makes her fall much more deep and horrific for those that knew of her in her living days, as the merciful (and naive) ruler she was, to see her become an undead monster bent on death and revenge without a single redeemable quality in her.
That's Gothic approach, my friend.