Quoth the Raven #31 (Halloween 2024) Reaction Thread

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Please comment on the contents of this year's edition of Quoth the Raven here.

[doctornecrotic]

Great work, everyone! I'm still reading, but everything has been a joy thus far. I will edit as I dive in deeper... while trying not to read out or order, like I've been doing.
I love any work that can add history and touches to the massive land of Darkon and this Arcane Age didn't disappoint. Likewise, I love a bestiary-like tome, register of monsters deeply appeals as well! Also, love a solid look at Barovia from a different lens. Plus, Gundarak is mentioned, a huge plus in my book! As someone fond of the Shadowlands; Eye of Belenus is a glorious expansion rife with plot hooks and game potential. I'd love to play with what's here!

[KingCorn]

I love Ian's take on Bluetspur, making it a mixture of underdark, a weird mixture of Lovecraft and Clark-Ashton-Smith, almost like T. S. Elliot's The Wasteland. The caverns of this land are perhaps more human and normal than the nightmarish surface, but makes itself more than just another underdark by being very grim and harsh but still exotic, like Lamentation's of the Flame Princess's Veins of the Earth (can I presume that might have been an inspiration when writing it?).
I appreciate the very complex Thanni language, and htis might be useful inspriation for a part 2 to a project I'm doing for another dnd setting (giving naming conventions for the spelljammer races). What language, if any, did you use as the framework for them?
I enjoy the few surface and sub-surface ruins of the Thaani, themselves a somewhat alien but still human culture lost to time and invasion, though what is found atop it now is far MORE alien than what came before as oppsoed to less (an inversion of the usual Lovecraft or Howard method). I also enjoy the cave-society system with the Nnarl, kinda reminds of the maping from Dragonlance's Chorane.
Really the overall feel is alien enough that theorectically I could also see this domain, with its ruins, aliens, and psychic powers, as being easily fitted into Darksun in some corner of Athas! Or perhaps as an Illithid Moon in Spelljammer, with the Thaani being a fallen 'Crystal Spires and Togas' type civilization near a now dying star (actually, was that also perhaps the inspiration to the dead surface, the Sunkiller Illithids from Dragon Magazine and the Illithiad?). And the bit with the man-mushroom hybrids is just wonderfully weird and dark. Indeed, the myconoids and other mushrooms could be an interesting alternative to the illithid and their godbrain, with instead a mushroom hive-mind being a darklord.
If one wants to get into tech, I keep having conflicting visions of how I see tech. Sometimes I see it as something like a giant mine with ancient and now broken lights and equipment like Metro, sometimes H. R. Geieger-esque with biopunk, maybe even something like the tech-city from Conan's The Slithering Shadow.
Overall its a wonderful mix of influences which make it not only perfect for Ravenloft, but infact a very interesting sub-setting or transferable location all its own. Kudos!

[Mistmaster]

I have greatly appreciated this whole issue. I expecially appreciated Both Bluetspur and Nidala Articles which are a mine of locations and NPCs I might adapt to the Mistworld. My compliments to all the authors.

[Mistmaster]

Great work, everyone! I'm still reading, but everything has been a joy thus far. I will edit as I dive in deeper... while trying not to read out or order, like I've been doing.
I love any work that can add history and touches to the massive land of Darkon and this Arcane Age didn't disappoint. Likewise, I love a bestiary-like tome, register of monsters deeply appeals as well! Also, love a solid look at Barovia from a different lens. Plus, Gundarak is mentioned, a huge plus in my book! As someone fond of the Shadowlands; Eye of Belenus is a glorious expansion rife with plot hooks and game potential. I'd love to play with what's here!

If you are interested in number 29 I did a a Gundarak article.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Four came to Melesku'ta
By Ian Fordam

A very nice tale, which left me asking what the truth was.
Were the adventurers too paranoid, was the tragedy avoidable?
Or were they just paranoid enough, and was this the best possible outcome?
Even without knowing for certain - or perhaps because of the uncertainty - this was classic Ravenloft. A dark and oppressive atmosphere, the horror of Xhafer's condition and the back courtyard... and the open ending, balancing grimness with a sliver of hope.

My compliments to Ian Fordam; you contributed a LOT to this issue of Quoth the Raven, but I think I enjoyed this story the most out of your contributions.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

The Arcane Age of Darkon
By StrahdsBuddy

An interesting article, which delves into the False History of Darkon as well as its true history, and made me think: 'Of course a people would have a proper name for itself, rather than just going by an outsider-imposed species name'.
If anything, I found the Arcane Age a bit too short. You give some interesting pieces of information on the tribes' culture, but you could have written more about the their histories, their triumphs and failures -- and their interactions with one another. If you ever want to submit an expanded and updated version of this article, I look forward to reading it.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Strigoi of a starving land
By IanFordam

The vampyre is already a terrible creature, but Ian Fordam treats us to a variant that manages to be worse. Soulless, self-centered, naturally inclined to at least some wizardry, prideful and hungry, the strigoi's main obstacle to ruling where they lived seemed to me to be their internal conflicts.

The article provides some interesting NPCs and hooks to reel in any adventurers unfortunate enough to be in G'Henna. It was the pragmatic strigoi I found most frightening; the ones capable of overcoming their base evil nature for their own greater benefit. Here are creatures with ample reason to be cautious and temper their greed with strategy and tactics; dangerous enemies who have everything to lose if they die.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Barovia
By Mistmaster

Mistmaster continues to create the Mistworld, an alternate take on the Demiplane of Dread.

I was thrown right at the starting gate by his claim that Barovia is a land of "insulation and mysteries". I seem to recall English is not your first language, and you write well in spite of this; some of your descriptions are downright poetic. Still, I would like to suggest that you consult a dictionary when you write your next article; yours is as worthy a project as any, but these little confusions can startle a reader right out of the immersion. The use of the title 'Count-King' baffled me; if one is king, their rank eclipses that of count, unless one holds different titles in multiple nations, perhaps. Why has Andral become Andaral? Was this a conscious decision, or a mistake?

At the start of the article, rather than "insulation", I think you may have meant Barovia is insular, or that it is a land of isolation -- and yet I do not see why your take on Barovia should be isolated.
A strong road network, thriving industries of mining and woodworking? A university founded by Strahd (instead of him hoarding knowledge and keeping his people uneducated and backwards)? Cities? These things invite merchants, both internal and external. The chance for profit should bring them by the score to your take on Barovia, unless Strahd makes a point of stamping them all out. Making the Barovians a hospitable people, instead of mistrustful isolationists, should just bring on more people.

I liked the shout-out to Halan mythology in the Age of Creation, as well as the link to your earlier article about Markovia. You present some interesting characters, with fun hooks fit to keep an adventuring party busy - I especially liked Afina and Anastrasya - but I wish you'd give more statistics to your creations.

I'm not sure how to feel about your explicitly making Madame Eva a cleric of Hala; Eva's ability to bend and break rules others hold as inviolate and the source of her magic remaining mysterious are two of her greatest selling points - to me, anyway. Naming Erlin and Kanchelsis as the powers that dealt with Strahd, rather than the mysterious 'Death'... You have your own vision for Mistworld, of course, but I didn't like this change; it takes away some of the mystery and paranoia of Strahd's tale.
That said, I rather enjoyed Strahd's writeup. The 'rejuvenation' puts an interesting spin on the Barovian misapprehension that they have been ruled by a succession of Strahds, rather than one undying monster.

[Mistmaster]

Thanks Rock for your feedback. I must clarify though that Erlin and Kanchelsis are only two possibilities no one knows who or what Death is, not even Strahd. About Madame Eva, Hala in the Mistworld is one of the Vistani deities, and the Zarovan are the direct descendents of the Vistani monarchs, so as she was a cleric in 3d edition, it was natural for me for her to be a Cleric of Hala. I will surly try to be more accurate with the words I use, however the insulation was there in the sense of geographical insulation (by winter, by mountains and by magical deceptions). Count in Barovia is a military title, so Count-King means both political and military leader. Andaral sounds more soft and round then Andral.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Thanks Rock for your feedback. I must clarify though that Erlin and Kanchelsis are only two possibilities no one knows who or what Death is, not even Strahd. About Madame Eva, Hala in the Mistworld is one of the Vistani deities, and the Zarovan are the direct descendents of the Vistani monarchs, so as she was a cleric in 3d edition, it was natural for me for her to be a Cleric of Hala. I will surly try to be more accurate with the words I use, however the insulation was there in the sense of geographical insulation (by winter, by mountains and by magical deceptions). Count in Barovia is a military title, so Count-King means both political and military leader. Andaral sounds more soft and round then Andral.

... That is still isolation, I'm afraid. :-/
And if you're King, you're already in charge of everything. A Count would be someone who gets told by the King to lead the armies on his behalf.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Excerpts from the Registry of Monsters
By Stanton F. Fink

A lot and a lot of material from the Registry this year...!
I quite liked the uniting theme of the Ten Abominations; their group and mythos could easily become the focus of a campaign. The use of Latin and links to the seven mortal sins was good, too.
The description of the babilneriath's physical aspect gave me a good laugh. That must have been some powerful detergent...
The Biophobias fell a little flat for me -- but then I generally have trouble becoming invested in Far Realm-dwellers that are 'uncorrupted' by the values of the Prime Material plane. They are simply too incomprehensible for me. ^^;
Drassonax put me in mind of Orthax, of critical role / vox machina. It is a special kind of evil, to prey on the weak by offering them redress for their hurts...
Gemathustra. Now that was a saddening tale.
The Hisuima -- a nasty surprise waiting to happen, and a good example of the cruelty demon holds to demon.
Iovirus -- the Red Haunt would like a word with this "Red Horror" you mention.
Lao Goei -- if even fiends tell you "Don't mess with this guy if you value your spiritual wellbeing", then baby, something is up.
Nanwang, though... Somebody'd better warn Linus.
The throne demon was a blend of silly and disconcerting; I'm not sure how to feel about this one.

I could go into every other creature and fiend you've described in detail, but I would rather summarize as saying the quality of your descriptions has greatly improved since the first Excerpts, and you have created some compelling villains. (I keep hoping you'll add some stats, for the convenience of DMs. )

[Baron Von Stanton]

Excerpts from the Registry of Monsters
By Stanton F. Fink

A lot and a lot of material from the Registry this year...!
I quite liked the uniting theme of the Ten Abominations; their group and mythos could easily become the focus of a campaign. The use of Latin and links to the seven mortal sins was good, too.

I added more backstory and then posed them doing what they like to do.

The description of the babilneriath's physical aspect gave me a good laugh. That must have been some powerful detergent...

I used "all" detergent

The Biophobias fell a little flat for me -- but then I generally have trouble becoming invested in Far Realm-dwellers that are 'uncorrupted' by the values of the Prime Material plane. They are simply too incomprehensible for me. ^^;

On the one hand, the Biophobias have been my special babies for YEARS, but on the other hand, it is kind of hard to create an easy to digest backstory in a nutshell for creature are, more or less, the otherworldly fingers of another world.

Drassonax put me in mind of Orthax, of critical role / vox machina. It is a special kind of evil, to prey on the weak by offering them redress for their hurts...

Drassonax is aware of how cruel and dastardly it is to help people, especially people he empathizes with, to nurture their vengeance to the point where they literally turn into ravening monsters, but, the Brutal Justicar is willing to shove an entire planet's worth of innocents into a moloch if it means getting one step closer to retrieving his lover's soul.

Gemathustra. Now that was a saddening tale.

Gemathustra is my special baby. He's an unhinged maniac.

The Hisuima -- a nasty surprise waiting to happen, and a good example of the cruelty demon holds to demon.

The Jade Fiends believe beauty in particular, and life in general is eternal suffering. It's also a summary with their relationship with other tanar'ri and all other sentient beings.

Iovirus -- the Red Haunt would like a word with this "Red Horror" you mention.

Did I say "horror"? Oops

Lao Goei -- if even fiends tell you "Don't mess with this guy if you value your spiritual wellbeing", then baby, something is up.

Let's just say that fiends don't want to deal with another Acerak, thus their warnings to "avoid that old bastard"

Nanwang, though... Somebody'd better warn Linus.

Who said they haven't already?

The throne demon was a blend of silly and disconcerting; I'm not sure how to feel about this one.

The throne demon was originally fan fiction of a friend's story universe, then it developed into this.

I could go into every other creature and fiend you've described in detail, but I would rather summarize as saying the quality of your descriptions has greatly improved since the first Excerpts, and you have created some compelling villains. (I keep hoping you'll add some stats, for the convenience of DMs. )

As soon as I learn how to stat my monsters, you are all going to wish, no you are all going to wish that Vecna won in Die, Vecna, Die!

[Mistmaster]

Thanks Rock for your feedback. I must clarify though that Erlin and Kanchelsis are only two possibilities no one knows who or what Death is, not even Strahd. About Madame Eva, Hala in the Mistworld is one of the Vistani deities, and the Zarovan are the direct descendents of the Vistani monarchs, so as she was a cleric in 3d edition, it was natural for me for her to be a Cleric of Hala. I will surly try to be more accurate with the words I use, however the insulation was there in the sense of geographical insulation (by winter, by mountains and by magical deceptions). Count in Barovia is a military title, so Count-King means both political and military leader. Andaral sounds more soft and round then Andral.

And if you're King, you're already in charge of everything. A Count would be someone who gets told by the King to lead the armies on his behalf.

Not exactly. That said I will probably add a line or two as soon as an errata page comes out to explain where the title of Count-King came out in-universe. Meta-speaking, I needed to recouncile canon Strahd being a count with my Barovia being a kingdom, hence I fused the two. But it does have an in-universe explanation: Barov I held the tirle Count of Vallaki which was a military Terg title. When he rebelled he was named king, but he humbly referred to himself still as a count and sothey called him Count -King of Vallaki and the title stuck. Strahd founded the Kingdom of Barovia but kept his ancestors title.

[Strahdsbuddy]

Thanks Rock. I submitted it prematurely when I was nervous there wasn't any content. In fact I have a lot more to go with this concept and you will see more next year now that I know there's an appetite for the topic. I'm also thrilled to have my visual timelines hosted here and hope everyone can find something useful in them.

The Arcane Age of Darkon
By StrahdsBuddy

An interesting article, which delves into the False History of Darkon as well as its true history, and made me think: 'Of course a people would have a proper name for itself, rather than just going by an outsider-imposed species name'.
If anything, I found the Arcane Age a bit too short. You give some interesting pieces of information on the tribes' culture, but you could have written more about the their histories, their triumphs and failures -- and their interactions with one another. If you ever want to submit an expanded and updated version of this article, I look forward to reading it.