Domain of the month - N Sea Report - Vechor

[nothri]

Hello.

Working on an article. Either for DM's Guild or next Quoth the Raven, we will see. Sort of continuating of the journey of S and the Doomsday Gazeteers dealing with Vechor. Pardon for resurrecting this old thread, seemed appropriate for new ideas. Sharing my thoughts, looking for feedback and hearing more ideas.

(Could do with some beta readers if anyone was interested.)

1. Looking to give Vechor a more Hellenistic feel, primarily using ancient Greece for inspiration but also classical cultures as appropriate.

2. Ravenloft drew in the original landmass called Vechor when the domain formed. There in fact is an Atlantis style sunken ruin of the old citadel of mystics hidden in one of the bays of Vechor. The mermaids referenced in VR's Guide to Witches consider it a sacred location and will protect it and its secrets uncharacteristically violently. Otherwise, the merfolk of the region are friendly so long as sea captains do not harass them and remain respectful of the boundaries of their colony (like all Vechorites, they are more than happy to trade food, gifts and stories with outsiders). Veteran traders especially know to stay on friendly terms with the mermen, since the shoals and currents of Vechor are as unpredictable and ever changing like the rest of the domain and it is often prudent to hire one to act as a guide (somehow they seem to have an uncanny sense of circumnavigating the protean waters). No captain once to end up like the celebrated mariners of Vechorite legend caught up in the chaos shifting tides and doomed to wander through uncanny encounters and seas for decades before finding a way home.

3. Abdok is the prototypical greek city-state of Ravenloft. A bit of Athens, a bit of Alexandria, it is the intellectual and cultural heart of the realm. The famous palace of Easan, the Pandaemonion, is one point estate, one part shrine, one part treasury, and one part repository of Vechor's knowledge and works of art. The collection is surprisingly robust and rivals the great libaries and museums of the core. It also happens to be the epicenter of those apprenticed to Easan and charged with hunting down wizards in the domain (as well as collecting promising artifacts and magical tomes).

3. Inspired by Corinth, Rhodes and Otranto, there is a small harbor that has become the primary point of contact between Vechor and the outside world for those unwilling to brave the journey upriver into the deeper strangeness of place. It has inadvertently become a gothic casablanca of a sort, a nice neutral out of the way place for folk to meet well away from the spies and machinations of the Core. Much like Arbora, Vechor is a tempting sanctuary for the desperate, mad and exiled. It boasts in particular a displaced population of Eternal Order priests fleeing Nevuchar Springs during the anchorite purge. Rumors abound of the artifacts and tomes they absconded with when fleeing the Last Redoubt. The group has begun to theorize some sort of ancient link between Darkon and Vechor, recognizing several of the gods depicted in the marble ruins that occasionally arise in the swamps near the port.

4. Deep in the jungles of Vechor the second largest city stands. Known as Agoneia, this is the ravenloft equivalent to Olympia (the city) and Sparta. Rather than armed conflict, the city prides itself on general fitness, survival, and hunting in a constantly shifting wilderness. The best rangers of the realm train here from childhood, and they are the first to act as scouts and pathfinders each time the land changes, working to bring hapless travelers back and re-establish contact with other communities. Every few years it is the honor and pride of the city to host the Trials, a series of grueling events held in the central Colesseum to test the mettle of athletes and the minds of hunters and strategists. The Trials draw in champions from across Vechor. Recently invitations have been circulating abroad, inviting adventurers across the core to compete. The Trials can range to open combat, to epic quests to retrieve legendary objects or kill strange monsters, to racing through sinister obstacle courses invented by Easan himself. In addition to the glory, the Trials also offer unique and powerful instruments of occult power crafted by Easan himself.

Dread Possibility: Easan invented the Trials some time ago after an encounter with the ranger Ahmi Vanjunko. Impressed that the elf survived the angonizing mental transference from flesh to the body of his mechanical golem, Easan began to ponder that specimens of superior physical and mental resolve were the ideal test subjects. The Trials, in essence, are nothing more than a particularly elaborate form of rat maze, all the pomp and circumstance veiling a series of experiments meant to select the next target for his latest soul destroying experiment. It also provides him a convenient means to use a skilled but naive group of lackeys to retrieve a coveted item from a distant land, or to test in real time the weaknesses of his mechanical traps and spells to improve the defenses of his manor.

5. At the base of the Cliffs beneath Easan's manor there is a canyon carved out by the river as it cascades into the low lands. Easan's experiments and creatures produce a notoriously vile mix of occult toxins, chemicals and excretions, all of which coagulate and seep into the valley, alongside the occasional abomination lucky to escape Easan's labs (assuming he simply did not get bored with it and turned it out into the wild). All in all, a place best avoided by the wise. And as such, a place adored by the mad. Katatones is a small haphard community of crazed admirers, desperate audience seekers, and cult leaders. Inspired by Delphi and grecian oracles in general, the town hosts many mystery cults who believe that bathing in the prutrid springs, breathing in the tainted arcane fumes, and generally being in proximity to the mad god's eldritch power lends itself to seeing the future and otherwise finding a mental state to commune with the divine. Generally, Easan's divinity is taken as a fact but otherwise ignored as much as possible. For some, his madness is a divine and sacred thing that should be sought out and experienced as an act of faith. Such people are disturbing even to their fellow Vechorites, but also respected for their ability to survive. The truth is, as much as the population wishes to simply endure the madness of their home and leave the elf to his own affairs, at times the people need to speak with their king or at the least understand what he requires of them. The oracles of Katatones provide a sort of middle man to interpret the the mind of the deranged elf and pass on messages and requests the cities would make of their god.

In addition, the small town is more or less the heart of occultism in Vechor. The druidic mystery cults who maintain the dead temples and shrines to the lost gods of Vechor gather here to celebrate the sacred festivals, and individual seekers of wisdom come to make tithes and requests and seek iniation within the various mysteries of the old faiths. A small number of true diviners hide among the throng of madmen and high priests as well. Among them is a half-vistani sorceress, a kind hearted girl who secretly attends as much as she can to the needs of the blighted abominations victimized by Easan. Among such experiments is the mechanical creature Ahmi Vanjunko, a creature she came here to find on behalf of the current raunie of her tribe- the woman Tanya the creature once loved. The mystic has quested fruitlessly for a cure for the wretched golem, vowing to restore him to his living body before she finally confesses to being his daughter.

And there we go. Just a bit of a random assortment of ideas. More to come as they come to mind.

[Joël of the FoS]

Hello Nothri,

Good to see you. Cool ideas here, fun idea the Trials as a reason for PC to go there.

Joël