Ravenloft Crossovers

[Shadow]

OK, long time Ravenloft players will recognize that many of the domains in Ravenloft were drawn from other 2e AD&D campaign settings. Although the current incarnation of Ravenloft suggests that players be natives, there is still a lot of potential for crossovers. This is especially true if players play "outlander" characters drawn into the mists.
I'm wondering about different settings and how they would work in terms of a crossover (either a domain based on the setting, or outlander characters). Here is my take on a variety of settings:

Forgotten Realms: Well, there are several Domains that are canonically from the Realms (Nova Vaasa, Hazlan, etc.) so the Realms would make a natural choice for a crossover. However, the Realms have been portrayed as very high magic and fantasy so there could be some problems with PCs from the Realms coming to Ravenloft.

Greyhawk: Pretty much the same as the Realms, so a crossover would be pretty viable.

Dragonlance: Again, another psuedo-medieval world. The domain of Sithicus is based off Dragonlance. (Soth was so much cooler than that new Dwarf darklord!)

Birthright: Now there is a lot of potential in this setting. Arcane magic is portrayed as rare and legendary, characters have the bloodlines of gods (oh the potential for NPCs!), and a host of abominations! Unfortunately the setting is out of print and unlikely to ever be published again.

Dark Sun: Although not an obvious choice for a crossover, there was a published domain based on Dark Sun back some time ago (Kalidnay). The atmosphere is really different from the faux-medieval/rennaisance setting of Ravenloft, but there are some really freaky monsters in the setting that are perfect for horror if you don't mind the change of atmosphere. (Perhaps it would be best for a one shot.)

Planescape: Never really played this much. However, the high powered, philosophical nature of the setting really doesn't seem to jive with my vision of Ravenloft.

Rokugan: This could be a great crossover if you don't mind Asian-based domains. The whole idea of the Shadowlands and taint really works well with Ravenloft!

Kingdoms of Kalamar: Not really familiar with the setting. But it looks like another faux-medieval setting. I suppose that it would be about the same as Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk

Eberron: Never played the setting. I suppose there could be a crossover, but the whole techno-magic, high fantasy, pulp angle doesn't really seem to be viable with the Ravenloft for me.

Nyambe: Hmmm...there could be a lot of potential to have an African based domain. Ferocious dire animals, evil fiendish wizards, vodoo magic, oh the possibilities!

Midnight: Although both Ravenloft and Midnight are dark fantasy, Ravenloft is more gothic horror while Midnight seems to be more high fantasy with a dark twist. There are a lot of difficulties inherent in a crossover - Midnight is portayed as a setting where evil has triumphed so how do you make a darklord in a setting where just about every major NPC is evil? Besides the high fantasy nature of the setting doesn't really seem to go well with the more subdued nature of Ravenloft. Still, outlander PCs from the Midnight setting could be interesting...

Blue Rose: Hmmm...No! Forget about it! Don't even think about a crossover!

EDIT: added Bold tags and my view on Midnight.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Forgotten Realms: Well, there are several Domains that are canonically from the Realms (Nova Vaasa, Hazlan, etc.) so the Realms would make a natural choice for a crossover. However, the Realms have been portrayed as very high magic and fantasy so there could be some problems with PCs from the Realms coming to Ravenloft.

[blatant plug]My epic-level RL game is about to resume on MSD's board (see sig), and among other things I deal with there is how to handle magic-heavy parties in RL. The PC's in that game are all from the realms, with the exeption of the new guy, Peregrine.

Dragonlance: Again, another psuedo-medieval world. The domain of Sithicus is based off Dragonlance. (Soth was so much cooler than that new Dwarf darklord!).

Drakov was also from Dragonlance, as was Merilee. If I could rewrite my BoS article on her, I'd inlcude a HUGE weakness: Merilee's life prior to arrival in RL was during the years before the return of divine magic!

Birthright: Now there is a lot of potential in this setting. Arcane magic is portrayed as rare and legendary, characters have the bloodlines of gods (oh the potential for NPCs!), and a host of abominations! Unfortunately the setting is out of print and unlikely to ever be published again..

Vorostokov is from Birthright.

Rokugan: This could be a great crossover if you don't mind Asian-based domains. The whole idea of the Shadowlands and taint really works well with Ravenloft!

Let's not forget Rokushima Taiyoo, which would be the prefect place for much of that Rokugan info. I'm also sure the upcoming Jade Horror will have plenty of stuff that can be adapted to RT.

Nyambe: Hmmm...there could be a lot of potential to have an African based domain. Ferocious dire animals, evil fiendish wizards, vodoo magic, oh the possibilities!.

Wildlands, anyone?

[Dr Bloodworth]

Greyhawk: Pretty much the same as the Realms, so a crossover would be pretty viable.

I have an idea for a crossover, but it would be in my Castles & Crusades Greyhawk game - I have an idea to have some devious folk in the mortal realm of Greyhawk attempt to open a gate to pull Azalin back through. With some aid from a rogue Dark Power, or maybe from Tharizdun, whose sponsorship of entropy and chaos might also apply to breaking of planar boundaries...

[Igor the Henchman]

Blue Rose: Hmmm...No! Forget about it! Don't even think about a crossover!

Strange, for Blue Rose appears to be a surprisingly fitting choice for a crossover. Ravenloft has always had room for some "soft" horror (Phantom Lover, anyone? How about Odiare or the House of Lament?). I see a lot of potential in mixing some gothic horror into Blue Rose's romantic fantasy.

In fact, I found that the free Blue Rose introductory adventure Bones and Flowers (available here), while definitely not a horror scenario, shares quite a few elements with Ravenloft.

[Ultramyth]

I crossed my players over from the real world.

They were first timers, so I thought it would make it easier for them to roleplay. Worked like a charm. My only regret is that I let them then take fantasy classes. In hindsight, I would have preferred a lower-powered campaign.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

So was this a D20 modern type adventure? Or was it just D&D, with the characters loosly translated from modern settings?

[Manofevil]

You left out Spelljammer
I actually have an idea I've been trying to develope in which a Knight from DragonLance gets drawn into RavenLoft, is so disruptive to the Dark Powers that he is ejected from the misted lands into a random world, in this case Forgotten Realms, and then while seeking a way home, he learns of the SpellJammers and finally embarks on the journey home. The idea was to write the first WOTC crossover series. It's the primary reason why I'm so invested in the return of the Ravenloft line of novels

[Ultramyth]

So was this a D20 modern type adventure? Or was it just D&D, with the characters loosly translated from modern settings?

I loosely converted their real life stats (though in hindsight I was too lenient) and simply offered synergy bonuses for skills they possessed outside of hte classes they took. I'd do it differently now, knowing more about modern and d&d, but hey, what can you do. The campaign's been running a year now.

Surprisingly, none of them have tried to apply their modern knowledge to the renaissance-enlightenment technology level of Ravenloft, though they did pawn a digital watch and a mobile phone to a museum of curiosities in Port-a-Lucine to raise some funds, fooling the curator into believing they were powerful magical artefacts from another world.

Lets hope the batteries don't run out.

[The Nightmare Man]

Planescape: Never really played this much. However, the high powered, philosophical nature of the setting really doesn't seem to jive with my vision of Ravenloft.

I have to disagree with that, specifically. I've been running a joint RL/PS campaign alongside my main RL campaign for the last four years without a problem. I will agree though that the philosophical premise of the setting can generate certain obstacles down the line. But PS is about more than just adventuring in the City of Doors and interrelating with the Factions that reside there. PS is about planar adventuring, and although the inhabitants of the Demiplane of Dread aren't supposed to be able to exit the plane, that doesn't necessarily have to mean the demiplane itself. There's a whole other plane surrounding RL.

What about venturing into the depths of the Ethereal, or journeying to the Astral plane right from the comfort of your own cottage in the center of Barovia?

So long as you stay within the realms of the wierd and wonderful while using the PS material, and populating the occasional encounter with the various planar critters available, where can you go wrong...

[Jason of the Fraternity]

Planescape: Never really played this much. However, the high powered, philosophical nature of the setting really doesn't seem to jive with my vision of Ravenloft.

I would agree with Nightmare Man that you could combine a Ravenloft campaign with a Planescape campaign. However, I think that it would tend to take a bit more thought and planning to combine the elements of the two than some of the other settings. Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk, for example, are more natural conversions than a group of planewalkers that have seen far worse places than Ravenloft.

Moreso than faction beliefs, I find it harder to provide truly fearsome or horrifying moments to character who have literally been to hell and back...