Café de Nuit

Curious is the Godefey curse/boons matched to the Darklord himself? I want to get that book xD.

starfalconkd wrote: It makes you wonder about the House on Gryphon Hill doesn't it?

May I point you to this excellent thread about it?

Phantasmagora of Griffon[sic] Hill

Mangrum wrote:One small element I'd planned to include when I was hoping to write the chapter myself was that objects weather quickly, but never seem to collapse entirely.

I like this idea very well

This would also lend itself to the idea of some creeping, insidious decay underneath the desperate whitewash. That surface appearances will never fully hide the underlying corruption beneath.

For a society based on social status and appearances, similar to Georgian or Victorian Britain, this could be a neat commentary on the macrocosm as a whole. The same idea that a wealthy lord on the hill could have murdered his "death do us part" spouse and the blameless child she bore, or the hypocrisy of the manor lord who coerces his housemaid into a backroom dalliance by threatening dismissal if she refuses - but then dismisses her anyway when she falls pregnant with his child.

Zilfer wrote:Curious is the Godefey curse/boons matched to the Darklord himself? I want to get that book xD.

It's more related to ghosts as a whole, not specifically Wilfred. Ghosts are drawn to you, you definitely become a ghost when you die, etc...

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:

Zilfer wrote:Curious is the Godefey curse/boons matched to the Darklord himself? I want to get that book xD.

It's more related to ghosts as a whole, not specifically Wilfred. Ghosts are drawn to you, you definitely become a ghost when you die, etc...

There's also the curse that if you kill another living being of your race (caliban, human, half-elf, half-Vistani) then the slain must make a DC 15 Will save; success means they return as a ghost with the draining touch ability to haunt you. Getting rid of the ghost can be as easy or as hard as the DM wants (a sincere apology, destroying the ghost in combat, a dispel evil or atonement, a whole adventure unto itself).

Wow very nice. And I will check out that thread, at my leisure.

High Priest Mikhal wrote:And I just have to ask: is the House on Gryphon Hill based on 112 Ocean Ave. (the house from the The Amityville Horror)? The parallels between the stories (time lived there, fleeing in abject terror and never returning for their possessions) are pretty obvious. The original Ravenloft Module was written after the novel came out (and the original movie).

I can't speak for any of the earlier authors, but when we revised Godefroy and Gryphon Manor in Secrets of the Dread Realms I wasn't consciously thinking about Amityville. That said, I suppose there's definitely some Amityville Horror in there, so far as it fits snugly within the Bad House subgenre of ghost stories that I was riffing on.

I have to say, these are all excellent ideas in fleshing out Mordent, the House on Gryphon Hill, and Godefroy. In fact, a pleasant reminder that there are people out there (on these boards) that possess greater imaginations than I.

Solid.

Mangrum wrote:

High Priest Mikhal wrote:And I just have to ask: is the House on Gryphon Hill based on 112 Ocean Ave. (the house from the The Amityville Horror)? The parallels between the stories (time lived there, fleeing in abject terror and never returning for their possessions) are pretty obvious. The original Ravenloft Module was written after the novel came out (and the original movie).

I can't speak for any of the earlier authors, but when we revised Godefroy and Gryphon Manor in Secrets of the Dread Realms I wasn't consciously thinking about Amityville. That said, I suppose there's definitely some Amityville Horror in there, so far as it fits snugly within the Bad House subgenre of ghost stories that I was riffing on.

That makes sense. The Amityville Horror isn't the only "bad house" in literature or legend, it's just one of the most infamous in modern times thanks in no small part to the novel and the movies. It is also worth noting that the lot the house (the real house) was built on also has a very bad history: the local Native Americans used the area to imprison their dying and insane (if the novel is to be believed). The idea of "bad ground" creating a "bad house" offers up all new ideas.

Jester of the FoS wrote:How about: the ghosts of the past seldom let things lie forgotten. Dark secrets have a way of coming to light and the sins of the past always return. Godefroy cannot escape his past and his dark deeds, and as a result fate conspires to bite everyone else in the ass as well.

Although not a bad idea at all, the thing that struck me right away is this is very similar to Sithicus, in the way that the truth always comes out, etc. Again, certainly not a bad idea, but I don't know how unique you are going for the feelings of different domains and such.

The Giamarga wrote:May I point you to this excellent thread about it?

Thanks Giamarga, that made for excellent reading.

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:One could say that there's a Godefroy reflection in the fact that all the great houses of Mordent have pretty much died out. The root of his crimes was in his disappointment in having no son to carry on the family name. He feared that the Godefroy line would end, and blamed his wife for it, killing her over it. And so it came to pass. The Godefroys have dies out, and so has the rest of the nobility of the land.

Good point, something I never thoght of myself.

High Priest Mikhal wrote:

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:

Zilfer wrote:Curious is the Godefey curse/boons matched to the Darklord himself? I want to get that book xD.

It's more related to ghosts as a whole, not specifically Wilfred. Ghosts are drawn to you, you definitely become a ghost when you die, etc...

There's also the curse that if you kill another living being of your race (caliban, human, half-elf, half-Vistani) then the slain must make a DC 15 Will save; success means they return as a ghost with the draining touch ability to haunt you. Getting rid of the ghost can be as easy or as hard as the DM wants (a sincere apology, destroying the ghost in combat, a dispel evil or atonement, a whole adventure unto itself).

I don't know about you but if when I am a DM in Ravenloft I make ghosts VERY difficult to get rid of. So in my case it would be an adventure in itself.

High Priest Mikhal wrote:

Mangrum wrote:

High Priest Mikhal wrote:And I just have to ask: is the House on Gryphon Hill based on 112 Ocean Ave. (the house from the The Amityville Horror)? The parallels between the stories (time lived there, fleeing in abject terror and never returning for their possessions) are pretty obvious. The original Ravenloft Module was written after the novel came out (and the original movie).

I can't speak for any of the earlier authors, but when we revised Godefroy and Gryphon Manor in Secrets of the Dread Realms I wasn't consciously thinking about Amityville. That said, I suppose there's definitely some Amityville Horror in there, so far as it fits snugly within the Bad House subgenre of ghost stories that I was riffing on.

That makes sense. The Amityville Horror isn't the only "bad house" in literature or legend, it's just one of the most infamous in modern times thanks in no small part to the novel and the movies. It is also worth noting that the lot the house (the real house) was built on also has a very bad history: the local Native Americans used the area to imprison their dying and insane (if the novel is to be believed). The idea of "bad ground" creating a "bad house" offers up all new ideas.

The novel is not to be believed. The people writing thought a story about "real ghosts" would sell. They were right and made a fortune at it.

brilliantlight wrote:The novel is not to be believed. The people writing thought a story about "real ghosts" would sell. They were right and made a fortune at it.

That's why I said "if the book is to be believed." George and Kathy Lutz maintained their story to their dying days, even passing lie detectors. That just means they believe in what they told Anson (the author). Nearly forty years of shysters, fakes, and hype have erased any hope of ever knowing if the Lutzes were delusional or if they really did experience something. That's what makes it endure in the modern imagination: there's no way to tell one way or the other now.