Café de Nuit

This is the most difficult adventure of Ravenloft, at least combat-wise, and every time i have ran it. as suggested in the adventure itself (12th to 15th level with specific limits on items). the heroes have died. A 20th level party has died as well.

It also lacks some things for which there is no errata. The high master illithid stats are missing, a 20th level metapsionicist. The elder brain has no real problems and thus lacks the darklord issues that are meant to define darklords in ravenloft. The mind flayer vampires can drain 8 levels per round. There are other issues with it as well.

It does not seem to have been playtested in the least bit, despite having playtester names in the adventure.

At the same time the cover art is great, the interior art is very atmospheric, the maps are useful and the domain itself Bluetspur is an excellent lovecraftian despair and horror realm. But its too deadly and too oppressing to the degree it might as well be a layer of the abyss itself. The adventure is great as an accessory for the domain of the elder brain in which is takes place in. But even as an accessory little make sense mechanics-wise as he seems to have an inconceivable supply of drow and duergar as if he has a printing machine for 12th to 16th level thralls.

What were your experiences? How did you improve it? Despite all its flaws its been a favorite of mine.

I have never run Thoughts of Darkness. Certain elements, some of which you call out above, make it exactly the sort of adventure I don't enjoy. However, because I can be ornery, I still took a pass at expanding Bluetspur to make it less immediately deadly:

• Quoth the Raven, Issue 30, p.19-59, "Thaan Fallen"

(If nothing else catches your fancy, I did try to explain where those stone giants in Thoughts of Darkness came from.)

More importantly, though, if you haven't run across Matthew L. Martin's take on the God-Brain as a darklord, I recommend taking a look:

• The Book of Sacrifices, p.24-26, "The Illithid God-Brain"

Other attempts have been made to improve the God-Brain as a darklord, but Martin's is the one I prefer.

thank you

i find this piece of art the most mysterious, atmospheric and inspiring in the entire adventure.

Nice to see a thread on Thoughts of Darkness! I've ran it before but it's, uhhh, not exactly the most put-together adventure. I operate under 5e and there's a conversion on DMsGuild for that adventure in 5e, but I did not have that resource available to me while I was running ToD. But here's my general thoughts on how I ran ToD:

- We didn't start the module outside of Citadel Subterrene, nor did we do the nightmare fights in the module. Instead, the PCs began as captives within a special section of the mind-flayer complex with cryogenically frozen pods, with each PC waking up from the pod, with zero context on how they ended up here; their memories were wiped or were very foggy.
- The PCs knew that they were going to be fighting mind-flayers when creating characters. I didn't hide anything from them and their capability to make characters with decent INT saving throws has kept the one-shot alive more than it would have otherwise. They also knew that this would be quite the megadungeon crawl, and prepared accordingly on that front with character creation. What I did tell them and had them agree to, was the idea of their backstories being shrouded in mystery and them being amnesiacs that would learn things as they progressed.
- Replacing the nightmare fights was a bunch of flashback scenarios, brought about by interaction with the strange technology of Bluetspur and other prisoners. Some of the flashback scenarios are combat based, but it's in those flashback scenes that I don't have to worry about pulling my punches
- Thanks to Roll20, I was able to turn Citadel Subterrene and its many rooms into something much more modular and a bit more 'sci-fi'. I used a lot of maps that were similar to an abandoned spaceship from Event Horizon or were "biomechanical" like the xenomorph architecture in the Alien franchise. That, coupled with controlling the lighting and some good droning music, helped give Bluetspur a different feel than the usual Underdark style dungeon crawl with illithids. I had the PCs (who came from CL7-9 lands) find Star Trek style control panels that could teleport them to completely new locales, and at first (if they understood illithid language via lots of deciphering checks of investigation) they'd be spending some time figuring out what the weird dohickey does. And that was fun!
- Additionally, I gave the surface of Bluetspur a strong body-horror sort of feel, with rivers that look more like blood veins to be crossed, and playing with alien geometry (through manipulating the grid scale on Roll20 I was able to hit my PCs with the good ol' non-Euclidean shapes to deal with.
- I effectively ran the module in reverse: start in the depths of the complex, and the objective becomes to head to the surface and escape somehow.
- The portions regarding Anitella, Bonespur, and the other prominent NPC characters of Thoughts were changed to make them somewhat closer to the characters through their amnesiac backstories. This led to the dilemma of, as the PCs approached the surface more and more, they had more and more reason to turn back around (or at least 3 of them did, and 2 just wanted to leave, leading to intra-party tensions amongst characters but not players).
- Lyssa von Zarovich, the Apparatus, and her connection to the High Master were removed completely; while vampiric illithids were still around, I had them develop through a more 'homegrown means' than the connection between Bluetspur and Barovia (especially since I was more using Bluetspur as an Island of Terror as opposed to connected to the Core). The Apparatus had only the vaguest mention, but the use of it in the adventure module as written didn't mesh with what I was working with, so I just had some other powerful device take its place (taking from the Eberron eldritch machines)
- The God-Brain was never fought nor encountered physically; its presence was still pervasive and alluded to multiple times, and I was willing to use a dream sequence to vaguely depict it, but I otherwise tried to follow the principle of 'less is more' regarding the portrayal of Lovecraftian horrors. The PCs by session 3 had grown confident enough in fighting the illithids in combat to not need horror checks or roleplaying to get fear out of them, so the times where things were eerie and quiet began to hit them more than when combat was happening and Kyle pulled out the DOOM music to roll initiative.
- Upon reaching the surface, that's when I made full use of Shattered Brethren, introducing a few more than weren't in the module as uneasy allies with the PCs (depending on if they took a few detours through the tunnels and rescued the likes of Anitella and her brother.
- To keep interest in the overall goal, since the PCs started out at level 15 for my purposes, I had them level up at the end of each session. By the time they were at the surface, they were level 18 but still cautious in combat, as that also meant that I could hit them with more
- To avoid devolving into monotonous fights between illithids, their thralls, and vampiric illithids and to add variety, I tried to have 'special monsters' that would be used by the illithids to fight the PCs on their behalf, and the surface of Bluetspur I populated with other monsters of the Lovecraftian mythos (nothing like a Great Old One though) so as to give the impression that the illithids are just as much at risk of being eldritch-abomination-food as the PCs (and why they like their tunnels so much, as a matter of survival; Bluetspur I painted to be hellish even for the mind flayers).That meant using monsters from 3rd party books and referencing the 5eSRD, and while that did lead to some balance issues, it all worked out in the end (the indignation when I called for a Charisma saving throw instead of the usual Intelligence or Wisdom saving throw was something to savor).
- Madness rules were certainly in play, and I made sure to modify them (with the players collaborating on this) so that they had far more bite than as written.
- There was an effort to give the illithids (despite their hive mind) some individuality to them, at least enough that still respected canon write-ups of illithids while allowing my PCs to not dismiss them as yet another mindless worker drone. This worked out especially well for the High Master, who I played as not just a foil to the God-Brain but also as a strange illithid in his own right, with some limited understanding of magic as well as psionics.
- Sessions were typically 5-6 hours long, and we had them once a week. There was certainly a strong breakneck pace in the first session and half of the second session, but as we got closer to the surface (and eventually ended up on the surface), the more that there'd be some time for roleplay or other moments that still advanced the plot, just not as frantically as before.
- The final session was fun if only because of how close the party made it to leaving; alas, one of their own succumbed to insanity just as the Shattered Brethren and the party were getting close to the Misty Border, with said player using his (albeit limited) teleportation powers to trick the party into holding hands and then getting teleported...to the High Master's chambers (which they had passed by on the way there and set-up as a point for Word of Recall when the others weren't looking). Needless to say, they wiped, and everyone was at first pissed with Michael, before we all had a good laugh about it and vowed that maybe next time we'll do better. Next time hasn't come, but another gauntlet like Thoughts of Darkness is something I wouldn't mind running at all.

So, as a friend of mine put it: "So... you're saying that you made Thoughts of Darkness work by throwing most of it out and writing your own Bluetspur adventure? Yeah, yeah, I can see that."

Maybe some of this might help?

These are great ideas and helpful indeed. Something things have to be drastically changed, removed and in general the adventure and mini-setting the domain offers seems like a trash help with a box emeralds somewhere deep inside it.

I too thought of removing some non-atmospheric compatible things like Lyssa etc.

Speedwagon wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 4:11 pm- I effectively ran the module in reverse: start in the depths of the complex, and the objective becomes to head to the surface and escape somehow.

this is a great idea, and solves many problems with the adventure (which is pretty much a collection of problems). Reminds of a rather silly old animated film where they begin as slaves under the earth, though that part is too brief.
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin 1985 (star wars rip-off if i remember correctly).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2hpDVMl7bY

Speedwagon wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 4:11 pm vampiric illithids

this was a very lazy created monster. 8 levels energy drain per round and just mixing a monster with what we would later called a template. It just created a super-marvel-like creature that is very lame.

It could have been;
1. a nemesis to mind flayers that escaped and now makes even the elder brain fearful
2. not a vampire nor a flayer, but something unique that could be neither. Some other thing.
and so many other things

some of the monsters in the adventure
https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/rv/9364/
the vampire mind flayer
https://www.completecompendium.com/cata ... /vampilli/
blood elemental
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/eleravlo/
shattered brethren, the unfortunate mutants
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/shatbret/
aquatic remnans
https://www.completecompendium.com/cata ... /remnaqua/
steeder, spider mounts
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/spider/
stone giants
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/gianston/
duergar
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/dwarduer/
drow
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/elfdrow/
vampires
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/vampire/
mind flayers
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/mindflay/
nightmare steed
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/nightmar/
elder brain
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/eldebrai/

this noble mind flayer was not included but should have been the high master illithid plus abilities of a 20th level metapsionic
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/ulithari/
athas also has many psionic creatures that could be used one way or another
https://www.completecompendium.com/catalog/ds/
could even use some retarted mind flayers, the yaggol
https://www.completecompendium.com/appendix/yaggol/
also found in D&D 3.5 Dragonlance Bestiary of Krynn Revised, page 116-117 Yaggol (2 types) (2e versions are better).

there was also this
Dream Adversary (1/PC): AL CE; AC 0; MV 12; hp 40; THACO 10; #AT same as opponent; Dmg by weapon; SA nil; SD nil; MR 80%; SZ M; ML 18; XP 500 - these attack you before encounter 1

Any suggested random (day and night would be different) encounter table for bluespur? and any monster summoning spell lists for the domain?

The adventure offers none (and has little variety of creatures other than a mass production of obscene high level drow and duergar) and this creates even more problems. I assume a mix of underdark, psionic, athasian (and from a few other settings) modified creatures. As well as some Lovecraftian type. And some animals for food in order to have some ecology.

Another question that is useful is what would a blutspurean animal or monster differ from its athas, oerth or faerun version? The environment is very strange and dangerous and psionic, mentally and emotionally and neurally depleting.

also the shattered brethren aka broken ones remind me of the gandahar mutants
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... ar+mutants

Speedwagon wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 4:11 pm I populated with other monsters of the Lovecraftian mythos (nothing like a Great Old One though)

which ones did you use?

In effect we need a Blutspurean creature template [any edition] for animals and monsters that takes into account the entirety of the uniqueness of the the domain.

lightning, water and food scarcity, visibility, shelter availability, psionic mental and emotional and neurological harassment, camouflage requirements and so on.

AD&D 2e Neither Man Nor Beast has a list of broken ones, and they can be used for the bluetspur domain, they are at page 21.

Speedwagon wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 4:11 pm vampiric illithids

I bought this miniature and the two 2 other versions of it. It is the closest miniature I have found for the raw power of a vampiric illithid. The only setback is that the miniature hasn't got illithid eyes and it has three tentacles instead of four (which means 6 potential level loss instead of 8?... ).

ZOMBICIDE INVADER G297, HUNTER 3 ALTERNATE POSE XENO MINIATURES

i would rather use the appearance of this miniature and remake the monster into a unique horror (that is the nemesis of mind flayers and still potent as a monster against the heroes but not as an energy drainer/mind blaster etc) than use the 8 levels per round drained the adventure offers.