Café de Nuit

Hello,

My group still plays 3.0 and I am looking back at campaign settings we never spent any time with. I love a lot of the Sword and Sorcery publications of the era (Wilderlands, Scarred Lands, Tomb of Abysthor etc) and am now looking at their Ravenloft books.

I am also a big fan of the actual Sword and Sorcery genre (Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, Conan and Elric being my favorite) and have little experience with gothic horror (I have read the Raven and Dracula, and would read more to prepare), so I imagine I am in over my head. However, reading the 3.0 Ravenloft book has me feeling that a lot of fantasy trappings (albeit dark ones) are still held within, and I could possibly spin up some good tales for my group here. Indeed, the 3e RL book does say:

Ravenloft is a blend of Gothic horror and adventurous fantasy, and the result is a world of unique settings and themes.

It also says:

Ravenloft is a world of both the Gothic and the fantastic. Many of the elements of a typical fantasy campaign can be found in Ravenloft, but these elements are often twisted or altered to better suit the Gothic themes of the world. Even though they are changed, they still play an important part in Ravenloft campaigns.

Does it work well for a more "Dark Fantasy" or "Gothic Fantasy" rather than horror? The tone and aesthetic I have in mind for this campaign is Diablo 1/2, Conan the Barbarian (lots of Lovecraft in these stories as he was a mentor of Howard), maybe Elden Ring.

In looking around for a good base it seems some of the RL Domains would be a good place to start building such a game. Sithicus and Darkon seem to be the places. At least its what I picture in my mind when reading some of the 3e material. A far cry from the images I find when I simply google "Ravenloft" though.

Lastly, were there any published adventures for 3e Ravenloft?

Thank you.

Hullo!

I'm a die-hard 2e DM who very much buys into the 3e Ravenloft lore published by Sword and Sorcery Studios. I would argue that the Ravenloft setting as a whole functions most naturally as Dark Fantasy with Gothic Flavor, although individual domains lean toward other sub-genres. For example, Bluetspur is the setting's most Lovecraftian domain.

I can't speak to the other sources you named, but if you're looking toward Elric as your model, then Darkon is probably your most natural fit. Hazlan may serve as well. Unless there's an island of terror that I'm overlooking, Darkon and Hazlan are probably the two most fantasy-focused, high-magic domains. (I am personally not partial to Sithicus, but your mileage may vary.)

IanFordam wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 1:49 pm Hullo!

I'm a die-hard 2e DM who very much buys into the 3e Ravenloft lore published by Sword and Sorcery Studios. I would argue that the Ravenloft setting as a whole functions most naturally as Dark Fantasy with Gothic Flavor, although individual domains lean toward other sub-genres. For example, Bluetspur is the setting's most Lovecraftian domain.

I can't speak to the other sources you named, but if you're looking toward Elric as your model, then Darkon is probably your most natural fit. Hazlan may serve as well. Unless there's an island of terror that I'm overlooking, Darkon and Hazlan are probably the two most fantasy-focused, high-magic domains. (I am personally not partial to Sithicus, but your mileage may vary.)

Very good to hear, thank you! I will have a look at Hazlan now, it was not on my radar before. Particularly good to hear that you think the setting functions best as Dark Fantasy with Gothic flavor. Ravenloft in recent years does not seem to operate that way and its difficult to look at Ravenloft stuff on the internet without finding it a bit infantile feeling.

How do you find tailoring other settings modules to Ravenloft?

Further, these domains seem quite small. What is the general scale in mileage/time to cross.

moonglum wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:23 pm Very good to hear, thank you! I will have a look at Hazlan now, it was not on my radar before. Particularly good to hear that you think the setting functions best as Dark Fantasy with Gothic flavor. Ravenloft in recent years does not seem to operate that way and its difficult to look at Ravenloft stuff on the internet without finding it a bit infantile feeling.

5e Ravenloft has a very different feel from late 2e/3e Ravenloft.

moonglum wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:23 pm How do you find tailoring other settings modules to Ravenloft?

I've never done that, so I don't have a particularly helpful answer for you.

moonglum wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:23 pm Further, these domains seem quite small. What is the general scale in mileage/time to cross.

Canonically, yes, they are indeed small. However, lots and lots of people enlarge the domains (and their populations) to address this. My own rule of thumb is that most domains take several days to cross, barring geography or encounters along the way. Fortunately my players have never minded my squishy sense of scale.

IanFordam wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 3:00 pm Canonically, yes, they are indeed small. However, lots and lots of people enlarge the domains (and their populations) to address this. My own rule of thumb is that most domains take several days to cross, barring geography or encounters along the way. Fortunately my players have never minded my squishy sense of scale.

You're right, I just found this in the FAQ

Earlier books have the main landmass of the Core at around 180 miles by 200 miles. The Sea of Sorrows and the Nocturnal Sea add about 80 and 90 miles respectively (based on Domains of Dread). Using this size on the inside cover maps in the Ravenloft Campaign Setting and the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook puts the scale at 20-25 miles per inch. However, this is prone to change as the Mists that border the known land ebb in and out. Distance is quite relative in the Land of the Mists. In short, the size of the Core and most Domains has been purposely left out to allow Dungeon Masters to set the size to fit their Campaigns; the Core can be left small for a more claustrophobic feel or enlarged to whatever size is deemed appropriate. The populations can be adjusted accordingly.

Super small!

I'm not super familiar with all the sources you mentioned, but Conan brings to mind the domains of Tovag and Cavitius, the Burning Peaks cluster. (Domains of Vecna and Kas). There are a few modules set there (notably Vecna Reborn) that could be useful to you.

moonglum wrote: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:20 am
I am also a big fan of the actual Sword and Sorcery genre (Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, Conan and Elric being my favorite) and have little experience with gothic horror (I have read the Raven and Dracula, and would read more to prepare), so I imagine I am in over my head. However, reading the 3.0 Ravenloft book has me feeling that a lot of fantasy trappings (albeit dark ones) are still held within, and I could possibly spin up some good tales for my group here.

Keep in mind that as long as the group has fun, there is no "wrong" way to play any game, Ravenloft included.
That said, indeed, Ravenloft is more or less D&D with inspirations and trappings from Gothic Horror. If you lean more fantasy "than usual" so be it.
I have ran very "traditional D&D" adventures in Ravenloft and I have ran quite gothic adventures. Both were successes.

Lankhmar-esque adventures can definitely work in Ravenloft, I think particularly if inspiration is taken from things earlier in their career like Two Sought Adventure or Bazaar of the Bizarre. Some would need reinterpretation, like The Wrong Branch/Adept's Gambit being transportation between domains rather than between worlds. Relatively little would absolutely not work in Ravenloft, generally the more epic things where the pair interact with deity-like beings. Playing up the aspects of horror and the weird from the stories would help the setting mesh better with Ravenloft, but there are places for mostly-straight fantasy (e.g. Darkon) and overall I think the more "street-level" fantasy of Lankhmar works better than something with a more epic feel.

Domains that reflect some similar aspects would be places like Borca, Richemulot, Paridon, and Dementlieu. Respectively you have nobles attempting to destroy each other, wererats, an overcrowded city full of fog and dopplegangers, and a domain torn between multiple mind-controllers.

I don't know how I missed this. Pulp meets Horror is certainly at home in Ravenloft. While much of that came after the popularity of Gothic Horror, I don't see why it can't be done. Besides, D&D is inherently pulpy and weird. I'm writing a collaborative article with KingCorn for Wildspace Magazine on why pulp just works! (Well, at least for Spelljammer.) And heck, we wouldn't have a pulp version of Call of Cthluhu RPG if that wasn't the case. Plus those worlds are rife with weirdness, terror, and awe that is right at home in RL. Now, would pastiches work better than the real deals? Probably. Diablo's infernalism is a flavor we don't really have enough of in canon Ravenloft, so I welcome that. Though, there is a domain in the Neverwinter Nights Prisoners of the Mist server. I only bumped into it once and it's supposed to be something of a "secret" (though its been years, talking about it to a degree is fine?) Sword & Sorcery a la Elric and Conan would be awesome if tainted with more horror influence, so I'd be interested in how you'd tackle that. Given how mages are often evil in these settings, I'd imagine one would be a darklord not unlike Hazlik or Meredoth.
As for using the setting as is, Sithicus and Darkon can certainly work. But, to capture the unique flavors of the worlds you enjoy, an homage to them as new domains (or even clusters) are certainly fair game too. I'm no stranger to making domains as homages. Hell, 1/3 of the cluster I made for industrial/steampunk domains is basically the Dishonored series.