Café de Nuit

I've been thinking about modern domains for a while. I brought up the idea in a thread some time ago. Well, I came up with an interesting idea for a modern domain, based on the inner cities with a gothic twist. Afterall, if the mists can ensnare people from various worlds and time periods including gothic earth (Odiare), then why can't they create a domain from modern day earth...? I've been thinking about doing a crossover with d20 Modern. Anyway, I'd appreciate some feedback!

The Ghetto

This domain is beset by urban sprawl. High rises tower up like monoliths in the horizon. The size and magnificence of the city is a wonder to behold. However, life of the common folk constrasts sharply with the wonder that visitors initially experience. Delapitated buildings line the streets, people live in poverty, and there is so much smog in the air that some people don't even seem to notice the mists.

Major Settlements: The domain consists of just of the city.

The Folk: Population (I'm not sure about what this should be, See below) Languages - English and Spanish.

The Law:

The law is dictated by the city council and enforced by a brutal police force. The poor fall victim to the law that often seems designed to keep them in poverty. The police are feared and hated because they are known to make arbitrary arrests and use brutal tactics with little fear of prosecution.

Native Player Characters:

Native characters are created using the d20 Modern rules.

Darklord: Jamal Dyson (Nosferatu Vampire)

Jamal grew up on the mean streets. From a young age he was quick-witted and intelligent. His family hoped he could use his talents to better himself and escape the blinding poverty that he was born into. However, Jamal quickly became disillusioned. In school and work, no one would take him seriously because of his background. He became aware of the inequalities and racism of everyday life. He witnessed firsthand the racism of the local police force who would arrest friends and family on petty and trumped up charges. It seemed like society was determined to him and his people down.

Cynical and sick of playing by society's rules, Jamal dropped out of school and joined a local gang. Using his intelligence and quick wits, he quickly rose to assume leadership of the gang. Assuming leadership of the gang gave Jamal a sense of power. For the first time in his life he felt respected. Although, involved in all kinds of criminal activities such as drug dealing and theft, Jamal saw himself as a positive influence for the community; afterall he only commited petty crimes, he used his gang as an unofficial protector of community, and gave much of the money he made from crime to his family and friends.

However, Jamal's gang got a little too powerful and started encroaching on a rival gang's turf. This set off a turf war. Despite his best efforts, the conflict turned to violence. With violence threatening to engulf the neighborhood, Jamal desperately looked for some type of truce. One day one his fellow gang members, Marcus, told Jamal that he had met a member of the rival gang and that member had offered a truce. He wanted Jamal to meet at night near the local reservoir. Although he feared a trap, Jamal felt he had no choice since the alternative was to see everything he had worked for be destroyed in a violent gang war. That night went to the reservoir. However, to his horror, there were no gang members there, but several armed police officers. Standing near them was Marcus. It turned out that Jamal's criminal activities had become quite notorious with the police and a high price was put on his head. He had been betrayed by his fellow gang member and friend! Jamal drew his pistol, but the officers, prepared for confrontation shot him down before he could fire. He was pumped full of bullets.

Lying on the ground dying, all he could think about was revenge! Revenge on Marcus for turning him in, revenge on the police, revenge on the system! As his sight faded he thought to himself: "If only I could live again! I'd do anything! Anything! I'd even sell my soul for a chance at revenge!" Suddenly he thought he heard a voice in his head say "Really? You'd sell your soul?" Not sure if this was a hallucination brought on by his fading breathe, he said to himself - "YES! ANYTHING! I WANT REVENGE!" The next thing he new, he awoke as from a deep sleep. Was this possible? He had been shot multiple times. Yet examining himself, he found that although his clothes were bloody, it seemed as if his wounds had completely healed. Moreover, he soon found that he had changed in other ways as well. He had grown fangs, his nails were sharper, he was beginning to realize the powers that he had acquired. He hunted down Marcus, and brutally killed him. Then he went searching for police officers. After finding a group of officers on patrol, he murdered them. Soon he was beginning to discover the bloodlust associated with vampirism. He went on a rampage killing police, businessmen, or anyone he felt that had somehow wronged him, and fed on their blood. It was this act that led the dark powers to take notice and draw him into Ravenloft.

Current Sketch: Jamal rapidly learned that there was a price to pay for his newfound power. He has to continually feed on blood. Often he is forced to feed upon the people of the neighborhood - the very people he fought to protect and better! To most people Jamal is just another legend, the vampire that feeds upon the neighborhood. Still whenever, someone dies mysteriously, or there is an unexplained illness, Jamal's name is inevitably invoked. And in spite of his efforts, the neighborhood has continued to degenerate. Gang warfare has become a major problem. And the police are as brutal as ever. Jamal watches sadly as the neighborhood he knew and protected declines - as a creature of the night he can do no good, only harm!

Closing the borders: When Jamal wants to close the borders, the streets wind back into the domain. No matter where the characters go, they will always end up back in the domain.

Anyway, what do you think? Any comments or suggestion? This domain presents some unique challenges for me. First of all the population - the domain is based upon a large city, but only focuses upon a relatively small area. It would be a little weird if an entire modern city got pulled into Ravenloft! (It would be an interesting to see an entire city on earth disappearing off the map!) But at the same time, it would be weird to see the mists rise after going a down a few blocks. Second of all, a modern domain raises the question: What about the rest of the world? I can accept the mists and borders in standard Ravenloft since it assumes isolation and less advanced technology. But how are we to accept an island of terror, when the modern world assumes so much information and interaction with the rest of the world? Even if one doesn't ever travel anywhere, television brings the world to one's home. Besides, unlike self-sufficient communities of the past, the modern world relies on trade. Products produced in China are sold in th elocal supermarket. How could an island of terror be possible under these circumstances?

In my own humble opinion, I think it needs work.

The domain lord seems to be just another stereotyped gangbanger from a liberal perspective. The idea of a vampire stalking the city is nothing new. It is strange that a man who was so concerned with leading a gang would choose to spend his unlife as a semi-mythological boogeyman. Considering the powers now behind him, the city would be his to command. In fact, I'm not seeing a downside to his new state. It would seem that Jamal just won the lottery.

To fix this, his character needs to be fleshed out much better. There has to be a reason from his past that vampirisim is a curse. Its not enough to rely on the old, tired "I'm a vampire, I'm angsty", bit.

Next, his character seems to be the old tarnished-angel archetype. I think he needs to be a lot more evil in life - not just some dangerous hood, but rather a trully evil person. Though sympathetic - and still human, in life he was ruthless. Think along the lines of Columbian Cartel/Russian mafia evil.

Third, there needs to be some sort of external object. The darklord needs a nemesis, or a love intrest, or object of obsession. This external object makes him a gothic character - it is the desire/fear that makes his unlife painful.
For example:

The Darklords is a crime boss, being stalked by The Man (not really the character's name, but you get the idea). This detective alone knows of the darklord's continued existance and ruthlessly hunts him down. Indeed, The Man tortures people, extorts information, and kills with impunity in a sick quest to bring the darklord to "justice".

Just don't make him a descendant of Van Helsing, that has been done to death... well beyond death really.

Oh no, of course not. I was thinking something along the lines of a racist, stick-up-his-butt, bureaucrat. He's not so much a vampire expert, as he is a cop who is feeling his way into the supernatural.

The Man would be the darklord's counterpart - opposite in some ways but identical in others:
Both men are driven, intelligent, and utterly ruthless in the pursuit of their goals.
In contrast, the Man is an dour, old fashioned, and a hate mongering loner, while the Darklord is more cheerful, modern, open-minded, and charming.

The whole vampire thing may not be the best option for a d20 Modern domain, IMO. If the DPs are going so far afield as to choose a darklord from a modern-day setting, why not pick a creature-type that's more archetypal of *contemporary* horror novels...? The "modern vampire", apart from being done-to-death, is still very much a recycled Victorian-era monster, however trendily you might dress it up. Something more along the lines of Clive Barker's bizarre, often-misunderstood -- yet VERY horrific -- fantasy-beings would be dramatic enough for RL, yet far more appropriate for the era they dwell in. Plus, they'd be entirely unfamiliar to PCs from a conventional fantasy setting, which would keep them from getting swelled heads over understanding more about vampires than the (unbelieving) local populace.

ScS of the Fraternity wrote:Oh no, of course not. I was thinking something along the lines of a racist, stick-up-his-butt, bureaucrat. He's not so much a vampire expert, as he is a cop who is feeling his way into the supernatural.

The Man would be the darklord's counterpart - opposite in some ways but identical in others:
Both men are driven, intelligent, and utterly ruthless in the pursuit of their goals.
In contrast, the Man is an dour, old fashioned, and a hate mongering loner, while the Darklord is more cheerful, modern, open-minded, and charming.

That reminds me of the detective in Hellraiser - Inferno.

Ail

Guys, if we're talking about a modern, sprawling city of 1 million people, forget the vampires, we all know there are more terrible creatures dwelling there than a simple blood sucker : ruhtless businesman and insidious lawyers. And most of them dont even fear the sun.

About the city, if it deserve to be in ravenloft, I think it should represent something terrible, like the ultimate capitalistic nightmare, a place where 100 rich bastard control 99 % of the economie, and the rest and left to decay. Where the contrast between rich and poor is soo strong it burns the eyes like staring at the sun.
The Lord would be your archetypal capitalist self-made jerk, some sort of Rockfeller or Donald Trump. He would controle everything in the city, from the city coucil to the mayor to the street gangs.

His curse ? I'm not certain. Since he's in Ravenloft, his city's economy is certain to fall. Maybe his motivation would be to preserve the modernity and opulance of the city, and the powers of the rich over the rest, and to do so, he would have created a police-state to fence agaisnt "outside influences" and "barbarians".
Maybe his curse would be that the price to pay to preserve the statue quo in his city mean that he has to become the master of a now ostracized little insignificant domain, a mockery of a real metropolice. He would still rule over the city, but the price to pay for the statue quo is a police state, décadence, revolutions, social unrest, anarchy....

His powers ? He already has the economical and personal influence over everything, so he doesn't really need anything surnatural. Maybe you could trow in some charm abilities, and to make of him a Ventru, from Vampire the Msquerade, without the whole vampire thing.
Or maybe his powers would be that the citizens of his domain couldn't resist any of his verbal orders, but anyone outside would be immune. Altough the more time spent inside, the more vulnerable you become.

In the end, this city, by its modernity, would be such an aberation in Ravenloft that I would have it destroyed by the actions of the PCs after a few sessions spent in it. The adventure would be something along the line of breaking the rule of the tyrant, only to bring never ending chao, anarchy and death until somebody take its place.

Hi -as some encouragement im all for different islands in time.

I've a couple that ill briefly explain here: It may help to answer the issues that people have of moving parts of ravenloft into future times.

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One is set during a first world war battlefield. A muddy scar and set of trenches. The mists surrounding it are deep choking green and yellow mustard gas.

Bodies in the tranches occasionally rise as zombies, ever worse are those wrapped in barbed wire and the night ghouls. The few soldiers on both sides, cannot understand what is going on - some are becoming cannibals and ammunition is very low. Morale is also close to breaking. Occasionally the trench phone goes and half understood orders are whispered down the phone.

The mists always make sure that a few reinforcements occasionally arrive.

The battlefields are occasionally drenched in soporofic gas and shells.
Into this hell wanders the adventurers sucked in from any battlefield.....They must tangle with the deranged Zombie lord who's cowardice has doomed this pocket to roam any of mankinds battlefields.
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A second island is a city like described in neuromancer. Its actually a almost deserted space station in our future. Its people with cybernetic implants are twisted albinos who need to inject fresh blood like vampyres to survive.

Although actually in ravenloft, none of the inhabitents have any idea why the stars are different or why they cannot contact anyone. This isolation has over generations driven them to inbreeding and madness.

Occasionally the gate system at the heart of the station opens and figures fall in through the mist (our players!). Prey for the augumented albinos who hunt them through the deserted city and station.

The lord is actually a deranged AI chip. Desperate to escape its pocket dimension. Think a very emotional HAL.

The skys the limit really. However you have to know your players. Some just carnt get beyond the medievil sense of ravenloft and thats fine. However if you want to add a real twist once in a while drop them off somewhere different.

I like the idea of the deranged AI chip.

I wouldn't want my characters to get a hold of a kalashnikov or a high-powered laser rifle. Altough the limited amunition would limit the potential caused imbalance.

Hi - Agreed on the weapons especially if they are described to the players as "you find an automatic rifle" but then they are really just magic items to the players. One hopefully with charges they cannot restore easily.

In a rather excellent WFRP novel
a champion of chaos (ive forgotten the story but it was in the novella 'ignorant armies') finds what is described as a crossbow that unleashes a boiling beam of light (or something like that).

Such a weapon might be of use for them to survive the domain they are in -which may simply malfunction when they leave. Many spells , wands, staves and rods can inflict far more damage then even a say a plasma gun. I think as long as you describe the objects to the players in the mindset of the time they are orginally from and build in a safeguard or two so they carnt run riot over your game then go for it. After all as a DM you can always adjust the threat level to compensate.....

PC " so I take this "most odd of metalic crossbow", and I try to figure out how it work"

MD : "Ok, roll an intelligence test, with a -4 modifier.

PC : "Why, sound like I got a 1"

MD : " I guess you shouldn't have aimed it in your face..."

Reminds me of a game I played in highschool. We broke into some witch's lab and found a strange metal and wood device, shaped like a bent handle with hammer shaped mechanisms at the top of the bend and a tail like projection beneath. Naturally we all knew it was a pistol and proceeded to fight over it. Silly thing was, we should have known all along that we could never hope to load it, nor would it be much more dangerous than any other weapon. Nonetheless, we just had to get that gun.