Category:Darklord: Difference between revisions

In the fictional Ravenloft Campaign setting, a darklord (sometimes referred to as "domain lord") is an nonplayer character whose evil has drawn the attention of the Dark Powers. Each darklord is ultimately imprisoned inside a domain, a prison ultimately reflective of the darklord's personality, nature and crimes. A domain usually, but not always, comprises a body of land and/or water considerable enough that it might be considered a small, discrete nation or realm. Though imprisoned within, the conditions that bind a darklord to a realm also give the darklord great power over the domain. (This is not to say darklords necessarily have temporal rule over their domain, but they are often in positions of political power or other leadership roles. Exceptions, such as Adam do exist.)

Each darklord suffer from his or her own personal curse, crafted to torment through poetic justice. To go along with their imprisonment, darklords are prevented from ever achieving their ultimate goals. The great and often unnatural powers, including the connection to their domains, might be considered "rewards" in compensation, but ultimately these boons are miniscule in relation to the personal hells that darklords suffer.

Becoming a Darklord

Darklords are always creatures of great Evil, figures for the most part beyond redemption. They are not victims but rather ultimately villains, having at least hypothetically walked the path to damnation of their own choosing. It takes great acts of evil to earn the attentions of the Dark Powers.

The transgressions that damn a darklord may be successive over time, as following a series of failed Powers Checks along a Path of Corruption if the potential darklord has entered or native to the Demiplane of Dread. On the other hand, acts of ultimate darkness, deeds so foul they outweigh all other sins, may draw greater attention from the Dark Powers. As such, living outside the Demiplane is no protection for the greatly wicked, as the Demiplane may drawn in new darklords from perpetrators of great evil from the Prime Material Plane.

If a Player Character performs enough evil acts, that character may become a darklord. However, darklords are villains that prevent them from being ran by players. Hence, a player character that becomes a darklord also becomes a NPC, with the player losing control over the character.

Powers of a Darklord

Darklords are often gifted with unnatural powers that go beyond the capabilities of their race or class. These powers can vary far and wide, from exuding poison to immortality or even reality warping. Of course, a few darklords receive little to no unusual powers, but might receive political or other powers of leadership they would not otherwise have gained. Vlad Drakov and Thakok-An are two examples.

As previously mentioned, a darklord wields great power within their domain prison, such that they may be considered the "warden" of the domain, in addition to being its ultimate prisoner. Reflecting this theme, darklords commonly have power over "closing the borders" of their domains, an ability to shut out travel into or out of their domains. No mortal magic (such as teleportation spells) is capable of moving past or circumventing close domain borders. Similarly, if a darklord has a specially granted control over certain denizens over his domain, such as undead or animals, this control overcomes conventional means that might otherwise challenge it.

Of course, no matter what special powers darklords may have, none of them will grant darklords escape from domains or their curses.