The House of Lament
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
{{dombox |picture= |culture_lvl= [[CL 8|Chivalric (8)[1] |ecology= |terrain= |year_formed= |population= |races= |languages= |religions= |government= |ruler=The House of Lament |darklord=The House of Lament |analog=Assorted Haunted Houses |nationality= }}This small pocket domain is always found within another domain, and moves. It consists of a large old house with an attached stone tower. The tower was once part of a castle built by the sadistic Lord Dranzorg who would stop at nothing to prey on his neighbors, even to the point of entombing Mara, one of his neighbors' daughters (who had been promised to him to end the endless pillaging), alive in its newly-built foundations. Her apparition eventually killed him and his men, however, and the castle - with the exception of the tower - fell into disrepair. The house was later added by a merchant, who, along with his family, fell victim to the haunt in the house.[2][1]
The darklord for the house is actually the house itself, which has fused with the spirit of Mara. Because Mara was entombed in it, she became intensely lonely. As a result, the house will not let any visitors leave until one of them sacrifices himself or herself to placate her unquenchable loneliness.
The house will manifest its true nature gradually. First of all, neither doors nor windows will open, not even with magic; strange noises will begin to be heard. Then, the walls may begin to bleed, or messages such as "Mara is lonely" will appear in random places. If the walls are attacked, they bleed, too; if enough blood is shed, the house can form a blood elemental with it. No amount of hitting will cause the house any damage. Lastly, the house will begin to pulsate noticeably, with a distinct heartbeat. Furniture may move and attack, and planar rifts may surge open from the ground, releasing horrible creatures. In the end, Mara will make it clear that she has singled out one of the visitors for sacrifice, and she will not let the others out of the house until this is done. True to her word, the house will release the remaining visitors if this occurs. However, no matter how many people are sacrificed, none are ever enough to sate Mara's loneliness, and the process repeats itself whenever new visitors arrive. It is suggested that if one of the visitors sacrifices himself or herself willingly, then the house's destruction might be possible.
As of its last, consistent sighting (according to maps of the Core circa BC 755-758) signal that the House is located in south-western Borca. "S" confirms that the House planted itself there permanently in 746 BC[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Domains of Dread p. 125
- ↑ Darklords p. 48-50
- ↑ Gaz IV p. 14 places it there at eleven years before "S" penned the fourth of the Doomsday Gazetteers, and p. 4 establishes the current time as autumn of 757 BC.
Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue
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Domains of Dread - p124 | |
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Domains of Dread - pp123-125 | |
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Darklords - p53 | |
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House of Lament, The House of Lament |
