NATURE OF RAVENLOFT
Nothing one might assume about any world on the
Material Plane is necessarily true in the Domains
of Dread. The following sections detail how the
Dark Powers manipulate the Land of the Mists, and
what domain inhabitants accept as the ways of their
world (or desperately avoid pondering).
THE M I STS
The Mists can always be found at a domain's bor
ders but can also appear in dense banks that rise
wherever adventures demand. Such banks might
veil strangers or hidden foes, or they can trans
port those who enter them to distant lands, other
domains, or even beyond the Domains of Dread.
The Mists are inscrutable, but they ever serve the
schemes of the Dark Powers, delivering creatures
wherever these wicked forces desire.
The Dark Powers also grant Darklords limited
ability to manipulate the Mists surrounding their
domains, allowing most to open or close their do
mains' borders to others on a whim. If a domain's
borders are closed, supernatural agitation is obvi
ous to any who approach the Mists. This takes the
form of roiling disturbances within the haze, menac
ing silhouettes, threatening sounds, or other activity
themed to the Darklord or domain. Creatures that
enter the Mists at this time, including flying crea
tures, are subject to the following effects:
• A creature that starts its turn in the Mists must
succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or
gain 1 level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can't
be removed while the creature is in the Mists.
• No matter how far a creature travels in the Mists,
or which direction it goes, it gets turned around
so that it eventually ends up back in the do-
main it left.
• The area within the Mists is heavily obscured (see
the Player's Handbook for details).
Most Darklords can keep their domains' borders
closed indefinitely and can reopen them at will. For
some Darklords, slightly varied effects manifest
when they close their domains. Others are limited
in their ability to affect their borders. For each do
main, specifics appear in the "Closing the Borders"
portion of the section on that domain's Darklord.
If a domain's borders are open, the domain is still
not easy to escape from. The area within the Mists
remains heavily obscured, but the Mists don't cause
creatures to gain levels of exhaustion. Characters
intent on passing through the Mists travel for ld6
hours, then roll on the Wandering the Mists table to
determine what happens.
WA N D E R I N G TH E M I STS
dlOO Effect
01 -20 Characters emerge in a domain of your choosing.
21-40 Characters wander the M ists for another ld6
hours, then roll on this table again.
41-65 Characters emerge from the M ists on stable
ground ldlOO feet away from where they entered.
66-75 Characters emerge on stable ground a mile from
where they entered the M ists at midnight of the
night after they entered the M ists.
76-85 Characters emerge from the M ists inside a struc-
ture somewhere within the domain they tried to
leave, perhaps a cave, crypt, shed, or closet.
86-95 Other creatures appear within the M ists. Roll any
die. If you roll an even number, a lost and terrified
commoner appears. If you roll an odd number,
2d6 skeletons or 1 unspeakable horror (see chap-
ter 5) appears. After the encounter, another ld6
hours pass, then roll on this table again.
96-99 Characters emerge from the M ists where they en-
tered to find the domain changed. Perhaps some-
one the characters knew is gone, and no one has
any knowledge of them ever existing.
1 00 Characters emerge from the M ists on a world on
the Material Plane. After 1 d6 hours, the Mists rise
around them once more. Roll again on this table.
