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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8216275" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>What I find fairly ironic about this is that it works best with the type of campaign that I suspect is also the rarest kind: the multi-generational campaign (the only example of this that comes to mind isn't for D&D at all, that being Chaosium's <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/12405/The-Great-Pendragon-Campaign?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Great Pendragon Campaign</em></a>).</p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17474/Ravenloft-Realm-of-Terror-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Realm of Terror</em></a> boxed set, which is earliest incarnation of the Ravenloft campaign, begins (if I recall correctly) in 735 of the Barovian Calendar. The Grand Conjunction takes place in 740, with the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28838/Ravenloft-Campaign-Setting-Revised-Boxed-Set-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Revised Campaign Setting</em></a> set shortly after its conclusion. <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17525/Ravenloft-Domains-of-Dread-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Domains of Dread</em></a> kicks things forward a full ten years, to 750. And <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/701/Ravenloft-Players-Handbook-35?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Ravenloft Third Edition</em></a> moves up to 755, with the Gazetteers beginning early in 756 (see page 4 of <em>Gazetteer II</em>).</p><p></p><p>Now, it's not unusual for D&D campaign worlds to advance in time between campaign releases. Even notwithstanding the timeskip after the Spellplague, quite a bit of time passed between the original <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16782/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Set-1e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting</em></a> and the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28729/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Setting-3e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Third Edition Campaign Setting</em></a>, for instance. But insofar as Ravenloft's interwoven metaplot(s) go, there's some interesting possibilities raised if you play with the passage of time, since twenty years is enough time for a new generation of characters to come of age if/when your PCs retire.</p><p></p><p>It's entirely possible that you could have PCs who start out in 735 and are still kicking in 755, of course. But given how many ways there are to lose PCs - not just death; they might suffer under a debilitating curse that they can't remove, fail madness checks and go semi-permanently insane, or even fail powers checks and become monsters themselves - I think the idea of playing a multi-generational campaign arc could be compelling. <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17503/RM4-House-of-Strahd-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>RM4 House of Strahd</em></a> is the "official" adaptation of the original <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17527/I6-Ravenloft-1e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>I6 Ravenloft</em></a>, for example. While you'd need to ignore its placement in the timeline, you could have the "first generation" of PCs go through the events of the Grand Conjunction, then decide to confront Strahd afterwards and be defeated or mostly wiped out, leaving what they learn about Sergei and Tatyana to their offspring, who are coming of age by the time 755 rolls around.</p><p></p><p>Really, there's a lot you can do with that; especially if the older generation get lost one by one in notable modules (e.g. one of them is stuck in Il Aluk after the events of the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17480/Requiem-The-Grim-Harvest-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Grim Harvest</em></a>. Another is lost trying to save Rudeolph van Richten at <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/201381/Bleak-House-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Bleak House</em></a>, etc.). It's almost lends itself to using the "character tree" option from the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17169/Dark-Sun-Boxed-Set-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Dark Sun Campaign Setting</em></a>.</p><p></p><p>It's be hard to set up, but could be extremely rewarding if done right. (Bonus points if you can fold in ideas from <em>Legacy of the Blood: Great Families of the Core</em>, which give ways to make PCs related to various darklord family lines.)</p><p></p><p><em>Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8216275, member: 8461"] What I find fairly ironic about this is that it works best with the type of campaign that I suspect is also the rarest kind: the multi-generational campaign (the only example of this that comes to mind isn't for D&D at all, that being Chaosium's [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/12405/The-Great-Pendragon-Campaign?affiliate_id=820'][I]Great Pendragon Campaign[/I][/URL]). The [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17474/Ravenloft-Realm-of-Terror-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Realm of Terror[/I][/URL] boxed set, which is earliest incarnation of the Ravenloft campaign, begins (if I recall correctly) in 735 of the Barovian Calendar. The Grand Conjunction takes place in 740, with the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28838/Ravenloft-Campaign-Setting-Revised-Boxed-Set-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Revised Campaign Setting[/I][/URL] set shortly after its conclusion. [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17525/Ravenloft-Domains-of-Dread-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Domains of Dread[/I][/URL] kicks things forward a full ten years, to 750. And [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/701/Ravenloft-Players-Handbook-35?affiliate_id=820'][I]Ravenloft Third Edition[/I][/URL] moves up to 755, with the Gazetteers beginning early in 756 (see page 4 of [I]Gazetteer II[/I]). Now, it's not unusual for D&D campaign worlds to advance in time between campaign releases. Even notwithstanding the timeskip after the Spellplague, quite a bit of time passed between the original [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16782/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Set-1e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting[/I][/URL] and the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28729/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Setting-3e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Third Edition Campaign Setting[/I][/URL], for instance. But insofar as Ravenloft's interwoven metaplot(s) go, there's some interesting possibilities raised if you play with the passage of time, since twenty years is enough time for a new generation of characters to come of age if/when your PCs retire. It's entirely possible that you could have PCs who start out in 735 and are still kicking in 755, of course. But given how many ways there are to lose PCs - not just death; they might suffer under a debilitating curse that they can't remove, fail madness checks and go semi-permanently insane, or even fail powers checks and become monsters themselves - I think the idea of playing a multi-generational campaign arc could be compelling. [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17503/RM4-House-of-Strahd-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]RM4 House of Strahd[/I][/URL] is the "official" adaptation of the original [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17527/I6-Ravenloft-1e?affiliate_id=820'][I]I6 Ravenloft[/I][/URL], for example. While you'd need to ignore its placement in the timeline, you could have the "first generation" of PCs go through the events of the Grand Conjunction, then decide to confront Strahd afterwards and be defeated or mostly wiped out, leaving what they learn about Sergei and Tatyana to their offspring, who are coming of age by the time 755 rolls around. Really, there's a lot you can do with that; especially if the older generation get lost one by one in notable modules (e.g. one of them is stuck in Il Aluk after the events of the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17480/Requiem-The-Grim-Harvest-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Grim Harvest[/I][/URL]. Another is lost trying to save Rudeolph van Richten at [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/201381/Bleak-House-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Bleak House[/I][/URL], etc.). It's almost lends itself to using the "character tree" option from the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17169/Dark-Sun-Boxed-Set-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Dark Sun Campaign Setting[/I][/URL]. It's be hard to set up, but could be extremely rewarding if done right. (Bonus points if you can fold in ideas from [I]Legacy of the Blood: Great Families of the Core[/I], which give ways to make PCs related to various darklord family lines.) [I]Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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