Noctem
Explorer
Hello! I've been toying with an idea for a Ravenloft / The Black Company campaign for a while. I would like to share my ideas here and get feedback from the community about the various modifications I will need to make to the game. Namely classes, game mechanics, monsters, items, etc.. as well as creating stuff within those same categories. I'm looking for feedback, suggestions, ideas, etc.. to help create the setting. Please note that this setting will not be PG-13. This is a terrible place to be.
The setting is standard Ravenloft as I understand it: A chunk of land is surrounded on all sides (as far as anyone knows) by a mysterious fog. People who go in don't come out. Undead threaten the living, it's been like this for a long time.
However in my campaign I want it to be very poor in magic, like in The Black Company (btw for those who don't know this is a book series I strongly recommend, shameless plugin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Company)
CLASSES:
Recently on the boards a thread was created to highlight Vin Diesel playing DnD with a custom class called the Witch Hunter. I figured it would be perfect for the setting with some minor tweaking. Basically more of a Witcher than Witch Hunter who uses undead flesh and body parts (mutagens) to gain benefits. Refluffing the custom class could be done easily enough. So that would be a good one to use.
Divine spellcasting would be basically non-existent because of the setting and how the fog keeps everything in and everything else out. I was thinking of reworking the Cleric class into a battlefield medic archtype. Bandages, antibiotics, sewing wounds, poultices, field stuff. And in the worst cases, amputation (more on this later). Wounds would take actual time to heal, though at an accelerated pace (for reasons but also because it helps make the game less grindy).
Paladins would have codes or vows of conduct but without all the lay on hands stuff. Auras would still be there since you exude an aura to bring courage to others without having magical powers. Maybe make them capable of using med kits and doing battlefield healing stuff but be less effective than their battle field medic (cleric) kin.
Rangers would be reworked to make them more attractive options as a martial scout class. No beast mastery in this setting simply since animals no longer exist. Food is incredibly scarce and animals were long ago killed off for their meat by the populace. Being able to travel the land like no other, having knowledge past down of the remaining plant life, survival tactics, how best to kill different types of monsters or undead, which body parts can be used and which can't, etc..
Rogues would be pretty much as is.
Fighters would be pretty much as is.
Arcane spellcasting would be almost non-existent and the magic that would exist would be very rare indeed. Because of how long the people have been living in this place, arcane and magical lore would have been lost over the centuries. Magic users would not have been uncommon when the events which created the setting first occurred however through years of war and misery, most of the arcane arts have been lost. Not to mention that classes like warlocks, which require an outside source for their power, would have been cut off long ago. However, people imbued with the potential to use magic still exist but it's more basic. Being able to move an object takes concentration, using the equivalent of a cantrip is very difficult to do. This is all because there's no one to teach you how to do it, you have to essentially figure it out as you go or find a trove of arcane knowledge. Those in power of course control the known arcane texts and don't share with everyone. However, being that magic has been away for so long, it's even more effective because foes aren't used to seeing magic anymore. Simply making a glass move, which wouldn't even make someone bat an eye in another setting, is enough to make people afraid of you and respect you out of fear. Rituals would still exist but would require more time to perform and have a greater cost. People don't know that in order to cast an alarm spell you need a bell to power the ritual, nevermind what kind of arcane lore is needed to perform it. So it's trial and error, mostly error. The results however can be ultra valuable.
Barbarians would be the same though non-magical and more just inner strengthy. Worshipping new idols and lost gods that can't do anything.
I was thinking of creating a custom Warlord class. More on this later.
Bards would be much the same as they are now in terms of inspiring musical geniuses but without all the arcane dabbling. Instead they would be much closer to a Skald class.
Monks would be much the same as they are ow.
RACES:
Almost everyone you meet is human. The human variant would be reworked into something that would grant you benefits based on your life and RP instead of a feat listed in the PHB. For example, if you fought lots of undead, you would have benefits against them in the form a multi bullet point custom feat (more on this later).
However, there are still races beyond human around but they are uncommon to rare to what the heck is that thing?!
Gnomes, halflings and Dwarves would be gathered into one basic archtype "race". Call it racism if you must but basically humans can't really tell the difference between a dwarf, a gnome or a halfling anymore. It's all the same weird little people stuff to them. Which of course makes the dwarves angry, halflings to giggle and gnomes to go on and on about the differences between themselves and the others. The dwarves quickly went into digging mode once the great wars were lost and are seldom seen top side.
Elves, half-elves and drow are almost never seen. Most of them have retreated into hiding after the great wars ended in a stalemate (more on this later). Drow went down into the earth, elves went to live in the thorny forests and half-elves are an extremely rare sight. Those unfortunates who are captured by the corrupt are usually treated as pets or exotic slaves or put to work in brothels and the like. As a result, these races aren't keen on making friends with outsiders.
Aarakocra are thought to be extinct. However there's always rumors of sightings but those are quickly dismissed as Harpy sightings. No one has found one of the vast communities this race is known for since the end of the great wars (more on this later).
Goliath and the like have been slowly mixing with the population at large, causing most people to be able to trace back ancestry to them at one point or another generations ago. This has caused the populace to be quite resilient and able to endure the difficulties of daily life. This also explains the ability to heal quickly that most people share. Pure blood Goliath are exceedingly rare as a result.
Tieflings are just as rare a sight as the elven for basically the same reasons. Not to mention being cut off from fiendish sources doesn't help.
Work in progress...
The setting is standard Ravenloft as I understand it: A chunk of land is surrounded on all sides (as far as anyone knows) by a mysterious fog. People who go in don't come out. Undead threaten the living, it's been like this for a long time.
However in my campaign I want it to be very poor in magic, like in The Black Company (btw for those who don't know this is a book series I strongly recommend, shameless plugin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Company)
CLASSES:
Recently on the boards a thread was created to highlight Vin Diesel playing DnD with a custom class called the Witch Hunter. I figured it would be perfect for the setting with some minor tweaking. Basically more of a Witcher than Witch Hunter who uses undead flesh and body parts (mutagens) to gain benefits. Refluffing the custom class could be done easily enough. So that would be a good one to use.
Divine spellcasting would be basically non-existent because of the setting and how the fog keeps everything in and everything else out. I was thinking of reworking the Cleric class into a battlefield medic archtype. Bandages, antibiotics, sewing wounds, poultices, field stuff. And in the worst cases, amputation (more on this later). Wounds would take actual time to heal, though at an accelerated pace (for reasons but also because it helps make the game less grindy).
Paladins would have codes or vows of conduct but without all the lay on hands stuff. Auras would still be there since you exude an aura to bring courage to others without having magical powers. Maybe make them capable of using med kits and doing battlefield healing stuff but be less effective than their battle field medic (cleric) kin.
Rangers would be reworked to make them more attractive options as a martial scout class. No beast mastery in this setting simply since animals no longer exist. Food is incredibly scarce and animals were long ago killed off for their meat by the populace. Being able to travel the land like no other, having knowledge past down of the remaining plant life, survival tactics, how best to kill different types of monsters or undead, which body parts can be used and which can't, etc..
Rogues would be pretty much as is.
Fighters would be pretty much as is.
Arcane spellcasting would be almost non-existent and the magic that would exist would be very rare indeed. Because of how long the people have been living in this place, arcane and magical lore would have been lost over the centuries. Magic users would not have been uncommon when the events which created the setting first occurred however through years of war and misery, most of the arcane arts have been lost. Not to mention that classes like warlocks, which require an outside source for their power, would have been cut off long ago. However, people imbued with the potential to use magic still exist but it's more basic. Being able to move an object takes concentration, using the equivalent of a cantrip is very difficult to do. This is all because there's no one to teach you how to do it, you have to essentially figure it out as you go or find a trove of arcane knowledge. Those in power of course control the known arcane texts and don't share with everyone. However, being that magic has been away for so long, it's even more effective because foes aren't used to seeing magic anymore. Simply making a glass move, which wouldn't even make someone bat an eye in another setting, is enough to make people afraid of you and respect you out of fear. Rituals would still exist but would require more time to perform and have a greater cost. People don't know that in order to cast an alarm spell you need a bell to power the ritual, nevermind what kind of arcane lore is needed to perform it. So it's trial and error, mostly error. The results however can be ultra valuable.
Barbarians would be the same though non-magical and more just inner strengthy. Worshipping new idols and lost gods that can't do anything.
I was thinking of creating a custom Warlord class. More on this later.
Bards would be much the same as they are now in terms of inspiring musical geniuses but without all the arcane dabbling. Instead they would be much closer to a Skald class.
Monks would be much the same as they are ow.
RACES:
Almost everyone you meet is human. The human variant would be reworked into something that would grant you benefits based on your life and RP instead of a feat listed in the PHB. For example, if you fought lots of undead, you would have benefits against them in the form a multi bullet point custom feat (more on this later).
However, there are still races beyond human around but they are uncommon to rare to what the heck is that thing?!
Gnomes, halflings and Dwarves would be gathered into one basic archtype "race". Call it racism if you must but basically humans can't really tell the difference between a dwarf, a gnome or a halfling anymore. It's all the same weird little people stuff to them. Which of course makes the dwarves angry, halflings to giggle and gnomes to go on and on about the differences between themselves and the others. The dwarves quickly went into digging mode once the great wars were lost and are seldom seen top side.
Elves, half-elves and drow are almost never seen. Most of them have retreated into hiding after the great wars ended in a stalemate (more on this later). Drow went down into the earth, elves went to live in the thorny forests and half-elves are an extremely rare sight. Those unfortunates who are captured by the corrupt are usually treated as pets or exotic slaves or put to work in brothels and the like. As a result, these races aren't keen on making friends with outsiders.
Aarakocra are thought to be extinct. However there's always rumors of sightings but those are quickly dismissed as Harpy sightings. No one has found one of the vast communities this race is known for since the end of the great wars (more on this later).
Goliath and the like have been slowly mixing with the population at large, causing most people to be able to trace back ancestry to them at one point or another generations ago. This has caused the populace to be quite resilient and able to endure the difficulties of daily life. This also explains the ability to heal quickly that most people share. Pure blood Goliath are exceedingly rare as a result.
Tieflings are just as rare a sight as the elven for basically the same reasons. Not to mention being cut off from fiendish sources doesn't help.
Work in progress...
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