Innsmouth added as new Ravenloft Domain of Dread, bringing Lovecraft to D&D

Innsmouth, the iconic home of several HP Lovecraft stories, is being incorporated into Ravenloft as a new Domain of Dread. Earlier today, Wizards of the Coast revealed the contents of Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, including the number of subclasses, ancestries, and new creature statblocks in the game. Wizards also revealed that 16 Domains of Dread will be profiled in the book, including the new domain Innsmouth. Assumably, its Darklord will be Cthulhu, who was previously confirmed to be in Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, complete with a statblock.

Cosmic horror has long had a place in Dungeons & Dragons lore, with Cthulhu originally appearing in early copies of Deities and Demigods. Due to a licensing dispute with Chaosium, TSR removed Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian creatures from later printings of the book. Cthulhu along with Lovecraft's other creations have since passed into the public domain, thus removing any restrictions on featuring the characters in a D&D book.

Of course, Innsmouth (at least in Lovecraft's work) is supposed to be a turn of the century New England coastal town, which doesn't exactly jive with the high fantasy trappings of Dungeons & Dragons. We'll have to see how much of Innsmouth is changed to line up with D&D when Ravenloft: The Horrors Within releases later this summer.

 

[Chaltab]

I guess using Dagon as a Dark Lord of his own domain of dread

Um, Actually... Chthulhu doesn't reign over Innsmouth. It's controlled by Dagon and inhabited by the Deep Ones, thankyouverymuch.

Maybe they'll make it Cthulhu since Dagon already has a realm in the Abyss in D&D lore.

 

[CF07]

Literal, actual Innsmouth feels like a cop-out to me, since unless they also put in a ton of 20th century tech -- which I can't imagine they will -- it's going to be a D&D late-Renaissance/early modern era version of the setting.

I could see it fun if you allowed the PCs to get sucked into a really weird (for them) place and there's already some modern-ish tech in 5.5E (e.g., guns) but generally speaking I'd rather have it be early Modern era, too.

I'm not anti-cosmic horror in D&D -- I think it can be done effectively, obviously -- but this feels a little weird. I also don't know that I'd want to invite a head-to-head comparison with Chaosium's take on the subject. (It's my understanding that they're putting out a full Innsmouth book soon, as a complement to their Arkham sourcebook.)

I never finished the campaign but ran a Cosmic Horror based campaign using Eldritch Evils like Zargon the Returner and always throw some in nearly any campaign I run. D&D has plenty of sources original to it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I never finished the campaign but ran a Cosmic Horror based campaign using Eldritch Evils like Zargon the Returner and always throw some in nearly any campaign I run. D&D has plenty of sources original to it.

Zargon would be a really interesting NPC for them to level up as a dark lord. And while they never have gone particularly hard with him in the past, turning up the cosmic horror dials with him and his followers would be easy.

And a Lost City-derived domain of dread practically writes itself, with a deadly sandstorm keeping the PCs unable to leave the pyramid and get away.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Oh, wow. This is going to pick at some people’s old wounds. This seems like a fun addition. I might yet buy another D&D product.

Same. I have no interest in playing D&D anymore, but when I gave away all my 5e books (to a very earnest 13 year old GM) I kept Saltmarsh and Strahd. I might have to add this one.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Ravenloft: The Horrors Within - Strahd's Silver Edition (D&D) – Beadle & Grimm's Pandemonium Warehouse

The Mists of Ravenloft are calling. Ravenloft: The Horrors Within is the definitive guide to Strahd's Barovia and the Domains of Dread. These grim netherworlds compose the Ravenloft setting and are horrific backdrops for Dungeons & Dragons adventures steeped in fear. Built for you, the DM that...

beadleandgrimms.com

Spoiler

Details about innsmouth map. Beadleandgrimms have some more info including maps of some of the domain, including most of Innsmouth (which isn't just the town, its an Island surrounded by smaller islands, with the town of Innsmouth at the very tip of the main island. I can't read the other locations yet, hope Arkham is one of them), so its clearly more of the Lovecraftian mytholos then just Innsmouth & the Deep Ones, but were kind of knew that from already revealed art of Lovecraftian aliens, the ones that switch bodies with out people).

 

[Selas]

Ravenloft: The Horrors Within - Strahd's Silver Edition (D&D) – Beadle & Grimm's Pandemonium Warehouse

The Mists of Ravenloft are calling. Ravenloft: The Horrors Within is the definitive guide to Strahd's Barovia and the Domains of Dread. These grim netherworlds compose the Ravenloft setting and are horrific backdrops for Dungeons & Dragons adventures steeped in fear. Built for you, the DM that...

beadleandgrimms.com

Spoiler

Details about innsmouth map. Beadleandgrimms have some more info including maps of some of the domain, including most of Innsmouth (which isn't just the town, its an Island surrounded by smaller islands, with the town of Innsmouth at the very tip of the main island. I can't read the other locations yet, hope Arkham is one of them), so its clearly more of the Lovecraftian mytholos then just Innsmouth & the Deep Ones, but were kind of knew that from already revealed art of Lovecraftian aliens, the ones that switch bodies with out people).

Those are the Yithians. With 41 monsters in the book, I think they will pad the cosmic domain section with creatures from the mythos to replace some--if not all--the monster list that originally appeared in Van Richten's cosmic domain section.

 

[teitan]

I’m absolutely on board now. Yes yes yes

 

[MechaTarrasque]

As long as at least one PC gets changed into some aberration (or monstrosity) after each long rest, I will be happy.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Literal, actual Innsmouth feels like a cop-out to me, since unless they also put in a ton of 20th century tech -- which I can't imagine they will -- it's going to be a D&D late-Renaissance/early modern era version of the setting

It’s not a big deal - Lamordia and other Ravenloft settings are already running in 19th century tech, and Innsmouth is an isolated fishing village not a metropolitan hub. It’s not on the railway, there is nowhere to phone, no one owns an early automobile or a fully automatic weapon, basic firearms are in the rules. Maybe there are some kids on bicycles?

I wouldn’t be surprised if Innsmouth is also doing double duty as a Stephen King/Hawkins setting, I suspected WotC would want to add one.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Ravenloft: The Horrors Within - Strahd's Silver Edition (D&D) – Beadle & Grimm's Pandemonium Warehouse

The Mists of Ravenloft are calling. Ravenloft: The Horrors Within is the definitive guide to Strahd's Barovia and the Domains of Dread. These grim netherworlds compose the Ravenloft setting and are horrific backdrops for Dungeons & Dragons adventures steeped in fear. Built for you, the DM that...

beadleandgrimms.com

Spoiler

Details about innsmouth map. Beadleandgrimms have some more info including maps of some of the domain, including most of Innsmouth (which isn't just the town, its an Island surrounded by smaller islands, with the town of Innsmouth at the very tip of the main island. I can't read the other locations yet, hope Arkham is one of them), so its clearly more of the Lovecraftian mytholos then just Innsmouth & the Deep Ones, but were kind of knew that from already revealed art of Lovecraftian aliens, the ones that switch bodies with out people).

Darkon no longer seems to be dissolving into the mists in that map. Azlin/Firan back in his cell?