Dragon 368 - Domains of Dread: Sunderheart, the Funeral City

[Shroomy]

Ah, Ravenloft by another name. Dragon presents a new domain of dread and delves into some of the horrible history of Bael Turath. Its pretty good stuff, very creepy:

D&D Domains of Dread

 

[GMforPowergamers]

am I alone in thinking this would have been a perfect fit for a 2e moduel/story of a pocket or island cluster... and I mean that in a good way.

It felt...Ravenloft to me, even without the dark powers or the name raven loft...

I do find it funny that one way out is a good old fashion beat down on the domain lord though...I didn't see that comeing.

Now all I need to be happy is a sect of gypsys that can travel from one domain of dread to another , not through the shadow fell...but through the mist itself...

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I like how it started off sounding very Romeo and Juliet, what with love-struck couple in rival families trying to break them up, etc. Then it just grew darker, creepier, more bloody and twisted.

It also gives me even more of a Werewolf spirit-world vibe then it did before with whole cities that once existed in the real-world existing in some form in the Shadowfell.

 

[Klaus]

I like that they show maps for the real world and the shadowfell.

 

[Kirnon_Bhale]

Very nice article once again. I find it very evocative - a real sense of menace. I find that I am feeling better and better about my yearly subscription.

I love this article.

 

[cwhs01]

This is the first article after the free trial period, to make me consider a subscription.

Damn wotc and their cool products

Very nice article once again. I find it very evocative - a real sense of menace. I find that I am feeling better and better about my yearly subscription.

I love this article.

 

[Klaus]

One thing I dislike strongly:

The picture on page 8 of the file (77 of the overall article) has a city vista by Rob Alenxander. You can clearly see in the background Neuschwanstein Castle and Cinderella's Castle photoshopped into the picture.

 

[Kirnon_Bhale]

This is the first article after the free trial period, to make me consider a subscription.

Damn wotc and their cool products

It should - the depravity of the main protaganist is never actually specified but it is ever present and adds to the sense of menace. Characters who find themselves in Sunderheart will never feel safe - the monthly carnival with the dead is ....*shudder*.... unnerving to think about.

I really liked the options that are presented for escape as well, either you choose a really hard way out with terrible consequences - or you choose a REALLY HARD way out which is likely to be impossible to achieve.

While a fully fledged Ravenloft is always going to be welcome - this approach of presenting the various dark lord realms as adventure locales will also work - I could picture adventurers forever acting as the playthings of the dark lords being shunted from realm to realm. Whenever they are victorious they get moved to another realm/adventure locale.

 

[Jack99]

That is definitely a great article, you really get a great picture of how things were in the old "glory days" of the Empire of Bael Turath. The twisted R&J story is seven shades of awesome as well.

 

[Scribble]

One thing I dislike strongly:

The picture on page 8 of the file (77 of the overall article) has a city vista by Rob Alenxander. You can clearly see in the background Neuschwanstein Castle and Cinderella's Castle photoshopped into the picture.

Eh... Maybe... Neuschwanstein is just so "iconic fairytale castle" like though so anything with tall cone topped spires tends to resemble it.

It's a pretty sweet castle though.

Evertime I was there it always made me think of D&D.