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Everything We Know About The Ravenloft Book
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<blockquote data-quote="TheSword" data-source="post: 8214258" data-attributes="member: 6879661"><p>It’s been a really interesting thread to read. Lots of different view points. Here are some of mine.</p><p></p><p>[USER=6704184]@doctorbadwolf[/USER] Curse of Strahd provides several events that can occur following Strahds death. It’s isn’t all doom an gloom. The return is also definitely not within a specific time. It suggests months but it isn’t set in stone. Other rulers, other vampires gaining power etc its all possible. Not to mention the fact that most players need never know that Strahd will eventually return. You do the story as you want. Incidentally a years respite from hell still provides hope. It gives proof that there can be future respite.</p><p></p><p>In my campaign the players will be descendants or protégés of those who defeated Strahd the first time round, who will very much be NPCs. They will be trying to find their way in setting visiting other realms. At some point Strahd will return. Possibly brought about by a secret society manipulating the original PCs (Similar to the Mummy or Lord Voldemort). Or perhaps they’ll be able to prevent it.</p><p></p><p>Comedy absolutely can be effective in horror. It diffuses tension and prevents continual alertness meaning when the action does happen it is all the more effective.</p><p></p><p>Trying to force players to act scared is a bad idea as is forced insanity. Much better to take the player to one side and ask how they want things to manifest. Offer them inspiration if they play it well. However I do like the corruption mechanic from WFRP that carries penalties, which can be reduced in exchange for PCs willingly performing dark deeds.</p><p></p><p>Ravenloft borders should depend entirely on if the players catch the eye of the Dark Lord/The Mists. Which they absolutely should. Just because farmer bob can take his cart across the border doesn’t mean the PCs should.</p><p></p><p>Lastly. Agency is not a binary issue. There are degrees of loss. When a character gets knocked to 0 hp they lose agency but that is acceptable to us. Being dominated, charmed, paralyzed, scared all involve temporary loss of a characters abilities... so does a anti magic field though. They key is to use these sparingly. Better get, make sure your players lean into the style. A player who gets Ravenloft and wants to play in it, should relish the opportunity to be scared, charmed, replaced by a doppelgänger or a little unhinged. If these things bother them, perhaps just play it as a regular gothic adventure setting. Don’t force round pegs into square holes.</p><p></p><p>To run Ravenloft as I envision it, I just need players to create characters that are able to be scared and have something to lose.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheSword, post: 8214258, member: 6879661"] It’s been a really interesting thread to read. Lots of different view points. Here are some of mine. [USER=6704184]@doctorbadwolf[/USER] Curse of Strahd provides several events that can occur following Strahds death. It’s isn’t all doom an gloom. The return is also definitely not within a specific time. It suggests months but it isn’t set in stone. Other rulers, other vampires gaining power etc its all possible. Not to mention the fact that most players need never know that Strahd will eventually return. You do the story as you want. Incidentally a years respite from hell still provides hope. It gives proof that there can be future respite. In my campaign the players will be descendants or protégés of those who defeated Strahd the first time round, who will very much be NPCs. They will be trying to find their way in setting visiting other realms. At some point Strahd will return. Possibly brought about by a secret society manipulating the original PCs (Similar to the Mummy or Lord Voldemort). Or perhaps they’ll be able to prevent it. Comedy absolutely can be effective in horror. It diffuses tension and prevents continual alertness meaning when the action does happen it is all the more effective. Trying to force players to act scared is a bad idea as is forced insanity. Much better to take the player to one side and ask how they want things to manifest. Offer them inspiration if they play it well. However I do like the corruption mechanic from WFRP that carries penalties, which can be reduced in exchange for PCs willingly performing dark deeds. Ravenloft borders should depend entirely on if the players catch the eye of the Dark Lord/The Mists. Which they absolutely should. Just because farmer bob can take his cart across the border doesn’t mean the PCs should. Lastly. Agency is not a binary issue. There are degrees of loss. When a character gets knocked to 0 hp they lose agency but that is acceptable to us. Being dominated, charmed, paralyzed, scared all involve temporary loss of a characters abilities... so does a anti magic field though. They key is to use these sparingly. Better get, make sure your players lean into the style. A player who gets Ravenloft and wants to play in it, should relish the opportunity to be scared, charmed, replaced by a doppelgänger or a little unhinged. If these things bother them, perhaps just play it as a regular gothic adventure setting. Don’t force round pegs into square holes. To run Ravenloft as I envision it, I just need players to create characters that are able to be scared and have something to lose. [/QUOTE]
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