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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Wake" data-source="post: 3972599" data-attributes="member: 58770">I've been thinking about his for a little while now.  I cut my teeth on Ravenloft.Instead of trying to fight the action elements of 4e (because action and horror are pretty much diametrically opposed genres), the setting should embrace them. Ravenloft needs to still be gothic horror, and should avoid "Van Helsing"ing, but D&D does not do 'powerlessness' well.  4e sounds like it really, really won't do powerless well (what with characters being less dependent on gadgets).What it does do well is 'outclassed'.   The feeling of Ravenloft battles should be one of pitched desperation, where their skills and powers are the only reason the players are not immediately overwhelmed, but its their wits that will get them out of it alive.  This probably means putting encounter CRs a few levels higher than them, and emphasizing puzzles. The real meat and potatoes of Ravenloft is the descent into darkness theme.   Because D&D is intrinsically heroic, the horror of Ravenloft is that the more you do, the more the powers that be look at you.    So perhaps a score similar to Taint, but instead it is an ever rising DC that has to be overcome to avoid the Dark Powers attention.  When they do notice you, prepare for bad things.    The Mists rise, and monstrous beings are sent after you.   No one around you is safe...however, the Taint score is a DM secret, so you never know if it's you who's drawing the wrath of the werewolves, or your buddies.To geek out (more so), the feeling of Angel, particularly the last season, sums it up well.   There are implacable forces at work, but you can't live with yourself if you don't fight them, even though the more you fight the more irritated they become with you.I've never been a fan of Fear and Horror checks, even though they were one of the better parts of Ravenloft.   A Sanity score similar to HPs might be useful, though, adding a new element to encounters.   Maybe based on CHA and WIS.   Personally, I'd like to see the fear and horror mechanics folded into Taint somehow.</blockquote>

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