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.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Lots of cults worship the same god, just in slightly different ways (or in the same way, but with a different overinflated ego as prophet). Maybe this is a war between sahuagin, kua toa and skum as to who are the true Deep Ones?

Sahuagin are not really Deep Ones like the other two.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Sahuagin are not really Deep Ones like the other two.

I personal think the best Deep Ones is actually the Kraken Priest, its actual cultist ands its tied to the Purple Rocks, the Forgotten Realms version of Innsmouth.

 

[Corinnguard]

Sahuagin are not really Deep Ones like the other two.

Not too much depth when it comes to the Sahuagin.

 

[Voadam]

Not too much depth when it comes to the Sahuagin.

Are you talking about in 5e specifically?

In the 2e era they had their own 96 page sourcebook, Monstrous Arcana: The Sea Devils, and a trilogy of modules focused on them specifically which delved into mythos tropes so if you want D&D depth on sahuagin it is there to be found.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I personal think the best Deep Ones is actually the Kraken Priest, its actual cultist ands its tied to the Purple Rocks, the Forgotten Realms version of Innsmouth.

There is also the (Purple Rocks) Sea Spawn in MotM, Merrow, and the less malevolent Locathah. They are all inspired by Deep Ones, but none are exactly Deep Ones if you go by the standard fluff alone.

The main reason I think sahuagan are used in this book is the art (see top). It's highly inconsistent for all of these fish people, but only sahuagan are constantly depicted with prominent dorsal fins. There are other reasons - Eberron and Pathfinder both refluff sahuagan to be more Lovecraftian, with human/elf hybrids and different gods. And they are of roughly similar power to the 2HD Deep One stat block in 1e Deities and Demigods.

 

[Corinnguard]

Are you talking about in 5e specifically?

In the 2e era they had their own 96 page sourcebook, Monstrous Arcana: The Sea Devils, and a trilogy of modules focused on them specifically which delved into mythos tropes so if you want D&D depth on sahuagin it is there to be found.

Not really. I didn't mean depth as in lore. I was trying to make a joking comparison between the Deep Ones and the Sahuagin using depth. Depth as how far down underwater.

 

[Deset Gled]

Not really. I didn't mean depth as in lore. I was trying to make a joking comparison between the Deep Ones and the Sahuagin using depth. Depth as how far down underwater.

Sahuagin as Deep Ones? Those guys never made it past the photic zone!

 

[Paul Farquhar]

“Ah, a pune, or play on words.”

Landed as elegantly as a swallow carrying a coconut.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

For DMs who want to flesh out Innsmouth for their D&D games even more, you only have to wait a month.

 

[Selas]

I think WotC's version of Innsmouth is vastly different, but if you want to play it more like the classic stories, then that book certainly looks like a good addition ( I might buy it meself)