Modern Ravenloft?
- Thread starter TheFan
- Start date
RodneyThompson
Explorer
Funnily enough, the day after d20 Modern came out I ran a one-shot called "Raven City" that was exactly this same thing.
Moridin said:
I made a bit of a new domain that I intend to expand upon later. It's a modern (actually slightly futuristic) Japanese domain that would probably expand Rokushima Taiyoo instead of replacing it altogether:
F ukamachi
The city/domain of F ukamachi, more commonly known as the Wicked City, is a sprawling metropolis of glass, concrete, and steel. What would be considered a metropolis in another domain would be a neighborhood in F ukamachi, and there is virtually no natural environments aside from meticulously maintained city parks. Immense towers claw at the sky and cast the streets into eternal shadow illuminated only by neon lights. When it rains, puddles last for weeks because there is no sun to evaporate them. Towering above all other towers, though, is the offices of Mikaboshi, Inc, and in the penthouse is the chair, Miyamoto Mikaboshi, this domain's darklord.
Darklord: Miyamoto mikaboshi, once just a minor clerk, ascended to power in the corporation that now bears his name by means of character assassination, blackmail, and even outright murder to become a powerful crime lord as well as a corporate titan. When he murdered his mentor in order to solidify his power, the mists took him, transporting him and his entire city into the Dread Realm. Now he is forever mired in conferences and responsibilities to the point where he is unable to even sleep, and is never allowed even a moment of rest to enjoy the priviledge his station provides or the pleasures of the city that is both his domain and prison.
Sealing the borders: All access to the city is provided by either tunnels through the mountains or by sea. All shipping ceases, and all tunnels are blocked off by "road work." If you try to leave through a tunnel anyway you will exit the same way you came, and if you try to swim away waves will deposit you back on shore.
Edit: Well, apparently the filters don't like the three letters Foxtrot Uniform Kilo. Oh well. Translation loosely would be "bad city."
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BecketVelar
First Post
I have been struggling with this one. I see an incredible difference between modern and victorian styles of horror. The reasoning is this....isolation. That is what is such an inherent detail with the Ravenloft campaign setting. The characters are inherently alone. Barovia...outsiders are looked at with suspicion...the trees and mountains feel confining. Darkons terrain goes so far as to twist the person to believe it's there homeland. The common threads of all the lands are those of gothic horror. Modern day is....lacking...for better terms in horror. Think about this for a second. The gothic tales of Stoker, Shelley, and company are not exactly edge of the seat in this day and age. We have, as a society, become fairly jaded. Sure we have Hannible Lecter, and the Ring to keeps us on our toes. By and large, however, we are stuck with Jason, Freddy and company to keep us entertained with their hijinx. Not really scarey. So how does one incorporate the Ravenloft setting into the world of Internet,Cellphones and lattes? I would say an entire city may go a bit far. Perhaps the smaller "lands". The haunted house, The evil section of road..perhaps as far as the "village that time forgot" I think would be good examples of this. Remember the main purpose of all things in Ravenloft is to get out. Even the Darklords themselves want out. Entire lands or the whole demiplane would not convert to well to the modern setting. Remember also that the lands in the Plane of Dread are in different tech levels...how would you transfer that... Areas of fire arms border with Feudal lands..
Just some of my thoughts as I have been piecing together stuff for this for quite some time...
B
Just some of my thoughts as I have been piecing together stuff for this for quite some time...
B
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Turanil
First Post
LOL!!!
I think the idea is excellent. However, I would not add a d20 Modern domain to the traditional fantasy-gothic-horror domains of Ravenloft. I would just make a couple of d20 Modern domains, for a modern only Ravenloft.
Another suggestion is, that the characters are drawn into a d20-Modern Ravenloft doman at night. That is, they are in normal city (say Tokyo) pursuing, say, a yakusa serial killer. The criminal is absorbed into the Ravenloft domain with his pursuers. So, as night falls, the characters do not immediately understand that they are in a new place (the one described above). Of course, as things go, it becomes more and more of a nightmare, and they must destroy, kill, shoot, etc. all the night to survive in a world seemingly become totally mad and incomprehensible (e.g.: in the normal restaurant they are used to go everyday, they discover the cook is a psychopath who cooks humans he killed himself, that kind of stuff...). Well, the adventure continues, but in the morning, with the mist clearing, the PCs go back to the real city in the same almost imperceptible way.
So now the PCs know there is a parallel nightmare city. They are back again in their own world, but know that they will have to deal more with that threat, etc.
mroberon1972
First Post
Oh... Did this one a while back... Try these:
Purity city:
Think x-men loose in the future. Lots of security bots with genetic scanners, and mutant powers are punishable by death. City looks great on the surface, but has sections that the local mutants can hide. The domain lord is an AI-BOT called Primus who believes his only duty is to keep human genetics 'pure'. The entire domain is inside a large bubble dome.
Colony LV531:
Think Aliens. An alien infestation has taken over all but a medium sized fortress. Those inside are in constant danger from infestation.
Purity city:
Think x-men loose in the future. Lots of security bots with genetic scanners, and mutant powers are punishable by death. City looks great on the surface, but has sections that the local mutants can hide. The domain lord is an AI-BOT called Primus who believes his only duty is to keep human genetics 'pure'. The entire domain is inside a large bubble dome.
Colony LV531:
Think Aliens. An alien infestation has taken over all but a medium sized fortress. Those inside are in constant danger from infestation.
mroberon1972 said:
Great ideas! It inspired me to make a scifi domain my own. Perhaps yours and mine could be a cluster? Here's a near-complete writeup:
Outpost Zero (aka The Red Lands)
The Land: Outpost Zero is centered in a bleak, frostbitten terrain with high winds and almost no cover. There is little natural water that isn't trapped in the permafrost. The entire domain is sunken into a deep crater made by some unknown impact eons ago, and the floor of this crater is covered in brownish-red sand, turning to scree and gravel near the steep crater walls.
There are remnants of settlements here and there with great plastic domes and hulking machinery that has been sand-blasted to uselessness. You can find what looks like the remains of farms scattered about as well, though nothing grows there now and whatever allowed farms to survive in this terrain is long forgotten.
The steep cliff walls protect the domain from most dust storms, but when one does make it's way over the walls it can settle into the crater for weeks, obscuring vision and quickly destroying unattended items.
The cliff walls are riddled with caves, but few people dare venture into them. Caves are home to either Holdouts or Grendelspawn, and none of the inhabitants of Outpost Zero wish to deal with either group.
Strangely, the air is of unusually poor quality in this region. Those engaging in physical activity for an extended period of time outdoors (1 hour or more) must make a fortitude save (DC 10+1/hour spent outdoors) or be fatigued. If they continue after a failed save, they must make another save at the same DC as their last save or be exhausted. Those who still continue to strain themselves in this way fall unconcious.
Cultural level: Outpost Zero: Near-future (14), Ruins: Futuristic (15), Holdouts: Stone age (1)
The Folk: The people of Outpost Zero have a wide variety of appearance and skin tones, though due to their military nature the majority of them are in excellent physical condition. Even the older members keep in good shape, although the elderly retreat to a more advisory role. There are no civilians, with anyone not ready for combat either dying long ago or getting enough military training to survive the Grendelspawn attacks.
Food is uniformly a functional gruel that is high in nutrients and completely devoid of anything resembling flavor. It is actually a form of algae grown in vats and scooped off the surface. Occasionally this is supplimented by meat from a variety of rodents which are bred in captivity, but it must be used sparingly.
Outside, in the Red Wastes, live the Holdouts. These people refused to move into the dome of Outpost Zero when the Grendelspawn attacks began and now live a savage, wretched existance. Constantly under attack and with little refuge from the poor air, savage winds, and biting cold, they still manage to eke out an existance in the caves and ruins.
Native PCs: Due to the nature of the domain, PCs are rather restricted in occupation. Military, Law Enforcement, Blue Collar, and Technician are the most common. Emergency Services and Doctors are also valued. For Holdouts, Tribal (Modern Player's Companion) is virtually the only choice.
Personalities of Note: General Sam Geller is the head of the base. He is in his mid 50s but still a very powerful man who rules with an iron fist. No dissent is tolerated amoung his troops, and he regularly stages public executions of people he believes are conspiring with either the Holdouts or the Grendelspawn. Everyone fears him, but they have to admit that his hard-line strategies have kept them safe so far.
Lt. Sarah Masters is the head of the security force. She is often in conflict with Geller over his despotic commands, but still follows them to the letter. Lately though she has noticed a change in his demeanor and wants to find out the truth behind both the Grendelspawn and Geller.
Jacob Smith is the leader of the Holdouts. He has found a safe system of caves that don't contain Grendelspawn and has led his followers into them. In the naturally phosphorescent caverns he has managed to foster the growth of several plant species that provide vital oxygen to his followers. He once lived within Outpost Zero, but fled years ago for unknown reasons.
The Law: The inhabitants of Outpost Zero live in a strictly regimented military heirarchy built on mutual defense. The constant Grendelspawn attacks keep them on their guard and make them very paranoid of visitors. Gen. Geller has absolute authority, and transgressions tend to be punished swiftly and harshly.
The Holdouts live in a communal tribal structure just trying to survive in the caves. They have no central authority, instead following whichever charismatic leader can bring them together.
Gen. Sam Geller, Darklord of Outpost Zero (Tough/Charismatic/Soldier, stats to come)
Gen Geller is a powerfully built man in his mid 50s with salt-and-pepper hair and deep. Despite his strength of body, his sunken-in eyes and hollow cheeks betray some inner weakness. He claims to be fine, and most assume it is merely worry at the condition of his troops. He is a man of few words, yet each word carries with it immense weight.
He is never without a gauss rifle (treat as AK-47, only with x3 crit) and body armor.
Background: He was born into a military family and groomed for leadership from birth. Quickly rising through the ranks, he proved his capability as both a soldier and a commander. However, when he sacrificed half his army to gain only a few miles of ground against the Crimson Scorpion's defenses in 2018, the higher-ups were none too pleased. Unable to simply discharge him, they instead reassigned him to the terraforming project at Outpost Zero.
There he displayed the same sort of ruthlessness and willingness to make major sacrifices for minor gains. The project's output doubled, but the civilian farmers were severely unhappy with conditions and went on strike. He authorised lethal force in subduing the workers, rationalizing that this project was too important to let them ruin it. However, little did he know that his redoubled efforts at terraforming the waste had awakened the creatures now known as Grendelspawn.
They boiled out of the cliffsides of the crater by the thousands, attacking the outlying civilian settlements first. He once more displayed typical overconfidence, counter-attacking with reckless abandon until he himself was wounded by a grendelspawn's bite. For the first time suffering the effects of his actions personally, he abandoned the settlements to the monsters, and at that point the Mists claimed him. A dust storm settled around the outside of the crater, one that hasn't lifted since.
Current Sketch: Geller is still haunted by the wound he recieved that day. It has never healed right, and he refuses to let doctors look at it. In actuality, he was infected with Grendelspawn DNA and will gradually, over the next 100 years, transform into a Grendelspawn Queen. He has yet to notice the way the Grendelspawn obey his subconcious commands, instead writing it off to fortunate coincidence.
Ever since his wound, though, his tyrannical tendancies have turned inward to paranoia. He is suspicious of everyone and everything, particularly outsiders. Anyone he can't recruit into his own private army is a dangerous threat that must be eliminated.
Closing the Borders: When he wishes to seal the borders of his domain, the Grendelspawn obey his wishes. They swarm out of the cliff faces by the thousands, forming a living wall 20 creatures deep. In theory, a determined group could fight their way through. In practice, only a madman would try.
wolfpunk
First Post
Wow, talk about using the Way Back Machine.
I was thinking about this today though.
Had a couple of ideas from history for domains,
Roanoke Island, all those settlers had to go someplace.
Atlantis, perhaps the first domain in Earth's history.
Also, it seems to me that d20 Modern and Ravenloft would combine well to recreate a Lost like setting.
Anybody done any of these with any success?
I was thinking about this today though.
Had a couple of ideas from history for domains,
Roanoke Island, all those settlers had to go someplace.
Atlantis, perhaps the first domain in Earth's history.
Also, it seems to me that d20 Modern and Ravenloft would combine well to recreate a Lost like setting.
Anybody done any of these with any success?
