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Message: <blockquote data-quote="InVinoVeritas" data-source="post: 4670104" data-attributes="member: 41485">Hey, IR. Hope all is well. I'm a big Ravenloft fan, but I've definitely tweaked it my own way over time. I'll plug my <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/playing-game/177328-paridon-dark-metropolis-ravenloft.html" target="_blank">Paridon</a> campaign here on ENWorld as an example. Here's my take on Ravenloft: 1. It's all about the choices we make, every day.Morality is key to success in a Ravenloft game. Ultimately, this turns the whole standard D&D trope of "gather power, make Epic Destiny" on its ear, because you can always choose to do the right thing. A first-level character is just as capable at fighting back the darkness as a 20th-level character--the real choice is how to fight it back. The end goal isn't beating the BBEG, but about understanding who you really are and coming to peace with whatever that happens to be. 2. Our choices define ourselves.We are the end result of everything that happens to us and everything we do to ourselves and the world around us. The Dark Powers are just an allegory. They don't turn people into monsters--they merely portray the monsters that those people already are. I worry far less about power balance here as a result. Since you don't need to be powerful to make a difference, it's less important. A character isn't defined by the stats or the equipment, but how that equipment or stats or powers get used. 3. It's about personalities.Stemming from the first two points, RP is vital in Ravenloft. It's about figuring out who you really are, what you're made of, how your mind bends, and how it breaks. I spend a lot of effort in conversations, sights, sounds, textures, fidgets, tics, everything that makes up everything. The depth of the detail is necessary. 4. The world is one of the most important personalities.All of the beauty and terror you pour into a Ravenloft game should be apparent in the scenery. Here is a great place to allow for the differences between Domains. The neverending claustrophobic and byzantine urban character in Paridon is one example. I once ran another FTF campaign called "A Matter of Taste" that involved Stezen D'Polarno of Ghastria, and Ivana Boritsi and Ivan Dilisnya of Borca in a treacherous game of politics and trade with the PCs as their pawns. Everything D'Polarno was dull, grey, and bland. Everything Boritsi was juicy, sweet, like an overripe plum. Everything Dilisnya was caustic, acrid, and somehow unpalatable. The fun for the players was in trying to keep the balance. 5. There are no combats, only dangerous dances.I keep minion combats to the minimum. There aren't random holes of goblins to raid, there are never just rats in the cellar. Instead, every battle is pitching personalities against personalities. The fun in combat is determining just how everyone moves with respect and through one another. Many times, I find PCs happily not fighting, but sparring and maneuvering, trying to gain an advantage wherever possible without ever having to pull out a sword. In Paridon, for example, one of the battles was more about avoiding getting run over by a carriage, and stopping it before it runs into a crowd.  6. Fear is in the unknown.Keep the players guessing. If they meet a vampire, then break out the garlic and crucifixes, and fight. If they meet something that isn't a vampire... then what? Determining the nature of a horror is, in and of itself, a goal and reward. It makes the horror approachable, relatable. In Paridon, the villain Alek uses this to his benefit. The PCs (and players) know some things about him, but might not yet know everything--or even enough--about his strengths, powers, and weaknesses. And how can you combat that which you do not understand?</blockquote>

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