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<blockquote data-quote="Green Knight" data-source="post: 4461101" data-attributes="member: 2723">You don't need them to run A game like that. But you do need them to explain why every single country is dominated by a being of oppressive evil, and why each of these lords represents a varying type of evil. That's one of the things that was so great about Ravenloft. All the various domains, and how each of them represented a different slice of evil, mimicking the darklord who ruled over it. &nbsp;The Dark Powers also added the element of drawing in the darklords from various worlds, all of whom were trapped and wanted out. You also need the Dark Powers to explain why each and every single darklord is cursed and why they're trapped within the borders of their domains, and within the world, itself. Not to mention Powers Checks, punishing (or rewarding?) those who commit horrific evils. &nbsp;Making it a prison and preventing planar travel also added to the claustrophobic feel. The message was essentially &quot;This is the world you live in. It's dark and bleak and miserable, and the powers that rule it are the darkest of evils, and no matter how hard you try you can't escape it. So the only thing you can do is give in or fight against it, no matter how long the odds against you are.&quot; It also gave us great things like demons and devils trapped in Ravenloft and unable to leave. &nbsp;As for the demiplane, it further separated Ravenloft from your run-of-the-mill campaign. The world literally is flat. Sail far enough to the west and you'll hit the edge. The demiplane nature also allowed the landscape to reshape itself on occasion (far less painlessly then what they did with the Forgotten Realms, I might add). &nbsp;The Dark Powers, the demiplane, the mists, these're all defining characteristics of Ravenloft. They're what make it more then just another horror game, and what separate it from every other campaign setting out there. Removing those elements means that it's no longer Ravenloft.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Green Knight, post: 4461101, member: 2723"] You don't need them to run [I]A[/I] game like that. But you do need them to explain why every single country is dominated by a being of oppressive evil, and why each of these lords represents a varying type of evil. That's one of the things that was so great about Ravenloft. All the various domains, and how each of them represented a different slice of evil, mimicking the darklord who ruled over it. The Dark Powers also added the element of drawing in the darklords from various worlds, all of whom were trapped and wanted out. You also need the Dark Powers to explain why each and every single darklord is cursed and why they're trapped within the borders of their domains, and within the world, itself. Not to mention Powers Checks, punishing (or rewarding?) those who commit horrific evils. Making it a prison and preventing planar travel also added to the claustrophobic feel. The message was essentially "This is the world you live in. It's dark and bleak and miserable, and the powers that rule it are the darkest of evils, and no matter how hard you try you can't escape it. So the only thing you can do is give in or fight against it, no matter how long the odds against you are." It also gave us great things like demons and devils trapped in Ravenloft and unable to leave. As for the demiplane, it further separated Ravenloft from your run-of-the-mill campaign. The world literally [I]is[/I] flat. Sail far enough to the west and you'll hit the edge. The demiplane nature also allowed the landscape to reshape itself on occasion (far less painlessly then what they did with the Forgotten Realms, I might add). The Dark Powers, the demiplane, the mists, these're all defining characteristics of Ravenloft. They're what make it more then just another horror game, and what separate it from every other campaign setting out there. Removing those elements means that it's no longer Ravenloft. [/QUOTE]

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