Ravenloft - My Home Plane - HELP!!??

[Angelsboi]

All things considering, I have been possibly thinking about maybe starting a Ravenloftgame. Its full of darkness, not a lot of hope, despair and angst. Right now, if any of you have read my diary and my poems, angst I have in abundance.

Ok, so the books I have are ...

Ravenloft Core Book, Denizens of Darkness, Secrets of the Dread Realms, Champions of Light, Heroes of Darkness and Van Richtens Arsenal.

2nd edition, I have: The Nightmare Lands, Forbidden Lore, The Created (Adventure), Hour Of the Knife (Adventure), Book Of Crypts, Forged Of Darkness and Chilling Tales

I also have Foul Locales: Urban Blight and Dragon Magazine from the beginning of 3.0 to #302.

So ... my question is this ...

Help me make a Ravenloft campaign that wont fall through. I tried to run one before but it fell through and im not sure why.

Help, trick and tips would be greatly appreciated ...

 

[Orryn Emrys]

RAVENLOFT is kinda my forte... though I largely attribute that to long relationships with the type of players who respond well to tension and despair.... Though my technique may vary somewhat with other settings and styles of play, for the Demiplane of Dread I always pull out the candles and mood music. In fact, we play in a windowless room, so the candlelight is the sum total illumination involved, and in good roleplaying sequences I'm prone to blow out my own candle behind the screen - or, nowadays, I use a lantern I simply turn down as far as it will go - and the only thing my players can see is each other.

Combined with some basic theatrics... in my case, I use a microphone with an reverb unit and a library of sound effects... it can really take on a life of its own. In my experience, once you get the players into the mood, they tend to keep it there.

 

[Angelsboi]

OK well assume im poor broke and im so downwinded I dont have the energy to do any theatrics.

I mean, i know its about atmosfear and all but what about adventures. How do you run those? How do you make it seem like its nothing supernatural and then plot twist?

etc

stuff like that

 

[Kesh]

There are a few things that make running Ravenloft difficult:

1) Fragmentation - If you move from one Domain to another, the rules change significantly. One may be Renaissance tech, while one of its neighbors is stuck in the Dark Ages. One may be standard fantasy fare, while the next is a region filled with undead, and another is mind-numbing and filled with Illithid.

It can be very frustrating for players to have their PCs stuck in a Domain that doesn't fit their concept... a Sorcerer gunning for the Mindbender PrC suddenly finds himself useless in a realm of undead.

It's best if you can pick a single domain, or group of related Core domains to run in, and keep the players there. Don't let them wander too much, or create plots which force them to wander.

2) Darklords - Let's face it: when the game's Big Bad is almost a god, it's pretty hard to get up enthusiasm about fighting it.

Many darklords are almost impossible to kill, or will simply be replaced by something just as nasty when killed. So, try not focus so much on them. Give the PCs a real, tangible villain to deal with, someone they can (eventually) take down on their own. Or, find a way for them to actually destroy a darklord (which may dissolve the domain, taking them back to the Prime Material it came from).

3) Depression - Ravenloft is a really, really bleak setting. It's made to grind down the will of any who live in it... and unfortunately, that includes the PCs. It's good to have a brooding, gothic atmosphere for the game, but after a while it can actually poison the campaign. People have bad days, they are tired of being a beacon in a realm of suffering, and after a while they just want to give up playing.

You're the best person to keep that from happening. Why? Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Seriously! Make sure the game is dark & dangerous, but allow some humor to slip in as well. Give the players a light-hearted moment, or a relief when the danger isn't what they expected. Remember the demon from the second Halloween episode? That whole show was terrifying the characters, keeping them guessing, keeping them down... and in the end, it was the silliest damn villain you can imagine!

Also, think An American Werewolf in London... more humor in a grisly, horrifying story. It keeps the emotions from stagnating, and also allows you to twist humor into terror, or vice-versa.

4) Losing Control - Again, most people play the game for entertainment. But, in Ravenloft, many of your actions can result in losing control of the character. Lycanthropy, vampires, Dark Powers Checks, etc... depending on the group, you might have to scale this back a bit. Or, give them a chance to role-play the struggle for control, letting them wrench free at a dramatic moment. Just something so they don't feel so impotent during what's supposed to be a fun time.

5) Against the Odds - Finally, PCs really aren't supposed to win in Ravenloft. Kinda like White Wolf's World of Darkness, you're supposed to fight the good fight, even though the Dark Powers will never really be defeated.

Well, you might have to break that rule. At least let them have a chance of freeing one Domain, or escaping to home if they were 'pulled into' Ravenloft. Give them a goal they can reach.

Hope that helps. I'll try to come up with some more specific ideas (adventure modules, Dragon articles, etc.) later.

 

[Angelsboi]

Fragmentation

Ok so if you are in a CL 7 domain and you move into a CL 4 domain, how do you explain it?

Also, how do the peasants explain the weird things that happen? Like the boarders closing and such?



Darklords

Gotcha. But what if the players get ballsy and decide to go after them anyway?

Does anyone know what a Darklord really is?

Who they really are?

Why dont the peasants question about their leaders who never seem to age and die but yet the same Darklord has been ruling for AGES!?



Depression

So Angel and Buffy types of episodes like Gachnarr the fear demon, D'Hoffryn and Skip



Losing Control

So if a PC starts doing bad things, draw up a 'path' they hare heading down and start using that for the Dark Power gifts?



Against The Odds

That I know.

I look forawrd to some articles and other ideas.

But another question is ... what if they start in Ravenloft? How would I do that? I had a REALLY cool idea for starting them out.

I was going to have them be one of the NPC Classes when a group of adventurers comes into town and they are hired out to these adventurers and based on who they hung out with, is the class they would be able to chose.

 

[Anavel Gato]

Ravenloft help in a big way

http://www.kargatane.com/

Try this site for help, they are the authority (according to thier site). Also they have a bunch of downloads (free).

We are running a Ravenloft campaign right now and it is fun all the players are having a good time. The current DM also put some "vile" elements into it. Its very dark and full of gore.

good luck.

 

[Voadam]

Fragmentation

Also, how do the peasants explain the weird things that happen? Like the boarders closing and such?

Superstitious folk who believe in all sorts of wierd stuff and the dangers of the night.

Darklords

Gotcha. But what if the players get ballsy and decide to go after them anyway?

Put the smack down on them or they succeed and the realms are majorly affected.

Does anyone know what a Darklord really is?

Who they really are?

Why dont the peasants question about their leaders who never seem to age and die but yet the same Darklord has been ruling for AGES!?

The wizard king of the north is known to have life extending magics. The devil Strahd is rumored to be a wizard who has sold his soul for longer life, as did his father and grandfather before him.

It gets tough with ones who have no reason to have been around so long (Dominic).

Losing Control

So if a PC starts doing bad things, draw up a 'path' they hare heading down and start using that for the Dark Power gifts?

Yes, One PC in my game is half-way to being a fey world of darkness style vampire.

Against The Odds

But another question is ... what if they start in Ravenloft? How would I do that? I had a REALLY cool idea for starting them out.

That's easy they know what is in the campaign sourcebook, it is a very good player's guide.

I was going to have them be one of the NPC Classes when a group of adventurers comes into town and they are hired out to these adventurers and based on who they hung out with, is the class they would be able to chose.

I'd let them make the characters they want rather than force them into weaker, more constrained ones.

For adventures I use modules, the book of Crypts is awesome for many of the low level ones.

You can get cheap 2e pdf ones from www.rpgnow.com but you will have to convert.

As far as theatrics, just describe things in detail as characters sense them, not by names but sensory descriptions.

Hearing a noise of something coming through the woods is often enough to get people on edge.

 

[Voadam]

I think feast of Goblyns is one of the best 2e ravenloft adventures, lots of different stuff to deal with there.

 

[Dakkareth]

Also, how do the peasants explain the weird things that happen? Like the boarders closing and such?

"It's better not to go out after dark. There are all kinds of terrible things out there. And if I was you I wouldn't go to <local>, either. They say, nobody's ever returned from there."

Darklords

Gotcha. But what if the players get ballsy and decide to go after them anyway?

That would depend on the point at which they do that. If they do it after a few weeks of playing, a ruthless TPK would be in order. If they do that after years of gaming maybe they find a way - or not.
Also they might not even get close enough and are are ironically better off than they were, had they been 'lucky'.

Does anyone know what a Darklord really is?

Who they really are?

Maybe some mad sages have an idea (good point to bring in a little cthuluesque feel), others should know rumours at most.

Why dont the peasants question about their leaders who never seem to age and die but yet the same Darklord has been ruling for AGES!?

They probably never do as much as think about it - they are being screwed by the Dark Powers

 

[Treebore]

In 3e the Darklords are not invulnerable or impossible to kill. The pernanancy of it is an issue, though. i have had my group just kill the Darklord of Richemeleiu (sp?) The mantle passed on to another BBEG who has nothing to do with the Reneir family or the politics of the region. So it changes the whole dynamics of the situation, to where the party has made a very measureable difference in the "atmosphere" of this "kingdom". IE they feel that they accomplished something significant. And they have. It will take the Darkpower a while to re-align everything to its liking, so it will be a good bit of time before the atmosphere of oppression re-settles. Also, the Darklord is making a potentially lethal mistake, she has sent assassins after the party. this has drawn them back to Port-a-Masseau(sp?). If they find her before she consolidates her power base they will be able to take her out as well, comparatively easy too.

Plus, the party is starting to realize that the best way for them to keep an area "free" will require continued diligence on their part. In other words they will never be able to leave an area for long if they want to keep it "clean".

I have also found it helpful not to bog them down with the horror/fear/insanity checks. However I do use the curse checks whenever they do anythnig that qualifies. 3 of the characters have taken at least one step down the road to becoming a creature of Ravenloft, maybe even a Darklord. This elevates their curiosity at teh same time it elevate their anxiety. One character wonders why his left foot has become dead and zombie like but he has become more charismatic, another wonders why they have a "devil" tail but are more dextrous, and the 3rd wonders why his character craves blood and is more charismatic.

My opinion is that running a Ravenloft campaign, long term, requires an exceptionally skilled and experienced DM. One who is good at interweaving various story plots, setting a mood/atmosphere, and interspersing humor, as well as using common sense and intuition to direct the players and events of the campaign. This setting is not for a beginner DM or for a Dm who cannot run a complex storyline. This would definitely require a skilled DM of many talents, or someone who is just very talented at running such a game.

Running a Greyhawk or FR campaign is easy. Ravenloft requires more of the DM and the players, but it is worth doing. I would also recommend running two campaigns concurrently on alternating game days. One standard and light campaign and the other be Ravenloft. That helps prevent the pervasive build up of depression and frustration more than anything else. Because that is the ultimate downfall of a Ravenloft campaign. If ran properly it will wear you and your players down. You need to have a release mechanism. An alternate campaign, preferably ran by another DM, is probably the best way to go.