Ravenloft, Where are the fans?

[gamerprinter]

Wow wow wow, Sir, hold it right there! Did you say Japanese horror??? I´m looking for your setting already! It can´t be a coincidence that lately I have a fixation with horror anime, I definitely want to play a demon hunter Onmyoji or a bad-ass Shih (from White Wolf´s Demon Hunter X), or even a cursed PC. My current main sources of inspiration for that PC would be Ayakashi´s Bake Neko, Mermaid Forest, Vampire princess Miyu and Tokyo Ravens (weird selection, but that is what I am aiming for ).

I assume you are very much into horror and also into Japan/Japanese themes. I like both very much but I have never thought how to make them work in an RPG game. Going back to the main subject of the threat it seems hard enough (to me) to keep the right mood in a campaing of Ravenloft´s gothic horror (which is more popular and has many sources of reference and inspiration easily available), so to achieve the right feel for a game of Japanese horror sounds like a fair challenge. How do you get it?

PFRPG is Pathfinder, no? I dont have it and have never tried it but Im sure it runs on 5e very smoothly!

I'm half Japanese, an amateur historian/folklorist, a person never satisfied with Oriental Adventures. Rather than based on anime, my work is mostly based on 19th century Japanese ghost story tradition, much from the work of Kiozumi Yagumo (Lafcadio Hearn) who translated many old Japanese ghost stories in a book called Kwaidan (which is the original British version of the word, Kaidan). I've been to Japan twice and on the second visit, actually visited Kiozumi Yagumo's home in Kyoto. I use the Buddhist Wheel of Life cosmology, tied it into a curse and into the Japanese social caste system. And yes, PFRPG, is Pathfinder RPG, as my work was first published in 2010, and wasn't interested in 4e, at the time.

There is a 5th through 7th level trilogy of modules called The Curse of the Golden Spear, which comprises The Gift, Dim Spirit, and Dark Path. There are also several one-shot modules worth looking at, especially, Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House, Up from Darkness, and several more, including the free one-shot module, Frozen Wind. Also worth looking at #30 Haunts for Kaidan, which is a collection of 30 haunts which are like magical traps associated with undead, each within the framework of a creepy back story. There are a supplements for samurai and yakuza social caste PC/NPCs with available classes, class archetypes, prestige classes, traits, feats, spells, etc., as well as race guides for kappa, hengeyokai and tengu. The GMs setting guide to Kaidan should be released later this year. All current Kaidan products can be found here. Read the reviews for a good insight into each product.

As an aside, I am pro game cartographer with many map samples in my Map Emporeum thread here on ENWorld. I created the original hand-drawn map of the City of Kasai (and wrote some of the city of Kasai gazetteer) for the Paizo Publishing Jade Regent Adventure Path in its last module, The Empty Throne, as well as map for many other publishers, including EN Publishing. I offer many map products usable in any RPG as tools for GMs at my Gamer Printshop page on DTRPG.

EDIT: just noticed my reputation name has finally gotten to "magsman"! woot!

 

[Revan79]

I have been watching the tv show SUPERNATURAL recently and is has given me a lot of inspiration for one off adventures, like Headless Horseman (But not the Ravenloft version). Eventually, my campaign will run to level 20-25 where the PC's will end up facing off against Cthulhu himself.......Mwahahahahah!!!!!

 

[Revan79]

I'm half Japanese, an amateur historian/folklorist, a person never satisfied with Oriental Adventures. Rather than based on anime, my work is mostly based on 19th century Japanese ghost story tradition, much from the work of Kiozumi Yagumo (Lafcadio Hearn) who translated many old Japanese ghost stories in a book called Kwaidan (which is the original British version of the word, Kaidan). I've been to Japan twice and on the second visit, actually visited Kiozumi Yagumo's home in Kyoto. I use the Buddhist Wheel of Life cosmology, tied it into a curse and into the Japanese social caste system. And yes, PFRPG, is Pathfinder RPG, as my work was first published in 2010, and wasn't interested in 4e, at the time.

There is a 5th through 7th level trilogy of modules called The Curse of the Golden Spear, which comprises The Gift, Dim Spirit, and Dark Path. There are also several one-shot modules worth looking at, especially, Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House, Up from Darkness, and several more, including the free one-shot module, Frozen Wind. Also worth looking at #30 Haunts for Kaidan, which is a collection of 30 haunts which are like magical traps associated with undead, each within the framework of a creepy back story. There are a supplements for samurai and yakuza social caste PC/NPCs with available classes, class archetypes, prestige classes, traits, feats, spells, etc., as well as race guides for kappa, hengeyokai and tengu. The GMs setting guide to Kaidan should be released later this year. All current Kaidan products can be found here. Read the reviews for a good insight into each product.

As an aside, I am pro game cartographer with many map samples in my Map Emporeum thread here on ENWorld. I created the original hand-drawn map of the City of Kasai (and wrote some of the city of Kasai gazetteer) for the Paizo Publishing Jade Regent Adventure Path in its last module, The Empty Throne, as well as map for many other publishers, including EN Publishing. I offer many map products usable in any RPG as tools for GMs at my Gamer Printshop page on DTRPG.

EDIT: just noticed my reputation name has finally gotten to "magsman"! woot!

Have you/do you know of a decent looking map of the world of Ravenloft? I've been searching for a long time and not found any really detailed maps.

 

[D'karr]

As an aside, I am pro game cartographer with many map samples in my Map Emporeum thread here on ENWorld.

The links on that thread don't work. All references to gamer-printshop.com fail. Do you have updated links? I'd love to see the services gamer-printshop.com provides.

 

[gamerprinter]

Have you/do you know of a decent looking map of the world of Ravenloft? I've been searching for a long time and not found any really detailed maps.

Most of my professional map commissions are for current game publishers, so all my maps are locations for new products and new settings, not old D&D settings. I don't do work for WotC, so I don't do WotC maps. My personal maps are designed to eventually be sold on my DTRPG account, thus I if I did a map of Ravenloft, because it is WotC IP, I wouldn't be allowed to sell it, so for that reason, I wouldn't/haven't done any D&D setting maps. Besides, throughout my entire D&D experience (since 1977), I've always homebrewed and created my own worlds, I've never used Greyhawk, Kara-Tur, Cerelia, Dark Sun, Forgotten Realms - not even Ravenloft (even my Ravenloft games were homebrewed places). As a source for fan maps, I am not the guy.

Buried somewhere on the Fraternity of Shadows website is a cartography thread, where one the regular members there is constantly redesigning Ravenloft maps, individual domains, and the entire setting, though some of it isn't canon. Still might be worth looking there.

The links on that thread don't work. All references to gamer-printshop.com fail. Do you have updated links? I'd love to see the services gamer-printshop.com provides.

Yeah, gamer-printshop.com website is in redesign process (I'm making some major changes). However, my business is based out of my daytime graphics shop, which I am moving because my building is being sold (its a family business, and because my Dad is in poor health, he doesn't want to maintain the building anymore). In fact I am getting out of the print business altogether, and focusing more on design, cartography and publishing. Although I still have the large format printer, my large format laminator stopped working, and hasn't been replaced - perhaps it won't be, under my current direction. Sorry, I cannot help you at this time.

If I ever get the time (I never have spare time, these days), I'll repair the missing links with new uploads of the same maps.

 

[JeffB]

This thread has inspired me to start my "halloween" game early this year. Im gonna run NotWD tomorrow for the kids.

Think I will stick with 2e as well, instead of converting. They have played all kinds of original D&D , WOTC versions, OSR and D20 variants , but I have never run any AD&D with them.

 

[Alzrius]

I'm a big fan of Ravenloft, owning almost all of the RPG and novels that were made for it. Sadly, I haven't played in a campaign yet, though a friend of mine is sharing notes with me about the current group he's running through Death Undaunted.

 

[Dorian_Grey]

Absolutely love Ravenloft, and it is an inspiration for my homebrew campaign setting. I have to be honest though: I've only played one game of it, back in the late 90s, and that was Adam's Wrath. It was great, and a good group, but the DM got offered a job in California (We were in Massachusetts) and that was that. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I saw some generic rules for madness and such included in the Player's Options series. Specifically Spells & Magic. I had a lot of fun with the random insanity chart, and am currently including similar mechanics for my new group!

Thank you for the fun trip down madness lane

 

[Revan79]

I'm currently DM'ing my group through the Hyskosa Hexad series of adventures using 5e rules. They are a bit bewildered by everything as most of their "Abilities" aren't translating over well. Mwahahahah!!!
If anyone else is interested in this series here are the modules(In order of Adventure level):
Night of the Walking dead
Touch of Death
Feast of Goglyns
Ship of Horror
From the Shadows
Roots of Evil.
Let me know what you guys think.

 

[AKABigBlack]

i'm getting ready to run my 5e group through Night of the Walking Dead. this is my first go at running an adventure in Ravenloft and it looks like it'll be a blast!

any conversion tips or pitfalls you guys have come across?