WotC State of the Game, Darklords of Ravenloft

[Remathilis]

I don't really find their Cthulhu/Innsmouth arguments compelling.

"We didn't just yeet a New England town into the dark domains," followed by laughter.

So, what was the purpose of calling it "Innsmouth?" Just make a new setting and a new cosmic horror entity.

I would love to hear how they came to decide on putting Cthulhu into this book, because it still feels pretty random. Strahd shows that making a D&D specific riff works great. I don't think Ravenloft would be better if he was Dracula and Barovia was his corner of Transylvania.

I kinda feel they were damned if they did and if they didn't. If they had opted for Portsmouth with the an elder being named Raxis the tentacled dread that lives in a pineapple under the sea, people would have declared WotC was just ripping off Cthulhu and Innsmouth anyways. At least with this, they get to advertise this is the book where you can go punch Cthulhu out to people who might not have bought the book but want big slimeys official stats.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If they had opted for Portsmouth

I think the Royal Navy might have objected to that!

 

[Remathilis]

I think the Royal Navy might have objected to that!

To hell with them. They're just rum, sodomy and the lash.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I kinda feel they were damned if they did and if they didn't. If they had opted for Portsmouth with the an elder being named Raxis the tentacled dread that lives in a pineapple under the sea, people would have declared WotC was just ripping off Cthulhu and Innsmouth anyways. At least with this, they get to advertise this is the book where you can go punch Cthulhu out to people who might not have bought the book but want big slimeys official stats.

Maybe?

But Pirate Borg has the Sinking of C'thagn, with features a risen R'yleh-style city and a generator for creating new Old Ones on the fly, and it's a game that leans heavily on Mythos-style content, behind only piratical and undead stuff.

Limithron has said that C'thagn is 100% their version of R'yleh, with the names changed, just so they're free to make it their own.

The Innsmouth in Ravenloft: The Horrors Within is a weird little town that's not the Innsmouth we know. I don't think telling people they're getting X and giving them Y really buys WotC much and sets up a scenario where people are frustrated at what they feel is a bait and switch.

Maybe it's just me. We'll see in a month or so.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Was there any more info on the changes to dark gifts in this?

 

[Sulicius]

Was there any more info on the changes to dark gifts in this?

Hard to say, they are feats now, and a couple new backgrounds start with them.

 

[VashVet]

I'm a longtime Mystara fan, so I'm happy to see lupins back, but I'm not sure full-time dog man ancestry is really fulfilling players' "werewolf dreams," per the video. Isn't a big part of werewolf dreams the change aspect and fighting to keep control?

Still, having a doggo race will be popular with a large part of the player base.

If the change aspect isn’t there, I think a big aspect of what makes the concept horror is missed. But, I also think this is why we haven’t had a really good werewolf class or species option yet: creating an ability that has a disadvantage or drawback is kind of an anti-pattern now, particularly if there’s a loss of player control aspect to it.

 

[VashVet]

The number one question (along with why doesn't have my shop have the FLGS cover available to pre-order yet).

EDIT: "No, how dare you" isn't a great answer. If Wes was confused/offended by the question, they should have made it clearer how the book is different than Van Richten's before this point.

The answer appears to mostly be "more details on the darklords, including stat blocks, and more specific details on how to run adventures in individual domains."

Yes, I hate the whole “I take umbrage at the question” thing.

First, he knew the question was coming. They knew they had to address it right off the bat. Umbrage in the face of a possibly uncomfortable question is usually a tactic to distract and it felt like it was here too. It just shows a lack of preparation.

 

[SkidAce]

To hell with them. They're just rum, sodomy and the lash.

And the first thing that popped into my mind was "in what order?"

/end grandma unfriendly tangent

 

[SothFan]

Is it just me or does Wes sould like the man from Family Guy that was always trying to catch Chris Griffin's attention. Quagmire? It has been to long since I watched that show.

Wes was too much. He acted like he thought "First Edition" were going to flock to this product. Working on it since 2004, there was 22 years to come up with nthing new, as the first question suggested. Just a copy and pasted of everything that has been done before, he admitted.

Makenzie(?) flat out says this is just Universal monsters in D&D: wolfman, vampire, Frankenstein, hollow man/invisible man. Only thing I did not hear was the mummy.

AJ was just the art director?

Wes also ignored the things mention in the actual play discussion from James Lowder, author of the book that placed Soth in Ravenloft, and undermined Mr. Lowder's work and effort to preserve and protect Soth.

All 3 had "designer" in their titles, but seemed none really designed anything. They only copied what someone else did. Maybe not Van Ricten's guide or Curse of Strahd, but created nothing new at all. What did they design?

46 minute commercial that did less to tell what was in the product tham the previous text promotionsl material that listed the "contents".