Drawn back to The Mists – Ramon’s Return to Ravenloft

The Demiplane of Dread, house of the Castle Ravenloft and the prison of countless conniving souls.  It called to me once more.  I find myself not in the known lands, but a different cluster set.  Words and people tell of creatives whose processes lead to their own dooms.  Tales of toy makers, playwrights, sculptors, painters and even bards…  All of these haunt me more than they would the layman.  But, what goes beyond this troubled region?  Whose to say?  With any luck, I’ll find my escape beyond the Lands of the Mists in due time.

Author’s Note:  I wanted to bring things back to Ravenloft, as last post showed.  Like before, I wanted to bring in a mix of my own content and the classic domains of the campaign setting.  In time, I might supply more from my own, fleshing them out much like I did for Dawnsveil.  In the meantime, take a look at a domain cluster dedicated to artists and other crafting geniuses gone horribly wrong.  And on top of that, my summary of some other domains that I love.  Also, another shout-out to Knott’s Berry Farm!  2020’s Scare might be cancelled, but you remain an amazing inspiration for me.  Some day, I’ll actually be able to attend the Halloween seasonal attraction…

On Bohemia – A Pocket Domain

Mordent, considerably more progressive than other domains by a distance.  Curiously, its presence in the Mists is the fault of Strahd and Azalin.  They devised a scheme to exploit an apparatus within the realm to free themselves from their imprisoned domains.  This failed, sealing Mordent’s fate as well.

A fair share of oddities drift in and around the domain.  The Darklord himself, Lord Wilfred Godefrey, certainly counts.  Once a backstabbing aristocrat, he slew his own wife and daughter.  He covered the incident up as it were an accident.  But, their vengeful spirits drove him to suicide, forcing him into the ironic fate of a trapped spirit too.  Since then, he has collected the souls that are beckoned to his house on Gryphon Hill.  He has even used the trapped souls to his advantage at times, creating networks of informants and spies within his domain.

A ways off the path was an off beat enclave of artists, creatives and non-establishment people who failed to fit in with the norm.  Save for the waxworks, there is no more life here.  No true life.  Despite much of it burning down, wonders of art are mixed with the macabre to unveil an art show unlike anything before.

Author’s Note: This is essentially an edited copy of an old post.  5E-related crunch has been removed, save for my creation of Bohemia before it joined the Fell Crafts Cluster.

Ramon’s Guide to The Mists

Ravenloft!  The Demiplane of Dread!  The Mists!  All names for the same prison dimension for the foulest in the multiverse!  Those within the clutches of the Dark Powers must suffer, whether or not they deserve it.  These Dark Powers overseen all sorts of truly awful Domains of Dread, plots of artificially constructed spaces where the Powers observe the truly damned in the places of their own damnation.  The Darklords are those who have doomed themselves through acts of ultimate evil.  They preside over the aforementioned domains to remind them of their sins.  Usually, they don’t take kindly to visitors like myself.

Author’s Note: The Lovable World Traveling Bard vs. The Demiplane of Dread!  I always love writing bits on Ravenloft and this is a good way of introducing some of my favorite domains to players who might not be as familiar with them.  Of course, there are MANY domains that I wish I could ramble about, but I have only so much space and time to play with, unlike the Dark Powers.  In fact, their ability is limitless!  Plus, this is a good way of building up my own domains, Dawnsveil, Within the Woods and Feuer!  (Yes, the second one is Evil Dead 1 & 2.)  Keep an eye out for those new domains, by the way…  Also I continued a piece cut from my prior post.  The Black Lanterns was part of my Shadow Fell to Planescape conversion concept from before.