Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Sep 07, 2006 8:48:49	Hi everyone! I’m about starting a new Ravenloft campaign, in which I would like to reduce the “semi-human” population only to Darkon, to give the campaign a “real Earth flavour”. But this present a problem regarding Sithicus, ‘cause this domain population HAS to be elven, to be consistent with the darklord curse (in my campaign, Lord Soth is firmly in charge…). So I’ve thinked to resolve this problem defining “the two faces of Sithicus” Basically, the real Sithicus is as described in canon (before Soth’s demise) but, overlapping the real domain, there’s an (illusory?) domain, with the same naturalistic traits of the real Sithicus and human villages built in exactly the same locations of the elven villages. The “false” Sithicus is mostly devoid of the denizens of the night and the monsters that plague the others domains, and is considered a relatively safe place to live in. The human dwellers, sometimes glimpse “something”, like shadows of buldings and creatures to which they refere generically as “fey” The “real” Sithicus, as said is as described in canon, but at its borders there are the Mists (in this respect, it’s like an Island of Terror). Sithican elves can slip to the “false “ Sithicus at will, and from there go in the “real” core (even if they usually choose to do not). Soth, instead can’t leave the “real” Sithicus, so almost no one, in the “false” Sithicus and in the Core, had heard about him. This only adds to his frustration, as he is not only the lord of an insignificant domain, with a population of a race he despise, but, also, no one in the “world” knows he is in charge. However, he is aware of anything that goes on in “false” Sithicus, and can close the domain borders with the standard manner (The Song) both in “real” and “false” Sithicus So, I long for some opinions about this idea: 1) How can PC and NPC make the transition from the “false” Sithicus to the “real” one? I’ve thinked to give characters and NPC with elven blood a percentual chance to slip to the other side, but how can human characters travel in “real Sithicus? 2) How can I characterize the “false” Sithicus (in terms of government, attitude, natural and supernatural perils, etc,? regards
#2 Mortepierre Sep 08, 2006 3:21:45	Methink this will cause a significant amount of problems. For one thing, Strahd knows Soth. They've met and they aren't on friendly terms. For another, Dr. Van Richten visited the "elven" Sithicus. He speaks about it, if only in his Guide to the Ancient Dead. So, that's pretty much spoiling it to every man with a library in the Core. Plus, there is some trade going on as advanced human civilization (especially in the N-W quarter of the Core) tends to prize elven art from Sithicus. Not to mention that Soth and Malocchio came to blow over the question of Vistani (the former being unwilling to let the latter hunt them down in Sithicus). Perhaps a better way to handle this would be to capitalize on the fact that few (if any) people of the Core truly understand the difference between "standard" elves and "Sithican" elves (given they come from the DL setting). So, why not make it a popular rumor that, long ago, a clan of elves from Darkon fled Azalin's rule and settled down as far away from him as they could. In time, they were conquered by an evil dark knight who has ruled them ruthlessly ever since. Problem solved!
#3 zombiegleemax Sep 08, 2006 7:15:56	Methink this will cause a significant amount of problems. For one thing, Strahd knows Soth. They've met and they aren't on friendly terms. For another, Dr. Van Richten visited the "elven" Sithicus. He speaks about it, if only in his Guide to the Ancient Dead. So, that's pretty much spoiling it to every man with a library in the Core. Plus, there is some trade going on as advanced human civilization (especially in the N-W quarter of the Core) tends to prize elven art from Sithicus. Not to mention that Soth and Malocchio came to blow over the question of Vistani (the former being unwilling to let the latter hunt them down in Sithicus). Perhaps a better way to handle this would be to capitalize on the fact that few (if any) people of the Core truly understand the difference between "standard" elves and "Sithican" elves (given they come from the DL setting). So, why not make it a popular rumor that, long ago, a clan of elves from Darkon fled Azalin's rule and settled down as far away from him as they could. In time, they were conquered by an evil dark knight who has ruled them ruthlessly ever since. Problem solved! i know that my idea would require quite a lot of tinkering with the canon (removing Soth-Malocchio relationship and the references to the Sithican Elven medium in VRG to the ghosts, etc..). A sfor Strahd-Soth relationship, the lord of Barovia could have lost tracks of the death kinght the moment he left his domain. IIt can be considered a wierd idea, but the concept behind it is to have an alomst human-only Ravenloft, without altering too much(or deleting) one of the best domains regards
#4 malus_black Sep 08, 2006 10:34:51	1) How can PC and NPC make the transition from the “false” Sithicus to the “real” one? I’ve thinked to give characters and NPC with elven blood a percentual chance to slip to the other side, but how can human characters travel in “real Sithicus? One thing that could work is having "those odd places, you know? Where time just ain't right. Like with those odd stones south of here. My mate Jacob, he went down there one night, and I ain't ever seen him since. No, I'm not gonna take you there!" Essentially, all the old folk tales of "fey" places, like mushroom rings or standing stones, could be where the real Sithicus bleeds into the false, and if you're unfortunate, you might walk out of one without even noticing (you could even make them a bit like portals in Planescape, requiring certain conditions to open, like carrying a withered flower or during the full moon). I suggest you read Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies, which was where I took the idea from.
#5 rotipher Sep 08, 2006 11:31:28	If you'd rather not retcon the backstory of the game-setting too much, yet still want to get the elves out of Sithicus in the present time, you could declare that the elves "disappeared" IYC at the same time as the "Black Rose" went missing in the 'canon' game-history. Instead of Soth returning to Krynn at the end of SotBR, he got pulled into a hidden version of his realm, as did the Sithican elves and the elven communities; the humans who'd settled in Sithicus remain behind, perhaps terrorized by Azrael (who can be a human midget rather than a dwarf if you prefer). In the wake of the elves' vanishing, humans elsewhere in the Core convince themselves that there never really were elves in Sithicus: insular as they are in 'canon', it's unlikely that most foreigners had ever seen one; it'd be easy to dismiss the Sithican elves as yet more tall tales from the ethnic Kartakan settlers. The younger generation of Sithican humans would likewise come to believe their parents are just making up stories about the "Fair Ones" who used to roam the forests. Give it another generation or two, and even humans in Sithicus will think the elves weren't ever there. If you're willing to take liberties with the timeline, or to advance your campaign a few decades beyond 'canon', you can assume this forgetfulness is already well established, with only a few venerable Sithican humans remembering what the legendary "southern fey" even looked like.
#6 keg_of_ale Sep 08, 2006 13:33:15	Neat idea! Took keep with the idea of the "false" realm to be a travesty of the real one, I'd make the human citizens remarkably short and slim for the norm, with perhaps an increased tradition to sad songs and other art forms. Make the realm generally peaceful, but with an unexplainable aura of sadness permeating the place constantly. Government-wise, the realm could be ruled by a fair knight figure who rarely leaves his estate and is thus seldom seen (Soth in disguise, or some shadow double of him). Most day-to-day affairs would be handled by his dwarven senechal Azrael (who'd be, essentially, the fake realm's de-facto regent). As for ways to cross into the real Sithicus, you could place a few portals in the deep woods, and perhaps at the bottom of Azrael's dungeons. Or make it so that any living creature carrying a black rose during a night where Nuitari is full (good luck spotting when it is and when it isn't) finds itself transported into the real realm.
#7 The_Jester Sep 09, 2006 19:09:09	If you're going to do this I might just remove Sithicus entirely and have Verbrek and/or Valachan be the world interposed overtop Sithicus. Have Sithicus be removed and only accesible via faerie rings or other passages such as the occasional trip into the Mists.
#8 zombiegleemax Sep 11, 2006 4:30:40	Neat idea! Took keep with the idea of the "false" realm to be a travesty of the real one, I'd make the human citizens remarkably short and slim for the norm, with perhaps an increased tradition to sad songs and other art forms. Make the realm generally peaceful, but with an unexplainable aura of sadness permeating the place constantly. Government-wise, the realm could be ruled by a fair knight figure who rarely leaves his estate and is thus seldom seen (Soth in disguise, or some shadow double of him). Most day-to-day affairs would be handled by his dwarven senechal Azrael (who'd be, essentially, the fake realm's de-facto regent). As for ways to cross into the real Sithicus, you could place a few portals in the deep woods, and perhaps at the bottom of Azrael's dungeons. Or make it so that any living creature carrying a black rose during a night where Nuitari is full (good luck spotting when it is and when it isn't) finds itself transported into the real realm. In fact The "fair knight" nominally ruling the "fase " Sithicus could even be a Soth self-delud portrait (as the ones in "When Black roses Bloom"), i think..
#9 gonzoron Sep 11, 2006 10:03:02	I don't have much to add. Just wanted to say that I really like this idea. Go for it!
#10 zombiegleemax Sep 25, 2006 12:14:25	I was under the impression that the elves of Sithicus were Silvanesti elves.