Now for my question, is there any information in it, about Soth, Azrel, isolde and inza, that we don't get in Spectre of the black rose???
When Black Roses Bloom is a canon 1995 Ravenloft module, that details the domain of Sithicus and it’s ruler Lord Soth.
Overall, the adventure gives a fascinating look into the fabric of the Demiplane itself. It’s a very rich and deep story line that can totally swallow you and your players (IF it’s played right).
The goal of the story revolves around the rescue of a Vistani tribe. Personally, I think the whole Vistani thing has been beaten to DEATH, as almost every single canon module includes at least one Vistani encounter. Nonetheless, this module was the FIRST time MY players were exposed to Vistani, so the magic has not been lost.
The opening of the module itself, however, is a bit more interesting than the standard “mists abduct your characters and deposit them here (points to a spot on the map)”. It gives several ideas on how to get your PC’s into Sithicus WITHOUT forcing them.
Myself, I had the players going to Sithicus to retrieve a stake fashioned from the wood of a BloodRose plant. Their main objective was the defeat of Duke Gundar (Darklord of Gundarak in 735), who can only be affected by this special weapon. So suffice to say, the PC’s entered the domain of Sithicus under their own accord.
Next up, a few random encounters to get the story moving. These include a wild elf running around talking about “treants”, and a brief altercation with Azreal Dak, seneschal to Lord Soth (who was originally mentioned in the Knight Of The Black Rose novel). They rescue a few NPC’s (as any heroic PC should be inclined to do) and learn a bit more about the storyline. The Sithican natives have lost their minds! Literally! Their memories are fading away as we speak. Another strange and bizarre occurrence that serves to weird the PCs out. What is going ON here?
A series of violent earthquakes is designed to keep the PCs on their toes and acting quickly.
When they finally get to the village of Har-Thelen, the big picture becomes a bit more clearer. The earthquakes have ravaged the once-beautiful elvin community, and the memory loss is so pronounced by this point in time people are wandering aimlessly around the streets, lost in a haze.
Here’s where it gets a little tricky.
The module introduces Magda and her tribe of Wanderers for only the 2nd time in canon history (the first being the aforementioned Knight Of The Black Rose novel). This is where the skill of the DM comes into play. The module ASSUMES the PC’s will want to help the Vistani tribe. Granted, the adventure was written in 1995, but that is a glaring example of the differences between “old-school” and “new-school” gaming. Nowadays, my players want to know the who/what/when/where/hows and whys before committing their characters to a specific mission (ESPECIALLY one that involves confronting a Dark Lord). This module just says: PCs meet Vistani, then immediately cuts to the gates of Nedgregaard Keep (assuming the players will blindly follow the modules lead). But WHY do the players help the Vistani? WHAT is so important that they will risk their own lives to save a bunch of NPCs? You feel me? It’s up to the DM to really flesh out the characters motivations. Gotta give them a personal attachment to the NPCs, so they’re no longer just a name or a bunch of stats. Instead they are REAL people WHO the players are inclined to help because they WANT to.
Also, this is a brilliant roleplaying opportunity for you and your players, and I strongly suggest using Van Richten’s Guide To Vistani as an aid. Make the PC’s feel attached to the Wanderers, seeing them almost as a surrogate family (that’s how I did it, anyway).
Magda tells the PCs a little about an old prophecy that speaks of “strangers” entering Sithicus and helping the Wanderers escape from their prison. In this adventure, the domain borders are closed (disregarding the fact that the PCs got IN) and nobody can escape (without completing the module, but don’t let the players know, lest they feel railroaded!).
Again, this module is from 1995, so the whole Nedregaard Castle scene is just a glorified dungeon crawl. Granted, the maps are beautiful and fun to use, but they don’t even detail all the rooms. This can be a blessing or a curse (depending on the DM). Personally, I LOVED the fact that only a handful of rooms are listed. It gives the DM creative freedom to do what he feels with the rest. Only a few scenarios are mentioned in conjunction with certain rooms (for example, a rotten piano that is home to a family of rats: haunting music?)
The PCs are expected to poke around a bit, and explore the various rooms (CLASSIC D&D, right?) The module includes some interesting magical items (such as the Oathbreaker sword), but as always it’s DM Prerogative, and I stripped the castle bare of magical items. There’s plenty of opportunities for combat, as they wisely included Soth’s thirteen loyal soldiers (now reduced to skeletal mockeries of their former selves) as well as the banshees that haunt his keep. Dragonlance fans will know the deal RIGHT away.
Included in the castle, are two temples dedicated to the worship of Mishikal and Paladine, respectively. This is a great opportunity to give the PCs a bit of background on Ravenloft itself. These are long-lost ancient religions and beliefs that seem to come from another WORLD (which they do). If your PCs are Ravenloft natives (which mine are) this serves to show them that the land draws its inhabitants from “somewhere else” beyond the misty curtain. Certainly a strange thought to ponder. Especially for a budding Arcanist, perhaps?
There is also a strange encounter within the keep where the PCs meet a local kender randomly wandering the castle halls. She tells them a bit about the Black Rose pendant, which she believes Lord Soth is looking for. This scene is foreshadowed earlier in the module, when the PCs first encounter Azreal. But a little more is needed, says I. I made sure the PCs noticed tiny footprints in the layers of dust as SOON as they entered the castle (these would belong to the kender).
So basically, the PCs are hoping to use the amulet to get Soth focusing on his domain again. Even the overall goal of the module is never clearly spelled out. Again, it just kinda assumes the PCs will rush right into Lord Soth’s throne room and have it out with him.
Finally, they get to the throne room and discover the Memory Mirrors (a BRILLIANT plot twist, says I).
The whole story of Lord Soth revolves around the lies we live. Behind the scenes, Soth committed sin to protect the public image others had of him. He had his half-brother and half-sister murdered to prevent them from being an obstacle down the road. He murdered his first wife and child to hide the horribly twisted truth he had uncovered. He quickly married his second wife because he impregnated her during their affair. Every evil action he took was for a greater good. The end justifies the means. His people still revere him as a shining beacon of honor and purity in a world gone mad. But of course, fate would throw a monkey wrench in his plans. In D&D-world, a character is blessed or cursed due to their actions. Lord Soth made his bed, and the powers-that-be (Dark Powers?) made sure he would lie in it.
The whole premise behind the Memory Mirrors included in the module is reality based, IE: Reality is subjective. We each make our own.
When you tell a lie, or a story to other people to make yourself look better (when you FRONT) you are altering reality. The image you have created for yourself is considered true and real by those you deceive. Only YOU know the real truth. The problem starts, when YOU start believing your own twisted reality. When the lie you told is a lie no more, but the honest-to-god TRUTH. Just like the Memory Mirrors. They are a metaphor for this entire discussion.
Lord Soth had deep regrets for his past actions (which makes him by FAR the most redeemable of all Dark Lords). Just the fact that he felt a sliver of guilt is enough to remind you that this twisted monster was at one time human. Lord Soth had the memory mirrors created as a way of reliving his past transgressions. Imagine six virtual reality chambers. You enter the mirrors, and a whole new world springs forth (all born from Soths memories). Soth had fun going into the mirrors, and subtly changing past events in his life. The mirrors are tangible forms of “What If?” What if Lady Gladria had been killed by ogres, instead of at his own hands? What if he had murdered Tanis Half Elvin and acquired the Crown Of Power? What if? What if? What if?
These mirrors actually ALLOWED him to see the What. But the problem is, Lord Soth got too caught up. In the beginning, he knew it was all fantasy. He went in to the mirrors to play pretend. But the longer he spent in his self-created fantasy world (the lies we tell) the more he came to believe it was Truth.
THAT’S why Sithicus was ravaged by earthquakes. THAT’S why the natives were losing their minds. Because the very foundation of the land itself (IE: Soth’s curse) was being unraveled. He was lost in a fantasy world of his own creation! It’s up to the PCs to BRING HIM BACK TO REALITY!
So the PCs get a chance to enter the mirrors (total of six) and join in the fun. Again, it’s up to the DM on how far you really want to take this. If you have a Dragonlance boxed set you could play an entire CAMPAIGN within a campaign. By this point, the PCs will have been well-versed on Soths history (even if they didn’t know jack about it before entering Sithicus) and should be able to point out the changes Soth has made. It’s up to them to reverse the changes, and one by one the mirrors will break (bring Soth back to reality piece by piece).
Ultimately, the players will have a final dramatic confrontation with the Darklord of Sithicus, Lord Soth. The paths the players can take are numerous, but it all boils down to the pendant and the gem. The adventure module makes the PCs rush out of the castle looking for the lost gem in a random Sithican cave, but I changed it for my game. I didn’t want the climax occuring in some cave, I wanted it to occur in the heart of Nedgregaard Keep (much cooler that way).
See, Lord Soth wants the gem and the pendant so he can use them to summon forth Kitiara and trap her soul, making her forever his. In order for the module to be completed as written, Lord Soth has to wind up with the gem and the pendant (effectively ending the game and making the players “the losers”). BUT WAIT!
There is a brilliant twist in the plot, that will shock even the most battle-scarred D&D veterans.
But I couldn’t get into that HERE, it would spoil the entire adventure!
I read the reviews posted by other people and they all pretty much panned the ending. The portal home is actually the rose symbol on Soths breastplate which means the players have to literally jump THROUGH Lord Soth. Granted, it DOES sound kind of corny when you’re just reading through the module. But actually PLAYING it is another matter entirely. The module does an EXCELLENT job of foreshadowing this eventual turn of events, as Magda’s pet rook Shadow as been squawking “Through! Dark! Lord!” all adventure. And of course the portal is NOT an escape route from the Demiplane of Dread, just an escape route from Sithicus (remember nobody could leave prior to this occurrence). It can deposit them right outside the border where they first entered (my decision as listed under DM Prerogative).
The best you can hope for from these old modules is some sparkling campaign info, and at least a KERNAL of story line inspiration. This module has them both in spades. The floorplans for Nedgregaard Keep and the maps of Sithicus will never go out of style. Seeds for future adventures can be planted (with the PCs counting Magda and her tribe as allies now) and a new appreciation for an old setting can develop (my players knew NOTHING of Dragonlance before this module, and now they love it). And yes, I changed A LOT in this module, but that power is listed under DM Prerogative Article XII, Paragraph XXXV. It’s almost EXPECTED that you modify them to fit your own campaign. C’mon now, keep it real.
Now, for some player thoughts:
At first, the players were a bit mystified by the earthquakes and memory loss, and had no idea what to do about it (but couldn’t WAIT to delve deeper).
They loved exploring the castle, as would ANY D&D player. My other player Destanial, however, was a bit disappointed by the kender encounter in the module (he was just hoping for something cooler than a little kender girl).
Also, the memory mirrors stumped them. They had NO idea what the hell was going on. At first, they thought the tales of Lord Soth had been fabricated, and the mirrors were telling the truth. But when they started messing around in them, their true nature was revealed. Best believe the smiles were abundant when that first mirror shattered…
The final confrontation with Lord Soth STILL sends shivers up my spine thinking about it! It was THAT hott! It made for a VERY intense role-playing encounter, that the PCs STILL talk about today! They actually bargained with a Dark Lord!
And the twist at the end, when Lord Soth finally summons Kitiara, is a beautiful beautiful thing. The PCs thought for SURE the game was over and all hope was lost. But the winds of fate changed the entire course of history (how Ravenloft-ish).
And my players LOVED the “Through Dark Lord” revelation. Diving through Lord Soth was not a “corny” concept to them, they loved it. Another “sick twist” as they say.
In conclusion, I have to slice my wrists and give this module the necessary 5 Blood Drops. No doubt, no question.
I notice that the mistress of Carnival and the elf maiden that Soth betrayed his wife with are both named "Isolde". This seems like a pretty unusual name. Is there some link I have yet to discover or is it mere coincidence (or more likely subconscious plagiarism by the Carnival author)?
Ther is no link between the elf maiden and Carnival mistress (beyond the use of the same name).
Is there some link I have yet to discover or is it mere coincidence (or more likely subconscious plagiarism by the Carnival author)?
...
Well I notice that the mistress of Carnival and the elf maiden that Soth betrayed his wife with are both named "Isolde". This seems like a pretty unusual name. Is there some link I have yet to discover or is it mere coincidence (or more likely subconscious plagiarism by the Carnival author)?
Aside from being rather insulting, this assumption also conflicts with the facts: Isolde was named in Domains of Dread.
And it's not like it's a particularly uncommon name in the genre; there are at least two Isoldes in Arthurian myth, IIRC.
Matthew L. Martin
Aside from being rather insulting, this assumption also conflicts with the facts: Isolde was named in Domains of Dread.
And it's not like it's a particularly uncommon name in the genre; there are at least two Isoldes in Arthurian myth, IIRC.
Matthew L. Martin
I can think of a third in Ravenloft, though spelt differently, Tristen ApBlanc's wife was called Isolt.
EDIT: Hey MSD, I just noticed your personalised tag under your name.
Fitting
;)Anyway, let me again appologize to John Mangrum and Steve Miller. I certainly didn't mean any insult to your resource. In fact, I've been praising it quite highly in my blog. Out of all the resources at my disposal, I chose Carnival to bring my newbie players up to the appropriate level for When Black Roses Bloom, which seems to represent the most logical center of a Sithicus based campaign and it will most likely be the Carnival that they turn to in order to escape Sithicus in the aftermath. It's the most flexible Ravenloft resource I have read so far. I didn't notice it was from '99 when I first introduced it, though so I'm working at cranking the timeline back a few years since it needs to be appx 744, after Tindafalus has created the Memory Mirrors, stolen Silessa from Sarlandril, and accidentally exchanged places with his Ketch but before Soth has become completely distracted from his domain. Are there any obvious differences in the Carnival from this time period I should be aware of?