Reading the book it got REALLY confused...
1. Ravenloft is a demiplane of infinite dimension and not a real planet, isn't it?
2. Is what "Realmers" call the plane of Shadows to be found in Ravenloft?
3. Is there any connection with the Birthright world of shadows?
4. Supposing that R is a demiplane, then how came the living beings to dwell there?
5. What happened to Lord Soth? - My sourcebook says that Azrael now holds Sothicus.
6. Are the domains connected in any way? Is travelling possible? - I mean, do the domains exist together or every one at its own?
Gaa, I am confused...
I am new to the Ravenloft setting, bought the sourcebook from S&S with the intention to use it with my running Dragonlance and Greyhawk campaigns. (Never played a single Ravenloft adventure until today)
Reading the book it got REALLY confused...
I'll try to help but my answers will be short as I have to run. Let's go:
> 1. Ravenloft is a demiplane of infinite dimension and not a real planet, isn't it?
yep! It's an enclosed demiplane floating in the deep ethereal.
> 2. Is what "Realmers" call the plane of Shadows to be found in Ravenloft?
Officially, the Plane of Shadows has no link with the RL demiplane.
The only plane accessible from RL is a bubble of ethereal plane (a bubble in the sense that it's closed to the outside - you can't escape RL by jumping in the ethereal).
An unofficial article by Yours Truly explores a bubble of Plane of Shadow in RL. You can read it in the USS 2003 at the FoS (www.FraternityOfShadows.com, in the library).
> 3. Is there any connection with the Birthright world of shadows?
No. In the Fraternity Of Shadows FAQ, you can find the list of most RL borrowings from other known D&D planes.
> 4. Supposing that R is a demiplane, then how came the living beings to dwell there?
It's a little complicated to explain: the plane is divided into domains. Each domain has a darklord. Some domains appeared from scratch when their darklord was given a domain, or other domains were ripped from other known D&D worlds, leaving wastelands where they stood.
And the memories of the population (real people, not figments or something similar) were altered to make them remember false stories about their domain's past.
> 5. What happened to Lord Soth? - My sourcebook says that Azrael now holds Sothicus.
Officially, Soth left RL to go back to Krynn.
And Sithicus darklord isn't Azrael
Azrael has the political power, but Inza is the new darklord. More info in the book Ravenloft Gazetteer IV.> 6. Are the domains connected in any way? Is travelling possible? - I mean, do the domains exist together or every one at its own?
The core is a continent where one could travel from domain to domain, providing the domain borders are not closed by the darklords (which is uncommon).
The islands can be reached by sea travel or by mist travel.
Hope I helped you. You could read the Fraternity Of Shadows FAQ, it will give you more info.
Regards,
Joël
1. Ravenloft is a demiplane of infinite dimension and not a real planet, isn't it?
I'm not sure what you mean by dimensions, but RL is a demiplane, but it is "bounded" by the mists. Whether it has infinite room to grow, I would say yes.2. Is what "Realmers" call the plane of Shadows to be found in Ravenloft?
I would think that people would have access to the Shadow plane, although it would not allow you to travel outside of RL.3. Is there any connection with the Birthright world of shadows?
No clue, but I would hazard a guess of the answer being no.4. Supposing that R is a demiplane, then how came the living beings to dwell there?
That questions has never been really answered and it tied to the creation of the demiplane, which is shrowded in mysetery. Some people belive that the Dark Powers put the people there (or created them).5. What happened to Lord Soth? - My sourcebook says that Azrael now holds Sothicus.
He was returned to Krynn. You can see his story in Spectre of the Black Rose6. Are the domains connected in any way? Is travelling possible? - I mean, do the domains exist together or every one at its own?
Some domains are physically connected. Others simply exist in the same demiplane. The best way to picture it would be to imagine an ocean, but one made of mists. Domains are either alone (as in islands) or clustered together (as continents) in this ocean of mist.
Anyway, 'ere we go...1) Well, IMO Ravenloft is something of a dreamworld, as in native Australian Aborigines (sp?) say: "Life we live is someone else's dream". Certain unknown forces shape and expand RL at their will. But, most of it (the "core") has a certain shape and broadth.
2) Nope. The closest you can get to the real (
) location of RL is a liiiittle note in the DMG, in the palnes chapter. The Demiplane of RL has some connection to the plane of shadow but it's not THE plane of shadow. For more info, Gazeteer V for the domain of "shadow rift" is your (and our) main canon source.3) No, same as above. Actually, RL is maybe located deep in the Ethereal plane (one of many speculations). IMO and IMC it is really anywhere and everywhere "needed". If you want, readthis.
4) If you could get your hands on some older products, you'd read a more in-depth analysis of the genesis of RL. It was created like a puzzle, "piece by piece", by some "powers" that stole fragments of other worlds and putting them together. So, the people living now are descendants of the original "abducted" realms. (Hmmm, now it comes together for me too...)
5) Time and space are a bit unimportant to the Dark Powers and so to RL as a whole (btw, Azrael doesn't actually hold Sithicus but that is irrelevant). Soth was no longer a suitable torture subject for the DPs because he stopped tormenting himself and embraced his evilness (sweet!! :D ). So, he managed to walk out of the mists and back to DL, but noone can tell how long he was "away"
6) What you need to focus on a little more is the whole "mist" thing. Imagine that every Domain has some semi-distinct borderline covered by some sort of barrier (wether it's mists, sandstorms, hail, poisonous clouds, a blizzard or anything) that the DPs put there to act like some sort of "cage" for the tortured person (the domain lord or darklord, if you prefer). Common people of Ravenloft (almost anyone besides the Darklords or some powerful outsiders) can travel anywhere they want. Still, there are some major things to consider. The domain lords have the power to open/close the borders at will (well, most of them), while the DPs can also interfere will. This means that if you look in the map that's on the book, travelling north from Falkovnia doesn't mean that you end up in Darkon. If the DPs have a reason to do so, you can end up anywhere.
Hope that'll help you. Sorry if I wasn't any more specific, but I am in the middle of my exams period and I don't have much time. See you around mate.
Cheers!!
Actually, RL is maybe located deep in the Ethereal plane (one of many speculations).
That's not really speculation.
pg. 8
Ravenloft is a world unlike other worlds. It is a construct, an artificial pocket realm endlessly prowling the trackless Ethereal Plane.
It's always been in the Deep Ethereal (this is why the Mists couldn't snatch beings away from the Outer Planes).
So far as anyone can tell RL began when a desperate man named Strahd Zarovich made a pact (a real devil's bargain which was thoroughly perverted while cleaving to the letter of the deal) with an entity Strahd called Death. It left Strahd a vampire, his desires thwarted and the land he ruled (Barovia)surrounded by mists (ie. sucked into the Deep Ethereal). Barovia was later joined with other lands ruled or shaped by other damned souls. Each of these is called a domain (and they somehow reflect the curse of their Darklord). The person responsible for each domain is trapped in it but other people are more or less free to move about. Almost each Darklord has the ability to close the borders through supernatural means in some way when they feel it is necessary.
In addition to the "Core" there are a number of seprate Clusters and Islands floating in the vicinity as well. There are somewhat developed pathways known as Mistways that connect them to each other but travel is very perilous (like long distance travel in the age of exploration of earth).
Now there is some confusion about the people of RL and whether or not they were created by cloth by whatever Darkpowers rule RL, or are merely some kind of unreal figments to torment the DLs or are in fact kidnapped victims and their descendants. To a alreg degree each DM answers this question on his or her own.
Good luck with your new campaign!
-Eric Gorman
1. Ravenloft is a demiplane of infinite dimension and not a real planet, isn't it?
Also, it's more accurately referred to as the "Demiplane of Dread," which would help to define it, literally and figuratively, relative to all the other bits of reality floating in the cosmos.
If it helps, "Ravenloft" is just the name of the campaign setting, named after a lonely castle near a backwoods berg in a country that is the armpit of a much larger continent...in much the same way that "Greyhawk" is named after a only one of many city-states in a larger region on a particular continent and a planet with a particular name. Tradition has named the setting, but the people who live there (if, as HvF pointed out, they "live" at all) would have an entirely different frame of reference.
Could you allow me one more question?
-Where do all the domains originate from? Azalin's, Kas' and Soth's, well, that's clear, but what about the rest?
Thanx
1) It's ripped out of the place where it's lord came from in the Prime Material, leaving nothing behind. (Pretty rare, I think Kalidnay is in this category, but I can't think of any others offhand)
2) It's copied exactly or inexactly from the lord's home. (Barovia is the obvious one here, since we get to see Prime Material Barovia in From the Shadows. Also, Sithicus, since it's a warped version of Soth's home, and the small differences serve to infuriate him.)
3) It's made up whole cloth by the Dark Powers to suit the lord. (Darkon fits here, as do many others. Even though Az is from Oerth, and Darkon reflects Oerth a bit, it's not the same as any particular place in Oerth, and definately not the country Az used to the rule.)
Now if your question is, where do the lords themselves come from, some are from established settings, some are from unknown locations in the Prime, and some are natives. And those that come from established settings can't necessarily be found in products from those settings. For example, you won't find reference to Azalin in any Greyhawk product. While he may be from Oerth according to RL products, he was made up specifically for the RL setting. I believe the only characters to actually be referenced in their "home settings" are Soth, Vecna, Kas, Gondegal, Jander, and Spulzeer.
1) It's ripped out of the place where it's lord came from in the Prime Material, leaving nothing behind. (Pretty rare, I think Kalidnay is in this category, but I can't think of any others offhand)
Actually, I believe Kalidnay falls under the "copied" category...I'm pretty sure the original Kalidnay lies in ruins on Athas. But two domains that definitely were physically ripped directly from their homeworlds are Forlorn and Avonleigh.
Surely, it is clear that the DM Manual won't suffice to get all about Ravenloft.
But what more do I have to read to understand all this?
- I recently bought 'Secrets of the Dread Realm' on ebay.
Will that make this more clear?
The one thing you need to play RL is the RL PHB. If you have more money to spend, use it to get the Gazetteers, then the RL DMG, and finally the Van Richten books. Beyond that, you can acquire HoL and CoD but they are not mandatory to enjoy a good Gothic campaign.
If you manage to find it (you can download it in pdf on RPGNow or SVGames), get Domains of Dread, as it will give you the original background (still tied to the various TSR settings) of most darklords.
That's a long way of saying RL grew organically rather than being thought out from square one and then developed. This means among, other things, that there have traditionally been a few potholes in how everything fits together. To get *ALL* about RL you'd have to buy up darn near everything and piece the mosaic togther bit by bit - and some things like the mist, the vistani and the DPs will still be open for multiple interpretations. I recomend that you make up your own mind where everything in RL comes from in your campaign. Not that it has ever been a factor, but I have traditionally though in anything I've run at home that all land in RL was stolen from somewhere (from multiple/alternative primes) since I personally like the idea that the DPs can't create life from nothing and that all RL NPCs are "real" (a whole seperate argument).
The RL DMG is all you really need to get going as as judge and event that you could do without as long as some has the Campaign setting or the RL PHB. The Gazateers flesh out the core really well though - I can't imagine a DM who wouldn't want them. Good luck with your campaign!
-Eric Gorman
I started this thread being confused - and now I know what I was searching.
Personally, I must say, that I'll take a while more until I start a real, long - time RL campaign. At present, I think it will be Darkon that attracts me most for Dming, and if I find a good DM, then I'll *burn down Sothicus as I find it...*
RL seems, although a bit *chaotic* to be a promising setting. Maybe travels from one domain to another may be difficult, but who cares. *For explores crypts you don't exactly need sea shores*
Thanx
:D :D :D