My question:
Is it better to have the party come from somewhere else (another plane) or be of Ravenloft?
What books should I permit (I am thinkng PHB)?
I am making a realm (man, it takes some time!) that originally was to be new to Ravenloft. I plan to have the PCs come from that realm.
Thoughts?
I'd say start with PHB and branch out from there on a DM-approval basis. I find that a lot of the archetypes of Ravenloft require a bit of tinkering with the base classes sometimes. If you find something elsewhere that seems to fit, or can be made to fit by stripping off the Realms-specific, or Eberron-specific, or heck, even Star Wars-specific stuff, go ahead.
I much prefer Ravenloft natives. (although forays have their place too). I think you'll find much of the 3.0/3.5 edition books deal much more with native characters. The Gazetteers have a little sidebar for each domain about appropriate feats/classes/skills for natives of that domain.
I say the same. It's better if they don't know that the place they visit is unnatural, but discover it bit by bit. (mwahahaha! *Is this correct English?*)
Ah well, it's a matter of taste, really. Both approaches are equally valid. I just like to have the PCs in a Ravenloft game to be at as much of an information disadvantage as possible. :evillaugh
For example, I dont share Bluebomber4evr's view that natives would have too much knowledge, but that is because I tend to view them more as beeing unaware of the truth about their world. The things about the vistani or not to walk into the mists, I agree with; they seem to be common knowledge, or superstitions.
But the way I see the natives and their relationship towards the magical and fantastical is that they seem to be a very superstitious, irrational and xenophobic lot, resulting in a "most of them live and die without ever encountering the supernatural"-approach.
Yes, they say that "the wolves will catch yer, if yer go outside after the sun has set!" and they believe it, but they dont have proof for it. Of course, that wont hinder them to blame every person gone missing on their superstitions.
Therefore, I think fear and horror checks are probably even more fitting for natives (who still believe that thunder sours their milk and are raised with tales about things that stalk the night), than for outsiders (who might have already had their fair share of supernatural and horrific encounters), especially if they come from more high fantasy realms like Fâerun or perhaps Athas.
But again, if theres something Ive learned form reading posts on Ravenloft' message baords, is that everyone seems to have a very unique idea on how the demiplane looks and works; perhaps even more so than with other settings, though I dont know if this is due to Ravenloft itself beeing a pretty unique setting and genre.
As I see it the primary advantages to having "outsider" PCs are (1) they come in with new eyes and see everything freshly that the natives take for granted, (2) as new components of the equation they are clearly catalysts of change and (3) are cut off from their traditional allies and reinforcements
On the other hand the primary advantages of having native PCs are (1) they are steeped in superstition from day one presumably have been conditioned with the rest of society to be afraid of the dark places, (2) they already have things they care about in RL - the village that needs to be saved is their village.
On the topic of what to allow from other sources I tend to say "whatever seems balanced" when the PCs are outsiders and "less is more" when the PCs are natives. I find that ravenloft works best in the level range of 3 about 12 so lots of higher level prestige classes and spells aren't of great utility IME.
-Eric Gorman
Native characters would know too much of the world, and, therefore, would not be the fish-out-of-water types that outlanders would. For instance, native PCs would know not to trust the Vistani and would know not to foolishly wander into the mists. Also, the horror/fear checks seem to be made for people not used to the horrors of Ravenloft, and having native PCs make those checks has never made sense to me.
Yes and no.
Most natives live and die within 40 miles of where they were born and never *knowingly* have an encounter with the supernatural. They may know not to trust the Vistani or walk into the mist but they are also often filled with inaccurate superstitions and old wives tales that could lead PCs astray.
Think of things like a white horse will never step over the grave of a vampire or children born with their teeth will become werewolves. Heroes from other lands may be better equiped to fight the forces of the night as all their information is accurate (with the exception of VanRichten style varients).
Natives do have the advantage of knowing of things like the twisting of magic and how evil begets evil that Outsiders will discover on their own.
Compare that with heroes from anywhere else, especially places like the Realms of Eberron. What’s scary about a single vampire when there’s an army of undead ruling one nation? Why role a fear check for magic when you’ve seen flying islands, lightning rails, battling genies and more? This goes double for anyone from Planescape or Dark Sun. Nothing ever scares anyone from regular D&D settings except the tarrasque or a great wyrm red dragon that just caught you with your hand in its horde.
Nothing ever scares anyone from regular D&D settings except the tarrasque or a great wyrm red dragon that just caught you with your hand in its horde.
Haven't you seen the sheer quantity of books published? That is scary.
I prefer to have a party of natives, but for a group to really feel alone and alienated from the world about them, you can't beat a group of Outlanders. Both options have great potential and possibilities, so it all depends on what you want to aim your games at.
That "alone and alienated" feel is how I like to run Ravenloft. Thanks for wording it that way, Wiccy! I was having trouble coming up with a good explanation.