#Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays

[darklordazalin]

Raveloft Lore Tuesdays

Domain of May: Barovia – The First Domain of not quite the First Vampire Domain Formation: 351 BC

Lore: Historical Event – The Arrival of the Necromancer

According to a tarokka card reading done by the famed Seer Vistana Madam Eva and later repeated by her predecessor, Madam Ilka, a Necromancer would arrive in Barovia and would be one of Strahd’s greatest foes and would bring war to the land of Barovia. That Necromancer was me 💀 

The war itself amounted to a few skirmished before we both called it a day, but the events that occurred while conducting experimentations to escape back to my home world of Oerth changed the lands in the Mists forever. Though each failure brought me new data and new irritation to von Zarovich, they also, perhaps more importantly led to the creation of Forlorn, Arak, and Mordent. I myself explored Forlorn, but found nothing more than a sad creature locked away in their castle and far too many goblyns. Arak…would not permit me within and any surveyors I sent on my behalf went missing. Mordent…well, I have nothing more than vague recollections of the place but I know, for a brief moment, I had succeeded in allowing both Strahd and I to escape Barovia for far too short a time.

After the Mordent event, I knew I had been fooling myself and foolishly stepped into the Mists, following the sounds of the Vistani within in hopes of escaping back to Oerth. My efforts awarded me with my very own prison designed to torment me for eternity…

How to use Azalin’s Time in Barovia in Your Games

If you wish to use the formation of the Domains resulting from Azalin and Strahd’s experiments, then I suggest speeding up the timeline if you wish to use all three or just focus on one of them.

Forlorn’s appearance could easily result in a surge of goblyns pouring into Barovia. This is easily something for a group of adventurers to learn of and deal with. Goblyns, not to be confused with goblins, are humanoids twisted by magic into bug-eyes, sharp jaws, sickly looking creatures with long claws and no will but that of the one who created them and no pleasure but to eat anything they can get their hands on. Such creatures could quickly devastate a small town in Barovia.

Arak is a desolate land with Shadow Fey living far beneath its surface. Perhaps Barovia opens a mining expedition in the new land and…’dig too deep’, as is the classic fantasy tale, and uncover some ancient evil the dwelled below. The Shadow Fey are very much like the Unseelie Court and if a mine ended up unburying a few of them…well, that could result in odd Fey bargains such an individual who suddenly becomes incredibly wealthy and/or the Burgomaster of a town in Barovia, but…they must always walk backwards or only talk in riddles. An unknown horror could recreate a mind-controlled populace or possessed miners. There is a lot you could do with this.

As for Mordent, well the events of Azalin and Strahd’s time in Mordent are depicted in Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill. It is a…strange adventure at best where Strahd using the Apparatus and slips himself into his ‘good’ and ‘evil’ halves…players are pitted against his evil half throughout…Azalin just kind of watches? There’s a lot of oddities within, but if you want to do something similar and want to have Azalin in your game, well the events in Mordent could have split Azalin in two, but they aren’t put back together. His lich half could easily replace the lich in the Amber Temple in Curse of Strahd and his human half could be the ‘mad mage’ the resides on Mount Baratok.

[darklordazalin]

Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays

Domain Focus for May: Barovia; The First Domain of not quite the First Vampire Domain Formation: 351 BC

Lore: The Story of Jacqueline Montarri of Krezk.

Jacqueline Monatarri is a noblewoman who lives in a lavish home in the village of Krezk. Well, lavish by Barovian standards…

A rather vain woman, Jacqueline desired eternal youth and believed the Vistani held its secret. She sought out Madam Eva the raunie of the Zarovan Vistani. It is said that the Zarovan tribe exist in non-linear time, essentially meaning they not only can travel freely through the Mists but through time as well. This makes them potent seers and one would be entirely foolish to ignore their divinations.

Madam Eva refused to assist Jacqueline in her quest for eternal youth and beauty until the Krezkian threatened her with a knife pressed up against her throat. Only then did Madam Eva inform her that the secret was in the library of Castle Ravenloft. Satisfied with Eva’s response, Jacqueline slit the old seer’s throat and proceeded to von Zarovich’s Castle.

The secret of eternal youth and beauty (if one was already beautiful before their undeath, anyway) did lie within Ravenloft’s humble library as its master was within. There, Strahd attacked the young woman, drained her to the brink of death, then threw her in a cage. One of Strahd’s servants carted her to the Village of Barovia (I suppose Krezk was too far for this idle servant) where she was beheaded for the crime of trespassing.

The Zarovan Vistani were amongst the crowd that watched her beheading and requested that her body be turned over to them for Jacqueline had killed Madam Eva. Strahd’s servant agreed on the behalf of his lord and the Vistani carted Jacqueline’s body away. The Vistani wove complex magic only truly understood by the Vistani themselves and restored Jacqueline to life.

When she awoke and found herself in a Vistani vardo, Jacqueline fled certain the Vistani had brought her back for their own ill purposes. It wasn’t until she was safety in her home that she happened upon a mirror and saw the true horror of what she had wrought upon herself. The Vistani had restored her to life, even granted her eternal life, but the head that sat upon her shoulders was no longer her own, but the head of Madam Eva fashioned onto her neck by a simple red ribbon. If she removed the ribbon, the head came off with it.

Enraged and disgusted, Jacqueline confronted Madam Eva’s kin once more. They delighted in her torment and informed her that the only way to undo her curse and gain her the eternal life and beauty she desired was to seek out and restore her true head.

Since then, Jacqueline has learned much about her condition. Only the ribbon will hold her head on securely, but she can don any human female head she desires. In doing so, she retains her own persona but learns the skills of the former owner’s. She keeps a collection of heads in glass cases at her home, though often collects those she finds visually appealing over those that may be of more use to her.

Where does Jacqueline’s true head reside? Well, there are rumors that it now lies on a shelf in Castle Avernus in Darkon. I, personally, will not confirm nor deny this accusation.

How to Use the Lore in Your Game:

Jacqueline can be added as an NPC of interest in Krezk in Curse of Strahd or any adventure set in Barovia. If using Curse of Strahd, it is feasible she may work with The Abbot, providing him with ideal body parts whereas she keeps the heads.

Jacqueline has a vorpal sword she often uses on her victims to collect their heads. A series of murders where the victims’ heads are missing throughout Barovia may be a quest for the PCs to investigate. One body found with its head no where to be found is strange but multiple? Well, that’s a pattern and likely the work of an individual.

Jacqueline herself is forever searching for her original head. She could, feasibly, hire the party to search potential locations for her. Perhaps she has information or an item the party desperately needs and is willing to trade if they find her head for her.

Potential locations include Castle Avernus in Darkon (Azalin does keep a collection of severed heads in one of his labs), The Abbey of Saint Markovia (The Abbot has his own collection of body parts and this may be a way to encourage players to seek The Abbot out in Curse of Strahd), Lamordia (let’s be honest, almost any lab or university in Lamordia has severed heads laying around), Bluetspur (Illithid experimentation may just require a human head or two), Castle Ravenloft (Strahd is not one to let go of grudges and hanging onto her head for not only trespassing but killing a Vistana under his protection may inspire him to further her torment).

The Headless Horseman is also a Darklord in Ravenloft and travels along The Winding Road, which can appear in any Domain at any time. The Horseman is, obviously, in search of his own head. However, in his wake, a small army of floating heads follows him. One of these heads could be Jacqueline’s.

[darklordazalin]

Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays: Forlorn Part 2

Domain focuse of June: Forlorn Domain Formation: 547 BC Darklord: Tristen ApBlanc Lore: The Druids of Forlorn

After a couple weeks off to refresh my mind, let’s delve back into the legends and lore of the Domain of Forlorn. Forlorn is heavily influenced by Celtic tales and culture with a focus on the preservation of nature against those who would corrupt it. There are no settlements in Forlorn, only ruins of old farm houses and what once was a same town. The once vast forested landscape is continuously under attack by Tristen’s goblyns; the Darklord taking delight in ordering his minions to burn and cut down as much as they can. He is a sad, petty creature…and much like a child with a favorite toy, he’d rather see his land destroyed than enjoyed by another.

Only the sacred groves remain untouched as the Druids of Forlorn are forever diligent in their protection. The Druids fight against Tristen and his minions in order to restore balance over the land, but how that restoration is to be achieved has divided the Druids into two factions – one led by Shelaugh and one led by Maeve. Shelaugh, who’s people have taken the symbol of the rowan berries believe that to restore the balance between good and evil they must attack those on the side of evil directly. Maeve, who’s people have taken the symbol of the oak tree, believe that they must recruit more good into the land of Forlorn for it is more appropriate for those individuals to fight directly against evil than the Druids themselves. This is all a bit arbitrary and given the nature of these lands trapped in the mists, neither faction will ever reach their goal.

Regardless of the faction they serve, all Druids are devoted to protecting their scared groves. Within these ancient stands, the Druids are fully connected with nature and, in their belief, the deities they worship. When praying here, the Druids abilities are more potent. Before the Mists stole them from their homes, the Druids worships many nature deities. Now, however, they only worship two - Belenus, the god of sun and fire, and Daghdha, the good of weather and crops.

A rather interesting trait and commonly held belief among the Druids of Forlorn is that natural born redheads have stronger and innate druidic magic as if the land itself gifts redheads with these abilities. Fascinatingly, the brighter the red of the individual’s hair, the stronger their gifts. An experimentation on these redhead’s genetics may be in order. These redheads are trained at a young age on how to access and control their innate abilities as to let them develop on their own often has disastrous results.

How to Use this Lore in Your Games

The obvious use of the Druidic Factions, especially if you have a Druid player, is to have each faction attempt to recruit the PCs. But what if we took this a little farther? The Druid Factions, though in disagreement with one another, do not actively fight each other…but what if some outside force was making it appear as if they were? Clear evidence is found from both sides indicating that the other faction is being actively attacked by the other. This could give the characters an interesting mystery to solve and perhaps even get the two Factions to actively work together against their true enemy.

The sacred groves can be used for a place of rest for PCs that have gained the Druids of Forlorn’s trust and potentially as a place where they may have a rare chance to form a true connection with their deity. A cleric born in Ravenloft operates on faith alone, but imagine if they prayed in one of the sacred groves and their prayers were answered? That would be a life-changing experience for that character.

Redheads in Ravenloft are often tied to magic and innocence. After all, it all started with a redhead. If you have a PC with red hair, they could be originally from Forlorn and perhaps gain the Druid Initiate Feat when they enter Forlorn. For potential NPCs, a redhead who was not trained to control their powers could cause all sorts of issues for the PCs and the Druids of Forlorn. Perhaps the PCs are hired to find this individual before they do too much harm to the land? Perhaps Tristen wants to get ahold of them himself and use them for his own purposes. A powerful, uncontrolled redhead with fire abilities could grant Tristen a way to destroy more of the Druid’s trees they hold so dear.

[darklordazalin]

Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays: Forlorn

Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays Domain Focus for June: Forlorn Domain Formation: 547 BC Darklord: Tristen ApBlanc

Lore: NPC – Herrd of Clan ApKie

Herrd is a goblyn, which are unique to the demiplanes of dread. They are humanoids that are transformed into goblyns. Similar to a skeleton or zombie under the dominion of the necromancer that created them, goblyns must obey their creator.

The Darklord of the Domain of Forlorn, Tristen ApBlanc, has telepathic control over every goblyn in his lands. Every goblyn that is, except for Herrd of the ApKie goblyn clan. To avoid his ruler’s commands, Herrd wears a ring of mind shielding at all times. Curious as it would simply be a matter of Tristen caring enough to have his swarm of goblyns remove the ring or remove Herrd entirely, but perhaps the pathetic Darklord finds Herrd’s antics amusing.

Herrd was once a human soldier who was transformed into a goblyn when Forlorn was claimed by the Mists. He does not remember his life as a human nor Forlorn’s original Kingdom of Forfar. Living amongst the goblyns in the forests and caves of Forlorn, Herrd’s ambition is to challenge Tristen’s control over the goblyn clans. Herrd longs for the ‘freedom’ of his people…that is, freedom from Tristen so that he would be free to lord over them himself.

If it wasn’t for Tristen’s absolute control over the others, Herrd would likely obtain his wish. He is larger, stronger, and far more intelligent than a typical goblyn and they naturally follow him already. He is a rather imposing figure, wearing nothing more than a black and red kilt decorated with fiery red human hair.

How to Use Herrd in Your Games

If the PCs are working against Tristen, then Herrd could be a valuable ally. Though unlikely to aid them directly in combat against the vampire/ghost Darklord, Herrd can provide valuable information about the land of Forlorn and its ruler.

Goblyns are mostly found in Forlorn, but they’re also quite common in the Domains of Kartakass, Darkon, and occasionally Barovia. Herrd could leave Forlorn and attempt to recruit or rule over goblyns in other Domains. This could result in more organized groups of goblyns causing chaos in townships.

The PCs may find Herrd’s goals sympathetic and wish to aid him in freeing his people from Tristen’s control. This could put the PCs in direct conflict with the Darklord of Forlorn or perhaps they can look for a creative way to sever the bound besides killing Tristen. Forlorn is also home to many druidic circles, perhaps one such circle knows of an ancient ritual that would restore the goblyns minds and perhaps even their former selves.

[darklordazalin]

Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays

Domain Focus for May: Barovia – The First Domain of not quite the First Vampire Domain Formation: 351 BC

Lore: Folktale - The Icon of Ravenloft

There are many folktales throughout the Demiplanes of Dread and though many of the ones told in Barovia are related to vampires and blood drinkers, this particular tale is in regard to a rather powerful holy object that is considered the ‘sister’ to the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.

When the von Zarovich family first arrived in Barovia, a dying raven fell at the feet of Mihaela von Zarovich. Although, perhaps, a more than proper response when encountering certain members of this bloodline, Mihaela was said to take pity upon the bird and cradled it in her arms. She prayed to St. Andral to bless the corvid and a moment later, the raven flew from her hands and off into the distant mountains.

The priests of St. Andral declared this event a miracle, though more likely the bird was fatigue and the warmth of a human body was all it needed to regain its strength. Regardless, the priests created the Icon of Ravenloft in honor of this event.

The icon is a silver statuette of a raven with tiny diamonds for its eyes. A powerful object, when in the hands of a cleric or paladin, it can be used to turn away the strongest of undead creatures as well as cure the injured. Of course, those with ill intent are more often than not harmed by merely touching the icon.

The Icon of Ravenloft in Games:

The simplest way to use the Icon in a game is to include it as one of the items the characters need to find before encountering Strahd. It would be very helpful in an encounter with him and you could always give it additional bonuses when combined with the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. This can be done in any version of the Strahd adventure as they all include the card reading at the beginning.

The Icon itself, if using 5e stats would like translate to either giving disadvantage to Undead saving vs being turned or add a +1 bonus to the Save DC of the Cleric/Paladin wielding it. Also, would be able to cast Cure Wound probably 3 times a day.

If your characters are questing throughout the Demiplanes there are a couple other options – You can run an adventure similar to From the Shadows (2e) in which Azalin sends characters back in time to steal the Icon for him before it is lost. You can use this story to have Strahd hire adventurers to steal it back from Azalin’s Castle or the Black Vault of Il Aluk (or Necropolis depending on what timeline you’re going with). Another potential NPC that would be interesting in owning the Icon are any of the wereravens from the Keepers of the Feather, Van Ritchen, Lyssa von Zarovich, and honestly any individual that worships St. Andral or the Morning Lord. Seeing as the Icon could be anywhere, its an easy item to add as a ‘fetch’ quest in practically any Domain.

[darklordazalin]

Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays

Domain Focus for May: Barovia – The First Domain Domain formation: 351 BC

Lore: Native Creature – The Shalkala

There is not much written on the Shalkala, just a small note in one of van Richten’s research guides (Guide to the Mists; 3e). The good doctor believes them to be fey creatures native to Barovia’s svalich woods. They lure foolish Barovians into the woods, then entice them to dance within a ring of fungus or moss. These must be particularly foolish or brave Barovians as most I encountered while within the depressing landscape of Barovia locked themselves up on a nightly basis and rarely strayed more than a few yards from their homesteads.

If one dances with the Shalkala within their fey circles, it is said their entire lives are rewritten in such a matter that they believe the Shalkalas are their close friends and they have always served them. Well, as someone who has used this method before and who’s Domain tends to do such things on its own, I must admit this is a sound method to obtain loyal servants.

How to use the Shalkala in Your Game

Looking for your players to have something to do in the Svalich Woods besides running from packs of wolves? An encounter with a Shalkala and their mind-washed minions is an excellent side-quest to add to any long term campaign or a simple one to two shot adventure.

Perhaps someone the party cares about – a beloved NPC, a childhood friend, a loved one, etc. – has gone missing. It could also be someone the characters don’t know at all but is important to other NPCs that hire the characters or compel their good nature to venture forth and find the missing individual. The characters search for clues and signs point to the missing individual going into the forest – there are one set of tracks going out of the forest and two sets going in, which indicate they were either lured in or met someone there and the two explored the forest. Either way, the missing individual is in the forest now.

After facing the dangers of the forest, the characters eventually locate the Shalkala and their mind controlled victims. Not only do the characters have to rescue the victims but find out how to reverse their altered minds. This could be a ritual or perhaps even some bargain they have to make with the Shalkala themselves.

[darklordazalin]

Ravenloft Lore Tuesdays

Domain of May: Barovia – The First Domain of not quite the First Vampire Domain Formation: 351 BC

Lore: Zeidenburg

Since I’ve already done a person and a thing associated with Barovia this month, why not focus on a place? Get all these nouns out of the way…

Zeidenburg is the largest settlement in Barovia and was built around the Ashen Stronghold. This city was formally part of the Domain of Gundrak, which was absorbed by its neighboring Domains during the Grand Conjunction of 740 BC. Von Zarovich, ever the war lord, seized Zeidenburg for his own through rite of conquest after a four-month siege, which ended after a swarm of rats overtook the town…which given Strahd’s nature, I’m sure you can determine how that occurred for yourself. Though the Gundarakites surrendered, the town of Zeidenburg is marked with rebellion and only bend an uneasy, disloyal knee to the Count while doing their best to undermine his authority through banditry and small skirmishes.

Another thorn in the Count’s side resides within a lavish estate in Zeidenburg, Lyssa von Zarovich. Lyssa has actively worked against her elder on several occasions, with her most recent attempt by allying with the mind flayers of Bluetspur and creating vampiric illithids. Her attempts against her Gruncle Strahd ultimately failed. A pity, really, as she would make a much better ruler for the people of Barovia. Strahd, tired of Lyssa’s interference, created an alchemical poison and infused it in the blood of a flesh golem Lyssa was tricked into supping upon. This poison keeps her in a slumbering state, only allowing her to awaken for a few hours each evening. Still, she works against the Count, supporting the Gundararkit rebels and if someone were to cure her of this aliment…well, I’m sure they would obtain a powerful ally and annoy the Count to no end.

How to use Zeidenburg in your Games

Though Curse of Strahd is set pre-Grand Conjunction (735 BC), you could theoretically add Zeidenburg to your CoS game fairly easily. You could even have the events of the GC happen during the course of your game and the players could side with Zeidenburg against Strahd or vice versa as Strahd attempts to seize the town for Barovia.

Zeidenburg is the perfect town to add to any game set in Barovia that centers around overthrowing Strahd. There’s a lot of potential for players to bring various rebelling groups together, make alliances with those with common cause, and of course there’s the enormous potential with Lyssa. Awakening Lyssa and having her as an ally to the party? There’s a lot you could do with this. Not only does Lyssa know Strahd’s story, but she can travel to other Domains. She’s also a skilled biomancer who could aid the party with some rather unique creations. Of course, allying with her against Strahd is a bit of a double edged sword considering she is just a different type of evil.

[darklordazalin]

missing your weekly ravenloft posts. will you be returning to them soon?

I will return to them eventually, but I cannot say when. I've been dealing with some rather personal real life issues. I'm not on here to talk about that though. I'm here to give a voice to my favorite lich and once I feel like I can do so again, I will return to my regularly scheduled salty Darklord reviews and the Ravenloft Lore Tuesday posts.