Shadowfell Preview: Very Ravenlofty - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Alter_Boy Nov 24, 2008 21:10:23	What can I say? I feel very vindicated that WotC made the right call (which I predicted a long time ago) that Ravenloft would occur in the Shadowfell and not (as others have suggested), in a very similar demiplane. Domains of Dread Scattered throughout the Plane of Shadow are places hidden behind thick walls of mist, places ruled by dark and deeply troubled beings bound to the plane by dreadful curses. These isolated pockets within the Shadowfell are called domains of dread. A creature that passes through the curtain of mist into a domain of dread becomes trapped there—a prisoner of the dark lord who rules the domain. Each domain of dread has a dark lord—a powerful creature with absolute hold over the domain and limited mastery over its shape and disposition. Similar to a fey demesne, a domain of dread bends to the will of its master, reflecting his or her dark mood in various eerie or disturbing ways. Some domains of dread are quite small, such as a lonely castle on a hill. Others extend for miles. Escape from a domain of dread is tricky and usually requires one to slay the dark lord, break the dark lord’s curse, unlock the secret of the dark lord’s power over the domain, perform a dark ritual, or accomplish some other difficult goal.
#2 vaalingrade_ashland_02 Nov 24, 2008 22:04:02	Badass. That is all.
#3 Cpt_Micha Nov 25, 2008 8:06:40	Well now, I have a new way to do Drow thanks to that preview.. Maybe they'll finally get a right to exist in my campaign worlds after all. Thank you Shadowfell preview.
#4 gnarfflinger Nov 25, 2008 12:02:20	It's not true Ravenloft, but it does give it a place in the Cosmology. I still think it should be a full fledged campaign setting...
#5 Alter_Boy Nov 25, 2008 18:47:19	It's not true Ravenloft, but it does give it a place in the Cosmology. I still think it should be a full fledged campaign setting... Nothing to stop it from being one. Ravenloft can exist in the Shadowfell quite well, according to this preview.
#6 Tectuktitlay Nov 25, 2008 18:58:36	I don't think it's "Ravenlofty" so much as the entirety of the "Demiplane of Dread" will be in the Shadowfell in 4E, and will thus be quite likely to be in core. Just as Mercykillers makes it look like Sigil and Planescape as a whole will be in core. I would not be surprised in the least to see a 4E "Ravenloft" module, or super-module, where you are transported to the Ravenloft Domain of Dread.
#7 VerysArkon Nov 28, 2008 10:01:42	Rather than a Ravenloft CS/PG, I'd like to see a Shadowfell book (Manual of the Planes II?), where the thematic elements of Ravenloft are presented - fear and horror, being trapped. As well, flesh out a few of the domains and their lords.
#8 marius4 Nov 28, 2008 15:37:13	Well now, I have a new way to do Drow thanks to that preview.. Maybe they'll finally get a right to exist in my campaign worlds after all. Thank you Shadowfell preview. Cool. Interesting possibilities! Manual of the Planes II: The Shadowfell. A plausible direction for the devs to go in. What is this Mercykillers thing I keep seeing?
#9 zsig Nov 28, 2008 21:29:11	Manual of the Planes II: The Shadowfell. A plausible direction for the devs to go in. Or even: Planes & Demiplanes I: The Domains of Dread
#10 angrymojo Nov 29, 2008 7:38:34	Actually, describing each separate domain of Ravenloft as an entirely different demiplane makes sense. Think about it like this, all domains of dread are connected, but traversing them is difficult. At some points you can just walk from one to another, but this is by no means assured. It's not unheard of to begin walking along the old Svalich road from Barovia and find yourself in Bluetspur, for example. The darklords imprisoned, however, cannot do this. They are truly trapped, eternally wallowing in their emo, I mean torment.
#11 superdeadsmurf Nov 29, 2008 8:29:10	if they were to do a 2nd/3rd etc manual of the planes (which I think they should) it will not likely focus on just one plane. I could see one for Feywild and Shadowfell and one for the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos (including the abyss) I don't think they want to go into the subjects SO in depth to fill an entire book.
#12 Alter_Boy Dec 01, 2008 21:35:58	You know, that sounds like a good way for WotC to get extra mileage out of the books. Given their trend to do annual updates of favourite series (Monster Manual, Best of Dungeon, Adventurer's Vault, etc.), they could do the same for the Manual of the Planes. 160 pages. 22 pages each on a section of (respectively) the Feywild, Shadowfell, Astral Sea, Elemental Chaos, Abyss, a demiplane, and a planar-friendly region of The World. Something for everyone.
#13 marius4 Dec 02, 2008 1:26:20	I don't think they want to go into the subjects SO in depth to fill an entire book. You are probably right, although I was hoping for something like this. :P TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ... ... Chapter 48: What the Shadowfell Means to Me Chapter 49: More Shadowy or More Fell? A Moral/Ethical Alignment Debate Chapter 50: Emo, Goth, & Your Shadowfell Campaign [indent]Part II: Dim Light and Its Effects[/indent] Chapter 51: Combat Modifiers in Candlelight [Up to 5 Candles] ... ... You know, that sounds like a good way for WotC to get extra mileage out of the books. Given their trend to do annual updates of favourite series (Monster Manual, Best of Dungeon, Adventurer's Vault, etc.), they could do the same for the Manual of the Planes. 160 pages. 22 pages each on a section of (respectively) the Feywild, Shadowfell, Astral Sea, Elemental Chaos, Abyss, a demiplane, and a planar-friendly region of The World. Something for everyone. Okay, seriously, this may be more likely. :D Still, subsequent MotPs seem as ambiguous (to me at least) as DMGII, III, etc. As for the preview, I like the taste we've been given. I like Ravenloft, and it doesn't bother me that it is apparently folded into the Shadowfell. To the contrary, so far it seems to fit pretty well.
#14 hellfyre Dec 02, 2008 12:15:14	It sounds neat ... but I only have one hope: That it stays medievil fantasy horror rather than victorian fantasy horror. Please ... please ... please. One of the big reasons why I didn't like Ravenloft as a setting was because it was more Urban Fantasy than traditional fantasy.
#15 drillbossd Dec 02, 2008 12:42:01	The way they say the Shadowfell and the material world intersent remind me a lot of the World of Darkness Shadow. Which is by no means a bad thing. If I ever had a campaign go to the Shadowfell I'd have my players go to dark versions of places they'd already been to, or maybe the same thing in the fey. -Drillboss
#16 gnarfflinger Dec 04, 2008 11:48:03	With the Shadowfell mirroring the various game worlds, that means they can rip whatever they want from those domains to make Ravenloft. As for the Urban feel, some domains were ripped from urban centers to accommodate the Darklord in question, but many other domains were untamed wilds that also reflected the Darklord they were designed for...
#17 dadocollin Dec 04, 2008 13:55:17	I'd also like to see a full book devoted to the Shadowfell. I'm actually a little surprised Wizards doesn't have plans for a Shadowfell and a Feywild book. I kind of thought we'd get them both early on after the stress on them in the preview book (Worlds and Monsters). They are distinctly 4th edition, and it'd be nice to get a book that wasn't just rehashing and restatting things from 3rd. For me, the Shadowfell and the Feywild were two of the main reasons 4th edition intrigued me, and my 4th ed. quests will focus on both. I hope they get fleshed out more than just a page here and a monster there.
#18 Alter_Boy Dec 04, 2008 22:59:37	If I were a pessimist, I'd say that WotC is looking at the long, long, long term. The Feywild and Shadowfell are poised to become strong new Intellectual Properties for the D&D brand. WotC hopes to mine them repeatedly for profit in this and future editions (in whatever form they might per-mutate into in the future). Now look at the Forgotten Realms IP. A lot of players used 2nd Edition sourcebooks for their 3ed/4ed campaigns because the fluff presented was as strong as any new product WotC could have released. More than a few 3ed books on specific topics have been poo-pooed because fans believe the older version they already own is better. If WotC releases a definitive Feywild and Shadowfell book, respectfully, an future books about them will be compared to them and will receive less interest and sales from potential buyers who feel they don't need to "trade up." - Alter_Boy, who tells you to follow the money...
#19 sigil_beguiler Dec 04, 2008 23:05:06	Well for the time being we know now in MoTP that both the Feywild and Shadowfell get "very detailed" sections in it. According to a poster on RPG.net that got the books early in Japan. http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=427264 Edit: To add onto that the Table of Contents for Manual of The Planes has been released. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20081205 The Feywild has from page 32 to 47 and Shadowfell from page 48 to 61.

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

Alter_Boy

Nov 24, 2008 21:10:23

What can I say? I feel very vindicated that WotC made the right call (which I predicted a long time ago) that Ravenloft would occur in the Shadowfell and not (as others have suggested), in a very similar demiplane.

Domains of Dread

Scattered throughout the Plane of Shadow are places hidden behind thick walls of mist, places ruled by dark and deeply troubled beings bound to the plane by dreadful curses. These isolated pockets within the Shadowfell are called domains of dread. A creature that passes through the curtain of mist into a domain of dread becomes trapped there—a prisoner of the dark lord who rules the domain.

Each domain of dread has a dark lord—a powerful creature with absolute hold over the domain and limited mastery over its shape and disposition. Similar to a fey demesne, a domain of dread bends to the will of its master, reflecting his or her dark mood in various eerie or disturbing ways. Some domains of dread are quite small, such as a lonely castle on a hill. Others extend for miles.

Escape from a domain of dread is tricky and usually requires one to slay the dark lord, break the dark lord’s curse, unlock the secret of the dark lord’s power over the domain, perform a dark ritual, or accomplish some other difficult goal.

vaalingrade_ashland_02

Nov 24, 2008 22:04:02

Badass.

That is all.

Cpt_Micha

Nov 25, 2008 8:06:40

Well now, I have a new way to do Drow thanks to that preview..

Maybe they'll finally get a right to exist in my campaign worlds after all.

Thank you Shadowfell preview.

gnarfflinger

Nov 25, 2008 12:02:20

It's not true Ravenloft, but it does give it a place in the Cosmology. I still think it should be a full fledged campaign setting...

Alter_Boy

Nov 25, 2008 18:47:19

It's not true Ravenloft, but it does give it a place in the Cosmology. I still think it should be a full fledged campaign setting...

Nothing to stop it from being one. Ravenloft can exist in the Shadowfell quite well, according to this preview.

Tectuktitlay

Nov 25, 2008 18:58:36

I don't think it's "Ravenlofty" so much as the entirety of the "Demiplane of Dread" will be in the Shadowfell in 4E, and will thus be quite likely to be in core. Just as Mercykillers makes it look like Sigil and Planescape as a whole will be in core.

I would not be surprised in the least to see a 4E "Ravenloft" module, or super-module, where you are transported to the Ravenloft Domain of Dread.

VerysArkon

Nov 28, 2008 10:01:42

Rather than a Ravenloft CS/PG, I'd like to see a Shadowfell book (Manual of the Planes II?), where the thematic elements of Ravenloft are presented - fear and horror, being trapped. As well, flesh out a few of the domains and their lords.

marius4

Nov 28, 2008 15:37:13

Well now, I have a new way to do Drow thanks to that preview..

Maybe they'll finally get a right to exist in my campaign worlds after all.

Thank you Shadowfell preview.

Cool. Interesting possibilities!

Manual of the Planes II: The Shadowfell. A plausible direction for the devs to go in.

What is this Mercykillers thing I keep seeing?

zsig

Nov 28, 2008 21:29:11

Manual of the Planes II: The Shadowfell. A plausible direction for the devs to go in.

Or even:

Planes & Demiplanes I: The Domains of Dread

#10

angrymojo

Nov 29, 2008 7:38:34

Actually, describing each separate domain of Ravenloft as an entirely different demiplane makes sense. Think about it like this, all domains of dread are connected, but traversing them is difficult. At some points you can just walk from one to another, but this is by no means assured. It's not unheard of to begin walking along the old Svalich road from Barovia and find yourself in Bluetspur, for example.

The darklords imprisoned, however, cannot do this. They are truly trapped, eternally wallowing in their emo, I mean torment.

#11

superdeadsmurf

Nov 29, 2008 8:29:10

if they were to do a 2nd/3rd etc manual of the planes (which I think they should) it will not likely focus on just one plane. I could see one for Feywild and Shadowfell and one for the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos (including the abyss) I don't think they want to go into the subjects SO in depth to fill an entire book.

#12

Alter_Boy

Dec 01, 2008 21:35:58

You know, that sounds like a good way for WotC to get extra mileage out of the books. Given their trend to do annual updates of favourite series (Monster Manual, Best of Dungeon, Adventurer's Vault, etc.), they could do the same for the Manual of the Planes.

160 pages. 22 pages each on a section of (respectively) the Feywild, Shadowfell, Astral Sea, Elemental Chaos, Abyss, a demiplane, and a planar-friendly region of The World. Something for everyone.

#13

marius4

Dec 02, 2008 1:26:20

I don't think they want to go into the subjects SO in depth to fill an entire book.

You are probably right, although I was hoping for something like this. :P

TABLE OF CONTENTS
...
...
...
Chapter 48: What the Shadowfell Means to Me
Chapter 49: More Shadowy or More Fell? A Moral/Ethical Alignment Debate
Chapter 50: Emo, Goth, & Your Shadowfell Campaign
[indent]Part II: Dim Light and Its Effects[/indent]
Chapter 51: Combat Modifiers in Candlelight [Up to 5 Candles]
...
...

You know, that sounds like a good way for WotC to get extra mileage out of the books. Given their trend to do annual updates of favourite series (Monster Manual, Best of Dungeon, Adventurer's Vault, etc.), they could do the same for the Manual of the Planes.

160 pages. 22 pages each on a section of (respectively) the Feywild, Shadowfell, Astral Sea, Elemental Chaos, Abyss, a demiplane, and a planar-friendly region of The World. Something for everyone.

Okay, seriously, this may be more likely. :D Still, subsequent MotPs seem as ambiguous (to me at least) as DMGII, III, etc.

As for the preview, I like the taste we've been given. I like Ravenloft, and it doesn't bother me that it is apparently folded into the Shadowfell. To the contrary, so far it seems to fit pretty well.

#14

hellfyre

Dec 02, 2008 12:15:14

It sounds neat ... but I only have one hope: That it stays medievil fantasy horror rather than victorian fantasy horror. Please ... please ... please. One of the big reasons why I didn't like Ravenloft as a setting was because it was more Urban Fantasy than traditional fantasy.

#15

drillbossd

Dec 02, 2008 12:42:01

The way they say the Shadowfell and the material world intersent remind me a lot of the World of Darkness Shadow.

Which is by no means a bad thing. If I ever had a campaign go to the Shadowfell I'd have my players go to dark versions of places they'd already been to, or maybe the same thing in the fey.

-Drillboss

#16

gnarfflinger

Dec 04, 2008 11:48:03

With the Shadowfell mirroring the various game worlds, that means they can rip whatever they want from those domains to make Ravenloft. As for the Urban feel, some domains were ripped from urban centers to accommodate the Darklord in question, but many other domains were untamed wilds that also reflected the Darklord they were designed for...

#17

dadocollin

Dec 04, 2008 13:55:17

I'd also like to see a full book devoted to the Shadowfell. I'm actually a little surprised Wizards doesn't have plans for a Shadowfell and a Feywild book. I kind of thought we'd get them both early on after the stress on them in the preview book (Worlds and Monsters). They are distinctly 4th edition, and it'd be nice to get a book that wasn't just rehashing and restatting things from 3rd.

For me, the Shadowfell and the Feywild were two of the main reasons 4th edition intrigued me, and my 4th ed. quests will focus on both. I hope they get fleshed out more than just a page here and a monster there.

#18

Alter_Boy

Dec 04, 2008 22:59:37

If I were a pessimist, I'd say that WotC is looking at the long, long, long term. The Feywild and Shadowfell are poised to become strong new Intellectual Properties for the D&D brand. WotC hopes to mine them repeatedly for profit in this and future editions (in whatever form they might per-mutate into in the future).

Now look at the Forgotten Realms IP. A lot of players used 2nd Edition sourcebooks for their 3ed/4ed campaigns because the fluff presented was as strong as any new product WotC could have released. More than a few 3ed books on specific topics have been poo-pooed because fans believe the older version they already own is better.

If WotC releases a definitive Feywild and Shadowfell book, respectfully, an future books about them will be compared to them and will receive less interest and sales from potential buyers who feel they don't need to "trade up."

- Alter_Boy, who tells you to follow the money...

#19

sigil_beguiler

Dec 04, 2008 23:05:06

Well for the time being we know now in MoTP that both the Feywild and Shadowfell get "very detailed" sections in it. According to a poster on RPG.net that got the books early in Japan.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=427264

Edit: To add onto that the Table of Contents for Manual of The Planes has been released. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20081205 The Feywild has from page 32 to 47 and Shadowfell from page 48 to 61.