Domains of Dread: Cyre - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Sarlax Jan 07, 2010 15:51:27	Last night I was flipping through some old 2E sourcebooks when this idea hit me. What if the Mourning was caused by the Dark Powers (of Ravenloft fame) ripping that entire nation into the Demiplane of Dread? For those not familiar with the Ravenloft line, here's a quick rundown: Show The Dark Powers are an unknown force which draws remarkable evildoers into pocket dimension prisons in which they are both empowered and cursed. "Day to day" evil doesn't merit their attention. The iconic character of Ravenloft, Strahd von Zarovich, murdered his staff and his brother on his wedding day to steal his bride. Now he is cursed to live as a vampire and endlessly pursue various reincarnations of this woman. The Demiplane of Dread is filled with dozens of different "domains," discrete lands, each the personal prison of a specific "darklord." Darklords are often, but not always, the official rulers as well. Darklords cannot leave their own domains, and they almost always can erect a supernatural border at the edge of their domains to prevent others from leaving as well. Some domains are isolated pockets in the mists, like single islands in a foggy sea. Others, though, physically border other domains, allowing normal people to move between them as long as the borders are open. One of the signature features of the demiplane of dread is the mists. All lands are ultimately surrounded by a thick fog that distorts space and time, making navigation unreliable. The mists are also the most common form of sealing domain borders (although some darklords use walls of fire, undead soldiers, etc.); Strahd uses a variant, with poisonous choking fog doing the job. It is also usually the mists in the normal world that herald the creation of a new domain - the fog sweeps over the lands, or the soon-to-be darklord enters them on his own, before appearing in Ravenloft. In the real world, the old lands are often abandoned wastelands.
#2 Madfox11 Jan 08, 2010 4:32:48	If you go this way, the Lord of Blades would also be a good candidate, especially considering the hostile nature of the region towards flesh-creatures. Remember though that the dread domain is more of a prison then anything else. The Darklord might appear to live in a domain perfect for his wishes, but there is always a curse involved that makes the darklord haunted. Personally though I am not a big fan of seeing Cyre as a dread domain. Dread domains are subtle affairs. They are usually created around the dark lord, and that includes almost all of it inhabitants. The world left behind usually only misses the single dark lord. I can see how others like it though ;)
#3 Ashlock Jan 08, 2010 7:50:40	Interesting idea. My first question would be, why didn't the Dark Powers succeed in wrenching Cyre away from the world altogether and into Ravenloft? It seems like they were unable to, so instead arcane energy razed the nation instead. Alternatively, maybe it did succeed. A new version of a Cyre is now part of Ravenloft, while the Mournland is what gets left behind. For each person who "died" in the cataclysm on Eberron, whose body lies dead but preserved on the Mounrland soul, is not a living, breathing person in the new domain. In which case Queen Dannel may be the new darklord there, in Ravenloft. While in Eberron, the Lord of Blades is left as a sort of alter-darklord. Not quite as powerful as a real darklord, but not as restricted, either.
#4 skrapsan Jan 09, 2010 11:04:21	I too have been tinkering with this as a explanation for the mourning. Early on I setled with myselv that I would only use Cyre, and none of the other nations... it would distrupt things a bit too much. But, I would apply all the "effects" of the domains of dread. Now as for why Cyre was "eaten" by the fog. In my version the queen was so desperate, so depresse and so delusioned that she would listen to advice from anyone. This made it easy for some sort of evil doer to fool her into performing a ritual that would enable her to seal of her borders completely. So blinded by fear of anihilation and defeat she acepts the ritual and it shuts her borders, by ripping the enteire kingdom into a demi plane or something. Now it is possible to get to Cyre throgh the mist along the borderland... but its a low chance, and getting back is next to impossible ofc. And when people disapear, well its the mournlands isnt it? Now I must admitt that the Idea of the place then being in civil war is way cool. Sort of makes me want to start a campaign with that as a possible main theme...
#5 Sarlax Jan 10, 2010 2:53:59	If you go this way, the Lord of Blades would also be a good candidate, especially considering the hostile nature of the region towards flesh-creatures. Remember though that the dread domain is more of a prison then anything else. The Darklord might appear to live in a domain perfect for his wishes, but there is always a curse involved that makes the darklord haunted. Actually, cannon already gave us the Lord's curse: he operates the creation forge but he has yet to produce a "correct" warforged. I don't recall exactly where it's written, but I remember reading that the warforged he has made with his captured creation forge are flawed in various ways. Perhaps he is cursed. He murdered his human allies for being inferior, but now his attempts to create superior beings are doomed to fail.
#6 skrapsan Jan 10, 2010 8:01:38	that is actually a good spin on it Sarlax.

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

Sarlax

Jan 07, 2010 15:51:27

Last night I was flipping through some old 2E sourcebooks when this idea hit me. What if the Mourning was caused by the Dark Powers (of Ravenloft fame) ripping that entire nation into the Demiplane of Dread?

For those not familiar with the Ravenloft line, here's a quick rundown:

Show

The Dark Powers are an unknown force which draws remarkable evildoers into pocket dimension prisons in which they are both empowered and cursed. "Day to day" evil doesn't merit their attention. The iconic character of Ravenloft, Strahd von Zarovich, murdered his staff and his brother on his wedding day to steal his bride. Now he is cursed to live as a vampire and endlessly pursue various reincarnations of this woman.

The Demiplane of Dread is filled with dozens of different "domains," discrete lands, each the personal prison of a specific "darklord." Darklords are often, but not always, the official rulers as well. Darklords cannot leave their own domains, and they almost always can erect a supernatural border at the edge of their domains to prevent others from leaving as well.

Some domains are isolated pockets in the mists, like single islands in a foggy sea. Others, though, physically border other domains, allowing normal people to move between them as long as the borders are open.

One of the signature features of the demiplane of dread is the mists. All lands are ultimately surrounded by a thick fog that distorts space and time, making navigation unreliable. The mists are also the most common form of sealing domain borders (although some darklords use walls of fire, undead soldiers, etc.); Strahd uses a variant, with poisonous choking fog doing the job. It is also usually the mists in the normal world that herald the creation of a new domain - the fog sweeps over the lands, or the soon-to-be darklord enters them on his own, before appearing in Ravenloft. In the real world, the old lands are often abandoned wastelands.

Madfox11

Jan 08, 2010 4:32:48

If you go this way, the Lord of Blades would also be a good candidate, especially considering the hostile nature of the region towards flesh-creatures. Remember though that the dread domain is more of a prison then anything else. The Darklord might appear to live in a domain perfect for his wishes, but there is always a curse involved that makes the darklord haunted.

Personally though I am not a big fan of seeing Cyre as a dread domain. Dread domains are subtle affairs. They are usually created around the dark lord, and that includes almost all of it inhabitants. The world left behind usually only misses the single dark lord. I can see how others like it though ;)

Ashlock

Jan 08, 2010 7:50:40

Interesting idea. My first question would be, why didn't the Dark Powers succeed in wrenching Cyre away from the world altogether and into Ravenloft? It seems like they were unable to, so instead arcane energy razed the nation instead.

Alternatively, maybe it did succeed. A new version of a Cyre is now part of Ravenloft, while the Mournland is what gets left behind. For each person who "died" in the cataclysm on Eberron, whose body lies dead but preserved on the Mounrland soul, is not a living, breathing person in the new domain.

In which case Queen Dannel may be the new darklord there, in Ravenloft. While in Eberron, the Lord of Blades is left as a sort of alter-darklord. Not quite as powerful as a real darklord, but not as restricted, either.

skrapsan

Jan 09, 2010 11:04:21

I too have been tinkering with this as a explanation for the mourning.
Early on I setled with myselv that I would only use Cyre, and none of the other nations... it would distrupt things a bit too much. But, I would apply all the "effects" of the domains of dread.
Now as for why Cyre was "eaten" by the fog. In my version the queen was so desperate, so depresse and so delusioned that she would listen to advice from anyone. This made it easy for some sort of evil doer to fool her into performing a ritual that would enable her to seal of her borders completely. So blinded by fear of anihilation and defeat she acepts the ritual and it shuts her borders, by ripping the enteire kingdom into a demi plane or something. Now it is possible to get to Cyre throgh the mist along the borderland... but its a low chance, and getting back is next to impossible ofc. And when people disapear, well its the mournlands isnt it?

Now I must admitt that the Idea of the place then being in civil war is way cool. Sort of makes me want to start a campaign with that as a possible main theme...

Sarlax

Jan 10, 2010 2:53:59

If you go this way, the Lord of Blades would also be a good candidate, especially considering the hostile nature of the region towards flesh-creatures. Remember though that the dread domain is more of a prison then anything else. The Darklord might appear to live in a domain perfect for his wishes, but there is always a curse involved that makes the darklord haunted.

Actually, cannon already gave us the Lord's curse: he operates the creation forge but he has yet to produce a "correct" warforged. I don't recall exactly where it's written, but I remember reading that the warforged he has made with his captured creation forge are flawed in various ways. Perhaps he is cursed. He murdered his human allies for being inferior, but now his attempts to create superior beings are doomed to fail.

skrapsan

Jan 10, 2010 8:01:38

that is actually a good spin on it Sarlax.