History TabletopGame / Ravenloft

* TragicDream: This underpins every darklord's curse. On a smaller level, there's an unfortunate {{Dhampire}}-like creature called a ''vorlog'' that is created when someone is in the process of being turned by a particularly intimate kind of vampire ritual, but then the vampire dies before the victim is transformed. They keep trying to recreate the aborted bond with the vampire through (non-vampire) surrogates. It never ends well.

* TragicDream: This underpins every darklord's curse. On a smaller level, there's an unfortunate {{Dhampire}}-like creature called a ''vorlog'' that is created when someone is in the process of being turned by a particularly intimate kind of vampire ritual, but then the vampire dies before the victim is transformed. They keep trying to recreate the developing bond with the vampire through surrogates. It never ends well.

* HumanlikeHandAnatomy: In a non-cartoon example, the darklord Markov is cursed to always have the body of a beast and the head of a man, but can invoke this trope on himself at will.

* IAmNotShazam: The ''product line'' is called "Ravenloft", but the ''place'' is called "the Land of Mists" by those of its inhabitants who actually call it something other than "the world". To them, "Ravenloft" is just a big old castle in Barovia.

Many of the individual domains of ''Ravenloft'', along with their inhabitants, are directly inspired by classic {{horror}} and [[GothicHorror Gothic literature]], infamous historical figures, and twisted versions of FairyTales and other stories. ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, ''Literature/{{Pinocchio}}'', ''Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau'', Creator/{{Shakespeare}}'s ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', and the historical Borgia family among many others comprise only a few examples. There is also the {{Spinoff}} setting, ''MasqueOfTheRedDeath'', which takes place on an alternate version of Earth that has been under the influence of some entity called [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe the Red Death]]. It features many of the above mentioned classic characters that ''Ravenloft'' drew inspiration from as villains.

* LikeABadassOutOfHell: The weirdest case of qualifying for this trope ever. Lord Soth, one of D&D's favorite villians is the only one ever to escape the Land of Mists, but he does it in the most bizarre way possible....by not giving a crap.
** To elaborate, Soth basically accepts that he deserves to be tormented by the dark ones and admits his failures. He refuses to rise to anything they present him with be it despair or hope, eventually realising that its pointless to keep him around since he won't respond to anything they do the Dark powers release him from Ravenloft

''Ravenloft'' is a campaign setting for the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' tabletop roleplaying game, focusing on themes of GothicHorror and dark fantasy. Events take place in a pocket dimension called the Land of Mists. The enigmatic Dark Powers have cobbled together a patchwork land of diverse kingdoms, each hiding their own foul secrets and held in thrall by a hideously corrupt being--its [[EvilOverlord darklord]]--for whom each domain is both a sovereign territory and a prison. "Ravenloft" is actually the name of a castle in Barovia, one of the most famous dark dominions in the setting.

''Ravenloft'' is a campaign setting for the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' tabletop roleplaying game, focusing on themes of GothicHorror and dark fantasy. Events take place in a pocket dimension called the Land of Mists. The enigmatic Dark Powers have cobbled together a patchwork land of diverse kingdoms, each hiding their own foul secrets and held in thrall by a hideously corrupt being--its [[EvilOverlord darklord]]--for whom each domain is both a sovereign territory and a prison. "Ravenloft" is actually the name of only one of the most famous dark dominions in the setting.

Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' tabletop roleplaying game, focusing on themes of GothicHorror and dark fantasy. Events take place in a pocket dimension called the Land of Mists. The enigmatic Dark Powers have cobbled together a patchwork land of diverse kingdoms, each hiding their own foul secrets and held in thrall by a hideously corrupt being--its [[EvilOverlord darklord]]--for whom each domain is both a sovereign territory and a prison. "Ravenloft" is actually the name of only one of the most famous dark dominions in the setting.

Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' tabletop roleplaying game, focusing on themes of GothicHorror and dark fantasy. Events take place in a pocket dimension called the Land of Mists. The enigmatic Dark Powers have cobbled together a patchwork land of diverse kingdoms, each hiding their own foul secrets and held in thrall by a hideously corrupt being--its [[EvilOverlord darklord]]--for whom each domain is both a sovereign territory and a prison.

Many of the individual domains of Ravenloft, along with their inhabitants, are directly inspired by classic {{horror}} and [[GothicHorror Gothic literature]], infamous historical figures, and twisted versions of FairyTales and other stories. ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, ''Literature/{{Pinocchio}}'', ''Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau'', Creator/{{Shakespeare}}'s ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', and the historical Borgia family among many others comprise only a few examples. There is also the {{Spinoff}} setting, ''MasqueOfTheRedDeath'', which takes place on an alternate version of Earth that has been under the influence of some entity called [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe the Red Death]]. It features many of the above mentioned classic characters that Ravenloft drew inspiration from as villains.

Many of the individual domains of Ravenloft, along with their inhabitants, are directly inspired by classic {{horror}} and [[GothicHorror Gothic literature]], infamous historical figures, and twisted versions of FairyTales and other stories. ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, ''Literature/{{Pinocchio}}'', ''TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau'', Creator/{{Shakespeare}}'s ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', and the historical Borgia family among many others comprise only a few examples. There is also the {{Spinoff}} setting, ''MasqueOfTheRedDeath'', which takes place on an alternate version of Earth that has been under the influence of some entity called [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe the Red Death]]. It features many of the above mentioned classic characters that Ravenloft drew inspiration from as villains.

* CelebrityResemblance: Dr. Rudolph Van Richten looks exactly like Van Helsing as portrayed by Creator/PeterCushing; [[{{Expy}} this is intentional.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ravenloft_original_4205.jpg
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* CelebrityResemblance: Dr. Rudolph Van Richten looks exactly like Van Helsing as portrayed by PeterCushing; [[{{Expy}} this is intentional.]]

* IAmNotShazam: The ''product line'' is called "Ravenloft", but the ''world'' is called "the Land of Mists" by those of its inhabitants who actually call it something. To them, "Ravenloft" is just a big old castle in Barovia.

* LikeABadassOutOfHell: The weirdest case of qualifying for this trope ever. Lord Soth, one of D&D's favourite villians is the only one ever to escape from RavenLoft, but he does it in the most bizarre way possible....by not giving a crap.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SnS_Ravenloft_2848.jpg]]
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* LikeABadassOutOfHell: The weirdest case of qualifying for this trope ever. Lord Soth, one of D&D's favourite villians is the only one ever to escape from RavenLoft, but he does it in the most bizarre way possible....by not crap.