Follow TV Tropes

Following

History TabletopGame / Ravenloft

Go To

OR

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None





* ReplacementGoldfish: There's an unfortunate {{Dhampire}}-like creature called a ''vorlog'' that is created when someone is in the process of being turned by the UnholyMatrimony ritual, but the vampire is slain before the victim is fully transformed. They keep trying to recreate the aborted bond with the vampire through (non-vampire) surrogates. [[TragicDream It never ends well.]]

to:

* ReplacementGoldfish: There's an unfortunate {{Dhampire}}-like {{Dhampyr}}-like creature called a ''vorlog'' that is created when someone is in the process of being turned by the UnholyMatrimony ritual, but the vampire is slain before the victim is fully transformed. They keep trying to recreate the aborted bond with the vampire through (non-vampire) surrogates. [[TragicDream It never ends well.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


There is also a {{Spinoff}} setting, ''TabletopGame/MasqueOfTheRedDeath'', released in 1994, which takes place on an alternate version of Earth that has been under the influence of an entity called [[Literature/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath the Red Death]]. It features many of the above mentioned classic characters that ''Ravenloft'' drew inspiration from as villains, and WordOfGod has described the Red Death as an "exiled" Dark Power from the Demiplane of Dread.

to:

There is also a {{Spinoff}} setting, ''TabletopGame/MasqueOfTheRedDeath'', released in 1994, which takes place on an alternate version of nineteenth century Earth that has been under the influence of an entity called [[Literature/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath the Red Death]]. It features many of the above mentioned classic characters that ''Ravenloft'' drew inspiration from as villains, and WordOfGod has described the Red Death as an "exiled" Dark Power from the Demiplane of Dread.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* StageMagician: Magic isn’t taken very seriously in Dementlieu. A common pastime for wizards there is to put on shows where they dress and act like earth magicians, complete with top hat and the stereotypical wand.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* WowingCthulhu: The Church of Ezra’s doctrine holds that she went to the mists on the border of Ravenloft and argued with (what is implied to be) the Dark Powers themselves until they allowed her to transcend her mortal existence.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* DemonicPossession: It happens, and the nature of the plane even facilitates it. Ironically, this is as much doom for the fiend as the victim, because they find Ravenloft as difficult to escape as anyone else, and avoid it like the plague. Further, they usually don't realize where their victim is until ''after'' they've taken over the body and trapped themselves.

Added: 255

Changed: 229

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Mordentish don't ''hate'' arcane magic, but are wary of it and it's practitioners. It can be a useful tool. . . but a tool that can swallow your soul and turn you into a crazed, power-hungry sadist.

to:

** Mordentish don't ''hate'' arcane magic, but are wary of it and it's its practitioners. It can be a useful tool. . . but a tool that can swallow your soul and turn you into a crazed, power-hungry sadist.



* MagicVersusScience: As a rule, the more technologically advanced a given domain is, the less the natives are prone to put much faith in magic, even though the level of magic is fairly consistent throughout the demiplane. For example, magic is not taken very seriously in Dementlieu, Mordent or especially Lamordia, despite the dominance of nearby Darkon in the northern Core.

to:

* MagicVersusScience: As a rule, the more technologically advanced a given domain is, the less the natives are prone to put much faith in magic, even though the level of magic is fairly consistent throughout the demiplane. For example, magic is not taken very seriously in Dementlieu, Mordent or especially Lamordia, despite the dominance of nearby Darkon in the northern Core. Of course this is especially [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]] for Dementlieu as it is one of the Domains of the Core where access to arcane magic and its practitioners is the most common, at least for Enchantment and Illusion.



** It's also very easy to mistake vampyres [[OurVampiresAreDifferent (a species of actually living bloodsuckers)]] for undead vampires; characters who find out too late that standard vampire vulnerabilities don't work on them could be in for a nasy shock.



** Almost all Dark Lords are constantly confronted with their misdeeds simply so they can ignore or rationalize them away.

to:

** Almost all Dark Lords Darklords are constantly confronted with their misdeeds simply so they can ignore or rationalize them away.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* TruerToTheText: 5E making [[MadScientist Viktra Mordenheim]] the darklord of Mordenheim, and Malken/Malkin an entirely intentional alternate identity to commit evil deeds that became a genuine SuperPoweredEvilSide are both a lot more accurate to ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' and ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', respectively.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Mordentish don't ''hate'' arcane magic, but are wary of it and it's practitioners. It can be a useful tool. . . but a tool that can swallow your soul and turn you into a crazed, power-hungry sadist.
** Divine magic is almost universally loved in the Land of Mists. Given how deadly some iterations of the setting can be, every ounce of healing and curse-breaking is needed.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** Doctor Victor Mordenheim looks exactly like Creator/ChristopherLee from the mid-Seventies. (The mini put out back in the day more strongly resembles [[Film/Frankenstein1931 Colin Clive]].)

to:

** Doctor Victor Mordenheim looks exactly like Creator/ChristopherLee from the mid-Seventies. (The mini put out back in the day more strongly resembles [[Film/Frankenstein1931 Colin Clive]].)Clive]]).



* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The sourcebook "Van Richten's Guide to the Created", the {{golem}} sourcebook, takes a firm attitude that the Created are [[AlwaysChaoticEvil inherently evil due to the circumstances of their creation]], depicting them as soulless abominations against the natural order that should only be destroyed (though see also StagesOfMonsterGrief below). Whilst this is in keeping with a number of Frankenstein movies[[note]]which present the secular version of this, with the Monster as inherently evil due to Dr. Frankenstein using a criminal's brain to create him[[/note]], and is based upon Victorian morality ideals that underpin GothicHorror, it's at odds with Mary Shelley's original novel, where it's the Monster's continued rejection by humanity that makes him a villain, and with modern audiences, who nowadays regard the Monster as a TragicVillain at worst and believe that Victor Frankenstein is the true "monster" of the story. ''The Created'', a supplement which introduces several golems, also conflicts with this, introducing some golems that aren't evil (yet.)

to:

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The sourcebook "Van Richten's Guide to the Created", the {{golem}} sourcebook, takes a firm attitude that the Created are [[AlwaysChaoticEvil inherently evil due to the circumstances of their creation]], depicting them as soulless abominations against the natural order that should only be destroyed (though see also StagesOfMonsterGrief below). Whilst this is in keeping with a number of Frankenstein movies[[note]]which present the secular version of this, with the Monster as inherently evil due to Dr. Frankenstein using a criminal's brain to create him[[/note]], and is based upon Victorian morality ideals that underpin GothicHorror, it's at odds with Mary Shelley's original novel, where it's the Monster's continued rejection by humanity that makes him a villain, and with modern audiences, who nowadays regard the Monster as a TragicVillain at worst and believe that Victor Frankenstein is the true "monster" of the story. ''The Created'', a supplement which introduces several golems, also conflicts with this, introducing some golems that aren't evil (yet.)(yet).



* GhostPirate: Captain Pieter van Riese, Darklord of the Sea of Sorrows. (Well, technically he was a greedy merchant when he was alive, not a pirate, but he haunts the sea on a GhostShip and he was crueler than even most pirates, so he probably qualifies.)

to:

* GhostPirate: Captain Pieter van Riese, Darklord of the Sea of Sorrows. (Well, technically he was a greedy merchant when he was alive, not a pirate, but he haunts the sea on a GhostShip and he was crueler than even most pirates, so he probably qualifies.)qualifies).



* GypsyCurse: This is a big part of the plot of a ''lot'' of stories. (In fact, here's a good safety tip if you end up here: Do NOT make the Vistani angry at you. They won't kill you, but eventually, you'll ''wish'' they had.)

to:

* GypsyCurse: This is a big part of the plot of a ''lot'' of stories. (In fact, here's a good safety tip if you end up here: Do NOT make the Vistani angry at you. They won't kill you, but eventually, you'll ''wish'' they had.)had).



* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: Most of the ''Van Richten Monster Hunter Guides'' are supposedly authored by Van Richten himself. (He is the CharacterNarrator in each of them.) However, he never claims he wrote them for profit, but to aid those who would, like him, fight the evils of Ravenloft.

to:

* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: Most of the ''Van Richten Monster Hunter Guides'' are supposedly authored by Van Richten himself. (He is the CharacterNarrator in each of them.) them). However, he never claims he wrote them for profit, but to aid those who would, like him, fight the evils of Ravenloft.



* WickedToymaker: Toymaker Guiseppe is not actually evil, but went insane after his WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} {{Expy}} turned into a serial killer. He still makes toys, but they should most definitely be kept out of reach of children (and anyone else you don't want to die or be horribly cursed.)

to:

* WickedToymaker: Toymaker Guiseppe is not actually evil, but went insane after his WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} {{Expy}} turned into a serial killer. He still makes toys, but they should most definitely be kept out of reach of children (and anyone else you don't want to die or be horribly cursed.) cursed).

Top