Sunday Musings - Through The Mists Of Ravenloft
As always, the idea behind a Sunday Musings is that Adam takes a concept and times an hour and a half to write it in. This week, we get … Lofty
I have a tendency to be overly harsh on D&D settings, and possibly on D&D as a whole. However, I have a lot of positive things to say about the time I've spent in Ravenloft and Planescape. In fact, I would go as far to say that both those settings have been very instrumental in how I approach worldbuilding.
However, I despise Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance, and did so back then. I could very easily fill a Sunday Musings on dirt filled diatribes on why Dragonlance is a lazy collection of concepts that were built on the Americanisation of Tolkien. As much as Tracy and Laura Hickman worked on making Dragonlance into something, I've always felt its less than it's parts.
Ravenloft however.....
Way back in 1977, the Hickmans came to the conclusion that the idea of the Vampire was overdone, overplayed and had become truly de-fanged*. With that in mind, they set out to attempt to make something over the next five years of playtesting that could make the bloodsucker scary once more. Five years of Halloween themed gaming nights that formed into Module I6. Ravenloft was released in 1983, bringing with it a moody compelling achievement that was missing from earlier supplements, despite the best efforts of the writers of those supplements. What came from TSR that year was as much melodrama as Dracula (Melodracula?), a setting about the Big Bads as much as one about the human experience of love and trust, despair and fear.
Dave Sutherland's maps gave a whole new dimension to Ravenloft, a smart design aesthetic that ties it all together, it may be unwieldy at times, but importantly, it is oozing the atmosphere when the urge to just walk through the book takes hold.
Ravenloft's evocative setting is the nation of Barovia, which is hidden from the other planes of existence by magical mists of a very terminal manner. Such a dark and craggy place must of course have a castle of terror, and lo, we have Castle Ravenloft, the home of the undead tyrant Count Strahd Von Zarovich. You will notice the double balled approach to cod-European naming as you explore the world. Strahd is the embodiment of terror and darkness, and possibly of 60's Hammer Horror as bodices get ripped and doors barricaded throughout the land.
Strahd himself is a deeply twisted individual, existing in a tight balance between unforgiving, undefeatable evil and love letter to the Gothic Romantic movement that gained so much love in the teens of the 80s. Strahd's journey begins with unrequited love, as he proclaims his feelings to a young woman named Tatyana, he has grown smitten with, but discovers her feelings towards his younger brother, Sergi. Strahd's explosive rage leads him to create a dark pact to live forever, where he took the Sergi's life . To his dismay, Tatyana threw herself from the castle, overcome by grief and fear.
Strahd is the precursor to White Wolf, and whilst that should be something that irks my ire, it seems right that such and imposing figure has effected enough people to create a world of Strahds. He's as much an anti-hero as villain of the story, which gives the DM so much to play with in order to roleplay him.
The story of the adventure is of course to hunt and kill Strahd, explore Barovia and have undead encounters along the way. The smartest part of the game comes when Strahd's backstory becomes obvious, often causing the player to not use the Strahd-Slayer 2000 to dispatch the Dark Lord***
Strahd stands alongside characters like The Lady Of Pain as being the very best of what adventure paths and expansions can bring to the table. He has evolved into a recognisable, enduring monster, with the setting and adventure still having re-releases and adaptions now, 35 years later. It's actually quite hard to understand that whilst Ravenloft is still a dungeon crawler in the tradition of what had come before, there is a sense of humour missing from D&D to this point. Often it's bleak, dark humour, but these sit alongside some genuinely brilliant puns of which I will not ruin here, but instead ask for you, the reader to share your favourite below.
Of course, as a lover of random generators, I have to mention the card system, which exists to randomise so much in the game. This creates a multitude of repeatability, providing you don't mind that the story of Ravenloft is fairly immutable, and it's only the steps that change, not the whole.
The cards also wonderfully create a link of the Fortune Tellers of the Vistani, who are absolutely a misstep in bad racial profiling and far too broad strokes for world building. I actually like the Vistani, but the way they are presented at the time is very much a problem for playing Ravenloft in the modern times.
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft for 3.5 went back to the original release rather than what had come after. It was shortened down to be a 20-session path, with options for smaller adventures. Even better, it included rules to smash Ravenloft into those other settings that needed a bite to the neck. Erm. Jolt to the arm.
Ravenloft stands out amongst the D&D of the time as a setting and module with a lot of heart, an incredibly atmospheric setting and a very visual style. There's so many strands for Strahd that set him, his castle and his lands up as being one of the RPG experiences that should be played by anyone with even a passing interest in the grim, the gloom, the pen and paper and the narrative of the night.
Until next time, I remain-
Adam
*A term i use a lot for Freddy Kruger's journey. How do you refang a monster that has been on a lunchbox?
**FRIENDS?
***We did. And then installed Hobo Joe, our naked barbarian adventurer as the new lord.