Ravenloft domains

The fictional campaign setting of Ravenloft for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game is divided geographically into a number of domains.

Al-Kathos

Arkandale

Avonleigh

Barovia

Barovia is the oldest domain in Ravenloft. It was formed from a part of the ancestral lands of Strahd von Zarovich at the time when he murdered his brother Sergei to win the hand of the beautiful Tatyana in the year 351 of the Barovian Calendar.

Barovia is loosely based on real-world Transylvania. The country is mostly mountainous (the Balinok range) and covered in dense woods. The climate is cold with frigid winters.

Strahd von Zarovich remains the darklord of Barovia and his castle, close to the original village of Barovia (otherwise unnamed) where he was born, is the de facto political centre of the land. Other large settlements include Zeidenberg, Immol, Teueldorf, Vallaki and Krezk.

The population is 98% human, with native Barovians and the lower-class emigrees from Gundarak, the Gundarakites. The Vistani, though a one percent minority, are influential due to their compact with Strahd.

The most popular language, Balok, shows patterns of Slavic influence.

Blaustein

Bluetspur

Bluetspur is a Lovecraftian domain, a bleak, storm-wracked, blasted wasteland with no life on the surface.

Deep within the ground, massive cities of insane architecture sprawl in all directions, teeming with tortured slaves and their masters; the hideous, unspeakably inhuman illithids (known as"mind flayers" for their powerful psionic talents and their penchant for eating brains). For the will of their insane ruler, the Illithid God-Brain, these twisted beings preform malicious bio-engineering experiments, all for the purpose of breeding a superior slave race.

The darklord of the domain, referred to as the Illithid God-Brain, was once a human psionicist, who betrayed his city and willingly fused with the Elder Brain in hopes of becoming the ultimate psionicist. His curse is that he is now trapped within a 30ft-long egg-shaped mass of brain tissue, unable to experience the outside world except by draining the minds of free beings, and even that degenerated exposure only lasts until the victim's mind disintegrates into the insane morass.

Borca

Borca is a nation of noble poisoners, poverty-crushed peasants, and ruthless social climbers. Loosely modeled after real-world Italy during the time of the Borgia family's rule, Borca is also the birthplace of the Church of Ezra. The ruler, Ivana Boritsi, is eternally young and beautiful, but her touch is death. Likewise, Borca is a land of pastoral beauty that is rotten and foul beneath the surface.

Borca was created when Camille Dilisnya murdered her husband in a jealous pique and then left Mordent to avoid mob justice. She ruled her nation with an iron hand and married several times, though each of her husbands was unfaithful and she eventually murdered them. Finally, she was in turn poisoned by her daughter (with husband Klaus Boritsi) Ivana. Camille had disguised herself as Ivana to seduce Ivana's one true love, a poet named Pieter, and prove to her that all men were evil. Ivana took the lesson to heart, and killed Pieter by saturating her own body with a virulent poison. Two years later, she assassinated her mother and became the new ruler of Borca.

During the Grand Conjunction in 740 Barovian Calendar, Borca absorbed neighboring Dorvinia, ruled by Ivana Boritsi's cousin Ivan Dilisnya. Born on the same night and sometimes called "the Dark Twins," the cousins had long corresponded and considered themselves close friends. After their countries merged and they were forced to become co-rulers, however, they grew to loathe one another.

Cavitius

Claveria

Carnival

The Carnival is one of the oddest domains in Ravenloft, consisting of a wandering freakshow/circus. Originally, the Carnival was a freakshow/prison which was part of a now lost domain called l'Morai, ruled by a monstrous tyrant called the Puppetmaster. Prisoners would be sent here from l'Morai, and would be magically warped in recognition of their crimes, gaining bizarre deformities that indicated that crimes and losing their memories and names, so they would never be able to leave without becoming prey for the townspeople. Eventually a freak by the name of Blind Marie, with the aid of the giant Hermos, led the freaks in a rebellion. They all would have perished had she not sacrificed herself so that they would flee. The Carnival wandered the lands seeking a place to settle for some time, until they were eventually saved in Falkovnia by Lady Isolde, the current "Darklord" of the domain.

The Carnival is not a true domain but bears many resembelances to it. Isolde is not a great villain but a Chaotic Good Outsider called a Ghaele, or Greater Eladrin, who willingly entered the mists seeking an enemy of hers, a powerful Incubus (believed by many fans of the setting to be the Gentleman Caller). As with all Outsiders of Good or Evil Alignment, Isolde emits an aura of energy which disrupts the fabric of Ravenloft, an effect which is known as the Twisting. In a manner remeniscent of the effects of l'Morai, the Twisting causes anyone effected by it to develop bizarre deformities based around past deeds of evil and negative personality traits, whilst at the same time developing one or more mystical abilities. For example, a shy sorceress who keeps her mouth shut even when her advice or ideas could help her friends might lose her mouth, causing her to feed and drink by taking fluids in through her nose, whilst still being able to cast spells with verbal components and developing telepathy in the process. The Twisting affects everything within 300 feet of Isolde and she cannot halt it, though she may accelerate it. It takes anywhere between 6 and 13 cumulative days spent in the Carnival for the Twistting to affect a person, though once they have left the Carnival the effects vanish, taking a month for each day spent at the Carnival.

Like a typical Darklord however, Isolde has suffered from entering Ravenloft; her superiors refused to allow her to enter the Demiplane of Dread at first, and as a consequence for entering she was entrapped within a mortal shell (stripping her of most of her powers, such as her Alternate Form ability) and told that she could never leave Ravenloft. She is dedicated to both fighting evil and capturing and punishing her nemesis, but the Dark Powers toy with her in the same way they do with all true Darklords; wherever the Carnival goes, magical flyers annoucing their presence precede it. She ensures that the Carnival never spends more then one week in a single area, as she is afraid what the Twisting would do if she stayed in one place over long.

None of the Carnival members know that Isolde is a Ghaele, though many of them believe her to be a kindly guardian spirit sent by Blind Marie. The only one who has a clue to the truth is a malignant scholar called Professor Pacali, who runs the Hall of Horrors. He knows that Isolde is an Outsider, but mistakenly believes her to be a Fiend of some sort, due to manipulation by Isolde's Incubus enemy and a copy of Van Richten's Guide to Fiends.

Notable members of the Carnival are:

• The Imp, or Importun, is a classic case of conjoined twins. One brother, Claude, is a fully developed and not unhandsome man, his brother, the Imp, is a disgusting lump of flesh on the side of his neck vaguely remeniscent of a tumour with eyes, mouth and a single spindly arm. As far as the other Troupers know, the Twisting simply allows Claude to see through the Imp's eys. The truth is far more grisly- the Imp is alive and sentient, and has been since the day the two were born. The Twisting allows the Imp to dominate Claude, and is actually the nice personality that most Troupers associate with the brothers. His spiteful, hateful brother Claude is kept imprisoned in the depths of their shared mind, and he hates the Carnival, the Imp and just about everything. Fortunately, he can only take control if the Imp drinks alcohol, which he avoids doing whenever possible.

• Trosk, an Orc from some other world, he is a classic, typical Orc, which makes him a novelty by Ravenloft's standards (the deformed Calibans are the only race on Ravenloft who can even be likened to Orcs). The Twisting has simply enhanced his strength, but at the same time he has become even less human visaged than an ordinary Orc.

• The Illuminated Man, an Abber Nomad Shaman whose Twisting has left him covered with moving tattoos. He can actually create tattoos that help fight off or actually inflict a person's darkest nightmares.

• The Snake Mistress, Silessa, was originally a psuedo-familiar in the form of an Asp who belonged to a Sithican wizard and was polymorphed into her current shape by him. She was rescued from him by the Troupers, though they cannot kill him as the mystical linkage between mage and familiar still exists- if he dies, so to does Silessa. He constantly tries to retake her, but so far has been replused every time. Silessa cannot leave the Carnival without suffering the effects that normally occur to a psuedo-familar who is more than a mile away from its master- sickness and eventual death. Silessa can spit blinding venom up to three times a day, she sheds her skin during spring and snakes consider her one of them- they will not attack unless she attacks them first.

• Wood'n-Head is an ermite, a form of wizard who casts spells by brewing potions, though he is not a very good one. Wood'n-Head came to the Carnival of his own free will after his master made him imbibe an experimental regenerative elixer. Wood'n-Head is now immune to slashing and piercing weapons, as his flesh simply seals around the blade or probe. He knows the formula for the elixer, but no one else who has to drunk it to date has survived- this is what slew his master.

• The Living Skeleton, Mola Kravvan, was once part of a brother-sister team of con-artists who staked out the Carnival (her brother, Rasulid, is now the Hall of Horrors exhibit called the Gargantua). Her Twisting causes her to dramatically lose weight, she is called the Living Skeleton for a reason. A source of worry for the other Troupers is the fact that, despite the fact she eats like a horse, Mola keeps losing weight. They fear she- and her brother- will soon be the first to die from the Twisting. She hasn't yet lost any of her vitality or agility, but the Troupers look at her and fear.

• The Hideous Man-Beast, or Raja Singh as he is called when he is human, is a bizarre wereleopard, originating from the Wildlands domain, who is a leopard/human hybrid for most of the month and becomes fully human when the moon is full. His beast friend amongst the Troupers is Silessa, which makes Tindal somewhat jealous.

• The Vampiress, Amelia, earns her stage name for her looks (remeniscent of a typical vampire) and for the large batwings which grow from her back. Amelia is one of the original Troupers, banished to the Carnival at the age of nine for trying to run away from home. In l'Morai, she grew tiny, malformed wings. When the Twisting came, these wings grew and developed until she is now able to fly for up to three hours at a time with them.

• Mister ? is a strange Wax Golem who possesses the ability to perfectly mimic another person by transforming his body and facial features to match theirs. Unfortunately for the object of his attentions, a side effect in this case is that he steals the originals memories and personality in the process, actually believing himself to have become that person. Fortunately, the memories eventually restore themselves to the person they were taken from, and Mister ? loses hold of his form in the process.

• The Amazing Soul-less Man, Tindal, is an illusionist and the Barker for the Carnival. He is also what the Troupers call a Whisp, a Trouper whose Twisting deformity is very hard to notice- in Tindal's case, he casts no reflection. What nobody- not even Tindal- knows, is that Tindal is not the real thing. He is the Fetch of the illusionist Tindalfus, a malevolent and vicious person who is now trapped in the mirror world, being capable only of manifesting himself in any reflective surface. Tindalfus is one of the allies of Professor Pacali, and hopes that destroying Isolde will free him from his prison. Only Pacali and his Horrors know about Tindalfus.

• The Skurra and Madame Fortuna are a group of Vistani who work with the Carnival, protected by the Twisting due to the Skurra-vera, a mystical facepaint which protects those of Vistani blood who wear it, so long as they never speak. All Skurra are Mortu, Vistani who have succumbed to Static Burn and lost their powers. Because Mortu translates (roughly) as 'undead', and due to the enigmatic ways of Madame Fortuna, many Troupers believe that that the Skurra are actually ghosts. The Skurra's ties to the Carnival have allowed them to regain their magical powers, due to the fact they have formed their own unique tribe; the Tribe of None. Madame Fortuna is the only Skurra who doesn't wear the Skurra-vera, as she is the voice for the Skurra. As a result, her eyes have become voids, but her 'Sight' has become even more powerful.

• Professor Pacali is a bitter and twisted Arcanist, whose Twisting causes his vile plots and repressed thoughts to take physical form, growing as lumps of flesh on his stomach these, lumps then become twisted, disgusting monstrosities and drop off. These creatures, held sedated in jars of alcohol, are Professor Pacali's infamous "Pickled Punks". He is one of two people in the Carnival who know that Isolde is an Outsider (Madame Fortuna believes Isolde is a fallen angel), though he has been misled into believing her to be some kind of fiend- specifically, he thinks she is Elsepeth, the Succubus.

• The Gargantuan's history is told with his sister, the Living Skeleton. His Twisting has caused him to become monstrously obese, he weighs over a thousand pounds. He has the power to magically persuade others to do his bidding. The Twisting's effect is that, whenever he uses this ability successfully, his victim loses five pounds and he gains one. Also, he and his sister share a mystical tie; she feels his hunger, and he receives the fat that should come from the amount of food she eats. There is only one way to save the two of them- Firstly, Mola must stop slaving to please Rasulid. If she were to start living her own life, her weight loss would slow, as would Rasulid's weight gain. Secondly, if Rasulid were ever to perform an act of generosity, the person benefiting from him would gain one pound whilst Rasulid would lose five. Nobody (except maybe Isolde) knows about this. Rasulid believes that Isolde's death would free him, and thus he uses his 'silver tongue' to help Pacali.

• The Squid Woman, Tenira, was a Seawolf member of the Kargat who came to the Carnival on Azalin's orders. Her Twisting has replaced each lower arm with ten fleshy tentacles.

• The Geek, Roman Olzanik, was a lesser nobleman who was cursed by a peasant girl who he turned out into the snow. Roman can only gain sustenance from the foulest and most vile of foodstuffs, though they still taste wretched to him. In return, wholesome food makes him sick, though he is immune to ingested poisons and diseases.

• The Fire Eater, Charlotte, is another of the original freaks who escaped from l'Morai. Of all of Professor Pacali's 'assistants', she has no grudge against Isolde, but believes his claims that Isolde controls the Twisting. She desires to force her to change those of her friends who are unhappy with their twisting (such as Rasulid) back to normal. Her swirling red and orange eyes and her fiery-red hair are physical maifestations of her Twisting- she is immune to mundane flames and is capable of exhaling great gouts of fire. Also, her blood ignites upon exposure to the air.

Darkon

A feudal fantasy nation ruled over by the lich-king Azalin Rex, Darkon is the largest domain in Ravenloft. Physically, it takes up the northern third of the main continent, the Core, and its population easily exceeds that of any other single domain. Politically, Darkon is stable but not very influential, with its various nobles kept in check by Azalin's machinations.

In a real sense, Darkon's history is Azalin's history. After being driven out of his original homeland and finding himself in Ravenloft, Azal'Lan (originally a title meaning simply "Wizard King") was briefly befriended by Strahd von Zarovich, the darklord of Barovia. They were experimenting with a few magic spells to help each other escape until eventually Azalin gave up, and wondered into Darkon. After escaping, Azalin found himself the master of a sprawling domain that reflected his cruelty, his obsession with order, his cunning, and his greatest frustration: the inability to learn new magic.

Due to Azalin's desire for unswerving loyalty, Darkon has the most obvious and unique curse in Ravenloft. After spending from one to three months within its borders, anyone not native to Darkon loses all memory of their original homeland, instead believing themselves to have always lived in Darkon. Additionally, they lose all personal desire to leave the country, though some do so anyway out of necessity or circumstance. The lost memories return upon leaving the domain.

Azalin's desire to escape Ravenloft lead to the disastrous Grand Conjunction in 740 Barovian Calendar, nearly destroying the Demiplane of Dread. His next escape attempt resulted in the equally catastrophic Requiem, destroying his physical form and turning the capital city of Darkon, Il Aluk, into a city of the undead, now called Necropolis. For the five years of Azalin's disappearance, Darkon itself was known as Necropolis due to the influence of that city's darklord, Death. Azalin was restored to his body and his throne in time, and now plots a third escape attempt, the details of which are unknown.

Darkon is one of the few domains of Ravenloft to accept demihumans such as elves and dwarves as equal citizens, and one of the few to embrace arcane magic openly. Darkon is often considered decadent by its neighbors, appropriate enough as Azalin encourages his citizens to debase themselves as a means of salving his own ego.

Dementlieu

Demise

Dorvinia

Falkovnia

Falkovnia is ruled by Vlad Drakov, a mad tyrant with a love of impaling as an execution method (an obvious reference to the Transylvanian Vlad Tepes, although Drakov also shows echoes of Hitler and Stalin).

Falkovnia produces much of the Core's grain and wheat, which Drakov uses to fund his war machine. As absolute ruler of Falkovnia, everything is his property, including the population, which are branded with the mark of a hawk on their foreheads shortly after birth (perhaps a reference to Italian fascism symbols).

Drakov has attempted to invade Darkon, the vast domain to the north, no less than four times since Falkovnia was formed, and every time his army reached the border, a wall of undead creatures rose to stop them. Every man in Drakov's army who fell rose to fight for Darkon. The domains around Falkovnia (Borca, Richemulot, Dementlieu, and Lamordia) have signed a mutual defence treaty in the event that Drakov invades any of them, although he believes that they are not worth invading, being run by women and fops.

Farelle

Forlorn

G'Henna

G'Henna is now an Island of Terror, but used to be part of the Core. G'Henna and Markovia were removed fom the Core during the Great Upheaval/Grand Conjunction, the place where they used to be is now the location of the Shadow Rift.

G'Henna is a starving land of religious zealotry, where the populace slave to produce food to be sacrificed to their false deity; Zhakata the Destroyer. Their religion states that Zhakata has two forms, the Destroyer- to whom they sacrifice all of their food, receiving only enough to keep themselves alive, and the Provider- the opposite of the Destroyer, the arrival of whom the G'Hennans pray for ferverently. Cruelly ironic, Zhakata- like the Wolf God worshipped in Verbrek- does not exist. Generations of G'Hennans have starved themselves to death in hopes of attracting the Provider, but this will never happen.

Ghastria

Ghastria is a dull, gray domain, ruled by a darklord who literally is gray, in a pastiche of The Picture of Dorian Gray. The domain is infested with undead ghasts and ghouls and with monstrous carrion crawlers. No food produced here has any flavour whatsoever. The domain is the core's leading producer of Umbral Gray, an element used in paintings to add a smoky, misty effect but which is also lethally poisonous; however, the darklord has discovered that by mixing carrion crawler venom with Umbral Gray, you eliminate the strong flavour, thus making it much more useful as a poison.

The darklord is also the political lord, his curse being that he cannot feel any form of emotion (this has the physical effect of leaving him a dull gray in colour) unless he first shows a living being his self-portait, which sucks the life from them and leaves him with emotions until the effect wears off. He always plans great things to do when he regains his emotions, but he lacks the self drive to do them; thus he never gets anything accomplished. His right-hand man, the Baron Camar D'Marosso, is beginning to transform into a ghast, and it is likely he will soon earn his own domain.

Ghastria was a domain in the second edition of Ravenloft, and hasn't been translated into the third edition.

Har'Akir

Har'Akir is the centre domain which makes up the Amber Wastes cluster, being merged together with Sebua and Pharazia. Har'Akir's Darklord is an Ancient Dead (DnD mummy) by the name of Ankhtepot, infamous amongst the natives for the cruel experiments into obtaing immortality he preformed whilst he was alive. The natives blame him for their current state, for their belief is that his actions angered the gods and led to the destablisation of Ma'at. Har'Akir and the rest of the Amber Wastes cluster is the theme for the fifth issue of the Fraternity of Shadow's Quoth the Raven netzine.

Hazlan

Hazlan is a moderately arid country ruled over by Hazlik, a former Red Wizard of Thay (from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting). Hazlik was ostracized by his peers for his lack of social graces, and finally was deeply humiliated by them when they captured him, burned his tower, and tatooed his head with arcane symbols of femininity. He eventually got his revenge on two of them, murdering them as they were caught up in a tryst, and was drawn into Ravenloft before he could find the others.

Hazlik initially banned the practice of arcane magic in his nation, making its use punishable by death through torture or experimentation, but he reversed his policy after the Grand Conjunction and even founded a wizarding academy. His long-term plan with this reversal is unknown, but it is suspected to relate to his desire for vengeance.

Hazlan's population is divided into two distinct human ethnic groups: the Mulan and the Rashemani. The Rashemani make up over ninety percent of the population and serve as a worker caste to the aristocratic Mulan. The Mulan keep the Rashemani in line by fear and force, keeping them ignorant and poor enough to prevent uprisings and treating them as veritable slaves. Though Hazlik himself is Mulan, his hatred for his own people is well known; he bears no great love for the Rashemani, however, and so leaves the social structure unchanged.

House of Lament

I'Cath

Invidia

Kalidnay

Kartakass

Kartakass is the most musical domain in Ravenloft, and all native bards originate from or have been trained there.

Kartakass is infested with Wolfweres (wolves that transform into humans and humanoid-wolf hybrids), the darklord being the Songmeister, Harkon Lukas. This fact is unknown to oustsiders- who regard the country as simply being the homeplace for bards and a particular potent alcoholic drink called Meeklebrau. The natives themselves simply know that wolves are very common, but they try to ignore them.

The official Ravenloft fan group, the Kargatane, devised rules for native equivalents of the Paladin, Druid and Bard class, referred to as the Paragon, Caretaker and Artiste respectively, as the classes as they exist elsewhere don't really fit in with Ravenloft's gothic atmosphere. Unfortunately, the rules are only valid for the second edition, and until another fan group reworks them, the reworked classes are invalid.

Keening

Kislova

Lamordia

Markovia

Markovia is an Island of Terror (a free-floating lesser domain) situated in the Sea of Sorrows and based on the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Doctor Moreau. The domain's sole inhabitants are Dr. Frantisek Markov and his unique Broken Ones (tormented humanoids created by twisting animals with Markov's surgical methods). Dr. Markov is based on Dr. Moreau, and so his obsession and curse is to always attempt to create humans from animals, but to never succeed fully; his creations are inhuman looking and will slowly degenerate back into mere mindless beasts.

Mordent

Nidala

Nidala borders Avonleigh on the west and is ruled by the fallen paladin Elena Faith-hold. A fanatical follower of Belenus, she enforces her interpretation of Belenus's will upon the population through Decrees of Faith, which have forbidden many activities, and she uses a network of informants to root out those who defy her will and has then publicly punished. Only the threat of Banemaw, an evil dragon, keeps Faith-hold in power, although Banemaw's existence is doubted.

Elena has discovered that the Shadowbane is held within Shadowborn Manor, but is unable to reach it. Her descent into irredeemability is quickened by her chaplain Theokos, in reality a Gelugon (an insectile greater Baatezu Devil). Theokos is detailed in the Book of Sorrows pdf netbook at www.kargatane.com.

Nightmare Lands

Nocturnal Sea

Nosos

Nosos is a domain of over-industrialization, a land buried under garbage and poison. Nosos was an Island of Terror in the second edition version of Ravenloft, but was left out of the third edition version. The fans of the setting rectified this in the second issue of Quoth the Raven, a fan-created netzine hosted by the Fraternity of Shadows website (www.fraternityofshadows.com), merging an updated Nosos with Paridon and Timor to form the Shining Bay cluster.

The darklord of the domain is Malus Scleris, a male human of eighth level (4th level aristocrat, 2nd level expert and 2nd level manipulator). The only son of a widowed druid, Malus never received any affection from his father. He eventually murdered him by contaminating his bed linen with disease pathogens. His curse is that he is always under the effects of a Speak with Plants spell, which affects all plants within a mile of him. Any trees speak to him with the voice of the ancient forest where he grew up, forcing him to go through his guilt. Because of this, he orders all trees in his domain destroyed, and only allows people to grow other forms of plants if they pay a "Green Tax", basically one gold coin per month for every cubic foot of flora owned.

Malus is immune to level draining, ability score damage and all forms of poison and disease. He has several scientists experimenting with creating newer and deadlier varieties of toxin, and uses these to his advantage. Because of his immunity, he can simply smear the pathogen on his hands- which is why he always wears white gloves. When he whishes to infect someone, he simply removes his gloves and shakes their hand. One of the diseases he has bred is Dum-Dum Fever, which lowers Intelligence. Because his minions have spread the rumour that Dum-Dum Fever originates from prostitutes, anyone infected suffers from both the brain draining effects and a shake in his reputation- which makes the disease perfect for discrediting rivals. A more lethal disease is "Elevens", a muscular disease which causes two vertical muscles in the neck to stand erect, hence the name.

Paridon

Paridon is a domain revolving around the idea of social decay, one which happens to be infested with dread doppelgangers. The darklord is called Sodo, and is referred to by the human inhabitants as "Flickerflame", because he cannot control his shape-changing powers and is constantly "flickering" in form. Paridon and the domain of Timor (located within the sewers) form the Zherisia cluster. Fanon has recently changed Zherisia to the Shining Bay cluster by adding a third edition rules version of Nosos to it and moving Timor out into an island connected to Paridon by both a bridge and a mass of tunnels.

Pharazia

Ravallah

Richemulot

Rokushima Taiyoo

The Six Islands of the Sun are ruled by four brothers (originally six, but the youngest and oldest were murdered) who constantly wage war with one another, grinding the populace under their heels. Their father is the true darklord, but he is a geist, a type of ghost that cannot interact with the material realm.

Sanguinia

Saragossa

Saragossa is a sea domain, consisting of a vast ocean of seaweed where ships get stuck. Saragossa is perhaps the harshest domain in which to live, as all inhabitants are forced to prey on each other (both figuratively and literally) to survive.

Scaena

Sebua

One of the three desert domains which make up the Amber Wastes cluster, Sebua is the largest, separated from Har'Akir by three ranges of mountains and "inhabited" by nomads, desert caravans and a large tribe of feral children. The darklord of the domain is an Ancient Dead named Tiyet. This undead woman appears as a normal human woman, but her heart has been removed and placed in a jar hidden somewhere in her estate (located near the Red Oasis). Because of her missing heart, she is nigh-invulnerable (she can only be killed if her heart is destroyed), with a penchant for eating the hearts of living beings. In the fifth issue of Quoth the Raven, a magical weapon called the Spear of Amhoth was created by fans so that a hero would have an easy time facing her. This weapon is a +3 Undead-Bane Short Spear, with the following special abilities:

• It cannot cross the borders until Tiyet is destroyed.

• When facing Tiyet or her minions it can cast the following spells as though it were a level 10 cleric; Bull's Strength (bearer only), Bless, Protection from Evil and Remove Fear three times a day and Consecrate, Cure Moderate Wounds and Remove Paralysis once a day.

• The spear is drawn to the jar containing Tiyet's heart, and can thus be used as a divining rod to destroy her permanently.

• It suffers from two curses; firstly the wielder suffers from nightmares, thus counting as having slept for half the time he actually has and the wielder must make a DC 20 Will save to be able to avoid fighting Tiyet's minions to the death, which increases to DC 30 to avoid fighting Tiyet herself.

Shadowborn Manor

Shadowborn Manor is a lesser domain contained within Nidala, domain of the deluded, fallen paladin, Elena Faithhold. Shadowborn Manor is a fragment of Elena's homeworld, the former house of someone she respected. Now, it is a prison of a monstrous, spiritual entity so powerful and evil that demons fear it. This is the cursed sword called the Ebonbane, the artefact that sparked the bloody War of Faith that saw to Elena's downfall. Within the manor it is death to bring any sword or dagger, as the Ebonbane can control these with a thought. The Knights of the Circle, a resistance group dedicated to seeing Elena overthrown, enter Shadowborn Manor once a year to complete a special ritual, which ensures that the Ebonbane remains locked inside the crystal coffin that is used to keep it dormant.

Shadow Rift

The Shadow Rift was created during the Grand Conjunction in 740 Barovian Calendar when the nations of G'henna and Markovia vanished from the main continent, the Core. Left in their place was a great, yawning chasm splitting the Core in two. The Shadow Rift is a sheer canyon filled with darkness and black fog. None that have entered it have ever returned.

At the bottom of the Shadow Rift is a kingdom of shadow fey, the Arak, shrouded in perpetual night. The domain is reachable through a number of cracks and crevices that run beneath neighboring domains. Those that pass through these cracks understand that roughly two days of travel pass either direction, but they retain no memory of the journey.

The Shadow Rift is ruled over by Loht, the Prince of Shadows and head of the Unseelie Court, and his sister Maeve, the Faerie Queen and mistress of the Seelie Court. These two children of the former shadow fey king, Arak, jointly rule the land in the father's stead. Arak died fighting the monstrous entity known as Gwydion, a being that had enslaved and altered their race to conquer worlds for him. Arak freed his people and trapped Gwydion between worlds. Gwydion, called the Sorcerer-Fiend, is the true master of the Shadow Rift, though he can exert no control over it.

Sithicus

Sithicus, meaning The Land Of Specters in the Elven tongue, is unique in being the only domain inhabited primarily by non-humans, in this case elves. Created and formerly ruled by the Death Knight Lord Soth, Sithicus is now officially the kingdom of the were-badger Azrael, who is far more interested in the fates of his subjects then Soth was. Other than Elves, the other sentient races inhabiting Sithicus include a few small pockets of humans, and several tribes of tortured, tormented Vampiric Kender, who are usually mistaken for Halflings. The Darklord of Sithicus is a half-Vistani/half-shadow woman by the name of Inza, daughter of Magda.

Souragne

Souragne is a domain based around stereotypical Louisiana voodoo, and as such consists primarily of a vast swamp. The two most important individuals in Souragne are the darklord (a Zombie Lord) and Chicken Bone, the most powerful houngan (practioner of voodoo) in the swamp.

Sri Raji

Staunton Bluffs

Tepest

Tepest is a forest domain infamous for the superstitious nature of its inhabitants. The darklords are a coven of three Hags and the domain itself contains a pocket domain in the western area, Castle Island, home to a twisted fey sorceress and her husband, now transformed into a monster called the Avanc, which roams the black water of Lake Kronov. The Castle Island domain is detailed (at least a second edition version is anyway) in the Book of Secrets pdf file, created and housed by the Secrets of the Kargatane website (www.kargatane.com), the former unofficial site of Ravenloft, dedicated to fan-produced Ravenloft materials, now sadly closed (often referenced to by other fan-sites, the Secrets of the Kargatane still hosts its Book of S_ series and a few other Ravenloft treats which can be downloaded for free).

Thornewood

Timor

Timor is an Island of Terror which, along with Paridon, forms part of Zherisia and later Shining Bay. In Zherisisa, Timor is located within the sewers of Paridon, in Shining Bay, Timor is an island in the bay reachable by the Queen Anne Bridge- which ignores the permanently closed borders. Timor is inhabited by insectile beings called Markith, the darklord is a human princess who asked a wizard to turn her into a Markith Queen so she could scare her mother to death. The transformation was supposed to be an illusion, but the wizard actually polymorphed her, and was shot by another of her lovers before he could undo the spell.

Tovag

Tovag is the domain ruled by Kas the Destroyer, as part of the Burning Peaks cluster with Vecna's domain of Cavitius. It is thickly forested, but any stake fashioned from this wood will not harm the vampiric darklord; only a stake of wood from his homeland (Greyhawk) can do this. Kas wages an endless war of attrition with Vecna's forces across the Burning Peaks, and believes that Vecna possesses the Sword of Kas, which Vecna forged for him, and the weapon he used to sever Vecna's hand and eye.

Valachan

Vechor

Verbrek

Verbrek is a wilderness land ruled by savage werewolf tribes. These tribes are in turn dominated by Alfred Timothy, the high priest of the Wolf God, a deity that embodies savagery and bloodlust. Timothy invented this deity out of a desire to purge his weak human half, and has committed innumerable atrocities in his false god's name. Timothy is constantly haunted by his curse: whenever he indulges in his animal passions he is shifted into his weakling human form, so he must constantly control his temperament, lest he be seen as weak by his followers.

The werewolves dominate the primitive human inhabitants by culling their numbers and subjecting them to horrific tests of survival. A number of other were-creatures inhabit the land as well, and have banded together in a resistance movement to overthrow the tyranny of the werewolves. Unfortunately, they bear no greater love for the human inhabitants than the lycanthropes, and would most likely just exterminate them out of hand were they to succeed in their goals.

Vorostokov

Wildlands Cluster

Winding Road

Zherisia

Zherisia is the cluster which contains the domains of Paridon and Timor. In the second issue of the fan-created Ravenloft netzine Quoth the Raven, Zherisia was updated by having a 3rd edition version of the garbage-strewn domain of Nosos grafted into it. Zherisia is now called the Shining Bay Cluster and contains three slightly modified domains, mainly being changes to government and the abilities of the darklords (Sodo, the Dread Doppelganger darklord of Paridon, can now successfully assume the form of the newly re-instated queen of Paridon, but only while he wears the Crown of Queen Anne).