Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume IV Gazetteer Volume Ravenloft WW15023 Legacies of Violence, Landscapes of Despair Twisted shapechangers and immortal tyrants strike terror into the denizens of Ravenloft’s southwestern Core. The twisted desires of Borca’s dual rulers, the curse at the heart of Invidia’s ruling family, the savagery that reigns in the dark forests of Verbrek, the cruelty of Valachan’s master and the greed that marks the rulers of Sithicus evoke an atmosphere of horror that touches all who journey through those forsaken lands. The fourth Gazetteer explores the lands of Borca, Invidia, Verbrek, Valachan and Sithicus, noting landmarks and dangers, relating history and legend and providing a practical assessment of each realm. Bold adventurers may experience these lands for themselves, if they dare. Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, published by Wizards of the Coast®. This product utilizes updated material from the v.3.5 revision. The Ravenloft® campaign setting is an officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons® property. ISBN 1-58846-087-8 WW15023 $24.95 U.S. www.swordsorcery.com A Ravenloft® Campaign Setting Supplement Ravenloft Gazeteer lV Credits Authors: Additional Thanks James Lowder, John W. Mangrum, Ryan Based on the Original Dungeons & Naylor, Anthony Pryor, Voronica Dragons ® rules created by E. Gary Gygax Whitney-Robinson and Andrew Wyatt and Dave Arneson and the new Dungeons Developers:: & Dragons game designed by Johnathan Jackie Cassada and Nicky Rea Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Editor: Richard Baker and Peter Adkison. Mike Johnstone Sword & Sorcery Managing Editor: Special Acknowledgements Andrew Bates Andria Hayday (1st ed. design) Art Director: Bruce Nesmith (1st ed. design) Richard Thomas Tracy & Laura Hickman (original Layout and Typesetting: concept) Ron Thompson Interior Artists: Talon Dunning, Jeremy McHugh, Veronica Jones, Richard Thomas, Beth Trott and Jason Walker Front and Back Cover Designer: Ron Thompson © 2003 Wizards of the Coast Inc. Ravenloft, D&D, Dungeons & Dragons and its logo, the d20 System logo, and Wizards of the Coast and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., in the USA and other countries, and are used by Arthaus under license. PRINTED IN CANADA 1 Foreward Table of Contents Foreword 3 Report One: Borca 8 Report Two: Invidia 38 Report Three: Verbrek 62 Report Four: Valachan 85 Report Five: Sithicus 106 Attached Notes: DM’s Appendix 131 2 Ravenloft Gazeteer lV ForewordForeword The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep. — Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening 3 Foreward I now take quill to the fourth Doomsday The second, more unsettling possibility is that Gazetteer. Upon its completion I shall my patron is waiting for some event that will set a have dedicated two years of my life to grandiose plan in motion. Is he anticipating some this ambitious project, traveling over momentous occurrence that will reveal the reasons half the lands of the Core. My prior for this fool’s errand? Is this bracer a poisoned seed research had well established my own remarkable that only blossoms when the proper conditions are talent and resolve, and when Azalin, my patron, met? miraculously returned from the Gray Realm in 755 I am my own woman, my patron. I have BC, he approached me for an epic undertaking. received nothing from you but sinister commands The king of Darkon retained me to survey all the and the wholesale suppression of information. lands of the Core. For nearly a year my patron chose Though the challenge of these Doomsday Gazet- to remain anonymous, and to date I have yet to face teers appeals to me, I have no particular attachment him in person. I am unsatisfied with the scant to your patronage. The fate of your schemes means reason he has given for sponsoring this ambitious nothing to me, and if I chose to abandon our project. Perhaps a monarch of his stature mistak- arrangement, my work would suddenly be avail- enly presumes that he can treat a peerless scholar able to the highest bidder. such as myself like a common scraping courtier. Such insolence; such lethal presumption. Your sheer confidence in your erudition Rest assured, my little scholar, the benefits of and thoroughness continues to provide me my patronage will become apparent soon enough. with much amusement, little scholar. Let us Talent can take you only so far, and your luck, hope that you remain amusing rather than however remarkable up to this point, can last annoying. only so long. In the spring of 756, my journey began, while this spring saw my path wind through Dementlieu, Report Format Mordent and Richemulot. shall preface each volume of the Dooms- Now the chill in the air has returned, and it is day Gazetteers with a summary of my with a leaden spirit that I turn my eyes once more standard practices and formatting. I shall to the Balinok Mountains. Borca lies before me, as continue to uphold the regular travel well as all the other lands of the southwestern Core. schedule I have maintained this past The recent months have been bereft of word from year, allotting roughly six weeks to study each my patron, which vexes me. Yet I have undertaken country, taking more or less time as required. I shall this journey out of my own intellectual curiosity then immediately relay each report back to Darkon and not due to any loyalty to or fear of my patron. upon its completion. When so-called “local color” The leather and onyx bracer that I have worn proves intriguing, I will provide direct excerpts of — as my patron requested — since I departed my interviews with the native populace. For clarity’s Darkon is the source of my current unease. Since I sake, I shall present these anecdotes in illuminated cannot remove it, I have found ample time to dwell sidebars. on its purpose. I have seen no evidence that it is a Given that my travels are taking me farther “protective” device as my patron claimed, meant to and farther away from Darkon, I will no doubt shield me from his enemies abroad. Significantly, become dependent on my patron’s lackeys to de- my patron has not contacted me since I first donned liver these pages into his moldering hands. To this bracer nine months ago. This silence invites avoid confusion, all reports adhere to the following one of two hypotheses. The first possibility is that standard format: my patron’s gift serves as an arcane monitoring device. If this is indeed the truth, I wish he would Landscape simply say so and save me considerable effort, In this section, I present a naturalist’s view of parchment and ink. each region, focusing on noteworthy features of its 4 Ravenloft Gazeteer lV landscape, flora and fauna. I also take note of important waterways and trade routes, and I de- scribe prevailing architectural styles. Local Animals and Native Horrors These sidebars present natural wildlife and unnatural monsters that are particularly well-suited for adventures in the domain; they are not exhaustive lists of all the crea- tures to be found. Creature lists are divided into “Wildlife” (common, natural animals) and “Monsters” (uncommon, unnatural threats). To make it easier to prepare an encounter quickly, creatures are listed in or- der of ascending Challenge Ratings. Any creatures in italics are under the influence of the domain’s darklord (see “Enchantment” effects the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook). Unless noted otherwise, all creatures can be found in the Monster Manual or Monster Manual II. Creatures marked with an asterisk can be found in Denizens of Dread. Crea- tures marked with two asterisks are included in the Attached Notes. History As this letter marks the opening of a new Doomsday Gazetteer, I should once again address the frustrations of historical study. Objectively speaking, many lands in our world have existed for only a very short time. On those occasions when the Mists have parted, the lands they revealed have typically appeared fully formed and fully popu- lated. The inhabitants of these new lands own full memories of lives well before the emergence of their home. In addition, their historical records often stretch back centuries. In short, dear patron, these folk believe themselves to be as real as you or I, and in truth I cannot disprove the claim. Common wisdom holds that these new lands were simply “revealed” to the world, having existed all along while hidden deep in the Misty Border. Occultists in some circles, however, posit the exist- ence of other worlds — the supposed origins of the “outlanders,” with which my patron is assuredly familiar. These occultists theorize that each of these realms was possibly drawn into our Land of Mists from one of these so-called outlander worlds. 5 Foreward I once scoffed at such wild theories, but I have vailing opinions regarding current rulers. Next, I now come to accept them on a theoretical basis. turn to economic power, including forms of cur- Yet when one probes into the recorded history — rency, natural resources and notable industries. or even living memory — of a region before its Lastly, I focus on matters of diplomacy, examining emergence, such history often proves to be vague, how each nation interacts with its neighbors. incomplete, or even self-contradictory. In addition, my Requiem research and my This situation leads me to the disturbing hy- year-long trek across the Core have taught me pothesis that many lands in our world were much about the true nature of power. My patron is potentially created from whole cloth on the day of course intimately aware of the legends of what I that they first appeared in the Mists.