About Stu's Ravenloft Campaign

Stuart Turner’s campaign An unearthed Kargatane netbook for the Ravenloft setting As wonderfully DMed by: Stuart Turner Compiled by Joël Paquin Legal Notice: AD&D®, RAVENLOFT® and MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH® are registered trademarks of WotC Inc. This book does not represent a challenge to any WotC-held trademarks. WotC is not affiliated with this book in any way. This netbook may be reproduced for personal use, but may not be used to generate revenue About Stu’s Ravenloft Campaign The version of Ravenloft presented in this campaign differs in a number of important ways from the world as published by TSR. In order to help the journal make more sense, I thought I should try to explain some of the more important aspects that have changed! As a result of the changes I've made, you should keep in mind that information mentioned in the Journal will often conflict with the published Ravenloft material. In (hopefully) all cases, this is not a result of ignorance on my part, but the result of an active decision to do something differently from the "Canon" version of Ravenloft. The major things to note are listed below: The Time Period: The period of history that the domains of Ravenloft are based on vary enormously, and hence the levels of technology vary considerably. As a rough rule of thumb, most domains in this version of Ravenloft are somewhere between the Renaissance and early 19th Century (with some, such as Falkovnia, being more primative). This means that firearms are available in a number of domains (Mordent, Dementlieu, and Lamordia for example), which are all taken from the Mighty Fortress sourcebook. As a result of this modernisation of Ravenloft, armour is rarely worn (except by a soldier entering battle). A character walking the streets of Dementlieu in chainmail or plate armour would probably be laughed at by most, and would probably be feared and reviled in Barovia. (This is not meant to be historically accurate - it's just the way things are in this version of Ravenloft.) The Characters: All the characters (bar one) are natives of Ravenloft. This Ravenloft does not assume that the domains are full of adventurers from Toril or Oerth who've been sucked up by the mists. In fact, these sorts of people are a rarity at best, so virtually everyone the PCs meet are natives as well. There are (almost) no demihumans in this Ravenloft. I won't go into the reasons here, but basically all demihuman references in Ravenloft supplements are changed to "human" for the purposes of this campaign. (Some exceptions exist, such as... hey, I can't let the players know that!) Obviously, this means that all PCs are human. The characters were all initially designed as being "ordinary people." That is, they are not "adventurers" that have decided to travel the lands looking for fame, fortune and glory. Instead, they are ordinary people (a doctor, a homeless urchin, a village priest, and a young nobleman) who become victims of circumstance and are thrust into the darkest parts of the world out of necessity rather than desire. We've used highly malleable rules for character creation. Our view is that if we want a character to be able to do something, and it fits that character, and it adds to the story, then let it happen regardless of the character class. (With possible tradeoffs for balance.) As a result, this campaign contains multi-classed humans, priests with psychic powers, and other oddities. Some other significant changes: • The timetable for the Grand Conjunction and Grim Harvest presented in official Ravenloft Products is not used in this campaign. Some elements of these events have been excluded completely, while other new ones have been included. • As at 735, Van Richten has not yet started writing his Guides. In fact, he's only just lost his wife and son. • Some of the changes made during the Grand Conjuction have already "occurred" at the beginning of this campaign. (No specifics here, as I can't give stuff away to my players. Those of you in the know will notice......) • I often steal names for NPCs from Ravenloft products without using the original description of the character. So if (say) Andre Duvall is mentioned in the Journal, don't necessarily expect him to be the same as the NPC described in the RLMCII! Caine Shadowborn Caine Shadowborn was born to Byron and Katherine on the 13th October, 712, inthe grounds of the Shadowborn Estate in Mordent.The Shadowborn family had ruled the estate and much other land in Mordent for as long as anyone could remember. Though their holdings could not match the wealthy Weathermay's, they still remained one of the most respected noble families in Mordent. Caine always felt that his father, Byron, had a very fixed idea of the role that Caine would fill when he grew up. Despite Caine's own aims and desires, Byron forced this role of "Lord of the Manor" on him endlessly. Hence, Caine grew apart from his father at an early age, especially when be began to show an aversion to the firearms Byron regularly used on the Hunt. The Hunt was a regular event among the rich nobles of Mordent, led by Jules Weathermay. Caine often felt his father and the other nobles were talking about him behind his back during these events - rumours that he would be unable to fill his father's shoes, of the end of the Shadowborn nobles. Byron's rigid face often seemed loveless to Caine, and though he was able to recognize a good business opportunity, Caine often felt that his mother was the key to the financial success of the family's operations. A bookish woman, she too rarely showed emotion, and was too rarely recognized by her husband or other business people for her efforts. In 734, however, Caine's life changed. While staring out to sea from the cliffs of Mordent one evening, a light pierced the dusk and swept over the coast. A lighthouse could just be made out in the distance, perched on a craggy collection of rocks. But as quickly as the light swept over his soul, it disappeared in the hazy mist of night. Since that encounter, his dreams were filled with messages of hope and light. Somehow, he felt fulfilled by this knowledge, and with the knowledge came revelation... Rumours were commonplace in Mordent of creatures of the night, particularly with respect to the ancient House on Gryphon Hill. Caine's dreams showed him that these rumours were based entirely on truth. The darkness was out there - and waiting. Yet the light of the sun can combat these creatures, and the light of the moon serves as a proxy, lighting the way until the sun can again burn the flesh of the darkness. After the dreams began, Caine spent much time on the cliffs looking out on the Sea of Sorrows, searching for the ellusive symbol of his faith. Sadly, he could not locate the lighthouse a second time, but its beacon burned in his mind as a symbol of hope. Then, late in 734, tragedy struck. Early in the morning Caine was woken by knocking at his door, his mother calling to him. Stumbling in the dim light, he followed Katherine down to the master bedroom, where the bed lay empty, the only sound the rustle of the curtains as they billowed out the open window of the second storey room. A search began that morning for Byron, with the help of many local nobles. The weather was not kind, driving rain hampering efforts to find tracks of any kind. Even the hounds used in the Hunt were of no use. After a week, Byron's fate was consigned to one of the many rumoured beasts that supposedly roamed the misty moors, and Caine became the last Lord of the Shadowborn. Reluctantly, Caine took up the position, and with his mother began to run the family business. Only a few short days into his role, however, a visitor came to the Estate and introduced himself as Rudolph Van Richten. A quiet, unimposing man, Van Richten was looking to lease a store in Mordentshire to set up a small practice as a Doctor, after moving from Darkon for personal reasons. Eager to help, Caine went into his father's study to obtain the necessary paperwork. In searching through the drawers of his father's desk, however, he came upon something he did not expect.... This is to certify that: Caine Shadowborn was adopted by: Byron and Katherine Shadowborn this day the: 15th November, 712 from the Levkarest Home for Abandoned Children After a hurried meeting with Van Richten, Caine went to confront his mother with the evidence, and she reluctantly confirmed what the certificate said. While angry, this information explained a lot to Caine - his distance from his father, the fact that he was an only child, and more. He decided he needed to know more, so began packing to leave for Borca in the coming days. He took Anathema, a slim silver longsword that had hung in the Shadowborn foyer for years, and Veritas, an iron dagger that had similarly hung in the ballroom. To his father's disgust, Caine had spent much of his time practicing with these ancient weapons, rather than the fashionable rapier and pistol. To a long lost brother, It was only months ago that I learnt of my adoption. Though I love my adopted parents, I yearned to know of my past, and so I began the journey here.

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