Ravenloft Campaign

Ravenloft is a game about a group of people who wind up in a remote village named Barovia, a place modeled strongly after an archaic Eastern Europe. There the townspeople are glum. And have problems. And are ruled over by the dreaded Count Strahd. The place is creepy and the module borrows heavily from gothic horror tropes, particularly from the Dracula story.

The game is also one of escape. No one is Barovia has left the lands surrounding the villages in centuries. It's truly an insular little village. And with good reason: The mists that perpetually surround the village won't let them escape. Or you...

About Ravenloft

http://www.tabcreations.com/rpwiki/barovia_village.jpg

So here's what you need to know about the setting. Your character won't know most of it at the beginning of the campaign, but much of the basics of the history and culture stuff we can assume they pick up pretty quickly once in the village. The stuff about the Mists and the Dark Powers they may never learn, but it gives you the player some insight into what's going on so that things make sense.

Real-Life History

The original Ravenloft module was written sometime in the late 70's and early 80's by Tracy Hickman, who submitted it to TSR as an example of his design while attempting to get a job there. It was eventually published in 1983 and was extremely successful. It inspired a sequel module in 1986 (Tracy Hickman's last module before he left TSR), a choose-your-own-adventure style book in the 80's and a boxed-set campaign setting in 1990. TSR published three editions of the setting for AD&D 2nd Edition, and after TSR's acquisition by Wizards of the Coast, Ravenloft was licensed out to White Wolf, who published two editions for D&D 3rd Edition. Then Wizard's ended the license, publishing another revision of the original module and are now once again publishing Ravenloft novels.

Demiplane of Dread

Ravenloft isn't really an entire world so much as it is a finite demiplane, adrift somewhere in the astral. Occasionally, it will touch upon other worlds in a process known as a masque, drawing in others from those worlds within its confines.

The Dark Powers

Unknown to most, Ravenloft is reigned over by some entity or collection of entities referred to only as the Dark Powers. The Powers are terrible and dark and beyond the ken of mere mortals. Their motive, or purpose, or even why Ravenloft exists is unknown. They reign distantly and serve in some way as jail wardens, keeping eternally trapped the domain lords.

Domains

Ravenloft is sliced up into a number of domains--regions of land, some as big a country and other as small as a single structure. In some ways, each domain acts almost like its own plane. Each domain is perpetually surrounded by gray mists, impeding travel and communication between the domains unreliable at best... often downright impossible. Somewhere in each domain exists a domain lord--perhaps an actual ruling figure, perhaps not. Each domain lord is eternally trapped in their own domain, unable to leave. Each perpetually seeking something they are never going to attain. The Dark Powers see to it that they never achieve what they seek and that they never give up hope. The domain lords are without exception terrible people. And in some ways, every domain is something like their own personal hell.

The Mists

Each domain floats somewhere, surrounded by the mists. These supernatural fogs make travel through them difficult. Sometimes journeys through the mists seem to last for others, other times they seem to last for weeks. And it is never the same feeling twice. Navigation is impossible; even normally reliable beasts soon become lost and disoriented. Sometimes travelers walk for days only to wrap back around to where they began, or another part of the same domain. Other times they someplace else terrible and totally unexpected.

Effects on Magic

Some magic works different in Ravenloft, particularly magic that makes use of the planes. Ravenloft is not on the Prime Material, and it is hard to escape from. Summoned beings are may remain when a summoning spell ends and spells that make use of the ethereal or astral may have strange effects. Also of particular note is divine magic. Where as before the divine caster might have felt the presence of their deity, once in Ravenloft they feel only an emptiness. Spells cast to speak to their deity are answered by a strange presence. But the spells still come. Perhaps they're just granted by... something else... Maybe even the Dark Powers themselves.

Barovia

The Surrounding Lands

http://www.tabcreations.com/rpwiki/barovia.jpg

Castle Ravenloft

About Strahd

Culture

Eastern European, Other Races, Vistani

Views on Magic

Availability of magic items and magical services

The Campaign

The rest of the information here is on the campaign itself: The hook, what to expect and house rule changes.

The Hook

The hook the gets the player characters involved is a letter purporting to be from the Burgomaster of Barovia, asking the characters to travel there and providing a map on how to get there. The exact reason we can discuss and work with. The map marks Barovia in some obscure remote location and no one's ever heard of it. The world that the PCs wander into Ravenloft from also isn't particularly consequential to the module. Presumably it's some D&D world of some sort. Traditionally this was Grayhawk, but if anyone has any strong preferences we can decide upon something. It could even be another domain in Ravenloft's plane, although ideally it's some place the PCs generally like and want to get back to, as escaping the mists surrounding Barovia is assumed to be a general motive in the campaign. There is also a time limit to escape.

It may be beneficial for the Player Characters to all be part of some organization--whether it's a traditional "adventuring party" or a guild or whatever. This gives them reason for the Burgomaster's letter to be collectively delivered. It may also be beneficial for the PCs and the reason for their involvement to be something that would translate after arrival into getting involved in the events transpiring in Ravenloft. Granted, the motive to escape may provide that as well, but it's often useful to have other motives for doing things. PCs might even have secondary motived for traveling to Barovia, like rumors than an enemy they want to thwart has fled to the region where Barovia is marked on the map. Or because it may be useful for them to lay low in some remote region until the authorities back home quit looking for them after their heist... of course, though, they'll have to go back after that to actually go retrieve all the money from where they've hid it (giving them a motive to escape Ravenloft). Etc.

The Rest of the Party

For this campaign the PCs are assumed to be part of a larger party of people who have taken the hook and come to Barovia. These extra people in the party will arrive a little behind schedule in Barovia either at the end of the first session or early in the second session. Players are encouraged during the character creation session to collectively come up with a reason for their late arrival. Thereafter, they will remain in town "to protect it" or some such reason, and are there primarily to serve as a pool of replacement characters should initial PCs die.

Campaign Journals

Players may optionally keep a campaign journal for their character if they so wish. For every session that they make a campaign journal entry concerning, the next session they will receive one extra luck point.

Additionally, a campaign journal will be kept by the GM, giving some insight into happenings both from an out-of-character perspective and from the perspectives of various NPCs.

Ability Score Generation

Ability scores are to be generated using the Point Buy system also presented in the DMG (page 169) using the standard 25 point method. It can also be found here.

Ability Score & Age

Your character may be of whatever age you wish. However, the aging ability score adjustments given in the PHB are not in use.

Available Races

The following is a comprehensive list of races available to player characters. Races not appearing on this list are not allowed for play in the campaign.

Dwarves

Hill Dwarf (PHB 14), Deep Dwarf (MM 92)

Elves

High Elf (PHB 15), Gray Elf (MM 104), Wild Elf (MM 104), Wood Elf (MM 104)

Half-Races

Half-Elf (PHB 18), Half-Orc (PHB 18)

Halflings

Lightfoot Halfling (PHB 19), Tallfellow Halfling (MM 149), Deep Halfling (MM 150)

Other Races

Humans* (PHB 13), Rock Gnome (PHB 16), Caliban (R 37, PHB 18), Maenad (XPH 14), Xeph (XPH 15)

* Since part of the benefit from playing a human comes from having any favored class, this benefit has been replaced
  with the following benefit: At character creation a human may select one skill (for skills that are divided into
  sub-skills, pick one sub-skill). This skill is now always considered a class skill for that character.

Staring Taint

Characters may begin with however much Taint the player thinks fits her character concept, so long as it is not enough taint to cause the character to become a crazy NPC. Starting characters with 0 Taint is recommended both as it represents more "good" characters and is more mechanically beneficial.

Generic Classes

The generic classes variant from Unearthed Arcana (page 76) is in use. It is also available here. However, the following changes are in effect for the Spellcaster class:

Spell Choice

Only Spellcaster (Divine) may choose spells from the Cleric and Druid lists. Similarly, only Spellcaster (Arcana) may select spells from the Sorcerer/Wizard list. Arcane casters experience spell failure from armor.

Spellcaster (Psionic)

Another option for the Spellcaster class is available: Spellcaster (Psionic). It is identical to the Spellcaster class in all ways (with either Intelligence or Charisma as the casting ability) except characters that take this class pick psionic powers from the Psion/Wilder list (but not discipline lists) and have the following Power Progression:

Level	PP	Known	Max Power
1	3	3	1st
2	5	5	1st
3	8	7	1st
4	14	9	2nd
5	19	11	2nd
6	29	13	3rd
7	37	15	3rd
8	51	17	4th
9	63	19	4th
10	81	21	5th
11	97	22	5th
12	115	24	6th
13	131	25	6th
14	149	27	7th
15	165	28	7th
16	183	30	8th
17	199	31	8th
18	217	33	9th
19	233	34	9th
20	249	36	9th

Psionic Transparency

The rules for full psionic transparency are in effect. That means spell resistance is the same as power resistance, Knowledge (Arcana) is the same as Knowledge (Psionics), etc.

Multi-Class Saves

Normally when multi-classing saving throws can get kind of screwy. Because of this, when multi-classing you can only ever get the +2 bonus from a good saving throw once. If multi-classing into a class that has a good saving throw you already have the +2 bonus from, you continue to get the good saving throw progression, just not the +2 bonus.

Example: Bob is a 2nd level fighter who is now multi-classing to take a level of Barbarian. The Fighter has a good Fortitude save, which started at +2 (the +2 bonus) and is now at +3. The Barbarian also has a good Fortitude save, which also normally starts at +2. When Bob takes his level of Barbarian he doesn't gain the +2 to Fortitude again, since he already has it from fighter. But he does continue the good Fortitude progression as level 3 on that progression. At third level of that progression, his Fort bonus is still +3.

Average Hit Points

Instead of rolling for hit points at each level you instead get a number of hit points as per the chart below. Note that as a caveat, you still get maximum hit points at first level, and you still apply your Constitution modifier to the number of hit points you get each level.

Level	d4	d6	d8	d10	d12
Even	2	3	4	5	6
Odd	3	4	5	6	7

Allowed & Forbidden Spells

Characters may only have spells that appear in the PHB or XPH. All spells of the appropriate spell list appearing in the PHB and XPH are available to characters except as listed below. (But note the section on changed magical effects)

This list of forbidden spells is ganked from the RPGA.  I figure that if Wizards of the Coast won't allow these spells in
their own campaigns, why do I want that headache?

Forbidden Cleric and Druid Spells

Awaken; Destruction; Miracle; Shapechange

Forbidden Wizard and Sorcerer Spells

Alter Self; Mordenkainen’s Disjunction; Permanency; Planar Binding; Planar Binding, Greater; Planar Binding, Lesser; Polymorph; Polymorph Any Object; Shapechange; Simulacrum; Wish

Forbidden Psion and Wilder Powers

Apopsi; Genesis; Incarnate; Metamorphosis; Metamorphosis, Greater; Mind Seed; Mind Switch; Mind Switch, True; Psychic Reformation; Reality Revision

The following powers are modified such that the energy type they are capable of making must be specified when the power is learned
rather than when manifested.  Each energy type counts as a different power: Energy Ball, Energy Bolt, Energy Burst, Energy Cone,
Energy Current, Energy Missile, Energy Push, Energy Ray, Energy Retort, Energy Stun, Energy Wall, Energy Wave.

NPCs and Class

Despite the fact that PCs are built using generic classes, NPCs may be built using either D&D's usual class method or using generic classes. Either way, challenge rating and so on should come out the same.

Traits & Flaws

Traits and Flaws are an optional way to personalize your character.

Traits

Characters may possess up to two different traits, as per the rules for Traits in Unearthed Arcana (page 86) and here. A character does not have to have any traits. They are optional.

The Distinctive trait may not be taken, as the Unearthed Arcana rules for Reputation are not in effect.

Flaws

A character may have up to two Flaws, mostly as per the rules on Unearthed Arcana (page 91) and here. However, instead of each Flaw granting you a feat slot, each Flaw instead grants you one extra Luck point. Flaws are optional, you do not have to take any.

Available Feats

The following is a comprehensive list of all available feats in the campaign. If a feat is not listed, it is unavailable.

Player's Handbook Feats

All feats listed in the Player's Handbook are available. [Note: This does not include feats listed in the DMG.]

Expanded Psionic Handbook Feats

All Metapsionic Feats, All Item Creation Feats, the following General feats: Cloak Dance, Deadly Precision, Greater Manyshot, Mind Over Body, Open Minded, Psionic Affinity, Rapid Metabolism, Reckless Offense, Sidestep Charge, Stand Still, the following Psionic feats: Boost Construct, Combat Manifestation, Expanded Knowledge, Greater Power Penetration, Greater Power Specialization, Improved Psicrystal, Overchannel, Power Penetration, Power Specialization, Psicrystal Affinity, Psicrystal Containment, Psionic Body, Psionic Talent

Unearthed Arcana Feats

All of the feats listed under the section on Generic Classes (page 76) are available.

Ravenloft Player's Handbook Feats

Back to the Wall (page 61), Lunatic (page 62), Redhead (page 63), Reincarnated (page 63)

New Feats

Damned Lucky, Reduced Spell Failure, Improved Toughness, Dread Companion, Bard Abilities, Rage, Barbarian DR, Slowfall, Flurry of Blows,

Advancement

Players should expect to raise about two levels throughout the course of the campaign. All Player Characters advance in level at certain plot points determined by the GM. When a character advances in level, they set their "current XP" to a sum determined by their new level. When using spells or abilities that require the character to spend XP, the XP comes out of this pool. Characters may not reduce their pool of XP below 0 in this way, nor does unused XP carry between levels. The amount of XP a character gets to use in this way at each level is detailed below:

Level	XP
1	500
2	1000
3	1500
4	2000
5	2500
6	3000
7	3500
8	4000
9	4500
10	5000
11	5500
12	6000
13	6500
14	7000
15	7500
16	8000
17	8500
18	9000
19	9500
20	10000

House Rules

The following general house rules are in effect.

Acceptance

Every PC has an acceptance rating, which acts as a modifier to all social rolls within Ravenloft (except for Intimidate). This rating is comprised of a number of factors based upon the PC's nature and appearance. Figure out your PC's acceptance rating by totaling together the following applicable modifiers.

Mod	Situation
-2	Non-Human Race
-6	Race not appearing on the racial list (due to Reincarnation or something)

-2	Visible magic items
-4	Known arcane caster
-4	Known psionic

-2	Signs of moderate taint
-4	Signs of severe taint

+2	Per well-known good deed (GM's discretion)
-4	Per will-known evil deed (GM's discretion)

Note: Players have the opportunity early in the campaign to rack up some well-known good deeds to offset some of these penalties; but also note that public opinion still has its biases (as can be seen from these modifiers).

Luck Points

Each player will get a number of Luck Points. This number is determined by the following factors: Every player gets at least 1 point. If a journal entry was made for last session, you get an extra Luck Point. You get another Luck Point for each Weakness you have. Finally, the player who was chosen as MVP from last session is granted an additional Luck Point.

Luck points are refreshed periodically, as specified by the GM. This may or may not correspond with the beginning of a session. Luck points can be spent to reroll any roll made directly affecting your character. So, for example, you may spend a Luck Point to reroll a save your character just made, or may be spent to make a character attacking you reroll her attack roll.

Taint

Instead of alignment, characters possess a Taint score. Taint functions the way it does in Unearthed Arcana (page 189) and here, with the following exceptions:

• Taint does not apply as a penalty to Constitution and Wisdom.
• Determining one's level of Taint is based off of Wisdom rather than Constitution.
• Taint can be gained both from tainted places/objects and from bad deeds. There is no save against taint from deeds you willing enact.
• Characters that are not tainted, or who have only Mild taint are treated as Good for the purposes of spells and effects. Characters that are Moderately tainted are treated as Neutral for the purposes of spells and effects. Characters that are Severely tainted are treated as Evil for the purposes of spells and effects.
• When a character's Taint score equals or surpasses her Wisdom score she does not die. Instead she has become so evil and bestial she is no longer a player character. This cannot be escaped by "embracing taint."
• Spells--with the exception of Atonement, Miracle and Wish--cannot remove Taint. Taint must be removed through good deeds and sacred springs.
• Taint-absorbing objects do not exist.
• The Dark Powers try to tempt the tainted into falling further (see below).

Tainted Boons

The Dark Powers try to tempt those who have given in to taint, to fall even further, becomming even more tainted. Any character who has mild, moderate or severe taint automatically becomes aware when they acquire taint that they are being offered power that's there for them to seize--tempting and just within arm's reach. Mechanically, any character who gains the reqresite level of taint can use any of the below as spell-like abilities at will. These are the boons the Dark Powers offer. The catch, however, is that using any of these tainted boons is considered a tainted action. Any time a character makes use of any of these abilities, her taint score automatically increases by one.

• Mild Taint: Cause Fear, Chill Touch, Doom.

• Moderate Taint: Death Knell, False Life, Scare

• Severe Taint: Animate Dead, Bestow Curse, Vampiric Touch

Modified Magic

The following magical effects have been modified to fit the Ravenloft campaign setting, either because of the way the demiplane works, or for flavor purposes.

Banishing

Any spell that would normally return a creature to its home plane or force it from its current plane instead simply forces it to another part of Ravenloft.

Detecting Alignment

All spells that would detect alignment automatically fail. The Dark Powers prevent people from certainty about such things.

Divination

Any spell that peers into the future or interrogates deities or other remote beings for information may provide inaccurate results as per the Dark Powers' whim.

Domain Borders & Spells

Different domains--and some areas that act like domains--are treated mechanically as if they were different planes. That means certain effects like Find the Path do not work across them.

Resurrection

Any magic that brings back the dead has a 20% chance per time that character has been brought back of backfiring. The character does come back. With Reincarnation she even comes back in a new body. She just comes back as one of the living dead; possessed and hungering for the flesh of the living. For a PC this is "make a new character."

Summoning

It's difficult to escape Ravenloft. When summoning spells expire, the summoned creature does not automatically return to their home plane. Instead they remain trapped in Ravenloft and under their own control. Often this causes summoned creatures to panic; intelligent ones may also hold it against their summoner. Creatures summoned in this way truly die when killed. Furthermore, the Dark Powers will not allow any creature with the Good subtype to be summoned. Such attempts automatically fail.

Taint & Spells

Casting any spell with the Death or Evil descriptor is considered a tainted action and gives the caster a point of taint. Furthermore, any spell that would enchant or command another being to perform a tainted action, is considered a tainted action for the commander as well.

Transient Planes

Ravenloft, as a demiplane, does not truly touch the ethereal, astral or shadow planes as the Prime Material does. Nevertheless, Ravenloft does have a singular planar space similar to the transient planes. All spells that make use of any of the transient planes instead make use of this space. This plane, however, is not the same as normal transient planes. Characters in this planar space may not not cross domain borders, may not pass through physical objects and must remain on the ground (unless they also possess the ability to fly). This means that teleportation can only bring you places you could otherwise access without passing through physical objects, and effects like blink do not allow one to pass through walls or move upwards away from the ground.

Additionally, the nondimensional spaces between the planes surrounding Ravenloft are inhabited by awful, incomprehensible gibbering things. And traveling between the planes attracts their undue attention. Any time a character travels between different planar spaces, they arrive on the other end covered by unexplainable claw marks, bite marks and lashes. In addition to being disturbing, this inflicts 3d6 damage and leaves the character with the unnatural touch of 1 taint. For spells with an instantaneous duration (like teleport), this happens once upon traveling. For spells like an extended duration (like blink), the damage occurs once a round and the taint occurs once at casting. When passing only part of one's body through the planar fabric (such as when reaching into a Bag of Holding or Portable Hole) only 1d6 is inflicted, and no taint.

Finally, extensive planar travel may attract the attention of the Dark Powers, who have the ability to interfere with its effects. Let the GM know when you use one of these effects. This boils down to a percentile roll.

Spells, that draw material in from other planes function normally. Creatures remain trapped after the spell's expiration. Inert material dissolves away into mist.

Weather

Magic that controls the weather cannot affect or get rid of the mists.

Critical Hit Deck

We will be using the Paizo Critical Hit Deck as a replacement for the normal critical hit rules. Whenever a character scores a critical hit, she draws a card from the top of the deck and looks at the section corresponding to the type of damage she is dealing (bludgeoning, cutting, piercing or magic). The effects indicated in that section are applied to the target.

To handle weapons and effects normally giving a x3 or x4 critical hit, the character making the critical hit draws two or three cards, respectively, and takes her choice of which effect to apply to the target. Not all effects are equal.