I thought Death was a separate being? He was a guy named Lowellyn Dachine, whom Azalin used as a guinea pig to see if the machine worked because he was a clone of Azalin. He became Death because of the machine, and then Azalin used the fully powered machine and then just disappeared and caused everybody to die in Il Aluk. Death took over Necropolis cause he happened to be the most powerful evil being in Il Aluk when Azalin disappeared and the whole negative energy thing happened. Whatever happened to Azalin was weird though it didn't do what he thought it would and let him escape. So normally a domain would just collapse if it's darklord was gone or a new evil being would take over the domain changing it. Death realized that Azalin wasn't fully gone because Darkon still existed even though he wasn't currently running it and only Necropolis was his.

@heathharris2545

3 жыл бұрын

You're correct, but that lore didn't come out until 3rd edition. Azalin lost his body and his mind was spread out over Darkon for 5 years until Azalin could pull himself together and possess the body of his son. Death is his own creature. Technically he's an incredibly powerful negative energy elemental.

@nicocrestmere9688

3 жыл бұрын

Right?! Old school gamers united!

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

Thw adventure never got produced. It was to be the last in the Death adventure series as the heroes try to restore azalin while dealing with the three horsemen of death who are nigh unkillabke till azalin is restored and destroys them. There was an adventure skeleton outline for it on the net years ago.

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

The adventure is called death undaunted and it is on the fraternity of shadows

@heathharris2545

3 жыл бұрын

@@melchiordrana5751 I never heard that. I'll look it up, thanks!

I love that you're showcasing older lore rather than just the revamps.

@alexeisenhauer5874

3 жыл бұрын

“Revamps” 😂

@TheDizzieC

3 жыл бұрын

I see what you did there, eyyyyy!

Instead of a doomsday device, I would have Azalin say "Ah, adventurers! You are too late to stop me and my un-alive-inator!"

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

This is what makes a great dungeon master ;)

@stugod5000

3 жыл бұрын

see I would have gone for a dethonator/ deadonator

@FallenRingbearer

3 жыл бұрын

We need to call Perry the Platypus.

@alicebrown6215

4 ай бұрын

@@FallenRingbearer a paladin? *Paladin puts on hat* PERRY THE PALADIN?!?!

Thank you for this video it helps prevent the misinformation about Vlad being a vampire from spreading. When I heard people talking about him being a copy of Strahd it blew my mind because he is a human warlord that is ruling a domain of dread making him very unique.

@andrewrobinson8542

3 жыл бұрын

Well it’s understandable that the confusion exists since Vlad Drakov is based on Vlad Tepes and Strahd is based on Dracula who was also based on Vlad Tepes.

I'm so happy that you are cataloging the domains as they stand in older editions in a high production video format. All of these cool places and domains are about to get major facelifts and I'm not sure it is for the better. Thanks Man

The character you could create with the Grim Harvest adventures were a ton of fun. You could get undead abilities as a character option. So you could have your character running around draining someone levels or stats. Made for some vicious characters.

I've seen that image at 3:16. He's Wladislav the Poker!

I like these videos on the older lore because I mix and match when I'm running stuff and like having differing spots of lore to drop from to keep a consistent universe

I love these Dread Domains. I'm doing a short campaign inspired by the Thundercats. So 3rd Earth is the dread domain and Mummra is the dark Lord

Please for the love of God continue this series please it's very helpful to reinforce what I'm reading and you're very interesting

@Jorphdan

2 жыл бұрын

Sure! I'll dig in

Love that you’ve changed up the flow of the show and added some live video! Definitely adds a heightened value!

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I love these videos man, keep em coming!

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

5e builds upon the 4e cosmology for the shadowfell. in 5e, the domains of dread exist as demiplanes inside of the shadowfell.

@matthewmckinnon7654

3 жыл бұрын

Bleh. I prefer Ravenloft being it's own world, not flimsy addition to the Shadowfell.

@viktord2025

3 жыл бұрын

Frankly I would prefer that Ravenloft be its own world, it just feels weird having each domain scattered across the Shadowfell. I mean, by the sound of that statement it sounds like I can no longer walk from Barovia after a fistfight with Strahd to Kartakass to sing with Harkon Lukas and then have a nice boat trip on the Nocturnal Sea while Meredoth tries to assimilate me to his undead army. It sounds like I have to go through other parts of the Shadowfell or some dumb portals to access the Domains. I hope that's not the case because hoooooo boy does that sound inconvenient or what?

@The_Real_DCT

3 жыл бұрын

Ummm actually according to Curse of Strahd the Demi plane of Dread exists as a separate pocket plane bordering Faerun.

@viktord2025

3 жыл бұрын

@@The_Real_DCT So I can walk from Barovia to the Necropolis and the shores of the Nocturnal Sea?

The video quality is so good. Love the editing. You deserve way more subscribers.

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Working on it, so close to 100k ^^

One of my favorite areas in Ravenloft was the Shadowborn Cluster which was Avonleigh, Shadowborn Manor and Terror Nidala. One module came with a CD that had tracks for the narration and spells and monsters.

@balric1

3 жыл бұрын

The main module was Light in the Belfry. The Shadowborn Manor module was in a Dungeons Magazine.

fun fact, Falkovnia is one of the domains they have remade for the new book, Falkovnia are gona have a new Dark lord named Ledeska Drakov and it will have a kind of zombie apocalypse theme, im guessing by the new Dark Lords name that she might be the dauther of Vlad? is a good change in my opinion as the domain was a bit laking beffor.

@Insane-Howl-Cowl

3 жыл бұрын

I was just reading this on TvTropes. I guess Vlad seemed redundant in their Ravenloft cosmology so they swapped him out for Ledeska.

@Blextine

3 жыл бұрын

@@Insane-Howl-Cowl Yeah i would think so, he kind of was not the most fitting Dark Lord to start with as he acted as a side villain to introduce a bigger villain next door. His domain also lacked a strong theme like the other domains Have. So That on top of Having the name similer to a famous Character with out doing much with it makes it just make sence to change things.

@Gangrel442003

3 жыл бұрын

If they do Ledeska as the daughter of Vlad, who replaced him as the darklord after he was killed by parties unknown? Then I am all for it. And the zombie apocalypse being the result of Vlad pissing off Azalin one too many times by trying to take over Darkon and Azalin decides to do away with the pest once and for all and sends a zombie plague into Falkovnia. And the Dark Powers, who gave Vlad a wide berth in terms of his imprisonment. decides to ramp up the torment on Vlad's pride and joy, and makes the zombie plague really hellish for her, and all who live in Falkovnia... They go this route, I think it would be an awesome update to this domain...

@joluoto

3 жыл бұрын

I think the big reason for changing Falkovnia is that Falkovnia always was about the human horror. The Dark Lord was not a monster, but a human, and the theme was the evil humans do to each other. This ia a theme that can get too real, and is probably why they don't want it in 5e.

@nothri

3 жыл бұрын

I have a different take. Falkovnia was very clearly meant to evoke a kind of middle ages version of Nazi Germany. Wizards is probably just scared about offending someone by keeping the domain as is.

Yeah these Ravenloft lore videos are awesome. Making me more interested in the new book too

Love your Ravenloft series so far. I have played all my campaigns over the last 20 years in Ravenloft

I LOVE these ravenloft vids!

Yay, a shout-out for me! Love you, Jorphdan

The problem with adventures like the Grim Harvest trilogy from 2E Ravenloft, is that they are total railroad adventures. No matter what the PCs do, Llowellyn Dechine is transformed into Death. No matter what the PCs do, Azalin activates the Doomsday Device. It was a major problem that these adventures take away player agency in order to craft a metanarrative. In the 3.X Ravenloft campaign material that White Wolf published, Azalin returns to rule Darkon. There was going to be a sequel to the Grim Harvest trilogy, called Death Triumphant, where the PCs have to resurrect Azalin in order to thwart Death. However the module was never published. A manuscript of Death Triumphant can be found on the Fraternity of Shadows fan site. I am currently running a Ravenloft campaign set in Darkon shortly after Azalin's return. I incorporated the events of Death Triumphant into the first adventure that I am running now. The PCs have encountered a series of Allips haunting the town of Martira Bay. These Allips were adventurers who resurrected Azalin, and were cursed by Azalin to keep the details a secret. The PCs learn a new bit of lore each time they defeat one of the Allips. Unfortunately for them, the Kargat, Darkon's secret police, will stop at nothing to keep these secrets secret.

Seriously Great work keep it up

That moment when brother Jorphdan snaps on the writers for not trying harder at 8:40 in the video is GOLD!!!!!

One of my favorite bits about Vlad (taken from TvTropes): General Failure: In his own world, he was nothing less than a military genius. However, Vlad is fixated on the "old ways" of doing war - masses of infantry and cavalry slugging it out until somebody falls - and will have nothing to do with combat spellcasters or gunpowder weaponry. As the nations he most frequently goes to war against are all Renaissance-level, culturally (so their soldiers are all outfitted with pistols and rifles), or have powerful spellcasters/magical monsters in the ranks, his armies are universally slaughtered, further and further cementing his reputation as a laughable upstart. Hard Work Hardly Works: His curse means that no matter how hard he tries, he'll always fail in his conquests. His prejudices against gunpowder, battlefield magic, and female soldiers don't help either.

@agustinvenegas5238

2 жыл бұрын

Kinda funny a woman kept his domain considering the last line there

Man this looks like a nice place for a vacation.

Thank you!!!! for giving the Grim Harvest trilogy the history and summary it deserves. Please, do not give up on the 1e, 2e and even 3e Ravenloft Lore. You hit it dead on with custom campaign. The Ravenloft history is too rich to completely retcon it in 5e. We must learn and read the new, respect and return to the ancient Mists.

I don't know if the pronunciation is actually correct or not, but my soul died a little every time you said "uh-ZAY-lin" rather than "AH-zah-lin"

These videos are so damn good!

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Tell your friends!

thank you for the lore Jorphdan, it has been really helpful for planning my own game kinda curious would you ever consider covering the lore around some of the characters (not the dread lords) that are returning with the new book, for example, the Weathermay-Foxgrove twins, Alanik Ray and Esmerelda de’Avenir

You are a great litmus test for all this lore...the phi is silent because in my name because I'm a gangster 😎.... silence is golden...

That is a cool D20 Clock!!! OMG!! I must make one for my players! :D Thank Jorphdan! Shalom!

@Jorphdan

2 жыл бұрын

D12 Clock ;)

You know that "The Lore You Know" will be YOINKED and posted all over reddit xD It's freaking amazing :D

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

haha

I am planning on getting the new source book. All domains are going to be islands or terror. I am not going to run them like that. I plan to use the new stats etc and the old maps (with some changes). My campaign takes place after Azalin tries once again to leave Ravenloft, creating a giant Clock Tower based on plans in a manuscript of the Chronomancer Klorr. The clock causes a core wide catastrophe called the Shattering that reshapes the lands. Massive floods, volcanic eruptions, famines, Cannibal zombies rising across the core and attacking towns. Pretty much a pick your own apocalypse sort of thing. With the new book I can hopefully adapt the campaign to what I want it to be. And as always thanks for the video.

The Lore You Know... just killed me xD

Is sucked into a domain of dread? Impales the dwellers

I love the splice part lol

Love it

Vladislav @3:19 I see you Jorphdan

Thanks.

God I was dying of laughter at the “The lore you know” meme

In Curse of Strahd the Demi plane of Dread exists as a separate pocket plane bordering Faerun. I don't know why people seem to think that 5e uses 4e cosmology because it's based more on 2e-3.5 cosmology just with some 4e events having happened. But we are still playing with the great wheel cosmology. How the Demi plane is going to be set up, is unknown but if 5e Eberron is any indication it's going to remain pretty much the same just with certain things being left open to DM choice such as in 5e Eberron it's both a separate world blocked from the other worlds in D&D like in 3/3.5e and open to them as in 4e.

Thank you for talking about this . My players are in the end part of death ascendant . I'm not completely sure yet how I am going to handle it.

Nice.

By the gods... With the already established beasts, monsters, other horrors, realms, good, evil and neutral magic items, thugs, major NPC's, realms, levels of hell, spells, psionics holy and unholy magic as well as newer additions added to the seemingly never ending amount of supplements that come out: is there anywhere a character can just get a simple ale in this RPG?

Death was a separate creature, Lowellyn Dachine, he was originally created by the Doomsday Device prototype he was, in fact, a mad clone of Azalin created in another attempt to escape Ravenloft that went nowhere. When the actual Doomsday device was activated Azalin was atomized and his consciousness was spread all over his domain while Death, got a supercharge of Negative energy essentially becoming a Negative Energy Elemental who could control most of the undead in Necropolis with ease. While Azalin was dispersed Death actually had the Lordship of a now leaderless Darkon though he could not leave Necropolis. Azalin eventually reformed (it was supposed to be a fourth adventure in the series but it never really happened) as his former secret police, Death's Minions, and more conspired to grab power. When he returned he cleaned house, and Dachine's domain shrank to only include Necropolis / Il Aluk. For bonus fun, as soon as everyone thought Azalin was dead Falkovnia launched another invasion of Darkon assuming nothing could stop them now. Only to get crushed by the walking dead once again. Vlad was miffed. Love your videos on Ravenloft, but that error about Death stuck in my craw a little bit.

OH dude, if you didn't get ahold of it, look at the 3e ravenloft series by sword and sorcery studios produced a fantastic journal based book series ravenloft Gazateer 1 to 5

Thanks for making these videos, you've rekindled my interest in The Realms. I know you are focused FR and now Ravenloft. I was wondering if you've that about Dragonlance?

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

No dragonlance lore yet, but I'm researching early now. Should have videos hopefully after Ravenloft

@davidayoung11

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jorphdan Outstanding, I look forward to seing them

@FallenRingbearer

3 жыл бұрын

Oh now there's a rabbit-hole. Looking forward to it.

Was t hat picture of Germaine Clement (What we do in the shadows)?

Crossing my fingers for Shadowborn manor, Ebonbane is my favorite darklord.

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

Pre- Novel or Post-Novel?

Vlad Drakov is Griffith + Wyald from Berserk. Fite me.

Can I play a Dread Necromancer from 3.5 with Tomb Tainted Soul? Because that would just be ideal.

I played through all three of these adventures. They were a little forced because Ravenloft adventures often had pre-planned endings.

I saw the rod of seven parts when you talked about bringing old adventures to 5e. I have an aaracokra in my party who wants that rod and I don't know how to integrate it. So, any tool in hand or something? Great video

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

The wind dukes of aaqa lpok up the lore on them. They created the rod of seven parts. You are going for an epic campaign.

@brankoaime

3 жыл бұрын

@@melchiordrana5751 sorta. We are playing ToA and the idea is link the end of the campaing with a revenge of acererak and a epic level multiplanar campaing, yeah pretty tamed idea. Sorry if my english is bad.

Really enjoying these vids. I've been watching them when doing late night baby feeds. Good parenting, or best parenting?

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Both imo! ;)

Necropolis: The City of Necromancy

Necropolis? Am i lost in necropolis? lost in necropolis. heroes of might and magic 3 flashbacks.

Jorphdan sounds super-nerdy. Such a manly-man in real life :D

So the charger, hunter, spitter, jockey, tank, witch, boomer, and smoker are all new undead in Ravenloft? Sweet....lol

ya they already said that falcovnia was at least being heavily changed or replaced since its anther vampire lord controlled dread and they want each one 1 touch a different set of horror

At 6:40 "you'll find new types of zombies" Where would I find the details? Any specific book or module? I love me some weird zombies Great video again! Can't wait for the 5e update.

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

The probably took some ideas from Van Richtens guide to the walking dead which was on how to make weaker undead (ghouls, skeletons , and zombies) unique and a threat to higher level characters.

The "ph" will never be silent

They could've named the device: Death's Door

I would personally just run a 5E campaign in 2E Ravenloft.

Cool, a Ravenloft video! Now do one on the Nocturnal Sea and its Darklord Meredoth

Coolzy

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS

Better name for the Doomsday Device: the Apocalypse-inator.

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

😂

@richardyurgel9461

2 жыл бұрын

Now im just picturing a lich Doofensmurf

Which edition of d&d put out the trilogy?

Nope.... No 5e adaption exists... Nope.... Not for me ;) Thanks for educating people on this very good campaign setting

If there is no Core, where are the new Domains of Dread. Where is Barovia in the last hardbound ?

If there is no core,maybe every domain os going to "float" on the dark sea like leaves and each of these domains will be their own prison. That is my theory.

3:15 Bah! Leave Vlad to do his dark bidding on the internet!

Huh, had not idea that someone from Krynn was in Ravenloft as well. I guess they tried to include someone from nearly every published Dungeons and Dragons campaign world.

@wareck9515

2 жыл бұрын

You should check out the novel Knight of the Black Rose. Lots of dragonlance fans didn't like Lord Soth leaving krynn for Ravenloft...but I thought it was great.

@MrChupacabra555

2 жыл бұрын

@@wareck9515 Lord Soth definately does fit the 'template' for the kind of person that the Dark Powers would take. Now that I think about it, so does Raistlin ^_^

Wasn't Gondegal the Lost King who tried to usurp King Azoun IV of Corymr ,in Falkovnia actually trying to redeem himself by rebelling againist Vlad ?

I wish they did a mmo with open world about the domains of dread, I guess more like WoW, neverwinter is small and crowded.

While the OG Falkovnia sounds interesting, WotC have changed it from an authoritarian vampiric world to a militaristic zombie apocalypse world

@samtheactualkenku6205

3 жыл бұрын

@@sylvaincousineau5073 oh, thank you for correcting me. I don't know much on the older lore, so learning about it is pretty interesting and useful for running games

Falkovia *sweats in Berserk fan*

Im surprised that more people don't watch, comment and like these. His videos are second to none.

I believe one of the domains will be the one that is in chult, it was reseased in adventurers league back in the ToA season.

For the last 30 years I have been saying The Azalan'sname as AZ-a-lan. Now I am curious as to how it is really pronounced.

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

I believe it was pronounced AZ-al-lan due to the correct word being Azal'lan. but the baroviana mispronounced it to Az-a-lin so he started using Azalin instead and added rex to become Azalin Rex.

@Dark-Lord-Of-The-Sith

3 жыл бұрын

@@melchiordrana5751 That might be where my hangup is from. Been a very long time since I read King of The Dead. Thanks.

1st edition did not have the core as well. And the geography has changed each edition.

You said zhakara

You mean Darkon right, Necropolis is in the middle of Darkon.

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Yes! Sorry if that wasn't clear

how can you talk about necropolis but not Darkon first?

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Just kind of worked out that way 😀

Pretty sure it's azz-uhh-lin, not Uhh-zay-linn🤷🏼‍♂️

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

The original word was Azal'lan but was confused by barovians to Azalin which he kept to disguise who he was.

Azalin the Lich is pronounced AZ-ah-lihn NOT ah-ZAY-lihn. It's driving me crazy with the incorrect pronunciation. Damn young-uns !

I already have Ravenloft in my campaign. I am running it as spheres floating through the skies of the shadowfel. each domain is a separate sphere

What fictional characters would you add to Ravenloft? One of my nominees would be the angel Islington from London Below in the Neil Gaimin novel "Neverwhere.". He was the guardian angel of Atlantis, before he decided they were too wicked, & is defeated right before he unilaterally passes the same judgement on the forgotten citizens of London Below, all of whom are unseen by those aboveground having Fallen Through The Cracks.

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Seems a lot of the domains are medieval peasant-ish. I'd like to see a magical 1920s city with a dark secret. An Eberron style city in the domains of dread.

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jorphdan There is pardon which Is the Victorian London based domain. There is a post Victorian Mithras Court from one of the novels that has a broken down underground train station

Can you destroy the dark powers?

@Jorphdan

2 жыл бұрын

In your game...? sure, if you can find them.

I’m hesitant to use this setting (Ravenloft in general) because it seems so bland and empty. Maybe I just haven’t read enough about it, but it doesn’t seem to have the width and breadth of, say, Exandria. Am I wrong?

@Blextine

3 жыл бұрын

I would say your a bit wrong, it started as a pretty simpel each plane represent a different typ of Horror setting, But there is a lot of Loré connecting the different domains and lords, many of them are rivel or has some sort of connection to one another. I will say That it is a nich setting the builds abon the DM skill in building and forming a good sense of atmosphere and tone. So it is not a setting for evry one, But Exandria has like a fourth of the Loré of this setting combined Loré as its been around for so long. Still is a setting That isn't for everyone But That is kind of the Signe of a good setting, they should not be made to satisfy everyone, each setting should fill their own purpose and role as a setting, If every setting was Grayhawk or Forgotten Realms i would Never started to play this game! Hope this work as a good respond some time come of as blunt or harch when i write thanks to my dyslexia

@melchiordrana5751

3 жыл бұрын

Go to the fraternity of ahadowa website to look up some of the lore and domaina

I cannot unsee how Ravenloft font and title is a belligerent rip from Castlevania.

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

Ravenloft was first. It can't be a rip off. Ravenloft 1983 Castlevania 1986

@CobaltContrast

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jorphdan I sit corrected. I can't unsee how Castlevania blatantly ripped the title from Ravenloft!

In Falcovnia, civilians aren't allowed to have weapons which keeps the militia in power...weird how that works.

these domains get alittle boring as "the dark powers" constantly create more. So these domains are in the deep etheral plane?

Jorphdan, please fix your lighting. It is making you looking tired.

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

oh no. I'll see what I can do. I was also very tired ^^;

@roleplayerchadwick

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jorphdan don't worry just move your lights forward a bit so light gets into your eyes more

Ugh! You keep putting the _em-PHASIS_ on the wrong _sy-LABLE._

@Jorphdan

3 жыл бұрын

yep!

@fleetcenturion

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jorphdan - Rookie mistakes, _and_ not funny.

I don't know why you keep putting so much emphasis on the second A in Azalin... It's Az-al-in. It stems from his title of Azal'Lan, which he adopted as his name, and was then mispronounced by the locals in Barovia as Azalin. If you are going to make a video about something, at least learn how to say the words.

Absolute piss-poor interpretation of Vlad the Impaler. Real-life Vlad had a citizenry that was fanatically loyal to him, and his subjects, down to the poorest peasant, were constantly armed. Sultan Mehmed II found this out the hard way, when a common soldier the Turks had captured refused to break when presented with bribes, threats, and finally torture. The Sultan commented, "If your Prince had more men such as you, he could, in a short time, conquer the world."

@mathewfinch

3 жыл бұрын

For the most part, Vlad Tepes' brutal reputation is the result of propaganda. Early in his reign there was a power struggle where many boyars favored a king that would bring their realm into the sphere of influence of the kingdom of Hungary. Wallachia had a sizable minority of ethnic Saxons living there who mostly aided with this faction, hoping to align more with the rest of Europe. When Vlad put down this rebellion, the Saxin population were able to (possibly) exaggerate his brutality, and the fact that they did so in German made it so that these stories were able to proliferate in the rest of Europe.

@fleetcenturion

3 жыл бұрын

@@mathewfinch - Prince, but yes. The boyars and the German-Saxons, who dominated trade and finance, would typically back the weakest candidate for the Wallachian throne. Vlad dealt with this first with his Easter feast (a term later coopted by Anne Rice, btw), where he tricked his boyars into casually confessing to treason, before working them all to death, fortifying Poenari Castle. Rebuilding the ruined fortress was itself a forbidden act, by both Hungary and the Turks, each of whom considered Vlad their vassal. The boyars, which included entire noble families that were exterminated, Vlad replaced with 90% commoners. In fact, he sets the historical record for most free peasants granted noble titles.