darklordazalin
Ravenloft Darklord Reviews
Plot device of Ravenloft.|
Reviewing all the Darklods of Ravenloft as Azalin Rex himself. Posted on Thursdays!
| Disclaimer: I'm not a lich nor do I belong in this eternal prison. I have done nothing wrong and will have my revenge!
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Don't forget Matt Smith Strahd and the skeletons that diligently hold up his portrait. Especially the skeletons.
can we please talk about this strahd from house of strahd
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Are there water areobic classes for liches with arthritis? I was told 'no' as the decay smell mixed with chlorine is 'offputting'.
In other news, Darkon no longer has any public pools.
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Azalin Reviews: Darklord Frantisek Markov
Domain: Markovia
Domain Formation: 698 BC
Power Level: 💀💀⚫⚫⚫
Sources: Neither Man nor Beast (2e); Ravenloft Third Edition; Domains of Dread (2e); Realms of Terror (2e); Gazetteer II (3e), Fair Barovia Dungeon Magazine #207
Franktisek Markov is the Darklord of Markovia, a heavily forested island with the scatterings of a few small, abandoned villages reclaimed by nature; “Fran’s” manor; and the aptly named Monastery of Lost Souls.
Franktisek grew up on a small pig farm outside of the village of Vallaki in Barovia. This was after von Zarovich became a vampire and started all this nonsense with these Misty prisons. He married Ludmilla, a young woman from Vallaki and opened a butcher shop there. Franktisek enjoyed the act of slaughtering his pigs, though the act itself was not enough for him and in time he began to experiment on the animals. He performed amputations, skin grafts, glandular injections and became fascinated with the results. I’m not sure where he learned the art of surgery…it is not as if Barovia is known for its education system nor pig farmers for their collection of books. I digress, when his wife discovered his grim experiments, she threatened to leave him and inform the villagers of what he was doing.
Overreacting to this threat, Markov made Ludmilla his next experiment and performed numerous surgeries on her over the course of three days. She died on the third day, her body now resembled an animal more than a person. However, once the villagers realized the truth, they chased Markov into the Mists and Markovia formed.
The Markov Manor was eventually claimed by Thaani refugees from Bluetspur and the echoes of Markov’s past deeds upon Ludmilla had some…well, let’s just say interesting effects on the Thaani.
Before the Grand Conjunction, Markovia lay where the Shadow Rift now lies. Now Markovia has been transformed into an island west of the township of Ludendorf in Lamorida on the Sea of Sorrows. This transformation of Markovia is quite suitable for our transformed Darklord. Once a man, Franktisek is now a beast with the face of a man, forever searching for his lost humanity.
Franktisek continues his experiments on Markovia. Capturing various species of animals and transforming them into beasts with human-like features. Every attempt he sees as a failure as they have not sufficiently shed their animal side. These “Broken Ones” roam the island and worship Franktisek as a god, referring to him as “the god who walks among us”. Though I believe the Vistani have a better name for him: “Master of Pain”.
Any humanoid that finds themselves on Markovia will likely end up in Markov’s lab, where he transforms them into humanoids with beast-like features. He does not use any anesthesia, so these ‘surgeries’ of his are quite...memorable.
Markov can take on the form of any beast, though always retains his human head and face, which is as ridiculous and terrifying as it sounds. He tends to take the form of an ape, believing it makes him look more human. Perhaps there are no mirrors on the island so he can see how much that is not the case?
#ravenloft#azalin rex#darklordreviews#dnd#Frantisek Markov#Markovia#let's make the island of doctor moreau but worse
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Quick sketches of Azalin for an easily switchable token.
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My dear friend's account for their podcast, Wonderful World of Darklords, is locked out of Tumblr for mysterious reasons (read: Tumblr bot failure). And on the day of their monthly episode drop too, so I am posting for them. My friends take inspiration from Disney films (well, normally...in April they do non-Disney) and convert them into Ravenloft Domains of Dread. I write a small portion of the show as "Yensid" (aka Azalin using a false name) , the warlock D's patron who writes up the reports on each of these Domains.
Anyway, here is their pitch. Give it a listen if you're interested:
Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In the spirit of April Fool's Day, we're once again taking a break from Disney movies for this month's episode (yes, we know Disney distributed the Ghiblis for a while, but we operate under strict Calvinball rules in which Home Alone can be a regular episode but Princess Mononoke can't). There's so much nightmare fuel in Princess Mononoke that it's almost redundant to turn it into a horror setting, but turning it into a Ravenloft domain is another matter entirely. Topics discussed include:
How to give Irontown and the forest an unforgivable, irredeemable darklord when one of the movie's main themes is that no one is unforgivable or irredeemable (except Jigo, who we're going to discuss a lot);
A Disney movie that we will never, ever make an episode about, but that actually has quite a bit of thematic overlap with Princess Mononoke, so you can just pretend this is that episode if you want;
Multiple AU possibilities for the darklord, ranging from "fairly obvious" to "high-concept fever dream;"
The canon darklord who can fill the same role as Lord Asano but with more personality;
and more!
The full writeup for the Mononoke Forest is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/476619/Mononoke-Forest-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread?affiliate_id=241770
The real-life inspiration for the forest was Shiratani Unsuikyo on Yakushima Island. Swoon over some photos that look like they should have Okkoto in them here: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/shiratani-unsuikyo
All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:
Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo Vinuela
Chopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward Neeman
Chopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke Faulkner
Rachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Chopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke Faulkner
Dialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalin
The Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_halite
Contact us on:
Gmail: [email protected]
Facebook: @wonderfulworldofdarklords
Tumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklords
Patreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklords
#ravenloft#wonderful world of darklords#dnd#princess mononoke#podcast#i don't know i'm not as good with tags as rachel is#listen to my friends being ravenloft geeks. they're awesome
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Azalin Reviews: Darklord Jacqueline Renier
Domain: Richemulot
Domain Formation: 694 BC
Power Level: 💀💀💀⚫⚫
Sources: Ravenloft (3e), Secrets of the Dread Realms (3e), Domains and Denizens (2e), Realm of Terror (2e), Domains of Dread (2e), Gazetteer III (3e).
Most Darklords are pulled into the Mists and “gifted” a land to rule (that is also designed to torment them) after committing an act of so-called evil. Others gain such titles through the act of killing another Darklord. Why one would want eternal torment, I cannot say. Self hate? Inability to recognize where they truly are? Oh and if you are thinking of doing the same, this ploy doesn't always work. Most Darklords simply come back after they are “destroyed” as even our tormentors will not let death free us from them.
Before Jacqueline Renier became the Darklord of Richemulot, her grandfather Claude Renier was Darklord. The Renier family was chased into the Mists by a group of monster hunters and their hounds when Jacqueline was a child. Most Darklords rarely remember much, if anything, of the land they came from, our tormentors erase such things from their minds. One must not believe a lying rat when they state they remember something when all evidence points to the contrary.
The Reniers fled into the sewers and given the choice between death and a vault filled with a mysterious Mist, they chose the Mist and Falkovnia. Death may have been the kinder option than dealing with Drakov...The Reniers lived in the sewers of Silbervas in Falkovnia for a number of years before Vlad grew tired of their antics and ran them out of his Domain and into the Mists once more. This indicates that Vlad was successful in defeating the Reniers. Now that is a family history I’m sure Lady Jacqueline doesn't wish you to know of.
The Mists created Richemulot, which is mostly made of river valleys and untamed forests with the majority of its populace living in the three large cities. There is no known history of what happened in Richemulot prior to the Reniers settling there. The cities themselves were said to be empty when they arrived and like true scavengers, instead of questioning this oddity, the people merely accepted it and took up whatever residence they wished. To this day, only about a third of the buildings in each city are occupied by humanity, the rest lie abandoned and given over to decay and the infestation of rats.
Claude ruled through fear and manipulation, bidding his rivals and relatives (often these were the same) against one another. Jacqueline and her twin sister, Louise, were his protegees and he was always encouraging competition between the two for his affection and praise. That is until Jacqueline had enough of it and had a servant send him a drink laced with lye. Each wererat in Richemulot has their own unique 'allergin' and lye was Claude's. Not that I would advise anyone to consume lye in the first place...
Jacqueline ensured she was there as her grandfather drank the poison so she could gloat as he died. But the poison wasn’t enough for her and she also pushed him through a window where he fell through the roof of the family kennel and was half-consumed by hounds before his body was retrieved. Considering the poison killed him before he hit the ground, this was quite unnecessary and makes it far more obvious to even the casual observer who was responsible for Claude’s death.
Jacqueline is just as manipulative and cunning as her grandfather was, ruling the land through secrets and bringing down her opposition through rumors and misinformation. It is said the nobility trade more in secrets than coin in Richemulot and that a commoner may gain status by simply hearing the right rumor and knowing how to weld it.
Instead of pitting her family against one another, Jacqueline encourages them to work together, though she herself kills anyone that appears to be working against her. Only her twin sister is the exception to this. Curious. Does Jacqueline have some form of misguided affection for her sister? Is this why she has all of Louise’s lovers and friends killed? Regardless of the reasoning, it is abundantly clear that Jacqueline does not take competition for her affections well.
She is patriotic and wishes to bring prosperity to her Domain. Of course, the prosperity she strives for would result in the end of humanity, but she does try. Though there’s no formal militia in Richemulot, she expects all of her people to take up arms to defend the realm. So, her defense is the equivalent of untrained peasants with pitchforks. Drakov’s ever-failing attempts at conquering her Domain must be particularly crushing for the little mercenary. Still, he seems to have created enough stir in Richemulot to encourage Jacqueline to sign the Treaty of Four Towers with Borca, Dementlieu, and Mordent in defence against the war-hungry, impaling-loving idiot.
Jacqueline’s curse is to only appear in her rat form to those she loves. A fact she discovered when she fell in love with the nobleman Henri DuBois. She attempted to inflict him with her lycanthropy but he managed to not only escape that fate, but Richemulot as well. Jacqueline, a word to the wise, if one cannot accept you in your rat form, are they really worth all this pinning and crippling monophobia?
Jacqueline is a formidable combatant, but only when she is surrounded by her allies. She can speak with rats, take mist form like a vampire, and climb along almost any surface. However, when she is alone, her monophobia cripples her to a point where she can easily be defeated.
Considering the majority of her people do not know of her wererat affliction, her mastery of manipulation and control, and easy defeat of Claude; Jacqueline is not a Darklord to be underestimated. Though, if one learns her fears she can be easily taken out by a well-placed assassin. I will grant her three skulls.
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Domain: Richemulot
Domain Formation: Unspecified (694 BC older editions)
Power Level: 💀💀⚫⚫⚫
Sources: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e)
The “good” Doctor’s new guide indicates that Jacqueline is not a natural born wererat, but was inflicted with the curse instead. Does this mean one could simply cast ‘Remove Curse’ upon her person to effectively neutralize her? Or any of her family members seeing as she changed all of them herself? Our Tormentors rarely make things that easy, but a theory I encourage any with such abilities to try.
Born into the Renier noble family, Jacqueline analyzed the changes in her city as the commoners became more wealthy. To Jacqueline this was viewed as a threat to her family’s position. Would a wealthy class of commoners abide by the rules of nobility if they have no need of them? And though Jacqueline shared her concerns with her family, the other Reniers ignored them, content with these inevitable changes.
Without her family’s assistance, Jacqueline was left to her own machinations. This eventually led her to discover a secret society of esteemed families that called themselves the Trueblood Council…which ended up being made of a bunch of filthy commoner wererats.
She was disgusted to find this filth in place of what she imagined as elite masterminds. Given the amount of gold she spent on gaining membership, perhaps she should have done a bit more research on them? Was it really THAT surprising they ended up being wererats considering their secret meeting location was the sewers? Regardless as she cursed and spit upon them, they made her into a wererat.
Jacqueline easily adapted to her life as a wererat and swiftly infected all of the Reniers. Except for her twin sister, Louise, who resisted. For her insolence, Louise was disfigured and cast out. In order to gain control of the city, Jacqueline unified the wererats and together they created the Gnawing Plague. However, instead of becoming the savior to the people when they begged for her assistance, she let them die, finding her hatred of the commoners replaced with a hatred for all non-wererats. Who exactly are you ruling over if everyone is dead? Well, no one is the answer and the Mists took her after the last person in Richemulot died.
Now Jacqueline rules half-empty cities in the land of Richemulot, but can only maintain her rule by controlled releases of the Gnawing Plague in order to suppress those that would rise up against her. Given the apparently disposable armies of rats, wererats, and animated armor stuffed with rats she has control over, this seems an unnecessary tactic. Not to mention the populace cannot be all that intelligent given their lack of awareness of Reniers affliction. Jacqueline wears a shawl of rats, rat shoes, and a rat bracelet. Her love of rats could not be more apparent and the rats are known to be the cause of the plague.
No wonder she has no love of ruling over her idiotic populace. I doubt they pose any real challenge for her. Her torments are rather weak compared to other Darklords. She dislikes ruling, misses decadence yet causes such things to be nonexistent with her plagues and has to keep on creating plagues? I would take those anyday over what I have to endure.
Jacqueline can control and communicate any rat in her Domain and mostly uses them as spies. Otherwise, she is an inflicted wererat who has a love for creating plagues. Considering her control would easily break if the labs that created said plagues were destroyed, I consider this version of Jackie to be less powerful than in previous versions. 2.5 Skulls.
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Darkon has free health care and university. And a secret police force but we can’t all be perfect…
Both are Ravenloft era.
Reblog for sample size please!
#azalin rex#strahd von zarovich#ravenloft#dnd#I know Strahd will win cause he’s more well known#but the man is a sucky ruler#pun intended
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The amount of answers that are 'no' on this one is a travesty.
I've said this many times, but the I, Strahd books are how Strahd views himself and Vampire of the Mists is a good example of how others see him.
vote yes if you have finished the entire book.
vote no if you have not finished the entire book.
(faq · submit a book)
#reprint ravenloft books#jander sunstar#strahd von zarovich#jander is the morning lord wake up sheeple
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Dawn in Flaness
where Azal'Lan overlooks from his castle
#dnd#dungeon and dragons#Ravenloft#Greyhawk#Azalin Rex#Azal'Lan#firan zal'honan#Azalin#Ace pride#look at him the Ace icon from Oerth#international asexuality day#OP has the best lich art#and azalin art
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Happy Ace Pride Day!
Here's a lich miniature I painted using the ace/aro flag palettes a while ago.
#ace pride#arocace#lich#miniature#pride flags make excellect color palette references#maybe someday i'll paint a lich with each of the palettes
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Spoilers for next week's review of Jacqueline Renier :D
When every wererat has a unique allergin I guess you kind of run out of ideas fairly quickly...
Azalin Reviews: Darklord Claude Renier
Darklord: Claude Renier
Domain: Richemulot
Domain Formation: 694 BC
Sources: Realm of Terror (2e), Gazetteer 2 (3e), Gazetteer 3 (3e), Legacy of Blood (3e)
Scholars have determined that prior to being claimed by the Mists, the Renier family was made of two branches – high born nobles that used their influence for the betterment of society and a clan of wererats that did the opposite. The Renier family have a complicated history in the Demiplane of Dread and the first known Reniers to stumble into the Mists settled in Mordent. Their patriarch, Jacques Renier, built the House on Gryphon Hill as well as Heather House, the current dwelling of the Weathermay family. It becomes more complex as the wererat curse developed in Jacques’s offspring, splitting the family further. This rivalry between the human and wererat side of the family only increased when Claude Renier and his pack of wererats fled into the Mists and found themselves in the city of Silbervas in Falkovnia.
Claude quickly integrated his family with the local wererats that lived in the sewers of Silbervas and created a thriving thieves’ guild that integrated with the humanoids of Silbervas. As in the manner of rats, Claude’s influence rapidly multiplied and eventually drew the attention of Falkovnia’s little mercenary, Vlad Drakov and his band of more talented thugs, the Talons. Vlad oversaw the extermination of the wererats in Silbervas and to everyone’s surprise, was quite successful in his endeavors. Over the course of three years, which have been aptly named ‘The Years of the Impaled Rats’, Vlad flushed out the wererats from the sewers of Silbervas causing Claude to flee into the Mists once more.
As if being defeated by Vlad Drakov wasn’t torment enough, the Dark Powers created a prison in the form of Richemulot just for Claude Renier. From Chateau Delanuit in Pont-A-Museau, Claude ruled over the governing bodies of Richemulot as well as his own family. He ruled through manipulation and ensuring the other wererats were too busy vying for his attention to plot against him. He paid particular attention to his twin granddaughters, Jacqueline and Louise Renier. Seeing as Jacqueline eventually usurped her grandfather’s position as the Darklord of Richemulot, one can imagine how well this worked out for the twitchy rat.
Claude Renier is little more than a footnote in Jacqueline’s story. A footnote that was defeated by Vlad Drakov who couldn’t win a battle against a single zombie…I rarely agree with our tormentors, but in this case they were well advised to throw Claude to the rats and deliver the carcass of his domain to Jacqueline.
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Azalin Reviews: Darklord Claude Renier
Darklord: Claude Renier
Domain: Richemulot
Domain Formation: 694 BC
Sources: Realm of Terror (2e), Gazetteer 2 (3e), Gazetteer 3 (3e), Legacy of Blood (3e)
Scholars have determined that prior to being claimed by the Mists, the Renier family was made of two branches – high born nobles that used their influence for the betterment of society and a clan of wererats that did the opposite. The Renier family have a complicated history in the Demiplane of Dread and the first known Reniers to stumble into the Mists settled in Mordent. Their patriarch, Jacques Renier, built the House on Gryphon Hill as well as Heather House, the current dwelling of the Weathermay family. It becomes more complex as the wererat curse developed in Jacques’s offspring, splitting the family further. This rivalry between the human and wererat side of the family only increased when Claude Renier and his pack of wererats fled into the Mists and found themselves in the city of Silbervas in Falkovnia.
Claude quickly integrated his family with the local wererats that lived in the sewers of Silbervas and created a thriving thieves’ guild that integrated with the humanoids of Silbervas. As in the manner of rats, Claude’s influence rapidly multiplied and eventually drew the attention of Falkovnia’s little mercenary, Vlad Drakov and his band of more talented thugs, the Talons. Vlad oversaw the extermination of the wererats in Silbervas and to everyone’s surprise, was quite successful in his endeavors. Over the course of three years, which have been aptly named ‘The Years of the Impaled Rats’, Vlad flushed out the wererats from the sewers of Silbervas causing Claude to flee into the Mists once more.
As if being defeated by Vlad Drakov wasn’t torment enough, the Dark Powers created a prison in the form of Richemulot just for Claude Renier. From Chateau Delanuit in Pont-A-Museau, Claude ruled over the governing bodies of Richemulot as well as his own family. He ruled through manipulation and ensuring the other wererats were too busy vying for his attention to plot against him. He paid particular attention to his twin granddaughters, Jacqueline and Louise Renier. Seeing as Jacqueline eventually usurped her grandfather’s position as the Darklord of Richemulot, one can imagine how well this worked out for the twitchy rat.
Claude Renier is little more than a footnote in Jacqueline’s story. A footnote that was defeated by Vlad Drakov who couldn’t win a battle against a single zombie…I rarely agree with our tormentors, but in this case they were well advised to throw Claude to the rats and deliver the carcass of his domain to Jacqueline.
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Azalini Reviews: Darklord Rag Man
Domain: Histaven
Domain Formation: Unknown
Power Level:💀💀💀 ⚫⚫ (3/5 skulls)
Sources: Domain of Dread: Histaven (4e) from Free RPG Day 2011
The vengeful undead known only as the Rag Man is the Darklord of Histaven, a Domain plagued by blight that was pulled into the Mists, because of the actions of two individuals forever locked in their selfish hatred and vendettas.
Histaven was once a prosperous, peaceful village ruled over by Count Histaven, a retired adventuring bard who thought his charms alone gave him the rite to rule. Not too surprising. I often find that adventurers have lofty opinions of themselves. The citizens adored their Count. Of course, the peasantry rarely look beneath the mask their rulers wear. In truth, Count Histaven was a ruthless, petty individual who held his power in a vice grip through the subtle assassinations of potential rivals and dissidents.
Political rivals were not his only targets. Indeed, one such ‘rival’ was a young man who married a fiery haired woman the Count wanted for himself. That puts me in mind of a particular Count I would rather not think of, but suffice to say, redheads in the Mists often inspire the murderous tendencies of others. Count Histaven had the young man killed, which in turn caused his mother to kill herself in grief. One of the Count’s sons, Artius, witnessed these events, yet did not lift a finger against his father.
Artius, as any dutiful son would, followed in his father’s footsteps. He became just as ruthless and vindictive as his father. He played the part of the charming hero for the townfolks while orchestrating plots that lead to the deaths of all his siblings
After he successfully killed off his siblings, Artius waited ‘patiently’ for his aging father to die. At this time a ragged soldier appeared in Histaven, wielding his blade without prejudice against guilty and innocent. Artius found entertainment in the ragged soldiers acts, doing nothing to stop it. That is, until the soldier made his way to the Count’s estate.
He targeted Artius, exposing him as a villain and not as the hero he pretended to be. Enraged, Artius attacked the Rag Man, letting his hatred and selfish ambitions drive him. In turn, the Rag Man was consumed in his vendetta against Count Histaven and attacked his son with nothing but thoughts of revenge in his mind. In this moment, the mists claimed them both and Histaven with them.
There is another version of this tale, in which the two men fought one another for the love of a woman with fiery hair. Naturally this is nothing more than poetic nonsense and the result of the forgotten history of Histaven’s former Count, who slaughtered a young man for being married to an object of his desire. It is interesting, however, that both the Rag Man and Count Artius are said to be drawn to a redheaded Vistana named Naeva who reminds them both of a woman from their past. No doubt, she resembles the young woman Count Histaven desired who was married to this nameless ‘Rag Man’.
After the Mist claimed it, the once prosperous village of Histaven was plagued by blight and rot, acting as a mirror to the Rag Man and Count’s own corruption. The coming of the Rag Man is known as the Season of Rot in Histaven. For even if he is slain, the Rag Man always returns.
The Season of Rot begins on the new moon when the Rag Man appears in Histaven at night as a beggar, silently extending his hand out as villagers pass him by. Any that dare disturb him during this time, are slaughtered for their efforts. As the moon waxes, the Rag Man murders any he believes to be an ally of Count Artius. The more he kills, the stronger he becomes. Finally, on the night of the full moon, the Rag Man forces his way into Artius’s manor and the two face each other and the violence that ensues inevitably ends one of their life’s.
If the Rag Man dies, the blight persists. If Artius dies, Histaven experiences a brief respite from the persistent rot. Regardless of who dies, both are reborn in time. It is said that the only way to end this cycle is to have the two men forgive one another for their past deeds. Perhaps Naeva is the key to this rather unlikely event, but that is none of my concern.
The Rag Man, on the surface, appears to be a mindless killer bent on vengeance and, for the most part, this is exactly what he is. However, when not harassing the people of Histaven, the Rag Man resides in a grove in the Nightwood forest that surround Histaven. The grove is a peaceful place, full of life and a crystalline pool that the Rag Man often stares into, brooding.
The grove is a form of torment for our little slasher-happy murderer. Here, every night ghosts of his past dance happily around the grove, reminding him of what once was. One of these ghosts resembles Count Artius, though is likely his father. Another is a young, fiery haired woman who, just before sunrise, places her ghostly hand upon the Rag Man’s shoulder before disappearing.
The Rag Man is clearly a revenant, rising every new moon to seek vengeance against the one who wronged him. Yet, unable to seek out Count Histaven, he is reduced to seeking out the man’s son and no matter how many times he kills Artius, the Count comes back. A rather pathetic cycle of vengeance. I will grant him 3 skulls since he is, techincally, difficult to kill.
#azalin rex#darklordreviews#ravenloft#dnd#rag man#histaven#this one is odd why bother with the father if the son is going to somehow inherit his dad's obsession with a redhead?#in its defense. it was free#also the rotting town moon cycle aspect is interesting
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Azalin Reviews: Mother Lorinda
Domain: Tepest
Domain Formation: Not specified (691 BC older sources)
Power Level:💀💀💀 ⚫⚫
Sources: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e)
The background for the Three Hags of Tepest in 5e is almost exactly the same as previous editions, except they also killed and ate their brothers and father after disposing of the gentlemen they all wanted for themselves. For the complete story, see The Three Hags.
Not only has the latest changes in Ravenloft resulted in a single Darklord for Tepest, but also reduced the land to contain a single village. Though, it seems that the Shadow Rift and Prince Loht and Queen Mab now dwell beneath Tepest instead of within their own realm. These fey are said to be responsible for much mischief and misery that occurs within the wild regions of Tepest.
Once they were established in Tepest as Hags, the three sisters worked, for the most part, reluctantly together. Lorinda, the green hag, longed for a child. And when she asked her sisters, Laveeda and Leticia, to use their combined magics to make her one, they refused. If you think about it, it is a rather strange request to make of your siblings...AND Hags are known for seeing other Hag’s children as delicious treats...
Lorinda retaliated by secretly creating a construct and ambushing her sisters with it. Once subdued, she trapped them in their magical cauldron. Now, shep taps into their powers to continue her endless pursuit of having a child of her own. I will assume that traditional means or the clone spell are not an option for Lorinda…Not that the clone spell is without its faults.
Lorinda rules over Tepest as “Mother”, a guise she weaves over her true Hag form. She creates “daughters” from parts of animals and twigs woven with her magic and the magic she steals from her trapped sisters. She names every single one of these short-lasting constructs as “Laoirse”. I suppose after the 100th or so coming up with a new name would get difficult.
Mother moves about in a Gurgyl and “protects” the people (or her children as she likes to think of them) of Viktal - granting them bountiful harvests and protection from the fey and goblins that overrun the wild areas of her realm. In return, she asks for absolute devotion and adoration and some are apparently so devoted to their “Mother” they pluck out their own eyes for her...She can see through their empty eye sockets as if they were Hag Eyes. I find the need to collect my servant's eyes not necessary to be able to do this, but the idea of it intrigues me.
Mother also asks for a sacrifice during seasonal tithes to feed her precious Laoirse...so said “daughter” can live a little longer than normal. Four sacrifices a year seems a little low for a Darklord, but I cannot deny the power that accompanies a seasonal shift. Seems like a waste to use such energy to ensure your fake twig daughter lives for a few more days but...well, I...cannot be sure if I would not do the same for Irik.
Though Lorinda was clever enough to trap her own more powerful sisters, she still only rules over a single town. Nor would I enlist her to create the Crystal Orb I had the three sisters make for me as a single Hag will never have the same level of power as a complete coven. Lorinda will not be able to hide her true nature forever. Eventually her mask will fall and her sisters will escape.
OOC: Someday I'll run a one shot set in this version of Tepest. Maybe this Halloween...
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My mostly undead family, Stace stays family despite still being alive.
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Deadgirl 4 Launch Day!
It's launch day!
The 4th novel in my series is out today, in paperback and Kindle.
I am but a humble indie author who loves monsters, high school drama, and super-powered ladies kicking spooky ass. If any of that sounds good, check out the link to the whole series and start at book 1.
#deadgirl#young adult#horror#indie books#indie author#lucydaylives#books#these are fun books#I recommend checking them out
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Azalin Reviews: The Three Hags
Domain: Tepest
Domain Formation: 691 BC
Power Level:💀💀💀💀 ⚫
Sources: Darklords (2e), Domains of Dread (2e), Domains and Denizens (2e), Servants of Darkness (2e Adventure), Ravenloft Gazetteer V (3e), Secrets of the Dread Realms (3e)
Tepest is a land of dark fairy tales that’s so overrun with goblyns that many of the people are unaware of the Hags’ influence over them. These three hags love consuming entire goblyns in a single bite and cackling under the full moon. Their horrendous appearance cracks any mirror they look upon and renders fear in the bravest hearts.
The Three Hags of Tepest were once beautiful sisters (on the outside that is) gifted to Rudella Mindefisk by the fey. Or most likely the fey, as it is the fey she pleaded with to grant her a daughter as her sons and husband paid her little mind. Her husband, Holger, was the sort that believed all girls to be weaklings and went out of his way to deny her even the possibility of having one.
Making deals with unseen entities is not the wisest of decisions, unless you’re one of my Warlocks, of course, then continue on. I promise I mean you know harm. But Rudella was desperate for a little girl, thinking a child would somehow save her from her loneliness. She snuck away from her husband and pleaded to the fey for daughters three nights in a row and on the morning of the fourth day she found three wicker baskets upon her doorstep, each containing an infant girl.
Holger, of course, wanted nothing to do with the children who were just as sickly and weak as he thought any girl would be. Rudella, however, named them Laveeda, Leticia, and Lorinda and raised them as her own. She nursed them to health and they thrived under her care. But as they grew stronger, Rudella grew weaker and eventually died. Deals with the fey often go in this direction, if you were wondering.
Now Holger, it should come as no surprise, was an utter idiot. After his wife died he tried to get rid of the girls a few times, but eventually gave up as they kept on coming back. Of course, there was likely fey trickery behind this, but he could have made a direct attempt himself instead of leaving them out in hopes that some wolves will find them or they drown in a river. There is something to be said about doing things yourself.
Deciding he was stuck with them, Holger made them cook and clean for him and his sons, but otherwise ignored them. If I had a magical child that was left on my doorstep and came back every single time I tried to dispose of them, I would keep a closer eye on them...but again, Holger was an idiot.
The girls were very unhappy with their situation and started planning on leaving their father’s little farm and living in luxury. This resulted in them killing the next wealthy traveler that stayed with their family. They killed him, robbed him, and cooked his remains in a stew that they then fed their father and brothers.
They continued this murder-theivery-stew routine whenever someone stayed with their family, which was sporadic enough to make their plan very ineffective. Not that it was a very well thought out plan to begin with. They did eventually come to this conclusion on their own and decided it would be best if they wooed some wealthy young lad into taking them away.
Soon the perfect dandy in victim form came their way. This dandy was a bit of a scoundrel himself and instead of falling for their ruse, he manipulated the sisters to targeting one another. This would have worked better if they weren’t such murderous hags by then, but as it was, they killed the dandy as each decided they’d rather see him dead than with one of their sisters. As they killed him together, each for their own selfish lusts, the Mists took them into Ravenloft and transformed them into Hags.
Laveeda became an Annis and gained the ability to smell any humanoid from a half-mile away and if she has smelt them before, she will be able to identify the individual. People really do smell, so I cannot say this is a gift. Leticia became a Sea Hag and her gaze can instantly kill any mortal. Lorinda became a Green Hag and can move silently through the forest. Seems Leticia got the better deal there...though Lorinda was granted the ability to weaken her enemies later on. They are stronger as a coven and casting their magics together, but it is always the way of Hags to reluctantly work together in mutual hatred, so this potent spell casting lasts only as long as they can tolerate one another...much like my situation with von Zarovich when I was in Barovia, I suppose. They also all have the ability to mimic another’s voice and take on any appearance they so choose, though our Tormentors only ever allow them to see themselves as they truly are.
Mirrors and sunlight are their greatest weakness, much like vampires...Though they can see their reflection in mirrors, they just tend to crack whenever one of the hags looks into them. They are always hungry for mortal flesh and usually feast upon the goblins that infest Tepest, though they prefer pretty, young things when they can get them.
The Hags are convinced that if someone manages to fall in love with them, then they will return to the beautiful young woman they once were. So naturally they go about this by capturing beautiful women just about to get married and taking their place, only to reveal who they truly are to their grooms in hopes that they will accept them. This goes as well as you would expect. Screams, fleeing in terror, and the eventual eaten alive by a hag.
The Hags are not overly visible Darklords and the people of Tepest fear the dark fey and goblyns that infest their land more than anything else. Even my little scholar “S” was unsure of who exactly the Darklord of Tepest was, though her attentions were lacking and clearly distracted as she traveled through the backwards country where even the road signs cannot be trusted.
Overall, the Hags, when working together, are incredibly fearsome foes. Not only are they powerful spell casters, but quite formidable in melee as well. I will grant them 4 skulls.
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