#darkon ravenloft
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Azalin Rex for my DM.
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The coming of Necropolis
#Azalin Rex#lich#undead#this one is for our campaign's ending session but it didn't come out as I expected :(#anyway I'll leave it at that#Ravenloft#dungeon and dragons#mtart#Darkon#necromancer
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Trinkets Chart for Darkon
I enjoy making trinket charts for DnD. I made this d100 one for my DnD game that's set entirely in Darkon, which I've called The Iron Crown. There's a lot of easter eggs in here, but thought this could be a fun thing to share on a Friday morning while I ignore my actual job.
01-02
A star chart contained within the face of an ornate compass. A question mark is placed where the moon should be.
03-04
A frail bit of parchment containing a half-created new and highly complex summoning spell.
05-06
A flute carved from the charred remains of a human tibia.
07-08
A cane topped with a silver owl that is cold to the touch.
09-10
A silver charm bracelet that contains the following charms: an ornate eye surrounded by flames, a crown set with a single amber gemstone, a skull with small garnets in its eye sockets, and a closed book.
11-12
A vial of cloudy red blood labeled “LvZ”.
13-14
A wooden box engraved with the letter “S” containing a shimmering black, outlandish traveling cloak; brimmed hat, great cloak, and silvery skull-like mask.
15-16
An ebony brooch in the shape of a dragon that does not reflect light.
17-18
A hand mirror that sometimes reflects the translucent image of a young man instead of your own image.
19-20
A mummified hand holding a black candle that cannot be lit.
21-22
A cloak that leaves tendrils of mists in your wake.
23-24
A ring in the shape of a human skull. The skull opens to reveal a coil of coppery reddish hair.
25-26
A set of dice that always roll snake eyes.
27-28
A leather hand cuff engraved with the symbols associated with each school of magic. When someone wearing it casts a spell, the associated symbol glows.
29-30
A ticket for free admission to The Carnival
31-32
A blanket in which silently screaming faces appear under the light of the moon.
33-34
A belt that changes color and size to match any outfit.
35-36
A finger puppet of a piebald raven.
37-38
A scabbard that always keeps the blade within sharp and clean.
39-40
A plush of a skeleton wearing a crown with the label “Is No Fun, is No Blinsky!” on it.
41-42
An hour glass containing black sand that quickens the closer one is to their own death.
43-44
A green gemstone containing the spirit of an unknown entity.
45-46
Incomplete sheet music for the song ‘The King of the Dead’ written by Andres Duvall
47-48
A tarnished wedding band with the words “Life Eternal” carved on the inner band.
49-50
Long, thin, curved blade with a handle carved from a stag’s antler that inspires its owner to take up the craft of wood carving.
51-52
A silver pendant of a raven that you are loathed to part with.
53-54
An invitation to Neverwere Manor signed by Baron Eversong.
55-56
A porcelain doll with eyes that seem to follow you wherever you turn.
57-58
A bell carved from bone that makes a sound only spirits of unrest can hear.
59-60
A monocle that, when viewed through, shows every humanoid in the form of a hybrid lycanthrope.
61-62
A burial shroud that never frays.
63-64
A tea kettle that singles a funeral dirge when the water within boils.
65-66
A blood red candle that produces a black flame.
67-68
Eye glasses that, when worn, change one’s eye color to red.
69-70
A rose made of obsidian that cannot break.
71-72
A music box that, when open, plays an eerie melody as a miniature ballerina wearing a blood-stained tutu dances.
73-74
An amulet that absorbs blood.
75-76
The fingerbone of an unconsecrated skeleton.
77-78
Strange smelling perfume from Borca contained in a glass bottle in the shape of an apple.
79-80
A lantern containing floating dim, phosphorescent lights that constantly change from green to blue to purple.
81-82
A book entitled “An Herbalists Guide to the Shadow Rift” that contains alien-like drawings of bizarre plants and plant monsters.
83-84
A pair of cufflinks shaped like skulls that glow purple during a thunderstorm.
85-86
A magnifying glass that shows the user ghostly footprints on any surface they examine.
87-88
A miniature stone dragon egg engulfed in shadowy tendrils.
89-90
A quill pen that contains red ink that refills whenever someone writes with it.
91-92
A cloak clasp in the shape of a moon that changes to match the moon’s current phase.
93-94
A book entitled “Van Richten’s Guide to the Hunter” which contains a ‘how to’ guide for monsters dealing with hunters written in a comedic and often snarky voice.
95-96
A hood that, when worn, gives one a skeletal-like appearance.
97-98
A green leather pouch containing soil from an unmarked grave.
99-100
A pendant in the shape of a golden dragon skull that occasionally speaks into your mind in an unknown tongue.
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OH my god. they canonically speak forgotten realms common in ravenloft. of course they do, why wouldn't they. there are > 5 domains whose rulers originally hail from Faerûn specifically and they all share the same dominant spoken language between them. that's. the common language of faerun. Vaasi is, to be sure, the most bogwild bugfuck dialect of FR common it's probably possible to encounter, but it IS a dialect of common. out of my gourd over here that I had to, for the sake of making my campaign actually playable, handwave a mystical translation convention to explain why my player characters were all mysteriously fluent in Balok despite Barovia originating in a prime material nobody's ever even HEARD of and meanwhile two of my pcs are literally from the sword coast. they could have landed in Kartakass or Nova Vaasa or something and it would have not even been a thing. fuck
#cos blogging#greyhawk common exists in ravenloft too for sure but darkonese is an infinitely more bugfuck dialect than vaasi due to darkon's whole. deal#darkonese is 42069 languages in a trench coat and it's not mutually intelligible with ANY of them
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This week in Barovia Darkon....
Compiled from like four maps, including the VRGTR one. I had a proper think, read three of the Ravenloft books that detail information on Darkon/Azalin, read the VRGTR chapter on the topic and discarded most of it, and read part of an AD&D adventure set in Darkon/Barovia and discarded a lot of that, too.
Anyway. A few towns have flipped which side of the river they're on and I'm not 100% sure I have ALL small settlements, but if you want a high resolution map of Darkon for your adventures, hit me up?
But I digress.
This week, my players headed to Tempe Falls and were shocked to find a relatively normal town. Like. Okay, it's boring, but that seemed to be the worst of it. There was way more racial diversity than they're used to (Barovia being almost entirely humans with the odd dusk elf for variety). The innkeeper cheerily sold them four rooms and they settled in to enjoy some decent dwarven alcohol.
(Their was a funny moment when everyone collectively realized that a: they have a TON of gold and jewels from the amber temple and b: they probably can't use the gold because it all has Strahd's face on it and all they know about Darkon is that it went to war with Barovia at some point in the past.)
There were some people in the inn: assorted traders, a clerk who appeared to be staying in town while doing some audits or paperwork or something, and a couple of guard/soldier types with some kind of chain denoting rank as part of their uniform. They also had a chat with a somewhat disoriented sorcerer, one Firan Zal'honen. He claims to have only emerged from the mists himself a few weeks ago. I'm sure he's nothing to worry about. It's fine.
Anyway.
The party traded gold for a carriage and two draft horses, on the grounds that they now have
the cleric
the rogue
the fighter
the artificer
the wizard
the bard
Ireena Kolyana
Ludmilla Vilisevic
Volenta Popofsky
and of those, the wizard, the artificer, and the two vampires have issues with sunlight. Oh, and Darkon has an excess of suns. It's fine.
They then decided that they ought to try and find a larger town. The innkeeper gave them the skinny and said that Corvia is a decently big place, but Il Aluk is an actual city. She also warned them to please, fucking PLEASE follow the laws or else they're likely to end up in a world of trouble. The party did briefly lose their minds when they noticed a piebald raven flying around town that headed back to the inn where they're staying. Again, it's fine.
Then they headed out of the Balinok mountains and into the foothills and the town of Mayvin. It's a gnomish town with a massive clocktower and patent hall; the artificer is delighted.
The local scuttlebut is that something really fucking bad happened in Il Aluk and the golden star in the sky overhead appeared shortly thereafter. So naturally my players are like, "WELL WE GOTTA GO THERE!" They also heard the name "Castle Avernus" and the fighter (originally and quite recently from the Forgotten Realms) started freaking out about Elturel. The players also noticed something really off about the (as yet unnamed) Kargat stationed in Mayvin. I ruled that they have no good way of knowing exactly what the Kargat are, though, since the concept of ghouled mortals is basically nonexistent in DnD. (I saw a sidebar in the Ravenloft Gazetteer and thought it was interesting enough to include it...)
My reading list for this week is the first half of The Neverending Story, because I feel like The Nothing is a decent analogue for what's happening, slowly, to Avernus while Firan is swanning about near the borders.
#curse of strahd#curse of azalin?#this took a turn for the weird#but hey if you're gonna escape Strahd because he Personally Hates You#there are worst approaches to diving into the mists and heading for a guy who hates him at least as much as he hates you#although I shudder to think what he'd do with Tatyana if he had the genuine article#darkon#ravenloft#maps#map of darkon#dnd#dungeons and dragons#dungeons and/or dragons#strahd von zarovich#azalin rex#firan zal'honen
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After a period of separation, Azalin Rex recently reached out to his former flying mount and ally, the shadow dragoness Ebb, strongly suggesting a return to his castle. A Kargat representative told us that Ebb simply flew the coop in frustration during Azalin's "extended vacation". Ebb however maintains she submitted her proper two week notice to then temp custodian of Castle Avernus, Galf Kloggin. Kloggin could not be reached for comment.
In any case, Ebb rebuked Azalin's offer. Citing her change of status on her 757 BC birthday, the shadow dragon stated, "I'm getting too Old for this shit! I'm not gonna be your aerial chauffeur anymore. If you wanna go somewhere from now on, stand on your own two feet!"
Ebb further explained, "I'm a family dragon now, with kids and a hubby. We've got a happy family life making others unhappy! And besides, despite his name, Gloom is less depressing than your brooding bony butt. My return to your side is no longer a Dread Possibility!"
Ebb currently maintains an active business of raiding and pillaging from her nest in Mount Nyld, where she lives with her hatchlings and cave-husband, Gloom.
#ravenloft#ravenloft news#ravenloft humor#demiplanar demagogue#demiplanar news#azalin rex#ebb#shadow dragon#darkon#azalin fails#galf kloggin#castle avernus#mount nyld
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The Lost Manuscript: another Barovian Tale
(Dedicated to @darklordazalin )
So, there I was one night hauling trash to the heap out back behind BCnW, when a looming shadow rose from behind it. Now, as any Barovian knows, looming shadows arising from behind are bad.
But instead of some nameless horror, it was a young man in a black, uniform, stained with much blood. His own.
He collapsed in a heap, on the heap, and reached out to me. “Please,” he said weakly.
“Sorry, pal, no refunds.”
“No, my name is Domran, and I am a junior officer with the Kargat.”
Aww, crap, it was the fuzz. What did I do this time? I paid Rahadin’s last kickback on time.
Wait, the Kargat serve Lord Azalin, or as we Barovians are commanded to call him, “Stupid Face Jerk Nerd”.
“What does Stupid Face—, er, Lord Azalin want here?”
Domran the Kargat agent explained, “We Kargat agents were dispatched to Barovia to retrieve a copy of a manuscript called The Lord of the Necropolis.”
“That’s everywhere. Where do you think I get such a steady supply of toilet p-, er, reading material at BCnW?”
“No!” gasped Domran, “this one is different. It is said that this is a lost manuscript with an alternate ending, one that contains some hidden secret. Lord Azalin dispatched us to find it.”
I nodded, “cool story, bruh, but nothing like that here.”
“Please,” he said with his last breath, “help me complete my mission. Lord Azalin would no doubt be grateful.”
Well, I had always wanted to expand into Darkon. My ventures in Sithicus and Falkovnia were both spectacular failures. But this time, I could not fail.
“You got it, Donnie.”
“Domr—“ he gasped as he died.
After disposing the body in the heap, I returned to the shop.
“Gary, you’re in charge for a while.”
Gary, the High-master Illithid / barista waved his facial tentacles for a moment. “Looking for that lost manuscript, boss?” came a smooth, unnerving voice in my head.
Great. That’s what happens when you hire a powerful psychic monster as your hardworking, but traitorous employee.
“I pulled from his mind clues to help in your search,” he continued in my head, “it seems there is a ruined monastery hidden on the cliff side beneath Krezk. It is perilous to retrieve it.”
“The only thing in peril is your salary,” I said audibly, “if you don’t mind the shop while I am gone.”
Gary’s was silent. I then threw him a bone. “The body’s out back. It’s still warm. Go nuts.”
Gary’s tentacles wriggled. “I prefer fresher quarry, but it’s been a long shift and I am famished.”
As I assembled some supplies in the pantry, Viktor the Pantry Ghost / ex-intern appeared from the shadows.
Moaning, he said, “going on a quest again? It sure would be a shame if you died, and I wouldn’t be bound to this pantry any more.”
I rolled my eyes, shoving the last of the supplies in my rucksack. “Don’t celebrate my death yet, Viktor.”
And thus I set out from Barovia village to Krezk. It was a miserable journey even by Barovian standards. I made the mistake of picking up an adventuring party on my mule-drawn cart. The elderly wizard of the group, whom everyone obviously disliked but had to tolerate, wouldn’t stop droning on and on and on about his old adventures decades past. Then, he would launch into another tirade about how wizards nowadays sucked and didn’t respect magic anymore. Finally he’d complain about his knees for the 100th time. It was so bad, the usual spooks that infest the woods avoided us.
When he stopped to use the restroom in the woods, in true Barovian fashion, we took off without him. The party thanked me later.
“If he ever tracks you down, just blame it on werewolves. Works every time,” I left them some parting advice. They left me a few silver to compensate. Not bad.
Krezk, Krezk, Krezk. What can I say about it? It’s a crappy town, but then everything’s crappy in Barovia, just in different ways. The Devil Strahd holds less sway here, but the Krezk nightlife is kind of … meh. These people don’t get out much, and don’t welcome outsiders. I had to bring a shipment of syrup for trade to get in the door. This will set me back a bit.
And once I got past the village gate, that was when I ran into my rival, Vlad, owner of Barovian Weiners and Pancakes.
“Hello, Vlad” I said icily as we passed one another.
With a smirk he said, “oh hello, Oleksii. You’re looking well. Profits good?”
Of course he already knew the answer so I ignored the slight. “How’s the new barista working out?”
Word gets around, Vlad had copied my idea, and hired a barista hailing from a distant plane.
“Oh, John the Thri-Kreen? He’s great! Doesn’t say much, but with so many arms he’s twice as fast as Gary.”
“Twice as hungry too,” I thought to myself. Vlad won’t last long with that monstrosity under his employ. I wouldnt shed any tears though.
Getting to Krezk is one thing, finding the Lost Manuscript is another.
Or not.
Turns out BWnP already found it. On Vlad’s tacky storefront was a signboard: “See the lost manuscript of Lord Azalin, and its alternate ending! For a limited time with a purchase of a Vlady Big Weiner Meal!”
I swallowed my pride and went in. I purchased a meal using copper slugs, and there it was in a glass case, enshrined in a gaudy altar, surrounded by candles: Lord of the Necropolis, alternate ending!
As I filed into the queue to get a closer look, I wracked my brains for how to open the altar without being caught, smuggled the manuscript out of town, and avoid the authorities.
Then I remembered the classic Barovian gambit: the Smash N Grab.
With my trusty crowbar in my pack (never leave home without one), I yelled, “hey is that Strahd over there, wearing beach sandals?” pointing in some random direction.
As soon as everyone’s eyes were turned, I drew out the crowbar, smashed the glass, and snatched the manuscript from the altar.
What happened next was a good ol Barovian Cart Chase. Using some tricks I learned from a pair of Dukes reputedly from the domain of Hazárd, I eluded the Krezk constabulary, busted out of the town and managed to lose them halfway to Vallaki. Last I saw Vlad, he was shaking his fist at me, just as his Thri-Kreen employee appeared right behind him with a hungry look on its face.
Back in Barovia village, I finally could rest easy. I parked back behind BCnW and prepared for Vlad’s inevitable counterattack. Content with my defenses, I finally cracked open the book and flipped toward the end. Gary slinked behind me and read over my shoulder.
Turns out, someone had simply crossed out the last chapter or so from a regular copy, and instead added the following:
“When Azalin came to, he was lying on a bed of flowers, seared by the powerful magic he had contended with. He looked at his hands in horror, realizing that he had been thrust back into his original lich form.
“With a cry of anguish, he cursed his tormentors one more. Then he froze. This was no ordinary garden. He knew it well. It was the garden in Castle Ravenloft. What had his tormentors planned this time?
“Then he knew he wasn’t alone. Behind him, the presence of Strahd Von Zarovich oozed from below the floor like black ink. ‘So, we meet again,’ said the silky baritone voice.
“‘Once again, our tormentors have seen fit to throw us into the ring once more,’ Azalin replied in irritation, his mind racing to line up the spells he’d need to fend off Strahd.
“But Strahd didn’t attack. He held out his hand to help Azalin up. ‘I know that pain well.’
“Azalin stared into Strahd’s feral, red eyes for a long time. ‘This is what it sounds like when doves cry.’
“The two Darklords embraced for a moment, and Strahd said, ‘I know a good bratwurst and pancake place in Krezk, let’s go.’
The End.”
Dammit, Vlad.
#ravenloft#dnd#ttrpg#barovia#tumblrloft#d&d#dungeons and dragons#waffles#life in barovia#azalin rex#darkon#Kargat#weiners#barovian tales#curse of strahd
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so, 20 years after our curse of strahd ending, my character's sister is now looking for them. all she knows, is that 31 years ago, her brother disappeared, and has been sending letters to their grandmother, who won't say anything
#art#digital art#curse of strahd#ravenloft#dnd character#admin art#dnd#fake missing poster#also some of the information is wrong#frank's eyes are grey and he is 89#there's just a time difference between darkon and barovia#also frank may have changed her surname to escher's#Illustration#oc artwork#oc art#frank victenstein
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Domain/Darklord Mixtapes
Something that was done once on Twitter that I like to think about and revisit is playlists for domains and Darklords.
Bluetspur/The Elder Brain:
J-E-N-O-V-A (FF7 Remake) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zvHLGPpkO0
Metallica - “Call of Ktulu” (S&M version) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlpiUyoRw64
Darkon/Azalin Rex:
GWAR - “F*ck This Place” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWVmBmo_kZg (Particularly for Azalin Unleashed)
Metallica - “Master of Puppets” (S&M version) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tolj54hIY0s
Sithicus/Lord Soth:
The White Buffalo - “Come Join the Murder” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecnVt2liH30
Basil Poledouris - “Riders of Doom” (From Conan: the Barbarian) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEp76ppPc8o
Metallica - “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (S&M Version) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pQlAe4mleoq
As you can tell I like melodic, energetic music with the occasional more reflective bit thrown in
I had others but for the life of me I cannot remember them right now
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AS ALL THAT MADE YOU STILL YET SLEEPS
ANOTHER GO, THIS TIME FOR KEEPS
#digital art#dnd dungeons and dragons#dnd 5e#death cleric#cleric#ravenloft#darkon#domains of dread#dnd#Mallory Rex
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She has tattoos now
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New campaign, new portrait.
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If I was to make some recipes based off of the Dread Domains like Barovia, Dementlieu, Richemulot, Hazlan, Darkon, ect (idk just a weird idea bopping around my head) would anyone be interested?
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Still need to add more depth/shading to this, but thought I'd share my cover for the game I'm running/writing.
When I'm not writing Darklord Reviews in my spare time, I'm working on this game. Not going to share what it's about as a few people that play in it follow me on here, but very grateful to have found the perfect group for this story that's been knocking around my noggin for years.
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Ok, reading Lord of the Necropolis from the beginning was a good choice. Love whatever these Balitor and Oldar folks are about. (No doubt it will end tragically for the man and his reincarnated-or-something friend, but... y'know.) Good stuff.
#lord of the necropolis#ravenloft#yeah i skipped the first lord of darkon book#maybe i'll go back later idk#i know pn used some 1:1 quotes from that one for i strahd 2#book club time#ravenloft spoilers
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Pietro de Tunet (literally "Stone of Thunder" from Romanian language) is a tempest domain cleriс of Ezra, the goddess of Mists. He was made for our Ravenloft campaign, taking place in Darkon.
He is an earth genasi and possesses "holier than thou" personality, but the party finds him actually very sweet. "Our favorite stone", they call him.
#digital art#art#dnd#dungeons and dragons#dnd art#dungeouns and dragons#dnd character#dnd5e#earth genasi#genasi#cleric
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