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Domain of Dread: Histaven is a setting supplement released as a companion title to the recently released The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond boxed set and to be used with the Rules Compendium, Dungeon Master’s Kit, and Monster Vault from the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials range. It can be used to add another location within The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond boxed set, to give the DM and his players a taster of the setting, or it can be used entirely on its own. As written, it should be used in conjunction with characters from the Heroic or low Paragon tiers.
After reading through Domain of Dread: Histaven I had some questions, not ones answered by the booklet itself. The first was, “What exactly is the Shadowfell?”, followed by, “What is a Gloomwrought?”. After a few minutes’ research – mostly at Wikipedia – it appears that the Shadowfell is an underworld parallel to the Prime Material Plane within which sits “Gloomwrought, the City of Midnight.” Domain of Dread: Histaven does explain that the Shadowfell collects dark thought and deeds, seeking out the depraved and the cruel to elevate them into Dark Lords who rule over individual domains that they can never escape. This feels awfully reminiscent of the classic Ravenloft setting shorn of the need to pillage the Gothic toybox and incorporate the classic Universal Monsters. Further research revealed that the Ravenloft setting has been incorporated into the Shadowfell.
The Domain and village of Histhaven is beset by an on-going conflict and a blight that waxes and wanes with it. Count Artius, the village’s ruler, is more concerned with the threat that comes to duel him time and time again, rather than with the villagers’ welfare, and how they suffer for it. The Season of Rot heralds the coming of the Rag Man, a vengeful figure who cuts down all before in pursuit of the Count, the sword fight between always ending with the death of one or the other. Whatever the result, the defeated combatant always returns by the next new Moon, the cycle repeating itself once more. Even the swords and spells of any visiting adventurers will not break this cycle, merely suspend it, and if the heroes are to escape Histhaven, they are going to find another solution.
The pattern of repeating violence is not the only danger that the villagers and adventurers face in Domain of Dread: Histaven. The Nightwood is home to roving bands of Shadow Druids, all too willing to engage in a deadly hunt, whilst many other dangerous creatures call the Domain home. These dangers can be encountered as the adventurers attempt to traverse the Domain, or if the heroes’ follow up on any of the ten story Hooks listed in the supplement.
The DM will need to develop these Hooks a little further if he wants to use them, the likelihood being that he will have to, because there will probably be long gaps of game time between one appearance of the Rag Man and the next. The need for this means that Domain of Dread: Histaven is very much a setting supplement and not a scenario.
Physically, Domain of Dread: Histaven is as well put together as you would expect from Wizards of the Coast. It is very light on art, and surprisingly given how the current version of Dungeons & Dragons is predicated on maps, none comes with this release. It would have nice if the supplement had at least, suggested what maps the DM might want to use for each of the setting’s locations.
Although Domain of Dread: Histaven does basically come with everything necessary for the player characters to explore the setting, the one thing that it does lack is a hook for the reader, let alone a DM and his players. There is a lack of energy to the writing and this is passed onto the supplement as a whole, and this in addition to the bland nature the setting itself. Despite there being a lot of material packed into its pages, Domain of Dread: Histaven fails to engage.
