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Ravenloft Gazetteer Two
The Gazetteer series of Arthaus for Ravenloft is an ambitious project that I personally hope will address some of my grievances with the campaign setting. I’ve always found it somewhat difficult to get into character when playing in a so obviously artificial world. I’ve been somewhat stumped in the day-to-day activities of many of Ravenloft’s inhabitants from religion to government. Finally, I’ve always felt that they never pushed the envelope enough to make it a true horror setting. Thus far, it does not seem like I will be disappointed.
Ravenloft Gazetteer Two follows the style of a single red gemstone (blood drop?) that the inside of shows the map of the regions going to be covered therein. It is not a particular imaginative style but it gets the job done. The art in the supplement ranged widely in quality but the best followed the same style of the first Gazetteer in portraying the Demiplane as sort of demented Victorian comic book. At 157 pages for 24.95 I felt the book was well worth the money at the start with bucket-loads of information priced reasonably.
Now onto the actual content...
The opening writing ends the conceit between the unnamed Arcanist and King Azalin of Darkon that it is anyone other than one of Ravenloft’s most infamous Dark Lords commissioning these rather elaborate guides to each realm in the core. I am not overly fond of this particular by-play since the unnamed scholar knows way more than even Strahd should and is frankly a pretentious snob. I mentioned in my previous book review for Gazetteer One that this tome cannot be given to players safely either (unlike Van Ritchen’s Guides) since it is too detailed, despite being created ‘in game’. Nevertheless, some of their conversations throughout the book are rather amusing.
The first domain detailed in this supplement is Darkon itself, the home of King Azalin and Ravenloft’s largest domain. Darkon is portrayed as oddly the most medieval of the domains of dread yet simultaneously the most cosmopolitan, at least in the area of human-nonhuman relationships. The rather extensive changes of the very unpopular ‘Requiem’ boxed set are addressed here with most of them being retracted. Slowly Darkon is coming to resemble its old self again, which while not a great improvement is definitely one. Still a wizard king, magical secret police aside, and extensive nonhuman population seems at odds with the rest of the DoD portrayed elsewhere.
Overall, this section did not ‘wow’ me but was extremely well detailed and gave a land that campaigns could stay indefinitely in.
Necropolis is the next domain to be detailed in this boxed set. “Death” the most widely unpopular ‘heir’ to a villain since Serpentor manages to get a facelift here, as does his domain. Portraying the character as nothing more or less than the Grim Reaper with his domain rather like Ravenloft’s underworld, it actually works as a campaign setting. However, unless you are playing undead there is the issue of the fact that no living being can reasonably expect to enter this land without being killed. Whether by the “shroud” of negative energy or the legion of chaotic evil undead which live in the land. Rather like Hell itself, its a place to have adventures come from rather than go to. Also, the supplement tried too hard in my opinion to assign a ‘normal’ life to twenty thousand odd undead abominations.
Again a useful well detailed section but not one that was all-purpose ‘useful’.
Lamordia is the third domain detailed in this supplement, and probably the most useful of the domain descriptions in this Gazetteer to me. Fitting the Gothic atmosphere invoked by other core domains, Lamordia is a relatively nice place to live and invokes a Swiss feel to it. The ‘science gone horribly wrong’ of Victor Mordenheim offers plenty of adventures beyond his monster along with the addition of a society of psychotic anti-magic hunters. The deism and outright atheism of the Lamordians also gives players the chance to play Lovecraftian heroes who discover how horribly wrong their beliefs are, a welcome addition to any horror game. There is even a fiend who, if awoken, could bring about the end of the world.
My only regret is that there is no formal education system to Lamordia and that the domains are unlikely to produce dozens of mad scientists for the PCs to oppose.
Falknovia is the last supplement to be detailed and the one I enjoyed most reading. Long having been given a slightly Nazi Germany subtext, the supplement outright makes it text and creates probably the most terrible domain in the Demiplane. Borrowing liberally from 1984 and real world history of Dracula and many modern dictators, the place is the most stomach turning realm described in D&D thus far. While it occasionally goes too far (The “Kingfurher”?) it probably goes well beyond any other domain in its absolute ‘need to be destroyed’ nature. The only problem I see is that players may be too unsettled by its so prevalent evil to actually visit.
Nevertheless, we get hordes and hordes of evil organization no self-respecting hero would turn down the chance to wipe off the face of the Dread Realm.
The DM’s attached notes are a mixed bag of effects but usually quite positive. Azalin and Vlad Dracov remain more or less unchanged from their old write-ups but it is good to see the Old Lich King back in action. Death is no longer a crazy one-dimensional sorcerer but more a force of nature (he is a negative energy elemental) which is more frightening in my opinion. Victor Mordheim has his science levels written up and extensive levels of expert, which open up a great number of vistas in third edition. Gondegal (from Forgotten Realms Arabel) is included as Vlad Dracov’s continuing nemesis. Ebb the Dragon is a mistaken inclusion as she is...well a Dragon in Ravenloft. Lady Kazandra of the Kargat is finally detailed and her ‘gentleman’s club’ and evil Baroness look is sure to melt my player’s hearts. Vladimir Ludsvig also makes a guest appearance in the book, essentially a character seems like he came from Marvel Comics or Vampire the Masquerade and should go back in my opinion. There are a few nasty spells of the necromantic variety in the book, one good monster in the Dread Nymph with some lackluster ones, and all the templates for playing undead in Ravenloft (something I don’t recommend).
All in all an impressive book that is better than almost anything the line has put out in years but it could have been better.
