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From this -

This post is mostly for those who don't want to have to click on the link in order to read the entirety of The Owl House's series bible.

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If that twink in the sweater points at me again after I scroll past four posts I swear to god

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50. Gary Gygax - G1: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (1978)

The first official adventure module published by TSR, it is the first of many, many such modules, now that Gary Gygax finally realised that people wanted these modules. He wrote this as a way to take a break between writing the Monster Manual and the Player's Handbook so it actually came out before we even had a PHB for AD&D. 

This is a very barebones adventure, clocking in at some 8 pages, but it's still a beloved adventure, frequently coming very high on "best adventure" lists and this is not only due to a nostalgia or historical factor. This is an adventure that rewards lateral thinking and planning, as the adventurers have to raid a Hill Giant Fortress inhabited by a large number of giants and their servants/slaves, if they go in "guns blazing"... well "swords blazing"... this is going to be a hard adventure to get through. The feasting hall near the entrance is chock-full of powerful giants and even a cave bear which will leave a party either dead or severely depleted before they even get to the dungeon level. Sneaking around is definitely the smart option here, also seeing as the treasure is mainly in treasure rooms and armories and not with the giants themselves. Remember that in early AD&D most XP came from treasure and not killing monsters.

As the PCs get to the dungeon level they will uncover a number of potential allies that they should really use to facilitate their progress an by the end of the adventure they will have a pointer towards the next part of the campaign, G2's The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, which we will cover next post. A great start to a long and influential campaign in only 8 pages! Well done Gary.

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I think we should make the Ultimate D&D, built on the best concepts and mechanics from the game's history, one that truly supports the Three Pillars: Dungeon, Wilderness, and Town.

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Homebrew D&D One Shot #14

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This is a big one! I always liked the setting of Har'akir in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft but was struggling with distilling a singular adventure out of it. Some research eventually brought me to the original 2e module which I have now revamped to 5e above! While all that's written is probably 2-3 sessions worth of material at least, I have already run an abridged version rather successfully and plan to run many more!

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DM Tip: Lining up the Pieces

A few years ago I saw a video that changed the way I design combat encounters, using chess pieces and 4th edition monster roles as a handy way of conceptualizing the enemy roster and making better combat.

I’ve wanted to refer back to it for ages now, but I can’t seem to find it.  As such, I’m going to reproduce it’s wisdom here for everyone’s benefit and hope I can find the source one day.  ( I feel like it was a Matt Coville video, but my searches have turned up nothing. Seriously, if you can find it I will be extra grateful).

TLDR:  You can break down enemy combatants into six (ish) roles represented by different kinds of chess pieces, and you can mix and match them when designing encounter to create fun tactical scenarios. You can also use this as an alternative to CR picking a “budget” of these enemy roles based on how many players are in the fight.  Check out the types below the cut: 

Keep reading

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I'm not saying it will be your new favourite show. I'm just saying...

Actually, it will probably be your new favourite show. Who am I trying to kid?

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I might've added the BG3 Art Book to my dnd assets stash

It' 100% does not have things like the 5e players' handbook + 5e’s character sheet, several gm guides, critical role's explorer's guide to wildmount, baldur's gate and waterdeep city encounters, 101 potions and their effects, volo's guide to monsters, both of xanathar's guides, a bunch of other encounters, one shots, and class builds

In no way are there any pdf’s relating to any wizard who may or may not be residing on any coast

(Edit that I’ve moved the folder to the new link above! So if you catch a different version of this post that link won’t work anymore!)

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Azalin Reviews: Ankhtepot

Domain: Har’Akir Domain Formation: 551 BC Final Score: 💀💀💀 💀 ⚫(4/5 Skulls) Sources: Ravenloft Source book (3e), Domains of Dread (2e), Darklords (2e), Touch of Death (2e Adventure; part of the Grand Conjunction series - a personal favorite of mine.)

The domain of Har’Akir is shadowed by former glories with one small village with barely more than 300 souls making up its entire living population. It is a small patch of burning desert with rolling dunes and a few oasis. It’s hot, dry, and tedious just like Ankhtepot.

Ankhtepot, a priest of Ra in life, became a Darklord because of his obsession with immortality. Not for any noble purpose, such as continuing ones just rule of the land like my own, but for fear of death. He conducted countless experiments on living subjects in attempts to extend his own life, but he lacked the intelligence and patience required for such arcane studies. I find very few talented enough in this regard.

Being lazy and impatient, Ankhtepot turned to his “God”. I use the term “God” loosely, for who’s to say what powerful entity chose to answer his call. I suspect the Dark Powers, myself, but folktales from Har’Akir insist it was their sun deity punishing Ankhtepot for his many crimes in life.

Granted immortality at last, but failing to understand what he was, Ankhtepot ended up killing his family and servants simply through touch. You would think he would learn after the first or second time this happened, but the fool kept on touching people.

When his wife returned to him as a shuffling corpse, he began to finally realize what he had become.The Domain of Har’Akir is shadowed by former glories with a single village barely containing more than 300 souls accounting for its entire living population. It is a small patch of burning desert of rolling dunes and a scattering of oasis. It is a hot, dry, and tedious place, the perfect reflection of it’s Darklord: Ankhtepot.

In life, Ankhtepot was a Priest of Ra. He developed an obsession with obtaining immortality for he feared death above all else. He conducted countless experiments on living subjects in an attempt to expend his own life. You know, I actually invented a spell that does just this…The benefits of the arcane over the divine is one can rely upon their own creativity instead of the whims of a unseen deity.

After his inevitable failure, Ankhtepot turned to his God. Folktales of Har’Akir tell how their sun deity punished Ankhtepot for his pride and narcissism in his quest for immortality, but it far more likely that our tormentors answered his desires and granted him the immortality he asked for, but not the immortality he desired.

Not understanding what he became, Ankhtepot killed every single member of his family and his servants by simply touching them. One would think he would have learned after the first or perhaps the second time this happened that his touch had become deadly, but the fool kept on touching people only to be continually shocked by the results.

When his wife came shuffling back to him as a corpse, he finally realized what he had become. I admire the fact that he began to raise undead servants quickly, though he needlessly killed many to do so when there were already plenty of fresh corpses for him to utilize. Wasteful.

Ankhtepot wasn’t exactly discreet about his new found abilities and was eventually slaughtered by an uprising led by his once loyal priests. Ankhtepot is considered to be a “Greater” Mummy and has vast control over life and death. He still maintains many of his priestly abilities he had in life. He is a somewhat powerful undead cleric that can control lesser undead at will. A prideful man who desired eternal youth and a vast empire to rule has been reduced to a bandaged corpse with a small hamlet to lord over. Next week I shall examine the ‘rebooted’ version of Ankhtepot if the mummified fowl leave me in peace along enough to allow for a post. 

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Azalin Reviews: Ankhtepot 5e version

Domain: Har’Akir Domain Formation: Unknown; 551 BC (old lore) Power Level: 💀💀💀⚫⚫(3/5 Skulls) Sources: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e) With van Richten’s latest guide, Ankhtepot’s Domain morphed into a realm at least three times the size it once was. Though, Har’Akir is still an ancient, scorched land perfectly suited for its ancient, scorched Pharaoh. Ankhtepot’s beginnings, however, have changed. Most importantly , he appears to have learned that touching everyone and everything after being cursed isn’t the best of ideas. Ankhtepot was a high priest of an unknown deity who served under three generations of Pharaoh’s in the “Land of Reeds and Lotuse”. In the Material Plane, Upper Egypt was often referred to as tꜣ šmꜣw, which translates to “The Land of Reeds”, so one may speculate that Ankhtepot was originally from Gothic Earth. The third Pharaoh was vastly unfavored and unpopular with the people and particularly with Ankhtepot’s priests. Ankhtepot, always having a high opinion of himself and believing his opinions mattered more than the tradition of royal succession, decided he was meant to rule in place of this new Pharaoh. So, on the day the Pharaoh was to bind his will to the gods, Ankhtepot led his priests to rise up against their ruler and murdered him before countless witnesses. The peasantry is often an unpredictable lot and often they do not care for who sits upon a throne as long as there is stability in the realm. Slaughtering their Pharaoh, unfavorable or not, and potentially causing their peaceful land to descend into chaos did not lead the people to rally behind Ankhtepot as he had thought. So, instead of bowing and thanking Ankhtepot and his followers, the people captured them and had them executed. Ankhtepot’s deities acted in kind. He was denied death, stripped him of his Ka, and suffered through the entire mummification process fully aware of what was happening to his own corpse. And I thought drinking that lich potion had been bad… He laid entombed in his crypt, covered in filthy rags for decades or centuries…as with most things in Ankhtepot’s unlife, time has no meaning. He was given another chance by his deities when they asked if he still thought he was fit to rule. Naturally, this was not any of his so called gods, but the workings of our Tormentors. When Ankhtepot ensured these unknown voices that he was meant to be a Pharaoh, the Mists took him and gave him the land of Har’Akir. Upon awakening, Ankhtepot slaughtered any trace of the gods he once served and replaced them with those of his own creation - the Child of Ankhtepot. He has the rule he once longed for, but without his Ka he lacks the desire to do anything beyond gathering dust in his temple while priests act as his voice and actually rule the land Ankhtepot mostly ignores.

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Touch of Death is the third Ravenloft module, wrapping up the RA-series that would eventually be joined with the RM modules to form the larger Grand Conjunction plot (I should note that the Touch of Death is the first module to mention the Grand Conjunction prophecy, so you can see how they were adjusting on the fly and retconning as needed). It’s got mummies. Mummies don’t exactly fit my preconceived notion of Ravenloft horror/fantasy, but I don’t really care – I like mummies. I think they’re an underused and underappreciated boogeyman that don’t get enough cred. As a mummy module, I find Touch of Death extremely satisfying. It is also worth noting that the desert land of Har’Akir and its dark lord, the mummy Anhktepot, were both featured in SSI’s videogame Stone Prophet.

It is much smaller and much more straight forward than the previous two, both of which get tripped up on their ambitions. It ends, however, as many Ravenloft adventures do: with the party fleeing an evil they can’t hope to combat and realizing they’ve largely been bit players in someone else’s story. Bit of a bummer.

As usual, Stephen Fabian’s art is the highlight. I love the slightly jarring mix of medieval fantasy style adventurers with the region’s ancient Egyptian aesthetics. Touch of Death wasn’t Fabian’s first mummy rodeo. He also did the cover and interior illustrations for The Third Grave, by David Case, published by Arkham House in 1981. I don’t know if I’ll have a better excuse to share it (unless I start an insta just dedicated books, which, no, my wife would kill me), so I’ve included it here.

That’s enough Ravenloft for now – we’ll finish up the Grand Conjunction down the road apiece.

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Posting this because the last post I saw on my dash was fairly anti-doctor and I’d like to dissuade from blanket distrusting the qualifications of medical practitioners. I know it’s not the same, but that line of thinking also led to anti-vaxers.

Holy shit.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have been able to create an ‘inverse vaccine’ that can remove the immune systems memory of specific molecules.

Reading that, sounds like a horrendous bio weapon in the making. But the plan is for it to be used to treat autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, type one diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

This was already proven to be able to prevent autoimmunity but the new work shows it can be used to treat ongoing autoimmune issues.

Source.

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someone I follow on the bird app just announced they're starting a very exclusive private fic server because they and a bunch of other people want to talk about how much they love the fics they're reading, and as an author can I just say that a really great place to talk about a fic you love is in the comments for that fic

I understand that people are trying to create safe spaces, but as the number of comments that I get on my fics dwindles with each passing year, knowing these spaces exist where my fics are being discussed, places that I am excluded from, makes me want to write fic LESS

I mean I guess who cares, right, because if I stop writing, there's 10,000 other people that will continue...but if you participate in a fic "book club" server and you say nice things there about a fic you loved, maybe copy and paste that into a comment on AO3?

the only thing fanfic writers are asking for in return for hours of hard work is attention. please don't rob us of the one thing that we hope for when we hit "post"

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Azalin Reviews: Darklord Ivana Boritsi

Domain: Borca Domain Formation: 684 BC Power Level: 3/5 skulls Sources: Ravenloft (3e), Domains of Dread (2e), Secrets of the Dread Realms (3e), Domains and Denizens (2e), Realm of Terror (2e), Gazetteer 4 (3e), van Ricthen’s Guide to Ravenloft

Ivana Boritsi is the second Darklord of Borca, usurping her mother, Camille Boritsi when she committed matricide via the traditional Borcan means – poison.  In 740 BC the Grand Conjunction caused Borca to absorb Dorvinia, her cousin Ivan’s Domain. Currently, Borca is ruled by these poisonous noble cousins, but today I am only going to address Ivana’s descent into Darklordom.

Camille wanted nothing more for her daughter to mirror her in every possible way. An admirable goal. What parent would not want to see their legacies carried forward in their heirs? Installing hatred in one of the Bortisi bloodline should not be a difficult task, yet Camille failed to mold Ivana into the man hating daughter she desired.

The young, influential Ivana desired the experience of ‘true love’. Bah. Overrated dribble best left in fairytales. In her search, she found Pieter – a poetic and musician. He, however, showed no interest in Ivana, so naturally she took to pursuing him like a relentless zealot.  He, like the gloriously vain artist he was, only took interest in Ivana when she expressed interest in his art. And so, Ivana became one of the first groupies in Ravenloft…

Camille, seeing her daughter find ‘true love’ in this musical hack, decided to demonstrate to Ivana just how horrible all men truly were. She pretended to be Ivana and came into Pieter’s bed under the cloak of darkness. When Ivana discovered them together, she was devastated. Camille quickly convinced Ivana that Pieter had seduced her and Ivana should kill him for it in the Boritsi fashion.

Ivana saturated her body in a powerful poison that did no harm to her, but allowed her to kill Pieter with a single kiss. Camille had finally obtained the man-hating, poisonous daughter she always dreamed of. Ivana, however, did not see her revenge complete until she mother suffered the same fate as her lover and with Camille’s last breath, Ivana became the Darklord of Borca.

Now, her body is permanently seeped in poison. Ivana is in her 60s, yet appears no older than 18. A gift bestowed upon her by our tormentors, allowing her to stay young and beautiful without the curse of undeath. There is, naturally, always a price for their gifts and though Ivana may give all appearances of the innocent and beautiful young woman, part of her true nature is revealed by the unnaturally and sickly shade of blue that stains her lips and fingernails. Though Ivana hides these blemishes beneath lairs of makeup, I would not be surprised if she was able to convince the Borcans that blue lips and nails are the latest fashion craze.

When she succumbs to mortal slumber, Ivana’s horror is revealed – she appears as if she died from poison – swelled face, protruding and blackened tongue, and the pallor of a blotted corpse. Perhaps this is why she ensures the death of any lover she takes for fear they may see her as she truly is.

As a ruler, Ivana is more interested in funding her lavish lifestyle and manipulating countless courtiers for her to seduce and destroy. When Borca absorbed Dorvinia, Ivana was more than happy to let Ivan take over the political concerns of their realm.

5e Version

In van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, Ivana’s story has changed in some ways and remained the same in others. In this version, both of her parents earned her scorn. Her father for favoring male heirs over herself and her mother for successfully seducing Pieter from her. After Camille’s betrayal, Ivana created aromatic toxins and killed all of her brothers for the crime of being favored by her father and her mother for seducing Pieter.

When her father lay on his death bed, he named Ivan Dilisnya as his heir. Now, of course, Ivana assumed this was because he was a petty man…but perhaps killing everyone with poison in a rather unsubtle means clued your father into your true nature, Ivana. Though, Ivan is a rather poor choice as an heir as well. With his final word, Ivana released another toxic gas and killed her already dying father and their countless servants. A rather pointless act, but it earned her a Domain and the taint of poison beneath her skin.   

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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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Azalin Reviews: Darklord Vladeska Drakov

Domain: Falkovnia Domain Formation:  Unspecified (former version 690 BC) Power Level: 💀💀💀⚫⚫ (3/5 Skulls) Sources: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e)

Without a Core containing neighboring Domains in 5e Ravenloft lore, the concept of an ever-failing would-be conqueror becomes as pointless as Vlad's efforts to overthrow Darkon. The new version of Falkovnia is a Domain overrun by zombie hordes as the people and their commander, Vladeska Drakov, fight a never ending battle against the hordes of undead.

All of Falkovnia’s villages have been abandoned as the remaining populace rally behind the walled city of Lekar. Their resources are running thinner each day and on the week of the new moon countless zombies shamble out of the Mists and lay siege upon what’s left of Falkovnia. 

Vladeska shares Vlad’s love of punishment through impalement and his history as a mercenary. She was known as the Crimson Falcon and led an army of mercenaries that called themselves the Falcon’s Talons. So, similar, but different with falcons replacing hawks, though unlike Vlad, Vladeska was very much respected by her peers and the lords she worked for. 

Eventually, Vladeska and her people killed the wrong person. Who this person was has been obscured by the Mists, but they were important enough to turn those Vladeska worked for against the mercenaries. Vladeska is said to be a tactical genius and instead of being cowed, she turned against those that pursued her. She was ruthless, forced people into her service and impaled anyone who attempted to stop her. The Mists came for her and her Talons after they had defeated Vladeska’s last foes. Our Tormentors always know when to time things to snatch away that bit of hope we all hold onto at the last possible moment.

Vladeska found herself in Falkovnia, which she conquered almost too easily, likely by our tormentor’s design. She was unable to enjoy her victory as days later hordes of undead laid siege against her. Falkovnia is locked in a never ending loop of preparing for war, then fighting it. Every citizen is forced to serve and fight against the zombie invasion. Vladeska does not have the power to control the borders of her Domain and they remain closed except for a brief period of time after the hordes of undead have been driven back once again. This would be the best time for all the citizens she forces into military service to flee, but her always loyal Talons patrol the borders at this time and any deserters are impaled. So most stay because they fear Vladeska more than they fear the undead.

Vladeska is unable to admit defeat, though fleeing would likely save countless souls. She is plagued by recognizing every face worn by the undead horde and she knows, somehow, they are coming for her in particular. Vladeska’s strength comes from her people’s loyalty and fear of her punishments. Without her people, she is easily dealt with, but one should not make the mistake of underestimating her. I will grant her 3 skulls for keeping her people loyal despite the never ending odds stacked up against her.

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Azalin Reviews: Darklord Ivan Dilisnya

Domain: Dorvinia then Borca Domain Formation: 715 BC Power Level: 💀💀💀⚫⚫ Sources: Secrets of the Dread Realms (3e), Domains of Dread (2e), Realm of Terror (2e), Domains and Denizens (2e), Ravenloft 3e, Ravenloft Gazetteer IV (3e)

Ivan Dilisnya is the Darklord of the former Domain of Dorvinia and now the co-Darklord of Borca with his cousin and aptly named “Dark Twin”, Ivana Boritsi.

Dorvinia was a small region of mountains, evergreen forests, and valleys without any form of formal rule. How it managed to survive for 25 years based largely on the decisions made at the whims of a small, petty man with a love for overacting and toxins is beyond me.

Dorvinia functioned much like how a child would rule a courtroom – bribe the child with the right “toy” and you would find whatever justice they felt like dealing out. Of course, said justice changed from day to day much like a child who enjoys broccoli one day then decides its the absolute worst thing you could put before them the next.

The Dilisnyas’ history in Ravenloft is as old as the first Darklord (but decidedly NOT the first vampire), Strahd. The family was present at the von Zarovich wedding where Strahd thought it was a wonderful idea to murder his brother, then attempt to woo his would-be sister-in-law. We all know how that worked out, but perhaps some of the Dilsinyas had a bit of foresight into these matters, for some claimed illness and left before Strahd’s transformation and murdering of the majority of the wedding guests.

Ivan was born on the same moonless night in December as Ivana. This day is known as the Night of Dead Man’s Get in Borca and every year these cousins celebrate their birthday by inviting everyone to their birthday celebration. Their separate birthday celebrations. It is a way for these jealous, bickering cousins to determine where their subjects loyalties lie. I wonder if anyone has attempted to attend both parties in one evening?

Ivan was cruel at a young age. He enjoyed torturing animals as early as 6 and committed his first murder by 10 by poisoning a young serving girl for the crime of taking a pastry from the kitchen. At 12, with no real motive, he committed matricide by poisoning his own mother in such a way to make it appear that she died of an unknown disease. I, personally, would have named this disease “Ivan”.

Ivan seemed to only show affection towards his elder sister, Kristina. This affection was more akin to obsession than actual love and drove Ivan to acts of violent jealousy. Kristina truly loved her brother and was blind to obvious evil little poisoners ways. Something she would come to regret once she married Edgar Leskovich.

Ivan was the sort that would destroy anyone or anything that stole attention and affection away from him, so Edgar was an obvious threat. The jealousy seethed inside him over the course of their courtship and marriage. Once they had a child, Ivan finally snapped, poisoned them both, adding sororicide to his ledger. The child was saved by their midwife before Ivan could get to them.

Ivan, unable to conceal his crimes from his family, fled into the Mists to avoid their wraith and Dorvinia was formed. A year later he married Lucretia Marzeya. Somehow he managed to go four years without committing uxoricide and Lucretia had three children with Ivan. All of which, he was told, were stillborn. Though, far more likely his wife spirited the children away before Ivan could add filicide to his murder bingo card.

Dorvinia was a short lived Domain, surviving a mere 25 years before it was absorbed by Borca during the Grand Conjunction. Ivan loves to wave his fingers and pout while throwing an overdone and far too dramatically acted temper tantrum and say this is my fault, but he was the one who decided to leave Dorvinia to visit his dear cousin because he was scared of a few tremors.

Ivan now co-rules Borca with Ivana. Ivan never learned how to share, so instead of working with his cousin, Ivan despises her and does all he can to gain favor from the many poisonous peacocks that make up the Borcan nobility.

Ivan surrounds himself with lavish plays, ballrooms, and feasting halls in the Degravo estate, which is well guarded. I suggest never asking Ivan about his “Playroom” unless you want a first hand demonstration of some of his favorite torturing devices.

As a Darklord Ivan is known for his subtle manipulation hidden behind his foppish demeanor, over the top temper tantrums, and, naturally, the ability to poison any object he touches. He is cursed to no longer have a sense of taste. Not to be confused with his love of “acting” and dressing in costumes, this sense of taste is quite literal. Food and drink hold no actual taste to him and turn to ash upon his tongue. This drives him to hold lavish parties where he enjoys serving both delicacies and rotten, maggot covered food. He takes great offense if someone appears to enjoy the food too much or not enough.

One may wonder how such a person manages to maintain loyalty. As Ivan has solved all things in life with poison, it should come as no surprise that he uses poison for this purpose as well. Most of his servants have been poisoned with “Borrowed Time”. These servants will die unless they are administered an elixir, Mercy, each day before sunset.

Ivan continues to age whereas Ivana does not. This leads our jealous, overgrown child to believe Ivana is hiding the secret of mortality and eternal youth from him. Perhaps she is. Who am I to give away such secrets?

Despite his child-like and foppish mannerisms, Ivan should not be underestimated. He holds a powerful position in Borca and can make or break anyone with the wave of his hand. His ability to poison any object has been the downfall to invading armies. Though it was Vlad’s army, so we can’t give him TOO much credit for defeating that failure mercenary. Though, if anyone ever gets a hold of the recipe for Mercy, I feel Ivan would quickly have a rather large uprising to deal with.

Domain: Dorvinia then Borca Domain Formation: 715 BC Power Level: 💀💀⚫⚫⚫ Sources: van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (5e)

Ivan’s ties to Dorvinia are not mentioned within Dr. Ricky’s new guide, nor is he named Ivana’s Dark Twin, but is referred to as her elder cousin. I’m sure Ivan is very pleased by that development and isn’t throwing a temper tantrum right now as he reads this.

His beginnings are similar to previous accounts, though we a few less “cides” checked off on his frequent murderer club card during his childhood. Instead, it was the Dilisnya’s pets and servants that fell to his murderous ways as his parents covered them up.

Ivan had no desire to grow up. Honestly, I can’t really blame him there. Growing up is very overrated. I can’t remember the last time I felt that naïveté of youth that we so often take for granted. Anyway, I digress…Ivan surrounded himself in fantasy to escape responsibility. He indulged in child-like behaviors and crafted toys and games he forced his sister, Kristina, to play with him. His parents, ever the enablers, allowed this behavior to continue and even set up whimsical rooms and diversions for him throughout their estate.

Being a very stable individual, when he discovered that Kristina was being sent away to a boarding school, Ivan snapped and murdered his entire family in a single evening with his toy creations. Perhaps he wanted to fill up his murder club card before it expired.

As the co-Darklord of Borca, Ivan is a feeble, ancient man who uses a large spider pram to get around. The spider pram carries him throughout his estate, which now mostly resembles a demented child’s playroom full of murderous clockwork toys, animals that would be better off in Markovia, and toy-enacted operas. Well, at least he still retained his curse of having “no taste”.

Ivan is afraid to leave his home, so our Tormentors gifted him with the ability to deliver letters to anyone anywhere he pleases. Ghosting him doesn’t work, so try not to get the attention of this childish stalker or after sending you hundreds of letters he may set forth in his trusty spider pram and greet you in person.

He’s also very good at convincing other’s that he’s a helpless child. Well, they say that the best lies are closest to the truth…

Lastly, he can make any toy he desires. Mostly this amounts to servants and fake versions of the family he killed because he’s a sad and lonely man with only a spider pram to keep him company.

He still retains his hatred of Ivana, though it’s more because she now holds the position he was supposed to inherit. Ivan…you did inherit it. Perhaps spend a little less time writing fan letters to everyone and a little more time investigating this little tidbit.

A childish toy maker in a spider pram makes the creepiest of stalkers, but not an overly powerful one. Although Ivan’s toys are immune to Ivana’s poison, his overall presence and influence over the realm of Borca no longer holds the same force that Ivana holds. Despite the lovely spider pram, this new Ivan does not appear to be as powerful as his predecessor. 2/5 Skulls, mostly for the spider pram.