Thoughts on Tepest

[Carrion Crow]

I know I said that the previous post was going to be the last one on Tepest, before I moved on to another Domain, but I’ve been thinking about the Briar Queen’s coven and what happened to them.

I also discovered that I still have a copy of Tapestry of Dark Souls and have started re-reading this to see what I could use from this book, seeing as it’s set in Tepest and whether the events of this tale would still fit within my revision.

So, the coven originally consisted of 13 members, with the Briar Queen being the leader. Of the remaining 12, I’ve already dealt with 5 of them. However, as Tepest is now primarily a Germanic Domain, some of the names required changing. The three Mindefisk sisters are now Griselda (Annis), Wilda (Greenhag) and Verena (Sea Hag). Dame Gothel the Bruja, from the reworking of the Rapunzel tale, has gained the first name of Sofia. Mother Tod, the Mountain Hag, has also gained the first name Rebekka. These were all sourced from a list of female German names and chosen to reflect the personality of each hag.

Which leaves us with 7 undisclosed witches/hags.

One is mentioned in the Darklords accessory as occupying Lake Kronov (which does not contain Castle Island in my revision). So, a slight re-working of the information provided there and we have Melusine Lachs, the Sea Hag, who discovered a magical pearl within the lake, but refused to surrender this item to the Briar Queen and was transformed into a sturgeon of greater than normal size, which now preys on the fisherman of Viktal. However, when the Briar Queen gathers the remains of her coven for an annual meeting, she is briefly returned to hag form. This is known as Hexennacht and the inhabitants of Tepest remain indoors on this night, adorning their properties with carved Jack O’lanterns to protect them from the witches abroad that night.

The final living hag is a Greenhag known as Amala, who was dispatched to Markovia when Tepest was drawn into the Mists. Whilst gathering information in Markovia, she studied the work of Frantisek Markov and was inspired to try a few experiments in cross-breeding. Utilising the large population of goblins in Tepest, she managed to create a goblin/bat hybrid, which due to her magic, now breed true. These Goblin Bats now infest the caves of Southern Tepest and have been known to prey on livestock and unattended young children. The inhabitants of Tepest refer to these creatures as ‘Darkflyers’ (A nod to Tapestry of Dark Souls.)

The remaining witches/hags of the coven either perished during the events which led up to the formation of the Domain or perished exploring the neighbouring Domains once Tepest had entered Ravenloft. I like the idea that the hag dispatched to Keening was slain by Tristessa and that the one dispatched to G’Henna fell into the clutches of Yagno Petrovna…and we all know what happens next…

[Carrion Crow]

I have now finished re-reading Tapestry of Dark Souls, and s couple of thoughts regarding the events and characters featured in this novel have occurred to me.

Morgoth - The main protagonist of the novel was, according to John Mangrum's Ravenloft Timeline, captured by the Gathering Cloth in 709, after which the Guardians relocated their fortress to Markovia. The text suggests that the original shrine was in a southern land and that Morgoth was sold in slavery to a powerful lord (possibly a Darklord), who not only taught him magic, but appears to have transformed him into a vampire. Mangrum stated that he likes the idea that this was Bakholis, lord of Invidia at the time. However, it seems a little odd to me that a werewolf Darklord with no apparent magical abilities would create a vampire wizard minion. Which then begs the question which land/Domain did Morgoth and the Guardians come from? It seems clear to me that the Gathering Cloth, having been created in Ravenloft wouldn't have left the Demiplane, so where was it after it left Nova Vaasa?

The description of the land Morgoth hails from seems familiar, so perhaps this was one of the fabled 'Lost Lands of the Core.' I'm leaning towards Maridrar, which had the vampire Velkaarn as Darklord, but from what I've read of this Domain, it would appear Velkaarn was a warrior, rather than a wizard.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Linde - This village in southern Tepest was effectively destroyed by Morgoth in the closing chapters of the novel, having the population all but wiped out and the village razed to the ground. The novel suggest that the remaning handful of villagers were planning on rebuilding, but this village only appears in the novel and has yet to re-appear in any further canon sources. I'm currently undecided as to the exact location of this former settlement, as the position shown on the Mordent Cartographic Society map doesn't seem quite right. However, I have decided that the village was not completely rebuilt and the former inhabitants have relocated to other settlements in Tepest. This 'ghost' village, with its nearby caverns, is now the lair of Jugo Hesketh the Ghast and his ghoul pack, as this seems to be an ideal location for him.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

As Darklords go, the hags, whilst definitely evil, don’t really warrant a Domain of their own. Unlike the other Domain rulers (according to the Darklords accessory) should one of the hags die, they can be recreated by their sisters or replaced by one of their offspring. This doesn’t strike me as something the Dark Powers would allow, if the hags are supposed to be Darklords, which would suggest that maybe the hags aren’t the actual rulers of the Tepest…

I don't understand this part. What about their regeneration suggests they would not be DL's? The DP's have granted such powers to many, many other DL's, such as Lukas, Mordenheim and Adam, Hazlik, Malken, Azalin, the Nightmare Court and more. Why not to these three?

[Carrion Crow]

It was more the part about them being replaced by their offspring, rather than the regeneration part. Whilst I appreciate that other Darklords have been replaced by greater evils (Bakholis, Camille Dilisnya, Claude Renier), the idea that to make up the triumvirate of the covey, any old hag will do, seemed a little odd. This then led me down the path of suggesting that the hags might be the assumed rulers of the Domain, rather than the true power in charge.

Apologies that I wasn't clearer and I hope that makes more sense.

[The Lesser Evil]

It was more the part about them being replaced by their offspring, rather than the regeneration part. Whilst I appreciate that other Darklords have been replaced by greater evils (Bakholis, Camille Dilisnya, Claude Renier), the idea that to make up the triumvirate of the covey, any old hag will do, seemed a little odd. This then led me down the path of suggesting that the hags might be the assumed rulers of the Domain, rather than the true power in charge.

Apologies that I wasn't clearer and I hope that makes more sense.

I can site two other such examples. King Crocodile (if he is destroyed, the role of darklord is conferred to another crocodile) and Tristen Hiregaard. The latter one's description gives the implication that Malken/Romir's soul is impressed upon each one of his family line as his curse jumps from family member to family member. It could easily be the same for the Hags or King Croc. It may also be worthwhile to point out that it's not just "any old hag" we're talking about, but one of the offspring of the Three Hags, any of which may have committed an amount of evil approached their mothers.

That being said, I've never been one to trample on potentially good ideas. Whom did you have in mind for the power behind the throne, as it were?

Edit: Apologies, major brain-fart, I just re-caught up on the rest of this thread, never-mind!

[Jimsolo]

In Ryan's history of the Core thread, I opined that the hags were somewhat underdeveloped dark lords. Ryan pointed out some additional perspective on them that had seriously made me want to run a game in Tepest.

If you're determined not to use them, I understand, but I really think you should check out Ryan's take and give them another chance.

[Carrion Crow]

Thanks for the input all. I will certainly check out Ryan's thoughts on the hags as I do like the sisters Mindefisk. This was just a 'dread alternative' that I thought I'd share, similar to the other threads on Sanguinia and Forlorn. As I've now managed to locate a copy of VRMHCIII, which covers hags in more detail, I may tweak my Tepest further.

[Carrion Crow]

Whilst browsing various threads on this forum, I came across the thread regarding adding characters from movies, novels and history to Gothic Earth. One of the suggestions was adapting characters from the land of Oz.

As I was thinking about finally typing up details for my version of Tepest and including both the Huntsmen and Woodsmen as 'secret societys' that PCs could be part of whilst reading this thread, the part about the Tin Woodsman sturck a chord. Then I remembered this quote from the Mistipedia "Note: Efforts, subject to continual sabatoge, are underway to cut a road through Tepest and Keening to the Strigos Road in Darkon." which relates to the efforts of Nova Vaasa to re-connect with the greater core. Whihc then led to this idea...

The issues that the Vaasi are having with cutting a road through Tepest are common knowledge and a young inventor believed he had come up with a solution - a mechanical 'woodsman.' The idea is that this particular creation would be able to work whatever the weather (subject to regular maintenance) and be robust enough to deter both the natural predators and the goblins inhabiting the Domain.

The planned route of the proposed road would pass very close to the castle of the Briar Queen, and she had been using her considerable powers and those of her coven to sabtoage these efforts. As she knows all that occurs in her Domain, she watched, first with interest, then with concern, as this creation was unveiled and began to work. Contacting the three hags, she provided them with a recipe for an insidious oil, to replace that used in maintaining the mechanical woodsman. Under cover of darkness, the hags replaced the oil with their creation and waited until morning for the workers to activate the device. As the woodsman was wound up, being mainly clockwork in nature, its form shuddered as the magical oil took effect. An unholy light shone form its 'eyes' and when it raised its axe, it was not a tree it cut down, but the first of many workers in the camp. The device continued until all the human workers lay dead, when it shuddered to a stop, blood dripping from its axe.

And there it remains, the elements having rusted its surface, until such time as someone winds the big key in its back, oils its joints and unleashes the woodsman to continue its grisly task...

[The Lesser Evil]

Interesting, but who built the tin woodsman in the first place? That seems like a bit of a high Cultural Level than Tepest is used to seeing.

[Carrion Crow]

As I see it, the effort to cut a road through Tepest originates in Nova Vaasa which although a higher cultural level than Tepest, still isn't quite high enough for a mechanical golem.

However, if Prince Othmar had posted a reward for a solution in Kantora, due to the cosmopolitan nature of this city and its trading with higher level cultures, an enterprising 'engineer' visiting this city may have heard of the problem and using either a book of blueprints (Manual of Golems) he discovered or had the design 'come to him in a dream'.

This 'engineer' could also turn up elsewhere, creating mechanical solutions for other problems he encounters, which invariably turn lethal after he's moved on. Sort of like a cursed Leonardo Da Vinci...hmm, I quite like that.

This thread seems to be generating NPCs not tied to Tepest. I've already had thoughts regarding Axel Grimm, an ex-Huntsman turned Woodsman who's since left Tepest to adventure across the Core; Amala the Greenhag, whose Markov-inspired magical crossbreeds she's decided other Domains should enjoy (Artic Owlbears in Sanguinia? Why not?) and now this chap...