Digital horrors

[TheArcaneWeirdo]

I talked before about the idea of online domains - pocket domains existing solely on the internet. Here's a couple of ideas:

1) Mistipedia - In-World is a complete collection of the Fraternity of Shadows' research regarding the Land of Mists, the Dark Powers and the secrets of the arcane. It's an invaluable treasure to anyone in need of information - but discovering the horrid truth of one's homeworld in such a brisk and impersonal manner might shatter the browser's mind.
Its darklord is a member of the fraternity who discovered a way to prevent the ToUD, but preferred to let the world shatter and thousands of people die than to share his secret with a group of non-illusionist heroes. His curse is that Mistipedia contains an article about himself, which anyone but him can edit, and someone always edits to present his (real or false) most embarrassing, petty secrets.

2) Disconversy is Ravenloft's most widespread social media app. On the surface, it's a rare space of diversity and freedom of speech, allowing denizens living truly horrid life both escapism and a way to express and protest their troubles. But this is barely more than an illusion, cause saying the wrong word in Disxonversy can get you killed.
Its darklord is a brilliant but childish, narcissistic and bigoted high-tech billionaire, who - after cheating on his wife, disowning his daughter cause he couldn't accept that she isn't his son and blaming everyone but himself for the divorce - grew disappointed with humankind and obsessed with creating a perfect AI family that will never 'betray' him. He created dozens of bots, each more complex and intelligent than the former (ruining the ecology and vilolating copyright laws in the process) - and eventually managed to develop one that was truly sentient. However, as a sentient creature, it had a free will, that was separate from that of its creator; and so, soon came the inevitable:
A minor disagreement.
The bot didn't turn against its master or try to take over the world. It literally just wanted the photo of a shark wearing sneakers to have boots instead. But the high-tech billionaire couldn't take it, and erased its code - basically murdering it. When his workers tried to recreate the technological marvel, he suited them for stealing his patent - which was ridiculously hypocritical considering the amount of copyright violation he committed to train the darn clanker in the first place. When he saw they're going to win the lawsuit, he found a way to discreetly get rid of them. The mists claimed him while he was watching 'Black Mirror' and waiting for his assassins to finish the job.
His curse is that he can never fully control the chaos of Disconversy - every bot he creates will eventually develop free will, every censorship algorithm he creates will eventually become obsolete as people find a way around it.

[Teravala]

How about the idea of using the RL setting as an isekai? Basically you could use the old storyline of "trapped in a video game world" but the game world is the new Ravenloft RPG. you can use common tropes like "If you die in the game, you die irl." (done in anime and stories that utilize full dive tech) or that somewhere deep in the code of the game, a new Darklord has been born as the combination between game code and virus. Interesting twists could be things like the NPC's aren't game code, they are players who have died and been stripped of everything that made them them, and now exist as hollow shells that resemble their player, but have a purposely cardboard cutout kind of vibe. Like they are only half alive. Or you can have it that Ravenloft is a very real place, and that we are not playing a game at a table, we are divining the very real and still unfolding history of the Dread Realms.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

I like these ideas. The thought of Mistipedia as a domain in particular amused me. ^_^

If you pursue this idea further, you might like to read about the SCP's "pattern screamers". One of those is trapped in the SCPF's computer system, and might provide some inspiration.

[TheArcaneWeirdo]

How about the idea of using the RL setting as an isekai? Basically you could use the old storyline of "trapped in a video game world" but the game world is the new Ravenloft RPG. you can use common tropes like "If you die in the game, you die irl." (done in anime and stories that utilize full dive tech) or that somewhere deep in the code of the game, a new Darklord has been born as the combination between game code and virus. Interesting twists could be things like the NPC's aren't game code, they are players who have died and been stripped of everything that made them them, and now exist as hollow shells that resemble their player, but have a purposely cardboard cutout kind of vibe. Like they are only half alive. Or you can have it that Ravenloft is a very real place, and that we are not playing a game at a table, we are divining the very real and still unfolding history of the Dread Realms.

I think fourth-wall breaks are kinda cliche by now. It has become our default when creating fantasy fan content that relates to the modern era. I've already read a fanfic about a Ravenloft fan being transported into Mordent. I think there's a domain whose darklord is a dungeon master who was convinced by the Dark Powers to kill his party IRL. This sort of thing was fun once, but can we really do something original with it?

I'd rather be a bit more widespread. The majority of the modern world, even on the internet, has never heard of Ravenloft or even DND - and it's full of fascinating villains that can be unwittingly dragged into it.

[TheArcaneWeirdo]

I like these ideas. The thought of Mistipedia as a domain in particular amused me. ^_^

If you pursue this idea further, you might like to read about the SCP's "pattern screamers". One of those is trapped in the SCPF's computer system, and might provide some inspiration.

I looked for them, but they don't seem to exist.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

I like these ideas. The thought of Mistipedia as a domain in particular amused me. ^_^

If you pursue this idea further, you might like to read about the SCP's "pattern screamers". One of those is trapped in the SCPF's computer system, and might provide some inspiration.

I looked for them, but they don't seem to exist.

A paradox, isn't it?

[TheArcaneWeirdo]

I think the general rule (though of course there can be exceptions) for online domains should be this:

1) The domain can exist as any sort of internet 'place' - Most are a complete website or application, but some can be as large as Google or small as a single chat or group copied from another world's app or website (can the populace of Ravenloft develop an internet platform that doesn't have a darklord? Logic dictates they can if they can build the technology to access these domains, but logic never had much hold in the Land of Mists. If they can, are such platforms considered 'online oubliettes'?)
2) The domain can be accessed by anyone within the demiplanes of dread with the proper technology (ie computer, smartphone or anything of the sort) or a suitable magical replacement (for example, a modified scrying mirror.), unless its borders are closed. (I'm unsure whether they can be accessed through a device located outside of Ravenloft.)
3) The inhabitants of an online domain are divided into two categories: Inhabitants of other (mostly CL 12) domains who browse the OD, and inhabitants who exist solely inside it and have no corporeal body. As one might expect, most type-2 inhabitants are practically bots - either your usual 'soulless shells created by the Dark Powers to reinforce the status quo that torment a domain's darklord' or minions created by the darklord or a type-1 user - but surprisingly, some are perfectly real, simply incorporeal, and may move between ODs.
4) When the darklord of an online domain wishes to close the borders, any attempt to enter the domain will result in a 'Error 404: domain not found' (or the likes) screen. Any type-1 user currently browsing will find themselves endlessly doomscrolling, psychologically uncapable of taking their eyes and fingers off the device until the borders are reopened. Yes, there were cases when this resulted in death by dehydration and sleep deprivation. (Considering the risk, a DM might want to allow a will saving throw to exit the OD - or at least split one's concentration between it and the physical world enough to allow for simple actions.)

[Teravala]

How about the idea of using the RL setting as an isekai? Basically you could use the old storyline of "trapped in a video game world" but the game world is the new Ravenloft RPG. you can use common tropes like "If you die in the game, you die irl." (done in anime and stories that utilize full dive tech) or that somewhere deep in the code of the game, a new Darklord has been born as the combination between game code and virus. Interesting twists could be things like the NPC's aren't game code, they are players who have died and been stripped of everything that made them them, and now exist as hollow shells that resemble their player, but have a purposely cardboard cutout kind of vibe. Like they are only half alive. Or you can have it that Ravenloft is a very real place, and that we are not playing a game at a table, we are divining the very real and still unfolding history of the Dread Realms.

I think fourth-wall breaks are kinda cliche by now. It has become our default when creating fantasy fan content that relates to the modern era. I've already read a fanfic about a Ravenloft fan being transported into Mordent. I think there's a domain whose darklord is a dungeon master who was convinced by the Dark Powers to kill his party IRL. This sort of thing was fun once, but can we really do something original with it?

I'd rather be a bit more widespread. The majority of the modern world, even on the internet, has never heard of Ravenloft or even DND - and it's full of fascinating villains that can be unwittingly dragged into it.

I'm going to have to agree to disagree with you on this. While there may be stories about this kind of thing out there (enough for it to be it's own genre at this point) I don't know a single person who has run this kind of content for their party, and even prolific writers like Steven King, Chuck Palahniuk, Vladimir Nabokov, and even Emily Bronte made use of breaking the 4th wall. Just because it's been done doesn't make it a cliche. That said, I am a firm believer in the literary theory of Christopher Booker in that there are only truly 7 archetypal plots. Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth.

As for Ravenloft being relatively obscure, 5E's Curse of Strahd is the most commercially successful adventure in the edition, basically dominating every "best of" list. That said, I noticed you (perhaps subconsciously) refer to Ravenloft content as fantasy, but I've always viewed it as gothic horror, with fantasy trimmings, which by definition when meshed with the modern worlds converts it to neo-gothic. So swap the ancient curses for technological dependence or modern anxieties, moldering castles with ruined cities, etc.

[TheArcaneWeirdo]

How about the idea of using the RL setting as an isekai? Basically you could use the old storyline of "trapped in a video game world" but the game world is the new Ravenloft RPG. you can use common tropes like "If you die in the game, you die irl." (done in anime and stories that utilize full dive tech) or that somewhere deep in the code of the game, a new Darklord has been born as the combination between game code and virus. Interesting twists could be things like the NPC's aren't game code, they are players who have died and been stripped of everything that made them them, and now exist as hollow shells that resemble their player, but have a purposely cardboard cutout kind of vibe. Like they are only half alive. Or you can have it that Ravenloft is a very real place, and that we are not playing a game at a table, we are divining the very real and still unfolding history of the Dread Realms.

I think fourth-wall breaks are kinda cliche by now. It has become our default when creating fantasy fan content that relates to the modern era. I've already read a fanfic about a Ravenloft fan being transported into Mordent. I think there's a domain whose darklord is a dungeon master who was convinced by the Dark Powers to kill his party IRL. This sort of thing was fun once, but can we really do something original with it?

I'd rather be a bit more widespread. The majority of the modern world, even on the internet, has never heard of Ravenloft or even DND - and it's full of fascinating villains that can be unwittingly dragged into it.

I'm going to have to agree to disagree with you on this. While there may be stories about this kind of thing out there (enough for it to be it's own genre at this point) I don't know a single person who has run this kind of content for their party, and even prolific writers like Steven King, Chuck Palahniuk, Vladimir Nabokov, and even Emily Bronte made use of breaking the 4th wall. Just because it's been done doesn't make it a cliche. That said, I am a firm believer in the literary theory of Christopher Booker in that there are only truly 7 archetypal plots. Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth.

1) I think my real problem with the 'fangirl isekai' trope is that it's a sister trope to 'it was all a dream' - both in the sense that it undermines the 'secondary belief', the idea of 'I know I live in the real world bound to the rules of reality, but this story is good enough to make me accept that there's another world with other rules, even though I logically know it's imaginary' that fantasy and maybe fiction in general is based on (which is mind-blowing once, but when done over and over again just starts feeling like you don't actually love fantasy and write it just to ruin it), and in the sense that it can be and is done over and over again, with literaly every story, without adding any novelty. I can do this with Percy Jackson, with Narnia, with the Stormlight Archive, and it would be pretty much the same: Shock, fangirl enthusiasm, a conflict that for some reason only the fan can solve - if it's horror, add a 'Oh crap this is only fun when it's imaginary! Mom, pick me up, I'm scared!' monologue - , a lot of fan-service, then one of the typical isekai endings. It's a trope that exists because people have the fantasy of entering the story's world and interacting personally with its characters, and every fan thinks they're the first who came up with the idea. But the thing is, this fantasy is the reason I got into playing DND and into writing fanfiction in the first place. This fantasy is already fulfilled.
Side note: This fantasy is also the reason I'm writing a series about a geeky teenage girl who finds out she's a witch. But that series works because she doesn't escape to another world, she finds the hidden magic that could only exist in her own world.

2) I'm well aware that tropes and archetypes repeat themselves throughout literature. I've read articles about it. I tried to write articles about it. But. The fatalistic attitude of 'everything was already written so nothing is original' produces nothing but lazy writing. What a clever writer does, is to be aware of tropes and play with them. (For example. I know 'The Chosen One' is a common trope - but what if in my story, the main character has a Main Character Syndrome and waits to be told she's the chosen one, only to realise that every person has their own special destiny, and that not only her but also every single one of her friends and several of her enemies have a crucial role to play in the grand scheme of things, so in a way, everyone is a 'chosen one'?) Taking something I saw in a book and thinking 'What happens if I do the opposite' had been one of my best inspiration sources. Of course, you can do something like that with this trope too - I just probably won't know how to, because I don't really play video games, and my design philosophy is that to write about something you need to first understand its being, its essence, and only then think how to use this essence in your story.

3) I'm generally more careful about originality when writing RPG content than prose. In prose, you can take a bad or unoriginal idea and excecute it well enough for the idea to not matter. But in RPG, your job it to write an idea so other people can excecute it in their tables - if your idea doesn't bring something new to the table, why should they use it?

As for Ravenloft being relatively obscure, 5E's Curse of Strahd is the most commercially successful adventure in the edition, basically dominating every "best of" list.

4) Notice you said 'In the edition'. 'The edition' is a niche within the DND community, which is a niche within the RPG community, which is a niche within the geek community, which is a niche within the 'people who care to invest mental effort in something that's purely for fun' community. What I meant to say is that most people don't play DND, most people don't read fantasy or horror, a lot of people don't even have serious hobbies.
And I think the kind of people the Dark Powers will be interested in aren't the type of people that's motivated by hobbies. It's not like we're immune to evil and never do anything wrong, but I think hobbies give you this little world you can make your own and shape however you want, and a person who already has their own world to shape is less desperate to control the real world, thus less interested in control over other people and more inclined to live and let live.
That said, I think there is a place for geeky darklords. I'd love to see a domain built around the concepts of toxic fandom, gatekeeping, the nerd-to-incel pipeline...

That said, I noticed you (perhaps subconsciously) refer to Ravenloft content as fantasy, but I've always viewed it as gothic horror, with fantasy trimmings, which by definition when meshed with the modern worlds converts it to neo-gothic. So swap the ancient curses for technological dependence or modern anxieties, moldering castles with ruined cities, etc.

5) I was using 'fantasy' as an umbrella term. Maybe 'speculative literature' would've been more accurate.

[TheArcaneWeirdo]

Well, if we're doing sigital domains, we need digital monsters to house them.
What about a monster based on the concept of spam?

[DustBunny]

That's an easy one.

A group of ghostly Vikings appear and start singing. Roll a madness check.
A small benefit however, is that while the Vikings are singing, the PC's affected are immune to powers checks.
The DP's are wise enough to know not to engage with spam.

[Manofevil]

And after you roll the madness check, regardless of the result, the PCs see this: