Forlorn a Ravenloft Domain of Dread | D&D Lore

The second Domain of Dread ever to come into existence, and also the smallest domain of dread. Forlorn has a long history that repeats itself within this realm.
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Video Specific References
Castles Forlorn (2e) - www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
Van Richten’s Guide to Ghosts (2e) - www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
Ravenloft Wiki - nwnravenloft.fandom.com/wiki/...
Ravenloft Campaign Setting (2e) - www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
Domains of Dread (2e) - www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
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I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/grapes/... Ft: J Lang, Morusque
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#Jorphdan #DnD #DnD5e #DungeonsAndDragons

[@Gunstling]

So let me get this straight, Strahd's neighbor is a semi-undead vampire noble who has family issues?

[@HerrLokiZockt]

Basically yes. He and Strahd would either be good buddies or, more likely, Strahd would be infinitely pissed off that someone "copied" his style.

[@Gunstling]

@@HerrLokiZockt 110% the latter. Strahd's ego wouldn't allow for anyone to imitate him without his permission haha Would be an interest adventure though

[@TheBayzent]

@@Gunstling Dunno, Stradh is kind of OK with other vampires, so long as he feels he can learn from them, as per *Vampire of the Mists*

[@MortalKombat033]

I think they wouldn't get along. Tristen would envy strahds freedom and autonomy. Read knight of the black rose to see how he interacts with duke Gundar of Gundarak. Cordial at first but manipulative as ever.

[@mikegould6590]

Clearly, the most confusing of the dread lords. Changing timelines and forms would completely throw a party off balance

[@jamesvaughan8355]

This is my favorite Dark Domain.

[@HouroftheRaven]

Another great video Jorphdan! Loving your take on Ravenloft. Forlorn is an awesome domain, with a rich and tragic backstory and one of the most unique dungeons in all D&D. It takes a lot of prep from the DM, but Castle Tristenoira and the time jumping aspect is an experience the players will never forget.

[@javierpatag3609]

The holy water part at 5:56- instantly reminded me of the episode "The Pit" from Adventure Time, where Jake's dad, Joshua, has captured a demon. The demon has the ability to suck people's blood out from people even a distance, but he has to reverse the process because Joshua's blood is so awful to him. Why? Joshua: "'Coz I've been drinking holy water all day, sucker. So excuse me, I gotta go pee." Gets even funnier. While Joshua's out, the demon sucks out blood from himself to form a powerful sword with which to smash his bonds. But Joshua comes back right in time, and splashes the demon's face with holy water. In pain, the demon drops his new Demon Blood Sword, which Joshua picks up. "Ooh. Demon Blood Sword." Sadly, I can't find the clip on KZbin anymore. But it's hilarious.

[@trobe23z]

I owned this as a young teenager when I was first starting DnD and it was very hard to grasp everything given the multiple timelines and other mechanics but I have to say it is one of the creepiest settings and I was just fascinated by the lore. Good stuff!

[@firetarrasque4667]

Goddamn Druids trying to keep the balance instead of murdering all the scions of civilization.

[@firetarrasque4667]

Vampire Child can't become evil if you never teach him morality. Or language. Or anything besides survival.

[@skullsquad900]

@@firetarrasque4667 Evil is in the Eye of the Beholder. A Lion feeding on a Child is Survival to it, Evil to the mother.

[@cameronpearce5943]

This kinda makes me think of how Thibbledorf Pwent would have made a great dark lord had he not fought his affliction and eventually became cured by the drow high magic of the webs of unbinding. I can imagine an underdark domain of dread where he constantly seeks to slake his thirst on non-drawves, mourning that he succumb to his bloodlust and turned his once dear companions in to thralls, breaking his undead heart when in undeath they were little more than husks and offered no companionship

[@jbtbwellant]

I loved DMing this adventure. It was one of my favorite 2nd ed adventures.

[@ajmeyers5661]

Tristan and Isolde...why didn't I see that coming?

[@biblebot3947]

Why would you?

[@ajmeyers5661]

@@biblebot3947 - Tristan isn't exactly a common fantasy name, and knowing how much borrowing goes on in the Ravenloft setting I should have been on the lookout for the name "Isolde" to pop up as well.

[@InquisitorLlama]

Just got caught up on the Ravenloft videos, great job. Fun coincidence, check out the the Black Dice Society, B. Dave Walters, is running a Ravenloft campaign, with Mark Meer (the voice actor for Commander Shepherd) and a bunch more of the popular roleplayers, and exceptional talent.

[@loupnuit1]

Vampire Hunter D was a great anime. Almost forgot about it.

[@skullsquad900]

Still need to watch that

[@markmedinabattletrix781]

IIRC both films are on KZbin. Always a good watch.

[@KnicKnac]

Absolutely loving these Ravenloft videos. Giving me inspiration to create my own using the ideas in the up and coming book.

[@Jorphdan]

Great to hear!

[@benjrc3611]

Tristen and Isolt? Hmmmm... Wagner? Is that you?

[@misterjoshua5720]

Ravenloft legit lore on April 1st??? Cheers!

[@tanukioh]

The prank is there is no prank

[@jackryan529]

There's nothing funny about Ravenloft

[@Heresyteller]

I think you would enjoy reading the Ravenloft Gazetteers, those are extremely interesting to read as they go more in deep with the domains and it's inhabitants, for example Forlorn by this Gazetteers, there is an actual population of humans, not became goblins, that are inspired by old Scottish Gaelic culture.

[@JamiesonHorton]

This is pretty heavy drama for Dungeons & Dragons, lol. Love it!

[@DarklordofBarovia]

Man am I happy you're making these videos! Well chuffed :D

[@norfemignissius4936]

Our DM made heavy use of Forlorn time anomalies. Our group is searching to break 6 curses from 6 dark powers inflicted on a companion from a previous campaign, while gathering information about how they would escape Ravenloft. After breaking the first curse, and tracking hazardly the previous journey of our ally through Ravenloft, we arrived to forlorn. There, we are greeted by... her. But the past her. The one yet to be cursed 6 times, but only 3. We tried to pry as much information about her journey while fending off Forlorn's dark creatures, and jumping to past copies of other dread domains, such as Kartakass, to see how she received the 3rd curse for exemple. We even met Lord Soth from Sithicus during another time leap, who granted us a tool to prevent us from jumping any more to different time in exchange of our help. Finally stable within Forlorn, though still in the past, we were able to witness the 4th curse, before leaving the domain behind, with the way to break it once we met her again in our present. I know it's quite difficult to keep track, but hey, time leap.

[@TheFattdragon]

Great video love the Ravenloft series.

[@thomassosby9068]

I had the 2e module for this. The castle was unique because it shifted between three timelines. Tristan ApBlanc was an interesting darklord because he has two different forms. It is based on Scotland. Aggie is the equivalent of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. What was neat is that if you did something in the past, such as casting fireball in a room, this could change the future version of the castle. Definitely a bit more work for the DM. But it made for more fun in the adventures set there.

[@Zinfandelthered1979]

An excellent presentation, as always Jorphdan. I recommend you continue with Ravenloft for a bit, considering the 5th edition release is just around the corner. Thanks for everything.

[@ChrisMoneymakerDHRG]

Great Video!

[@ravenlofttravelagent4143]

Forlorn is such a detailed and rich place, I am so happy you are covering it! The darkness of Tristen is just as strong as Strahd's, in my opinion.

[@shigemorif1066]

What an amazing backstory!

[@ppwar]

I really like your videos on Ravenloft domains. I hope you continue making them, in spite of the radical change in direction that WotC is taking with the new book.

[@jamesnought7489]

I'm running a game set in Forlorn tomorrow tysm!

[@Mazzy774i]

Loving the dread

[@Ziegrif]

Is this fucking Vampire Hunter D? Yup, it is. Fits into Ravenloft though.

[@FallenRingbearer]

This is older I'm pretty sure.

[@ral1334]

As I recall, that tree is also what ties Tristan to Forlorn, and if it's cut down everyone in the domain will suddenly die except for Tristan, who can then escape. You'd think he'd have figured that out himself and ordered some of his goblyns to cut it down, but I digress. I once ran a Ravenloft campaign that involved a visit to Forlorn, and my players had little interest in exploring the castle and just wanted to get out. They realized the tree had some significance and decided to cut it down despite my subtle hints that this may be a bad idea. Rather than letting them all die a stupid and anticlimactic death, I allowed one party member to slip through a time portal as a ghost to a few moments prior in order to warn himself and the rest of the party not to cut the tree down. They took the advice and this encounter caused a time flux. They ran for the border, taking heavy damage as the landscape and flora kept suddenly changing as they ran. At the border they found the right time window to jump out and escape the domain. I was pretty bummed out that I wouldn't be able to use the Forlorn supplement as much as I'd wanted to, but my players were happy.

[@CplEthane]

Castle Tristenoira isn't the only castle in the domain of Forlorn. There's Castle Forfarmax that resides on the border of Hazlan that's also haunted. Castle Tristenoira is also really unique when it comes to the Demiplane because whenever it timeshifts to its two previous time periods (A and B, C being the present), it shifts the players outside of the Demiplane, but on a leash so they can't truly escape (unless they defeat Tristen in those periods and then they're stuck in the past.) I can't remember what source it came from, but his daughter _did_ escape and she became a paladin who eventually returns to Ravenloft to kill her father. This could be White Wolf material and if you're ignoring their 3.5 stuff, I don't blame you. Strahd became aware of Forlorn whenever it was added and scryed his way around the domain when it did. He thinks Tristen is an idiot.

[@rpgden4553]

I really like this video format FYI.

[@Jorphdan]

thanks!

[@ryanconrad2786]

Forlorn is not the smallest, it is even arguably not the smallest in the Core. My guess is that the honor of the smallest domain likely goes to the Floating Pocket domain Aggarath (see Castles Spulzeer and The Forgotten Terror for that one (Might each be worth their own videos))

[@barryward2128]

I'm getting a serious castlevania vibe about forlorn

[@nicolaezenoaga9756]

Thanks.

[@amadhollow635]

Good old jorfdan

[@msoulforged]

Ah, more domains of dread. Exxcsselentt

[@JCinLapel]

I hope you do a vid on the domain of Sithius when it is closer to Dragonlance coming out. I think you would like a domain with Vamperic Kinder

[@josephreynolds1220]

holy water elemental.

[@Blextine]

I always felt That this is one of the domains That is in need of an update as it was originally built around the secret identity and Hidden history of ots Dark lord, other then That i really like This domain, it just need some new mysterys.

[@dcyphermanplays8233]

I have a paperback Ravenloftt book I think it's the circus of the Damned or something like that does that ring a bell?

[@HouroftheRaven]

I think it is the Carnival. Amazing sourcebook!

[@KingMobEch0]

Yep, it’s called Circus of Fear. There’s also a sourcebook for Ravenloft called Carnival, which Hour of the Raven mentioned is indeed an amazing sourcebook. The tow carnivals are not related if I recall correctly.

[@HouroftheRaven]

@@KingMobEch0 I think the novel it's named Carnival of Fear. I read somewhere that the Carnival of Fear was the original Carnival later described in the Carnival supplement, before the arrival of Isolde, the leader of the Carnival. I read the novel many years ago, but I don't recall any direct reference in plot or characters to the latter Carnival supplement, however.

[@manowarviriathus889]

@@HouroftheRaven I read all the Ravenloft novels when the were first released and still have all 19 on them. Might have to reread them Again 😀

[@HouroftheRaven]

@@manowarviriathus889 I love the Ravenloft Novels. My favorites are Vampire of the Mists, Dance of the Dead and Scholar of Decay.

[@zacharyrey1216]

Hey loved the video, but I got a question. Why does it feel like the book Van Richten Guide to Ravenloft feels short on the domain of dreads or is it just me?

[@skullsquad900]

Druid sees child they've raised since infancy drinking blood, and thinks "Yup he's a threat, so I'll kill him..." because absolutely no other creature drinks blood to survive! This story goes waaay out if it's way to be grimm af lol

[@MRDLT00]

And then the Druid goes out of their way to spitefully curse the kid they raised. The fuck bro XD

[@amadhollow635]

To be fair, that isn't something humans do But yeah, it should be a morally grey area

[@asahinainu]

He left out the part about Tristan mistaking his godmothers intentions for an attempt to kill him, when she was actually performing a purification ritual where she was going to attempt to remove or suppress his condition.

[@MRDLT00]

@@asahinainu Okay yeah, but then she cursed him to keep staying alive, thereby allowing him to murder so many other people when he would have just died for good right after killing her. XD

[@asahinainu]

@@MRDLT00 Nope. She cursed him to not be able to leave the grove. The immortality was a byproduct of his vampiric blood and the half performed ritual to purify him. She just didn't want him to get out into the world. Note that the murder coming to him in the evening is not him becoming a vampire, but him dying over and over again at sunset.

[@comicstrider4851]

Rivelin sounds like a nicer, cooler and consensual Strahd

[@jaredknapp6855]

Not actually the smallest Domain. That distinction belongs to The House of Lament.

[@Nizati]

I swear this is beat-for-beat some edgelord's backstory.

[@biblebot3947]

What’s the music at the start?

[@argeniosm]

This is such a more compelling and original vampire story than Dracula rip off Strahd.

[@theusfilipe]

The holy blood cure thing might just be in dhapyrs not vamps

[@nickmorgan3199]

Me: blesses water in human body or an entire lake to make Holy Water My God: listen here, you little shit…

[@jeremepeters9716]

This was ok

[@Gillemear]

Scottish gothic horror at its finest

[@live4twilight4ever]

Tristan and Isolde? ... I like the story on its own terms, but why those names? I don't understand the connection.

[@tylerdavis6389]

I don't think Forlorn is the smallest domain as there is a domain that consists only of a single stage and theater. Sorry, don't mean to "Um... actually" it's just an interesting bit I thought of.

[@Jorphdan]

My research said otherwise, but I can always be wrong! What's the name of this domain?

[@tylerdavis6389]

@@Jorphdan Scyiena. I'm mildly sure I'm spelling that correctly

[@asahinainu]

@@Jorphdan Aggarath is probably the smallest domain at the size of a literal gem set in the pommel of a dagger. Forlorn was the second smallest non-Island of Terror or Pocket Domain that was part of the Core pre-Grand Conjunction. It being slightly bigger than the Isle of Demise. Post Conjunction the Necropolis(aka the city of Il-Aluk) and Dominia are smaller Core Domains. Several of the domains set on an Island in either the Sea of Sorrows or the Nocturnal Sea have smaller land masses than Forlorn, so it depends on how far their borders actually extend off of their coastlines. If you count the pocket domains with set locations in the core such as The House of Lament and Castle Island then they are much smaller by orders of magnitude even in just the Core. Basically Forlorn is one of the smallest domains of the category that encompasses the largest types. A small fish in a large pond if you will. However if you count all domains regardless of classification, there are a ton smaller than Forlorn. Forlorn is an entire mountainous highland region with two mountains, a lake, two castles, the ruins of at least two settlements, and plenty of wilderness in between. Compared to some Islands of Terror and Pocket Domains which can sometimes be as small as a single village, or a single building, or even as ridiculously small as Aggarath which is the size and shape of a d12, Forlorn is quite large.

[@asahinainu]

@@tylerdavis6389 Scaena is probably what you are thinking of. Its one of the smallest domains being the size of a small theatre building that appears randomly in major cities, inhabited by a psychotic William Shakespeare expy. Aggarath beats it hands down, though, as its a pocket dimension inside of a gem the size of a D12.

[@tylerdavis6389]

@@asahinainu Yep. Thank you! I could not remember how to spell it, and in fairness I didn't know about the jewel, so thanks.

[@oguzhanozgenc7843]

We need Ravenloft Domains for other types of creatures/lords other than vampires

[@Jorphdan]

like... ghosts?

[@FallenRingbearer]

Oh child....there are so many. Do your own research. There are a plethora of different types of domains. Mummy, lich and werewolf come immediately to mind.

[@asahinainu]

Canonically there aren't that many vampire darklords. In the core Strahd and Duke Gundar were the only two generic vampire lords and they killed off Gundar for not being unique enough. Aside from that Tristan apBlanc, Urik von Kharkov, and Dr Daclaud Heinfroth are the only ones vampire related in the core. Tristan is basically a Dhamphir rather than a vampire and is a ghost half of the time, Kharkov being a vampire is the least odd thing about him as he is actually an animal, and Heinfroth just had some unusual after effects from a medical experiment where he unknowingly used a partially turned vampire as a donor in a self operation and now needs to feed on cerebral fluids. Outside of the Core we have Vladislav Mircea who being a Vyrkolaka is more like the tales of the greek protovampires, although he retains his mental faculties while being a horrific abomination. Also Baroness Ilsabet Obour who isn't a vampire herself but through a curse has to feed off of emotions like terror and pain, and has a vampire subordinate that she uses to evoke those feelings in victims, but she also only appears in a novel. Outside of that I can't think of any vampire darklords and there are probably in the hundreds.

[@MalcolmAuger]

Forlorn is not the smallest domain.

[@MRDLT00]

Man the druids were no better than that mob of blood thirsty peasants. Everyone is shit in this story. XD

[@ProffessorYellow]

what's with all these semi-protagonist idiots cursing antagonists with bullshiz like "I hope you always murder and never find peace". Thanks for wishing your fate on everyone else i guess, some hero. Hate druid logic. now we have a cursed murder monster, seems counter-intuitive no?

[@MrIrrationalSmith]

This April Fools joke is SUPER dry.

[@FallenRingbearer]

You could say...drained.