Ravenloft Setting Rules (WWN) v02

Terror in Ravenloft (Alternate) Terror Check:

Whenever you gain Mental Strain above half
Mental Strain Rating: your maximum (round down) you roll on the
Your mental strain maximum is 9 plus the Terror Chart
highest of your Intellgence, Wisdom or Charisma
score modifier plus your level. As you increase Roll 2d6 + Current Mental Strain and
in level you become more jaded and able to compare to the chart below.
endure where others would falter.
Terror Chart
Gaining Mental Strain: Total Result
You gain a point of Mental Strain when you are 12 or No Effect
faced with fear from things like: less
• The party is badly outnumbered or
clearly far weaker than the foes you face. 13 – 14 Frightened: Suffer a -2 penalty to all
• The strongest member of the party has attacks and a -1 to all skill checks for
been killed or half the party is dead. the Scene
• A creature two times your size is moving 15 – 16 Panic: You attempt to flee the area by
to attack. the nearest open route available. At
• The creature uses a fear inducing spell or the end of each round you may make a
has a supernatural fear aura. Mental Save to break out of the blind
• You are helpless and threatened by terror. This ends at the end of Scene
immedate death. (Trapped in a burning regardless of saves.
building and do not know how to get out 17 - 20 Roll 1d4 on the Minor Disorder
for example.) Table or GM chooses an appropriate
result for the event.
You gain 1 to 4 points (2 is normal) of mental
strain when faced with a horrifying scene or 21+ Roll 1d4 on the Moderate Disorder
dreadful realization. Some examples: Table or GM chooses an appropriate
result for the event.
• Coming into a house where the residents
have been gutted and strung up like
marrionettes. Roll Minor Disorder
• Finding out the local meat pies are made 1 Aversion: The character suffers the
from some of the locals. Frightened effect while in the same
• Discovering that the items you have been general location that cause the Terror
recovering for a friendly old scholar are Check or any identical locations.
in fact part of a ritual that will bring him
immortality. This is accomplished by Duration: 1 Week
ripping out the souls of every person in
the village so he can devour them. 2 Suffer the Panic Effect
3 Frozen in Shock: For 3 rounds you
Note: the DM can increase or decrease the strain stare in horror. You are during this time
for fear or horror as they feel appropriate. For effectively helpless, losing your
example you may not gain any strain for seeing a Dexterity and shield modifiers to AC
werewolf enter the carefully laid trap the party but any worn armor or supernatural
has set for the beast. It is another story entirely talents still apply.
if it instead appears directly behind you, which 4 Nausea: The sight or though of what
may demand more than just a point for fear. has occured has caused them to become

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physically ill. The individual cannot are so worked up that they gain 1
Attack, Cast Spells, concentrate on System Strain each week until they
spells or do anything that requires recover from the obsession at which
attention. They can take their normal point they can reduce system strain
movement each round and perform On normally.
Turn or Instant Actions that do not fall
into the above catagories. Gain one Duration: 2 weeks
System Strain. This lasts for 1d4+1 3 Enraged: The sight or event fills the
rounds individial with mindless rage directed
toward the source of the failed check.
Roll Moderate Disorder They drop anything that is not a weapon
1 Nightmares: Immidiately suffer the and proceed to try to obliterate the
Frightened effect for the Scene. Every source of their hatred. They are not in
time the character goes to sleep they control and so cannot retreat from
suffer horrible nightmares about the battle. They will go around or through
events that caused the check. They any obstacle to reach the target having
wake screaming after short and fitful no concept of danger, friend or foe
spans of sleep. They cannot heal while berserk.
naturally, or regain spell slots while the
nightmares persist. Each day without During this rage they have 2 extra HP
sleep grants a cumulative -1 penalty to per level and gain a +1 bonus to hit.
all rolls to a max of -4, which is reset The rage adds 1 system strain per
after a night of good rest. round, after 3 rounds they can make a
Mental Save at the end of each round to
The Wind of the Final Repose spell can snap out of it at which point they lose
grant dreamless sleep even to those who the extra HP and attack bonus.
normally can't be affected if they are
willing. There are no additional lingering effects
when this ends.
Creatures that do not need to sleep are 4 Revulsion: Similar to Aversion but the
immune to this effect. character becomes Frightened if
exposed to anything that merely
Duration: 2 weeks reminds them of the event or item that
2 Obsession: The individual cannot get caused the failed check.
the scene or event out of their head,
replaying it over and over, mumbling Duration: 2 weeks
about it without realizing.
Reaching maximum Mental Strain
While obsessed they have little attention When your total Mental Strain is equal to your
for anything else and rarely sleep. Each corresponding stat roll 2d6, if you get double 6s
day that passes grants a cumulative -1 you suffer a Catastrophic Terror and roll 1d4 on
penalty to all Notice and Initative rolls the table below. If you roll anything else you
to a max of -4, which is reset after a simply pass out with it all having been too much.
night of good rest. Assuming you live to wake up, you will revive
1d4 hours later and have reduced your Mental
They ignore their health and cannot heal Strain by 1d6 points.
naturally or regain System Strain. They

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Roll Catastrophic Terror A good night of rest brings your total to zero.
1 Broken: The events cause the character
to lose sight of any good in the world.
Curing Disorders
Some disorders have a duration listed of 1 week,
They suffer the Obsession effect and
2 weeks or 30 days. This span of time has to
suffer 1d6 Charisma Damage as they
pass before a Mental Save can be made to break
become withdrawn and cold. Once
free of the hold it has on the victim's mind.
cured of this the Charisma points return
at a rate of 1 per day.
Treatment by a professional using Convince or
Heal during the duration can grant a bonus to the
Duration: 30 days
save equal to the Skill of that professional.
2 - 3 Mental Shutdown: The character's mind
locks up, unable to deal with the Skill DC by Disorder Type:
situations around them. They take no • Minor: DC 8
actions and are considered helpless. • Moderate: DC 10
They will walk if dragged but cannot • Catastrophic: DC 12
run.

This persists for 3 rounds, at the end of Magic in the Domains of Dread
which they can make a Mental Save to
snap out of it and reduce their Mental Some magic and arts when used in Ravenloft
Strain by 1. If failed they can try again risk drawing the attention of the Dark Powers.
every 3 rounds until they succeed. If While most of the time the intention behind the
the subject that was the cause of the use of the magic is what might interest them
failed check is removed from sight they there are some that inherently carry the stain of
gain a cumualtive +1 bonus to save evil.
each time until they pass.
There are also some magics that work differently
4 Heart Failure: The strain is just too than normal when in the demiplane.
much, the victim suffers 3d6 System
Strain, if this would their total above
Sinkholes of Evil
their maximum they perish of a heart
Some places in Ravenloft are so steeped in evil
attack.
they suffer a psychic stain that fills mortals with
dread and bolsters the power of undead.
Reducing Mental Strain Sinkholes are ranked from 1 to 3 and the rank is
Getting away from terrifying situations is the applied as a bonus to undead to save against
best way to bring down the total. Every hour in being commanded or turned. This number is
a safe location reduces your total by 1d6. also added to any 2d6 Terror Checks made to
determine if the character suffers any ill effects.
Once per hour, if you can find a calm few
minutes, talking things through with a friend or Commanding/Turning Undead
praying with another who you share beliefs with The undead are bolstered by the land and recieve
can help restore calm. This is a Convince, Lead, a +1 bonus to save against being
or Pray check vs DC 8 if below half of your commanded/controlled/turned. They are granted
maximum Mental Strain or DC 10 if above half. a Mental Save against any such effect when it is
Success reduces your strain total by the Skill cast even if the ability would not normally allow
Rank and Ability Modifier of the character that it.
passed the check.

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 Ravenloft Setting Rules (WWN) v02

Necromancy Domains of Dread

The dark arts are stronger in Ravenloft than in
other realms. Any necromantic curses, damage Ravenloft Player's Handbook
dealing spells that are not restricted to destroying
undead, or spells that animate or create undead Arts:
treat the caster as if they are one level higher Some Arts may require a Dark Powers check for
than normal for any mechanical effects. any use of the ability and are marked in red.
Others may have to make one under certain
Of Bringing back the Dead: noted circumstances. Some Arts may have
This is a risky thing to attempt in Ravenloft and additional or altered functions which are noted
not nearly so reliable as in other realms. here.

When an Art or Spell is used to return one of the Block Memory (Thought Noble)
dead to life the target must pass a Physical Save. This ability can be used to cure any level of
The target receives a bonus to the save equal to Terror Disorder by removing the memory of the
the caster's associated Effort Skill (Heal, Magic, triggering event.
Pray, etc.) Failure means the resurection has
been corrupted by the land and the victim revives Consume Life Energy (Necromancer)
as a undead monster of equivalent HD. Stealing the life force of another is a vile act that
requires a Dark Powers check equal to the
number of HP healed in this way.
Mental Contact/Mind
Reading/Telepathy Far Speech (Thought Noble)
Making a direct mental connection to an alien, See Mental Contact/Mind Reading/Telepathy
insane or hideously evil mind has the potential to
shatter the character's mind. Immediately gain Impress Imperative (Thought Noble)
1d8 Mental Strain and make a Terror Check even See Mind Control, Body/Physical Control.
if your total Mental Strain is below half.
Life Bridge (Necromancer)
Mind Control, Body/Physical Control Stealing life from an unwilling victim to give to
The caster of the spell or user of said control another or yourself is an act worthy of a Dark
ability suffers the Dark Powers checks for any Powers check equal to the HP taken to a
evil acts they force their victim to perform. maximum of 10%

Other forms of Altered Magic Red Harvest (Necromancer)

Some other forms of magic are altered but are Drawing upon departing life energies to heal
more prevalent in D&D than WWN. They yourself requires a Dark Powers check equal to
would most likelty apply when blending in the HP healed to a maximum of 10%
aspects of other OSR games. Items like
Conjuration/Summoning, Dimensional Travel, Surface Apprehension (Thought Noble)
Spells of Divination, Illusion (Shadow Magic), See Mental Contact/Mind Reading/Telepathy
Weather Control. This document is not meant to
be a replacement for the setting material. I Altered Spell Effects and Dark
would recomend checking out either of the
below books for more information. Both are Powers Checks:
available for purchase at As a general rule any spell that casting it is
http://www.dmsguild.com/ inherent cause for a Dark Powers check uses 2 x
Level of the spell for the percentage, so a 3rd

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level spell would have a 6% Dark Powers Check.

Spells in red require a Dark Powers check for Level 5 Spells
casting but some may only require the check Call of the Tomb
under listed conditions. Open the High Road – This spell will not allow
for crossing domain borders.
Level 1 Spells
Command the Dead Altered Psionic Abilties (SWN)
Flame Scrying - This spell's effect cannot cross
domain borders. and Dark Powers Checks:
Powers or Techniques in red require a Dark
Level 2 Spells Powers check for using but some others may
Casting Forth the Inner Eye – This spell's effect only require the check under listed conditions
cannot cross domain borders. The percentage of the check is equal to 2%
Extirpate Arcana – This is not capable of multiplied by the level of the power. Techniques
removing a Curse of Vengeance nor can a simple are considered to be level 1, however if used
casting remove lycanthropy. with other enhancing powers, the check is based
Final Death off the highest level power of the ones
Raise Corpse – Any undead created with this combined.
spell automatically receive a Mental Save to
become free willed at creation. They receive a Core Technique:
penalty on this save equal to half the caster's Personal Apportation – This ability cannot be
level rounded up. used to cross Domain borders.

Level 3 Spells. Level 1 Psychic Powers

Conjunct the Vital Viscera – If used on an None
unwilling subject.
Festering Curse Level 2 Psychic Powers
Merge Souls – If used on an unwilling subject. Suppress Cognition – A willing subject can fail
The Torment of Tumefaction the save voluntarily allowing the telepath to
block out any level of Terror Disorder for a short
Level 4 Spells time. This will allow a victim to fall asleep
Boneshaper – If used to torment or mutilate a peacefully and receive a good night's rest.
victim.
Calcifying Scourge Level 3 Psychic Powers
Evert the Inwardness – Using this to rip out a Teratic Overload
foe's organs adds 1d4 Mental Strain to all
witnesses other than the caster. The mage must Level 4 Psychic Powers
make a Dark Powers Check Memory Editing – This ability can be used to
Obnubilation of the Will cure any level of Terror Disorder by removing
Ochre Sigil of Juxtaposition – This spell will not the memory of the triggering event.
allow for crossing domain borders.
Pierce the Pallid Gate – This spell will not allow
for crossing domain borders.
Raise Grave Knight – Any undead created with
this spell automatically receive a Mental Save to
become free willed at creation. They receive a
penalty on this save equal to half the caster's
level rounded up.

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Alternative ways of handling Fear, Roll 2d6 + Current Mental Strain and
compare to the chart below.
Horror and Madness:
Total Result
Terror Rules Alternate Version
3-7 No Effect
Mental Strain Rating: 8 – 12 Frightened: Suffer a -2 penalty to all
Your mental strain maximum is taken from the attacks and a -1 to all skill checks for
highest of your Intellgence, Wisdom or Charisma the Scene
score.
13 – 15 Panic: You attempt to flee the area by
Gaining Mental Strain: the nearest open route available. At
You gain a point of Mental Strain when you are the end of each round you may make a
faced with fear from things like: Mental Save to break out of the blind
terror. This ends at the end of Scene
• The party is badly outnumbered or
regardless of saves.
clearly far weaker than the foes you face.
• The strongest member of the party has 16 - 19 Roll 1d4 on the Minor Disorder
been killed or half the party is dead. Table or GM chooses an appropriate
• A creature two times your size is moving result for the event.
to attack. 20+ Roll 1d4 on the Moderate Disorder
• The creature uses a fear inducing spell or Table or GM chooses an appropriate
has a supernatural fear aura. result for the event.
• You are helpless and threatened by
immedate death. (Trapped in a burning All other information remains the same as the
building and do not know how to get out previously given in this document.
for example.)
Domains of Dread (AD&D 2e)
You gain 1d4 points of mental strain when faced This is just a minimal set of adjustments to use
with a horrifying scene or dreadful realization. the rules and charts straight out of the referenced
Some examples: book.
• Coming into a house where the residents
have been gutted and strung up like In this version all Fear, Horror and Madness
marrionettes. saves are Mental Saves with circumstantial
• Finding out the local meat pies are made modifiers to the roll.
from some of the locals.
• Discovering that the items you have been I have listed mechanical updates for entries on
recovering for a friendly old scholar are the assorted results
in fact part of a ritual that will bring him
immortality. This is accomplished by Table 4: Fear Check Modifiers (pg. 142)
ripping out the souls of every person in The modifiers here should be used as a +/- to the
the village so he can devour them. d20 roll for the save.

Terror Check: Failed Fear Result Modifications:

Whenever you gain Mental Strain you roll 1d20,
if the roll is equal or less than your current score, Fumble
you potentially suffer some sort of breakdown. Currently held items are dropped, for any
The GM can overule any result that does not breakable item like a potion roll a Luck Save, on
make sense for the triggering event. failure the item shatters.

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Depression
Stagger Penalty for skill checks is -2
Make an Evasion Save to hold onto the items in
hand. Any fragile items dropped make a Luck Amnesia
Save, on failure the item breaks. Take a -1 penalty to all skill rolls that are rank 0
or higher. -1 penalty to Attack Rolls and Saves.
Hide
If the character cannot find somewhere to hide System Shock
they make a Mental Save, on failure they faint See above.
(per later described Fear result). On a success
they Flee the area (per later described Fear
result.)

Faint
Character drops all held items. Any fragile items
dropped make a Luck Save, on failure the item
breaks.

System Shock
The victim suffers 3d6 System Strain, if this
would their total above their maximum they
perish of a heart attack.

Table 6: Horror Check Modifiers (pg. 146)

The modifiers here should be used as a +/- to the
d20 roll for the save.

Failed Horror Result Modifications:

Nightmares
Cumulative penatlies maximum is -4 for attacks,
and saving throws and -2 maximum for Skill
checks.

While restful sleep is not possible effort spent for

the day and spell slots cannot be recovered.

Rage
Any fragile items dropped make a Luck Save, on
failure the item breaks.

System Shock
See above.

Table 8: Madness Check Modifiers (pg. 150)

The modifiers here should be used as a +/- to the
d20 roll for the save.

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