D&D Beyond Shows Off Cthulhu And More In Ravenloft ‘Darklord Preview’
A new preview of Ravenloft: The Horrors Within shows off the Darklords who rule the roosts, including Cthulhu, Strahd, and more.
It almost sounds like the setup to a joke: Cthulhu and Strahd von Zarovich walk into a bar… and yet that’s kinda what you get in the latest preview of Ravenloft: The Horrors Within on D&D Beyond. There, the WotC team teases a glimpse of the mechanics, lore, and the dread domains of five of the seventeen infamous Darklords of Ravenloft contained within its pages.
If you’re unfamiliar, every pocket dimension in Ravenloft is a mist-bounded prison plane, where especially evil beings are given dominion and damnation in one fell swoop. The mysterious and sinister Dark Powers of Ravenloft often seek out those they deem “unworthy” enough to imprison in the Demiplanes of Dread. There, these individuals become “Darklords” – powerful evil creatures whose personalities influence the very plane they are imprisoned within.
You might be wondering, how is it torment for anyone but the hapless mortals trapped in the mists with the Darklords? Well, the Darklords don’t know they’re imprisoned. They don’t know that they can’t leave their realm. The Mists of Ravenloft and the Dark Powers thereof ensure that the vanity/pride/singular drive of the Darklords keeps them obsessed with their own tiny little realm, playing out a familiar scenario again and again as they torment themselves.
In a new preview, we get a look at just how terrifying some of these Darklords are. So read on to learn more about what Cthulhu (and a few other fiends) will look like in the upcoming book.
Cthulhu – Darklord of Innsmouth
First up is Cthulhu himself, who arrives in D&D in Ravenloft, of all places, after once being featured in the original print run of Deities & Demigods. After being removed over potential legal concerns (by TSR’s legal department, not the design team), Cthulhu has at last returned to D&D. So has the sleepy town of Innsmouth.
No word on if this means that the rest of Massachusetts is also trapped somehow within the Mists of Ravenloft. Probably not. But Cthulhu’s dread domain is in fact, Innsmouth, “an inhospitable expanse of alien mountains, drowned ruins, and what remains of the cult-infested community that lends the domain its name.”
And true to form, Cthulhu is doing the kinds of things that ‘that which not dead but eternal can lie’ does best, and dreaming strange dreams of escape that may well seep beyond its prison, manipulating weak minds to help it escape.
While in Ravenloft, Cthulhu can only wield a fraction of its power (which is good, because otherwise it’d be weird to give Cthulhu stats which would make it fodder for any adventurers of high enough level). But that means spells like Dream, Geas, and Befuddlement, as well as “reality-warping” attacks, like a grapple attack and tentacles that can drain hit points while dealing acid and psychic damage. All stuff you’d expect from the D&D version of a “great old one”.
Viktra Mordenheim – Darklord of Lamordia
Cosmic horror is just one of the many genres of Ravenloft. There’s also good ol’ mad science, which Viktra Mordenheim has covered. The Darklord of Lamordia, Mordenheim embodies the kind of horror you’d find in things like The Reanimator or Repo: A Genetic Opera. Chemicals and the toxic byproducts of industry make for a bleak domain.
And Mordenheim herself has a bunch of signature abilities to help her experiment on hapless subjects that happen to wander into her clutches. Including a syringe that can inject targets with various debuffs, including disrupting Concentration on spells – a new bit of design tech that we don’t really see in other monsters. I like the idea of a monster that disrupts Concentration, it raises the stakes in combat.
She can also animate objects and enhance constructs with her abilities. And as you might imagine, has no shortage of abilities that deal lightning damage. Lightning damage on a mad scientist feels almost like a requirement.
Ankhtepot – Darklord of Har’Akir
Ankhtepot is the Darklord of Har’Akir. He’s basically the villain from The Mummy (1999): a high priest who betrayed his pharaoh only to be cursed by the gods with undeath and terrifying powers. You know, exactly the thing you wanna curse people with ambition with.
What kind of powers? Well, for starters, the ability to instantly kill any creature with 80 hit points or under with a massive Necrotic blast. As well as the ability to rapidly age nearby creatures or teleport around dealing Force Damage, and of course, magic spells, including Dispel Magic, Sunburst, and Power Word Stun.
Ebonbane – Darklord of the Shadowlands
Ebonbane is a deeper cut (emphasis on the cut) from Ravenloft’s storied history. It is a magic sword that has its own, malevolent intelligence. In the current lore, it seems that Ebonbane is a magic blade that was wielded by a hero to cut down all sorts of evil so strong that fragments of it lingered around the blade after it was shattered. Reforged in darkness, Ebonbane now is the collective malice of those it has slain, and it seeks to corrupt whoever wields it into utter wickedness.
It’s basically the textbook example of a D&D sentient weapon that turns you evil if you’re not careful. And this is reflected in some of its abilties. This includes a temptation that, if not resisted will instantly, attune the weapon to a character. It can also counter attacks, blind its foes, and can even animate corpses to use as a temporary vessel. Otherwise, it is more reliant on its guile and corrupting influence than its direct combat powers.
Strahd von Zarovich – Darklord of Barovia
And it wouldn’t be Ravenloft if we didn’t get a look at a new and improved Strahd. If you don’t know Strahd, have we got an article for you. But like many of these foes, a lot of the Darklord’s power comes in the form of spells – ironic considering that for a time spells were being removed from monsters to try to streamline things.
For instance, Strahd in Horrors Within can cast Fireball, Animate Dead, Greater Invisibility, Polymorph, and Scrying. He also has a vampiric bite and can charm creatures into being bitten. I’ll be curious to see how he holds up compared to the earlier editions of Strahd. But we’ll have to wait until Ravenloft: The Horrors Within comes out in June to compare them.
In the meantime, brush up on your favorite Darklord lore!
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