Demiplane of Dread

The Demiplane of Dread is a unique Demiplane - or, perhaps more accurately, a series of interlinked demiplanes - within the Great Wheel cosmology of Dungeons & Dragons. This is the actual "world" in which the campaign setting of Ravenloft is based, and so the name is often used when trying to describe the "Ravenloft world".

The precise origins of the Demiplane of Dread are lost to history. Its creators are enigmatic beings known only as "The Dark Powers", who maintain and defend their creation with mighty magic and jealous zeal. It's believed they have some kind of mutual non-aggression pact with the various gods of the Great Wheel, but nothing canon is ever defined. It is believed to lie where the Ethereal Plane meets the Plane of Shadow, but is able to manifest portals absolutely everywhere, even in places normally restricted to planar portals, such as Athas or the Phlogiston. Such portals usually appear as banks of fog or mist, but will adapt themselves to other sight-obscuring phenomena - and are usually one-way. Getting in is easy, but getting out? Canonically you won't be able to leave unless the Dark Powers will it, short of using artifact-level items like the dreaded Rift Spanner which just so happens to be the kind of item that could turn you into a Darklord just from getting it to work properly.

Aaand then came 3.5 which opened a doorway into the World Serpent Inn, breaking the whole point of this prison plane. Here it's a failsafe for DMs when their parties reach their 16th birthday and are sick of Goth. Its doorway on the Demiplane's side of things changes every night.

Planar Traits

The Demiplane of Dread's creators have molded the reality of this world into a new fashion, forcibly imposing the rules of Gothic Horror on the setting. There are many ways that this molding manifests, but some of the more overt include the following:

• Necromancy spells are empowered and rendered more dangerous; spells like Animate Dead will call up more creatures than the caster may be able to control, whilst spells that instantly kill their victims usually cause such victims to arise spontaneously as the undead - and often as ones quite pissed off at their killer. Certain non-necromancy, non-instant-kill spells even have a chance of doing this, such as Disintegrate turning a completely disintegrated victim into an incorporeal undead! Using any necromancy spell provokes a powers check unless it's purely defensive, doesn't affect undead, and doesn't manipulate life force; that list of "safe" spells is quite narrow.
• Divination spells are pretty much worthless; spells that detect moral alignment invariably fail, spells aimed at detecting monstrous species either are unreliable (Detect Undead) or flatly won't work (using True Seeing to look for natural shapechangers), spells that revolve around mental contact risk driving you mad if you accidentally use them on certain inhuman creatures, and in general you can't trust the result of divination spells because the normal awareness of when such a spell has failed doesn't occur in the Demiplane of Dead. Oh, and Scrying type spells create a visible sensory apparatus that can alert your target that you're scrying on them, which can even serve as a conduit for things like gaze attacks. There's a practical reason for this; horrific things aren't quite as scary if you know their true nature too early, and so this element was put in to keep from having the DM tip their hands too soon and ruin the scare.
• Conjuration allows entities from other planes to be summoned, but they won't be able to return home when the spell expires. Obviously, quite a few of them will be very upset with their summoner because of this. Even before they figure this out, the binding aspects of conjuration spells are weaker in the Demiplane of Dread, giving summoned creatures a chance to escape its bonds the moment it arrives.
• Abjuration spells that banish creatures to another plane do not work. Rather, they appear to work but just toss the target somewhere else within the demiplane.
• Illusion spells that manipulate shadows are 20% more powerful, but the caster risks losing control of it when the spell ends, releasing a free-willed shadow.
• Spells that directly interfere with the fabric of a Domain, such as manipulating weather, can often attract the attention of the resident Darklord, and who might be able to subvert or negate these same spells if they have related powers.
• Teleportation spells are restricted; each domain is treated like its own separate plane of existence. High-level teleportation spells can overcome this if the border is not closed. Nothing can teleport out of a closed domain or the Demiplane entirely.
• Curses are empowered, and even non-spellcasters can potentially lay deadly or deforming curses on people if their rage or grief is intense enough to catch the notice of the Dark Powers.
• The Dark Powers are watching everybody and seem to enjoy turning people into monsters that reflect their own evil deeds. When a creature performs some evil act, which range from casting necromantic spells to premeditated murder, the Dark Powers might notice and start the process. The changes are subtle or even helpful at first, allowing the victim to more easily perform his evil acts, which lures the victim into more evil, gaining more attention and transformation, until he is completely transformed into a monster or even a darklord of his own domain.
• Intelligent undead, like vampires, can tell if their minds are being read and can choose which thoughts they will project. Depending on the circumstances, this may be a false image passing them off as human or an up-close look at the most evil parts of their minds meant to drive the would-be mind reader insane.

Mapping the Demiplane

Geo-physically, the Demiplane of Dread consists of various bubbles of reality, ranging in size from a single room to full-fledged countries, all floating in a sea of ephemeral mist; each of these reality bubbles (called "Domains") is typically centered around a Darklord, a villain whose evil caught the eyes of the Dark Powers and so they responded by imprisoning them within the Demiplane. 3rd edition's unpublished splatbook "Van Richten's Guide to the Mists" introduced the concept of Oubliettes, which are basically prototype or abandoned Domains that don't contain a Darklord. A Domain may exist on its own (an "Island of Terror") or be physically coterminous with one or more more other domains, forming what is called a "Cluster". The largest and oldest Cluster in the Demiplane is called "The Core", and this is basically Ground Zero for the setting. Normally, one can simply walk between Domains, but most Darklords have a power called "Closing the Borders," which causes the borders of their Domain to become enveloped in a barrier of some sort unique to that Darklord that prevents escape in some fashion - some are non-lethal, most will kill you if you try. A rare few can be circumvented by the right esoteric circumstances (for example, undead or constructs can safely walk through poisonous borders like that of Barovia, because they're fundamentally immune to poison), but in general this is the ultimate Railroading tool the DM has to keep you from just saying "fuck this" and leaving the domain.

Precisely why the Dark Powers collect these Darklords is unknown, and theories abound; the Demiplane of Dread has been described as a prison, a gathering place for evil, a grand study into the nature of evil, a unique kind of Hell, or even a Purgatory by various fans.

Another great mystery is the nature of its native population. Some Domains were physically taken from their homeworlds, but most are described as "copies" rather than direct abductions of land. This then leaves players wondering: are the locals actually "real", or are they merely soulless simulacra - props in the grand theater of Gothic Horror tales that the Dark Powers are conducting? Nothing concrete has ever been given. This isn't entirely consistent however, with other originals becoming ruins (Like Kalidnay) or vanishing entirely (like Har’Akir).

The Core

As mentioned above, this is the "core" of Ravenloft, the sole normal-style continent where the bulk of the game focuses on. Think of it as something akin to the Sword Coast of the Forgotten Realms, or Ansalon in Dragonlance. The Core is made up of the following Domains.

Barovia

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills & Mountains

Motif: Blatant Dracula Knockoff

Darklord: Strahd von Zarovich

This is the oldest domain in Ravenloft, the literal heart of the Demiplane of Dread. It's ruled by Strahd, and is basically Dracula in D&D.

Borca

Cultural Level: Chivalric

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills & Mountains

Motif: Poisoners, Italy under the Borgia Family

Darklord: Ivana Boritsi

Originally, Borca was ruled by the Darklord Camille Boritsi, and was half its present size, sharing borders with the near-identical domain of Dorvini. Ivana poisoned her mother because her mom seduced her boyfriend, and during the Grand Conjunction, her domain and that of her cousin Ivan Dilisnya merged together due to their great similarities.

Darkon

Cultural Level: Dark Age to Chivalric

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills, Plains, Mountains & Swamps

Motif: Generic Dark Fantasy

Darklord: Azalin

Darkon is notable as the most overtly fantastical realm in the Demiplane of Dread, with a relatively huge population of demihumans that sees humans going from the usual 90+% population merit to only 75% as well as the greatest amount of local toleration for arcane magic.

Dementlieu

Cultural Level: Renaissance

Landscape: Temperate Forests & Plains

Motif: Renaissance France/Victorian England

Darklord: Dominic D'Honaire

Though not as overtly modeled on London as the domain of Paridon, Dementlieu definitely taps into the Gothic Urban Horror motif, as is made clear by the way it is home to myriad mystical mind-manipulators and the character Alanik Ray, who is basically Sherlock Holmes if he was an elf. It's considered the "cultural heart" of the Core.

Falkovnia

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests & Plains

Motif: Military Horror, Fascism, Urban Squalor

Darklord: Vlad Drakov

Slap together Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, paint it up in the most shit-awful and miserable stereotypes of Dark Ages Europe, and have the place be run by a man who melds Hitler with Vlad the Impaler and is so bloodthirsty they'd both be disgusted by him. Falkovnia is outright called the biggest shithole in the Demiplane of Dread.

Forlorn

Cultural Level: Iron Age

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills & Plains

Motif: Dreary Scotland with a dash of Brak Man Morn

Darklord: Tristen ApBlanc

A vaguely Scottish Celtic themed domain that nobody gives a shit about because there's nothing in it but killer plants, giant bugs, and goblyns. 3e tried to fix this by adding a small population of native humans, but the overall domain is still a monster-infested backwoods, so nobody fucking cares. As for its resident asshole, ApBlanc is a vampyre by day, and a ghost by night, proving once and for all that the Dark Powers do, indeed, have a sense of humor.

Hazlan

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Hills, Mountains & Plains

Motif: Dark Fantasy meets Yellow Peril

Darklord: Hazlik

Essentially a tiny sliver of Thay transplanted into the Demiplane of Dread, where a tiny minutia (the Mulan ethnicity) rules over and brutally represses a far vaster majority (the Rashemani). One of only two places so absolutely shit that The Lawgiver is actually worshipped here.

Invidia

Cultural Level: Chivalric

Landscape: Temperate Forests & Hills

Motif: Lethally Impulsive Stupidity

Darklord: Gabrielle Aderre

A land of passionate, hot-blooded and constantly feuding individuals, including mercenary armies, ogres, giants, and wolfweres. The Vistani are executed on sight here.

Kartakass

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests & Hills

Motif: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Darklord: Meistersinger Harkon Lukas

A rural backwoods inhabited by proud, cocky, music-loving foresters who are quite happy with the way things are, thank you. They are totally oblivious to the population of wolfweres hiding amongst them.

Keening

Cultural Level: None (formerly Chivalric)

Landscape: Temperate Mountains (Bleached of Life)

Motif: Endless Grief

Darklord: Tristessa the Banshee

A cursed and forsaken realm, with a population consisting solely of its mad, grief-stricken banshee darklord, her court of half-insane undead fey, and a village of skeletons that constantly mime out the actions of their last day.

Lamordia

Cultural Level: Renaissance

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills & Plains

Motif: Mad Science ala Frankenstein

Darklord: Dr. Mordenheim & Adam

A stuffy, tempest-lashed domain that prides itself on its scientific acumen and its staunch rationalistic beliefs, totally denying the fantastical nature of the world around them.

Markovia

Cultural Level: Stone Age

Landscape: Warm Forests, Hills & Mountains

Motif: The Island of Dr. Moreau

Darklord: Dr. Markov

It's literally just the Island of Dr Moreau in D&D. That's it. They even moved it from being part of the core to out in the ocean, but it's still a lazy shitshow of a domain.

Mordent

Cultural Level: Renaissance

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Plains & Swamps

Motif: Ghost-Haunted Rural Britain/Scotland

Darklord: Lord Wilfred Godefroy

It's basically the setting for every ghost-related Gothic Horror novel ever written. High concentration of both incorporeal undead and mist creatures in a land dotted by small villages sheltering the living. Is also full of ancient ruined manors, decaying coats of arms and dying or dead noble families, furthering that neo-Britain impression by casting it as the decaying remnants of a once-mighty civilization. The false history implies they share a mutual background with Borca, perhaps having originated from the same nameless fantasy world.

Necropolis

Cultural Level: Iron Age

Landscape: Temperate Settled Area

Motif: City of the Dead

Darklord: Death

Once a bustling metropolis in Darkon called Il Aluk, the place was destroyed and turned into a city of sapient undead creatures protected behind a mystical veil that kills and reanimates any living humanoids that enter. This was caused by Azalin achieving an epic-level fuck up with his magic. Generally considered the worst domain in the Core because you can't go in there without being transformed into an undead, which in AD&D came with associated rules that, in the grand tradition of Ravenloft, utterly fucked you over pretty much from the get-go. Its Darklord, "Death", is an uber-powerful ghost with hyper-lethal abilities that was created from a clone of Azalin and which has gone absolutely insane, believing itself to be the literal spirit of death.

The Nocturnal Sea

Cultural Level: Varies between islands

Landscape: Temperate Aquatic (sea); Temperate Forests, Hills, Plains & Swamps (islands)

Motif: Savagery of the Sea

Darklord: See Below

The Western Sea of the Core is technically a cluster onto itself, with different islands being the lairs of different darklords. The closest thing to an overall Darklord here is Meredoth, an epic-level Necromancer from Glantri in Mystara. Lesser darklords who only rule over a single island consist of the Lady of Ravens (an insane sorceress from a Gormenghastian family), Captain Alain Monette (werebat who haunts one of the only lighthouses in the Nocturnal Sea), Baron Evensong (arrogant, elitist bard, eventually downgraded to one of several demilords in the Nocturnal Sea Gazetteer project), and the fanmade Captain Anton Dusard (ghost pirate) and Xanthos Kastigir (Krynnish Half-Elf (Aquatic Elf) turned [[Sea Wolf]).

Nova Vaasa

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills & Plains

Motif: Russia under Peter the Great

Darklord: Sir Tristen Hiregaard/Malken

A horse-filled steppeland dominated by sweeping grassy plains and crushing urban poverty and squalor, presided over by a mixture of corrupt aristocrats and Lawful Good types who view "law" as more important than "good". This is the other domain shitty enough to have The Lawgiver as the state religion, and is such a hellhole that Barovians look down on its people as backward hicks.

Richemulot

Cultural Level: Chivalric

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills & Plains

Motif: Wererat Land

Darklord: Jacqueline Renier

A pseudo-French domain distinguished mostly by being the largest breeding ground of wererats in the entire demiplane. The name is literally French for "Rich Mouse", which pretty much gives the game away from the start if you know the language..

The Sea of Sorrows

Cultural Level: Varies between islands

Landscape: Temperate Aquatic (sea); Temperate Forests, Hills, & Plains (islands)

Motif: Savagery of the Sea

Darklord: See Below

This is the Eastern Sea of the Core, and thusly it's the same deal as its western counterpart; more of a cluster scattered across an ocean than one singular domain. The most powerful Darklord and the unofficial Darklord of the Sea (meaning he can travel wherever he likes in it) is Captain Pieter van Riese, a ghost pirate based on the Flying Dutchman. Other Darklords of singular islands include Bluebeard (literally the character from the story of the same name), Dr. Daclaud Heinfroth (mad psychiatrist turned cerebro-spinal fluid-drinking vampire), Marquis Stezen d'Polarno (an expy of Dorian Gray), Althea (tormented medusa who wants a baby), the Barons of Gustavan (the ghost of the old baron and his equally cruel but still living son), Dr. Blake Ramsay (insane physician who murdered his wife and sons to use their organs to revive his daughter as a Flesh Golem), Elizabeth Michelle Cole III (vampiress) and Lord Willem Ducas (deranged cannibal). Most of these darklords were added (or at least expanded upon) in netbook material. This is also where Markovia was moved after 2nd edition.

The Shadow Rift

Cultural Level: Unknowable

Landscape: Eternally Dark Mysical

Motif: Dark Faerie Tales

Darklord: Gwydion the Shadow Fiend

This is the homeland of the Shadow Fey, and as such no mortals know anything about the place. The court is found at the bottom of a chasm filled with mist, protecting it from the sun, as well as erasing anything stupid enough to try penetrating so deeply into said-mist. In classic Faerie fashion, time works differently here, with a fortnight outside equaling a year inside.

Sithicus

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests & Hills

Motif: Declining Elf Kingdom

Darklord: Inza Kulchevitch

The only domain in the Core that has a demihuman majority population, this was formerly the domain of Lord Soth, and is thus loosely based on the Dragonlance setting. May or may not contain vampire kender.

Tepest

Cultural Level: Early Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests & Hills

Motif: Grim Faerie Tales Europe meets Salem Witch Trials

Darklord: The Sisters Mindefisk

Hands down one of the most primitive and worthless backwaters in the Core, Tepest's trio of hag darklords are practically non-entities in their own land, with the focus instead being on how the ignorant superstitious peasantry are falling increasingly under the sway of a self-righteous inquisition of self-proclaimed fey-hunters and witch-burners.

Valachan

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests & Hills

Motif: African Savages

Darklord: Baron Urik von Kharkov

A rugged wilderness inhabited by dusky-skinned foresters who take pride in their absolute ignorance when it comes to book-learning or anything not related to the practicalities of forest-work, to the point they even look down upon their own priests. Befittingly, this leaves them too ignorant to realize they are being eaten alive by a hidden population of nosferatu and werepanthers.

Vechor

Cultural Level: Classical

Landscape: Warm Forests, Hills & Swamps

Motif: Insanity Made Real

Darklord: Easan the Mad

A vaguely India-esque domain ruled over by an insane elf wizard who has the power to reshape the surroundings based on his current mad whim.

Verbrek

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate Forests, Hills & Swamps

Motif: Werewolf Country

Darklord: Nathan Timothy

The obligatory werewolf domain, to contrast the Dracula and Frankenstein ones. Everybody here knows the wilderness (as embodied by the werewolves) is at their door, and live accordingly.

The Clusters

The Amber Wastes

Motif: Dark Fantasy Egypt

It's Gothic Horror Egypt in D&D. What more is there to say? Its constituent domains are Har'Akir, Sebua, and Pharazia.

The Frozen Reaches

Motif: Dark Fantasy Russia

It's basically the frozen wintery hell that everybody imagines that Russia is transplanted into D&D. Its constituent domains are Sanguinia and Vorostokov,

The Shadowlands

Motif: Medieval Dark Fantasy

Intimately tied to a single world, the Shadowlands are made up of three domains that all tie to one long story of corruption; Avonleigh, Nidala, and Shadowborn Manor.

The Verduous Lands

Motif: Tropical Dark Fantasy

The hot and humid hellholes, full of deadly predators and equally deadly plants. For some reason the moon is never seen here. Composed of the domains of Saragoss, Sri Raji, and The Wildlands.

Zherisia

Motif: Urban Dark Fantasy

Differentiating itself from other clusters, Zherisia is composed of the city domain of Paridon and Timor, the sewers underneath.

The Islands of Terror

Bluetspur

Cultural Level: Dark Age

Landscape: Temperate hills, plains, and mountains

Motif: Yog-Sothothery

Darklord: The Illithid God-Brain

Meaning "Blood Trail" in German, it's a desolate wasteland with nightly, violent electrical storms on the surface. Beneath the surface lie the maddening and sprawling cities of illithids and their tortured and experimented slaves.

G'Henna

Cultural Level: Classical

Landscape: Cold and temperate hills, plains, mountains, and deserts

Motif: Corrupt Theocracy

Darklord: Yagno Petrovna

Here a starving population works the fields to produce food to be sacrificed for the god Zhakata. Unfortunately the god doesn't exist and priests of the god eat the offerings, while the farmers starve themselves waiting for a god that will never come.

Kalidnay

Cultural Level: Classical

Landscape: Desert

Motif: Athas

Darklord: Thakok-An

The city and lands surrounding Kalidnay in Athas, which are nothing but ruins within Dark Sun's setting proper. Its inhabitants actually prefer the Demiplane of Dread to actually living in Athas. Just let that sink in.

Odiare

Cultural Level: Medieval

Landscape: Temperate settled area

Motif: Twisted Pinocchio

Darklord: Maligno

Island from Gothic Earth's Italy, populated by children and the carrionettes who killed the adults that used to live here.

Rokushima Táiyoo

Cultural Level: Dark Ages

Landscape: Archipelago with forests, hills, and mountains

Motif: Dark Fantasy Japan

Darklord: Haki Shinpi

Four islands surrounded by a poisonous salt water ocean. Each island's ruler hates the others, whilst the Darklord is forced to watch as they tear apart his dreams of unity and peace. It's also the home of the Akikage (ghost ninjas), Hebi-no-Onnas (snake women), and Kizoku (vampiric womanizers). Fun fact: the Anesthesia spell is popular here, as its use allows the dying to face death with a clear mind, and thus die with honor.

Sri Raji

Cultural Level: Classical

Landscape: Rain forests, hills, and mountains

Motif: Dark Fantasy India / Sri Lanka

Darklord: Maharaja Arijani

Formerly an Island of Terror, Sri Raji is a domain in the Verduous Lands cluster ruled by the Maharaja Arijani. The Verduous Lands cluster does not have a moon with potentially interesting consequences for lycanthropes having some part of the lunar cycle as their trigger condition. Equally, there should be no tides. Most of the human inhabitants of Sri Raji congregate in three cities, each located surprisingly close to the domain border. A fourth city, Mahakala, is less populated and commonly referred to as "accursed". It's basically Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but with more rakshasas, beastfolk and giant insects.

Cyre?

In Eberron, the nation of Cyre was destroyed in the Day of Mourning, leaving only the Mournland behind. That Cyre became a Demiplane of Dread is perhaps the most common theory on the origin of the Mournland within the fandom, as it checks all the boxes for explanations.

• The Mournland stops at Cyre’s artificial, political, borders and thus had to be caused by some intelligent actor. The Dark Powers certainly count. It also explains why it stops so exactly at the water that the docks were left behind.
• The Mournland’s border is a wall of “dead-gray mist”. The link is obvious. In 4th Edition, this dead-gray mist supernaturally drains people of hope.
• The Forge of War states that Dannel ir'Wynarn insistence that the crown of Galifar belonged to her was the only thing keeping the Last War going. Prime Dark Lord material.
• Dark Sun material describes Kalidnay as having been destroyed by "unknown disaster" that left it only "a jumble of ruins" and the ziggurat "cracked open like an immense earthen egg". The ruins in the Mournland are described being "moved", "rearranged", "turned 90 degrees", or "found miles from where war-era maps say they should be", which certainly can be described as a "jumble", while others are just the normal kind of broken like the ziggurat. (While some of the Mournland's signature features are absent, all outside descriptions of Kalidnay are centuries after the fact while all descriptions of the Mournland are 0-4 years after its creation.)

None of this will ever be confirmed, and it’s unlikely to be deconfirmed, as the truth of the Mourning is one of Eberron’s mysteries that exist to have no answer but what the Dungeon Master gives them. The setting's creator has however concurred it's a good option if one wanted some bit of Eberron in Ravenloft.