Vorostokov

[Satchkep45]

Discussion thread for Vorostokov (http://www.birthright.net/brwiki/index.php/Vorostokov). If you would like to add a comment, click the Post Reply button.

[Satchkep45]

I want to put in my oar on this domain and say that I really like what the anonymous author has done here. It's a creepy, fun little country that reminds me more of Ravenloft than traditional Cerilia (not that that's a problem, I like Ravenloft too).

The question that I have is... where do we put it? Unlike [[Skyewode]], Anuire's forgotten little province, Vorostokov has 9 (presumably big) empty provinces, hard to sneak in between Melyy and the Sword Rust Tribes without distorting the map somehow. Has anyone found a place for it? Does anyone have a map?

Here's an idea, what if Vorostokov was once where the Mistmoor is today, but was ripped into the Shadow World some time soon after Deismaar? This would make it something akin to a Ravenloft Domain, floating somewhere in the ether of the Shadow World. It would be possible that somehow it exists somewhat out of time there, a piece of Cerilia replaced by a piece of the Shadow World. The key could be Gregor himself, akin to a Ravenloft Domain Lord, for whom this life is his eternal curse. Perhaps only 20 or 30 years has passed for the folk of Vorostokov while centuries flew by in Cerilia (what would be the implications for visiting Cerilians?)

We know that reality is warped in the Shadow World, so it could be possible to imagine that the realm has become more boxed in by mountains, more inaccessible, colder and wilder. Perhaps it exists side-by-side with Tuar Annwn... maybe the Hunt of the Elves presses against the northern borders of the land?

I think this realm is a really neat one and it would be a shame to have it up here without any way of integrating it into our normal campaigns, so I'd be glad to hear your thoughts.

[AndrewTall]

I think that Vorostokov was actually a Ravenloft realm that someone converted for br.net before I wiki'd it.

For me I'd consider Torova Temlyatin - something's got to be there, add another island, stretch the map a bit or simply replace an existing realm if I wanted it in.

On the downside the mass of L0 provinces is a bit boring - no-one else is in town to make things lively - so I'd either trim it in size by dropping several provinces, or make them L1-2 (still pretty empty but able to have a few small-holders).

[Thelandrin]

Well, there is already the Vos realm in Ravenloft itself, where the lord is a werewolf amidst the frozen wastes of his domain.

[Satchkep45]

I did a little searching and it turns out that Vorostokov was originally a Ravenloft world. There are a few changes done though, for one the realm has been greatly elaborated-the names of each of the nine villages were used for a single province (which supposedly had only 1,000 inhabitants). I'll quote the description from Domains of Dread:

"The vast domain of Vorostokov is more than three hundred miles across. The land is locked in a dire, endless winter, and the tiny villages struggle to survive on scant food stores and the bounty of the hunters who roam the icy planes and frozen coniferous forests.

Impassible peaks from the border of this domain. Rumors tell of high passes that lead out of Vorostokov, but anyone who tries to trek out of the land finds snow storms and avalanches barring the paths.

Daylight is a precious commodity in this domain. The sun barely peeps over the horizon for about six hours before disappearing for the night. Sunrise and sunset are followed by periods of twilight lasting anywhere from one to two hours. The shadows are long and cold beneath the snow-covered trees.

About one thousand people live in Vorostokov, spread among more than a dozen small villages. Located near the center of the domain, the village of Vorostokov is the largest of these settlements, home to two hundred thirty people."

Like most Ravenloft domains, it's poetically cursed. The domain ruler is a lupe du noir, a werewolf who purposely took up a magical wolf cloak to change form. After killing his family, the land was taken up by the Ravenloft Dark Powers and cursed with eternal winter. He became a lupe du noir in order to hunt for meat for his people's survival, but eventually became possessed by the beast inside him and turned to hunting his own people.

Now the description in this Birthright version is a bit less tragic (and a bit more realistic), it appears that there is some summer, but not much, so life continues here, albeit in fits and stutters. I would support removing the one province 2/3 and replacing it with 2-3 provinces 1/4 to represent the diminished and scattered population of the land.

I must say though, I would prefer putting it in the Shadow World, to keep the idea of magical isolation and dark hopelessness. It would be the kind of place that heroes could accidentally wander into any place in northeast Cerilia as they unwittingly cross the Veil into the Shadow World. It would take a while for them to realize, to their horror, that not only are they apparently trapped in the Shadow World, but also hunted by an awnshegh-like domain regent/werewolf of tremendous power... there's definitely a sweet adventure there. I've ordered the 2nd edition Ravenloft adventure originally created for Vorostokov for ideas.