Domains According to 2nd Edition's Ravenloft: Realms of Terror, Versus What We Know About Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft

 I have a PDF of the old 2nd Edition "Ravenloft, Realm of Terror" campaign setting book I got on DM's Guild. While this was, I'm given to understand, a pretty important sourcebook for defining the Ravenloft setting (I could be wrong but I think it's the first to make it a true setting that went beyond the original Ravenloft adventure modules of 1st Edition,) I should start this post off with the huge disclaimer that new editions change things.

There are a number of ways in which cultural standards have changed in the past 30 years, and more importantly, the type of stories that a big brand like Dungeons & Dragons wants to put out there. For example, there was a pretty clear expectation that most players would be men back in those days, and things were written from a somewhat myopically male point of view. You'll notice that some of the domains in Van Richten's have had their Darklords' genders switched. I don't think that these (or at least not all of these) are meant to be retcons - in some cases it's a daughter or other female inheritor taking over.

Some of the changes also reflect developments in the story. For example, one of the most famous Darklords, Azalin the Lich, appears to have succeeded in some sort of escape or ascension (which might explain how he can now be a group patron for a party!)

Some of these domains are brand-new, and some might have been introduced after the Realm of Terror book came out. Likewise, some of the older domains look like they're either on the cutting room floor or are relegated to the brief "other domains" list at the end of the chapter.

In 2nd Edition, the Demiplane of Dread was a bit more like a landmass, with a continent of sorts called The Core, which allowed occasional transit through the Mists to other parts of the realm. In 5th Edition, my understanding is that they're trying to go for more of a metaphysical realm. There's no straight line to draw between a point in Barovia and one in Darkon, but that doesn't mean you can't travel from one to the other if the Mists allow it. My take on this would be that if you head into the mountains northwest of Krezk in Barovia, you might wind up in Falkovnia or something, but if you go back directly the other way, there's no guarantee that you'll return to Barovia.

Anyway, let's talk domains. There are a lot, so... here goes.

Barovia - You know this place. It's the setting of Curse of Strahd, and is spooky gothic vampire land. The prototypical domain with the prototypical Darklord.

Bluetspur - This is a mountainous region with mind flayers - not a ton of detail, but it seems to have a strong Cosmic Horror vibe. Presumably the God-Brain is an Elder Brain.

Borca - This place is described somewhat generically, but there seems to be a theme of poison. The characterization of Ivana Boritsi, its Darklord, will, I imagine, change, as it's all about her basically killing men by sleeping with them. Notably, it seems there's a second Darklord in Van Richten's, so I expect a major rework. Notably, the other Darklord in Van Richten's is Ivan Dilisnya, who in Realm of Terror is the Darklord of Dorvinia, Ivana's cousin, who is a mad poisoner who presides over a land that trades between various corrupt factions.

The Carnival - There's no mention of this one in Realms of Terror, and I suspect it's a new one. At the very least, I suspect that you could throw in some Rakdos stuff from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica pretty easily in any kind of horror-carnival.

Darkon - Under the Lich Azalin, Darkon looks like it was a totalitarian police state, with a secret police known as the Kargat. There is a description in the tweets that included the table of contents that suggests that these days, Azalin is gone and there's a glowing star in the sky (that the sun and moon pass behind, suggesting it's closer than other celestial bodies) while the Darklord is the "Inheritors of Darkon," which I could imagine is some remnant of his tyrannical regime or maybe something else.

Dementlieu - This is one they've been talking about having changed significantly. In the original lore, Dominic d'Honaire was a sort of manipulator behind the scenes of a regime with significant social stratification. In Van Richten's, Saidra d'Honaire is the Darklord, in a society where everyone is lying about who they are and she can apparently disintegrate people whose lies are revealed in her many glamorous balls, with the intended vibe being a kind of "twisted fairy tale," presumably drawing on everything from Cinderella to Masque of the Red Death.

Falkovnia - Vlad Drakov was largely based on Vlad Tsepesh (my Hungarian-ness wants be to write that as Cepes, but he was Romanian) as a bloodthirsty tyrant who is always trying to conquer other lands and runs a state entirely governed by martial law. In Van Richten's, the Darklord is Vladeska Drakov, and apparently Falkovnia is in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. So, bit of a change there.

Har'arkir - In Realms of Terror, Har'akir is listed as an island (remember that in Realms of Terror, the whole place is a big continent called The Core) Its Darklord Ankhtepot successfully achieved immortality as a Mummy Lord and is now regretting that he has to spend eternity this way. It's also a land that is filled with vast interconnected dungeons under the blazing desert. One of the things they've been talking about with the re-think of this realm is to make it easier to play as part of the culture from which Har'akir arose, rather than as imperialist tomb-robbers in an "exotic" land.

Hazlan - While in Realms of Terror this is simply the home of a Red Wizard of Thay named Hazlan, who rules as a tyrant, I think the vibe they're going for in Van Richten's is that it's basically a place full of unethical magical experiments

I'Cath - This is, I think, a new realm. All I know about it is that its Darklord is named Tsien Chiang, which I'd imagine gives this an East Asian vibe.

Kalakeri - This is, I believe, also a new realm, based on Indian folklore.

Kartakass - This seems to be a kind of music-themed region, ruled by a wolfwere (which I guess is a wolf who can turn into a human) Bard. I vaguely remember hearing about a wolfwere pirate, but I'm not sure if this is that, as Realms of Terror describes this more as a dense woodland than the kind of place you'd expect to find a buccaneer.

Lamordia - This frigid land was home to Doctor Victor Mordenheim and his flesh golem monster, Adam, though Van Richten's places Viktra Mordenheim as its Darklord, with teases that she's continually making bodies for "golem-hunting mercenaries." Obviously, this one is a take on Frankenstein, with what's described as body horror and mad science.

Mordent - This is the location of the House on Gryphon Hill (which I believe was the "sequel" to the original Ravenloft module,) a house haunted by Lord Wilfred Godefory, the ghost of a nobleman who killed his own family. I suspect that this is meant to give you the quintessential "haunted house" vibe.

Richemoulot - Here, Jacqueline Renier, a wererat, rules. It seems to be a largely urban domain, but one that is in ruins and disrepair - infested with rats. Also, Realms of Terror seemed to have an editorial mix up because they put this after Tepest, when they're supposed to be in alphabetical order.

Tepest - this realm is, in Realms of Terror, ruled by a coven of hags, though Van Richten's suggests that Mother Lorinda (likely also a hag, given the context) is the true Darklord. The villages within seem to be plagued by wicked spirits, which might include a sizable goblin population, and have grown superstitious.

Valachan - In Realms of Terror, this is ruled by a vampire known as Baron Urik von Kharkov. In Van Richten's we have "Chacuna."

Now, many of the realms that get only brief mentions in Van Richten's are found in Realms of Terror.

Cyre 1313, The Mourning Rail: Given that Cyre is from Eberron, which was introduced about a decade after Realms of Terror, it's not shocking to not find this in the book. But context suggests that this is a train that might have traveled across or through Cyre. Cyre was suddenly obliterated at the end of the Last War in an event called The Mourning, and I wonder if that event shunted this train into the Demiplane of Dread. That the train's number is 1313 does sort of make me wonder if the train itself is malevolent, like Blaine the Mono from the Dark Tower series. Can you tell I'm excited to read about this one?

Forlorn: this realm is basically just a castle and its surrounding area, ruled by an unnamed ghost.

Ghastria: There is no mention of this in Realms of Terror, so it's either new or just newer than that book.

G'henna: Not to be confused with Gehenna, the outer plane where Yugoloths come from, this is ruled by a mad priest to a non-existent god who warps the flesh of dissidents and criminals into the unfortunately-named mongrelfolk (something you might have seen in Curse of Strahd.)

Invidia: This small realm is ruled by a witch named Gabrielle Aberre, who seems to sow discontent and conflict.

Keening: A bleak land with no inhabitants other than zombies and wights, this is ruled by an unnamed banshee.

Klorr: No mention of Klorr in Realms of Terror.

Markovia: Here, Frantisek Markov has basically created the Island of Dr. Moreau, where he has transformed animals into "beastmen," and uses visitors as raw parts to graft onto animals to elevate them.

The Nightmare Lands: This region seems to have no lord, and only has a group of rather normal nomads who traverse the ever-shifting region.

Niranjan: No mention of this in Realms of Terror.

Nova Vaasa: This aggrarian realm is ruled by Malken, the alter-ego of Sire Hiergaard, in a classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story.

Odaire: Again, not mentioned in Realms of Terror.

The Rider's Bridge: I believe I heard this one mentioned - I think this is a tiny realm that is literally just a bridge like out of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with, I'd assume, a Dullahan as the main monster.

Risibilos: Again, unmentioned in Realms of Terror

Scaena: No mention.

The Shadowlands: Well, back when I felt the need to give my setting its own cosmology, I called my Shadowfell equivalent The Shadowlands. There's no mention of this in Realms of Terror.

Sourange: This mostly swamp-like domain is ruled by a zombie master named Anton Misroi. I suspect there's a kind of Lousiana-bayou vibe here.

Staunton Bluffs: This seems to be one of the few reasonably safe, if boring, places in the Demiplane of Dread, ruled by a ghost named Sir Torrence Bleysmith, who generally leaves people alone if they don't bother him.

Tovag: No mention.

Vhage Agency: I don't know what this is, but if it's a monster-hunting agency I'm so freaking excited to read about it, even though we'll probably only get a couple paragraphs.

Zherisia: A disease, hunger, and crime-ridden city called Paridon makes up most of this realm, ruled by a doppelganger that most people don't know exists, but he stalks the place as a serial killer, likely based on Jack the Ripper.

All right, so that's the gist of what's going on in each of the domains - or at least what was going on in 2nd Edition, and for those domains that aren't new.

Of the featured realms (those from the first list,) it looks like each gets about 4-12 pages of description, including its Darklord and a page or two about "adventures in [name of realm,]" which I think is meant to inspire ideas for them. For the "other domains" (the second list,) it looks like each description is less than a page - page 170 alone has descriptions for Keening, Klorr, Markovia, The Nightmare Lands, Niranjan, and Nova Vaasa, so don't expect a major deep dive.

Thankfully, given the breaking of The Core, it's very easy to create new Domains and fit them into the non-landscape of the Ravenloft setting. I think you can run a very tight game set within a single setting (if The Rider's Bridge is what I think it is, it'd almost have to be a one-shot.) But I think you could also weave a campaign throughout the setting as well.

In a lot of ways, Ravenloft is probably the most modular campaign setting, given that you can easily have the Mists come in and sweep the party away, and have them escape back into their previous world once the adventure is complete.

A lot of what I just wrote up there will be wrong, but I wanted to give at least a brief notion of what's going on with these places.