The Wonderful World of Darklords

Welcome to the second installment of the Wonderful World of Darklords Summer Blockbuster series! In this episode, we're going to look at the only movies in our series that actually busted blocks: the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. (Mostly the original trilogy, but we'll touch on 4 and 5). Topics discussed include:Which of the MANY candidates for darklord we settled on, plus AU discussions about the other possibilities (including potential torments, how to make the domain reflect them, and the type of adventure you can run with them, if you're wondering why this episode passed our usual 2:10 ceiling);The highly gameable hallmarks of a Pirates of the Caribbean adventure (credit to Ryan George's Pitch Meeting series), which you can use to make your own sessions feel appropriately Pirate-y;Trade wars between the East India Trading Company and the Boritsi Trading Company, both of which are constantly beset by pirates, and WHY ARE WE NOT PLAYING THIS GAME RIGHT NOW;Chicken Bone;and more!The full writeup for Davy Jones' Locker is available on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/486011/Davy-Jones-Locker-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread?affiliate_id=241770If you want to fall down the same rabbit hole that Rachel fell down to reach D's adventures in this episode, this is a good start: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/podcasts/overheard/article/queens-of-the-high-seasNow, what are you looking at? Back to work!All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords' Summer Blockbuster series! We're kicking off the summer with a cult favorite that did quite well for itself at the box office despite not busting any blocks: Holes. The warden is a phenomenal darklord, and the source material is already chockablock with curses and dark vengeance from beyond the grave despite being 90% realistic fiction, but how do you get a satisfying Holes adventure if none of your PCs have a no-good pig-stealing great-great-grandfather? Along with that question, topics discussed include:The undeniable advantage that D&D has in allowing the PCs to discover the backstory, which could be superfluous to playing a basic Holes adventure but is critical for enjoying it;How to have a prison break adventure if the warden is a darklord and can just close the borders whenever she feels like it;A use, at long last, for your character's proficiency in cook's utensils;In-depth discussion of an intense 2e Ravenloft prison break module, with ideas to either make Holes more like that module (for your hardcore roleplayers) or to make that adventure more like Holes (for your players who don't enjoy being punched in the face);and more!The full writeup for Camp Greenlake is available on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/482201/Green-Lake-Prison-Camp-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread?affiliate_id=241770Bleak House is also available on DM's Guild! (Sadly, not for free) https://www.dmsguild.com/product/201381/Bleak-House-2eAll music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords: Marvel May! It's the inaugural episode of something we're hoping to make an annual tradition, but honestly, we kind of invented the whole thing just so we could talk about what might be the most obvious Ravenloft domain Disney has ever done. (If you wanted to describe Ravenloft domains to someone who wasn't familiar with the concept, you could do worse than "It's like WandaVision.") Topics discussed include:The D&D equivalent of a warm, safe sitcom set in a slice of idyllic suburban Americana;How to bring your PCs into a domain that the darklord wants to keep locked down at all times, and how to maintain the feel of WandaVision without stripping away their agency the moment they set foot in Westview;The goofy D&D sitcom versions of multiple MCU characters, all of whom are screaming on the inside;Whether or not it was, in fact, Agatha all along;And more!The full writeup for Westview is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/480287/Wandas-Vision-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread?affiliate_id=241770 Even if you normally just listen to the episode without reading the writeup, we highly recommend checking out the writeup after listening this time. We came up with the "sitcom shenanigans" table after recording and couldn't discuss it on mic, and we are SO proud of that thing.All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In the spirit of April Fool's Day, we're once again taking a break from Disney movies for this month's episode (yes, we know Disney distributed the Ghiblis for a while, but we operate under strict Calvinball rules in which Home Alone can be a regular episode but Princess Mononoke can't). There's so much nightmare fuel in Princess Mononoke that it's almost redundant to turn it into a horror setting, but turning it into a Ravenloft domain is another matter entirely. Topics discussed include:How to give Irontown and the forest an unforgivable, irredeemable darklord when one of the movie's main themes is that no one is unforgivable or irredeemable (except Jigo, who we're going to discuss a lot);A Disney movie that we will never, ever make an episode about, but that actually has quite a bit of thematic overlap with Princess Mononoke, so you can just pretend this is that episode if you want;Multiple AU possibilities for the darklord, ranging from "fairly obvious" to "high-concept fever dream;"The canon darklord who can fill the same role as Lord Asano but with more personality;and more!The full writeup for the Mononoke Forest is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/476619/Mononoke-Forest-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread?affiliate_id=241770The real-life inspiration for the forest was Shiratani Unsuikyo on Yakushima Island. Swoon over some photos that look like they should have Okkoto in them here: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/shiratani-unsuikyoAll music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In this episode, we tackle Disney's most terrifying setting to date, as explored in a horror movie that was absolutely not a soulless cash grab: the Hundred Acre Wood. Topics discussed include:The surprising connections between Winnie the Pooh, a darklord ruled by his basest appetites, and another darklord from a recent episode;The rich narrative possibility of an uneasy alliance with Heffalumps and Woozles, and the pitfalls of teaming up with such untrustworthy creatures even when they're the only things the darklord fears;The horror potential of the source material, from Rabbit's heartless kidnapping scheme to a survival-horror frozen expotition to the North Pole;Ideas to integrate Tigger with a certain other rakshasa, and how Kalakeri's themes intersect with those from the Hundred Acre Wood;and more!The full writeup for the Hundred Acre Wood s is available for free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/darklord-of-very-101391105?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkAll music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! While superheroes and D&D are staples of geek culture, they don't necessarily go together; the occasional Sorcerer Supreme notwithstanding, superheroes are more associated with sci-fi than high fantasy. Luckily, not only is there a D&D setting that lets us embrace the technowizardry of Big Hero 6 without throwing all the fantasy tropes out the window, but it's a setting that doesn't have a full domain to its name yet. Topics discussed include:How to get an ongoing story engine out of Callaghan/Yokai when his only goal in the movie is "kill this one guy;"Horror possibilities for a dark superhero setting that are less obvious than the edgelord excesses of the 90s (please, we beg of you, don't make Gail Simone angry);Settings and plot hooks suggested by the criminally underrated Big Hero 6 TV show, from secondary antagonists to sinister underworld cooking competitions, and an overarching theme to make them feel coherent with the domain;Possibilities for the Big Hero 6 team that go beyond our go-to response of "kill them off so they aren't getting in the way of the PCs;"and more!The full writeup for San Fransokyo (or its non-copyright equivalent, San Franciskyoto) is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/472549/San-Franciskyoto-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread?affiliate_id=241770All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

On a Disney podcast, dear,Why is there live theater here?Why this Broadway musical?It ain't right, and it ain't natural.Listener, it's Hadestown. Regardless of how long anyone was gone and how lonesome we were or weren't, we couldn't resist such a perfect darklord and domain--especially since we're just coming off another domain with Hades as a darklord. Topics discussed include:A bit of reiterating who we are and what we do here at Wonderful World of Darklords, since we recognize that we might have people who will just click on anything with "Hadestown" in the title (and we can't blame them);How to adapt the gods of Hadestown to non-gods in Ravenloft, including some canonical characters who map surprisingly well to Hermes and the Fates;The horror inherent to both Hadestown proper and Up Top, and how to make your PCs feel the loss of Persephone's summer bounty;Plot hooks that allow your PCs to fill the Orpheus role without necessarily having a star-crossed lover;and more!Click on the link or not, little songbird. The choice is yours if you're willing to choose, seeing as how you've got nothing to lose...The full writeup for Hadestown is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/468990/Hades-Town-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread?affiliate_id=241770All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In this episode, we're going from talking tigers to literal freaking gods with what might be our most powerful darklord to date: Hades. (We don't know whether we'd back Hades, Elsa, or Maleficent in a fight, and we don't want to be anywhere in a hundred-mile radius if that ever happens.) Making the god of the underworld a darklord was a tricky proposition; after all, the Dark Powers weren't able to hang onto Vecna. We figured out a solution that lets us bring everyone's favorite evil motor-mouth in without having to shatter the demiplane in the process. Topics discussed include:How Hercules works in some of the dark, horrifying themes of Greek mythology despite being a bowdlerization, and how to generalize those themes to an entire domain;How to make your PCs the main characters of a Hercules domain even though the movie has a full-on prophesied Chosen One (it doesn't have to involve killing him this time, we promise!);Monsters and characters from Greek mythology that lend themselves beautifully to a sprawling domain that still keeps Hades as its primary mover and shaker;Serious geeking out over the gods of Ravenloft and how the gods of Olympus fit into their metaphysic;and more!(We don't actually discuss Vecna. We're sorry. Rachel keeps forgetting Vecna was a darklord because he's connected to so much non-Ravenloft material that the idea of diving into all of it causes her to automatically fail a Fear save. Please don't @ us; it's taking all her willpower not to rerecord the entire episode.)The full writeup for Olympus is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/467315/Olympus-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread-2-13?affiliate_id=241770All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! Second edition already did a Jungle Book-inspired domain with the Wildlands, but it didn't make the jump into 5e and it had some key differences from its source material, which means that this movie is as ripe for picking as a pawpaw or a prickly pear (as opposed to classic Disney movies that are already covered in 5e by certain Dementlieus we can name). As a heads up, we love both the classic animated Jungle Book and the 2016 live-action version, so we're going to be bringing in elements from both. Topics discussed include:Why we feel it's crucial that the humans in the man village be much more innocent than humans typically are in a man-versus-nature story;The rich potential of a setting that has so many NPCs with their own agendas, from Bagheera, the vultures, and the wolves to Kaa, King Louie, and old stripes himself;"Aging-down" ideas for allowing an entire party of Mowglis, each raised by different animals;The style of campaign we've barely discussed in this podcast that fits Jungle Book like tiny red shorts;and more!The full writeup for the Seeonee is available for free on DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/464028/Mowglis-Jungle-A-Ravenloft-Domain-of-Dread-01-13?view_as_pub=1All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through https://musopen.org:Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1 (main theme), performed by Eduardo VinuelaChopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor: “Ocean” (darklord theme), performed by Edward NeemanChopin Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 (land theme), performed by Luke FaulknerRachmaninoff Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op. 3 - 2. Prélude in C sharp minor (Dread Possibilities), performed by Sergei RachmaninoffChopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 (parting thoughts), performed by Luke FaulknerDialog for Yensid was written by Azalin Rex himself: http://www.tumblr.com/darklordazalinThe Wonderful World of Darklords logo was designed by Halite Jones, whom you can find on Tumblr and Instagram: https://www.tumblr.com/halite-jones and http://www.instagram.com/insta_haliteContact us on:Gmail: [email protected]: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsTumblr: @wonderfulworldofdarklordsPatreon: www.patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklordsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! Well, a sign pointing you toward Wonderful World of Darklords, anyway. As mentioned in our Home Alone episode, the Tower of Doom episode of Book Club of Dread was so ear-scorchingly filthy that we can't stand to have it appear on our main feed where some new listener might find it and think that's what we're all about, so we're making the standard cut available for free on our Patreon instead (as well as two director's cuts for patrons): https://www.patreon.com/posts/book-club-of-of-95322339?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link(Or, if you don't want to copy-paste that whole mess, just go to patreon.com/WonderfulWorldofDarklords and look for the top post.)Please, PLEASE read the show notes before listening. We may have bleeped the f-bombs, but there are some direct quotes there that'll give you a pretty good idea of why we still didn't want this on our main feed.Happy gaming!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-wonderful-world-of-darklords/exclusive-content