One of the elements stressed in RAVENLOFT campaigns is the subtle twist-taking a traditional convention of the Gothic horror model and tweaking it in order to take the player characters by surprise. For instance, each vampire the heroes battle should be a bit different from the classic model. This can entail simply describing the monster in some slightly deceptive way, hiding its true nature, or giving it unusual powers that other members of its kind do not share. However this is done, it keeps the players uncertain about the magnitude of the foe their characters are facing, and it gives them a feeling of doubt about their characters' ability to overcome it.
This same level of suspense applies to curses. Each one should be different. Each curse should be customized so that it matches the personality of either the character laying it or the targeted character. When designing a curse, the likes and dislikes of the person playing the targeted character can also be very useful. For instance, if the Dungeon Master knows that Lori's character has a fascination with ancient books and history, he can use this information to improve the impact of a curse. Suppose that every book or scroll Lori's character touched withered into ash. If, on the other hand, Lori's character happened to be a cat fancier, then all such animals might hiss and snarl in her character's presence. If Lori herself happens to share this interest, so much the better! Sure, this is hitting below the belt, but that is what curses are all about.
A number of factors contribute to the crafting of a proper Ravenloft curse. The following section discusses these factors.
Phrasing a Curse
The wording of a curse greatly affects its results. In fact, Dungeon Masters should consider the wording of a curse as important as the justification for invoking it. Consider an example of a peasant who has been unjustly beaten by an evil warrior. (This example is carried throughout the chapter.) If the victim simply says, "I curse your sword arm!" he does not add much flavor to the game, and the chance of success for his curse reflects this.
On the other hand, an imaginative and spiteful curse can do wonders to increase the tension and mood. Because of this, those who employ eloquent enchantments find the chances of success for their curses greatly enhanced. Suppose that the beaten peasant looked up from the ground, pointed a long, bony finger at the towering warrior who beat him, and declared:
By the blackness of the night,What a curse! The intent is clear, and it accomplishes many of the important things that a curse must do. Curses shrouded in this sort of dark and macabre atmosphere make every aspect of the game far more enjoyable and theatrical.
Never more shall your sword bite!
Weakened be the hand that holds it,
Darkness now comes to enfold it!
Also, the wording of the curse should stay in tune with the person invoking it. Some people phrase their curses in poetic verse, like the one presented above, but such a flowery curse would hardly be fitting to a bestial madman or an uneducated brute.
The essence of the matter lies merely in conveying the raw emotion of the curser. While the Vistani have elevated the curse to an almost ritualistic level, calling for more poetic expression, most people do not pause to compose a biting rhyme. The player who delivers the words of the curse must consider exactly how his character feels at that very moment and then attempt to give voice to that wrath. A moment of stunned silence in the room after the curse has been uttered usually indicates that the hex is an effective one.
Descriptive Effects
While curses almost always have a direct effect on the game in terms of numbers and statistics, this element must be disguised in the Demiplane of Dread. Consider the cursing peasant again. He clearly intends to reduce the warrior's ability to wield his sword in combat. Thus, the Dungeon Master might decide that the warrior will now suffer a -1 penalty to all attack rolls (see "Resolving the Curse" later in this chapter). This need never be said, though, because the ominous wording of the curse makes its effects clear. The less frequently numbers and "game-speak" are tossed around, the more exciting and intense the game session.
Broad Prohibitions
To make a curse even more effective, it should penalize or regulate actions, not merely prohibit them. It is more insidious and colorful to punish the desired action, but still allow it to be done. For instance, the cursing peasant might have simply stated something like, "May you never strike successfully in combat again!" Such a sweeping restriction, however, would utterly change the brute's life and would not be the most effective curse. Though the warrior would have to give up his profession, the curse would no longer trouble him.
Curses should certainly target the offender in a manner that reflects the nature of the wrong committed, but the effects should be far more exacting than a simple and broad prohibition. A properly worded curse taunts the offender by injuring his abilities rather than destroying them.
Invoking the Curse
Curses can be invoked in a variety of situations. However, though spellcasters can create one at any time (if the proper magic has been memorized), the situation must warrant laying a curse for those not wielding magic. Generally, this means that a great wrong must be perpetrated (or at least perceived).
A number of factors can contribute to a person's ability to invoke a curse in the Demiplane of Dread. Among the most important are the emotion of the victim and the degree of harm done by the person to be cursed. The following text discusses these and other elements.
Justification
This aspect of a curse rates the degree of wrong done to the person invoking the curse, the actual perceived importance of the act in the cursor's eyes, and the frequency with which that character makes use of such dark means of revenge. Table 38 lists the modifier that each of the following conditions imposes on the curse's chance of success.
Unjustified Curses: These curses are cast without cause, often tossed off without much forethought and with very little reason. Spellcasters who too quickly weave their mystical enchantments over any minor slight soon find that nearly all of their curses fall into this category. Such scourges have a very low chance of actually taking effect.
Justified Curses: These curses have a fair reason to be laid. For example, if a woman finds out that the neighbors have been stealing her best silver and laughing about it behind her back for many years, she might decide to curse them. This is certainly justified, as she has been wronged. These curses are more effective than unjustified ones, but they still have a fair chance of failing when invoked.
Highly Justified Curses: These curses are cast in response to a great wrong or threat. Someone who has been badly trampled by a careless rider's thundering horse might well reach into the darkest parts of his mind to draw forth a curse of vengeance in his last seconds of life. A highly justified curse has a very good chance of success.
If the target of the curse had to make a powers check for his action, then the curse is almost certainly highly justified.
Emotional Content
The mental state of the person invoking a curse is critical to its final effects. A woman enraged and heartbroken over her son's death can unleash a highly effective curse on his incompetent physician because her soul is torn apart by torment and hatred. Whether the physician truly was inept is not important at this point; only the woman's perception really matters. The emotional content of curses breaks down into three categories. Table 38 lists the modifier that each of the following emotional states imposes on the curse's chance of success.
Normal Emotional State: Normal emotional states rarely produces a powerful curse. Anyone still in complete control of his mental faculties can seldom generate the emotional power needed to bring on a mighty curse. Only those of an extremely passionate and fiery nature can weave an enchantment in this state.
Charged Emotional State: Charged emotional states usually involve a wrong sensed by the rational mind. States of extreme anger or hatred (as opposed to outright bestial rage) mark this condition. Curses cast by those in this frame of mind are somewhat less effective than those invoked by someone who is highly charged; still, they stand a fairly good chance of success. A man wrongly accused of a crime by a crooked sheriff trying to cover his own misdeeds might easily fall into this category.
Highly Charged Emotional State: Highly charged emotional states are by far the most effective for unleashing a curse. The animalistic passions and primitive emotions that mark such a mood drive out rational thought, giving way to a frenzy of bestial fervor. Such a base personality can often make contact with the darkness that infuses Ravenloft and bend the powers of the Demiplane of Dread to his own desires.
A woman betrayed by a man who professed to love her for many years but left her standing at the altar may well fall into this category. Similarly, a parent mourning the needless loss of a child might easily function in a highly charged emotional state.
Additional Considerations
Many other things can make a curse more or less effective. Though the Dungeon Master should take each of these considerations into account, none weigh as heavily as the emotional state of the wronged person or the justification behind the curse. The following elements only tangentially affect a curse's chance of success. Table 38 lists the modifier that each of these conditions imposes on the curse's chance of success.
Background: Some people are more adept at bringing about curses than others, and many facets affect this ability. For example, the Vistani are noted for having great power to curse those who wrong them. Seldom, if ever, does a curse laid by a Vistana fail to take hold. The outcast darklings (see the Ravenloft Monstrous compendium Appendices I & II) are also renowned curse weavers, though not of the same power as their former kindred.
Natives of Ravenloft usually lay curses better than travelers from other lands, who have been drawn into the Demiplane and are seeking escape. In general, the more closely a person is tied to the Land of the Mists, the greater his chance of invoking an effective curse.
The age of the person speaking the curse seems to have no impact on the chances of it taking hold, but gender does. For reasons unknown to science and magic, females seem to be slightly better at invoking the wrath of black fate than males. Tradition claims that this reflects the emotional nature of a woman's heart, but none can say for sure.
Character Type: Those familiar with magic, be they mighty or lowly, have a better ability to curse than those who have no use for arcane crafts. However, this has only a minimal effect on the curse's chance of taking hold. A familiarity with magic is useful, but hardly necessary.
Alignment: A person's alignment also affects his ability to call upon the powers of Ravenloft. Those of evil or chaotic alignments have a slightly better chance of unleashing an effective curse than those of good or lawful natures. This consideration also pales in comparison with the first two considerations of emotion and justification.
Drama: The conditions under which a curse is cast can also greatly affect its chance of success. Some times and places are particularly well suited to curses. A curse laid by someone on his deathbed generally has more drama than one laid over a nice cup of tea; an invocation made in a graveyard or an evil temple will certainly have a greater impact than one voiced in a well-lit dining room; and speaking a curse from the top of a battlement at the stroke of midnight during a tremendous thunderstorm is certainly better that pronouncing it on a lazy summer day.
Tailoring the Curse
The most satisfying curses are those that fit the crime. For a curse to be truly effective, it must touch its victim in a personal and emotional way. Each time the effects manifest, they should remind the victim of his misdeeds, be they real or imagined. The hardship that the curse brings should be a painful thorn in his side.
Poetic justice is crucial to designing an effective curse. In short, the punishment must fit not only the person, but also the deed itself. With a little imagination and effort, such things make for truly memorable game sessions and outstanding nonplayer characters. Read Dante's classic Divine Comedy: Inferno for some excellent examples of fitting curses.
Consider once again the peasant's curse upon the cruel warrior. While this is a wholly unchivalrous act in the first place, consider the possibility that the warrior delivered the beating more out of a love for brutality than because of some perceived wrong done by the peasant. As a final element, assume that the warrior, after beating the peasant, raises his sword and kills the poor wretch as a twisted lesson to all those watching. The peasant lingers just long enough to voice his curse before dying:
By the blackness of the night,This verse targets the warrior's personality by weakening the value of his sword in combat; had the offender been a priest, this would hardly have been appropriate. By the same token, it punishes the act of murder by relating the curse to the type of weapon employed. A curse relating to the warrior's wealth or position would have been less worthy. Additionally, the scene is certainly dramatic, and the curse is clearly both justified and backed by strong emotion.
Never more shall your sword bite!
Feeble be the hand that holds it,
Faded strength shall now enfold it!
Constant and Triggered Effects
Generally, curses manifest themselves in two ways. The first produces a continual effect that constantly hampers the character in his daily life. Generally, these curses are less intense, though more obvious to the outside world. The second variety of curse lies dormant until the affected individual takes a particular action or encounters a certain situation. Often, the dividing line between these two types of curses is vague.
Constant Curses
Someone who has been struck blind would suffer from a constant curse, as does the handsome prince who was transformed into a frog. Generally (though there are certainly many exceptions), these types of curses have less dramatic game effects than triggered curses. Obviously, being changed into a frog has a pretty big impact on the handsome prince's life, but such extreme curses happen rarely.
If the peasant's curse on the evil warrior had been worded differently, it might well be taken as a constant curse. Suppose, for example, it was presented in this way:
By the blackness of the night,In game terms, such a curse might reduce the warrior's Strength score. The Dungeon Master would determine the actual numeric loss, but a four-point reduction should be the upper limit.
Gone forever is your might!
Weakened be your mortal frame,
With these words, your strength I claim!
Triggered Curses
These curses usually have a far more dramatic impact than constant curses. The peasant's original curse actually falls into this category, affecting the warrior only when he seeks to use his blade in combat. At that point, his sword arm becomes feeble, greatly reducing his effectiveness and prestige as a warrior. While wording the oath as a constant curse might reduce his Strength by perhaps four points, wording it as a triggered curse it can have far more impact perhaps even causing his Strength score to plunge to 3 when striking with his sword! Such a reduction in his chances of hitting a foe (and the minimal damage he could inflict) would certainly remind him painfully of the poor peasant he wrongfully killed.
Escape Clauses
When afflicted by a curse, a character must either learn to live with the effects or figure out how to rid himself of them When a nonplayer character suffers from a curse, escaping its effects becomes mostly a plot convention. If, however the curse afflicts a player character, the situation gains far more importance. For the purposes of classification, escape clauses are split into two distinct types: avoidance and redemption.
Avoidance
Perhaps the easiest way for someone to be rid of a curse is to simply shut out the action that triggers it. The cruel warrior that beat the peasant might avoid the curse simply by using a mace in combat instead of a sword. This might not be much of a sacrifice, unless the blade he was forced to spurn was a family heirloom or was greatly enchanted. Anyway, victims can thus avoid a curse's effects without actually being free of it.
It is even possible, in some cases, to avoid the main impact of a constant curse. A vain prince who has been rendered horribly ugly by the curse of a rejected lover might resort to wearing a mask at all times. This would allow him to continue dealing with the world, even though it does not actually eliminate the curse.
Redemption
Every good curse has some sort of escape contingency built into it. Usually this type of clause allows the victim to free himself of the curse by performing a particular act or by suffering appropriately for a certain time. The method of freeing a cursed person must relate to the act that brought about the curse in the first place. Further, the person invoking the curse must fit this qualification into the actual wording. Suppose that the peasant's curse had been worded thus:
You bring the blackness of the night.The wording of this curse allows the warrior to escape the peasant's wrath by mending his evil ways. If he becomes fair and just, he can again wield his favorite weapon with power and dignity. (Of course, he might be unable to change his nature, but that is up to him.) The best curse acts as a corrective measure, much as a punishment might teach a child not to lie.
Your heart is euil, full of spite.
Until some fair amends you make,
Each sword you wield shall surely break!
Strength of the Curse
The final aspect to consider in designing a curse is the relative strength of the curse being cast. In general, curses can be grouped into five different levels of seriousness: embarrassing, frustrating, troublesome, dangerous, and lethal.
Embarrassing Curses
These, the least of curses, are used to punish minor transgressions. No actual game effects result from embarrassing curses, but they add a touch of flavor and serve as a constant reminder to the offender of his wrongdoing.
A thief who steals from his brother (who can afford it, but is shocked by the betrayal of trust) might be cursed by his sibling to have hands as black as coal. If he chooses, the thief can hide this affliction by wearing gloves (although wearing gloves might hinder his thieving abilities).
Another example of an embarrassing curse is a callous rake who is cursed to stutter whenever he speaks to a beautiful woman. If he remains silent or converses only through letters, the curse has no effect.
Frustrating Curses
These curses answer fairly moderate affronts, and they interfere with a person's everyday life. Frustrating curses often have some minor negative game effect. As a rule, a curse of this level can apply a penalty of only two points to a single aspect of the character.
The thief in the above example could have been cursed to have his hands shake incessantly. This would cause a reduction of two points in his Dexterity, thus lowering his chances of success for many of his thieving skills. While he still might easily move silently or hide in shadows, he would certainly have problems picking a pocket or disarming a trap.
The ultimate effect of the curse is, of course, up to the Dungeon Master, but it should take into account the seriousness of the offense and the emotion of the person laying the curse.
Troublesome Curses
These curses are perhaps the most useful for adventure design purposes. In general, troublesome curses can be inflicted only for major offenses. It dramatically alters the victim's life, though it places him in no true, physical peril. The peasant's curse upon the cruel warrior counts as a troublesome curse. This type of curse will typically reduce a single characteristic or ability by up to four points. Occasionally, it might affect two aspects of the character, reducing each by two points.
Curses of this level also allow for an alteration in the personality of the target. For example, a person might have an undying lust for gold implanted in his mind or his heart might become filled with desire at the sight of a given woman. Of course, this alteration must always cause the character to want for something that the nature of the curse makes it difficult or impossible for him to obtain.
Dangerous Curses
This truly powerful magic is doled out only in response to a great wrong. A dangerous curse radically alters the victim's former lifestyle, imposing a six-point penalty on a single aspect of the character or two reductions of three points each.
While troublesome curses can alter a character's personality, dangerous ones can actually make major changes in the target's physique. For example, a dangerous curse might afflict someone with lycanthropy on the three nights of the full moon. Similarly, such a curse might cause a young harlot to rise from her grave as a vampire when she dies. Any curse in this category can utterly destroy a person's life. If the thief were stricken blind for a day the moment he violated a law, his career as a rogue would be over.
Generally, player characters should not be afflicted with a curse of this magnitude unless the means for removing the curse are fairly close at hand.
Lethal Curses
This most dreadful type of curse utterly destroys the victim's way of life and may even lead to his death. So powerful a curse will emerge only in response to a great wrong, and it must be laid with great emotion. Some say that the dark powers themselves hand down these curses as a prelude to the absolute destruction of someone who has no hope of redemption.
Any curse that instantly and utterly transforms someone's physical or mental self falls into this category. Strahd von Zarovich's transformation to a vampire was the result of such a curse. If applied to ability scores, a curse this powerful can cause a reduction of eight points to a single attribute or two reductions of four points each.
A player character should never fall victim to this type of curse unless the Dungeon Master desires to remove him from the game. If this is the case, the player should be made aware of the potential loss of the character and have a chance to repent before the curse takes hold. Otherwise, hard feelings will surely result, ruining everyone's fun.
