Ravenloft

In a far-flung corner of the Plane of Shadow drifts a hidden expanse of roiling mist and vague semi-reality. At this eerie edge of the multiverse, the Dark Powers collect the most wicked beings from across ages and worlds within inescapable, mist-shrouded domains. These are the Domains of Dread, the nightmare demiplanes that form the D&D setting of Ravenloft. Untold terrors lurk within these lands, yet the collection of the Dark Powers is far from complete.

Each domain is its own demiplane, isolated from all other planes including the Material Plane. No spell—not even wish—allows escape from the Domains of Dread. Spells such astral projection, plane shift, teleport, and similar magic cast for the purpose of escaping a domain simply fail, as do effects that banish a creature to another plane. These restrictions apply to all other effects, including magic items and artifacts that transport or banish creatures to other planes. Magic that allows transit to the Border Ethereal, such as the etherealness spell and the Etherealness feature of ghosts, is the exception to this rule. A creature that enters the Border Ethereal from a domain is pulled back into the domain it left upon leaving the Ethereal.

Localized Phenomena

The Mists can always be found at a domain’s borders but can also appear in dense banks that rise wherever adventures demand. Such banks might veil strangers or hidden foes, or they can transport those who enter them to distant lands, other domains, or even beyond the Domains of Dread. The Mists are inscrutable, but they ever serve the schemes of the Dark Powers, delivering creatures wherever these wicked forces desire.

The Dark Powers also grant Darklords limited ability to manipulate the Mists surrounding their domains, allowing most to open or close their domains’ borders to others on a whim. If a domain’s borders are closed, supernatural agitation is obvious to any who approach the Mists. This takes the form of roiling disturbances within the haze, menacing silhouettes, threatening sounds, or other activity themed to the Darklord or domain.

Most Darklords can keep their domains’ borders closed indefinitely and can reopen them at will. For some Darklords, slightly varied effects manifest when they close their domains. Others are limited in their ability to affect their borders. For each domain, specifics appear in the “Closing the Borders” portion of the section on that domain’s Darklord.

Type

Dimensional plane