Nov 6, 2023
This is incredibly random but as funny as "king who hates fun is forced to perform with a living ventriloquist dummy of Strahd von Zarovich in what is basically a comedy club forever" is, I think the pre-5e version of Risibilos is better
#I don't think this qualifies as a hot take it's lukewarm at best#but 5e Risibilos is very uh#lackluster?#Like I get the whole 'some domains are full campaigns and some are one-shots' but#5e Risibilos is not a one-shot it's a cut-away gag#And I already know I'm commiting Ravenloft Blasphemy by not caring about Strahd all that much#but having the ventriloquist dummy literally be a dummy that thinks it's the real Strahd is#again that's not a domain premise that's a cut-away gag#Risibilos doesn't get to exist as it's own thing outside of the Setting Mascot and I think that devalues it#and I know I'm thoroughly biased because fucked up and vaguely sinister jesters are like#very high up on my favorite type of characters list#And I've gotten interested in a puzzle game series with lore that features a fucked up immortal king and his fucked up immortal jester#BUT bias aside I stand by my statement that pre-5e Risibilos is a better domain#5e Risibilos works better as a joke than an actual domain you'd have players be in
