 | |
| Author | Chet Williamson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Ravenloft series |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Published | 1994 (TSR, Inc.) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 313 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0786902064 (first edition, paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Enemy Within |
| Followed by | Tales of Ravenloft |
Mordenheim is a fantasy horror novel by Chet Williamson, set in the world of Ravenloft, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. It was published by TSR in 1994.
After his wife dies, scientist Victor Mordenheim envisions bringing her back to life in a new host body. He first experiments by creating a living being, Adam, from the bodies of the dead. [1] Mordenheim then uses two inexperienced spiritualists, Friederich and Hilda, to find a young woman to house his wife's spirit. Adam objects to Mordenheim's plan and kidnaps the young woman chosen for the experiment. Friederich and Hilda then pursue Adam. [2]
Critics noted the strong similarity to Mary Shelley's gothic horror novel Frankenstein . [2] [1]
Seeking to create a new setting for its Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game franchise, TSR released Ravelonft, a horror campaign setting. It proved very popular, and over the next decade, TSR released many adventures and supplements for the Ravenloft setting, including a series of novels. The ninth of these novels was Mordenheim, written by Chet Williamson with cover art by Roger Loveless, published in 1994.
Writing for Science Fiction Chronicle , critic Don D'Ammassa noted that in recent works, "TSR has been illuminating the dark side of fantasy with its Ravenloft series." D'Ammassa called the novel "an elaborate retelling of the Frankenstein story ... An atmospheric story heavy on gothic elements and despite its clear debt to Mary Shelley, it's the best entry yet in this series." [2]
In the November 1994 issue of Kliatt , Gail Roberts noted "Perspective shifts as the narrative voice changes from Adam to the young assistants, and so on, but not in a confusing way." Roberts concluded this was "a worthy addition to the Ravenloft series." [1]
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called "domains", brought together by a mysterious force known only as the Dark Powers. Each domain is tailored to and mystically ruled by a being called a Darklord who is forever trapped and surrounded by magical mists surrounding the domain. Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire in the original AD&DRavenloft I6 module released in 1983, became the first Darklord, both ruler and prisoner of his own personal domain of Barovia. The story of how Count von Zarovich became Darklord of Barovia was detailed in the 1993 novel I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire. As originally established in the Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set known as "the Black Box" released in 1990, the Ravenloft campaign setting was located in the Ethereal Plane. As a physical manifestation of that plane, lands, monsters and even people were created out of the mysterious mists, and the realm acted as a prison where one could enter or be transported, but means of escape were few. Other Ravenloft Domains and Darklords were eventually added in various AD&D 2nd edition products establishing a core continent attached around Barovia which could be traveled to by others if their respective lords allowed entering or leaving their borders; while some Domains remained isolated in the mists and were referred to as Islands.
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job interview. Tracy Hickman met his future writing partner Margaret Weis at TSR, and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The adventures during that game inspired a series of gaming modules, a series of novels, licensed products such as board games, and lead miniature figures.
Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and includes art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III. The plot of Ravenloft focuses on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who pines for his lost love. Various story elements, including Strahd's motivation and the locations of magical weapons, are randomly determined by drawing cards. The player characters attempt to defeat Strahd and, if successful, the adventure ends.
Count Strahd von Zarovich is a fictional character originally appearing as the feature villain in the highly popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons adventure module I6: Ravenloft. Later, this character and his world would be explored in follow-up modules, novels, and the Ravenloft campaign setting. Within this setting, Strahd is the first and best-known of Ravenloft's darklords. He is a powerful ancient vampire. He is also a master necromancer, a skilled warrior, and the unquestioned ruler of the domain of Barovia.
The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based; of these, the Forgotten Realms, an epic fantasy world, has been one of the most successful and critically acclaimed settings. Many campaign settings include standard sword and sorcery environments, while others borrow Asian, Central American, swashbuckling, horror and even space-travel themes.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a vampire is an undead creature. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature can become a vampire, and looks as it did in life, with pale skin, haunting red eyes, and a feral cast to its features. A new vampire is created when another vampire drains the life out of a living creature. Its depiction is related to those in the 1930s and 1940s Hollywood Dracula and monster movies. In writing vampires into the game, as with other creatures arising in folklore, the authors had to consider what elements arising in more recent popular culture should be incorporated into their description and characteristics.
James Michael Ward III was an American game designer and fantasy author who worked for TSR, Inc. for more than 20 years, most notably on the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. He wrote various books relating to Dungeons & Dragons, including guidebooks such as Deities & Demigods, and novels including Pool of Radiance, based on the computer game of the same name.
Vampire of the Mists is the first novel in the Ravenloft books gothic horror series. Written by Christie Golden, it is set both in Waterdeep, a city in the Forgotten Realms world of Dungeons & Dragons, and more prominently, the Demiplane of Dread, location of the Ravenloft campaign setting.
The Enemy Within is a 1994 fantasy horror novel by Christie Golden, set in the world of Ravenloft, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons game.
Dungeons & Dragons novels are works of fantasy fiction that are based upon campaign settings released for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
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Bruce Nesmith is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He was Creative Director at TSR, working on a variety of games including Dungeons & Dragons, and is a senior game designer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has worked on AAA titles such as Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and was lead designer on Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
King of the Dead is a fantasy novel by Gene DeWeese, set in the world of Ravenloft, and is based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It was published in March 1996 (ISBN 0-7869-0483-6).
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