I do not know how to properly put It but... Do we have elements about occult practices, spells, rituals and esoteric Ideals? I know this sub Is about greek Roman esoterism, but the romans and etruscans were still quite... Close, at least geographically speaking. Did they have the concept of evil Eye, for instance? I Guess It Is almost certain they had curse tablets.

Greetings here.

Now that almost two years have passed since the first episode of Agatha All Along came out, I decided to make a post to praise overall how a series that apparently came out of the blue, for many outsiders without reasons to be, managed to become such a respectable work and, in my personal case, maybe my favourite MCU product, and my comfort series for the autumn-witch season.

I will start by admitting that I liked Agatha's character in Wandavision. Still, i was flatfooted about such a production decision. Ok, Agatha was cool and charismatic, but did she need a whole series? Her character was perfect as she was. Yet, when it came out, it destroyed any doubt with the first two episodes and, despite a moment of painful doubt during the third episode, it cemented itself as a extremely enjoyable work for someone who was tired of the MCU.

Personally, I think that AAA managed to shine, despite the Marvel products fatigue, for certain perks, which can be summed up as "It does not feel like MCU"-wait! I can explain!

First of all, it is quite... "Isolated". There are not many references to other products and, to properly understand everything of it, you need to have watched only Wandavision, while having a vague knowledge of Multiverse of Madness, and still the show bothers to explain back what it happened, at least from the point of view of outsider characters. With different products now referencing each other, this one is quite self contained, at least for now.

Second, the stakes are so... Low. There is no battle to protect the universe, the world, the country or not even the town. This story revolves around a group of random normal (excuse the word) people facing different dangers and yes, they may die. But it will stop there. Their deaths won't escalate into a world ending catastrophe. It would be the death of some people. Awful and tragic, and we KNOW it will happen (RIP Sharon). But it won't go further. Even the characters, while magical, are not MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MAGIC. Ok, Billy and Prime Agatha are powerful, and Rio is, well Rio. But the power level of the series is overall limited and down to earth(eheh Rio), with spells being at best as destructive as a normal small bomb. It is so refreshing. And that brings us to the...

Third point. The most important. Magic feels magical. It feels mysterious, dark without being evil, enchanting and ethereal. With the Witches road limiting the main cast possibility of using energy-magic, casting waves of shining mist and power constructs, I could enjoy witches being... Witches. Not Doctor Strange high Sorcerers or Wanda psychic reality warpers. I could see enchanters performing rituals, chanting, preparing spell components, drawing magic circles and scrying reality using at least an apparently folkloric base. The entire Witches Road looks like something out of a fairytale (I know it is the point with how it was created, but I still appreciate it).

Fourth: the effort they put while making it with a relatively low budget. Kathryn Hann was perfect in every scene, the rest of the cast shone on their own, the special effects were mainly practical, and they broke their back to make those different versions of the Ballad of the Witches Road.

Maybe I could add more points (for instance, a show with a mainly female cast who empowers them without demonizing men) and I would have some criticisms, but this is why I said that its main merit is not feeling like the MCU. It feels like a old TV series of the 90s-00s about witches. It makes me feel nostalgic and remembering fondly of the autumns of my childhood, of afternoons on the coach with a blanket and tea with the rain outside, or windy evenings in front of the TV airing spooky movies. It is the series some of us needed to remind the beauty of magick and mystic rituals. I even think I may make a RPG oneshot using Labyrinth rpg or the Last Sabbath set in the Witches Road, or at least how it is supposed to be now that Billy created it or how witches thought it was.

Well, let's see if my beliefs were easy to share or you add more twists and perspectives to them.

For those who missed it: https://www.reddit.com/r/ravenloft/comments/1tf2128/domain_alsianthi_a_song_of_bronze_monsters_and/

I basically made a Ravenloft domain inspired by mediterranean mythology, etruscan culture and greek tragedies. A land where invisible spirits touch the natural world, leaving signs the wise ones can read, and monsters appear after grave crimes are committed. Inspirations are found in the original post.

The Monster was born after....

1. The rules of hospitality were broken
2. A oath was broken
3. Profanation of a sacred place or animal
4. Crime against relatives

The Monster was generated...

1. when a mortal was cursed into a hideous form
2. when it emerged from the earth, the sea or the darkness
3. apparently as a normal human child, but once born it was clearly not human

The Monster is shaped after...

1. a Cyclop, the fear of impotence
2. a sea hag, the fear of revulsion
3. a merrow, the fear of sea
4. a nothic, the fear of the dark

The Monster hungers for...

1. Power, it loves to dominate and rule
2. Hoard, it wants to accumulate
3. Hunt, it loves to chase
4. Retribution, it wants to punish

Well, these were the barebones ideas for the physical monsters of the domains. There were other ideas, but i did not want to turn the tables into full on plagiarism, therefore the inspirations are "free" to be used to have more ideas. But they are not the only "threat", after all, so...

The Unquiet Spirit is...

1. a benevolent Dryad who wants to protect the family living under the shadow of her oak before the volcano erupts
2. an angered Erinni who haunts those who sleep in a temple without paying the right homages
3. a "young" couatl who craves to be revered and worshipped as the protector of a stream
4. a pained ghost sailor trapped in his last moments

If you have ideas for more tables, feel free to suggest.

Darklords: King Aker and Queen Larthia, Voices of the Immortals

Genre: yeah, about that... (Dark fantasy? Cosmic horror? Folk horror?)

Hallmarks: bronze age plights, twin worlds, monsters born out of guilt and sin, dreaded afterlife

Mist Talismans: verdigris bronze dagger, carved lead tablet, broken cinerary urn, burnt laurel crown

A warm island with lush fields of grain and vine, verdant forests of olive, oak and pine and a breath-taking sleeping volcano, surrounded by a bountiful wine-dark at sunset sea, constellated with lesser isles. Farmers spend their days working the earth and protecting their sheep, pigs and goats, while being overseen by fierce warriors in shining bronze armours. Merry banquets are held every month in the sovereign's palace, while games of skill or physical prowess brighten every week in the island. Solemn choirs are held in the temples, while columns of incense raise to the sky. The Alsianthi people do their best to enjoy their life and build a vibrant community... For the earth itself, and their monarch, will make them pay if they do not. The Voice of the Immortals will oversee every funeral rite, bestowing their protection over the departed in order to shield the souls from the hellish landscape they may fall prey upon death, a underworld they get a glimpse of a night a year. And the earth will answer their sins, spawning monsters to punish them.

Noteworthy Features

Those familiar with Alsianthi know that:

• It is a region with a mediterranean climate. Its inhabitants sometimes dare the seas as merchants and pirates, when not focusing on the enjoyment of arts, crafts and games. Termal springs are appreciated.
• Under the lake inside the mouth of the sleeping volcano, it is rumored about an entrance to the realm of the dead.
• The Voice of the Immortals is a pragmatic, controlling warrior-king who ensures nothing happens in his kingdom without him noticing/ the Voice of the Immortals is a detached, lonely sorceress queen who spends most of her time conjuring entities.
• Sometimes, monsters just appear after a grave sin is committed. Maybe someone who kills their guest gets turned into a wolfman, maybe one who burns alive their child spawns a three headed snake from their mouth.
• The "gods" and spirits wander unseen but, with the right ceremonies, they can be ask to influence with the mortal realm. They also leave signs on the material world, which can be read by seers, soothsayers and augurs, figures of importance in Alsianthi's society.
• If someone does not receive the right funeral, their soul will be at the mercy of fiendish creatures from the unseen world.
• Once a year, during the so-called Day of Saplings, the unseen world becomes partially visible, as spectres, daemons and fiends manifest their presence.
• People sing that, sometimes, a hero arises, capable of defeating every monster they face.

Settlements and Sites

• Alsianthi is a archipelago centered around a larger island. Small villages and hamlets dot it, surrounded by seas, forests and hills.
• The Other Island. To an observer in the ethereal plane, this domain appears as two islands facing each other upside down, separated by a thick mantle of ethereal. In addition, souls whose last life was spent on one island will see the Other as a land of brimstone, darkness, monsters and ice, before being reincarnated in said island.
• The Gates of the Underworld. Nearby the lake of the volcano, there is a cave. Most of the time, it is a normal cavern, although it is rumored many monsters emerge from it. Those who dare to enter it during the Day of Saplings, or with a half of the artefact, or with the Copper Mistletoe rumored to grow in the woods, will find themselves in a dusky chtonic region, overlayed with the ethereal realm. If they keep walking through this gallery, they may end up on the other island. How the other islanders may react, it is up to the moment. A spectre? A shapeshifting monster? A blessing of the gods? But after all, very few know how the Gates work.
• Alsianthi, the capital, a beautiful costal town, with painted statues, coloured temples and solid houses. In the elegant palace (maybe the only building that is the same in both islands), resides the Voice of the Immortals. Outside the town, the beautifully painted necropolis, a archipelago of barrows.
• The Realm of the Dead and Gods. The ethereal plane is inhabited by souls in a peculiar state. When someone dies, their soul becomes lethargic, wandering around the domain and slightly influencing the material world with chills or frost. Souls of those who died with important sacrifices and offers may become thicker, joining shades of similar strengths and becoming daemons, capable of greater effects on the realm of the living, like controlling animals, plants, weather and so on, before living that fusion for its next reincarnation. It is possible the greatest of those soul conglomerates take the guise and habits of the gods of the monarch's native world. Skilled diviners can understand if a spirit is behind a flock of birds flying in the sky and what said spirit may want, as also being able to call upon these spirits for favours with long rituals.
• The lesser islands. Dens of pirates (hiding their treasures), monsters (procreating), oracles(searching for isolation) and mystery cults (proposing alternatives to the known afterlife).
• The Miasma. Certain places or people may, after sins like disrespecting guests, hosts, gods or family, accumulate a bleeding into the ethereal plane. Said bleeding acts as a tainted beacon for spirits, daemons and gods, who may try to... Touch it. The resonance of the sin, combined with the influence of the ethereal entity, mutates nature around the place or person. It may happen all at once, or after months of repeated cruelties, or never in a lifetime.. But it can happen. And so, a murderer of guests may find herself with snakes for arms, a unscrupolous sorcerer may be dragged inside a tree, a too-kind prophet may see his food being snatched away by horse-sized bats, or a priest who compare their beauty to a god may give birth to a bull headed dragon. And so Monsters are born, the faults of people came to flesh, punishments of the gods and omens (monstrum, warning) of their anger and will. The Voice of the Immortals are immune to the Miasma, although they do not know it.
• Strands of Fate. On the other hand, certain acts may please the ethereal entity. Opening the door to a god-possessed beggar, giving your life to save a daemon-loved tree, dying with those wanting to rob the tomb of your ancestors. They see these actions and they may smile. And so, a Hero rises. This person gains the Heroes of Legend trait (see the Darklords) and they may also gain a lesser gift (wings, a intelligent stallion, an unbreakable shield...), but they are doomed to die young. More Heroes can exist at the same moment.

The Voices of the Immortals, King Aker and Queen Larthia, Darklords of Alsianthi

Of course, you know the tale. A wandering hero reaches a far away land to take an ancient relic that will allow him to claim his title as king of his home region. The daughter of the monarch protecting said relic falls in love with him and she uses her sorcerous secrets to help him, to later escape together. But this is not that tale.

Aker was a promising, brave young man, hungry for power and glory. His uncle, wishing to test his valor and honour, sent him on a quest, to ask the sorcerer king Cestius his most prized artefact. Aker accepted the deal and sailed with his fellow reavers for that fabled kingdom.

Larthia was a clever, scholarly young woman, hungry for power and knowledge. She longed to know the deepest secrets of the artefact protected by her father Cestius, but she was not the firstborn. Her strong, kind, charismatic sibling Velia was the rightful heir and the only one with the right to study the treasure. But Larthia was patient and waited.

They met at Cestius's court. While the king, worried for his kingdom, prophesied to fall if the heirloom had to be taken without the blessing of the gods, proposed a series of trials to see if that proud man had the right to take it, the two youths's gazes met each other. They saw their beauty, their inner strength and a possibility to get what they wanted. They met each other under the moonlight many times before the first trial and swore eternal love. But knowing her father was not easy to deceive, Larthia decided to act quickly. After using her sorcerous craft to help Aker win the first trials, they managed to steal the heirloom during a banquet.

They sailed on the wine dark sea, while the desperate Cestius sent on their way Velia, fearing their beloved sister had been abducted along with the protection of the kingdom.

The two fools in love knew that they could not hope to outrun Velia's fleet and Cestius's enchantments, therefore they opted for a last ditch effort. Aker prepared a white flag, while Larthia enchanted the weather and the birds to summon a fake omen, a portent to misdirect the seers. They stopped at a small island, where Velia, thinking about a surrender in peace, decided to land. But as soon as they run to hug her sister, they found a dagger on their stomach. Then, Aker butchered their corpse, throwing the pieces in the sea, ensuring that they could not have rest until their father managed to gather every limb.

Of course, no god could have approved of this. Aker disrespecting his host, Larthia ensuring the fall of her hometown, both of them pretending to act under the divine goodwill to lower the guard of their chaser and damning a soul to a death without rest. The Mists came, turning the wine dark sea into a stone gray storm and, just as the ship was falling, both Larthia and Aker tried to save the heirloom first, getting grab of it in the same instant. The heirloom broke in two, like their oath of love, as the storm swallowed them.

Aker found himself on a shore, with half of the artefact in his hand. Larthia found herself on the same shore, with half of the artefact in her hand. But they did not know about that. For the island was one and two, two twins perfectly overlayed, with the only difference being its individual inhabitants. And so, they found a village and managed to become its monarchs, the Voices of the Immortals...

THEIR POWERS

Aker is a Gladiator, Larthia a Night Hag.

Heroes of Legend: they are Heroes, after everything. And a hero defeats Monsters. When they deal with Monsters (that means, those born from the effects of this Domain or creatures summoned by a spellcaster), they will almost always win. Their blows become accurate, the Monster fears them or a lightning bolt points where it is hiding. The Voice of the Immortals have advantage at every roll against Monsters, be it persuasion, combat or anything else, while the Monsters have disadvantage at every roll against them.

Lord of Men: Aker is almost always surrounded by his bodyguards, a half dozen of ruthless and devouted warriors known as Aker's Bolts. When he is with them, he can bestow them his Heroes of Legend trait.

Mistress of Monsters: Larthia is skilled with drugs and enchantments, such is her mastery that she can also make Monsters submit to her. She can turn any Monster she personally bests in a non-hostile way into a familiar, and she can have up to two familiars.

Closing the Borders: when the Voice of the Immortals close the borders (and they can do it once per day), they affect both versions of the realm. When Aker does it, the Mists are haunted by ghost ships, which deal 2d6 slashing damage each round to those who brave them. When Larthia does it, phantasms and sea monsters emerge, dealing 1d4 psychic and 1d4 poison damage each round.

THEIR TORMENT

• Ghosts of the Past. During his sleep, Aker sometimes sees the ghosts of his comrades and uncle taunting him, while Larthia sees her sibling and father pointing at her.
• Judgement in the Future. They will be punished. They sinned against the gods too much for that, and they know that asking for forgiveness would mean losing what they gained. They know the gods will come, it is just a matter of when and to postpone the moment as much as they can with sacrifices, but one day the last monster will be born...
• Frustration of the Present. Aker wanted to be a glorious kind of a vast nation, now he is undiscussed monarch of a small archipelago, unable to leave it and enjoy the variety of a wider kingdom. Larthia wanted to explore the oldest secrets of the cosmo, now she has all the time of the world... To experiment with what a archipelago may offer. Both of them have a half of the artefact, unable to properly use it for their purpose.
• Heartache. They love and fear each other. When one of them is fightning or in danger, the other has a seizure and their spirit appears transfigurated in front of them, as a grim portent of doom (Aker appears as a emaciated husk of himself, wearing a shark hide, while Larthia appears as a hideous hag bitten by her own snake-like hair). Of course, the spirit suffers from this hallucination and see their other half as a monster, facing netherworld entities or tortures. They fear the other is imprisoned in eternal torment and about to give in, confess about the other sins and ensuring their punishment, too. Therefore, while still longing for each other, they cannot fathom the idea of dying and joining them, or otherwise meet them, therefore they try to live as much as they can (Aker by sacrificing prisoners as offers to the underworld and spectral legions at his commands after death, Larthia by experimenting with spells to become a lesser goddess).

So... Here is my first full homebrew domain. Inspired by etruscan culture and a what-if on the Argonauts tale, if Medea and Jason were full blown bastards or they did not meet Circe in time. And well, what It means ti be a normale person when you live in a Mediterranean myth and Heracles Is not here.