The lore articles in the Domains of Ravenloft folder explore some of the most notorious Domains of Dread. Each of these realms is a setting unto itself and might host adventures of the DM's design. These featured domains share the following format:
Overview. Each domain has a brief overview with its Darklord's name, the horror genres that inspire it (see the lore articles in the Genres of Horror folder), distinctive hallmarks, and related Mist Talismans.
Noteworthy Features. Details about the domain known by the domain's residents and those who have traveled there appear in this section.
Settlements and Sites. This section provides an overview of the domain's most infamous locations. In many cases, these locations are represented on a map of the domain. Each map also notes additional sites waiting to be detailed in the DM's adventures.
Darklord. A description of the domain's Darklord appears here, along with details revealing the roots of their evil.
Adventures. This section describes the kinds of adventures that naturally fit within the domain.
Domain Focus. For most domains, this final section highlights specific story elements and provides domain-specific tools to aid the DM in creating adventures around the domain's Darklord and the horror of their realm.
Each Darklord in this world has a stat block that is to be used in combat and a character sheet that is to be used outside of combat (such as @Strahd von Zarovich compared to @Strahd von Zarovich). Though it might be tempting to make a Darklord an overwhelming threat, doing so risks distancing a rich, versatile villain from the characters. A Darklord is often far from the most physically daunting creature in their domain, but their nature as a Darklord makes permanently defeating them challenging. To defeat a Darklord, the characters should focus on undermining the Darklord's plots and striking at the core of the Darklord's torments to make them vulnerable (topics explored in the A Domain's Downfall section of the Horror Pacing & Gameplay lore article). A climatic encounter with a Darklord should happen when and how it's right for the adventures. After all, dread isn't a factor of challenge rating or character level, but of the suspense the DM's adventures create.
@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. Creatures that enter @The Mists at this time, including flying creatures, are subject to the following effects:
A creature that starts its turn in @The Mists must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or gain 1 level of exhaustion. This exhaustion can't be removed while the creature is in @The Mists.
No matter how far a creature travels in @The Mists, or which direction it goes, it gets turned around so that it eventually ends up back in the domain it left.
The area within @The Mists is heavily obscured.
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.
If a domain's borders are open, the domain is still not easy to escape from. The area within @The Mists remains heavily obscured, but @The Mists don't cause creatures to gain levels of exhaustion. Characters intent on passing through @The Mists travel for 1d6 hours, then roll on the Wandering @The Mists table to determine what happens.
Wandering @The Mists
d100 - Effect
01-20 - Characters emerge in a domain of the DM's choosing.
21-40 - Characters wander @The Mists for another 1d6 hours, then roll on this table again.
41-65 - Characters emerge from @The Mists on stable ground 1d100 feet away from where they entered.
66-75 - Characters emerge on stable ground a mile from where they entered @The Mists at midnight of the night after they entered @The Mists.
76-85 - Characters emerge from @The Mists inside a structure somewhere within the domain they tried to leave, perhaps a cave, crypt, shed, or closet.
86-95 - Other creatures appear within @The Mists. Roll any die. If an even number is rolled, a lost and terrified @Commoner appears. If an odd number is rolled, 2d6 @Skeletons or 1 @Unspeakable Horror appears. After the encounter, another 1d6 hours pass, then roll on this table again.
96-99 - Characters emerge from @The Mists where they entered to find the domain changed. Perhaps someone the characters knew is gone, and no one has any knowledge of them ever existing.
100 - Characters emerge from @The Mists on a world on the Material Plane. After 1d6 hours, @The Mists rise around them once more. Roll again on this table.
A Mist talisman is a nonmagical object, akin to a dowsing rod or a lodestone, that resonates with the unique nature of the domain where it originates, allowing the creature holding it to find a path through @The Mists to that domain. By holding the talisman and focusing on its domain of origin, a creature in @The Mists can reach that domain after 2d6 hours of travel. Any creatures that willingly follow the creature with the Mist talisman also reach the same destination. A Mist talisman is no help to a creature imprisoned within a domain's closed borders. If the borders of the destination domain are closed, roll on the Wandering @The Mists table to determine what happens.
Mist talismans take ominous forms, and no two are alike. A family's burned holy book, a battered stuffed toy, a papyrus scroll, or any of the items on the Horror Trinkets table might serve as Mist talismans. Few who dwell in the Domains of Dread know how to use Mist talismans or have interest in traveling to other domains. Those who do, though, might share a Mist talisman with adventurers or could know where such an item is located. The DM can use Mist talismans to guide characters from one domain to another as the adventures require.
The domains detailed in their respective lore articles suggest Mist talismans that can be used to reach them, but these aren't exhaustive lists. The DM should use them as inspiration for Mist talismans of their own design.