# Raven: A Gothic Horror Roleplaying Game > [!overview] > [system:: [[Maelstrom Storytelling]]] > [mechanics:: [[Attribute or Stat-based]], [[Description Based]], [[Dice, Specialized]], [[Trait or Aspect Based]]] > [company:: [[Shadowlands Games]]] > [url:: [Official Site](https://shadowlandsgames.com/raven/)] > > --- > > (description:: *Raven* is a gothic horror and cursed magic roleplaying game inspired by the work of [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and set in a fictional world that bears a certain resemblance to 19th-century North America. The story unfolds in an old aristocratic city, whose streets are shrouded in an eternal mist and plagued by spectres, against which a sinister magical Order offers protection.) > [!metadata]- Sources > ```dataview > TABLE WITHOUT ID > link(file.path, title) AS "Title", > type AS "Type", > pdf AS "PDF" > FROM "60 Games/61 Tabletop" > WHERE contains(game, this.file.link) > SORT title_sort asc > ``` > [!metadata]- Sessions > ```dataview > TABLE WITHOUT ID > link(file.path, title) AS "Title", > date AS "Date", > type AS "Type", > dm AS "DM", > player AS "Players" > FROM "60 Games/62 Campaigns" > WHERE contains(game, this.file.link) > SORT date asc > ``` - I backed this on [[Kickstarter]] and have really been looking forward to running or playing this. ## Central Concepts 1. Plot twists - Player-generated - When resolving a threat, for better or worse - Tenebrous Voice-generated - Create complicated situations - Create threats - Both pre-defined in the story, *and* unexpected 2. The malestrom of the tale - Ramp up the tension 3. The Corvus Characters are at the centre of everything - The character lives are woven into the game for a richer experience ## Dice - Two types of dice - [[Corvus dice]] are in the character's favour - 5 black dice - Successful roll (4+) = Cat - [[Mist dice]] represent threat - 5 white dice - Successful roll (4+) = Raven - A successful roll on a [[Corvus dice]] and [[Mist dice]] cancel each other out - Only rolled by players, not by the Tenebrous Voice - Results = Twists - A Favourable Twist = full success - A Twist with Complications = partial success - A Tenebrous Twist = failure, or success at great cost - Twists should always enrich experience… even if harmful… ## Structure - Called the Maelstrom - Tales have chapters: - Exposition - Development - Tension - Resolution - Each chapter adds more [[Mist dice]] ## Premise 1. The ravens are after your soul. And they get obsessed. 2. No one can defeat the mist. It can appear anywhere. 3. The Other Side is a bewildering place. No one is ever safe there. 4. The only cats in Raven are in the Corvus mansion. They are all black and mustn’t be disturbed. 5. The only monsters in Raven are spectres. Even the weakest is dangerous. 6. You can come back from death. But there will always be something unsettling. 7. Nobody knows all that lies hidden in the Corvus mansion. Or its perils. 8. There is something unsettling about the mansion’s servants. Perhaps they’re the ones in charge. 9. Every corner of the city has its cursed places. And its secrets. 10. Magic always requires sacrifice. Consider what you are willing to offer. 11. The Order is dangerous. And it watches you. 12. The magic of the Lodge is deeply corrupting. And it tempts you.