The Wonderful World of Darklords

In which D gets kidnapped by dogs and makes a rash statement. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through  https://musopen.org : Chopin Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.1  (main theme), performed by Eduardo Vinuela Chopin Etude Op. 25, No. 12 in C Minor:...

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! We're continuing last month's theme of "traveling to amazing and faraway places" with a very different elderly darklord who mistrusts outsiders. Up is one of the greatest animated movies ever made, but can it be a great D&D setting as well? Topics discussed include: How to make Kevin feel like a singularly beautiful and unique creature i...

In which D totally, absolutely has no idea where the Heart of Atlantis is, nope, not at all. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Corpses (major), racism (moderate), colonialism (minor), slavery (minor), genoci...

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! Many, MANY of you have asked for a domain based on the Disney movie about a team of heavily armed transients who dive through subterranean tunnels in search of either treasure or a sad, unresolved Bond. Atlantis is, without question, the most D&D movie that Disney has ever done, and while it's more Eberron or Spelljammer than Ravenloft, we're he...

In which D gets the full Toontown experience and a months-long mystery is solved. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Racism against a group analogous to immigrants (major), death (minor) All music recordings...

CONTENT ADVISORY: Because this episode is based on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, it takes place in Langeles, a fantasy version of Los Angeles. I don't think we even mention fire, but if the Los Angeles wildfires hit at all close to home for you, we're putting a detailed content advisory that includes all the neighborhoods and landmarks mentioned at the end of the show notes, with separate entri...

In which D, being chaotic good, has a crisis of conscience regarding Shan Yu and her lawful evil patron. Now, if only we could give those two crazy kids a meet-cute while we're at it... The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through  https://musopen.org :...

Happy Holidays, and welcome to the Peddler's Tales! In a Yuletide miracle, we are finally joined by the powerful, the pleasurable, the indestructible Kris Newton as we discuss one of our favorite non-darklord Disney villains: Shan Yu. Topics discussed include: Why Shan Yu not only doesn't work as a darklord, but would be seriously diminished as a villain if you made him one; The existentia...

In which D learns about the power of friendship and acknowledges some unpleasant truths. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Gaslighting (major), death (major) All music recordings are in the public domain (ma...

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In this episode, we're looking at a property that Disney has adapted for both Mickey Mouse and the Muppets: A Christmas Carol. At its heart, A Christmas Carol is a story of redemption--so how do we square that with darklords, who are fundamentally irredeemable? By sending your PCs into a trippy journey through the past, present, and future of a characte...

In which D gives her name to a witch and is predictably thrilled about it. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Memory manipulation (moderate), body horror (moderate) All music recordings are in the public doma...

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In the spirit of Thanksgiving and of thankfulness for you, our listeners, we're presenting the domain you chose in our Listeners' Choice poll: Spirited Away. Yubaba is an excellent villain, Chihiro's parents and No-Face give us some phenomenal horror moments, and we actually see the bathhouse's borders close in the first twenty minutes of th...

Happy Halloween from Wonderful World of Darklords! Night on Bald Mountain is such an important part of Disney's spooky legacy that we had no choice but to make an episode about it . . . but how the heck do you make Chernobog a darklord? If you can answer that question, we salute you. We opted to make him something akin to a Mist Traveler, but without the "traveling" part since he has a...

In which D gets trapped with some Kartakan divas. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Gaslighting (major), death (major), blood (major), corpses (major), suicide (moderate) All music recordings are in the publ...

CONTENT ADVISORY: because the 2023 film version of The Haunted Mansion involves convincing a living soul to die and join the happy haunts, this episode discusses suicide. Welcome, foolish mortals, to Wonderful World of Darklords! We are your hosts--your podcast hosts. Kindly load the full episode, and make room (on your hard drive) for every byte. There's no turning back now. Unless you stop l...

In which D doesn't have a physical altercation with the darklord! The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Mind control (moderate) All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed throu...

This is what you give me to work with? Well honey, I've seen worse! We're going to turn this sow's ear Into a silk purse Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords! In this episode, we're taking a look at a deeply flawed Disney movie whose numerous defects include an underdeveloped villain, an underdeveloped setting, and underdeveloped potential for some light existential horror. Luck...

In which CLU botches an Intimidate check. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Death (moderate), mind control (moderate) All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are licensed through  https:...

Greetings, programs, and welcome to the third and final installment of Wonderful World of Darklords' Summer Blockbuster series! "Blockbuster" is a strong word for both Tron and Tron: Legacy, but they're cult classics that busted blocks in the hearts of many (including Tom). That said, while CLU is one of those Disney villains who needs very little work to become a darklord, the Gri...

In which D encounters nautical NPCs the players have heard of, searches for a magical MacGuffin, double crosses someone, and messes up a love story. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Death (moderate), slaver...

Welcome to the second installment of the Wonderful World of Darklords Summer Blockbuster series! In this episode, we're going to look at the only movies in our series that actually busted blocks: the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. (Mostly the original trilogy, but we'll touch on 4 and 5). Topics discussed include: Which of the MANY candidates for darklord we settled on, plus AU discus...

In which D gets to take a page from Stanley Yelnats's great-grandfather. The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Incarceration (major), death (minor) All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) an...

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords' Summer Blockbuster series! We're kicking off the summer with a cult favorite that did quite well for itself at the box office despite not busting any blocks: Holes. The warden is a phenomenal darklord, and the source material is already chockablock with curses and dark vengeance from beyond the grave despite being 90% realistic fiction, but how do y...

In which D finds a brand-new witch to hate! The in-character fiction from the episode without the in-depth out-of-character discussion of the domain. Content Advisory for D's Journal (details on content advisories can be found on  Facebook,   Tumblr , and  Patreon ) Mind control (major), bereavement (major), corpses (moderate) All music recordings are in the public domain (mark 1.0) and are li...

Welcome to Wonderful World of Darklords: Marvel May! It's the inaugural episode of something we're hoping to make an annual tradition, but honestly, we kind of invented the whole thing just so we could talk about what might be the most obvious Ravenloft domain Disney has ever done. (If you wanted to describe Ravenloft domains to someone who wasn't familiar with the concept, you could d...