Organizations, establishments, institutions and societies present in Ravenloft

[Badelaire]

The following is a list of various organizations, establishments, institutions and societies present in source book canon. It does not include server canon, fanon, homebrew or anything else otherwise not readily available with clever use of google and key words.


BAROVIA
Dawnslayers - Morninglord-loyal knighthood of vampire hunters.
Crimson Hounds - Elite enforcers of the Von Zarovich bloodline. Known to put whole villages to the sword to teach a specific point.
Tyrant Mages - Von Zarovich family mage elite and secret police. Known for their cruelty.
Keepers of the Black Feather - Secretive Barovian lodge that wages an unceasing shadow war against the creatures of the night.
Order of the Guardians - A monastic order of lorekeepers dedicated to finding cursed objects and keeping them out of the wrong hands.
Gundarkite Rebels - Organized resistance to outside rule of Gundarkite territory.
Red Vardo Traders - Band of salvagers and thieves who 'return' items to their 'original owners'.
Ba'al Verzi - Infamous fraternity of assassins.
Church of Ezra - No firm foothold in establishing wide belief. Seen as Borcan poisoners and agents.
Church of Hala - Presence in Bstobis. Regarded as helpful and unobtrusive, mostly left to their own devices.
Cult of the Morninglord - Most popular religion in Barovia. Large Gundarakite following which tends to cause suspicion.
Cult of Nerull/Erlin - Marginal presence, small numbers of Gundarakites associate Nerull with ethnic pride. Underground following.

BORCA
Boristi Trading House - A major merchant interest, led by the Boristi family of Borca.
1st Sect of Ezra - LN "Home Faith" centered in the Great Cathedral of Levkarest. Almost all Borcans worship/pay lip services to Ezra. Powerful church base.
The Scions of Yakov Dilisnya - Secret society in the church of Ezra, dedicated to creating an empire using the influence and power of the Ezrite church.
Dilisnya Crime Family - One of the most potent criminal organizations in Ravenloft, led by Ivan Dilisnya.
Church of Hala - Small following in the rural areas of Borca. Often used as scapegoats as witches.
Academy of Style - Expensive and prestigious finishing school in Levkarest open only to the most respected families.

DARKON
4th Sect of Ezra - LE "Zealots" branch of the faith centered in Nevuchar Springs. Militant and steadily growing in popularity for its beliefs in fighting the darkness.
The Kargat - Secret police dedicated to furthering the will of Azalin Rex. Membership all monstrous.
The Unholy Order of the Grave - A nightmarish society of monsters who literally worship death.
Dark Delvers - Mystery cult centered in Darkon, searching for truth about the Hated Mother and her power.
Brautslava Institute - Teaches various arcane-related subjects
The Fraternity of Shadows - An arcane cabal (Illusionists) of researchers and scholars who seek to know the truth behind Ravenloft and control it. Based in Brautslava.
The Order of the Guardians - A monastic order of lorekeepers dedicated to finding cursed objects and keeping them out of the wrong hands.
University of Il Aulk - Once the greatest school on the Core, now a crumbling ruin in the dead city.
The Eternal Order - Offically sanctioned cult of the dead though heavily diminished over time. Churches are largely autonomous from each other.
Cult of the Overseer - Popular in the west, heavy message of compassion, charity and the need to do good deeds while one lives to be judged favourably in death.

DEMENTLIEU
3rd Sect of Ezra - TN "Erudites" centered in Ste. Mere des Larmes in Port-a-Lucine. Largely unconcerned with gaining new followers, has a tolerant mindset to other faiths.
Van Richten Society - A loose alliance of correspondents who seek to continue Van Richten's legacy.
Les Ordures - A group of lower class men and woman seeking to strike out at the nobility through embarrassment and belittlement.
La Societe de Legerdemain - An organization of street performers who provide the means to study real magic.
Noble Brotherhood of Assassins - Organization of social intriguers that works to bring down the most corrupt nobles in Dementlieu.
L'Academie des Sciences - Dementlieu based cabal of mystics who seek to recover and study magical items.
The Brain - An underground crime and resistance network fighting against Dominic D'Honaire, led by Rudolph von Aubrecker, the Living Brain.
University of Dementlieu - The current prominent university in the Core.
Church of Hala - Maintains several hospices, well received by the lower class and treated with indifference by the nobility.
Echanson's Heresy - Cupbearers who believe Ezra was born as a mortal, scour the realms in search of her secret descendants.
Circle Sinister - Crime racket that's a major player in Port-a-Lucine underworld. Led by Black Pieter, often noted for his willingness to work with adventurers if it benefits him.

FALKOVNIA
The Talons - Fanatical "knighthood", the best soldiers in Falkovnia who are absolutely loyal to Drakov. Each member is altered via dire ritual including the consumption of a form altering potion and is practically a terminal psychotic.
Freemen of Falkovnia - The only rebel group of Falkovnians that's managed to survive for more than a week.
Ebon Fold - Secret society of assassins operating in Falkovnia at Azalin's behest. Membership formed from the reanimated corpses of impalement victims.
Church of Hala - Conforms to Falkovnian ideals of religion so left to its own devices, hospices seem to always meet with bad luck and hasty demises though.
Church of Ezra - Under heavy scrutiny, acolytes regularly tortured and killed for aiding abetting resistance movements.
Eternal Order - Appeals to veteran soldiers and seeks largely to appease Darkon's restless dead to prevent them from swarming the border.
Stagengrad Military Academy - Prominent Falkovnian military academy.

FORLORN
Forfarian Pantheon - Large resurgence of worship of the old (Celtic) gods in Forfarmax. Few actual priests.
The Morninglord -  Introduced by travelling clerics from Barovia. Welcomed, though most of the druids follow the old gods.

G'HENNA
Cult of Zhakata - G'Hennan based faith centered around placating its beast god.

HAR AKIR
Green Hand - A secret cabal of Akari tomb defenders.

HAZLAN
Order of the Guardians - A monastic order of lorekeepers dedicated to finding cursed objects and keeping them out of the wrong hands.
Red Academy - Hazlik's college of witchcraft, an arcane focused school quickly rising in prominence.
Church of the Lawgiver - State religion of Hazlan and only officially sanctioned one allowed. Wide scale worship from Mulani and Rashemi alike.
Church of Hala - Operates in secret, worshiped by the Rashemi and well received by those who don't even pray to Hala.
Iron Inquisition - Lawgiver internal security and heretic hunters.

INVIDIA
Gundarkite Rebels - Organized resistance to outside rule of Gundarkite territory.
Church of Ezra - Most Invidians profess faith in one of the four sects, preference being personal taste and attitude.
Church of Hala - Secretly worshiped since being outlawed, members burnt or hung. Publically mistrusted due to its secrecy.

KARTAKASS
Brotherhood of Broken Blades - Vigilante witch-hunters dedicated to wiping out abusers of magic. Well-meaning but reportedly often vague in defining who is an "evil" magician.
Howling Clan - Wolf God heretics who embrace their savage humanity, led by Mother Fury
Ancestral Choir - Main theological belief system. Handful of priests who serve to continue the traditions and gaurd the souls of the dead joining the Choir.
Church of Ezra - Few converts, stratified social structure being a concept most Kartakans abhor.
Church of Hala - Unobtrusive hospices, seldom regarded or thought much of beyond being healers.

LAMORDIA
Van Richten Society - A loose alliance of correspondents who seek to continue Van Richten's legacy.
Syndicate of Enlightened Citizens - Lamordian conspiracy with designs against the supernatural.

MARKOVIA
Order of the Guardians - A monastic order of lorekeepers dedicated to finding cursed objects and keeping them out of the wrong hands.

MORDENT
2nd Sect of Ezra - LG "Pure Hearts" centered in the Chapel of the Pure Hearts. Large following due to its benevolent dogma though Home Faith is also present.
Lamplighters - School of policing that originated in Mordent, and has recently been exported to other domains. Known for rigorous honesty.
Van Richten Society - A loose alliance of correspondents who seek to continue Van Richten's legacy.
Order of the Guardians - A monastic order of lorekeepers dedicated to finding cursed objects and keeping them out of the wrong hands.
Church of Hala - Accepted though often regarded as playing with fire due to the nature of melding the arcane and divine, inviting the influence of the forces of darkness.

NIDALA
Knights of the Shadows - A venerable knighthood that struggles against tyranny in all of its guises. While not actually based in Nidala, it is the one place they make a pilgrimage to that's constant.
Church of Belenus - Puritanical version of the faith, actively castigates "sinners" and purges non-humans.

NOVA VAASA
Syekhmetskaya Circle - Nova Vaasan based criminal organization said to be controlled by the shadow genius Malken.
Church of the Lawgiver - Only religion in Nova Vaasa, actively imprisons "heretical" clerics of other faiths if caught.

RICHEMULOT
The Lock and Key - A Richemoluise cabal of masked Caliban watchmen, known for their strict code of honor and justice.
Van Richten Society - A loose alliance of correspondents who seek to continue Van Richten's legacy.
The Cult of Simon Audaire - A conspiracy of disaffected human Reniers plotting against their kin.
The House of a Hundred Moths - Richemuloise arcane university that maintains a vague cover as an astrological institute.
Church of Ezra - All four sects present, largely casual lipservice following among worshippers.
Church of Hala - Widespread presence among commoners, mistrusted by nobility.

SITHICUS
The Order of the Guardians - A monastic order of lorekeepers dedicated to finding cursed objects and keeping them out of the wrong hands.

SRI RAJI
University of Tvashtri - Only major school outside of the Core, known for religious and scientific study.

TEPEST
Order of the Guardians - A monastic order of lorekeepers dedicated to finding cursed objects and keeping them out of the wrong hands.
Tepestani Pantheon - Large devotion to various (Celtic) gods with Belenus as the chief one.
Tepestani Inquisition - Loose organization of priests in Tepest who have declared war against the night, also known to brutalize elven folk.
Church of Ezra - Marginal following, has often protected innocents against the Tepestani Inquisition.
Church of Hala - Largely devoted to rooting out the domain's hags and goblins. Executed by Inquisition as witches if found.
Church of the Lawgiver - Has a small presence but proven unpopular with the commoners for its superior attitudes.

VALACHAN
Cult of Yutow
Church of Ezra - Small presence in Helbenik. Faith's compassionate teachings appeals to some.
Church of Hala - Large, unobtrusive persence. Popular although careful it does not act in conflict with Yutow.

VREBREK
Cult of the Wolf God - Most common religion though no human settlements worship it. Worshipped solely by werewolves and placated out of fear. The enemy of all men.
Church of Ezra - Small presence, Home Faith the sect of choice among its worshippers.
Church of Hala - Highly regarded, witches honoured for fighting the werewolves. Unpopular with th elycans who actively hunt its clerics. Operates well hidden sacred groves.
Woodcutter's Axe - Organised human rebels fighting the oppression of the werewolves.

[dutchy]

nice going badelaire.
neat for folks who wish to start a new unofficial faction and arn't a lore master like some.

[APorg]

I guess the Wayfarer Kinship should be added to that list.

[Forsaken_Warrior]

Good list.

Scions of Yakov Dilisnya could be on under conspiracies (its on mistipedia)

Also Academy of Style under Universities (Levkarest Artistic Finishing School)

[Feronius]

Minor style issue, but you should either consistently use "the" or refrain from using it for all of the entries.

The Nerull Church or Cult of Nerull (whichever is more accurate) probably also belongs on the list.

[Elfric]

Minor style issue, but you should either consistently use "the" or refrain from using it for all of the entries.

The Nerull Church or Cult of Nerull (whichever is more accurate) probably also belongs on the list.

What's listed is canon factions...

[ladylena]

Nerull is canon as far as I know. Nerull is a god who was worshipped widely by the Gundarakites.

[Badelaire]

Guys, cool your jets. It's a work in progress using someone else's template I can across while scoping for some information on Richemuloise establishments. I'm slowly going through all the published lore and adding things as I go along so if someone knows of any referable source material (not server canon) and can just PM the name of what I've missed I'd appreciate it. Not dedicating every waking hour to this ya know? I'll  be separating the groups by domain of origin for ease of reference because I found the original template messy.

[Bluebomber4evr]

Like many Ravenloft fans (and even most of the authors who woked on the setting) we don't acknowledge anything from Champions of Darkness, so the Order of the Ebon Gargoyles doesn't exist on this server.

[Badelaire]

Could you PM me a list of books not to include?

[Bluebomber4evr]

Could you PM me a list of books not to include?

just Champions of Darkness, really. Although Heroes of Light is kind of iffy.

[Badelaire]

Ebon Gargoyle did seem kinda.....crap to me. Real OTT for a Domain like Barovia.

[Troukk]

Minor style issue, but you should either consistently use "the" or refrain from using it for all of the entries.

The Nerull Church or Cult of Nerull (whichever is more accurate) probably also belongs on the list.

What's listed is canon factions...

Cult of Nerull is very much canon. Their leader Emanuel Maryzskas has some connections with the invidian gundarakite rebels even.

The Wayfarers are not canon though. I think it was made up by PoTM to give the outlanders an adventuring faction.

[Badelaire]

Nerull cult's one I overlooked. As far as I know the Wayfarers are not from source material.

This Gundarakite death god was both sanctioned and encouraged by Duke Gundar when he ruled the lands that were once Gundarak. He is believed to be a very ancient deity, perhaps a corruption of Irlek-Khan, the demonic entity worshipped by the Neureni hordes who once conquered Barovia eons ago. He is portrayed as a trickster who created death as a deception, and delegated his duties to a host of demons. His neglect of his duties allows the dead to escape, thus creating the undead. Outlanders claiming to be from a wor[spoiler]ld called “Oerth” paint a very different picture of the god: they claim on their world, Nerull is a widely known and widely feared deity who finds all living things an affront to his being, and his worshippers murder and slay as many as possible to appease the fearsome reaper. Worship of Nerull (mispronounced as “Erlin” by Barovians, due to their erroneus belief that he is the same as the ancient Neureni demon Irlek-Khan) nearly disappeared when Strahd von Zarovich annexed Gundarak in the aftermath of the Great Upheaval, but has recently been cast by the Gundarakite rebels as just one more element of Gundarakite culture being systematically crushed by Barovian oppression. Nerull might have only served as a political symbol if not for the rebel Emanuel Maryszkas who, in 754 BC called upon the power of Nerull to save him from the Barovian militiamen giving him chase. His calls were answered when waves of unholy fear swept over his pursuers. Emanuel is now the leader of the cult of Nerull in Barovia, and is seeking an alliance with the greater Gundarakite rebellion movement.

[Elfric]

Minor style issue, but you should either consistently use "the" or refrain from using it for all of the entries.

The Nerull Church or Cult of Nerull (whichever is more accurate) probably also belongs on the list.

What's listed is canon factions...

Cult of Nerull is very much canon. Their leader Emanuel Maryzskas has some connections with the invidian gundarakite rebels even.

The Wayfarers are not canon though. I think it was made up by PoTM to give the outlanders an adventuring faction.

Nerull is canon as far as I know. Nerull is a god who was worshipped widely by the Gundarakites.

Once one person says it, it's not needed to be repeated Troukk.  As for Emanuel Maryzskas? He's a level a level 4 cleric in canon. Cult of Erlin, not Nerull.

[Troukk]

Minor style issue, but you should either consistently use "the" or refrain from using it for all of the entries.

The Nerull Church or Cult of Nerull (whichever is more accurate) probably also belongs on the list.

What's listed is canon factions...

Cult of Nerull is very much canon. Their leader Emanuel Maryzskas has some connections with the invidian gundarakite rebels even.

The Wayfarers are not canon though. I think it was made up by PoTM to give the outlanders an adventuring faction.

Nerull is canon as far as I know. Nerull is a god who was worshipped widely by the Gundarakites.

Once one person says it, it's not needed to be repeated Troukk.  As for Emanuel Maryzskas? He's a level a level 4 cleric in canon. Cult of Erlin, not Nerull.

Sorry if I repeated, but Lena started with "AFAIK..." and I just wanted to support the answer since I knew it with more security.

As far as Emanuel Maryzskas goes: He is the leader of the Nerull Cult.

Barovians have a confusion and think that Nerull is the same as the Neureni god "Irlek-Khan", hence they mispronounce him as "Erlin". But Emanuel does not have that confusion, he knows he's worshipping Nerull and not some Nerureni deity.

[swbf2lord]

Minor style issue, but you should either consistently use "the" or refrain from using it for all of the entries.

The Nerull Church or Cult of Nerull (whichever is more accurate) probably also belongs on the list.

What's listed is canon factions...

Cult of Nerull is very much canon. Their leader Emanuel Maryzskas has some connections with the invidian gundarakite rebels even.

The Wayfarers are not canon though. I think it was made up by PoTM to give the outlanders an adventuring faction.

Nerull is canon as far as I know. Nerull is a god who was worshipped widely by the Gundarakites.

Once one person says it, it's not needed to be repeated Troukk.  As for Emanuel Maryzskas? He's a level a level 4 cleric in canon. Cult of Erlin, not Nerull.

Sorry if I repeated, but Lena started with "AFAIK..." and I just wanted to support the answer since I knew it with more security.

As far as Emanuel Maryzskas goes: He is the leader of the Nerull Cult.

Barovians have a confusion and think that Nerull is the same as the Neureni god "Irlek-Khan", hence they mispronounce him as "Erlin". But Emanuel does not have that confusion, he knows he's worshipping Nerull and not some Nerureni deity.

I believe Elfric actually was referring to the gross misrepresentation of Emanuel's power IG. He's portrayed as far too strong, as compared to canon. And the faction itself, with far too much importance.

[Elfric]

Emanuel is level FOUR, not whatever high level Talek made him.
The Gazetter says ERLIN not NERULL, here's proof straight from the canon source material.

Spoiler: show

IF I'm wrong, then so too is the Gazetteer.

Edit: I did find something intresting by Blue on another forum..

   
Rotipher of the FoS wrote:
According to Gaz I, the ancestral deity of the Gundarakites was named Erlin, and the priests who'd followed him mysteriously lost their powers when Gundar's domain was added to the Land of Mists. DoD did claim their deity was Nerull, but the Arthaus products chose to link Erlin with the ancient devil-god of the Tergs, not anything from Greyhawk.

Actually, the ancient devil god thing is what the Barovians think "Erlin" is. From the sidebar on page 26:

...Erlin is not truly the bastardization of an ancient tribal god. In reality, the god is a perverted version of the death god worshipped on the world where Nharov Gundar once dwelled. When Gundar entered the Realm of Dread, he discovered that the terrible deity he knew had been rendered pitiful and powerless, as the priests could not call upon divine magic.

For our NWN PW, I had it so the Gundarakites are worshipping Nerull (albeit a version that is seen as incompetant and bumbling as opposed to the fearsome reaper of Oerth), and the name "Erlin" is a mispronunciation in Balok, reinforced by their belief that it is the bastardization of the devil-god thing.

[DM Stygian Witch]

Emanuel is level FOUR, not whatever high level Talek made him.

Dungeon grinder.

[Elfric]

Emanuel is level FOUR, not whatever high level Talek made him.

Dungeon grinder.

....Gotta use those followers for something, might as well use em' to leech.

[Norture]

He's the reason why there's rules in place for not taking NPCs out dungeoning. It's not so they can tank, it's because the NPCs level and then things get weird.

[Troukk]

Emanuel is level FOUR, not whatever high level Talek made him.
The Gazetter says ERLIN not NERULL, here's proof straight from the canon source material.

Spoiler: show

IF I'm wrong, then so too is the Gazetteer.

Edit: I did find something intresting by Blue on another forum..

   
Rotipher of the FoS wrote:
According to Gaz I, the ancestral deity of the Gundarakites was named Erlin, and the priests who'd followed him mysteriously lost their powers when Gundar's domain was added to the Land of Mists. DoD did claim their deity was Nerull, but the Arthaus products chose to link Erlin with the ancient devil-god of the Tergs, not anything from Greyhawk.

Actually, the ancient devil god thing is what the Barovians think "Erlin" is. From the sidebar on page 26:

...Erlin is not truly the bastardization of an ancient tribal god. In reality, the god is a perverted version of the death god worshipped on the world where Nharov Gundar once dwelled. When Gundar entered the Realm of Dread, he discovered that the terrible deity he knew had been rendered pitiful and powerless, as the priests could not call upon divine magic.

For our NWN PW, I had it so the Gundarakites are worshipping Nerull (albeit a version that is seen as incompetant and bumbling as opposed to the fearsome reaper of Oerth), and the name "Erlin" is a mispronunciation in Balok, reinforced by their belief that it is the bastardization of the devil-god thing.

Yeah, and to make things more complicated... In the Demiplane it doesn't really matter who you worship or if the god you worship has any actual power here. Most of the times is the Dark Powers who are really giving a cleric his divine powers... (Am I right?) There may be a few exceptions where the god actually exists in the mists (Ezra, Andral?)

So in the end, the Cult is to Nerull, because that's the deity that Gundar forced his people to worship in the first place. And that's the deity that Emanuel Maryszkas and his followers are calling out due to patriotism. But more than likely they aren't getting their powers from Nerull or Erlin... They are getting their divine powers from the Dark Powers themselves.

I may be wrong in the whole interpretation of how the Dark Powers work with clerics and outlander deities, so I'm all ears if someone can correct me here.

[Feronius]

Does any of it matter? Either way the Church of Nerull or Nerull Cult is an organisation that is represented in the canon lore.

[DM Stygian Witch]

He's the reason why there's rules in place for not taking NPCs out dungeoning. It's not so they can tank, it's because the NPCs level and then things get weird.

Yeah and then they start submitting DM apps. Thats when shit gets really werid.

[APorg]

The Wayfarers are not canon though. I think it was made up by PoTM to give the outlanders an adventuring faction.

This is true, though the Wayfarers should probably still get an honourable mention here for being the entry-level vaguely Good-aligned guild that would recruit newbies in Barovia.