Let's make HAZLAN in 5e!

I've been doing a sword & sorcery/cosmic horror themed campaign in Hazlan. The premise is that when Hazlan escaped from the Red Wizards through the Infreficus-portal-monster, the Dark Powers created Hazlan from the insane subconscious dreams of Indreficus, and everything inside Hazlan is trapped inside that dream world. Hazlik knows the world is fake but doesn't realize how, and is attempting to escape by recreating the original experiment to create Indreficus, which Hazlik doesn't realize is doomed to fail. Hazlik's entire society of apprentices exists to groom a magic-user as powerful as Indreficus was which Hazlik believes is necessary to re-create the portal monster. Of course, Hazlik needs raw magical talent amid a dwindling, uneducated native population, which is why his networks of apprentices are constantly summoning adventurers into Hazlan - so they can be pressganged into indentured servitude, breeding programs, and groomed as pawns of power to both be used against rival apprentices and to eventually be offered to Hazlik himself in curries for the God-King's favor. Thus the wanton experiments of these apprentices is ripping reality (which, again, is a manifestation of the insane subconscious of the thing Indreficus became) apart. Indreficus' psyche is retaliating by telepathically abusing Hazlik mentally and emotionally, while also leaving both magical power and lore dumps in the form of memory fragments of the dysfunctional, codependent romance/rivalry which Hazlik and Indreficus shared. These powers and memories, hidden away in bizarre dungeons and temples from unexplained ancient past civilizations (really figments of Indreficus' twisted subconscious imagination), gradually piece together who the "God-King" Hazlik really is (a weak, pathetic, insecure man) and what his weaknesses are, so that adventurers, Indreficus' unwitting agents, can disrupt Hazlik's plans and eventually overthrow and destry Hazlik over and over and over. A central tenet of the story I plan to tell through the above and the drip-feeding of Indreficus' memories is one of a dysfunctional relationship of romance and rivalry between two narcissistic, psychopathic evil wizards where Indreficus was a rising star; a natural magical talent, and Hazlik could never excel no matter how much he wanted to. Thus Hazlik both idolized and secretly resented Indreficus, while Indreficus at first tried to share his successes with Hazlik but eventually resented him for Hazlik's dependency for needing to ride on his coattails and co-opt the glory if his successes. This dynamic the Zulkirs of Thay secretly exploited for their own benefit, realizing the two working together in harmony would post a threat to their hegemony.

Your description based on the 1985 Return to Oz immediately invokes Tim Burton. Then this Princess Mambi pic immediately reveals Carrot Top.

This was so very well put together! Thank you for giving us so many good fiction references to understand this domain's theme! You have a new subscriber in me!

This idea absolutely rules and I'm totally thinking of how to use the Gremlins inspiration to reduce it down from a multi act story to run as a Christmas one-shot for my table at the end of the year

That attack Willow used was a spur of the moment blast of energy without any control. It's disquieting to think about how raw magical energy defaults to birthing abominations from the immaterial plane using bio matter as ovum. Gives a twisted appreciation into the discipline wizards need.

I subscribed after the Bluetspur video and am really happy to see more content so soon, and of such good quality nonetheless! Hazlan is definitely a Domain of Dread that I plan to include and I had no idea what to do with the Fleshless Forest until this video, so big thanks to you for that. Looking forward to the next Domain videos!

A great link made between the gremishka and gremlins, I hadn't put that together but makes perfect sense!

Dude, keep on going, I was looking for good ravenloft content, it was super fortunate to find your channel, you rock.

Dorohedoro and Bloodborne are perfect inspirations for this setting.

Thank you so much. I have used your video as an inspiration for a lvl 7/8 adventure i will dm in the future. After trying to subdue the swarms in town a tornado will show up that swallows a few swarms and box of enlarge potions creating a deadly gremnado. That should keep them entertained or at least occupied ;-)

This adventure idea RULES!!! It's a weird fantasy epic! I especially liked the chicken-lizard mount idea! A+ my man!

Very cool adventure. I will use your adventure tonight but a little bit modified and in another Domain. People from the university of Dementlieu (old Ravenloft Setting) have brought back a Gremishka from an expedition in Hazlan. They tried to study magicaly that creature before to put it in the zoo near the University facilities, but the greminshkas multiply and are wreacking havoc in the university Zoo (opening the cages,...) and in the university itself. My players will try to stop the chaos induced by the little creatures. Once they will get rid of all the gremishkas, they will see the striped one fleeing university facilities toward town on a giant lizard. They will use axe beaks to chase the thing and the end will be in the middle of a fair. After that, I will use the giant gremishka to end the session. So thank you, even if I still think about some more vagary to introduce in the Zoo and in the fair. Cheers and i must add that your youtube channel is full of great ideas and I will use most of them between my own adventures during my current Ravenloft campaign. PS: Just one thing more: Gremlins is not a Steven Speilberg movie but a Joe Dante movie produced by Steven Spielberg ;)

Planning a Lamordia campaign sometime soon and planning on running this as the opening adventure, moved to Lamordia and replacing the Red Wizard with Dr. Mordenheim. The petrifying forest is more just so cold it is freezing everyone to death. Looking forward to running this!

A wild sheep chase would work really well along with all the crazy wiz biz. What you've put together sounds super fun and I may run this. A wild sheep chase I thought it was a bit ridiculous high magic however it could be a great start to this a nice precursor and gives the players a base before try to deal with the horrors....everyone needs a safe sapce haha

I think i overlooked this vid and ibthink its fascinating...ofc i would want to include the Dark Lord into any Ravenloft campaign I do in general so here's how I might do this differently: On top of the Oz theme, I would've taken inspiration from Dorohedoro which is a post-apocalyptic anime very familiar to Hazlan with wizards or Sorcerers experimenting and doing whatever they want, throwing conern to the wind about the local populace. I'd have it start relatively similar with the PCs roped into Hazlik's experiments with it starting off with the Grimishka-sitting but there are also petrified or frozen other creatures in the lab. Further clarification, the PCs are in Hazlik's lab because he has made a contest in which his apprentices have to create monstrous creatures and Hazlik judges how good they are by how much chaos or destruction they can inflict onto Toyalis like a testing ground (inspiredby the Igor movie). The apprentice you mentioned in the vid is a 'late entry' and is paranoid and wants the PCs to look over the Grimiska in case of any sabotage. Act 1 countines as normal except when the Grimishka multiplies and breaks the magical stasis on the other creatures, and they run amok. So instead of just Grimishka causing havok, a few other creatures could be as well. Id have it play out in similar acts after that but when they return with the creature to this lab, Hazlik arrived and rewards the apprentice in a twist turns them into a cronenberg Grimiska Troll hybrid using a modified statblock or Hazlik conjures another sort of creature to kill the apprentice befitting of Hazlan. Then its a battle between Hazlik, a creature and the PCs.

Interesting video. Though coming from third edition, some of this could work others couldn't. Hazlan in 3rd edition was quite different. This plot you mentioned could easily work in the previous edition. While there are some big differences, this plot could easily work and Eleni was present in both versions. What also I think would be fun and 100% in the whole vibes of Ravenloft Gremlins is to have a scene at Creshcen Hall, the most famed Haebstzarn and abhaebstza Theater in Hazlan which is how Gazetteer I describes it. Haebstzarn is a masked form of theater where two actors play 1 character standing on top of one another, and Abhaebstza is shadow puppetry. So you could have really creepy masks that the Gremishka might wear and play with Bardic magic in creepy ways.

Gremishka look identical to Gremlins in the 3.5e Denizens of Darkness. It even mentions gremlins in the description.

Awesome. I think you're actually spoiling the internets.

2:55 Did I hear a Rock and Stone?

What maps? This adventure was fairly light on locations. I'd likely just make my own.