Outcast Rating

Being the bastard spawn of a drunken orgy between Dungeons & Dragons, Hammer Horror films and Gothic Horror novels, it should be no surprise that the setting of Ravenloft is full of murderous monsters that look almost, but not quite, human. It should be equally unsurprising that it is also full of superstitious, xenophobic, racist peasant-folk, although how much the former informs the latter is a matter of personal taste. Needless to say, if you're not playing a human, chances are the NPCs aren't going to be too friendly.

When the Ravenloft campaign setting was released for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition by White Wolf, this was handled by the introduction of a new game mechanic: Outcast Rating. A simple little numeral that represented just how much you freaked out the local ignorant peasants. Whilst mostly static, there were some ways of raising it - certain curses or failing Dark Powers Checks would boost it, and some monsters could also inflict it upon you; Goblins had the "Feasting" attack, which left such horrific scarring from their attempts to eat your living face off that you permanently gained Outcast Rating as a result. And, of course, DMs had carte blanche to inflict it upon you for various "thematically appropriate" reasons.

Mechanically, Outcast Rating manifests as a Circumstance Penalty to Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Perform checks, but with an equivalent Circumstance Bonus to Intimidate checks. Outcast Rating has no effect on friends & allies (who have learned to look past whatever makes you spooky), nor on beings who share your Outcast Rating "origins" - you should be able to figure out why this is, so long as you have a better brain than a moldy half-cabbage.

Of the "core" Ravenloft races, their respective Outsider Ratings were:

• Caliban: 5
• Dwarf: 3
• Elf: 3
• Gnome: 2
• Half-Elf: 1
• Halfling: 1
• Half-Vistani: 2, but can attempt a Disguise Check (minor details DC) to reduce to 0