Powers Check

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Powers Checks (an abbreviation of Dark Powers Checks) are a mechanic unique to the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Ravenloft. Intended to be a way to enforce mechanically the roleplaying/thematic background element of how the Dark Powers rewards villains by gifting them with both unnatural powers and malefic curses, the basic idea is that when a player characters commits certain sinful acts, such as murder, betrayal, using a necromantic spell, blasphemy, etc, the player rolls a Percentile Die. This is compared to a large table that combines various sins and sin modifiers (acts of passion tend to be more likely to draw their eyes than cold-blooded, dispassionate malice, for example); if the player rolls equal to or less than this number, then they have caught the attention of the Dark Powers and are infused with spiritual taint. The more times this happens, the greater their powers - and their curses - grow, until ultimately they become monsters or even full-fledged Darklords.

Act of Ultimate Darkness

In Ravenloft canon, there are some acts so foul, so horrible, so monstrous, that no Powers Checks are required; those who commit them just automatically get the Dark Powers' attention. For PCs, this is generally an automatic failed Powers Check, but for NPCs, this could even cause them to leap from "normal person" to "Darklord" in a single fell swoop.

Precisely what counts as an Act of Ultimate Darkness is left to the DM's discretion. For example, Strahd von Zarovich, in one night: turned himself into a vampire to try and preserve his youth, murdered his brother to take his brother's wife, murdered all the guests at his brother's wedding to disguise what he'd done, and tried to mind control the woman he "loved" so he could turn her into his vampire bride - which caused her to curse him and leap to her death from the parapets of Castle Ravenloft.

Terror Track

Powers Checks are intended to build towards a specific theme; the end result should be a coherent set of powers and curses that ultimately creates a recognizable monster. The term "Terror Track" is thusly used to define a specific set of Powers Check-gated gifts & curses that build towards a specific creature end-goal - for example, one of the earliest uses of the term in the boxed set "Domains of Dread" for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, gives us the Terror Track of the Vampire.

Unfortunately, much like the general powers and curses of a failed Powers Check in general, the effort of inventing a Terror Track is left up to the DM. The Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition provides three sample Terror Tracks; the Ringleader, the Brute, and the Coward. Fans have responded by trying to create Terror Tracks for other DMs to use, resulting in them being scattered over various Ravenloft netbooks.

In Quoth the Raven #9, Terror Tracks are provided for the Kuo-toa, the Sahuagin and the Reaver.

In the Undead Sea Scrolls 2002, Terror Tracks are provided for the Aswang and the Upir Lichy.

The largest source of Terror Tracks, however, can be found in the article "Terrible Transformations" for The Book of Shadows, which features twenty different Terror Tracks! Uniquely, it's the only one of its kind that focuses on rules for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Terror Tracks, whereas the other five mentioned above are written for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition.

• Skin Thief
• Banshee
• Boneless
• Chosen One
• Dream Spawn
• Ettercap
• Gargoyle
• Ghoul
• Grimlock
• Heucuva
• Lich
• Mist Horror
• Reaver
• Red Widow
• Sea Spawn Master
• Shadow
• Werejackal
• Wererat
• Zombie Lord

Redemption

Unlike in some games, Ravenloft Powers Checks are not certain doom for your player; redemption is as much a part of Gothic Horror as damnation, after all. It's not easy, and you can never reach the heights of purity again, but it is possible through roleplaying and mechanical actions to purge yourself of the dark gifts and curses, climbing back towards normalcy.

Reception

The intent behind Powers Checks was to act as a curtail on Murderhobos. Did it work? Well... honestly, probably not; many players find Powers Checks either never come up, or else annoying in how they seem deliberately tailored to screw over the players - the 3.5 "Ravenloft Player's Handbook" was widely critiqued for how many extra sources of Powers Checks it added, including leveling up in certain classes, and even before then there were absurdities like the Speak with Dead and Deathwatch spells (which, respectively, let you ask a few questions of the deceased and let you check how much HP creatures have) causing Powers Checks.

To say nothing of munchkins deliberately aiming for Powers Checks because the penalties were often roleplaying centric and thusly worth it for the mechanical benefits of the powers.