D&D 5E Everything We Know About The Ravenloft Book

Here is a list of everything we know so far about the upcoming Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft.

Art by Paul Scott Canavan​

• May 18th, 256 pages
• 30 domains (with 30 villainous darklords)
• Barovia (Strahd), Dementlieu (twisted fairly tales), Lamordia (flesh golem), Falkovnia (zombies), Kalakeri (Indian folklore, dark rainforests), Valachan (hunting PCs for sport), Lamordia (mad science)
• NPCs include Esmerelda de’Avenir, Weathermay-Foxgrove twins, traveling detective Alanik Ray.
• Large section on setting safe boundaries.
• Dark Gifts are character traits with a cost.
• College of Spirits (bard storytellers who manipulate spirits of folklore) and Undead Patron (warlock) subclasses.
• Dhampir, Reborn, and Hexblood lineages.
• Cultural consultants used.
• Fresh take on Vistani.
• 40 pages of monsters. Also nautical monsters in Sea of Sorrows.
• 20 page adventure called The House of Lament - haunted house, spirits, seances.

​

D&D 5E - Full Wraparound Cover Art For Ravenloft

We've seen the cover already, but here's a look at the full wraparound art by Anna Podedworna. https://www.enworld.org/threads/updated-with-cover-the-d-d-book-is-van-richtens-guide-to-ravenloft.678411/ https://www.enworld.org/threads/heres-the-ravenloft-alternate-cover.678414/...

www.enworld.org

D&D 5E - Here's the Ravenloft Alternate Cover!

As usual, there is an alternate hobby-store exclusive cover for the upcoming Ravenloft book. Here's a look at it! And here's the full wraparound art. https://www.enworld.org/threads/updated-with-cover-the-d-d-book-is-van-richtens-guide-to-ravenloft.678411/...

www.enworld.org

D&D 5E - [Updated with cover!] The D&D Book Is.... Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft!

Yesterday's hints that a new D&D book would be announced today have born fruit -- we now have a product description and a title! It's a Ravenloft setting book, with tools and new rules for horror-themed games, and new horror-themed character options. I'll update this post with a product image as...

www.enworld.org

 

[Scribe]

Didn't watch the whole video (because spoilers) but the above made me curious enough to check out Strahd's writeup: no alignment there either. (Possibly no statblock, either, but that could be on a page I missed.) If that's standard for NPCs in the book, looks like Candlekeep Mysteries may have been the last gasp of alignment in D&D. But I guess we'll see in a few weeks for sure.

Remember when people said we were over reacting to the Gothic UA?

Pretty much had it nailed that this was where it was going.

 

[Savage Wombat]

Harkon Lukas wants to challenge you to a fiddle contest. Probably at a crossroads.

 

[Charlaquin]

(Okay, the Wishmaster films weren't very good, but the idea is there).

I thought the first one was great

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Harkon Lukas wants to challenge you to a fiddle contest. Probably at a crossroads.

Yo, my character may actually get to use their expertise in Performance.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Dark Gifts spoiled

Some of those dark gifts might make for an interesting take on a swarmkeeper ranger or Path of the Beast barbarian.

Touch of Death looks like something min-maxers could play with.

 

[JEB]

View attachment 136593

So most folks would look at that and think, they retconned Harkon Lukas into a Black man.

However... wolfweres can have their human form look like whatever they want. So nope. Another not-necessarily retcon.

(Also, yay, he's still around!)

 

[overgeeked]

Hope someone annotates this nearly six-hour read-along.

 

[Remathilis]

Some of those dark gifts might make for an interesting take on a swarmkeeper ranger or Path of the Beast barbarian.

Touch of Death looks like something min-maxers could play with.

It's not perfect, but a beast barbarian with second skin is the closet to a balanced PC werewolf you're going to see.

 

[Ash Mantle]

Here's another more in-depth flip through into Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, combined with a first impressions commentary

The text in this video has a lot more clarity than the other one I linked to, it's actually quite easy to read along with the flip through. Please keep in mind this flip through will definitely spoil the book, so please avoid if you don't want spoilers.

 

[tetrasodium]

a survivor talent