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

 

[JEB]

View attachment 136638

So, this change certainly does point to the setting just plain being rebooted. Unless the text not in this image links this new origin into the details of her old one.

Also, while 2E Tsien Chiang definitely had issues, this new "fighting the colonizer" angle seems to be overcompensating (and creating new problems in the process, as mentioned).

(And it sounds like Harkon is now a 'loup-garou.' Is that the same as a 2E loup-garou, or what they're now using for what 2E called wolfweres?)

At this point, I'm strongly betting on the 5E "loup-garou" being the earlier editions' wolfwere, rather than a revival of the 2E "loup-garou" (which was just "bigger, meaner werewolf").

 

[Bedrockgames]

If you actually read the text, that is not the choice that is set for this Dark Lord... the "fall to darkness" is that the gold dragon she is learning from sees that she still wants revenge, and stops teaching her. That's the choice set; between "go for revenge," and "let go of the past." Which I find a perfectly normal choice in most revenge stories (trying to get revenge is often a pointless exercise that achieves nothing), but WotC chose to write the "going for revenge," as tied directly to "free homeland from the colonizers." It is a poor choice to do this, IMO.

I read the text, I just don't see the issue. I think what they are getting at really hinges on why the golden dragon refused the revenge, which it doesn't get into. But whether she is getting revenge against people who slaughtered her family, people who colonized her homeland, or whatever, it is still revenge, and if the dragon is set on ending some kind of cycle of violence, or fears she has too much rage and she'd be corrupted by the act of revenge in this case, it could all work. The Dragon might be operating under some kind of extremely non-violent belief system for example. Or the Dragon could be a jerk sent by the dark powers even. No idea. Don't get me wrong, I love revenge fantasies (that kind of media can be hugely cathartic and entertaining). But there is also room for stories where justified revenge is not the thing one should pursue (even if what was done, was truly awful). I just don't see why her homeland being colonized has to make this automatically a terrible thing (it isn't like they text is trying to say colonization is a good thing----I don't think it is even weighing in, it is just an element of her backstory). The reason I raise the grandstanding point, is I think a lot of people have been trained to comb through this kind of material for any whiff of political messaging that doesn't fit their worldview. I don't think that is a healthy way to engage media at all. Especially when it is pretty clear WOTC is probably going out of its way to not offend you and to give you something they think you want. I have been more than critical of the new Ravenloft stuff, but things like this, things like the change to Lucas' appearance, don't really strike me as warranting much of a negative reaction----at least in terms of being offensive or being inconsistent with the world and its canon.

 

[tetrasodium]

So, this change certainly does point to the setting just plain being rebooted. Unless the text not in this image links this new origin into the details of her old one.

Also, while 2E Tsien Chiang definitely had issues, this new "fighting the colonizer" angle seems to be overcompensating (and creating new problems in the process, as mentioned).


At this point, I'm strongly betting on the 5E "loup-garou" being the earlier editions' wolfwere, rather than a revival of the 2E "loup-garou" (which was just "bigger, meaner werewolf").

Asia has been a long chain of X taking over lands ruled by Y & running the place by proxy for centuries now Without getting into current day issues with special administrative region hong kong or whatever tibet is that's a big part of the plot in the netflix korean zombie series Kingdom while earings worn by the main character in an anime were a big problem for korea & probably china. Female ninja temptresses & femme fatale geisha types are practically tropes forged by history. I think that calling them "colonizers" is probably the culturally sensitive thing that leans into "no no no nothing like that the d&d multiverse has had different worlds colonize other worlds before, see we have this thing planned for release in three years or less about one example"

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I read the text, I just don't see the issue. I think what they are getting at really hinges on why the golden dragon refused the revenge, which it doesn't get into. But whether she is getting revenge against people who slaughtered her family, people who colonized her homeland, or whatever, it is still revenge, and if the dragon is set on ending some kind of cycle of violence, or fears she has too much rage and she'd be corrupted by the act of revenge in this case, it could all work. The Dragon might be operating under some kind of extremely non-violent belief system for example. Or the Dragon could be a jerk sent by the dark powers even. No idea. Don't get me wrong, I love revenge fantasies (that kind of media can be hugely cathartic and entertaining). But there is also room for stories where justified revenge is not the thing one should pursue (even if what was done, was truly awful). I just don't see why her homeland being colonized has to make this automatically a terrible thing (it isn't like they text is trying to say colonization is a good thing----I don't think it is even weighing in, it is just an element of her backstory). The reason I raise the grandstanding point, is I think a lot of people have been trained to comb through this kind of material for any whiff of political messaging that doesn't fit their worldview. I don't think that is a healthy way to engage media at all. Especially when it is pretty clear WOTC is probably going out of its way to not offend you and to give you something they think you want. I have been more than critical of the new Ravenloft stuff, but things like this, things like the change to Lucas' appearance, don't really strike me as warranting much of a negative reaction----at least in terms of being offensive or being inconsistent with the world and its canon.

To be clear, I find it some of the changes have been good... and pretty much all of the changes have been an improvement. For example, the change to Lucas is just good. In fact, most of the changes I've noticed to Ravenloft in this book are good, especially the Vistani.

That said, if I see something I don't like, I'm going to point it out. If I don't, I may see these products backslide into crap like "Oriental Empires."

 

[Remathilis]

To be clear, I find it some of the changes have been good... and pretty much all of the changes have been an improvement. For example, the change to Lucas is just good. In fact, most of the changes I've noticed to Ravenloft in this book are good, especially the Vistani.

That said, if I see something I don't like, I'm going to point it out. If I don't, I may see these products backslide into crap like "Oriental Empires."

I gotta imagine that after all the kurfuffle that was raised about Oriental Adventures still being sold in DMsGuild, this domain would receive some extra sensitivity reading.

 

[Parmandur]

I gotta imagine that after all the kurfuffle that was raised about Oriental Adventures still being sold in DMsGuild, this domain would receive some extra sensitivity reading.

I mean, it might get better and more interesting after that snippet. Taken out of context it was slightly cringe.

 

[overgeeked]

VGR. Page 56. Gothic horror. Left column. Second bullet point. "Set your story in an decrepit mansion."

It should be "a decrepit." At a guess the line was originally "an abandoned" but the adjective was changed without changing the article.

Ah the joys of being an editor.

EDIT: My lame editing joke went over some people's heads. So it's out.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Her backstory no longer revolves entirely around men, which makes it an improvement in my eyes.

It's not a great background, since it's so generic, but it's better than what it once was.

It improves on gender, but still seems suspect in terms of race and culture.

However, WotC supposedly employed sensitivity consultants, and I don't think any of us are Chinese, so there could be something we are not understanding.

It's not a domain I could ever see myself using in any case.

 

[Ash Mantle]

This book looks like a delicious first dish, but this is not enough and we are too hungry. I guess we will see new novels, or some comic. I miss some domains and monsters.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Seems like Wizard's approach to their setting books is to offer a generalist, broad-tent overview. Their material is definitely delicious but I agree it's not enough to sate our craving for more lore, for more monsters, for more details, though this also allows for DMsGuild authors to go into more specifics.

 

[Remathilis]

Yeah, I know what you mean. Seems like Wizard's approach to their setting books is to offer a generalist, broad-tent overview. Their material is definitely delicious but I agree it's not enough to sate our craving for more lore, for more monsters, for more details, though this also allows for DMsGuild authors to go into more specifics.

Part of that is design. We've had several setting books and they've mostly followed the same layout of giving a grand overview of one area or areas and only giving a mention to the rest. This is because WotC is moving away from the "one cannon" method for the "baseline for your own version". They give you the seeds, you're supposed to grow the garden. Every DMs Ravenloft is going to be different and that's intentional. Every setting is getting the 84 Greyhawk folio treatment, but with more mechanical support.