First Impressions – Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica

A segment of the Dungeons & Dragons' fan base have been clamoring for setting releases and while Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica won't appease those who want a 5th Edition update of an older setting like Greyhawk, Planescape or Spelljammer, it is a fresh setting that Wizards of the Coast clearly hopes will bring the Magic the Gathering crowd to D&D.

A segment of the Dungeons & Dragons' fan base have been clamoring for setting releases and while Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica won't appease those who want a 5th Edition update of an older setting like Greyhawk, Planescape or Spelljammer, it is a fresh setting that Wizards of the Coast clearly hopes will bring the Magic the Gathering crowd to D&D.


So what's my first impression of Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica? Fresh and familiar at the same time. Now don't take that as an insult MtG players. This is a first impression article. A more nuanced review will follow after I have read the entire book. This is based on an overall skim of the book and reading of selected passages.

For any veteran D&D player, Ravnica is new but has enough overlap with classic D&D that it won't be a shock to the system. For example, races include humans, elves, goblins, minotaurs and centaurs along with new-to-D&D races Vedalken and Simic Hybrid. Charts break down which classes work best with the 10 guilds, though you can be guildless.

Ravnica is a fantasy world with the magical technology flavor of Eberron. That's not to say it's derivitive of Eberron. Both settings offer modern conveniences through magic but get there and express them in different ways.

The introduction and first three chapters focus, understandably, on Ravnica as a setting and how to create a character and it gives you a lot of meat with which to work. Chapter 4 is about creating adventures, with some broad adventure ideas at the start of the chapter and then each guild section has more adventure hooks, specific to that group. I like the “Cross Purposes” charts and “Complications” for ways to make a villain affect the players without doing a blanket “you have to stop X” approach. It feels more organic. Having done similar things in my own home games for D&D and other RPGs, it can work really well.

Guild intrigue is, of course, a part of the adventure seeds. With 10 guilds and Ravnica's backstory, including the broken Guildpact and how things function now that it's been restored, intrigue really should be a key story driver in Ravnica adventures.

One odd note for those who might buy Ravnica on D&D Beyond is that you really want to tap the “View Welcome” button on the upper right instead of diving directly into chapter 1 and the rest of the leftside sidebar links. “View Welcome” actually takes you to the book's Introduction, which has a LOT of useful, downright essential, material for anyone new to Ravnica and even MtG players wanted to learn how the popular setting has been adapted to D&D. It covers everything from the history of Ravnica, both in-game and as part of MtG, to its currency and calendar.

Obviously readers of the physical book will naturally go to this essential chapter and all of the D&D Beyond editions of the hardcover books have the “View Welcome” button that separates the introduction from the chapters, but it's an odd layout issue. I handed my tablet to a friend who has played both MtG and D&D for years but never used D&D Beyond, and he was confused by the lack of introduction until I pointed out the “View Welcome” button.

I like the precinct by precinct breakdown in Chapter 3. The people and rumors tables in each section are a nice way of adding flavor, misdirects and possible adventure hooks as your players wander the city of Ravnica.

The art is very good and provides the context for this new (to D&D) world. It as much as anything helps to set a different tone than Forgotten Realms' adventures.

Really, I'm going to pay Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica the highest compliment I can in a first impressions article – that I can't wait to dive in and read the entire book.

This article was contributed by Beth Rimmels (brimmels) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!!
 

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Beth Rimmels

Beth Rimmels

Parmandur

Book-Friend, he/him
*nod*

"Aesthetics" includes presentation. It could be down to stuff as minor as the writing style--or even how you were feeling that afternoon.

I mean, I'm not saying you shouldn't analyze your responses, and there could well be more significant reasons. Just that it could be influenced by stuff that minor.

Brains are weird.

True, but this is a first impressions thread, not a considered judgement thread.
 

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robus

Lowcountry Low Roller
Supporter
I wonder if part of the issue is difficulty imagining everyday life in the setting?

That's a big thing that I want in a setting book (especially in a new world). Does it seem alive/functional and can I imagine setting the PCs down in it and somewhat easily make the surrounding world respond in a realistic way?

I don't have the book yet so this is pure speculation... :)
 

Parmandur

Book-Friend, he/him
I wonder if part of the issue is difficulty imagining everyday life in the setting?

That's a big thing that I want in a setting book (especially in a new world). Does it seem alive/functional and can I imagine setting the PCs down in it and somewhat easily make the surrounding world respond in a realistic way?

I don't have the book yet so this is pure speculation... :)

Honestly, that seems easier to me than most settings. The book emphasizes that Ravnica has indoor plumbing, artificial lighting, newspapers and coffee shops. It is closer to modern life than any previous D&D setting, other than Urban Arcana. In a related thought, I would pay cash money for a 5E Urban Arcana book similarly laid out to GGR.
 

MarkB

Legend
Then you have failed to see the perspective of someone that doesn't like information overload. If there's too much detail, it doesn't matter how you present it, it still exists.

When I first got into D&D, I found Forgotten Realms oppressively off-putting for ages, because there was just so much information out there, so many established characters and stories, that it felt like I'd look like an ignoramus trying to DM or even play in the setting alongside experienced players.

I like Eberron's approach. There's plenty of information, but much of the history, intrigue and mysteries are left to the DM to decide, and they don't go continuously advancing the timeline and laying down a bedrock of established events in its wake.
 

Irennan

Explorer
If this was true, why wasn't Kingdoms of Kalamar the most popular D&D setting even made?

Because people didn't like the setting? I don't know Kingdoms of Kalamar, but it's pretty obvious that if you don't like a setting, no matter how detailed it is, you still won't like it. My puzzlement was more about aversion to details (something that I have seen quite a lot recently), which are ultimately an option, and about details not being a problem themselves, rather their presentation (which leads to the info overload problem) as I explained in other posts.
 
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Azzy

ᚳᚣᚾᛖᚹᚢᛚᚠ (He/Him/His)
When I first got into D&D, I found Forgotten Realms oppressively off-putting for ages, because there was just so much information out there, so many established characters and stories, that it felt like I'd look like an ignoramus trying to DM or even play in the setting alongside experienced players.

I like Eberron's approach. There's plenty of information, but much of the history, intrigue and mysteries are left to the DM to decide, and they don't go continuously advancing the timeline and laying down a bedrock of established events in its wake.

Yeah, even though I've been playing D&D since before Eberron, I'm pretty new to the setting. I've got to agree with you, I like the approach they've taken with that.
 


flametitan

Explorer
[MENTION=6822731]flametitan[/MENTION] was asking why they might be reacting so differently to two similar books/presentations. I was discussing possible answers.

And I appreciate it. A third one that's been on my mind, though I wouldn't know how correct it is, is the feeling of there not being a thematic thread to hang story ideas off of, or at least one that is worn on its sleeves. Planescape and Eberron, the settings I have most fondness for, are settings that are proud to boast their themes and how to play into them. Planescape being about how belief matters, and Eberron being about the shades of grey in morality and how to navigate them.

For Ravnica, I can almost see a thread for the idea of the relationship between nature and civilization, and how that would look in an ecumopolis, but the problem there is that only about half the guilds have a possibility of interacting meaningfully with it, while only three (Selesnya, Gruul, and Simic) directly touch upon it.
 

dave2008

Legend
For Ravnica, I can almost see a thread for the idea of the relationship between nature and civilization, and how that would look in an ecumopolis, but the problem there is that only about half the guilds have a possibility of interacting meaningfully with it, while only three (Selesnya, Gruul, and Simic) directly touch upon it.

I guess that seems more approachable to me. A setting have a theme I think is good and interesting, but it would seem oddly forced to me if everything tied into it. Having some of the guilds oblivious to the theme just makes sense to me. It seems more, well real.

I have never played Eberron or Planescape, but I would hope it is not as all encompassing as you made it seem.
 

gyor

Legend
And I appreciate it. A third one that's been on my mind, though I wouldn't know how correct it is, is the feeling of there not being a thematic thread to hang story ideas off of, or at least one that is worn on its sleeves. Planescape and Eberron, the settings I have most fondness for, are settings that are proud to boast their themes and how to play into them. Planescape being about how belief matters, and Eberron being about the shades of grey in morality and how to navigate them.

For Ravnica, I can almost see a thread for the idea of the relationship between nature and civilization, and how that would look in an ecumopolis, but the problem there is that only about half the guilds have a possibility of interacting meaningfully with it, while only three (Selesnya, Gruul, and Simic) directly touch upon it.

The Themes for Ravnica is straight up urban issues and political intrigue taken to the greatest extreme. No other setting has a planet wide government like Ravnica and the closest it comes to wilds is urban Parks and urban decay. It's about dealing with the global institutions that run the world. To explore all the themes ask yourself what sort of issues do cities face (not just environmental ones, but economic, social, spiritual, entertainment, and more), then multiple that by a whole planet.

And it's important to note that because of it's extreme Magi tech and urbanization and massive population, it's more like the modern real world in issues and themes and character then any other D&D setting, so you can take stories from the news and use them in the game, adjusted for setting, which is a lot harder to do in say Icewind Dale in FR.
 
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