D&D 5E Ravenloft= Meh

[Sunseeker]

Nope but a good DM can make almost anything work and I rarely get to play (perma DM almost) so I would play almost anything if offered.

I think part of the problem is that Ravenloft requires a lot of work to run. One of my friends ran it and it was pretty bland since he didn't put a lot feeling into the classic (albiet cheesey) Transylvanian Dracula theme.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

I'm in the "meh" camp. I loved playing Ravenloft when it first came out. It was different, that's what I remember. Different setting with some different rules and the 'visuals' were a nice change (we pictured stuff like it was...hmmm...like the movies Sleepy Hollow or Red Riding Hood (2011)). Was it "horror"? Nope. Were we 'scared'? Not really. Why? Well, it's hard to be 'terrified' of ghouls, ghosts and a vampire when your characters have already been through being slowly dissolved in acid, eaten alive by giant rats, dismembered limb from limb by an ogre, have have had their body literally explode from a lightning bolt of pure magical electricity. "oooo....spooky!....a vampire in his creeeeeppyyy-cassstttleeee....oooohhhhhooooo....!".

And that is why Ravenloft is good for a "one off" or a "mini-campaign". A nice jaunt into a different setting with some different rules. But, seriously, anyone who thinks Ravenloft suddenly becomes "more horrifying" than any normal adventurers Tuesday night just because 'it's Ravenloft' is deluding themselves. IMHO, a better fit for a "Ravenloft" game would be to use the Basic Role-Playing System from Chaosium. It's got all you would need to really bring in a "horror-fantasy" feeling (locational hp's, low hps', magic-is-dangerous-and-insanity-inducing, actual SANity rules, etc). By using D&D, everyone at the table is going into it with a D&D mindset (re; "We are different than everyone else. We are tougher. We've been there, done that, and things that make a normal person instantly wet themselves bring nothing to us but a slight smirk of impending violence...or, 'fun', as we call it").

*shrug*

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Mouseferatu]

By using D&D, everyone at the table is going into it with a D&D mindset (re; "We are different than everyone else. We are tougher. We've been there, done that, and things that make a normal person instantly wet themselves bring nothing to us but a slight smirk of impending violence...or, 'fun', as we call it").

Except for the players who choose not to. Who are willing to accept that making Ravenloft work requires a different mindset.

Seriously, I don't understand why this is so controversial. RL isn't for everyone, that's fine. The "horror in fantasy" mindset of RL isn't for everyone. Nothing wrong with any of that. But it's a choice being made by the players, not a flaw of the setting. Of course if you go into it with the "D&D characters are adventurers and aren't scared of mere monsters" attitude, it's not going to work. So don't go into it with that attitude.

 

[Bawylie]

Except for the players who choose not to. Who are willing to accept the making Ravenloft work requires a different mindset.

Seriously, I don't understand why this is so controversial. RL isn't for everyone, that's fine. The "horror in fantasy" mindset of RL isn't for everyone. Nothing wrong with any of that. But it's a choice being made by the players, not a flaw of the setting. Of course if you go into it with the "D&D characters are adventurers and aren't scared of mere monsters" attitude, it's not going to work. So don't go into it with that attitude.

Also kind of a weird "wrong system" component to some of these arguments. Like the answer to creating a properly horrifying game is different modifiers to different dice.

:-/

 

[MrHotter]

What I like about this is that it starts from level 1, so the DM can make the characters be from anywhere. I don't think that having level 1 characters come from The Forgotten Realms would be the best way to go. I think a better starting world would be a low magic one where anything over level 10 would be extremely rare.

I'm also interested in seeing if the characters could be from Borovia without messing up how the module works. I like the idea of different people who have been living in a world of terror finally banding together to stand up to Strahd. Strahd would probably enjoy watching the group and making their lives more depressing rather than killing them.

I remember reading Frankenstein as a kid and finally getting what horror was. Being slashed up by Michael Meyers has nothing on having a creature too powerful for you to fight decide to kill people you love and destroy your life until you do something terrible for it.

 

[RotGrub]

When it comes to Strahd I'm in the "Meh" camp. I think that story line has been done far too many times and I really don't understand why WoTC felt the need to revisit it again for 5e.

IMO, Strahd and the horror theme isn't what makes Ravenloft so interesting. What I love about Ravenloft is how it makes use of the multi-verse of campaign settings.

At a whim, the campaign can span domains that originate from any number campaign worlds. Heck, even the party itself can be comprised of characters who originate from several different campaign settings.

In fact, one of my favorite Ravenloft modules allows the PCs to escape to a large list of campaign world locations.

From the perspective of the DM, the setting makes it easy to run many small adventures. The DM can simply have the mists drop them on scene. In fact, I do recal one Ravenloft campaign in which the DM simply ran dungeon magazine adventures exclusively.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I never did get around to playing Ravenloft back when it first came out. Not sure why, just didn't. Always wanted to though, so I'm glad for this new 5e revisit. Starting to play in an AL game next month. This is my PC, and I'm anxious to get started. After all, as they say, "The early bird gets the squeaky wheel."

 

[hawkeyefan]

Hiya!

I'm in the "meh" camp. I loved playing Ravenloft when it first came out. It was different, that's what I remember. Different setting with some different rules and the 'visuals' were a nice change (we pictured stuff like it was...hmmm...like the movies Sleepy Hollow or Red Riding Hood (2011)). Was it "horror"? Nope. Were we 'scared'? Not really. Why? Well, it's hard to be 'terrified' of ghouls, ghosts and a vampire when your characters have already been through being slowly dissolved in acid, eaten alive by giant rats, dismembered limb from limb by an ogre, have have had their body literally explode from a lightning bolt of pure magical electricity. "oooo....spooky!....a vampire in his creeeeeppyyy-cassstttleeee....oooohhhhhooooo....!".

And that is why Ravenloft is good for a "one off" or a "mini-campaign". A nice jaunt into a different setting with some different rules. But, seriously, anyone who thinks Ravenloft suddenly becomes "more horrifying" than any normal adventurers Tuesday night just because 'it's Ravenloft' is deluding themselves. IMHO, a better fit for a "Ravenloft" game would be to use the Basic Role-Playing System from Chaosium. It's got all you would need to really bring in a "horror-fantasy" feeling (locational hp's, low hps', magic-is-dangerous-and-insanity-inducing, actual SANity rules, etc). By using D&D, everyone at the table is going into it with a D&D mindset (re; "We are different than everyone else. We are tougher. We've been there, done that, and things that make a normal person instantly wet themselves bring nothing to us but a slight smirk of impending violence...or, 'fun', as we call it").

*shrug*

^_^

Paul L. Ming

I don't think that Ravenloft games are more horrific "just because it's Ravenloft", and I don't think that people are really saying that.

What they are saying is that the DM should approach their job differently. And that the players should perhaps adjust their expectations a bit.

But horror in D&D is not only achievable, but I think it's fairly easy to the point that I'm surprised to hear so many folks say it's not possible, or that there is some flaw in the rules system that makes it more difficult.

I recently ran a 5E version of Dead Gods, which isn't even a Ravenloft adventure, but rather a Planescape one...and my players were terrified at times. And they should be based on what's happening in the module. If players don't feel in over their head during that module, and uncomfortable at times, then I don't think the DM has done his job.

It's easy to become desensitized to all the crazy stuff that this game puts players through..."you open the big iron double doors and there is a mountain of treasure and perked atop that mountain is a colossal ancient red dragon...what do you do?" is such a typical way to play the game. But it's totally missing the storytelling experience...the mood....impressing upon the players some sense of wonder.

Horror is just a shift in the approach....trying to recapture that attempt to have a feel to the game. A theme that runs throughout. To evoke that theme, you use different tools in the DM toolbox.

It's not just about fighting vampires and ghouls instead of dragons and trolls.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I never did get around to playing Ravenloft back when it first came out. Not sure why, just didn't. Always wanted to though, so I'm glad for this new 5e revisit. Starting to play in an AL game next month. This is my PC, and I'm anxious to get started. After all, as they say, "The early bird gets the squeaky wheel."

View attachment 74930

Hope you're not too attached to this character....

 

[RotGrub]

It's easy to become desensitized to all the crazy stuff that this game puts players through..."you open the big iron double doors and there is a mountain of treasure and perked atop that mountain is a colossal ancient red dragon...what do you do?" is such a typical way to play the game. But it's totally missing the storytelling experience...the mood....impressing upon the players some sense of wonder.

A huge red dragon ? A horde of treasure....hmm I can think of at least two TSR Ravenloft modules that have just that.

Makes me wonder if Strahd's Castle will still have that dragon....