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

 

[Bedrockgames]

That being said, I do wonder what they envision a campaign in Ravenloft to be like? Do they expect each campaign to be confined to a single domain, or consist of travel between them? One problem I can see with the latter is that PCs aren't as able to pick where they want to travel to (inasmuch as one ever could in Ravenloft). They can't hear rumors of a nearby domain and decide to investigate (Mists and Darklords permitting). Instead, they would be dependent on what the DM puts in front of them, with no sense of fixed geography. I would think that there needs to be some sense of agency, even in a horror campaign.

And to be clear, the core was always evolving. Even if you threw out the whole meta plot of the grand conjunction (one complaint I would have of 90s Ravenloft and 90s D&D in general is too much meta plot), the idea that the domains are constantly changing and evolving is baked into the setting (and some domain lords in the core setting in the Black Box are described as having come to power by killing the prior domain lord). So I don't think it needs to be frozen in time. I do think if you loved the material in the black box, you are going to have a different reaction to changes though than if you disliked the material in the black box or had strong criticisms of it (I thought it was exceptionally well done but then I am definitely not the target audience).

I do think some amount of agency is important. Ravenloft already gave the GM a lot of power via the mists. And it was easy to overuse that power. One thing I had to learn was players didn't want what the GM just put in front of them (something the mists very much enable you to do). And also, isolation, imprisonment, loss of control, these are not meaningful if you don't have freedom, company and control in the first place to be lost.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think there will probably be means that make it more likely you'll get to your destination, especially paying for the Vistani to escort you there.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Well, I disagree with your inherent point; I don't think this limits the tool box at all, in fact I think it increases DMs options.

I don't actually think each Domain here is literally an island in water, it's just a way of explaining that "Barovia is surrounded by mists, and from those mists travelers can enter any other Domain." That leaves a ton of freedom for DMs to choose where to have the PCs go. Once they've finished Curse of Strahd, the DM can then set the next adventure in any other Domain, not just the ones Barovia borders in the Core. But if you're a big fan of the Core, you can keep that framework as well.

This way works for everybody! The old guard can keep their core, the new folks can use whatever Domains they're most interested in.

I think we just disagree. I mean I do get your point. But islands in the black box, they were literally floating alone in the mist (they were not water bound: though they could have bodies of water around them if they were made that way). But what you are suggesting doesn't exactly give me a core. Obviously one can change what one doesn't like. But I think you really do lose the feeling of the original black box if there is a core to tie much of the material together (van richten for example makes a lot more sense if he is able to freely travel the core, and occasionally take a more perilous venture to the islands of dread). Again, I am not the target audience. I still have my 2E books and don't really need new material (and haven't been a fan of most WOTC adventures and settings). But I would say, people should look at the black box and the original module themselves and judge with their own eyes, rather than rely on other people for their impressions. Some people may find they really like the original material if they give it a chance.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I think we just disagree. I mean I do get your point. But islands in the black box, they were literally floating alone in the mist (they were not water bound: though they could have bodies of water around them if they were made that way). But what you are suggesting doesn't exactly give me a core. Obviously one can change what one doesn't like. But I think you really do lose the feeling of the original black box if there is a core to tie much of the material together (van richten for example makes a lot more sense if he is able to freely travel the core, and occasionally take a more perilous venture to the islands of dread). Again, I am not the target audience. I still have my 2E books and don't really need new material (and haven't been a fan of most WOTC adventures and settings). But I would say, people should look at the black box and the original module themselves and judge with their own eyes, rather than rely on other people for their impressions. Some people may find they really like the original material if they give it a chance.

Yeah we disagree. I probably am the target audience here (Gen Z, buy about 2 5E books a year) so it does feel like this is tailor-made for my style of DMing. A little unfortunate it's not appealing to everybody, but very little can.

 

[darjr]

Good point. If you like this kind of book and want wotc to make more BUY it.

this is a bit of an experiment

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The advantage of having a core was it was a good foundation for campaigns. The potential issue if they are all islands of is less freedom of movement. The reason I loved the classic Ravenloft set up was you had a core, which a lot of players seemed to like because they weren't stuck in one domain, and it gave a bit of variety, freedom, etc (thought the lords could always close the borders), but you also had the islands (and later the clusters). To me that was the best of both worlds.

It's not much of a prison if characters can go murder-hoboing between cells whenever they please. And not much conducive to horror if the heroes can clear off if the going gets tough. If CoS does anything it is demonstrate you don't need lots of different domains for a campaign, you just need plenty of detail and stuff going on.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

If the PCs are always trapped, then that takes one more tool away from the DM's toolkit for creating atmosphere.

I suppose it also depends on how much detail each domain gets. The richer each domain is with adventure hooks, the less players will notice that they're stuck there until the DM sends them elsewhere.

I do think some amount of agency is important. Ravenloft already gave the GM a lot of power via the mists. And it was easy to overuse that power. One thing I had to learn was players didn't want what the GM just put in front of them (something the mists very much enable you to do). And also, isolation, imprisonment, loss of control, these are not meaningful if you don't have freedom, company and control in the first place to be lost.

 

[Bedrockgames]

It's not much of a prison if characters can go murder-hoboing between cells whenever they please. And not much conducive to horror if the heroes can clear off if the going gets tough. If CoS does anything it is demonstrate you don't need lots of different domains for a campaign, you just need plenty of detail and stuff going on.

Granting a certain amount of freedom, doesn't mean just rampant murder hoboing. Again, CoS wasn't really for me. I quite liked the style of horror in the black box, and I liked having a core to use as a basis for campaigns. Forcing the players to remain in a scenario though, by mist or by having them imprisoned in a location, I think that is something to do very sparingly.

 

[Bedrockgames]

And not much conducive to horror if the heroes can clear off if the going gets tough.

This is going to depend on the scenario, but I always counted it a successful horror session if it ended with the players fleeing for their lives after having engaged the adventure to that point. Sometimes just making it out alive is a good end to an adventure. Not every adventure should end that way, and it shouldn't be a forgone conclusion that you can just up and leave when things get tough, but I think people are overvaluing imprisonment here. It is an important aspect of Ravenloft but it doesn't really mean anything if there isn't also freedom.

 

[JEB]

Maybe he's saying it's like, built from free-range organic evil shadows, rather than those horrible battery-farmed evil shadows?

Don't be mean, folks. @QuentinGeorge is allowed to be upset about the changes.