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

 

[Aldarc]

I'm going to agree, but probably not for reasons you think

D&D is a poor fit for traditional horror period. The PC quickly become too powerful for traditional methods of fear to work. They have access to magic and enough hp to withstand any reasonable challenge, so the feeling of powerlessness that fills horror isn't really there. Classic Ravenloft tried to fix that by making certain abilities not function or weaken, but as classes got more complex, more and more nerfing was needed. (The 3.5 RL PHB practically forces every class to fight with one hand tied behind thier backs).

What D&D can do well though is Dark Fantasy; the gothic overlay on fantasy tropes such as Castlevania or Van Helsing. There are elements of horror in it, but it's still assumed the heroes are badasses who can stand toe to toe with the forces of darkness and live. I think new Ravenloft is going to tap into that genre more than try to emulate the truer horror tropes found in classic horror films and novels. Less Jonathan Harker, more Trevor Belmont.

D&D lends itself something more Diablo 3 in tone, where the PCs rise to essentially become superheroes of the realm.

 

[MGibster]

D&D is a poor fit for traditional horror period. The PC quickly become too powerful for traditional methods of fear to work. They have access to magic and enough hp to withstand any reasonable challenge, so the feeling of powerlessness that fills horror isn't really there.

As much as I like Ravenloft I'm going to agree with this. If I want to play a horror game I'll go with Call of Cthulhu, Alien, or something else but not D&D. The PCs in D&D are just too powerful for a horror game.

 

[Remathilis]

A bunch of bad-ass adventurers are on your turf. How can the Dark Lord not not notice? Of course this is more of an issue with 5e, where it is impossible for a PC not to be a bad-ass.

Part of the problem was to justify keeping the rails up required darklords to have more and more control over their domains. It lead to some situations where doing anything in the domain but passing through on the low seemed it would invite the darklord's interest. That can be fixed of course by keeping the darklord distracted (Azalin isn't going to interrupt his decades of research for every wet-behind-the-ear "hero" with a sword unless they start messing with his larger goals) or weakening the darklords hold on the domain (Tristan Hiregaard is still a man with all the limits of a mortal in the hours he's not Malken).

I hope part of the book focuses on "other threats" in each domain as well to not keep the focus solely on undefeatable darklords. That would be another good area to expand the setting. Lesser threats that heroes can defeat permanently without getting tangled up with the lord of the domain.

 

[Bedrockgames]

A bunch of bad-ass adventurers are on your turf. How can the Dark Lord not notice? Of course this is more of an issue with 5e, where it is impossible for a PC not to be a bad-ass.

it certainly can come up. It depends on the domain, what the party does, etc. domain lords don’t have to be stupid evil and antagonize every powerful person who enters their domain

 

[Bedrockgames]

I hope part of the book focuses on "other threats" in each domain as well to not keep the focus solely on undefeatable darklords. That would be another good area to expand the setting. Lesser threats that heroes can defeat permanently without getting tangled up with the lord of the domain.

The original line very much did this. That is largely what the Van Richten books were for example. Even in adventures featuring dark lords, other threats were introduced. It is basically a choice as GM: do you make it about the lord or do you give them other things to focus on

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Part of the problem was to justify keeping the rails up required darklords to have more and more control over their domains.

Going back to the original I6 adventure, Strahd had complete control over his domain, and the PCs where only there because he had brought them there, so of course he knew about them.

Setting up a situation where the dark lord is oblivious to the PCs, who are involved in something unrelated, seems to moving away from the original concept. Not that that is a bad thing, and is perhaps something the 5e version can seek to expand on.

 

[humble minion]

As much as I like Ravenloft I'm going to agree with this. If I want to play a horror game I'll go with Call of Cthulhu, Alien, or something else but not D&D. The PCs in D&D are just too powerful for a horror game.

I don’t think this is always true. It certainly can be, but it ain’t necessarily so.

First, if you’re running or playing a horror D&D game you gave to get out of the normal D&D mindset that says encounters should be of level-appropriate CR. While the monster story is not the be-all and end-all of horror, it’s a necessity for a monster story to work that the protagonist(s) be afraid of the monster, and have good reason to be. You shouldn’t just be able to bash your way out of a monster story.

Second, not all horrors are fightable, no matter who you are. Madness, loss of family or friends or principles, betrayal, hopelessness, becoming a figurative monster oneself... that’s much more deeply horror themed than fireballing werewolves in a haunted forest. But that’s something that has to happen between dm and player, no ruleset can force it. The group has to accept (via session 0 or whatever) that they’re in a horror game and act accordingly, and set their expectations accordingly.

 

[Bedrockgames]

There's something to be said about PCs being trapped in one area for a while. So often, PCs often pack up and move on to the next adventuring site. But what could be more terrifying than having to stick around and deal with the consequences of your own actions? Having to see the children of the guards you killed the other day looking at you like you're a monster.

Entrapment can be terrifying. But it can also get old and be frustrating rather than scary. My point isn’t that players should never be trapped in a domain, it is that contrast is important. Entrapment in Ravenloft doesn’t mean anything if it is a foregone conclusion. And being able to move around in the world, doesn’t preclude horror happening. If entrapment is so essential that it has to happen all the time, lock your players in a box. The reason locking them in a box doesn’t work, is they need done feeding and agency for horror to have any impact.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I don’t think this is always true. It certainly can be, but it ain’t necessarily so.

First, if you’re running or playing a horror D&D game you gave to get out of the normal D&D mindset that says encounters should be of level-appropriate CR. While the monster story is not the be-all and end-all of horror, it’s a necessity for a monster story to work that the protagonist(s) be afraid of the monster, and have good reason to be. You shouldn’t just be able to bash your way out of a monster story.

Second, not all horrors are fightable, no matter who you are. Madness, loss of family or friends or principles, betrayal, hopelessness, becoming a figurative monster oneself... that’s much more deeply horror themed than fireballing werewolves in a haunted forest. But that’s something that has to happen between dm and player, no ruleset can force it. The group has to accept (via session 0 or whatever) that they’re in a horror game and act accordingly, and set their expectations accordingly.

this is why the van Richten books are so important

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I don’t think this is always true. It certainly can be, but it ain’t necessarily so.

First, if you’re running or playing a horror D&D game you gave to get out of the normal D&D mindset that says encounters should be of level-appropriate CR. While the monster story is not the be-all and end-all of horror, it’s a necessity for a monster story to work that the protagonist(s) be afraid of the monster, and have good reason to be. You shouldn’t just be able to bash your way out of a monster story.

You have to push up the CR a long way in 5e before you get to the point where the players can't bash it. At which point you get TPK instead. But if the players do survive, this is where an open world approach is a problem. If the monster is too tough they just wander around until they find a monster they can bash. Even if it's just the rats in the cellar.

Second, not all horrors are fightable, no matter who you are. Madness, loss of family or friends or principles, betrayal, hopelessness, becoming a figurative monster oneself... that’s much more deeply horror themed than fireballing werewolves in a haunted forest. But that’s something that has to happen between dm and player, no ruleset can force it. The group has to accept (via session 0 or whatever) that they’re in a horror game and act accordingly, and set their expectations accordingly.

They all tend to require a good deal of railroading to set up, even if the players are 100% on board.