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

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Jezra Wagner - Mistipedia

www.fraternityofshadows.com

Jezra Wagner (born 399 BC, died 426 BC)[1] is a spectre that resides on Mt. Baratak in Barovia.[2] Her expedition up the mountain was doomed by an avalanche, leaving her fellow climbers dead and trapping her in a cavern. There she began freezing to death, but seeing the image of her presumed dead brother Giorggio Wagner shortly before her death. She called out for help, but she was not given succor by his image, but rather by a darker power, transforming her into one of the undead.[3]

The menace of Jezra Wagner is not unknown. The Vistani song Regina d'Ghlaccio ("The Ice Queen") describes her awful fate.

---

I suggest some dark lords to become "demilords", and their "island of dread" a "floating demiplane", and this pocket universe sometimes can be closer to the material plane. Let's imagine a group of kenders exploring ruins of a haunted castle in the right time and place. Then they are abducted or sent to a region as Sithicus. This zone wouldn't be the true Sithicus in the demiplane of the dread, but a "clone demiplane". For a short time there is a "opened door" between Sithicus(Ravenloft) and Krynn(material plane), and this may be a double edged sword, because it may be an opportunity to escape but also menaces invading the material world. Usually local deities can se the future menaces with the gift of the prophecy and they agents to avoid it. Sometimes there is a planar gate between the death lands of Arthas (Dark Sun) and Sebua, the dessert dread domain ruled by the mummy Tiyet.

The (adventures in the) dread domains shouldn't be too linked to the darklords, because if Hasbro wants Ravenloft to become a multimedia franchise with their own action-live horror movies then the metaplot could be affected seriously. For example the final girl killing a low-level darklord, for example Maligno, the carionette darklord of Odiare (and I have added the dark talent to use children's bodies to create an army of doll half-golems. The good new is this can be almost totally reversible.

I guess Diamabel, the darklord of Pharazia is an allegory of the falses prophets who fighted against Abu Bark, the first caliph, for the Ridda wars. I would rather to alter the background to be more like an eviler version of Paul Atreides, from Frank Herbert's Dune saga, to avoid potential troubles about politically correctness. And Diamabel's pagan polytheism has to be clear and explicit.

Other idea to add is Ravenloft with its own version of the afterlife, a mixture of Ghostwalk(D&D 3.5), Kult: Lost Divinity and "Wraith: the Olvidion". And also other world as Innistrad, with high-level technology, but firearms totally forbidden for civilians because it a distopian dictatorship, with mad scientifics always openin the wrong planar gate to other worlds tainted by the Far Realm and Lovecraftian creatures. And the most of machine guns start to work wronly within certain "haunted zones".

Some "petitioners" can escape this nightmare realm to go the "classic Ravenloft", but this would become a poisonous gifts. These beings are as "sources" for the monsters, suffering a fate like the mythologic Prometheus' punishment (being killed and eaten by an eagle everyday).

And something like the "ganado", the monsters from Resident Evil 4, a parasite infecting humans for mind-controll, and used by undeads and other creatures for "food-harvesting".

 

[MGibster]

To me, for Ravenloft to be effective, it needs to be established in session 0 (or whatever session for a "Weekend in Hell") that it isn't using D&D's standard Heroic play. For there to be effective play on fear and terror, there needs to be some changes to playstyle. The players should often feel that the situation isn't in their control and that danger levels can easily be over their head.

In D&D, the normal expectation is that the player characters are larger-than-life adventurers in a world of high fantasy. I like Ravenloft, it's probably my favorite D&D setting, but if I really want a game of fear and terror I'd pick something else. It's been said that Hammer horror movies served as an inspiration for setting but those movies never particularly scared me as a child. Ravenloft has all the trappings of a horror setting, but it's about as scary as the 1980 movie The Private Eyes. Which is fine, the Haunted Mansion Ride at Disney World might not be particularly scary but it's still a lot of fun. Just like Ravenloft.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Game of Thrones is a good example of how horror, tragedy and palace intrigues can be mixed with some piece of (crude) humor.

I was thinking about the relation between the dark powers and the rest of deities. It sounds as a truce, and one don't interfere in the others' domains. But there are at least two gods ready to break that no-agression pact.

One is Vecna, god of the secrets. Not only escaped the demiplane, but also he has got a second target, revenge against the dark powers. I guess he has got a secret plan, but I wouldn't be surprised by the Dark Powers themself faked their defeat and trick Vecna, allowing to become the supreme ruler of the demiplane, as a poisonous gift. If Vecna try to use time travel to change the past, avoiding Strand's curse, the Dark Powers could play the same card sending Kas the vampire to the past when Vecna was only an ordinary mortal. (I suspect the own demiplane of the dread is too special and they allowing alter the History without worries about time paradoxes).

The second god enough powerful and insane to dare to cause troubles in the demiplane is Tharizdun, the elder elemental eye who wants to destroy all the creation, and ready to be used as chess-piece between supernatural factions. But Tharizdun could cause a lot of troubles with his dark gift, the creation of dread elementals (grave, pyre, mist and blood) as weapon against undead and divine spellcasters. These creatures are perfect for videogames where monsters are as animated statues or constructs to avoid possible Chinese censorship about undead creatures

Dark Powers like the "Tantalean punishments" (like Tantalus' one from classic mythology), when they are good things are showed very near, causing a great wish to be got but not allowed to enjoy them. I imagine other worlds from the material plane as potential spin-off, like Gothic Earth from "the Mask of the Red Earth" but fictional (to avoid controversies about colonialism or Africa being invaded by the Europeans, and to avoid others using the same idea because they are public domain characters). These worlds can suffers "visitors" from the demiplane of the dread, refugees most of them, but sometimes some "predators" looking "fresh flesh". The irony is those cities with thousands or even millions of citizens (noir-punk tech level) have got enough ways to defend themself (even if the firearms are forbidden by the distopian dictadorship), or they are controlled by secret supernatural factions who don't like "intruders in the hunt territory".

* Have you imagined the afterlife in the demiplane like Estigia from Wraith: the Oblivion and the Hell/Labyrinth from Hellraiser franchise?

* Would you dare to bet about a Ravenloft-Innistrad crossover? And a crossover between Ravenloft of other no-D&D franchise?

 

[overgeeked]

Any more teasers or spoilers about contents?

 

[Parmandur]

Any more teasers or spoilers about contents?

No, they are selling Candlekeep right now, so that's where all the focus has been.

 

[Remathilis]

Any more teasers or spoilers about contents?

There is an adventure in Candlekeep Mysteries that discusses (in passing) the Vistani, Shadowfell, and Dark Powers/Domains of Dread. It's not much, but there is a bit more to give you an idea about the direction they are going in...

 

[Voadam]

There is an adventure in Candlekeep Mysteries that discusses (in passing) the Vistani, Shadowfell, and Dark Powers/Domains of Dread. It's not much, but there is a bit more to give you an idea about the direction they are going in...

Care to spoiler any relevant information?

 

[darjr]

There is an adventure in Candlekeep Mysteries that discusses (in passing) the Vistani, Shadowfell, and Dark Powers/Domains of Dread. It's not much, but there is a bit more to give you an idea about the direction they are going in...

It also includes planar travel.......

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Care to spoiler any relevant information?

The Vistani have the power—some say gift—to travel through the mists that lead to forlorn realms within the Shadowfell known as the Domains of Dread, where creatures born in darkness dwell. This “gift” was thrust upon them by mysterious entities called the Dark Powers, as a boon for their kindness toward strangers.

 

[Morrus]

The Vistani have the power—some say gift—to travel through the mists that lead to forlorn realms within the Shadowfell known as the Domains of Dread, where creatures born in darkness dwell. This “gift” was thrust upon them by mysterious entities called the Dark Powers, as a boon for their kindness toward strangers.

They've always had that.