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.

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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]

Now I am thinking about the idea of clone or mirror domains. These would be "copies" of canon dark domains, but with a different dark lord. For example a second Barovia (and third, and fourth) ruled by Strahd von Zarovich, but this is nor the darklord neither a vampire even, but a noble human (or "reborn"), or a werebeast secretly. The true dark lord is a different person, maybe a member of the same family, and the "good nobleheart" Strahd is a true pain in the neck as his nemesis, and annoying object of envy.

Other times my thoughts are about Ravenloft as multimedia franchise, this means not only the RPG and possible videogame, but also action-live horror movies for an audence who know nothing about the demiplane of the dread. The produces who work for Entertainment-One could be stories set in the current age, for example about a old house lost in the far mountain, home of dark faes. Usually in these stories there aren't firearms, or machine guns at least, and if they were, they aren't too useful against supernatural creatures, or there weren't enough ammo. Even somebody from our world in the current age was abducted into the demiplane, he couldn't craft machine-guns because these need special metal or get hot too fastly.

 

[Remathilis]

For what it's worth, Brain In A Jar has been published in 5e a couple of times so far--once in the Lost Library of Kwalish, and once in Icewind Dale. I wonder if he just updated the 2e stats for pickled punks himself, or if they're in the book.

It depends on if the Carnival domain is. They originally came from that domain iirc.

Biaj could be a reprinting or the DM could have pulled it from another source like the ones mentioned. Seems very Ravenloft either way.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

There are actually two different versions of Brain in a Jar. The RotFM version is CR3, the LLoK version is CR6 and is listed as (noncore) on DDB.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We should remember the Brain in a Jar from 3.5 Libris Mortis, with CR4.

I wonder about necromancy using brains as energy-source for magic machines, but the owners of these brains were powerful psionics or spellcasters and now their ghosts are very happy. And if something we have could learn with "American Horror Story" is ghosts can be very, very dangerous.

* Do you think we could see any "easter egg" about horror movied produced by Entertaiment-One? The inhumanoids would be too much.

* Almost off-topic: Are pump-action rifearms possible in Ravenloft? If artificiers with turrents can then... Could alchemy to craft ammo with no-lethal effects? for example with sleeping poison. Why? Because there is reason to be afraid be cursed if you use firearms to kill.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

We should remember the Brain in a Jar from 3.5 Libris Mortis, with CR4.

I'm pretty sure both 5e versions are based on that.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I found this in reddit:

 

[Faolyn]

Almost sounds like a proto-Athas.

It's dumb that they just copied Azalin's curse. His original one--horrific nightmares--could have been coupled with the rampant magic to make his hallucinations and terrible dreams come to life.

The bit about Hazlik "keeping an eye on everyone through glyphs" is giving me vibes of the ending of The Magnus Archives.

It kind of looks like they might be getting rid of the Mulan/Rashaman apartheid thing they used to have.

 

[Remathilis]

Almost sounds like a proto-Athas.

It's dumb that they just copied Azalin's curse. His original one--horrific nightmares--could have been coupled with the rampant magic to make his hallucinations and terrible dreams come to life.

The bit about Hazlik "keeping an eye on everyone through glyphs" is giving me vibes of the ending of The Magnus Archives.

It kind of looks like they might be getting rid of the Mulan/Rashaman apartheid thing they used to have.

I think Azalin is getting a new curse, so they repurposed his old one here. Win/win

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I guess Azalin and Hazlik have been fused, but in my game Hazlik discovered the "arcane transhumanism" but Azalin noticed could try the same trick and then Hazlik was victim of "arcane reverse engineering". Eleni de Toyalis is the warlock who has summoned a new and strange vestige, and this has forgotten his own name but...

In a future the new Hazlik is going to cause the events of the Grand Condjuction.

Azalin Rex will return, but as a "incarnation" of Vecna, this new Azalin will be one-eyed and one-handed, and he will hate the vampire thrall who betrayed him. Vecna still hates the Dark Powers and he has a plan to take his revengeanze.

I would bet we will see news about Drelzna, Tasha's vampiress daughter, and Kitiriara Uth-Matar, whose soul is trapped within a black sapphire medalion.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Azalin Rex will return, but as a "incarnation" of Vecna, this new Azalin will be one-eyed and one-handed, and he will hate the vampire thrall who betrayed him. Vecna still hates the Dark Powers and he has a plan to take his revengeanze.

I know English is not your first language, but I must say it is frustrating to read your posts like this... You should preface things like, "I think that Azalin Rex will return," or "I hope." Just saying it will happen as if it is a fact and confirmed, is untrue.