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

 

[dave2008]

Yeah, I'm flip flopping between those two. I could see an argument for both.

Cosmic horror is confirmed in Dragon+ #37

 

[overgeeked]

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So how long before these are physical coins we can purchase? Might be one of the “surprises” the dev blog hinted at.

 

[overgeeked]

Cosmic horror is confirmed in Dragon+ #37

Yeah. There’s almost no way one icon would feature tentacles and not be cosmic horror.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Also, bee cults.

We don't talk about the bees...

 

[JEB]

Lore You Should Know thoughts:

• Hard to say if Ankhtepot has been retconned or evolved.
  • Classic Ankhtepot: Turned against Ra, got immortality but isn't happy with it, wants to be mortal again but can't permanently achieve it.
  • New Ankhtepot: Turned against the gods, got immortality but isn't happy with it, wants the shards of his soul back and just wants it to end.
• "I want to replace the gods" and "I just want it to end" could potentially be evolutions of his old behavior. Hard to say until we get the book.
• The Children of Ankhtepot are still around; I wonder if Senmet is still a factor? (Sounds like 5E Ankhtepot may be stealing a bit from Senmet, though.)

I suspect this is another retcon, but perhaps one that isn't incompatible with the old. Overall, though, I suspect if you'll want to reconcile the pre-5E and 5E versions of Ravenloft (both of which have interacted with other canonical D&D settings), you're going to have to assume the Time of Unparalleled Darkness (or something else) did a Crisis on Infinite Earths and rebooted the entire setting. (Fortunately, the Grand Conjunction established a sort-of precedent.)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Am I the only one who thinks Ankteapot is not a name players will take seriously?

 

[Remathilis]

Am I the only one who thinks Ankteapot is not a name players will take seriously?

Ravenloft is full of them, Tristan High-Regard.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

My opinion is WotC has got big plans for Ravenloft as IP for the market of young adults. They want Ravenloft to "eat" Call of Chulthu and World of Darkenss, with a lore used by other Game-Masters for their no-d20 games.

The nature of the demiplane of the dread is enough strange and mysterious to allow a reboot of the dread domains. Maybe some dark lords were killed by a time-traveler from the future, but the dark powers chose other wicked souls.

* What is about "disaster(survival)"? I can be a natural disaster, for example a forest fire or a plague of vermins, or a no-natural menace as a mutant predator.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

* What is about "disaster(survival)"? I can be a natural disaster, for example a forest fire or a plague of vermins, or a no-natural menace as a mutant predator.

I imagine this is another way of saying "post-apocalypse". It will be for the zombie apocalypse domain, and anything Deadlands.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

DDB version is on sale 25% off until May 2 (along with everything else) $22.49 USD

Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft