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

 

[tetrasodium]

I enjoyed event horizon and it's a shame the city elements will never get readded/or probably wont get redone filling in the crew story that got cut

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We have to remember Ravenloft is a RPG, and then the tricks to cause fear are differents, literature can't work action-movies with gore effects.

In the first movie of the "Phantom of the Opera", the moment when this is unmasked, showing his horrible face, some people fainted by the shock, because they weren't used. Today you can toys for children with uglier look.

Other thread is harder to cause fear when somebody is too used to the death of the characters, and this doesn't feel enough empathy for them. It is like when one of your favorite superheroes dies in the battle, but you don't feel very sad because you know he will come back some day.

Ravenloft is not only gothic horror, but also supernatural drama(tragedy), conspiracies, and investigating mysteries, althought I don't remember any element of paranormal romance, or at least not with a happy end.

 

[overgeeked]

We have to remember Ravenloft is a RPG, and then the tricks to cause fear are differents, literature can't work action-movies with gore effects.

In the first movie of the "Phantom of the Opera", the moment when this is unmasked, showing his horrible face, some people fainted by the shock, because they weren't used. Today you can toys for children with uglier look.

Other thread is harder to cause fear when somebody is too used to the death of the characters, and this doesn't feel enough empathy for them. It is like when one of your favorite superheroes dies in the battle, but you don't feel very sad because you know he will come back some day.

Ravenloft is not only gothic horror, but also supernatural drama(tragedy), conspiracies, and investigating mysteries, althought I don't remember any element of paranormal romance, or at least not with a happy end.

This is exactly why it’s a fool’s errand (and actually dangerous) to try to scare the players. You don’t do that. You go for thrills, unsettling, unnerving, creepy, cognitive dissonance, etc. If you’re trying to scare your players in the jump scare and gore sense, you’re doing it wildly wrong. I’ve been part of games where the DM tried to scare the players. It ended...badly.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

You encounter an Omastar (cephalod pokemon), you lose 1d4 sanity points. A gastly (ghost pokemon) appears and you lose 1d6 sanity points by the surprise.

My PC Jessica Fletcher goes to a spa to relax and recover sanity points, after the post-traumatic estress everytime she goes to a place somebody is murdered and she is who has to discover the killer.

Ravenloft and the rest of RPGs designed for long campaigns can't work as a "one-shot" story. It is not about to hunt the monster of the week, but horror mixed with other genres. If the DM kills too many nPCs to cause fear then the dramatic effect is lost. Ravenloft is other style, closer to paranormal thriller, it is about the main menace not only is supernatural, but you can't defeat any thing you can't see or touch, nothing with stats and hit points to be lost. Here the goal is to survive and avoid more innocent victims to be hurt.

And most of the characters are unoticed of the paranormal menace until it is too late for some of them. In the horror RPGs the players know there is a potential paranormal menace since the first second.

 

[darjr]

What is that thing!!!

 

[Remathilis]

This is exactly why it’s a fool’s errand (and actually dangerous) to try to scare the players. You don’t do that. You go for thrills, unsettling, unnerving, creepy, cognitive dissonance, etc. If you’re trying to scare your players in the jump scare and gore sense, you’re doing it wildly wrong. I’ve been part of games where the DM tried to scare the players. It ended...badly.

Every once in a while, you can pull it off. It works best when you've lulled your players into a false sense of security and then spring something very wild on them. However, it's something that a little goes a long way, you might be lucky enough to score it one or two times in an entire campaign's life, but that's pushing it.

 

[Faolyn]

What is that thing!!!

Some sort of undead mind flayer.

 

[overgeeked]

Every once in a while, you can pull it off. It works best when you've lulled your players into a false sense of security and then spring something very wild on them. However, it's something that a little goes a long way, you might be lucky enough to score it one or two times in an entire campaign's life, but that's pushing it.

No. You should literally never try to scare your players. You’re running a role-playing game, you’re not running a full-contact haunted house, nor are you a horror film director with a cast who hasn’t signed up to be in your film. Scaring the players at your table is not the goal of horror gaming.

 

[Charlaquin]

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

That was my thought as well (note: I haven’t finished it yet, I’m a few episodes into the final season, so please use spoiler tags when discussing it!). In general I feel like there’s some cool conceptual overlap between Magnus and Ravenloft, with the Dark Powers being analogous to the Fears and the Dark Lords being analogous to their Avatars.

 

[Charlaquin]

No. You should literally never try to scare your players. You’re running a role-playing game, you’re not running a full-contact haunted house, nor are you a horror film director with a cast who hasn’t signed up to be in your film. Scaring the players at your table is not the goal of horror gaming.

It can be, but only if that’s what the players sign up for.