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

 

[Bedrockgames]

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So, it's definitely a change in his appearance--and perhaps in the appearance of other Kartakans--but it falls into the "hey, why not?" category of changes.

Just in the art (which I think was mainly kept relatively consistent just so people knew who was being depicted). In the black box it said from the start that he could take any race or gender in human form.

 

[Faolyn]

Sorry, but at least that tried to be tied to Chinese culture. A generic “colonizing force”...meh. Though it’s worth noting they did flub or intentionally change the four is death trope. They’re written differently but pronounced similarly, not the same. Historical sexism and the murder of female babies are real things. Not limited to China, of course, but at least the original character background was interesting. This one is meh at best.

Y'know, when I wrote my original post, I wondered if I should note that they were the ones to screw up on the four = death thing, but then I figured, nah.

There weren't any murdered babies in her backstory. Just generic sexism of the "women make babies and sandwiches, not war or magic" variety. Which didn't stop her from becoming a 20th-level wizard/were-treant or being so scary the Emperor was afraid of her.

A colonizing force may be "meh," but the way Tsien Chiang's backstory was written, she was just one step away from being born evil. I mean, she named three of her daughters Scream, Hate, and Spite. Maybe those names sound better in Not!Chinese (no word as to what sort of Not!Chinese she speaks).

I was wrong about her murdering her mother and brothers, though. I reread the entry. She just feebleminded them.

 

[Faolyn]

I mean, both are pretty bad.

Her backstory no longer revolves entirely around men, which makes it an improvement in my eyes.

It's not a great background, since it's so generic, but it's better than what it once was.

 

[M.L. Martin]

Just in the art (which I think was mainly kept relatively consistent just so people knew who was being depicted). In the black box it said from the start that he could take any race or gender in human form.

And immediately follows it with "His exact appearance in each race and gender is always the same, however, and is determined by greater powers." RA1 Feast of Goblyns confirms that "Unlike most wolfweres, Harkon Lukas is cursed by the Dark Powers of Ravenloft. Because of this curse, he always retains the same form in each of his shapes (human, half-human, and full wolf). In order to get around this, Harkon Lukas has made use of numerous means to impersonate others."

Make of it what you will, but this is a change, not just a use of an underused ability. (And it sounds like Harkon is now a 'loup-garou.' Is that the same as a 2E loup-garou, or what they're now using for what 2E called wolfweres?)

 

[Bedrockgames]

And immediately follows it with "His exact appearance in each race and gender is always the same, however, and is determined by greater powers." RA1 Feast of Goblyns confirms that "Unlike most wolfweres, Harkon Lukas is cursed by the Dark Powers of Ravenloft. Because of this curse, he always retains the same form in each of his shapes (human, half-human, and full wolf). In order to get around this, Harkon Lukas has made use of numerous means to impersonate others."

Make of it what you will, but this is a change, not just a use of an underused ability. (And it sounds like Harkon is now a 'loup-garou.' Is that the same as a 2E loup-garou, or what they're now using for what 2E called wolfweres?)

Fair enough. I forgot about that part of it. Personally it doesn't bother me when they make changes like this. I think it can come off as pandering sometimes, like they are just checking off identity boxes, but I don't think it is bad on its own (Ravenloft long had a precedent of going against expected ethnic and racial depictions of the culture the domain is meant to reflect: you see that in Valachan which is when I realized in world building culture and ethnicity can be totally disconnected).

 

[Bedrockgames]

Double post

 

[Bedrockgames]

Make of it what you will, but this is a change, not just a use of an underused ability. (And it sounds like Harkon is now a 'loup-garou.' Is that the same as a 2E loup-garou, or what they're now using for what 2E called wolfweres?)

The change in appearance doesn't bother me, but swapping him into a loup garou is a stupid change IMO. Loup Garous in Ravenloft, if I remember, were just more powerful werewolves. But his whole character was built around being a wolf-were. Maybe they dislike the idea of the character being a wolf for some reason. I always liked trying to imagine characters who were animals rather than humans, but who could change into human form.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

In my city there was a problem with buildings especially condos trying to appeal to both East Asian and Western superstitions, where there would be a 12th floor and then the 15th floor after that. I think as a result, there's now a ruling that in new buildings they now can't skip floor numbers anymore.

As outlined in: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...-unlucky-buttons-13-4-thirteen-four-1.3305348

 

[Parmandur]

Her backstory no longer revolves entirely around men, which makes it an improvement in my eyes.

It's not a great background, since it's so generic, but it's better than what it once was.

I mean, that's fair. I would distinguish "less bad" and "better" for this.

 

[darjr]

I've thought about how to do a 5E funnel before, but this might be just the ticket.

Yea, especially since it solves the random component too, which really I just should have thought of. I LOVE the random component and so do many, but I've found that it's not loved by many.