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

 

[Azzy]

If you aren't currently involved in Ravenloft campaign that the new book is going to screw up because of lore changes, I don't see what the problem is.

Even then, an existing campaign doesn't need to use the new lore.

 

[Faolyn]

I wonder who other than players has to be scared playing an horror rpg. But maybe i miss your point

The PCs.

As in, the players should roleplay being frightened, but don't have to actually be scared themselves.

 

[overgeeked]

 

[Remathilis]

I like the Fear mechanic. Not sure about Stress. I'm mildly tempted to use the Fear and Horror from the DMG in the places where appropriate, along with the Madness rules.

 

[overgeeked]

I like the Fear mechanic. Not sure about Stress. I'm mildly tempted to use the Fear and Horror from the DMG in the places where appropriate, along with the Madness rules.

I kinda agree with the guy in the video. A flat DC for fear seems wrong, it should change based on the situation. And I’m iffy on Stress. It seems like it’s too little and too infrequently applied. If it were more frequent, sure. If it were disadvantage, sure. Both more frequent and disadvantage might be too much, but it would depend on the circumstances. I keep defaulting back to Call of Cthulhu and the Sanity mechanic. Maybe flip it to a stress mechanic and see how it works.

 

[John W Mangrum]

I'Cath is badly butchered Chinese myth.

The original I'Cath was much less "badly butchered Chinese myth" and much more "Let's base a domain solidly but clunkily on the film A CHINESE GHOST STORY, which combined wuxia and EVIL DEAD."

 

[overgeeked]

The original I'Cath was much less "badly butchered Chinese myth" and much more "Let's base a domain solidly but clunkily on the film A CHINESE GHOST STORY, which combined wuxia and EVIL DEAD."

The older version sounds awesome.

 

[John W Mangrum]

The older version sounds awesome.

The domain was hampered by being a tribute to a movie that most of the audience had never heard of (and stripped of its two main protagonists, since they're, y'know, the PCs). But the movie (original title translates to THE ETHEREAL SPIRIT OF A BEAUTY, I think) is great, if you're into its mix of ingredients. (The entire trilogy is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, BTW.)

 

[Bedrockgames]

The domain was hampered by being a tribute to a movie that most of the audience had never heard of (and stripped of its two main protagonists, since they're, y'know, the PCs). But the movie (original title translates to THE ETHEREAL SPIRIT OF A BEAUTY, I think) is great, if you're into its mix of ingredients. (The entire trilogy is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, BTW.)

It is a great series of films, The Pu Songling story it is based on is really good too

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

I really wish WotC wouldn't have installed the new feature that causes all of your old books to spontaneously combust when the new version hits D&D Beyond. My Eberron shelf almost killed me!

But if updating a campaign setting and doing it in a way that upsets most of the fans of that setting, why update at all?
If the audience for VAN RICHTEN'S GUIDE TO RAVENLOFT is a bunch of gamers who never heard of Ravenloft and don't have all the old books, why not do something new? They'd be just as happy with a book of new domains and new characters

Just... why??

Is it cause WizCo is expecting all the Ravenloft fanboys to be so desperate for new content that they'll buy anything, even if they hate it
Or maybe cause WizCo only cares about their army of new fans and not the fans who supported them for the previous ten or twenty years (which means it's only a matter of time before every other grognard here gets burned)