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

 

[Remathilis]

They defined the Dark Powers.

I had a chance to re-read the sections in question, and I can say (without spoiling) it can be seen as one groups interpretation of what happened. Its written all in one monster write-up and could easily be treated as that group's personal beliefs, not absolute truth. If the group is tied to the Cult in Death house, then certainly Strahd doesn't share their beliefs.

I think it can be safely put forward as AN option, even if the wording is a little more Word-of-God than I'd like. Then again, I wasn't a fan of the Amber Temple either...

 

[Remathilis]

I haven't looked at the link yet. Do they really define them? You never define the dark powers. Ever. Their mystery is part of what makes them work. Defining the dark powers takes you down a 'it was just midichlorians the whole time' road

It's an extension of the Amber Temple in Curse of Strahd, if you're familar with that.

 

[humble minion]

Speaking personally, I have to admit I find the Dark Powers pretty much the least interesting, and damn near the least game-relevant aspect of the Ravenloft setting as a whole. I can understand why someone like Azalin would disagree, but seriously, how often does the metaphysics of Ravenloft actually matter in a game?

 

[Faolyn]

I think it can be safely put forward as AN option, even if the wording is a little more Word-of-God than I'd like. Then again, I wasn't a fan of the Amber Temple either...

My group hasn't gotten there yet, and I'm really trying to figure out what I need to do to successfully replace the arcanoloth with Inajira and make the whole place more interesting than just a murder-dungeon.

 

[Remathilis]

My group hasn't gotten there yet, and I'm really trying to figure out what I need to do to successfully replace the arcanoloth with Inajira and make the whole place more interesting than just a murder-dungeon.

Read Van Richten's Guide. That will give you some inspiration.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Speaking personally, I have to admit I find the Dark Powers pretty much the least interesting, and damn near the least game-relevant aspect of the Ravenloft setting as a whole. I can understand why someone like Azalin would disagree, but seriously, how often does the metaphysics of Ravenloft actually matter in a game?

It matters constantly. Powers checks hinge on the dark powers. The dark powers carrying characters into Ravenloft, using the mists to move people, responding to curses, etc. The dark powers, at least in my view, are central.

 

[Faolyn]

Read Van Richten's Guide. That will give you some inspiration.

Soon. Sooooon...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sure, and honestly, a lot of what's in the new Ravenloft looks great. (Dementlieu 2.0 sounds cool, for example - but again, why is it called "Dementlieu"?) However, they could have had all this great new stuff without erasing what came before.

In what way are the old domains erased? All of the previous versions of Ravenloft are available on DMs Guild and most, if not all, are available via POD.

If you had asked me a year ago if Ravenloft was a continuity-heavy setting, I would have said no. I think a lot of the insistence that the domains can't change -- even though, from the beginning, they were supposed to be mutable, often without the residents realizing it had happened -- is pretty odd, honestly.

If you don't like the new versions of the domains, don't use them. The rest of the book has plenty of other stuff.

I suspect someone told WotC that some of these prominent domains needed to have their names in print, just to keep them as part of their protectable product identity. I'm not sure I would have gone to the mat for some of the lesser ones they're keeping in the mix, but for all we know, that was part of a mandate on high.

 

[tetrasodium]

I had a chance to re-read the sections in question, and I can say (without spoiling) it can be seen as one groups interpretation of what happened. Its written all in one monster write-up and could easily be treated as that group's personal beliefs, not absolute truth. If the group is tied to the Cult in Death house, then certainly Strahd doesn't share their beliefs.

I think it can be safely put forward as AN option, even if the wording is a little more Word-of-God than I'd like. Then again, I wasn't a fan of the Amber Temple either...

If you don't like the one in VGR, you can always use the more traditional one from exploring eberron's mabar section in page178 of that

It talks about a few specific ones in the rest of the mabar section, some of them using the term dark powers, but they tend to read more like Dark Lords of their domains than Dark Powers . This one works well to show players since it says a lot without even hinting at form or motivation, gives no upper limit or scope of power, and manages to do it while leaving a player with absolutely no idea what to expect.

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

As has been thoroughly gone-over, though, there was a lot of problematic stuff in Ravenloft. Stuff that could be used just fine in unofficial fan content, but not so much for official work.

What was problematic about Vlad Drakov?
About the three hags of Tepest?
How bout Dominic D'honair?
Hazlik and his original curse?
How was the Dark Powers being a mystery a problem?

Changing the Vistani sounds fine and the added diversity is all cool, but it's naughty word to claim all the changers were done because the original was "problematic"