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]

I agree. Some of the changes where made simply because the original wasn't very good.

Yup, I'm another oldy, and from what I've seen of the new book it it improves considerably on the original Black Box.

I am sorry but if it you didn't think it was very good, you are not an old fan (you are an old critic who didn't like it)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I am sorry but if it you didn't think it was very good, you are not an old fan (you are an old critic who didn't like it)

I did like it. I was just not blind to its faults. Nothing is perfect and beyond improvement.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I did like it. I was just not blind to its faults. Nothing is perfect and beyond improvement.

I agree nothing is perfect. I have said it could be improved. But the degree is massively different. There hasn't seemed to be much you liked at all about it based on your posts. Either way, the new version to me seems like it is jettisoning most of the old fans.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I agree nothing is perfect. I have said it could be improved. But the degree is massively different. There hasn't seemed to be much you liked at all about it based on your posts.

The concept, the tone, the art, the monsters. Those where great. Several of the domains had interesting ideas. The rule adjustments where okay, as was the fear and and horror mechanics. But there were several fundamental flaws:

1) The core. This, and treating it as if it where are real world with fixed geography, history, and economics detracted from the nightmarish feel.
2) The core's irrational layout. If there must be a core it could have been arranged in some way that made sense.
3) Gothic gatekeeping. The refusal by the authors to tolerate different types of horror was an inappropriate attempt to impose their own taste on the players. This is also partially the cause of 4.
4) Repetition. Many of the domains where too similar to each other. This is a case where less would have been more. Clearly the authors had a page count they needed to fill.
5) Too much emphasis on dark lords. This led to video-game like gameplay: go to the domain, kill the minions, kill the boss, rinse and repeat.

Either way, the new version to me seems like it is jettisoning most of the old fans.

It seems to me that an awful lot of old fans are just as pleased with the changes as I am, and "If you don't hate changes you are not a true fan" is arrogant gatekeeping naughty word.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Fair point that if the Darklords are now unkillable plot devices, you don't really need full statblocks. (Mind, now my complaint moves to them being unkillable plot devices...)

It's also true that certain darklords never were, and shouldn't be, combat monsters. Though in 5E, legendary and lair actions could compensate for that (and in fact would have been a neat way to make darklords that weren't much to speak of in melee, but still very dangerous to confront).

They do have a set of powers listed. They are just "story level" powers rather than "5 foot grid level" powers.

 

[M.L. Martin]

I've managed to read the stuff on the nature of the dark powers from page 8, so I will share it here:

"The nature of the dark powers is for you to decide. How you perceive these forces can influence your view of their actions and agendas, who the abduct into Ravenloft and why. Through your adventures you might reveal these mysteries, and use them to hint at ways to escape the Domains of Dread. Consider these possibilities when developing your perspective on the Dark Powers:"

It then discusses the following three options: Amoral Guardians, Evil Architects, Undying Remnants.

Since this directly contradicts what the nut-job priests in the monster section believe, I think we can safely assume the nut-job priests are wrong.

Good. I'm still not buying the product for a host of reasons, but at least they managed to avoid that misstep.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Good. I'm still not buying the product for a host of reasons, but at least they managed to avoid that misstep.

It does have some great monsters (Star Spawn Emissary is a fave), I think it might be worth considering getting those separately on D&D Beyond if you aren't interested in the book.

 

[Bedrockgames]

3) Gothic gatekeeping. The refusal by the authors to tolerate different types of horror was an inappropriate attempt to impose their own taste on the players. This is also partially the cause of

But this was the essence of the setting. I mean it was designed for gothic and classic horror. They did allow other types of horror in, it just kind of had to pass through that filter a bit (they even allowed slashers in the form of flesh golems in the created----just leaned more on Halloween than on Friday 13th, and kept the gothic trappings). I can understand not liking gothic horror, but when that is the foundation of the setting and they completely change it? Most of the old fans of Ravenloft were there for the gothic and classic horror feel. This would be like a movie company saying they are going to remake the Godfather for the old fans, but they aren't going to be constrained by the limits of the gangster genre, and going to include action, comedy, farce and they are going to strip out all the Italian cultural elements. You can do that. Maybe it makes something good, but a lot of people who liked the original are going to scratch their heads and probably feel a little insulted by the change (particularly if there is this attitude coming from the filmmakers and from some fans and critics, that if you don't like the changes there is something seriously wrong with you)

 

[Bedrockgames]

It seems to me that an awful lot of old fans are just as pleased with the changes as I am, and "If you don't hate changes you are not a true fan" is arrogant gatekeeping naughty word.

It isn't gatekeeping to give your opinion on a product put out by the biggest RPG publisher and one of the biggest toy companies in the world. This kind of victim-hood card large companies are getting fans to pull on their behalf is frankly tiring. I can dislike it, you can like it. We can disagree. And we can also disagree on how the fanbase feels. I am not saying liking the game makes you not a true fan. I am saying the things you said in your post, and some others have said in their posts about the old material, makes it seem like this was probably written for people who really weren't that into the old material or had big problems with it. There has long been people who criticized Ravenloft from the get-go. Many of us did not. Those are two very different types of fans.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But this was the essence of the setting.

No, it was the authors'* prejudice. They clearly looked down on contemporary horror. It's not a matter of not liking gothic horror. It's just that it's perfectly possible to have a setting that supports one group of players playing gothic ghost stories whilst another group of players fights the zombie apocalypse.

*And since the authors of the Black Box weren't Laura Hickman they don't get to claim originator's privilege.