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

 

[overgeeked]

I’m really wanting to try a survivors game.

Or multiple one-shots with survivors. They don’t look like they’re designed to live long. Maybe give them sidekick levels if they live.

 

[darjr]

Also I am growing tired of the Ship of Thesius style fandom arguments.

Are AD&D 2e fans still AD&D 2e fans if they hated thaco? Are OD&D fans still fans if they hated Dungeon Crawling?

Yea, they absolutely could be.

Especially so in D&D where playing could hit people in so many different subjective ways. From how the group understood the rules to what they had at the time they became fans to how the DM and players liked to play it.

 

[darjr]

Or multiple one-shots with survivors. They don’t look like they’re designed to live long. Maybe give them sidekick levels if they live.

Oh! Yeas!

 

[Bedrockgames]

Also I am growing tired of the Ship of Thesius style fandom arguments.

Are AD&D 2e fans still AD&D 2e fans if they hated thaco? Are OD&D fans still fans if they hated Dungeon Crawling?

Yea, they absolutely could be.

Especially so in D&D where playing could hit people in so many different subjective ways. From how the group understood the rules to what they had at the time they became fans to how the DM and players liked to play it.

But this isn't what I am saying. I am not saying if you didn't how fear checks worked your not a fan. I am not even trying to say people can't claim to be fans. But I am saying if you spend most of the thread complaining about the core elements of the game, it seems strange to label yourself a fan of Ravenloft. It would be like saying you loved 2E but hated the classes, you couldn't stand the spells, you thought the worlds sucked in execution, etc. I can't read peoples minds. I don't know who played Ravenloft and who didn't. I am just a little saying there are many old fans who loved Ravenloft and didn't think it needed to be completely upended, and many of the people I have found myself debating on this thread, appear to think it was flawed right to the very foundation (I mean honestly I can see not liking a particular domain, but if you didn't even like the classic/gothic horror premise, or the setting, then what kind of fan is that?)

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

Not all of the changes were done because of diversity, some were done because the originals were just, boring and they probably wanted to put some more life into things.

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

Cool. I find most of Greyhawk boring as hell
Guess we can change that too

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

sigh

Here, read this. We've been over it already.

D&D General - Reading Ravenloft the setting

So the book announcement inspired me to do a bit of rereading of some of the old Ravenloft material. Heavily focusing on flavor, because that's what's relevant to the upcoming 5e implementation, and the 3e incarnation of the setting, because that's predominately what I own. And since all the...

www.enworld.org

You'd be surprised how not helpful posting a 42 page forum thread is to answering a question

But the answer seems to be "they were boring" more than "they were problematic"
Is there a single domain that WASN'T changed? One land that didn't have a major revision?

Apparently, Ravenloft was the most boring setting TSR every published and anyone who liked it before now was a dumbass with poor taste

 

[dave2008]

I think you mean Dark Gifts.

That's it! I knew Dark Powers couldn't right. Thank you!

 

[darjr]

@Bedrockgames I’m not sure you see what I see in your arguments. Maybe I’m missing your nuance. What I see is a claim that they couldn’t possibly be fans of Ravenloft if they don’t like this specific interpretation of “gothic” horror that you got out of it. That, to me is fundamentally wrong, they absolutely could be fans, and I can tell you directly that some I’ve met from WotC absolutely are.

 

[Faolyn]

Those have alwasys been there.

They may have been part of the original adventure, but they weren't in the actual setting materials, which were pretty seriously written. I would not have been a Ravenloft fan if they were (I don't have that kind of sense of humor).

 

[Bedrockgames]

@Bedrockgames I’m not sure you see what I see in your arguments. Maybe I’m missing your nuance. What I see is a claim that they couldn’t possibly be fans of Ravenloft if they don’t like this specific interpretation of “gothic” horror that you got out of it. That, to me is fundamentally wrong, they absolutely could be fans, and I can tell you directly that some I’ve met from WotC absolutely are.

No, what I am saying is we are talking about changes to the line. And I said the changes don't seem to be made for the old fans. And a bunch of posters who have largely been critical of foundational elements of the old book (and classic/gothic horror was a foundational element) are saying no because they are also old fans. I am sure there are old fans who like the changes. I just am intrigued that so many people who for so long have been critical of the old content, don't see how many of the changes, much fo the tone, seems insulting or dismissive to those of us who loved the setting when it came out. Like I said, I can see not liking powers checks, not liking a domain here or there, but the setting was explicitly about gothic and classic horror. If you didn't like that, it wasn't setting designed for you. And acting like the setting having a gothic/classic focus, was someone due to meanness or prejudice against other forms of horror on the part of the original designers, like they were intentionally denying players who desperately wanted body horror, slasher, and torture porn, what they ought to have had. It is just a weird framing of the thing. The black box was very explicit about the aims of the setting, and even if it veered away here or there, through the 90s that was the guiding concept. Ravenloft was never a multi-genre horror setting