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

 

[Necrozius]

Phobias are one thing, of course, but I've read horror stories of GMs suddenly springing topics like child abuse and sexual assault out of nowhere with disastrous results.

GMs: get to know your players at least a LITTLE bit before you dive into extreme darkness. It's called social competency.

 

[Faolyn]

It Is a mature form of entertainment, posed that it is consensual

Yes, the consent part is the important part. A lot of people who are playing a game for fun don't want to deal with the horrible aspects of life, and wouldn't want to include them. I mean, I mostly run horror games but I stick to fantastic horror because the horrible things that people do to each other in real life just sucks and isn't fun.

Also this form of entertainment isn't really "mature" except in the "you must be this old to take part" sense. From things I've seen, a lot of GMs who want to run "mature scenarios" mostly do it for the kicks, because rape, racism, torture lol, not because they're actually trying to explore the darker aspects of life. Meaning I'd still be leery of a GM including those things in a game, unless I knew that person and their GMing style well enough to know they're not just including it for their own gratification.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

Yes, the consent part is the important part. A lot of people who are playing a game for fun don't want to deal with the horrible aspects of life, and wouldn't want to include them. I mean, I mostly run horror games but I stick to fantastic horror because the horrible things that people do to each other in real life just sucks and isn't fun.

Also this form of entertainment isn't really "mature" except in the "you must be this old to take part" sense. From things I've seen, a lot of GMs who want to run "mature scenarios" mostly do it for the kicks, because rape, racism, torture lol, not because they're actually trying to explore the darker aspects of life. Meaning I'd still be leery of a GM including those things in a game, unless I knew that person and their GMing style well enough to know they're not just including it for their own gratification.

Gratuit violence is pornography. Violence must have a meaning to be useful in a narration

 

[Necrozius]

Gratuit violence is pornography. Violence must have a meaning to be useful in a narration

That's an interesting point. However, I wonder how some over the top gory movies like Peter Jackson's Brain Dead / Dead Alive would be categorized? The gore in that movie was disgusting and comedic, serving no narrative purpose, I suppose, other than showing off awesome practical effects.

 

[Azzy]

I've got mine! It'll probably be later tonight that I get a chance to sit down with it and give it a good read.

 

[Faolyn]

In reading through it, so far my only issues are, I wish they'd given more info on Ezra (and Hala and the Lawgiver), and I wish there were more monsters. Like, at least two dozen more. I have a list.

But otherwise, so far, so good! I'm getting some very nice visuals from it, I really like the Dark Gifts, and it's making me wish that it was my turn next in the DM's chair.

 

[Eubani]

In reading through it, so far my only issues are, I wish they'd given more info on Ezra (and Hala and the Lawgiver), and I wish there were more monsters. Like, at least two dozen more. I have a list.

But otherwise, so far, so good! I'm getting some very nice visuals from it, I really like the Dark Gifts, and it's making me wish that it was my turn next in the DM's chair.

But but they......changed things

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I got it on D&D Beyond. So far, my only real complaint is that the hexblood's permanent crown thing is a very specific sort of color that doesn't really connect with traditional witch lore and I'll likely be dumping that. I also wish some of the abbreviated domains got more meat -- they're basically thumbnails.

And I agree with @Faolyn that there are too few monsters. They're mostly good (the carrion bug is hard to get my head around for some reason -- it's basically an upgraded rot grub, I guess, and I wish the plaguespreader zombie created other plaguespreader zombies rather than the boring Monster Manual ones, but that's an easy change to make), but there are too few of them, by far.

 

[Faolyn]

(the carrion bug is hard to get my head around for some reason -- it's basically an upgraded rot grub,

My favorite encounter that I ever sprung on my players was supposed to use one of those, so they hold a dear place in my heart.

There was a corpse in a field that was infested with one. And a ton of ravens around, who wanted to eat the corpse but were afraid of the carrion stalker. Enter the PCs, who saw all those hundreds of ravens, looking at something they couldn't see (coz the ravens were in the way). Since ravens can talk and are, in the setting, fairly smart (smarter than real-world ravens) and not evil, they had the brilliant idea that they could ask the PCs for help. Since, y'know, humans have weapons and opposable thumbs and the like; surely they'd be willing to help these nice ravens get some yummy carrion to eat.

So the ravens looked at the PCs, and with their limited bird vocabularies, said "Humans? Food? Food, humans, food!" And the PCs, as one, shouted "RUN!!!" And I could not stop laughing.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That's pretty good.

What edition is the carrion bug/stalker from? I don't remember it.