D&D 5E Ravenloft in 5e: rating the domains....

[Casimir Liber]

So I've always loved Ravenloft since 2e and have recently got VRGtR - love almost all of it.....but have a little trouble getting excited about some of the domains. Barovia, Hazlan and Souragne probably pique my interest the most but some of the others seem a bit cookie-cutter or samey (just an impression and hope I'm wrong if/when I play/DM/expand/write more in/for them). Keen to hear what other people think - which ones they like or dislike and why, which have potential or some really interesting 3rd party content written for them.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

Here's a taste of what some diehard fans of the setting think...

Review thread of VRGtRL 5e - Café de Nuit

This thread goes into the domains in greater depth: D&D General - Reading Ravenloft the setting

 

[TheLibrarian]

I thought the reimagined 5e Ravenloft was pretty "meh" but then I've been pretty "meh" on 5e in general. (I collect Ravenloft content so I bought it anyway.)

I liked what they did with Falkovnia the most.

What I disliked the most was how they reimagined Harkon Lucas. Or at least the art to represent him. He looks like a 70s pimp.

The new version of Ravenloft fits with WotC's "family friendly" angle on the game. But the 2nd and 3rd edition of the setting were far more rich. Partly because they had entire supplements and adventures devoted to each domain, but also because the stories weren't throttled by family friendliness. It got pretty dark.

 

[toucanbuzz]

The new version of Ravenloft fits with WotC's "family friendly" angle on the game. But the 2nd and 3rd edition of the setting were far more rich. Partly because they had entire supplements and adventures devoted to each domain, but also because the stories weren't throttled by family friendliness. It got pretty dark.

Agree. No one got damned to these domains because they had daddy issues or their girlfriend broke up with them. There was a unique, horrific darkness from which there was no coming back (these darklords don't want to), and that required some dark, adult-level imagination. Out of all the realms of existence, these are the most delicious tales for the Dark Powers. That's saying something.

 

[Stormonu]

The 5E write-ups seem more geared towards actual use, where the older one were more loaded towards presenting the dark lord's story (with the realm being secondary). The 5E write-ups, to me, seem less geared about interacting with the dark lords themselves and more about what sort of adventures can occur in the realms.

I liked most of the realms themselves, but was less enamoured with the changes to the various darklords (Anketepot visually, Victor[ia] story changes the most).

As for realm usefulness, Falkovia struck a chord with me - I actually have run a one-shot based there. Lamordia, Mordent, Borca and Barovia have the best basis for a long-standing campaign. Bluetspur, Hazlan, I'cath, Demonlieu are best for one-off/one-shots that are strongly supernatural in nature. Falkovia, Darkon, Har'Akir, Kalakeri are good for one-shots or extended campaigns that have a good bit of mystery and factionalism to them.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

The Carnival looks like a very entertaining side quest to literally drop into any Ravenloft campaign for a few sessions.

 

[Stormonu]

The Carnival looks like a very entertaining side quest to literally drop into any Ravenloft campaign for a few sessions.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Thinner and several Twilight Zone/Night Gallery episodes certainly come to mind for using it.

 

[Lyxen]

The Carnival looks like a very entertaining side quest to literally drop into any Ravenloft campaign for a few sessions.

Indeed, note that the Carnival was actually a fully developed accessory for AD&D 2e, TSR 11382, including an adventure. It's sensibly different from the 5e version, but there are things to reuse.

 

[Casimir Liber]

This thread goes into the domains in greater depth: D&D General - Reading Ravenloft the setting

oh....crap....42.....pages :/

 

[Casimir Liber]

The Carnival looks like a very entertaining side quest to literally drop into any Ravenloft campaign for a few sessions.

interesting contrast with Wild Beyond the Witchlight I guess....