Ravenloft Novel Coming in 2025

Penguin Random House will publish a new novel set in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting of Ravenloft in 2025. A listing for an untitled Ravenloft novel has recently appeared on various book retailer websites, along with Penguin Random House's official website. No author was named in the listing, but a description for the book states that it will feature the infamous Count Strahd and potentially other Domains of Dread as well. The book will have a recommended retail price of $30 and will be released in April 2025.

Penguin Random House has upped their Dungeons & Dragons novel releases in recent years, with books set in the Dragonlance, Spelljammer, and Forgotten Realms settings. While some books (such as the recently completed Dragonlance Destinies trilogy) have featured classic writers, other books have used contemporary fantasy authors and are geared more toward a mix of existing, new, and casual D&D fans. Some characters from the Fallback novels have also appeared in art slated for the 2024 Core Rulebook release. Given that we're getting more D&D novels, it seems this new line of licensed novels is a success for Penguin Random House.

You can check out the description of the new Ravenloft book below:

Journey to the Domains of Dread and face the fearsome Count Strahd von Zarovich in this upcoming official Dungeons & Dragons novel!

A group of adventurers must fight their way through a dark and twisted realm known as the Domains of Dread, where powerful darklords rule over worlds filled with supernatural horrors.

 

[Alzrius]

I will also say the Knight of the Black Rose is, in my opinion, the best book in that line

For me, it's a tie between that and Gene DeWeese's King of the Dead.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I wouldn't advice novels adaptin published modules because then the player who read them would know too much when later a DM wanted to play it.

I hope the novel was more "action-horror" where characters have got some opportunity to defeat the monsters.

Wouldn't you like to see "known faces"?

* Are there descedants of Zarovich family in Barovia?

 

[Bedrockgames]

For me, it's a tie between that and Gene DeWeese's King of the Dead.

I think that is the only Ravenloft book I never read

 

[Azzy]

It's really a shame that that the book is about Strahd and Barovia instead of elsewhere in Ravenloft. In my opinion, Strahd has been done to death.

 

[EldritchHistory]

I wouldn't advice novels adaptin published modules because then the player who read them would know too much when later a DM wanted to play it.

I hope the novel was more "action-horror" where characters have got some opportunity to defeat the monsters.

Wouldn't you like to see "known faces"?

* Are there descedants of Zarovich family in Barovia?

There used to be, descendents of the middle brother Sturm, but I don't know if he's even canon anymore. There was a great niece of Strahd that became a vampire and used a ghost to age herself to become more powerful.

 

[Azzy]

There used to be, descendents of the middle brother Sturm, but I don't know if he's even canon anymore. There was a great niece of Strahd that became a vampire and used a ghost to age herself to become more powerful.

That's peak D&D right there!

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Both are true. The novels kept TSR afloat in the short term, but killed it in the long term.

The novels were popular because they tied into a popular game, but as TSR neglected the game to focus on the novels, so the popularity of the game fell, so the popularity of the novels fell.

These days WotC are not producing novels, but they are willing to sell the license for other people to do it.

No bad business choices killed TSR, nothing else. Novels are mostly don't by freelancers, so all TSR needed was editors. It never interfered in the D&D teams ability to design and sell the TTRP stuff, different folks working on each.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

From her Wikipedia "Some of her fantasy has been written under the name Lila Bowen. She has also written erotica as Ava Lovelace"

I'm suddenly a lot more interested.....

Just looked her up and got the Countess of Lovelace Ada Lovelace, I think for her erotica she may have borrowed a historical writer and mathematication.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

It's really a shame that that the book is about Strahd and Barovia instead of elsewhere in Ravenloft. In my opinion, Strahd has been done to death.

I suspect he's not a major character, rather he MIGHT be the quest giver, heroes show up in Barovia, go to Castle Ravenloft, and Strahd sends them on a mission thst takes them across multiple Domains.

 

[Micah Sweet]

There used to be, descendents of the middle brother Sturm, but I don't know if he's even canon anymore. There was a great niece of Strahd that became a vampire and used a ghost to age herself to become more powerful.

No such thing as canon any more. We're all better picking what we like and running with it. For me, that means everything until WotC pulled the license back near the end of 3.5. I want nothing to do with what they've done with the setting since then officially, although Curse of Strahd itself is a good adventure.