Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd Cover, Synopsis Revealed

The cover and synopsis for Penguin Random House's new Dungeons & Dragons novel has been revealed. This week, Penguin Random House revealed the official title and cover for Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd, a new novel by Delilah S. Dawson. The new novel is due for release in April 2025. The new novel follows a group of adventurers who arrive in Barovia under mysterious circumstances and are summoned to Castle Ravenloft to dine with the infamous Count Strahd. This marks the first Ravenloft novel released in 17 years.

Penguin Random House has slowly grown its line of novels over the past few years, with novels set in Spelljammer, Dragonlance, and the Forgotten Realms released over the last year. Characters from The Fallbacks novel by Jaleigh Johnson also appears in art in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide.

The full synopsis for Heir of Strahd can be found below:

Five strangers armed with steel and magic awaken in a mist-shrouded land, with no memory of how they arrived: Rotrog, a prideful orcish wizard; Chivarion, a sardonic drow barbarian; Alishai, an embittered tiefling paladin; Kah, a skittish kenku cleric; and Fielle, a sunny human artificer.

After they barely survive a nightmarish welcome to the realm of Barovia, a carriage arrives bearing an invitation:

Fairest Friends,

I pray you accept my humble Hospitality and dine with me tonight at Castle Ravenloft. It is rare we receive Visitors, and I do so Endeavor to Make your Acquaintance. The Carriage shall bear you to the Castle safely, and I await your Arrival with Pleasure.

Your host,
Strahd von Zarovich

With no alternative, and determined to find their way home, the strangers accept the summons and travel to the forbidding manor of the mysterious count. But all is not well at Castle Ravenloft. To survive the twisted enigmas of Strahd and his haunted home, the adventurers must confront the dark secrets in their own hearts and find a way to shift from strangers to comrades—before the mists of Barovia claim them forever.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's like, your opinion.

True.

 

[Vaalingrade]

How is it technically bad?

Considering how the complain was entirely about the medium being used, I'm going to put money on 'not technical'.

 

[Scribe]

The thing is, I do play Ravenloft in modern way - a "weekend in hell" addition to other campigns, where PCs can enter and are expected to escape eventually. True in Curse of Strahd my party lost and it will have consequences in future campaigns. But when I want a true 100% grimdark...I don't pick up d&d at all. I pick up Warhammer. I even consider running Dungeons of Drakkenheim in Warhammer Fantasy RPG in future. It sounds to me like you're trying to force a round peg into a square hole for the sake of "tradition" while better choice is right. there.

You are not wrong, especially in 5e with the continued watering down of the settings each time Wizards revisits them.

It doesnt need to be this way however, and neither way is objectively the better way. I personally feel having a distinctly grimdark horror setting would be of benefit, as it would diversify the range of offerings Wizards provides under the D&D umbrella, but they feel otherwise, and so my dollars go elsewhere.

 

[Autumnal]

Dragonborn in Ravenloft ... would depend on the circumstance. I've thought for a long time that there was legit horror-story potential in dragons that he Ravenloft line almost completely neglected. You could certainly do something cool there. As for dragonborn in particular - I'd be tempted to go back to the old 3.5e Races of the Dragon lore where they were created from other humanoids BY a dragon rather than being a self-sustaining race of their own. Plenty of horror story potential there, especially if the transformation is not entirely voluntary...

I love that and would eat it up with a spoon. Or use it in play.

Dragons as monsters of horror are sadly neglected,

So true. I also realize that a dragon-focused domain might be heavy on things that are nightmarish to the dragons stuck there, including mysteriously empowered members of PC races and strange weather that has capriciously constraining effects on dragons’ normal powers and abilities. (I’m thinking of the effects of the Sunbane in the second Thomas Covenant series, adapted to afflict dragons).

To affect the usual cycle, the PCs would have to earn the trust of some dragons….

But do keep in mind, plenty of people who are depressed also resonate with dark stories, gothic settings and songs in minor keys. So I think this sort of thing will vary a lot from individual to individual

I’m one of them. Yes, it’s important to realize that sources of bad stuff and response to it are very variable. We each need to know ourselves, and to respect others.

 

[Bedrockgames]

But you see, you have heard of Ravenloft beforehand and you recognized it from the name. If there was no name on the cover and just "knight of the Black Rose", would you think it was gothic horror? If you recognized Soth you'd think it's Dragonlance. If you didn't, it's just a generic cover for a fantasy story.

1) I wouldn't have mistaken it for fantasy. Again the tone of the image is sinister, the color palette evokes something dark, and to me it clearly has a horror vibe. 2) My point was that Knight of the Black Rose and the other books all fit the tone of the setting, and the tone was gothic horror. 3) The new book cover just doesn't look like horror or gothic horror to me, and doesn't look like a good fit for ravenloft.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Check out the features of gothic literature I quoted earlier.

But in architecture, that arch is not gothic. Gothic arches are pointed at the top.

In this case it’s technically bad, which is an objective measure. It’s already been pointed out how the figures are poorly executed.

That was not the point I was responding to. Do not assume that discussions divide neatly into two teams. I’m quite happy to accept the cover “looks like Ravenloft” My point was that the cover of Knight of the Black Rose was clearly gothic horror, even without the word “Ravenloft”. It’s also hand painted, not photoshopped. The novel itself was terrible though. And, of course, the new cover is technically bad art. That doesn’t bother me, the novel itself may be fine. It is, however, a fact.

The only point I would disagree with here is I don't think Knight of the Black Rose is terrible (I think it is very good, and I think James Lowder is an excellent writer). But I agree with the rest here.

I would also say to you point, you don't seem to be aligned with a particular team in any of these discussions (I feel like I have sometimes agreed with you, sometimes disagreed, and it hasn't been along any particular line that exists in the hobby)

 

[Bedrockgames]

That was part of my problem with the older domains: there were too many that hewed too close to their source material. So close that they just felt like Good Value brand replacements. I don't necessarily like all the changes they made in 5e to all the Dark Lords, but kudos for them to try something different than "not-Frankenstein" and "not-Mr Hyde"

Again this is a fair opinion. Not everyone likes this. For me it was the thing that made the setting work. Now I won't say someone like Tristen Hiregaard was a great lord. But I found Strahd, Adam, Doctor Mordenheim, etc all quite effective and gameable.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

You are not wrong, especially in 5e with the continued watering down of the settings each time Wizards revisits them.

It doesnt need to be this way however, and neither way is objectively the better way. I personally feel having a distinctly grimdark horror setting would be of benefit, as it would diversify the range of offerings Wizards provides under the D&D umbrella, but they feel otherwise, and so my dollars go elsewhere.

And I feel you're perfectly happy with your own version of Ravenloft for your table, so why are you complaining about a version you don't even play? I see little to no point trying to force round peg intoa square hole while Warhammer Fantasy exists.

 

[Scribe]

And I feel you're perfectly happy with your own version of Ravenloft for your table, so why are you complaining about a version you don't even play? I see little to no point trying to force round peg intoa square hole while Warhammer Fantasy exists.

Because I see greater value in diversity in how the settings play, and would hope that people can come around to that, instead of what I see as a homogenization of the settings over time as Wizards updates them for the current edition.

Why do we talk at all on this forum, if not to express our views, read others views, and hope to gain an understanding or be understood?

 

[Not a Decepticon]

1) I wouldn't have mistaken it for fantasy. Again the tone of the image is sinister, the color palette evokes something dark, and to me it clearly has a horror vibe. 2) My point was that Knight of the Black Rose and the other books all fit the tone of the setting, and the tone was gothic horror. 3) The new book cover just doesn't look like horror or gothic horror to me, and doesn't look like a good fit for ravenloft.

1. Then I think you haven't seen many fantasy book covers. 2. KotBR was literally "what if dDarth Vader fought Dracula?" this is as far from gothic horror as they go . Lsi, ad I have pointed out, you can have d&d be gothic horror without it being Ravenloft, so it's poor foundation of what makessomething Ravenloft. 3. You are judging a book by its cover, again.