D&D 5E (2014) DMs Guild Ravenloft Sale

[GwaihirAgain]

Hiya
Ive gotten my copy of VRGtoR, and am planning a new Ravenloft Campaign. I notice that DMs Guild has a pdf Ravenloft sale.

What are some of the key buys to support a VRGtoR campaign?

Thanks
G

PS - not my first post, buts it been a while since Ive been here and my old signon "Gwaihir" is attempting to verify against an email address that hasn't existed in ten years. So here we are...

 

[humble minion]

Depends - what domains do you intend to use? (and bear in mind many domains have wildly changed in VRGtR when compared to previous editions)

 

[R_J_K75]

Depends - what domains do you intend to use? (and bear in mind many domains have wildly changed in VRGtR when compared to previous editions)

Which ones in particular? I started reading it Friday but didnt get that far yet.

 

[Weiley31]

So if your looking for one thing to supplement your Van Ricthen's Guide to Ravenloft, you probably can't go wrong with the 2E Ravenloft Campaign setting. This combines material from the original black box AND the Forbidden Lore supplement IIRC. So your getting two separate things together in one package, which is nice. (This is otherwise known as the Red Box) Plus original Domain/Dark Lord lore/info that you may freely choose to use or ignore or supplement in your 5E Ravenloft games. Also you can get something called Dark Lords which is 96 pages of more Dark Lord goodness, such as Bluebeard, Headless Horseman, the House of Lament and Ankhtepot.


There is also, if your have a certain Death Knight appearing or taking a slight visit/detour to Sithicus, When Black Rose Blooms which is the Domain guide to Lord Soth and his domain.

If your doing anything Van Richten related or going hardcore on having him be a source of knowledge on various monters, there are also the various Van Richten's Guide to (insert thingie) such as Van Richten's Guide to the Liches or VRG on Ghosts, etc ,etc, etc. There is also Van Richten's Secret Arsenal which is where both the Weathermay-Foxgrove sisters appear. That gives a ton of info about them in that book. AND you get a picture of them.


Opinions may be mixed about it, but I would also probably suggest The Bleak House adventure module. You not only gain Domain info on Dominia, but also its Dark Lord I believe (ala Black Rose Blooms with Sithicus). Plus the letter that Van Richten, wrote on page 11 of the 5E guide, seems like the perfect thing to read to the party at the start or end of playing The Bleak House for a 5E game.

Masque of the Red Death is pretty cool as its basically "Ravenloft" but in a version of "Victorian England" in what is known as Grim Earth. There is a 5E version of this on DMguilds which is pretty cool and totally recommend checking it out. *Your mileage may very if you go with its class system take or you just sub dnd classes in there.

Also since Ravenloft is kinda/somewhat/I think/Vistani/detoured into the Shadowfell this edition, you also got the 4E Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond book for lore stuff as well. (including the bases for the 5E Vistanti.)

Those are some of my takes.

 

[TheIdeaOfGood]

There is also a Ravenloft Bestiary for 5e which I found to be quite useful.

 

[R_J_K75]

There is also a Ravenloft Bestiary for 5e which I found to be quite useful.

Where?

 

[TheIdeaOfGood]

Ravenloft Bestiary - Monsters of the Dread Domain - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Ravenloft Bestiary - Monsters of the Dread Domain - Welcome to the Ravenloft Bestiary. This book contains more than three hundred monsters of all types, sizes and challenge

www.dmsguild.com

Also, you definitely should get the old Van Richten's Guides (2nd Edition), they are just amazing for all the ideas and lore they contain. And let's be honest, conversions of some ideas to 5e are childishly easy.
One thing I always use, both in Ravenloft and out, is the thought that mummies are different from other undead because they are animated by positive energy, not by negative. Just switch around the resistances a bit and voila!

 

[R_J_K75]

Ravenloft Bestiary - Monsters of the Dread Domain - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Ravenloft Bestiary - Monsters of the Dread Domain - Welcome to the Ravenloft Bestiary. This book contains more than three hundred monsters of all types, sizes and challenge

www.dmsguild.com

Also, you definitely should get the old Van Richten's Guides (2nd Edition), they are just amazing for all the ideas and lore they contain. And let's be honest, conversions of some ideas to 5e are childishly easy.
One thing I always use, both in Ravenloft and out, is the thought that mummies are different from other undead because they are animated by positive energy, not by negative. Just switch around the resistances a bit and voila!

I bought and read the VR Monster Hunter Compendiums years ago. They were great.

 

[TheSword]

I too throw my weight behind the old 2nd edition Van Richten’s Guide to XXX. They are terrific reads, full of great ideas, Ravenloft fluff and ways to make monsters truly memorable.

Funnily enough VR’s Guide to the Lich. Was one of the first actual roleplay products I bought as a new GM aged 14. I’ve loved them ever since.

All the original books were excellent... particularly fiends, ghosts, vampire, mummies and werewolves.

I’d also recommend the original Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium. AD&D monster entries always had a lot about habits and ecology and are particularly useful for a Ravenloft game, where you want to bring the beasties to life. There’s a great section at the end about writing a Ravenloft encounter as well.

 

[R_J_K75]

I’d also recommend the original Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium. AD&D monster entries always had a lot about habits and ecology and are particularly useful for a Ravenloft game, where you want to bring the beasties to life. There’s a great section at the end about writing a Ravenloft encounter as well.

IIRC the Vistani were detailed in the 2E Monster Hunters Compendium but were they ever statted out as a Monster Manual, Monstrous Compendium entry? I dont care which edition but I thought they were somewhere, anyone have an idea where? I looked a bit but couldn't find anything.