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

 

[the Jester]

The PCs generally start as 1st-level adventurers. That’s fresh off the farm with granddad’s rusty sword not seasoned combat vets.

This is a matter of playstyle. I'll just point out that in 1e, when classes had 'level titles' at each level, the level title of a 1st level fighter was "veteran".

 

[Bedrockgames]

This is a matter of playstyle. I'll just point out that in 1e, when classes had 'level titles' at each level, the level title of a 1st level fighter was "veteran".

And that 'veteran' could be one shotted by just about anything. I had so many 1E characters die right out of the gate

 

[tetrasodium]

The difference for me is that Ravenloft PCs aren't scared teenage camp councilors in the woods, they're trained combatants versed in magic and martial skill. They have seen some things you wouldn't believe, and it takes a like more to get them off thier game. They are the heroes, and they get to be heroic. F/H should be used to throw them off thier game, not keep them submissive.

EDIT: how often are the six hunters in Dracula (the Harkers, Steward, Morris, Godalming and Van Helsing) paralyzed from fear or revulsion?

Plenty of horror takes place without teenage camp councilors. Alien(s) was already mentioned

Spoiler: game over man.. they mostly come out at night... mostly

Spoiler: The're coming out of the walls the're coming outa the goddam walls!

and then there is the difference when the actors weren't in on it any more than their clueless characters. Good fear/horror mechanics help bridge the gap caused by what is basically an all knowing observer & the character they are playing when the character isn't.

 

[overgeeked]

Touching back on the scaring the player vs scaring the character conversation. D&D Beyond has put up an article and video on doing horror for all ages. Makes a lot of great points. Especially that the point of horror gaming is absolutely not about scaring the players.

Adapting D&D Horror for Kids of All Ages

Horror isn’t for everyone, right? Wrong! Whether you’re an online party of friends, a middle school Dungeons& Dragons club, or even a fa...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Remathilis]

And that 'veteran' could be one shotted by just about anything. I had so many 1E characters die right out of the gate

The irony, of course, is that 2e moved away from the "survive long enough and you might just name this PC" model of 1e and Basic play by encouraging story and plot development. If course, the rules didn't advance far enough to reach that level of play, but Ravenloft in particular was heavy on the "story first" method of design.

I recall somewhere (I want to say some issue of Dragon) stated something akin to "if you're killing your PCs regularly in Ravenloft, your doing it wrong." With the implications that horror is best when you survive it rather than using it as a slasher flick.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

EDIT: how often are the six hunters in Dracula (the Harkers, Steward, Morris, Godalming and Van Helsing) paralyzed from fear or revulsion?

Never. Victorian novel was Victorian. Got to keep a stiff upper lip, what?

 

[Bedrockgames]

The irony, of course, is that 2e moved away from the "survive long enough and you might just name this PC" model of 1e and Basic play by encouraging story and plot development. If course, the rules didn't advance far enough to reach that level of play, but Ravenloft in particular was heavy on the "story first" method of design.

There is no denying it was a wonky era, as there were a lot of new trends. But mechanically the game still very much resembled 1E in those ways.

One criticism I have of 2E and 2E ravenloft is some of the ways it handled story, and how it didn't lean hard enough on killing PCs. I promise you, if players know death is on the table, these encounters do get more scary.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

This is a ridiculous example and I might be misremembering the precise details but as I recall in the Bride of Mordenheim adventure the splintered door could do damage (something like 1d2 or possibly 1d4) if you knocked on it. I had a low level character die from that. Now clearly that is a bit silly.

Splinters give you tetanus.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Splinters give you tetanus.

Just to be clear I wasn't really knocking it. I was trying to point out how lethal the system could be at the time for low level characters (that particular death was just kind of funny rather than horrifying)

 

[Remathilis]

One criticism I have of 2E and 2E ravenloft is some of the ways it handled story, and how it didn't lean hard enough on killing PCs. I promise you, if players know death is on the table, these encounters do get more scary.

It continues to amaze me that we can both be fans of the exact same setting and yet not agree on a single aspect of it.