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

 

[overgeeked]

Those racial ones always seemed to me to be specific strains of vampirism that only affected members of a specific race, not that members of a specific race could only be those types of vampires.

So a normal vampire turns an elf into a standard vampire who happens to be an elf with standard vampire powers and weaknesses. For an elf to become a racial variant elven vampire they need to be turned by a racial variant elf vampire, not a standard one.

So if Strahd turns an elf into a vampire expect them to have standard vampire powers and not necessarily kill plants with their touch.

To make it even more confusing, just let anyone become the racial variant vampires. I'd imagine a dwarf turned into an elven vampire would be particularly salty.

 

[Voadam]

To make it even more confusing, just let anyone become the racial variant vampires. I'd imagine a dwarf turned into an elven vampire would be particularly salty.

You could change them to do that, but then you lose or change some of the specifically tuned curse aspects.

The elves are sterotypically forest reverencing pretty people so their racial curse strain is tragically cursed to kill the forest and being ugly.

It can work for a dwarf, but then turns from a curse on what the elven race typically reveres to leaning in on the stereotype of dwarves as being not pretty, not forest people. This can work thematically, but is a change. Some of the other powers like transport via plants and controlling forest animals is a bit weirder and less on point for the themes when switched to underground dwarves.

 

[darjr]

 

[tetrasodium]

Is Strand fighting with a lich? This should be Azalin, but I guess now the curse has been changed.

* An alien spaceship crashed (7:49)? It would be as "Horizon Event".

* There are serial killers in Ravenloft, but this tries to avoid the bloody horror.

* What about the twighlight elves and the half-vistani as PC races?

* Ravenloft is not 100% gothic horror, but a action-horror, with possible pieces of dark comedy if that is the DM's wish.

Ravenloft is different because this as D&D setting is designed to a relative high survival rate if we compare with other horror RPGs, where the creation of new PC can be very fast and simple because it may be necesasry. It is like Buffy vampire-slayer or Supernatural (not only the teleserie about the Winchester brothers, but all those animes of supernatural horror), where the heroes can defeat the most of monsters, but they can't save everyone, and some times some menaces are too powerful, only can be stopped for a time, at least to can be replaced by the next generation.

Sirius the Jaeger Wiki

sirius-the-jaeger.fandom.com

the 7:49 thing is a stylized lightning rail that adds a bit of spooky lighting. My guess is either some kind of ghost train (perhaps with spooky ticket taker who will tell you tickets are not simply "purchased" & that of course yours is in your... pocket) or that eberron folks are there in some fashion/someone else has built one

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

To make it even more confusing, just let anyone become the racial variant vampires. I'd imagine a dwarf turned into an elven vampire would be particularly salty.

I don't know, I think they'd be thrilled. As I recall, elven vampires were vulnerable to starlight -- not a problem for a dwarf vampire living underground -- and things from forests.

Conversely, a dwarf vampire is vulnerable to things to do with mountains and crafted goods, which would be good news for any elf they turned into one of them.

For myself, I'd prefer to have non-humans immune to human vampirism. I also have had strains of lycanthropy that work that way in my games. (A werebadger, for instance, is always a dwarf.)

The only inhuman vampire strain I know we won't see is the kender vampire, alas.

 

[Remathilis]

The only inhuman vampire strain I know we won't see is the kender vampire, alas.

To be fair, kender are already life-sucking creatures of evil, vampirism is a bit redundant.

 

[Voadam]

or myself, I'd prefer to have non-humans immune to human vampirism. I also have had strains of lycanthropy that work that way in my games. (A werebadger, for instance, is always a dwarf.)

Werebadgers in 2e according to Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts: "This lycanthropy affects dwarves more readily than other forms of humanoids. Gnomes, goblins, orcs, and other underground dwellers are half as likely to be infected as dwarves. Humans, elves, and other surface dwellers are only 25% as likely to be infected."

In 3.0 Denizens of Darkness it says "Werebadgers are almost always dwarven in humanoid form; other races seem to be resistant to this strain of lycanthropy."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I guess it was a barely remembered memory from 2E that guided me.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

There is a gnoll vampire, with unique weaknesses, in Rime of the Frostmaiden.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I think those terrible Jandar novels predated the Ravenloft MC. It's a shame, too, since the elven vampires, who burned in starlight, were extremely tragic and on-brand for elves.

Jandar was very early (and from outside of Ravenloft)