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

 

[Ruin Explorer]

per WotC they found out during their extensive research during the 5E playtest that rolled stats and TotM are far more common

Did they? More common than array/PB or just more common than though? I'm skeptical they did find that out, but the D&D Next playtest was hardcore target-marketed at grogs (right down to the questions asked in surveys), and the "Apology edition" angle meant you had to bring back a bunch of 2E-isms. Not that I'm unhappy re: either (though I do feel rolled is poorly-supported) because I prefer TotM myself.

Either way I suspect a survey of current 5E players will find rolled stats pretty rare, though I honestly have no idea re: TotM vs grid.

We found 3Eplayable with TotM, but I think it was partly force of will and in hindsight my friends importing 2E-isms from their Middle School experience to make it flow properly. Based on the RAW of 3E, the mini-centric approach of 4E was a pretty logical extension but boy did it clash with our style.

I hear this! If it wasn't for 3E basically battering us until we grudgingly started using maps and "minis" (I got a 1" hole-punch and made zillions of counters from coloured paper with writing on them, everyone loved it actually), I doubt we'd have accepted 4E D&D it at all.

 

[Parmandur]

Did they? More common than array/PB or just more common than though? I'm skeptical they did find that out, but the D&D Next playtest was hardcore target-marketed at grogs (right down to the questions asked in surveys), and the "Apology edition" angle meant you had to bring back a bunch of 2E-isms. Not that I'm unhappy re: either (though I do feel rolled is poorly-supported) because I prefer TotM myself.

Either way I suspect a survey of current 5E players will find rolled stats pretty rare, though I honestly have no idea re: TotM vs grid.

I hear this! If it wasn't for 3E basically battering us until we grudgingly started using maps and "minis" (I got a 1" hole-punch and made zillions of counters from coloured paper with writing on them, everyone loved it actually), I doubt we'd have accepted 4E D&D it at all.

Given the astronomical growth of the game in the past few years, I'm sure not taking any bets about what's most popular on most things, that's for sure.

 

[tetrasodium]

Did they? More common than array/PB or just more common than though? I'm skeptical they did find that out, but the D&D Next playtest was hardcore target-marketed at grogs (right down to the questions asked in surveys), and the "Apology edition" angle meant you had to bring back a bunch of 2E-isms. Not that I'm unhappy re: either (though I do feel rolled is poorly-supported) because I prefer TotM myself.

Either way I suspect a survey of current 5E players will find rolled stats pretty rare, though I honestly have no idea re: TotM vs grid.

I hear this! If it wasn't for 3E basically battering us until we grudgingly started using maps and "minis" (I got a 1" hole-punch and made zillions of counters from coloured paper with writing on them, everyone loved it actually), I doubt we'd have accepted 4E D&D it at all.

I think AL probably applies steady pressure towards grid since it's so often run in FLGS shops who like being able to sell the battlemats & minis. The shop I've been running AL games at for a few years now usually had about 6-8 tables on AL night & 3-5 on the whatever night ()there was also a a couple other nights for stuff plus the various very regular card game events. Covid knocked down those table counts a bit but they are starting to recover.

I don't know if I ever really saw a battlemat or anything more developed than graph paper in 2e & for most of my 3.x experience but now there's a generation of gamers who pretty much only saw it with battlemats & pretty decent quality minis. I much prefer using minis & once I switched to tvbox+arkenforge find that the downsides of carting a zillion minis around & drawing maps in dry erase went away

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So make them disturbing.

What’s disturbing depends on the person.

Absolutely. But there are few people who are likely to be disturbed by the generic fantasy bad guys presented in Princes of the Apocalypse. Don't come across many cases of lithophobia.

You might rework them, perhaps leaning into the idea that cosmic horror Tharizdun is behind it all, but by the time you have done that it's pretty close to unrecognisable.

Often, people find things more disturbing if it is closer to something familiar, so making your cults closer to real world cults is likely to be more effective if you are trying to give them the willies.

 

[darjr]

Photo of the box cover and a closer photo of the box inside.

 

[darjr]

And credits page!

 

[Parmandur]

So, yes, one of the Dark Gifts, "Second Skin," simulates lycanthropy. More here:

 

[Remathilis]

So, yes, one of the Dark Gifts, "Second Skin," simulates lycanthropy. More here:

Man, way to bury the lead! Lots of stuff on PC options there. Updated lineages, subclasses and hints at dark gifts (which align close to Theros destinies).

 

[tetrasodium]

Man, way to bury the lead! Lots of stuff on PC options there. Updated lineages, subclasses and hints at dark gifts (which align close to Theros destinies).

that long rest siphon thing seemed interesting too, wondr what other mechanical tools are provided for GMs

 

[Remathilis]

A few screengrabs