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.

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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

 

[Urriak Uruk]

And here's Dementlieu!

 

[Urriak Uruk]

And Falkovnia!

 

[darjr]

Let’s party! Do NOT forget your invitation!

 

[Faolyn]

Hmm. I wonder what's in the "Misty" areas of Darkon there. Can you walk west of Karg and end up heading towards Viaki--which I hope kept its amusement park (unless I'm misremembering the town's name), or are do you end up being Mist-Led?

 

[Remathilis]

Hmm. I wonder what's in the "Misty" areas of Darkon there. Can you walk west of Karg and end up heading towards Viaki--which I hope kept its amusement park (unless I'm misremembering the town's name), or are do you end up being Mist-Led?

Because the domain is "shattered" I wager the Mists separate various regions and make travel across the domain difficult, but easier than going domain to domain.

Darkon and Mordent, being my two favorite Domains, has had very little spoiled and it's driving me nuts!

 

[darjr]

Want a less “heroic” adventure time in the dread domains? Use survivors, lower powered characters.

 

[Faolyn]

Darkon and Mordent, being my two favorite Domains, has had very little spoiled and it's driving me nuts!

The Dark Powers know. They're doing it on purpose. Just to torment you.

They're very effective at their jobs.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Mmmm, maybe the core hasn't disapearred after all. It is as if the dread domians were jigsaw/puzzle pieces, now separated, with space among them, allowing possible new elements in the future.

What about the golems from Ravenloft? The doll golem is a classic. Why not half-golem template? And the dread elementals? I guess we are going to need a new monster compedium, something like "Ez D'Avenir's guide of unholy creatures".

* Halflings and gnomes are perfect to be survivor PCs because they are Tyrion Lannister, or the little ugly duckling of the core PC races.

 

[overgeeked]

Want a less “heroic” adventure time in the dread domains? Use survivors, lower powered characters.

That's awesome. I doubt many players will want to use them, but DMs wanting to run more intense horror games probably will. This is the tension between horror and D&D. For it to be more of a horror thing, rather than D&D with a Halloween costume on, you've got to have some disempowerment...but D&D is all about power fantasy.

 

[tetrasodium]

That's awesome. I doubt many players will want to use them, but DMs wanting to run more intense horror games probably will. This is the tension between horror and D&D. For it to be more of a horror thing, rather than D&D with a Halloween costume on, you've got to have some disempowerment...but D&D is all about power fantasy.

I've done similar using the level zero rules in here & the players spent about 3 months getting to level one in that campaign going to 13-15isjh over the course of about a year. the most interesting aspect of this is that the statblocks have far less than the standard array

That gives me as a gm much more room to give magic items & such without resistance from "It's not official" and "you are nerfing us" as something wotc provides. I'm really curious what the "survivor talents" look like though since it might allow some interesting progression that can get folded into an eventual survivor X/level1 in whatever class. From the looks of things it's probably easy enough to sub in other low CR statblocks