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

 

[Faolyn]

Which was one of the big disappointments for me in Curse of Strahd, honestly. (That and the Amber Temple.) The darklords deserve stat blocks with unique legendary actions and other abilities reflecting their nature. So them doing even less in this new book is a bummer.

While I fully agree they should have statblocks, I believe they said that the Darklords are now officially unkillable. Before, killing one was always an option, and possibly even the goal of the domain. What would happen afterwards is up in the air, of course.

So the thing is, do we really need a full statblock for something that can't be killed? Right now, if the PCs wanted to go against, say, Ivana Boritsi, you could give her the noble statblock from the MM with an unarmed attack that does a boatload of poison damage, and call it a day. A PC can kill her with a single blow, sure, but she's just a young noblewoman, not a combat monster, and she'll be back the next day. And really, most of the darklords aren't combat monsters.

Really, the only thing that's needed for them are regional effects (which would be domain-wide, not just in an area around their "lairs,"), with the caveat that the darklord can control them, and that should be tailored to your party's level.

 

[Remathilis]

 

[JEB]

While I fully agree they should have statblocks, I believe they said that the Darklords are now officially unkillable. Before, killing one was always an option, and possibly even the goal of the domain. What would happen afterwards is up in the air, of course.

So the thing is, do we really need a full statblock for something that can't be killed? Right now, if the PCs wanted to go against, say, Ivana Boritsi, you could give her the noble statblock from the MM with an unarmed attack that does a boatload of poison damage, and call it a day. A PC can kill her with a single blow, sure, but she's just a young noblewoman, not a combat monster, and she'll be back the next day. And really, most of the darklords aren't combat monsters.

Really, the only thing that's needed for them are regional effects (which would be domain-wide, not just in an area around their "lairs,"), with the caveat that the darklord can control them, and that should be tailored to your party's level.

Fair point that if the Darklords are now unkillable plot devices, you don't really need full statblocks. (Mind, now my complaint moves to them being unkillable plot devices...)

It's also true that certain darklords never were, and shouldn't be, combat monsters. Though in 5E, legendary and lair actions could compensate for that (and in fact would have been a neat way to make darklords that weren't much to speak of in melee, but still very dangerous to confront).

 

[Remathilis]

1) Folks already indicated upthread why they did in fact find value in the old Dementlieu, even if you didn't.

2) Once again, it didn't have to be a choice between the two. They could have had this domain as something 100% new, without it taking the place of the old Dementlieu, and I don't doubt it would have had the same appeal to you and everyone else. With the added bonus that fans who liked the old Dementlieu, and prefer to adventure in the "official" canon, aren't being asked to choose between editions, and would have no motive to dislike Saidra's dark-fairy-tale domain on sight.

Mind, I was personally OK with the new Dementlieu as an evolution of the old Dementlieu, especially with that Dominic Easter egg that invited questions about how he was deposed by Saidra. (My head-canon would be that she's Dominic's daughter, but turned out to be better at mind-control than he was...) But just because I'm not alienated by that change doesn't mean I won't question the decision. It has more downsides than the alternatives.


Which was one of the big disappointments for me in Curse of Strahd, honestly. (That and the Amber Temple.) The darklords deserve stat blocks with unique legendary actions and other abilities reflecting their nature. So them doing even less in this new book is a bummer.

1) they did? The best I got was "the darklord of a domain who can close borders and charm people with his voice is being challenged successfully by a minor NPC with psychic powers." Some people liked the fact that there was a moral quandary with killing charmed guards. I guess nobody ever used villains who can cast charm person before.

Nobody has come up with a full throated defense of that domain. Nobody has rebutted with classic adventures (modules or Dungeon) set in it. No one has discussed the intricacies that Domain can provide that no other advanced political domain can. Nobody has claimed Dominic in the same league as Strahd, Azalin, Soth or Mordenheim. Dementieu was a map-filler domain because House on Gryphon Hill had a mesmerist named d'Honaire and they wanted to incorporate that into the larger setting. It's coasted by solely on its placement in the Core while more interesting island domains languished in obscurity.

The reason people are upset is because WotC had the gumption to dump a mediocre domain with a problematic darklord for a more fantastical take on the same theme. It's a reaction to the fact it was changed, not if the change was any good. It's the Special Edition mentality; 98% of the changes in Star Wars were for the better (excluding the obvious Greedo shooting first issue) but people hate the SEs because they changed the thing they grew up with and now it's different.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Used right it can invoke feelings of happiness and security. But it can also trap you into rejecting change and fighting against fixes and updates. It demands things never evolve, never grow, and never improve because we love it, warts and all. The fact that WotC has taken the setting back to brass tacks and built it up differently isn't going to matter because it's not 92, that's not Forbidden Lore, and we're not playing AD&D the way we did when Ravenloft first came out.

 

[Bedrockgames]

The reason people are upset is because WotC had the gumption to dump a mediocre domain with a problematic darklord......

Would you please stop telling people why they are upset. I think a lot of old fans are generally aggravated by the fact it seems the design team didn't care for the previous material (and many of the people who say they are old fans here do little but crap on it). The issue is this seems like they are basically firing the old fan base. It doesn't have to be that way. They can appeal to old and new fans. But instead there is a lot of negativity addressing the old material and a lot of discarding of classic domain elements (for example taking the Egyptian influence out of Har'akir. Dementlieu wasn't one of my favorite domains, so I am not going to be the one to defend it. That said I never saw anything wrong with it, and it didn't seem particularly mediocre, it just didn't speak to me the way Kartakass or Invidia did.

 

[JEB]

The reason people are upset is because WotC had the gumption to dump a mediocre domain with a problematic darklord for a more fantastical take on the same theme. It's a reaction to the fact it was changed, not if the change was any good.

People gave you specific reasons why they liked things they way they were... and your response is "no, they're lying, they just hate change."

If you aren't going to listen to the answer, why ask the question?

 

[Bedrockgames]

Fair point that if the Darklords are now unkillable plot devices, you don't really need full statblocks. (Mind, now my complaint moves to them being unkillable plot devices...)

One of my favorite modules to run was The Created. It was a great module, but it had one annoying flaw: Guiseppe had literal plot immunity (it says in the book no matter what the players do he shouldn't be able to die---not due to any special abilities but because it was considered inconvenient for the story if he died. He wasn't even a dark lord. It really stuck out and could be annoying. Having this kind of plot immunity for all dark lords just seems like a terrible idea. Ravenloft's weakness is its strength: its malleability and the dark powers ability to control things. But that is a fine line. If you take it too far and make dark lords unkillable that is really frustrating for players. Good villains don't need plot immunity.

 

[Mecheon]

Which was one of the big disappointments for me in Curse of Strahd, honestly. (That and the Amber Temple.) The darklords deserve stat blocks with unique legendary actions and other abilities reflecting their nature. So them doing even less in this new book is a bummer.

Eh, I know D&D's gone a lot into 'just murder the darklord that'll sort the problem' in the past but, its always felt hollow. I gotta agree with others in that the real horror should come from the setting, not that you've gotta have a throwdown with a powerful boss at the end.

Mind this is a problem with Ravenloft going back to day 1

 

[Demetrios1453]

The issue is this seems like they are basically firing the old fan base.

I think you mean "the part of the old fan base I belong to." Since I'm part of the old fan base and don't feel like I've been fired. In fact, I'm quite happy with the changes. As are many other members of the old fan base who have posted in this and in similar threads.

 

[overgeeked]

I think you mean "the part of the old fan base I belong to." Since I'm part of the old fan base and don't feel like I've been fired. In fact, I'm quite happy with the changes. As are many other members of the old fan base who have posted in this and in similar threads.

Same. I’m an old school D&D fan from 1984. I don’t feel cast aside or fired. But then I have the self-awareness to not think everything is about me and catering to my tastes. Some other people, old or new fans, think they are the center of it all and only their tastes matter. It’s a BS position to have, but some people have it. Unfortunately.