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

 

[Remathilis]

As a final note: I hope all the domains that were "X campaign setting, but EVIL" are left on the cutting room floor. Sithicus is already confirmed to be, and I can't see Hazlin (both because a red wizard isn't scary and there are some real homophobic undertones in his origin) coming either. The rest is easy enough to exorcise (Nova Vaasa doesn't really need a link to Faerun, same with Azalin and Oerth) and some are retcons anyway (Meredoth and Mystara, same with Vorostokov and Birthright). Ravenloft doesn't need specific reflections of the other TSR/WotC worlds; let it breathe a bit as its own thing.

 

[Bedrockgames]

So, changing tracts for a moment.

I hope as part of the revision of Ravenloft is an expansion in racial/lineage diversity. Too many domains were not just human-centric, they were human ONLY. That worked in the 1990's when a.) Ravenloft's PCs were assumed to come from outside the demiplane and b.) they were probably going to be from the six PHB races that more-or-less could pass as human with a clever enough disguise. Unfortunately, this carried over to the "campaign setting" version, and while the other races were playable in theory, in reality unless you were in Darkon it was a liability. I don't see that flying as well in 2021.

Fortunately, there is some indication that the "humans only in practice" model might be shifting. There has been some artwork of a tiefling already (and 4e did have a tiefling-focused domain in Dragon Magazine) and Curse of Strahd didn't inherently penalize any race moreso than any other (every stranger in Barovia was given the same unwelcome treatment, regardless of birth). Further, I don't imagine racial discrimination is going to work post-Orcgate. Lastly, there is no reason why most of those domains couldn't have other races in them (except for the fact several of them are carbon-copies of gothic novel setttings with minimal work done to them).

I'm looking forward to seeing if any non-human-origin Darklords make appearances as well. There isn't a single dwarf, gnome, or dragonborn in the multiverse who was evil enough to warrant a domain? Pshaw!

the point of humans only was to make it less fantasy, more gothic horror

 

[Remathilis]

when I have time, will provide lengthier response. But this is horror and is going to draw on dark history to resonate. People will have very different reactions to that. The character of Drakov evolved over the line. Strahd is based on Vlad the impaler too.

Strahd is based on Count Dracula, who Bram Stoker borrowed elements of Vlad Tepes to form. In the century since Stoker, Count Dracula has borrowed more of his origin and identity from Vlad Dracul, culminating in works like FFC's Bram Stoker's Dracula and Dracula Unchained using Vlad the Impaler's life story as the origin for Count Dracula, but that was never an explicit part of Stoker's novel (much like how sunlight harming vampires has more to do with Nosrferatu than the novel).

In short, the link between Strahd and Vlad is weaker than it appears, and it certainly doesn't influence the classic depiction of Strahd in any way.

 

[Remathilis]

the point of humans only was to make it less fantasy, more gothic horror

But D&D is a FANTASY RPG, not a Horror one. You want human's only, go play Call of Cthulhu. Which is why I say Ravenloft is better for Dark Fantasy than True Horror.

 

[Charlaquin]

when I have time, will provide lengthier response. But this is horror and is going to draw on dark history to resonate. People will have very different reactions to that. The character of Drakov evolved over the line. Strahd is based on Vlad the impaler too.

Strahd is “based on” Vlad Tepes through like at least three layers of abstraction. There’s a big difference between having a villain who’s a reinterpretation of a reinterpretation of a fictional character loosely inspired by a historical figure and having a villain who’s inspired by a combination of two historical figures, one of whom is controversial but has a lot of support, and the other of whom is widely considered one of the most evil people ever to have lived.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Y'all really can't see the pontential MINEFIELD associatate with a domain who's a mixture of Vlad Tepes (a controversial and brutal figure, but a still a hero to certain areas of the Slavic world) and Hitler, complete with racial discrimination, super-soldiers, and "branding"?

Seriously, World War Z is a far easier sell than Fascist Utopia. Esp for an "all ages" market they are attempting to reach.

Well, daleks are very thinly disguised Nazis, and Doctor Who is considered suitable for children (although the ghost of Mary Whitehouse wouldn't agree).

 

[Remathilis]

Well, daleks are very thinly disguised Nazis, and Doctor Who is considered suitable for children (although the ghost of Mary Whitehouse wouldn't agree).

They're also rubbish-cans with plungers stuck on them, not actual people doing the atrocities. You can get away with a little more when your enemy are shouty pepperpots.

Personally, I thope they are going to set it up where Falkovia is mostly a guerilla war between survivors and zombie hordes. A perpetual war against a foe you can't defeat. It will play up the (literal) inhuman element of their enemies, but also allow for the brutal tactics of the survivors as a reflection of man's cruelty in the face of extinction. It gives the new Drakov an enemy to fight without relying on pointless border wars, and allows her some measure of sympathy (something I could never give the old Drakov). Closers to I am Legend more than 28 Day Later.

 

[MGibster]

I hope as part of the revision of Ravenloft is an expansion in racial/lineage diversity. Too many domains were not just human-centric, they were human ONLY. That worked in the 1990's when a.) Ravenloft's PCs were assumed to come from outside the demiplane and b.) they were probably going to be from the six PHB races that more-or-less could pass as human with a clever enough disguise. Unfortunately, this carried over to the "campaign setting" version, and while the other races were playable in theory, in reality unless you were in Darkon it was a liability. I don't see that flying as well in 2021.

I would prefer if Ravenloft were a place where most outsiders felt unwelcome, especially those who look radically different from the general population. Barovia, Darkon, and Valachan are not nice places. I don't want Ravenloft to be like every other setting where everyone gets along. Why bother having different settings at all if they're going to play pretty much like all the other settings?

 

[Aldarc]

Yeah, Exandria’s pantheon is Matt Mercer’s take on the 4e pantheon, which takes some liberties, but is actually much closer to 4e canon than Mike Mearls’ version of Nentir Vale he used for Heroes of the Veil.

It could, but dear lord I hope they don’t put her in. I feel like that would be upsetting to both Ravenloft fans and Nentir Vale fans, and possibly even Critical Role fans. She’s just the polar opposite of everything people like about the Raven Queen.

The MToF depiction of the RQ did not seem all that warmly received. I do think that this version disappointed the CR and Nentir Vale fans, as I don't think that it honored what people generally liked about the Raven Queen. But I'm not sure if WotC really has any real grasp of what people liked about 4e or the lore that this edition actually contributed.

 

[Charlaquin]

Well, daleks are very thinly disguised Nazis, and Doctor Who is considered suitable for children (although the ghost of Mary Whitehouse wouldn't agree).

Having fascist villains isn’t inherently a bad or child-unfriendly thing. In fact, fascists make for pretty convenient villains in simple, good vs. evil narratives because they’re easily identifiable by their uniforms, and they’re unambiguously evil, but as a result of ideology rather than biology.

Where it gets hairy is when you try to use them as morally ambiguous, or worse, sympathetic villains.

At any rate, my understanding of the potential issue with Falkovnia and Drakov isn’t that it would involve depicting fascism, but with associating it with a character who’s based on a real historical figure who is still seen as a hero by many.