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

 

[Keefe the Thief]

What is the point of these comments? Is it to belittle people who in the past have had negative stereotypes perpetuated about them in D&D material? Is it to denigrate any company that tries to be more inclusive? I just don't get it.

Also please don't reply with "iT's JuSt A jOkE".

The point is to belittle attempts to be sensitive about specific themes and subjects. You know, like: "don´t think too hard about problematic stuff - let`s rather make jokes about those who try to do anything about them". I had people like that at my gaming table. Briefly. Very briefly.

 

[Sonny]

My only complaint so far is that the intro adventure is another haunted house. We already got that with Death House. Surely there are other ways besides haunted houses to introduce people to horror adventures!

The House of Lament is essentially an Expy of Shirly Jackson's Hill House. It's not supposed to be a place where you walk in and start killing specter's.

It's a place that traps your party, then starts mentally and physically tearing them down and threatening them. Generally the only way to escape, is for the house to kill someone.

If the adventure is done properly it will be a good example of how Ravenloft horror is different then the standard D&D horror(which at times functions more as set dressing).

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

It is curious, but the saga Pax by Åsa Larsson, Ingela Korsell and Henrik Jonsson has been translated into Spanish, but I don't find a Enligsh language edition. I wanted to show it as an example of a kid-friendly urban fantasy/supernatural horror where all action is within a town.

There is a new video about dark gifts.


I imagine some cursed zones as pocket universe what not only travels about the different dread domains, but sometimes they are in the material plane for certain dates, for example the annyversary of a tragic event or a sun eclipse.

* I don't mind too much the lore because I am totally free to change it in my own stories, but.... the rebooted Ravenloft as multimedia franchise may be a serious challenge for authors. if the metaplot has to be altered, for example a dark lord dies.

* Some players want to play with their own little children a steampunk version of ghostbusters, something not too scary.

* If the new Ravenloft is a reboot, then the future Dark Sun will may be.... and the Pentand Prism saga to be rewritten? I wonder about add elflings like an artififical hybrid race created by the slavers.

If there is also a reboot of the Mask of the Red Death I suggest to use a 100% fictional world, to avoid potential controversies, for example dopplegangers infiltrated in the Sultan's harem, or antagonists as the reverend Henry Kane from Postergeist movies, or the "father" Joshep Seed (Far Cry 5). Maybe in the next year the audence doesn't want more antagonists as the cardenal Richelieu, sick of the abute of the trope of sinnister minister. And selling your own brand is easier if you don't share the lore while fiction based in our real world is "public domain". Don't you remember the mockbuster of Sherlock Holmes, for example?

And it is more thriling if this fantasy world is ruled secretly by supernatural factions, for example lodged controlled by vampires.

* I have thought about a new dark lord, Roberpyort, a revolutionary who killed the royal family to become a worse tyrant. He used his alchemy to create an army of "cyber-werefalcons" to fights against undeads and lycantropes. In his dread domain there are XX century firearms, even machine guns, but the curse is the gunslingers are defeated against beasts and troops with lower tech level...(do you know the story about the failed "war" of the Australian army against a plague emus, or the failed hunt day suffered by Napoleon by farm bunnies?). Let's imagine an army of supersoldiers who would be the nightmare of a Castle Wolfestein player but they can be defeated by monks and hand-to-hand fighters. The modern firearms can't work rightly in that dread domain. And if you can use that noisy weapon to kill, the killer can be haunted by the victim. "the guns are loaded by the devil". (this is an ersazt of the old Vlad Drakov).

 

[Bedrockgames]

The House of Lament is essentially an Expy of Shirly Jackson's Hill House. It's not supposed to be a place where you walk in and start killing specter's.

It's a place that traps your party, then starts mentally and physically tearing them down and threatening them. Generally the only way to escape, is for the house to kill someone.

If the adventure is done properly it will be a good example of how Ravenloft horror is different then the standard D&D horror(which at times functions more as set dressing).

The original 2e house of lament was quite a good location. I remember running that, I jazzed it up a bit and added some things. but one of the best adventures we had playing

 

[Voadam]

From the amazon description: "Unleash nightmarish monsters from an expanded bestiary,"

The monsters have always been a great part of Ravenloft from the 2e Ravenloft monstrous compendium appendices I, II (II is the one with fleshed out monstrous singular NPCs like the Brain in a Jar), and III to the 3e Denizens of Darkness and the 3.5 Denizens of Dread.

Ravenloft expanded the classic horror monsters with greater versions of undead, variant vampires, age categories for undead, flavorful golems, and lots of horror monster staples. They were great to read about and provided a lot of options for darker D&D.

It is something I hope is given more than a cursory treatment in 5e.

 

[Stormonu]

I think @MGibster & @Faolyn are arguing at loggerhead positions.

To me, for Ravenloft to be effective, it needs to be established in session 0 (or whatever session for a "Weekend in Hell") that it isn't using D&D's standard Heroic play. For there to be effective play on fear and terror, there needs to be some changes to playstyle. The players should often feel that the situation isn't in their control and that danger levels can easily be over their head.

What that entails will be different for each group, but what I would likely implement would be based on several of @TheSword 's suggestions.

• There is no guarantee that encounters will be level appropriate. In fact, in many cases they are more likely to be Deadly or worse.
• The default state of (monster) lore & (spell & magic item) knowledge is "unknown". Checks to reveal rule information may be more difficult, restricted, incorrect or unavailable.
• Resource recovery is not automatic. For example, hit dice only refresh in "safe areas" and even in such areas, at a reduced rate (as designated by the DM). Hit point recovery is not automatic, and requires use of Hit Dice. Lingering injuries may be used. Rest times may modified (such as short rest = 1 day, long rest = 1 week, etc.)
• Fear and terror checks may be used (but should be done sparingly) to convey character apprehension.

The DM can certainly use descriptions to create tension in the players (and I do for my games), but the rules should help the DM establish the mood and aid in creating a somewhat oppressive atmosphere of lingering dread and personal danger. It takes a certain type of mindset to do it effectively, and I wouldn't expect merely using descriptions SHOULD be the only way for DMs to inject a bit of the genre into play.

 

[Raduin711]

Literally the first I’ve heard of any of this situation, these people, these characters, or this (now cancelled) show. Are you sure this is really some kind of controversy WotC is worried about rehashing? Is it a controversy if no one knows?

Anyone who would care enough to recognize the cameo would also very likely know about the controversy. And as someone who knew about the controversy before coming into the thread, Hello, I exist.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think @MGibster & @Faolyn are arguing at loggerhead positions.

To me, for Ravenloft to be effective, it needs to be established in session 0 (or whatever session for a "Weekend in Hell") that it isn't using D&D's standard Heroic play. For there to be effective play on fear and terror, there needs to be some changes to playstyle. The players should often feel that the situation isn't in their control and that danger levels can easily be over their head./

Or you could just play Call of Cthulhu.

Because player characters are superheroes is hard coded into the rules. Even more so in 5e than in previous editions.

• The default state of (monster) lore & (spell & magic item) knowledge is "unknown". Checks to reveal rule information may be more difficult, restricted, incorrect or unavailable.

This is a case in point. Even if you can somehow persuade you players to forget their metagame knowledge (is there anyone on Earth who doesn't know how to deal with a vampire?) then the Monster Hunter ranger has a level 3 ability to automatically learn any monster's strengths and weaknesses just by looking at them.

 

[TheSword]

I think @MGibster & @Faolyn are arguing at loggerhead positions.

To me, for Ravenloft to be effective, it needs to be established in session 0 (or whatever session for a "Weekend in Hell") that it isn't using D&D's standard Heroic play. For there to be effective play on fear and terror, there needs to be some changes to playstyle. The players should often feel that the situation isn't in their control and that danger levels can easily be over their head.

What that entails will be different for each group, but what I would likely implement would be based on several of @TheSword 's suggestions.

• There is no guarantee that encounters will be level appropriate. In fact, in many cases they are more likely to be Deadly or worse.
• The default state of (monster) lore & (spell & magic item) knowledge is "unknown". Checks to reveal rule information may be more difficult, restricted, incorrect or unavailable.
• Resource recovery is not automatic. For example, hit dice only refresh in "safe areas" and even in such areas, at a reduced rate (as designated by the DM). Hit point recovery is not automatic, and requires use of Hit Dice. Lingering injuries may be used. Rest times may modified (such as short rest = 1 day, long rest = 1 week, etc.)
• Fear and terror checks may be used (but should be done sparingly) to convey character apprehension.

The DM can certainly use descriptions to create tension in the players (and I do for my games), but the rules should help the DM establish the mood and aid in creating a somewhat oppressive atmosphere of lingering dread and personal danger. It takes a certain type of mindset to do it effectively, and I wouldn't expect merely using descriptions SHOULD be the only way for DMs to inject a bit of the genre into play.

A few extra thoughts...

I remember seeing something somewhere that a typical adventure has a spread like this.

Encounter 1 = Level-1
Encounter 2 = Level+0
Encounter 3 = Level +1
Encounter 4 = Level +1
Encounter 5 = Level +3 (The BBEG)

Whereas in Ravenloft style games the structure might look like this

Encounter 1 = Level +3 (The BBEG)
Encounter 2 = Level +1
Encounter 3 = Level -1
Encounter 4 = Level +1
Encounter 5 = Level +3 (The BBEG)

I do think that the Dreadlords of Ravenloft are the key NPCs of the setting. I have no problem with the populations being low because the Dreadlords really are the hook that each domain hangs on.

I don’t care about demographics. I think Strahd made a very neat solutions for that by setting the precedent that the population can be a soul husk created by the domain with only proportion of true souls in the world.

 

[overgeeked]

Looking back over my old Ravenloft stuff, I really really hope they bring in Mist Horrors. Those things were nasty. I loved 'em.