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

 

[Parmandur]

Nice shoes. Shame about the hat.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Nice shoes. Shame about the hat.

Someone's about to find out how they remove the brain from mummies in Har'Akir. If you're lucky, you'll be dead first ...

 

[JEB]

Huh--that's a new look for them, if that is them. Interesting change!

It doesn't look like the twins were ever depicted in 2E material, only in 3E material, so technically this isn't (necessarily) a retcon. But it is a clear indicator that 3E Ravenloft was ignored for this book.

 

[JEB]

Note result #2.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Huh--that's a new look for them, if that is them. Interesting change! Although if this is them, it's odd that Gennifer has a sword, when she always used a pistol before. I wonder what that says about the tech level they're going for. Personally, I imagine firearms being relatively common in Ravenloft.

Having a range of different weapons and selecting the best one for the situation is a key skill for a successful monster hunter.

 

[humble minion]

Note result #2.

I think i recognise #3 and #4 as callbacks to 2e Ravenloft adventures too.

 

[humble minion]

Having a range of different weapons and selecting the best one for the situation is a key skill for a successful monster hunter.

Gennifer used a Parthian rapier in 3e from memory - a rapier with a single-shot pistol built into the hilt.

 

[TheSword]

Now we’re just quibbling over semantics. Point is, Ravenloft recommends certain modifications to D&D to make it better fit the genre. You know, cause it’s a horror setting and D&D isn’t a horror game by default. Like I said.

If you view D&D ‘default’ as the game the average table plays, with average encounter building, average treasure, average encounters per day, typical access to NPCs, resources, shops. Average opportunities to take short and long rests and all core options being available and no non-core options (certainly not 3pp).

Then I suspect not many people actually play default D&D for any campaign. I don’t think ‘default’ is a very useful term for looking at D&D 5e in any guise.

A Ravenloft campaign may add published optional rules, but will largely effect monster choice, encounter generation and give steers to PC and NPC design. It’s hardly some brand new type of game. Plenty of people use the published optional rules. It doesn’t stop it being good ole D&D!

 

[Morrus]

I can't see that behind the paywall, but jeez, when you step back and think, it's mindboggling how much has changed over the past 10 years or so that we're actually getting hype previews of new D&D sourcebooks in Forbes of all places...

D&D and other tabletop RPGs have been on Forbes for years now. Rob Weiland writes RPG articles for them regularly (he also writes one here on EN World every Friday!)

 

[Charlaquin]

If you view D&D ‘default’ as the game the average table plays, with average encounter building, average treasure, average encounters per day, typical access to NPCs, resources, shops. Average opportunities to take short and long rests and all core options being available and no non-core options (certainly not 3pp).

Then I suspect not many people actually play default D&D for any campaign. I don’t think ‘default’ is a very useful term for looking at D&D 5e in any guise.

I never made any claims as to the commonality of default 5e games.

A Ravenloft campaign may add published optional rules, but will largely effect monster choice, encounter generation and give steers to PC and NPC design. It’s hardly some brand new type of game. Plenty of people use the published optional rules. It doesn’t stop it being good ole D&D!

Of course it doesn’t stop being D&D. I literally said you can do horror in D&D. I think some folks are reading a whole lot of baggage into a pretty innocuous statement. Ravenloft is a horror setting, D&D isn’t a horror game. Doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t run horror games in D&D. I like horror D&D a lot. That’s why I’m so excited for Van Richten’s Guide.