Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons Teases Ravenloft Content for Upcoming Expansion

The board game Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons is gearing up for a trip to Ravenloft with a newly-teased expansion coming out later this year. Last week, Ravensburger released a teaser image of a Carrionette, a monster found in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, tied to an upcoming expansion for the board game Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons. The expansion was not named, but a rough release date of fall 2026 (aka Halloween time) was noted in the teaser.

Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons is a co-op board game that's part of Ravensburger's Horrified franchise. Players work together to defeat various monsters that stalk the board, with each monster having its own defeat condition. Typically, players have to collect various kinds of items and then travel to specific locations to defeat monsters, with the Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons game also incorporating a 20-sided die. Monsters in the base version of Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons includes a Displacer Beast, a Beholder, a Mimic, and a Red Dragon, with players taking on various classes from the actual D&D game.

The expansion is likely to contain more than a Carrionette. A likely candidate for the expansion is Strahd, which would in some ways bring the Horrified franchise full circle as the original game featured Dracula from the classic Universal Pictures movies as a foe.

 

[Charlaquin]

Huh, a carrionette? That’s kind of a deep cut relatively for Ravenloft isn’t it?

They were in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (the 5e one).

 

[Artamo]

They were in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (the 5e one).

I know, but I’m saying for a board game, I don’t necessarily think that the Venn diagram of people who have both or would want both would be that great of an overlap to go with one of the various monsters, and not even in the kind of cartoony form that they were presented in VRGR. I’m just surprised.

 

[bedir than]

Huh, a carrionette? That’s kind of a deep cut relatively for Ravenloft isn’t it?

It's their first "teaser" not necessarily the indicator of the cover

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Ask the teens and tweens (and maybe the elementary schoolers) in your lives. If you describe the carrionette to them, they will immediately see it as a D&D version of Five Nights at Freddy's, which is huge in their world, independent of the so-so movies.

I suspect Horrified couldn't afford the FNAF license and might be giving us a D&D take on it instead.

 

[Artamo]

Ask the teens and tweens (and maybe the elementary schoolers) in your lives. If you describe the carrionette to them, they will immediately see it as a D&D version of Five Nights at Freddy's, which is huge in their world, independent of the so-so movies.

I suspect Horrified couldn't afford the FNAF license and might be giving us a D&D take on it instead.

Certainly, but artistically this has more in keeping with a very gothic art design versus depictions of the carrionette from the Van Richten’s guide, which are more twisted Pinocchio but definitely a more modern design. I’m just noting the art design choice and the popularity versus Strahd or Azalin (the big two NPCs), not the general relevance. It doesn’t scream FNAF to me either - whereas I think VRGR’s artwork was closer to that.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It doesn’t scream FNAF to me either - whereas I think VRGR’s artwork was closer to that.

Spoiler for FNAF -- stuffing dead bodies inside cute toys is very much on brand.

That said, I can't imagine that they won't have Strahd at the very least in a Ravenloft Horrified. He's arguably the most iconic D&D villain, period.

 

[Artamo]

Spoiler for FNAF -- stuffing dead bodies inside cute toys is very much on brand.

That said, I can't imagine that they won't have Strahd at the very least in a Ravenloft Horrified. He's arguably the most iconic D&D villain, period.

Yes, and it would be nice to see that setting branch out a bit.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Don't you remember "Maligno", the darklord of Odiare?

It wouldn't be a surprise a sourcebook about gothic horror near Halloween if we remember one of the last UA articles.

I wouldn't advice an expansed version of Curse of Strahd, but more some spin-off or sequel.

What about a Witchlight-Ravenloft crossover linked to those carnivals?