Is WotC announcing a new setting at GenCon?

[ggroy]

It is almost assumed that there will be a Forgotten Realms book or maybe two per year. The Realms have a strong fan base and if they can incorporate a new class such as the swordmage then sales will be great.

Wonder what they will do to bring the old hardcore Forgotten Realms fans back to D&D, especially after the 4E "spellplague" from two years ago.

 

[mearlus]

Sounds like Ravenloft has been announced:

https://twitter.com/Wizards_DnD/status/20557340207

"Ravenloft RPG announced! Characters can play all sorts of stuff that goes bump in the night - ghosts, vampires, etc"

 

[ak1287]

Wonder what they will do to bring the old hardcore Forgotten Realms fans back to D&D, especially after the 4E "spellplague" from two years ago.

Probably just go along with the new Forgotten Realms fans.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Ravenloft RPG announced! Characters can play all sorts of stuff that goes bump in the night - ghosts, vampires, etc"

Ravenloft?

Sounds like World of Darkness to me.

Ravenloft is the game where characters fight that stuff.

 

[The Little Raven]

Ravenloft is the game where characters fight that stuff.

D&D is the game where characters fight that stuff.

Ravenloft was just the setting that took away most of your tools for doing so.

 

[I'm A Banana]

D&D is the game where characters fight that stuff.

Ravenloft was just the setting that took away most of your tools for doing so.

D&D is the game wherein you fight vampires, werewolves, mummies. Also dragons. Typically in dungeons. Also hundreds of other beasties culled from fantasy, myth, and fever-dreams in a fantasy hodge-podge that revolves around invading their homes and taking their money.

Ravenloft was the game where you fought The Vampire, The Wolf-Men, The Mummy. And their numerous minions. And you fought them indirectly, because they ruled over the land, they defined the setting. They made it difficult to free the land from oppressive horror. You did so using your D&D character, though brought through a dark lens, and dropped into a fearful world. The setting added rules to help fit the mood of constant, irresistible evil around every corner.

To me, those are very distinct activities, and a Ravenloft product that lets be be Strahd instead of letting me overthrow Strahd doesn't appeal to me much. And I can't understand why they'd want to call this Ravenloft, when it's not really the same experience.

It's just a blurb, so I'm not all worked-up yet, but the blurb is very discouraging.

 

[weiknarf]

Maybe you're playing Jander Sunstar fighting against Strahd.

 

[AngryMojo]

Maybe you're playing Jander Sunstar fighting against Strahd.

I've also noticed that the best stories in Ravenloft are usually about the darklords themselves. This way, the damnation you're fighting against is directly on your doorstep, not just some distant threat.

I'm sure you can play a standard "normal people versus horrible monsters" campaign with it, but I'm happy to see them add the option of playing the monster.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I've also noticed that the best stories in Ravenloft are usually about the darklords themselves. This way, the damnation you're fighting against is directly on your doorstep, not just some distant threat.

I'm sure you can play a standard "normal people versus horrible monsters" campaign with it, but I'm happy to see them add the option of playing the monster.

IMXP, making something a known player resource largely robs it of the mystery and exoticness it needs to be a dramatic threat. Imagine A Nightmare on Elm Street where Freddy had some sort of mirror twin that worked against him, slashing only the bad demons away. Hardly the same experience. Not really the same sort of fun.

The gothic horror angle is all about the villains as a massive campaign presence. The heroes in such as setting discover the secrets of these horrors in order to undo them, though, learning the stories of a few great evils over the course of the campaign.

I mean, playing vampires and werewolves can be fun and all, but that doesn't feel like a Ravenloft experience to me. That feels like a World of Darkness experience to me, and if D&D is going to include it (and there's no reason they shouldn't!), I would really resent the idea that they're appropriating the Ravenloft name for it.

It's possible they could use that as an element of Ravenloft's corruption, though, and that could be interesting. I wouldn't really describe such a game as "you get to play werewolves," as much as it is, "you suffer the curse of lycanthropy," but I could see how the blurb would make it either way.

The blurb itself, though, is still very .

 

[Knightfall]

Sounds like Ravenloft has been announced:

https://twitter.com/Wizards_DnD/status/20557340207

"Ravenloft RPG announced! Characters can play all sorts of stuff that goes bump in the night - ghosts, vampires, etc"

Sounds more like Ghostwalk than Ravenloft.