D&D 2E Let’s Look At The Old Ravenloft Boxed Set!

GreyLord · Feb 23, 2021

Never owned it, but it will be interesting to hear about it.

Urriak Uruk · Feb 23, 2021

Should this be labeled 5E? I thought for a moment we were getting a NEW boxed set...

EDIT: Ignore me, it's been changed.

Alzrius · Feb 23, 2021

My first introduction to Ravenloft was via the Revised Boxed Set (aka the Red Boxed Set, though I know most people use that term for either Moldvay or Mentzer's Basic Set), which essentially combined the prior Realm of Terror and Forbidden Lore boxed sets into one (though a few things weren't included).

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

DEFCON 1 · Feb 23, 2021

I wonder how many complaints we are going to get that the lore of the 30 domains in the new 5E book doesn't end up equaling the amount of lore you got from the 2E boxed set. But yet if anyone then just says "Well, then buy the 2E boxed set on DMs Guild and you can use it to supplement the lore from Van Richten's Guide"... they're gonna say "No! I shouldn't HAVE to!"

Basically complain they aren't getting what they want, without actually doing anything to get what they want.

Bedrockgames · Feb 23, 2021

I loved this boxed set. It is where I got my real start GMing. And Ravenloft was the thing that really got me into reading more than anything else. What I like about the content is it gave just enough material to get your imagination going, but left plenty of room for you to invent inside that space (so Ravenloft always felt different from one table to the next). This boxed set was truly well done in my opinion.

Bedrockgames · Feb 23, 2021

DEFCON 1 said:
I wonder how many complaints we are going to get that the lore of the 30 domains in the new 5E book doesn't end up equaling the amount of lore you got from the 2E boxed set. But yet if anyone then just says "Well, then buy the 2E boxed set on DMs Guild and you can use it to supplement the lore from Van Richten's Guide"... they're gonna say "No! I shouldn't HAVE to!"

Basically complain they aren't getting what they want, without actually doing anything to get what they want.

Whether someone wants the new ravenloft is very much a matter of personal taste. Personally I haven't been a big fan of any of the ravenloft material under WOTC (or any of the material under S&S). Just my opinion. I like the classic stuff more, and I feel the 2E rules actually fit the feel better as well (I ran it with d20 for ages and noticed a massive difference when I switched back to 2E for Ravenloft). In my mind, you just can't beat stuff like what they had in the black box, in the original van richten series and in Feast of Goblyns (just an amazing adventure/supplement).

Ralif Redhammer · Feb 23, 2021

Unf, that Stephen Fabian art! So good!

I still have my copy from back in the day, in pretty good condition. The DMing advice on setting the scene and mood was a big part of my progression as a DM. I think it's worth noting that the Ravenloft boxed set came out a year before Vampire: The Masquerade, too.

My original Ravenloft campaign probably owed more to Castlevania than anything else, though by then I was already familiar with a number of gothic lit classics. The campaign ended in a PvP TPK that in hindsight fit the high gothic drama, though at the time everyone was a little salty about it.

schneeland · Feb 23, 2021

DEFCON 1 said:
...
Basically complain they aren't getting what they want, without actually doing anything to get what they want.

With the constraint that you are limited to English material and all translations are lost in time (and licensing). Admittedly, the amount of Ravenloft material that was e.g. translated to German was also limited (as it was for all settings except for the Realms).