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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 9497050" data-attributes="member: 7635">That's a fundamental misreading of horror.  The point of horror is not to kill everyone, but to see how the horror has changed them. The hunters in Dracula suffer one fatality (Quincy Morris) but the other five hunters all live. Laurie Strode and Sydney Prescott are defined as being "final girls". Horror movies where the antagonists win isn't horror, their torture porn. Ravenloft is a setting where you win, but never without a price and always understanding the evil will return. Strahd is defeated, but he will always come back. There is always some mad scientist, evil cult, or ancient curse that will keep the monster coming back, but by the same token there will always be someone who can stop the evil. Ravenloft heroes always push against the darkness and that's the point. So, no, the most "Ravenloft'" ending isn't with Strahd Triumphant and the heroes dead. That's the nihilistic reading of the setting and fundamentally misunderstands the nature of horror and dark fantasy. The heroes will survive, changed from the encounter, and Strahd's plans will be defeated. That is the Ravenloft ending.</blockquote>