Remathilis
Legend
Ravenloft has been a fan favorite of D&D since the original I6 module. It mixed gothic horror with fantasy and allowed those who love the dark, romantic atmosphere of Stoker, Shelly, Doyle and others to mix with the heroics of D&D. However, the presentation of Ravenloft has been... schizophrenic.
Ravenloft, as a setting, grew out of the original module and its sequel, House on Gryphon Hill. The original box set presented Ravenloft as a series of domains that each had its own monstrous ruler, or darklord, in control and often times aped a famous horror novel or concept. While in theory they formed a continent (called the core) and a bunch of islands, they were effectively mini settings in their own right; each one was insular and the original box sets rarely discussed matters of trade, travel, or culture beyond the specific domain you were in. The domains were likewise modular thanks to the Mists; while most people traveling east through the misty borders of Barovia would end up in Nova Vaasa, it wasn't a guaranteed outcome. Maps were suggestions rather than laws, and aside from some interaction between dark lords (Strahd and Azalin during the Grand Conjunction, or Drakov's insistence on attacking Darkon) most domains were insular.
Domains of Dread (and later the Arhaus 3e Ravenloft material) began to play on the concept of Ravenloft-as-a-living-world; the core was stable, the map usually made sense, and people crossed domains in search of trade. Organizations existed beyond domain borders, religions weren't localized to one domain (and some of them weren't evil either; such as the Church of Ezra) and most importantly, it was assumed PCs would be FROM Ravenloft, rather than usual strangers wandering in from the Mists approach of the box sets. The nativist approach to DoD on created a world PCs can explore, but highlighted some of the nonsensical elements of the setting. Ravenloft had at one point no less than five different moons that changed depending on the domain you were in. The oceans appeared overnight less than 15 years ago (and not at the same time) but sailors had existed for centuries. There is a giant misty hole in the center of the continent. As Ravenloft began to develop into a living, breathing world where people weren't just frightened townsfolk, the world began to show where it had been stitched at the seams.
After WotC got the publishing rights back from Arhaus, the idea of Ravenloft as a setting began to disappear. The only official WotC-produced Ravenloft item, Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, returned to its I6 roots. No mists, no demi-plane, just a vampire and his castle. It even outright contradicted classic RL lore (Madame Eva...) and clearly was not designed to connect to the campaign setting. (It gave you ideas on how to run it in Greyhawk, Eberron, Forgotten Realms, and even d20 Modern, but none on how to run it... in Ravenloft). During 4e's run, Ravenloft Domains seemed to just be demiplanes in the Shadowfell, unconnected to one another (even in the most basic sense the 2e box sets did) and had gone back to the "mists take you to a spooky place" model of travel. There were a few domains detailed in Dragon Magazine (though I'm at a loss to tell you how many; I recall one about tieflings with a Romeo + Juliet theme) and the Vistani appeared (as was common during 4e) as a option for the Core game. (4e had a nasty habit of stealing the best from all settings and re-using it devoid of its original context: vistani, warforged, draconians, the Isle of Dread, and Accerack, but I digress).
The last Ravenloft product (aside from the awesome board game, which clearly borrows from the I6/Expedition model) announced was a stand-alone/4e compatible Ravenloft RPG (similar to Gamma World) that focused on "playing monsters" like vampires, werewolves, and the like. While a similar product HAD existed in 2e (Requiem); the idea of RL was to fight monsters, not play them. I recall a lot of negative feedback on this product, but for many reasons (not the least 4e's collapse) it never made it past the announcement stage.
Ravenloft did get mentioned in the 5e books; the opening example of play has the PCs at Strahd's door, the DMG mentions it in a few places (using the "demiplane(s) in the shadow plane" model) and the MM used Strahd and his castle for the Vampire sections art. Now, in the last survey, RL was placed on the top "old" settings (along with Planescape, Dark Sun, and Eberron) as settings people would like to revisit.
My question is; which Ravenloft will they bring us? Which SHOULD they bring us?
The "domains" model of early 2e (and late 4e) where domains exist as mini islands independent of each other, where outsiders travel to for a night (or longer) of terror?
The "world" model of late 2e and 3e where Ravenloft is home to natives existing in a strange and surreal world of Gothic monsters?
The "adventure" model of 1e and 3e where Ravenloft wasn't a setting but a (series of) modules with a horror theme for DMs to drop in and use in there world like they could any AP or adventure?
Or the "monster mash" model proposed before 4e's demise which allowed PCs to BE the monsters in some fashion?
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. So I want to hear what others would want in a Ravenloft product.
Ravenloft, as a setting, grew out of the original module and its sequel, House on Gryphon Hill. The original box set presented Ravenloft as a series of domains that each had its own monstrous ruler, or darklord, in control and often times aped a famous horror novel or concept. While in theory they formed a continent (called the core) and a bunch of islands, they were effectively mini settings in their own right; each one was insular and the original box sets rarely discussed matters of trade, travel, or culture beyond the specific domain you were in. The domains were likewise modular thanks to the Mists; while most people traveling east through the misty borders of Barovia would end up in Nova Vaasa, it wasn't a guaranteed outcome. Maps were suggestions rather than laws, and aside from some interaction between dark lords (Strahd and Azalin during the Grand Conjunction, or Drakov's insistence on attacking Darkon) most domains were insular.
Domains of Dread (and later the Arhaus 3e Ravenloft material) began to play on the concept of Ravenloft-as-a-living-world; the core was stable, the map usually made sense, and people crossed domains in search of trade. Organizations existed beyond domain borders, religions weren't localized to one domain (and some of them weren't evil either; such as the Church of Ezra) and most importantly, it was assumed PCs would be FROM Ravenloft, rather than usual strangers wandering in from the Mists approach of the box sets. The nativist approach to DoD on created a world PCs can explore, but highlighted some of the nonsensical elements of the setting. Ravenloft had at one point no less than five different moons that changed depending on the domain you were in. The oceans appeared overnight less than 15 years ago (and not at the same time) but sailors had existed for centuries. There is a giant misty hole in the center of the continent. As Ravenloft began to develop into a living, breathing world where people weren't just frightened townsfolk, the world began to show where it had been stitched at the seams.
After WotC got the publishing rights back from Arhaus, the idea of Ravenloft as a setting began to disappear. The only official WotC-produced Ravenloft item, Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, returned to its I6 roots. No mists, no demi-plane, just a vampire and his castle. It even outright contradicted classic RL lore (Madame Eva...) and clearly was not designed to connect to the campaign setting. (It gave you ideas on how to run it in Greyhawk, Eberron, Forgotten Realms, and even d20 Modern, but none on how to run it... in Ravenloft). During 4e's run, Ravenloft Domains seemed to just be demiplanes in the Shadowfell, unconnected to one another (even in the most basic sense the 2e box sets did) and had gone back to the "mists take you to a spooky place" model of travel. There were a few domains detailed in Dragon Magazine (though I'm at a loss to tell you how many; I recall one about tieflings with a Romeo + Juliet theme) and the Vistani appeared (as was common during 4e) as a option for the Core game. (4e had a nasty habit of stealing the best from all settings and re-using it devoid of its original context: vistani, warforged, draconians, the Isle of Dread, and Accerack, but I digress).
The last Ravenloft product (aside from the awesome board game, which clearly borrows from the I6/Expedition model) announced was a stand-alone/4e compatible Ravenloft RPG (similar to Gamma World) that focused on "playing monsters" like vampires, werewolves, and the like. While a similar product HAD existed in 2e (Requiem); the idea of RL was to fight monsters, not play them. I recall a lot of negative feedback on this product, but for many reasons (not the least 4e's collapse) it never made it past the announcement stage.
Ravenloft did get mentioned in the 5e books; the opening example of play has the PCs at Strahd's door, the DMG mentions it in a few places (using the "demiplane(s) in the shadow plane" model) and the MM used Strahd and his castle for the Vampire sections art. Now, in the last survey, RL was placed on the top "old" settings (along with Planescape, Dark Sun, and Eberron) as settings people would like to revisit.
My question is; which Ravenloft will they bring us? Which SHOULD they bring us?
The "domains" model of early 2e (and late 4e) where domains exist as mini islands independent of each other, where outsiders travel to for a night (or longer) of terror?
The "world" model of late 2e and 3e where Ravenloft is home to natives existing in a strange and surreal world of Gothic monsters?
The "adventure" model of 1e and 3e where Ravenloft wasn't a setting but a (series of) modules with a horror theme for DMs to drop in and use in there world like they could any AP or adventure?
Or the "monster mash" model proposed before 4e's demise which allowed PCs to BE the monsters in some fashion?
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. So I want to hear what others would want in a Ravenloft product.
