D&D 5E (2014) Ravenloft= Meh

[BMaC]

Agreed. Would rather play Call of Cthulhu.

 

[Lanliss]

One wonders why the OP imagines anyone would give a rat's backside about their opinions on Ravenloft.

Well, this is a forum for sharing ones opinions, so that may have something to do with it. That being said, no reason to be so mean while you share your opinions of the OP.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Not really getting why people are comparing their preferences for RL to their preferences for Call of Cthulhu. They're two extremely different kinds of horror. I'd rather play CoC, too--for Lovecraftian horror. But with the possible exception of one or two specific (and minor) domains, that's not what RL offers.

It's like equating LotR to the Dresden Files because they're both fantasy.

 

[Ezequielramone]

For me Ravenloft is a "meh" as a setting too. But could be interesting as an adventure to play once.
Still I'm buying the adventure to play it just once in order to have a different experience. But I don't see me playing there more than once.
It is just not for me.

 

[Rod Staffwand]

I'm also ambivalent to Ravenloft as a setting. Gothic horror, particularly filtered through the old Universal and Hammer films, is fertile ground but it doesn't mesh with D&D's core aesthetic of platemail-wearing fighters, elven archers and so on. You have to take an awful lot of D&D out of D&D to make it work.

As for Strahd himself, my players killed him 25 years ago and I've killed him twice as a player. I'm pretty much done with him. I'm disappointed in WotC's passion for rehashing the D&D intellectual properties rather than creating interesting new NPCs, settings and monsters. It doesn't much matter to me though, since I don't buy adventures and settings anymore, but I really wish they had a grander imagination.

Of course, Ravenloft's true use is a bunch of monsters, horror rules, Vistani fortune-telling and other content that you can crib for your non-Ravenloft games so it's not like it will be completely useless for most D&D gamers.

 

[Morrus]

I love Ravenloft. I'd happily marry it.

 

[Robot Hyena Ghost]

I know Ravenloft was originally a "demi-plane," of some variety, but I'm wondering--is the Ravenloft featured in Curse of Strahd supposed to be within the world of Forgotten Realms? They've been pretty gung-ho about having FR front and center as the setting so far.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I really love the original Ravenloft module. I have no experience with the broader setting material at all.

 

[Sunseeker]

The non-human vampires of Ravenloft are so good, I made them core for my non-RL games.

From what I recall, there's some absolutely psychotic Kender vampires.

 

[Maialideth]

I know Ravenloft was originally a "demi-plane," of some variety, but I'm wondering--is the Ravenloft featured in Curse of Strahd supposed to be within the world of Forgotten Realms? They've been pretty gung-ho about having FR front and center as the setting so far.

They've said (on Twitter I believe) that Barovia, where CoS takes place, is not a part of Forgotten Realms (thank the gods).

I love Ravenloft. We played in that setting for many years with AD&D 2e. It plays a lot on emotions and isolation if the PCs come from outside the Mists. Most horror rpgs (and I've played/read a decent number of them) don't have that Gothic feel that Ravenloft does, and the villains are a lot more complex than your average run-of-the-mill mad wizard/beholder/dragon/lich. Sure, some of them may lean on the more emo side, but anyone would be depressed if they're constantly being taunted with their heart's innermost desire being just barely out of reach.

If you want to learn how to create horror in your games, I can recommend the book Nightmares of Mine. It's system-neutral and absolutely brilliant in my opinion.