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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5444008" data-attributes="member: 4937">Ravenloft is a great game.&nbsp; It in my opinion plays to some of D&amp;D's best strengths, and Ravenloft is the setting that gets some of the best writing of any of the 2nd edition products.&nbsp; If I was to play 2nd edition as a nostalgia game, it would be either Ravenloft or Planescape.Atmosphere is of absolute importance to a Ravenloft game.&nbsp; The setting is inspired by 19th century Pre-Lovecraftian horror, but really anything that is suitably horrific and builds tension is good.&nbsp; It's not a setting for orcs and the like.&nbsp; It's not a setting for disposable monsters.&nbsp; It's a setting where the monsters are truly frightening, proactive, and powerful.&nbsp; The monsters are meant to have character and depth, and one of the most distinctive things about Ravenloft is the lavish detail it pours out on the backgrounds of the villain.&nbsp; And, that feature is probably the most influential area that Ravenloft had on my own DMing.&nbsp; I would advise beginning with some published Ravenloft material.&nbsp; There are a fairly large number of Ravenloft modules and some of them - unlike the majority of 2nd edition fare - are quite good.&nbsp; I would also advice the DM to go to the Kargatane fan site and download all the fan material he/she can get his/her hands on there.&nbsp; Also the Kargatane used to maintain alot of reviews of Ravenloft products, but I don't know how much is available now that they've closed up shop.&nbsp; Anyway, there should be some introductory modules worth running.The one thing you (or whoever is DMing) should try to avoid too much of is using the setting to railroad.&nbsp; Overuse of the 'you are trapped in the adventure and can't leave' - which is a staple of Ravenloft since the begginning - can end up feeling too confining.&nbsp; Unless you have reason to believe otherwise, I prefer to assume that the PC's have no special interest to any Dark Lord and their comings and goings shouldn't be something that causes excitement all the time - just when dramaticly appropriate.I'm sure there are some real experts in the setting around if you have some specific questions, and if they don't pipe up, I'll do my best to answer them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 5444008, member: 4937"] Ravenloft is a great game. It in my opinion plays to some of D&D's best strengths, and Ravenloft is the setting that gets some of the best writing of any of the 2nd edition products. If I was to play 2nd edition as a nostalgia game, it would be either Ravenloft or Planescape. Atmosphere is of absolute importance to a Ravenloft game. The setting is inspired by 19th century Pre-Lovecraftian horror, but really anything that is suitably horrific and builds tension is good. It's not a setting for orcs and the like. It's not a setting for disposable monsters. It's a setting where the monsters are truly frightening, proactive, and powerful. The monsters are meant to have character and depth, and one of the most distinctive things about Ravenloft is the lavish detail it pours out on the backgrounds of the villain. And, that feature is probably the most influential area that Ravenloft had on my own DMing. I would advise beginning with some published Ravenloft material. There are a fairly large number of Ravenloft modules and some of them - unlike the majority of 2nd edition fare - are quite good. I would also advice the DM to go to the Kargatane fan site and download all the fan material he/she can get his/her hands on there. Also the Kargatane used to maintain alot of reviews of Ravenloft products, but I don't know how much is available now that they've closed up shop. Anyway, there should be some introductory modules worth running. The one thing you (or whoever is DMing) should try to avoid too much of is using the setting to railroad. Overuse of the 'you are trapped in the adventure and can't leave' - which is a staple of Ravenloft since the begginning - can end up feeling too confining. Unless you have reason to believe otherwise, I prefer to assume that the PC's have no special interest to any Dark Lord and their comings and goings shouldn't be something that causes excitement all the time - just when dramaticly appropriate. I'm sure there are some real experts in the setting around if you have some specific questions, and if they don't pipe up, I'll do my best to answer them. [/QUOTE]

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