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Reading Ravenloft the setting
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<blockquote data-quote="Bedrockgames" data-source="post: 8232227" data-attributes="member: 85555"><p>Personally I don't think WOTC is capable of producing content as good as the black boxed set. At least for me, I've never really liked WOTC adventure or setting content. But that is separate from issues of nostalgia and problematic content. What I am trying to do is simply cast more light on the original entries because I feel people are simplifying in their characterization of it, and I also feel the critical lens being applied is too sweeping and will potentially throws the baby out with the bath water. Am I blinded by nostalgia? In this case I don't think I am. I can criticize the things I loved growing up when they turn out bad. There are tons of books I read and loved that when I go back to them, they make me cringe because the quality really isn't there. But the black box is something that I call a masterpiece because I am always surprised by how good it is on review. It has a clear vision and philosophy about horror, which it expresses in an engaging and evocative way. I think anyone who grew up on a diet of classic horror can appreciate the tone it achieved, and I think it just works wonderfully (at least for me) at the table. This was also a book that showed me D&D can be so much more than Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. The two settings that impressed me most in that time were Ravenloft and Dark Sun, because they were startlingly refreshing. And Ravenloft breathed. You could feel the effect that black box had on a lot of the subsequent novels and supplements. All you need to make a successful Ravenloft Campaign are the black box, an adventure like Feast of Goblyns, and a handful of Van Richten Books. I had the entire line. But IMO the magic occurred in that span of material.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bedrockgames, post: 8232227, member: 85555"] Personally I don't think WOTC is capable of producing content as good as the black boxed set. At least for me, I've never really liked WOTC adventure or setting content. But that is separate from issues of nostalgia and problematic content. What I am trying to do is simply cast more light on the original entries because I feel people are simplifying in their characterization of it, and I also feel the critical lens being applied is too sweeping and will potentially throws the baby out with the bath water. Am I blinded by nostalgia? In this case I don't think I am. I can criticize the things I loved growing up when they turn out bad. There are tons of books I read and loved that when I go back to them, they make me cringe because the quality really isn't there. But the black box is something that I call a masterpiece because I am always surprised by how good it is on review. It has a clear vision and philosophy about horror, which it expresses in an engaging and evocative way. I think anyone who grew up on a diet of classic horror can appreciate the tone it achieved, and I think it just works wonderfully (at least for me) at the table. This was also a book that showed me D&D can be so much more than Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. The two settings that impressed me most in that time were Ravenloft and Dark Sun, because they were startlingly refreshing. And Ravenloft breathed. You could feel the effect that black box had on a lot of the subsequent novels and supplements. All you need to make a successful Ravenloft Campaign are the black box, an adventure like Feast of Goblyns, and a handful of Van Richten Books. I had the entire line. But IMO the magic occurred in that span of material. [/QUOTE]
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