Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft offers a lot of terrific material for players and DMs alike for building out their own Ravenloft campaign, or more broadly, for creating a horror-themed D&D adventure or campaign. The book is lavishly illustrated, clearly written and nicely laid out, and is quite in line with the generally high production values I have found in my other 5e books. A good portion of the book - Domains of Ravenloft (pp.60-180) - provides additional setting information on Ravenloft, which is you've already visited the place in Curse of Strahd, this should give you plenty to book a return visit. Or, you can turn that adventure book into something larger with the additional detail provided here. It's all fun stuff to read and to imagine one's players in. Monsters of Ravenloft (p.222-255) offers a bunch of fun critters and villains to throw at your party as well. They are all horror-themed, of course, so they will feel most suitable for horror adventures or campaigns. But you could work one of these into a particularly dark and spooky corner of a dungeon or one-shot you're writing on your own, just fine. But where the book really shines is in its sections on Creating a Domain of Dread (p.38-60) and Horror Adventures (p. 184-221), which are marvelously written chapters on how to get into the tone and direction of a fantasy horror game. Creating a Domain of Dread is helpful intro material for those looking to dive into a horror campaign, and offers nice overviews of various sub-genres of horror, which make the whole thing a bit more manageable to understand and absorb. Just calling a game a horror game is fairly broad, and creates a lot of opportunity for players to have widely divergent expectations of where the game will take them, and that leads to an experience that often isn't as fun for everyone as i could be. The Horror Adventures section is aimed at DMs, but would be a good section for any player to read as well. It is a really, really great section because it doesn't presume one knows what makes a horror story tick. Sure, everyone knows what it's like to be scared or creeped out, but actually crafting that experience for others so that they enjoy it is a much more difficult and nuanced thing. And this chapter provides a lot of helpful tips on how to set atmosphere, create tension, and so on. It also has some really important guidance on setting boundaries, checking in on the players and seeking consent. It gets into the concept of having a Session Zero for the campaign (which is a good idea for any campaign in any game, really), and it stresses that just because you know your players, it's not good to presume to know what their deepest fears are. The point being, running a game that triggers your friend's most intimate fear or trauma is not a legit avenue for entertaining them, yourself, or the other people at the table. And guess what? Everybody has something deep down that they just don't want to see mined for role-playing. We just don't like to talk about that often. There are those gamers who feel such things are unnecessary, to the point of grousing over how this book is too "PC" or "woke" or whatever other buzzword folks like to use to complain about how hard it is to actually be respectful of others at the table. (These same voices seem to have difficulty accepting illustrations of adventurers in wheelchairs, which also appear in this book. That seems like a strange hill to defend, and one that provides no avenues for heroism. But I digress.) The reality is, a horror game is still about having fun. And if you genuinely freak out a player because you weren't mindful of their limits, you've failed as a GM and you've done harm to your player. That's not what any game should be about, even a horror one. And keeping these things in mind is a way to respect everyone at the table. Very few games bother to address this, let along provide helpful guidance to DMs on it, so for this section, I'd give the book a sixth star, if I could. I will also say this - I didn't see any specific sections on "Insanity" or "Madness," as often appear in other horror games, and I welcomed that. Such approaches often treat mental wellness with a very broad brush, ignorantly wielded. Van Richten's Guide often rounds back to how much fear a player is experiencing, and how debilitating that is to one's character in the moment. It doesn't rely on tired old concepts of mental collapse that a) lead to lazy storytelling and b) often reinforce a weird kind of aggression from DMs who say where and when a character is no longer fully in control of their faculties. Once again, there are those who find this approach too gentle. I say that in a world where we are making strides to acknowledge and destigmatize mental wellness issues so that people in the real world can get the help they need without shame or ridicule, using things like D&D to dress up in broad stereotypes about mental illness isn't helpful, and is not pointing towards a better future for this game, our beloved hobby or the RPG industry. Van Richten's Guide is a rich, detailed and fun book that I am looking forward to integrating into my game. I'm not a particularly huge horror gaming fan. But I can see the many things here that I can make use of and bring a sense of dread into my game that I think my players will enjoy.

I have been a DM for 5e for the past 3 years and I have to admit . . . that this is one of the best books in the 5e lineup; definitely up there with Curse of Strahd. Whether for simple one-shots or long drawn-out campaigns, this book caters to everyone, including the dark fantasy writers. I cannot wait to run a session with my table with this book; of course if they agree to it. The properly organized book makes me so happy as an apprentice DM; chapters for the Domains separated out with necessary info, awesome (and terrifying) new creatures to throw in in the bestiary, and even a gorgeously designed spirit board in the back. This is going to be an amazing resource for DMs (and writers), and as a resource, it shines. A resource book that is a well-structured book with all the stat-blocks in an easy-to-find fashion, instructions on how to create a unique Domain of Dread, and a helpful guide on how to add horror to a game. Despite my simple cursory look at the book, WotC finally brought back an iconic book that can be classified as one of the best. I guess I can wrap this all up easily right here: Content = 9/10 Ease of play = Unknown Organization = 10/10 Ease to read = 9/10 Ease to resource = 10/10 Price = 8/10 ADDITIONAL INFO (Edited): There is a considerable amount of retconning done by WotC when it comes to a lot of the original lore from the original books. However, the amount of retconning was deemed "necessary" by some individuals. I am not saying they are wrong; the book even retcons parts of Curse of Strahd. Others have pointed out that the section about the various styles of horror mentioned are considered a heavily watered-down version of what they are; I do agree in some regard. However, I do consider it more as the shallow end of the pool rather than the deep; some DMs need to test the waters first. Fantasy is what we make of it. Some of us like it dark and other's don't. SECONDARY THOUGHTS: This is a Dungeon Master's book; specifically, a campaign setting guide for one of D&D's storied locations. This is not a book that tells DMs how to think and how to run games. It is a wonderful resource for those who wish to dabble into dark fantasy and horror; in other words, not for the feint of heart.

Beautiful book and a great campaign setting. The nice thing about Ravenloft is because of the nature of the Mists that transport beings to and from the setting, it is easy to pop PCs in and out of it. This is great if the horror mood strikes you, say in October, and you want to spend the month freaking out your PCs with a crimson-soaked slasher chase, and then spit them back out of Ravenloft back into an ongoing campaign. Also, because of Ravenloft’s many possible realms , any genre of horror can be used. The book even gives short descriptions of various genres, along with some story ideas. It gives you tools to craft your own realms. Of course, 17 pre-created domains of dread have been provided , with fetching maps to boot. Another 32 domains are given a less thorough treatment. There are also backgrounds and rules for playing dhampir and some subclass options as well as a really nice bestiary with some choice baddies. There is an adventure provided as well. It’s all deftly written by those who are clearly familiar with horror, and beautifully illustrated. My only complaint, and this is how you know this book is good stuff, is that i wish there were more. Highly recommended to DM’s who want to create a horror campaign within the Ravenloft setting.

I have not played prior versions of Ravenloft so can’t really comment on the differences between then and now. I really enjoyed this source book, lots of ideas and concepts that can really spice up a game! I note there has been some criticism that the book is somehow too “Politically Correct”. I didn’t find that. There are a few minor paragraphs on checking with players on the level of horror that they want in the game, other than that its left up to the DM. The book covers themes from gothic horror to creating a slasher theme with lots of grisly detail. So not sure why there was so much negative feedback. A page on discussing the level of horror with the players does not make a 250 page book! If you want to run a cannibal apocalypse you can. It’s a guide and ultimately its up to the DM’s creativity what game they want to run. Chapter 1: Lots of info here on creating your character and character options. What I really liked are the Dark gifts, the DM could have lots of fun with those, from unseen spirits haunting a player, a living shadow to a nasty symbiote/parasite living off a player character with its own goals and intents - and much more. The new backgrounds are great too. Lots of horror based options to flesh out your character including character ideals, bonds, personality and some great character flaws! Chapter 2: Great chapter on creating your own horror domains and adventures with a nice summary of different genres you can use - running the gamut from gothic horror, body horror, the apocalypse to grisly slasher themes. So lots of ideas for the creative DM! Chapter 3 covers the various domains, a lot to choose from here. Probably my only criticism is that section could have had fewer domains and more information on each. That said there are a lot of domains and the information is enough to get a creative DM started or as a basis for creating your own domains. These are more spring boards for adventure rather than comprehensive worlds. Chapter 4 is a great guide to running horror themed D&D games, creating atmosphere etc. It includes a great module to get you started on the path. Chapter 5 is the bestiary with a nice selection of new monsters to engage in your game. I especially liked the section on monster tactics with suggestions on how they may behave, my favourite being that a monster may pause during battle to take a bite out of an unconscious character - heheheheh... Now that’s my type of game :) I’m giving this one five stars, while nothing is perfect, there is lots in here to keep everyone entertained and a few ideas I plan to port over to my Call of Cthulhu games! I rate this as a great investment for a DM who wants to use this setting or even spice up normal game play. The only thing missing from the guide is Sanity loss. However this can be found in Peterson’s guide to Cthulhu mythology for D&D.

Essa não é uma sequência, mas uma nova versão, um Reboot do cenário e isso não é ruim, principalmente pra quem não conhece Ravenloft. Muita coisa mudou, mas nem tudo mudou muito. O Lorde Negro de Falkovnia ainda é cruel, mas agora é uma mulher, Necropolis ainda não existe, sendo a cidade de Il Aluk e algumas mudanças que jogadores veteranos vão reparar. Os pontos positivos são a ausência de um mapa geral, já que a ideia é que não há como se orientar de fato nas terras de Ravenloft, as características de personagens como as linhagens por exemplo e os estilos de horror que podem ser abordados nas campanhas, os novos monstros são bem interessantes e alguns bem assustadores. Nos pontos negativos, o fato das regras de medo, horror e loucura estarem no Livro do Mestre tiram a sensação de que os personagens podem sucumbir a essas forças, mais do que aos perigos do cenário, além do livro ter muitos "dedos" pra abordar os temas de horror, por último as raças da versão 3.5, os Caliban e os Meio-Vistani não estarem presentes é um pouco frustrante, mas não estraga a experiência, na minha opinião seria melhor se estivessem lá, já a inclusão de Tiefling e Dragonborn tiram o impacto da experiência do horror já que temos raças visivelmente monstruosas andando pelas aldeias, tirando a aura de mistério que elas poderiam ter. Como tudo em RPG, nada no livro é absoluto e pode ser alterado. Ótimo acabamento gráfico, texto de um inglês bem simples. Em suma, é o Ravenloft da 5a edição e funciona muito bem.

No me esperaba esta calidad de el producto. Es la primera vez que compro un manual a través de Amazon, y el primer libro de Wizards fuera de los manuales básicos. Esperaba un buen producto pero la calidad del contenido y la inspiración que estoy obteniendo es demencial. Te encontrarás algunos loquitos que hablarán de lo horrible que es la corrección política contenida en estas páginas, pero no creo que sea una situación tan impresionante. Jamás te están obligando a incluir ninguna de las sugerencias, pues simplemente se trata de conceptos que bien entendidos pueden ser útiles. En alguna de las reseñas vemos como puedes llevar al extremo de lo ridículo el uso de la tarjeta X, pero no se trata de limitar la libertad creativa del DM, sino el establecer limites y pedir un respeto por los mismos durante la puesta en marcha del juego. Como digo, son solo sugerencias que pueden funcionar para mesas más sensibles o con temas relmente chungos. Si los soportas y estás consiente de que las personas con las que juegas comparten ese gusto y por eso están jugando contigo, no deberá suponer ningún problema para ti, omitir esta mecánica. Ahora, respecto a la mitología q

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As a complete novice to Ravenloft and the dark domains, I found this sourcebook accessible, highly imaginative and brimming with good ideas for scaring the bejeesus out of my party. I particularly enjoyed the second chapter: on establishing horror settings, the varieties of horror, how to avoid overdone tropes. The guidance on setting expectations with players, so as to avoid wandering into personal phobias and areas of distress or trauma was also great. A good scare means different things to different people after all! The monster options were also very useful! I've already incorporated a carrionette into a plotline involving a body swap with a beloved NPC. Excited to play with the rest. A couple of new subclasses appear too, but only 1 each for bards and warlocks. And I smiled when I recognised one from the current Critical Role campaign. I highly recommend this book for those trying to explore horror in their games or settings for the first time, or who want some intriguing or original setting ideas for contained mini-arcs in their campaign. Or who want to run a one-shot that leaves very few survivors! Also, full disclosure, I saw a lot of adorably angry reviews about how bad and woke this book was that honestly made me want it even more. Upsetting the sort of people that can be seen yelling below is usually a sign of high quality, in my experience.