• Ravenloft is a Dungeons & Dragons module, coded I6, published by TSR for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It was written by husband-wife duo Tracy and Laura Hickman, with art by Clyde Caldwell and maps by David Sutherland III.
• Fortunes of Ravenloft determines Strand's goals and the placement of important treasures. This card reading can add a great deal of flavor to your game, and makes Ravenloft different when you play it again. You must run this card reading before playing this module. If, during the course of the adventure, the PCs have their fortunes read.
• The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited. Product History. I6: 'Ravenloft,' by Tracy and Laura Hickman, is the sixth module in the long-running Intermediate series of adventures for AD&D. It was released in October 1983. 'Ravenloft' describes itself as 'a classic gothic horror story.'

Ravenloft is a fictional place, a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragonsroleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains, brought together by a mysterious force known only as the Dark Powers. Each domain is mystically ruled by a being called a Darklord.

The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited. Product History. I6: 'Ravenloft,' by Tracy and Laura Hickman, is the sixth module in the long-running Intermediate series of adventures for AD&D. It was released in October 1983. 'Ravenloft' describes itself as 'a classic gothic horror story.'

• 1Setting
• 7References

Setting[edit]

Ravenloft is primarily a Gothic horror setting. Dungeon Masters are encouraged to use scenes that build apprehension and fear, culminating in the eventual face-to-face meeting with the nameless evil.^[1] Characters have a much greater significance attached to their acts, especially if they are morally impure, as they risk coming under the influence of the Dark Powers (through the game process called 'dark powers checks') and gradually transforming themselves into figures of evil.

The magical mists of Ravenloft could appear anywhere in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, drawing evil-doers (or player characters) into the Ravenloft setting. One exception is the phlogiston of the Spelljammer setting.^{[2][full citation needed][3][page needed]} The phlogiston blocks all planar travel, but the Ravenloft mists can appear in deep space inside crystal shells, according to the Complete Spacefarer's Handbook.^{[4][page needed]}

The Dark Powers[edit]

The Dark Powers are a malevolent force who control the Demiplane of Dread. Their exact nature and number are deliberately kept vague, allowing for plot development in accordance with the Gothic tradition of storytelling – where the heroes are frequently outclassed and outnumbered by unknowable evil forces beyond their control.

The Dark Powers most frequently serve as a plot device for Ravenloft, especially concerning the Darklords, the de facto visible rulers of the Ravenloft Demiplane. Where the player characters are often tormented and opposed by the Darklords, the Darklords are themselves tormented and opposed by the Dark Powers. Of course, the difference lies in order of power—while many D&D adventures focus on allowing a band of heroes to prevail over a Darklord (much as in the spirit of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula), no such victory over the Dark Powers seems possible, or even conceivable, for the Darklords. Vecna and Lord Soth 'escaped' Ravenloft, but are the only two Darklords known to have done so; Vecna by attaining the status of Greater God (and thus becoming too powerful for the Dark Powers to contain) and Lord Soth by ignoring his domain and punishment, causing the Dark Powers to lose interest in imprisoning him, and agents of his former curse on the world of Krynn coming to collect him.

Most frequently, the Dark Powers make their wishes and intentions known through subtle manipulations of fate. Thus, Barovia's vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich's many attempts to win back his love, Tatyana, are doomed to failure, but the Dark Powers arrange such that he never truly loses hope. Each time, for example, Strahd's own actions may be partially culpable for his failure, and as such he may go through crippling self-recrimination, rather than cursing the gods solely and giving up. Most other Darklords have similar tales of frustration, kept all the more unbearable because the flicker of the possibility of success is never truly extinguished.

Not all Darklords acknowledge the Dark Powers directly, however. Strahd, for example, in his own memoirs, speaks only of a force known as Death, who mocks him with the voices of his family and former colleagues throughout his life. Vlad Drakov, the Darklord of Falkovnia whose military expeditions are doomed to constant failure, seems even to be totally oblivious to any non-mortal factors in his repeated defeats.

Castle Ravenloft Module

The Dark Powers also seem capable of non-evil manipulations. Although their machinations are often directly responsible for the misery of many of Ravenloft's inhabitants, they also appear to play a role as dispensers of justice. Some tales of innocents who have escaped Ravenloft for happier environs are attributed to the Dark Powers, who have judged a being worthy of reward and release from their misty domain.

The precise nature of the Dark Powers of Ravenloft is never explicitly described in the game material, with the exception of a few of the novels based on the setting, and even those are considered non-canon^{[citation needed]}. In a sense, the Dark Powers are intended to be eternal unknowns, an array of mercurial, unforeseeable, and inscrutable wills whose motives and actions the player characters cannot hope to understand.

History[edit]

The first appearance of the setting was in Ravenloft, a stand-alone Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure module (no. I6), published in 1983. It was popular enough to spawn a 1986 sequel, Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill, and an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebooks novel, Master of Ravenloft, the same year.

Ravenloft was launched as a full-fledged campaign setting, for AD&D 2nd Edition, in 1990,^[5] with the Realm of Terror boxed set, popularly known as the 'Black Box', and winner of the Origins Award in 1991 for 'Best Graphic Presentation of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement of 1990'.^[6]

The campaign setting was revised twice during A&D 2nd Edition: first as the Ravenloft Campaign Setting or 'Red Box', then as the Domains of Dread hardback.

In 1994, Ravenloft spun off into a sub-setting called Masque of the Red Death, set on Gothic Earth, an Edgar Allan Poe-influenced alternative Earth of the 1890s, where fantasy creatures and magic exist in the shadows of civilization.^[7]

TSR also published a series of novels set in Ravenloft. Each was typically focused on one of the darklords that inhabited the Ravenloft world, with several focusing on the figure of Count Strahd von Zarovich. Many of these early novels were by authors who would later receive wider fame as horror/dark fantasy authors. These authors have included Elaine Bergstrom, P. N. Elrod, Christie Golden, and Laurell K. Hamilton.^[8][9]

D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast (parent company of TSR) in 2000 licensed the Ravenloft brand to White Wolf Publishing, which released (under its Sword & Sorcery Studios and later Arthaus imprints) versions of the setting for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition d20 System rules (as Ravenloft Campaign Setting – Core Rulebook) in 2001, and for Dungeons & Dragons Version 3.5 (as Ravenloft – Player's Handbook – v.3.5 Core Campaign Setting) in 2003.

The campaign settings published by White Wolf introduced a number of alterations, many due to conflicts with existing Wizards of the Coast intellectual property. Specific references to D&D-specific deities were replaced with new names in the White Wolf Ravenloft settings (for example, Bane was changed to the Lawgiver). The license to the Ravenloft trademark reverted back to Wizards of the Coast on August 15, 2005, but White Wolf retained the right to continue to sell its back stock until June 2006. The timing of this reversion meant that the Ravenloft supplement Van Richten's Guide to the Mists did not see print. Instead, it was released by White Wolf as a free download in late September 2005.^[10] The majority of the Van Richten's Guide series had already been published by TSR in the 1990s, before White Wolf's involvement.

In October 2006, Wizards of the Coast released Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, a hardcover version of the original 1st Ed. adventure, updated for the Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 rule set. This 2006 version includes maps from the original Ravenloft adventure, and new character-generation options. Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is a stand-alone supplement set for any D&D worlds, and only requires the three core books for usage. This book's setting is distinct from the Ravenloft of the White Wolf product line.^[11]

In 2007, Wizards of the Coast announced the printing of two new Ravenloft novels for 2008, Black Crusade and The Sleep of Reason,^[12] fueling more speculation. A short story by Ari Marmell, 'Before I Wake', based on the realms of Darkon, Lamordia, and Bluetspur was released on October 31, 2007, on the Wizards of the Coast website as a special for Halloween; it featured characters inspired by H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith.^[13]{^{[dead link]}

In September 2008, it was announced in Wizard of the Coast's Digital Insider no. 6 that Ravenloft would be re-introduced to 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, in the October issue of the Dragon online magazine. The Dungeons & Dragons 4th Ed. supplement Manual of the Planes (2008) established that in the 4th Ed. cosmology, the Domains of Dread (and by extension the Ravenloft setting) are now located within the Shadowfell, a mirror-world of death and gloom lying adjacent to the mortal realm. However, no Ravenloft-based material beyond this was released by Wizards of the Coast for D&D 4th Ed.

A standalone Ravenloft Roleplaying Game, based on the D&D 4th Ed. rules, was scheduled for publication in late 2011,^[14] but the product was never released.

A new adventure for D&D 5th Ed., titled Curse of Strahd, was released in March 2016.^[15] It was developed in-house by the Wizards of the Coast team, led by Christopher Perkins, with story contributions by original creators Tracy and Laura Hickman.

Novels[edit]

A number of tie-in novels were released, set in the Demiplane of Dread:

• Vampire of the Mists (September 1991), by Christie Golden (ISBN1-56076-155-5)
• Knight of the Black Rose (December 1991), by James Lowder (ISBN1-56076-156-3)
• Dance of the Dead (June 1992), by Christie Golden (ISBN1-56076-352-3)
• Heart of Midnight (December 1992), by J. Robert King (ISBN1-56076-355-8)^[16]
• Tapestry of Dark Souls (March 1993), by Elaine Bergstrom (ISBN1-56076-571-2)
• Carnival of Fear (July 1993), by J. Robert King (ISBN1-56076-628-X)^[16]
• I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire (September 1993), by P. N. Elrod (ISBN0-7869-0175-6)
• The Enemy Within (February 1994), by Christie Golden (ISBN1-56076-887-8)
• Mordenheim (May 1994), by Chet Williamson (ISBN1-56076-852-5)
• Tales of Ravenloft (September 1994), Edited by Brian Thomsen (ISBN1-56076-931-9)
• Tower of Doom (November 1994), by Mark Anthony (ISBN0-7869-0062-8)
• Baroness of Blood (March 1995), by Elaine Bergstrom (ISBN0-7869-0146-2)
• Death of a Darklord (June 1995), by Laurell K. Hamilton (ISBN0-7869-4122-7)
• Scholar of Decay (December 1995), by Tanya Huff (ISBN0-7869-0206-X)
• King of the Dead (March 1996), by Gene DeWeese (ISBN0-7869-0483-6)
• To Sleep with Evil (September 1996), by Andria Cardarelle (ISBN0-7869-0515-8)
• Lord of the Necropolis (November 1997), by Gene DeWeese (ISBN0-7869-0660-X)
• Shadowborn (March 1998), by Carrie Bebris and William Connors (ISBN0-7869-0766-5)
• I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin (June 1998), by P. N. Elrod (ISBN0-7869-0754-1)
• Spectre of the Black Rose (March 1999), by James Lowder and Voronica Whitney-Robinson (ISBN0-7869-1333-9)
• Before I Wake, by Ari Marmell (October 2007) A short story released for free on the Wotc website with the announcement of new novels in publication.^[17]
• Heaven's Bones (Dominion) (September 2008), by Samantha Henderson (ISBN0-7869-5111-7)
• Mithras Court: A Novel of the Mists (Dominion) (November 2008), by David A. Page (ISBN0-7869-5068-4)
• Black Crusade, by Ari Marmell released for free on the Wizards of the Coast website^[18]

Video games[edit]

• Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (1994)
• Ravenloft: Stone Prophet (1995)
• Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft (1996)

Reception[edit]

Game designer Rick Swan commented in 1994 that when the Ravenloft setting first came out, it 'just didn't seem special, a Forgotten Realms variant with a few more bats', but after supplements like Forbidden Lore, The Created, and the Van Richten's Guide series, Swan felt that 'the Ravenloft campaign has proven to be a credible adventure alternative for players interested in the dark side of the AD&D game. Though it lacks the flamboyance of Call of Cthulhu and the, er, bite of Vampire, the Ravenloft setting remains the hobby's most enduring fusion of horror and fantasy.'^[19]

Darker Days Radio declared Ravenloft the 'greatest D&D campaign setting,' citing the unique gothic horror elements and classic villains such as Azalin Rex.^[20]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Hite, Ken (1999). Nightmares of Mine. Iron Crown Enterprises. p. 171. ISBN1-55806-367-6.
2. ^Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition
3. ^The Polyhedron magazine, issue 151.
4. ^Complete Spacefarer's Handbook
5. ^'The History of TSR'. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2005.
6. ^'Origins Award Winners (1990)'. Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on November 5, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2007.
7. ^Connors, William (1994). Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales. TSR, Inc.ISBN1-56076-877-0.
8. ^'Golden, Christie 1963–'. Contemporary Authors. January 1, 2007. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2012. – via HighBeam Research(subscription required)
9. ^Melton, J. Gordon (1994). The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 852. ISBN0-8103-2295-1.
10. ^'Van Richten's Guide to the Mists'. Archived from the original on July 23, 2006.
11. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2019-08-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. ^'Fiction – Dungeons & Dragons'. ww2.wizards.com. Wizards of the Coast.
13. ^http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/20071031a
14. ^'Down for maintenance!'. archive.wizards.com. Wizards of the Coast.
15. ^'Curse of Strahd – Dungeons & Dragons'. dnd.wizards.com. Wizards of the Coast.
16. ^ ^abKenson, Stephen (March 1999). 'Profiles: J. Robert King'. Dragon. Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast (257): 120.
17. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2019-08-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. ^'Author's Note'(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
19. ^Swan, Rick (May 1994). 'Role-playing Reviews'. Dragon. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR (205): 100–101.
20. ^'Darkling #33'. Darker Days Radio. January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2019. Ravenloft game overview.

Sources[edit]

• Hickman, Tracy; Hickman, Laura (1983). Ravenloft. TSR. ISBN0-88038-042-X.
• Hickman, Tracy; Hickman, Laura; Cook, David 'Zeb'; Grubb, Jeff; Johnson, Harold; Niles, Douglas (1986). Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill. TSR. ISBN0-88038-322-4.
• Nesmith, Bruce; Hayday, Andria (1990). Realm of Terror. TSR. ISBN0-88038-853-6.
• Henson, Dale; King, J. Robert (1991). Book of Crypts. TSR. ISBN1-56076-142-3.
• Hayday, Andria; Connors, William; Nesmith, Bruce; Lowder, James (1991). Darklords. TSR. ISBN1-56076-137-7.
• Connors, William; Nesmith, Bruce (1992). Forbidden Lore. TSR. ISBN1-56076-354-X.
• McComb, Colin; Bennie, Scott (1992). Islands of Terror. TSR. ISBN1-56076-349-3.
• Nesmith, Bruce; Hayday, Andria; Connors, William (1994). Ravenloft Campaign Setting. TSR. ISBN1-56076-942-4.
• Connors, William; Miller, Steve (1997). Domains of Dread. TSR. ISBN0-7869-0672-3.
• Cermak, Andrew; Mangrum, John; Wyatt, Andrew (2001). Ravenloft Campaign Setting (3rd Edition). Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-075-4.
• Cermak, Andrew; Mangrum, John; Wyatt, Andrew (2001). Secrets of the Dread Realms. Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-076-2.
• Cermak, Andrew; Mangrum, John; Nichols, Chris; Wyatt, Andrew (2002). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I. Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-080-0.
• Mangrum, John; Naylor, Ryan; Nichols, Chris; Wyatt, Andrew (2002). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume II. Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-830-5.
• Mangrum, John; Campbell, Brian; Hollar, Carla; Lilavivat, Rucht; Pyror, Anthony; Woodworth, Peter; Wyatt, Andrew (2003). Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide. Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-084-3.
• Mangrum, John; Turner, Stuart; Woodworth, Peter; Wyatt, Andrew (2003). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume III. Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-086-X.
• Lowder, James; Mangrum, John; Naylor, Ryan; Pryor, Anthony; Whitney-Robinson, Veronica; Wyatt, Andrew (2004). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume IV. Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-087-8.
• Cermak, Andrew; Mangrum, John; Miller, Steve; Naylor, Ryan; Wyatt, Andrew (2004). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V. Arthaus. ISBN1-58846-964-6.

External links[edit]

• Fraternity of Shadows – Founded in 2003 after the Secrets of the Kargatane site closed, this is the most important setting fan website.
• Mistipedia – The Fraternity of Shadows' Ravenloft wiki.
• Secrets of the Kargatane – no longer updated, this website was once one of the largest sources of Ravenloft information on the Internet, as well as being the Official 3rd Edition site as designated by Wizards of the Coast, until the Ravenloft setting was licensed to Arthaus Games.
• TSR Archive AD&D 2nd Edition Ravenloft product list
• TSR Archive D&D 3rd Edition Ravenloft product list

Ravenloft Modules Pdf Downloads Free

Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first editionAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and includes art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III.^[2] The plot of Ravenloft focuses on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who pines for his lost love. Various story elements, including Strahd's motivation and the locations of magical weapons, are randomly determined by drawing cards. The player characters attempt to defeat Strahd and, if successful, the adventure ends.

The Hickmans began work on Ravenloft in the late 1970s, intent on creating a frightening portrait of a vampire in a setting that combined Gothic horror with the D&D game system. They play-tested the adventure with a group of players each Halloween for five years before it was published. Strahd has since appeared in a number of D&D accessories and novels. The module has inspired numerous revisions and adaptations, including a campaign setting of the same name and a sequel. In 1999, on the 25th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, two commemorative versions of Ravenloft were released.

Ravenloft has won one award, been included on two 'best of' lists, and was generally well received by critics of its era. In 1984, it won the Strategists' Club Award for Outstanding Play Aid, and it appeared second in Dungeon magazine's list of the top 30 D&D adventures. Several reviewers liked the included maps, and White Dwarf magazine gave it 8 out of 10 overall. A Dragon magazine review praised the module, but felt that the D&D elements detracted from the Gothic horror atmosphere. In 2016, Wizards of the Coast published Curse of Strahd, an adaptation of the original Ravenloft module for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

• 2Publication background

Plot[edit]

The story involves a party of player characters (PCs) who travel to the land of Barovia, a small nation surrounded by a deadly magical fog. The master of nearby Castle Ravenloft, Count Strahd von Zarovich, tyrannically rules the country, and a prologue explains that the residents must barricade their doors each night to avoid attacks by Strahd and his minions. The Burgomaster's mansion is the focus of these attacks, and, for reasons that are not initially explained, Strahd is after the Burgomaster's adopted daughter, Ireena Kolyana.

Before play begins, the Dungeon Master (or DM, the player who organizes and directs the game play)^[3] randomly draws five cards from a deck of six. Two of these cards determine the locations of two magical weapons useful in defeating Strahd: the Holy Symbol and the Sunsword. The next two cards determine the locations of Strahd and the Tome of Strahd, a book that details Strahd's long-ago unrequited love. In this work, it is revealed that Strahd had fallen in love with a young girl, who in turn loved his younger brother. Strahd blamed his age for the rejection, and made a pact with evil powers to live forever. He then slew his brother, but the young girl killed herself in response, and Strahd found that he had become a vampire.^[4] All six possible locations are inside Castle Ravenloft.

The fifth and final card selected determines Strahd's motivation. There are four possible motivations for Strahd. He may want to replace one of the PCs and attempt to turn the character into a vampire and take on that character's form. He may desire the love of Ireena, whose appearance matches that of his lost love, Tatyana. Using mind control, Strahd will try to force a PC to attack Ireena and gain her love by 'saving' her from the situation he created. Strahd may also want to create an evil magic item, or destroy the Sunsword. If, during play, the party's fortune is told at the gypsy camp in Barovia, the random elements are altered to match the cards drawn by the gypsy.

As the party journeys through Barovia and the castle, the game play is guided using 12 maps with corresponding sections in the book's body guide. Example maps and sections include the Lands of Barovia, the Court of the Count, five entries for each level of the Spires of Ravenloft, and the Dungeons and Catacombs. Each location contains treasure and adversaries, including zombies, wolves, ghouls, ghosts, and other creatures. The main objective of the game is to destroy Count Strahd. The DM is instructed to play the vampire intelligently, and to keep him alive as long as possible, making him flee when necessary. In an optional epilogue, Ireena is reunited with her lover. They leave the 'mortal world' as Ireena says, 'Through these many centuries we have played out the tragedy of our lives.'^[5]

Publication background[edit]

Tracy Hickman and Laura Curtis married in 1977. Soon after, while living in Provo, Utah, they wrote the adventures Pharaoh and Ravenloft.^[6] When they began work on Ravenloft, they felt the vampire archetype had become overused, trite, and mundane, and decided to create a frightening version of the creature for the module.^[7] They play-tested it with a group of players every Halloween for five years before it was published in 1983 by TSR.^[8] The plot combined elements of the horror genre with Dungeons & Dragons conventions for the first time.^[9] At the time of Ravenloft's release, each Dungeons & Dragons module was marked with an alphanumeric code indicating the series to which it belonged.^[10]Ravenloft was labeled I6: the sixth in a series of intermediate-level modules for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D).^[11] It consisted of a 32-page book, with separate maps that detailed locations in the adventure scenario.^[5]

Tracy Hickman once ran the adventure as a Dungeon Master. According to him, the experience was like an old scary movie, with 'the obligatory castle high on the craggy cliff with the wolves howling in the woods. Sure enough, the vampire was up there in the castle. To most of the players it seemed like a straight forward task: find the vampire and kill him.'^[4] One player discovered Strahd's backstory and was so affected by it that when it came time to kill the vampire at the end of the adventure, despite having a sword capable of dispatching Strahd, he refused, and his companions were forced to complete the task. Afterwards, Hickman asked him why. 'He deserved to die better than that,' his friend said, to which Hickman replied 'Yes [...] But that is how it is with people who fall from greatness. He chose his end when he first chose to kill his brother. How could it be any different?'.^[4]

According to a Wizards of the Coast article, Strahd has become one of the most infamous and well-known villains in the Dungeons & Dragons game,^[12] and he has appeared in a number of novels and rulebooks since his debut in Ravenloft.^[13] In an introduction to an online edition of Ravenloft II, author John D. Rateliff described Strahd as a then-unusual fusion of a monster with the abilities of a player character class; that is, a vampiremagic-user.^[9] This design enables him to combine his own powers with the surrounding environment, making him a difficult opponent to defeat.^[7]

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game in 1999, two additional versions of the Ravenloft module were released. The first was a reprinting of the original adventure made available in the Dungeons & Dragons Silver Anniversary Collector's Editionboxed set, with slight modifications to make it distinguishable from the original (for collecting purposes).^[14] The second was the silver anniversary edition of Ravenloft that was adapted for use with the second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast periodically alters the rules of Dungeons & Dragons and releases a new version).^[15][16]

Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill[edit]

Ravenloft's success led to a sequel in 1986 titled Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill. Although Tracy Hickman was credited in Ravenloft II, he had left TSR before the module was completed. The writing was done by David 'Zeb' Cook, Jeff Grubb, Harold Johnson, and Douglas Niles, following the Hickmans' outline. Each writer pursued a different section of the module in order to meet the deadline.^[9]Clyde Caldwell, who had done all of the art for the original Ravenloft module, provided the cover, but interior art was done by Jeff Easley. The adventure is designed for first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons characters of levels 8–10.^[17] The adventure was 48 pages, and included a large color map and an outer folder.^[18] It shared structural elements with the original, including variable NPC goals and variable locations for key objects, so that Gryphon Hill plays differently each time.^[19] The module's plot features an artifact known as The Apparatus that switches a monster's personality with that of an ordinary townsperson; player characters, therefore, are uncertain about the true identity of the people they meet. The module also introduces Azalin the lich, who later became a major character in the Ravenloft campaign setting.^[9] This module is playable alone, or as a sequel to the original Ravenloft.^[19] It includes descriptions of the town of Mordentshire, as well as some haunted moors, and a manor house, all mapped in perspective like the original module.^[18]

Adaptations[edit]

In 1986, Ravenloft was adapted into the gamebookMaster of Ravenloft, #6 in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebooks series. In the book, the reader plays the role of Jeren Sureblade, a paladin, who must defeat Count Strahd von Zarovich to save a young girl from becoming one of the undead. The gamebook was written by Jean Blashfield, with cover art by Clyde Caldwell and interior art by Gary Williams.^[20]

Ravenloft inspired a campaign setting of the same name,^[3] published in 1990.^[21] The Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set was published as part of the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and, according to its back cover, it is 'rooted in the Gothic tradition' and contains 'tips for adding fear to your games'.^[22] The setting of the module was expanded; Ravenloft is now a demiplane (an alternate dimension). The boxed set's version of Strahd is similar to character in the original adventure, but his abilities were increased and his background explained in more detail.^[13] The campaign setting has produced a number of spin-offs,^[23] and this new version of Strahd was used as a major character in a number of novels.^[13]

The original Ravenloft module has been revised and expanded three times. In 1993, TSR published House of Strahd (module code RM4). It was updated to include rules from the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The module credits the original work by the Hickmans,^[1] but was revised by Bruce Nesmith, who along with Andria Hayday created the Ravenloft campaign setting.^[9] Nesmith introduced some new creatures, developed Strahd's tactics further, and added a Time-Track Table so that the referee can anticipate the sunset.^[24] In October 2006, Wizards of the Coast released an updated and expanded version of the original module for Dungeons & Dragonsversion 3.5 as a 226-page hardcover book entitled Expedition to Castle Ravenloft.^[25] It was based on the original module, and not the Ravenloft material made in the intervening years.^[26]Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is designed to be played as a mini-campaign lasting about 20 game sessions, much longer than the original module, although it contains options for running long 8-session or short 4-session adventures. The book also includes suggestions for incorporating the adventure into an existing generic setting, Forgotten Realms, Eberron or d20 Modern campaign.^[27] Wizards of the Coast released the board game Castle Ravenloft in 2010 as part of the 'Adventure System' series of board games using a simplified 4th edition rule set.^[28] In 2016, Wizards of the Coast published Curse of Strahd,^[29] an adaptation of the original Ravenloft module for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, which was generally well received, earning the 2016 ENnie Awards for Best Adventure and Best Art/Cover and runner up for Product of the Year.^[30]

Reception[edit]

Ravenloft won one award, and was included on two 'best of' lists. In 1984, it won the Strategists' Club Award for Outstanding Play Aid.^[18] The book Dungeon Master For Dummies chose the module as one of the ten best classic adventures, saying it is 'perhaps our favorite D&D adventure of all time', Ravenloft 'takes the Dracula legend and gives it a D&D spin', and praised the detailed yet concise plot and isometric maps. The book also claims that Ravenloft 'inspired game designers and Dungeon Masters to take the art of adventure to the next level.'^[3]

In 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game, Dungeon magazine ranked the module as the second greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time—behind Queen of the Spiders.^[31] The editor of Dungeon praised the placement of treasure, and Strahd's motivation was described as 'a brilliant way to let fate drive the plot and evoke the mystery and mystique of Barovia'. Bill Slavicsek, director of Wizards of the Coast's RPGs and Miniatures department, noted that it was the first adventure to 'mix tone, story, and dungeon crawl' in a module, and game designer Andy Collins agreed. Clark Peterson, president of Necromancer Games, singled out the maps and Strahd for praise, saying the vampire is 'perhaps one of the best villains of all time'.^[31] Author John Rateliff also applauded the maps and the randomization, as well as Strahd's duality as a vampire/magic-user. The catacombs, where player characters were teleported away and replaced with undead wights, was singled out at as the adventure's 'defining moment' by the magazine's editors.^[31]

Reviews for Ravenloft were generally positive. Rick Swan reviewed the adventure in The Space Gamer No. 72. He commented that there was 'so much gothic atmosphere in Ravenloft that if it had any more, it'd flap its pages and fly away', and stated that the bulk of the adventure involving a search of Castle Ravenloft was 'not too interesting' with encounters few and far between, and that the mechanic of using a regular deck of cards to simulate a gypsy fortune teller was 'silly and the results are too arbitrary' but concluded that 'Ravenloft is such a refreshing change that even with its problems, it's recommended.'^[32] In the July 1984 issue of White Dwarf magazine, the module was given 8 out of 10 overall, with the reviewer mentioning its presentation as a positive, and its complexity as a negative. It was likened to a Hammer horror production and praised as enjoyable, although the reviewer said the game's puns were tedious and detracted from the spooky atmosphere.^[33]White Dwarf reviewer Dave Morris said it 'should be a lot of fun – 'light, relief' of a nerve-wracking and deadly sort' and concluded that Ravenloft is 'full of clever touches', and 'features some first-class illustration and graphics'.^[33] In a review for the January 1984 issue of Dragon magazine (published by a subsidiary of TSR), game designer Ken Rolston argued that, despite its design innovations, Ravenloft was still in essence a dungeon-style adventure. Rolston praised the randomization, the maps, and the player text (which is read aloud to the players by the DM). He said the player text 'consistently develops an atmosphere of darkness and decay.' Despite this, Rolston felt that the adventure has trouble in developing a frightening tone. He singles out its use of common monsters in D&D, an abundance of traps, and frequent combat interludes as elements that detract from the adventure's spookiness by interrupting the module's flow. Ultimately, he felt that in 'AD&D terms it is a masterpiece', but not a work of 'Gothic horror'.^[34] Tracy Hickman stated in 1998, 'I still believe the original Ravenloft modules were perhaps the best that ever had my name on them.'^[8]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abHickman, Tracy; Hickman, Laura (1993). House of Strahd. Bruce Nesmith. TSR. ISBN1-56076-671-9.
2. ^While the module does not mention him, David Sutherland III's signature appears in the bottom left corner of each map in the original Ravenloft module. Sutherland is also listed as the cartographer in 1993's House of Strahd.^[1]
3. ^ ^abcSlavicsek, Bill; Baker, Rich; Grubb, Jeff (2006). Dungeon Master For Dummies. For Dummies. pp. 10, 320. ISBN978-0-471-78330-5. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
4. ^ ^abcHickman, Tracy (1989). 'Ethics in Fantasy: Morality and D&D Part 3: The Moral Imperative of Fantasy'. TRHickman.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
5. ^ ^abHickman, Tracy; Hickman, Laura (1983). Ravenloft. TSR. p. 30. ISBN0-88038-042-X.
6. ^Hickman, Tracy. 'Tracy Hickman's Works with Laura Curtis'. TRHickman.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
7. ^ ^abWinter, Steve; et al. (2004). 'Ravenloft'. 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. Wizards of the Coast. p. 114. ISBN0-7869-3498-0.
8. ^ ^abVarney, Allen (August 1998). 'Profiles: Tracy Hickman'. Dragon. Wizards of the Coast (250): 120.
9. ^ ^abcdeRateliff, John D (2004). 'Introduction to Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill'. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
10. ^'Dungeons & Dragons FAQ'. Wizards of the Coast. 2003. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
11. ^Rateliff, John D. 'L2. The Assassin's Knot'. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
12. ^Cordell, Bruce R.; Wyatt, James (2006). Expedition to Castle Ravenloft excerpts: Introduction. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on March 9, 2007.
13. ^ ^abcCarter, Margaret (1997). 'Chapter 10: I, Strahd: Narrative Voice and Variations on a Non-Player Character in TSR's 'Ravenloft' Universe'. In James Craig Holte (ed.). The Fantastic Vampire: Studies in the Children of the Night. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 89–102. ISBN0-313-30933-7.
14. ^'Silver Anniversary Collector's Edition Boxed Set'. Wizards of the Coast. 2003. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
15. ^Pesca, Mike (June 12, 2008). 'Is Dungeon & Dragons Too Popular for its Fans?'. National Public Radio. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
16. ^Hickman, Tracy; Hickman, Laura. Ravenloft: 25th Anniversary. TSR. ISBN978-0-7869-1505-7.
17. ^Rateliff, John D (2004). 'Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill'. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
18. ^ ^abcSchick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 102. ISBN0-87975-653-5.
19. ^ ^abSargent, Carl (March 1987). 'Open Box: AD&D Adventures'. White Dwarf. Games Workshop (87): 2–3.
20. ^Blashfield, Jean (1986). Master of Ravenloft. TSR. ISBN0-88038-261-9.
21. ^'The History of TSR'. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved August 20, 2005.
22. ^Nesmith, Bruce; Hayday, Adriana (1990). Realm of Terror. TSR. ISBN978-0-88038-853-5.
23. ^Melton, Gordon (1994). The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead (1st ed.). Detroit, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 852. ISBN0-8103-2295-1.
24. ^Swan, Rick (May 1994). 'Role-Playing Reviews'. Dragon. TSR (205): 98–102.
25. ^'Expedition to Castle Ravenloft'. Wizards of the Coast. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
26. ^Carroll, Bart (June 10, 2006). 'Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Designer Interview'. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved March 5, 2007.
27. ^Cordell, Bruce; Wyatt, James (2006). 'Expedition to Castle Ravenloft excerpts: Adventure Hooks'. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
28. ^Castle Ravenloft Board Game, Wizards of the Coast website
29. ^'Curse of Strahd'. Wizards of the Coast.
30. ^'2016 ENnie Award Winners'. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
31. ^ ^abcMona, Erik; Jacobs, James; the 'Dungeon Design Panel' (November 2004). 'The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time'. Dungeon. Paizo Publishing (116): 79.
32. ^Swan, Rick (January–February 1985). 'Capsule Reviews'. The Space Gamer. Steve Jackson Games (72): 43–45.
33. ^ ^abMorris, Dave (July 1984). 'Open Box: Dungeon Modules'. White Dwarf. Games Workshop (55): 18–19. ISSN0265-8712.
34. ^Rolston, Ken (January 1984). 'Gaming without heroes'. Dragon. TSR (81): 76–78.

External links[edit]

• 'The Pen-Paper.net entry on Ravenloft'. Archived from the original on September 7, 2005.