Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft Review

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• More full colour art. Including maps of regions (but not battlemaps)

• Many different setting types covered for players as different domains of dread.

• A new adventure included with the world building book. Really, more Dungeon Master centred books should have such things. It’s a good way of showing examples, gives more material to adapt from, and provides more maps that can be used for battles.

• The survivors section for rules is particularly nice. Easy to use for one-shots, session 0 adventures, and quick aside scenes. And the content fits well in a short page count making it easy to understand.

• The section on curses is also a standout.

• Also the section on paranormal traps.

Could Go Either Way

• This isn’t really a guide to Ravenloft, but more a primer on running horror games with some briefly described settings to pull inspiration from. If you want a guide to Ravenloft, Curse of Strahd is more what you want. The name is misleading.

• There are some new monster here, but not much.

• The darklord of a domain is usually just an existing creature. Even modifications to them are rare.

• I’d have liked to see some new variants of existing monsters, including lower Challenge Ratings. A bunch of new lower level zombies maybe. We got some of this with new zombie types, but typically higher level. And also as stat blocks, but not rules.

• I’d have liked to see a collection of horror items and cursed magic items that adventures could be made around.

Cons

• No new battlemaps outside the 1 new adventure.

• There’s not much crunch here. Not many mechanics, monsters, or traps compared to the page length. It’s mostly high level help for horror, and descriptions of domains without battlemaps or other things to fill it out.

• Some Domains of Dread described are missing a map.

• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking.

The standard cover for Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Also my preferred cover.

Introduction

It should come as no surprise that my favourite book until now has been Curse of Strahd, given how often I compare other books to it. The settings is fun with many good side quests, the maps are good, and of course it has the villain who lent his name to the cover. Horror in general is a rich genre to draw on. From holding off seemingly endless undead in order to survive on more night, to trying to find the werewolf among the villagers, or breaking a family curse caused by a contract with a devil, the possibilities are endless. It is from this place that this new book comes.

Despite the name, Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is really advice for running horror themed games, and sample settings that can be found within the mists. That’s the large strokes. Though there’s many small additions as well. So what do I think? It’s light on new mechanical things and battlemaps, but I can see it being useful for the Dungeon Master new to running horror. Some of the new additions such as weaker survivor characters, and curses are interesting and involve mechanics. Most of it is however about rule building and running such games.

This Will Not Help You With Curse of Strahd

If you wanted a book to help you run the adventure Curse of Strahd, this is not it. That adventure describes the location in far more detail. Really, it’s a setting book combined with an adventure. At most this one may help a little bit if you want to continue the adventure after the end of Curse of Strahd by having the players enter the mist and enter other horror themed domains. That said, if you do this, be prepared to spend a lot of time developing the settings. Interior maps basically don’t exist here, and descriptions are fairly short. At least short compared to what is needed to easily ran an adventure in. Really, this book is to inspire and help someone flesh out these ideas (with a little bit of mechanical flourish for horror specifically), but isn’t enough to run them on their own. Hopefully one day we’ll get an anthology, with one adventure per domain Candlekeep Mysteries style.

It’s A Horror Help Book

The majority of the book describes Domains of Dread, how to create dark lords, and general horror game advice. This is the vast majority, and I don’t think one should approach this book expecting anything else. There just isn’t enough of the rest of it. While it’s a nice touch and adds value to the book, I particularly like the low level adventure and advice on describing creatures, the real meat is the advice. It is good advice in many cases with good examples. The advice also covers a fairly wide assortment of topics. If you’re not confident with running horror, this book is good advice. It’s a book for thinking, with not many things that can be dropped into a campaign. Though some such things are included too for added value, if you go into it with that hope you’ll be disappointed.

The Domains of Dread

Before I go on, I’ll explain the concept of the Domains of Dread before we go on. Basically they are realms with their own unique dark lord, each one focusing on a type of horror setting. Travel between them is possible, and they are less than a whole world. Instead they exist outside of it, separated by magical mists. If you’re an older player and have experience with it...you will probably be disappointed here. That description alone is probably different than you remember. It does provide the ability to experience many different kinds of horror as players jump from one domain to another, and allows each Dungeon Master to easily add their own domains not detailed in the book.

Each domain is described in 6-8 pages. So really, they’re the seeds to campaigns and settings. But to do any actual playing, there needs to be a lot of Dungeon Master work. We usually have a map unless it’s Bluetspur. I wish we got a map here too, could really show off the mountain, and would make for a great piece of art. Anyway, the map is a good starting point, and most settlements at least get a paragraph. The rest needs to be expanded by the Dungone Master. Adventure ideas are provided. I’m glad to see these starting points. But these are again just a sentence each in a table. Helpful, but a lot of work is needed to run anything. It’s really the start to a campaign that a Dungeon Master will need to fill in.

One thing I hated was that they stated which domain was first. It would’ve been trivial to leave it as a mystery and say “some people think that this domain was the first”. It was unnecessary and didn’t add anything.

There are 17 major domains, and some very short ones included at the end for extra. The Barovia stuff is very simplistic, so if you have Curse of Strahd it’s really 16. I’ll choose 3 to quickly highlight here.

Falkovia is a favourite, as it allows the classic never ending fight with undead. As could be expected from a horror game, as opposed to heroic fantasy, the undead aren’t the only horror to be found. The evil possible due to the desperation of humans is a thread.

Har’Akir is an Egyptian themed setting. It has a great idea for minibosses built into the setting through the servants of the Pharaoh. The location itself is different with unique obstacles that can be used due to the dessert. And the dark lord has a clear goal, with consequences for the success and failure of the goal that can lead to further adventures.

Richemulot’s central idea is about the coming of a plague. Being trapped in a city as things get worse, with a plague causing death and horror is an interesting situation that is fairly rare in campaigns. Well, if it doesn’t involve zombies.

New Player Options

There is a bit here. Mostly this is in the form of backgrounds for player characters, which help to tie them to various domains. However, if you’re looking for subclasses and the like, you won’t find it here. I wish there was a bit more here. One that comes to mind is horror themes equipment. Even if not magical, some new descriptions could go a long way.

New Monsters

There is a limited number of new monsters. In total, we’re looking at 32. This is a bit disappointing, as it also extends to darklords of domains. Also, the creatures tend to be low to mid CR. I wouldn’t mind more lower CR creatures, that can also cause some damage to high level characters. Whether that’s by slowing them down, or other factors. I also want more of an even spread. It jumps from CR 13, to 19. Especially very high level CRs remain largely unfilled in this edition. Almost all have some kind of quirk or gimmick to prevent them from being about hitting for hit points. I like this part.

The big standouts creature wise for me are the Necrichor, Swarm of Zombie Limbs, Boneless and Loup Garou. They have those quirks/gimmicks that make low level and mid level fights interesting, and can play up the horror. They can also make very decent oneshots. Shout out to the Bagman that while not having a stat block, the steps included can be followed to create a creature. I put it here for concept alone.

New Magic Items

This is where we’re really sparse. I’d have loved to see a section on some new cursed magic items. The kind of items that can have entire adventures built around them. Of course, these items don’t need to be built to only be given to players. A cursed item given as part of contract only meant to be given to an NPC is also a great element for an adventure. Or even some food stuffs and the like described in certain settings. Games, trinkets, clothing items.

New Rules

Most of the book is fluff, focusing on helping describe different worlds. There are some new mechanics. And by some, I mean they fit in about 10 pages of the book. The nice thing about it is they are simple and easy to use. The bad thing is if you wanted many options and mechanics to drop into your games, you won’t find it here.

We have rules for haunted traps. These are like traps, but skinned to look like horror things. Did an experienced Dungeon Master need it? No...but it’s nice to have some references and ideas. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure we’ve been doing similar things for years by now. I imagine it’ll help some newcomers. Really that’s what they are. Specially skinned traps for horror D&D games. So if you have the Dungeon Master’s Guide and liked the traps, you’d probably like this part.

There are some rules for curses. These are pretty brutal, and don’t map to something existing in previous books. They almost read like special magic effects, but make sense for a horror centred book. I imagine they can inspire some new adventures, and well as work as examples to make your own curses. They aren’t strictly necessary, and pretty simple. They involve a procurement or trigger, a burden (what happens), and a way to break the curse. They take up about 1/4th of a page. Again, pretty simple. But nice to have it all written out to make it easy. I quite like this idea myself, as well as the formatting.

And survivors. These are like super low level and weak player characters. If you wanted more player options...this is not it. However, if you wanted to provide players with a challenge, this is one way. I can see many people not using this rule due to it giving players fewer options than a normal character. I usually lean more into the atmosphere, and can work within the rules to make do what I want. And level 1 characters are already quite easy to bring down. However, it could be a good way to introduce the game, or a simpler way for groups that care much more about the roleplay aspect, as the weaker characters can play into horror nicely.

Lastly, there are fear and stress rules. Along with suggestions for players to act scared within the game. I quite like these elements, since playing into the atmosphere is fun as a player too. It also helps with that important skill of separating the player from the character. The advice on role-playing may be the best part here. The rules themselves are simple and make sense. Fear involves making roles when something scary happens, and if failing receiving a temporary penalty. Stress involves tracking how stressed a character is, and applying a more permanent penalty until the character gets rid of its stress levels somehow. This is also simple, and remains viable even for high level characters. What I don’t like is that by the nature of which rolls it applies to, it once again disproportionately targets non-spellcasters.

The House of Lament (Adventure)

This is an adventure included in the book. I quite like this one, though it is on the shorter side and fast tracks the characters from level 1 to level 3. It also takes place in a domain of dread, making it easy to toss players into it. It’s also not very long, taking up 20 pages total including art. I’m quite fond of the art at the start of this adventure too. It’s a fun haunted house that is less combat heavy than Death House, but possibly harder to run if we exclude combat balance. The combat balance is easier though, which I think is a welcome change to many. The final encounter can still be a bit tricky, also depending on the players and their characters.

The basic concept is that of a haunted house. At the start players make their way to the house, run into a friendly NPC (or two) who is an investigator at the house. The identify of the investigator is left to the Dungeon Master with options included. They make their way through the house, and as they do so things get worse. There’s multiple villains to choose from, which is a nice touch. So it works for multiple playthroughs. It also makes use of the spirit board prop to hold a seance, which having used it helps add to the adventure. I think it’s also easy to reuse the map, to make your own villain, and to make your own investigator.

There are a few issues. However, they’re not too bad. The adventure is not ready to run out of the box, and you’ll be forced to select your villain, investigator, and think through the rooms. The interactions with the investigator in particular are not very well detailed. Though depending on your players and choice, there can be quite a few interactions and when I ran the adventure, it turned into a mini side quest. Will the investigator accompany the party? Also not very well detailed, and affects the difficulty. The haunts in each room also can require some planning. Since we can add more haunts, or replace some of the suggested ones. In fact, the adventure calls them “suggested” at the start, which is a nice touch. The suggested ones, as well as the tables are both solid. The house also awakens at some point, where the haunting activity becomes more intense. And since it’s written for multiple playthroughs in mind, figuring out when the house should awaken, and which haunts should occur when can be confusing. Make sure to read through it multiple times, and make notes of your plan.

The seance using the spirit board can heavily influence the adventure. However, your players can ignore them as written. This may have been intended, as the players can push further into the house. That makes sense. That intent isn’t communicated in the adventure very well. And some events depend on the seance, or at least which one is chosen. Even the ending. Two easy ways around this are to have certain doors closed to prevent passage until after the seance. Though this feels railroady, and I’d highly recommend not doing this. I did use those points as a good chance to add a paranormal event. Like them opening the door, and seeing their own backs opening a door in the hallway beyond. Then when they sometimes still proceeded a bit before going to the seance, it helped with the creepy factor. And made them more likely to go to the seance. If things really go south, a haunt can give some clues that would be given during the seance.

Finally, there’s the difficulty. As usual, the number of players is listed as 4-6, but encounters aren’t adjusted for number of players. Two of the final encounters listed can be particularly challenging, so be aware while preparing to run this adventure. And be prepared to adjust things for the final encounter.

What’s Required

You will need the Monster Manual. Basically all of the big bads details in this book outright reference the Monster Manual. The residents and creatures that haunt some of these domains are also contained in that book. Some, however, specially reference new creatures only found in this book.

Alt cover for Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Still looks pretty good, but not as abstract or design centric as previous ones.

The Art and Book Build Quality

The art is what we’ve come to expect from this edition. I do prefer the standard cover this time. I say this basically every time, but the art has been consistent, and often even using the same artists. I would’ve preferred some more dark and brooding art made in a realistic style. Also a 2 page foldout or two would’ve been nice, like we saw in some of the core books. There are also maps for almost all of the domains of dread. Almost. I wish all of the mentioned ones did have a map of some sort. There’s already very little per domain, so the lack of a map really hits hard.

As always, I recommend checking the books if you can. The binding, struck pages, and misprints should be of particular focus. A quick flip through of the book is what I usually do, along with a close look at the binding. Unfortunately, the current times mean you may not have the luxury of picking it off the shelf and will get whatever copy you are sent.

Price

The standard price continues to apply. Due to recent situations, you’ll probably buy it online though. Wish there were a few more pages for the price as I always have. 100 pages could really help. Still, as a horror help book I’m sure many new Dungeon Masters would find it useful.

What I felt was Missing

This book really needs more crunch I think. More monsters. More maps. More adventures. I would love to see a Candlekeep Mysteries style anthology. One short adventure per domain of dread, and that each one is self contained means it can easily be strung together as the attempt of the players to escape the domains after being sucked it. It’s basically begging for it, and each adventure could also work as a mini-guide to each settings. Sort of how Curse of Strahd also doubles as a setting book very effectively.

If we didn’t want to go down this route, even some encounters would be nice to see. Battle maps, creatures, some kind of horror twist in the encounter. And each one specially made for each domain.

Free Stuff

Nothing to see here.

Summary

The title is very misleading. This is not required for Curse of Strahd, and I’d say you won’t find a better introduction to Barovia than that adventure. It is instead a bunch of advise for running sessions where horror is an emphasis, with some high level example settings. Each setting is a domain with a darklord and runs 6-8 pages. There is a bit of content such as fear and stress rules, curses, haunted traps, rules for weaker characters called “survivors”, and new monsters. There is also a short adventure included, which is pretty solid. However, this mechanical and usable content are a minority and not enough on their own. The advise itself is good, and I see it being very helpful for new Dungeon Masters who hope to run horror. The new mechanics are short and simple, so easy to add. The examples, and high level horror advise are also solid.

All in all, this is a decent book if you expect the above. It’s hard to recommend this book before many previous books, especially the adventure books. This is largely due to the lack of mechanics and crunch, and if you’re an experienced Dungeon Master you probably already know how to run horror. If you want that advice, it’ll provide. I wish it was longer though, with more crunch. And as a result generally I’d recommend many other books in this edition before this one.