It's the dead of night. Let's talk about Ravenloft.
I've always wanted to run this setting but I have some questions that I hope you can help me with.
1. Best edition of D&D to play it with? Is there a better system to use in general?
2. Might just be me but the elves, dwarves, etc seem shoehorned in due to the setting being a D&D product. Am I mistaken?
3. Anyone have tips for running it, playing it, and evoking the proper spirit of the game?
And of course general discussion is welcome.
>>48188779
1. Whatever edition you prefer. Just take the fluff of the 2e and or 3e or 5e and apply to fave edition.
2. The setting is by and large human centric (with some exceptions) and it can sometimes feel ill-fitting for a demihuman to show up since the whole scare factor stems from non human monsters running around but the mists just swallowing up random adventurers from across the d&d multiverse and spitting them up in the demi plane of dread for a weekend in hell has been a thing since well before Ravenloft was an actual setting. Just give demi-humans extra shit for being weird, intensity varying depending on which domain they end up in and how they handle themselves.
3. Be descriptive and atmospheric. It is supposed to be horror (ish) although d&d is just not built for it imo.
A lot of the 2e modules are railroady though.
>>48188779
>dead of night
It's 7:30 in the morning.
Played it back in the 1990s. Was fun
>>48190344
Epic
>>48190344
> July 9th
>>48188779
I strongly recommend running Curse of Strahd as a good lengthy adventure in Ravneloft.
>>48188878
Are there big differences in the fluff between editions?
>>48188779
>Best edition of D&D to play it with?
Arguably AD&D 1e/2e. You could probably use 5e too.
>Is there a better system to use in general?
Retroclones or GURPS.
>Might just be me but the elves, dwarves, etc seem shoehorned in due to the setting being a D&D product. Am I mistaken?
You are mistaken to some extent. Demi-humans are rare and treated like shit in most places.
>Anyone have tips for running it, playing it, and evoking the proper spirit of the game?
Decide whether you're going pre-Grand Conjunction or post-Grand Conjunction.
Read what Feast of Goblyns says about encounters.
Consider that as written, Ravenloft is very small and overpopulated with monsters.
Don't be afraid to re-draw the world.
Check out this site: http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/
>>48191724
1e is very "weekend in hell" in it's approach. It doesn't give as much info for actually playing natives.
2e reshuffled the map and focused on playing natives.
White Wolf had too much metaplot according to some.
Expedition was garbage.
4e was strange.
5e was sort of okay by most accounts.
>>48191948
>5e was sort of okay
5e just gave the 2e information again, but for Barovia only because the domains were 100% separated. The only thing 5e dos dofferent is give a "happy ending" if you defeat Strahd and leave out the front door within a short window, otherwise the demiplane resets with you inside.
>>48193211
>>48193211
>5e just gave the 2e information again,
5e added stuff like making most Barovians soulless automatons, the Hags who sell soul-cakes, and that amber temple thingie with the befuddled lich.
>>48193239
Those are just encounters, though. The setting is still much the same, and the rules mean it's a brutal place even with 5e HP.
So, as someone that has only experienced the 5e Barovia merry-go-round of Ravenloft, what are some non-Barovia domains that are big enough for the characters to adventure around while still being interesting?
>>48193467
Darkon
Mordent
Lamordia
My personal favorite is Har'Air but it's just a single biome desert with one mud village... and one instant death touch Mummy
What are the good modules and source books?
>>48195465
>modules
I'm fond of Touch of Death and Feast of Goblyns.
>sourcebooks
White Wolf's Gazetteers are generally well-praised. Van Richten's Guides are a mixed bag but I'm sure all of them have something useful in them.
