Van Richten's Guide to ... Ravenloft? The review
The eye wants its part
How Wizards of the Coast has long accustomed us to the manual of Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft boasts two covers: one regular and the other variant. I have to say that this time around both covers are top notch and it's really hard to choose which one is the best. The regular is the work of Anna Podedworna already known for her works with CD PROJEKT RED, developers of Cyberpunk and The Witcher, and League of Legends, who chose to represent Doctor Rudolph van Richten and Ez d'Avenir struggling with the villain. Ravenloft par excellence: Strahd von Zarovich.The Variant is the work of Scott M. Fischer, known for his comic covers of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and for his collaborations with Disney and Microsoft, who chose to portray the monster hunter Ezmerelda D'Avenir with some of the Dark Lords of Ravenloft in the background. The solidity and quality of the materials of the volume are as always of an excellent level. The internal illustrations are many and refer to a rather “glossy” and not very bloody horror imagery. Worth mentioning among the cartographers is the very Italian Francesca Bearald, author of some splendid maps.
Ravenloft between past and present
Ravenloft is a setting that dates back to the early eighties and has been modified and revised several times over the years. Older players will surely wonder if Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft is a re-release or an update of the old editions. I would say that this is a real reboot with a detachment from the past. Of course there are still the Mists and the concept of the Dark Lords prison but the game world has been reorganized and the Domains are more difficult to access, they are separate areas and have no relationship between them. In addition, the various Domains have a "restart" mechanic so defeated a Dark Lord does not mean that he will not come back to "life" after some time, making the actions of the Characters not very effective on future events. We will hardly be able to give life to a campaign, more easily to individual more or less long adventures. Another variation that immediately catches the eye was the gender change of some Dark Lords, who became female, probably to balance the number which was decidedly unbalanced in favor of the male counterpart in previous editions. Given the expansion of the players to a large female component, and the social changes in recent years, it seems to me a choice that can be shared and that in any case does not affect the setting at all.Contents
S e in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft look for tons of new rules, archetypes, magic items, weapons, spells in large quantities, you will surely be disappointed. The focus of the manual is definitely on the narrative and less on the rules. But among the additional options we can certainly point out the three new lineages, which in fact replace the races: the Dhampir, half vampires who lead an existence suspended between life and death, the Hexbloods, the result of magic and dark pacts with the Witches, and Reborns, creatures that should be dead but aren't and go in search of answers. The Dark Gifts are also an interesting addition that allow Characters, in particular situations, to be tempted by the Dark Powers with powers that, however, always require a price to pay. Great space is obviously left to the description of the various Domains that make up Ravenloft. It is interesting to note that the statistics of the Dark Lords of the Domains are not provided, but refer to the Monster Manual for the basic statistics and mention their powers. It is certainly a precise choice given that instead we dwell a lot on their personality, ambitions, motivations, desires and frustrations. Finally, a series of new monsters could not be missing, thirty-two, which offer the Dungeon Masters new enemies to put on the path of the Characters.As mentioned Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft is a manual full of contents that I would define narrative, contents which aim to help Masters incorporate horror elements into their campaign. All types of horror: from classic gothic, to ghost stories, to cosmic horror, obviously inspired by the myths of Cthulhu, psychological to occult investigators. The manual offers hints, tips and recommendations for developing adventures based on these styles. And, in my opinion, it does it very well.
Does it scare players or Characters?
One of the things I noticed is that I was most impressed by the numerous calls inside of the volume to underline how a good Master should confront his players to decide the level of fear that will be adopted at the gaming table: from how it is better not to address certain topics if they are deemed too sensitive or frightening for the players involved, to how we should aim to scare the Characters more than the players. It seems clear to me that Wizards of the Coast is trying to make its products safe to use for more and more players and is probably also trying to prevent Dungeons & Dragons from falling prey to controversy or controversy. Inside the volume there are specific rules to manage Fear and Stress which, at first reading, do not seem very valid to me but for a definitive judgment I think they should be tried in the game.Old friends
In Ravenloft the Vistani are still present, who are now proposed as traders who wander among the various Domains, the only ones who can move freely among the mists and who, as was already known, have lost all their characteristics linked to the classic gypsy imaginary . Also returning are several non-playing characters of some fame such as Ez d’Avenir, Rudolph van Richten, his son Erasmus and others. The duo of investigators Alanik Ray and Arthur Sedgwick, the Sherlock Holmes and Watson of Ravenloft, are also back, also modernized both in the graphic representation and in their relationship which has become so evident that they are married. Oscuri also do not have a block of statistics but only a description, their motivations and brief ideas for some adventure, making them easy to insert almost everywhere. I would perhaps have preferred that the volume delve more into these "old friends", who presented in this way seem to me to be placed there solely because Ravenloft does a lot, and because if they had not been included they would have caused the anger of the fans.Conclusions
And here I come to the doubts of the title. In my opinion, in light of what I wrote, I would have thought it more correct to call the manual "Van Richten's Guide to Horror" and not "to Ravenloft". Ravenloft's fame and past glories remain, but there has been a clear narrative shift and after all the manual is a real guide, very well done, to horror in general. The individual domains are "bubbles" in their own right, very well characterized, where to set individual adventures related to the various types of horror proposed. The choice not to indicate the statistics of the Dark Lords is interesting, thus suggesting that the Characters would do better to have a non-violent interaction with them. Also because defeating them on a "physical" level counts for little since they are destined to return to their place after some time. The new rules are few but well done especially for what concerns the lineages and the dark gifts that can wreak havoc in the group of characters.I therefore consider it an interesting and valid manual especially for Masters who want to insert horror elements in their Dungeons & Dragons adventures and campaigns less for those looking for an alternative setting. The manual also demonstrates how Dungeons & Dragons (and therefore Wizards of the Coast) are increasingly moving towards the demands for inclusiveness and equality that are being clamored by modern civil society. I would say in a completely legitimate way.
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