Five years after the release of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, we’re finally set for the release of new Dungeons & Dragons horror content with Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, a sourcebook for both players and dungeon masters alike. This is the first major release as part of the new Seasons program that Wizards of the Coast unveiled earlier this year. The Season of Horror so far has featured a live play series and some bonus content (mostly for people who pre-ordered The Horrors Within).
Last week, Wizards of the Coast was kind enough to invite a bunch of folks to a virtual press conference to show off large portions of The Horrors Within and talk about the design and lead-up to the release of the first Ravenloft content in just over half a decade. Much of the team that worked on Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is back for this one.
In case you’re not familiar, Ravenloft is D&D’s catch-all horror setting. While the original setting was for the gothic horror tale of Strahd von Zarovich who lives in the eponymous Castle Ravenloft, the setting grew to encompass more dark demi-planes, known as Domains of Dread, and their evil masters, known as the Darklords, who are imprisoned within their own realms, seemingly the ruler of all but in reality at the mercy of mysterious outside forces known as the Dark Powers.
Ravenloft becomes the third plane to have a full sourcebook for the latest edition of D&D, following the release of new, updated primary sources for the Forgotten Realms and Eberron last year.
The Horrors Within
Castle Ravenloft in the Mists, by Bastien Grivet
The book releases on June 16th but D&D Beyond Master Tier subscribers can read it today thanks to early access. The book is chock full of horror content including 16 Domains of Dread, 17 Darklords (one of the Domains has two, obviously), guides to 10 horror genres, seven new sub-classes, four species to play (including a Dhampir updated from last year’s Astarion supplement), and 9 dark gifts to be tempted by. For Dungeon Masters there are also over 40 horrors in the bestiary and a bunch of legendary allies to add to games.
Fun fact: One of the new sub-classes is for the Artificer class which is in the Eberron source book, but purchasers of the digital version of The Horrors Within will get access to the Artificer class in D&D Beyond.
One thing that the designers wanted to really emphasize with this book was the desire to have players be able to explore their own horror arcs within their campaigns. They view the storytelling experience as a collaborative one between the DM and the players, and up until now, players had very limited options to build a horror story into their own backgrounds and mechanics. The new sub-classes, species, and dark gifts aim to bring players to the table in new ways.
That doesn’t mean you can’t bring a shiny noble paladin of the morninglord into the mists, you absolutely still can, and should if you want to. But if you want to bring a tortured paladin who can’t come to grips with the horrors they’ve seen and the divinity they’re meant to uphold, you will have more tools in your toolbox than ever before for that arc.
A New Tarokka Deck
The Necromancer by James Arnold from the Tarokka deck.
One of the most important aspects of Ravenloft for Dungeons & Dragons is that it has a coherent and unique atmosphere, even across all the different genres of horror and Domains of Dread. This edition of the setting really leans into a new color scheme and visual aesthetic that is a departure from previous editions and the genre in general. It’s certainly a gamble for Wizards of the Coast, but the effect is very distinct, and stands out the most in the new Tarokka deck.
This is, despite Wizards best efforts to avoid this connotation, Ravenloft’s take on a Tarot deck. And that’s OKAY. The concept is solid and the roleplaying experience when you have your fortune read as a player can be really immersive and fantastic. Of course, for a DM it can be a lot of work, but don’t worry, The Horrors Within has some help on sleight of hand tricks and how to stack the deck so you’re still in control of the game, not the cards.
Fun fact: If you run Curse of Strahd and you just blindly draw cards from the Tarokka deck you are a braver Dungeon Master than I am.
The Avenger by Brian Valenzuela
You can see the visual aesthetic is really distinct with the artwork on these cards and it’s a significant departure from the black-and-white stylings of the deck that was part of Curse of Strahd’s release over a decade ago. Horror doesn’t have to mean dark colors and I Wizards is definitely looking to strike a somehow poppy yet terrifying tone with these cards.
The Avenger, depicted on the One of Swords, is a great example. The green knight really pops against the red background. But when you look at the details you notice the beheading, that the Avenger is chained, and they’re on fire. While opinions will differ on the execution, it’s clearly a bold choice and one that will pay off at many tables.
Return to Ravenloft in Style
That bold vision is important for this next bit: the partnership licensing deals. While this may have a feel of Spaceballs: the Search for More Money, it’s hard to deny that the poppy sooky-cute aesthetic is in style right now. The products shown here have a really distinct feel to them beyond the traditional horror stylings of previous Ravenloft releases. Expanding the popularity of the setting would go a long way to ensuring there isn’t such a long gap between future releases.
Besides, what better way to show your players the Darklord who’s about to TPK them than showing up with Strahd the t-shirt, Strahd the miniature, Strahd the dice set, and of course, Strahd the Funko Pop figure?
Will a set of Ravenloft dice corrupt my set of My Little Pony dice? I’ll report back when I find out but the fact I can soon get both at Hot Topic is a win for Wizards (and Hasbro).
The Season of Magic is Near
If you’re a fan of Ravenloft odds are you’ll be simultaneously thrilled and disappointed by The Horrors Within. Thrilled because new horror content is your lifeblood and disappointed because it isn’t enough. You want more Barovia. More Innsmouth. More Lord Soth. More dark gifts. The list goes on. And the new weekly drops on D&D Beyond means there could and likely will be more Ravenloft content sooner than you’d think.
But next is the Season of Magic!
Instead of visiting another setting we’ll be getting two products: Arcana Unleashed and Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall, which one has to assume translate to a sourcebook and an adventure. If Deadfall is an adventure book, it will be the first one for Edition 5.5 of D&D. There’s a lot of content that in 5th edition was part of the Tasha’s/Xanthar’s style of books. It remains to be seen if this is a replacement for that branding or not.
In the meantime, enjoy your return to the Mists of Ravenloft!
Rich Stein (He/Him) has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since 3rd Edition and had a full-blown in-character meltdown the first time he found himself trapped in the mists of Ravenloft. Now he plays the occasional game but mostly serves as DM for his kids and their friends as they hopefully do a better job than he did with their first trip to the domains of dread.