Ravenloft is an adventure written for use with Advanced Dungeons and Dragons by Tracy and Laura Hickman. The module was published in 1983. This classic adventure has stood the test of time. It exists in a slightly different form for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition and is as popular now as it ever was.
Ravenloft is written for characters of 5th to 7th levels of experience. It is a classic Gothic tale of a vampire and his quest for an eternal life (or unlife as it may be). It is a sweeping epic of a story with tragedy and horror as the primary elements. Ravenloft is more than just an adventure…..it is a parallel universe in the fantasy worlds of Dungeons and Dragons.
The adventure is 40 pages long from cover to cover. It includes extensive maps of the land of Barovia as well as detailed renderings of the castle in which the vampire Strahd Von Zarovich inhabits. These are beautiful color maps with many levels.
What I like about Ravenloft
It is a classic story of a vampire and it is a love story as well. It has a deep and rich background and one understands the motivations of the villain quite well. The random “fortunes” thing is really an interesting twist. It allows one to set this module up randomly so that is different each time it is played. I love that aspect of it.
I also love the extensive castle and maps. They are quite detailed and excellently done. The artwork for this adventure is also well done.
Ravenloft is more than just one adventure. It is an entire fantasy setting in which one can run other horror adventures.
This adventure has a huge castle. Most of the encounters within the castle are:
- Random
- Benign encounters with servants or others
- Are with one of the useful artifacts
- Or are with the vampire Strahd or his minions sent to harass the adventurers
The rest of the castle is basically empty and waiting to be explored by the adventurers. This will make the final encounter that much more suspenseful in the end.
What I do not like about Ravenloft
It can prove fatal……to characters anyway….hopefully not to the players themselves. I know that people tend to love their characters but some adventures are more likely to prove fatal to them than others. Ravenloft has many possibilities for character deaths. But rewards without risks are boring. Any rewards gained in this adventure will be earned by the end of it.
I am not so fond of the idea of one entering the Ravenloft universe by finding themselves lost in fog and then crossing a gate in which they can no longer return without killing the vampire first. This is a bit of a railroad. I understand that the players might well choose not to go to the castle or confront the vampire….but that is the kind of decision they might make at any time in the game.
Would I recommend this adventure to others?
Of course. What is not to love about this adventure? Granted…it might prove fatal for some characters. But AD&D played correctly always proves fatal for some adventurers in the end. A game where no one ever dies is not a game that anyone stays interested in for long.
If one is too squeamish about losing beloved characters you could always use pre-generated ones.
Would I run this adventure with my own group?
Yes. And I plan to at some point. I have played in a few adventures in the Ravenloft world at conventions (5th Edition). But have never run this module. And I think I would like to do so. I just have to wait a while for my players to get their characters up high enough in level to do so.
If you enjoyed this article then perhaps you will enjoy these as well:
- Free Dungeon Master Resources
- City Adventures
- Gambling
- Morale
- Turning Undead
- Plague
- Here be dragons!
- Aging
- Tactics
