New to Ravenloft...

Discussing all things Ravenloft
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Kel-nage
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New to Ravenloft...

Post by Kel-nage »

Hello! My name is Kel-nage. Others call me "Nick" (apparently I have some "alter-ego" that exists somewhere in the "real-world"), call me either, it matters not.

I have been drawn here by some strange urge to investigate a horror roleplaying game. Bored I have become by the D&Ds and the Shadowruns and I have always been fasinated by "horror roleplaying". In the end, I am going to have to decide between two, Call of Cthulhu and said Ravenloft.

Why should I choose Ravenloft? What does it have to offer to an moderately experienced roleplayer? I am reading through some example adventures and e-books from the no longer smouldering remains of Vallaki, is there anywhere else a newcomer like I should look?

And one more thing. How does the horror work? Will I scare my players?

Oh, oh... A final question: how many books would I have to buy on top of what I already own to enjoy the system properly (assume I have most of the regular D&D 3e books, and know the 3rd edition inside out)?
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join us.. play cthulhu some other time...

Post by vipera aspis »

...or choose both! But in Ravenloft horror works like a save roll. depending on if they fail and how badly they fail. however, if roleplayed these roles arn't needed. Required books in total likely two; the ravenloft core book(WotC/SaS), DoD(WotC/SaS ravenloft creature book), and thats all you really need. but like all other systems, more is better. I suggest the Red or Black box from 2nd ed. also the fantastic netbooks offered at this site are very useful.
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Post by Troile »

Ravenloft uses the d&d backbone with the quality of a white wolf product.

You get engaging stories that have a lot of room for real gothic horror style stuff.

the d&d backbone means its also engaging as a game. Characters have hit points...they level up etc etc. Also anything is possible. d20 is so simple and easy to use that you forget its a system.

Call of Cthulu is for those people that just love Lovecraft so much. Heh...I could see playing single stories in it but I don't think I'd be engaged enough to want to keep it going.

In Ravenloft there are often moral questions asked of you w/o a real answer...bad guys have souls too and are often misunderstood...you become afraid of whats not there and don't fear what is there.

Lovecraft kind of stuff is like a madness save every hour. Heh. You're doomed...there are monsters beyond your understanding and they will do horrible things to you and your surroundings. The pure horror of having your world flipped upside down or not in control of it or whatever...

I think ravenloft lends itself to the rpg experience more. Its fun as well as being engaging.
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Post by Wiccy of the Fraternity »

Ravenloft works primarily on atmosphere and setting up the scene, much like classic horror novels and movies, it is the drama and suspence than the appearance of the big bad that makes it so compelling. Magic items are also more scarse and magic itself is somewhat rarer (thankfully, I hate high magic games). Creatures are seen as allpowerful bogeymen that nothing can stop, the heroes are often facing things with the odds very much stacked against them with litte chance of success without serious investigative work.

Ravenloft promotes roleplay over combat, a nice change for any experience player or DM.

In addition to the D20 core books, all you really need to run a Ravenloft game is the Campaign Setting/Ravenloft PHB, after that everything is optional. If you feel you require more books aftre this, the Gazetteers are very useful, the Ravenloft DMG is an excellent resource for tips on building and running games, as well as containing all the rules for fortune telling in the setting.

Denizens of Dread is much like the monster manual.
Heroes of Light and Champions of Darkness are two books many (including myself) would advise you give a miss.
If you wish to rin a Gothic Earth game then Masque of the Red Death is needed.
Van Richten's Arsenal is a very useful books containing many neat tricks, tools and PrC's.

However, if your budget is tight and you need most of the Darklords from the Core, than get Secrets of the Dread Realms, is it 3.0, but it does contain lots of usable Darklords if they are needed, but you can run games without them, afterall, some of the best Ravenloft games do not involve the Darklords at all.

As for horror, there are Horror, Fear and Madness saving throws, the DC is set by the circumstance and the PC (liketheir alignment, etc). However, through careful roleplay, a player can avoid these saving throws all together, as they, like alot of other htings, are merely tools to promote roleplay in players.

Of course, there are also the Powers Checks, that players may have to take on occasion if they do something a little to evil and may eventually lead them being transformed into some form of monster!
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Post by JinnTolser »

Ravenloft also gives you the advantage of having this great community where you can ask questions, get opinions and information, and bounce campaign ideas around. :D
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Post by Kel-nage »

Thank you all for your replies. I think I will stick with Ravenloft. I've been reading almost everything I can get my hands on for it and it seems like my kind of system (low-magic! Yay!).
...or choose both!
Heh :) Unfortuntely, tempting as it is, money is too tight for both Cthulhu and Ravenloft. But it seems I'll like Ravenloft more, so that's alright.
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Post by Wiccy of the Fraternity »

Ravenloft does also have many pieces of free material for it, like all the netbooks, articles, web enhancements, etc that are available on this site and many others :)
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Post by JinnTolser »

Besides, you can always work a little Call of Cthulhu-style adventure into Ravenloft. :roll:
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Post by Kel-nage »

This might seem like an odd question, but do people tend to run lots of adventures in Ravenloft (such as a on-going campaign), or is it often a one adventure thing?

Reading some of the 2nd edition adventures, it seems like Ravenloft is just a quick break in a certain D&D world, before returning there again once the adventure is over.
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Post by DeepShadow of FoS »

We call those "Weekend in Hell," (WiH) and they are almost universally hated. Most of us run full-length RL campaigns, I think. I wrote a defense on WiH, saying that they could work well if done properly, but that's not been done yet to date, that I know of.
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Post by Kel-nage »

Okay, one last question...

I've seen the following books I might be interested in, however, I'm on a very limited budget right now. Other than the Ravenloft PHB, which I'll obviously be getting first, from these, which do you think would be a good next choice?

Secrets of the Dread Realms
Ravenloft Gazetteer (any one of them, but not all (from the reviews, I think the first))
Van Richten's Arsenal
Denizens of Darkness
Ravenloft DMG
Van Richten's Guide To Walking Dead

I will be planning on DMing a Ravenloft adventure sometime in the future, but I'm not convinced I'll need the DMG straight away.

Anyway, any suggestions are welcome :)
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Post by Jester of the FoS »

The Weekend in Hell adventures were the style of the first few adventures. Arrive in the land, kill the lord, escape. It took a long time for the idea of a long term campaign set in the land to become welcome.
Weekend in Hell stories are fine, especially for introducing new players to the setting or the game but, like Outlanders and heroes, it has become less common in favour of native campaigns.

I recomend looking at this site's FAQ for more information in addition to the Reviews.

In regards to other products it depends on your needs. The RL: DMG is handy and chock-full of advice but not essential, its purchase can be put off for a future time.
Only a single Gazetteer is needed unless the party plans to travel. My advice is buy the RL: PHB (or RL Campaign setting, they're almost identical, get whichever you can find for less), pick a Core land you like, and buy the appropriate Gaz.
VanRichten's Arsenal is a good book for both players and DMs with some nice spells and the like as well as PrC, but, again, it can be purchased later as players take some time to achive PrCs.

Avoid Secrets of the Dread Realms, most of the information is outdated (3.0 not 3.5) or revised in the Gazetteers.
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Post by JinnTolser »

Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead is a fantastic book, but you'll only really need it if you plan to custom-build a lot of walking dead monsters.

Denizens of Darkness, on the other hand, is a great book full of Ravenloft monsters, and has a lot more variety. I'd suggest buying this first, after the RL Player's Handbook or Campaign Setting (as David said, they're pretty much interchangeable except for a few new rules in the PHB that didn't go over very well with most of the Ravenloft community).
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Post by Jason of the Fraternity »

kelnage wrote:How many books would I have to buy on top of what I already own to enjoy the system properly (assume I have most of the regular D&D 3e books, and know the 3rd edition inside out)?
As Wiccy already pointed out, the only Ravenloft book that you really need to have would be the Ravenloft Campaign Setting. I would agree that the Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide and Denizens of Dread are good secondary books, but they aren't necessary (unless you are a DM that really needs the extra advice and/or information).
kelnage wrote: Other than the Ravenloft PHB, which I'll obviously be getting first, which do you think would be a good next choice?
Personally, I would recommend buying the gazzetteer that covers the domain(s) where your players will be spending most of their time. The information is very helpful and can provide details to flesh out your adventures. After the gazetteer, I would recommend fleshing out your base books depending upon your needs, such as Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide (for creating adventures), Denizens of Dread (for adding unusual monters), and Van Richten's Arsenal (for providing excellent extras).
kelnage wrote:I am reading through some example adventures and e-books from the no longer smouldering remains of Vallaki, is there anywhere else a newcomer like I should look?
As Wiccy also mentioned above, we have a moderately sized collection of e-books in our Library. While everything on the shelves is fan-made, you can find quite a bit of good material. I would highly recommend taking the time to read through some of it...
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Post by Jason of the Fraternity »

kelnage wrote:This might seem like an odd question, but do people tend to run lots of adventures in Ravenloft, or is it often a one adventure thing? Reading some of the 2nd edition adventures, it seems like Ravenloft is just a quick break in a certain D&D world, before returning there again once the adventure is over.
Unfortunately, a good portion of 2nd edition seemed to focus on the Weekend in Hell aspect of the game. This doesn't mean that there weren't people and/or products that promoted a Ravenloft campaign solely within the demiplane, but most of the native-based campaigns seemed to come near the end of 2nd edition. One of the things I've liked most about 3rd edition is the focus on making it a cohesive world where players can live and grow (versus being drawn in for X amount of time).
DeepShadow wrote:We call those "Weekend in Hell," (WiH) and they are almost universally hated. I wrote a defense on WiH, saying that they could work well if done properly, but that's not been done yet to date, that I know of.
I don't know if I would go so far as to say that I hate the "Weekend in Hell" scenerio, but a full length campaign always beats a short adventure in my book. I would also be interested in hearing if anyone had a really good WiH adventure. I remember having one mixed into one of my campaigns back when I was in college, but the Ravenloft portion lasted for five sessions, which allowed it to develop into something more than just a "kill the Darklord and escape" situation...
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