Signature Classes of AD&D Ravenloft

Discussing all things Ravenloft
Post Reply
User avatar
Hell_Born
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:51 am
Location: Queensland, Australia

Signature Classes of AD&D Ravenloft

Post by Hell_Born »

When Domains of Dread, the third and final iteration of the Ravenloft setting for AD&D, was released, one of the things that made it unique compared to its Black Box and Red Box precursors (besides the time skip and geography reworking) was its focus on playing native-born Player Characters, rather than the original focus on the 'Weekend in Hell' campaign style. As a result, it introduced four brand new classes signature to Ravenloft, one for each of the four class archetypes; the Anchorite (Priest), the Arcanist (Mage), the Avenger (Warrior) and the Gypsy (Rogue).

Also the Elementalist was there, but I don't count it, because it's literally just a reprint of the Elementalist from the Tome of Magic.

This new take on the setting definitely resonated with fans, because there was a lot of fan content for playing native-born characters that came out up until White Wolf produced the 3e update of the setting. And some of that content revolved around new "Ravenlofty" classes. Which is why I'm here, as I have some questions...

Firstly; does anyone know what classes were made by Ravenloft fans for the 2e version of Ravenloft? I can name the following off the top of my head...
* The Book of Sorrows featured the Artiste as a more Gothic-flavored alternative to the Bard, and the Caretaker & Paragon as Ravenloft-native analogues to the Druid and the Paladin.
* The Book of Secrets featured the Chirugeon, a mercenary surgeon built from the Thief chassis and combined with the surgical skills of the Anatomist Necromancer - this may have been a rename of the Leech from the Lonesome Road website, which had the same theme and gimmick.
* The Lonesome Road also housed two new Priest Classes; the Inquisitor and the Numenist, who basically had a mana system rather than the Vancian casting mechanic.

Secondly, were the Artiste, Caretake and Paragon originally featured on a website before being placed in a netbook?

Finally, did you play any of these "Ravenloft native" classes? If you did, what was your opinion on them compared to other classes?
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."

"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
User avatar
Gonzoron of the FoS
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 7690
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:02 pm
Gender: Male
Location: New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Signature Classes of AD&D Ravenloft

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

I played an Arcanist very briefly in a PBEM campaign that didn't last very long before collapsing. He was Stropa Dridakov, a mortu who ran an occult shop in Mordentshire. Was fun while it lasted, and I liked the Arcanist as an inspiration for a wizard that was a little on the spooky side.
"We're realistic heroes. We're not here to save the world, just nudge the world into a better place."
The Dark
Arch-villain
Arch-villain
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2023 1:32 pm

Re: Signature Classes of AD&D Ravenloft

Post by The Dark »

While not strictly speaking classes, there were also Ravenloft-specific kits. Van Richten's Guide to the Witch had the witch/warlock kit, and the 1998 Dragon Annual had the danseur, dilettante, investigator, psychologue, stalker, and warder.
Post Reply