CONFIRMED: Ravenloft for 5th Edition

[Zilfer]

Meh, not a native speaker. While I can understand written English well, I'm not good with understanding them spoken. Can someone surmise the podcast?

^Interesting. I wish I knew a second language even in just writing.... anyways, I'm going to be trying to listen to this on my way home, i'll try and give you a summery. I have a habit of forgetting things at home though so might have to wait for an update until tomorrow.

[alhoon]

I can generally have a conversation with an English speaker, it's just hard for me to follow audiobooks or podcasts.

[Ender]

In the meantime, I'm a few minutes in and have picked up on a couple things:

1. Ravenloft has been mentioned as a demiplane you get pulled into, so that sounds familiar.
2. The Artifact apparently features something from 3rd edition that will be updated to 5e.
3. The villain is someone who didn't get something they wanted from Strahd and is upset. Hm... perhaps... Azalin?

I'll post anything else I hear. (Not sure if I'll listen to it all right now or not)

[Ken of Ghastria]

3. The villain is someone who didn't get something they wanted from Strahd and is upset. Hm... perhaps... Azalin?

Good guess, but no. Azalin is way beyond the PCs' power level. (Consider that PCs in the Adventurers League seasons may start off at 1st or 2nd level and work their way up.)

The villain in question is new, and has a juicy backstory that fits nicely with Strahd's.

[alhoon]

Awesome!
To be sincere I'm glad it's not one of the old guys. I have enough material for them and WotC messing it up would be upsetting. A NEW someone would be a nice addition. Ravenloft is for me all about the nice stories of the NPCs.

I don't expect something as long-lasting as the GC, or as ... intriguing as Montari or the Brain.
But I do expect something nice.

[Zilfer]

3. The villain is someone who didn't get something they wanted from Strahd and is upset. Hm... perhaps... Azalin?

Good guess, but no. Azalin is way beyond the PCs' power level. (Consider that PCs in the Adventurers League seasons may start off at 1st or 2nd level and work their way up.)

The villain in question is new, and has a juicy backstory that fits nicely with Strahd's.

A new one or an old I wonder.... Inajira?(it sounds like from what Ken said it might be new but he didn't confirm nor deny yet so....) He has a history of having Strahd cleverly back out of a deal..... or if i recall correctly.

Yeah ender picked up on all the points I was able to pick up on as well. Demi-plane, and i'm curious which artifact. I wonder which will be updated to that? I'm sure there's plenty of things they could have updated to the current rendition.

I did notice that when asked if we would be visiting other places it was a bit non commital and the host i think it was only managed to get them to confirm "most of it takes place in barovia" though that could easily mean we start off somewhere else picked up by the mists and transported to ravenloft for the rest until the end where an escape.

My feel for it was a "Campaign in Hell" senario where outsiders are seeking to escape but they have to go on many adventures to get there.

There was again more reassurance that it is more tightly connected than previous seasons. (Unforunately I have no prior experience with prior seasons so this is lost on me of course. It could mean anything from you should do them in order because NPC from this makes a reference to this or it uses a revolving door of NPC's that reemerge in future adventures for familiarity. Who knows!?!?)

There was talk of how through the adventures it involves strahd, while not directly many times indirectly. That afore mentioned guy that didn't get his way was seemed to imply having wanted to work with strahd or strahd stopped his plans so the adventurers have to deal with him. (Which means strahd effected peoples lives indirectly)

Anyways that's all i can remember at the moment, maybe anyone else that was listening might have picked up on something.

Also, still cool Alhoon. I have a sort of envy for bilingual people even if it's just a little bit.

[Ken of Ghastria]

There was again more reassurance that it is more tightly connected than previous seasons. (Unforunately I have no prior experience with prior seasons so this is lost on me of course. It could mean anything from you should do them in order because NPC from this makes a reference to this or it uses a revolving door of NPC's that reemerge in future adventures for familiarity. Who knows!?!?)

In past AL seasons, you could easily pick & choose adventures out of order and run them for your home campaign however you'd like, without paying much attention to the season's overall story arc. Technically, you'll still be able to do that this season, but it'll be harder. The Mists are happy to let you in, but they won't easily let you out. Many of the adventures contain clues and information that don't come into play until the subsequent adventures. They're much more interconnected.

(Which means strahd affected peoples lives indirectly)

You've hit on a key theme of the Curse of Strahd storyline, which Chris Perkins described on the WotC podcast about the release. Just as in the original module, Strahd is the focus. The major Barovian NPCs whom the adventurers will encounter are not folks who just happen to live in Barovia. They've had their lives impacted by Strahd in one way or another, often tragically, as it should be. Strahd is the Land.

[alhoon]

I like it so far.

[Ken of Ghastria]

Oh, another thing: "The Artifact" is the name of that particular adventure (the 10th in the series of 14). The mysterious 3rd Edition Thingie that they refer to in the podcast may not necessarily be an artifact.

[Ender]

I thoroughly enjoy the idea of a whole new villain connected to Strahd. I'm really liking the sound of these adventures and am looking forward to running these!

[alhoon]

Me too... It's like 12 years since we've seen new content that wasn't a remake of the remake of Castle Ravenloft.

[Joël of the FoS]

Me too... It's like 12 years since we've seen new content that wasn't a remake of the remake of Castle Ravenloft.

Same here, really looking forward to it. Preordered!

[Zilfer]

3. The villain is someone who didn't get something they wanted from Strahd and is upset. Hm... perhaps... Azalin?

Good guess, but no. Azalin is way beyond the PCs' power level. (Consider that PCs in the Adventurers League seasons may start off at 1st or 2nd level and work their way up.)

The villain in question is new, and has a juicy backstory that fits nicely with Strahd's.

I'm sure you might be able ot answer this question, but for the side adventures how much do those cost? Do you know? Thanks for letting me know!

[Zilfer]

Possible map eh?

http://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/01/27/cur ... neak-peek/

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I'm sure you might be able ot answer this question, but for the side adventures how much do those cost? Do you know? Thanks for letting me know!

They are free downloads.