Ravenloft (module)

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Ravenloft

The original Ravenloft module
Code	I6
Rules required	Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition
Character levels	5–7[1]
Campaign setting	Generic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Authors	Tracy & Laura Hickman
First published	1983
Linked modules
I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12, I13, I14

Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. TSR published the module as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and includes art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III.^[2] The plot of Ravenloft centers on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who draws power from the isolated land around his home.

The module was generally well-received, appearing second in Dungeon magazine's list of the top 30 D&D adventures. It also inspired a sequel, a gamebook adaptation, and an entire campaign setting of the same name, which inspired spin-offs of its own.^[3] The original Ravenloft module has been revised and republished several times, with the most recent printing in 2006.

Contents 1 Original edition 1.1 Critical reception 2 Reprints and new versions 2.1 Master of Ravenloft 2.2 House of Strahd 2.3 Silver Anniversary editions 2.4 Expedition to Castle Ravenloft 3 Sequels 3.1 Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill 3.2 Ravenloft campaign setting 4 See also 5 Notes 6 Bibliography

[edit] Original edition

When they began work on Ravenloft, authors Laura and Tracy Hickman felt the vampire character archetype had become overused, trite, and mundane. They sought to recreate a frightening image of the creature in the Ravenloft module,^[4] which was originally called Vampyr.^[5] The adventure was play-tested every Halloween for five years under this name^[6] before it was sold to TSR and retitled.^[5] At the time of Ravenloft's release in 1983, each Dungeons & Dragons module was marked with an alphanumeric code indicating the series to which it belonged. Ravenloft's label was I6, as it was the sixth in a series of intermediate-level modules for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The original Ravenloft module was published as a 32-page book which included maps of important game locations.

The module leads a group of adventurers to the land of Barovia, a small country surrounded by magical fog which kills anyone who attempts to leave. This fog traps all of Barovia's inhabitants, except for a few gypsies who have a potion that cancels the fog's effects.^[7] The master of nearby Castle Ravenloft, Count Strahd von Zarovich, tyrannically rules the townspeople of Barovia, and holds the only key by which the player characters can escape. In the search for Strahd, adventurers encounter zombies, wolves, ghouls, ghosts, and the other dangerous creatures.

The chief antagonist, Count Strahd, has become one of the most infamous and well-known villains in the Dungeons & Dragons game;^[8] he has appeared in various novels and rulebooks since his debut in Ravenloft.^[9] Strahd's character revolutionized Dungeons & Dragons by introducing a combination monster-character, equipped with the abilities of both vampires and magic-users.^[10] This design enables him to use his own powers in combination with the surrounding environment, making him a difficult opponent to defeat.^[4] The module also featured a gypsy fortune-telling session, which randomly determined certain plot elements^[8] so that factors such as Strahd's motivations could change between games; this gave the module a high replay value.^[11]

[edit] Critical reception

Ravenloft won the 1984 Strategists' Club Award for "Outstanding Play Aid",^[12] and the module was popular among players and Dungeon Masters (individuals who coordinate game mechanics for character players). The classic Gothic setting of the plot combined elements of the horror genre with Dungeons & Dragons conventions for the first time,^[10] and the orthogonal maps of Castle Ravenloft garnered fan admiration.^[8] Tracy Hickman stated in 1998, "I still believe the original Ravenloft modules were perhaps the best that ever had my name on them."^[6]

In a critical review for Dragon magazine, game designer Ken Rolston argued that, despite its design innovations, Ravenloft was still in essence a dungeon-style adventure, merely borrowing atmospheric trappings from the horror genre to add texture and novelty.^[13] In White Dwarf magazine #55, the module received a positive review: 8 out of 10. It was likened to a Hammer horror production and praised as enjoyable, although the reviewer said the game's puns were tedious and detracted from the spooky atmosphere.^[14] Dungeon Master For Dummies lists the module as one of the ten best classic adventures, stating that Ravenloft "takes the Dracula legend and gives it a D&D spin".^[1] On the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game, Dungeon magazine ranked the module as the second greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time—behind only Queen of the Spiders.^[15]

[edit] Reprints and new versions

[edit] Master of Ravenloft

In 1986, Ravenloft was adapted into the gamebook Master of Ravenloft, #6 in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebooks series. In the book, the reader plays the role of Jeren Sureblade, a paladin, who must defeat Count Strahd von Zarovich to save a young girl from becoming one of the undead. The gamebook was written by Jean Blashfield, with cover art by Clyde Caldwell and interior art by Gary Williams.^[16]

[edit] House of Strahd

TSR published a revision and expansion of the original Ravenloft module, titled House of Strahd (RM4), in 1993. It was updated to include rules from the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and the Ravenloft, Realm of Terror campaign setting. The module credits the original work by the Hickmans, but was designed by Bruce Nesmith without their help. The revised version contained a 64-page book with a fold-out map. While the layout was mostly redone, Nesmith reused much of the original text and artwork, with additional art by James Crabtree and a new cover by Dana M. Knutson. The module was recommended for character levels 6–13, with the main revised version for character levels 11–13.^[17]

David Gibson of the fan review site Fraternity of Shadows criticized the revised module, especially its gameplay. As it was printed as a part of the Ravenloft campaign setting, many pertinent details found elsewhere in the box set are not provided. This, Gibson claims, makes it difficult to run House of Strahd as a stand-alone adventure.^[18]

[edit] Silver Anniversary editions

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game in 1999, two additional versions of the Ravenloft module were released. The first was a simple reprinting of the original adventure made available in the Dungeons & Dragons Silver Anniversary Collector's Edition boxed set. This release only differed through slightly altered map coloring and a silver anniversary TSR logo in the bottom left corner of the cover.

The second was the silver anniversary edition of Ravenloft. This version, intended for use with the second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, took the form of a 48-page book. It used part of the original module's cover artwork, but with a large distinctive silver border and prominent central placing of the silver anniversary logo.

[edit] Expedition to Castle Ravenloft

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft

Rules required	Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5
Character levels	6–9
Campaign setting	Generic Dungeons & Dragons
Authors	Bruce Cordell and James Wyatt
First published	2006
Linked modules
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, Expedition to the Demonweb Pits, Expedition to Undermountain, Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk

In October 2006, Wizards of the Coast released an updated and expanded version of the original module for Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5 as a 226-page hardcover book entitled Expedition to Castle Ravenloft.^[19] The adventure is intended to complement the original through additional and expanded designs.^[20] Written by Bruce Cordell and James Wyatt with cover art by Kev Walker, the book returns to the original Ravenloft module's plot and conventions, removing the demiplane setting used in the Ravenloft campaign setting.^[21] Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is designed to run as a mini-campaign lasting about 20 game sessions, much longer than the original module, though it contains options for running long (8 session) or short (4 session) adventures.^[22] The book includes suggestions for incorporating the adventure into an existing generic setting, Forgotten Realms, Eberron or d20 Modern campaign,^[22] but makes no mention of how to use it in the Ravenloft campaign setting. The maps for Castle Ravenloft were rendered in 3-D orthogonal effect, similar to the maps in the original Ravenloft adventure.^[23]

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is the first 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure which provides Dungeon Masters with a new format for combat scenarios and encounters; each encounter has a two-page spread on which all pertinent statistics for monsters, terrain, and traps can be found.^[8][23] This format has been criticized because of how much information must be repeated from one spread to another, and how much unnecessary material seems to be used to fill two pages in many cases.^[23] John Cooper criticized the adventure's artwork, noting that some pieces were used more than once in the book, and that several pieces were reused from previous Dungeons & Dragons books. Cooper also criticized the artwork's departure from that of the original work, citing how it alternately depicts Strahd as a feeble old man and then as a young man with long hair and elven ears.^[23]

[edit] Sequels

[edit] Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill

Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill

Code	I10
Rules required	Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition
Character levels	8–10
Campaign setting	Generic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Authors	Tracy & Laura Hickman
First published	1986
Linked modules
I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12, I13, I14

Ravenloft's success eventually led to a sequel in 1986 titled Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill. Though Ravenloft II is credited to the Hickmans, Tracy Hickman left TSR before the module was complete.^[10] The writing was done by David "Zeb" Cook, Jeff Grubb, Harold Johnson and Douglas Niles, following the Hickmans' outline. Each writer pursued a different section of the module in order to meet the deadline.^[10] Clyde Caldwell, who had done all of the art for the original Ravenloft module, provided the cover, but interior art was designed by Jeff Easley. The adventure is designed for first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons characters of levels 8–10.^[24]

The module features an artifact known as The Apparatus that switches a monster's personality with that of an ordinary townsperson; player characters, therefore, are uncertain about the true identity of the various people they meet. The module also introduces Azalin the lich, who later became a major character in the Ravenloft campaign setting.^[10]

Ravenloft II was reviewed by Carl Sargent in issue #87 of White Dwarf magazine, where he stated that it was a "strong sequel to I6 Ravenloft" and recommended it highly.^[25] It shared many structural elements with the original, including variable goals and locations for key objects. Sargent criticized the sequel for having over-the-top minor encounters, and warned that the complexity of the plot would require careful preparation. Despite these problems, he said it included "Lots of monsters, plenty of roleplaying, lots of offstage action, items and crucial information to be gathered, and topped off with an excellent ending. What more could you ask? Excellent, highly recommended."^[25]

[edit] Ravenloft campaign setting

In 1990, TSR based an entire horror-themed second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting on the module. The setting's first edition boxed set was titled Realm of Terror, but was later changed to Ravenloft. It has been published in several editions and has inspired various module, supplement, novel, and video game adaptations. The campaign setting moves Barovia from an unnamed location to a demiplane, an alternate dimension called variously "Ravenloft" or "the Demiplane of Dread". Barovia is the central and, chronologically, the first of many cursed lands to have been moved from their original location to this demiplane.^[26] Still, descriptions of Barovia and Strahd generally match those of the original module.^[27]

[edit] See also

• List of Dungeons & Dragons modules

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography