The release of the next Dungeons and Dragons book, Candlekeep Mysteries, is just a few weeks away, which means it is already time for the community to start getting hyped for whatever comes next. Despite the usual outcry for Spelljammer and the begging for Dark Sun, the new campaign book is making a return to horror with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
New Dungeons and Dragons books arrive a handful of times throughout the year and offer players and dungeon masters new tools for building characters, expanding their home brew worlds, or even providing fully detailed campaign settings to help dungeon masters customize a world for their own players. Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft falls into that last category and will be a campaign sourcebook that provides a detailed guide to running adventures in Raveloft along with with new subclasses, Dark Gifts, and Ravenloft’s expanded Domains of Dread.
The new book is scheduled to arrive on May 18, 2021. That leaves players with a few months to wrap up their Rime of the Frostmaiden campaigns and make room in their schedules for a return to Ravenloft. The official product description goes on to detail what players can expect to find in this adventure...
"Terror stalks the nightmare realms of Ravenloft. No one knows this better than monster scholar Rudolph Van Richten. To arm a new generation against the creatures of the night, Van Richten has compiled his correspondence and case files into this tome of eerie tales and chilling truths.
Discover the mysteries of Ravenloft, mist-shrouded lands where infamous Darklords lurk among ageless vampires, zombie hordes, cosmic terrors, and worse. Then make your choice. Will you create your own Domains of Dread, settings to host endless terrifying adventures? Or will you join the ranks of haunted heroes who embrace macabre lineages, dual-edged Dark Gifts, haunted subclasses, and other forbidden powers?
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft contains everything you need to craft a horror-themed campaign for Dungeons & Dragons. Unleash a treasure trove of new story hooks, character options, and campaign customization to bring one of the most exciting Dungeons & Dragons settings to life!"
The last campaign sourcebook, The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount was a very popular DnD book and introduced some fan-favorite items and subclasses (including the powerful Echo Knight Fighter subclass). The Ravenloft campaign sourcebook has a lot of potential and the setting is definitely iconic and the kind of place that many fans of the game like to return to from time to time.
More details about the book will surely arrive as the summer approaches and the Candlekeep Mysteries hype eventually dies down and makes room for Raveloft to take over the DnD zeitgeist once more. Be sure to check back for detailed guides and updates as more information becomes available.
Dungeons and Dragons: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft releases May 18 in game shops and digitally on DnD Beyond.
Source: Wizards of the Coast