For all my current misgivings about the 1983 AD&D module, Ravenloft, I don't actually dislike it and indeed have many fond memories associated with it. I was reminded of this when I saw this ad from issue #78 of Dragon (October 1983). Whatever you think about Ravenloft and its influence over the subsequent history of D&D, there's no denying that this is an effective advertisement. It piqued my interest when I first saw it and, even now, decades later, it grabs my attention.
When I first saw this is in the 80s, I thought they gave too much away. I knew right away the module would pit me against Dracula. Perhaps I had been spoiled by the D series where the cover indicated you'd be fighting fishmen, but therein you discovered Drow for the first time. Something similar for S1, where Acerarak's (sp?) true form was a real surprise. Not so with Ravenloft.
ReplyDeleteThis is the image I still associate with Ravenloft today. Oddly for its origins, the 5e version of Ravenloft we played a few years ago was the closest to a sandbox I’ve ever experienced in our 5e adventures!
ReplyDeleteAs far as I understand, the 5e version of Ravenloft is highly regarded and even considered one of the best products that Wizards of the Coast has published for 5e.
DeleteAnd yet the 3e/5e version is rather bloated from the original and the 2e revision. "House of Strahd," the 2e revision, is the one die-hard Ravenloft fans seem to prefer - expanded but sleek.
DeleteSooo... Actually, it was not Dragonlance but rather Ravenloft that ruined everything ?
ReplyDelete;)
The Hickmans have much to answer for. :)
ReplyDeleteSure, everybody loves it when the gothic vampire guy does that bit, but when you have some kobold chieftain saying the exact same thing people just laugh.
ReplyDeleteYou say that like it's a bad thing
DeleteKobold Chief [to adventurer's]: "Get off my lawn!"
DeleteMainly because nobody speaks Kobold. "Bark bark bark; BARK bark. BARK BARK bark bark."
DeletePersonally, I never had much interest in playing Ravenloft (in the 5e version, or otherwise). And that's not because I have any knowledge of the actual product (no spoilers please), but rather because the premise of 'Dracula in a Castle' sounds really boring to me. By now, I have consumed so much 'vampire' related material (movies, novels, tv series, etc.) that it becomes really hard to come up with something genuinely new or surprising in that genre. It's all been done to dead.
ReplyDeleteThe early '80s were a _differently_ saturated media environment.
Delete(NINJAS! I think Grognardia has covered that some already?)
Oh god, all the Ninja's ! How could I have forgotten about them ? I think I must have suppressed it. At least 5 'American Ninja' movies, and IMDB tells me there are dozens of other similarly themed movies I never even heard of.
DeleteSay what you will about Clyde Caldwell, but that's certainly one of the most compelling cover paintings in D&D history. Konami even ripped it off for the cover of Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest.
ReplyDeleteJim Hodges---
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing about Ravenloft and couldn't wait to get my hands on it because it sounded amazing. Thing was, fifteen minutes into reading the module I was buffeted by the first sense that would go on to become more and more frequent as the eighties progressed, a realization that....this did not represent the D&D I'd known and loved to that point. Ravenloft was not the cause of that deep change in TSR as Gygax 's era waned, but it was the first signpost I remember encountering that times had changed, and I wasn't happy about it.
Ravenloft was still sandboxy enough to be a proper old school D&D adventure. The only story was Strahd's backstory, the pieces of which players encountered after the fact. There was no plot for player characters to follow like in the Dragonlance series. The "story elements" people remember are the random elements determined by the tarot reading -- the location of the Sun Sword and the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, etc.
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