![]() ![]() "Ravenloft" includes beautiful isometric maps by Dave Sutherland which depict an interconnected three-dimensional castle. In turn, these adventures would help to define the adventure style of D&D in the 90s.Ī Different Sort of Map. As a result, "Ravenloft" is a clear predecessor to the Dragonlance saga (1984-86) that would soon follow - and which would have an even greater emphasis on story. It's an adventure focusing on one NPC, "Count Strahd von Zarovich," who has his own goals and agenda, and who will spend the adventure both pursuing those goals and bedeviling the PCs. One of these requirements was "an intriguing story that is intricately woven into the play itself." When the Hickmans published their original adventures through DayStar West Media, they included a "manifesto" of adventure requirements that explained how their adventures would both expand the medium and stand out from the crowd. The card reading is thus probably more notable because it allows the players to experience a non-stacked card reading that genuinely and dynamically predicts the future of the adventure.Ī Different Sort of Adventure. This reading clearly makes the adventure less prone to player spoiling and also makes it more replayable - but TSR hadn't really worried about adventure modules getting spoiled since the late 70s. "Ravenloft" begins with a rather unique section called "Fortunes of Ravenloft." This is a "gypsy card reading" that determines where several things are located in Castle Ravenloft and also sets the goals of the Count himself. until after Tracy Hickman joined TSR.Ī Dynamic Adventure. The result was "Vampyr," which they playtested a few times at Halloween, but didn't publish. Laura and Tracy felt like this didn't give vampires the proper respect (or motivation), so they decided to create an adventure built entirely around a vampire. One of them was "Vampyr." The Hickmans had started working on it after a friend ran an adventure where a vampire showed up in a dungeon room. However, DayStar had two other adventures underway when they decided to close up shop. They published just two adventures - which TSR later reprinted as I3: "Pharaoh" (1982) and RPGA1: "Rahasia" (1982) / B7: "Rahasia" (1984). The story of "Ravenloft" begins at DayStar West Media, the small-press company that the Hickmans ran before joining TSR. In the end, "Ravenloft" is probably best classified as a fantasy adventure with a few gothic trappings - just like Cook & Moldvay's modules were often fantasy adventures with bits of pulp.ĭayStar Origins. However, "Ravenloft" also includes a dungeon (crypt) and a few monsters like rust monsters and red dragons that aren't really gothic in flavor. There's certainly a lot of great atmosphere - beginning with the gorgeous cover painting by Clyde Caldwell and continuing on through the descriptions by the Hickmans. Of course that raises the question of how gothic the adventure really was. Thus, the appearance of a gothic horror adventure for AD&D was something entirely new. Prior to the release of "Ravenloft," TSR's D&D adventures were almost all straight fantasies - with a bit of the pulp genre slipping into adventures produced by David "Zeb" Cook and Tom Moldvay. "Ravenloft" describes itself as "a classic gothic horror story." Tracy Hickman says that he and his wife took particular inspiration "from the original Brahm Stoker Dracula text and the old classic films."Ī Gothic Adventure. Free ravenloft pdf series#I6: "Ravenloft," by Tracy and Laura Hickman, is the sixth module in the long-running Intermediate series of adventures for AD&D. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. Only the howling of the wind - or perhaps a lone wolf - fills the midnight air. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them.Īnother lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came - all according to his plan. Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. His once-handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself. ![]() Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves around him, billowing his cape in the darkness. Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. Under raging stormclouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of castle Ravenloft. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |