Dark, gloomy castles, desolate landscapes, black clouds racing against the moon - these are the trappings of any gothic novel. Stories replete with mystery, fear and desire. Novels such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Plots involving strange birthmarks, family curses, ancient secrets and supernatural figures. These macabre themes can creep into any campaign, in any world - but in Ravenloft, these themes have reached poisonous fruition. The Ravenloft setting takes place in a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread.

And the Demiplane of Dread has certainly earned its name.

The story of Ravenloft traces its roots back to 1982 when Tracy and Laura Hickman wrote Ravenloft, a 32 page AD&D adventure, published by TSR, which was designed to fit into any campaign. This tale of gothic horror was groundbreaking in every way and the infamous vampire count, Strahd von Zarovich was brought to life (or maybe unlife?). After its publication, Ravenloft became the single best selling adventure in Dungeons & Dragons history and is still recounted as the all-time favorite adventure for many gamers. Some years later, in 1989, it received the opportunity for the creators to flesh it out into an entire campaign setting. Since then, the Ravenloft Campaign Setting has flourished. Ravenloft was explored through dozens of adventures, accessory books, novels and even a few video games.

Ravenloft is one of the few campaign settings to survive throughout every edition of Dungeons and Dragons since its inception in AD&D. Wizards of the Coast (parent company of TSR) licensed the rights to the Ravenloft Campaign Setting to White Wolf Publishing, who released versions of the setting for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules (as Ravenloft Campaign Setting – Core Rulebook) in 2001, and for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 (as Ravenloft – Player's Handbook – v.3.5 Core Campaign Setting) in 2003. In October 2006, the rights to the setting reverted back to Wizards of the Coast who released Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, a hardcover version of the original 1st Ed. adventure, updated for the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 ruleset. A standalone Ravenloft Roleplaying Game, based on the 4e rules, was scheduled for publication, but was never officially released. Nonetheless, 4th edition at least gave acknowledgement to the setting through the 4th edition Manual of the Planes.

Then, in 2016, Wizards of the Coast published the famed adventure: Curse of Strahd. Curse of Strahd was designed to be a re-imagining of the original Ravenloft module for AD&D and brought back Tracy and Laura Hickman to work alongside Chris Perkins during development. Ravenloft remains one the few setting that Wizards of the Coast has written adventures for in 5th Edition outside of the Forgotten Realms. Eberron and Ravnica have been given a little love and Greyhawk has at least been implied in a few adventures but Ravenloft has been the most popular 5th edition campaign setting next to Forgotten Realms.

So what is this place really? A gothic horror world?

It's much more than that actually. Ravenloft's roots emerge from the gothic horror genre but that description doesn't quite tell the whole story. In my opinion, the Ravenloft Campaign Setting contains perhaps the most unique setting lore of any other campaign setting. The Demiplane of Dread (also sometimes referred to as the Domain of Dread or the Land of Mists) is not just simply an alternate reality or a demiplane. The Demiplane of Dread is a place divided into several domains, each ruled by a different Darklord and inspired by traditional horror tales.

The setting is sometimes described with the epithet of "Hell, but not for you". That's because these Darklords are not here willingly. They have been ripped from time and space and imprisoned in their respective demiplanes, tormented by being doomed to forever have their prize dangled in front of them but never quite able to succeed. Take Strahd, the most infamous inhabitant of Ravenloft for example. Every generation in his land of Barovia, Strahd discovers a young woman who he believes is the reincarnation of Tatyana, the love of his life, but he always ends up being inadvertently responsible for her death.

Within the mists of Ravenloft, dark tales wait to be discovered by adventurers. The adventurers themselves don't get off so easy, either. Spells work differently here, leaving is not simply a matter of traveling across the landscape, and Dark Powers seek to corrupt the minds of noble and naïve adventurers. The true horror of the setting is a psychological experience, not the visible terror and gore.

The setting itself can sometimes come under pretty heavy fire from naysayers. For one, the gothic horror fantasy setting isn't for everyone. Some find it campy, cheesy or just plain lame. Some think it's a little too dark, or maybe it's just not the kind of campaign they want to play. All of those things are totally valid. If it's not for you, that's okay! There are plenty of other settings that might be up your alley. There's also a great deal of disparity in the lore of the setting over its various editions that confuses people and turns them off from the setting. For example, the Demiplane of Dread was first its own demiplane that held Strahd, then it was stated to be many demiplanes located in the ethereal plane but was later relocated to the Shadowfell. Heck, I know people that wouldn't even have any idea that Curse of Strahd doesn’t take place in the Forgotten Realms! That’s just one example. If you browse through all of the Ravenloft material from 1e to 5e, you’ll find plenty of conflicting lore.

But that's all neither here nor there. Sorting through the lore is easy once you know the basics. And if you like something the way it was done in the past, you're free to do it that way. After all, you're the DM! If you're truly interested in the Ravenloft setting, the good news is you'll have plenty of lore to pull from to make your Ravenloft setting as terrifying as you'd like. There are a few themes that are universally agreed upon and remain truths of the setting to this day, so let us share a few with you.