So we’ve gotten a whole lot of new content for 5.5e lately. What’s this Ravenloft: The Horrors Within (Amazon link, if you wanna support the Coliseum) business though? Didn’t we just get Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (Amazon link again. That just came out…(checks internet)…oh, five years ago. Time flies when you’re an evil old time wizard like me.
Even so, why get it? Why not just find a used copy of the old Ravenloft book. Or why doesn’t WotC just give us some new content, like Dark Sun or something?
Ravenloft Updated
Here’s my take as a forever DM who runs mostly all-combat games: The 5.5e updates to creatures are almost entirely necessary. There was so much power creep for most classes (most, but not paladins. HA HA eat shit paladins), that monsters really need the revision. I feel like creating challenging combats is already hard enough without crossing the 5e/5.5e line.
But Wait, There’s More
Ravenloft: The Horrors Within does more than just update those older Ravenloft monsters. It also adds a significant amount of new content related the the Cthulhu mythos. You may just want to go with Cthulhu by Torchlight (DnDBeyond link), because I prefer the way the monsters are written there. That said, if you want to get it all in one place, RTHW is the place to go.
RTHW also adds a lot of content about the Domains of Dread. Ravenloft is Strahd Von Zarovich’s domain of dread. It’s his own personal demiplanar hellscape that he controls. He’s not the only one who’s got such a place. RTHW provides several other domains distinct evil master, along with updated guidelines for running horror games. That’s really what got me to give in and buy a copy. I’m a sucker for that kind of content.
Oh, and if you need prices for items from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft follow that link. The new book doesn’t really have enough items to justify me building a pricing page, but it could happen.
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