Dungeons and Dragons recently released its newest sourcebook with the horror-themed Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. The new book is a sort of follow-up to one of Dungeons and Dragon's most popular adventures, Curse of Strahd. In Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft DMs and players are given new tools to create worlds and characters steeped in classic horror lore across a multitude of different subgenres like cosmic and body horror. One unique thing about how the adventures unfold are their placement within the Domains of Dread.
Spread across a multitude of individual demiplanes that exist separately within the Shadowfell, the Domains of Dread are a great tool to embrace horror adventures in Ravenloft. Because they are wholly separate from each other, each Domain of Dread can be completely unrecognizable from another. This gives DMs a stage in which to craft either self-contained stories set during the course of one frightful night or a sprawling terrorscape that spans a complete adventure.
What Is a Domain of Dread in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft?
Domains of Dread are specifically created as a sort of personal hell for a powerful villain, called a Darklord. Created by the ambiguous but powerful Dark Powers, a Domain of Dread is created as a reflection of its Darklords crimes or failures before being trapped within the Shadowfell. This means that each realm is tailor made to fit its central villain, including what DnD monsters may inhabit that world. Famously, Strahd was trapped within the realm of Barovia for the events of Curse of Strahd.
How expansive a Domain of Dread is can vary wildly, from the aforementioned kingdom of Barovia to a single building. This reflects the whims of the Dark Powers who trap villains inside the various domains. As the Dark Powers reach out to claim a new Darklord their surroundings can be taken with them, from a small castle up to entire nations. This lends to the varying themes that define a Domain of Dread from dark fantasy settings that feel closer to Dark Alliance to Victorian-era villages wracked with eldritch horrors right at home in Bloodborne.
The means that both create, control, and contain the various Domains of Dread are the Mists. Spectral mist flows between the different domains that are essentially an extension of the Dark Powers' will. The Mists are what reaches out into the various worlds of the Material Plane to claim new Darklords and also what keeps the Domains of Dread separate. Their capacity to limit travel or spontaneously release new threats against the party can be a great tool for newer DMs running a Dungeons and Dragons game with horror elements. Being able to more subtly restrict player movement and when monsters appear can help maintain atmosphere and the general flow of a game.
Overall the Domains of Dread are a great way to either try playing DnD for the first time given their smaller nature or for experienced DMs to create horrific sidebars from their main game. The ambiguous power of the Mists, the isolated nature of the Domains of Dread, and the capacity to theme each one distinctly all go a long to helping craft incredible adventures full of terror for the fifth edition of DnD now that so many new players are embracing the classic TTRPG.
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft is available now in digital and physical formats.