Customer Reviews

Carnival (AD&D Ravenloft)

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It's been a long time coming, but I'm glad that the wait was more then worth it. Our resident Kargatane has outdone himself coming up with this piece of work. ((Oh, and that Steve guy helped out a little, I suppose. :))

Without a doubt, the very first thing you notice about Carnival is it's cover. The magnificent artwork displayed here is perhaps the highest quality piece on any AD&D accessory I've seen. Only the cover of Spectre of the Black Rose compares. The purple letters adorning the top blend into the artwork seamlessly, unlike the traditional clashing red Ravenloft logo we've seen so often.

Thus ends perhaps the longest spiel ever written about a piece of Ravenloft artwork.

Onto the interior.

In another pleasing change, the entire book is written In Character. ((i.e. It is written as if the characters are speaking to you)) Even with this entertaining format, DM information is woven in seamlessly. In all, Carnival is just as informative as any other supplement, while more entertaining then most. In addition, all three narrators have their own take on the Carnival and it's enigmatic master, Isolde.

As for the freaks themselves, it is difficult to choose one over all of the others. They are all very well written, creative, and . . . Freakish. All will find homes in my campaign. However, my personal choice would have to be Mister ?. I've been looking for the perfect "faceless horror" for one of my adventures, and let's just say Mister ? fits the bill.

BTW, all freak NPCs can be easily extracted from the Carnival and stuck anywhere else the DM desires. This is what makes it such a useful AD&D product in general.

When we got past the Troupers and onto the Abominations, that's when things got interesting. With the Gargantuan, the Squid Woman, the Geek, and others, you can reduce PCs to a whining, blubbering heap.

Then onto the Vistani. Ah, the Vistani. It seems like they're everywhere now in days, doesn't it? Now don't go scrolling down onto some other review just yet. These aren't your ordinary gypsies. True, they still have their rituals, their vardos, and their smug sense of superiority, but for the first time, they have met their match in Isolde.

Due to some twist of fate, all "ordinary" mortals who travel with the Carnival for an extended period of time are cursed to become freaks themselves. This is due to a supernatural effect known as the Twisting. All of a person's inner flaws and shortcomings are brought to bear. Included in the supplement are several suggestions for NPCs', as well as PCs', possible transformations. Even the Vistani are not immune to the effects, although they have developed a unique defense against it. This was, perhaps, the most original part of Carnival, even though it was a little less . . . polished, then I would have liked. As written, there are no saving throws, no defenses, no hope of deliverance against it. I would figure that a character of Pure status would be immune to the Twisting, and those of lesser stature being more and more vulnerable to it's effects. Even if you choose not to use the Twisting yourself, it provides several new and imaginative ideas for Powers Check penalties.

Finally, there are several adventure hooks to introduce adventurers to the Carnival, finally climaxing with one of the Troupers attempting to trap Isolde in a Mystic Cage, as described in Van Richten's Guide to Fiends, plus, as promised, the first-ever cameo appearance by the Gentleman Caller. If that doesn't uiver your quill, I don't know what will.

At long last, at the very end of the book ((a strategic location, I would think)), there is Isolde, Mistress of the Carnival, all decked out in her nice pretty stats and her soul laid bare for all to read. I always thought of Isolde as one of the true "mystery figures" of ravenloft. No background offered, no background given, no background needed. Instead, it turns out that Isolde is, in fact, a . . . ((speaking cut off by large hairy arm grabbing speaker's face, dragging him into the shadows))

Being only a little familiar with the Carnival accessory, but loving the demiplane that is Ravenloft (and AD&D in general), I knew I had to get my hands on this item as soon as I could.

Looking at the cover before purchase and admiring it's beauty, I certainly expected the interior drawings to be less fantastic than the front. But really they aren't less beautiful than the cover. Looking quickly through a book is the first thing I do when acquiring one, it dawned on me that the Carnival accessory was as beautiful as you would want all TSR products to be. They're spooky, eerie and made just the right way for Ravenloft (or indeed any other world you would want Carnival to appear in). Every member of Carnival is depicted in a way that simply makes you want to use them, and also inspire adventures just be merely looking at the pictures. And I'm not kidding, the pictures inside really are that beautiful.

The idea of the Carnival, with all it's twists and scary background, is definitely something worth spending your money on, unless you're gifted with a marvelous imagination. Knowing how much work a DM sometimes has to do, it's nice to have this thrown into your lap for easy use without to much extra work, other than reading. Carnival reminds me of old times when I used to play Call of Cthulhu (oh, I love that game) with 4 others, and we visited a circus. Maybe that's why Ravenloft is so intruiging and wonderful to me.

So if you're a DM and is tired of doing all the work right now, get this and spice up your Ravenloft campaign, or a campaign in almost any other world, as it's use definitely is not restricted to Ravenloft. If you pride yourself on doing all of your work yourself as a DM, you'll miss out on a bunch of marvelously spooky NPC that can be used in any number of great adventures, if you bend the rules a little.

Contrary to adventures, that can only be used once, this accessory can be used any way you choose, and leaves it up to the DM to create adventures incorporating Carnival characters. There are 5 small adventures in the back of the accessory, but these aren't really something that couldn't be thought up by any DM in 2 minutes.

BUY and ENJOY again and again and.........

Carnival is really an awesome product. All the plot intrigue, and mistery, all the bizarre creatures that we could experience in a weird and macabre freakshow. Carnival is the place of the unacepted among the people, is a place of hope for those that are disapointed with society, but it's not what it seems to be. There are a lot of secrets behind it, a lot of stuff behind the true master of "The Carnival. A must to have to any Role Playing Fan, with that explendid cenario made up by 2 great authors, so what you waiting to make a really "spooky" campaign, I am playing mine already. GET IT! (OBS: Its really a shame that Ravenloft will not be supported anymore by Wizards of the Coast because is the most splendid of all AD&D cenario, and have many fans arround the world. Our last hope is Kargatane, to keep this incredible campaign setting alive... ; Hey John here is my review!)

This book details one of the strangest domains in the Land of Mists, that of Carnival. led by the elusive and mysterious Ladt Isolde. The book is divided in to several sections, the first the of which give descriptions of various parts of Carnival from a members point of viex with the fourth and final section giving plot outlines for 5 adventures, all of which form into a loose campaign of their own and relate to the Carnival domain and its inhabitants.

In his first professional outing in writing on the Ravenloft line, John Mangrum (who is co-writing the new core rule book for Ravenloft) have done an excellent job with his draft before it was finalised. Also, Steve Miller has added his usual grace and presence in the finalisation of the texts and rules within. If you but this book, I can almost recomment you enjoying it, even if you are not normally a Ravenloft dungeon master or reader. Also, the ability to use this book with other settings (like many other books that came late in the Ravenloft line) only improves it further.

Okay, guys; If you're going to own one Ravenloft book... well get the 3rd Edition Campaign Setting or Domians of Dread if you're old school. If you get TWO Ravenloft books pick this one up. This campaign setting suppliment offers up months worth of gameplay, it has fabulous artwork and interesting and grotesque characters with complicated backstories; what more could you want in a trip to the carnival? It has all the earmarks of a heady gothic fiction narrative. John W. Mangrum never fails to bring the goods and in this, one of his last suppliments for 2nd Edition, he pulls out all the stops. First rate gaming right here all in a slim easy-to-read volume.

This is an OK module, while it has many interesting things in it. The motivation for the PCs investigating it is not there. Why would most PCs even care what was going on in this place is beyond me. I bought it then decided not to use it in my campaigne. At best it is a filler for your world.

This book us completely useless. All you really need to do to succesfully run a Ravenloft campaign is the boxed set which is something I highly recommend. All the carnival companion adds is a little bit of humor. At least I found it mildly humorous until I remember that I spent money on it.