Customer Reviews

Ravenloft, I6 (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Official Game Adventure #9075)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This module is the stand alone adventure that introduced Strahd Von Zarovich and the land of Barovia that eventually grew to be the entire Ravenloft campaign setting. Even if we disregard what came later, this adventure is astoundingly good. The maps are incredible, the emphasis on character interaction rather than hack-n-slash fighting is apreciated, and the use of cards to randomly determine key elements of the plot insures that the story will be different every time you run it. Even 2 decades after it was published this one has held up surprisingly well and compares favorably to the modules that are currently out today.

Tracy and Laura Hickman of DragonLance fame authored this fantastic module. This module introduced gothic horror to the Dungeons and Dragons game and formed the basis for the entire Ravenloft campaign setting. The module itself is beautifully rendered. The artwork, maps, and accessories are all first rate. The Hickmans bring the villain Strahd to life and make him much more than just a blood-sucking vampire. His motivations are well thought out and quite plausible. Although, I do not play in the Ravenloft campaign setting very often, this module will always have a special place in my heart. And remember. The mists of Ravenloft know no bounds. You just might end up invited to the House of Strahd as a dinner guest!

I'm not sure where to begin with this review. Though it's not really a review in the purest sense, it's more about how I feel towards this wonderful adventure. I love Ravenloft; I can't reiterate that fact enough. To the point that I've "taken possession of it" as if it were "mine". I know that's a little "melodramatic" but I'm thinking you understand what I mean. I'm writing this in the hopes that someone else will be inspired to pick this tome up and enjoy it as much as I have over all these years.

The product description and the other reviewers mentioned some of the key aspects of this adventure - which I don't think need to be rehashed by me. But if you do purchase this (and I HIGHLY recommend it), hopefully it will touch you like it did me 25 years ago.

This was the first Dungeons & Dragons "module" I bought and it has "haunted" me ever since. I have explored the Ravenloft campaign setting inspired by this book and even into "Gothic Earth" and later derivatives. But this was the first... and best of the best. To me, it was the first Dungeons & Dragons product that had a "soul".

If this is to be your first encounter with Count Strahd and the cold, haunted parapets of his dreary, forlorn home, I envy you. You're about to experience an astonishing story of dark romance, cursed magics and unspeakable horror. You're about to plunge through the mists of fear, madness and a "tragedy darker than the night itself". Like a lifelong, welcome friend, this melancholy adventure always calls and brings me back. It should be played every few years - the lights low with serious role playing friends on Halloween or chill nights in late December.

Trust me. If you have any intrest in role playing games and TRUE gothic horror - the original Stoker's Dracula or Shelley's Frankenstein you will not regret playing this. And like it has for me, it will haunt with you forever.

This adventure was written the legendary team of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (creators of the Dragonlance series).

The I6/Ravenloft module introduces a lot of the key concepts behind the Ravenloft gothic horror setting. Beefier vampires, the "once you're in Barovia, you aren't leaving till the job's done" trap, gypsies, wolves, gloomy forests you don't want to be in at night, evil dungeon traps and scary castles. It also has a unique twist: all the major plot elements, including the location of the Big Bad guy and the tools to understand and defeat him, are randomly determined by drawing cards at the beginning of the adventure (and reset in the middle if the PCs get their fortunes told). This makes each adventure different. Kinda. It's possible to get results that have several plot pieces in the same room. It's still a really good example of how to integrate fortune-telling and randomness into your campaign.

Other than that cool trick, I don't think this adventure has aged all that well. It's very short. If you already have the Ravenloft setting, you'll get very little from this module. Strahd's origins are barely sketched out, few NPCs are detailed, and little about the country is given other than "here's a town, here's the castle with the bad guy, good luck". For a one-off adventure, it has some pretty vicious traps and encounters. Some tinkering could turn this into a good basis for a longer campaign. Perhaps give Strahd more of a personality and have him orchestrate more dastardly deeds throughout the world, forcing the PCs to come to him rather than trapping them in his country and harassing them.

This is a boring campaign w/stupid rules. Don't bother with it..