Ok, since this is my very first post here, hi everybody
If I'm not mistaken, there have been four incarnations of the Ravenloft Campaign setting so far: the 2E boxed set, Domains of Dread (also 2E), the Campaign Setting by Arthaus (3.0) and the Player's Guide (3.5). Which one do you think is the richest in true Ravenloft flavour and depicts the setting most accurately? Please note that I'm not asking for a rules comparison (so, no edition wars please).
I like the 2nd edition boxes and books for their graphics as well as content(The black and white paper it was on was really nice). The 3rd and + just add to the 2nd edition.
there were 5 actually. There were two box versions in 2e. the "black box" and the "red box". It's a tough one, but my vote is for the black box.... with the 3e RCS a close second.
"We're realistic heroes. We're not here to save the world, just nudge the world into a better place."
I voted for Domains of Dread for simply the artwork. Man, that was inspiring stuff. Just the expressions used in the portraits of the darklords can tell volumes about the NPCs demeanor.
If you where to include the Gazetteer's in addition to the Arthaus vote, well then, there in lies a different tale. The work that was done for the Gazetteer's is invaluble.
And for completions sake, the blackbox was good for what it was and when it was, but time has moved on and the setting has grown. So, the old box falls short for the only reason that the setting has grown successfully sich it's inception.
I'd have merged 3.5 and 3.0 in a "3.X"... Anyway, my vote is for the last option.
When I think about the "first" 3.X Ravenloft, I think of the manual that set the standards for bad manuals... Champions of Dorkness.
When I think about 3.5, I think of VRGttShadow Fey, Legacy of the Blood and the last two Gazetteers... Excellent books.
I coloni rovinavano la foresta costruendo il capolavoro dell'uomo civilizzato: il deserto.
- Luis Sepúlveda
I'd have put 3.0 & 3.5 together as one option, since they are essentially the same thing (with a few extra tweaks thrown in for the 3.5 players handbook that can easily be ignored if needs be).
Anyway I'd have to vote for 3.x myself over the 2nd edition options. For me 3rd edition hit the nail on the head as for as getting the atmosphere right and solidifying the campaign setting as a whole.
Black Box for me. There's something about it being the first that does it for "flavor." In essence, all the other Ravenlofts are additions to and developments of the Black Box, but it was that which actually opened the door between "fantasy RPG" and "Gothic Horror." I've actually just sat down and reread the first and last chapters for the atmosphere of it.
Plus, I've been a fan of Stephen Fabian's artwork ever since I first encountered the pen-and-ink drawings he did at the beginning of each chapter of Basil Copper's The House of the Wolf (Best. Werewolf. Classic. Gothic. Horror. Novel. Ever. Period.). That he got the nod as main artist for the early Ravenloft products had me doing handsprings, since his art always made me thing Gothic Horror just from seeing it.
While I haven't read the 3.5 RLPHB, and I agree that the original Black Box has a very special feeling to it, I think that Domains of Dread gets the prize as far as I'm concerned, as it was the first campaign setting book that emphasized Ravenloft as a home setting, providing rules for native character and new native classes (Anchorite, Arcanist, Avenger and Gipsy). It wasn't perfect, but I still think that it was the first big step into taking Ravenloft away from the "Weekend in Hell" model.
Just my $0.02.
[i]"Many point out that this battle against the darkness is an impossible one, and they may well be right. Impossible or not, however, the battle for righteousness is one that only a few heroes are brave enough to undertake"[/i]
