New to the Ravenloft Campaign Setting

Ravendragon · Post by **Ravendragon** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:54 am

I just found a gming group to play Pathfinder with and they are playing Ravenloft. I'm relatively new to the setting as the only history I have with it is having read I, Strahd.

I was wondering which Ravenloft books & supplements I should go after first.

Dion of the Fraternity · Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:13 am

Twin Agate Dragons · Post by **Twin Agate Dragons** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:14 am

Welcome to the cafe Ravendragon. BTW, that's an awesome handle.

I'd recommend starting with getting the Ravenloft Player's Handbook. For class options you'll want to look into Heroes of Light. Check with your group to find out which domain your character will be adventuring within and check back here; we'll let you know which Gazetteer to get.

Beyond that pretty much everything else is for GMs unless allowing evil characters, that I'll also recommend Champions of Darkness.

Ravendragon · Post by **Ravendragon** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:25 am

Twin Dragons wrote:Welcome to the cafe Ravendragon. BTW, that's an awesome handle.

Thanks, I like your handle too.

Twin Dragons wrote:I'd recommend starting with getting the Ravenloft Player's Handbook. For class options you'll want to look into Heroes of Light. Check with your group to find out which domain your character will be adventuring within and check back here; we'll let you know which Gazetteer to get.

Thanks fot he info. We're starting up a new game in Barovia.

Twin Agate Dragons · Post by **Twin Agate Dragons** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:27 am

Ravendragon wrote:Thanks fot he info. We're starting up a new game in Barovia.

In that case you'll want to go after Gazetteer Volume I.

The Giamarga · Post by **The Giamarga** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:23 am

Welcome to RL!

Check out the following links/threads:
FoS Ravenloft FAQ
So what books do I need as a Ravenloft newbie?
New to Ravenloft (... and which books to buy)
Anyone got a complete list of all the 3E Ravenloft products?
Starting a Ravenloft Campaign Needs?
What do I need for Ravenloft

(Something like a best of compilation of these threads should probably be stickied!)

Also check out the reviews section in the Drawing Room for reviews of all 1E, 2E 3E RL books.

The Giamarga · Post by **The Giamarga** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:42 am

Twin Dragons wrote:
Ravendragon wrote:Thanks fot he info. We're starting up a new game in Barovia.
In that case you'll want to go after Gazetteer Volume I.

If you're the DM that is.

As a first purchase I suggest the 3E Ravenloft Campaign Setting Core Rulebook. It has all the basics, introduction to Ravenloft, advice on DMing, fear/horror/madness rules, advice on races/classes/altered spells, Dark Powers check rules, advice on monsters, and a few feats. All of this should be directly portable/adaptable to PF. Here's an old review.

Add to that Gazetter1 and one of the Monster books (3.0 Denizens of Darkness or 3.5 Denizens of Dread) you're set for a game in Barovia from the GM side.

For players, check out Van Richten's Arsenal and Heroes of Light. The Gazetteers contain many spoilers so they should be handled by the DM, but as they contain advice on playing natives of each domains and also new rules, parts of them are very appropriate for players.

Of course there are many excellent 2E books on Ravenloft, so esp if you're seeking modules you'll have to look for 2E books. (Unfortunately since WotC pulled all of their 2E pdfs for sale you have to get the print versions from ebay or elsewhere)

Also there's a lot of quality stuff available out there for free, legally. Check out the downloads section here and on the kargatane site for the excellent 2E and 3E netbooks and free quality adventures. WotC has a few free 2E downloads. The Midway Haven has a few excellent netbooks and a Players Guide to Ravenloft is currently in the making.

Twin Agate Dragons · Post by **Twin Agate Dragons** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:49 am

The Giamarga wrote:As a first purchase I suggest the 3E RL Core book. It has all the basics, advice on DMing, fear/horror/madness rules, advice on races/classes/altered spells, Dark Powers check rules, advice on monsters, and a few feats. All of this should be directly portable/adaptable to PF.

All that info is reprinted in the RL PHB too.

The Giamarga · Post by **The Giamarga** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:51 am

The RL Core book is available on half.com for $ 10 plus postage. Gaz1 is available for $ 6

Here's an auction on ebay that has both for $ 14.

Check out the MARKET PLACE: Ravenloft's interesting auctions and links thread which also details good sources for getting the OOP Ravenloft books for cheap.

The Giamarga · Post by **The Giamarga** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:53 am

Twin Dragons wrote:
The Giamarga wrote:As a first purchase I suggest the 3E RL Core book. It has all the basics, advice on DMing, fear/horror/madness rules, advice on races/classes/altered spells, Dark Powers check rules, advice on monsters, and a few feats. All of this should be directly portable/adaptable to PF.
All that info is reprinted in the RL PHB too.

Yes but have you seen the prices for this book ? Also it has a few debatable rules additions that a newbie should probably be aware of. The core book is easier and cheaper to get by far and serves almost as well.

Gonzoron of the FoS · Post by **Gonzoron of the FoS** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:49 am

Welcome, Welcome!

And by all means if you have any more questions, ask them here!

(BTW, nice collection of "links for newbs" Giamarga)

DasSoviet · Post by **DasSoviet** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:56 am

Another place you might want to check, if you're on a budget, is DriveThruRPG... not as nice as a hard copy, but they work extremely well, particularly if you just want to bring a laptop to the gaming table rather than a stack of books

So the books you'll want are Ravenloft 3rd Edition/Ravenloft Player's Handbook (I prefer the players, which is 3.5, but that's just me), Ravenloft Gazetteer I, and Denizens of Dread. Others I would highly recommend getting are Van Richten's Arsenal and Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide. After that... pick up the books depending on where you campaign takes you!

Also, I must second the advice that you browse the notebooks available here, at the Kargatane, and other handy links located in the Fraternity's link section (The Boat House)... many fantastic sources of inspiration out there for you!

Ravendragon · Post by **Ravendragon** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:05 am

Thanks for all the replies. Where can I get the netbooks from?

I got my hands on the PHB,Heroes of Light & Gazetteer I. Is there any more info on Barovia around?

The Giamarga · Post by **The Giamarga** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:03 am

Browse the FoS site from the front page, there are lots of goodies, netbooks are only one of the things you can find here. The netbooks are in the Library.

www.kargatane.com has the Book of S... series and more. The people from that site are the ones who got hired for doing the official 3e Ravenloft books. So their articles in their netbooks are generally considered semi-canon. The Midway Haven is another site with a few excellent netbooks. Also check out the FoS links section in the Boat House.

Joël of the FoS · Post by **Joël of the FoS** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:39 am

Ravendragon wrote: Is there any more info on Barovia around?

The Mausoleum section of our FoS manor has "Lists and Reference Material". A search in it will get you all the numerous places where Barovia is detailed.

Joël

Café de Nuit

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New to the Ravenloft Campaign Setting

New to the Ravenloft Campaign Setting