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Im thinking about reading a handful of the ravenloft novels to get a better feel for the setting. Which would be the first 3 to pick up? Im talking literary value and story (one which transends and doesnt feel like "a game" as much) Thanks in advance

ballsetto wrote:Im thinking about reading a handful of the ravenloft novels to get a better feel for the setting. Which would be the first 3 to pick up? Im talking literary value and story (one which transends and doesnt feel like "a game" as much) Thanks in advance

I say....

"Carnival of Fear"
"Dance of the Dead"
"To Sleep With Evil" (written by one of the Ravenloft setting's co-creators)

I'd say;
Spectre of the Black Rose , Lord of the Necropolis and
Tales of ravenloft

Spectre and Lord are amazing books - I couldn't put either down.
Your best bet will be Tales, however, because it is an anthology. This book gives you a great overview of ravenloft by exploring different domains, different lords and different aspects of Ravenloft.

Scholar of Decay

Tales of Ravenloft

Lord of the Necropolis


Maraudar

1. "Sight and Sound" by D.J. Heinrich from Tales of Ravenloft
(Devoid of anything supernatural, this story about Bluebeard forces a horror checker upon the reader. It more than another other brings all too human evil to life.)
2. Dance of the Dead by Christie Golden
(Souragne brought to life; highly recommendable.)
3. "The Realms Beyond" by Mangrum in the Books of Souls
www.kargatane.com
(A story of a psychic gambler in the Southern Core who draws unwanted attention to himself.)

Honourable mentions:
4. "The Secret of Berth Twenty" by Sebastian Cain
(Murder mystery on the paddleboat of Nathan Timothy)
http://members.tripod.com/~Madmartigen/Sebastian.html
5. I, Strahd series
6. Scholar of Decay (Richemulot brought to life)

Heh, and I thought Vampire of the Mists would be a unanimous choice.

My three:
Vampire of the Mists
To Sleep with Evil
Tales of Ravenloft

(at least no one mentioned Death of a Darklord yet! )

OK, in this order: Death of a darklord, Tower of Doom and Heart of Darkness



Seriously, those five (could not get it to only three) have - for me - the best RL feel:

- Vampire of the Mists (excellent intro to the mists, and a good reason why many started their campaign in Barovia)
- Knight of the Black Rose (entrance of Soth, and good use of the RL setting rules (domains, etc.))
- To Sleep with Evil (evil beyond hope)
- Dance of the Dead (good idea of what heroes can do in adverse conditions)
- Carnival of Fear (cruel and evil book)

Also, these are good fun to read and I reread them about once every three years, with I, Strahd, for the comical relief of the book.

Joël

That's horribly tough.

I'd have to say: Scholar of Decay, To Sleep with Evil and either Spectre of the Black rose or I, Strahd I & II.

Definitely:

1. Scholar of Decay
2. I, Strahd. The War against Azalin
3. Tales of Ravenloft

The original I, Strahd, was a very good read. The author, P. N. Elrod, just walks the fine line between a sympathetic good character and a ravening evil one - there's just enough humanity left in Strahd to make the reader identify with him.

A good book to help understand what makes a darklord tick.

For my part:

I, Strahd
I, Strahd II
Tales of Ravenloft

After I read those books I became a Strahd fan, and for Tales, I loved "The crusade of Rudolf van Richten" ... itt is simply great.
Oh an I love the Introduction chapters in both I, Strahd books, of course featuring good ol´ van Richten.

For me it's really hard to say. I know 100% I hated Death of a Darklord.

It would have to be:

Tales of Ravenloft (if only for the Bluebeard and Al'Kathos stories that actually scared me )
I Strahd, War against Azalin
I Strahd

And Tapestry of Darksouls has a special place for me cause that's the book that got me into Ravenloft. It was great at my first read. Not so much the second time though

IMO:
Tales of Ravenloft, a major overview. I personaly loved The Vanished Ones, Sight and Sound and Caretaker. And if you've ever wondered about using Pipes of the Sewers in Richemulot, you have your answer.

Tapestry of Dark Souls, a great look at the "tainting" powers of the land. Gives you a good feel for whats capable. A nice look into Tepest's cultural underbelly. And yet another reason why Tepestian's hate magic.

*1st one i read*
Mordenheim, a nice look at the Vistani and just what they can actually do if driven. The curse is great. And you get serveral cold, hard, looks at the Doc's evil. Not to mention, hearing both sides of a co-op domain is fairly entertaining.

If I had to pick my three favorite, it would be these (in this order):



I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin

Heart of Midnight

Scholar of Decay



If I could add a few more, I'd add the following (also in this order):



Mordenheim

Knight of the Black Rose

Spectre of the Black Rose

King of the Dead


Honestly, the only one I've read so far and been disappointed in was Death of a Darklord. And the only one I haven't managed to read yet is To Sleep With Evil.

I haven't read them all yet, although the number of people recommending Scholar of Decay and Tales of Ravenloft makes me eager to check those two out.

Anyway, my three picks:

1. I, Strahd - Doesn't feel at all like reading someone's D&D campaign. It also makes Strahd an extremely interesting character, and toes the line between good and evil right up to the end.

2. Heart of Midnight - This book was great, especially for anybody who likes Harkon Lukas.

3. I, Strahd: the War against Azalin - The interaction between these two is great, and it also portrays the feel of Ravenloft very well.

Honorable mentions: Dance of the Dead and Tapestry of Dark Souls

Personally, I didn't care for Spectre of the Black Rose too much, because the ending felt kinda forced. And Inza seems to me a very one-dimensional character who's evil for no good reason.

And Death of a Darklord is horrible. Don't go near it unless you're carrying a lighter or a book of matches.