Review: Ravenloft for D&D 5e

We have now come to the most current versions of Ravenloft, and I have covered these in detail already but they are worth another look.

Curse of Strahd

This is the classic I6 Ravenloft adventure, updated yet again for D&D 5e. There are some interesting additions, and much like the 3e version, it adds some details and provides more for the players to do. Like many of the 5e adventures, this expands the adventure into a mini-campaign of sorts.

The hardcover adventure was later updated to a softcover book with Tarokka cards in a coffin-shaped box. Retitled "Curse of Strahd Revamped."

The changes are largely confined to making less racist remarks about the Vistani. Mind you, the text has changed, but there is no reason the townsfolk of Barovia and surrounding areas have changed their minds. 

The better change concerns Ezmerelda d'Avenir. Earlier, she had lost a leg and was hiding her wooden prosthetic leg. Now, she wears it openly as a testament to how she defeated a werewolf. Yeah, yeah, there is magical healing...but not always to the common folk and not always in Ravenloft.

We can now play "Castle Ravenloft" in every edition of D&D. Almost. For 4e you might need the maps from the 3e version with the board game.

Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft

This book brings the Demi-plane of Dread back to 5e. The obvious parallel here is to the AD&D 2nd Edition Campaign setting. There are some changes, but nothing I feel are game breaking. I spent a lot of time covering this one a while back.

• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Part 1 Welcome to Ravenloft
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Part 1b But...It's Not Like Old Ravenloft
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Part 2 Domains and Darklords
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Part 2b. Do You Wanna Build a Darklord?
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Part 3 Horrors and Monsters
• Monstrous Mondays: The Bagman
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Part 4. Do You Wanna Build a Darklord II?
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Part 5. Plays Well With Others

Ravenloft has been embraced by the 5e players and has a lot of material on DMsGuild. 

Will there be a Ravenloft adventure for 5.5? I doubt there will be a repeat of I6, but there will be something I am sure. The producers of D&D have gone back to this well many times, and I don't see them stopping now.