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Results: Ravenloft Ratings
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Compiled by: brooks@odie.ee.wits.ac.za (Goth)
[Note: This file is one section of the ratings posted on December 22, 1994
to rec.games.frp.dnd; it is included in order to make the publically
available ratings as complete as possible.]
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Points Ratings
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In order for a product to appear on the points rating table, it must
have at least five votes. Products are listed in points order, from
highest to lowest.
/-------------------------------------------------------\
| - Key - |
| |
| Score = the product's average rating |
| Low = the lowest rating anyone gave this product |
| High = the highest rating anyone gave this product |
| Voters = the number of people who rated the product |
\-------------------------------------------------------/
Note: Results for the 1st Edition modules are included in the results
summary for the 1st Edition AD&D products.
Product Score Low High Voters
------- ----- --- ---- ------
RM4: House of Strahd 8.6 6 10 7
RA1: Feast of Goblyns 8.4 7 10 5
RR3: Van Richten's Guide to Vampires 8.1 5 10 10
RM2: The Created 8.1 6 10 7
RQ1: Night of the Walking Dead 8.0 7 9 5
MC10: Ravenloft 7.8 6 10 12
The Awakening 7.8 7 9 6
RA2: Ship of Horror 7.7 7 8 6
RR5: Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts 7.5 5 10 8
Van Richten's Guide to the Created 7.5 5 10 8
Dark of the Moon 7.4 6 10 6
RM1: Roots of Evil 7.3 4 9 7
RR6: Van Richten's Guide to the Lich 7.3 4 9 7
Forbidden Lore 7.3 6 9 6
RQ3: From the Shadows 7.3 5 9 6
RR2: Book of Crypts 7.2 5 10 7
Castles Forlorn 7.2 6 9 5
RR1: Darklords 7.1 5 10 8
RR7: Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts 7.0 4 9 7
Realm of Terror 6.9 4 9 23
MC15: Ravenloft II: Children of the Night 6.9 3 10 8
RR4: Islands of Terror 6.6 4 9 7
New Edition Ravenloft Campaign Setting 6.3 2 10 10
RQ2: Thoughts of Darkness 5.2 3 7 5
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Comments
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This next bit is a selection of comments people have sent in. I've
removed some remarks which were very similar, especially for products
which provoked large quantities of comment and I've done some minor
editing for grammar and spelling. Other than that, this is how they
were sent in.
Boxed Sets and General Comment
------------------------------
I really liked Ravenloft, possibly the best thing about 2nd Edition
even though the domain lords, with the exception of Strahd and Lord
Soth are wimps and barely worth most PCs time. However, if a clever
DM has the guts, they can try and mix the same sort of air that a
well run Call of Cthulhu game can have. Where Ravenloft suffers the
most is perhaps that it falls apart too quickly when the PCs get past
9th or 10th level, most other game worlds are the same, especially
Krynn. This cannot be compensated for as was attempted in in Dark
'Gamma World meets Rifts' Sun, Munchkinism doesn't work in AD&D, most
characters should be retired after 18th to 20th level. Anyways,
Ravenloft works well for PCs between 3rd and 8th level and can make
a good stop over during a larger adventure, say in the Realms or
Krynn. The DM, unless the PCs are aware that the game is going to be
played that way, shouldn't go out of his way to drive the players
mad. On the whole, I give the entire Ravenloft campaign setting a
'7', probably the highest rating I can give any 2nd Edition piece.
Forbidden Lore was wonderful. The dice seemed like a last-minute
add-on, but the rest was superb, especially expanded rules on curses
and Powers checks.
Can't help but be a little disappointed by Castles Forlorn. The
setting itself is well-detailed and very good, but the adventure
hooks just weren't there for me.
In general I like the feeling of Ravenloft, but there is often limits
inherent to TSR's marketing policies that limit its usefulness. The
monsters are were originally well done, but have now become more
cardboard cut-outs of classic gothic horror works. The Van Richten's
Guide series appear to have some use, but seem like TSR rip-offs of
White Wolf material than anything else.
The modules were good, and the short crypt adventures are pretty
good. But the many world-specific domains (Dark Sun, Spelljammer) are
a little strained. The whole world is better as a series of
encounters than a world in and of itself. I take the best of the
domains and transplant them into "real" campaign worlds (like the
Known World).
I'm looking forward to using this. Full of possibilities, and nice
things to launch on PCs who fall into the dark side of the Force(tm).
Ravenloft was OK, but should not have been another setting. In my
view, this has sharply limited its usefulness, despite a generally
good concept. Not as rich or detailed as other settings. Also, its
lords were either pushovers or sure-fire party killers.
Ravenloft is the only one of the campign settings that I have. It was
rather hard to mark, as the setting was so cool, but the set itself
so poorly put together.
Not bad, but a little vague on world description (too much in too
little space), and perhaps set a little too far forward in science
for my tastes (17th-19th century).
Ravenloft, I think, depends too much on the DM's own ability to
strike terror into his players. The setting is meant to help you with
that kind of stuff, Ravenloft didn't as much as one would want.
I loved to play in Ravenloft as a player, especially on Friday
the 13th...
Supplements
-----------
Use the creatures from MC10 on a foggy night in WaterDeep and watch
the players who memorize monster stats scream :-)
MC 10 has a good mix of monsters, from low-powered monsters to
master vampires. MC 15 is nice for generating adventure ideas from
the monsters, but nothing is so unique a creative DM couldn't have
come up with it.
The plots in RR2 are usable most of the time though the adventures
for the low levels are much better than the ones for the high levels.
A comment on the reason for rating VRGtV a "10": Yeah, I'm the same
guy that gave "10"s to FOR2 and Menzo. What can I say? I'm
horribly, horribly biased. I admit it. I love vampires too.
MC10, the obligatory Ravenloft MC, was just kind of there. Most of
the creatures were run-of-the-mill spooky types, or filled in gaps
from the MC system.
MC15, Ravenloft Compendium II, contains some very compelling
characters, and showcased one of Ravenloft's strengths.
Individualizing opponents is one of the primary tools for making them
"better" (read: more disturbing for the players). Although most of
the NPCs are standard monster-types, all of them have a wonderfully
twisted history which makes them much more than "ordinary." A very,
very good work.
Darklords gave needed detail on major lords, as well as other new
lords that were very interesting (Ebonbane, the House on the Hill).
The new lords in this book never made it to the New Edition; grab
this while you can, Ravenloft DMs!
Book of Crypts contains maybe one or two decent adventures; the rest
is of lower quality than I would have expected.
Van Richten's Vampires contains rules for vampires that I now
consider essential, and use even in non-Ravenloft games. As with
MC15, the designers of Ravenloft realized that individualizing the
foe (in this case, so that you aren't sure how to defeat it) makes
for rich horror.
Islands of Terror is another hit-or-miss product, like Book of
Crypts. A couple of the islands show imaginative design, but others
should have been excluded. Not on my list as a can't-live-without RL
product.
Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts seemed hurried to me, but the
information there is valuable all the same. Included here is a system
for codifying all incorporeal undead, while making each unique; I
like it a lot.
Van Richten's Guide to the Lich is another superb VR's Guide. Can't
write enough praise about it. Takes the demi-lich to a whole new
level of power; now it's a foe worthy of the years it takes to become
one. Liches themselves receive such detailed treatment that this one
is a must-have for any campaign featuring a lich as a major opponent.
Werebeasts was very good but suffered slightly from its (necessary)
treatment of different wereforms. All told, though, the information
adds tremendously to the understanding of these creatures.
Van Richten's the Created is achingly good; golems in Ravenloft
receive such detailed treatment that it's impossible to put down.
Ancillary sections on golems other than flesh seemed like add-ons,
but this too was necessary since flesh golems are so much easier to
make (from Van Richten's point of view). Here, finally, is the reason
WHY Adam turned on Dr. Mordenheim, and WHY a golem in Ravenloft is
such an intractable foe.
Van Richten's Ancient Dead is another great product in a great line.
Here are rules for codifying all mummy-like undead, and (finally)
reasons for mummies without bandages to appear and confuse the PCs.
Van Richten's anecdotes are especially good (if long) in this one,
and the chapter on hunting is unparalleled.
Modules
-------
The only way I've seen any of these is shrinkwrapped. Never played
them, never owned them, never had a friend let me read any of them.
People keep telling me how good they are, but won't let any of them
out of thier sight... :)
>From The Shadows, Roots of Evil & House of Strahd are MUST-HAVES,
especially if you like Strahd von Zarovich! The Awakening & Hour of
the Knife will give the PCs much puzzle-work (and suspense...)
Another good one is Night of the Walking Dead -- an excellent
adventure (for low level parties, although 1-3 is a bit too low
IMHO). If you want more low-level adventures, try The Created. It's
hard for the PCs to die (and to escape) but they don't know that.
Ship of Horror is just an adventure, not very bad, not very good.
Thoughts of Darkness SUCKS. Just hack-n-slash, with vampiric mind-
flayers (who can drain 8 levels in one round, if you're unlucky..)
I feel that the Original Ravenloft module which inspired the entire
setting was done better (though not as nicely) than the remake for
the Ravenloft setting -- House of Strahd.
Adam's Wrath has some good elements and some bad ones. Letting PC's
experience being flesh golems was a nice touch; letting PC's get 1d3
extra points to spread out among STR, DEX, and CON was not so nice...
escpecially since almost everyone added it on to DEX and made it
difficult for the baddies to hit them!
Most of the Ravenloft modules are better than average, benefiting
from staging tips, unusual surprises, and the limitations imposed by
the campaign world. As long as the DM strives to maintain the tone,
they are, as a rule, wonderful.
Thoughts of Darkness suffers badly from a too-linear plot. I was very
disappointed.
>From the Shadows, aside from having a terrible cover painting (come
on!), was just mediocre. From a contrived beginning, it degenerates
into a run-of-the-mill castle exploration, with a battle at the end
that the PCs are SUPPOSED to win! (Come on, again!!)
Roots of Evil disagrees with every other published Strahd origin out
there and the Grand Conjunction is ill-conceived as a backdrop for
the adventure. Lords of Ravenloft as wandering monsters?!?!?!?
House of Strahd actually lives up to its billing: an improvement of
I6 Ravenloft. It just goes to show that a good clean and polish can
make anything better for the effort. Maybe TSR had better learn from
this, and keep its new releases in the cooker a bit longer...
The Created is a decent way to impose temporary Demiplane conditions
on your low-level PCs. A good starting module for Ravenloft DMs as
well.
_Feast_ was terrific, and inspires much terror even today. As for the
haunted ship... I thought the baddy at the end was a little too easy
to get to, but otherwise thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the module.
As for the later modules, I'm a little disappointed that most of them
seem to be blatant, uncredited rip-offs of classic gothic novels.
They reduce the horror of the story to a few die rolls, and allow the
PCs to trash the baddie with 'ease'.
Best module: Feast of the Goblyns -- a killer on par with Bloodstone
Mines.
Feast of Goblyns is a tremendous work that includes not only a
96-page booklet containing a well-written, epic adventure full of
spice and intrigue, but also a Ravenloft DM's Screen, a Ravenloft
Player Character Sheet, a high-quality color poster map and a full
color poster of the artwork displayed on the front. At a price only
a few dollars more than a normal module, this was in my book a great
value and a quality piece to boot.
Night of the Walking Dead is an excellent introductory module to
Ravenloft. I would have scored it even higher had not parts of the
plot (namely, the mass attack by zombies on the village) been too
similar to the Cleric's Challenge module, which my group had just
previously played!
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The End
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