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Ravenloft
For 6 to 8 Characters of Levels 5 - 7:
Under raging stormclouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of castle Ravenloft. Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves around him, billowing his cape in the darkness.
Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power - and of madness. His once-handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself.
Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Fas below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came, all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them.
Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind - or perhaps a lone wolf - fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.
Under raging stormclouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of castle Ravenloft. Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves around him, billowing his cape in the darkness.
Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power - and of madness. His once-handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself.
Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Fas below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came, all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them.
Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind - or perhaps a lone wolf - fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.
32 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1983
1 person is currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
Tracy Hickman
453 books2,730 followersNYT Best-selling fantasy authors Tracy Hickman, with his wife Laura, began their journey across the 'Sea of Possibilities' as the creators of 'Dragonlance' and their voyage continues into new areas with the 'Drakis' trilogy, 'Wayne of Gotham', a Batman novel for DC Comics and his
'Dragon's Bard' collector's series
. Tracy has over fifty books currently in print in most languages around the world. A record of both Tracy and Laura's DNA currently orbits on the international space station and he is the writer and editor of the first science-fiction movie actually filmed in space. Follow us on
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 7, 2019
Some GR friends and I have been reminiscing about old AD&D modules and campaigns. This was one of my favorites.
This was an AD&D module that blended the role playing fantasy genre with elements of horror as the main antagonists were undead. Lots of detail and a well written adventure besides.
Looking back on those days, thirty plus years ago, it was fun and fresh and new, these games had only been out for a few years and were not yet mainstream, but gaining popularity, so as a teenager there was a sense of edgy sport that was intoxicating. And of course this was the age of coin operated video games only, home systems were not out or severely limited in complexity so this was the one of the best shows in town.
Good times!
This was an AD&D module that blended the role playing fantasy genre with elements of horror as the main antagonists were undead. Lots of detail and a well written adventure besides.
Looking back on those days, thirty plus years ago, it was fun and fresh and new, these games had only been out for a few years and were not yet mainstream, but gaining popularity, so as a teenager there was a sense of edgy sport that was intoxicating. And of course this was the age of coin operated video games only, home systems were not out or severely limited in complexity so this was the one of the best shows in town.
Good times!
June 24, 2011
This is my absolute favorite AD&D module of all time. I think I spent more time reading and studying this than I did my schoolwork at the time. Very nostalgic. :-)
April 16, 2017
Ravenloft seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it adventure. Most people love it though, and I'm one of them. The castle is tremendous, a 3-D extravaganza with all kinds of secrets, traps, and haunted areas. The Fortunes of Ravenloft allows for even the DM to be surprised at what's going to happen. The villain has enough tricks up his sleeves to keep things interesting. The story is compelling. And the whole thing is full of atmosphere. One giant flaw, however, is the random encounter table in the castle. 2-12 wraiths, 2-16 wights ... that's TPK material right there. I think the best way to use the table is to roll those numbers, but take that as the TOTAL of such creatures in the castle, and for any one given encounter, use just 1 or 2 at the most. Every AD&D fan should play through this one. Note: the copy of Ravenloft in the 25th Anniversary box set is clearly a scan, because the pictures don't look as sharp.
November 12, 2012
A classic module that's probably only going to be of value to those who were around at the time to appreciate it.
October 25, 2019
One of the few really good story-based adventures I remember, given as the story is partially random, leaves plenty of room for player interpretation and ingenuity, and doesn't get in the way of an imaginitive and scary dungeon romp. I suspect it's largely responsible for turning the game into what it became, though: you can't have the protagonist of an epic tale die so easily!
April 12, 2015
Pretty much, the single best published adventure ever.
May 5, 2021
This D&D module is so engrossing and I remember when I first got my hands on it....
May father was stationed in Spain, at Torrejon Air Base outside of Madrid in the Late Eighties. Two of my older teenage sisters were classmates with the boys that lived in the home above ours - it was base housing for service members and their families. The brothers had a stack of D&D modules and Ravenloft was one of them. The B&W art inside is spectacular and the fold out castle even better! My sister borrowed the book and she read this module to me, the vivid descriptions of the forlorn fortress and the terrified countryfolk intrigued us so much, this "game". I remember that one of the boys had used colored pencils to hue the B&W pictures: some zombies were putrid green and some of the vampires pale blue.
I believe that this is fondly remembered because the creators poured so much intelligence and wit into the adventure. Even to my young mind, I could tell it was inspired by other works, yet it's a creation all its own. A roleplaying accessory full of mystery and monsters. It sort of spoiled me because after discovering this module, I wanted to read any other I could find. Not everything is created equal, and D&D modules are the same way. Most other adventures were no were near this entertaining, but there are some.
This module and its "effects" have been a consistent moneymaker for the D&D brand. The current edition, the 5th, has a version of the story, the tragic tale of Strahd and the party of adventurers that meet him at haunted Castle Ravenloft, and it's arguably the best example of how great Dungeons & Dragons can really be. If you can find this old module, you won't be disappointed in what you find inside. Heck, the newest version is just as good!
May father was stationed in Spain, at Torrejon Air Base outside of Madrid in the Late Eighties. Two of my older teenage sisters were classmates with the boys that lived in the home above ours - it was base housing for service members and their families. The brothers had a stack of D&D modules and Ravenloft was one of them. The B&W art inside is spectacular and the fold out castle even better! My sister borrowed the book and she read this module to me, the vivid descriptions of the forlorn fortress and the terrified countryfolk intrigued us so much, this "game". I remember that one of the boys had used colored pencils to hue the B&W pictures: some zombies were putrid green and some of the vampires pale blue.
I believe that this is fondly remembered because the creators poured so much intelligence and wit into the adventure. Even to my young mind, I could tell it was inspired by other works, yet it's a creation all its own. A roleplaying accessory full of mystery and monsters. It sort of spoiled me because after discovering this module, I wanted to read any other I could find. Not everything is created equal, and D&D modules are the same way. Most other adventures were no were near this entertaining, but there are some.
This module and its "effects" have been a consistent moneymaker for the D&D brand. The current edition, the 5th, has a version of the story, the tragic tale of Strahd and the party of adventurers that meet him at haunted Castle Ravenloft, and it's arguably the best example of how great Dungeons & Dragons can really be. If you can find this old module, you won't be disappointed in what you find inside. Heck, the newest version is just as good!
February 21, 2018
One of the classics. So popular that I ended up going through the campaign several times because we moved around often as we were a military family. Other players knew I had done the adventure several times and kept wanting hints. So I rolled up a thief who could only sign in thieves' cant. Since usually that wasn't a language they knew they couldn't ask me questions and had to make their own decisions without hints.
March 23, 2021
There are few modules I have played that my friends and I did not tweak at least a little to make them more challenging or exciting. Ravenloft stands alone in that regard. Absolutely solid, even when replaying it with different characters (or even the same ones again)! That is was written by Hickman is not surprising at all. If you want a full, robust experience with AD&D (nothing compares to a blend of 1st & 2nd Edition), go no further than this. Highly Recommended!
March 30, 2013
Have both played it & DMed it!
November 18, 2025
I've gotten into the Old-School Renaissance (OSR) a couple of years ago, and in nearly every recommendation on which classic D&D module to play, Ravenloft consistently made the list. Fortunately, the adventure is available for sale at DriveThruRPG as a PDF and print on demand, so I ordered a physical copy.
This adventure is one of the best written modules I have read in a long time. It is layered with atmosphere, from the Game Master-facing descriptions to the player-facing boxed text, this entire module is eerie from start to finish. While only 30 or so pages in length, Ravenloft is dense with content, with many nooks and crannies for players to explore and find hidden secrets and dangers. The mechanic I like the best in this module is the Fortunes of Ravenloft. The Game Master (GM) determines the locations of specific artifacts that the players can find to help them fight Strahd. The artifacts are powerful, but can be found in different locations of the castle everytime its played, encouraging the players to explore different parts of the castle. It is a fantastic mechanic to encourage replayabilty of the module!
I ran Ravenloft as a one-shot for a group of friends, some of which have never played a TTRPG before, and they had a lot of fun. Running the module as written, they were engrossed in the atmosphere and trying to solve the fortunes to find the artifacts before their encounter with Strahd. I would say my players had the most fun exploring the castle itself and figuring out where to go. Ravenloft Castle is in of itself a fun maze with secret passages and hidden doors that they were excited to explore.
I'm really looking forward to running Ravenloft again next Halloween. After running it, Ravenloft has been added to my list of staple adventures to run for new and experienced players.
This adventure is one of the best written modules I have read in a long time. It is layered with atmosphere, from the Game Master-facing descriptions to the player-facing boxed text, this entire module is eerie from start to finish. While only 30 or so pages in length, Ravenloft is dense with content, with many nooks and crannies for players to explore and find hidden secrets and dangers. The mechanic I like the best in this module is the Fortunes of Ravenloft. The Game Master (GM) determines the locations of specific artifacts that the players can find to help them fight Strahd. The artifacts are powerful, but can be found in different locations of the castle everytime its played, encouraging the players to explore different parts of the castle. It is a fantastic mechanic to encourage replayabilty of the module!
I ran Ravenloft as a one-shot for a group of friends, some of which have never played a TTRPG before, and they had a lot of fun. Running the module as written, they were engrossed in the atmosphere and trying to solve the fortunes to find the artifacts before their encounter with Strahd. I would say my players had the most fun exploring the castle itself and figuring out where to go. Ravenloft Castle is in of itself a fun maze with secret passages and hidden doors that they were excited to explore.
I'm really looking forward to running Ravenloft again next Halloween. After running it, Ravenloft has been added to my list of staple adventures to run for new and experienced players.
June 26, 2025
Ravenloft was a seminal work by the Hickmans published back in 1983 and was one I owned back when I played AD&D (1st edition in new money). Along with DL1 it was one module that stayed with me because of the maps and the art; in reading it again 40+ years later (with my familiarity augmented by having played the 5e campaign Curse of Strahd) I'm also utterly impressed with the adventure design and writing.
The map is perhaps my single most favourite DnD map ever. I poured over it for months, fascinated not only with the clever details of secret passages and myriad stairwells but also how it came together with a great mix of humour as well as horror in the narrative. The art in the module is immaculate and greatly contributes to the atmosphere, Cadwell maintaining a consistent and style
The curious mechanic introduced in the module were the use of Tarroka Cards to allocate where in Barovia variious items were hidden. As with the 5e update (which also expands Barovia)it would allow some individualism to each adventure.
A well as horror, there's plenty of humour also lurking in the dark. The castle is surprisingly empty, with encounters few and far between and the wandering monsters remarkably numerous. A minor niggle in an otherwise excellent adventure
The map is perhaps my single most favourite DnD map ever. I poured over it for months, fascinated not only with the clever details of secret passages and myriad stairwells but also how it came together with a great mix of humour as well as horror in the narrative. The art in the module is immaculate and greatly contributes to the atmosphere, Cadwell maintaining a consistent and style
The curious mechanic introduced in the module were the use of Tarroka Cards to allocate where in Barovia variious items were hidden. As with the 5e update (which also expands Barovia)it would allow some individualism to each adventure.
A well as horror, there's plenty of humour also lurking in the dark. The castle is surprisingly empty, with encounters few and far between and the wandering monsters remarkably numerous. A minor niggle in an otherwise excellent adventure
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2025
3 = I liked it overall
The atmosphere in this was really great—a dark and doomed town and castle with a Vampire to destroy. I knew OF the adventure in the past, but never went through it before now.
I was confused with how many stairs were in the castle though. When it was first built, the occupants must've been in great shape to navigate it.
The vampire wins in the adventure though. Strahd should ALWAYS win. Then when the last character dies or gets trapped you'll hear the final words shouted.
STRAAAHHHHD!!!
STRAaaahhhd!!
strahddd!
(echoed)
I noticed a few Standard Adventure Details in it.
SADs
#1. Starts out at a Tavern/Inn
#4. Multiple "mouldering", "rusted", "stale", "stained", "filthy" pieces of scenery/items
#14. General Store Owner charges more than standard handbook prices.
#15. Vague Rhyming Clues that I couldn't understand or figure out because my INT is too low.
It was good, I liked it, but I don't think I can truly appreciate it like I could've if I was playing it in the 80s.
The atmosphere in this was really great—a dark and doomed town and castle with a Vampire to destroy. I knew OF the adventure in the past, but never went through it before now.
I was confused with how many stairs were in the castle though. When it was first built, the occupants must've been in great shape to navigate it.
The vampire wins in the adventure though. Strahd should ALWAYS win. Then when the last character dies or gets trapped you'll hear the final words shouted.
STRAAAHHHHD!!!
STRAaaahhhd!!
strahddd!
(echoed)
I noticed a few Standard Adventure Details in it.
SADs
#1. Starts out at a Tavern/Inn
#4. Multiple "mouldering", "rusted", "stale", "stained", "filthy" pieces of scenery/items
#14. General Store Owner charges more than standard handbook prices.
#15. Vague Rhyming Clues that I couldn't understand or figure out because my INT is too low.
It was good, I liked it, but I don't think I can truly appreciate it like I could've if I was playing it in the 80s.
November 26, 2018
Qué regustillo gótico, oye.
January 10, 2021
It was absolutely fascinating realizing how much of the current Strahd adventure came from this, but yes, it's very obviously a product of its time.
January 25, 2021
Man, what a classic! The gothic horror atmosphere of this module is perfect and the module is so well written.
December 29, 2024
Needs a little work to function at its best, especially as a one-shot, but it's THE classic for a reason
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews