For the sake of practicality, Ravenloft is a small world - no official estimates exist, but by calculations from some of the older modules, there are good guesses. The main continent, the Core, is about (by my count) the size of Europe, and is where most of the action of the setting occurs. It is surrounded by mist on all sides, in which (at varying, but usually pretty big, distances) float a great number of islands and smaller continents (clusters) which are inhabited by their own residents, many of whom are unaware of the existence of the Core.
Each country (called "domains") in Ravenloft is the prison of a cursed soul or souls (called "darklords" or "dread lords") who have been transformed into monsters by their own actions. Often, these individuals will not be physically ugly (many are beautiful) or consider themselves "evil", but all are spiritually corrupt and morally crippled. Some are the political rulers of their countries, and others are shadow kings, pulling strings from obscurity. They bear strange powers as gifts from an ancient force called "the Dark Powers," though none are sure if these Powers actually exist, or are a rationale for evil acts, or if they do exist what their true nature might be. Player character who act in evil or corrupt manner can gradually be lead down this path of darkness as well, though characters who stray too far from the light become irredeemable and leave control of their player.
As a horror setting, Ravenloft illustrates an essential futility of human experience as well as its great hope - the heroes cannot change the world, but they can save people; they cannot bring the system down, but they can improve the lives of others, often at the cost of their own. Ravenloft is about honor, nobility, sacrifice, loss, pain, and the struggle to cope with that pain and come out the other side stronger. The villains of Ravenloft serve as examples of human vulnerability and fallibility, and even those that began their lives as monsters are all too human in their flaws.
As a gothic setting, Ravenloft illustrates the beauty of life and of living. Ravenloft is very much the campaign setting where the last line of Se7en applies: "Someone once said that the world is a fine place, and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." Player characters work all the harder to salvage what joys they can from life because they know all too well the dread possibilities that await them in their careers; more so than other campaign settings, Ravenloft heroes rarely live to ripe old ages.
Ravenloft is my favortie campaign setting, and here are the reasons why.
Hida Jiremi
First, there's also fantasy within the setting like magic (which can be corrupted if Evil and Necromantic) and fantasy species like elves and dwarves which aren't well perceived by humans.
Note that there's some debate as to whether the new material is worth it or not (magic ratings, powers checks for gaining levels, etc.). I suggest you just use what works for your group, and ignore what doesn't.
Originally posted by Tasslehoff the Great
So what do you recommend for a group thats never played Ravenloft before and only knows 3.0 rules?
I recommend Ravenloft Campaign Setting and not the RL Player's handbook.
Why? The new rules are regarded by the majority of RL veterans as ill-conceived.
Hidas' post is very eloquent (but of course I want to add a few bits as well).
First on the land: Going by one old product, he core might be as small as 120 miles by 120 miles. I personally don't use those numbers (its less than 1/4 the size of Oregon). No one really agrees on how big it and there are some variences from products and editions. Around the core is "Mist" - the deep etheral plane from which the demi-plane of dread sprung. There are additional clusters and Islands out in the Mist but travel to and from them is difficult and dangerous. Usually the lands of the Core have a european flavor and often (but not always) the Islands and clusters have more exotic flavors.
Plotlines: Ravenloft is pretty spare on Beholders, Giants & Dragons. Adversaries usually are drawn from the camps of (1) was once "human", (2) can pass as "human" and (3) still human but corrupted or fighting corruption. Motivation is a big part of the camapaign. Only rarely is something evil because they were born that way. Usually there is a complex tale of desire leading to damnation. And the history of the tale provides the keys to the successful resolution of the problem. Ravenloft is RP heavy...hack n' slash types usually die young.
Quirks: The setting has certain "ground rules" that are different than traditional settings to help fit the gothic fantasy atmosphere. Two great examples are limits to divination and powers checks. For exampel for reasons known only to the Dark Powers there is no means to discern good and evil magically, and if you do acts of "evil" then the Dark powers slowly notice you granting you powers and hinderances.
An extra two cents.
-Eric Gorman
Originally posted by HvF
Quirks: The setting has certain "ground rules" that are different than traditional settings to help fit the gothic fantasy atmosphere. Two great examples are limits to divination and powers checks. For exampel for reasons known only to the Dark Powers there is no means to discern good and evil magically, and if you do acts of "evil" then the Dark powers slowly notice you granting you powers and hinderances.
Also, there's Fear, Horror, and Madness saves. These are mechanisms, based around the Will save, that can be used to help guide a PC's reaction to a particular situation. Fear and Madness saves are self-explanatory really, horror saves are caused by scenes of things that are just wrong on a fundamental level (such as seeing a flesh golem made from parts of your loved ones.)
Yet another two cents,
Scipio
