Well those are my two cents, hope as us true fans of the setting may, Wizards Inc. probably has more on the horizon than we know.
Its a shame really as the the original black box set I think had 12 seperate printings -so it was very popular back in the early 90's. TSR certainly realised it had a winner and backed it to the hilt. Few products however had the quality of the original black box set.
However Arthaus seem to be doing a good job and although theres some bemoaning that only 3 products will be released this year (and no gazateers)
im actually of good cheer. The recent bloodlines book was excellent (IMHO).
There is a certain irony (and a complement to the Kargatane) in talking about the depth of Ravenloft since its an "artificial" world that was cobbled together with little rhyme or reason initially. I do agree that post GC the Core flows together much better than it once did...and that the Gazateers made a coherent land out of it. Compliments to the people responsible for that.
Its not a bad time for interesting settings. RL, Darksun and Planescape were all outsourced or dropped but its not all vanilla or FR. For example, like it or hate it Eberron isn't a plain vanilla setting. And of course RL continues to be published slowly. There is certainly enough RL material out there to keep DMs going.
-Eric Gorman
When I discovered FR in the early 90s, I gobbled up everything I could find on it- and quickly puked it all up. I read somewhere (I believe it may have been in a letter to Dragon magazine) that FR was like Disneyland. I never got that out of my head: anything and everything you ever wanted- whether it made sense or not- could be found in FR.
I think one of the worst aspects of FR was/is the poor understanding of politics and political borders and why these independent Dales and cities haven't been gobbled up yet.
I also remember reading in one of the Volo Guides (which I actually happen to enjoy) that this inn in Waterdeep has two elven owners- each with a plethora of wands and magicks to defend their inn... geez. And this is just typical of every other shop, inn and tavern encountered
Magic shops and the like... Ueber magic on an Ueber scale.I never could understand why Greyhawk was treated so poorly by TSR and eventually again by WotC post 3.0.
Ravenloft- Humph- the best!
Personally I still think Planescape: Torment is the very best computerRPG I've ever played, but it failed in sales somewhat because 1. it was too scary for kids, 2. it was all about RP and somehow most people like fast paced mindless action (I personally don't mind reading lots and lots of text), 3. the amazing open ending is revered by some (mainly RPGers), but hated by most (as in you don't learn your true name etc...).
Personally, I am waiting for a developer and publisher with the balls (and brain to back it up) to release a game like that again and I truly believe Ravenloft is the best setting for something like that.
I want to play single player (YES, in a time of over the top and crap MMORPGs some people still value a great single player game) at 3 A.M. in the morning all alone in a dark room and poop my pants because the atmosphere is so scary.
We need the realm of dread back with a vegeance in CRPG-land.
I just hope some developer reads this.
I think the videogame market caters for kids and Ravenloft, well let's face it isn't really kid friendly.
And the Grand Theft Auto series is? :P
And the Grand Theft Auto series is? :P
Not exactly, no. But it catters to that child inside us that wants immediate rewards and far-off penalties.
And Ravenloft not being kid friendly?
Why then is most evil not described? It's constant referencing of evil makes it "kid friendly", although it is chalked up to be a systematic product of Gothic literature, despite the fact that only Barovia (arguably a scant few others) fits this billing.
Gothic literature has been replaced by contemporary literature, and Ravenloft (as presented) has too much Dungeons and Dragons (WotC) in it to be an effective vehicle of RPG horror.
I say sell the rights to a company that isn't afraid of bad press (the potential flip side of carrying a true mature product tag, a tag that can carry and fully paint the more visceral themes as possessed by domains such as Falkovnia, for example), or of the attempt at expanding the market from status quo. Otherwise, watch Ravenloft crawl pitifully back into its grave.
Maybe it's just me, but the binds that tie Ravenloft to d20 (more importantly its licensee) are detrimental to the realisation and application of its potential. Side project it is, but core project it could be.
But what do I know, hey?
... although it is chalked up to be a systematic product of Gothic literature...
Gothic horror, not literature. And I find that the current incarnation is far more gothic than the previous. Modern Ravenloft has less emphasis on fantasy and is more horrific than in the past.
I say sell the rights to a company that isn't afraid of bad press...
Then ravenloft would be a niche product within a niche market of a niche entertainment. So maybe you'd buy the book and no-one else :D . I can make the game mature or not with the current incarnation of Ravenloft. That gives it a more wide customer base. And viscerality is opposed to the themes of gothic horror, where subtlety is more needed.
Gothic horror, not literature.
Gothic horror is the by-product of Gothic literature, and neither can be found in the majority of existing domains in Ravenloft.
Then ravenloft would be a niche product within a niche market of a niche entertainment. So maybe you'd buy the book and no-one else :D .
Touche. :D
I can make the game mature or not with the current incarnation of Ravenloft. That gives it a more wide customer base. And viscerality is opposed to the themes of gothic horror, where subtlety is more needed.
I have "matured" Ravenloft as well, and while I agree to the subtleties needed for Gothic horror, in Gothic horror-based realms, a lack of subtlety (a thicker pen, so to speak) is needed for those domains that are not Gothic horror-based. There is nothing subtle about the machinations of warmongers, starvation, disease-ridden communities, arena combat, sadistic torture, piracy...and all things of such a brutal nature.
And not just Falkovnia. There is nothing "Gothic" about Darkon, Sithicus, Tepest, the Shadow Rift, or Vorostokov, to name but a few. Arguably these domains can be treated with gothic flavour, but to do that wouldn't be wrong, as the game is personal by nature, just unjust of its stated evil (or, implied purpose).
My purpose, aside from disagreeing with the statement "Ravenloft isn't really kid friendly", was to comment on what I feel is a lack of respect shown towards the underlying nature of many Ravenloft domains, and the only way to do that properly is to implement mature-based products. And this, I feel, can't be done by a company that solely targets teens as a consumer base. I don't know this consumer target statement to be 100% true, but with the movie being how it was, and with all of the video games being how they are, I do draw such a line.
And let's face it: that Book of Vile Darkness wasn't all that vile or dark. Have you ever eaten raw potato? Well, it leaves a taste in the mouth that is very similar...