All this was forgot in contemplating the glorious and awful scenery before him - light struggling with darkness - and darkness menacing a light still more terrible, and announcing its menace in the blue and vivid mass of cloud that hovered like a destroying angel in the air, its arrows aimed, but their direction awfully indefinite. - Charles Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer

Beyond mortal senses, beyond your reality, there lurks a boundless plane. It permeates your world and fills the void between other realms. It is the border between the lands of the living and of the dead. There, mind and matter become one; thought and passion, fear and yearning can become more tangible than iron. It is the Ethereal Plane.

Somewhere, lurking deep within those ethereal mists, a dark and nameless dimension is ruled by nameless powers. Some say it's a prison for the damned; some say its a crucible to test the virtuous. Others simply call it home. It is a land of mist and shadow, love and death, sacrifice and seduction, beauty and horror. It is a land of whispered fears made manifest. It is the Realms of Dread.

Perhaps you have sensed its touch. At the bidding of the Dark Powers, tendrils of ethereal Mists that bind this land reach out to caress other planes. They stroke the skin at the back of your neck when a creaking floorboard warns that you are not alone in the dark. Their invisible fingers crawl down your spine when inhuman shadows rustle at the edges of your vision.

The Mists do more than merely caress. The Dark Powers are drawn to innocence and villainy, to loathing and desire, to obsession and to despair. They seek out squandered dreams and inner demons. They savor the decay of the spirit. Their Mists snatch up fiends at the moment of their ruin and steal upon heroes in times of doubt.

To what end do the Dark Powers add these souls to their tarnished collection? To torment them? To purify them? None can say, for few souls drawn into the Realm of Dread ever leave to tell the tale. Yet perhaps you will learn for yourself, for tonight, the Mists have come for you.

Welcome to the Land of Mists. Welcome to the crucible of virtue and the spoils of damnation. Welcome to the Realm of Dread.

Welcome to Ravenloft.

Welcome New and Old Players

This game uses the D&D Beyond core mechanics as well as Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. In terms of setting, fluff, and lore, it uses a mixture of the most recent published material with extensive use of the Sword and Sorcery books, which White Wolf produced for the 3.0/3.5 versions of the game. You'll find a convenient FAQ at Ravenloft FAQ, which goes into more detail.

There's an online D&D Beyond Wiki here; http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/

Players are free to peruse it if they don't own the books. Note that not every race listed will be available for PC use. Ravenloft is a xenophobic realm and the available races will be listed under the Rules page. Players should ask before playing a character of a race outside the norm for the setting. Depending on the nature of the race, an Outcast Rating score may apply.

Some class features and magic function differently in Ravenloft. See the Rules tab and Altered Magic for further.

The world is a dark, Gothic fantasy world. Technology levels vary across domains from Neolithic, to the Bronze Age, to medieval, with the most advanced being on par with the Renaissance. Basic steam engines and complex machines, like mechanical clocks, exist in the most advanced domains. Ravenloft does feature black powder weapons such as bombs, muskets, and pistols. There will be some Steampunk influences.

Ravenloft is a Rare Magic setting (as opposed to Low Magic). Most residents of the Realms will go their entire lives without ever seeing real magic or a spell more powerful than a cantrip. Most powerful items or artifacts are in the hands of other, often monstrous, owners. Magic items are rare as well and even a +1 weapon is apt to have a story behind it. Views of magic vary by realm from cautious respect to abject fear. Spellcasters are well served in keeping their abilities to themselves and revealing their power sparingly. Magic is a secret, the ultimate secret to some, and the more people who know a secret, the less power it has. Several spells work differently in Ravenloft, see the Rules page for further.