Some characters can call upon the world for a steadfast animal companion, and the world will respond. In Ravenloft, it falls to the Dark Powers to heed this call. Their response is the dread companion.

The dread companion is a modification to any familiar or other companion being summoned within Ravenloft. The creatures base statistics remain the same but their moral alignment is always evil. Don't be mistaken; they're not mindlessly malicious, nor are they dedicated to their master's destruction. Indeed, they're utterly loyal to their master - to a fault.

Dread companions share an empathic link with their masters. Through this, they're privy to their master's innermost thoughts and desires. Their masters may understand why some wishes are best left unspoken, but dread companions utterly lack a conscience. They can't grasp why their masters desires should be repressed, no matter how dark or selfish. If the master desires an object, the companion may try to steal it. If a rival causes the master harm of any kind, the companion may seek revenge. The dread companion of a scrupulous master knows said master doesn't want to acknowledge their unspoken desires, and may act in secret. In psychological terms, when a character calls for such a being, they receive their own id in flesh and blood.

Familiar and other companions brought in from other realms (that is, not native to Ravenloft), do not become dread companions. They retain their original alignments and other traits.