 Cover | |
| Genre | Role-playing games |
|---|---|
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | 1996 |
Children of the Night: Vampires is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
| Cover | |
| Genre | Role-playing games |
|---|---|
| Publisher | TSR |
Publication date | 1996 |
Children of the Night: Vampires is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
Vampires, the first supplement released for the Children of the Night series, introduced 13 vampire characters intended for use in Ravenloft, each one detailed with appearance, game statistics, background information, notes on personality and combat abilities, as well as a short adventure or encounter intended to display the eccentricities, strengths and weaknesses of each vampire. [1]
Children of the Night: Vampires was published by TSR, Inc. in 1996.
Trenton Webb reviewed Children of the Night: Vampires for Arcane magazine, rating it a 5 out of 10 overall. [1] He stated that "Vampires are skill, it's been proved! Since Bram's book and the first Nosferatu movie these creatures of the night have been the ultimate undead. In the mist-shrouded horror-world of Ravenloft vampires, under the guidance of Strahd, have even become a dominant power in the land." [1] Webb noted that the book "creates a host of bloodsuckers primarily for use in Ravenloft, but that will also function just fine in most other AD&D realms. Well, that's the aim - 13 ready-rolled princes (and princesses) of darkness who can drain your party at a moment's notice" and that "Each of this Bloodsucker's dozen is dutifully detailed to death." [1] He added: "Yet for all the effort lavished on these monsters, their wildly different powers and complex personal histories, the devil doesn't dwell in the detail. Somehow they fail to spark the imagination quite the way they should. Some of the creations work, but the majority feel little more than premeditated twists on the 'standard' vampire types. And in the mould of Interview with the Vampire, too many are whinging vampire apologists who are suffering 'an unbearable curse', and who after each and every feeding 'wail loudly'." [1] Webb concluded his review by saying, "The fearful Lady Adeline and darkly comic Jack Bequick are finely developed vampiric characters, but too many of the Children of the Night lack bite. Within a Ravenloft setting there will be enough other horror cues, and players will be sufficiently used to dealing with 'different' vampires to run with the ball. But outsiders - who are used to caped counts with pointy teeth - may have some trouble." [1]
Alex Lucard, for Diehard GameFAN, reviewed the PDF edition released on DNDClassics in 2013 and wrote, "I enjoyed eight of the thirteen vampires and nine of the thirteen adventures. [...] That means roughly two-third of the book is good, which is far better than one would have expected, considering the infamous reputation this title has. [...] The PDF is a bit pricey (ten dollars compared to the fifteen dollar price tag the book had when it was in print), but it’s still one old school Ravenloft fans might want to pick up and see what they missed all those years ago". [2] Lucard also highlighted "that, as far as Ravenloft products go, Children of the Night: Vampires is the most infamous and often subjected to a lot of scorn. Why is that, you might ask? Two words: Jander Sunstar. [...] This adventure collection brought Jander Sunstar back to life, via the dues ex machina of the Ravenloft Mists. That alone brought outrage from Ravenloft fans across the board. The icing on the cake, however, was that everything about the stat block was messed up. Not only did it not match the official stats released in the 1992 trading card set (which were, in and of themselves, subject for contentious debate), but what was presented as Jander Sunstar in no way shape or form matched the character from the novel". [2]
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called "domains", brought together by a mysterious force known only as the Dark Powers. Each domain is tailored to and mystically ruled by a being called a Darklord who is forever trapped and surrounded by magical mists surrounding the domain. Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire in the original AD&DRavenloft I6 module released in 1983, became the first Darklord, both ruler and prisoner of his own personal domain of Barovia. The story of how Count von Zarovich became Darklord of Barovia was detailed in the 1993 novel I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire. As originally established in the Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set known as "the Black Box" released in 1990, the Ravenloft campaign setting was located in the Ethereal Plane. As a physical manifestation of that plane, lands, monsters and even people were created out of the mysterious mists, and the realm acted as a prison where one could enter or be transported, but means of escape were few. Other Ravenloft Domains and Darklords were eventually added in various AD&D 2nd edition products establishing a core continent attached around Barovia which could be traveled to by others if their respective lords allowed entering or leaving their borders; while some Domains remained isolated in the mists and were referred to as Islands.
Vecna is a fictional character appearing in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Vecna has been named one of the greatest villains in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise.
The Monstrous Compendium is a series of accessories for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game released from 1989 to 1998. The title was then used for a series of 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons supplements released on D&D Beyond.
Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and includes art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III. The plot of Ravenloft focuses on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who pines for his lost love. Various story elements, including Strahd's motivation and the locations of magical weapons, are randomly determined by drawing cards. The player characters attempt to defeat Strahd and, if successful, the adventure ends.
Count Strahd von Zarovich is a fictional character originally appearing as the feature villain in the highly popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons adventure module I6: Ravenloft. Later, this character and his world would be explored in follow-up modules, novels, and the Ravenloft campaign setting. Within this setting, Strahd is the first and best-known of Ravenloft's darklords. He is a powerful ancient vampire. He is also a master necromancer, a skilled warrior, and the unquestioned ruler of the domain of Barovia.
Die Vecna Die! is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D 2nd edition) module released in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast. The module is divided into three sections, each taking part in a different campaign setting: Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Planescape. It was one of the last official adventures released for the 2nd edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
Vampire of the Mists is the first novel in the Ravenloft books gothic horror series. Written by Christie Golden, it is set both in Waterdeep, a city in the Forgotten Realms world of Dungeons & Dragons, and more prominently, the Demiplane of Dread, location of the Ravenloft campaign setting.
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror is a boxed set accessory published in 1990 for the Ravenloft campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
The Nightmare Lands is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1995.
Ship of Horror is an adventure for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, released in 1991. It was written by Anne Brown and published by TSR, Inc.
Darklords is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991.
Forged of Darkness is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
Neither Man nor Beast is an adventure for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1995.
Bleak House: The Death of Rudolph van Richten is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996.
The Sundering refers to two events that occurred in the fictional timeline of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is also the title of both a series of novels published by Wizards of the Coast and a multimedia project Wizards of the Coast used to transition Dungeons & Dragons from 4th Edition to 5th Edition. This project explored the Second Sundering story and included the aforementioned book series, the free-to-play mobile game Arena of War developed by DeNA and an adventure series for the 4th Edition D&D Encounters program.
Death Unchained is an adventure for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Death Ascendant is an adventure for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Neverwinter Campaign Setting is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Curse of Strahd is an adventure book for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It was released on March 15, 2016 and is based on the Ravenloft module published in 1983.