 | |
| Author | Christie Golden |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ravenloft series |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Published | 1992 (TSR, Inc.) |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
Dance of the Dead is a 1992 fantasy horror novel by Christie Golden. Set in the world of Ravenloft, it is based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. [1]
The story follows the adventures of Larisa Snowmane, a dancer who travels across the land of Ravenloft by ship. [1] The captain of the ship has evil intentions, however, and the ship comes to land at an island full of zombies. [1] Larisa, along with some of the living inhabitants of the island, must perform a magical dance called the Dance of the Dead to save herself from the captain. [1]
Amos C. Patterson of Kliatt praised the book's story and character development, saying the novel would keep readers interested until the end. [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.
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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.
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Tapestry of Dark Souls is a fantasy horror novel by Elaine Bergstrom, set in the world of Ravenloft, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons game. It was published by TSR, Inc.
Carnival of Fear is a 1993 fantasy horror novel by J. Robert King, set in the world of Ravenloft, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons game.
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