Close
Close
Advanced Search

RR2 Book of Crypts (2e)Click to magnify
Quick Preview
/gs_flipbook/flip.php?xml=/demo_xml/17489.xml&w=500&h=319
Full‑size Preview
https://watermark.dmsguild.com/pdf_previews/17489-sample.pdf

RR2 Book of Crypts (2e)

ADD TO WISHLIST >

Enter the world of the unknown? the land of dark mysteries, the realm of inexplicable terror. Adventure in a land where nothing is as it seems, where the innocent are evil in disguise. And watch your back ? no one can be trusted in Ravenloft!

Book of Crypts is 96 pages of the finest in twisted horror. Nine short adventures await you, promising new, hideous villains and spine-chilling stories do dark minds and lost souls. Be warned? these tales are not for the weak of heart!

Product History

RR2: "Book of Crypts" (1991), by Dale "Slade" Henson with J. Robert King, is the second Ravenloft Resource. It was published in September 1991.

Origins (I): Another RR. The first Ravenloft Resource, RR1: "Darklords" 1991), was a book of NPCs. So what do you do for a second hoorah? The answer, it turns out, is a book of adventures. RR2: "Book of Crypts" (1991) is an adventure anthology, full of brief adventures at about 10 pages each.

Origins (II): Another Lair? TSR had been labeling adventure anthologies as references (or resources) ever since REF3: The Book of Lairs (1986). And, this book calls back to the Books of Lairs with its title, "Book of Crypts". But, it isn't really the same thing. The adventures in "Book of Crypts" are longer, they're not as singularly focused on single monsters, and they tend to be set in towns or villages, not lairs (nor even crypts).

Adventure Tropes: Fear and Terror. As a very early Ravenloft publication, "Book of Crypts" defines how Ravenloft adventures should be run. It does so in two words: "horror and terror". It also carefully defines the two: "Horror is the revulsion, dread, and anguish that results when a character confronts something that shouldn't be" while "Terror … is the extreme fear that arises when creatures or events immediately threaten one’s life". Horror was of course the new emotion for the Ravenloft game, but the setting was also trying to amp up its terror by putting players in genuine fear for their characters' lives.

Adventure Tropes: Ravenloft Tropes. "Book of Crypts" also does a good job of building its adventures up from Ravenloft tropes, not more typical D&D tropes. Thus, most of the adventures focus on villains, not monsters. There are also a number of tropes that might be considered unfair in traditional D&D games, such as possession and heavy use of illusions.

Exploring Ravenloft. The first adventure in "Book of Crypts" is strongly set in Lamordia, one of the core domains from Ravenloft: Realm of Terror (1990). The rest of the adventures are generic, though some appear in named locations that would later be added to Ravenloft domains. Thus, Armeikos, Claviera, and Moondale would all be placed on the island of Liffe in the Nocturnal Sea in Domains of Dread (1997), but Aferdale and Risibilos would never be heard from again.

NPCs of Note. Doctor Victor Mordenheim is unsurprisingly at the heart of the Lamordia adventure while lvana Boritsi of Borca lies in the background of "Corrupted Innocents". Both had previously appeared in Ravenloft: Realm of Terror.

About the Creators. Henson wrote extensively for TSR in the early '90s. Other major projects at the time included a series of supplements for both Lankhmar and Buck Rogers XXVc.

About the Product Historian

The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the editor-in-chief of RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons - a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com.

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
 
 Customers Who Bought this Title also Purchased
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
Reviews (1)
Discussions (1)
Customer avatar
Steve D December 01, 2020 12:48 am UTC
POD please.
Narrow Results
$ to $
 Follow Your Favorites!
NotificationsSign in to get custom notifications of new products!
 Recent History















Product Information
Gold seller
Rules Edition(s)
Pages
96
Edition
1.0
Publisher Stock #
TSR 9336
File Size:
21.97 MB
Format
Scanned image Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.

For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
pixel_trans.gif
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality.
File Information
Watermarked PDF Click for more information
Watermarked PDF

These PDF files are digitally watermarked to signify that you are the owner. A small message is added to the bottom of each page of the PDF containing your name and the order number of your purchase.

Warning: If any files bearing your information are found being distributed illegally, then your account will be suspended and legal action may be taken against you.

Here is a sample of a page from a watermarked title:

File Last Updated:
February 06, 2017
This title was added to our catalog on February 07, 2017.