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Ravenloft Archetypes II: Core Domains Adventurer's Guide

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"Really grand content! Well thought out, well presented, and a fantastic supplement to any campaign... Highly recommended!" -- Critical Role creator Matt Mercer on Ravenloft Archetypes I: Nightmares of Barovia.

Ravenloft Archetypes II: The Core Domains Adventurer’s Guide
 aims to do everything for Ravenloft that the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide did for the Forgotten Realms, providing all the setting, story, and character options needed to portray brave adventurers facing ultimate evil in D&D's classic Gothic setting of high adventure-- including 20* new class archetypes, 13* new subraces/race variants, a new class, a new race, 56* new spells, new feats, new magic items, and detailed descriptions for Domains of Dread beyond the borders of Barovia. Click the preview to see the whole table of contents and more! 

The current price includes all the added bonus content as well as all new content to come! This living document will continue to grow and improve based on your feedback, and has just added new race options as a thank you for bringing us to the Platinum sales level!

  • New Class Archetypes include: Barbarians whose rage is not merely primal instinct, but the unleashing of a dark alter ego; warlocks who weave eldritch cloaks of primordial gloom; druids who summon ancestral spirits and allow them to possess their flesh; clerics of hunting goddsses and gods as well-known for their bow-arms as their healing hands; paladins who swear an Oath of Defiance, waging shadowy private wars against tyranny; and rangers who rise up from black lagoons and cyclopean depths to bring nature's fury to their enemies; and many more.
  • New Race Options include: Tieflings tainted by Domains of Dread rather than fires of Hell; wild halflings made savage by apocalyptic wastelands; the half-orc-like calibans, born of humans but twisted by a fell curse; humans forever marked by their bloodlines and upbringing; and many more.
  • New Spells include: Cantrips that defy the law of gravity; divinations that extract omens of danger from the fragments of corpses; transmutations that unlesh your inner beast; enchantments that infect another's mind with your darkest thoughts; and more.
  • Dread Domains described in detail include: The fey-haunted realm of Tepest, caught up in witch-hunting hysteria; Lamordia, a godless land of mad science and living constructs; the lying dreams of an infamous death knight transformed into a waking nightmare of relentless truth in Sithicus; and many more.
  • New feats, revealed secret societies, unearthly faiths and cults, additional lore and history of Strahd's domain of Barovia, an overview of Ravenloft and the Dark Powers who rule it, magic items, and a completely new class-- the Metaphysician.

Ravenloft Archetypes II: The Core Domains Adventurer’s Guide  provides a broad look at the continent called the Core (which includes Barovia and the most classic domains), along with a general overview of the entire setting, a primer on the nature  and metaphysical rules of all the Domains of Dread, details on history and religion along with a special section for using this document with Curse of Strahd, a curated gazetteer of the Core as a region, with special emphasis on 12* of its domains (including Barovia), specifics on how the D&D races and classes fit into Ravenloft,  all the rules necessary to portray members of eight conspiring secret societies, and even a warped new take on familiars.

* = These numbers have gone up since the game was first released, as new content was added to this living document that will grow as new sales levels are achieved.

A content-packed resource for players and DM's alike, Ravenloft Archetypes II: The Core Domains Adventurer’s Guide is a must-have for campaigns set in Barovia or any of the other Dread Domains of Ravenloft, and a sinister treasure trove of darkly unique characters, setting information, secret societies, and magic for any D&D 5th Edition game.
 
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If you think this product could be improved, please leave a review, star-rating, or comment-- all input is read and considered, and could show up in a newer version of the product!

If you enjoy this product, please check out these and other bestselling DM's Guild titles by author Jeremy Forbing:

Cover of Unearthed Archetypes ICover of Eberron ArchetypesCover of Forgotten Realms Archetypes I

CHANGE LOG

Ver1.4: Add new Fighter archetype (the Lamplighter) and re-distilled PDF of printer-friendly version to resolve downloading error.

Ver1.3: Added 5 new variant options for humans (since Ravenloft is such a human-dominated setting) based on humans shaped by their history and ancestry; and addressed various typos.

Ver1.2: Added 12 pages of new content including new domain info, 2 new archetypes, a new fighting style, and new equipment (see the new Appendix B, at the end). Also corrected numerous typos and unclear bits of text, added 6 new spells (including the two previously missing that were referred to under the Way of the Five Deadly Venoms monk) and used playtest input and customer feedback on social media to adjust the Circle of Spirits druid and Hunting domain cleric.

Download Note: Now includes a printer-friendly version, as well as the regular, full-color file optimized for on-screen viewing.

Cover art by NeocoreGames (NeocoreGames) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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Reviews (2)
Discussions (22)
Customer avatar
Mike C February 22, 2023 11:43 am UTC
Is there an option to split off and consolidate the new character archetypes - I notice there's a few different ones across the books for the same class (druid as an example) and I'd quite like to explore them as a whole.
Customer avatar
Nod H April 01, 2021 1:53 am UTC
PURCHASER
174 pages and no clickable Table of Contents makes Nod a grumpy boy.
Customer avatar
James F December 10, 2018 3:26 am UTC
Very interested! I love Ravenloft and have been hoping for more than just Curse of Strahd. I haven't purchased this yet, but does it have information on the domain of Katarkass? If not, any chance you might write something that includes that domain later?
Customer avatar
Jason M May 25, 2018 3:43 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I hope there will be more coming. I loved this and would love more info for Forlorn, Darkon, Verbrek etc. Definitely considering options for a Tepest or Lamordia campaign.
Reply
Customer avatar
James F December 10, 2018 3:56 am UTC
Same. I'm playing in a non-Ravenloft game right now and my bard hails from Katarkass. Would love more 5E material for her home domain.
Customer avatar
michael B January 27, 2018 1:05 am UTC
PURCHASER
Any plans on expanding darkon info? Will domain maps possibly be added? Excited to see rokushima. Will be using that for sure. Thinking of getting oriental adventures as well to flesh it out a bit more.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F May 16, 2018 5:49 am UTC
CREATOR
Darkon is such a crazy patchwork of continuity that I went light on it because I wasn't sure how to approach. I wanted to have the most archetypal version of each domain, but in this case I was unsure which period of Darkon that would be, after so many huge changes. Glad you are finding Rokushima useful!
Customer avatar
Robbie G August 26, 2017 6:58 am UTC
You can use this in a 5th edition DnD game right?
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F August 31, 2017 1:58 am UTC
CREATOR
Absolutely! That's what it is for! For 2nd and 3rd editions, you can just use the awesome Ravenloft books they published during those days.
Customer avatar
Nicholas W July 25, 2017 1:38 pm UTC
PURCHASER
This excellent! Especially with the lore and guide to The Domains of Dread.

However, a lot of the variant features seem way too overpowered. Like the human variants where they still get a feat and all this other stuff. The Water Domain is also a good example. You trade Heavy Armor Proficiency for Proficiency with 3 weapons, you get 2 cantrips, and a language. Doesn't seem very balanced to me.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F July 27, 2017 5:14 am UTC
CREATOR
Not trying to disagree with your opinion, which I am grateful you shared, but I think there has been a misunderstanding. The human variants here DO NOT get a feat, at least not as intended. Which part of the text gave you the impression that the human variants also receive an extra feat? I actually think the armor proficiency trade balances out, since the weapons and cantrips given are very specific and not overpowered, but the opinion of another DM may vary. I am happy to discuss your critique further if you provide a bit more detail.
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Customer avatar
Nicholas W July 28, 2017 3:19 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Sorry I saw the Vistani got a feat and I thought they all got one.
Customer avatar
McFerran L April 02, 2017 9:15 pm UTC
PURCHASER
The 1.4 printer-friendly version isn't openable in Preview for me (I'm using a Mac), but the 1.3 default version and Lamplighter PDFs work fine. I see you're aware of an issue having been present, but just letting you know that something's still wonky.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F April 07, 2017 9:36 am UTC
CREATOR
So, the printer friendly version is the one that *doesn't* work? Oh man, that's supposed to be the one that was fixed... Thanks for the update, I will take another look at this.
Customer avatar
February 05, 2017 7:31 pm UTC
PURCHASER
My file is corrupted for both the printer friendly and colored version like some others, no idea why :(
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F February 25, 2017 1:30 am UTC
CREATOR
Sorry for the delay, convention season had me offline for a while, and it took me a while to address this issue. I ended up having to change the software I use to make PDFs! Hopefully, I have solved the problem now, please try downloading the printer friendly version. If the fix works, I will upload a new version of the full-color PDF as well. As I thank you for your patience while I worked on this, I have added a new Fighter archetype, the Lamplighter, which will feature in a future product. Please let me know if this works!
Customer avatar
Adam T February 05, 2017 5:45 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I'm getting the same issue as David M - both PDFs are corrupted when I download them. Any ideas about how to resolve that?
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F February 25, 2017 1:30 am UTC
CREATOR
Sorry for the delay, convention season had me offline for a while, and it took me a while to address this issue. I ended up having to change the software I use to make PDFs! Hopefully, I have solved the problem now, please try downloading the printer friendly version. If the fix works, I will upload a new version of the full-color PDF as well. As I thank you for your patience while I worked on this, I have added a new Fighter archetype, the Lamplighter, which will feature in a future product. Please let me know if this works!
Customer avatar
Francis R December 20, 2016 7:02 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi,Great book well worth the money,thanks.I have a few questions tho.Does the ''Savant'' gets the initial 4 cantrips as well as the two 1st level spells from the regular metaphysician progression,before using its intellect dice progression starting at 2nd level?If yes,do they add up with the cantrips gave with the narrowly focused spells skill?Also is the magisteria available to any metaphysician?And finally,there's something called recovery trance(page 101),it does not say at which level you get it?Again great work,thanks.BTW is this an updated version of the 1st book,or they are both totally diffrent books?Peace!
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F January 25, 2017 9:39 pm UTC
CREATOR
Yes, the Savant gets all those cantrips. Yes, they also get the narrowly focused spells. The magisteria are only available to Metaphysicians of the Mentalist archetype (other archetypes receive additional spells from their features). The recovery trance is gained at 11th level, apologies for the typo! Finally, this is a separate sequel to the first Ravenloft Archetypes, with lots of new and different information. Together, the two give you a lot of content for your game!
Customer avatar
Kristian G December 14, 2016 5:51 pm UTC
ccan most of this be used for the adventure leagues
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F December 14, 2016 5:54 pm UTC
CREATOR
All the lore and in-world information can, including the extensive details about Barovia and Dusk Elves for AL Season 4. All of that is based on D&D canon for Ravenloft. However, none of the archetypes, feats, spells, or new classes or races are legal, as those are game mechanics. No game mechanics from non-WotC products are usable in AL.
Customer avatar
David M December 12, 2016 1:05 am UTC
PURCHASER
regular pdf is corrupted...printer friendly is 140 mb?
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F December 14, 2016 5:57 pm UTC
CREATOR
I am unable to replicate your error. I receive no message about a corrupted PDF. As for the printer friendly version, the book is 170 pages long, and still includes black and white art even in PDF, so yes, it is still a big file. Is there some other way I can help?
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F February 25, 2017 1:31 am UTC
CREATOR
Sorry for the delay, convention season had me offline for a while, and it took me a while to address this issue. I ended up having to change the software I use to make PDFs! Hopefully, I have solved the problem now, please try downloading the printer friendly version. If the fix works, I will upload a new version of the full-color PDF as well. As I thank you for your patience while I worked on this, I have added a new Fighter archetype, the Lamplighter, which will feature in a future product. Please let me know if this works!
Customer avatar
Jeffrey D October 28, 2016 5:08 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Any chance of getting a printer-friendly version?
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F November 01, 2016 11:13 pm UTC
CREATOR
Sure! I will work on this and get it out when I can.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F November 03, 2016 10:51 pm UTC
CREATOR
Printer-friendly version added, along with a big update to the product as a whole. Check it out!
Customer avatar
Thor K. L: T September 15, 2016 7:31 pm UTC
PURCHASER
For some reason, the file does not download for me. I get it like 50% down and then it fails. It is weird, because I have no other network issues.
Reply
Customer avatar
Thor K. L: T September 16, 2016 2:05 am UTC
PURCHASER
Got to work it now. Got the pdf downloaded.
Customer avatar
Joseph D August 29, 2016 3:37 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi, great work and I really like your file for use in my Curse of Strahd campaign. The Realmbound Tyrant Pact warlock in my group has the spell "Alienated Mind". It has a range of 300 ft. but an effect that is a "15-foot sphere originating from you." Can you please clarify what the relevance of the 300 ft. range is? It seems to me that the Range should actually be "Self (15-foot-radius sphere)" Thanks in advance for your response!
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeremy F September 01, 2016 1:52 am UTC
CREATOR
I think the 300 ft. range is an error, as you suspected. Thank you for catching that, I will look at updating the spell in the next revision.
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This title was added to our catalog on June 23, 2016.