Having ordered and read both Volume 1 and 2 of Van Richten's Encyclopedia of Darklords and Domains, I'd like to tell you about what the authors did well, what could be improved, and who might enjoy these books.

TL;DR: Van Richten's Encyclopedia of Darklords and Domains is a rich compendium of content concerning Ravenloft, but a multitude of editing errors and below-average print quality mar what would otherwise be a stellar supplement.

The Good: Both of the books are stuffed with great content and information. As a DM who pulls inspiration from wherever I can, these books have given me some great ideas for future Ravenloft campaigns--and there are even things I can add into a normal campaign as well. Every Domain has its own demographics, flora, fauna, monsters, information on the notable locales within the domain, and a biography of the Darklord that ends with their statblock. In addition, there are magic items and monster statblocks one can use to spice up a game both within Ravenloft and outside of it.

The Bad: These books are in desperate need of an editor. There are spelling and grammatical errors on more pages than not, sentences and paragraphs are missing or weirdly transposed, and the formatting varies wildly between sections. I found the lack of proofreading to be incredibly distracting; I recall being pulled out of many an intriguing story with a careless typo or missing phrase. Also, the print quality leaves much to be desired. The books arrived with bent corners, and several pages were stuck together in both volumes that ended up ripping--despite my careful efforts to seperate them. Having paid over $150 for the bundle, the hardcopies feel very cheap.

The Audience: If you're interested in getting a birds-eye view of the various domains within Ravenloft, and want to include its denizens in your games, Van Richten's Encyclopedia of Darklords and Domains is definitely for you. While not a module by any stretch of the imagination, these books will provide enough information to get you started in your adventures within the Domains of Dread. I wouldn't recommend getting these books if you're looking for specific details about a particular domain, want a prebuilt campaign to run, or expect a paragon of grammatical perfection.

Now that I had some time to really digest these books, I thought I would post a more critical review. For the most part, my earlier impression holds up. For content, volume 1 and 2 are 5 star books. No more praising, lets get critical.

As many have noted, there are type errors, especially on the less known, and niche domains. The most grievious errors I have seen are whole paragraphs cut short. These seem to occur only on the domains where both the history and the domain lord are the same. It appears to be a very bad cut and paste. Regardless, the full text is still available, its just broken in one part.

The next bad part is chronology. Ravenloft in general, doesn't have a rich history, but it does have one. There are two catestrophic events that dramatically changed the domain make-ups. These events are often referenced, expecially in volume 1, but because there is no introductory chapter, certain domain entries can be very confusing, if not contridictory for people not familar with these events.

This is also not all lore, as advertised. The writers did take some liberities. In most cases, its to fill out some lesser domains, or pocket domains. (Some of these weren't even pocket domains, just quest areas from modules.) The most grievious was Blutspur which they relocated to the moon. I suspect this was fan-fiction from the Raptor wiki page, but its not supported in any official lore that I am aware of. From what I can tell, they didn't alter anything that was established lore.

My last comment is more nit-picking, than critical. For some reason, the included the Gothic Earth stuff. They chose to make Gothic Earth a seperate domain, which is not supported in any lore that i know if. Regardless, Gothic Earth was a totally seperate tabletop rpg system, that used some of the basic mechanics from 2e. It was a very different game, using completely different character creation, and combat/magic rules. It was an effort by TSR to compete with Call of Cathulu with a Poe themed setting. It is completely incompatible with 5E rules. I get why they included it for completion, but other than being under the Ravenloft banner, it wasn't DnD anymore than TSR Marvel Heroes was. I personally wish they had just saved these last pages to add entries on important NPCs and monsters that are not domain lords, such as the Weathermays, Richten, Gondegal and the Forlorn Monster. Maybe even add the lore section that made some of the domains so confusing.

Due to some the errors, and missed oppertunity in the final chapter for Gothic Earth, i am reducing my score to a 4/5. Yes, the errors are bad, but not to a point that it ruins any one entry, and the shear amount of info is absolutely staggering. A definite treasure for any Ravenloft DM. This will be a book I use over the official book. Great job!

If the publishers read this, i would strongly recommend the next entry include general lore, a monster manual and NPC backgrounds.

This and the other volume are absolutely amazing. I was following the development of these books closely, but the final product far exceeded expectations. I personally thought i was a super guru when it came to Ravenloft, but was shocked by some of the darklords I have never seen nor heard of before. I am glad they went with these covers though. I didn't like the originals they had picked out. These remind me of the opening scene from the 1980s TV show Tales From the Darkside. The opening to that show scared me more than the show.

I also greatly appreciate the rough semi-black and white paper. This is the exact same style used in the original Ravenloft Box set from the early 90s. Its an unexpected bit of nostalgia. Another nice bit is the appendixes with the extra creatures and magic items. Its not the full Ravenloft Monster Manual, but what's included is more than expected.

Not only does these volumes include all classic Ravenloft Domains, even the niche ones from magazines, but also contains the Ravenloft spin-off Gothic Earth. Another unnessassary surprise.

I ordered both of these books and 1e Dragonlance book and got them all in only 2 days, despite using standard shipping. (Also got a Vampire the Masquerade book I didn't order, but it wasn't charged.)

Volume 1 focuses on the Core domains and the Pocket Domains. Volume 2 focuses on the Domain Clusters, Islands of Terror and Gothic Earth.

If your looking for a completionist set for Ravenloft, this is it. These two volumes cover almost the entire 2e and 3e setting product line. This and the other volume are absolutely amazing. I was following the development of these books closely, but the final product far exceeded expectations. I personally thought i was a super guru when it came to Ravenloft, but was shocked by some of the darklords I have never seen nor heard of before. I am glad they went with these covers though. I didn't like the originals they had picked out. These remind me of the opening scene from the 1980s TV show Tales From the Darkside. The opening to that show scared me more than the show.

I also greatly appreciate the rough semi-black and white paper. This is the exact same style used in the original Ravenloft Box set from the early 90s. Its an unexpected bit of nostalgia. Another nice bit is the appendixes with the extra creatures and magic items. Its not the full Ravenloft Monster Manual, but what's included is more than expected.

Not only does these volumes include all classic Ravenloft Domains, even the niche ones from magazines, but also contains the Ravenloft spin-off Gothic Earth. Another unnessassary surprise.

I ordered both of these books and 1e Dragonlance book and got them all in only 2 days, despite using standard shipping. (Also got a Vampire the Masquerade book I didn't order, but it wasn't charged.)

Volume 1 focuses on the Core domains and the Pocket Domains. Volume 2 focuses on the Domain Clusters, Islands of Terror and Gothic Earth.

If your looking for a completionist set for Ravenloft, this is it. These two volumes cover almost the entire 2e and 3e setting product line.

These books are the complete deal and worth every penny.

Amazing books! So much content for 5e! I am looking forward to all of the one shots and mini campaigns that can be created from this. Great job Mistfactor Press!

I fear that I don't have the proper words to explain how amazing this is. Between both volumes you are looking at roughly 200,000 to 300,000 words about everything you didn't know you didn't know about Ravenloft. Most of us have heard of Strahd, Soth, and a few others but there are dozens of dark lords, domains, domain areas of interest, NPCs, spells, items and on and on. The amount of detail and thought that went into this project is beyond my comprehension.

This is an amazing, indispensible reference! Although I do not do much DMing these days, I do enjoy publishing content on the Guild. For anyone who is planning on publishing a Ravenloft adventure I cannot begin to recommend this Encyclopedia enough! There is enough content here to easily fuel a hundred adventures spanning dozens and dozens of domains. As such, for any creators out there, I would encourage you to think of this as a business expense (that may, or may not, be tax deductible :) ).

Thanks to the Mist Factor team! Your hard work is appreciated.

It was with great hope that I awaited the release of Van Richten’s Encyclopedia of Darklords and Domains through the DM’s Guild by Mistfactor Press. And boy, it was definitely worth the wait!

The massive undertaking is printed in two HUGE tomes and contains every domain that has ever been mentioned in any edition, including a couple that were only in novels and were never fleshed out in gaming material. The result is around ONE HUNDRED fully-fleshed out realms. Volume One is the Core, the primary continent of the setting, and some floating domains. Volume Two is the Islands of Terror, Clusters, and the domains of the Masque of the Red Death Setting.

The first thing that I will note is that they have noted to be wary of dark content in the entries. Considering the material, this is understandable. Torture, betrayal, murder, and rape are all represented and the authors warn you of it ahead of time. This isn’t the watered-down version that Wizards gave us.

Each section gives a breakdown of the history of the realm, the political layout, and then the flora, fauna, and monsters. Finally, we get the stats and bio of the darklord. In some cases (Sithicus and Richemulot come to mind) we get stats for the current darklord and the previous one.

In most of the domains, we get an “analog” for the domain, which gives us a real-world inspiration or a literary inspiration for the realm. This is missing from Valachan. In most domains, we also get a paragraph or two giving examples of the themes of the adventures that should be played in that realm. This is notably missing from Nidala in Volume Two.

Throughout the book, we get quotes from everything from the Holy Bible, to Alfred from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight. We also get quotes—in the darklord’s bio—from either the darklord, Rudolph Van Richten, or a generic npc who has encountered the darklord. The maps are detailed, which is saying a great deal for a POD book. There is very little pixelization.

The artwork is a mixed bag. They have some original artwork, most of which is very good. They also used some public domain stuff that fit the genre. There were even some manipulated photographs that were used for some darklords. My daughter—a self-taught Tudor historian—got a kick out of the fact that they used Hans Holbein’s painting of Henry VIII for Bluebeard.

The only really noticeable issue that I had was with typos. There were some run-on sentences and some run-on words. But they really didn’t detract from the overall experience.

Mistfactor Press is a group of true fans of Ravenloft. And their love of the setting shines in these books. This is what 5th Edition Ravenloft SHOULD have been.

Five Stars.

amazing compendium of ravenloft information! The amount of work involved in this labor of love is impressive.

Van Richten's Encyclopedia is a good source book if you want to expend your knowledge of some of domains of dread. Finding lore that has only been avalaible through the old editions of D&D or through some novels and giving some stats the darklords who has previously had to use the statblocks of something else or didn't had some. I enjoyed every page of this and would recommand this to all Ravenloft-Fan.

The 2 books of Van Rithcen's Encyclopedya of Darklords and Domains update for the 5th edition, the classic Ravenloft setting in all its glory. More than a simple adaptation of rules and stats, these books have a high degree of fidelity to the classic content of the Ravenlfot setting, whether in terms of their gothic tone and macabre content, or in terms of the history of their characters and domains. Concisely and neatly portraying all domains and Darklords released by official setting sources, from adventure I6 – Ravenloft in 1983 to Curse of Strahd, released in 2016, these two volumes present themselves as a definitive source for knowing and researching the cursed Dark Lords and their prisons in the mists. This project began more than 2 years ago by dedicated fans of the setting, and is a work of love for Ravenloft. They are a must-have for those looking to play the classic Ravenloft setting on the system of the 5th edition of DnD, and even for long-time players and Dungeon Masters, the books are valuable tools for knowing and researching the horrors of the mists. If you are interested, I have made a video review of both books on my youtube channel, the Hour of the Raven. Here is a link to the video: https://youtu.be/_IyBhATX-gM

This second volume has some "deeper cuts" of domains - with a few notable exceptions, you may find yourself flipping through a lot of unfamiliar new domains if all you previously had access to was the original 2e black box of Ravenloft or 5e's official VRGtR. In VR's Guide to Ravenloft terms, the domains covered here are far more fleshed out versions of the domains you were maybe given a paragraph of lore for in that official WotC release (or nothing at all!). Tracking down all of the various older 2e and 3e books to learn more about the various domains that previously existed in Ravenloft will cost significant time and money (and even if you did do this, the content would be less organized as what's presented in these two books).

If you're looking for statblocks on the "newbie" lords and ladies of 5e, this particular set of books won't help you, but I wouldnt be suprised if the crew behind these two fine gems eventually touches upon them in an addendum work. As it stands, these books are an excellent (and truly essential even) add to any DM's shelf, especially if you're planning a lengthy tour of multiple Domains of Dread for your PCs. You'll get significant mileage out of them!

This second volume is the rare experience where it is the equal to its predecessor. The level of detail, information, and the overall journey is still as epic as the first Encyclopedia's jaunt through Ravenloft. What I enjoyed most about this book is that it explores the areas beyond the core which in the past only merited a mention or at best a few paragraphs. Here they are fleshed out a bit more, giving DMs the possibilities and tools to put players in settings that are quite unlike that of Barovia but yet equally as deadly and terrifying.

To put it quite simply, if you enjoyed the first book then acquiring this second one is a must. For those who want to know as much as possible about the domains that lie within the mists and beyond the Core, this is your best chance in many many years. I was not disappointed and it was hobby money well spent.