Summary
If you’re preparing to run aDungeons & Dragonscampaign that uses the Domains of Dread from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft as your setting, your players are in for a treat. The Domains of Dread are extremely varied and offer Dungeon Masters a ton of different options when it comes to adventure types, playstyles, and more.
However, how should you kickstart a campaign in the Domains of Dread using this guide? For newer DMs, you might be wondering where to start. That’s why we’ve created this list, which has all of the best adventure hooks for Van Richtne’s Guide to Ravenloft.
Horror Theme
Dark Fantasy
One of themost compelling NPCsyou can use from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is a mysterious figure known as The Caller. The Caller is a shapeshifter who can assume any form and has mysterious aims. This makes him not only ideal for any dark fantasy horror campaign, but also great for serving as an antagonist for any type of adventure you want to run.
For this hook, have the party meet a mysterious NPC of your choosing, who beseeches the party for help. He leads them into a misty glade, saying that his village is under attack on the other side of the forest. However, once the party reaches the other side of the mists, they realize that they have been fooled, and the Caller has led them into the Domains of Dread unwittingly. The Caller disappears, leaving them in a random Domain of your choosing.
Gothic Horror
Another interesting NPC group you may use in the Domains of Dread is the Keepers of the Feather. This group is a society of wereravens that aims to take down Strahd von Zarovich in Barovia. However, you can technically use them as a hook for any number of domains, as they are known to travel the mists.
For this adventure hook, have the party meet a member of the Keerps of the Feather who has ventured to the Material Plane, looking for help in the Keepers' struggle against Strahd. Should the party agree to help, the Keeper of the Feather will gift the party a mist talisman, allowing them to meet the Keepers in their enclave in Barovia to plot their next move against Strahd. From there, you can either run Curse of Strahd or another adventure in Barovia.
Occult Detective
One of the zaniest, most interesting minor Domains of Dread is the Vhage Agency, which essentially appears as a monotone office. It serves as a detective agency, in which its Darklord, Filmira Vhage, collects strange correspondence from all over the Domains of Dread.
Have the party contacted by Vhage, who promises a hefty reward should the players help her solve a mysterious case. However, once the party reaches the agency, they may soon realize that they’ll have to free Vhage from her Domain of Dread as well if they ever want to return home.
Ghost Stories
Another fantastic minor Domain of Dread is referred to as Cyre 1313, the Mourning Rail. This train travels through all Domains, and occasionally into the Material Plane itself. For this adventure hook, have the party encounter the train at a normal train station, assuming that they are taking a regular locomotive to a chosen destination.
However, they may soon realize that this train, which originated from the world of Eberron, is no ordinary vessel. Instead, the train is populated by ghosts. Should the party wish to escape, they’ll have to solve the mystery of the train and meet with the mysterious and enigmatic ‘Last Passenger,’ the Domain’s Darklord waiting in the foremost carriage of the train.
Two of the most fun and interesting NPCs you’re able to incorporate into your Ravenloft campaign are Alanik Ray and Arthur Sedgiwck. These two are married paranormal investigators who use their skills to solve paranormal crimes all across the Domains of Dread.
For this adventure hook, have the party meet Alanik and Arthur in another portion of their journey through the Domains of Dread. From there, the two detectives can enlist the party to help solve the murder of a ghost that is haunting their house. Should the party agree, they may soon discover that the ghost is more aggressive than Alanik and Arthur first anticipated.
Folk Horror
An interesting item that players can find in Van Richtnen’s Guide to Ravenloft is called the Spirit Board. This is a Dungeons & Dragons version of the Ouija board that’s been ruining Halloween parties for decades. However, the Spirit Board can prove a useful tool for DMs wanting to hook in adventuring parties.
Have the party meet a Vistani mediumin a tavern, who asks if the party would like to communicate with the dead. If the party agrees, the Vistani will use the Spirit Board to communicate a message of help from within one of the Domains of Dread. The medium will offer to escort the party to the mists if they agree to help, but is this message a lure for a trap?
Dementlieu is a fantastical realm that takes a dark approach to the classic Cinderella fairy tale. At the end of every ten days, this domain has a grand masquerade, hosted by Duchess Saidra d’Honaire. For this adventure hook, have the party receive an invitation from the Duchess to her masquerade.
The party will have to travel to Dementlieu across a foggy bay, not knowing that they have inadvertently slipped into the mists of Ravenloft. Once at the party, in order to escape, the group will have to uncover the secrets of Saidra d’Honaire, and discover why they were invited in the first place.
Cosmic Horror & Dark Fantasy
I’Cath is a fascinating and highly compelling Domain of Dread that exists in two parallel realities. In the real world, the citizens of I’Cath are trapped in an eternal sleep. However, all of them exists in a shared dream, an alternate reality, in which they work all day to reconstruct the city to the Darklord’s desires.
For this adventure hook, have a mysterious stranger approach them from I’Cath, offeringthem potions of healingand other boons for discounted prices. Should the party drink the concoctions, they’ll soon realize that these elixirs were actually sleeping potions of special make, causing the party to slip into a slumber and the world of I’Cath. They must defeat the realm’s Darklord if they ever wish to wake up.
Psychological Horror
For a highly charismatic party, or even a party with a bard or two in it, this next adventure hook can prove extremely tantalizing. Karkatass is a realm that advertises unbelievable magic performances and hosts bands of all kinds at Harmonia’s Crystal Club.
For this adventure hook, have the party be reached out to by a mysterious emissary of the Crystal Club, begging the party’s bard or the party as a whole to perform. Should they accept, the emissary will lead them to the club, only to reveal that the party must perform non-stop, even if exhaustion pushes them to death. Players will have to find a way out of their airtight contract in this realm that proves that fame isn’t everything.
Lastly, you’re able to always use Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft’s starter adventure, ‘The House of Lament,’ as an adventure hook for greater journeys through the Domains of Dread. Once you’ve run this adventure, rather than releasing players back into the Material Plane, inform them that the exterior doors to the house now lead to other Domains of Dread.
Players will have to infer what lies beyond each door based on mysterious sounds, smells, and lights that seep in through each door. Have players pick a door of their choosing, launching them into another Domain of Dread. You can repeat this process as many times as you like.
