Van Richten's Guide to Vampires

There is a black terror that masses great authority in the farthest reaches of Ravenloft, quietly insinuating its sway upon the land like a creeping poison in the body: Its name is lich. Until now, vampires have been the undisputed masters of darkness, but the sheer genius of the lich (coupled with its immortal quest for ever more powerful magic) has proven to be a malevolent threat to the caus...

Over three decades ago, the only child of Dr. Rudolph van Richten was stolen by Vistani thieves and sold to a vampire. The doctor's efforts to rescue his son and then avenge himself upon that vampire led to a dark new career fighting the terrifying monsters in the Demiplane of Dread. Now, the sage of Ravenloft turns his attention to the very people who made him what he his today. In spite of hi...

Demons, devils, and murderous hags stretch their hideous claws towards AD&D game characters everywhere, while craft Vistani and secretive witches, hatch their plots in this tome, the third volume in Doctor Van Richten's guides for monster hunters. This compilation contains the complete and updated texts of Van Richten's Guide to Fiends and Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani, with...

There are realms and realms incomprehensible to the puny mortals who dwell within this cage that they term the Land of the Mists! — The Madrigorian, Book I, Chapter I Fiends have com forth from the Abyss and into Ravenloft! Masters of deception and manipulation, these ancient evil beings stalk the Lands, roaming freely in pursuit of their foul ends, and warping the very Land around them to sui...

Beware the darkness, for it is alive with the dead! Now, the nights of Ravenloft are more horrifying than ever. You'll find out why in the pages within. Follow Dr. Rudolph Van Richten, Ravenloft's leading authority on the supernatural, as he reveals how to hunt the ghosts that lurk in the blackest shadows of midnight. For countless years, Van Richten has traveled the misty roads of Ravenloft on...

In the caverns, crypts, and chasms of Ravenloft lie mummies and other horrors for whom sleep is a natural state. These are the ancient dead. Dreams of love, glory, and wealth subdue them through the ages, and time grows meaningless - until the greedy or foolish disturb their rest. When the ancient dead rise and walk again, evil spreads before them and destruction lies in their wake.

... by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs. -- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Armed with satchel and saw, the creator slips into the night. He seeks the freshly dug grave and the unguarded morgue, selecting each body part with care. In the twilight before dawn, he tailors a perfect f...

Terror and Beauty Join Forces Long have their ways remainded hidden to outsiders, veiled by the mysterious Shadow Rift. Who are these creatures -- called Arak by some, ellefolk by others, shadow fey by most? What are their motives and what threat do they represent to the lands that border their realm? Continuing the tradition of the Van Richten's Guides, this volume reveals these elusive cre...

The Walking Dead Arise.. .and Meet Their Match Risen from graves and musty tombs, foul, unloving denizens crowd the graveyards and haunt the ruins of the lands within the Mists. Driven by their own insatiable desires or controlled by the power of others, zombies, skeletons, and others members of the embodied dead prowl the Dread Realms, looking for unwary victims. Now their secrets lie revea...

I know now the shape of madness of ravening insanity, and it is me! I dread the waxing of the moon, yet how can I flee from time itself? The hour of transformation is at hand, and my heart surges in bloodlust! --The Cry of a Werewolf Werebeasts: men and women who assume the shape of animals. In this volume, Dr. Rudolph Van Richten--Ravenloft's eminent expert on the horrific--exposes the trut...