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Ravenloft (module)
''Ravenloft'' is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and includes art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III. The plot of ''Ravenloft'' focuses on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who pines for his lost love. Various story elements, including Strahd's motivation and the locations of magical weapons, are randomly determined by drawing cards. The player characters attempt to defeat Strahd and, if successful, the adventure ends. The Hickmans began work on ''Ravenloft'' in the late 1970s, intent on creating a frightening portrait of a vampire in a setting that combined Gothic horror with the ''D&D'' game system. They play-tested the adventure with a group of players each Halloween for five ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clyde Caldwell
Clyde Caldwell (born February 20, 1948) is an American artist. Self-described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters. With his work at TSR in the 1980s, he is considered one of the artists contributing to fantasy art's "golden age". Early life Born on February 20, 1948, in Gastonia, North Carolina, Caldwell was interested in becoming an artist from an early age, "I became an artist sort of by default ... I couldn't do anything else! I was into music for awhile. I played the guitar for a local band. I also enjoyed writing both stories and songs. But drawing and painting were the easiest for me." Caldwell took up an interest in painting fantasy and science-fiction art while in junior high school. "My biggest influences back then were the covers of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books. I wanted to paint pictures like those covers. My parents had always encouraged me in my artwork, but they didn’t understand why I was painting s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game, an adventure or module is a guide for managing player knowledge and activities within a specific scenario. Commercially, a published adventure comes as a pre-packaged book or box set that is used exclusively by the Dungeon Master. It typically contains background information for the plot or story, maps, vignettes of interesting locations, site inventories, creature descriptions and statistics, player visual aids, and suggested rules for evaluating events and likely player actions. The term ''adventure'' is currently used by the game's publisher Wizards of the Coast. In early editions of the game these publications were commonly referred to as ''modules'', which stems from the term ''dungeon module'', used to refer to the earliest adventures published by TSR, with other variations on the module name appearing on latter adventures. The term ''module'' continued to be popular among players of the original ''Dungeons & Dragons'' an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Dwarf (magazine)
''White Dwarf'' is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop, which has long served as a promotions and advertising platform for Games Workshop and Citadel Miniatures products. During the first ten years of its publication, it covered a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing games (RPGs) and board games, particularly the role-playing games ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D''), '' Call of Cthulhu'', ''RuneQuest'' and '' Traveller''. These games were all published by other games companies and distributed in the United Kingdom by Games Workshop stores. The magazine underwent a major change in style and content in the late 1980s. It is now dedicated exclusively to the miniature wargames produced by Games Workshop. History 1970s Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone initially produced a newsletter called '' Owl and Weasel'', which ran for twenty-five issues from February 1975 before it evolved into ''White Dwarf''. Originally sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dungeon (magazine)
''Dungeon'' (originally published as ''Dungeon: Adventures for TSR Role-Playing Games'') was one of the two official magazines targeting consumers of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game and associated products; ''Dragon'' was the other. ''Dungeon'' was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150. Starting in 2008, ''Dungeon'' and its more widely read sister publication, ''Dragon'', went to an online-only format published by Wizards of the Coast. Both magazines went on hiatus at the end of 2013, with ''Dungeon'' #221 being the last issue released. History TSR ''Dungeon'' (initially titled ''Dungeon Adventures'') first received mention in the editor's column of ''Dragon'' Issue 107 (March 1986). Lacking a title at that point, it was described as "a new magazine filled entirely with modules" made available "by subscription only" that would debut "in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a '' pocket dimension'' or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called " domains", brought together by a mysterious force known only as the Dark Powers. Each domain is tailored to and mystically ruled by a being called a Darklord who is forever trapped and surrounded by magical mists surrounding the domain. Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire in the original ''AD&D'' ''Ravenloft'' I6 module released in 1983, became the first Darklord, both ruler and prisoner of his own personal domain of Barovia. The story of how Count von Zarovich became Darklord of Barovia was detailed in the 1993 novel '' I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire''. As originally established in the '' Ravenloft: Realm of Terror'' boxed set known as "the Black Box" released in 1990, the Ravenloft campaign setting was located in the Ethereal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Campaign Setting
A campaign setting is a setting for a tabletop role-playing game or wargame campaign. Most campaign settings are fictional worlds; however, some are historical or contemporary real-world locations. A '' campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place. A campaign setting is typically designed for a specific game (such as the ''Forgotten Realms'' setting for ''Dungeons & Dragons'') or a specific genre of game (such as historical fantasy or science fiction), though some come from existing media (such as movies, shows, novels, or comic books). There are numerous campaign settings available for purchase both in print and online. In addition, many game masters create their own, which are often called "homebrew" settings. Examples of major campaign settings include the Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings, World of Darkness, the Star Trek science fiction universe, and the Avatar: The Last Airb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gothic Fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean medieval and barbaric, which itself originated from Gothic architecture and in turn the Goths. The first work to be labelled as Gothic was Horace Walpole's 1764 novel ''The Castle of Otranto'', later subtitled ''A Gothic Story''. Subsequent 18th-century contributors included Clara Reeve, Ann Radcliffe, William Beckford (novelist), William Thomas Beckford, and Matthew Gregory Lewis, Matthew Lewis. The Gothic influence continued into the early 19th century, with Romantic works by poets, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Lord Byron. Novelists such as Mary Shelley, Charles Maturin, Walter Scott and E. T. A. Hoffmann frequently drew upon gothic motifs in their works as well. Gothic aesthetics continued to be used throughout the early Victorian li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Player Character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not controlled by a player are called non-player characters (NPCs). The actions of non-player characters are typically handled by the game itself in video games, or according to rules followed by a gamemaster refereeing tabletop role-playing games. The player character functions as a fictional, alternate body for the player controlling the character. Video games typically have one player character for each person playing the game. Some games, such as multiplayer online battle arena, hero shooter, and fighting games, offer a group of player characters for the player to choose from, allowing the player to control one of them at a time. Where more than one player character is available, the characters may have distinctive Attribute (rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic Item (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, a magic item is any object that is imbued with magic powers. These items may act on their own or be the tools of the character possessing them. Magic items have been prevalent in the game in every edition and setting, from the original edition in 1974 until the modern fifth edition. In addition to jewels and gold coins, they form part of the treasure that the players often seek in a dungeon. Magic items are generally found in treasure hoards, or recovered from fallen opponents; sometimes, a powerful or important magic item is the object of a quest. Development 1st edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' In the first edition, all artifacts are classed as miscellaneous magic items, even ones that are weapons, armor, or rings. Each artifact has a certain number of Minor, Major, and Prime Powers, and of Minor, Major, and Side Effects which trigger when the item is acquired, or its Major and Prime Powers are used. The powers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vampire (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, a vampire is an undead creature. A humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature can become a vampire, and looks as it did in life, with pale skin, haunting red eyes, and a feral cast to its features. A new vampire is created when another vampire drains the life out of a living creature. Its depiction is related to those in the 1930s and 1940s Hollywood ''Dracula'' and monster movies. In writing vampires into the game, as with other creatures arising in folklore, the authors had to consider what elements arising in more recent popular culture should be incorporated into their description and characteristics. Publication history The vampire was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game. The vampire as a player character concept was present in Dave Arneson's playtest group for the original version of the rules. It led to the creation of a vampire-hunter, which became the basis of the cleric clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Strahd
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.Schoenauer, Norbert (2000). ''6,000 Years of Housing'' (rev. ed.) (New York: W.W. Norton & Company). Houses use a range of different roofing systems to keep precipitation such as rain from getting into the dwelling space. Houses generally have doors or locks to secure the dwelling space and protect its inhabitants and contents from burglars or other trespassers. Most conventional modern houses in Western cultures will contain one or more bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen or cooking area, and a living room. A house may have a separate dining room, or the eating area may be integrated into the kitchen or another room. Some large houses in North America have a recreation room. In traditional agriculture-oriented societies, domes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David C
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE to commemorate a victory over two enemy kings, contains the phrase (), which is translated as " House of David" by most scholars. The Mesha Stele, erected by King Mesha of Moab in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", although this is disputed. According to Jewish works such as the '' Seder Olam Rabbah'', '' Seder Olam Zutta'', and '' Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' (all written over a thousand years later), David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE. Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged,Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel; by Isaac Kalimi; page 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
