At Wargamer, the news of a new D&D Ravenloft book was met with screams (of delight, not horror). The rulebook returns to D&D’s spookiest setting, and it releases globally on June 16 (with D&DBeyond subscribers able to access it as early as June 2, and pre-orders starting April 13).
Wizards of the Coast’s reveal was fairly brief, but we already know plenty about the book’s contents. So, let’s dig deep into the grave of Ravenloft: The Horrors Within and see what horrors we’ll find…er, within.
Horror subclasses
D&D playtested eight horror subclasses in 2025. While we can’t guarantee all of them appear in The Horrors Within, the odds are looking good:
- Reanimator – An Artificer with a Frankenstein-style undead companion
- College of Spirits – A revived 2014 Bard who communes with spirits for extra powers.
- Grave Domain – Welcome back, Cleric that balances life and death (healing and necrotic damage).
- Hollow Warden – An all-new Ranger who uses rot and fear to stifle foes.
- Phantom – A 2014 Rogue who’s extra good at interacting with the spirit world.
- Shadow Sorcerer – Shadowfell sorcery, which is basically lots of darkness, debuffs, and necrotic damage.
- Hexblade – Everyone’s favorite 5e multiclass dip, now updated for 5.5e.
The Hexblade is the one that everyone is watching with eager eyes. It’s had two playtest versions, so it’s the most likely to appear in The Horrors Within. However, it had two different versions because players were not fans of draft number one. The horror subclasses twisted the Hexblade into something D&D players didn’t recognize anymore, and Wizards attempted to salve this wound in a later playtest.
Lineages
In the previous edition of 5e, lineages were a strange sub-set of DnD races. You still counted as a Human, Elf, or Aarakocra, but some of your abilities were modified or replaced by your choice of lineage. It was a bit fiddly, but the 5.5e rules (which divorced species and ability score increases entirely) have simplified things. Now, it seems, lineages are functionally their own separate species.
We can see four of these new species in the preview images. Three of them – the Dhampir, the Hexblood, and the Reborn – are from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. Another, the Lupin, looks new.
We only know a handful of details about these species so far. Firstly, the Dhampir and the Reborn are both humanoids. This was the case in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, but given that D&D has gotten a lot less strict on player creature types, I’m disappointed that these weren’t changed to Undead. One is an almost-vampire, and the other is literally someone that died and came back to life – how much more Undead can you be?
Secondly, the Lupin is a medium or small character with Darkvision and an unarmed strike attack that deals slashing damage (presumably, their claws). They also have an ability that gives enemies disadvantage on attacks if they fail a Wisdom saving throw, plus proficiency in Perception, Stealth, or Survival.
Backgrounds
We can see a tiny snippet of two new DnD backgrounds in the preview images for The Horrors Within.
The first has its name concealed, but its description sounds exactly like the Haunted One, a background from Curse of Strahd. If you squint, it looks like the updated background has ASI boosts for Wisdom, Constitution, and Charisma. It also gives proficiency in Arcana, Survival, and one kind of Gaming Set.
The second is more clearly visible, and it’s the Investigator. ASIs are Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, so it’s one for the spellcasters, it seems. It also offers proficiency in Insight, Investigation, and Disguise Kits. Plus, it comes with an all-new Origin Feat – Sharp Eye.
Dark Gifts
Both those backgrounds give you the option to replace your origin feat with a Dark Gift. If you’re a longtime Ravenloft fan, you’ll recognize the grim bargains often offered to hapless adventurers. There were eight of them in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, to be given out when the GM saw fit. Now, it looks like D&D has turned them (or something similar) into feats.
Here’s the list, if you’re curious. There’s no guarantee that they’ll be reproduced exactly, but it gives us an idea of what this portion of the new book could look like:
- Echoing Soul – Proficiency in two skills, an extra language, and a random (usually negative) effect that’s rolled when you make a D20 test.
- Gathered Whispers – Message cantrip, a reaction that buffs your AC, and a random effect when you make a D20 test.
- Living Shadow – Mage Hand cantrip, increased reach for melee attacks, and a random buff or debuff when you or a nearby creature makes a D20 test.
- Mist Walker – free Misty Step once per long rest, the ability to travel between Domains of Dread, and the ability to create exhaustion-inducing terrain for a 10-mile radius.
- Second Skin – Cast alter self once per long rest, but certain triggers make you transform at random.
- Symbiotic Being – A second being lives in your body, and you benefit from the languages it knows, the skills it’s proficient in, its occasional help protecting you – and its own private agenda.
- Touch of Death – Unarmed strikes that deal necrotic damage (and ignore resistance) that also affect anyone involved in a grapple with you.
- Watchers – Advantage on Investigation and Perception checks once per long rest, but disadvantage on Deception, Performance, and Persuasion checks and disadvantage against scrying.
High-level enemies
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft featured many delightfully horrid monsters, but most of them had pretty low CRs. I’m hoping to see my beloved Boneless and Carrionnettes updated for 5.5e, but one creature we definitely know has a stat block is Cthulhu. That’s right, Cthulhu.
Cthulhu has an AC of 18, a fly, swim, and climb speed, and the ability to cast spells. With 22d20 + 154 HP, he’s no small fish. In fact, he’s likely to have a darn chunky CR.
The only other whiff of a monster we get is an enormous new piece of Strahd von Zarovich art. That’s no guarantee we’ll see a new stat block, though. Strahd got an update in Vecna: Eve of Ruin, the last campaign book to release before the new Player’s Handbook, so Wizards might not reproduce this. I’d love to see more Strahd – or some other Dreadlord stat blocks – but I’m not holding out hope.
Different genres of horror
When Ravenloft: The Horror Within was revealed, Wizards promised the new book would explore all sorts of horror genres, from gothic to cosmic. That sounds cool at first, but I am a cynic. That means I fully expect Wizards to reproduce the ‘Genres of Horror’ section from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft verbatim. Take that how you will.
‘Seasons of Horror’ accessories
Wizards’ new release strategy focuses on ‘seasons’, where accessory products and events will complement a particular rulebook. For Ravenloft, we’ve been promised a new Tarokka deck, an accompanying map pack, and a spoOoOoOky DM screen. No word on whether that screen will have different GM info hidden inside, but as Wargamer’s resident goth, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
That’s all for this Ravenloft deep dive. If you’d like to talk more about this year’s DnD release schedule – or just your favorite DnD classes – why not join us for a chat in the Wargamer Discord?
Source: Wargamer
