The 16 Domains of Dread in Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
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As one of the most popular Dungeons & Dragons settings of all time, Ravenloft isn’t just a single world, but rather a nearly endless number of twisted pocket dimensions created by a mysterious force known only as the Dark Powers and surrounded on all sides by the inescapable Mists. These unique realms ultimately serve as both prisons and playgrounds for the foul Darklords who are trapped within them.
Now, D&D is heading back into the Mists with a brand new supplement entitled Ravenloft: The Horrors Within. In addition to a variety of player and DM-facing content, the book also includes new backgrounds, adventure hooks and maps for 16 unique Domains of Dread. You can pick up your copy now from local game stores, D&D Beyond and on Amazon.
While all but one of these Domains have appeared in past editions of D&D, there have been some changes to both the lore and the settings themselves. Below, we take a closer look at what to expect when it comes to this new take on these terrifying territories.
1. Barovia
Darklord: Strahd Von Zarovich
Genre: Gothic horror
Description: The first and oldest of the Domains of Dread, Barovia is the ultimate horror setting for Dungeons & Dragon. Once a small, peaceful valley, the idyllic lands and its inhabitants were pulled into the shadowy, nightmarish demiplane of the Shadowfell by the mysterious entities known as the Dark Powers. It now serves as a permanent, mist-encircled planar prison for Count Strahd Von Zarovich, Barovia’s once benevolent ruler who has since been transformed into a vampire and now dwells within the brooding towers of his ancestral home, Castle Ravenloft.
2. Borca
Darklords: Ivana Boritsi and Ivan Dilisnya
Genre: Gothic horror and psychological horror
Description: Loosely inspired by the Borgia Family that ruled in Renaissance-era Italy, Borca is a seemingly lush, pastoral land with sprawling vineyards and opulent noble estates. Beneath the surface, however, is moral rot, cruelty, decadence and political scheming. It is one of the few Domains of Dread that has two Darklords: Ivana Boritsi (a beautiful killer who favors poison and plants) and Ivan Dilisnya (a ruined husk of a man and master of magical clockwork technology). The two cousins share an intense, mutual loathing of one another, enlisting the pampered nobility in their endless machinations, while the peasants of Borca starve and eke out a miserable existence.
3. Darkon
Darklord: None (formerly Azalin Rex)
Genre: Dark fantasy and disaster horror
Description: A sprawling realm of gothic cities, ancient ruins and undead-haunted wilderness, Darkon is an iconic Ravenloft Domain. Once ruled by the undead wizard Azalin, in the recent D&D lore presented in The Horrors Within it was revealed that during a disastrous event known as the Hour of Ascension, Azalin’s citadel, Castle Avernus, was destroyed, and a mysterious golden star called the King’s Tear appeared in the heavens. Since then, no one has seen Azalin, and the Mists have begun to devour the domain.
4. Dementlieu
Darklord: Saidra d’Honaire
Genre: Dark fantasy and psychological horror
Description: Loosely inspired by Renaissance France and the iconic Edgar Allan Poe short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” Dementlieu is a realm of seeming grandeur and prosperity centered on the shining city of Port-a-Lucine. In reality, however, it is a domain built on lies, with its inhabitants struggling to mask their suffering and terror beneath flowery pleasantries and obsequious smiles. It is ruled by the perpetually masked and wraith-like Duchess Saidra d’Honaire, who hosts weekly masquerade balls, destroying those who displease her. At night, Saidra removes her mask transforming into a figure known as the Red Death who stalks the streets, feeding on those who would dare to shatter the illusion of her “perfect” society.
5. Falkovnia
Darklord: Vladeska Drakov
Genre: Disaster horror
Description: A once peaceful country, Falkovnia is now a land besieged, with only a few desperate pockets of civilization surviving in the ruins of crumbling settlements. That’s because every moon, a zombie legion emerges from the surrounding Mists and kills any living thing in its path. The survivors cowering behind the walls of the capital city of Lekar also find themselves under the tyrannical rule of the Domain’s Darklord, General Vladeska Drakov. A ruthless warrior who leads a military force known as the Talons, she sees traitors everywhere and is willing to sacrifice her own dwindling number of civilians if it means victory against the seemingly unstoppable army of the dead.
6. Har’Akir
Darklord: Ankhtepot
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Description: Inspired by ancient Egypt, Har’Akir is an unforgiving desert domain of shifting sands, ancient secrets and long-forgotten gods. The land is ruled by the mummy lord Ankhtepot, who dwells atop his golden pyramid in the City of the Dead, surrounded by a loyal cadre of high priests who serve his every whim. Ankhtepot, however, is not concerned with the needs of the living. His only goal is to find his “ka,” a lost piece of his fractured soul that he believes is located somewhere in the ancient sand-swept deserts, which are infested with monsters, the undead and the ruins of countless past civilizations.
7. Hazlan
Darklord: Hazlik
Genre: Dark fantasy and disaster horror
Description: A barren wasteland drained of almost all life, Hazlan is a Domain of Dread constantly wracked by magical disasters and overrun with monstrous abominations. It is ruled by the Darklord Hazlik, a wizard-overlord obsessed with uncovering new magical secrets, regardless of the cost to the populace. Paranoid and controlling, Hazlik constantly spies on those in his domain, revelling in the fear of his people, encouraging rivalries between his sorcerous apprentices and constantly searching for new magical innovations he can claim as his own.
8. Innsmouth
Darklord: Cthulhu
Genre: Cosmic horror
Description: Inspired by the fictional New England town of Innsmouth which appears in the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the new D&D version of this iconic horror locale is not of our own world, but is rather a lone island surrounded by jagged rocks and terrifying, inescapable waters. Once, it was home to what appears to have been a thriving fishing settlement known as Innsmouth, but all that exists now are crumbling ruins, with no signs of inhabitants or life of any kind. Its barren, rocky surface, however, is dotted with other remains from a ancient and far more powerful civilization, with the eldritch power of the island luring cultists looking to resurrect and serve the ancient Old One known only as Cthulhu. Notably, this is the only new Domain of Dread to appear in Ravenloft: The Horrors Within (with the 15 other settings all having previously appeared in 2021 in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft).
9. Kalakeri
Darklord: Ramya Vasavadan
Genre: Gothic horror and dark fantasy
Description: Inspired by the real world folklore of India and Southeast Asia, Kalakeri is a land of verdant rainforests and interconnected rivers and lakes. Once a thriving center of art, commerce and religion, today it is a Domain of Dread trapped in an endless cycle of war and bloodshed. The people of Kalakeri live in fear of Maharani Ramya Vasavadan, the domain’s Darklord, as well as her treacherous siblings, Arijani and Reeva, with all three nobles vying for power and wielding terrible armies that litter the lands with the dead.
10. Kartakass
Darklord: Harkon Lukas
Genre: Dark fantasy and gothic horror
Description: A seemingly peaceful land of festivals and frivolity, in Kartakass art and culture reign supreme, with singers and performers all vying to prove their worth and doing anything to stand out. Yet during the full moon, the land is transformed into an inescapable hellscape where lycanthropes stalk the countryside, killing all those in their path. The Domain is ruled by the charming Darklord werewolf Harkon Lukas, a skilled musician who is cursed by the Dark Powers to be forgotten by his audience after each performance.
11. Lamordia
Darklord: Viktra Mordenheim
Genre: Body horror and gothic horror
Description: A bleak land of jagged mountains, frozen swamps and icy seas, Lamordia is a land whose inhabitants revere science over magic, relying on steam-powered technology and clockwork inventions to survive the harsh elements. Its depraved scientists also conduct grisly experiments on creature of all types, unleashing horrific abominations into the snows. The greatest of these minds is the Darklord Viktra Mordenheim (essentially D&D’s version of Dr. Frankenstein), a ruthless scientist whose obsessive quest to conquer death itself (and reclaim her lost love) has unleashed some of the domain’s most terrifying monstrosities.
12. Mordent
Darklord: Wilfred Godefroy
Genre: Ghost stories
Description: A foggy, rain-swept land of endless moors and dark forests, Mordent is a domain where the past refuses to die. The living inhabitants – hardworking farmers, fishers and aristocratics – cling to their traditions, ignoring the supernatural horrors that surround them. Unbeknownst to most, the dead of Mordent rise as lingering spirits. The most infamous of these restless souls is the domain’s Darklord, the ghostly Lord Wilfred Godefroy. Ruling from his haunted estate atop Gryphon Hill, Godefroy seeks to dominate both the living and the dead.
13. Shadowlands
Darklord: Ebonbane
Genre: Gothic horror
Description: Once a peaceful land of chivalrous knights, the Shadowlands is now locked in an endless struggle between the forces of good and evil. To the west lies the haunted wilderness of Avonleigh, dominated by the shifting, dreamlike Phantasmal Forest. To the east is Nidala, a realm of artificial harmony where people are forced to smile under the tyrannical rule of a zealous knight. Caught in the middle are the knights of the Circle, cursed warriors who sacrifice everything to battle evils that endlessly return to seek vengeance. And at the heart of it all is the Darklord Ebonbane, a sentient, corrupted sword hungry to devour the souls of both heroes and villains alike.
14. Sithicus
Darklord: Lord Soth
Genre: Dark fantasy
Description: One of the infamous Domains of Dread, Sithicus is a dark reflection of the world of Krynn. Ruled by the Darklord Loren Soth (who was a primary antagonist in the Dragonlance setting before being trapped by the Mists for his treachery), it is a world of sprawling forests and ancient ruins, with most of the inhabitants being elves who live in misery under the yoke of Soth. At night, the terrified inhabitants of Sithicus take shelter as the lands are filled with writhing animated shadows who hunt the living, recreating the moments of Soth’s greatest betrayals.
15. Tepest
Darklord: Mother Lorinda
Genre: Folk horror
Description: At first glance, Tepest appears to be an idyllic, pastoral haven. Fields overflow with bountiful harvests and the cheerful residents of Viktal (the domain’s only surviving village) welcome strangers with open arms and colorful festivals. Beneath this cheery facade, however, hides a desperate, rural cult built on fey bargains and secret sacrifices. The villagers devoutly worship a nature deity they call Mother, using their traditions to cloak their complicity in a cycle of brutal murder. That’s because in truth, “Mother” is the ancient hag Lorinda, a treacherous Darklord who protects her flock from the dangerous fey lurking in the surrounding wilderness only so they can continue to feed her monstrous, hidden offspring.
16. Valachan
Darklord: Chakuna
Genre: Gothic horror and slasher horror
Description: A dangerous, overgrown jungle filled with countless predators, Valachan is an unforgiving domain where only the strongest survive. Bloodthirsty hunters, carnivorous plants and roaming packs of displacer beasts stalk the trees, ensuring the land itself is hostile to strangers. But the ultimate apex predator is the domain’s Darklord, the sadistic and undying shape-shifter Chakuna. Delighting in the hunt, she forces helpless victims to participate in the Trial of Hearts, a brutal battle royale where the line between predator and prey is washed away in blood.
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Jason Volk is the Publisher of Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics and lives in the wilds of Western Canada. He has been playing D&D for over 25 years and is a huge fan of Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms. His favorite character of all time was a Necromancer named Neek who spent most of his adventuring career resurrecting the corpses of slain monsters. When he’s not playing TTRPGs, Jason enjoys video games, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer 40K, watching football and spending time with his wife and adorably nerdy children.
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