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I love three AD&D settings: Ravenloft, Dragonlance, and The Forgotten Realms. But I must say my overall favorite is Ravenloft. I mean, I'm a Ravenloft fan (short for fanatic). As a DM, I'm evil in it, As a player, I'm stupid because it would be in character, and I balk when someone tells me they were terrified in Vecna Reborn (Not a bad module, just not real big on horror). Yes, I suppose I would say I am from the school of AD&D horror.

That's the exact reason why I love Ravenloft. No, it may not be as scary as some (*cough*Call of Cthulhu!*cough*), but with the right DM and the right players it's the most fun you'll ever have in AD&D. Now to the review.

Domains of Dread does something different from the previous two releasings of Ravenloft - It turns it into a complete setting. Before now the books have used Ravenloft as a 'Weekend o' horror' kind of thing. Not anymore. Now they give information on the wars, economy, and politics of the core. The core is the main 'island in the mists' that contains most of the more important domains. If you want to run a campaign, it's best to run it somewhere in the core. There are other domains, of course, but most of these are isolated with at most one or two other domains surrounding. The domains in the book are varied and interesting. You'll find every horror archetype you've ever heard of here - Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, Werewolf, Jeykll & Hyde, the list goes on. And even in these instances they don't just do a straight rip. Most have a detailed personality and history different from the books/myths they were taken from. In fact, almost all of the darklords have a unique history. Ravenloft, when done right, is all about the personalities (To somewhat use Steve Miller's words). The enemies personalities, the NPC's personalities, the players personalities.

And Domains of Dread doesn't just contain Domains. It includes modifications to magic, and pscionics. These chapters to do well to fulfill their intended purpose - to put those silly little mages, priests, and psychics back in their place. Powers checks, to show what happens when our heros do evil, and Fear, Horror, and Madness checks, to see what really happens when a character is faced with an interdimensional terror. Powers Checks are made when players do dark acts, and if they fail, they get a benifit - and a curse. Fear, etc. checks are for players who, when seeing their friend killed by a werewolf reply 'I initiate combat.' They put a series of interesting results to when someone sees something pretty shocking. Finally, it gives several new classes (Avenger, Arcanist, Anchorite, Gypsy), and a new race (Half-Vistani). I like these. They do a lot to promote roleplaying in the Demiplane of Dread.

DMs, never let your players see this book. Never. Ever. I really can't emphasize this enough. Sure, they make think they can seperate player and character knowledge, but it just doesn't make that much of a surprise when they find out who (or what) the darklord REALLY is.

Some people complain about there being too much information from the PHB in this. Actually, I like this. Who wants to have to carry two large hardbound books to a session and continuously flip between the stats and the spells while DoD just sits there for an occassional reference from the DM? Now, I keep DoD open to the stats and my PHB open to the spells.

Style? Great. I like the pictures, even though most are black and white line drawings. The placement is good too - Like the picture of a man, in the act of murder appearing to have a blinding headache as it commits the deed. Not 'OOOOoooooooooAAAAAAaaaaaa' inducing, but good nonetheless.

Overall, a great book for Gothic Horror in AD&D.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)