Domains of Dread is the Ravenloft hardbound. It contains rules and setting info pertinent to a Ravenloft campaign. That much is to be expected.
Where it really shines is in execution. Rules have been expanded and clarified. The nature and powers of the undead are more understandable than in previous Ravenloft books. The rationale behind these powers is also explained in a convincing manner, something missing from previos versions and from White Wolf's products.
Horror and fear and powers checks are all made easy to use as well. Like the powers of the undead, these are explained rather than simply put in front of GMs to use.
Psionics gets similar treatment in depth rather than the blurb about Ravenloft in the back of the psionicist book.
Best of all the tone is consistent with the setting in explaining the rules rather than some books where rules and setting seem to occupy different worlds. Also contributing to the tone are the wonderful images in the margins. They don't make the margins much bigger than books without them (I checked) so there is no need to feel cheated. The revised domains get loving detail as well with a couple of pages about most of the realms with maps and write ups of important NPCs.
Making my way to the end I find a working index! Dear lord how I long for these in all of my rpg supplements.
Okay, so that covers the book. The next important question is how well it plays.
Simply put this isn't really much of a horror game. The PCs are trapped in possibly the worst place in the multivers. Threat of damnation isn't really meaningful. Ravenloft is in the present. Horror seems to work in hindsight with the players knowing that they had the power to avert disaster but they did not, or in the threat of what's to come. In Ravenloft you know about what's bad out ther, but it's not coming like in Call of Cthulhu. It's here.
This isn't to say that Ravenloft isn't a hell of a lot of fun. It's just more of a thriller type a la Alien than Silence of the Lambs.
Also AD&D's ruleset isn't really the best, but it is getting updated. It probably still won't be the best for Ravenloft. Get Dragonlance Fifth Age and use the SAGA rules. The AD&D stuff converts easily using the rules presented in DL5A and the rules are a blast for playing in Ravenloft. It's what I used and costs about what the AD&D ruleset would (a bit less actually).
Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)
