If I had to call it, I'd definitely put Ravenloft in my top five game world list. It manages to be a good, solid game world, while still having the mystery & danger that are intrinsic to any horror world.
But Champions of the Mists isn't the best Ravenloft supplement ever. It's a sort of player's guide for the Demiplane of dread ©, givng a passel of new character kits designed specifically for the Ravenloft setting, and a short section on how to roleplay a hero in Ravenloft.
Unfortunately, almost half the book is filled with stats for npcs. Now, I'll admit I've been out of touch with most of TSR's games for a few years. But I don't know any of these characters. I'm not saying that they're useless (although I just stared at a few of them going "And?"), but the book could have made much better use of those pages with some more info on playing PC's in Ravenloft.
NPC Catalogues (anyone remember, what was it, Hall of Heroes?) tend to be variable in value. If they're good NPCs (local leaders, warriors, renowned heros), sure, I'll bite. If they're the characters who star in the books & I didn't read them, the effect will be greatly diminished.
And do I really need to be filled in on Hermos, the man giant? And Tara Kolyana, an Anchorite (tell me, momma, what's an Anchorite)?
Is it just a case that I missed the last new edition of Ravenloft (is it a hardcover these days? Or still a boxed set)?
The kits are useful (although one is only available to an Avenger; tell me, momma, what's an Avenger?), although some just seem to be stretching it (the Fugitive, for example, is a character who's a fugitive. Ohhhhhkay. Glad we needed a kit to play THAT). They're a hodge podge of kits, and included gun rules for Ravenloft (first rule: Don't. It's way too expensive, especially if you have a member of the green hand with you who won't let you loot the bodies).
Some of them are cool (the cold ones, whose body temperatures have plummeted due to undead attacks), while some, such as the Fugitive, just seem like somewhat lazy roleplaying.
Champions of the Mists will be useful to Ravenloft players & GMs who are looking for some extra ideas for their games, and to completists who are dying to know the stats of the heros of Mordenheim and Dance of the Dead.
It may not be quite as useful to the average AD&D group, or anyone running a fantasy/horror game, but there's a few nuggets you may want to dig out.
Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)
