Ravenloft is an adventure module written by Tracy Hickman (pictured)
and Laura Hickman for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. TSR,
Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983, including
art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III. The plot of
Ravenloft focuses on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who
pines for his lost love. Various story elements, including Strahd's
motivation and the locations of certain items, are randomly determined
by drawing cards. The player characters attempt to defeat Strahd and,
if successful, the adventure ends. The Hickmans began work on Ravenloft
in the late 1970s, intent on creating a frightening portrait of a
vampire in a setting that combined Gothic horror with the D&D game
system. Strahd has since appeared in a number of D&D accessories and
novels. The module inspired numerous revisions and adaptations,
including a campaign setting of the same name and a sequel. In 1999, on
the 25th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, two commemorative versions
of Ravenloft were released. Ravenloft won the 1984 Strategists' Club
Award for Outstanding Play Aid, and appeared second in Dungeon
magazine's list of the top 30 D&D adventures.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravenloft_%28module%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
105 BC:
The Cimbri and the Teutons inflicted a major defeat on the Roman
Republic in the Battle of Arausio.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arausio>
1849:
In Arad, present-day Romania, 13 Hungarian rebel honvéd generals who
became known as the 13 Martyrs of Arad were executed by Austrian
authorities for their part in the Hungarian Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_13_Martyrs_of_Arad>
1927:
The first successful feature sound film The Jazz Singer, starring Al
Jolson, was released.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jazz_Singer_%281927_film%29>
1973:
Egypt, under the leadership of President Anwar Sadat , launched
Operation Badr in co-ordination with Syria, crossing the Suez Canal and
attacking the fortified Israeli Bar Lev Line, starting the Yom Kippur
War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War>
1995:
In an article published by the scientific journal Nature, astronomers
Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz reported the discovery of a planet
orbiting 51 Pegasi as the first known extrasolar planet around a
main-sequence star.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/51_Pegasi>
1998:
University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was fatally attacked for
being gay near Laramie, Wyoming, USA.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
stupefy (v):
To dull the senses or capacity to think, thereby reducing
responsiveness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stupefy>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every marvel of our age arose out of the critical give and take of an
open society. No other civilization ever managed to incorporate this
crucial innovation, weaving it into daily life. And if you disagree
with this ... say so!
--David Brin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Brin>
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