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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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