Masque of the Red Death (Ravenloft) Masque of the Red Death (Ravenloft) Masque of the Red Death is a campaign setting for the "Dungeons & Dragons" role-playing game, named after the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name. The setting was published after the release of the "Ravenloft" campaign setting in 1994 as "Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales", and is regarded as an add-on for that line. "Masque of the Red Death" has many of the same qualities as "Ravenloft", such as "power checks" and restricted magic, including limited planar travel. Unlike Ravenloft, the location of the adventures is "Gothic Earth",
Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales setting's fine, but it's a sidebar to the system overhaul. "Masque of the Red Death" makes a persuasive case for reality-based role-playing, where wits count more than muscle and a shotgun packs more punch than a fireball. Endearingly human, these are the only "AD&D" game characters I'd consider using as investigators in a "Call of Cthulhu" game or, for that matter, as adversaries in a "Vampire" campaign. And nitpickers who've been clamoring for a streamlined, skill-based "AD&D" game ought to be dancing in the streets. "Masque of the Red Death" doesn't qualify as the Third Edition of the "AD&D" game,