Van Richten's Guide to the Created

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Van Richten's Guide to the Created is a 98-page sourcebook for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition released in January 1994.

Official synopsis[]

...by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
—Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Armed with satchel and saw, the creator slips into the night. He seeks the freshly dug grave and the unguarded morgue, selecting each body part with care. In the twilight before dawn, he tailors a perfect form, seeing no fault in the livid flesh or the crude black stitching. Creating new life is his sole obsession—yet the thing he creates brings only misery and death.
The golems of Ravenloft boast powers unseen in other realms, for they are shaped by the demiplane's mysterious forces. Join Dr. Van Richten as he exposes the evil that is created. Learn his theories on construction and animation, and discover his hard won notes on the golem's phenomenal strength. Heed well his sage advice, for weather their parts are human or otherwise, the created are cunning and relentless foes, rising again and again from apparent death. Only with the knowledge herein can a hunter utterly destroy such a monster, until nothing but ashes and nightmares remain.

Content[]

Development and release[]

Development[]

The book was written by Teeuwynn Woodruff. Art was provided by Stephen Fabian and Robh Ruppel.

Release[]

Van Richten's Guide to the Created was released by TSR in January 1994 for $^{[missing data]} US or $^{[missing data]} Canadian.

On December 17, 2013, it was re-released in digital format. It is currently available on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $2.99.

Reception and influence[]

Critical reception[]

As of 2023, Van Richten's Guide to the Created reached the rank of Electrum seller on DriveThruRPG.

Influence on other works[]

External links[]

References[]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition
Core rules
Player's Handbook • Dungeon Master Guide Monstrous Compendium Volume One • Monstrous Compendium Volume Two • Monstrous Manual First Quest • Introduction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game • The Complete Starter Set • Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game
Optional core rules
Player's Option: Combat & Tactics • Player's Option: Skills & Powers • Player's Option: Spells & Magic Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns • Campaign Option: Council of Wyrms
Supplement lines
Player's Handbook Rules Supplement • Dungeon Master's Guide Rules Supplement Monstrous Compendium Appendix • Monstrous Compendium Annual Encyclopedia Magica • Historical Reference • The Magic Encyclopedia • Monstrous Arcana • Priest's Spell Compendium • Wizard's Spell Compendium
Other supplements
Bastion of Faith • Book of Artifacts • Castle Sites • Chronomancer • City Sites • College of Wizardry • Country Sites • Den of Thieves • Dungeon Builder's Guidebook • Guide to Hell • Legends & Lore • Rogues' Gallery • Shaman • Tome of Magic • The Vortex of Madness and Other Planar Perils • Warriors of Heaven • World Builder's Guidebook
Adventures
The Apocalypse Stone • Axe of the Dwarvish Lords • Cleric's Challenge (II) • The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga • Destiny of Kings • Die Vecna Die! • Dragon Mountain • Dungeons of Despair • Fighter's Challenge (II) • The Gates of Firestorm Peak • A Hero's Tale • Labyrinth of Madness • The Lost Shrine of Bundushatur • Moonlight Madness • The Murky Deep • Night Below: An Underdark Campaign • A Paladin in Hell • Return to the Tomb of Horrors • Reverse Dungeon • Road to Danger • The Rod of Seven Parts • The Shattered Circle • The Silver Key • Swamplight • Tale of the Comet • Tales of Enchantment • Temple, Tower, & Tomb • Thief's Challenge (II) • TSR Jam 1999 • Wizard's Challenge (II)