The newest storyline in D&D Adventurers League looks like it is returning to the Ravenloft setting. I've just started introducing my 10 year old to D&D by playing in Adventurers League events together, but I'm unsure whether the upcoming change to a horror setting will be age-appropriate for him.
I know everyone has their own ideas of what is acceptable at various ages, so I'm mostly interested in how the Ravenloft atmosphere compares to the atmosphere of the Forgotten Realms setting, as featured in the previous AL storylines, in terms of gore, grotesqueness, and mature themes.
We'll be playing at a store, so I expect it will be a varying mix of kids and adults each session. Assuming that the DM goes "by the books" of the WotC material, what kind of experience in terms of family-friendliness should I be expecting?
Best Answer
The history of Ravenloft under WotC has consistently been "gothic horror", with no modern horror explicitness. From I6 Ravenloft and I10 Ravenloft II in 1e, to Domains of Dread and Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, the setting is "dark" in the sense that Hammer Films were dark, but if a minor can handle that kind of media they will be fine with Ravenloft. Actual play reports claim the same for the new 5e Ravenloft.
I will also note that WotC has always had extremely strong content codes applied to their works in general and Organized Play in particular (when I was a Living Greyhawk triad, an Erik Mona adventure got censored because of the implication that some critters had hurt some children). I think it's safe to say you have nothing to worry about, they have kept their stuff consistently PG over the last several decades. The Adventurer's League Player's Guide has a Code of Conduct in it, the campaign doesn't allow NE/CE alignments, etc.