Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

WELCOME TO RAVNICA


ROM THE BACK OF HER SOARING ROC, A SKY
knight surveys the spire-studded cityscape below.
As the morningfogdissipates under the chill au-
tumn sun, the city spreads out as far as she can see:
lofty cathedrals. squat courthouses, towering apartments,
sprawling tenements, cobblestone plazas, and broken ruins
where once-majestic buildings have crumbled to rubble.
She imagines the teeming masses below her: humans, elves,
vedalken, minotaurs. goblins, /oxodons, and other peoples.
as some of them rise to greet the morning and others retire
after a hard night of work or play. They are the reason she
is here: sworn to protect them, she leads a flight of roe riders
toward the fires raging in Precinct Three. Soldiers on the
ground will put out the flames, while it's her job to deal with
their source: the dragon she can just make out. clinging to
the spire of a distant tower. Standing in her stirrups and
raising her sword, she turns her mount toward the dragon,
read)' to battle once again/or the sake of Ravnica.

Ravnica is a whole new world for your DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS campaign to explore. A vast, sprawling city
that covers the whole of the known world, Ravnica
teems with intrigue and adventure, driven by the con-
tlicts among the ten powerful guilds that rule the city.
Ravnica originally appeared as a setting for the
MAGIC: TuE GATHERING trading card game. It has been
the subject of eight card sets: 2005 - 6's Ravnica: City of
Guilds, Guildpact, and Dissension; 2012-13's Return to
Ravnica, Gatecrash, and Dragon's Maze; and 2018-19's

Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance. Among fans

of MAGIC, Ravnica is one of the most popular settings, in
part because the world's ten guilds strongly support the
way players build MAGIC decks.
As it turns out, Ravnica's ten guilds also provide a
great framework for a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS cam-
paign. They offer character archetypes, competing
factions that player characters can join, and abundant
opportunities to develop and drive a campaign driven by
the guilds' schemes and interactions.
This book, then, is your point of entry into Ravnica
as a setting for your D&D campaign. It guides you
through the process of creating characters and adven-
tures set here.
Chapter 1 is all about building characters. It offers
new race and class options, reflecting the unique char-
acter of Ravnica as a MAGIC setting, and the creatures
and characters seen on MAGIC cards. You can also use
this material in any other D&D setting.

G WELCOME TO RAVl'IC1\


Race and class are only the skeleton of a character,
though, and chapter 2 is aimed at helping you add flesh
to those bones in order to make a character who is an
integrated part of Ravnica's tapestry of guilds. The
ten guilds are detailed in chapter 2, and each section
includes a background that reflects a character's mem-
bership in the guild. This chapter also describes oppor-
tunities for characters to advance in rank and position
within their guilds by acquiring renown.
The focus of chapter 3 is on the city itself-and par-
ticularly on the Tenth Distr ict, which is the heart of
Ravnica. The important precincts and neighborhoods
of the district are described in broad overview, allowing
you, as DM, plenty of leeway for developing the specifics
of places and NPCs.
Chapter 4 is all about adventures in Ravnica, expand-
ing on the material in the Dungeon Master's Guide with
hundreds of seeds that can grow into full-fledged adven-
tures in the fertile ground of a DM's imagination. This
chapter also includes a short starting adventure you can
use to launch a Ravnica campaign.
Chapter 5 includes magic items and other treasures
for use as rewards in a Ravnica campaign. Many of
these magic items are D&D interpretations of specific
MAGIC artifact cards-not literal translations of their
mechanics from one rules system to the other, but game
elements inspired by the flavor and abilities of the cards.
Chapter 6 presents new monsters and NPCs, again
reflecting the creatures seen on MAGIC cards as well
as the nature of each guild. The guildmaster of each
guild is detailed in this chapter, as are a variety of
guild members.

City of Guilds


In all their fantastic diversity, the cosmopolitan citizens
of Ravnica go about their daily business in bustling mar-
kets and shadowy back alleys. Shambling pack animals
(mammals, reptiles, insects, and bizarre hybrids alike)
carry their loads through the streets, while untamed
wild things lurk in verdant greenbelts, rubble-strewn
ruins, and sewers. And interwoven throughout it all, ten
guilds vie for power, wealth, and influence:
Azorius S enate. The Azorius Senate functions as the
government of Ravnica, built on the three columns of
a legislative, a judicial, and an executive branch under
the leadership of lsperia, the sphinx Supreme Judge.
Boros Legion. Led by the angel Aurelia, the Boros Le-
gion pursues the cause of justice, not merely law en-
forcement. Boros serves as Ravnica's standing army.
House Dimir. House Dimir is in the business of infor-
mation, operating an espionage organization behind a
facade of messengers, investigators, and archivists. Its
enigmatic leader, Lazav, wears many faces.
Free download pdf