Named year events
13 events in this timeline — 13 dated, 0 named-only.
Age of Mists
The shadowy prehistory of the Demiplane, before any mortal darklord ruled. The Mists existed eternally, occasionally claiming wanderers and entire kingdoms.
? - 351 BC
Age of the First Darklords
Strahd's pact and the formation of the early Domains of Dread. Most named darklords (Strahd, Azalin, Soth, Vlad Drakov) claimed their domains in this era.
351 BC - 700 BC
Strahd's Pact
Count Strahd von Zarovich kills his brother Sergei for the love of Tatyana; the Dark Powers seal him in Barovia as the first darklord.
351 BC
Azalin's Imprisonment
The wizard-king Azalin Rex is claimed by the Mists from the kingdom of Knurl and bound to Darkon.
c. 580 BC
Soth's Arrival
Lord Soth (formerly of Dragonlance's Knights of Solamnia) is drawn into the Mists and granted the Domain of Sithicus.
c. 700 BC
Azalin's Doomsday Device
Azalin's experiment to escape the Mists triggers the Conjunction. Setup for the 'Requiem: The Grim Harvest' trilogy.
740 BC
Time of the Grand Conjunction
The cataclysmic reshaping of the Demiplane published in the 1992 Grand Conjunction trilogy. Domain boundaries shifted, darklords vanished, the geography stabilised.
740 BC - 741 BC
Grand Conjunction (Event)
A planetary alignment shatters the Demiplane and reshapes every domain; some darklords are obliterated, others merged. Published as the 1992 module trilogy ending with Roots of Evil.
741 BC
Requiem
The Grim Harvest trilogy (1996) — the lich Death joins Azalin and the Dark Powers' rules begin to bend. End of Ravenloft 2e's published chronology.
750 BC
Time of Unparalleled Darkness
The era of the Lich Lords and the Requiem novels (1996). Several domains merged or were destroyed; new darklords rose.
750 BC - 760 BC
5th Edition Era
The modern era of Curse of Strahd (2016) and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (2021). Domains presented as the 30+ Mist-isolated pocket worlds of the 5e D&D revival.
760 BC - present
Curse of Strahd (5e Publication)
Wizards of the Coast revives Ravenloft for 5th edition with the Curse of Strahd hardcover adventure, reframing Barovia as the keystone domain.
2016 CE
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (5e Publication)
Setting hardcover formalising 30+ Domains of Dread for 5e, with player options and Dark Gift mechanics.
2021 CE