Castles Forlorn

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Castles Forlorn is an accessory for the Ravenloft campaign setting for the 2nd edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, published by TSR in 1993. In this boxed set, players explore the Tristenoria mansion, which exists in three time periods at once in the same space. Castle A is set in 1939, when everything looks fresh and bright. A century later, Castle B exists in a time of damaged walls and dark skies. In 2122, Castle C lies in ruins with a ravaged landscape outside. As players move through the castle, time shifts occur between the eras. A color-coded poster map helps show which rooms exist in each period (red for Castle A, blue for Castle B, green for Castle C). The book shares ideas for handling time paradoxes and how time may pass differently in each version.

The rest of the material covers the domain of Forlorn and its rulers. Tristen ApBlanc, the lord of Forlorn, is part vampire and part ghost. There is a section on druidism that explains spellcasting secrets of redheaded humans. Notable landmarks include a granite cliff that bleeds blood and a half-mile fissure that spews yellow vapor across the domain.

Castles Forlorn was published as a boxed set containing one 96-page book, two 32-page books, two map sheets (one double-sided and one single-sided, both 32" x 21"), and a 32" x 21" poster. The design was by Lisa Smedman, editing by David Wise, cover by Dana M. Knutson, with illustrations by Stephen Fabian, Arnie Swekel, and Robert Klasnich.

Reception:
- Dragon magazine, issue #205 (May 1994), reviewed by Rick Swan. He called Castles Forlorn a terrific castle with a clever triple-time concept. He described dramatic time-shifted effects and noted the text provides good ideas for paradoxes and timing, but does not present a fully developed adventure; it offers hazards and relies on the referee to build tension. Some material feels mixed—strong ideas in places but ordinary or filler in others. Tristen ApBlanc is impressive, but some locations and NPCs aren’t as engaging. He concluded that, with a creative referee, the set can yield lasting surprises and is worth getting for the castle itself.
- White Wolf magazine (1994), reviewed by Gene Alloway. He rated the set as 3 out of 5 for Complexity, Concepts, Playability, and Value, and 4 out of 5 for Appearance, noting the quality as high and giving an overall rating of 3.