Your characters travel along a road covered with the growth of non-use. It seems that this adventure will be anything but eventful. Ghosts and creatures of the night indeed! Perhaps the townsfolk who commissioned your band of adventurers are more in need of a night-light and nursemaid than eager soldiers of fortune. For some strange reason, travelers won't use this more direct route through "The Tanglewood" to the neighboring community. Tales of visitors not emerging from the other side seem somewhat overrated.  A band of thieves to be disciplined no doubt.

The fog appears to be thickening as you proceed.  It has a surreal texture  and view to it.  The mist swirls with the wind. But wait a second....there is no wind! The swirling mist seems to take on various shapes. Was that a lost love? Perhaps you see a long forgotten friend or parent. Now the mist is all you can see. The swirling shapes take on a completely different shape. Forgotten stories from your childhood come to life in the mist. For an instant...was that a Vampire? No...It's a Skeleton! Wait...gone... Now it's becomiong a Ghost! The horses are uneasy beneath you, becoming increasingly difficult to control.

The mist begins to clear, but the woods have thinned and the tangled road has disappeared! A river emerges from the mist in front of you. It appears too deep to cross and no bridge is in sight. Suddenly you hear the sound of a craft being poled in the water. A lone robed figure in an ancient ferry approaches. He docks the craft directly in front of you. Strangely, you each feel a weight in your hand. A coin with markings unknown to you has appeared in your hands. The pilot slowly walks to the edge of his boat and extends a skeletal hand...

I will be using the AD&D first edition rules and Ravenloft Campaign rules (especially the rules on fear and horror checks).

Any classes, alignments, races, or spells that are endorsed by TSR  are allowed. I may introduce other spells, but at some point during the game, these will be accessible to the players (note, however, not all of these may be usable by the players because of race, class, etc. restrictions). The only condition that I am introducing is that I must be supplied a copy of the race, class, spell, etc. (preferably in electronic format) if I don't already have it.

Players are allowed, if not encouraged, to feel free to look up monsters by whatever means they have available. The Monstrous Compendium, Monster Manuals, etc. are excellent resources, but these are to be used only as an outline. All monsters are not equal. I have made some adjustments to the existing creatures, but the basics remain the same. Finding new creatures that I have introduced on the internet is fair game. I see this as your characters doing research while "in town".

Don't  expect the dungeon floors to be littered with magical items. On the upside, don't expect mundane magic (i.e. +1 sword). Magical items will tend to have a specific use and history. Swords will most likely have a name and specific purpose for which they were created.

I would like for a player to keep an electronic journal of the sessions. I could post them to the web sight so that players who missed a session could keep up and I feel it would be entertaining for all of us. This isn't required, but I think it would be nice.

Review or reread The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Books of Lost Swords. This information will prove extremely helpful (hint, hint...). Even watching the animated movies would work.

Reading the various "Van Richten's Guide to....." accessories (TSR) would give some insight to the possibilities that I might introduce in monsters. This could also give hints as to possibilities that might exist when looking for a means of defeating a creature.

I won't require, but do reccommend, a non-evil party.  Due to the corrupting nature of Ravenloft, evil characters are easily controlled by the Darklords. The struggle of Good vs. Evil is the overall theme of the campaign.