Welcome to Kartakass in the demi-plane known as Ravenloft. The story told in this module sees the players through a quest to retrieve an artifact known as the Crown of Souls (the back cover calls it out as the Crown of Soldiers, however). Throughout the adventure the characters will face powerful foes who, like all of Ravenloft, rarely appear as they really are.

This large module serves as an introductory adventure for the Ravenloft campaign setting. The 96 page module includes information on running a Ravenloft adventure with special emphasis on invoking the sense of fear and horror the setting should inspire. Advice to DMs to help create the proper mood are introduced and reminders are included throughout the text. The module details a "plausible plot" that the players are likely to follow as well as providing several side tracks that the players may decide to follow instead. The main story relies on strong non-player characters that prove to be a worthy challenge for both players to face and for the DM to run.

The module's cover includes a special addition to the Dungeon Master's Screen that provides data unique to the Ravenloft campaign setting.

The module also includes a full color poster of the cover artwork, a color poster with maps of the domain and areas of interest such as Harmonia Skald, and Homlack. The inner cover includes additional maps on one side and a specialized 2-page character sheet for the Ravenloft campaign setting on the other.