Dungeons and Dragons wasn’t content to just roll out a patch today; it also launched preorders for its next expansion. But as you’ll quickly see, they kinda go hand in hand.

Update 74 is indeed live today with the new vampire-themed Dhampir race and Dark Bargainer hero with their full trait and feat trees. “Dhampir are characters with innate connections to death and undeath,” Standing Stone Games says in the patch notes. “Many are half-Vampires one way or another, and have a life-draining bite.”

There’s a catch, however: The race and iconic hero are paid content through the expansion, The Chill of Ravenloft, which has also opened preorder today.

“Step back into the haunting mists of Ravenloft in the chilling new Dungeons & Dragons Online expansion. Venture to Lamordia, a land forever bound by ice and shrouded in darkness. Amidst bleak alleys, derelict factories, and grotesque laboratories, sinister secrets fester beneath the surface; mysterious disappearances, grisly murders, and ghastly experiments gone awry. Confront the scientific horrors crafted by the brilliant but terrifying Dr. Viktra Mordenheim. Perhaps your courage will unravel the curse gripping Lamordia… if you live long enough to see the truth! Master chilling power as the new Dhampir race, dive into dread-filled dungeons, and uncover the mysteries of a land trapped in eternal winter. Pre-purchase The Chill of Ravenloft now to gain immediate access to the Dhampir race, the Dark Bargainer Iconic, and exclusive cosmetics!”

As usual, there are three bundles – the basic at 40 bucks, the collector’s edition at 80, and the big mama package at 130, with varying amounts of perks, cosmetics, character slots, and so forth. Players who purchase any of the packs today will be able to play the Dhampir race right away; the Dark Bargainer is currently locked to the $130 package. The content itself, however, is coming with the full expansion release at some point in August (and no later than September 5th, according to the verbiage).

Finally, SSG has announced that one of DDO’s upcoming 64-bit servers, Oerik, provoked so much controversy over how to pronounce it that SSG is simply renaming it to Shadowdale. Nerds.

We have heard your concerns about the name Oerik, particularly some concerns about spelling and pronunciation, so we've decided to adjust the name while we still can. Oerik is now known as: Shadowdale! #DDO

— Dungeons & Dragons Online (@ddounlimited.bsky.social) 2025-06-17T09:44:01-07:00