Subclasses for Ravenloft

 Any class or subclass can work in a horror environment. But some might work better than others. I thought, for fun, I'd point out some options for subclasses to play that let you blend into the gothic or otherwise spooky environments of Ravenloft.

A caveat: I'm leaving out the two villainous subclasses from the DMG for Paladins and Clerics, as well as the Bard and Warlock options from the upcoming Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, as the former two are obviously spooky because they're generally not intended for player characters, and the latter are obviously spooky because they're coming in the spooky book. The idea here is to try to fit the subclasses that would most naturally feel at home within a spooky realm. And I'm going to try to limit it to no more than two per class.

Artficer:

I'd argue the Alchemist makes the most sense here. While the alchemist does have access to healing, it's also got plenty of damage capability, and I really think that a plague-doctor-themed alchemist character would make a ton of sense as a spooky Ravenloft traveler. While you could flavor the other subclasses to be spooky (like making the Battle Smith's steel defender into a flesh golem or something like that) the alchemist needs to walk the shortest distance.

Barbarian:

Path of the Beast more or less makes you a werewolf or other lycanthrope if you lean into the flavor of it, so that's an obvious choice. I think you could also play up the ghostly aspect of the Ancestral Guardians to enhance the spookiness.

Bard:

Yes, the upcoming Spirits bard is the obvious choice here. But among the existing ones, College of Whispers is the perfect subclass for sinister back-alley dealings in a gilded cage like Dementlieu. If we're talking specific domains, College of Swords could also work for a place like The Carnival, though that subclass is less obviously sinister.

Cleric:

Grave domain here is pretty obvious, especially given its antagonism toward undead, which are, you know, pretty common in Ravenloft. I'm not sure that any subclass outside of Death domain in the DMG is as obviously spooky, though I could maybe see Twilight domain's emphasis on darkness working (though I see that as way more of a Feywild domain than a Shadowfell one.)

Druid:

Circle of Spores, which recently got its setting-agnostic reprint in Tasha's, is a pretty obvious one here, given that it's the kind of druid who can animate zombies. It's a reminder that "nature" isn't all pretty and serene. As an alternative, I'd put forth another Tasha's subclass: the Circle of Wildfire. While you can definitely flavor this as a much more benign kind of druid (which its healing capabilities push it toward,) I think this subclass has The Wicker Man written all over it. Van Richten's has a whole section on Folk Horror, and while druids in fantasy RPGs are often coded as tranquil, benevolent hippies who just want to protect nature from the destructive encroachment of industrialization, the Wildfire Druid can, I think, represent the horrors of the isolated backwoods, where fertility and nature is "protected" through bloody (or blazing) sacrifice.

Fighter:

The Psi Warrior's psionic powers could work well in a cosmic horror setting like Bluetspur, though I think I'd give the crown for best spooky Fighter to the oft-overlooked but actually awesome Echo Knight from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, which you could play up as a kind of doppelganger, ghostly technique.

Monk:

Way of Shadows is a bit on the nose, isn't it? But obvious things are obvious because they tend to fit well. I know I wanted to limit this to just two per class, but it's hard to pick between the Way of the Long Death from SCAG and the Way of Mercy in Tasha's. The former you'd be forgiven for not even knowing was a thing, because outside of a couple cantrips, no one really remembers anything from SCAG. I'm inclined to hand this to Way of Mercy simply because I think it's a better subclass and also has the incredibly creepy flavor thing of these monks always wearing spooky masks (which makes me flash back to wandering around Venice, Italy in the middle of the night with my family when I was 8 and getting really scared by all the displays of bauta masks in shop windows.)

Paladin:

Paladins are typically there to fight the spooky monsters, and outside of the Oathbreaker, there's only really one "villainous" Paladin subclass, the Oath of Conquest. So, I'd say if you want to play as a Ravenloft native (perhaps sworn to the service of a Dark Lord) you might go that way. Alternatively, for a paladin who's hunting monsters and trying to make the best of being in one a land of horror, classic Devotion makes perfect sense (it's also really good, mechanically).

Ranger:

Two very obvious choice present themselves: The Monster Slayer is basically tailor-made to be your vampire-hunting Van Helsing type. If you want to lean into being an agent of horror rather than only its adversary, The Swarmkeeper from Tasha's is an amazing option to go full-Willard and attack foes with your swarm of pests. (Special mention to the Gloomstalker, who arguably should be here too.)

Rogue:

Rogues are already a pretty spooky class, so most subclasses will work (except maybe Scout or Swashbuckler,) but the two most recent ones from Tasha's - the Soulknife and Phantom, are both fantastic choices, with the Soulkinfe having that same creepy factor as fellow psionic class, the Psi Warrior, and the Phantom literally having you interact with death as a kind of elemental force and snatch "soul trinkets" from dead enemies.

Sorcerer:

Shadow Sorcery is a pretty obvious one here, as you're literally drawing your power from the Shadowfell (or some other source of shadowy magic). And again, the psionic subclasses are all a bit spooky, but none perhaps as spooky as the Aberrant Mind, with all the body-horror stuff you get to with Revelation in Flesh.

Warlock:

I mean, ok. Warlocks are already the spookiest class by default. I could more easily list the non-spooky subclasses (which is basically Celestial, Genie, and maybe, just maybe Archfey, though they can be plenty spooky if your patron is a coven of hags or some kind of creepy nightmare-king). The Undying from SCAG might make it if I didn't consider the upcoming Undead patron to be the superior replacement for that one (it's getting nerfed from the UA version, but I think will still be very strong). The Hexblade, if you emphasize its connection to the Shadowfell, works pretty well too. But then, the Great Old One... and the Fathomless both fit pretty well for Cosmic Horror. And the Fiend works pretty damn well for Gothic horror as well (even if they tend to downplay fiends in Ravenloft to keep it separate from Planescape). Look, Warlocks might just have to be the exception here, because they are spooky AF.

Wizard:

Well, School of Necromancy is kind of obvious - raising zombies and such. Can't really argue with that. If I were to give a second one... I think Illusion or Enchantment would be other options, given how messed up it is to tamper with someone's perceptions or desires like that. But Necromancy is the very clear winner here.