Lots of depictions medieval Europe (or ME type settings) do place them there before the ships needed to routinely make that trip were built (yes I know, Vikings. They weren't importing potatoes back to Scandinavia). On the one hand, few people care about authentic medieval diets in a world of...
Unfortunately, it ended up one of those seminal adventures for the larger metaplot of Ravenloft that the setting would reference constantly. Luckily, it was still possible to ignore it and the 5e version changes it to far more of an Omen style story in the brief blurb in VGR.
I think it's also important to mention that horror is never about the violence, but the threat of violence. To yourself. To others. To society. Dracula is clearly overpowering compared to Johnathan Harker, but the horror doesn't come from his (or his brides) attacks, but by the the threat of...
See I think that is better handled at the system level. Level Up for powerful heroic fantasy, The One Ring for low magic epic adventure. The system that tries to allow both does neither well.
If by broader, you mean a disjointed one that tried to run away from its core premise chasing fads and trying to be GURPs, I might agree. Even in my 2e days, it bothered me how nearly every setting insisted on arbitrary limitations and widely fluctuating power levels, often at the expense of any...
This interests me. You don't care that due Spotify could remove access to your favorite band due to royalty disputes or that Netflix can remove your favorite show from ever being seen again? Or how a video game you spent money on can have its servers shut down and all the money spent on it gone...
I don't imagine they are going to branch beyond "small stuff" for a while. WotC is making big books into events via the Seasons system, so right now the only exclusive stuff is dlc which is very niche.
I bought Astarion's Book of Hungers because I like vampires and I wanted to new Dhampir...
I'm not sure print is going away anytime soon. But I could see it going for a premium market (paperback books are already a dying breed, but hardbacks are still profitable, both on traditional books and gaming). Further, I expect WotC is banking on selling print baubles (map packs, DM screens...
When I want to own something, I buy a hardcover. From my LGS.
I consider Beyond no different than watching a show on streaming (Netflix, Disney+) or listening to a song on Spotify or YouTube Music. Or maybe better, buying a cosmetic in a Liveservice game like WoW or Fortnite. At any minute any...
On a side tangent, I've never gotten a good visual on how the eldercross is supposed to look. The best I can get is a Laurel wreath but made of flesh or horn