Ravenloft Reincarnated: The Shadowlands

[hidajiremi]

The Shadowlands are a realm of dark fantasy, chivalric romance, and grim fairy tales. Holy knights embark on epic quests, many of which end in tragedy—and more than a few of which spawn tragedies that span generations. Professions of love turn to bitterness when they are not reciprocated, becoming the worst sort of hate with time. Unspeakable atrocities and shameful secrets skulk within both the dense forests and the strongholds of righteousness. The sun never fully rises in the Shadowlands, and all become lost in the dark.

The skies above the Shadowlands are very different than those in many of the other lands of the Domains of Dread. The sky holds two moons that loom large in the perpetual dimness. The sun never rises in the Shadowlands, at most becoming a red haze on the eastern horizon that makes the stars fade slightly. The forests of the domain crawl with nocturnal and crepuscular life, fungal growths, and strange lights.

The Shadowlands are bound not only by their chivalric history and tragic tales but by the legacy of the Shadowborn family. Once a noble family of knights, priests, and holy warriors, the Shadowborns were decimated by the machinations of evil, their allies corrupted and their great works cast down. Now, only the legends of their righteousness remain, along with a scant few embers of their once-blazing light. The darkness that encroaches upon the cluster seeks for those last remaining flames, seeking to snuff them out forever.

The domain of Avonleigh was once the ancestral homeland of the Shadowborn family before their betrayal and fall. Now it is a haunted land, a domain of eldritch forests swathed in eternal twilight. Ruins of castles and villages indicate a land that was once both populous and wealthy, but none remain who can say for sure—save Morgoroth, the former court wizard to the Shadowborn family, now trapped within the ruins of Tergeron Manor as a half-living shade. From his shadowy damnation, he sends forth twisted beasts and the walking dead to carry out his will.

Nidala is the shattered remnant of the empire once ruled by the Shadowborns, now held in thrall by the fallen lieutenant of the last of their line. Elena Faithhold rules as regent for the long-dead Kateri Shadowborn, claiming legitimacy despite her repeated violations of her friend’s ideals. Lady Elena makes moralistic decrees that lay heavily on the people of Nidala, with even the slightest infractions punished by torture and death.

To the west of the two domains lies the labyrinthine Phantasmal Forest, where the wan light of the twilight sun never penetrates. None are sure what damned soul dominates the region, but legends speak of many horrendous beings dwelling within, such as the dread unicorn Addar, the ruins of Forenoon Abbey haunted by undead called the Dark Triad, and other monstrosities. Somewhere at the center of the forest is Shadowborn Manor itself, supposedly haunted by both the ghosts of the dead Shadowborn family and the fiend that engineered their downfall.

The last domain of the Shadowlands is the provincial land of Tepest, a rural land of farmers and loggers who fear the fey that dwell within the forests of their land. In recent years, they have begun to embrace Lady Elena’s inquisitors as their only salvation from witchcraft and faerie devilry. The cure may well prove worse than the disease as the zealous inquisition turns its eye on the traditional beliefs of the locals, regarding their superstitions and folk remedies as blasphemies.


Languages

The common tongue of the cluster is Nidalan, a descendant of the language spoken by the folk of the Great Kingdom that Nidala and Avonleigh were once part of. The people of Tepest speak their own language, Tepestani, but most of those dwelling in larger towns can also speak Nidalan due to the influence of the Inquisition. The occasional trade between Nidala and Darkon means that a few local scholars can also speak Darkonese.


Connections

The Mistway known as the Via Corona reliably connects western Avonleigh with eastern Darkon. Within Avonleigh, the Mistway becomes the road called the King’s Highway, which bisects the domain from west to east, running past Tergeron Manor, through the Old Fens, and to the mountain passes into Nidala.

A fracture at the bottom of Lake Amenta in Nidala connects to Loch Lenore in the Shadow Rift. This Mistway is reliable for the thirteen years in which the Unseelie Court rules, but it is closed completely during the thirteen years of rule by the Seelie Court.


Belenus

Worship of the sun-god Belenus is common throughout the Shadowlands. The followers of Belenus say that he bestows the life-giving light and heat of the sun on those who please him—and withholds it from those who earn his wrath. The clergy of Nidala hold that the disappearance of the sun is a sign of their god’s anger at the perfidy and sin of mortal man. The regent of Nidala, Elena Faithhold, is particularly vocal in her calls for purification and cleansing to win back the favor of Belenus.

In Tepest, Belenus is just one of many gods worshiped, though his faith has risen to prominence with the arrival of the Inquisition. The people of Tepest often mingle their religious practices and folklore, conflating the worship of Belenus with time-honored tales of shadow fey, ravenous goblins, fiendish hags, and dire witches.

A major conflict between the two regions is that Nidalans permit only women to join the priesthood of Belenus, calling themselves “godwives” and holding to vows of chastity. Men are permitted to serve the faith as guardians, enforcers, and soldiers, but they are forbidden from taking holy orders. In Tepest, both men and women can serve as priests of Belenus (or any of their other gods) and often have lovers or families. This “impropriety” is one of the many things that the Inquisition seeks to stamp out, but they have had less success in this area than in others.

The holy symbol of Belenus is a golden sunburst made of intricate whorls or knots. The traditional weapon of his priesthood is a common farmer’s sickle, but Nidalan priests and holy warriors been using swords as their preferred weapon for generations.

[hidajiremi]

Avonleigh

Despite its former status as the heartland province of the Great Kingdom, Avonleigh today is an empty land of ruins, overgrown fields, tangled forests, and wandering monsters. As with much of the cluster, there is no true day or night in Avonleigh, only an endless twilight that seems impenetrable even to torches and magical illumination. A perpetual damp chill hangs in the air, as though the land were always on the edge of autumn. Where the sky peeks through the trees overhead, black clouds streak a starless sky, occasionally broken by the light of the twin moons.

Most of Avonleigh is claimed by forests, their black trees and tangled brambles seeming to claw at trespassers. Though outsiders refer to the whole region as the Phantasmal Forest, this nomenclature actually belongs only to the woods in the westernmost reaches of the domain, the forest that lies to the west of cursed Tergeron Manor.

A few old roads crisscross the tangled woods, primarily the ancient King’s Highway, but beyond these overgrown paths the forest is so dense that travel would be impossible were it not for game trails and creek beds to follow. The undergrowth is choked with nettles, toadstools, rotting logs, and grasping vines. The sounds of the forest are occasionally broken by inhuman sobbing, monstrous laughter, and distant, echoing screams.

Rarely, the forests open up onto fogbound peat bogs, where yellow grasses and reeds hide deep, foul waters, and the remains of towns and fields, long since fallen into decay and covered by overgrowth. The waters of Wyndham Lake and Devonshire Pond are just as fetid as the bogs, blanketed by algal scum and bubbling with unpleasant gases. The swamps and waterways are haunted by mysterious floating lights, many of which are deadly will-o’-wisps.

No living person is known to still make their home in the cursed and forsaken land of Avonleigh. The inhabitants of neighboring Nidala are well aware of the beasts and undead that dwell there, stationing large numbers of troops on the few passable trails that connect the two lands. Despite this, knights and priests from Nidala frequently venture forth into Avonleigh. The Knight Protector of Nidala, Elena Faithhold, is convinced that some dread entity makes its home at the heart of the Phantasmal Forest, and its defeat would mark a major turning point in her war against evil. Her plans to breach the forest have proceeded slowly and been marred by maddening setbacks, most of them due to the monsters haunting Avonleigh.


Tropes

Avonleigh is a ruined kingdom straight out of Arthurian legend. Once a noble and proud land, it has fallen into chaos and waits for a band of noble knights to set things right. Unfortunately, since it is a part of the Domains of Dread, those knights are more likely destined to meet a horrible end than to free the princess from her crystal coffin and defeat the dark wizard holding her. Despite its lack of inhabitants (other than monsters, of course), it remains an important location for uncovering the secrets of the long-lost Shadowborn family, as well as the relics and lore they left behind in their passing.


Themes

• Ghosts and Ghouls: Avonleigh is a realm of the dead. Its people are lost to the ruin of ages, only their graves left to mark their passing. It is not a place of the quiet dead, however, for the restless corpses and spirits of those fallen folk are ubiquitous throughout the domain. Every abandoned town is haunted, either by spirits or the walking dead. Every ruined castle is crawling with hungry corpses. The forests are rife with patrolling skeletons and zombies.

• Lost Redemption: The wizard Morgoroth sought forgiveness and redemption for his former crimes, but he lost his way and fell back into evil. Avonleigh is a place of temptation into darkness for those that have previously tasted its bitter nectar. Warriors seeking to forsake violence find it the only solution for their problems; wizards who are tempted by black magic find forbidden lore in every corner of the domain; even righteous priests can see the allure in breaking their vows for the sake of expediency. Adventures in Avonleigh should include hauntings that remind adventurers of their past sins or lure them toward committing new ones.

• Stasis: Avonleigh is a land trapped in perpetual twilight—forever on the cusp of change, but forever unable to achieve it. The dead are caught in loops of unlife, while the few living that visit the forsaken land are trapped in the cycle of a quest that can never be fulfilled. The stasis suffered by the domain is a mirror to the entrapment of its darklord and his forever-sleeping prisoner, as well as a reminder of how Morgoroth ultimately failed in his desire to change.


Notable Locations

Devonshire Pond is a fetid bog filled with algae, rotting logs, and foul-smelling scum. It bubbles with strange gases at all times, and camping near it is quite dangerous, as the gas is frequently toxic to breathe. The native frogs have developed an immunity to the noxious gases, but they have subsequently become incredibly poisonous themselves.

The remnants of the King’s Highway bisect Avonleigh, running east-west through the center of the domain. This road is still traversable, through its cobbles have shifted through the years and bristling weeds poke through the cracks. The highway is faster than the forested trails, but hardly any safer as it is frequently patrolled by the undead forces of the ghostly wizard Morgoroth, who is said to be the land’s secret ruler.

Along the King’s Highway, at the edge of the Phantasmal Forest, stands Tergeron Manor, as foreboding and decrepit as any crypt. Beyond corroded iron gates it waits, a sprawling and opulent estate long since claimed by ruin and the surrounding forest. Invariably, the belfry atop the western wing transfixes travelers, for it shines always with a beacon of brilliant white light. This light sends a shiver down the spines of onlooker, for it is not comforting at all but cold and strangely sorrowful—the glow of mourning, not hope.

Wyndham Lake is the other major body of water in Avonleigh, just as disgusting and filthy as Devonshire Pond but not host to the same noxious gases. The lake is a watering hole for local wildlife and is also home to an enormous lake pike that has been known to snatch and devour full-sized bears from the shoreline.


The Darklord

Avonleigh was once a thriving land, the heartland province of a great kingdom that had been forged by honor, justice, and fairness for all people. Generations of peace had left the land unprepared for hardship by the time the wizard Morgoroth the Black arrived. Hailing from another world, Morgoroth had been a cruel tyrant, a sorcerer of the blackest arts. The people of Avonleigh feared him from the moment of his arrival and prepared for the worst—only to find that the Morgoroth who knelt before their liege was far from the monster they had heard of.

Morgoroth admitted his crimes before the throne of Lord Ferran Shadowborn, swearing that he had come to a new world not for conquest but for a fresh start and the chance at redemption. He had come to see the error of his ways and wanted nothing more than the opportunity to make up for his past sins. He asked Lord Ferran only for a plot of land to call his own, and in exchange he would use his powers to aid the people of the great kingdom.

While some of Lord Ferran’s advisors warned him against trusting the wizard, the lord of the Shadowborn line merely offered Morgoroth his hand in friendship. Forgiveness and compassion had long been the Shadowborn way, but this gesture would inadvertently destroy all that the king held dear.

Morgoroth used his incredible magic to build his new home, Tergeron Manor, in a single night. Unfortunately, the lingering traces of black magic clinging to the wizard also bound to the mansion the souls of those he had unjustly slain, turning it into a haunted place. For years, Morgoroth worked tirelessly to prove himself to the people of Avonleigh and to the Knights of the Circle, the champions and holy warriors of the great kingdom. Lord Ferran became a close friend of Morgoroth, and the Circle eventually relied heavily on the wizard’s advice and guidance.

Everything changed when Morgoroth first met Ferran’s younger sister, Aurora. He fell in love with her at first sight, but he was convinced that she could never feel the same way for him. After all, he was old, unattractive, and bore a terrible reputation. Worse, Aurora was destined for the priesthood, where she would be “wed” to the god Belenus and take holy vows of chastity. He did his best to forget his attraction to the beautiful young woman, acting only as her friend and mentor.

Years passed with Morgoroth struggling to both hold to his path of redemption despite the ever-present judgment of the ghosts of Tergeron Manor and his own desires. When a warrior from Morgoroth’s homeworld, a knight named Sir Lambert, arrived in Avonleigh, everything came crashing down. Lambert came before Lord Ferran and demanded that Morgoroth be turned over to him for judgment, detailing the wizard’s many heinous deeds.

Fearing that Lord Ferran would side with the outlander knight, Morgoroth decided to finally admit his feelings to Aurora before departing Avonleigh forever. His confession was met only by tears and Aurora fleeing from him. The wizard was shattered by what he saw as a rejection in the cruelest fashion. When Lambert came to Tergeron Manor, filled with self-righteousness, Morgoroth concluded that both Shadowborns had betrayed him. He slew Lambert with ease and then raised the wretch’s body as an undead slave, turning back to the black arts he had forsaken so long ago.

Lord Ferran arrived at Tergeron Manor shortly thereafter and struck down what had once been Lambert in horror. He stormed into the mansion, screaming that he had trusted Morgoroth—that he had ordered Lambert to not approach the wizard, not just because he was Ferran’s friend but because Ferran’s sister was in love with him. The truth shook Morgoroth to the core, but Ferran had seen the fruits of the wizard’s dark arts firsthand and could no longer turn a blind eye. Their battle was epic but unwitnessed—and ended the only way it could, with Ferran’s death.

Knowing that any feelings Aurora might have for him would mean nothing now that he had slain her brother, Morgoroth fully embraced the darkness. He traveled to Aurora’s side and incapacitated her with a spell of slumber, then sealed her in a crystal coffin to protect her while he made his next moves. He slaughtered the Knights of the Circle, then raised their corpses as the beginnings of an army of the dead to conquer Avonleigh itself. As the battles for the kingdom raged, he returned to Tergeron Manor only to find that he could not unseal Aurora from her crystal coffin nor communicate with her in any way.

Worse, he found that his spells of transport would no longer permit him to leave the borders of Avonleigh itself. He was trapped in the kingdom he had betrayed. This offended the wizard’s pride, and so he began a potent ritual using a magic mirror as a gateway to try and escape. The ritual backfired, shattering the mirror and Morgoroth’s physical form alike. His spirit was pulled into the realm of ghosts, leaving him even more trapped, this time within the walls of Tergeron Manor.

Though he is little more than a ghost himself now, Morgoroth still schemes to regain his physical form and escape Avonleigh. He can perceive events beyond the manor’s walls by using the fragments of his magic mirror as scrying devices, and he can control undead anywhere within the domain regardless of who raised or summoned them. He cannot directly control those that leave Avonleigh, but he frequently sends hordes of zombies and other creatures into both Nidala and the Phantasmal Forest with orders to seek out anything that might aid in his plans.

For the few that can perceive him, Morgoroth looks much like he did in life. He is a man of uncanny height, nearly seven feet tall, with skin that seems thinly stretched across his protruding bones. His black hair is a stark contrast to his deathly pale skin, and his grey eyes seem to bulge in his skull. He wears black silken robes lined in silver, keeping the hood up to cover his face. He is never without his necromancer’s staff. When not plotting to regain his body, he spends most of his time in the chamber containing Aurora’s coffin, ruminating on how things could have been different.

[Manofevil]

Guys, I think we've been SPAMMED.

[hidajiremi]

Spam aside, let's keep going. XD


Nidala

A domain of breathtaking, rugged wilderness, Nidala was once the furthest province of the Great Kingdom, a hinterland where many battles were fought during the Heretical Wars with the Southern Empire. The Theospine Mountains run through the center of the realm, cleaving the east from the west with their snowcapped heights that soar to touch the cold, gray sky. Sparkling streams and rivers flow down either side of the range, teeming with freshwater fish and shellfish.

To the east, the jagged crags descend to rolling foothills, where flocks of sheep graze serenely under the watchful gaze of their shepherds. Lake Amenta clings close to the southern reaches of the Theospines, while sweeping grasslands and fertile farms stretch away in the furthest east of the domain, eventually changing into a densely forested floodplain. The Knight Protector’s warriors patrol the eastern woods for predators—both natural and otherwise—and lumberjacks work year-round with little fear, despite the reputation of the woods of Tepest that lie beyond.

West of the Theospines, Nidala’s landscape is far more savage and sinister. The peaks slope down toward rocky badlands that are riddled with black, twisting caverns. As the barren hills descend into gloomy forests, the air becomes tense and dreadful. The gnarled trees creak and sway regardless of the winds, hiding the approach of both beasts and the undead that flow into Nidala from Avonleigh. The region is littered with ruined villages, their burnt remains a testament to the fearsome power of the dragon called Banemaw, which lives somewhere in the Theospines.

Despite the plenty offered by the land, the mild climate, and the lack of significant predators in the more populous eastern reaches of the domain, the people of Nidala live in constant fear. Their ruler, the Knight Protector Elena Faithhold, rules with an iron fist from her fortress on Mount Malcredo. Her edicts name Belenus the only true god, and those who follow other faiths—or other gods of the same pantheon, or even those worshiping Belenus the “wrong” way—are heretics who must be purged. Elena issues new decrees nearly every week on the “right” way to worship Belenus, and anyone caught breaking these decrees is punished harshly, with public floggings and hangings an almost daily occurrence.

The only reason the people of Nidala tolerate this terror is because they are far more afraid of the creature that would descend on them were it not for Elena’s protection. None have seen the dragon and lived save the Knight Protector herself, for any village targeted by the dragon is left a smoldering ruin with no survivors to tell the tale. She constantly trains her knights for battle against the beast, but they inevitably arrive too late to stop its rampages.


Tropes

Nidala is a land of religious fervor turned to oppression. Its leader plays on the fears of the people to retain control of them as she squeezes them tighter and tighter. Lady Elena’s zeal and self-loathing mingle, pushing her to prove her righteousness by inflicting horrors on those who look to her for salvation. Her own doubts and fears are made manifest in the harsh proclamations she uses to test the faith of her people—who are inevitably found wanting, just as she finds her own faith wanting.


Themes

• Cry Wolf: Banemaw is the terror that keeps Nidala’s populace from turning against their tyrannical ruler. But Banemaw doesn’t exist—the creature is a lie told to distract the people from their very real problems. When the citizenry starts becoming unruly, Elena must engineer another atrocity to keep them focused on the threat of the dragon that lurks outside their walls instead of the tyrant that dwells within them. With each new disaster laid at Banemaw’s feet, however, the people of Nidala question why their supposed protector cannot protect them. Eventually, the pot will boil over.

• Ministry of Propaganda: Nidala is a place where the ruler says to believe her rather than one’s own lying eyes. What was sin this week may be permissible the next—or vice versa, more likely. Right and wrong change so frequently that the only way to avoid punishment is to keep your head down and avoid doing anything at all besides the basic necessities of living. Even that can become grounds for punishment if a citizen catches the eye of a particularly zealous or strict inquisitor.

• Religious Zeal: To Elena Faithhold, there is only one god and only one proper way to worship that god—her way. Anyone who believes differently, even the slightest, is an enemy of the faith. Faith is the only bar for determining rulership in Nidala, so the most zealous and blindly reverent take the highest positions, not the most competent or useful. In a land where those who break the law are also the worst sort of sinners, any amount of mistreatment is acceptable.


Notable Locations

Lake Amenta is the center of fey activity in Nidala, largely because of the Mistway that connects the bottom of the lake to Loch Lenore in the Shadow Rift. The area around the lake is largely abandoned due to a number of bloody incidents from the last period of activity in the Mistway a generation ago, where a horde of bloodthirsty fey swarmed forth and overran several nearby villages.

Mount Malcredo is the tallest mountain in Nidala, and the seat of Lady Elena’s power, the Faith Hold. The mountain is barren and holds no riches, but it holds a commanding position over the nearby countryside. The Faith Hold itself is more a fortress than a castle. The centuries-old walls remain strong and tall, creating a refuge for Lady Elena’s soldiers and priests. The courtyard contains a standing henge of stone sacred to Belenus that predates the castle’s construction. Due to the clever building of the walls and the height of the Faith Hold, the henge is one of the few places in the domain that is ever bathed in direct sunlight. Lady Elena issues daily sermons to her followers from the henge to remind them of her status as the chosen of Belenus.

Near the edge of the eastern foothills stands the bustling city of Touraine. Its buildings are charming and tidy, few of them standing taller than two stories and largely built from stone and timber, finished in cream-colored plaster and stucco. The gabled roofs are shingled in vermilion tiles. The people of Touraine are subdued and jaded from the constant punishments inflicted on them by the Knight Protector’s henchmen, fearful of living their lives lest they break a commandment. Some such punishments have mandatory attendance for the populace, in order to see the fate of heretics and lawbreakers.


The Darklord

Elena Faithhold is a tall human woman with raven-black hair and deep blue eyes. She is a born general and warrior, looking far more at home on the field of battle in blood-spattered plate armor than at court in a gown. Though she is conventionally attractive, most people are put off by her stern, humorless demeanor, eyes filled with burning zeal, and commanding tones. She is never without her enchanted broadsword, Caitlyn, and she considers righteous battle the truest sign of devotion to her god.

Elena was once a Knight of the Circle, a contemporary and close friend of Kateri Shadowborn. She spent her youth fighting in the Heretical Wars against the Southern Empire, which ended with the defeat of the demon possessing the empire’s caliph. She returned to her home province of Nidala a hero, basking in the praise and adoration of her people.

In the wake of Lady Kateri’s assassination, she used her popularity as a war hero to rally the people into a grand new crusade—a war against the concept of evil itself. Followed by an army of thousands of fanatics, Elena pushed forth to destroy every cult, creature, and evil-doer she could find. The War of Evil lasted many months, but ended with a rousing victory for the forces of good.

Over the course of the war, the people of Nidala turned away from the rest of their gods to focus only on Belenus, the god of the sun and Elena’s patron. Elena’s dismissiveness toward those of other faiths didn’t help, and gradually her people came to see worship of Belenus as the “one true faith.” Eager to please her god—and to receive the praise and adoration she received as a war hero—Elena began a new crusade, this one to purge nonbelievers from her land.

It was at this time that Elena’s holy powers waned. Convinced of her own righteousness, she saw this as merely a test from Belenus—a way for her god to let her prove her true devotion. After killing or driving out those who did not worship Belenus, she turned on her own followers and began to purge those whose beliefs were not firm enough, those who had questioned her, and those who had relatives or loved ones that had been the target of the pogroms. With each new purge, she found a new group to target with her perpetual crusade. In the hole in Elena’s heart where faith once lay, festering bitterness took hold. A dark power crept in to replace those which she had lost, and the Mists took Nidala.

Now, Elena is the sole ruler of her land, a nation where only righteous thought and action are permitted—and where she determines what is righteous. Elena can sense that something is wrong, but in her pride and vainglory, she insists that the evil she senses is from the world around her rather than within her own heart. She constantly seeks for the “perfect” interpretation of her god’s will, which will surely bring her back into his grace. She makes frequent proclamations, declaring certain actions or beliefs heretical and sending forth her inquisitors to enforce this new doctrine, all the while insisting that there is nothing new about it—that this is what Belenus really wanted all along.

The people of Nidala suffer mightily under her insistent convictions, calling her “Elena Stranglehold” when they think she cannot hear them. She knows what they think of her, but she pretends not to care. When it becomes too much for her and she begins to have doubts about her path, she will disguise herself and travel to outlying villages. In these travels, should she see more evil than good in a day of observation, she destroys the village and all its inhabitants for their irredeemable sinfulness. Of course, she inevitably manages to find the center of ill repute in each town, and to judge the people’s deeds in the harshest possible light. No town has ever survived Elena’s judgment.

In order to avoid revolution from the sinful ingrates of her land, Elena invented the dragon Banemaw as the cause of the destroyed villages. She spreads terrible tales of the creature’s might and power, insisting that only she and her knights can protect the people from its rampages. With each new village lost, however, the people doubt her capabilities further—which only makes her treat them more harshly. And so, the cycle continues.

[hidajiremi]

The Phantasmal Forest

The Phantasmal Forest is not named for illusions, but rather for the many disembodied spirits that haunt it. Phantasms, ghosts, specters, wraiths, and more make their home in this lightless wood, drawn to it by a sort of foul spiritual magnetism. The vast numbers of incorporeal undead dwelling in the Phantasmal Forest make it incredibly dangerous, but it is home to worse horrors still.

Once upon a time, the forest to the west of Tergeron Manor was simply another deep wilderness of the Great Kingdom, no more forbidding or dangerous than most. When Morgoroth the Black built his new home, however, the mansion and the surrounding woods became the haunting grounds of the countless innocent souls that Morgoroth had slain over the course of his long and terrible life.

Since that time, the corrupt ethereal energies of the Phantasmal Forest have drawn in not just more undead, but many other beings susceptible to its malign influence. One of the most notable is the corrupted unicorn Addar, who is said to be one of the parents of the species called shadow unicorns. The forest is also home to numerous ghouls, created by the Ahltrian—the Dark Triad—who served Ebonbane as assassins and spies during their mortal lives, and are now condemned to an eternity of fruitless waiting.

Travelers have reported far more strangeness within the forest as well. One legend speaks of a ruined village filled with nothing but wooden mannequins that come to life in the blackest hours of the night, while another says that village is ruled by a living statue of Kateri Shadowborn that mouths dreadful heresies as it stalks intruders. The ruins of several fortresses lie within the forest, some of them places that were destroyed in the Heretical Wars and others that were burned in the War of Evil. Somewhere in the forest is a deep mineshaft surrounded by the abandoned implements of the miners and smiths that once pulled ore from the depths, and elsewhere are mausoleums, graveyards, and tombs aplenty.


Tropes

The Phantasmal Forest is the archetypal “dark and enchanted wood” from fantasy fiction. Like Mirkwood Forest from The Hobbit, the Silvanesti Nightmare from Dragonlance, or the memory manifesting powers of Mythago Wood, the Phantasmal Forest is a wilderness that is haunted both literally and metaphorically. The domain also takes some of its cues from the Lost Woods of The Legend of Zelda—a forested labyrinth filled with strange monsters that is as much a puzzle as it is a location. Journeying through the Phantasmal Forest should always be an exercise in narrative journeying rather than simple woodcraft.


Themes

• Pearls in the Oil: The Phantasmal Forest has no single darklord. In a very real sense, the whole forest is Ebonbane’s reality wrinkle expanded into a domain of its own in order to keep the demon blade contained. Dark and twisted souls whose lives touched on those of the Shadowborn family are drawn here by Ebonbane’s obsession, becoming “demi-lords” of their own tiny hells, floating in the forest like pearls dropped into oil.

• Psychotropic Horror: The Phantasmal Forest is no illusion, but it can seem like one at times. The scenery moves and shifts, sometimes appearing hyper-real and sometimes seeming like little more than cutouts and set pieces. Landmarks aren’t where a traveler left them. Paths disappear when no one is looking at them. Monsters can come out of seemingly nowhere and vanish just as quickly. Adventuring in the Phantasmal Forest should feel like being trapped in a fever dream.

• Shadowborn Echoes: Everything in the Phantasmal Forest relates to the life and times of Kateri Shadowborn in some fashion. Whether it be her mount, her enemies in life, her former friends, her battles, or anything else, every bit of the forest is a reflection of Ebonbane’s obsession with the long-dead paladin. This can be useful for piecing together information about the mysterious Shadowborn legacy before confronting Ebonbane, but it can also allow cunning characters to undermine Ebonbane’s confidence or sense of control by learning more about the demon sword’s origins and focus than it would like others to know.


Notable Locations

Addar’s Glade is never in the same place twice. This break in the trees serves as the lair of the corrupted unicorn who was once Kateri Shadowborn’s loyal steed. When Addar runs through the forest, the glade disappears, only to appear again wherever he stops to rest. The unicorn can lead travelers to any location in the Phantasmal Forest—even to the walls of Shadowborn Manor—but only if they appease his immense vanity.

The Dolmens are an oasis of safety in the wretched expanse of the forest. The god Belenus himself is said to have erected this circle of stones as a respite for his faithful. Evil cannot enter the Dolmens, and no living creature will harm any person resting here so long as they offer no harm in return. The Dolmens are the only place in the Shadowlands where the sun shines brightly.

Once the sacred home of pious scholars, Forenoon Abbey is now a nest for numerous ghouls. The most powerful of these unholy creatures are the Dark Triad, the last three followers of Ebonbane who conspired to summon the demon back into the mortal world in the form of a sword, only to have their life force stolen for their troubles. As Ebonbane’s slaves, they brought the sword to Forenoon Abbey, killed the monks there, and used one of them as an assassin to slay Kateri Shadowborn. Now, centuries later, the Dark Triad remains within the abbey, waiting for their master to return and give them new orders.


The Darklord

The Phantasmal Forest has no actual darklord. The entire domain is a penumbra cast by Ebonbane from its prison within Shadowborn Manor—the demon blade’s reality wrinkle contained as a separate domain in order to keep the entity more tightly imprisoned. The blade’s obsession with Kateri Shadowborn has turned the Phantasmal Forest into a sort of black hole that draws in people, places, and things connected to the long-dead knight’s life, corrupting them to Ebonbane’s design.

Though Ebonbane is trapped in Shadowborn Manor, the demon blade can vaguely sense events within the Phantasmal Forest, and its undead slaves can report back to it with news from the world beyond the manor’s walls. With each new piece of Kateri’s life that is corrupted and twisted, the blade finds a moment of joy in an existence that is otherwise bleak and perpetually boring. Kateri’s ghost weeps to know how much evil the blade has wreaked because of its obsession with her, but she remains just as devoted and hopeful in death as she ever was in life.

Still, it remains a metaphysical truth of the Land of Mists that a domain cannot exist without a darklord. In order to bind the Phantasmal Forest into a true domain, the Dark Powers have seen fit to elevate many beings to a sort of “demi-lord” status in which they are bound to the land and have some of the powers of a darklord within their own little corner of the forest, but otherwise lack the might of a true darklord.

Some of the more notable demi-lords of the Phantasmal Forest include:

• Addar: This unicorn was once the bonded mount of Kateri Shadowborn. When the paladin retired, Addar returned to the woods from which he hailed but found the simple life of a woodland beast to be unsatisfying. When he was approached by a female unicorn who offered to lead him to a forest glade where he would be worshiped by the denizens of the forest in exchange for his protection, the haughty beast agreed without a second thought. Addar took the strange unicorn as his mate, discovering only too late that she was actually a nightmare. Their offspring became the first shadow unicorns, and Addar himself is now the lord of a glade that travels with him, always waiting for him when he reaches the end of his daily gallop.

• The Dark Triad: This group of powerful ghouls were once the last three surviving members of the Ahltrian, the elite cadre of assassins who served Ebonbane while the demon posed as the caliph of the Southern Empire. They forged the sword that became Ebonbane’s anchor in the mortal world, only to find that their reward was to have their souls torn from their bodies and to be raised again as undead abominations. As mind-controlled slaves of the sword, the Dark Triad killed every living person in Forenoon Abbey and turned them all into ghouls. Ebonbane took one of the ghouls, who had been a friend of Kateri Shadowborn in life, and went to slay its old foe, leaving orders for the Dark Triad to await its return. They wait still.

• “Kateri Shadowborn”: There is a ruined village deep within the forest that contains a monument to the legendary paladin. This twelve-foot-tall bronze statue depicts Lady Kateri in the prime of her life, holding forth her enchanted blade, Corona, and gazing at the heavens with a beatific smile. On certain nights, when the twin moons are high, the statue steps off its pedestal and goes hunting for interlopers, muttering blasphemies in Kateri’s voice.

• Ozariath: As druids went, Ozariath was not particularly powerful, but she was honest and faithful. When the Southern Empire trampled the wilderness she called home and cut down her forest to build their siege weapons, she joined Kateri Shadowborn’s crusade and became a staunch ally. The war tainted her kind spirit, filling her with a bloodlust she had never known before. When Kateri was assassinated after the war’s end, she gave in to her desire for vengeance and went hunting for the killers. She found only the Phantasmal Forest, where she has become more beast than woman, rarely assuming her true shape and presuming anyone she meets to be her enemies.

***

With many thanks to John Mangrum and Speedwagon!

[hidajiremi]

Shadowborn Manor

Shadowborn Manor is one of the smallest domains in the Land of Mists, consisting of a single estate and its immediate grounds. The manor was drawn into the Domains of Dread at the moment when the evil sword Ebonbane completed its mission of vengeance by killing the paladin Lady Kateri Shadowborn. As it savored its victory, the blade and its victim (albeit in spirit form) were drawn into the domain, trapping the foul sword before it could go on to destroy everything its nemesis held dear. Now both sword and ghost are trapped—Kateri by her duty to warn others who might fall prey to the blade, and Ebonbane by both the manor’s walls and its own inanimate form.

The manor was once a vibrant place full of life and love, but now it holds nothing but death. There are no living animals anywhere on the grounds of the estate, and the aura of evil radiated by Ebonbane gradually draws the life out of anything that wanders into its domain. The only plants that can survive for long in the domain are hardy weeds, thick brambles, and the roses that Lady Kateri so prized in life, but now turned black as night.

Shadowborn Manor rests upon a low hill deep within the Phantasmal Forest, but Ebonbane can see nothing from within its prison but the high walls surrounding the manor. It can send forth mindless undead to do its bidding in the world beyond, but their limited faculties have left its machinations largely unfulfilled over the centuries. It only knows when one of its seeds of evil has taken root when foolish outsiders wander in. While it glories in each wound inflicted on the Shadowborn line, it despairs of ever breaking the power Lady Kateri seemingly has to keep it imprisoned, not knowing that its durance is due to the influence of darker powers still.

The manor is a sprawling two-story mansion with surrounding gardens and outbuildings, including the Shadowborn family tomb. The entire estate is surrounded by walls high enough that even standing on the highest roof of the manor, one would be unable to see over them to the countryside beyond. The walls are breached by no gates and seemingly have no way to enter or leave. Indeed, no living soul can leave the manor once they find themselves within—their only choices are death, taking up the sword (and probably being slain by it), or the desperate chance to destroy Ebonbane once and for all.

The palpable aura of evil and death put out by Ebonbane has a specific and deadly drawback for all those trapped within Shadowborn Manor: creatures cannot benefit from natural healing, even that granted by the Regeneration special ability, nor can they recover Fatigue naturally. Wounds fester unnaturally and bleeding stops only slowly. Even if the poor souls trapped within the manor somehow avoid Ebonbane and its minions, they will eventually succumb to exhaustion and the accumulation of minor wounds.


Tropes

Shadowborn Manor is a classic dungeon crawl adventure waiting to happen. There’s really only one story you can tell with it, but it’s a hell of a story: Enter the manor, find Ebonbane, commune with Lady Kateri’s ghost to discover the evil sword’s weakness, gather the parts of the ritual, free the fiend from its anchor, and defeat it in a no-holds-barred boss fight. The manor, its grounds, and the battle with Ebonbane are thoroughly explored in the Dungeon Magazine adventure “Bane of the Shadowborn” (issue 31, Sept/Oct 1991) for those who want to face the dangers of this pocket domain. All others: stay out.


Themes

• Entrapment: Even more than other domains, Shadowborn Manor is a prison. It is a tiny speck of land designed to hold a being that once ruled over entire worlds. The claustrophobic nature of the domain weighs heavily on those who intrude upon Ebonbane’s incarceration. They have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide—for the manor is as much Ebonbane’s body as the sword that serves as the fiend’s anchor.

• Heart of Darkness: Ebonbane is the root cause of almost every sorrow that has befallen both the Shadowborn line and the Shadowlands cluster. Its evil is the anchor that holds the cluster together, and its machinations are the ones that have drawn other lands like Avonleigh and Nidala to grow around Shadowborn Manor like a pearl accreting around a grain of sand. The blade’s destruction could be the beginning of a true liberation for the cluster, and the coming of a new dawn.

• The Quest: Heroes really only have one reason to come to Shadowborn Manor intentionally—a quest to destroy Ebonbane and free the spirit of Lady Kateri Shadowborn. The grounds and rooms of the manor are littered with the bones and the wailing ghosts of those who tried and failed. A noble quest does not guarantee success, and only those who possess strong hearts as well as strong blades have even the slightest chance of victory.


Notable Locations

Shadowborn Manor has no locations of note outside of its many rooms, the grounds, and the impassable walls.


The Darklord

The being now called Ebonbane was a unique force for evil—less than a god but more than any mere demon. It was a ruler in the abyssal realm that spawned it, and it was worshiped by beings across many mortal realms. On one such world, Ebonbane possessed the body of the ruler of a vast empire, the Grand Caliph Muhdar ab Sang, and used its power to corrupt the land. It turned the caliph’s elite agents into a cadre of assassins, dominated the Southern Empire utterly, and then turned its attention northward to the Great Kingdom.

The holy warriors known as the Knights of the Circle led the crusade against the fiendish empire in the so-called Heretical Wars. Ebonbane managed to capture one of the knights in a pitched battle, Lady Kateri Shadowborn. Despite subjecting her to unspeakable torments, the fiend could not break her will. When she escaped, she took with her the knowledge of Ebonbane’s true nature—information that she used to her kingdom’s advantage in the battles that followed.

Four years of war ended with Ebonbane facing Lady Kateri in the caliph’s palace. She defeated the fiend in single combat and expelled it from the mortal plane, breaking its power while restoring the caliph to his true self. With Ebonbane defeated, both the Southern Empire and the Great Kingdom devoted themselves to rebuilding, and Lady Kateri put away her sword.

Only a year later, the three surviving members of Ebonbane’s assassins met in secret and sought to summon their master back into the world so that it could seek its vengeance. Broken by the duel with Lady Kateri, Ebonbane could no longer directly possess a living host. Instead, they forged a powerful magical sword from cursed iron to serve as their master’s anchor. After its monstrous spirit was sealed in the blade, Ebonbane’s first act was to devour the life-force of its servants and raise them again as undead slaves. Then, wielded by a mind-controlled monk, Ebonbane sought out its nemesis in her home.

The monk and Lady Kateri fought a terrible duel that ended with her holy sword shattered and her life taken. Ebonbane had killed the woman who had defeated and humiliated it, but this was not enough. It had to destroy everything that Lady Kateri had ever touched or held dear—her family, her friends, her order, her kingdom itself. Unfortunately, Ebonbane has found itself trapped within Shadowborn Manor, unable to escape the grounds. The fiendish blade believes that this is the work of Lady Kateri’s spirit, which haunts the manor, and that only by destroying the last of the fetters holding her to the mortal world can it finally be free.

Centuries of isolation and boredom have taken their toll on Ebonbane’s sanity—which was never significant to begin with. The blade is alone within Shadowborn Manor, save for Lady Kateri’s ghost (which will not speak with Ebonbane) and its dominated undead servants. On the rare occasions that the living wander into its domain, Ebonbane has a brief respite from its eternal boredom and an opportunity to send another agent forth into the world to destroy the Shadowborn legacy. Ebonbane has a vague sense of goings-on in the Phantasmal Forest, and its undead minions can escape the domain occasionally to carry out its will, but it has no direct way to perceive the world beyond the manor's grounds.

Ebonbane’s current form is that of a slender longsword, its blade made from black iron and its hilt forged from a single piece of silver. The blade is covered in glowing runes that are painful to look at, and the hilt is intricately carved to resemble screaming skulls. Even when still, the blade radiates menace. Ebonbane’s favored tactic is to have one of its mindless undead wield it as a blade, permit the creature to be defeated, and then dominate the poor fool luckless enough to claim the blade as treasure.

[hidajiremi]

And now the last domain of the Shadowlands, and a new addition for Ravenloft Reincarnated, Tepest!

***

Tepest

Tepest is a land of ancient forests nestled in jagged, rocky hills rising from the southern border and extending into the Mists to the east of the domain. Winters and summers alike are both short and mild, with the spring separating the two by weeks upon weeks of nearly endless rain. Autumn comes early in Tepest and is slow to relinquish its hold to winter. The long fall season is also marked by unpredictable weather, particularly along the shores of Lake Kronov and the Blackmist River where cold and warm air meet to cause violent storms with little or no notice.

While outsiders might see Tepest as a single massive forest with minor breakpoints marked by impassable gorges and rivers, the Tepestani themselves see their land as containing many different forests, each with its own name and character. The majority of the domain’s towns and villages lie in the northern reaches, called the Wretchwood, while the southern forest, the Tanglewood, is one of the few places to find cloudberries, which are used to make a highly valued wine.

West of the Crying River and north of Lake Kronov is the Goblinwood, with the Wytchwood lying directly to its south. A series of barren ridges and the East Timori Road, which connects Tepest to Nidala, separates the two. Few human settlements exist in these woods, and they are well known to be home to large numbers of fey creatures, including vast numbers of goblins.

The eastern forests have the most dangerous reputation by far, however. The Wormwood is home to outlaws, goblins, fey creatures, and enclaves of witches, both good and bad. The southeast corner of the domain is the Brujamonte, a place so dark it is said that even goblins hesitate to enter it. Humans who enter into the region rarely return, and even the Wandering Folk give the place a wide berth when they travel through Tepest.

The trees of Tepest bear a characteristic twisted look, with gnarled branches and warped trunks. Despite their appearance, the trees are healthy and their wood strong. Many of Tepest’s animals—particularly its predators—are similarly twisted and warped. The locals believe that these “goblin beasts” are created by the fey intentionally to mock and torment humanity.

Most of Tepest’s settlements are in the form of small villages and thorps consisting of tiny one-family homes, the simplest of which are sod huts built over shallow pits. The largest and nicest and whitewashed wooden structures with thatched roofs, though such opulent lodgings are rarely found outside of the largest towns, such as Kellee, Viktal, and Briggdarrow. The only stone structures in any village are likely to be inns or temples; most of the latter are dedicated to Belenus (especially since the arrival of the Inquisition) and lack roofs, so that the sun may shine down on services. This is uncommon in recent years, though Tepest receives somewhat more direct sunlight than shadowed Nidala or dusky Avonleigh.

Scattered across the countryside stand one- and two-story ruined stone keeps and watchtowers, a legacy of the ancient lords and knights who are said to have once ruled over the lands of which Tepest was formerly a part. These decaying and overgrown structures have an evil reputation to the locals, to the point that they will often pretend to not even see the ones that are on the edges of their sheep pastures. The remoter ones have become lairs for powerful goblin clans or loner fey. The forests are also home to numerous standing stones and stone circles carved in ancient sigils of magic, the runes on them indecipherable to modern folk.

Until the last generation or so, with the arrival of the Inquisition and the knights of Nidala, the people of Tepest were largely illiterate, relying on oral traditions and songs to preserve their history and legends. The Tepestani speak of ancient ages of mankind, when the gods walked among the peoples of the world and blessed them with divine gifts. Their legends speak of powerful holy warriors who wielded light itself as a weapon, fighting against beings of pure darkness who could possess inanimate objects and corrupt men into beasts.

The old world passed away into myth and legend according to most of these tales, leaving behind an “autumn world” where things are harsher, crueler, and colder than once they were. Most stories also blame the fey for this change, in one way or another, an attitude that has only been exacerbated by the arrival of the Inquisition.

Around a generation ago, a group of priests and knights from Nidala opened up trade and cultural exchange with Tepest. At first, the people of Tepest were happy to welcome the outsiders who brought worked metal, fine cloth, and other riches, and who seemed only to want the opportunity to set up their own temples and schools. Soon enough, however, the foreigners began pushing the Tepestani to forsake their traditional folk beliefs and all gods other than Belenus, who they worshiped as one deity among many. When they refused, the violence began.

While many of the larger towns resisted the Nidalans, the smaller ones frequently welcomed the outsiders, since their warriors offered protection from the threats posed by the fey. Converting to the faith of Belenus as the one true god seemed like a minor sacrifice. They found to their sorrow that the priests of Belenus were just as harsh on the perceived moral failings of their own flock as they were on witchery and paganism. Local resistance to conversion and adherence to folk beliefs even among the supposedly faithful led the priests of Belenus to declare an “inquisition” into the people and practices of the land to separate the harmless from the heretical. Today, the local branch of the Nidalan faith of Belenus is largely just called “the Inquisition.”

While the Inquisition cannot hope to keep track of the many proclamations made by Elena Faithhold due to distance and frequency—indeed, many such proclamations are rescinded or contradicted in the time it would take to send a message to Tepest—they remain dedicated to rooting out heresy and blasphemy. The Inquisition broadly interprets these charges to mean any deviation from the worship of Belenus as a monotheistic deity, adherence to folk beliefs that would challenge church doctrine, the practice of “witchcraft” (i.e., any magic that does not come from Belenus), and consorting with the fey.

They fey have always been a problem for the locals and a source of fear, but since the arrival of the Inquisition, the atmosphere has become more like that of an ongoing guerrilla war. Fey attacks and goblin raids have become commonplace in outlying villages, which only drives the survivors to more tightly embrace the safety offered by Inquisitorial knights. Those knights go on to lead sorties and purges of local fey, many of whom were unaffiliated with the raiders, which in turn radicalizes the survivors of their attacks—and so on, and so on.


Tropes

Tepest is a rural land of faerie tales and folk beliefs undergoing rapid change at the hands of colonizing outsiders. The supernatural horror of wicked witches, hungry goblins, and sinister fey is contrasted with the very human evil of a peaceful people being subjected to cultural genocide. This is all depicted through the allegory of witch trials and faerie hunts, in which ordinary people who speak up against the oppression are more likely to be targeted by violence than actual monsters.


Themes

• Grim Faerie Tales: The fey and their cousins are common throughout the land of Tepest, and they were once largely peaceful neighbors with humanity. The occasional curse or child-snatching were perpetrated by the fey equivalent of criminals, and they were punished harshly by their own kind when discovered. Now, the Inquisition’s hate and fear have turned the people against the creatures they once called “the kindly ones,” and few faeries have any love left for the mortals among them.

• Knightly Legacy: It is clear to those familiar with the Great Kingdom that Tepest was once a province of that land, but the people themselves seem to have largely forgotten their noble heritage. Scattered across the land are ruins filled with treasures from ancient times just waiting to be found—and threats lost to the memory of modern man. The Tepestani themselves shun the ancient ruins, but outsiders could find them to be a trove of relics and wealth… should they survive the attempt to pillage them.

• Witch Hunt: Tepest is the archetypal land of inquisitions and witch hunts, where misunderstandings or petty rivalries lead to grim accusations that end in violent trials and gruesome executions. The irony is that the domain’s actual witches are one of the most significant local forces for good, forced to hide their nature from their friends and neighbors lest they be burned or hanged. Most of the people accused of witchcraft in Tepest are neither witches nor guilty of any other particular crime, save perhaps drawing the wrong sort of attention.


Notable Locations

Briggdarrow is a large fishing village on the northwestern shore of Lake Kronov. The outskirts of the village are largely abandoned and falling into disrepair, as the town has suffered many attacks by goblins and fey in recent years. The Inquisition has placed a major force in the town to protect it, but they spend as much time accusing the locals of heresy and witchcraft as they do patrolling the region.

Of the major towns of Tepest, only Kellee remains largely untouched by the Inquisition. Run by the aging foreigner Gerald Ferrier, the town is kept in pristine condition, to the point that the local militia will admonish people who allow their homes to fall into disrepair. Ferrier does not allow the Inquisition to operate within the town’s borders, though they are permitted to visit, trade, and even stay at his inn, the Hawk’s Haven, if they wish.

Lake Kronov is either fed by or the source of all the white-water rivers that rush their way through the domain. Locals claim that the clear mountain lake is home to a monster they call the Avanc, though few of them can agree on what the beast looks like or what its habits might be. About ten years ago, a tiny island appeared overnight halfway between Viktal and Briggdarrow on the lake. The little ruined keep on the island is supposedly home to a wicked fey sorceress, but the Inquisition has been unsuccessful in staging a raid against the fog-shrouded isle.

Viktal is the largest town in Tepest, and the home of the largest Inquisition garrison in the country. The Inquisition is commanded by a local man, Wyan of Viktal, who was among the earliest converts to the Nidalan faith a generation ago. His devotion to Belenus is unquestioned, even by the harsh knights of Nidala who serve under him, and he has personally overseen hundreds of judgments in his years as High Inquisitor. Wyan is a surprisingly open-minded and pleasant man for a person of his position, but he is utterly unflinching in pursuing the demands of the greater good.


The Darklords

Tepest is ruled by not one but three damned souls, their fates inexorably intertwined thanks to their mutual sins and hatred. The three hags live deep within the Wormwood in a hut that is bigger on the inside than the outside. They can take any form, but no shape ever truly pleases them as they always see themselves and one another for what they really are: monstrously hideous crones with jutting spines, saggy skin covered in warts, blackened teeth, and cracked talons. They wear patchwork clothing stolen (or made) from their victims.

Their story begins with Holder and Rudella Mindefisk, peasant farmers who worked a desolate patch of ground near an ancient wood. The couple had two sons that were as gruff and surly as their father, and Rudella was a desperately lonely woman who wanted nothing more than daughters on whom to dote. Holger threatened to leave his wife before adding such “weaklings” to their family, however.

Rudella was a superstitious woman who believed deeply in the power of the fey. For three nights, she prayed by the hearth to the faeries—and on the last night, something answered. The next morning, she found a trio of infant girls in a basket on the doorstep of the Mindefisk home. The girls were sickly at first, and Rudella devoted herself to their care despite her husband’s disdain. As the girls flourished, Rudella’s health waned. She died only two years later, somehow drained of her vitality.

Holger tried repeatedly to rid himself of his unwanted daughters after his wife’s death, abandoning them in the woods for the wolves, sending them into a cave known to be a bear den, and even tying them in a sack and throwing them into a river. The girls always returned, however, and Holger finally resigned himself to the fact that he would never be rid of them. He demanded that they clean the house and prepare meals, but otherwise he and his sons ignored them.

Over time, the three girls grew into beautiful young woman who resented the neglect shown them by their father and dreamed of a life beyond their sad little farm. What began as daydreams soon twisted into dark desire. When a wealthy traveler spent the night at the Mindefisk farm, the sisters worked together to murder and rob the man. Rather than bother burying the corpse, they cooked it into stew for the unsuspected menfolk. The plan proved so effective that they repeated it several more times over the following years.

Eventually, however, the sisters realized that they would never make enough money to escape the farm together this way, so they each individually concluded that they would seduce a traveler who would take them away from their life of drudgery, stealing all of the money the three of them had collected. Before long, a roguish dandy came along who fit the girls’ notion of a handsome wanderer. He sensed their motives and had no intention of taking any of them anywhere, but he played along to enjoy their favors while the girls drove each other mad with jealousy.

Ultimately, each girl decided that she would rather kill the man than see one of her sisters leave with him, so all three descended on him in a fury and tore him limb from limb. In the midst of the massacre, the three sisters transformed into monstrous hags, the Mists consuming their little farm, which was soon swallowed by the surrounding woods.

The hags are reclusive creatures, better known to the goblins of the forest than any mortal denizen of Tepest. They use their magic to lure victims out to their cabin to become their dinner, and the domain is rife with legends of “evil witches” who haunt the Wormwood. Since the coming of the Inquisition, the hags have taken to using their magic to bewitch men and women into performing acts that would draw the attention of inquisitors, so that they may later harvest the corpses produced as food and material components for their dread rituals.

Cautious and capable folk can sometimes bargain with the hags, who are skilled crafters of magical trinkets and talismans. The hags are wicked and unpredictable creatures, and even if a visitors avoids being devoured, they often demand strange and bloody payments for services rendered. The three hags hate youth and beauty above all else, and they are deeply jealous of anyone in love. They often punish those who possess these traits simply for their own malicious satisfaction. On the other hand, they are delighted by riddles and puzzles; a cornered opponent can keep the hags at bay for hours by entertaining them with clever word games.

[hidajiremi]

Now for some beasties! Next time, major NPCs.

***

The Avanc (Wild Card)

Once a noble hermit seer who fell in love with the fey Lady of the Lake, the first Avanc was the victim of a faerie curse that transformed him into a reptilian monster. That Avanc was slain by the knight Ione Demnach, who took his place after the Lady destroyed the knight’s lands, family, and people. The current Avanc has no memory of its time as a man, and is a highly intelligent, malevolent predator. Should Ione be freed or slain, the Dark Powers will surely conspire to replace him with another lake monster in order to continue the Lady of the Lake’s torment.

The Avanc is a unique reptilian horror, measuring fully forty feet from tail to snout. It resembles a monstrous crocodile with six short finned limbs to propel it through the water. A bony fin runs the length of its back to the end of its long, flat tail. Its massive jaws are filled with needle-like fangs, and its beady eyes gleam with a malign intelligence.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d12+7, Vigor d12+1
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Intimidation d12, Notice d10, Stealth d10
Pace: 4; Parry: 7; Toughness: 19 (3)
Hindrances: Bloodthirsty
Edges: Frenzy (Imp), No Mercy
Special Abilities:
• Armor +3: Steely scales.
• Aquatic: Pace 12.
• Bite: Str+d8, AP 4. Heavy Weapon.
• Size 8 (Huge): The Avanc is a massive beast measuring almost forty feet long and weighing nearly 20 tons. It gains two additional Wounds due to its Size.
• Swallow Whole: Anyone hit by the Avanc’s bite must make an Evasion roll or be swallowed whole. As long as they remain inside, the victim suffers one Wound at the end of their turn from the crushing gullet and acidic bile. Shaking, Wounding, or otherwise provoking the Avanc may result in opportunities to escape with an Athletics roll.
• Unstoppable: The Avanc takes a maximum of one Wound per attack no matter how many Wounds would normally be caused (after Soak rolls are made).
• Vortex: The Avanc creates so much turbulence and chop as it passes through the water that it leaves lesser swimmers nearly helpless. Any creature in the water without the Aquatic or Semi-Aquatic special abilities within 6” of the Avanc suffers a –4 penalty on Athletics (swimming) rolls and each inch of movement on the tabletop takes 3” of Pace.


Goblin Beasts

The animal equivalent to calibans, goblin beasts are warped before birth by exposure to dark magic, dire curses, or powerful sinkholes of evil. They gain their name from the fact that goblins are noted for their affinity with these twisted creatures, sometimes training them for use as mounts or guard animals. A goblin beast is a grim caricature of its natural kin, resembling an animal as sketched by a deranged artist.

As a quick way to create a goblin beast from a normal animal, remove the (A) from its Smarts die, add Intimidation at d10 (if not previously possessed), increase their Size by 1, give them +1 Armor, and add the Resilient special ability. Some goblin beasts also have magical powers of their own.


Goblin Spider

These spiders are almost the size of full-grown men, and they are quite capable of using tactics and traps when hunting prey. Unlike true spiders, they often gather in nests of up to a dozen and can quickly deplete the local prey population before turning on humans for food. Though they can understand some amount of human speech, they lack the capability to speak themselves.

Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Intimidation d10, Notice d8, Persuasion d4, Shooting d10, Stealth d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 (1)
Special Abilities:
• Armor +1: Hard chitin shell.
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Poison (–4): Paralyzing.
• Resilient: Goblin spiders can take one Wound before they’re Incapacitated.
• Wall Walker: Goblin spiders can move at their full Pace on vertical and inverted surfaces.
• Webbing: A goblin spider can cast webs from its thorax that are the size of a Small Blast Template. This is a Shooting roll with a Range of 6/12/24. A hit means the victim is Entangled, or Bound with a raise.

Goblin Wolf

These corrupted wolves are far more intelligent than their canine kin, able to understand human language and even growl a few threatening words of their own. They live in close symbiosis with goblin tribes, acting as guards and mounts, but they have no love for their humanoid partners and are just as liable to eat them if other prey is slim.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d4, Fighting d8, Intimidation d10, Notice d8, Persuasion d4, Stealth d6, Survival d6
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 (1)
Edges: Alertness
Special Abilities:
• Armor +1: Thick fur and bony protrusions.
• Bite/Claws: Str+d4.
• Fleet-Footed: d10 running die.
• Low Light Vision: Ignore penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination
• Pack Tactics: Add Gang Up bonus to Fighting damage rolls.
• Resilient: Goblin wolves can take one Wound before they’re Incapacitated.


Shadow Fey

Though they hail from the Shadow Rift, the shadow fey are quite common throughout the Shadowlands due to the reliable Mistway that connects their home realm to Nidala. They also have an extensive population dwelling in the domain of Tepest, which they consider something of a “home away from home.” Known to their own kind as “the Arak,” many more breeds of shadow fey exist than the four described in Ravenloft Reincarnated (the sidhe, sith, powrie, and teg). A few more of them are listed below.


Alven

If the shadow fey have a worker caste, then the alven are certainly the farmers of the Arak. Sometimes called “carrot tops” for their wild orange hair, alven have a natural affinity and appreciation for all things green and growing. Although usually friendly to humanoids, they are quick to attack those who pick their lovely flowers without permission or try to cut away the grasses and vines in their woodland homes. They can sometimes be bribed with gifts of seeds, but cut flowers are an atrocity to them.

An alven stands about a foot tall, sporting a large set of butterfly wings on their back. Their skin is a leafy green color, a stark contrast to their bright orange hair. They typically wear clothes of brightly dyed spider silk.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, Strength 1, Vigor d4

Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d6, Fighting d4, Notice d10, Persuasion d8, Stealth d10, Taunt d8
Pace: 4; Parry: 4; Toughness: 1
Hindrances: Driven (Major: protect plants and the natural environment), Mild Mannered
Edges: Alertness, Dodge, Quick
Gear: Thorn sword (Str+1)
Special Abilities:
• Change Shape: As a limited action, an alven can transform into a bee, wasp, dragonfly, butterfly, or moth. In this form, their Flight Pace increases to 18, but they cannot use their Innate Powers.
• Flight: Pace 12.
• Innate Powers: Alven can cast major blindness, major entangle, major stun, and blessing(FC) as Innate Powers. Their blessing targets only the plants in the area they choose to aid.
• Invulnerability: Shadow fey can only be Shaken by weapons that are not magical or made of cold iron, not Wounded. Alven suffer no damage from stone weapons or electricity-based attacks, even if the attack is magical in nature.
• Nightvision: Shadow fey ignore Illumination penalties, including for Pitch Darkness.
• Piercing Sight: An alven’s eyes pierce all deceptions. They ignore invisibility and illusion.
• Size –4 (Tiny): An alven stands less than a foot tall.
• Weakness (Cold Iron): Shadow fey suffer normal damage from weapons made of cold iron.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Each round a shadow fey is exposed to direct sunlight, they suffer 2d10 points of damage. Even indirect exposure to sunlight causes the fey to suffer 1d10 points of damage per round. A shadow fey exposed to sunlight suffers a level of Fatigue, regardless of whether or not they suffer Wounds from the damage.


Brag

These black-haired and pale-skinned fey are a breed of hard workers and diligent builders. They work most of their long lives, spending their scant free time drinking hearty ale and sharing bawdy songs and stories. When brags get agitated, they tend to kick the source of their annoyance, whatever its origin.

A mature brag stands only about three feet tall, but they are built broad and strong, making them more powerful than many people twice their height. They prefer to dress in contrasting shades of black and white, with their occasional gray highlight, and they are well known for the hair-covering kerchiefs they wear while they work. Their black eyes call to mind those of a horse, and their black fingernails have the same shine as an equine’s hooves.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d4, Fighting d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Repair d8, Stealth d6
Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Stubborn
Edges: McGyver, Mr. Fix It, Nerves of Steel, Uncanny Reflexes(FC)
Gear: Hammer (Str+d6)
Special Abilities:
• Change Shape: As a limited action, a brag can transform into a pony or ram. In this form, they are Size 0 (increasing their Toughness to 7) and increase their Pace to 8 with a d8 running die. They avoid this shape, however, since it keeps them from working with their hands.
• Kick: Str+d4.
• Innate Powers: Brags can use major confusion and major slumber (with the Area of Effect Modifier for a Medium Blast Template) as Innate Powers. Those afflicted by their confusion power are overcome by the delusion that they have been turned into a horse.
• Invulnerability: Shadow fey can only be Shaken by weapons that are not magical or made of cold iron, not Wounded. Brag suffer no damage from wooden weapons or cold-based attacks, even if the attack is magical in nature.
• Nightvision: Shadow fey ignore Illumination penalties, including for Pitch Darkness.
• Reduced Pace: Brags have a running die of d4.
• Resilient: A brag can take one Wound before they’re Incapacitated.
• Size –1: A brag stands only about three feet tall, but they are quite muscular and broad for their height.
• Weakness (Cold Iron): Shadow fey suffer normal damage from weapons made of cold iron.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Each round a shadow fey is exposed to direct sunlight, they suffer 2d10 points of damage. Even indirect exposure to sunlight causes the fey to suffer 1d10 points of damage per round. A shadow fey exposed to sunlight suffers a level of Fatigue, regardless of whether or not they suffer Wounds from the damage.


Fir

The fir breed of shadow fey come in two kinds, depending on which of the Arak Courts they serve. Those of the Seelie Court are known as tolly-knocks and demonstrate some amount of diplomacy in their behavior toward others. Those of the Unseelie Court are known as gremlins and are usually mean-spirited and deliberately cruel. Both kinds project a sort of uncanny otherness that can cause nightmares in those who meet with them and observe their strange visage. Both types are cunning and clever, masters of engineering and mechanical construction.

Fir are disturbing in appearance to most mortals. Their body shape and size resemble human toddlers, but they have oversized heads, thick claws on their fingertips, and huge eyes. Seelie fir tend to be slender with pale skin and long shocks of glistening hair, while Unseelie fir are stouter, with gray skin the texture of ash and hairless heads. Tommy-knocks prefer to dress in purple, indigo, or violet smocks and caftans, while gremlins go unclad to show off their warty flesh.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d4-2, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d8, Fighting d4, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, Occult d8, Persuasion d8, Repair d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Weird Science d8
Pace: 4; Parry: 4; Toughness: 3
Hindrances: Quirk (bizarre logic)
Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science), Concentration, Mr. Fix It
Special Abilities:
• Change Shape: As a limited action, a fir can transform into a hedgehog or large rat. In this shape, they are Size –3 (Very Small), which decreases their Toughness to 2, but they gain a Burrow Pace of 4.
• Innate Powers: All fir can speak with otherworldly logic, confounding their foes; this is major confusion as an Innate Power. Tolly-knocks are charming, allowing them to use major empathy, affecting all creatures in a Medium Blast Template centered on itself; gremlins are terrifying, allowing them to cast major fear with the Area of Effect Modifier for a Medium Blast Template.
• Invulnerability: Shadow fey can only be Shaken by weapons that are not magical or made of cold iron, not Wounded. Fir suffer no damage from stone weapons or cold-based attacks, even if the attack is magical in nature.
• Nightvision: Shadow fey ignore Illumination penalties, including for Pitch Darkness.
• Size –2 (Small): A fir is about the size of a human toddler.
• Weakness (Cold Iron): Shadow fey suffer normal damage from weapons made of cold iron.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Each round a shadow fey is exposed to direct sunlight, they suffer 2d10 points of damage. Even indirect exposure to sunlight causes the fey to suffer 1d10 points of damage per round. A shadow fey exposed to sunlight suffers a level of Fatigue, regardless of whether or not they suffer Wounds from the damage.
• Weird Science: Fir are masters of arcane engineering. The typical fir has 15 Power Points and knows the following powers: bolt, protection, and summon ally. They can use the Additional Allies Modifier for summon ally even without the Epic Mastery(FC) Edge.


Gwytune

Gwytune are the arcanists and wizards of the Arak. These exceptionally rare shadow fey are obsessed with the accumulation of magical skill. Unlike most shadow fey, they align themselves with neither the Seelie nor Unseelie Court, preferring solitary lives of scholarly pursuit.

The gwytune stand around five feet tall, with wizened features and spindly limbs. They possess curling ram’s horns and goat-like golden eyes. Between their horns grows a thick shock of long auburn hair, and their pale skin has a very faint lilac tinge. They tend to wear long woolen robes, usually black or rust-colored and covered in copper symbols.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d10, Fighting d6, Notice d8, Occult d10, Persuasion d6, Spellcasting d10, Stealth d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Curious, Outsider (Minor)
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Arcane Resistance (Imp), Channeling, Concentration, Elan
Special Abilities:
• Change Shape: As a limited action, a gwytune can transform into a sheep or goat. Their Pace increases to 8 in this form, but they become Size –1 (reducing their Toughness to X).
• Horns: Str+d4.
• Invulnerability: Gwytune can only be Shaken by weapons that are not magical or made of cold iron, not Wounded. Unlike other shadow fey, they do not possess any additional special immunities.
• Magic: Every gwytune is a talented arcanist. They typically have 20 Power Points and know the following powers: arcane protection, bolt, boost/lower Trait, detect/conceal arcana, deflection, dispel, drain Power Points, invisibility, and stun.
• Nightvision: Shadow fey ignore Illumination penalties, including for Pitch Darkness.
• Weakness (Cold Iron): Gwytune suffer normal damage from weapons made of cold iron.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Each round a shadow fey is exposed to direct sunlight, they suffer 2d10 points of damage. Even indirect exposure to sunlight causes the fey to suffer 1d10 points of damage per round. A shadow fey exposed to sunlight suffers a level of Fatigue, regardless of whether or not they suffer Wounds from the damage.


Muryan

The warriors of the Arak, muryan are most at ease with a blade in hand and moving amidst the dance of battle. They have a natural athleticism and seem preternaturally skilled at mobile combat. Their natural magic complements their whirling dervish combat techniques.

Muryan resemble pale-skinned elves with hair that spans the spectrum of autumn colors and eyes in nearly any color of the rainbow. Their ears are more sharply pointed than those of an elf, standing several inches higher than the crown of their heads. They prefer flowing clothing that does not restrict their movement, such as cloaks, kilts, and loose tunics.

Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d4, Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, Performance d8, Persuasion d4, Stealth d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Impulsive, Quirk (whistling and dancing in battle)
Edges: Acrobat, Combat Acrobat, Dodge (Imp), Extraction (Imp), Fleet-Footed, Free Runner, Frenzy (Imp), Quick
Gear: Curved sword (Str+d6)
Special Abilities:
• Change Shape: As a limited action, a muryan can transform into a ferret. In this shape, they are Size –4 (Tiny), reducing their Toughness to 2 but gaining a Burrow Pace of 4.
• Dance of Despair: A muryan gains +2 on Performance Tests and reduces Multi-Action penalties by 2 when performing such a Test in the same round as another action.
• Innate Powers: A muryan can use the following Innate Powers, all with the Limitation (Personal) restriction: major deflection, major disguise, major smite, and major speed. They can also use major silence and major slow as Innate Powers.
• Invulnerability: Shadow fey can only be Shaken by weapons that are not magical or made of cold iron, not Wounded. Muryan suffer no damage from wooden weapons or electricity-based attacks, even if the attack is magical in nature.
• Nightvision: Shadow fey ignore Illumination penalties, including for Pitch Darkness.
• Weakness (Cold Iron): Shadow fey suffer normal damage from weapons made of cold iron.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Each round a shadow fey is exposed to direct sunlight, they suffer 2d10 points of damage. Even indirect exposure to sunlight causes the fey to suffer 1d10 points of damage per round. A shadow fey exposed to sunlight suffers a level of Fatigue, regardless of whether or not they suffer Wounds from the damage.


Portune

Portune are the most genial and shy of the Arak, tending to be quiet and soft-spoken. They abhor violence and prefer to remain in their animal forms in order to seem less threatening, especially when mortals are about. They are a breed of clerks and archivists, making up in analytical thought and creativity what they lack in size and temperament.

In their rarely-seen true form, portune appear to be black-skinned pixies with white hair, enormous black eyes, and white moth-like wings. They are rarely without quills, ink, parchment, and other implements of their trade near at hand. They enjoy poetry and wordplay, but they rarely exchange words with others unless they feel completely safe.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength 1, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d10, Fighting d4, Notice d8, Occult d10, Persuasion d8, Research d10, Stealth d10, Taunt d8
Pace: 3; Parry: 4; Toughness: 1
Hindrances: Cautious, Mild Mannered
Edges: Investigator, Jack-of-All Trades, Reliable, Scholar (Common Knowledge, Occult)
Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Change Shape: As a limited action, a portune can transform into a turtle or a poisonous snake. A turtle gains +3 Armor and the Semi-Aquatic ability with a swimming Pace of 6, while a poisonous snake’s bite inflicts Lethal (–2) poison on a Shaken or Wounded result. Portune spend most of their time in animal form.
• Flight: Pace 12.
• Invulnerability: Shadow fey can only be Shaken by weapons that are not magical or made of cold iron, not Wounded. Portune suffer no damage from wooden weapons or fire-based attacks, even if the attack is magical in nature.
• Nightvision: Shadow fey ignore Illumination penalties, including for Pitch Darkness.
• Permanent Wound: Should a portune succeed in inflicting a Wound on another creature in its natural form, the victim must make a Vigor roll at –2 or suffer a festering wound that never fully heals. This takes the form of a Chronic disease that can only be healed by magic (such as the healing power with the Neutralize Poison or Disease Modifier).
• Size –4 (Tiny): A portune in its natural or animal forms is quite diminutive, being only around six inches tall.
• Weakness (Cold Iron): Shadow fey suffer normal damage from weapons made of cold iron.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Each round a shadow fey is exposed to direct sunlight, they suffer 2d10 points of damage. Even indirect exposure to sunlight causes the fey to suffer 1d10 points of damage per round. A shadow fey exposed to sunlight suffers a level of Fatigue, regardless of whether or not they suffer Wounds from the damage.


Waff

One of the lesser-known but deadlier breeds of the shadow fey, the waff is a cold, hungry creature of living darkness that embodies the will to consume light and life. They are sometimes called “shadow dryads” because of their symbiotic relationship with a host tree. These Arak are naturally incorporeal clouds of shadow who tend to hunt and prey upon those sleeping in complete darkness, leaving their victims cold and dead come the morning.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d4-1, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, Notice d8, Stealth d12
Pace: 0; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Special Abilities:
• Chill Touch: The very touch of a waff is freezing death. A waff can make a Touch Attack; for each success and raise on the attack, the target automatically takes a Wound. If the target suffers any Wounds from this attack, they must also make a Vigor check or suffer a level of Fatigue.
• Ethereal: Can pass through solid objects; cannot be harmed by non-magical attacks; may become invisible (–6 to hit) as a limited free action.
• Fear (–2): Waff cause Fear checks at –2 when they let themselves be seen.
• Flight: Pace 8.
• Nightvision: Shadow fey ignore Illumination penalties, including for Pitch Darkness.
• Shadow Meld: When in Dim or Dark Illumination, a waff blends with the darkness, increasing Illumination penalties to attack them by 2 points (maximum –6).
• Symbiosis: Each waff is mystically bound to a single tree. The tree may be any type, but it is always a dead or blighted variety. A waff must remain in the shadow of their tree during the day or they suffer damage as though exposed to direct sunlight. If the tree is chopped or burned down, the waff is instantly destroyed.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Each round a shadow fey is exposed to direct sunlight, they suffer 2d10 points of damage. Even indirect exposure to sunlight causes the fey to suffer 1d10 points of damage per round. A shadow fey exposed to sunlight suffers a level of Fatigue, regardless of whether or not they suffer Wounds from the damage.

[hidajiremi]

And to polish the lot off, a bunch of major NPCs!

***

Addar (Wild Card)

Once the bonded mount of the holy knight Kateri Shadowborn, Addar was always a proud creature. He submitted to be Kateri’s mount only because of her superlative qualities of spirit and righteousness, but regarded all other mortals—even other Knights of the Circle—as beneath his dignity. After the end of the Heretical Wars, Addar returned to his forest but was dissatisfied with the life of a humble guardian of the woods.

In time, he was approached by a beautiful female unicorn who offered to lead him to a new forest where he would be worshiped by the local mortals as he truly deserved. In his arrogance, he abandoned his duties to his sworn forest and followed the mare to a new land. He fell in love with her and became her mate, only to discover too late that she was actually a demonic nightmare, and the foals produced were coal-black beings of utter evil—the first shadow unicorns.

Rather than face up to his mistakes and seek forgiveness, Addar ran—and he is running still. Each day, he awakes in a peaceful forest glade, only to soon hear the thudding of hooves as his shadow-spawned offspring hunt for him. He runs through the forest tirelessly, stopping only when exhaustion overtakes him or on the few occasions he comes across travelers in the wood. Any who do not praise him and worship him as he deserves meet a bloody end. When he finally can run no more, he finds his glade waiting for him and collapses into a bitter, restless sleep.

Addar is a massive creature, easily nine feet in length and over five feet tall at the shoulder. His coat, beard, and mane are pure white, and an ivory horn three feet in length grows from the center of his forehead. For the unwary, he still looks like a proud guardian of purity and nature. Only a closer look reveals the tiny bloodstains on his coat and the malicious, crazed look in his bloodshot eyes.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Strength d12+3, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d6, Fighting d10, Intimidation d10, Notice d10, Persuasion d6, Stealth d10
Pace: 10; Parry: 7; Toughness: 10
Hindrances: Arrogant, Jealous (Major), Suspicious (Major)
Edges: Alertness, Fleet-Footed, Frenzy (Imp), Menacing

Special Abilities:
• Demi-Lord: Addar is not a true darklord, but he is more powerful than most lesser beings of evil. When confronted in his glade, Addar is treated as having Home Ground Advantage (RR 34) and adds a point of Villainous Conviction to the GM’s pool as though he were a darklord.
• Fear: Addar’s galloping charge is grounds for a Fear check in his unfortunate target.
• Horn: Str+d8, AP 3.
• Innate Powers: Addar can use major smite on his own horn as an Innate Power.
• Kick: Str+d6.
• Low Light Vision: Ignore penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination.
• Reanimate: Any humanoid slain by Addar’s horn attack will rise again as a zombie within 1d4 rounds.
• Size 3: Addar is an enormous unicorn, easily the size of a warhorse.


The Dark Triad (Wild Cards)

When the demon Ebonbane possessed the caliph of the Southern Empire, one of the fiend’s first actions was to corrupt the caliph’s personal guard into a cult of deadly assassins. This cadre of killers was known as the Ahltrian, and they were among the greatest threats to the forces of good during the Heretical Wars. The Knights of the Circle slew every member of the Ahltrian they could find—but they missed three.

These last three hid themselves away when it was obvious that Ebonbane would fall, but they gathered together a year after their master’s defeat to summon the fiend back into the world. They were certain that they would be handsomely rewarded for their service, but the demon’s first action after the forging of the sword that would become its anchor was to devour their life force, rendering them soulless husks.

Ebonbane commanded the Ahltrian husks to carry it to Forenoon Abbey, there to claim the lives and souls of all the monks as part of its plan to destroy Kateri Shadowborn. Then it took one of the dead monks as its new bearer and commanded the remaining Ahltrian to stay there and await its return. The three regained their own minds soon after Ebonbane’s departure, but they could not countermand its last order—and so, four centuries later, they are still occupying the ruins of Forenoon Abbey, waiting for their master to return for them.

The original three are now known as the Dark Triad, powerful and deadly ghouls with centuries of experience. The remaining undead monks have been trained in the ways of the Ahltrian, and any corpse left in the mire near Forenoon Abbey will inevitably rise again as a ghoul and make its way to the abbey to be inducted into their dread ranks.

In life, the Dark Triad were known by their titles—the Ghoul Lord, the Vapir, and the Warrior. They have long forgotten their original names, so they answer to Primus, Secundus, and Tertius when they choose to speak with outsiders at all. Their statistics are effectively identical after centuries of undeath. The lesser Ahltrian are ghouls (FC 203) with the Martial Artist Edge, which increases their claw damage to Str+d6.

Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d6, Fighting d10, Intimidation d10, Notice d10, Persuasion d6, Stealth d10, Survival d8, Thievery d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 10 (1)
Hindrances: Vow (Major: serve Ebonbane)
Edges: Alertness, Assassin, Extraction (Imp), Frenzy (Imp), Martial Artist, Quick
Gear: Monastic robes (+1 Armor)

Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Claws: Str+d8, AP 1.
• Demi-Lords: The Dark Triad are not true darklords, but they are more powerful than most lesser beings of evil. When confronted in Forenoon Abbey, the Dark Triad are treated as having Home Ground Advantage (RR 34) and add one point of Villainous Conviction to the GM’s pool as though they were a single darklord.
• Fear: The rotting visages of the Dark Triad are worthy of a Fear check.
• Infravision: Halve penalties for Illumination when attacking warm targets.
• Innate Powers: The Dark Triad can use major deflection and major smite as Innate Powers, both with the Personal Limitation.
• Paralysis: Anyone Shaken or Wounded by a claw or bite attack from one of the Dark Triad must make a Vigor roll or be Stunned.
• Trapped: The Dark Triad are bound by Ebonbane’s last command to them. They cannot set foot beyond the gates of Forenoon Abbey, though they can command their Ahltrian ghouls to do so.
• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from being Shaken; no additional damage from Called Shots; ignores 1 point of Wound penalties; doesn’t breathe; immune to disease and poison.


Ebonbane (Wild Card)

The true name of the creature calling itself Ebonbane is unknown to any living being. It takes its current name from the sword that houses its spirit, but in prior times it was known as Lussimar, among many other names. It was once worshiped as a god across many worlds, reveling in its wicked power without reserve or restraint. The entity met its match in the paladin Kateri Shadowborn, however, when she expelled the demon from its host, broke its power, and drove it into the outer darkness to wither for all time.

This exile was not to last, as the demon used its remaining power to contact its last mortal servants and command them to create a physical anchor capable of holding and augmenting its fractured spirit. This was the sword Ebonbane, which the demon bound itself to in its quest to destroy Kateri Shadowborn and all of her ilk. The demon blade succeeded at killing its foe but subsequently found itself trapped in Shadowborn Manor, where it has languished for many centuries.

Ebonbane cannot escape Shadowborn Manor on its own. Should it be wielded by a mortal who survives its life draining powers, it might wreak havoc for a time, but its only true method of escape is for a powerful ritual to be enacted by one of Kateri’s bloodline. This ritual would free the demon from the blade, allowing it to be slain permanently—but were it to triumph over its “savior” instead, it could use its full powers once more and become a threat to all of the Land of Mists.

Ebonbane’s preferred tactic is to be wielded by one of its ghoul thralls, allow the ghoul to be slain, and then kill and possess the poor fool who tries to take the sword as treasure. The demon blade then waits until its host’s companions sleep before slaughtering them all.

The statistics listed below are for Ebonbane’s manifested form after performing the Ritual of Four Elements (see “Bane of the Shadowborn,” Dungeon Magazine 31, for details). Even if freed from its prison, Ebonbane will not depart Shadowborn Manor until it destroys those who performed the ritual and eradicates the ghost of Kateri Shadowborn once and for all.

Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength d12+4, Vigor d12+1
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8, Fighting d12, Intimidation d12, Notice d10, Occult d12, Persuasion d12, Spellcasting d10, Stealth d8, Taunt d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 18 (4)
Hindrances: Arrogant, Driven (Major: corrupt or destroy everything touched by Kateri Shadowborn), Overconfident
Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Arcane Resistance (Imp), Block (Imp), Champion (Evil), Combat Reflexes, Counterattack (Imp), First Strike (Imp), Frenzy (Imp), Iron Will, Level Headed (Imp), Nerves of Steel (Imp), No Mercy, Sweep (Imp)
Gear: Ebonbane (Str+d10, AP 4, +2 to Fighting and damage, can cast dispel using Spirit as an action three times per encounter, reduce smite cost by 1 PP)

Special Abilities:
• Armor +4: Steely skin.
• Black Magic: Ebonbane is a powerful wielder of the dark arts. It has 30 Power Points and knows the following powers: blast, bolt, burst, dispel, smite, summon undead, teleport, and telekinesis. All damage-dealing powers have necromantic Trappings, and Ebonbane can use the Epic Modifiers for all known powers. Ebonbane always summons ghouls with its summon undead power.
• Darklord of Shadowborn Manor: Even freed from its blade, Ebonbane remains the master of Shadowborn Manor. As a demon, the fiend can use its reality wrinkle to slip free of the manor’s grounds and wander the Land of Mists at will. It can use a limited action to teleport back to the manor no matter where it might be in the Domains of Dread, even bypassing closed domain borders.
• Deadly Aura: At the end of Ebonbane’s turn, all adjacent foes suffer 2d6 necromantic damage.
• Fear (–2): Ebonbane’s true form is so horrifying that it provokes a Fear check at –2.
• Flight: Pace 12.
• Immunity: Poison, disease, and fire.
• Invulnerability: Ebonbane takes no damage from non-magical attacks.
• Size 6 (Huge): Ebonbane’s true form stands nearly 25 feet tall and weighs over four tons. It can take one additional Wound.
• Swat: Ebonbane ignores up to 4 points of Scale penalties when attacking creatures smaller than itself.
• Unstoppable: Ebonbane takes a maximum of one Wound per attack no matter how many Wounds would normally be caused (after Soak rolls are made).


Ebonbane the Sword

Unless the Ritual of Four Elements is performed correctly, Ebonbane is trapped within the sword from which it takes its name. This blade is an immensely powerful weapon for evil, but it is also virtually impossible to wield without losing one’s mind and soul in the process. Should a wielder somehow survive the process of claiming Ebonbane, the demon within the sword works tirelessly for their corruption and waits for any opportunity to claim their life as well. The demon is unaware of the fact that a living person wielding the sword could carry it beyond the walls of Shadowborn Manor—but even if it knew, it would be unable to prevent itself from trying to drain the wielder’s life force.

Ebonbane is an iron longsword that inflicts Str+d10 damage with AP 4. It adds +1 to its wielder’s Fighting and damage rolls, or +2 if they possess the Champion Edge (focused on evil rather than good). A wielder with the Champion Edge also gains the Improved Arcane Resistance Edge and may cast dispel using Spirit as their arcane skill as an action three times per encounter. A wielder with the smite power reduces the final Power Point cost of casting that power on the sword by 1, to a minimum cost of 0. Anyone slain by the cursed blade rises again as a zombie under the wielder’s control.

The first time a person touches Ebonbane’s hilt, they must attempt a Spirit roll at –4 or be instantly slain, with the sword immediately raising the corpse as a ghoul under its control. For wielders traveling with a group, Ebonbane permits the corpse to continue acting as the person it once was, playing off their collapse as a brief moment of exhaustion from bonding with a powerful magic weapon, then waits until the ghoul’s companions sleep or rest before slaughtering them all.

Should a potential wielder survive their first encounter with the blade, they are immediately aware of the nature of the sword, its powers, and the evil that lurks within. Should they choose to keep it anyway, this is an Act of Ultimate Darkness, gaining them an immediate level of corruption with no roll. Drawing the sword to use in battle thereafter requires a Spirit roll at –2 to avoid having their life force drained away, killing them and raising them again as a ghoul. Ebonbane can also telepathically speak to its “owner,” offering them advice and guidance that inevitably pushes them toward evil. For any action it deems corrupting, it can automatically offer Support at +2 without rolling should its wielder be willing to take its advice and act on it.

When the sword finally kills its wielder—which is inevitably, really—the Mists will rise up and transport the demon blade back to Shadowborn Manor. Until then, however, the amount of havoc it can wreak is simply incalculable.

Unless the Ritual of Four Elements is performed, Ebonbane is no more than an enchanted blade, but it has a limited ability to act on its own. It can hover at a Pace of 6 and attack as though wielded by a Wild Card with Fighting d12+2 and Strength d10. Attacks against the animated sword treat it as though it had a Parry of 7 and Hardness 14, but it cannot be destroyed; inflicting a Wound to the blade causes it to go dormant for 24 hours, after which it revives and can act normally once more.


Sidebar: Kateri Shadowborn’s Ghost

In life, Kateri Shadowborn was a beautiful woman with auburn-red hair and bright green eyes. She had just begun to enter middle age when her life was cut short by an assassin’s blade. In death, she looks much the same, only translucent and tinged with sorrow. She is incapable of taking physical actions in her ghostly state, being little more than the memory of a woman.

Because of Ebonbane’s influence, she cannot speak with travelers freely most of the time, but she can occasionally manifest long enough to speak in cryptic clues about the Ritual of Four Elements, the mystical means of shattering Ebonbane’s physical anchor and releasing his demon essence, which can then hopefully be destroyed forever. No visitors to Shadowborn Manor have yet to either understand or fulfill her quest, but she continues to hope.


Elena Faithhold (Wild Card)

Tall and broad-shouldered, Elena Faithhold is nonetheless a deeply attractive woman approaching middle age. Her raven-black hair and deep blue eyes have the forbidding majesty of a mountaintop or glacier, and she is rarely out of her plate armor. Her enchanted sword, Caitlyn, is never more than an arm’s reach away from her. Elena has been a leader of soldiers for most of her life, and she is accustomed to immediate obedience. She is a poor conversationalist, as she has only one topic that is of interest to her—Belenus—and expects only placid agreement with anything she says, no matter how outrageous.

Elena’s current mount is a nightmare that has had its shape altered by the Dark Powers to appear as a coal-black unicorn.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, Strength d12, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Battle d10, Common Knowledge d6, Fighting d12, Intimidation d10, Notice d8, Occult d8, Persuasion d10, Stealth d4, Survival d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 12 (4)
Hindrances: Arrogant, Driven (Major: regain the favor of Belenus), Mania(RR) (Major: religious zeal), Secret (Major: religious doubt), Vengeful (Major)
Edges: Arcane Resistance, Attractive, Block (Imp), Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Command, Command Presence, Counterattack (Imp), Fervor, Hold the Line, Frenzy (Imp), Mystic Powers(FC) (Blackguard—see below), Nerves of Steel (Imp), Sweep (Imp)
Gear: Caitlyn (magical broadsword: Str+d10, AP 2, +1 to Fighting and damage, two hands), full plate armor (+4 Armor)

Special Abilities:
• Blackguard: Elena Faithhold was once a paladin of the god Belenus, but she lost her powers when she lost her way. She regained some of those abilities when she became a darklord, this time provided by the Dark Powers themselves. These abilities work as the Mystic Powers Edge (FC 37) but provide the following powers: Boost Trait (Fighting and Strength only), protection, and smite; all have the Personal Limitation. Elena has 20 Power Points.
• Darklord of Nidala: Though she is aware that she possesses a supernatural bond with the land, Elena regards this as a facet of her status as the chosen of Belenus. Her self-deception leaves her incapable of closing the domain’s borders.
• Instant Conversion: Elena can cast minor puppet as an Innate Power using Persuasion as her arcane skill. She may only do this once per encounter, but it targets all foes who can hear her speak.
• Sense “Evil”: Most paladins have the ability to sense supernatural sources of evil. Elena lost that ability when she fell from grace, but she now believes that she is able to sense any evil, however mundane. What Elena actually senses is strong emotion directed at her. As an action, she can determine if any creature within 10” feels deep hatred or abiding love for her—but she interprets both of these states as “evil.”


The Lady of the Lake (Wild Card)

The Lady of the Lake was once an innocent nature spirit born to guard a pure mountain lake. She fell in love with a mortal seer called Avanc, who was cursed by a rival fey into the form of a monstrous serpent. The Lady still loved the man despite his new form, but Avanc was slain by a self-righteous knight who believed the creature to be an evil lake dragon. The Lady devoted herself to the knight’s undoing, slaying his wife, destroying his kingdom, and transforming him into a monster like the one he had killed—and all it cost her was her daughter’s life and her freedom.

The Lady dwells alone on Castle Island, forever denied her final vengeance. She desires nothing more than to torment the Avanc—the once-mortal knight who killed her love—and eventually slay him, but she can go no further than a few hundred feet from the shore of her island before becoming too sick and weak to move. She spends most of her time singing her laments to the uncaring waves, festering in boredom and rage. She vents her fury on the few fools luckless enough to stumble into her grasp.

The Lady’s appearance has been twisted by her years of torment and isolation. She is still beautiful, but she has the clammy blue-white skin of one recently drowned and her hair the color and consistency of slimy kelp. Her face is lined by her frustration and anger, framing eyes of midnight blue flecked by gold. She wears an elegant gossamer gown that always seems slightly damp.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d6, Fighting d6, Healing d6, Notice d10, Occult d8, Performance d10, Persuasion d8, Spellcasting d10, Stealth d10, Survival d12
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Jealous (Major), Vengeful (Major)
Edges: Arcane Background (Black Magic), Very Attractive, Woodsman

Special Abilities:
• Aquatic: Pace 10.
• Black Magic: The Lady has become corrupted by her acts of vengeance, trading her original nature magic for the foul taint of black magic. She has 30 Power Points and knows the following powers: barrier, curse(FC), deflection, entangle, farsight, protection, shapechange, slumber, and stun.
• Demi-Lord: The Lady of the Lake is trapped on Castle Island, which she treats as her own personal domain, just as though she were a darklord. She gains Home Ground Advantage (RR 34) everywhere on the island and adds a point of Villainous Conviction to the GM’s pool when she first appears in an adventure. She can partially close the borders of Castle Island; while she sings, those who refuse to turn back from the rising fog are consumed by frustration, sorrow, and guilt, forcing them to make a Spirit roll at –2 or permanently gain the Death Wish Hindrance.
• Fey: Ignores penalties for Dim and Dark Illumination; +4 damage from cold iron weapons.
• Innate Powers: Major beast friend, major darkness (fog cloud trapping), major disguise, major object reading, major puppet (Performance).
• Meld: The Lady can meld with the waters around Castle Island or the pools that dot the interior of the ruins as a limited action. While melded, she cannot be seen or detected by non-magical means and is immune to harm.
• Trapped: The Lady of the Lake cannot travel more than 36” from the shores of Castle Island.


Morgoroth the Black (Wild Card)

A very tall man, thin to the point of gauntness, Morgoroth’s appearance was both uncanny and unpleasant in life. In death—or whatever pseudo-death state he currently occupies—he looks much the same. Morgoroth is incapable of becoming visible or physically manifesting, but he can appear in mirrors and other reflective surfaces throughout Tergeron Manor, and he can be seen by anyone who can see ghosts or other similarly incorporeal beings. His magic can still affect creatures in the material world as well.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Academics d10, Athletics d4, Common Knowledge d10, Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Notice d10, Occult d12, Persuasion d6, Spellcasting d12, Stealth d10
Pace: 5; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (1)
Hindrances: Driven (Major: regain physical form and free Aurora from her slumber), Shamed (Major: forsaken redemption), Slow (Minor), Ugly (Minor)
Edges: Arcane Background (Black Magic), Arcane Focus(RR) (staff), Channeling, Concentration, Epic Mastery(FC), Master Artificer, Necromancer(RR), Rapid Recharge, Wizard
Gear: Rod of the necromancer (FC 164), wizard’s robes (+1 Armor)

Special Abilities:
• Black Magic: Morgoroth is a powerful practitioner of the dark arts. He has 40 Power Points and knows every non-Legendary magic-user power.
• Darklord of Avonleigh: Morgoroth is trapped within Tergeron Manor, but he has a general sense of events all across Avonleigh. He can use the fragments of his magic mirror to spy on many locations across the domain, but he cannot change the location each mirror views, nor can he physically move the pieces of the mirror from where they currently lay. Morgoroth is instantly aware of any undead raised in the domain, and he can both seize control of them from a distance and ride their senses as though he had raised them by using the zombie power with the Mind Rider Modifier. He cannot close the domain borders, however.
• Ethereal: Can pass through solid objects; cannot be harmed by non-magical attacks; is constantly invisible (–6 to hit).
• Fear: Morgoroth’s uncanny appearance on the ethereal plane is sufficient to warrant a Fear check, as is the case when he permits himself to be seen in Tergeron Manor’s mirrors.


The Sisters Mindefisk

The Three Hags of Tepest are powerful opponents individually, but together they are nearly unstoppable. They are highly skilled magical crafters and possess a staggering array of relics they are more than willing to use against interlopers, but they prefer to negotiate with intruders rather than killing them outright. Their favorite thing in the world is to offer corrupt bargains to self-righteous heroes, allowing them to destroy themselves with “gifts” offered by the hags.


Coven Powers

The hags possess the following common features from their bond as a coven:
• Cauldron of Life: If one of the sisters is slain, either of the surviving hags can bring her back to life by retrieving the corpse, placing it into the large iron cauldron they keep in the clearing outside their cottage, and boiling the body in a special mixture of loathsome ingredients for 24 hours. If the process is interrupted, the hags must start over.
• Darklord of Tepest: The sisters can only close the borders of their domain by working together over their enchanted cauldron. When they seal the domain, a fierce storm whips up at the borders that blows any creature back to where they came from. Those that persist risk being frozen by the driving rain, battered by pounding hail, or struck by lightning.
• Dreadful Bond: The hags can share Bennies and Power Points with one another freely. Any scene that features all three hags together adds two bonus Bennies to the GM’s pool. As mutual darklords, they only add a point to the GM’s pool of Villainous Conviction during a scene when all three are present together, but any of them can spend Villainous Conviction.
• Epic Mastery: When all three hags are present in the same scene, all of them gain the Epic Mastery(FC) Edge.
• Ritual Master: When the hags work together on the casting of a ritual or prepared power, they can cast any power from the Black Magic powers list, and they can increase the Duration of a power expressed in rounds to a day for +10 Power Points or a week for +20 Power Points. They can treat human sacrifices or the corpses of those killed in their machinations as valuable components worth gold pieces equal to the character’s Spirit plus Vigor die types. (Remember that in Ravenloft Reincarnated, costs listed as gold pieces in the Fantasy Companion are actually in silver pieces.)
• Telepathic Bond: The sisters can communicate telepathically with one another at any distance. One of their frequent tactics is to kidnap a villager, have one of the hags impersonate them, and then have the other two “interrogate” the poor victim for information to support the impersonation.


Leticia (Wild Card)

The eldest of the three Mindefisk sisters, Leticia is a sea hag and by far the most hideous of them. Open sores on her yellow skin ooze white fluid, and her eyes have red irises surrounding huge black pupils. Her face is distorted by bony protrusions, and her hair resembles rotting seaweed. Her physique is particularly withered and twisted, and she waddles like a bloated frog. Her eyes sometimes leak yellow-green fluid the color and consistency of pus.

Leticia considers herself an artist, and she specializes in the crafting of beautiful jewelry from seemingly worthless stones and polished bones. She can craft brilliant and wonderful magical talismans and trinkets, but they always corrupt the user in some fashion.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d10, Occult d10, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Spellcasting d10, Stealth d8, Taunt d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
Edges: Arcane Background (Black Magic), Channeling, Concentration, Favored Power(FC) (curse), Master Artificer
Hindrances: Jealous (Major), Ugly (Major)
Special Abilities:
• Aquatic: Pace 8.
• Claws: Str+d6.
• Disguise: The Three Sisters are skilled shapechangers. They can use major disguise as an Innate Power.
• Fear (–2): Sea hags are more horrific in appearance than other hags.
• Horribly Ugly: Sea hags suffer –4 to Persuasion rolls instead of –2 because of their intense hideousness.
• Spells: Leticia has 25 Power Points and knows the following spells: blast, boost/lower Trait, curse(FC), divination, fear, light/darkness, protection, puppet, sloth/speed, and slumber.
• Weakness (Mirrors): If one of the Three Sisters looks into a mirror, she sees her true form. The mirror instantly cracks beyond repair, and the hag is Stunned.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Direct sunlight dispels any magical disguise worn by one of the Three Sisters, revealing their true appearance, as well as rendering them Distracted and Vulnerable.


Laveeda (Wild Card)

Laveeda, the middle Mindefisk sister, became an annis hag. Standing over eight feet tall, even with her hunched back, she towers above her sisters. Her shiny, mottled skin is hard as iron and has the blue-black color of bruises. Baggy pouches of sagging flesh hang from her lanky frame. Her fangs are too large for her mouth, leaving ropy strands of drool to dangle from her gaping maw. Her eyes are small and black, frequently leaking black, tarry tears.

Laveeda was a brilliant cook when she was a mortal woman, able to use the worst ingredients to make the finest meals. She is a genius when it comes to brewing potions and draughts, but her concoctions inevitably sicken mortals like slow-acting poison.

Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d12+2, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8, Fighting d10, Intimidation d12, Occult d10, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Spellcasting d10, Stealth d8, Survival d8, Taunt d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 10 (2)
Edges: Alertness, Arcane Background (Black Magic), Channeling, Concentration, Master Artificer
Hindrances: Jealous (Major), Ugly (Major)
Special Abilities:
• Armor +2: Steely skin.
• Bite/Claws: Str+d8, AP 2.
• Disguise: The Three Sisters are skilled shapechangers. They can use major disguise as an Innate Power.
• Fear: Anyone seeing a hag must make a Fear check.
• Size 1: An annis stands some 8 feet tall and weighs about 325 pounds.
• Spells: Laveeda has 25 Power Points and knows the following spells: bolt, boost/lower Trait, curse(FC), divination, fear, light/darkness, protection, puppet, sloth/speed, and smite.
• Weakness (Mirrors): If one of the Three Sisters looks into a mirror, she sees her true form. The mirror instantly cracks beyond repair, and the hag is Stunned.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Direct sunlight dispels any magical disguise worn by one of the Three Sisters, revealing their true appearance, as well as rendering them Distracted and Vulnerable.


Lorinda (Wild Card)

The youngest Mindefisk sister, Lorinda, is a green hag. She has the pebbly, greenish-brown skin of a toad, and her knotted black hair resembles a tangle of vines but is greasy to the touch. Her large bright-orange eyes have reptilian slits for pupils, and she sometimes weeps tears the color of blood.

Lorinda was a seamstress beyond compare when she was still human, able to work with any material or fabric and produce beautiful clothing. Even now, her seemingly bulky fingers are nimble and quick, and she can produce enchanted clothing of incredible comfort and durability. The clothes she produces inevitably draw the wrong sort of attention, however, and often lead to the downfall of their wearer.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength d10, Vigor d10
Skills: Athletics d8, Common Knowledge d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d10, Occult d10, Notice d8, Performance d8, Persuasion d8, Spellcasting d10, Stealth d10, Taunt d8
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7
Edges: Arcane Background (Black Magic), Channeling, Concentration, Master Artificer, Stunning Blow(FC)
Hindrances: Jealous (Major), Ugly (Major)
Special Abilities:
• Claws: Str+d6.
• Disguise: The Three Sisters are skilled shapechangers. They can use major disguise as an Innate Power.
• Fear: Anyone seeing a hag must make a Fear check.
• Mimicry: A green hag can imitate any sound she has ever heard, including the voice of any person she has ever heard speak. Someone suspicious of the imitation can attempt a Notice roll opposed by the green hag’s Performance.
• Spells: Lorinda has 25 Power Points and knows the following spells: boost/lower Trait, burst, curse(FC), divination, fear, light/darkness, protection, puppet, sloth/speed, and smite.
• Weakening Touch: A green hag can make a Touch Attack against a foe, draining his energy and resolve. A touched victim must attempt a Vigor roll at –2 or suffer a level of Fatigued.
• Weakness (Mirrors): If one of the Three Sisters looks into a mirror, she sees her true form. The mirror instantly cracks beyond repair, and the hag is Stunned.
• Weakness (Sunlight): Direct sunlight dispels any magical disguise worn by one of the Three Sisters, revealing their true appearance, as well as rendering them Distracted and Vulnerable.


Wyan of Viktal (Wild Card)

Wyan of Viktal’s gaunt face and build make him look a good decade older than his actual mid-forties, and his hair is prematurely white. He sports a long, thick moustache and goatee, both of which are styled into neat, stiff points. His dark eyes are deeply lined, gazing out on all they see with both rapt attention and carefully-focused suspicion. He is seldom seen out of his ceremonial vestments and habitually clutches a book to his chest, whether a book of prayers of his official ledger.

Wyan grew up the son of a logger and took to his father’s profession despite his inquisitive and clever nature. Before his eighteenth birthday, he was happily married; before his nineteenth, he was a widower, his wife a victim of a goblin raid. When he moved to Viktal, he joined the clergy to seek answers for his grief in the spiritual world, eventually remarrying and having a daughter upon whom he doted. His second wife died giving birth to their second child, and the child survived less than a day due to its horrible deformities. This fresh sorrow hardened his spirit and made him a relentless seeker of truth.

When the Nidalans came, they seemed to have the answers to the questions that had plagued Wyan for his entire life. He now understood that witchcraft and fey sorcery had been the cause of his sorrows and those of his neighbors, almost all of whom had similar stories. He was a formative personality in the creation of the Inquisition, despite his occasional disagreements with Nidalan orthodoxy, and he is dedicated to rooting out the fey and their magic from Tepest. He accepts that the Inquisition is far from perfect, but he believes that it does far more good than bad.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d10, Fighting d6, Healing d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d10, Occult d8, Persuasion d8, Research d8, Stealth d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (1)
Hindrances: Mild Mannered, Suspicious (Minor), Vow (Major: root out the fey)
Edges: Arcane Background (Miracles), Charismatic, Connections (The Inquisition), Holy Warrior, Investigator, Iron Will, Merciful Blessing(RR), Scholar (Occult), Work the Room
Gear: Cold iron sickle (Str+d6), priestly robes (+1 Armor), prayer book

Special Abilities:
• Fey Rebuke: Wyan has learned to channel his god’s power to harm fey creatures like most clerics can to harm the undead. As a limited action, Wyan can spend 1 Power Point to channel divine energy in a Large Blast Template centered on himself. Every fey creature (including elves, dwarves, and gnomes) within the template automatically takes 2d6 damage (or 3d6 damage for 2 PP).
• Miracles: Wyan is a priest of the sun god Belenus. He has 25 Power Points and knows the following powers: banish, blessing(FC), detect/conceal arcana, dispel, divination, elemental manipulation (Fire only), healing, light, protection, relief, and smite.