Lady Kateri Shadowborn

Lady Kateri Shadowborn is a nonplayer character of central importance to the mythos of locations, characters, and events associated Shadowborn Family. Although the exact details on her current state and origin story vary, there is some common overlap. For example, sources commonly state that she was a famous hero and paladin from a family well known for good deeds. She was killed by Ebonbane, her nemesis and a terrible fiend of epic proportions. Lady Kateri's death caused the formation of Shadowborn Manor, her former residence, into a Ravenloft domain, with Lady Kateri trapped as a spirit within to oppose Ebonbane, the domain's darklord. At the time, Ebonbane was a fiend bound within a magic sword that was wielded by a corpse under the control of Ebonbane. Her relative, Alexi Shadowborn, established the Knights of the Shadows, which was the second incarnation of the Circle (Society).

Publishing History

Lady Kateri Shadowborn was first introduced in the sourcebook Darklords (Sourcebook) (release date: 1991), where the basic foundation of her backstory was laid out. In Islands of Terror (Sourcebook) (release date: 1992), she is namedropped as a former friend an ally of Elena Faith-hold, a paladin that later fell from grace and became so corrupt she became the darklord of Nidala. Bane of the Shadowborn (in Dungeon Magazine #31, release date 1991) presents a chance for player characters to enter Shadowborn Manor and directly confront and destroy Ebonbane themselves.

Lady Kateri Shadowborn later appeared in the Ravenloft product line novel Shadowborn (release date: 1998), where Alexi Shadowborn was revealed to be her son. Therein, he came to Shadowborn Manor and encountered Ebonbane before absorbing the fiend into his body and replacing the sword as prison and his mother as imprisoner for Ebonbane. Unfortunately, the details of this novel render much of Ebonbane's write up in Darklords obsolete, and the novel itself is a novelized version of the 1991 BotB adventure. (Lady Kateri's spirit passes on to the afterlife, for example.)

For a more detailed history of Lady Kateri, please see Lysander Greylocks, Heretical Wars, and the Knights of the Circle.

Game Statistics

• In life: female human paladin 12; Lawful Good

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Darklords Dungeon #31: Bane of the ShadowBorn
		Darklords - p29 Dungeon #31: Bane of the ShadowBorn
		Dungeon #31: Bane of the ShadowBorn
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - p7 Darklords - pp28-31 Dungeon #31: Bane of the ShadowBorn Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts - p10