Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey (Book)

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Dates

  • Published 2004
  • Ravenloft 757 BC in theory, but the letter concerning the hunt dates it rather to 758 BC p95.

Chapters & Authors

Authors' Notes

Brett King

Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey was a great project. I've always loved fairy tales, be they Celtic folklore or the Brothers Grimm. These stories are most children's introduction to fantasy and horror, and I think you can really tap into the feelings left behind with stories of the fey. My background is writing adventures for the RPGA, and one of the RPGA adventures I wrote was called "A Gruesome Faerie Tale". It was very well received, so I was especially excited about getting to tackle the genre again in VRG to the Shadow Fey. Incidentally, the first RPGA adventure I ever wrote was a Ravenloft adventure called "Sarcophagyn", which is my user ID on the message boards.
I was responsible for chapters 6, 7, and 8, plus a small part of the DM's Appendix. Rucht Lilavivat wrote the Intro, chapters 1 and 4, and the DM's Appendix. Penny Williams wrote chapters 2 and 3, and Tadd McDivitt wrote chapter 5 and a piece of the Appendix.
My favorite part of working on this book was writing the anecdotal stories. "The Immortal Mind" and "Interactions with Mortals" chapters gave me lots of opportunities in that regard.I also really enjoyed working on the twins' hunt in chapter 8. I hope I did them justice; I was quite attached to their characters by the time I was through. Of course, I was also pretty attached to the wicked powrie and teg in the story, but the heroes do have to win in the end. :-)
Finally, I'd like to thank the developers, Jackie and Nicky, for giving me the opportunity to work in my favorite campaign setting.

Errata

  • Pg. 84
The Fir Finger feat should say 'fir ancestry' as prerequisite. (Errata confirmed by Brett King, author, on the FoS boards)
  • Pg. 106
Half-Fey template: The luck bonus to AC is +2. (Errata confirmed by Brett King, author, on the FoS boards)
  • Pg. 139
The Giamarga : there's a new poison called Vital Venom which was created by Nostalia Romaine and Ivana Boritsi. It has a required Caster Level of 6th, but neither Ivana (an Ari3/Exp4/Cpo5 according to p.149) nor Nostalia (an Ari4/Wiz4/Rog2 according to p.21) have such a Caster Level. Suggested correction: a) alter Nostalia to be an Ari2/Wiz6/Rog2 or b) alter the CL to 4th in the description of Vital Venom.
Also Vital Venom doesn't recreate a spell effect so it is technically not a potion. Suggested Correction: a) alter the required feat from Brew Potion to Craft Wondrous Item. or b) add a new spell (up to 3rd level and of Nostalia's own creation) to the item's crafting prerequisites.
Tobias Blackburn adds: I believe that Ivana is capable of creating any poison she wants. If Nostalia was making suggestions and aiding her she would have still been able to make it.
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