The Shadow Rift (Domain)

The Shadow Rift (Domain)
Culture Level
Ecology
Climate & Terrain
Year Formed
Population
Races (%)
Languages
Religions
Government	Hereditary Aristocracy
Ruler(s)	The Seelie Court / The Unseelie Court
Darklord(s)	Gwydion
Nationality
Analog	Fey folklore and a mixture of influences from Dante's Inferno and the Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal movies
Related Categories
Locations in The Shadow Rift (Domain)
Transportation in The Shadow Rift (Domain)
Inhabitants of The Shadow Rift (Domain)
Former Inhabitants of The Shadow Rift (Domain)
Flora of The Shadow Rift (Domain)
Fauna of The Shadow Rift (Domain)
Native Monsters of The Shadow Rift (Domain)

Located at the heart of the Core, the Shadow Rift appears from the outside as a deep chasm full of Mist. But at the bottom of the chasm is a thriving civilization of Shadow Fey, protected from the sun by the Mists above. These same Mists of Shadow make it difficult to enter the Shadow Rift safely, for to penetrate the Mists far enough means to fade away into nothing. The interior of the Shadow Rift is subject to a temporal fugue, so that a fortnight outside the Rift corresponds to a year inside.

Political rule of the domain alternates between the Seelie Court of Queen Maeve and the Unseelie Court of Prince Loht. The darklord of the domain is Gwydion, though he remains trapped within the Obsidian Gate.

Things, Creatures & Personages of Legend

• Arak the Erlking

• Gywdion the Sorcerer-Fiend

Biology

Flora

Despite the lack of a sun, plant life exists in abundance and diversity throughout the Greenlands, especially plants bearing fruit and flowers. Various plant species of the Core are seen together without regard to differences in climate or environmental preference. Strange plants unknown elsewhere also abound in the Greenlands, including applewort, heartrose, shee's kiss, and starweed. Other plants hail from the Plane of Shadow, such as the umbral banyan.

On the other hand, the Stonedowns is mostly bereft of plants, save for the Stonedowns moss.

Fauna

Many kinds of nocturnal fauna thrive in the perpetual twilight of the Shadow Rift.

Native Horrors

• The Arak and various fey mostly dwell in the Greenlands of the northern Rift.
• The saugh are undead troops formerly obedient to Loht but later revealed to truly obey Gwydion. Now mostly lurking in the arid areas of the Stowndowns (if corporeal) or the Black Marsh (if incorporeal). Shadows can pop up anywhere.
• Creatures from the Plane of Shadow or of a shadowy nature thrive here. These shadowy creatures enjoy a heightened hardiness due to the dark energies permeating the Shadow Rift.
• Vermin of varying monstrous sizes. Spiders and spider-like beings (([aranea]], etc.), are reviled by the Arak due to their association with the Cult of the Spider Queen, and thus have been

Geography

Terrain

Lakes

• Loch Lenore, in the Greenlands, fed by the Hidden Cascade falling from Tepest above

• The Biting Tarn, in the Stowndowns

Communication

Rivers

Dnar River System

• The Trished River

Roads

• The East Timori Road runs from Egertus, through Kantora and Liara, and into Tepest where it is cut short by the Shadow Rift.

Fractures

Principe one to and from Shadow Rift in the south west in the form of a cave.

Economy

Population Distribution

Towns

• Anvolee (mostly changelings)

• Belivuie (mostly sith)

• Esmerth (mostly shee)

Chronology

BC

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		The Shadow Rift
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp7,33,35 Ravenloft Third Edition - pp15,19,138-139 The Shadow Rift - pp61-124 The Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - pp4-5
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp8-9 Ravenloft Third Edition - inside cover The Shadow Rift - p57 The Ravenloft Campaign Setting - poster map
		Shadow Rift, The Shadow Rift