Researching Ethereal Resonance

[Hell_Born]

I was just going through the 2003 issue of the Undead Sea Scrolls, specifically the article "The Shadow Curtain", which talks about integrating the 3e Plane of Shadow into Ravenloft's internal cosmology. One of the more interesting elements in the article are "shadow tokens", which are strange visual imagery that a party may see in the Border Shadow that serve as subtle(ish) markers of strong negative emotions that led to acts of evil. For example, cloven bones marked with teeth bites might mark a locale where people committed acts of gluttony - especially cannibalism. This phenomena is explicitly likened to ethereal resonance in the article, and I was wondering if I could get a hand tracking down where this concept comes from? The Ravenloft wiki doesn't really explain what it IS, just treating it as a category.

[Joël of the FoS]

Hello, I'm the author of this article.

I wrote that summer of 2003, and before the netbook was released on Halloween, RL 3e came out with a very similar idea.

Great minds think alike

This phenomena is explicitly likened to ethereal resonance in the article, and I was wondering if I could get a hand tracking down where this concept comes from? The Ravenloft wiki doesn't really explain what it IS, just treating it as a category.

The ethereal resonance? From the RLCS (1st book in 3e), page 181, with the "ghosts" section.

The shadow tokens? Comes from the morphic feature of the Plane of Shadows, imprinting there violence or strong emotion from the material plane.

[TheArcaneWeirdo]

I was just going through the 2003 issue of the Undead Sea Scrolls, specifically the article "The Shadow Curtain", which talks about integrating the 3e Plane of Shadow into Ravenloft's internal cosmology. One of the more interesting elements in the article are "shadow tokens", which are strange visual imagery that a party may see in the Border Shadow that serve as subtle(ish) markers of strong negative emotions that led to acts of evil. For example, cloven bones marked with teeth bites might mark a locale where people committed acts of gluttony - especially cannibalism. This phenomena is explicitly likened to ethereal resonance in the article, and I was wondering if I could get a hand tracking down where this concept comes from? The Ravenloft wiki doesn't really explain what it IS, just treating it as a category.

Ethereal resonance is the imprint that emotions (both negative and positive) leave on the ethereal plane. Especially charged moments, or the culmination of emotions felt in a certain place over a long time, can 'burn' visions into the border ethereal (and sometimes give buffs or debuffs to those in the region, depending on the nature of the emotions).

[Hell_Born]

Hello, I'm the author of this article.

I wrote that summer of 2003, and before the netbook was released on Halloween, RL 3e came out with a very similar idea.

Great minds think alike

This phenomena is explicitly likened to ethereal resonance in the article, and I was wondering if I could get a hand tracking down where this concept comes from? The Ravenloft wiki doesn't really explain what it IS, just treating it as a category.

The ethereal resonance? From the RLCS (1st book in 3e), page 181, with the "ghosts" section.

The shadow tokens? Comes from the morphic feature of the Plane of Shadows, imprinting there violence or strong emotion from the material plane.

Much appreciate it! Just so I can clear up something, did the Ravenloft Campaign Setting also have the idea of using such symbolic manifestations in the ethereal plane, or are shadow tokens completely unique to your interpretation of incorporating the Plane of Shadows into Ravenloft's micro-cosmology?