Phantasmal Forest

Canon Information

The Phantasmal Forest is located in Avonleigh and around Shadowborn Manor.

Potential Canon information from John W. Mangrum

It's not necessarily the size that makes the Phantasmal Forest easy to get lost in -- it's that the Phantasmal Forest is a manifestation of the Misty Border, and like the Mists, it's directionless. Nothing leaves tracks, and there are no trails to follow. (The BoS story discusses this.) Although Nidalans believe that the Phantasmal Forest is part of Avonleigh, this is not the case. It is a manifestation of Ebonbane’s formless evil, as it continually seeps through the borders of the Shadowborn Manor into the Mists of Ravenloft. When Ebonbane or its minions corrupt a location or creature dear to Kateri Shadowborn, that subject is drawn into the Phantasmal Forest and added to the fiend’s nightmarish collection. It is said that intrepid travelers could once use the Phantasmal Forest to journey into the outlander world that Kateri called home, but these Mistways seem to have closed when Ebonbane ran out of targets to destroy. Ebonbane has very limited influence over the Phantasmal Forest: it is dimly aware of the location of travelers, and it can communicate telepathically with any of its minions.

Numerous tiny “pocket domains” float in the ever-shifting Phantasmal Forest, like bubbles on an oily pool. Each of these locales, none larger than a few hundred feet across, is home to a creature that Ebonbane has thoroughly corrupted. Like darklords, these creatures can neither leave their “pocket domains” nor close their borders. Ebonbane cannot, however, see into Avonleigh or Nidala, nor does he have any direct power over those domains; these two darklords corrupted themselves. A few of the known locales include:

Forenoon Abbey: Once the sacred home of pious scholars, this monastery is now home to Ebonbane’s undead Ahltrian. The abbey is overseen by its former abbot, his name long lost, who now exists as a powerful ghoul.

Addar’s Glade: This break in the trees is home to the haughty unicorn Addar, corrupted by a nightmare serving Ebonbane. Their twisted offspring have now spread into the world. Addar was once a steed for a paladin in the Circle, but accounts differ on exactly whom he served. Addar’s glade travels with him. He can lead travelers to any location in the Phantasmal Forest, but only if they appease his immense vanity.

The Dolmens: The god Belenus is said to have created this circle of stones as a respite for his faithful. The area within the circle is under the effect of a permanent consecrate spell. Ebonbane is utterly blind here, and the sun always shines brightly.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		A Light in the Belfry
		Ravenloft Third Edition - pp17-18,155-159 A Light in the Belfry - p6, p8