Reality Wrinkle
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
A reality wrinkle is the zone of planar disruption surrounding an outsider with the Good or Evil descriptor. The moral purity, in either extreme, of the outsider reacts to the planar fabric of the demiplane and creates a region similar to that of a small domain that moves with the creature. Within the wrinkle, a darklord's power over his or her own domain is usurped, including the ability to close the domain's border. A darklord is aware immediately of such a disruption of his or her domain.
The effects of the reality wrinkles created by Good and Evil outsiders differ. Evil outsiders' (fiends) reality wrinkles disrupt a darklord's control and immunity to powers checks. The reality wrinkles of Good outsiders (celestials) also disrupt the fabric of reality in Ravenloft, causing native inert materials to turn ghastly in appearance before fading back into the Mists. They also prevent natural healing in living creatures, though magical healing still works. A celestial can suppress their reality wrinkle as a free action.
Fiends can also perform power rituals to gain land-based powers at a cost. The ritual can only be performed once per domain regardless of success or failure, their reality wrinkle is immediately halved, and they gain corruption points that cause a percentage chance of future power rituals failing as well as an equal chance that any effect that would allow escape from the demiplane will fail. When a fiend has enough corruption points (21+) they lose their reality wrinkle, all power rituals automatically fail as well as any effect that could let them escape, and they become susceptible to powers checks as mortals are. Such is the cost of tying themselves to the land. Fiends automatically know how to perform power rituals.
Celestials gain no benefit from power rituals and still gain corruption points. They are also not immune to powers checks and any failed powers check instead adds to their corruption points until they lose their reality wrinkle completely. Like fiends, a celestial whose corruption points reach higher than 21 can never escape Ravenloft and is now affected by failed powers checks as mortals are.
Steve Miller
"And for what it's worth, if I had it to do over again, the reality wrinkles would either be smaller or they would be more clearly spelled out. As Ropie said, they weren't intended to be some sort of cheezy safe zone. And those who said they give way [to the approach of a darklord] were absolutely right. They have to." -Steve Miller[1]
