Splinters of Shadow

[Rock of the Fraternity]

We know that Azalin purged the Fraternity of Shadows from the University of Il Aluk and Darkon as a whole, back when they thought to back Vlad Drakov so as to remove him.
Father Shadowcloak and Count Von Lovenhorst relocated the survivors and helped the Fraternity as an organisation survive... but what if they missed a couple of survivors?

Imagine for a moment, if you will, that some of the initial survivors of the purge did not flee south, but were panicked enough to head north and ran into the Mists.

Would they be any less evil for having run for their lives? I think not. Would their ambitions have changed at all? Not if they got away with it. But if they ran into the Mists and wound up in a Cluster or on an Island with a convivial enough environment, would they feel any real pressing need to return to the Core?

Obviously some would, even most - they would want to see which of their assets had survived and which Brothers in Shadow were still kicking, after all - but all of them?
I think not. This is a NE organization that thrives on secrecy and mental abstraction we're talking about, after all.

Imagine then, the Fraternity of Shadows splinter cells. Scattered across the expanse of the Demiplane of Dread, they are far enough removed from the Core that the main Fraternity of Shadows remains unaware of their survival. The reverse may also be true - but then again, it need not be.
Consider the later instalments of Frank Herbert's Dune series, when the Honored Matres return and start kicking the Bene Gesserits' collective butts. Now apply the notion of descendants of a secret society, grow strong and different in a very different environment, and looking to return to the homeland.

Imagine these Splinters of Shadow.
They are still true to the core goal: gain mastery over the Demiplane of Dread by acquiring knowledge and mental supremacy. Illusion is still their favoured school, secrecy is still their key to survival, and they may still disdain Necromancy. Most of them would consider Azalin to be the ultimate boogeyman of their history, and Darkon as a place to be avoided.
Everything else is up for grabs, though.

How do you think they would have developed and changed?
What would their plans be for the Core?
If they know of the main FoS, what would their intentions be towards them?
If they don't know about the main FoS, how would they react when their agents meet in the field?

[tomokaicho]

The mists can have, at times, properties of temporal distortion. Your missing FoS members may have entered the mists, arrived at a Cluster or Island of Terror hundreds of years before the founding of the FoS. During this time, this region of the Dread Domains is mist-locked and not accessible by any reliable mistway. Later this region is connected to the rest of the Dread Domains, and the Core FoS is now confronted with an FoS splinter group claiming to be hundreds of years older than that of the Core.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Intriguing notion!
They could even be the shadowy rulers of their Cluster or Island, if it is civilised, or its outright 'shaman' elite if it is primitive.

[The Lesser Evil]

There's three Mistways from the Mistlands:

The Heretic's Egress->G'Henna
The Shrouded Way->Paridon
Via Corona->Nidala

In addition, if they fled to the Nocturnal Sea via the Vuchar River and sailed north, they might have hit the Wake of the Loa and landed in Souragne.

I would imagine they would want to escape G'Henna as soon as possible, as there is relatively little lore or other things of relevance. The major thing I could think of off the top of my head they would be interested in was if the summoner of Malistroi had left behind a cache of arcane lore somewhere. There only other likely thing of interest would be a rare type of cat-like magical beast existing only in Gehenna (see Dance of the Dead novel p. 308-309) that has fur useful as spell components for illusion spells.

The Shadowlands would likely have more prospects for the Splinters- assuming they can escape the watchful eye of Faith-hold and her informant system. I could see them making an alliance (however tenuous) with Morgoroth the Black. Otherwise, they'd probably have a hidden headquarters somewhere on the far side of the western mountains of Nidala. Studying the Shadowlands might make for a unique experience in the unusual nature of the Phantasmal Forest and all the mini/pseudo-darklords. The cluster is also unusual in that it's bound so closely with a now mostly defunct family. The lore of the Shadowborn family and any lost treasures they have might be appealing as well. I imagine none of them would be stupid enough to venture into Shadowborn Manor themselves, but having patsies come back with various items and reports could work. Also, imagine if the Splinters infiltrated the Knights of the Shadows or their associates?

A splinter cell in Souragne may come to fear and hate Anton Misroi if they hate Azalin, considering their similar omnipotent control over the undead of their domains. Misroi's laws would also be problematic for the Splinters b/c it only permits necromancy, the general FoS unfavored school.

How the Splinters might interact with the dread doppelgangers of Paridon raises some potentially chilling prospects.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Concerning the Shadowlands:

No arguments, really, but I think that the Shadowlands would either be unappealing in the long run due to the lack of centers of research and education... or they would give birth to a splinter that is far more contemplative and focused on pure research than the one in the Core.
Imagine a whole splinter more in keeping with Tarnos Shadowcloak, as he is now; hermits, withdrawn from the secular world as much as possible, studying the nature of the Demiplane's planar fabric and working towards some ghastly goal.
They're be the equivalent of a ticking time bomb, apart from occasions when they test their theories ... and horrible things happen for a while.
In the face of a foe like Strangle-Hold, they might be a much more unified force, too. There's less room for politics and maneuvering for rank when you need to constantly be on the lookout for either informants or armed warriors.

Concerning Paridon:
Now imagine what might happen if Dread Doppelgangers wiped out the humans who brought the concept of the FoS... but adopted it for themselves.
They wouldn't mind becoming the new gods of the Demiplane of Dread, they can infiltrate just about anywhere and gather lore bv the boatload. It could be just what they need to stop being so indolent and really start using their gifts to the fullest.
Wouldn't that be nice?

Next, combine the FoS's powerful arcane lore with the divine power of the Divinity of the Masters. Arrogance feeding arrogance, power supporting power, as mental and physical discipline grow apace.
Adramelech might weep for joy if he found out about them having taken on his teachings... Or maybe he would weep for frustration that he had been unaware of their existence.

Concerning Souragne:

They'd either need to come to some form of understanding with Misroi, or else make common cause with someone capable of shielding them against his wrath. Chicken Bone might be able to make some form of arrangement... or else maybe one or several of the Loah.
I could see this splinter becoming more diplomatic, and even undergoing an alignment shift closer to Neutral, as they profile themselves as just wanting to be left in peace and study their magic and the Demiplane.

[tomokaicho]

Intriguing notion!
They could even be the shadowy rulers of their Cluster or Island, if it is civilised, or its outright 'shaman' elite if it is primitive.

If you want primitive, a gothic variation of the Mutany on the Bounty is possible.

You'd have a fraternity leader captain a ship through the mists where the effects of time distortion makes the weeks that the ship is moving through the misty sea feel like years. When the ship finally makes land at the Ravenloft equivalent of Pitcairn Island, there is a mutany because the captain does not want to remain. The junior fraternity members revolt, kill the captain and his loyalist and settle on the island. Ultimately they end up killing all the native men and seizing the women.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

How the Splinters might interact with the dread doppelgangers of Paridon raises some potentially chilling prospects.

Suddenly the Servants of the Stone are looking even more suspicious, aren't they...?
Arcane spellcasters, secretive ones, who all follow an alchemical path that enhances their natural powers over Illusion?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Intriguing notion!They could even be the shadowy rulers of their Cluster or Island, if it is civilised, or its outright 'shaman' elite if it is primitive.

They could be the shadowy rulers of the Demiplane (aka Dark Powers) going back in time the splintered cell managed to find a way to rule over all...

No.... too far-fetched.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Intriguing notion!They could even be the shadowy rulers of their Cluster or Island, if it is civilised, or its outright 'shaman' elite if it is primitive.

They could be the shadowy rulers of the Demiplane (aka Dark Powers) going back in time the splintered cell managed to find a way to rule over all...

<taking notes>