Addar's Bane: a True Unicorn in Ravenloft

[DeepShadow of FoS]

One of my PC's has a magical mark on her skin, said to be placed there by a greater fey. She got it as a child, she can't remember when or how, but it gives her certain abilities with the fey. It's similar in some ways to Larissa Snowmane's white hair.

I want the truth to come out that the "fey" that gave her this as a child was actually a unicorn, one of the throwback spawn of Addar that is foretold to destroy him. This character has a deep connection to the fey, and I've foreshadowed that a confrontation with Addar is in the offing. This character is destined to help the fledgling unicorn destroy Addar and strengthen the good fey of RL and their allies: owlmays, unicorns, druids, etc.

This encounter took place when the PC was about three years old, and was being spirited away from her abusive parents by a family servant, a girl in her early teens. This girl got her over the Musarde into Falkovnia, where she got lost on the Forest of Shadows and was led to Addar's Grove by the owlmays that live there. The owlmays introduced her to the unicorn that they had been guarding, and to keep itself safe from Addar, the unicorn transferred its fey essence to her, giving her the mark. The servant girl was furious that this toddler was chosen for such a high honor over her who had been her rescuer and done all the work, and while she joined the owlmays, she was eventually cast out and forged a bond with the Green Maiden to replace her lost powers, becoming Athene of the Midnight Market.

It's been about twenty years, and the PC is leveling up to be ready for the confrontation. Now she's about to speak with the unicorn via long distance scrying, and I realize how many holes there still are in this story.

1) Should this unicorn be the actual, tried and true savior unicorn, or an almost-there lighter version of a shadow unicorn that will be the sire/dam of the real thing?
2) Was this unicorn a newborn at the time of the marking, and has been growing up ever since, or was it already a full grown adult?
a) if a newborn, how has it stayed alive since?
b) if adult, how did it stay alive prior to this, without giving the mark to someone else? What has it been doing?

And then there's generally room for lots more about these owlmays and their plot to protect/breed the One True Unicorn and all that. Ideas welcome.

[The Lesser Evil]

It's somewhat hard to make suggestions regarding the alternatives not knowing the full implications for your game. As it is, what do you see as the pros/cons for each option.

Edit: As for how a unicorn could have made it to maturity, one of the TSR collector cards had an outlander elf ranger (beastrider) named Leilana meet and heal an injured (presumably outlander) unicorn in a field before both were taken into Ravenloft. Leilana and/or the unicorn could have raised by Leilana or her unicorn friend.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

It's somewhat hard to make suggestions regarding the alternatives not knowing the full implications for your game. As it is, what do you see as the pros/cons for each option.

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't post so late at night. That made a lot more sense in my head at the time.

The problem is that I keep going in circles. Like, I was thinking the purpose of the mark would be to help hide the unicorn from Addar, which makes sense if it was a newborn. I figured it was kinda like the old problem about paladins growing to adulthood in certain domains where they would be killed before they were a few years old. This unicorn needed to give up something in order to be allowed to grow up. But then it's only been twenty years, I would expect unicorns to take longer to really grow up, and that means in this upcoming encounter it really can't be the wise sage I was hoping for.

So if I want a wise sage, that would mean it was an adult unicorn when it gave her the mark...which then begs the question why it waited so long before giving the mark to someone, if that was so important to hide from Addar, let alone all the other DL's. How did it live so long if the mark is a beacon like a paladin's aura? I have already established that these marks can only be given away once for each of the fey that grants them, so it's not like it was marking people once a year and it was just this kid's turn. This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so that begs the question of what it did to hide for all those decades it was becoming wise.

So, to split the difference, I was considering having an almost-pure mare who gave birth to the true unicorn. The mother didn't have an aura of goodness, but her child did. So it's the child that needs protection, but the mother can be the wise sage.

And then there's the question of what the PC's role in all this is to be. I was thinking she would have to be the one to find and defend the true unicorn...but the owlmays and/or the mare are already doing that. Does it sound cooler to give her the mission of finding the One True Unicorn before it's born, or to find it when it's grown up and ready to throw down with Addar?

Edit: As for how a unicorn could have made it to maturity, one of the TSR collector cards had an outlander elf ranger (beastrider) named Leilana meet and heal an injured (presumably outlander) unicorn in a field before both were taken into Ravenloft. Leilana and/or the unicorn could have raised by Leilana or her unicorn friend.

Crap, I didn't even think of that! Okay, that opens up a LOT more options! I'm thinking Leilana became leader of the owlmays of Addar's Grove, possibly their founder. Her unicorn could be the one that gave the PC the mark, or the mother of a newborn that did...not sure what's best there. But I especially like the idea that this unicorn could be a full-grown adult, so I have my wise sage, yet NOT the one who is destined to overthrow Addar, so that newborn is still out there somewhere.

So...anyway, that's the muddle in my brain at the moment. Suggestions welcome!

[Resonant Curse]

The PC could also not be the first person to be given the mark. Maybe there have been a host of other "saviors" selected and whenever they get hunted down by Addar the essence flows back to the unicorn and he has to find a new "volunteer" until he is ready?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Are the unicorn's bound to Addar's Grove? could the unicorn have been on the run through multiple domains for years? Does the mark bother other DLs the way it would bother Addar? Or might the unicorn have found an oubliette in the Mists to hang out in? (with the possible mist corruption/madness that could entail.)

[The Lesser Evil]

The PC could also not be the first person to be given the mark. Maybe there have been a host of other "saviors" selected and whenever they get hunted down by Addar the essence flows back to the unicorn and he has to find a new "volunteer" until he is ready?

This would be especially interesting if one slain rose again as a jealous undead determined to seize back what he lost from the current champion and fulfill the duty, even if they had to go all "highlander" on the current holder. Alternatively or in addition, a champion that was rejected could turn in a Sivanus (Shazam movie version) anti-champion whom makes (or seeks to make) a deal with Addar.

[Resonant Curse]

If you have multiple champions you also get the bonus possible corruption or even path towards darklordship of the unicorn selecting people that it knows are probably going to die to protect itself. Especially if they follow the mold of your pc and they are young children who don't know what they are getting into/having forced on them (if it was even optional).

[DeepShadow of FoS]

The PC could also not be the first person to be given the mark. Maybe there have been a host of other "saviors" selected and whenever they get hunted down by Addar the essence flows back to the unicorn and he has to find a new "volunteer" until he is ready?

This would be especially interesting if one slain rose again as a jealous undead determined to seize back what he lost from the current champion and fulfill the duty, even if they had to go all "highlander" on the current holder. Alternatively or in addition, a champion that was rejected could turn in a Sivanus (Shazam movie version) anti-champion whom makes (or seeks to make) a deal with Addar.

The rules I've established for this mark say that it can only be given once, period. I don't want to walk that back to allow prior champions.

That being said, there IS a fallen savior of sorts. Athene of the Midnight Market was rejected for the role, and while she joined the owlmays as a consolation, she eventually had a falling out with them, was stripped of her powers, replaced them with her pseudo-lycanthropy via the Green Maiden, and resents the PC for being chosen. Very similar to Sivanus.

Are the unicorn's bound to Addar's Grove? could the unicorn have been on the run through multiple domains for years? Does the mark bother other DLs the way it would bother Addar? Or might the unicorn have found an oubliette in the Mists to hang out in? (with the possible mist corruption/madness that could entail.)

I'm still working out the rules, but the general concept is that there's a vitality to Addar's Grove that defends good fey from the corruption and madness inherent in the rest of the demiplane. It's basically part of Addar's curse, making his lands invigorating to all his bitter enemies that he used to be allied with. Of course, Addar tries his best to corrupt fey, and he's VERY good at twisting bargains and stuff like that, but he's having to do manually what other domains do just by being there. His more organized foes like the owlmays and the Oak Faction deliberately capitalize on the vitality effect for their powers, playing the dangerous game of staying on his lands long enough to do rituals when he's trying to hunt them down.

SO

All that is to say that yes, the unicorn could go to other domains...but it's a trade off. Either the physical threat of Addar and his allies, or the existential threat of the twisted skein of nature driving them mad. I'm not sure if any domain would be off limits that way. Probably the safest thing to do would be to wander the back woods of various domains for a few months and then pop back to Addar's Grove to restore SAN points before heading off again. That's basically what the owlmays do.

[KingCorn]

I like to image either Loht or Maeve has a shadow unicorn mount

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I like to image either Loht or Maeve has a shadow unicorn mount

Or both. I wouldn't be against half the Shadow Fey having them, maybe cross-breeding them with a Pooka or Kelpie.

It brings up an interesting issue, Addar has reason to be proud of his progeny, as much as he wants to fear them. In Kara's Daughters I had a PC come to him from Rokushima petitioning for help with the Clan of the Unicorn. Getting his boon would be a good omen, getting a foal to take back would be a major coup. The campaign ended before they could meet up, but it always made me wonder how that could work out. Addar obviously feels shame and fear of his progeny, but pride was his original downfall, could the shadow unicorns be part of that?

[KingCorn]

It brings up an interesting issue, Addar has reason to be proud of his progeny, as much as he wants to fear them. In Kara's Daughters I had a PC come to him from Rokushima petitioning for help with the Clan of the Unicorn. Getting his boon would be a good omen, getting a foal to take back would be a major coup. The campaign ended before they could meet up, but it always made me wonder how that could work out. Addar obviously feels shame and fear of his progeny, but pride was his original downfall, could the shadow unicorns be part of that?

I'd really like to hear more about the Kara's Daughters campaign, as well as that Clan of Unicorn thing. Did you tie Rokushima to Legend of the Five Rings?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I'd really like to hear more about the Kara's Daughters campaign, as well as that Clan of Unicorn thing. Did you tie Rokushima to Legend of the Five Rings?

LOL just do a search for Kara's Daughters, that campaign was on fire, and I came here all the time to get ideas. And yes, I tied Rokushima to LotFR, that was at the end, someone joining wanted to play a samurai, so that was the story she came up with. My current campaign is set in the future of that one, but I haven't revealed all the blowback of what happened, and the outcome of that event with going to see Addar has not been decided yet.

[Cromstar]

It brings up an interesting issue, Addar has reason to be proud of his progeny, as much as he wants to fear them. In Kara's Daughters I had a PC come to him from Rokushima petitioning for help with the Clan of the Unicorn. Getting his boon would be a good omen, getting a foal to take back would be a major coup. The campaign ended before they could meet up, but it always made me wonder how that could work out. Addar obviously feels shame and fear of his progeny, but pride was his original downfall, could the shadow unicorns be part of that?

Quite likely. I'm not sure how much your Addar is different from the source books, but based on his as-written description, its very conceivable he'd be ashamed to admit their true origins, but at the same time if they appeared to be 'true' unicorns, he'd want them to be a big deal in the world. His pride was all about how amazing and awesome unicorns are compared to everyone else. Spreading his progeny far and wide a) gets them away from him and makes them less of a threat (he hopes) and b) spreads his glory and the glory of his race! And, in a way, that makes him less safe because he can't really keep track of all his descendants as they've spread out across the domains, but he can pretend that isn't a problem.

[Galm]

Thanks for mentioning Kara's Daughters, I've started reading and it's awesome! I've been coming up for investment tactics about real estate in Cannes for a couple evenings after work, and that's really something I needed to get back on track and stop dreaming of houses I'll never be able to afford