Café de Nuit

So, I was thinking, the lair effects of some monsters in D&D next, are very similar to what I do and use for reality wrikles. What do you nice people think?
Just to be clear, I mean both the "within 3 miles of the lair, these are the spooky effects" that are mainly atmospheric and the lair actions that do things.

Honestly I think that's a great idea, and I was thinking about using/adapting reality wrinkles along those lines for the 5e version of my setting overhaul/metaplot advancement. Relative to that, did Arijani (Rakshasa Darklord of Sri Raji) have a reality wrinkle?

I don't have specific information on Arijani, but as rakshasas do not have the Evil or Good subtypes, they do not gain reality wrinkles. Also, reality wrinkles sort of insulate fiends from the influence of the Realm of Dread (for example, by allowing a fiend to cross a closed domain border), so generally they are incompatible with becoming a darklord.

Technically, they are also native outsiders, though since they are native to whatever world they came from before entering Ravenloft, that might not prevent them from gaining phylacteries (RLDMG page 106). They are also capable of transposition into Ravenloft like other outsiders, at least under some special circumstances (see Ravana's Bane in Van Richten's Arsenal pages 54-56).

paireon wrote: ↑Sun Dec 31, 2023 1:32 pm Honestly I think that's a great idea, and I was thinking about using/adapting reality wrinkles along those lines for the 5e version of my setting overhaul/metaplot advancement. Relative to that, did Arijani (Rakshasa Darklord of Sri Raji) have a reality wrinkle?

Wolfglide of the Fraternity wrote: ↑Sun Dec 31, 2023 3:47 pm I don't have specific information on Arijani, but as rakshasas do not have the Evil or Good subtypes, they do not gain reality wrinkles. Also, reality wrinkles sort of insulate fiends from the influence of the Realm of Dread (for example, by allowing a fiend to cross a closed domain border), so generally they are incompatible with becoming a darklord.

Well he is a darklord so his domain is a reality wrinkle by itself I guess.

Interesting observation...!
Should we then say that every Darklord has become an Outsider, in a way, as they are isolated from the realities they were drawn from as well as the people around them?
Honestly, that sounds very Gothic.

Rock of the Fraternity wrote: ↑Mon Jan 01, 2024 3:37 am Interesting observation...!
Should we then say that every Darklord has become an Outsider, in a way, as they are isolated from the realities they were drawn from as well as the people around them?
Honestly, that sounds very Gothic.

I would say it has to do more with the corruption of the Land of Mists. When an outsider becomes very corrupted (and connected to the demiplane) by making power rituals basically draining specific powers from the land, it has fewer chances of escape from the Demiplane of Dread. I believe the same goes with Darklords though they have no outsider subtype to create a reality obstacle to the Dark Powers and become attached to the land right away.

Wonder what that would mean for Gwydion and Ebonbane... IIRC Ebonbane at least was meant to be a Loumara (a type of demon from the Abyss like Tanar'ri and Obyriths) in 3.5 according to the notes, and Gwydion... well, he's something REALLY special. At least that's how I see him.

Actually, with the rules as written a fiend cannot become a darklord. So, in order to trap it, the Dark Powers give the fiend access to rituals. Those rituals bind the fiend more and more to demiplane of dread until its corruption score becomes high enough that its reality wrinkle completely disappears and the fiend is immediately bound to Ravenloft as a darklord or mist outsider, unable to ever leave.

alhoon wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:26 am Actually, with the rules as written a fiend cannot become a darklord. So, in order to trap it, the Dark Powers give the fiend access to rituals. Those rituals bind the fiend more and more to demiplane of dread until its corruption score becomes high enough that its reality wrinkle completely disappears and the fiend is immediately bound to Ravenloft as a darklord or mist outsider, unable to ever leave.

IIRC neither Ebonbane nor Gwydion have executed any power rituals, though; best hypothesis I have is that as they were stuck/imprisoned when they got to Ravenloft in a way that they were metaphysically present (so to speak) but not physically present (Ebonbane stuck inside a sword and/or person, Gwydion inside a collapsed planar portal/conduit), the Dark Powers somehow took advantage to foist lordship upon them, kinda like you can put any hat on a person's head when they're securely tied to a chair, even a crown.

Those are both special cases. Ebonbane was IIRC already in the sword and is not the darklord, nor has a reality wrinkle. I.e. Ebonbane is not a "Fiend" but more like a sentient evil item.
Gwydeon... by the current, 5e rules, I would say Gwydeon is not a fiend but an evil arch-fey. Those do not get reality wrinkles, but apparently the Dark Powers go full throttle to keep them in place.

alhoon wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:26 am Actually, with the rules as written a fiend cannot become a darklord. So, in order to trap it, the Dark Powers give the fiend access to rituals. Those rituals bind the fiend more and more to demiplane of dread until its corruption score becomes high enough that its reality wrinkle completely disappears and the fiend is immediately bound to Ravenloft as a darklord or mist outsider, unable to ever leave.

I believe this is what happened to the balor from https://fraternityofshadows.com/TheParl ... eer_V.html

Guarded Fractures: Many are protected by strange and fearsome guardians. This can be a good excuse to use creatures that may not otherwise fit into a Ravenloft campaign. As a rule, they should have a CR of at least 12. For example, one Fracture is watched by the Hound, an immensely strong half-dog, half-giant, who must be fought for the journey to be completed. Another leads from a goblin lair in the Mountains of Misery and is guarded by a balor (with no reality wrinkle).

alhoon wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 12:56 am Those are both special cases. Ebonbane was IIRC already in the sword and is not the darklord, nor has a reality wrinkle. I.e. Ebonbane is not a "Fiend" but more like a sentient evil item.
Gwydeon... by the current, 5e rules, I would say Gwydeon is not a fiend but an evil arch-fey. Those do not get reality wrinkles, but apparently the Dark Powers go full throttle to keep them in place.

Where is it ever said that Ebonbane isn't a Darklord? pretty much every writeup/mention of him point out that he is, in fact, the Darklord of Shadowborn Manor (and potentially the Phantasmal Forest), so I'm curious.
As for Gwydion, my personal take, given his appearance and power (CR40 tentacled monstrosity) is that he's something worse than a mere archfiend or archfey. More like an Elder Evil. Which (SPOILER ALERT) is what I'm going with for the setting update I'm preparing, with a backstory that pays homage to several elements from previous editions of D&D.

paireon wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:08 pm

alhoon wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 12:56 am Those are both special cases. Ebonbane was IIRC already in the sword and is not the darklord, nor has a reality wrinkle. I.e. Ebonbane is not a "Fiend" but more like a sentient evil item.
Gwydeon... by the current, 5e rules, I would say Gwydeon is not a fiend but an evil arch-fey. Those do not get reality wrinkles, but apparently the Dark Powers go full throttle to keep them in place.

Where is it ever said that Ebonbane isn't a Darklord? pretty much every writeup/mention of him point out that he is, in fact, the Darklord of Shadowborn Manor (and potentially the Phantasmal Forest), so I'm curious.
As for Gwydion, my personal take, given his appearance and power (CR40 tentacled monstrosity) is that he's something worse than a mere archfiend or archfey. More like an Elder Evil. Which (SPOILER ALERT) is what I'm going with for the setting update I'm preparing, with a backstory that pays homage to several elements from previous editions of D&D.

Isn't Elena the Darklord?

Aberration fits Gwydeon well too. They also don't get reality wrinkles.

Elena Fainthold is Darklord of Nidala
Ebonbane is Darklord of Shadowborn Manor
Morgoroth is Darklord of Avonleigh

Morgoroth and Elena Faith-hold stand apart because they damned themselves, with minimal involvement from Ebonbane. Thus, although their corruption delights Ebonbane and ultimately feeds into its evil, they do not serve Ebonbane, unlike the other pearls in its collection.

The Phantasmal Forest doesn't have a fixed shape. Shadowborn Manor, Avonleigh, and numerous tiny little domains all float around in it, sort of like pocket domains. The best way to think of it is to consider the Phantasmal Forest an amoeba, with Shadowborn Manor its nucleus. The Phantasmal Forest exists because Ebonebane's evil is so pervasive and powerful that it seeps through the planar membranes of his domain, so to speak.

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. 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. 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.

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.

The corrupted unicorn Addar, ancestor of all shadow unicorns, is Darklord to Addar’s Glade a small part of the Phantasmal Forest that travels with him, like a reality wrinkle.

paireon wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 6:41 pm

alhoon wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:26 am Actually, with the rules as written a fiend cannot become a darklord. So, in order to trap it, the Dark Powers give the fiend access to rituals. Those rituals bind the fiend more and more to demiplane of dread until its corruption score becomes high enough that its reality wrinkle completely disappears and the fiend is immediately bound to Ravenloft as a darklord or mist outsider, unable to ever leave.

IIRC neither Ebonbane nor Gwydion have executed any power rituals, though; best hypothesis I have is that as they were stuck/imprisoned when they got to Ravenloft in a way that they were metaphysically present (so to speak) but not physically present (Ebonbane stuck inside a sword and/or person, Gwydion inside a collapsed planar portal/conduit), the Dark Powers somehow took advantage to foist lordship upon them, kinda like you can put any hat on a person's head when they're securely tied to a chair, even a crown.

That is my understanding of it as well. With Ebonbane sealed in a sword (or sealed in Alexei Shadowborn inside a crystal casket, depending on the point in time and whether or not I remembered that correctly) and Gwydion sealed in the Obsidian Gate, they can be bound to their domains (and their repeated failures to escape their prisons are part of their torment). If either slipped their bonds, they could perhaps make their own way out (probably doing quite a bit of damage in the process, in Gwydion's case), as they are such powerful and unique fiends.