The Realm of Shadow and a few of it's Locations and Denizens (Stolen World)
A Dark Reflection of The Stolen World, The Shadow of What Is.
Overview
As part of a closed ''universe' The Stolen World has a limited number of dimensions directly attached to it. This is one of the bigger ones. and it is in fact the 'closest' one.
The Shadow
It is very literally the shadow of it's 'prime material' plane. It is a dark dimension of lightlessness and the shadows of powerful beings and places of the Stolen World. Beings of shadow stuff populate it's desolate area. It is exactly the same size of it's twin, and is in fact ,in a lot of ways , it's reflection. The beings there crave the light and life-force that leaches through the thin boundary, they realize they are mockeries of the true beings in The Stolen World and yearn for pieces of this place.
Entering and exiting The Shadow
As the two planes are so closely related , passage between is relatively simple. Common mirrors can be manipulated with Detect Magic(first order) and thus you are there( thou the exact way you do this is uncommon knowledge). All denizens of The Shadow can cross over with a mere thought.{The closed nature of the pocket universe 'mashes' all of it's planes together closely, with one exception}
The influence of the Wake
The Wake or the magical ley lines and 'ocean' of Stolen World bleeds through strongly as the two planes are so closely related.The Shadow is in fact, mostly a reflection of the 'light' of the Wake. Many Wake manifestations are found in Shadow and are in fact quite common.Two unique effects of the Wake can be found there. The first is 'Ice', a solid 'freeze' if you will of the magical energy. it appears as a Salvador Dali-esque sculpture, varying in size from bread box to small building, and can be harnessed into magical energy by any caster, it's aid varies greatly but mainly it is used in super powering a memorized spell commensurate with the size of the sculpture.The second unique manifestation is 'Pure', it is absolutely pure, raw and wild ripple effects(see Wake). These are waves of incredibly wild magic that warps spells and items, sometimes permanently, even to the point of permanently altering memorized spells into new forms, many breakthroughs in magic are achieved with this. This is thought to be one of the possible explanations of the summons of the pocket universe.
The influence of The Star Whales
As The Shadow is sort of 'negative magic', it is heavily influenced by the Star Whale attacks, with huge bits of it's reality stripped away as the whales devour the Stolen World every 1000 years. the locations below are least effected as they are so deep into The Shadow or protected by other means. Still 80% of the Realm is destroyed and reforms as does the Wake.
Locations
Overview
The Realm is a place of myrid forms of swamp below are some possible images
Urborg
Urborg is one of the remains of the Kuthrii Empire from 20,000 plus years ago. It contains the shadow creatures of this powerful magical city, living the horrors of their negative existences. Small bits of the secrets of the Stolen World can be found here as well as many of the more powerful denizens (below). Urborg is located deep in The Shadow and is nearly inaccessible to mortals without vast magical knowledge and they are in for a hateful welcome.The living are only seen as food.
Phyrexia
Once the home of long forgotten wizards, who practiced the blackest of magics. The inhabitants are desperate for the positive life force of living beings and will at first be friendly, desiring hugs and kisses of the living, soon this will not be enough. Skillful manipulation of the various Murk Wizards here can achieve powerful aid, in exchange for bits of your soul. While not quite as deep into The Shadow as Urborg, Phyrexia is located far from there and from the material plane. Phyrexian Broodlings are a hazard (see below)
Castle Sengir
This fortress is home to the Sengir Vampires (see below), as such it is unusual for hosting non-shadow creatures. Many of the traditional 'friends' of vampires will be found here: rats, bats, wolves and werewolves of traditional sorts. Located close to the material world with portals and gates to many realms, Sengir is an attractive nexus for travel and but far too dangerous a place to visit. During the whale attacks, Castle Sengir is capable of moving deeper into The Shadow for complete protection and as such has total knowledge of the Whale Cycles. A knowledge they do not share with anyone, nor is it written down. The vampires take full advantage of the resulting chaos.
Denizens
Overview of denizens
All of these creatures have the following abilities, they can cast minor darkness at will, absorb light spells or sources (they are in fact empowered by these) and drain the life force of living beings, gaining hit points in the process. They can feed on the Wake and the life force that bleeds through the thin barrior seperating worlds, but this is a starvation diet.
Murk Dwellers
These are the common shadow dwellers. Unfortunately powerful dark wizards have the same appearance as 'normal' inhabitants of the realm.They all possess a minor ability to leach life energy from living beings. Only the Murk Wizards are capable of casting darkness.
Urborg Panther
This semi intelligent shadow cat is in many ways a normal predator. It hunts wizards who do not practice little or any black magic primarily, leaching their life force by stealing bits of their health(Constitution). Hunting either in mated pairs or small packs, their steath abilities are the stuff of legend.
Phyrexian Broodling
These magic using (for lack of a better word) 'fey' are devilish and mischievous on the order of a rather evil leprechaun.They prefer to torture weaker or beings separated from their friends by powerful shadow illusions. They are only encountered in large packs and are quite cowardly if separated from same.
Breathstealer
By far this creature makes the most forays into the world of the living of any of The Shadows creatures. Legends of boogy men , ninjas and undead follow in it's wake. Breathstealer's do exactly that, sucking the life force of living beings from their lungs.Their favorite prey is the elderly, children and the helpless. They will find a fertile hunting ground and return to it over and over. They sometimes lead packs of Urborg Panthers into battle.
Spirit of the Night
This is the closest this Realm has to an Overlord, ruling from Urborg this creature is equal parts shadow, nightmare and undead, it has powerful magics at it disposal as well as amazing melee abilities. It possesses the traits of all three creature types it has.The Spirit is an implacable foe once it's ire is raised, it will pursue those who cross it to the ends of both dimensions, chasing individuals to the prime material plane with powerful avatars. Only in this avatar form will the Spirit venture onto the 'real' world'
non-shadow creatures
Sengir Vampire
Totally Traditional vampire of Hollywood with two exceptions, any form of light more powerful than a candle is damaging to them and they are capable of feeding either on blood or lifeforce (thou by far, blood is the prefered meal).
Headless Horseman
Although in many ways these creatures act as a shadow being they are in fact a form of undead. They and their steeds are powerful melee combatants, withe the Horseman himself capable of critically hitting both more often and more powerfully.Their steeds are the stuff of shadow thou and are greatly prized for their speed and the fact that true horses are unknown to The Stolen World, being long ago exterminated by the Star Whales.
Barbarians
Like most of The Stolen World, barbarian tribes left over from the Barbarian Plagues are everywhere, even here. The individual tribes vary in ferocity, ability to be dealt without combat and the influence of The Shadow on them. Some have abilities found in true shadow denizens, spme do not and some are merely different looking Murk Dwellers, no guidelines are possible due to the multitude of types.
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? Responses (2)
The Realm of Shadow is an interesting pastiche of places from across the Magic the Gathering multiverse. I like the concept, but I have a number of issues with this. The main thought it that you've taken the places referenced in the card game and used them without in some way, making them your own. I know about Castle Sengir (and the Sengir vampires, and the terrible Baron who rules them) just like I know the deep, rich, and disturbing stories of Phyrexia, and how their word for pain is the exact same for evolution. This depth doesn't come across in the submission.
I have also used the locations from Magic, and other fantasy references in my own home games, but I have made changes to them, done things to make them my own. And I would like to see the same from you.
Example
The Lake of the Dead, which I have always placed in Tresserhorn (Alliances set).
The Lake of the Dead is the heart of Tresserhorn, a section of the Realm of Shadows already known for being overrun by the undead. Legions of dead, sworn to the necromancer Lim-Dul walk the land, while those undead unaligned with Lim-Dul or any other necrolord become rotting gangrenous predators. The Lake of the Dead carries it's name because in the lands of the living, those who die and are placed in boats and sent down the river eventually find their way to the lake. Their shades rise, wreathed in funeral glory, and armed with the shades of their old arms and spells, and are the unstoppable army of death. They wait, for what, no one has learned, but when they draw their dead steel, it is believed that it will be the end of the mortal world
I thought this was pretty good, never played magic, but I can appreciate what you did with the setting
