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| Lord Soth's Charge - Keith Parkinson |
There's one region of Krynn that is mostly undefined: Nightlund.
Previously a province of Solamnia called Knightlund, it was cursed during the Cataclysm, alongside its lord, Loren Soth. Most descriptions agree it is only inhabited by no one but outlaws and undead, and that it is in perpetual twilight.
But I need it to be more than that, so let's explore a bit...
The current state of the art
Dragonlance
If we set aside the appearances of Lord Soth in the novels, there's not much in there about Soth's domain, if we except Dargaard Keep (and its fabulous maps), and a RPG module that is... er... very 80s in its conception. I mean, this extract...:
quest Rejected
If the party declines, the old clerics act disappointed and the Knights return to escort the party back to the dragons. They are then flown home in silence. The adventure is over. Fun, eh?
Source: DL16 - World of Krynn, p49
As far as I am concerned, it went downhill from there. Anyways, let's agree this is not I6 - Ravenloft, and that, on the pros side, it comes with extensive maps.
And we will probably never know what happened to Kitiara.
Ravenloft
Speaking of Ravenloft, the setting's contribution to Lord Soth's background had not been stellar, in my humble opinion: A domain of dread called Sithicus, a fortress called Nedargaard, a werebadger sidekick, elves, and kender vampires.
Again, this is clearly not I6 - Ravenloft.
But the Ravenloft setting brings a lot of valuable ideas: Domains of Dread, Lords of Domains, and the terror/horror tropes that come with them.
D&D5
While not a setting per se, D&D5 comes with something called the Shadowfell, with a short, but very interesting description found in pages 51 and 52 of the fifth edition's Dungeon Master Guide.
Unlike Ravenloft's Domains of Dread, the Shadowfell overlaps the material plane, and is a reflection of it, in a dark, twisted, warped way.
In my campaign
Unlike, say, the planes of Hell or Abyss (the demonic, chaotic evil version), the Shadowfell exists, in parallel to Krynn's material plane.
Dirty Details
Interplanar Distance
Crossing one plane to go to another usually needs magic, for the "distance" between the two planes remain great, but...
Where this interplanar "distance" is reduced, both planes affect each other: While the Shadowfell becomes more sunny, and more colorful, Krynn becomes darker, and crossing over becomes easier. And in the locations where the interplanar "distance" is zero, then material things coexist in both planes.
Unless exception, one cannot accidentally cross planes in these location: Something from the material plane could move into such a location, move around, then exit, and it would exit right into the material plane. Similarly, something from the Shadowfell would remain in the Shadowfell.
Population
In the deep Shadowfell, only unalive things can thrive, or living beings that mutated so much they adapted to the Shadowfell's nature (e.g. shadow dragons). Undead, in particular, thrive. zombies and skeletons rise spontaneously, and ghosts and other incorporeal undead can regenerate, as well as created undead (like mummies, death knights or liches).
Only the hungry undead (ghouls, vampires) would still need living beings to feed upon to survive, but aside from that, they would thrive as much as the others. In fact, undead with vulnerabilities to sunlight would find daylight isn't as strong in the Shadowfell, no matter its origin, natural, physical, divine or arcane.
In the shallower parts of the Shadowfell (those with small or zero interplanar distance to the material plane), both living and undead beings can live, even if existence for living beings would be bleak, indeed, as nature itself would be warped to express the Shadowfell's natural darkness: While forests and feral animals would thrive, game and crops would be less abundant.
Domains of Dread
Usually, the distance between the Shadowfell and the material plane is greater than zero, but with either or both specific (usually tragic) conditions, or enough necrotic power applied in a specific location, this distance can be reduced to zero. And with time, the new distance becomes the new equilibrium.
And if the surface of this planar overlap is great enough, then this result in what could be called a Domain of Dread, a self-sustaining physical location where the Shadowfell and the material planes are merged.
Dark Lords and Ladies
There are many ways these domains remain self-sustaining, but the most obvious is the existence of a dark lord, someone so evil, so dark, that it both feeds the domain, and thrives from it. The consequence is that such lords cannot really exit their domains for long, before "being called back". The domain reflects the dark lord, and protects it, with even the vegetation and fauna feeling more affinity to them than to more natural patrons. Even individuals with deep ties to nature, like druids, or rangers, can find themselves attracted, if not charmed, by the domain as it is, and its dark lord.
Potential Domains of Dread
Nightlund
Nightlund is such a domain: "Centered" around Dargaard Keep, because of the Cataclysm, its victims (both during, and after), and, of course, the presence of Lord Soth and his undead followers.
Silvanesti
The Silvanesti has been horrifyingly corrupted by Lorac's Nightmare, and even after the removal of the Dragon Orb, and of Cyan Bloodbane, as well as the death of Lorac himself, the whole forest has been, potentially irremediably altered.
It now tethers on the brink, the Shadowfell being attracted by the remains of the Nightmare. Should a dark lord or dark lady assert their control over the Silvanesti, then it would fall into a domain of dread.
The Shoikan Grove and the Tower of High Sorcery of Palanthas
The Tower of High Sorcery of Palanthas is a place of magical power. More than enough magical power to actually impose its will over its physical surroundings. So, it is not, and cannot become, a domain of dread.
Still, there was a slight window of opportunity, when the curse of Rannoch was still active, when the Tower, and the grove surrounding it, could have been turned into a domain. By taking over it, and dismissing the curse by fulfilling the prophecy, Raistlin Majere ended this window of opportunity.
Yet, what a magnificent place of power the Tower would be if, by some ritual, it could be fully corrupted by the Shadowfell's energies...
Not Neraka
It is important to realize that all locations of suffering, dread, or evil, are not good candidates for domains of dread. For example, Neraka was the location of the twisted Temple of the Kingpriest, brought back into Krynn by the Queen of Darkness herself. While the area might be "polluted", it has nothing to do with the Shadowfell.
The same goes for the Blood Sea Maelstrom, or other places dedicated to evil gods.
Death Knights of Krynn
What if Chemosh had discovered the Shadowfell, and its own affinity with it? What if the god had realized its potential in making the undead thrive, instead of hiding?
What if, just after the Cataclysm, the god had frantically gathered its own weakened power, so he could find mortal agents as well as magic, and locations, to create domains where he, not any other god nor goddess, would rule unchallenged?
What if he could give Lord Soth what he wanted, in exchange for his service? What if he could bring back Sylvyana, the Ghoul Queen, so she could reclaim back the realm that should have been hers?
Conclusion
The Shadowfell, and Ravenloft's Domains of Dread, have a lot to bring to Krynn, if we accept to modify a bit the background.
It is actually the second part of may campaign (the first being the heroes prelude, their solo, and the War of the Blue Lady). I'm looking forward to write down more about that.
😁
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