Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey

Van Richten’s Guide to the Shadow Fey
From: Sword and Sorcery
Reviewed by: John Kirk

Second in the Van Richten’s Guide series, this book provides a detailed and entertaining look into the shadow fey, a race of Faeries originating from the Shadow Rift, an alternate plane of existence. Whether you’re a die-hard Ravenloft fan, or you just want a bit of horror added into your existing game, this book is an excellent choice.

From the back covert:
“ Continuing the tradition of the Van Richten’s Guides, this volume reveals these elusive creatures in all their sinister beauty. Discover the history and customs, unlock the magic and mystery, of the shadow fey. Those who dare to pursue these beings may discover the strengths and weaknesses of those they hunt. A section for DMs gives guidelines for creating new shadow fey and ideas for using them in Ravenloft Campaigns. ”

This book has all you need to know about shadow fey. From their origins, to their powers, weaknesses, and strengths, you need look no further. The main thing I like about this book (and I would presume the same about the other books in the series, although I haven’t seen any of them) is that the book is ‘written’ by a scholar or other such member of the Ravenloft world, with all of the rules and other game-related material kept to the sidebars. I like seeing these types of books, as they make you feel the world and its inhabitants, in addition to give you details about common knowledge versus actual knowledge. I really wish that more supplements would be written in this manner, because I would certainly buy them.

The books starts off with an introduction by Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove, the ‘editor’ of the book. It tells of how she became involved with the shadow fey and how she came upon this manuscript. It is all beautifully written, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the rest of the book. It finishes with the ‘chapter overview’ and ‘how to use this book’ sections.

Chapter one is entitled ‘Origins of the Endless,’ and gives several recounts of where the shadow fey came from. It starts out with some flavor text (a reoccurring thing amongst all of the chapters), and then it goes into the definition of fey, several beliefs on their origins, and some sidebars explaining the difference between sylvan fey and shadow fey. It finishes up with a template; the Folkloric Fey.

The second chapter lists the powers and abilities common amongst the shadow fey. Things like eternal life/youth, the fey version of immortality, and destruction of fey are covered.

Extraordinary Powers is the topic of the next chapter, including the transformation of beings in to changelings, shapeshifting, glamors (illusions), and various others such as spell resistance, special attacks, and curses. It gives a table and a way of balancing shadow fey powers based on their hit dice. Depending on this, they get a certain number of ‘spell points,’ which are used to ‘buy’ abilities. The chapter ends with an example customized fey.

Next up is ‘Vulnerabilities.’ It gives various details on things like common physical banes (sunlight, fire, mirrors, base metals), and metaphysical banes (innocence, true faith, true oaths), in addition to how to create banes and their various effects.

The next chapter, ‘The Breeds,’ gives examples and details on nine breeds of shadow fey, how they interact, and their roles in the world. It also gives some rules and other such things on fey priests and black mithral (another extraordinary material) to round out the chapter.

Chapter six, ‘The Immortal Mind,’ gives many details on the fey in general, such as their physiology, their mindset, environmental influences, their sociology, and their courts. There is also a sidebar explaining how the nine alignments relate to the nine breeds of shadow fey.

The seventh chapter, ‘Interactions with Mortals,’ is explained in its name. It goes through things like curiosity, aiding mortals, romance between mortals, marriage, children, and preservation. There’s a sidebar showing the various generations of fey descendants and their powers, and nine fey-descended feats.

Last comes ‘Confronting the Shadow Fey.’ It gives several accounts of people and groups that have fought with the shadow fey, and several tips and tricks on fighting the nasty faeries.

The last section of the book is the DM’s Appendix. It gives examples of how to use Shadow Fey in a campaign, how to play them, how to make them, and several templates relating to them. Four new spells accompany these creatures, in addition to ten monsters (each of the breeds of shadow fey, plus one other).

In conclusion,
This is a very solid book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys Ravenloft, or just wants some more horror added into their game. Definitely a good buy.

(Product Summary)

Van Richten’s Guide to the Shadow Fey
From: Sword and Sorcery
Written By: Bret King, Rucht Lilavivat, Tadd McDivitt and Penny Williams
Cover Art by: Ron Thompson
Additional Art by: Talon Dunning, Jeremy McHugh, Claudio Pozas, Beth Trott, and Jason Walker
Retail Price: $22.95 (US)
Item Number: WW15012
IBSN: 1-58846-088-6
Website: www.swordsorcery.com

Reviewed by: John Kirk

Added: June 21st 2004
Reviewer: John Kirk
Score:
Related Link: Sword and Sorcery
Hits: 485
Language: eng