Shadowfell (The Domains of Dread)

Plane Description

• The Shadowfell, sometimes simply called the Shadow, is a reflection and echo of the Prime Material Plane except that it is a bleak, desolate place full of decay and death. It is the plane from which necrotic and negative energy as well as shadow magic stems from. It is considered by many to be the counterpart to the Feywild.
• Primarily populated by dead creatures, the Shadowfell acts as a purgatory for those unwilling or unable to cross into their true afterlife. The Damned wander for eternity.
• Within the Shadowfell, demiplanes exist known as the Domains of Dread that serve as prisons to trap creatures of extreme evil. 
• Heroes that traverse this land find their good hearts tested and tempted, while those with evil intentions may find themselves trapped. Good, evil -- no one wins here. 

Terra Nullius References

• Quiet Mountain
• A Genesis scientist (Dr. Abel) utilized a nigh-infinite energy source (Dr. Kincaid, who had utilized his own Apex Gene research to become a living conduit for mana) to create a device that could create planar travel. Upon experimenting with it, the Quiet Mountain research facility and adjacent town fell into chaos as the Shadowfell bean to overlap with the material plane. 
• Dr. Klein and a group of Runners put an end to their incident after investigating it. 

Important Locations

• Gloomwrought and Evernight (Major Cities) 
• Barovia (Domain of Dread, home of Count Strahd von Zarovich)
• Mordent (Domain of Dread, location of Dalen's Descent) 
• Dementlieu (Domain of Dread, location of Port-A-Lucine campaigns) 

Campaigns 

• Lazy's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft
• A group of famous heroes (Daniel the Brave, Craig the Virtuous, Troy the Serene, Dustin the Cunning and David the Wise) temporarily found themselves trapped within the domain of Barovia and subjected to the terror of Count Strahd von Zarovich. By destroying the Fanes of Power and acquiring the holy Sunsword, the Heroes were able to defeat Strahd and return back to the Material Plane.

• Dalen's Descent 
• A group of Outlanders (Kevin the Red Wizard, Kerenka the Incarnate, Lost the Artificer, Milly the Barbarian, and Dalen the Chemist) found themselves transported from their respective material realms and stranded in the domain of Mordent. Most of the Outlanders succumbed to death and dread except for Dalen...
• Dalen having acquired a new ragtag band of Outlanders over time through various circumstances (Jayden the Paladin, Darven the Fighter, Kasa the Gun Mage, and Keilth the Ranger) hunted down and pursued the Les Immortales (a group of monstrous men and women) to stop their plot of leaving the Shadowfell at the behest of a local friend he had made (Kurtis Muller). He was rewarded by the Dark Powers with his own Lordship and domain.

• Port-a-Lucine: Part 1 (Cristina/Irados/Geran/Emily)
• A group of Local Youths and Wandering Foreigners found themselves brought together in Dementlieu by a mysterious patron. Hunting down evil and unraveling conspiracies, this group of young men and women were brought to the brink of madness and death on more than one occasion. 
• A rare happy ending for this group, as Cristina and Irados found love and settled down as did Geran and Emily post campaign.

• Port-a-Lucine: Part 2 (Roland/Serra/Aeoth and the Children)
• A group of Outsiders found themselves trapped within the realms of Ravenloft. Their journey accumulated in a battle against evil in Port-a-Lucine that provided them the opportunity to escape the Domains of Dread and leave it behind to start a new life.

NPCs

• Dr. Rudolph van Richten 
• A doctor turned vampire hunter by his family's tragedy, Richten is held in high regard as the father of monster hunting in the Domains of Dread.

• Count Strahd von Zarovich 
• The infamous Dark Lord of Baroiva, Strahd's tale is a long one; serving goodness and law in his youth only to succumb to despair and jealousy in his aging that eventually accumulated in murdering his brother and pursuing his grieving sister-in-law (who committed suicide). Strahd is hailed as the progenitor of all vampires.

• Ireena Kolyana
• Believed to be the reincarnation of the girl (Tatyana) who Strahd fell in love with, Ireena found herself at the center of the Count's plots during the events of the Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. 

• Dalen Halloway 
• A tiefling-blooded humanoid with the milky complexion of stars and eyes colored like the night sky, Dalen is an acclaimed merchant and chemist. After coming to Mordentshire as an Outlander brought here from another world, Dalen assumed the identity of a scion to a deceased house of nobility. Having allied with other Outlanders, Dalen revealed a plot around the Les Immortales efforts to escape the Domains of Dread and put a stop to it - earning a reward for his efforts...
  
• After assuming the mantle of a Dark Lord, he found himself cursed to be penniless and hounded by his estranged father at every turn. Dalen schemes for wealth while staying ahead of his vengeful progenitor.

• Kurtis Muller 
• An archivist, lorekeeper, and eventually occultist, Kurt was a disciple of van Richten who assisted Dalen and the Outlanders in the destruction of Les Immortales. Driven by the despair of ousting one monster and creating another, as well as scarred (physically and emotionally) by the events, Kurt left the domain of Mordent to meet up with a childhood friend of his, Richard Konig, in hopes of purging evil from the lands.
  
• Delving deeper into the occult and working with the blood hunter, Kurt eventually co-authored a book ("Beasts and How To Hunt Them") that built upon van Richten's guides and detailed numerous monsters and abominations (physiology, folklore, drawings). At the end of his life, it is unknown if Kurtis and Richard succeed in their abstract quest against the Mists and the Dark Powers or succumbed to the growing darkness in their own hearts.

• Richard Konig
• After having his family slayed by lycanthropes at an early age, Richard dedicated his entire young adulthood to studying under van Richten's teachings and acquiring all his monster slaying knowledge. However, he soon found himself an outcast among the monster hunting community for willing to use any tool, any talent, and any teaching to strengthen himself regardless of the cost.
  
• Believed to be one of the first Blood Hunters, Richard surrendered a portion of his own vitality to become better at hunting, tracking, and destroying the most abhorrent fiends. He had discovered and utilized many Blood Hunter techniques like the Crimson Rite and Blood Curses.
  
• Richard's fate is left unknown. After helping Kurtis through their shared adventures and penning "Beasts and How to Hunt Them", it is believed that he and Kurtis sought to defeat the Mists and the Dark Powers themselves. Many believed that he fell prey to his greatest fear...  becoming the very thing he chose to hunt.

• R
• A protege of the infamous S (a scholar commissioned to catalog the known domains of Ravenloft on behalf of Azalin Rex), R is a curious and crafty academic who seeks out information about the Dark Powers to catalog everything about them. It is unknown who her current benefactor is.

• Toben the Many
• An infamous entity that lurks across the Domains of Dread. Toben the Many is an intelligent undead creature who assumes control (with memories intact) of any humanoid he slays. With his massive collection of bodies, Toben prefers to play vicious and deadly games and pranks on the innocent denizens of the Shadowfell.
  
• Ironically, Toben is known to be friends and an "ally" of Dalen after their game of tag back and forth during the events of Dalen's Descent. 

• Cristina, Irados, Geran, and Emily...
• Four friends who survived against evil with each other's help.

• Roland, Serra, and Aeoth... 
• Mismatched outlanders who left darkness behind. 

Organizations

• The Dark Powers: Are they a force of nature? Is it a God(s) or Creature(s) of Vengeance? Is it a council or cult of eldritch horrors? No one truly knows what the Dark Powers are, but what is known is that they possess absolute power of the Domains of Dread and act as its wardens to the prisoners that reside within.

• The Dark Lords: A title that refers to the mystically imprisoned and cursed rulers of the Domains of Dread. Created by the Dark Powers, the Dark Lords are forever tormented by objects of their desires and reminded of their crimes.
• The ranks of the Dark Lords include powerful figures like the Vampire Lord Count Strahd von Zarovich, the Lich King Azalin Rex, the Death Knight Lord Soth, the Mad Scientist Mordenheim and his Creature Adam, and many others.

• The Vistani: The infamous gypsy wanderers, the Vistani are a collective group of people who possess mystical power and knowledge of the Domains of Dread. For good or for ill, most travelers in the Shadowfell must treat and deal with the Vistani. Some claim they have some relation to the caravan traveling hengeyokai of the material plane.

• Fraternity of Shadows: A secret society of illusionists, the Fraternity may be the most educated group in all the realms about the true nature of the world they live in. Having noticed the broad similarities between how the world is shaped and their own illusion magics, they have become convinced that they can eventually learn how to usurp the Dark Powers and take control over the fabric of the demiplane's reality for themselves. 

• Les Immortales: An organization of supernatural monstrosities that sought to escape the Dark Powers' curses and leave the Domains of Dread forever.
• Members included Renfield (Human Soul Eater), Renee (Worm That Walks Wizard), Brittany (Vampiric Doppelganger Thief), Albert (Half-Fiend Soldier), and Baird (Half-Golem Scientist). 
• The only associate left of Les Immortales is Joe (Alchemical Child Gunslinger) a strange foreign wanderer who learned that he was an artificial creation implanted with the memories of a deceased man. Joe had been spared by Dalen and was encouraged to live despite an existential crisis. 

• The Hunt Club: A nobleman's organization based out of Mordent focused on the noble sport of hunting.  

• Jean Paul Gatson (Alive) former owner and heir of the Hunt Club, the noble bard sold off his heritage and descends more and more into madness and grief. 
• Phillipe Gatson (Deceased) former heir to the Hunt Club, Phillipe was slain by the Outlanders when he had attempted to hunt them for sport - having long grown bored of animals and but too fearful of monstrosities.

• The Outlanders: An adventuring group that served alongside Dalen Halloway during the events of the D&D 3rd edition campaign 'Dalen's Descent'. 
• Jayden (Elf Paladin) and Gwath (Raven Companion) stayed in the Domains of Dread to fight the darkness as a beacon of hope and love. 
• Darven (Dwarf Fighter, "Mage Slayer" and drunkard) left the Domains of Dread with Kasa to pursue other adventures. 
• Kasa (Catfolk Gun Mage) left the Domains of Dread with Darven to pursue other adventures. 
• Keilth (Dhampir Ranger) and Aeilyki (Were-Cheetah Companion) stayed in the Domains of Dread to help the populace while struggling with their curses. 
• Lost (Warforged Artificer) stayed in the Domains of Dread and retired as a shopkeeper in service to the Foxgrove Twins.