The Darkwood

💀 Architecture

Towns and villages situated throughout this duchy are made up of grass thatched huts and wooden ramshackle buildings often on stilts to lift them out of the swamp.

Some houses are built amongst or inside the massive mangrove trees.

The Unseelie Court is a grand, French gothic castle with arches, pillars and flying buttresses. It is an architectural marvel even in this gloomy place. The surrounding village is a little better with stone cabins rather than thatched huts, but this Duchy is not a wealthy one.

💀 Clothing

Citizens of The Darkwood wear garb inspired by medieval Celtic peasant garb - tunics, dresses and pinafores. Richer or more noble citizens may wear outfits with gothic Victorian elements. There is even said to be a tribe of Dark Fae that do not wear any clothing, are heavily tattooed and adorn themselves only in spider silk ropes to hang their weapons off…

💀 Races

Playable Races: Arachnus, Craith, Strzyga, Wildlings, Stonefolk (underground) or Dryad

You will find almost none of the usual Seelie Fae in this Duchy. It houses it’s own demographic of dark, ugly or monstrous Fae that feel unwelcome in the beautiful bright world above. That being said, let’s take a look at who lives down here:

• Dryads — Uncommon. There are some dark Dryads living here due to the large amount of forests, who have somehow learned to withstand the rot and sickness of the forests. Maybe they have embraced it…

• Arachnus — Common. This is the home of the Arachnus.

• Stonefolk — There are one or two communities of Stonefolk that live in mines and keep to themselves. They don’t seem to see the light of day very often and have developed light blindness as a result. They ship their precious ores to the Unseelie Court.

• Wildlings — There are some communities of wildlings in this Duchy that live deep in the forests and swamps. Unlike their Seelie counterparts, they are wild, dangerous, and unfriendly to other Fae.

• Non-playable races — Banshees, Redcaps, Leshy, Nucklavee, Gancanagh, Alp-luachra, Buggane, Sluagh, Hobgoblins, Trolls, Dullahan, Bogeyman, Will o Wisps, Hags, Lamia.

💀 Wildlife

Crocodiles and alligators, lizards, spiders, dire spiders, wolves, snakes, poisonous frogs and toads, bats, dire bats, piranha, scorpions, vultures, leeches, lampreys, hyenas, rats, cockroaches, tropical birds. 

💀 Travel

Citizens travel by alligator back, on river boats, or flying on dire bats. Hoofed creatures can’t get around well due to the soft floor of the forest/swamps. 

💀 Industry

• Mining

• Religion (Morrigan only)

• Black Magic

💀 Important Figures

• Byron — Dullahan Lord of the Unseelie Court and Duke of the Darkwood. A Dullahan with a flaming green head.

• Cordelia — Lady of the Unseelie Court and Duchess of the Darkwood. She wears a black veil so nobody knows what she actually is - a hag or a banshee?

  • Byron and Cordelia have stopped answering to the Summer Court/Seelie Monarchy and are trying to run their state as an independent nation. They are suspicious of visitors but the land doesn’t have good infrastructure or an organised military force so they can’t exactly keep track of who comes and goes.

• The Thornblades — The Duke and Duchesses personal guard.

• Dreadmount Brigade — Mounted hunters hired by the royal guard to scout the land.

💀 Locations

• Tenebrosa — Capital City of the Darkwood. Characterised by French gothic architecture and stone buildings. It’s a bit of a ghost town.

• Wraithmoor — A once beautiful town, it turned to waste after a banshee attacked it and drove all the people out. They say the banshee is still there to this day.

• Cromlechshire — An industrious fishing village in the middle of a swamp. It rests on wooden planks raised out of the water with stilts.

• Grimwood — A dark and deep forest with dark magic emanating from it.

• Mistharrow — Small town.

• Ebonvale — Small town in a mushroom forest. Illusions and poison and explosions common - very dangerous to get to. 

• Cairnhaven — Animal husbandry town breeding bats and alligators. They say there is a powerful green witch living here who is an incredible healer.

• Blightwood — A patch of swampy, jungly forest that has been afflicted with some sort of magical root rot.

• Dullcanagh Cave City — A massive underground city in a gigantic damp cave with dark glowing crystals and mushrooms growing.

• Swampland — Large expanse of swamp that discourages travellers from the Spring Duchy from wandering into the Darkwood. There are spirits and corpses deep beneath the swampy water, and pockets that will swalloww travellers if they're not careful. Alligators are the way to get across these swamps.

  • Craith 'Swamp Clan' Villages — The swamp clans of Craith live in these swamps and specialise in animal husbandry.

• Grass Plains — Vast, desolate dried grass plains filled with strange occult beasts that hunt in the area.

  • Craith 'Grass Clan' Villages — The grass clans of Craith live on these plains, hunting the beasts that stalk in the long grass. They specialise in weaponry and martial combat.

  • Gaul - The most powerful Craith tribe and their settlement in the Dunns. 

• Black Forest — A burned up, black forest with peat fires burning below the ground. Toxic and something is always bursting into flame.

  • Craith 'Fire Clan' Villages — The forest clans of Craith live in these burned up forests, building in and around the ruined trees. They act as an informal border guard to the Summer Duchy and tend to hassle travellers. They specialise in black magic and are more resistant to poison as they are used to the black forest.

• Shady Bay Pirate Town — A bustling and dangerous town full of shady characters. Gambling dens, brothels, underwater graveyards, filthy fish markets - an attractive and exciting place to spies and mercenaries.

• Petrified Forest — A sacred yet sad place where Dryads make their final pilgrimage before death. Full of petrified dead dryads. Lots of death spirits and hauntings around here.

• The Library — A tall castle that contains a mysterious library. If you enter this tower, you may never come out.

• Chthonian Citadel — There are whispers of a fortress town that lies in the frigid north of the duchy’s capital city, where it is safely nestled in the natural defenses of the ice-capped mountains. An unnatural fog shrouds and obscures the sight of unwanted guests who are foolish enough to wander away from the beaten path. Rumor has it there is a wealth of forbidden grimoires and tomes that are closely guarded and protected within the citadel, though few live to tell the tale. Dead Fae tell no tales, after all…