Dragna's Blog: The History of the Fanes (Fanes Part I)

Note: As I discuss at the end of this devblog, I'm trying out an experiment: rather than posting big devblogs infrequently, I'm trying to see whether I can put out more, higher-quality content by posting shorter devblogs more regularly - as frequently as once a week, if my schedule allows. (I'd love to hear your feedback on this approach, especially if I'm able to keep to a reasonable schedule moving forward.)

This particular blog is Part One of a multi-part series breaking down how I approached the Fanes in Re-Reloaded; I hope you enjoy!

This is Part I of a multi-part series. You can read the other parts of this series below:

Part I: The History of the Fanes
Part II: Why Bring Back the Fanes?
Part III: Reinventing the Fanes

The History of the Fanes

Curse of Strahd has, among other unexplained mysteries, two sets of standing stones:

• A ring of four megaliths near Old Bonegrinder "erected centuries ago by the valley's original human inhabitants", each "bear[ing] a crude carving of a city . . . associated with a different season." If the players "ask any of the priests or scholarly NPCs in Barovia about the stones," they are told that "ancient legends tell of the Four Cities, said to be the "cities of paradise where the Morninglord, Mother Night, and the other ancient gods first dwelled."

• A circle of a dozen "moss-covered menhirs" in Berez that is "one of the oldest structures in the Balinok Mountains—older than the Amber Temple" and "raised by the same ancient folk who carved the megaliths near Old Bonegrinder." Each stone bears a "weatherworn glyph[] carved into [it] that represents different animals": bear, elk, hawk, goat, owl, panther, raven, and wolf. Creatures within the circle "can't be targeted by divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors," and a "druid that uses the Wild Shape feature within the circle gains the maximum number of hit points available to the new form."

The "ancient folk" who erected these stone circles are described as "an ancient tribe of berserkers that once lived in the mountains," from whom the modern-day Strahd-worshipping druids and berserkers are descended. According to Muriel Vinshaw, "the druids of Yester Hill . . . turned away from their ancient beliefs to worship the devil Strahd."

These two sets of standing stones are, functionally, new additions made by Curse of Strahd to the Ravenloft canon. However, the stones and their history bear a clear resemblance to the three Fanes of Barovia, first introduced in 3.5's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft:

• There, in the Tome of Strahd, Strahd describes "[t]hree ancient saints [that] dwelt in th[e] valley long before [his] coming," as well as "three hidden fanes [that] still give tribute to their memories." Strahd claims to have "visited the Swamp Fane, the Forest Fane, and the Mountain Fane, and claimed their power for [his own]." In doing so, he has "become the Land," as well as "made the fane-servants [his] own," such that "they now serve [him] as once they served the saints of the fanes."

• According to the history described in the module, these Fanes can be found "in the Svalich Woods" (the Forest Fane, located near Tser Pool Encampment); "in the swamp to the east" of Castle Ravenloft (the Swamp Fane, located ; and "high in the mountains" (the Mountain Fane, located in a cavern beneath the top of Lysaga Hill) "Performing dark rituals at each once-sanctified altar, Strahd bound himself to the land and the land to him, gaining great powers in the bargain."

• As a result of his connection to these Fanes, Strahd gains (1) the benefits of "a constant nondetection effect on himself and his gear" from the Forest Fane; (2) "a field of force armor that grants him a +6 armor bonus to his AC" from the Mountain Fane; and (3) "resistance to acid [], fire [], and sonic" damage.

• Players who find the Tome of Strahd "and delve into its secrets" may "discover the source of [Strahd's] strength"; should they "read it carefully, [they] may also discover how to rob him of that strength." The players can thereafter strip Strahd of the powers of the Fanes by "visiting each fane and performing specific rituals to sever his connection to the land."

• The players can sever Strahd's connection to the fanes in one of four ways, depending on Madam Eva's Tarokka reading at the beginning of the adventure: "find the three defiled places described in the tome" and (1) "[a]t each fane, . . . kill its dread guardian and place the guardian's body inside"; (2) "[a]t each Fane, . . . unearth the relic it contains" and, "[w]hen [they] have all three relics," "battle a horrific monster that arises from them"; (3) find the three holy relics hidden deep beneath the castle," "bring the relics to the" fanes, and "consecrate each fane anew with the relic of its proper saint"; or (4) "spend a night in prayer at each fane," "keep[ing] a vigil through the night and make its power" theirs.

• As an example, at the Swamp Fane, the players must: (1) "kill the Drowned Lady" (a sea hag) "and place her corpse on the runestone in the fane"; (2) dig . . . to uncover a small reliquary box," whose "sides and lid are carved with images of devas, planetars, and solars," and retrieve "a tooth of Saint Bogdan," which can join together with "the hair of Saint Markovia from the Forest Fane and the bone dust of Saint Ecaterina from the Mountain Fane" to form "a creature called a blighted relic," which the players must destroy "in order to remove the fane-signs from Strahd"; (3) "bring Saint Bogdan's Fingerbone from the crypts under Castle Ravenloft . . . , and use [it] as an additional focus for a consecrate spell"; or (4) have "[o]ne PC . . . keep awake and in constant prayer in the fane for an entire night," "succeed[ing] on a Constitution check every hour of the night" and failing automatically if they "fall[] asleep or take[] any standard action."

• In the first case (killing the Drowned Lady), the players "realize that there had been a hum of power in this place, too low to register in [their] ears," but "the fane is now as dead as its guardian." In the last case, a character who "successfully completes the vigil . . . gains the Swamp Fane-sign" (i.e., the power of the Swamp Fane) for "as long as the character remains in Barovia," "and Strahd loses it."

• The other fane guardians, other than the sea hag the Drowned Lady, are Madam Eva, the annis hag guardian of the Forest Fane, and Baba Zelenna, the green hag guardian of the Mountain Fane.

Notably, each of the three fanes is tied to a saint of the sun god Pelor: Saint Markovia is "a priest in the church"; Saint Bogdan "was consecrated to Pelor"; and Ecaterina was the founder of a "convent[] near Barovia" who "sought to martyr herself . . . so she could see Pelor."

It's not entirely clear whether Markovia, Bogdan, and Ecaterina are the "ancient saints" that "dwelt in the valley long before Strahd's coming": Markovia "advanced on Castle Ravenloft" in a revolt against Strahd and Ecaterina "was captured and buried alive in a prison below Castle Ravenloft". However, whether Markovia, Bogdan, and Ecaterina are (due to unclear text) the "ancient saints" who created the Fanes or, more likely, modern-day saints whose remains are sufficient to restore them, the Expedition Fanes themselves are clearly tied to the (vaguely Christian) faith of Pelor, the Greyhawk deity of life and light (who in other editions would be replaced by Lathander, the Faerunian greater god of dawn, birth, spring, and renewal, or the "Morninglord"—an epithet that, in the Forgotten Realms setting, refers both to Lathander and Amaunator, the Netherese solar deity of order, the sun, law, and time).

In other words, the fanes—though ancient—exist in the "timeless present" that so much of D&D exists in: there were saints of the Sun God building fanes in the wilderness two thousand years ago, and there will be saints of the Sun God building fanes in the wilderness two thousand years from now. There's nothing, fundamentally, separating the "ancient saint" of the Forest Fane from Saint Markovia, or separating Saint Markovia from the priests that might dwell in Barovia today.

The gameplay of Expedition's Fanes tells a simple, almost Biblical story: Once, three ancient saints created holy sites dedicated to the Christian-like Sun God. Then, Strahd came, used dark magic to claim their power as his own, and set three hags to guard them. Now, the players must either "kill" the fanes (by killing the three hags), "sever" the fanes (by defeating the corrupted relic), "protect" the fanes (by placing the three holy relics), or "restore" the fanes (by standing vigil through the night).

Curse of Strahd, however, removes these "ancient saints." Instead, three factions significantly predate Strahd's arrival in the valley: (1) the wizards of the Amber Temple; (2) "King Dostron the Hellborn," "an ancient ruler of [the] land" who "claimed descent from a duke of the Nine Hells" and whose ruined fortress provided the foundation for Castle Ravenloft; and (3) the "ancient tribe of berserkers" that dwelt in the Balinok Mountains and raised the two sets of standing stones. Rather than being a fallen holy land waiting to be redeemed, the valley of Barovia is an older, more complex place previously occupied by an arcane society, a militant conqueror, and an indigenous tribe.

Although Barovian priests and scholars claim that the megaliths near Old Bonegrinder were erected in honor of "the Four Cities," "the cities of paradise where the Morninglord, Mother Night, and the other ancient gods first dwelled," the druids—the descendants of the indigenous "mountain folk" of the Balinok Mountains, who "turned away from their ancient beliefs to worship the devil Strahd"—never share the history of their ancient religion. At best, the Barovians have an incomplete picture of the ancient tribe's faith; at worst, the Barovians are unreliable narrators, whose own religious convictions blind them to the "ancient beliefs" that the tribe once practiced.

So what were these ancient beliefs? Why did the druids give them up? And how (and why) might Reloaded use these sets of standing stones to bring the fanes of Expedition to Castle Ravenloft forward to Curse of Strahd?

I'm trying to get into a habit of posting shorter devblogs more regularly, so I'll answer each of these questions in next week's blog (since this one has already passed 1.5k words). Stay tuned!