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Darklings were members of the Vistani who had been ritually cast out from their society for some crime or wrongful act and over time became corrupted by the land.
Description[]
Darklings largely looked like Vistani, except that their skin was darker and their bodies more gaunt. Their clothes were likewise typical of Vistani, but in drab earthen tones.
Personality[]
Darklings felt as though they had been wronged by the world at large, but especially by the Vistani, and were owed something for their troubles. As a result, darklings had no qualms in taking what they wanted, viewing all material things as rightfully theirs.
Combat[]
Darklings were known to fight in an underhanded and covert manner. They typically fought with daggers and short swords lined with a poison of their own making.
Abilities[]
Unlike normal Vistani, darklings lacked the ability to navigate the mists and freely travel between domains. Because of this, they are typically trapped in a single mist-bound region and grow overtly familiar with it.
They also lack the fortune-telling powers of other Vistani, but will claim otherwise. In place of true fortunes, the darklings were known to fabricate elaborate lies or make educated guesses.
Ecology[]
The reasons for a darkling being cast out from Vistani typically included murdering another Vistani, aiding a dukkar, and passing along secrets to enemies of the Vistani.
Darklings were generally known to take on the role of a rogue or assassin. They often devoted much of their time working towards finding a way to escape from their domains and to exact their revenge upon the Vistani.
Whenever most darklings died, it attracted the attention of nearby Vistani. They would see to it that the body was properly buried and perform a ritual to soothe the darkling's spirit. If Vistani failed to complete this ritual, then there was a chance that the darkling would arise within one to six weeks as either a wraith or a ghast, respectively depending upon whether the body was destroyed or not. The risen spirit would then proceed to hunt down those who served it in life and turn them into either wights or ghouls, respectively.
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Darkling article at Mistipedia, a wiki for the Ravenloft campaign setting run by The Fraternity of Shadows.
References[]
Sources[]
- William W. Connors (1996). Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II. Edited by C. Terry Phillips, John D. Rateliff, Karen Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), p. 16. ISBN 0786903929.
- Beth Bostic, Carla Hollar, & Tadd McDivitt Champions of Darkness. (Sword and Sorcery Studios), pp. 176–177. ISBN 1-58846-081-9.