Alanik Ray

2023-01-03T19:47:46Z

2600:1700:13F1:A110:28C3:DEDF:E4A9:A716: /* 5e */

{{dnd-stub}}
{{NeedsImages}}

'''Alanik Ray''' is a heroic NPC native to the [[Ravenloft]] setting of [[Dungeons & Dragons]], having debuted there back in the days of [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. He is a male [[elf]] originally born as a wealthy merchant's son in the realm of [[Demiplane of Dread#Darkon|Darkon]], but left that locale as a youth after being expelled from his family home when he discovered his father made much of his wealth as a drug lord and black marketeer; when Alanik protested his father's crimes, the patriarch Ardal banished him. Disgusted, Alanik turned to crime fighting, joining the Neblus watch and using it to dismantle his father's criminal empire, after which he quit Darkon and moved to Mordentshire, where he set up as a private detective. That lasted until the year 747 BC, where he was invited back to Darkon to serve as the Chief Constable of the Matira Bay watch by newly appointed town mayor, Baroness Karimana Reldkasen... unfortunately, he fell afoul of the Kargat, and when Azalin vanished during [[Grim Harvest|the Requiem]], they moved to eliminate him and he narrowly escaped with his life. He fled to Port-a-Lucine in Dementlieu and opened up a new detective agency, where he has been found ever since.

Basically, Alanik Ray is the Sherlock Holmes of the [[Demiplane of Dread]]; a highly intelligent whose love of the finer things in life is equaled if not exceeded only by his passion for mystery and deduction. Though he normally is patronized by wealthy clientele, he has a particular fascination with crimes centered around "particularly cunning" villains or supernatural elements, and as such he is willing to waive his fees for cases that catch his intrigue, especially those brought to him by less-wealthy would-be patrons. For defense, he wields ''Goldenfang'', a +4 Dagger that looks like it was shaped from solid gold, and a number of pistols. He even smokes a hookah, although in his case it's an enchanted item called a ''Hookah of Truth'', the smoke of which produces a Zone of Truth.

Of course, every Sherlock Holmes needs a Dr. Watson, and for Alanik, his Watson is a human physician by the name of Dr. Arthur Sedgewick. Sadly, we know next to nothing about him beyond that he exists, he has saved Alanik's life with his medical skills several times, and he writes accounts of their cases which he has begun to publish, with two such compilations existing in-universe so far; ''The Life of Alanik Ray'' and ''The Casebook of Alanik Ray''. Alanik is also a correspondent of [[Van Richten]] and, after the events of [[Bleak House]], he's interested in pursuing the good doctor's mysterious disappearance.

Notable supernatural foes that Alanik Ray has faced include [[Rabel Utik]], [[Toben the Many]], and a prostitute-hunting green [[hag]] serial killer known only as "The Hag of Chateaufaux".

Although he has been statted up in both AD&D (10th level [[Rogue]]) and in 3rd edition ([[Rogue]] 4/Detective 6) in [[Champions of the Mists]] and [[Ravenloft Gazetteer]] II respectively, Alanik is ironically a very minor character; whereas the other NPCs from ''Champions'' had been the stars of official novels (because it was the 90s and novels were a thing that pretty much all D&D settings got), Alanik's only appearances to that date had been as a flavor-only character mentioned in two of the [[Van Richten's Guide]] books - the Guides to Ghosts and Hags, specifically. 3rd edition wouldn't treat him much better; he got mentioned in ''Van Richten's Arsenal'' due to his connection with the Hookah of Truth, and also name-dropped as a flavor character in a third VRG - the Guide to the [[Walking Dead]].

===5e===
Alanik Ray reappears as an NPC in the [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] Ravenloft campaign splat "Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft". Here, there's more emphasis on his forming an informal monster hunter's alliance/network with [[Van Richten]], the [[Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins]] and the new character [[Ezmerelda d'Avenir]] from [[Curse of Strahd]]. Also, he's now wheelchair-bound, having broken his back after falling off a roof whilst pursuing a serial killer (cue "Wheels and the Legman" jokes). Also, since this is the 2020s and (alleged) subtext can just be actual text, he and Arthur Sedgewick [[SJW|are gay and married to each other]].
[[Image:Alanik Ray 5e.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Alanik as depicted in 5e. Also, fun fact; this is the ''only'' time that Dr. Sedgewick has been given art!]]

[[Category: Ravenloft]]

Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins

2023-01-03T19:46:34Z

2600:1700:13F1:A110:28C3:DEDF:E4A9:A716: /* In 5th Edition */

[[Image:The Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The official art of the Twins. Gennifer in the background, Laurie with her trusty pistol in the fore.]]
'''Laurie Weathermay-Foxgrove''' and '''Gennifer Weathermay-Foxgrove''' are heroic NPCs from the [[Dungeons & Dragons]] setting of [[Ravenloft]]. Identical twins, the two are the self-established heirs to Dr. [[Van Richten]] as the foremost monster hunters within the [[Demiplane of Dread]], with their particular focus being on publishing the [[Van Richten's Guide]]s that assist others in battling the creatures of the night.

==Meta-History==
When Dr. [[Van Richten]] was functionally killed off at the end of the [[Ravenloft]] adventure [[Bleak House|"The Bleak House"]], [[TSR]] needed somebody to replace him as their in-universe author of choice. The Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins, nieces of Van Richten's close friend George Weathermay, were created to fill that role. They made their narrative debut in the Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendiums; a trio of collective editions of the original [[Van Richten's Guide]]s, including the never-before-printed Van Richten's Guide to [[Witch]]es, but were first introduced to the world in the ''Domains of Dread'' iteration of the setting core boxed set.

Come 3rd edition, and the twins stepped out of their predecessor's shadows more. They wrote three entirely new Van Richten's Guides, covering the [[Walking Dead]], the [[Shadow Fey]], and the Mists of Ravenloft (although that last one was never printed, instead being released to the internet after [[White Wolf]] lost the rights to Ravenloft). They also wrote Van Richten's Arsenal, a sort of beginner's guide/how-to book for monster hunting in general. It was here that their backstories and game stats were revealed.

==The Characters==
Laurie and Gennifer were born to a minor Mordentish nobleman named Daniel Foxgrove and his wife Alice, the only daughter of Mordent's unofficial leader, Lord Jules Weathermay. Sadly, their mother died in childbirth, leaving them to be brought up by the grieving young widower. As children, they idolized their monster-hunting uncle George Weathermay, and likewise his close friend; Dr. Van Richten, growing up determined to follow in their footsteps and battle the creatures of the night.

Not even early tragedies, such as Gennifer being bitten by a female werewolf named Natalia who had seduced George as a patsy to try and assassinate Van Richten, nor George's subsequent withdrawal from the twins, nor Van Richten's own mysterious disappearance, dissuaded them from their goals. At the "present" of the books being written, the two have moved into Van Richten's former shop and been promoting themselves as monster hunters for a period of about five years, although their reputation as amateurs is proving somewhat slow to dissipate. Well aware of their individual inexperience and weakness, they have actively cultivated allies amongst like-minded individuals throughout the Core, including former allies of Van Richten such as [[Alanik Ray]], and they have memorized Van Richten's principles that research, patience and planning are the keys to triumphing over monsters.

Laurie is the more boisterous sister, always eager for action and a skilled duelist. Gennifer is more reserved and insightful, having instead focused on studying Van Richten's library and honing a talent for arcane magic. In 3e, Laurie is an [[Expert]] 2/[[Fighter]] 3, whilst Gennifer is an [[Expert]] 3/[[Wizard]] 2. The two are considered very beautiful; being of purebred Old Mordentish stock, they are renowned amongst young (and not so young) men of the Core for their creamy complexions, dark hair, and icy-blue eyes, the hallmarks of their ethnicity. Unfortunately for any swains with delusions of "taming" the twins, neither has any intention of being reduced to the role of a traditional aristocrat's housewife.

==Dark Secrets==
Unbeknownst to either twin, they have not gone as untouched by the darkness of the [[Demiplane of Dread]] as they believe.

Firstly, George Weathermay has distanced himself because he is convinced that Gennifer is a latent infected [[werewolf]], as a result of Natalia's bite; he has no idea what will trigger her transformations, but knows that Natalia both knows this ''and'' can force her infected progeny to transform whenever she wishes. As such, he has dedicated himself to finding Natalia, forcing her to reveal this information, and then killing her. Whether or not George is actually correct in this belief is presented as a "Dread Possibility" - a bit of flexible canon that may or may not be true as the DM prefers. This may stem from the opening fiction to [[Books of S|The Book of Sorrows netbook]], in which George uses a rare flower (and Gennifer's reaction to it) to confirm her infected state.

Secondly, they are unaware of the existence of Lord Wilfred Godefroy, the [[ghost]]ly [[Darklord]] of Mordent - and, more importantly, they are unaware that he has their mother's soul amongst his legion of ghostly minions, which he is using to force their father to serve him to protect his wife's ghost.

==In 5th Edition==
[[Image:WEATHERMAY- FOXGROVE CORNER THE WEREWOLF NATALIA VHORISHKOVA.jpg|thumb|right|300px|]]

The Weathermay-Foxgroves return in 5th edition, now part of a notable monster hunter's network that includes themselves, the now-still-alive [[Van Richten]], Van Richten's adoptive heir [[Ezmerelda d'Avenir]], [[Alanik Ray]], and the ghost of Van Richten's son Erasmus. Their backstory is largely the same, but has been tweaked in a few key details - most prominently, their ''dad'' is the dead parent now instead of their mom, although Godefroy is still using their dead parent's ghost to blackmail their living parent into serving him, and they realized Natalie was a [[werewolf]] before she attacked and outed her to their uncle, rather than being inspired to take up monster-hunting themselves when they were almost killed by Natalie and he saved them. They have also been race-swapped [[SJW|for some reason]].

Also, Gennifer now uses ''[[Druid]]'' spells and no mention that she may possibly be an unknowing [[werewolf]].

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Ravenloft]]

2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Alanik Ray

Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins