Editing Shadow Fey (section)

====The Lesser Breeds====
Whilst the nine breeds listed above the most common and prominent forms that an Arak can take, other species do exist across different sourcebooks. So far, only five are known; three statted for AD&D rules in two of the [[Books of S]], and two statted for 3rd edition in different 3e sourcebooks.

'''Huldrow''' are the legacy of that fateful time when three [[Drow]] stumbled into the [[Demiplane of Dread]] and were taken in by the Arak. As the Drow spread the seeds of what became [[The Spider Queen]] cult, some Arak mutated into a form based upon their drow tutors; even after the drow were killed, a few of these Arak mutants, these "Huldrow" survived. They now exist as outcasts from Arak society, trying to clumsily ape drow society as best they can, and ignoring bits about it that they don't like. Huldrow greatly resemble drow elves, except for their eyes, which are orbs of a luminous white, and their skin, the color of which can range from light brown to obsidian black. Immune to stone weapons and spider venom, they can be harmed by cold-forged iron. It's noted that huldrow don't make [[changeling]]s, but "huldrowkin", hybrids of huldrow and true drow, apparently exist; these are drow who can "shadow form" thrice per day, and apparently can be a PC race if the DM agrees. Huldrow appeared in the Book of Sorrows, but never made the leap from netbook canon to true canon; instead, their role was taken by the [[Zelldrow]] prestige class in the [[Ravenloft Gazetteer]] V.

'''Vilays''' are a shadow fey race that resembles the [[Dryad]], although how this can be untangled with the existence of the Waff breed is up to the DM. Taking the form of pale-skinned elf-maids with white hair and green eyes, vilays can transform into nightingales and choose large trees as their homes, protecting the forest around them; unlike true dryads, they are neither physically nor spiritually bound to a tree, they just use it as a home, and as a display piece for their lovers. See, the vilay's true interest is in gathering a harem of "vilaykin"... but these aren't the [[changeling]]s made by other Arak (although they can do so, if they wish). Instead, these are mortals whose beauty or exceptional skills in the field of romance and love enthralled the vilay to the point she had to keep them, prompting her to seduce them into agreeing to become her eternal lover. Once they agree, she can use her soul-sucking kiss to kill them, destroying their bodies and leaving behind only the skull, transformed into an [[adamantite]]-hard crystal and now the material focus for that poor fool's soul, which is trapped as a beautiful, love-sick [[ghost]] for all eternity. Vilays hang these skulls from their trees, and the more skulls they have, the greater their status; stealing any of these skulls is one of the greatest crimes a vilay can imagine, perhaps other than the loss of one of her prized lovers. Caring only about beauty and skills at love, vilay are all bisexual, taking male and female spirit-lovers as the opportunity presents itself. A spirit-love's existence revolves around pleasing their vilay "mate", whether it be through necrophiliac acts of carnal pleasure or by wandering the world to retrieve gifts and stories for her. In battle, a vilay can cast Charm Person (-3 penalty on saves) 3 times per day, drain levels with a kiss (though combatants slain in this fashion don't become spirit-lovers), and cast spells as a 5th level [[cleric]]. They are immune to wooden and mundane weapons, but can be harmed by bone weapons... though keep in mind their crystal skulls are ''not'' bone anymore, so, despite how satisfying it might be, you can't beat one to death with one of her own sick love tokens. Vilay appeared in the Book of Sorrows.

'''Fanggen''' are a particularly nasty shadow fey breed that were introduced in the Book of Secrets. These murderous monsters appear as a wrinkled old hag with stringy green-grey hair, a toothless mouth, long twiglike fingers and a constant hunger in her milky white eyes, though they can also shapeshift into crows and use illusions to disguise themselves as vilay. In fact, their entire existence is being a "[[Gotcha Monster|gotcha! monster]]", pretending to be a vilay in order to lure mortals in close so they can kill them, using a level-draining touch similar to that of a [[wraith]].  If a fanggen's tree is seen without the fanggen’s mirages, it appears as a huge, gnarled, oaklike tree, sporting midnight black leaves and bark. The pattern of the bark is twisted into human faces caught in agony; these are markers of the souls that a fanggen slain, and a new face appears on the tree on the third day after she kills anyone; only by killing a fanggen before an unfortunate's face appears on her tree can that victim be brought be to life by raise dead, otherwise you need to use a Wish spell. To trick people into believing her tree to be that of a gentle vilay, some fanggen adorn their homes with the skulls of their former victims. These skulls are not made of crystal, however, offering a last indicator that one is not dealing with a vilay. Fanggen normally keep an eye out for travelers, and are thus seldom seen before they cloak themselves in illusion. However, those fanggen observed by concealed witnesses have been seen caressing the faces on their tree, cackling, whispering, and gloating to the terrorized faces of their past victims. Lately a rare few fanggen have also started to use another hunting technique: They hang treasure found on their victims from the branches of their lair, creating virtual “treasure-trees” to lure the greedy.

Whilst they don't create changelings, fanggen do have a strange trait to them: if a fanggen absorbs 100 levels from good-aligned beings, her soul is overwhelmed by the collective purity and she is transformed, causing her tree to split open and, a day later, the fanggen rematerializes as a '''Braunchen''', an entity that is not quite shadow fey, not quite mortal, but something in between. This redeemed entity is actually a playable character race, functioning as an [[elf]] or [[half-elf]] (your choice, possibly representing whether the fey or mortal essences are stronger) both in racial traits and in appearance (bar their pale hair and green eyes) with the unique traits of eternal life (thus, they're immune to aging attacks) and taking damage from sunlight, the last lingering vestiges of their former existence. Braunchen are Good aligned, but remember every detail about their existence as fanggen; needless to say, they are consumed with guilt ad tend to dedicate their lives to atoning, whether as an adventurer or through a humble existence as a maid. Braunchen PCs favor the [[Mage]] and [[Bard]] classes, and suffer one unique weakness alongside their vulnerability to sunlight; a braunchen who fails her first Madness check automatically develops a split personality, as the remnants of one of the souls she consumed reconstitutes itself and becomes a competitor for her body. It's up the DM whether subsequent madness checks result in more such personalities arising.

'''Waffs''', or "Shadow Dryads", appear in the Shadow Fey VRG sourcebook. These ephemeral, malevolent shadow fey are essentially sapient clouds of vampiric mist, hiding from danger within a host-tree and pouring forth to drain the life from whatever catches their eyes.
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'''Gwytune''' appear in the Ravenloft Gazetteer V. Extremely rare, these court-neutral Arak care only about studying and mastering arcane magic, making them a breed of [[wizard]]s amongst a race that normally is happy to be [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|sorcerers]]. They appear as wizened and spindly elf-like beings with long, dexterous fingers, faintly lilac-tinged skin, auburn hair, golden goat-like eyes, and curling ram's horns. Able to shapeshift into the form of sheep and goats, gwytune are physically inoffensive, but powerful casters, and like certain other breeds of Arak, have a special connection with fate that makes them much harder to hurt than you'd expect.