Nightfell
Nightfell is a third-party Dark Fantasy setting for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition released by Italian producer "Mana Project Studio". It takes place on the dying world of Iùrmen, cursed on a massive scale when the Prophechy of the Fourth Truth was completed and the malign realm of Ènferun began to merge with the Prime Material, extinguishing the sun. Now, life clings to the surface, for the Underdark has become a twisted realm of horrors and corruptive magic, living by the dim light of the moon and fighting against an eternal winter with the aid of the last remaining Primes.
Cosmology[edit | edit source]
Nightfell uses a simple multiverse made up of three planes:
The Material Plane, also known as "The Earthly World", Iùrmen or Iùrmenvi (“of the living”), is, of course, the living world, where all the normal races live.
The Sidreal Plane, also known as the Semipeternal, Sidìr or the Outer World, is the star-filled void from which the gods first arose, the birthplace of magic.
Finally, the Abyss, also known as Ènferun, is the dark mirror of the Material Plane. Anything considered negative, disruptive, obscure, or concealed from light belongs in this dimension.
Life first arose in Sidìr, as cosmic forces slowly attained sentience and the will to exist, becoming the first Primes. They created Iùrmen, and thus gave rise to mortal life, but by this very act they created Ènferun as an unintentional shadow cast by their creation. Ruling over Ènferun are the Death Echoes, the twisted mirrors of the Primes, and it is commonly accepted that the souls of the wicked and malevolent are damned to slave under the Death Echoes in Ènferun upon their death.
Races[edit | edit source]
The peoples of Iùrmen are relatively few, as many were annihilated during the death of the Last Sun.
Anireth: Also known as the First Men, the Anireth were originally one of the greatest and most powerful human ethnicities, but their involvement in causing the Last Sun has left them forever physically marked, and loathed by their peers. A diaphanous complexion paired with ice-colored eyes and silver-colored hair is universal, but individual Anireth may also sport all manner of mutations, such as long claws, small horns, a tail, scales, spines, variable numbered phalanges or strange symbols on their skin.
Ejre: Also known as the Primevals, the Ejre are one of the two remaining distinct human ethnicities of Iùrmen. A once-tribal people of nature-worshippers ruled over by powerful druids, they serve the Prime known as Rahidra and are dedicated to her protection.
The Gray People: The bulk of humans on Iùrmen are the Gray People; the nomadic descendants of those forced to flee their homes during the Last Sun, resulting in a massive interbreeding of once-distinct ethnicities into a homogenous whole.
Alperns: Known to themselves as Garnars, these nature-worshipping humans have been marked with the aspects of Atavisitic Beasts. Basically, they're Shifters with a more Stone Age vibe.
Ishdrim: An ethnicity of dark-skinned, magically adept humans from the lands across the sea, descendants of a people who sprang into being separate from the Anireth.
Krampus: Bestial-featured humanoids who were born from the meddling of one of the Perchtas. Satyr-like in appearance, yet orc-like in mannerisms, they are slowly rejecting their primitive marauder lifestyle and adopting civilization.
Lyvar: Also known as Night Faelings (or Nightlings, for short), these tailed, goblin-like creatures once inhabited the Underdark, but were forced to flee to the surface when the Last Sun saw their homeland flooded with evil incarnate.
Rizadrin: Also known as Moon Satyrs, these moon-touched horned humanoids are the last of the once-diffuse satyr race.