WotBS Standing the Heat of Innenotdar

[emeraldbeacon]

In Chapter 2, the heroes are constantly reminded of the heat and danger of the Innenotdar forest, and how tenuous their status is, given their dwindling number of Stand the Heat potions (if they did not agree to Indomitability's terms). Several others, though, seem to be able to exist in the burning wood without that protection, at least temporarily. Nelle is tired and weak, but still alive; Gwenvere seems affected more by her feelings towards Anyariel & Timbre than the fires; all of the Seela seem largely unbothered by the heat of the world around them. Even Bhurisrava was able to travel up and down the White River without succumbing (though as a Cleric, he may have simply cast Stand the Heat upon himself, daily).

I haven't seen a clear explanation in the books how the Seela, in particular, have been able to withstand the heat for so long. Is there a canon explanation for how the Seela, in particular, have survived this long? Otherwise, do you have suggestions on how to address that topic if a heroic party asks them?

 

[RangerWickett]

The Seela are fey who are inherently linked to the forest. If the trees can handle it, so can they. Which is why if you just let Indomitability go and don't bond with the forest through the sword, the seela die.

 

[emeraldbeacon]

But as I understand it, the trees CAN'T handle it... they're on fire, and likely to burn out and die if the resiliancy of Indomitability is removed from them. Timbre herself is aflame; she is perhaps worse than anyone else, BECAUSE she's the spirit of the forest.

Why, then, do the seela NOT suffer from the heat? What makes the seela different from Timbre? I can handwave Nelle's resiliance, because he stays far to the north, experiencing only the most distant effects of the fire forest... and Gwenvere is a water spirit herself (perhaps a natural "antidote" to the persistant fire), and is able to exist entirely below the surface, thus granting her some degree of defenses against the eternal flames.

(If I had to describe it myself, I would probably say that they ARE indeed suffering in the fire, just not in a way that non-fey can understand. Their dull, ruddy skin and fragile-looking wings are actually a symptom of their affliction; if freed from the fires, they would become more vibrant, colorful and capable of brief bursts of flight, as chapter 3 describes)

 

[Tormyr]

The seela are not entirely sure, but they believe that they are kept alive by the forest's unnatural surviving of the flames (without having to be on fire themselves). There is a contingent of seela who want to give up and die because of the hopelessness of their life, and they believe that stopping singing will break the unending pain and bring peace in death. Neither contingent is absolutely sure of their theories, but they are both essentially correct.

 

[Fuzzybear]

So, to build on @emeraldbeacon question, are the seela indomitable like the wildlife that was burned in the forest? Have they been burned like the forest and that is why they are withered in appearance? It was not in anyone's stat blocks, so I assumed they were not and kept safe somehow.

 

[emeraldbeacon]

So, to build on @emeraldbeacon question, are the seela indomitable like the wildlife that was burned in the forest? Have they been burned like the forest and that is why they are withered in appearance? It was not in anyone's stat blocks, so I assumed they were not and kept safe somehow.

Exactly what I was wondering, hence my speculation. They DO essentially have the Indomitable template, in terms of story, but being fey creatures, they aren't affected the same way that normal mortals are. Per the campaign guide:

Their original vibrant beauty has changed to match the dying conditions of their homeland. They have wings reminiscent of a dragonfly’s or of leaves that got too close to an open flame. Their flesh is naturally pale and sunken, and they look perpetually starving and rather eerie.

This makes me think that they absolutely suffer from the fire's effects... they simply don't exhibit the same symptoms... but that's only a guess, my own interpretation of the situation. I was hoping for some more concrete information, either something I missed from the campaign guide or module, or insight from the original authors.

 

[Tormyr]

My take is that the seela are not necessarily indomitable. That is generally reserved for creatures that would have "died" from the flames. The seela are special in that there fate is tied to the fate of the forest. As long as the forest survives (albeit in a horrible state), so do they. If the forest falls, so do they.

 

[emeraldbeacon]

My take is that the seela are not necessarily indomitable. That is generally reserved for creatures that would have "died" from the flames. The seela are special in that there fate is tied to the fate of the forest. As long as the forest survives (albeit in a horrible state), so do they. If the forest falls, so do they.

My main issue with that is... if the heroes cannot survive in the forest without Stand the Heat (taking constant damage at a high rate without the effect)... why are the Seela seemingly immune to that heat effect? They're not resistant or immune to fire. It can't be specifically due to the lower temperature at Lake Seela, because Tiljann and the rebels have wandered away from the lake at times.

 

[RangerWickett]

why are the Seela seemingly immune to that heat effect?

A wizard did it.

Basically, they're locals, they're bonded to the forest, they have to be here. So the heat doesn't harm them. It sucks. Their lives are tragic and full of woe. But the heat doesn't harm them.

(Also, traveling along the rivers is intended to be safer. It's just very high heat, rather than life-threatening heat.)

 

[Tolamaker]

At least in the 5e version, it specifies that Lake Seela is 120 degrees. Not fun, but survivable. I assumed that Nelle has a similar situation at the mouth of the river. I also played it so that Gwenvere's powers used to keep the whole lake cool, but they've wanted so she only keeps her little pool cool. The lake is drying up after all, just slower than it would have without magic