D&D 5E Day and Night in the Feywild (and Wild Beyond the Witchlight)

[Sword of Spirit]

First, the DMG statement that the Feywild is supposed to be in perpetual "twilight" is wrong, because twilight is defined as the light from the sun when it is already below the horizon. The Feywild descriptions speak of a sun that is visible and low on the horizon.

So, the Feywild is supposed to actually be in a perpetual state of early-ish morning or evening, with cool colors in the sky.

From both the art and descriptions in the Domains of Delight supplement, it appears to me that this is highly variable inside Domains. I imagine there are domains that are always day, always night, go through a cycle, or remain in the same state as the rest of the Feywild.

What I don't get, is what is going on in Prismeer. Hither is initially presented much like the default Feywild "twilight". However the general murky nature of it and the addition of fog seems like it would reduce it to Dim Illumination in most places--but there is no indication of that. There is also an indication that there is some sort of awareness of a day/night cycle--this stood out to me when I was reading through the Downfall section.

Thither is initially presented with sunlight dappling forest floors through a tree canopy. Here we have indication that it's much more of a full daylight sort of thing--otherwise with those deep forests we would be pushing Dim Illumination again.

Yon seems to want to present us with an endless night--or at least an endless sky obstructing storm. However, we also get a couple miles of visibility...somehow.

Other than "it's fey magic!" what sorts of solutions to making sense of this do you all have? In particular, I'm interested in details I missed that create a more coherent picture.

P.S. I realized I'm somewhat odd in wanting to "visualize" things. It usually happens with science stuff, like wondering if the warm-hot intergalactic medium would feel hot or actually freeze us like the rest of space (found out it would freeze us), but it crops up anywhere that vital details are left out allowing me to imagine what I would experience if I were present in a location or phenomenon being described. In D&D, I need to know these things to give consistent descriptions to my players.

 

[kigmatzomat]

In the Feywild the sun and moon are decorations, not a source of illumination or in control of the tides. The laws of nature don't exist as anything more than a vague suggestion.

Light, weather, fruit, flowers, insects etc comes from wherever the fey noble wills it. Strawberries growing from a straw roof? Sure. A moonless night full of fog where you can still see a mile across the blasted heath? Sure. Want to climb a ladder to slice off some moon-cheese? I'll get the crackers.

 

[MockingBird]

I would think it would be like Alaska in the summer months where it really never gets dark.

 

[Umbran]

Other than "it's fey magic!" what sorts of solutions to making sense of this do you all have? In particular, I'm interested in details I missed that create a more coherent picture.

I am not sure "coherent picture" is the goal when speaking about the Feywild, thematically speaking.

P.S. I realized I'm somewhat odd in wanting to "visualize" things. It usually happens with science stuff, like wondering if the warm-hot intergalactic medium would feel hot or actually freeze us like the rest of space (found out it would freeze us)...

Well, no. It doesn't freeze you. There's insufficient medium there to say that it does anything to you, in an active sense. It just allows you to radiate your heat away. Indeed, in the intergalactic medium, you freeze more slowly than you would exposed to an Arctic winter's night.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The Feywild is a realm of magic, dreams and imagination. The laws of Physics do not apply here. Time and space change at random, but a promise is unbreakable.

If you want to know how things work in the Feywild, throw out your Newton and read Lewis Carroll instead.

So, in answer to your question, the time of day is whatever time of day the dreamers (your PCs) think it is. You don't need light to see, you need the idea of visibility.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

My Feywild takes inspiration from 4e’s description of its creation, where the Feywild is a culmination of the bits of creation matter that the primordials who created the Prime Material considered as “too bright”. The Feywild is always illuminated, whether from the flora and fauna, the sentient inhabitants, their elaborate structures, and even at night the sky always shine in a beautiful cascade of colors.

And everything is heightened or “brighter” then their Prime Material counterpart, from the colors, to the sounds, to the emotions, and to the actions. There is a natural order, there are seasons, there are laws and customs, but they are far more complex, whimsical, extravagant, and fluid then those of the Prime Material. Magic permeates every facet of the Feywild as well.