Fomorians article on DDI

[Dr. Confoundo]

And in terms of the new more mythic Feywild, in my opinion, there's way more to be interested in about the Feydark then there ever was in the Underdark that it is reflecting. I've always hated the Underdark, and most (if not all) of it's denizens. Drow? Lame. Derro? Lame. Kua-toa? Lame.

OTOH, the Feydark really captures something awesome about the new set-up. Plenty of faerie tales of the hidden underground courts of Fey Queens. Or Knockers and Redcaps whistling in the darkness of mines that got a little too close to the Feydark. Or massive caverns where hundreds of warriors sleep forever on their biers, waiting until the horns sound to call them to the battle to end all battles.

 

[hong]

Or massive caverns where hundreds of warriors sleep forever on their biers, waiting until the horns sound to call them to the battle to end all battles.

Spawn point!

 

[Kordeth]

Is it the underdark portion of the feywild, or is it where the feywild and shadowfell overlap? I'm pretty sure they mean the former, but it could just as easily mean the latter.

"These kings and queens rule their kingdoms in the Underdark of the Feywild -- or the Feydark -- with an iron fist."

 

[breschau]

The Feywild and Shadowfell are both reflections of 'The World', which is why reflections of the Underdark -- which is now strictly canon in 4ed -- exist in both. That's the limit of the symmetry. 'Feydark' is new, can't say I like it much, but the Fomorian role in 4ed looks cool, and the art is superb.

Good art does not equal good game design.

I can't wait for the Elementaldark and the Shadowdark (which would be good in this realm).

The Feywild and Shadowfell are described as mirrors/reflections of the World. With this article WotC is making it clear that they're serious. What's in the World will be reflected in the Fey and Fell.

You have the World. Under the crust is the Underdark. Beneath the World is the Elemental Chaos. Above the World is the Astral Sea.

You have the Feywild. Under crust: Feydark. Beneath: Feyos (fay-os). Above: Fey Sea.

You have the Shadowfell. Under crust: Shadowdark. Beneath: Shaos (shay-os). Above: Sea of Shadows.

We just got an article describing one of these. Considering the text describing the Fey and Fell, it's only a matter of time before we get the rest, hence...

The Great Wheel is dead. Long live the Great Wheel.

Just because there's an Underdark doesn't mean there needs to be a Feydark. It makes just as much sense to include all those I listed above (i.e. none whatsoever).

"Down with needless symmetry" indeed.

---------------------------

I can't wait to hear "For the Fey and Fell!" as a battlecry.

 

[Khelzor]

Wow. And one of the things I liked most about 4th edition was the tossing of unnecessary symmetry.

The Great Wheel is dead. Long live the Great Wheel!

Huh?

The Feywild is a twisted image of the Material World. The underdark is a place in the material world (not a different plane) and would exist in the feywild, just the same as any other location, but twisted in the feywild style. Calling it Feydark is just a way of letting you know what area it is supposed to be a reflection of.

I don't see how you can call this symmetry, when it is a singular concept. Everything in the material "plane" exists here just twisted. Since the underdark exists on the material plane it also exists here.

 

[Dr. Confoundo]

Just because there's an Underdark doesn't mean there needs to be a Feydark. It makes just as much sense to include all those I listed above (i.e. none whatsoever).

You are missing/misunderstanding one concept in your concern: The Underdark isn't separate from The World, like the Elemental Chaos or the Astral Sea are... it's just what lies beneath the ground of The World. It's part of the The World. (And thusly, a reflection of The World should/could include it.)

The EC and the AS are completely separate locations, and don't have Fey or Shadow reflections because they aren't attached to the world.

 

[hong]

Just because there's an Underdark doesn't mean there needs to be a Feydark. It makes just as much sense to include all those I listed above (i.e. none whatsoever).

The Feywild is a mirror of the physical world, which is a concept richly supported in myth and folklore. The Underdark is a part of the physical world. Therefore, there will be a counterpart of it in the Feywild. There is no "needless symmetry" except what you're reading into it.

 

[InShambles]

Fomorians and Dryads working together? Oh man, that was a joke about bad Dungeon Mastering to my friends. Some friends decided to play with a different group in town. Folks we knew in high school. The story goes (I wasn’t there, sadly) that their characters faced a group of Giants who had Dryads on their shoulders. The Dryads would cast charms on the PCs to disable them while the Giant wailed away. My friends thought it was absurd.

 

[LordArchaon]

You were lucky, I was thinking of complaining about that in the OP. I mean, it's serviceable, but it hardly inspires a vision of fantastic realms.

To me, the Feydark inspires a vision of fantastic realms more than anything else. It's the classic concept of the underworld dominated by fey described in Irish mythology.

And please, do not complain about symmetry because first of all it's not actual symmetry, since places, distances, space in general and maybe time too are distorted on both Shadowfell and Feywild compared to the Natural Plane. Then, if you're saying they're forcing symmetry on a meta-game scale, I think that since we're talking of reflections, it would be really more ridiculous not to have the sea or the underdak in those reflections, than having them, even if this implies the much feared symmetry effect.
I'd persoanlly even by splatbooks entirely dedicated to the seas of the Feywild and Shadowfell if they added loads of monsters and fluff.

 

[Blair Goatsblood]

F.....The story goes (I wasn’t there, sadly) that their characters faced a group of Giants who had Dryads on their shoulders. The Dryads would cast charms on the PCs to disable them while the Giant wailed away. My friends thought it was absurd.

Sounds like something out of greek mythology....