Professional Documents
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Planeswalker's Guide To Innistrad Original
Planeswalker's Guide To Innistrad Original
Packs of werewolves emerge like the tide, drawn out by the moon, their humanity washed away
by animal rage. The vampire families bare their fangs at the scent of human blood. Hordes of the
walking dead lurch across the manors and moors, driven by an innate hunger for the living.
Alchemically created abominations twitch to life in alchemists' laboratories. Geists haunt the
huddled human towns and terrify travelers along the dark crossways in between. From Innistrad's
deeper chasms, powerful demons and impish devils plot humanity's downfall, their influence
spreading into all echelons of human society.
Kessig
Innistrad's vast, wooded hinterland is called Kessig, a province in a state of perpetual autumn.
The deep woods are king here, although small human communities have carved out farming
villages, and groups of hunters and trappers venture into the forest to make a living. Even new
arrivals to Kessig know not to venture out at night. Even if the wilderness weren't haunted, it
wouldn't be safewerewolves prowl the province, sometimes alone and sometimes in packs.
Stensia
Vampires control the province of Stensia, which covers the darkest and most mountainous parts
of the plane. The evergreen forests here seem to always be half-dead and the roads always misty
and deserted. Jagged hills hide isolated, wary human villages and vampire manors from each
other. At the province's edges, the forlorn pines give way to high cliffs above which no human
dares venture. In Stensia, the sun seems never to break through the strangely colored clouds.
Nephalia
This coastal province is home to a number of small-to-medium port towns, most situated at the
mouth of a river that leads further inland. Nephalia's sloughs, sea mists, and mysteries cloak its
commerce and crimes; it is populated mainly by humans, geists, and vampires, all of whom seek
business, secrets, or solitude. The province's silver sand beaches, punctuated with rocky
promontories and sea caves, afford easiest access to its fog-shrouded ocean.
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It may be that Avacyn has truly vanished. What was once humanity's greatest weapon has
abandoned them, and the Church's power to hold back the dark forces of Innistrad is beginning to
wane.
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The province of Gavony is where humanity remains safest and strongest. It is home to Thraben,
the plane's largest city. Thraben houses the Cathedral of Avacyn, where the archangel herself
resided before vanishing. Smaller towns radiate outward from Thraben across Gavony's rocky
moors. Small copses of trees dot the landscape of rolling hills and heaths. Because more human
dead are buried here than anywhere else, Gavony is more plagued by the undead than other
provinces, and geists are more common as well.
Outer Wall. The main defense of Thraben. A thick, high wall that rings the
perimeter of the city. The church has approved the expansion of the wall several
times to keep the city from getting too crowded.
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Cathedral of Avacyn
A massive cathedral with three wings and a network of cloisters, courtyards, outlying schools,
and forges. There are well-kept gardens and substantial training grounds for cathars (holy
warriors). Outside of Thraben, churches are quite rustic, constructed from rough planks and often
containing only a single room. The Cathedral is opulent by comparison.
The grounds between the wings form a triangular courtyard that is locked from public view by
high walls. Most people don't know the courtyard exists. Only the most powerful bishops are
permitted to set foot in it.
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The Cathedral's structure symbolically divides the wealthy and poor of the world. Each class has
its own designated place to worship:
Chapel of Noble Peers. The opulent, gilded chapel that is reserved for the high
levels of clergy and titled members of society.
Midvast Hall. The larger, less opulent hall for ordained fellows and lesser clergy.
Common Cloisters. The covered corridors along the edges Midvast Hall where
commoners stand during worship. There are only certain holy days when the
commoners are permitted to enter the Old Cathedral.
At first glance, the courtyard resembles an ornate garden with stands of fruit trees and gold-andwhite flowers that are cultivated with painstaking care. At the heart of the garden, the trees fall
away, leaving a view of a curious object: the Helvault.
sea serpents and other creatures are said to hide in the depths of the Lake of Herons, which
stretches almost 20 miles before flowing over the 2,000-foot waterfall known as Kirch Falls.
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Gavony's Geography
Thraben lies in on the northern edge of the province of Gavony. It's the largest walled city in
Innistrad, although parts of Nephalia's seaports are more densely populated. Thraben's population
is mainly clergy, merchants, and artisans. With the church's influence, the city maintains a high
standard of cleanliness and order. There is a standing militia and the church pays a host of
workers to keep the streets swept, the public gardens and grafs tended, and the riff-raff off the
street. Begging is strictly prohibited, and there is a street curfew enforced by the militia. Several
alms houses exist just outside the main walls of Thraben, and the church regularly sponsors
"caravans" to take the needy to the sea ports, where they will ostensibly be able to find
employment or trade work more easily.
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Videns. A region of vineyards and rolling hills with small castles with walled
estates. The River Kirch runs through this region.
Wittal. This is the most thickly forested area of Gavony. Although small in size,
the forest is dense and dark, with ancient pines trees that dwarf the deciduous
forests in the neighboring parishes. The forest has become particularly dangerous
now that the infamous werewolf Skaharra and her Leeraug cohorts have moved to
the area.
Effalen. This is the rockiest area of Gavony. A vicious coterie of vampires have
taken to preying on the periphery of the parish for sport.
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Two of the main villages in the Nearheath are Estwald and Hanweir. Estwald is the center of
woodworking in Gavony and part of the Wittal Parish. Hanweir is the agricultural jewel of
Gavony. Hanweir is the site of the largest open-air market, the place where livestock are traded
and trappers from Kessig bring their wares. Hanweir is in Videns Parish, and the River Kirch
runs through the village, making it a bustling port where goods are brought in from the other
provinces before being transported up to Thraben by horse and cart.
before. Now, marauding ghouls range freely through the moors, lost playthings in the mad, epic
battles of Gisa and Geralf.
Trostad
This was formerly a village of trappers on the border with Kessig, which has been entirely
overrun by Geralf and his undead creations. His sister constantly lays siege to the village,
seemingly for no purpose other than to best her brother. Geralf has grander ambitions and has
been sending armies of undead into the Nearheath and raiding villages there.
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The everyday life of a human varies dramatically according to one's class. The wealthy families
and clergy live in comfort and safety. Thraben clergy, in particular, have every need met by the
church. The middle classesartisans and merchantsare also quite comfortable. But the
working class and farmers have a much shorter lifespan; they are more at risk from the dark
things of the world, and they suffer from more sickness and famine as well. A farmer lives an
average of forty years, while a bishop lives closer to seventy.
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Chapel. An enclosed space of varying size devoted to worship. There are many
chapels built along the crossways of Innistrad. Most have resident clergy who
attend them. These sometimes serve has hostels for travelers.
Parish. The equivalent of a county. Each parish has its own chapel.
Crossway. The name for roads in Innistrad. Most are just dirt tracks for horses
and carts.
Crossway Altar. An open-air altar along a crossway somewhere in the wilds.
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Church Hierarchy
Avacyn
The archangel Avacyn is the focal point of the human's worship. She is believed to be the source
of all protective magic. It is thought that she controls the seasons and is the force that brings an
end to the long and bleak Hunter's Moon. Adherents to Avacyn are called Avacynians, and their
church is the Church of Avacyn, or the Avacynian Church.
Avacyn's Host
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Mayor. Sometimes called the elder, this is the political leader of a parish. He or she has a mix of
administrative and religious duties, but the day-to-day administration is left to the priests.
Priest. Priests oversee the church and attend to parishioners' needs. They all use mana to weave
spells, but with varying degrees of skill.
Monk. These wandering priests are the lowest order of clergy. Some have been sanctioned by
the church to seek out people living alone in the wilderness. But many are fanatics who are no
longer formally part of the hierarchy, having said the wrong thing or enforced the wrong dogma
and been cast out.
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Parish-blades. Cathars stationed in parishes serve as escorts along roads or protect the cathedral
in Thraben. This is an ordained military force that assembles whenever the clergy demands.
Runechanters. Runechanters are a specialized branch of the clergy that specializes in engraving
blessings on material objects, including weapons. Everything from swords to axes to children's
toys has words written on it in an effort to protect its owner. The best runechanters can write so
small that hundreds of these blessings can be squeezed into a small space.
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The province of Kessig consists of rolling farmlands surrounded by grasping fingers of dense,
dark woods. The woods hide werewolves, ghosts, and other supernatural menaces, while the
farmlands support a hardscrabble rural livelihood for Kessig's humans.
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occurred in Kessig to date, so word spreads quickly whenever someone comes along the Hairpin
Road in an elegant, shaded coach.
Locations in Kessig
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The werewolf is a creature of duality, forever dragged between two worlds: it is both monster
and man, nature and civilization, rational thought and raw savagery.
Some werewolves see themselves as victims cursed with the souls of untamable killers. Others
see themselves as glorious scions of nature trapped inside a cage of civilized lies. Though most
of Innistrad society focuses on the mass-murdering horrors of the werewolf's beast form, the
lycanthrope can be seen as a tragic figure with an identity chained to the treacherous moon or an
avatar of nature's inherent wildness.
into polite society. A lycanthrope can feel the war of emotions in his or her heart, and as the
moon grows full, the influences of conscience, religion, and personal restraint do less and less.
The full moon makes the change inevitable, but in fact, any strong emotion or traumatic
experience can trigger a lycanthropic crisis and allow the transformation to occur.
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The Transformation
The transformation process is harrowing for the lycanthrope and incredibly disturbing to any
witnesses. The eyes change first, the whites darkening and the iris filling with color. The claws
go next; the hands elongate, knifelike claws extend from the fingertips, and the thumb forms a
claw back near the wrist. The muzzle thrusts forward out of the human's skull, and the teeth jut
through the gums in sharp points. Bones crack as they rearrange. Marrow spills into the
bloodstream as ribs and skull fracture and telescope. Thick, wiry fur pushes through the skin,
often pushing out normal human hair. The tailbone elongates and becomes a shaggy wolf's tail.
Metabolism speeds up, increasing blood flow, oxygen flow, and glandular production, creating
cravings for protein and fat. Any clothing that was worn at the time of the change is generally
torn to shreds and falls away. If a werewolf dies in beast form, it changes back to human form, a
process called death reversion.
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Aftermath
A werewolf that has just changed back to human form is usually naked, disoriented, and covered
in the debris, wounds, and bloodstains of the previous night's hunt. He or she has flashes of
memories left over from canid form, often experienced with involuntary heart spasms and jolts
of adrenaline, not unlike the experience of panic attacks. The days following a transformation are
often filled with shame, guilt, and depressionand repression, as the lycanthrope struggles to
feign normality, construct alibis, and hide evidence of his or her savage crimes.
After reverting to humanoid form, most werewolves have partial memories of their time in canid
form, and they clearly see the aftereffects of the destruction they've caused. This can send
lycanthropes into the throes of depression, shame, or even hostility against others. A minority of
lycanthropes actually embrace their werewolf nature, however, and actively seek to return to
their canid state. Werewolves that revile their lycanthropy are called repentants; the few who
embrace the wild are called wantons. While in canid form, however, all werewolves are savage
beasts, all traces of their humanity gone.
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Howlpacks
Werewolves are often lone hunters, stalking and killing humans as singular monsters in urban
settings. But some werewolves form loose, evolving social groups out in the wild called
howlpacks. The populations of howlpacks wax and wane like the moon, gaining and losing
members as individual lycanthropes enter or leave their canid state. Some werewolves seem to
be continually drawn back to their howlpack, returning to it time after time as soon as they drop
their human guise and reenter the wild. Howlpacks can be tiny hunting parties of just a few
werewolves, or can be massive hordes of over a hundred. A howlpack is often led by a single
alpha (male or female) that dominates the pack. Alphas must often defend their power by
defeating challengers in combat.
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Three of the larger, more stable howlpacks are the Krallenhorde, the Mondronen, and the
Leeraug.
The Krallenhorde: Innistrad's Largest Howlpack
When an average Innistrad human thinks of a werewolf pack, he or she thinks of the
Krallenhorde. The Krallenhorde has existed in some form for decades, composed of anywhere
from fifty to over two hundred werewolves depending on the availability of prey and the phase
of the moon. The most heterogeneous of howlpacks, Krallenhorde includes a mix of repentant
and wanton werewolves, and has drawn members from all provinces of Innistrad. The alpha of
Krallenhorde is currently the werewolf Ulrich, a cunning and perceptive wanton who remains in
the wild and runs with the howlpack even when he reverts to human form.
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Innistrad denizens interested in commerce are attracted to Nephalia, which makes for an
interesting mix of occupations and races in the province. Nephalia has numerous towns in which
order is maintained by Avacynian clergy and their representatives. It has a "stock" of humans to
be fed upon, thus the Stromkirk line is well represented here. It has busy trade routes with
caravans of merchants and townsfolk milling between the cities for the Krallenhorde to prey on.
And it has the ever-present Nebelgast, the so-called "Breath of the Sleepless," that rolls in and
out with the tide, bringing with it a host of geists.
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Nearly Treeless
Nephalia has always been lightly forested, but in the last century its few trees have been cut
down or destroyed due to the vampires' fear of them being turned on them as stakes and other
weapons. Runo, progenitor of the Stromkirk line, was crafty in his removal of the woodlands.
Early on, using his glamers and sizeable fortune, he turned the human populace into artisans,
supporting their efforts in building fine cities, proud ships, and a vigorous, provincial
commerceall based around wood. Prosperous and plentiful humans are good business for the
Stromkirk, so Runo became a kind of secret Nephalian patron, supporting master craftsmen and
commissioning buildings, towers, and ships, while funding any vampire-friendly efforts by
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alchemists and magisters. Out of this, Nephalia has become widely known for its masterful
crafting and artistry with wood. Nephalian buildings, ships, chapels, and houses all bear a
distinct and inspired art that sets it apart from the other provinces.
Waters
This province is defined by waterby its access to the ocean (the easiest of any province), by its
many rivers that lead deep inland, and by its deltas, marshes, and lakes. Water enables commerce
here but also gives Nephalia a silvery, mystical character; the clouds and the moon seem to be
both above and below in most places.
Silver Beach
Nephalia's coastline consists of the Silver Beach, which stretches countless miles, interrupted by
rocks, sea caves, and occasional large promontories. The sands of the beach are rich in granular
silver, giving them an unearthly shimmer that dazzles visitors from other provinces. This is no
vacation spot, however. Threats are far too numerous, and the ocean too dangerous, to invite
beachcombers. Only experienced Nephalian sailors know the spells and the land well enough to
venture out into the sea and return with fish, trade goods, or treasure.
Nephalia has three main port towns along the coast: Havengul, Drunau, and Selhoff.
Havengul
The largest of the three cities, Havengul, stands at the mouth of the Silburlind River. The
population consists of human craftworkers, shipbuilders, smiths, and traders. The Avacynian
church has a strong presence here to take part in the burgeoning trade and marketplace, but many
Nephalians are wary of the priesthood and watch them like hawks. As long as the church brings
trade to and from Thraben, they are given a pass from the key players in Nephalia.
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Corpse Trade. Even with the presence of the Cathars, there is money to be made in corpses.
Havengul, having the largest human population, is rife with bodysnatchers who disinter corpses
and then shuttle them off using the network of underground passageways, known as the Erdwal,
for high-paying ghoulcallers or skaberen.
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Ludevic. The most influential of Nephalia's merchants is Ludevic of Ulm, a wheezing and
reclusive alchemist. Some say that Ludevic's consumption of potions and inhalation of toxic
vapors has left him no choice but to abandon his experiments, leaving him to devote his sizeable
intellect to the problem of making himself and his partners filthy rich. Others gossip that Ludevic
still dabbles in the alchemical arts.
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Drunau
Drunau is where the Stromkirk vampires under their progenitor, Runo, have established their
ancestral manor and their center of commerce outside of Stensia. If it is blood you want, Drunau
is the place to get it. Humans who possess especially delicious blood are treated like the most
precious livestock, knowing a life of pampered bondage but being protected from all the other
dangers of Innistrad. All this takes place within the elegant ballrooms and mahogany studies of
Stromkirk manors.
In Nephalia, when vampires must walk among humans, they use glamers to disguise themselves
so as not to drive away their human neighbors. Occasionally, a newly sired vampire leaves the
family fold of civilized decorum and goes on a blood-soaked frenzy of feeding. Often the
Stromkirk deal with this as swiftly and as quietly as possible, especially if the vampire is a rogue
from outside of the bloodline.
The Fauchard. These warriors are not cathars, but are a distinct order of human vampire
hunters. Some have come to Drunau especially to destroy the undead and possibly Runo himself.
They are a secretive group that recognizes one another through an elaborate, symbolic code,
either worn, written, or gestured. Runo knows of them and tolerates them to some degree, as the
Fauchard destroy the vampires whom the Stromkirk consider to be most crass and distasteful.
That said, the Stromkirk vampires will relentlessly pursue and destroy any Fauchard who
becomes known to them.
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Merchants within Drunau. The metzalar here deal in the usual fare of ships, handcrafted goods,
wares from other provinces (such as holy items from Thraben), and weapons.
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The River Ospid and the Morkrut. Selhoff lies on a small river delta where the river Ospid
empties out into the Bay of Vustrow. This creates a sizeable marsh known as the Morkrut. Few
set foot within the Morkrut other than ghoulcallers, and even they can become lost in its mists.
The Morkrut has been a dumping place for murder victims and unclaimed bodies for which no
one will pay for proper burial. Because of this, the Morkrut is filled with banshees and other
malevolent geists.
The Erdwal
Colloquially known as "The Ditch," the network of underground passageways and crevasses
called the Erdwal originated as trenches created by Nephalians in each of the major cities of
Havengul, Drunau, and Selhoff for resisting zombie and werewolf attacks. Over the years, the
trenches between the three cities were connected into a network of defensible walkways for
transporting goods and continuing trade even while wandering zombie hordes, demonic fiends,
hungry geists, or the Krallenhorde wander about looking for victims. Major merchants of
Nephalia have paid special attention to the uses of the Erdwal and have put serious resources into
making it a legitimate artery of trade, thus it has developed a bustling underground economy of
its own dealing in all manner of grey- and black-market goods: human blood, assassinations,
counterfeit silver, necromancy, curses, and bloodsport.
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Jenrik's Tower
Along a particularly bare stretch of the Silver Beach looms a tall tower. The mortar has been
mixed with sand from the Silver Beach, making it glitter in the moonlight. Within the tower,
Jenrik, the astronomer, mysteriously conducts his work studying the stars, eschewing all contact
with the outside world. He is making observations of the moon, charting its path across the
heavens with excruciating detail. Wards keep away werewolves, and the Stromkirk actually fear
his knowledge, for anyone with such a vast understanding of the moon is holding great power
indeed. Some say he is predicting the future of Innistrad, or that he is a spirit trying to get home.
Others say he is an angel attempting to restore Avacyn, or that he is a demon plotting to destroy
the world.
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Two distinct kinds of corporeal undead creatures plague Innistrad. The first are ghouls,
sometimes called "the unhallowed," which are necromantically animated corpses. The second are
the skaab, beings alchemically constructed from the dead.
The Unhallowed
Necromantically animated zombies are more commonly called ghouls or "unhallowed" on
Innistrad, because they're drawn forth from unhallowed graves. One of the duties of Avacynian
clergy is blessing the final resting places of the dead to try to ensure "the Blessed Sleep." Now
that Avacyn is no longer present, the dead can be more easily stirred.
Ghoulcallers
Necromancers on Innistrad are usually referred to as ghoulcallers, the black-mana mages that call
forth the dead from graveyards, or "grafs." There are several varieties of graf, each of which
draws forth a unique mix of the walking dead.
Fengraf. A fengraf is one of the many flooded lowland graveyards. These sites were once
hallowed ground, but have remained untended for many years. Fengraf ghouls are usually
smiths, cobblers, brothel workers and other common and poor folk.
Seagraf. A seagraf is a "fisherman's graveyard." Much like minor nobles, fishermen are often
buried with their most prized possessions, such as nets, long harpoons, and large hooks for
getting hold of a slippery catch. Seagraf unhallowed have not completely forgotten their trade
even in death, and they will pursue victims using the tools and deftness they had in life.
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Diregraf. A diregraf is the site of a particularly gruesome battle. Unhallowed awakened from a
diregraf carry the armor, weapons, and fatal wounds from their last bloody battle. Diregraf
ghouls carry this lust for an unfinished battle within their fogged minds, and they often attempt
to fall into military formations as they were trained to do in life.
Once the dead have risen, the ghoulcaller then supplants all other addled thoughts of the dead
with one single driving purpose in their minds. The near-mindless ghouls will call on what skills
they have left to carry out the task, and the results are a grotesque parody of their lives.
Blacksmiths attempt to "reforge" their opponents, fallen warriors emit rasping pseudo-cries, and
undead murderers reawaken their taste for killing. Occasionally, fallen mages even show a
limited ability to weave spells, but this often results in some aberration of the spell's original
purpose.
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The Skaab
Necro-alchemy is much more of an art than ghoulcalling. One who practices the art of creating
skaabs is called a skaberen. The true goal of the skaberen is to create life, an undertaking which
usually produces malformed "offspring" rather than true life.
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1. Corpus Creare, also known as "corpse cobbling," is the collecting of various anatomical
parts from corpses from which the skaab will be constructed. This is usually performed
by paid grave robbers or homunculi under the skaberen's charge. In some cases, even the
limbs of beasts are used for the construct; if a human arm is not available, a horse's leg
can suffice.
2. Patin Ligitus, or rune-bonds, are the "binding plates" used to join various anatomical
features together. These are plates of copper and/or brass, with silver-inlaid runes scribed
on them. They provide an arcane bridge of sorts between disparate parts gathered by
corpse-cobbling.
3. Viscus Vitae, or vital fluid, is the key to the skaberen's art. Viscus vitae is created by
mixing a large quantity of lamp oil with the slightest pinch of the dried blood of an angel.
Once a perfect mixture of viscus vitae is created, any blood remaining in the corpse is
replaced with vital oil, via transfusion. As a result, skaab are often highly flammable.
4. Vox Quietus, translated as "the silent word," is the final step in creating a skaab. The
skaberen whispers a fairly lengthy incantation over the corpse which awakens the
creature, but in a much calmer manner that that which is used by ghoulcallers. Once
awakened, the skaab is in a calm, "tabula rasa" state, which allows the alchemist to begin
the long task of re-educating the creature. In the eyes of a skaberen, the technique used by
ghoulcallers is crude, heretical, and provides unacceptable results.
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Geists
Innistrad is a world filled with the ghosts of the human dead. These spirits, called geists, take
many forms. Some are protective spirits of ancestors. Others are vengeful creatures bent on
resolving conflicts they couldn't resolve in life.
Malevolent and Benevolent
Geists have always been a presence on Innistrad, but before Avacyn, all such spirits were
malevolent, manifesting on the plane only because of a grudge or regret powerful enough to
disturb the Blessed Sleep of the body to which they were connected. In Avacyn's absence, the
malevolent spirits were counterbalanced by the appearance of many benevolent and neutral
geists, from nurturing apparitions of family members who have passed on to inscrutable ghosts
who seem to want to continue whatever duty they had in life.
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Blue-Aligned Geists
Some geists are projections of the animating principles of the mind. Vicious or obsessive
thinking as well as collective human memories come to life by attracting enough latent aether
around them to become autonomous entities. They carry on as obsessive ghostsrepeated
knocking, patterning, arranging, stacking, marking, etc. They can also possess one's mind and
cause repetitive movements, speech, epilepsy, obsessive behavior, schizophrenia, and other such
maladies of the mind. These are also the geists most drawn to the water, storms, frost, and mist
even the mist of the breath.
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Black-Aligned Geists
These geists eternally hunger for life, power, or the settling of a wicked grudge. These are spirits
that must be appeased by offerings of food, goods, and even blood. If not appeased, these geists
can be responsible for disease, accidents and death. Whereas geists associated with other colors
of mana might be benevolent or neutral, black-aligned geists are almost always dangerous and
malevolent.
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Red-Aligned Geists
These spirits have attached themselves to rampant emotions, unfulfilled desires, and thirsts for
revenge that were frustrated during life. They can manifest as blood dripping from statues, whirls
of dust on roads, minor rockslides on hillocks, cliffs, and mountainsides, and, in the case of
possession, as sudden mania or murderous rage. The ghosts of the unavenged are some of the
most dangerous geists on Innistrad, sometimes appearing as living fire or as "blood mist" entities
that engulf a hapless victim and inflict cuts and welts that are slow to heal.
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Green-Aligned Geists
Some geists long to be reconnected with the nature they revered in life. Energies within the
woods that have been called into being by druids or other nature-mages take on form by
entwining roots and brambles around their thereal bodies. Some of these spirits attach
themselves to animals, plants and landforms, imbuing them with special power or mutating them
into strange, otherworldly entities. If the spirits that inhabit landforms are not appeased, it can
often result in blight, crop failure, and famine.
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The province of Stensia is the darkest both literally and figuratively on Innistrad, but also the
most dramatic, the most storied, and the most unexplored. Its valleys range from pastoral (albeit
dusky) range-lands to black bogs into which dead conifers slowly sink. Its black-pine-forested
midlands, riddled with wisps of thick fog, show colors from deep green to purple to orange-grey.
Its far-flung indigo and black mountains disappear into the clouds, and humans can only imagine
what dwells among the shrouded peaks.
The sun never quite seems to break through the oddly colored clouds in Stensia. The ruling
power of Stensia, the vampire bloodlines, prefer it that way. Innistrad's moon is more seldom
fully seen here, and the Z-shaped mountain range that dominates the province, the Geier Reach,
separates the valleys from each other, making them easier to monitor and control. The longsuffering humans of Stensia, for their part, hold an illogical loyalty to their homeland. Truth be
told, most have little choice; they are trapped between the province's narrow mountain passes
and bound to their time-honored lives of herding and gathering.
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Geier Reach
The mountain range that dominates Stensia, the Geier Reach, defines it utterly. This chain grows
steadily higher in elevation as it moves from the borders with Gavony and Kessig toward the
province's outer edge. Inland, the mountain peaks are forested, whereas in the chain's middle the
tree line gives way to bare rock, and at its verge, the peaks disappear into the clouds. The
highlands are dotted with caves and crevasses where vultures, bats, and other, larger creatures
reign.
Mountain passes. The passes through Geier Reach are few and precious; all travel into or out of
the province must use them.
Ziel Pass. Only one pass crosses the final zig-zag of the Geier. Ziel Pass is the
only way to reach the sea from Stensia's inland valleys. The cliffs at the end of
Ziel Pass descend for 1,600 feet, and the only way to get to the churning waters is
to jump... or to trek by foot or mule down a treacherous path of endless
switchbacks plagued by the geists of those who have died trying to do the same.
Hofsaddel and Needle's Eye. These two passes connect the inland valleys to the
outland ones. Hofsaddel is a wide and well-trodden pass, and one that the
vampires leave alone. The reason: human interaction is good for the long term, as
long as it's among Stensians. Needle's Eye, however, is a narrow, treacherous, and
deadly path because of the presence of vengeful geists on the route as well as its
proximity to Ashmouth and its devils. Humans will take the Needle's Eye path
only in the event of emergencies in the neighboring valleys.
Getander Pass and Kruin Pass. Two passes lead from the adjacent provinces into
Stensia. The pass from Kessig is Getander, a long, zig-zagging route watched by
the rapacious Falkenrath vampires. Gavony must use the Kruin Pass, which is just
as long, but in vertical elevation rather than horizontal turns, and is lackadaisically
watched by the well-fed Markov vampires.
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Stensia's valleys. The shape of the Geier Reach creates two long valleys in the provinces, and
foothills separate those valleys into numerous, isolated segments.
Outland valleys. The outer valley is divided into eight pieces by terrain, three of
which are noteworthy: the human village of Shadowgrange, the abandoned
Maurer Estate, and the human rancher community of Lammas. Shadowgrange and
Lammas are strange places populated by humans that are fiercely passionate
about their lifestyles but also paranoid and fearful. Few other humans of Innistrad
ever see these distant places.
Inland valleys. The inland stretch houses two significant human communities with
a prominent vampire holding: Silbern, a tiny stone watchtower manned by
fatalistic cathars and surrounded by several family farms, Wollebank, a large
village of shepherds and their families, and Markov Manor, a hilltop estate that
towers over both. Markov Manor is the home of Edgar Markov, grandfather of
Sorin Markov.
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Village moats, cottage trees, and welcome mirrors. Humans have adapted as best they can to
life surrounded by vampires. Almost every Stensian village is surrounded by a shallow moat
from which the sheep drink, because although clouds often obscure the moon here, while the
moon is out, the moat will keep vampires from trespassing. In small villages, the cottages are
usually arranged around a small grove of hawthorn trees for centralized access to living wood. In
larger villages, the cottages themselves are often built around a hawthorn, with the tree's trunk in
the center of the common room and its leaves above the roof. Caring for the cottage tree is the
oldest child's responsibility. Lastly, almost every Stensian cottage features a mirror on the
outside of the front door to dissuade vampires from approaching.
Vampire Culture
Noble benefactors. Vampires' attitude toward their own role and the role of humans is
predictably self-centered and skewed. Vampires believe themselves to be the saviors and keepers
of humanity. The "sacrifices" they madesurrendering their mortality and their relationships
with human kinare to them proof of their beneficence, and their demeanor toward humans is
similar to that of a rich philanthropist toward a pauper (except they occasionally drain the pauper
of blood).
Social creatures. The social lives of vampires are every bit as treacherous and debauched as
those of royal courts. Vampires visit each other to conduct parties, feasts, romances,
entertainments, and so on. Grudges and betrayals are as much a source of amusement to them as
they are a serious matter, and keeping track of vampiric trysts and enmities would be a full-time
job.
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Demand for finery. Vampires want only the finest clothing, the finest weapons and armor, the
finest furnishings and transport. Sometimes these desires can be met by a vampire artisan, but
once in a while a human achieves a level of artistry that surpasses anything among vampires. In
these cases, the vampire finds a way to acquire the thing in question, whether by arranging a deal
through intermediaries or paying a visit to artisan(s) directly. Usually the humans in question can
tell easily enough that their clients are vampires, because vampiric tastes differ so sharply from
humans'. But whether because of profit, blackmail, or simply fear for their lives, most artisans
comply.
Court of the Vampire King/Queen. This disturbing three-day holiday was invented by Olivia
Voldaren. A human is identified, kidnapped, and brought to a large vampire estate or castle,
where they serve as "King or Queen of the Vampires" for the duration of the event. The mock
king/queen, always utterly terrified, of course, is served the best food and drink and is
theatrically supplicated. The vampires will follow any order the king or queen issues, except any
attempt to abdicate the "throne." At the end of the three days, the king or queen is killed and all
present share the blood.
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Personalities of Stensia
Cosper Lowe, Captain of the Silbern Guard. The small community of Silbern arose because
of Silbern Tower, a lodging and base of operations for the local cathars. Although the Silbern
cathars have grown fatalistic since the disappearance of Avacyn, their captain, a classically
handsome young man named Cosper, continues to command admiration. He is good with a horse
and blade, but his main skill is his ability to calm and inspirehis charisma. Only one thing
plagues Cosper Lowe: Every young woman who has taken a shine to him has disappeared. It has
just started to dawn on Cosper that this means he's the target of a vampire's infatuation.
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Kastinne, the Demon Killer. A young and insane woman from Shadowgrange who considers
herself a wandering monk. A demon killed her three children, and she has vowed to slaughter it
and every other demon until her children's souls find rest.
Traft and his attendants. In life Traft was a living saint who fought demons alongside the host
of Avacyn. Traft's ghost and those of a few of his attendants linger on to continue the battle,
waiting for the demons' return. Traft has manifested in several locations in Stensia, including
Ashmouth, and his attendants inhabit the Shrine of Traft in Thraben and give aid in the form of
prophecy and omens.
Rem Karolus, Blade of the Inquisitors. Some problems can be resolved only by the most
feared and revered of the inquisitors: Rem Karolus. Rem, now in his late 30s, wanders Innistrad
on his dappled gray horse armed with his trademark rapier and poniard at his side and bastard
sword across his back. The Elgaud Grounds have courted Rem as an instructor more than once,
but he has no interest. He takes orders from Thraben when he agrees with their goals, but he
often simply wanders, dealing with crises as he encounters them, and Stensia has at least as many
crises as other provinces.
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Innistrad's vampires comprise its only nonhuman civilization and the biggest threat to humans on
the plane. Their existence represents a sort of externalization of self-indulgent desire; if
werewolves are a symbol of repressed rage, vampires are a symbol of repressed desire. On
Innistrad, vampire manor houses, courts, and even the occasional castle exist across the plane,
and vampires themselves vary considerably in aggressiveness toward their human prey.
Some vampires wear wigs, however, for variety, novelty, or to disguise themselves more easily
among humans. A vampire's canines are very slightly pronounced at all times, and when they
bite someone, the canines extend about a quarter inch. Vampires also tend to have long and
slightly curved fingernails.
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Vampiric Vulnerabilities
All vampires inherit a set of weaknesses linked to the ritual that created their race. First, although
they can be harmed or killed by any weapon, weapons of living wood have special efficacythis
is the so-called Dryad's Legacy (dead wood is inert, no more effective than stone or steel).
Second, a vampire can't cross running water in which the moon is reflected, because of the link
between water as the source of human food and the moon as the source of angelic power. Third,
Avacyn herself can enchant water with the power to burn vampires like acid by touching it. But
this water is scarce and becoming scarcer with each passing day.
Silver, the soothsayer. Because of the connection between Innistrad's silver moon and its
angels, and because the ritual that created vampires required the drinking of angel blood, silver
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has special properties vis--vis vampires: it causes them to see how they would have been in
normal, mortal life, ignoring vampire glamer and reality alike. Because of this, vampires go to
great lengths to avoid mirrors (glass backed with a coating of silver), because mirrors reflect
their mortal images rather than their actual ones. This is also the reason why vampires can't cross
running water in which the moon is reflected. Although silver weapons aren't particularly deadly
to vampires, the presence of silver unsettles them, putting them at a disadvantage.
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Avacyn's power. The archangel Avacyn is (or was) the living covenant of the balance between
humans and vampires. Avacynian holy symbols can induce in vampires a paralyzing fear and the
desire to flee, although their ability to do so has significantly diminished in the last year (because
of Avacyn's disappearance). Despite Avacyn's absence, however, the strength of faith alone
imbues a degree of continued power in the symbols of Avacyn: the silver collar and the heron
crest.
various blends. Particularly interesting or delicious samples are occasionally preserved by well
paid time-mages who can use sorcery to prevent the blood from "dying" for a short time
(freezing doesn't work). When a time-mage can't be secured, however (which is often), some
vampires resort to slavery of the victim, shipping him or her from place to place to be supped on.
Specialty carriages exist for this purpose.
Feeding and siring. A vampire will drink the blood of his or her human victim, usually until the
victim dies of blood loss. Sometimes the vampire is interrupted and the human will survive and
recover. Although other humans might suspect the survivor of a vampire's bite of becoming a
vampire, this isn't a possibility, because siring requires an exchange of blood. The survivor will
be plagued by disturbing and sometimes erotic dreams for years but will not turn.
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will become unsatisfying within one to three days. But this first bloodthirst is special; only the
blood of the sire can quench it. A newly anointed victim who doesn't drink the sire's blood before
the next new moon will die. But if he or she does, the siring will be complete and the anointed
will become a full-fledged vampire.
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Bloodlines
Not all vampires are created equal. Among the existing vampiric bloodlines, some are more
common but prestigious whereas some are rare but less respected. There were originally twelve
bloodlines, which originated long ago in a ritual that had something to do with the Markov
progenitor, Edgar Markov. Three of these bloodlines have died out completely. Five others are
relatively minor, having sired fewer vampires. The four major bloodlines that remain are:
Markov. This is the bloodline of Edgar Markov and is the most prestigious of the bloodlines.
The Markov line has been fairly ambitious in its siring over the many centuries, and as a result
the Markov vampires exist in all four of Innistrad's provinces. This isn't to say that all vampires
of the Markov line are all high-minded or noble; a bloodline doesn't determine temperament,
self-discipline, or restraint. Markov elders seem to have a talent for psychic magic.
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