Lorwyn Gazeteer v 0.01 Sources: Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐10‐31 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db8 Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐09‐13 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db1 Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐09‐20 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db2 Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐10‐03 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db4 Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐09‐27 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db3 http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Lorwyn 1 Introduction real meat of Lorwyn, when it comes down to it, is its creatures. Welcome to the Lorwyn Gazeteer! Lorwyn seems out of the way to most planeswalkers, but is definitely well worth the trip. If you're willing to Travel Routes do your research, prepare adequately, and tread Planeswalking to Lorwyn is thought to be carefully, an excursion to idyllic Lorwyn can be difficult, but that reputation need not dissuade one of the most rewarding and enlightening the dedicated traveler. Lorwyn is remote from experiences of your plane‐gtravelin career. This many large, established planar hubs and is poorly Guide will take you through all the sights, sounds, documented in the parageographical literature. and spellcraft you'll encounter on your trip to Furthermore, Lorwyn does not stand out in the Lorwyn. void; it resides in a region of dream and æther Lorwyn is an idyllic world where nature thrives in that obscures it from most travelers. However, its most pristine state. The sun never drops some planeswalkers have had success traveling below the horizon, and midsummer never ends. there by first preparing spells that attune the The creatures of fable who dwell there know mind to patterns of nature. With this groundwork nothing of gloom or malice — but they are done, many planeswalkers find their spark consumed with rivalry. naturally drawn through the Blind Eternities to the edges of the plane. Lorwyn draws inspiration from the folklore and mythology of the British Isles. You'll find influences from Irish, English, Welsh, Scottish, The World of Lorwyn and Celtic stories, languages and cultures in both Lorwyn is storybook world of pastoral beauty: the look and world details of the setting. tTha rolling, golden meadows; sunlit woodland trails, pedigree gives Lorwyn a built‐in storybook feel, sometimes trodden by a flamekin pilgrim or an even as it diverges dramatically from that source ambling treefolk; stony‐bottomed, babbling material. The result is a world that feels original brooks awash with tideshaping merrows; kithkin and unique to Magic, yet draws from long clachans ringed with springjack farms. The folklore traditions for an impression of rustic, weather is summery year‐round, and it doesn't well‐worn history. even have nighttime—the sun almost goes down, but then never quite manages to set. Glowy dusk It's interesting to note that the folklore from is about the closest you get to night on Lorwyn, which Lorwyn takes its inspiration makes very and then the sun climbs back up to midday. little distinction between these words: If a doughty kithkin pilot strapped you onto the Elf, Fairy / Faerie, Goblin, Spirit, Leprechaun underbelly of his springjack‐hide balloon and You find fairies described as "helpful spirits," and took you for a sightseeing flight, you'd see a goblins described as "mischievous elves." Of system of rivers branching all the way to the course, Magic makes very hard, important horizon, dominated by a central trunk called the distinctions between these terms. Because the Wanderwine River. Together these rivers and tributaries are called the Merrow Lanes, 2 waterways patrolled and controlled by Lorwyn's This is a place of powerful magic, where deep crafty merfolk, the merrows. Lorwyn has no large mysteries slumber and age‐old tensions smolder. seas or oceans, only the Lanes and some ponds and small lakes. There are some mountain ranges, but they all seem pretty far off in the Spark Awareness Status distance no matter how far you walk. and your Travel Disguise Lorwyn is a so‐called sparkblind world; the The rest of Lorwyn is verdant. With the sun never sentient populace of the plane is largely unaware going down and winter constantly held at arm's of planeswalkers or of other planes. So far, reach, Lorwyn's growing season is unending. The Lorwyn has been preserved as an unspoiled color green dominates here—in the visual sense, sanctuary, and has kept its rustic charm thanks to not the mechanical. Lorwyn is nature at its most careful visitation to the plane. Therefore, if you prevalent. are human, or simply could not pass for one of the races indigenous to Lorwyn, then it's best to Lack of Humanity disguise your identity when traveling there. Lorwyn is one of the few known places in the Luckily the mana of Lorwyn is naturally tailored multiverse where humanity has not flourished. for the creation of glamers (illusion spells), which Humans were not indigenous to Lorwyn, and are sufficient to mask your identity for the length awareness of the plane among human cultures of your stay. You will probably have the easiest across the multiverse has historically been low. time traveling across Lorwyn in the guise of an Furthermore, the perceived difficulty of finding elf—however, please note the anatomical the plane has kept travel there limited. Lorwyn differences between Lorwyn elves and those of has much to offer in the way of social interaction, other planes. Weaving a disguise of a hornless, just not with humans. Many planeswalkers offworld elf could be just as disruptive to your consider this respite from humanity to be part of trip as retaining your natural demeanor. Lorwyn's charm. If you do not possess the skills sufficient to No Humans? That’s right, there is no human generate an identity‐masking illusion, then civilization on Lorwyn. That’s a first for any plane planeswalking to Lorwyn is not recommended. in the multiverse! So there are elves,d an See other planar guides for destinations that flamekin, and merrows, and treefolk, and kithkin. would better suit your needs. Also giants, boggarts, and mysterious beings known as greater elementals. And faeries, did I mention there were faeries? Yeah, they're a Elements of Dream major race here. Lorwyn is a place where faeries On Lorwyn, abstract entities such as hopes, fears, flit around and powerful spells are represented dreams, and nightmares are just as real as the as storms of flower petals. grass and the trees. A feeling of hope, for example, can lurk in the heart of a single kithkin, Still, there's more going on in Lorwyn than the or it can manifest into a glorious, shining happy‐go‐lucky frolicking of elves and kithkin. creature—an elemental of hope. 3 Dreams are a commodity on Lorwyn. (You’ll hear them in Lorwyn still gives you that power‐trip of much more about this when we investigate the summoning a fiery henchman to do your bidding. faerie tribe.) Dreams can be harvested, stored, and delivered—and sometimes even stolen and rearranged. The visions of sleeping giants are especially rich currency among the fae. It’s just an example to show you what counts, on Lorwyn, as a "fundamental particle"—as an element. So, where dreams and aspirations are elements, dream‐beings and aspiration‐monsters are the elementals. Empedocles, eat your heart out. This has some odd implications, to say the least. Elementals only exist insofar as do the elements of which they’re composed. Sometimes elementals on Lorwyn vary in prevalence just like the abstract idea underlying them. If elves wage war on giantkind, then many‐clawed elementals of warfare and strife can be seen with greater frequency. If merrows launch an expedition to the murky Deep Meanders of their river system, then soggy elementals of the sunken unknown appear. On the other hand, if bloodshed keeps to a minimum across the plane, elementals of violent death may themselves die out—at least, until their time comes again. Under normal circumstances, an elemental is as wild as a mustang. They’re forces of nature; nothing tames the elementals just like nothing tames grains of gravel, or grief, or gravity. But of course, planeswalkers are a different story; with enough mana and effort, they can not only call on the essences of greater elementals, but also summon the elementals themselves, along with the power they bring. Elementals are as powerful in Lorwyn as they ever have been, on any other plane. They ooze an abstract essence come alive, and summoning 4 Races of Lorwyn The indigenous wildlife of Lorwyn is dominated by eight sentient races: elves, kithkin, merrows, flamekin, boggarts, treefolk, giants, and faeries. In addition, Lorwyn supports a menagerie of animal and supernatural life, including wisents, springjacks, cervins, a semisentient race of mimics known as changelings, and the majestic greater elementals. All of them thrive in Lorwyn's temperate environment and unending growing season, preserving the plane's character as an unspoiled natural wilderness. 5 Stylin' Boggarts Boggarts Goblins are one of Magic's most flexible races. In some ways they are like Earth's dogs—sometimes Boggarts in Folklore they're wee and flat‐faced, like a Boston terrier; The Lorwyn setting draws inspiration from the sometimes they're enormous and brutish, like a folklore of the British Isles. In that source Great Dane. I'm not sure if goblins have material, a boggart is described as a mischievous particularly elastic DNA, if they're naturally well‐ household meddler, sort of a more malicious suited to diverse environments, or if they just version of an elf or brownie.