To run the adventure, you need the fifth edition core rulebooks (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual).
Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud or paraphrased for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance, as described in the text.
The Monster Manual contains stat blocks for most of the creatures encountered in this adventure. When a creature’s name appears in bold type, that’s a visual cue pointing you to its stat block as a way of saying, “Hey, DM, you’d better get this creature’s stat block ready. You’re going to need it.” If the stat block is not from the Monster Manual, the adventure’s text tells you where to find it.
Spells and equipment mentioned in the adventure are described in the Player’s Handbook. Magic items are described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide unless the adventure’s text directs you to appendix A.
As you run The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, look for ways to bring the numbers eight and three to the fore. For example, characters who take a long rest in the fey domain of Prismeer might, without fail, be awakened by three songbirds at the end of the eighth hour.
The number eight is symbolically important, as this adventure plays with the themes of time and nostalgia. The numeral 8 resembles an hourglass, which measures the passage of time, and looks like the symbol for infinity (∞) turned on its side. Hidden within the numeral 8 itself is the numeral 3. In the D&D multiverse, there exists the Rule of Three, which states that events of cosmic consequence often manifest in threes. Time, for instance, has a past, present, and future. The Hourglass Coven has three members. The fey domain of Prismeer is divided into three splinter-realms, which adventurers explore with the help of three guides.
Hidden within the adventure are numerous other mentions of the numbers eight and three. Can you find them all?
This book contains a fold-out, double-sided poster map and several interior maps. These elements are further described in the sections that follow.
The adventure lets you know when it’s safe to show your players either side of the double-sided poster map.
One side of the poster map shows the Witchlight Carnival and a Time Tracker, to help you track the passage of time as the characters explore the carnival. Certain carnival events occur only when the Time Tracker reaches a certain point. Though it’s not necessary, your group can place tokens or miniatures on the map to keep track of where the characters are in the carnival at any given time.
The reverse side of the poster map shows the Feywild domain of Prismeer, now divided into three splinter-realms called Hither, Thither, and Yon. Lodged between them is the Palace of Heart’s Desire—the home of Prismeer’s archfey ruler, Zybilna. This side of the map is meant to be shared with the players once the characters reach the palace, from where they can look out over the whole domain. DM-friendly versions of this map appear in chapters 2, 3, and 4, to help you track the party’s progress through Prismeer’s splinter-realms.
Maps that appear in this book are for your eyes only. As the characters explore locations on a given map, you can redraw portions of the map on graph paper, a wet-erase mat, or another surface to help your players visualize locations that might have unusual shapes or features. Your hand-drawn maps need not be faithful to the originals, and you can alter a map’s features as you see fit. Nor do your maps need to be painstakingly rendered. You can omit details that are not readily visible (such as secret doors and other hidden features) until the characters are able to detect and interact with them.
Slopes and Staircases. An arrow on a slope or staircase always points in the ascending direction.
The poster map of Prismeer and the interior maps of Hither, Thither, and Yon show important landmarks that are described in the text. These landmarks are not drawn to scale.
This adventure uses a Story Tracker, a copy of which is included in this module. The Story Tracker is a note-keeping tool to help you remember important information about the characters and their accomplishments.
At various times in the adventure, you will be advised to jot down information on the Story Tracker, as events that happen in earlier chapters can give characters an advantage in later chapters. The Story Tracker also allows you to record important details. For example, if a character falls under a curse, noting the specifics of the curse on the Story Tracker might remind you of the effect.
A lost unicorn horn plays an important part in the adventure. Its location is determined randomly by rolling on the Unicorn Horn’s Location table. Once you determine where the horn is, record its location on the Story Tracker.
The horn belongs to a unicorn named Elidon, who was captured and transformed into a rocking horse by the Hourglass Coven. For more information about Elidon, see area L6 in chapter 3.
d8 Location1Offered for sale at Trinket, Bauble, and Charm’s in Downfall (see area D10 in chapter 2)2Hidden among the coals under Bavlorna’s cauldron (see area D18 in chapter 2)3Stolen by Will of the Feywild and kept in Little Oak (see “Encounters in Thither” in chapter 3)4Hidden in one of the cupboards of Loomlurch (see area L10 in chapter 3)5In the possession of Archillus the peryton (see “Fey Beacons” in chapter 4)6In the possession of Skylla the warlock (see area M11 in chapter 4)7In the possession of Shon the librarian (see area P28 in chapter 5)8Tucked in a wooden chest by Iggrik the quasit (see area P51 in chapter 5)