The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is an adventure module released for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, released on September 21, 2021. The adventure is notable for being the first D&D adventure released to take place primarily in the Feywild.
The adventure begins in the Witchlight Carnival, a place of whimsy and delight run by the good Mr. Witch and Mr. Light. But the carnival holds a secret; within it there is a portal to the domain of Prismeer, a realm within the Feywild. However, the dark schemes of The Hourglass Coven have brought the realm under their wicked rulership, deposing the archfey, Zybilna. It's up to a party of adventurers to restore Zybilna to power, and possibly recover something they lost from the Carnival while they're there.
This adventure provides examples of:
- Advertised Extra: Mr. Witch and Mr. Light. They're on the cover of the module and are very prominent in the promotion, but they're only really important for the first part of the adventure. Once the party leaves the carnival for Prismeer and hit level 2, they're pretty much irrelevant.
- Animal Motifs: Butterflies. Guests to the Witchlight Carnival wear butterfly wings to mark them as paid guests, and whomever becomes the Witchlight Monarch also gains magical butterfly wings. It's quite fitting, since a common type of the creature is a monarch butterfly. Also, since butterflies symbolize things like transformation and magic, they also appear throughout Prismeer, and whomever is the Witchlight Monarch is likewise treated with reverence.
- Arc Number: The numbers 3 and 8 appear a lot across the module. The domain of Prismeer has been split into three pieces, controlled by a coven of three hags. Prismeer has three rules that govern it. The Witchlight Carnival only reappears every eight years and runs for eight hours. The adventure encourages the dungeon master to incorporate the numbers, such as having the party be awakened from a long rest by three songbirds on the eighth hour. The layout of the Witchlight Carnival also resembles a giant "8" according to its map.
- Berserk Button: The rule of reciprocity is this to redcaps. They will be pleased to accept a gift, but the moment they realize that they have to give something back, they get so furious that they keel over and die on the spot.
- Book Ends: A possibility for the Lost Things adventure hook. The adventure begins with a memory of the characters losing something at the Witchlight Carnival. The adventure can end with Zybilna twisting time so the characters can relive their childhood without having ever experienced those losses.
- Big Bad Ensemble: The Hourglass Coven are the main villains, although each hag has their own agenda and aren't too fond of their sisters. Each one serves as the Arc Villain of their portion of Prismeer. The Palace of Heart's Desire has no hag by default, so the League of Malevolence act as arc villains instead.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Kelek resides in the final area of the adventure, and acts very high and mighty, but he's certainly not the greatest threat in the palace, and he's cowed by the Hourglass Coven and the jabberwock. The rest of the League of Malevolence aren't much better, with the most competent, Warduke, being able to be bought off.
- Bizarro Elements: This module introduces "Custard" as a damage type, which occurs if you eat too much at the Carnival's eating contest.
- Bragging Theme Tune: Agdon Longscarf has one, sung by his band of brigands about how great he is, which signals their arrival whent he characters arrive in Hither. However, he's nowhere near as tough as he appears to be. Should the characters grab his scarf and he fails to break free on a contested Athletics check, he surrenders immediately, blubbering and pleading for his life like a coward.With sticks and stones, we'll break your nose; We'll beat you blind and steal your clothes!
But none among us can compare to one wily, swift, and stand-up hare!
Scarf that's glorious, thief notorious, his deeds are truly meritorious!
With a wink and a grin, he'll show his cunning! A flash of his scarf, he'll take off running!
Quick as a bolt, his long scarf trailing,Gasping, grasping, you'll end up flailing.
You'll pout, you'll moan, you'll huff, you'll sneer; Thanks to Agdon Longscarf, brigand prince of Prismeer! - Breather Episode: While there are some darker themes in the adventure, compared to two big campaign books that preceended it - Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus and Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden - It has a much lighter tone.
- Bubblegloop Swamp: Hither. It fits with the toad-like appearence of that domain's hag, Bavlorna Blightstraw.
- Central Theme: Time and nostalgia. Presumably, the Witchlight Carnival appeared in the adventurers' pasts, and nostalgia has brought them back. Reliving memories and the nature of looking back on events fondly frames the motivations of several characters, good or bad. The default backstory of each Player Character is that they visited the Witchlight Carnival when they were a child — in fact, they snuck in without buying a ticket — and had something stolen from them. Fate brings the characters together as adults, united by the common goal of retrieving that which they've lost. One of the possible endings even allows the characters to forget a Dark and Troubled Past by sending them back in time with the Wish spell used by Iggwilv the Witch Queen. The adventurers are also assured that any traumatic events in their childhood won't happen, instead sending them as happy children to the Witchlight Carnival with their friends.
- Circus Episode: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight serves as this among the Fifth Edition adventure modules, although it's subverted since much of the adventure is focused on exploring the realm of Prismeer after stumbling upon the secret portal within the Witchlight Carnival.
- Circus of Magic: The Witchlight Carnival has multiple attractions that rely on magic, the fey, or magic from the fey. For instance, there's talking swan boats, mirros that show their reflections at different ages, and a teapot that lets people fly in bubbles. Fey also frequently perform in the Big Top, and they crown a Witchlight Monarch to cap off the evening, which enchants one person with a permanent title.
- Clingy Costume: Agdon Longscarf is so named because he's always wearing a long scarf around his neck. However, Bavlorna Blightstraw has made it so the scarf can't be removed from Agdon, no matter what. Even killing Agdon won't loosen it. As punishment for his offenses against Bavlorna Blightstraw, the archfey demanded that Agdon give up his beloved scarf. When he refused, Zybilna cursed him so that he would never be able to remove it. But considering that the scarf essentially gives him Super-Speed, Agdon doesn't find this turn of events particularly bad for him.
- Continuity Nod:
- Mr. Witch and Mr. Light are the shadar-kai who traded carnivals with Isolde before she entered the Domains of Dread.
- Ellywick Tumblestrum is a planeswalker.
- Cultural Rebel: Mr. Witch and Mr. Light are shadar-kai. The race as a whole is a species of True Neutral elves who serve the Raven Queen, the Lawful Neutral god of death, fate, and winter. Shadar-kai also have ties to the Shadowfell, which is essentially an afterlife waiting room where the souls of the dead are judged. Every member of the race as a whole tends to have a mournful and joyless disposition. Mr. Witch and Mr. Light, by contrast, are Chaotic Good carnival owners who want their guests to have a good time when they show up. Digging beneath the surface also shows they really are as nice and joyful as this outward appearance; although they do have a few skeletons in the closet, the two carnival owners are nothing like typical shadar-kai.
- Deal with the Devil: The hags are willing to bargain with parties when they're in the mood, and while they offer no impossible tasks and are true to their word, they will certainly use those words to screw you over if given the opportunity. This is one of the ways to recover a Lost Thing from a hag.
- Death Mountain: Yon, a series of stormy mountaintops.
- Decadent Court: Downfall is full of scheming bullywugs vying to be king, with the position being very quick to change given that Klingon Promotion is in effect. The current king, King Gullop XIX, hasn't been in his position very long when the adventurers arrive. And given that he had Bavlorna's Big Book of Bad Blood stolen away from her just a few hours ago, he probably won't be in his position very long unless he can scheme his way out.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Several of the characters in the book made their first appearance in the Magic: The Gathering set "Adventures in the Forgotten Realms", namely Ellywick the bard
. - Empathic Environment: Prismeer's weather can ccasionally change, depending on if the mood of the place is good or bad. For instance, a sudden outburst of positive emotions will cause the clouds in the sky above to become shaped like hearts, whereas an outburst of negative emotion will cause the clouds to look like a frowning face.
- Evil Old Folks: The Hourglass Coven is comprised of a trio of elderly hags, and serve as the central villains of the adventure.
- Exact Words:
- Granny Nightshade is especially fond of these, with some of her wanted poster's rewards being underwhelming or harmful to the one who turns it in. One person who dealt with her, Diana Cloppington, asked to be reunited with her war horse. Skabatha did so by magically fusing the two together, making Diana resemble a centaur.
- It's possible to make a deal with the hags as well. While the hags will never give you a task that's impossible, and will keep their end of whatever bargain you make with them, they're just as fond of twisting the wording of the deal as any other fey, so it has to be worded very carefully.
- The Fair Folk: But of course. The Hourglass Coven serve as the main villainous fey, but the redcaps and living dolls also fall under the blanket of "typically evil".
- Fairy Companion: The party need the help of certain fey guides to navigate between the portions of Prismeer, and they tag along with the party so they aren't locked out of parts of the domain. The guides are Clapperclaw, a living scarecrow who knows the way from Hither to Thither, Squirt, a sentient oilcan who knows the way from Thither to Yon, and Amidor, a talking dandelion who knows the way from Yon to Hither and to the Palace of Heart's Desire.
- Fat and Skinny: Mr. Witch and Mr. Light, respectively.
- Friend to All Children: Zybilna is deeply fond of children, and they cannot be harmed in her domain. When she's unfrozen in time, she uses her power to free any captive kids from the Hourglass Coven, rid them of the unhappy memories, and escort them back to their homes.
- Granny Classic: Subverted. Skabatha Nightshade likes to present herself this way — she's even called "Granny Nightshade" by most of the populace of the Feywild. But in reality, she's cruel and cold-hearted. Should the party find her home, Skabatha will be polite and courteous to them all, but she'll also make it clear that she's using kidnapped children as slave labor.
- Hey, Let's Put on a Show: A variant. Endelyn, when initially met, doesn't want to deal with the party. The way to get her in the mood to bargain is to put on a play for her in Motherhorn. If she likes the play, she'll agree to bargain.
- Intangible Theft:
- Some of the things the Player Characters may have lost when they were young at the carnival are metaphysical. These include artistic ability, the ability to smile, or even a memory. Part of the motivation for returning to the carnival is getting the thing they lost back.
- Agdon Longscarf's band of brigands have The Dragon named Jebbek, who demands that the players surrender the feeling of delight they remember from when they were given the best gift they ever received. Jebbek has a stoppered gourd that can hold these memories.
- Interspecies Romance:
- Alidor, the talking dandelion, is smitten with Pollinella, a honeybee.
- Candlefoot, a human, is in love with Palasha, the mermaid. Candlefoot was in the middle of proposing to Palasha when a kenku stole his voice, so they're separated when the story begins.
- Intra-Franchise Crossover: The adventure has non-player characters who originate from all across the Dungeons and Dragons multiverse, with minor characters hailing from Toril, Eberron, and Exandria. This is because the Feywild isn't tied to one specific Material Plane, allowing characters to arrive from all over. The most notable character included is Iggwilv the Witch Queen, who is from the Greyhawk setting.
- Journey of Reclamation: The adventure begins with the party members going to the Witchlight Carnival to regain something they lost when they were children. According to the text, each of the adventurers tried to sneak in without a ticket, got caught, got thrown out, and left something behind. This could be anything from a cherished childhood toy to an intangible loss, like fashion sense. Now, when the Carnival comes around again, the party members return to find that which they lost so long ago.
- Literal Split Personality: Within the Palace of Heart's Desire lie eight dretches within cradles. These dretches are manifestations of Zybilna's negative emotions, that she had separated from herself. Killing them will return the emotion in full force to Zybilna, who will be feeling significantly less generous to the party should that be the case.
- Miles Gloriosus: Agdon Longscarf. He talks big and has a whole crew of brigands literally singing his praises. But if you grab his scarf and manage to hold on, he'll surrender almost immediately, and start pathetically sobbing and begging for his life.
- Morton's Fork: A couple show up throughout the adventure:
- Chucklehead, a goblin with a candied apple for a head, has a maggot burrowing in his head that has caused his alignment to switch from Neutral Evil to True Neutral. If the maggot isn't removed, he'll die in thirty days. If it is removed, he reverts back to his evil alignment, a fate the present Chucklehead would like to avoid.
- Strongheart is in a pretty sucky one. He's frozen in time within the Palace of Heart's Desire, which is obviously not ideal. However, he is suspended in the air above a Storm Vortex, which will almost certainly kill him should he fall into it. He can't be moved while he's frozen in time either. So either he stays stick in time, or he falls to his death.
- Mythology Gag: The writers and artists snuck in a lot of them.
- One of the clowns in the Witchlight Carnival is named Thaco, from THAC0, an old and notoriously confusing D&D rule. Nobody likes him.
- On the map of the carnival, the roller coaster from the 1980s cartoon can be seen.
- Never Grew Up: Children kidnapped by Granny Nightshade don't physically get any older, which Nightshade does as a way to keep them healthy. She's using the kids for manual labor, and it wouldn't make sense to have sick or senile servants. Having said that, the narrative paints it in such a way that even though she can't physically hurt them, what Granny Nightshade is doing is still monstrous.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Two dragons appear in the module, a fairly standard green dragon wyrmling named Cradlefall and the jabberwock. The jabberwock ends up being a problem, as it's resting right next to Zybilna and Iggwilv's cauldron, so chasing it off or defeating it without dying horribly becomes a priority.
- Pacifist Run: This adventure is theoretically able to be completed without ever needing to get into a fight. Instead, you can talk your way out of a conflict, make deals with The Fair Folk, or solve problems with somewhat out-there tactics. It's the first ever D&D officially-licensed module in which you can go through the entire adventure as-written without ever getting into combat.
- Peter Pan Parody: Will of the Feywild. In a unique twist, he's actually an in-disguise oni named Mugan whose alignment was inverted thanks to a curse. Should he be reverted back to his former alignment, he'll be pissed at whoever's responsible.
- Pretty Butterflies: Guests to the Carnival get fake butterfly wings when they get into the carnival that they have to either wear or carry at all times, which mark them as paid guests with valid tickets. Also, whoever gets crowned as the Witchlight Monarch gets three uses of magic butterfly wings that give them a flying speed for one hour.
- Red Baron: Each of the hags in the Hourglass Coven is frequently referred to with a nickname. Bavlorna Blightstraw is "Slack-Jawed Lorna", Skabatha Nightshade is "Granny Nightshade", and Endelyn Moongrave is "Creeping Lyn" or "Bitter End".
- Relationship Values: Played with. During the eighth hour of the Witchlight Carnival, whoever caused the mood of the Carnival to go up the most gets crowned as the Witchlight Monarch, giving them a permanent title that can be useful in Prismeer, as well as three uses of an enchantment that gives them bonuses to Charisma checks and a flying speed. However, there's no penalty for getting the mood of the carnival too low, other than Witch and Light being mad at you and losing out on the Monarch title.
- The Reveal: Zybilna is Iggwilv, the Witch Queen (formerly known as Tasha) in Archfey form. The Hourglass Coven are her adoptive sisters, given that they're all children of Baba Yaga.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Mr. Witch and Mr. Light have a habit of this, although it doesn't encompass all their dialogue, likely to save dungeon masters the stress of having two characters who speak entirely in rhyme.
- Riddle Me This: The Maiden's Pond, in the Palace of Heart's Desire, features such a riddle when the players reach it. "The beginning of Whenever, the end of Ever After, the start of an Age, the finale of every Moment, the first in History." Going by what the riddle says literally, the answer spells out "Wrath". It's a hint that Wrath the iron hart has something to do with a crown of thorns found in the same location.
- Royal "We": Envy the iron hart refers to itself as "we" and "us" when spoken to, even though it's only one statue. From the way Envy talks about itself, it thinks very highly of itself. Envy demands their obeisance and commands them to kneel before it. If the characters do as Envy commands, the lion allows them to remain in its presence. Characters who fail to show it deference are instructed to leave the tower at once, and the lion attacks those who refuse.
- Rule of Three: Very prominent in the adventure, given that three is an Arc Number.
- Sacred Hospitality: One of the three core rules of Prismeer is "When a friend, an enemy, or a stranger enters your home, you are expected to be gracious and accommodating to them until such time as they prove, by their words or actions, undeserving of such hospitality". Even the Hourglass Coven is bound to this rule, so showing up at their lairs doesn't automatically trigger a fight.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: If a hag thinks she's going to lose a fight with the party, she'll opt to retreat to the home of a different hag. Should this happen to all of them, they flee to the Palace of Heart's Desire. This is also their reaction to Zybilna's freedom, since she's really Iggwilv the Witch Queen, and now she's gunning for her traitorous sisters.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Assuming the characters complete their mission successfully, this is a possibility. As thanks for freeing her, Iggwilv the Witch Queen can use her cauldron and the Wish spell rewrite time so that the thefts the characters experienced at the Witchlight Carnival never happened.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Mr. Witch and Mr. Light are both presented as part of The Fair Folk, or at least very closely associated with them. The players can accuse them of Intangible Theft from their childhood, but the carnival runners will tell the players truthfully that they had nothing to do with it. The two of them really do want their guests to have a good time at the carnival, and that's all. The only time they're actively malevolent is if you try to sneak into their carnival without a ticket, or try to attack them. They even can help direct you to Prismeer. And even the intangible thefts as punishments are only happening since Witch and Light's hands are tied by the Hourglass Coven. Witch and Light are not the carnival's original owners, and have agreed to let the Hourglass Coven steal from anyone who sneaks into the carnival without a ticket. Witch and Light have tried to mitigate this by diligently checking all visitors for tickets, but some people inevitably slip through, making them targets for the hags' thieves. That being said, Witch and Light see the adventurers as a way to get around this problem, and hopefully free Zybilna and break the Coven's hold on their carnival.
- Shout-Out:
- A trio of flameskulls in Yon are named Weaugh, Teaugh and Peaugh.
- The adventure module is inspired by the novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, with the ringmasters Mr. Witch and Mr. Light being named similarly to the Repulsive Ringmaster Mr. Dark. The Tag Line of the module also happens to be the exact title of the novel (which in turn was actually taken from a quote from Macbeth).
- Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: It falls into the Natural Integration type, where where the gameplay and the story draw from separate convention pools but with enough conceptual overlap for the player to just ignore small internal inconsistencies. However, there is one exception with the Witchlight Monarch title, which can be earned in Chapter 1. Should a character be crowned the Monarch, they retain the title of Witchlight Monarch forever, and this title bears weight in the realm of Prismeer. Fey creatures in Prismeer will not attack a Witchlight Monarch unless the Monarch attacks first, and fey creatures in Prismeer treat a Witchlight Monarch with great reverence, addressing the character as "Your Majesty" or "Your Highness" throughout the campaign. A player who becomes a Monarch can thus use this to their advantage in gameplay terms, which would bump this into a Deliberate Integration of the two sides of the campaign.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
- The Hourglass Coven need each other to maintain their hold on Prismeer, but none of the sisters really like each other. Each one has a bargain option that involves stealing from or harassing one of the other coven members.
- The League of Malevolence are barely holding it together, with members vying for power or capable of betraying the rest of the League for power.
- Theme Naming: The portions of Prismeer are named Hither, Thither, and Yon.
- The Three Faces of Eve: The three identities of Tasha fill out these roles nicely, with Zybilna being the Wife, Iggwilv being the Seductress, and Natasha being the Child.
- Time Stands Still: Most of the Palace of Heart's Desire is under this effect, with people still in the midst of their daily duties or mid combat. One guy, Strongheart, was frozen in the midst of falling to his death. However, it also means that the players can't take anything or affect anything until time resumes its flow.
- Too Awesome to Use: Whomever gets crowned as the Witchlight Monarch gets three uses of magic butterfly wings that give them a flying speed for one hour, as well as advantage on all Charisma-based checks in Prismeer while the wings are out. However, the Monarch only gets three uses of these wings total, with no way to recharge them. As such, expect whichever Player Character gets the title to pull out their wings very sparingly.
- The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: The Palace of Heart's Desire, which can only be accessed after you've dealt with the Hourglass Coven in Hither, Thither, and Yon.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Each of the hags in the coven have a weakness that can be exploited to make dealing with them easier.
- Bavlorna is allergic to running widdershins (counterclockwise). Anyone who does so in her presence prevents Bavlorna from casting spells until the end of her turn by making her unable to stop sneezing.
- Skabatha forgets the first creature she sees on waking up from sleep, and can't see that creature until the end of her next long rest. However, she's taken measures to counter this by keeping a jar of moths in her room. Each of them can act as a harmless first creature to forget every day.
- Endelyn can only be killed when in the presence of a solar eclipse. However, it doesn't have to be an actual eclipse — a symbolic eclipse or a drawing of one also works.
- The Weird Sisters: The Hourglass Coven are a trio of three witches - Bavlorna Blightstraw, Skabatha Nightshade, and Endelyn Moongrave - who serve as the Big Bad Ensemble of the adventure. The three witches are all some flavor of evil, possibly have stolen something precious from a party member in childhood, and are the ones holding Mr. Witch and Mr. Light at proverbial gunpoint to let them have their way with people who come into the Witchlight Carnival.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Mudlump, the cyclops beekeeper, is unaware of the concept. If it's explained to him, he expresses a desire to be in love, giving the party a Side Quest to find him his perfect match. Said match turns out to be Dubhforgail the fomorian.
- Would Hurt a Child: Played with. Skabatha Nightshade has kidnapped multiple different children in Thither, and has no intention of letting them go. She even has one of them, a nine-year-old human girl naked Mishka, chained to a workbench for trying to escape. However, a powerful magic cast by Zybilna prevents children from being hurt in Prismeer. Any child in Prismeer who would take damage as a consequence of another creature's actions vanishes in a burst of multicolored light and is spirited away to a safe corner of Prismeer, unharmed and unreachable. Children sequestered in this fashion can't be located or scried upon using magic. So it's not that Granny Nightshade doesn't want to hurt them, it's that she can't hurt them, or they'll be teleported out of her reach. That being said, Nightshade keeps the children healthy and young, because she's using them for manual labour, and it would be just plain wasteful to have servants who can't do anything. Plus, she's still kidnapping them and using them for her own devices away from their guardians and their home worlds, so it's still harming the children, albeit indirectly.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: A definite possibility considering the preestablished nature of the Feywild. The trope's inversion is also possible. An interesting consequence of the latter is that it's fully possible for the quest giver of the Warlock's Quest beginning to have died of old age before you finished the adventure. Luckily, he leaves the key and directions to his treasure to an trusted associate before he dies, so that the players aren't deprived their promised reward.
DISCLAIMER: Dare to take a step into the dark backward and abysm of time? Know that Wizards of the Coast cannot be held responsible for those who enter the Feywild of their own accord. In the faerie realm, time gets twisted in knots. It might be months or years before you return to the real world. Enjoy the adventure while it lasts, and don’t be surprised if you encounter a few friends and foes from old editions lurking among the fey.
