I struggle to calculate the time dilation effect between the material plane and the Feywild. My character was stolen from their parents as a newborn by a Dryad who had been driven into a mad, jealous rage by the death of her child. The Dryad took my character into the Feywild, where she raised them as her own. For many years, my character lived in the Feywild, communed with it, called it and the creatures who lived there both friend and foe until by pure accident, while fleeing a pack of blink dogs, fell through a portal back to the material plane.
They ended up back at the same place from where they were stolen, but in the intervening years, the world had changed. Time on the material plane had advanced by almost 1000 years. The great Elven Kingdom they were born into was now nothing but ruins and dust.
The portal closed behind them, and the way back was lost.
Exploring the ruins to find a way back home, they came across a cache of books. It must once have been a great library but was now nothing but plundered ruins. A magical barrier protected the books they found, but time had eroded even it. Upon touching it, the barrier shimmered, attempted to protect the treasures within, but failed and vanished. My character was intrigued and picked up one of the books to see what required elaborate defences as must have been.
The book was filled with a script written in an ancient elvish dialect that resembled Sylvian in its form and described spells and rituals and a way of practising magic that my character had never known. Studying this book set them on the path to becoming a wizard.
It has been 50 years since my character landed back on the material plane, and that's where the problems arise.
I am trying to calculate the time dilation to determine how old my character is, but I don't seem able to find a single definite answer about how time works between the Feywild and the material plane. If almost 1000 years have passed on the material plane, how long must my character have been in the Feywild, as this will determine their age since they were taken into the Feywild as newborn?
I have a feeling it can be hit & miss - there's no definitive measurement. I think time dilates within the feywild too, so you might wander into a grove and come out hours later even if you were only there minutes, without leaving the Feywild. In shrot, it can probaby be whatever you want it to be! Or keep it vague and just say "as a child"!
According to the optional rule on the DMG, it's random:
"While time seems to pass normally in the Feywild, characters might spend a day there and realize, upon leaving the plane, that less or more time has elapsed everywhere else in the multiverse.
Whenever a creature or group of creatures leaves the Feywild after spending at least 1 day on that plane, you can choose a time change that works best for your campaign, if any, or roll on the Feywild Time Warp table.[...]"
There is even a d20 table, where 1-2, the amount of days is equal to minutes on the material plane and 20 is equal to years.
I struggle to calculate the time dilation effect between the material plane and the Feywild. My character was stolen from their parents as a newborn by a Dryad who had been driven into a mad, jealous rage by the death of her child. The Dryad took my character into the Feywild, where she raised them as her own. For many years, my character lived in the Feywild, communed with it, called it and the creatures who lived there both friend and foe until by pure accident, while fleeing a pack of blink dogs, fell through a portal back to the material plane.
They ended up back at the same place from where they were stolen, but in the intervening years, the world had changed. Time on the material plane had advanced by almost 1000 years. The great Elven Kingdom they were born into was now nothing but ruins and dust.
The portal closed behind them, and the way back was lost.
Exploring the ruins to find a way back home, they came across a cache of books. It must once have been a great library but was now nothing but plundered ruins. A magical barrier protected the books they found, but time had eroded even it. Upon touching it, the barrier shimmered, attempted to protect the treasures within, but failed and vanished. My character was intrigued and picked up one of the books to see what required elaborate defences as must have been.
The book was filled with a script written in an ancient elvish dialect that resembled Sylvian in its form and described spells and rituals and a way of practising magic that my character had never known. Studying this book set them on the path to becoming a wizard.
It has been 50 years since my character landed back on the material plane, and that's where the problems arise.
I am trying to calculate the time dilation to determine how old my character is, but I don't seem able to find a single definite answer about how time works between the Feywild and the material plane. If almost 1000 years have passed on the material plane, how long must my character have been in the Feywild, as this will determine their age since they were taken into the Feywild as newborn?
Thanks for your help.
Forge XD.
it's the fae wilds... Time is a function of plot/DM/High Fae whims
As there don't seem to be any consistency with how time works between the two planes, I just decided to make my character be 167. They were 117 when they fell through the portal back to the material plans, and have lived on the material plane for 50 years, during which time they have continued to study the book they found and advance along their path towards becoming a powerful Wizard.
They adopted a little Half Drow girl four years ago (in-game time). Their child is now 9 and they have been teaching her some magic. Yes, their kid has accompanied them on their journey since they adopted her.
They are also a faction agent for the Harpers and have been pretending to be an agent for The Lords Alliance for the past few years. They were, however, a double agent for the Harpers the whole time and have recently been discovered, forcing them to flee with their daughter under the guise of being refugees. The small group of refugees they accompanied are who becomes the rest of the party in the first session, along with my characters child - who is going to be played by an IRL child.
Just thought I'd update you all on what I ended up doing.
Thanks for all your help guys, it's appreciated.
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Hi,
I struggle to calculate the time dilation effect between the material plane and the Feywild. My character was stolen from their parents as a newborn by a Dryad who had been driven into a mad, jealous rage by the death of her child. The Dryad took my character into the Feywild, where she raised them as her own. For many years, my character lived in the Feywild, communed with it, called it and the creatures who lived there both friend and foe until by pure accident, while fleeing a pack of blink dogs, fell through a portal back to the material plane.
They ended up back at the same place from where they were stolen, but in the intervening years, the world had changed. Time on the material plane had advanced by almost 1000 years. The great Elven Kingdom they were born into was now nothing but ruins and dust.
The portal closed behind them, and the way back was lost.
Exploring the ruins to find a way back home, they came across a cache of books. It must once have been a great library but was now nothing but plundered ruins. A magical barrier protected the books they found, but time had eroded even it. Upon touching it, the barrier shimmered, attempted to protect the treasures within, but failed and vanished. My character was intrigued and picked up one of the books to see what required elaborate defences as must have been.
The book was filled with a script written in an ancient elvish dialect that resembled Sylvian in its form and described spells and rituals and a way of practising magic that my character had never known. Studying this book set them on the path to becoming a wizard.
It has been 50 years since my character landed back on the material plane, and that's where the problems arise.
I am trying to calculate the time dilation to determine how old my character is, but I don't seem able to find a single definite answer about how time works between the Feywild and the material plane. If almost 1000 years have passed on the material plane, how long must my character have been in the Feywild, as this will determine their age since they were taken into the Feywild as newborn?
Thanks for your help.
Forge XD.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
I have a feeling it can be hit & miss - there's no definitive measurement. I think time dilates within the feywild too, so you might wander into a grove and come out hours later even if you were only there minutes, without leaving the Feywild.
In shrot, it can probaby be whatever you want it to be! Or keep it vague and just say "as a child"!
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According to the optional rule on the DMG, it's random:
"While time seems to pass normally in the Feywild, characters might spend a day there and realize, upon leaving the plane, that less or more time has elapsed everywhere else in the multiverse.
Whenever a creature or group of creatures leaves the Feywild after spending at least 1 day on that plane, you can choose a time change that works best for your campaign, if any, or roll on the Feywild Time Warp table.[...]"
There is even a d20 table, where 1-2, the amount of days is equal to minutes on the material plane and 20 is equal to years.
So it's up to you.
it's the fae wilds... Time is a function of plot/DM/High Fae whims
Thanks guys,
As there don't seem to be any consistency with how time works between the two planes, I just decided to make my character be 167. They were 117 when they fell through the portal back to the material plans, and have lived on the material plane for 50 years, during which time they have continued to study the book they found and advance along their path towards becoming a powerful Wizard.
They adopted a little Half Drow girl four years ago (in-game time). Their child is now 9 and they have been teaching her some magic. Yes, their kid has accompanied them on their journey since they adopted her.
They are also a faction agent for the Harpers and have been pretending to be an agent for The Lords Alliance for the past few years. They were, however, a double agent for the Harpers the whole time and have recently been discovered, forcing them to flee with their daughter under the guise of being refugees. The small group of refugees they accompanied are who becomes the rest of the party in the first session, along with my characters child - who is going to be played by an IRL child.
Just thought I'd update you all on what I ended up doing.
Thanks for all your help guys, it's appreciated.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.