What setting is the Raven Queen from? The PHB and SCAG make no mention of her and the DMG doesn't say anything about her origins, just that she was part of the "Dawn War" pantheon which was apparently used in 4E, which I haven't played Is she from the Forgotten Realms? The UA Warlock Patron article says she rules the Shadowfell, which conflicts with what I've read about the Shadowfell in the Forgotten Realms, which, iirc, Shar created and rules. I just really want to know where she came from because I've heard a few conflicting things about her being a FR, Eberron, or Greyhawk deity, even though she's not on the pantheon chart for any of those settings in the PHB
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Abeir, Anchorome, Kara-Tur, Katashaka, Maztica, Zakhara, and Laerakond need some 5E love
I have recently tried to do some research as one of my players has made a warlock pact without actually knwoing with what or who (spoiler: it's the Raven Queen). These websites were helpful for me:
4th edition Wiki (still a wiki-page, so not all info might be right)
Guide to the Raven Queen (they actually mention which sources they used, so really helpful if you wanna backtrack)
As far as I know, she rules a part of the Shadowfell, Letherna, where the dead dwell. It's actually really cool :3
I have recently tried to do some research as one of my players has made a warlock pact without actually knwoing with what or who (spoiler: it's the Raven Queen). These websites were helpful for me:
4th edition Wiki (still a wiki-page, so not all info might be right)
Guide to the Raven Queen (they actually mention which sources they used, so really helpful if you wanna backtrack)
As far as I know, she rules a part of the Shadowfell, Letherna, where the dead dwell. It's actually really cool :3
You are 100% correct Llamavoort! Those are the same websites I used for my PCs. (Noticed you had those there RIGHT as I went to post them. Brava!
The Raven Queen is a Nentir Vale (Points of Light) deity. There is a topic about the Raven Queen over at the Nentir Vale forum at The Piazza, where there is some discussion about her.
The Raven Queen is a Nentir Vale (Points of Light) deity. There is a topic about the Raven Queen over at the Nentir Vale forum at The Piazza, where there is some discussion about her.
one of these days I gotta dig more in to the wealth of Lore at the Piazza.
I have recently tried to do some research as one of my players has made a warlock pact without actually knwoing with what or who (spoiler: it's the Raven Queen). These websites were helpful for me:
4th edition Wiki (still a wiki-page, so not all info might be right)
Guide to the Raven Queen (they actually mention which sources they used, so really helpful if you wanna backtrack)
As far as I know, she rules a part of the Shadowfell, Letherna, where the dead dwell. It's actually really cool :3
You are 100% correct Llamavoort! Those are the same websites I used for my PCs. (Noticed you had those there RIGHT as I went to post them. Brava!
Thanks for linking to my guide! I need to revamp that guide and some of my other old ones. I know there are some Raven Queen earthly minions that need to be talked about more, particularly the grim censer-bearers, who I find extremely amusing.
I've updated the answer in the Piazza, so, I guess is fitting to post it here as well, for the benefit of all.
Sources: Dungeon 171 (Deities & Demigods: The Raven Queen), Dragon 411 (Winning Races: Kenku), and Dragon 427 (Channel Divinity: Nerull), and Divine Power (4e sourcebook), the Shadowfell boxed set, and the Last Garrison novel.
The Raven Queen was once an especially powerful mortal (there is no mention of her original race in canon), who was either a powerful sorcerer-queen (who was also one of the first humans who learned magic directly from Corellon) or a mighty warrior, who died during the Dawn War (the ancient battle between gods and primordials during the creation of the cosmos). The cause of her dead is conflictive in canon. She either died fighting in the war, or was a victim of one of the plagues unleashed by Nerull during this period of time. Regardless, fearing Nerull's actions and his ambitions to become "the King of all Gods", Corellon and Pelor, with aid of Sehanine and Moradin, strengthened her soul with more qualities than she had possessed in life: magical might, intellectual brilliance, shrewd discernment, unshakable courage, cold allure, and colder pride. This was done for Nerull to have a plaything to waste his time instead of trying to kill all mortals or follow his ambitions of being the King of the Gods.
So, Nerull took the bait: the soul enthralled him to the point he could not think in other stuff. So, he gave it a form and made her his queen. He called her "Nera" (this is not her true name, just the name Nerull gave to her after giving her a new form—her true name is forgotten and perhaps forever lost). Although "Nera" wanted nothing with Nerull, she was ambitious (perhaps a side effect of the strengthening of her soul?) and wanted to get Nerull powers for her, so she accepted his advances. Some say that Vorkhesis, the first of the sorrowsworn, is the fruit of this union (that maybe was born as a consequence of Nerull's... non-consensual advances on her).
During the final stages of the Dawn War, "Nera" finally was able to understand Nerull's ways to obtain power from the souls of the dead, and fed those souls, gaining immense powers. So, she fought against Nerull when the god was at his weakest (after a gruesome battle between Nerull and a primordial known as Athuam the Falling Sky) and killed him, absorbing his divinity. The other gods (who allowed this to happen, as they wanted to get rid of Nerull), fearing the appearance of a second Nerull, immediately moved and forbid her to take the portfolio of the dead, seeing the way she used the souls of the dead to kill Nerull. Thus, she was able only to become the goddess of death but not of the dead. She said that this was unjust, because she was unlike Nerull, and that soured her relationship with the other gods ever since.
Not long after, she made great efforts to circumvent this prohibition, like leaving Pluton to live in the Shadowfell, or expunging her true name from the cosmos, calling herself the Raven Queen from then on. She also sealed Nerull's holiest temple in a domain of dread, so Nerull cannot return to the world of the Nentir Vale (as Nerull still exists in some form—ie. its incarnation in the world of Oerth).
The Raven Queen, however, was able to get more power than the portfolio of death, thus becoming a major power in the Nentir Vale world. She aided Corellon in his battle against Lolth, and was able to stole Lolth's portfolio of fate, thus becoming known also in the Feywild as the power of destiny. And, in the War of Winter (a conflict that confronted god against god a few "years" —in god's reckoning— after the Dawn War) she asked over the porfolio of winter, that was the purvey of Khala, the original goddess of winter, as her payment for helping the gods to kill Khala. This was done because the Raven Queen was the only deity who knew how to kill gods in a way that they cannot easily return to life.
A few races believe they owe their existence to the Raven Queen. Kenkus believe themselves her first creations. According to their myths, her first action after her ascent to godhood was to ascent normal ravens, transforming them in kenkus (this myth plays an important role in the novel "The Last Garrison"). They also believe they lost their ability to fly because they lost her favor when they turned to revere the demon lord Pazuzu, dividing kenku society into those who revere the demon lord and those who revere the Raven Queen.
The shadar-kai descent from her first human worshipers. According to this myth, when the Raven Queen was still a new denizen of the Shadowfell, a tribe of humans known as Shadar Kai approached to her and proposed a deal: they promised to serve as her mortal agents, and in exchange, they asked for incredibly long life and freedom from frailty. The Raven Queen accepted, and the tribe went to live in the Shadowfell, where they evolved in the race they are today. Their tribal name became the race's name when they interacted with people from the mortal world again.
The sorrowsworn are all ascended shadar-kai, that gained this status after doing great deeds in her service.
The revenants, as well, owe their existence to the Raven Queen, as she uses them as her agents in the mortal world.
The vryloka (living vampires) also believe that was one of her aspects, the Red Witch, the one who gave them the blessing of being vampires without the taint of undead.
Timely thread! I was about to introduce an antagonistic Warlock of the Raven Queen in my home-brew campaign. Now I'll be able to better flesh it out (or change my mind about it).
I'm creating a new verse for my campaign, but trying to keep the others in the multiverse as true to source as possible; I'm quite fond of multiverse campaigns.
So is the Raven Queen still part of UA? I didn't see her in the update. How does that work?
The UA that had the Raven Queen also had the Hexblade. A more recent UA had a new Hexblade but did not have the Raven Queen. The old Hexblade is now obsolete, but the Raven Queen is not.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Shar is the Deity in Forgotten Realms that rules over the Shadowfell. Shar created the Shadowfell by merging the Plane of Shadow and the Negative Energy Plane.
As many have posted already, The Raven Queen is from another setting, and she is not cannon from Forgotten Realms.
Basically those warlocks that are from Forgotten Realms and accede to those pacts (Hexblade, The Raven Queen) either receive their strenght from Shar (directly or indirectly), or you home brew that some of The Raven Queen's followers have infiltrated the realms through the Shadowfell. As usual, the second option might cause some struggle over power between Shar and The Raven Queen, as those two are certainly not aligned in goals and ideology.
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Videogamer and Tabletop gamer. DM in learning process
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What setting is the Raven Queen from?
The PHB and SCAG make no mention of her and the DMG doesn't say anything about her origins, just that she was part of the "Dawn War" pantheon which was apparently used in 4E, which I haven't played
Is she from the Forgotten Realms?
The UA Warlock Patron article says she rules the Shadowfell, which conflicts with what I've read about the Shadowfell in the Forgotten Realms, which, iirc, Shar created and rules.
I just really want to know where she came from because I've heard a few conflicting things about her being a FR, Eberron, or Greyhawk deity, even though she's not on the pantheon chart for any of those settings in the PHB
Abeir, Anchorome, Kara-Tur, Katashaka, Maztica, Zakhara, and Laerakond need some 5E love
She's a 4E Power. In 4E, the Realms was not the default setting. The 5E Unearthed Arcana wasn't written with Realmslore in mind.
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She's from 4e's default setting, Nentir Vale, also known as Points of Light
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I have recently tried to do some research as one of my players has made a warlock pact without actually knwoing with what or who (spoiler: it's the Raven Queen). These websites were helpful for me:
4th edition Wiki (still a wiki-page, so not all info might be right)
Guide to the Raven Queen (they actually mention which sources they used, so really helpful if you wanna backtrack)
As far as I know, she rules a part of the Shadowfell, Letherna, where the dead dwell. It's actually really cool :3
Loremaster Lutharia Silvramane
Thank you immensely. I've wanted to know more about the Raven Queen since the recent Unearther Arcana!
My favorite part about her is that she's one of the *very few* death deities in D&D lore that don't presume death is innately *EVIL*.
Pretty sure Kelemvor does that too. The SCAG says he's "a just, fair, and comforting god of death."
Abeir, Anchorome, Kara-Tur, Katashaka, Maztica, Zakhara, and Laerakond need some 5E love
They did say, "very few", as opposed to, "the only", to be fair.
Question for all. Did Shar create the shadowfell in FR? Is that a new 5e sundering retcon thing, or did I miss it at some previous point?
We do bones, motherf***ker!
The Raven Queen is a Nentir Vale (Points of Light) deity. There is a topic about the Raven Queen over at the Nentir Vale forum at The Piazza, where there is some discussion about her.
David "Big Mac" Shepheard
Spelljammer 3E Conversion Project - Spelljammer Wiki - The Spelljammer Image Group.
(You can see more of me at the D&D forums at The Piazza.)
We do bones, motherf***ker!
I've updated the answer in the Piazza, so, I guess is fitting to post it here as well, for the benefit of all.
Sources: Dungeon 171 (Deities & Demigods: The Raven Queen), Dragon 411 (Winning Races: Kenku), and Dragon 427 (Channel Divinity: Nerull), and Divine Power (4e sourcebook), the Shadowfell boxed set, and the Last Garrison novel.
The Raven Queen was once an especially powerful mortal (there is no mention of her original race in canon), who was either a powerful sorcerer-queen (who was also one of the first humans who learned magic directly from Corellon) or a mighty warrior, who died during the Dawn War (the ancient battle between gods and primordials during the creation of the cosmos). The cause of her dead is conflictive in canon. She either died fighting in the war, or was a victim of one of the plagues unleashed by Nerull during this period of time. Regardless, fearing Nerull's actions and his ambitions to become "the King of all Gods", Corellon and Pelor, with aid of Sehanine and Moradin, strengthened her soul with more qualities than she had possessed in life: magical might, intellectual brilliance, shrewd discernment, unshakable courage, cold allure, and colder pride. This was done for Nerull to have a plaything to waste his time instead of trying to kill all mortals or follow his ambitions of being the King of the Gods.
So, Nerull took the bait: the soul enthralled him to the point he could not think in other stuff. So, he gave it a form and made her his queen. He called her "Nera" (this is not her true name, just the name Nerull gave to her after giving her a new form—her true name is forgotten and perhaps forever lost). Although "Nera" wanted nothing with Nerull, she was ambitious (perhaps a side effect of the strengthening of her soul?) and wanted to get Nerull powers for her, so she accepted his advances. Some say that Vorkhesis, the first of the sorrowsworn, is the fruit of this union (that maybe was born as a consequence of Nerull's... non-consensual advances on her).
During the final stages of the Dawn War, "Nera" finally was able to understand Nerull's ways to obtain power from the souls of the dead, and fed those souls, gaining immense powers. So, she fought against Nerull when the god was at his weakest (after a gruesome battle between Nerull and a primordial known as Athuam the Falling Sky) and killed him, absorbing his divinity. The other gods (who allowed this to happen, as they wanted to get rid of Nerull), fearing the appearance of a second Nerull, immediately moved and forbid her to take the portfolio of the dead, seeing the way she used the souls of the dead to kill Nerull. Thus, she was able only to become the goddess of death but not of the dead. She said that this was unjust, because she was unlike Nerull, and that soured her relationship with the other gods ever since.
Not long after, she made great efforts to circumvent this prohibition, like leaving Pluton to live in the Shadowfell, or expunging her true name from the cosmos, calling herself the Raven Queen from then on. She also sealed Nerull's holiest temple in a domain of dread, so Nerull cannot return to the world of the Nentir Vale (as Nerull still exists in some form—ie. its incarnation in the world of Oerth).
The Raven Queen, however, was able to get more power than the portfolio of death, thus becoming a major power in the Nentir Vale world. She aided Corellon in his battle against Lolth, and was able to stole Lolth's portfolio of fate, thus becoming known also in the Feywild as the power of destiny. And, in the War of Winter (a conflict that confronted god against god a few "years" —in god's reckoning— after the Dawn War) she asked over the porfolio of winter, that was the purvey of Khala, the original goddess of winter, as her payment for helping the gods to kill Khala. This was done because the Raven Queen was the only deity who knew how to kill gods in a way that they cannot easily return to life.
A few races believe they owe their existence to the Raven Queen. Kenkus believe themselves her first creations. According to their myths, her first action after her ascent to godhood was to ascent normal ravens, transforming them in kenkus (this myth plays an important role in the novel "The Last Garrison"). They also believe they lost their ability to fly because they lost her favor when they turned to revere the demon lord Pazuzu, dividing kenku society into those who revere the demon lord and those who revere the Raven Queen.
The shadar-kai descent from her first human worshipers. According to this myth, when the Raven Queen was still a new denizen of the Shadowfell, a tribe of humans known as Shadar Kai approached to her and proposed a deal: they promised to serve as her mortal agents, and in exchange, they asked for incredibly long life and freedom from frailty. The Raven Queen accepted, and the tribe went to live in the Shadowfell, where they evolved in the race they are today. Their tribal name became the race's name when they interacted with people from the mortal world again.
The sorrowsworn are all ascended shadar-kai, that gained this status after doing great deeds in her service.
The revenants, as well, owe their existence to the Raven Queen, as she uses them as her agents in the mortal world.
The vryloka (living vampires) also believe that was one of her aspects, the Red Witch, the one who gave them the blessing of being vampires without the taint of undead.
Time fades even legend...
Timely thread! I was about to introduce an antagonistic Warlock of the Raven Queen in my home-brew campaign. Now I'll be able to better flesh it out (or change my mind about it).
I'm creating a new verse for my campaign, but trying to keep the others in the multiverse as true to source as possible; I'm quite fond of multiverse campaigns.
Role | Campaign
Be sure to check out The Black Company by Glen Cook. The origins of The Raven Queen/Nerull echo that of The Lady/The Dominator. Very good for flavour.
So is the Raven Queen still part of UA? I didn't see her in the update. How does that work?
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Got it, thanks!
I did a write up for the game I'm running based off of other conjoined information if you'd like it:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/dnd-5e-home-brew/religion-check-the-raven-queen/205723483296431/
Shar is the Deity in Forgotten Realms that rules over the Shadowfell. Shar created the Shadowfell by merging the Plane of Shadow and the Negative Energy Plane.
As many have posted already, The Raven Queen is from another setting, and she is not cannon from Forgotten Realms.
Basically those warlocks that are from Forgotten Realms and accede to those pacts (Hexblade, The Raven Queen) either receive their strenght from Shar (directly or indirectly), or you home brew that some of The Raven Queen's followers have infiltrated the realms through the Shadowfell. As usual, the second option might cause some struggle over power between Shar and The Raven Queen, as those two are certainly not aligned in goals and ideology.
Videogamer and Tabletop gamer. DM in learning process