In the last installment, the party rescued the first of the Ladies Three: the Huntress at the Mountain Fane. After they rescued her and received her blessing, they naturally asked her to help them in their fight against Strahd. Her first suggestion was that her other sisters had similar blessings, should they be able to similarly rescue them. Her second offer, however, was much more complicated: to become their champion.

She explained that she and her sisters once guarded over the whole valley as their domain, attended to by a mortal champion. Whenever issues arose that needed their interference, they would dispatch their champion to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, their last champion died defending them from Strahd.

While it was a great honor for a mortal to be chosen for this mantle, it was also a great burden to carry. The champion would take on aspects of the fey, including their vulnerabilities to cold iron and running water. Additionally, their life force would become inextricably linked to the fey sisters; the champion could still fall in battle, but would otherwise live forever. Should the sisters fall, however, so too would the champion. Though it meant little to the denizens of the valley usually chosen for such a mantle, one aspect far more meaningful to the party was that the champion, having accepted their new position, could never leave their domain, even if Strahd’s curse were somehow broken.

In addition to the direct powers granted by this mantle, the champion also gained access to all the champions who had held this position before. The champion could call on them for knowledge or wisdom, and in rare cases ask them to directly intercede, as if by divine intervention.

To be completely honest, I was unsure who in the party would take up the mantle, if any. Since he was from the valley and wouldn’t be giving up as much as the others, my best guess was Markos. The party narrowed down the decision to Markos, Kawkwa, or Takonka, and finally settled on Kawkwa to carry the banner.

Champion of the Archfey

You have taken on the mantle of Champion of the Archfey. Your patron is a lord or lady of the fey, a creature of legend who holds secrets that were forgotten before the mortal races were born. As a champion of your patron, you have become inextricably linked to them and have taken on aspects of the fey yourself. You learn the Sylvan language if you do not already know it.

Your progression as a champion grants you the features of levels of the warlock class with the Archfey Patron option, though you may not take the Eldritch Blast cantrip. You do not gain any hit points from these granted levels, and they do not count towards other level-based calculations like proficiency bonus or cantrip damage. The number of levels granted is decided by your DM, usually driven by story accomplishments. When you gain a level, you may choose to apply it to this Warlock class, and gaining the features, hitpoints, etc., as normal.

In exchange for this power, however, there are downsides. Once you accept your title you cannot leave the domain of your patron. The sight of cold iron is extremely offensive to you, and its touch will burn you. You are also vulnerable when crossing moving water; it will sap your champion abilities until you complete a short rest. Finally, your lifeforce has become linked to that of your patron: though you can still die in battle, you are functionally immortal as long as your patron lives. If any major harm comes to your patron, you will feel that same pain; if your patron dies, your abilities will begin to fade, ending with your death just a few days later.

Past Champions

You have access to the champions that have come before you. If you choose to spend a short rest meditating, you may cast Augury, Locate Animals or Plants, Locate Object, or Legend Lore at the end of the rest. These spells will fail if the Championsbbefore you do not have the knowledge to satisfy your request. Once you use thisbfeature, whether it was successful or not, you cannot do so again until youbcomplete a long rest.

Additionally, you can call on these champions to intervene on your behalf when your need is great. Imploring their aid requires you to use your action. Describe the assistance you seek and roll percentile dice. If you roll a number equal to or lower than your character level plus your champion level, the champions intervene. The DM chooses the nature of the intervention; the effect of a listed use of Wish would be appropriate. If you receive intervention, you can’t use this feature again for 7 days. Otherwise, you can use it again after you finish a long rest.

Photo by Tory Morrison.