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I’ve had this article sitting in my WIPs for quite long, and in the meantime Wizards announced Lorwyn: First Light. My first though was to let this series slide and just wait for the official stuff. Write further articles only on what’s been released. Then the supplement came out, and… you can read my thoughts in this review. I pulled no punches.
My first thought was to put out my own “supplement” to the supplement as soon as possible. But another month or two came and went, while I’ve been working on other things. Suddenly Lorwyn Eclipsed got released! The set is very nice, and I enjoyed the pre-release! Now there’s a whole new Lorwyn-Shadowmoor to take into account!
I’ve been pondering how to continue with my series. Whether to write further articles with Eclipsed era included, or to move on the way I started. That is to write a separate article for each tribe in each aspect, Lorwyn and Shadowmoor. Eclipsed era stuff would have their own articles, and everything would be cross-linked. I believe this is the way, as it is consistent and keeps things separated. However interesting the Eclipsed era might be, some people might want to play earlier parts of the timeline. For example the span between the events of Eventide and the Phyrexian invasion. Or ancient history before the Lorwyn block, that would give quite a lot of freedom to everyone, the DM and PCs alike.
This one’s a bit of a legacy article. It was already partially finished and I’m picking up where I left it. Months before First Light and even longer before Eclipsed. Let’s plunge into the Dark Meanders with the merrows, then!
The rivers darken
Last time we had a look at the merrows of Lorwyn, a tribe of scholars and keepers of knowledge. In their Lorwyn aspect they are more or less part of the “good guys” – they do have some trickery and manipulation under their belts, but the merrows do more help than harm. In Shadowmoor of course everything is flipped, and the once noble and wise intellectuals of the plane turned into malicious aquatic predators.
The great river Wanderwine has changed into Wanderbrine, and the merrows who once tended the waterways have abandoned their stations as the rivers’ wardens. No longer do they protect and promote trade and travel along the waterways. They have become the very threat they sought to mitigate. The rivers either flooded the land due to negligence or maliciousness of the merrows, or disappeared. The cards below illustrate this.
This certainly opens various plot possibilities. A settlement (or a magical site) might be in danger of being flooded. Another might already lie under water, hiding knowledge, a powerful artifact, or a heirloom that could prevent a war. Whatever the party goal is, the Shadowmoor merrows won’t cooperate.
Society
I’ve already written that after the Great Aurora the merrows become a wicked caricature of their Lorwyn counterparts. They still covet knowledge, but instead of sharing it they steal and hoard everything. When making any kind of deals they are as ruthless in commerce and diplomacy as on the battlefield. If by battlefield we mean the murky depths of the Wanderbrine, from which they strike upon their neighbours.
Where Lorwyn merrows posed themselves as teachers, guides, and “older siblings” to the other tribes, Shadowmoor merrows are the opposite. They would make great antagonists. Either as an ever present threat, or the masterminds behind whatever malicious happening the party has to set right.
We can still discern merrow schools in Shadowmoor. Their place in the society is questionable with all the changes they underwent because of the Great Aurora. The merrows seem more selfish and even less organized than in Lorwyn. We see Inkfathom merrows with unchanged name, and they can be supposed to favour the Dark Meanders. Gravelgill (flipped from Silvergill) seems to be the heavies. Razorfin used to be Paperfin, but their specialty is elusive as before. Stonybrook might have been translated into Deepchannel, but maybe that’s a bit of a stretch based on one card that might fit the bill. Lorwyn Weirwinder has no known Shadowmoor equivalent. The merrow schools didn’t get as much attention as kithkin clachans and douns.
As you can see on the card art, Shadowmoor merrows are also more monstrous. Lorwyn merrows went the “fish-tailed elves” way. They were colourful and uncannily beautiful. Shadowmoor merrows are all spines, sharp teeth, and claws. As with many things on Lorwyn-Shadowmoor, their outward appearance reflects their inner selves. No deconstruction until we get to the elves, I’m afraid!
Characters
One thing I omitted in the articles before are the named characters. They are the heroes and villains of the story. While not vital for a sealed draft MTG game among friends, they nevertheless help build the overall picture.
Shadowmoor block came out in an era when there weren’t dozens of named legendary creatures per set. There are eight of them altogether in the Shadowmoor block, and only one of them is a merrow. Sygg, formerly called River Guide, changed into Sygg the River Cutthroat. No longer a benevolent wizard capable of taking you where you need. Now he’s a rogue bent on taking whatever he desires. Supposedly he still travels the lanes, but only so he can rob, steal, and otherwise behave badly. He still doesn’t deserve the babyface retcon he received in Eclipsed, though. But in the time of the Shadowmoor, he’s one nasty individual, a good candidate for an antagonist in your game.
Equipment
In each of these articles I describe the weapons, armor, and other equipment used by the tribe. It doesn’t matter for MTG, where the art is only there to illustrate the mechanics. In a TTRPG game the equipment of various characters is one of the main elements of the game.
Shadowmoor merrows prefer a more hands-on approach than their Lorwyn selves. The art shows mainly wicked looking daggers and shivs, or polearms. Spears, but also some sort of short bident, as you can see above. There’s also a single sword, held by the Wake Thrasher in both hands. And he seems to have a battle axe on his belt. Another curious looking long-shafted axe or halberd can also be seen. Held by the Gravelgill Axeshark, the design is wicked and full of “evil spikiness”. It’s also wielded in a very curious way, with a secondary handle similar to a scythe handle.
As you probably noticed, Shadowmoor merrows are more armoured than they used to be in Lorwyn. About a third of the creature cards depicts merrows with at least partial armour. Most often the armour takes the form of pauldrons or vambraces. Gravelgill heavies also wear breastplates, tassets, and helmets. A lot of the merrows wear nothing at all, or a belt or harness with trinkets at best.
The magic users usually have no weapons, or just a bladed implement, but some wield staves. Some are plain, just a length of wood (?) with some kind of ribbons woven around them. Others are ornate, such as the ones on the cards below. One is an intricately twisted rod of unknown, seemingly organic, material. The second staff is based on a conch shell. It is a design that’s been extensively adopted by the Lorwyn Eclipsed merrows (or at least their artists). We’ll get to Eclipsed merrows later, in a separate article right after this one.
The next thing is not really equipment but something the Shadowmoor merrows have at their disposal – leeches. Specialized leech bonders probably control these slimy bloodsuckers and use them to assault their foes. Not only to damage, but even magically affect. There’s quite a lot of space for creativity here, should one pursue this wiggly way.
Magic
Even in Shadowmoor the merrows are supposed to be magic oriented. We can see a decline in their culture, society, and even magic prowess, though. There’s only a handful of spells that can be attributed to the merrow in particular. Of these there are several areas in which the merrows stand out. Once they were the lorekeepers of Lorwyn, acting as the plane’s memory. In Shadowmoor they tamper with the memories of other tribes to suit their wicked ways. Maybe some spell or feature that temporarily disables, or even spends spell slots could work for them? Of interest is also the sorcerous scarification shown below. Knowledge or even spells could be inscribed upon chosen merrows.
Hints of hampering enchantments and abjuration can also be seen. The effect described on the Wilderness Hypnotist card has a nice flavour. The Cursecatcher shows us that Shadowmoor merrows don’t fret at using their lives to power their magic. This opens possibilities for sacrificial casting, using HPs or whole victims to cast certain spells.
Last but not least, there are spells that manipulate the physical world. Mostly the water, such as the two pictured below, or the Inundate spell at the beginning of the article. Those are indeed transmutation or conjuration spells. Perhaps they could be recreated as variations on Control Water.
Summary
No more the “good guys”, Shadowmoor merrows lean into black rather than blue. Their society seems wretched, the loose structure of Lorwyn merrows now even looser. They are covetous, treacherous, and ruthless. Because of their water dependency they are not very suited for most D&D campaigns as playable species. They can however pose as NPCs, making great villains of various levels.
This is one of the things Lorwyn: First Light got right. They could however be more than two stat blocks with a few words to them. On lower levels they could be the the random (or not so random) brigands the party encounters while riverside. Or the culprits in the poisoning of a water source for a doun. On higher levels one of the merrows could become a mastermind behind a more complex scheme. Or they could be the henchmen/cultists of a malevolent elemental incarnation. There’s a lot that can be done with the Shadowmoor merrows, even though they are now more single-minded than their Lorwyn counterparts.
In the previous articles I held back in anticipation of meaningful content in the upcoming D&D supplement. We already know how Lorwyn: First Light went. I will be doing my part by giving you something you can actually use in a campaign set in the plane of Lorwyn-Shadowmoor. Click the link below for a few bestiary entries, a couple of spells, and some items.
Do you agree with my conclusions? Did you find this article helpful or inspiring? Or were you satisfied with the treatment they got in the official supplement? Let me know in the comments and share the article with your MTG and D&D friends! Next stop – the merrows of Lorwyn Eclipsed!
Final remarks
While there is lore available on Lorwyn-Shadowmoor and its denizens, a large part of my analysis is based on card art and flavour text. Therefore a lot might be a matter of artist license rather than conscious worldbuilding decisions. Sometimes that is preferable. The official supplement, Lorwyn: First Light has already been published, and this is my attempt to bring more life and inspiration to those who want to use the setting.
The cards used as illustrations were obtained on Scryfall and all rights to them are reserved to Wizards of the Coast and/or other respective owners.
The author is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or any other party mentioned in the text.
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