Once your archfey is fleshed out, you can create the Domain of Delight that serves as the archfey's home in the Feywild. Generally, the size of a Domain of Delight is a good determiner of an archfey's power, but an archfey's domain can be as big or as small as you want it to be.
Geographical Features
A small Domain of Delight might have only one prominent geographical feature, which you can determine randomly by rolling on the Geographical Features table. A large Domain of Delight can have multiple geographical features, which you can determine by rolling more than once on the table.
| d8 | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | A colossal, gnarled tree, its trunk riddled with passageways, halls, chambers, and staircases |
| 2 | A valley filled with grassy meadows and groves of trees along a running river, nestled between two snow-capped mountains that look like the points of a crescent moon |
| 3 | A crystal castle that sings in sunlight or moonlight |
| 4 | A vast thicket of thick roots, thorny vines, and sinuous creepers that weave together to form long tunnels, grand hallways, and enormous domes |
| 5 | A complex of caves connected by passageways formed by Fey magic to create grand galleries and soaring vaults |
| 6 | Rolling farmland that yields healthy, bountiful produce of amazing size |
| 7 | A forest of tower-sized mushrooms, or a forest of tiny mushrooms that characters must shrink down to explore |
| 8 | An island that is actually a colossal sleeping turtle |
Domain Theme
A Domain of Delight might have a prevailing theme, which you can determine randomly by rolling on the Domain Theme table.
| d8 | Theme |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adversarial. Adversarial personalities are common here, even among the local wildlife. Animated trees swat at passersby, sentient flowers scoff and sneer, and local Fey are grumpy and uncooperative. |
| 2 | Crystalline. This domain contains a profusion of crystal formations and outgrowths, as well as structures and trees made of crystal. Some of the crystals might generate light, music, or both. |
| 3 | Gloomy. Everything here has a gloomy cast. Tree branches look like skeletal fingers, night creatures slink and flutter about, and skull-like faces appear on plants, stones, and sprites' wings. |
| 4 | Inquisitive. Creatures in this domain are nosy and hungry for gossip. Animated trees use their branches to pick through backpacks when travelers aren't looking; pixies spy on strangers; and birds eavesdrop on conversations, repeating what they've heard to their masters. |
| 5 | Kaleidoscopic. This domain is a riot of everchanging colors. Plants come in a dazzling array of colors, flowers change color to suit the prevailing mood, and Fey wear costumes of scintillating hues. |
| 6 | Lackadaisical. The creatures here are easygoing. No one is in a hurry, and no task is greeted with a sense of urgency. |
| 7 | Musical. This domain abounds with music. Frogs, toads, and insects break into multipart harmonies that sometimes crescendo into a symphonic rapture of melodious tweets, trills, chirps, and whistles. Fey in this domain are just as musically inclined. |
| 8 | Poisonous. Almost every plant here has spines or thorns that cause anything from itchy welts to damage or out-of-body experiences. Other sources of poison might be present as well (for example, toxic bogs or giant, poisonous Beasts). |
Coming and Going
Travelers who don't have access to plane shift spells or similar magic must rely on other means to travel to and from a Domain of Delight. Fey crossings are the most common means of transit between the Material Plane and the Feywild; more information about them can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
An archfey is usually aware of any Fey crossings that allow creatures to enter and leave the archfey's domain and may protect these Fey crossings or leave them unguarded. Some Fey crossings operate only at certain times or when certain conditions are met. The Fey Crossings table allows you to randomly determine the characteristics of a fey crossing that allows passage to and from a Domain of Delight. Your Domain of Delight can have as few or as many Fey crossings as you like, and they need not all be the same in appearance or function.
Geographical features on one side of a fey crossing tend to be similar to those on the other side, to the extent that some travelers might be unaware they've left one plane of existence and entered another. For example, if one stumbles upon a fey crossing in a cave, a similar cave might lie on the other side of that fey crossing, as if the caves were near-perfect reflections of each other.
| d8 | Fey Crossing |
|---|---|
| 1 | Altar. This stone altar might be found atop a lonely plateau, behind a waterfall, inside a cave, or in some other remote location. When certain stars align and the proper ritual is performed, the fey crossing appears as a portal above the altar. |
| 2 | Crystal Cave. This cave is filled with natural crystalline formations and resembles a glittering cathedral. When moonlight shines into the cave at night, it causes a shimmering pool or spring in the center of the cave to transform into a fey crossing. |
| 3 | Hollow Tree. The fey crossing lies within the hollow interior of an enormous tree. The crossing is open to anyone who carries a leaf or acorn from the tree. |
| 4 | Maze. The fey crossing lies at the center of a maze that might change configuration from time to time. To use the crossing, one must walk or run from the maze's entrance to its center. Creatures who circumvent the maze using magic or flight find themselves unable to use the crossing. |
| 5 | Mushroom Circle. This fey crossing appears as a circle of mushrooms. The size of the mushrooms and the width of the circle can vary, but activating the fey crossing requires that a particular act be performed inside it or a particular object or creature be present. |
| 6 | Ruined Tower. The ruins of an ancient elven tower house a fey crossing. For three nights each year, a ghostly image of the intact tower appears above the ruined foundation, during which time the fey crossing appears as a shimmering doorway that creatures can pass through. |
| 7 | Stone Bridge. A Fey creature hides under this ancient stone bridge. In exchange for treasure or some other gift, this Fey can use its innate magic to create a portal atop the bridge that serves as a fey crossing. |
| 8 | Stone Circle. This circle of stone megaliths contains a fey crossing that is active during equinoxes and solstices. |
Travel in the Domain
Visitors to a Domain of Delight are often confounded by the Feywild's power to distort distance, time, and reality. A traveler might see a hilltop that appears to be a mile away and march toward it, only to find the hilltop getting farther away. Similarly, a wanderer who asks for directions might be told to follow a particular trail, only to discover the trail changes course depending on the mood of those who travel along it. Determining how far one has traveled in a particular amount of time can be a headscratcher.
Magical Shortcuts
Domain denizens and guides know some of the tricks to navigating a Domain of Delight, including magical shortcuts. A shortcut can also be found by accident or learned in some other way. For example, a traveler might wake from a vivid dream or a trance with knowledge of a shortcut that fades from memory after an hour.
To take advantage of a magical shortcut, one must spend 1 minute performing a routine; the Shortcut Routines table provides examples. At the end of this routine, the performer and any creatures traveling with them find themselves closer to their intended destination. How much closer is up to the DM, but a shortcut routine usually reduces the travel time to the intended destination by at least half.
A shortcut routine allows for safe, expeditious travel from one location in the Feywild to a specific destination in the Feywild, and that's all. For example, it might expedite travel from the edge of an archfey's domain to the entrance of the archfey's lair but not the other way around, and it wouldn't shorten the travel time to other locations in the domain.
| d8 | Routine |
|---|---|
| 1 | Picking petals from a flower while walking toward a beckoning sunset |
| 2 | Playing "Ode to the Summer Queen" on a lute while skipping counterclockwise around a tree |
| 3 | Eating a mushroom while gazing at one's own reflection in a clear pool or stream of water |
| 4 | Doing a headstand in a ring of stones |
| 5 | Staring at firelight while playing a flute or singing about a fond memory |
| 6 | Sitting by a creek while lost in childlike wonder |
| 7 | Whistling a tune while walking backward |
| 8 | Holding hands and dancing around a tree at twilight |
Drama
You can bring your Domain of Delight to life by adding drama. When the characters show up, they might become swept up in this drama, perhaps even embroiled in intrigue. The drama can be anything from a petty squabble between Fey settlements to a full-blown fomorian incursion. To determine a worthy conflict, you can roll on the Domain Drama table or choose an entry that you like.
| d8 | Drama |
|---|---|
| 1 | A cherished object or favorite pet belonging to the domain's archfey ruler has gone missing. |
| 2 | Fomorians (or other hostile creatures) have emerged from a cave and are causing a ruckus. |
| 3 | The domain's archfey ruler recently turned down an invitation to the Gloaming Court, offending the Queen of Air and Darkness, whose spies are now sowing discord throughout the domain. |
| 4 | The domain's archfey has fallen into a magical slumber. Others are looking for someone they can trust to find a way to awaken the archfey. |
| 5 | The vegetation is sick in part of the domain, and the contagion is spreading. The domain's archfey needs help finding the cause of the sickness. |
| 6 | Part of the domain overlaps the domain of another archfey, and the Fey living in that region are tired of answering to two masters. They won't be happy until one archfey yields to the other. |
| 7 | A sleeping knight in silver plate mail bearing no distinguishing symbols has been discovered in a hollow tree trunk. Local Fey wonder who she is and if they should revive her or not. |
| 8 | An arranged wedding was supposed to unite two feuding villages, but one of the grooms has disappeared. Everyone is searching for him in the hope that the wedding will take place, bringing peace to the domain. |
Weird Magic
Magical forces, strange interlopers, and tragic events can alter a smaller region within a Domain of Delight. While the flora, fauna, structures, and inhabitants might remain unaffected, the region's innate character takes on new qualities.
When you wish to include such a region, roll on the Weird Magic Effects table to determine its effects, or choose an entry you like. These effects occur whenever you please, at the time each description suggests, or under one or more of the following circumstances:
- Soon after the party first enters the region
- When a creature loses more than half its hit points
- When a creature casts a spell of 1st level or higher
- When a creature activates a magic item
- When a creature makes an exceptionally loud noise or otherwise attracts attention
- When the party spends at least 30 minutes in the same region
| d8 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Time visibly moves more quickly outside the region than inside it. For every minute the party spends inside the region, one hour passes outside the region. |
| 2 | Flowers not only are abundant in the region but also have faces and limited sentience, allowing them to communicate with creatures in the Elvish and Sylvan tongues. They know what has transpired in the region within the past day and happily share this information. |
| 3 | Each character in the region gains the benefit of a barkskin spell that lasts for 8 hours. |
| 4 | Each character who spends 1 hour in the region undergoes a magical transformation, gaining fur, a tail, and large ears reminiscent of a donkey's, goat's, or llama's. This effect ends on a character 3d8 hours after the character leaves the region. Any magic that ends a curse also restores the character's normal appearance. |
| 5 | Harmless fireflies gather and flit around one character in the region, sharing that character's space for 1 hour. The fireflies generate 2 out to a range of 10 feet and 2 for an additional 10 feet. While surrounded by the fireflies, the character feels a profound sense of purpose and gains the benefit of the bless spell. |
| 6 | Creatures in the region can't leave it and find themselves covering the same ground over and over. By the time they realize this, 3d8 hours have passed, during which they have made no progress in their effort to leave. The effect then ends. |
| 7 | One character in the region sees a wide, grinning mouth that floats in midair, 10 feet away from them. No other creature can see the grinning mouth. In a language the character understands, the mouth says, "I'll answer three questions you put to me. Noes and yesses, I promise thee." The character can ask it three questions as if using the commune spell. |
| 8 | One character in the region triggers a wild magic effect that is determined by rolling on the Wild Magic Surge table in the "Sorcerer" section of the Player's Handbook. If the effect duplicates a spell, the character's spellcasting ability for that spell is Charisma. |
Domain Denizens
The Feywild Creatures table can help you populate a Domain of Delight. Stat blocks for the listed creatures appear in the Monster Manual or The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.
Just because a creature doesn't appear on the Feywild Creatures table doesn't mean that it can't appear in a Domain of Delight. Any D&D creature can find its way to the Feywild, and sometimes it's fun to surprise players with creatures their characters would not expect to meet in the Feywild, such as a band of githyanki or a vampire.
Domain Visitors
As they explore a domain, the characters might encounter other visitors, including friends and foes of the domain's archfey, planar travelers, and lost souls trying to find a way home. Use the Domain Visitors table to generate encounters with such folk.
| d8 | Visitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | A ranger (use the scout stat block) searching for a missing companion, lover, or long-lost ancestor |
| 2 | A druid searching for herbs, mushrooms, or seeds found only in the Feywild |
| 3 | A mage or an archmage who wants to serve the Summer Queen or the Queen of Air and Darkness but doesn't know how or where to find her |
| 4 | An elf (use the noble stat block) from the Material Plane who is researching their Fey ancestry |
| 5 | A hunter (use the gladiator or scout stat block) who was lured into the Feywild by their prey |
| 6 | A githzerai zerth studying the chaotic energy of the Feywild and the magic of Fey creatures |
| 7 | A would-be warlock (use the cultist or cult fanatic stat block) seeking an audience with the domain's archfey in the hope of gaining its patronage |
| 8 | A friendly arcanaloth using alter self spells to assume Humanoid form as it searches the Feywild for one of the Books of Keeping |