The World of Shadows - Shadowfell

Outline

Aliases Shadowplane
Shadow Deep

Type Shadowfell
Inner Plane

Inhabitants Shadow-creatures
Shadar-Kai
Undead
Shadowstuff

Each of the shadow-creatures started as the shadows of creatures from the Material Plane, though many found ways to become untethered to their original owners.

Description

An "echo" of the Prime Material Plane, The World of Shadows is a bleak, desolate place full of decay and death.

The most striking and immediate impression a visitor to the Plane of Shadow experiences is the lack of color and light; no sun, moon, or stars adorns the vault of the inky black sky, and all things look as if the color has leeched out, leaving nothing but black and white.

To wander through the plane is to risk losing yourself in misery and apathy - why put a stop to the lich when everything you do is meaningless and fleeting? The Shadowfell is not a place for mortals to visit on a whim, and many who do visit are forever changed by its dismal appearance.

Key Information

  • Gravity and time are the same on the Shadowfell as on the Material Plane.

  • The landscape is a dark, twisted echo of what exists on the Material Plane.

  • Air, water, and food exist on this plane, supporting plants, animals, and some humanoids who have adapted to the shadow environment.

  • The landscape diverges rapidly away from the familiar, and on subsequent visits from the same starting point it can change in many different ways, making mapping the Shadowfell a useless endeavor.

Myths and Lore

The Underdark
A theory rumored about among sages stated that the Underdark is bottomless because it eventually becomes the Plane of Shadow. The only evidence supporting this hypothesis is the permanent portals to the Shadowfell which are increasingly common the deeper one delves.

A Seed of Shadow
An unsuccessful attempt to build a gate to the Shadowfell can result in a failed Shadow Gate. A being that steps through one is taken only momentarily to the Plane of Shadow, while a "seed of shadow" is implanted in their flesh. This could cause their flesh to be subsumed by shadow, and they would see it mist away into darkness. Many died, reduced to bare skeletons, but those who survived acquired the powers of a dark creature.

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