Plane of Shadow Written & Designed by “Weird Dave” Coulson

Codex of the Infinite Planes

The Essential Guide to the Planes of Existence Volume VIII: Plane of Shadow Written & Designed by “Weird Dave” Coulson

Interior Art by Emmanuel Bou Roldan (published by 1manstudio.de), www.critical-hit.biz,

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any repro- duction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of SampleWizards of the Coast. file ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Volume VIII: Gloomwrought with its legion of mysterious keepers maintaining order. Other famous sites include the Plane of Shadow Nightwyrm Fortress, the Onyx Palace of the Raven Queen, the Moon Towers, and the Circle of Midnight Stones, just “The Plane of Shadow, also referred to as the Shadowfell, to name a few. Truly, in a realm possessed of so much is an echo of the Material Plane. It overlaps the known darkness and despair, heroes are needed to push back the world but it remains separate, and a great gloom and sense encroaching shadow at every opportunity. of dread holds sway over its gray, shadow-filled landscape. It is the opposite of the Plane of Faerie, and there is strong Lay of the Land evidence to support the two echo planes are linked in some ephemeral way. I surmise that the Plane of Shadow is a byproduct of the Negative Energy Plane influencing As an echo of the Material Plane, the Plane of Shadow the Material Plane, and that it represents a decaying of holds many of the same basic geographic features of its the natural order inherent to all things and places in the mirror. However, they are distorted, often more brooding multiverse. Certainly the prevalence of necrotic energy and and sinister in appearance. The sky is always dark, cloaked undead horrors in the Shadowfell lends credence to this often in thick gray clouds, but even when they pass there theory.” is no moon, sun, or stars that shine overhead. Most major Lillandri the Moon Mage natural features in the Material Plane have a “shadow- analogue” in the Shadowfell, such as mountains and Gloom, despair, hopelessness, and loss are just some of forests, and even cities have a dark mirror. Few of them are the words that can be used to describe the feelings that inhabited in the Plane of Shadow, however. weigh down travelers that enter the Plane of Shadow. It Just as in many Material Planes, twisting below the is an echo of the Material Plane, but it holds only a dark ground of the Plane of Shadow is a labyrinthine maze reflection filled with darkness and a creeping sense of of tunnels and caves. Known as the Shadowdark, in the being watched. Forests hold sinister shadows, mountains Plane of Shadow this region is unnaturally cold and only loom taller and more ominous, and everywhere the natural gets colder the further into the ground one explores. Some order seems twisted and bent towards a darkly malevolent planar scholars have theorized that there is a massive end. portal or vortex leading to the Negative Energy Plane The nature of the Plane of Shadow draws evil and somewhere in the Shadowdark, but if it’s true it has yet to undead creatures to it, and this attraction has led many be found. planar scholars to link the realm to the Negative Energy There are some strange exceptions to these general Plane. There certainly seems to be some truth to this guidelines. The most prominent of which are the Domains connection, and it’s worth noting that the Plane of Faerie of Dread, each an isolated realm surrounded by obscuring – another echo plane, but one filled with vibrant and often fog that reaches beyond the planar border. These pockets violent life – seems just as strongly linked to the Positive of the Shadowfell are held together by powerful entities Energy Plane. Are these two sides of the Material Plane known as the Dark Powers, though their exact makeup the result of the Positive and Negative Energy Planes? Or and nature are a mystery, and each domain serves as a are the Positive and Negative Energy Planes a result of the prison for those trapped inside. The center of each domain Shadowfell and Feywild? Debates continue in scholarly is a darklord – a creature, usually sentient but not always, circles. that has gained the favor of the Dark Powers and exercises From a more conventional standpoint, the Plane of some control over the mists that bind the domain and Shadow is a place where fell creatures dwell, and its even some denizens within it. Each darklord is as much location on the other “side” of the Material Plane makes a prisoner as other inhabitants, however, but through the its interference much more common than other decidedly influence of the Dark Powers they have extended or even evil outer planes, such as the Abyss or the Nine Hells. A immortal lifespans. pervasive gloom in a forlorn crypt, the shadow cast by The most famous Domain of Dread is Barovia, a gothic a tombstone in the moonlight, or the yawning darkness land ruled by the powerful vampire darklord Count Strahd beneath a creaking gallows all can contain portals to the von Zarovich. From his imposing seat of power at Castle Plane of Shadow, allowing monstrous creatures to slip Ravenloft, Count Strahd works towards multiple ends, between the cracks and wreak havoc. including how to break free of the mists and return to the The Shadowfell is also the home to the Domains of Shadowfell proper. Another well-known and feared domain Dread, unique and isolated realms locked away from is the Necropolis, a bleak region dominated by countless the rest of the plane by insidious Dark Powers. These mindless undead under the direct control of the region’s unknown macabre masters of darkness draw powerful scheming master, the lich Azalin. men and women away from the Material Plane at their Finding one of these Domains of Dread is rarely a darkest moment, trapping them and their lands. Barovia, chance encounter, and the mists the surround and bind home of the vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich, is the most each one seems to be a direct extension of the Dark famous, but other domains exist, scattered across the Powers themselves. The mists can extend through the Samplemultiverse, though they rarely movefile beyond the Material Plane of Shadow. Monsters of all types stalk the gloomy wilderness of Plane, and they can draw in unsuspecting people into their the Shadowfell, and between them havens of civilization prisons. are hard to come by. The most famous is the city of

Volume VIII | Plane of Shadow 3 Cycle of Time without merit on the Plane of Shadow. However, this landscape distortion can be a boon when Time passes in the Plane of Shadow exactly the same as utilized properly. Great distances can be traveled over the Material Plane, but not sun or moon exists to mark much shorter timespans if an entrance to the Material the passage of time. Day and night are filled with the same Plane can be found in the right region. inky twilight with no discernible difference between the While on the Plane of Shadow, light sources are greatly two. Each of the isolated Domains of Dread within the diminished. Every light source provides radiance in half Shadowfell behave under their own rules, however. Most of the normal area while in the Shadowfell, and spells do have a day-night schedule with a sun that rises and sets, and effects that provide illumination have their durations but it’s all part of the prison built by the Dark Powers and reduced by half. The ever-present darkness of the plane maintained by the domain’s darklord. seeks to snuff out all light that enters. Characters that take a short rest in the Plane of Shadow Surviving risk suffering from fell despair; see the Hazards & Phenomena section for details on this effect. The Plane of Shadow seems to share the same air as its mirror so creatures that can live and breathe in the Material Plane have no inherent problems in the The Powerful and Mighty Shadowfell. A creature can survive in the Plane of Shadow as long as they can live off the brackish foul-tasting water While there are no definitive rules of the Plane of Shadow, that runs in the lakes and rivers, and find food that hasn’t there are enough powerful entities and influential spoiled (something that happens at an accelerated pace). organizations to keep adventurers on their toes. Any non-native humanoid that takes a short rest in the Plane of Shadow risks fell despair (described under Hazards & Phenomena). Dark Powers What are the Dark Powers? Few know exact details. They Getting There are malevolent entities of near god-like status that dictate the creation of the various Domains of Dread. Within each individual domain, a darklord or group of darklords Spontaneous portals to the Plane of Shadow from the hold supreme power, including controlling the mists that Material Plane are common, and they only appear at form the border between the realm and the rest of the night. Few permanent portals are known to exist, and the multiverse. But the Dark Powers are the true masters ones that are known exist below ground where the sun behind the scenes, and it is by their will the darklords never shines and darkness prevails. The appearance of a suffer and rule in their pocket prisons. spontaneous portal to the Shadowfell is difficult to predict, Some warlocks have reached out to the Dark Powers but certain organizations such as the Tenebrous Cabal and to make bargains for power and influence, but these deals the Shadow Hand Guild have worked to understand and are always done through a proxy of some sort. There catalog the triggers. does seem to be multiple Dark Powers and sometimes A spontaneous portal appears in a place of darkness they seem to operate through agents against each other, and shadow and usually only when certain conditions are but for the most part their machinations are difficult to met. Some of those conditions are known. For example, discern. Shadow demons, shadows, and nightshades are nights where the moon or moons are obscured in the sky common representatives of the Dark Powers across the on the Material Plane are prime triggers for spontaneous multiverse, and there are some scholars who believe they portals, as are certain festivals and holidays that honor the are advanced nightshades of monumental power. gods and goddesses of shadow and darkness. Cemeteries, Gaining the attention of the Dark Powers is rarely a graveyards, and crypts can all hold portals to the Plane of boon to mortals. They tend to have a cruel sense of irony Shadow, often in new construction over old ground. when dealing with lesser creatures, a trait exhibited by Certain spells in older tomes and spellbooks are all of the darklords they choose to imprison within a known to pierce the veil between the Material Plane and Domain of Dread. There are some wild theories that say Shadowfell as well, but the secrets of these have been lost the Dark Powers are actually agents of benevolence, and to most of the current arcane world. by removing powerful individuals and imprisoning them in misty realms within the Shadowfell they are tipping Traveling Around the scales of balance towards good. Warlocks and other beings that have dealt with the proxies of the Dark Powers know that this is probably not the case, or at least not the Movement is no more hindered or helped in the Plane of case with all of them. Perhaps they are moving towards a Shadow than the Material Plane, but distance becomes a cosmic balance, but it’s not out of some sense of justice or somewhat elastic concept over time. A group of travelers temperance that they infuse evil beings with great power that enters the Shadowfell from a forest within the and elevate them to the status of darklords. MaterialSample Plane may find themselves in a similar forest, file though dark and twisted. Traveling outside the forest, however, the travelers can find the landscape take on larger deviances, but these differences are fluid. Maps are usually

Volume VIII | Plane of Shadow 4 The Raven Queen Shadow Hand Guild One of the great powers of the Plane of Shadow is the Thieves and rogues have a natural affinity towards enigmatic figure known as the Raven Queen. She has the darkness, and many of them find solace in the gloomy powers of a god, and she possesses great influence over twilight of the Plane of Shadow. The Shadow Hand the spheres of death, winter, and fate. In the Material Guild takes that a step further, however, and has actually Plane, cults have sprung up to worship her, and from these established a home on the Shadowfell in Gloomwrought, followers the Raven Queen draws great strength. Does that the City of Midnight. Gloomwrought is a dark city ruled make her a god? It certainly seems to qualify, but some by various factions of petty and corrupt nobles, but planar scholars are not so sure. underneath it all operates the Shadow Hand thieves. They Little is known about the Raven Queen’s background. rule from an elaborate series of sewer tunnels beneath the Rumors says she was a mortal sorceress who impressed streets of the City of Midnight, and from there they run an an ancient god of death. Did she betray the god of death extensive network of spies and informants. They watch not and steal his power? Or did she simply claim what was just the actions within Gloomwrought but as many major left behind? Can a god of death die? These questions all cities as they can. swirl around the background for the Raven Queen, but Within their sewer tunnels, powerful wizards in the regardless she seems to have stepped into the mantle of a Shadow Hand Guild have constructed viewing portals deity with dominion over death. that allow them visual access to many other cities. They In the Plane of Shadow, she rules from the Onyx Citadel, operate a series of two-way portals as well, partnering with a massive structure that moves around the Shadowfell thieves’ guilds in major cities to provide easy access. Few at the Raven Queen’s wishes. Several temples run by but the most powerful members of each of these external deranged cultists lay scattered about the plane as well, and guilds even knows about the Shadow Hand’s existence – she has an ongoing feud with Orcus, Demon Prince of the most just feel a slight breeze as a shadow passes from a Undead. The two have sparred through proxies countless darkened corner into the night-filled streets. times across the multiverse, but the Plane of Shadow is The masters of the Shadow Hand Guild seem interested where their most fierce showdowns have taken place. in accruing magical items and trinkets from across the multiverse, and they hoard these in secret vaults hidden Samplewithin their sewer tunnels below fileGloomwrought. Some of these they use as tests for initiates into the guild, while others are meant to deter or destroy uninvited guests.

Volume VIII | Plane of Shadow 5 Tenebrous Cabal The Umbral Chief The Tenebrous Cabal is a loosely-knit organization of Long ago, on a distant Material Plane, there was a great wizards and clerics dedicated to death and necromancy. barbarian chief from the savage tribes of the windswept They do not have much of a formal power structure steppes. He rose up and united his people, and drove them and usually operate as individuals with their plans and forth to conquer the civilized lands. He did this through schemes, but they do have one grand resource – the Bleak influence from the Shadowfell, and he commanded great Academy. This large school in the Plane of Shadow is powers of shadow and deceit that he used in his bloody dedicated to the art of necromancy, and all members of the path of conquest. His enemies called him the Umbral Tenebrous Cabal are graduates of the academy. Chief, and his legions of shadow-touched barbarians were The Tenebrous Cabal was founded long ago by devotees ruthless and without mercy. of the archlich Acererak, and they constructed the original Eventually the Umbral Chief was defeated, but in defeat Black Academy over the site of the infamous Tomb of he was pulled into the Plane of Shadow for all eternity. Horrors as a means of honoring their patron and teaching Now he serves as a force for destruction and change in their skills to new generations. Through the actions the Shadowfell. The Umbral Chief still leads his shadow- of heroes and the indifference of Acererak, the Black fed army, and his most loyal followers are known as Academy in the Material Plane was destroyed, but not umbral ones far and wide. They thunder on black shadow before much of the knowledge was secreted away by the steeds across the gloom-filled landscape of the plane, and school’s vampire masters. They worked to recreate the occasionally they cross into the Material Plane to wreak academy in the Shadowfell, and there they built a dark havoc and vengeance against the light. and magnificent campus shaped like a great skull. They The Umbral Chief is an undead behemoth of frightening renamed it the Bleak Academy and created the Tenebrous strength and cunning. The final resting place for his Cabal to continue the study of the necromantic arts. bones lies in a secret barrow somewhere in the Plane of Most members of the Tenebrous Cabal are evil, and Shadow, and rumors say that a single bone shard from many are undead creatures seeking to expand their the Umbral Chief’s physical remains can grant fantastic mastery over magic. Many horrors have been birthed in powers to mortal warriors. Few have found the barrow of the shadowed halls of the Bleak Academy over the years, the Umbral Chief, but those that have sought it out say it but not all who pass through become undead-loving lies somewhere in a great valley of darkness, guarded by necromancers. Some students and teachers are dedicated hideous shadow monsters like no other. to understanding necromancy and its place in the grand arcane scale, and this kind of study does not lend itself towards evil actions directly. Creatures & Denizens

Undead monsters are common in the Plane of Shadow, owing to its strong connection to the Negative Energy Plane. Other monsters do prowl the Shadowfell, however, so travelers should be on the alert for more than just undead.

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Volume VIII | Plane of Shadow 6 Bone Weird Bone Weird Bone weirds are insidious hunters of the Plane of Shadow. Large elemental, chaotic evil They lurk in cemeteries and graveyards, and often slither into the Material Plane through spontaneous portals Armor Class 15 (natural armor) in search of prey. A bone weird appears as a vaguely Hit Points 85 (10d10+30) Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. serpentine mass of bones, hundreds upon hundreds of them, topped by a large skull. The skull is usually of a STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA large animal, such as a crocodile or moose, but it could be 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) anything, and it is fused to the creature’s form. Natural Manifestation. The bone weird is often Saving Throws Dex +4, Wis +3 mistaken for an undead monster, but it is truthfully a Damage Immunities piercing, poison, necrotic natural manifestation of the Plane of Shadow. It is believed Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned that they come from graveyards in the Shadowfell, where Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 the reflection of old bones coalesces into an elemental Languages - creature that forms and crawls out in search of food. Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Something in that process instills within them an evil mindset, however, and the bone weird delights in causing Form of Bones. The bone weird is comprised of hundreds of as much pain and suffering to its food as possible. bones which absorb mighty blows. Critical hits are treated Bone Eaters. Bone weirds live off the bones of living as normal hits against the bone weird. Attacks that deal creatures, and they do this by subsuming them directly bludgeoning damage ignore this feature. from victims. Bones of deceased creatures can be eaten if the creature is desperate, but it seems to truly enjoy Regeneration. As long as the bone weird has more than 0 sucking the bones out of still living victims. The process is hit points, it regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn. If the horrendously traumatic for the victim. bone weird is reduced to 0 hit points, it reforms with half its maximum hit points in 1d4+1 rounds. The only way to stop this reforming is by destroying the skull of the bone weird after it has been reduced to 0 hit points (the skull has AC 14, 15 hp, and resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage).

Actions Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (3d6+3) slashing damage. If the target is a living creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or have 1d6 of its bones subsumed by the bone weird. The bones are ripped out through the victim’s body, inflicting 22 (4d10) force damage, and forcing the victim to succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure the victim gains a level of exhaustion from the ordeal.

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