Shadow Adept
I am going to make a quick guide to the Shadow Adept RP and give a few pointers for Shadow Adept applications. For quite some time I have been watching every Shadow Adept application and commenting on them and have been the most critical on the team. It is very rare that I see one that I can give a seal of approval to without revisions.. Usually a few revisions.. I will start by explaining the Plane of Shadows, then the Shadow Weave and Shadow Magic. Note that this will be a very general summary of very detailed and complex lore. I would still recommend anyone pursuing Shadow Adept to read up on further lore from the source books below:Some spellcasters who discover the existence of the Shadow Weave are cautious, altering their magic slowly. Others are more reckless, and hurl themselves into the abyss of the Shadow Weave, immediately acquiring all the gifts available to the casual student and discovering secrets unavailable to all but the most dedicated. These spellcasters are the shadow adepts, who make great sacrifices in some aspects of the Art in order to reap greater benefits elsewhere.
Most shadow adepts are sorcerers or wizards, and they gain the greatest power from this path. However, any spellcaster can tap the Shadow Weave, and a few bards, druids, and rangers have been known to make this choice. Among clerics, only the followers of Shar are common in the ranks of the shadow adepts.
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting pg 57
Faith And Pantheons Pg. 58
Manual of the Planes Pg. 59
Magic of Faerun Pg. 10
Tome of Magic pg. 109
What is the Plane of Shadow?
The Plane of Shadow, similar to the Ethereal Plane, overlaps and is coexistent with the Material Plane. It is close enough to be easily accessed directly from the Material Plane. Looking at the Shadow Plane side by side with the material plane, she shadow plane would look like a distorted and warped reflection of the material plane viewed through tinted glass on a funhouse mirror. Colors all appear in drab black, white and grey. The same landmarks such as mountains, buildings, planes, forest and swamps that exist on the material plane may exist on the plane of shadows, but they may be arranged or shaped differently.
IE. You might visit Baldur's Gate in the shadow plane and find it there, but completely destroyed. You might visit the Cloud Peaks and find them there, but unrecognizable as the mountains seem to have moved, shifted and changed shape. You may choose to visit the woods of sharpteeth and find they are missing entirely with a field of grass in its place.
The terrain in the plane of shadow is constantly shifting. The change is slow, but noticeable none the less.
The Shadow Plane does not connect to the Ethereal Plane. Shadow spells cast on the Ethereal Plane do not function (such as Shadow Conjuration), and ethereal spells cast on the Shadow Plane do not function (such as Ethereal Jaunt).
What is Shadow Magic?
Shadow Magic is magic drawn from the plane of shadows by tapping into the weave on that plane. This is most often used as a means to create shadow variants of conjuration or evocation spells. When cast, a spell produced through shadow magic is an illusionary spell and is treated as such. Shadow magic has a stronger effect on the Shadow Plane than the Material Plane and no effect on the Ethereal Plane (since the shadow plane can not be tapped into from the ethereal plane to cast shadow magic).
What is Shadow Conjuration?
Shadow Conjuration produces an illusionary version of a conjuration spell. That is to say, it is not real and thus is a mind affect. NWN2 does not represent this properly however. In PnP, shadow conjuration spells can only be used to cast conjuration creation or summoning spells such as: Mage Armor, Melf's Acid Arrow, Summon Creature, Obscuring Mist, Phantom Steed, etcetera. In NWN2 however, illusion and evocation spells made it into shadow conjuration such as: Magic Missiles, Invisibility, Darkness, etcetera. Furthermore, a shadow conjuration spell cast on the material plane allows for a will save, allowing the affected to realize the spell is not real. Even if they make the will save, they still take 20% damage from damage effects and they have a 20% chance to be affected by other non-damage effects. This becomes 40% for spells conjured via Greater Conjuration and 60% for Shades. in the Plane of Shadow, this becomes 30% for conjure, 60% for Greater Conjure, and 90% for Shades.
IE, A creature cast shadow conjuration and makes a web spell targeted on you. You get to make a will save. If successful, you realize the spell is only an illusion and that the webs are not real. Before rolling any reflex save, a d100 must be rolled to decide if you are affected by the spell in any way. A roll of 21-100 (or 1-80) means the spell has no effect on you. Your movement speed is not reduced and you do not need to make reflex saves to avoid becoming entangled in the web. If you do not make the roll, despite knowing the spell is only any illusion, your movement speed is still reduced and you must still make the appropriate saves.
Neverwinter Nights 2 seems to have combined Shadow Conjuration and Shadow Evocation to make up for the lack of Conjuration spells available.
What is The Shadow Weave?
Like the Weave, the Shadow Weave is everywhere and in everything, even some places where the weave is not. Unlike the weave, the shadow weave is not a weave, despite how we might call it. Rather, it is the spaces between the weave, and where the weave does not exist, those spaces still remain and the shadow weave flourishes. The shadow weave is based upon nothingness, which falls inline with the goddess from which it originates, Shar. While mages who primarily focus on shadow magics, such as Shadowcasters, may be more likely to use the Shadow Weave than other mages, their focus in shadow magic does not give them any innate understanding of its existence or how to use it. To some extent, those who focus in the study of shadow magic are more likely to be the type to use the shadow weave and become Shadow Adepts IF they learn of it somehow, just as Shadow Adepts are more likely to focus in shadow magic than those who use the weave.
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Now I will go over a few misconceptions and common mistakes in applications.
1) Divine Intervention:
Shar.. Is not your friend.. She did not give you a vision or teach you of or how to use the shadow weave. Shar does not like you. To Shar, you are an interchangeable tool at her disposal IF she even decides to USE YOU. I emphasize those words intentionally. Your ambitions and desires do not concern the Lady of Loss. She LoLs at your plights.
2) Told by Random Nobody:
In our timeline, on our server, the shadow weave is very secretive. Shar keeps it that way. Any who speak of the shadow weave to an outsider may be driven insane, stripped of their ability to cast magic from the shadow weave, and/or be killed. Unlike Mystra, those who betray Shar are far more likely to be killed than to simply have their magic denied. For this reason, those speaking of the Shadow Weave must be extremely careful who they speak of it to. Think of it like giving another person all your personal information, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and the keys to your house and to your car/truck.. You risk much.
3) Reading of it in a tome/book:
While possible, highly unlikely. Those writing of the secrets of the shadow weave are usually driven insane or killed and the book is erased. It is more likely that very simple and fundamental information on the weave would exist at the most. A book or tome would not be your characters only source of information on the weave.
4) Shadow Magic = Shadow Weave:
Shadow magic and the shadow weave are fundamentally different in practice and application. Knowing how to cast or studying shadow magic does not teach one to cast from the Shadow Weave. The mentality of a person who focuses on shadow magic may make them a more likely candidate to understand the shadow weave, but the study of shadow magic does not give them any knowledge of the shadow weave.
So.. These things aside.. how does your character learn of the shadow weave? This question seems to perplex and frustrate people.. But it is actually quite simple.. But just isn't as marvelous and snow flaky as I think they are looking for..
The best and simplest way to learn of the shadow weave is to have been taught it by a life long friend, family member, or teacher. Likely, some act that proves your loyalty to Shar might occur. This being after a decade or more of loyal service to The Lady of Loss. There you go.. done.. And I think this can very easily fit into any bio and can be easily enriched with detailed stories of you and your teacher's exploits together.
That's.. really all there is to it.. But most people either go with too simple of I found a book or some random person I met was like, hey I am a Shadow Adept, and you are like, yeah cool I want to be one too, and then they're all like, awesome let me tell you everything..
Or the extreme happens and someone says they like.. totally met Shar and hung out with them.. and they were like.. "Shar, your pretty awesome.. Dun care what no one says, you can't be evil." And Shar was all like, "Yeah man.. I get such a bad rap.. Here I made this awesome Shadow Weave for everyone to use.. And they all hatin on me.. Like.. WTF?" And you're like, "Shadow Weave? Yo can I use that?.." And Shar is like.. "Sure bro, no problem." "Awesome BFFs!"