| Hit Dice: | 3d6 (10 hp) |
| Initiative: | +3 |
| Speed: | 30 ft. (6 squares) |
| Armor Class: | 16 (+3 Dex, +3 studded leather), touch 13, flat-footed 13 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +1/+1 |
| Attack: | Spiked chain +4 melee (2d4), or shortbow +4 ranged (1d6/×3) |
| Full Attack: | Spiked chain +4 melee (2d4), or shortbow +4 ranged (1d6/×3) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with spiked chain) |
| Special Attacks: | Sneak attack +1d6 |
| Special Qualities: | Hide in plain sight, shadow curse, superior low-light vision |
| Saves: | Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +4 |
| Abilities: | Str 10, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 9 |
| Skills: | Hide +9, Listen +8, Move Silently +9, Search +6, Spot +8, Survival +6 (+8 following tracks); racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Alertness, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain) [bonus], Weapon Finesse |
| Environment: | Any forest and underground (Plane of Shadow) |
| Organization: | Solitary, patrol (3–6), or raid (7–12) |
| Challenge Rating: | 1 |
| Treasure: | +1 gal-ralan plus standard |
| Alignment: | Usually neutral evil |
| Advancement: | By character class ♊ |
| Level Adjustment: | +1 |
The shadar-kai, or shadow fey, are a race of bitter, determined folk whose souls are poisoned by shadow. Grayskinned and dark-eyed, the slender shadar-kai stand slightly taller than average humans, and their soft movements exude grace and uncanny stealth. Shadow follows the shadar-kai wherever they go. Shadows cast by the folds of their clothing seem deeper than those on humanoids, and a shadar-kai can seemingly fade out of sight by simply stepping into any common shadow.
The shadar-kai prefer light weapons suited for grace and agility, especially spiked chains. Many shadar-kai favor a variety of piercings and tattoos.
Long ago, the shadar-kai thought to preserve the world from the rising humanoid races. Skilled in shadow magic, the shadar-kai made a pact with a dark power of the Plane of Shadow to cast the world into an endless twilight in which the shadow fey would rule supreme. But the experiment went awry, and the shadar-kai were left bound to the Plane of Shadow, cursed to lose their souls in its dark depths. This shadow curse affects shadar-kai to this day, and every member of the race is engaged in a lifelong struggle to stave off inevitable doom.
The continuous pull of the Plane of Shadow has left the shadar-kai grim and embattled. Few races understand the plight of the shadow fey. Even the temporary solutions the shadar-kai have found leave them struggling with constant pain, making them vicious. Their willingness to commit acts of cruelty and violence has increased with each generation.
Shadar-kai speak Common, Elven, and Sylvan.
Cursed and blessed with a great affinity for the Plane of Shadow, the shadar-kai are subtle and deceptive. They steal without being detected when they can, striking from ambush when necessary. Spellcasters among the shadar-kai favor shadow and illusion magic, and few groups of the shadow fey are without a powerful spellcasting leader. Skilled at stealth and gifted with visual acuity greater than that of most other creatures, the shadar-kai have little trouble making sure that combat occurs on their terms.
The shadar-kai described in the statistics block wears a +1 gal-ralan (see Shadar-Kai Items).
Hide in Plain Sight (Su): Shadar-kai can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as they are not illuminated by natural daylight, the daylight spell, or a similar magical light, shadar-kai can hide themselves from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind.
Shadow Curse (Su): The Plane of Shadow exerts a tremendous pull on shadar-kai’s soul, which is only tenuously connected to its mortal body. Any time a shadar-kai is stunned, dazed, staggered, or unconscious (other than from natural sleep), the shadow fey must make a Will save (DC 15) or lose a portion of her soul to the Plane of Shadow. The shadar-kai must also attempt a save any time she removes a gal-ralan, if she has one (see Shadar-Kai Items).
A shadar-kai with a damaged soul gains one negative level that cannot be removed until she restores her soul completely. If exposed to another event that requires a save against the shadow curse, a shadar-kai may gain additional negative levels. A shadar-kai on the Plane of Shadow can transfix her soul to her body again with a greater restoration spell. A shadar-kai on the Material Plane (or elsewhere) must use a wish or miracle spell to restore her soul.
A shadar-kai afflicted with the shadow curse cannot be raised from the dead or resurrected, and cannot gain experience. The touch of the shadow curse galls a shadar-kai, filling her heart with an icy emptiness that eventually drives all but the most determined individuals to capitulate and leave the Material Plane altogether.
A shadar-kai who goes to the Plane of Shadow and remains there ameliorates the effects of the shadow curse and suffers no ill effects. However, if she leaves the Plane of Shadow without restoring her soul, she suffers the effects of the shadow curse until she returns to the Plane of Shadow or restores her soul.
Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex): Shadar-kai have extraordinary vision in low-light conditions. They can see four times as far as a human in low-light conditions.
Skills: Shadar-kai have a +10 racial bonus on Hide checks made in dark or shadowy conditions (anything other than daylight or the area of a daylight spell).
The shadar-kai have developed a predatory society. They have few permanent cities of their own but can often be found in other settlements. The cities built by humans and other intelligent races have little chance of keeping out a determined group of shadar-kai infiltrators because such cities are full of shadows.
The few shadar-kai cities that remain on the Material Plane are concealed by illusions and shadow magic, and well guarded by bands of shadar-kai scouts leading shadow mastiffs. Many shadar-kai have been subsumed into the Plane of Shadow, and even the greatest cities of the shadarkai are desolate, sparsely populated places.
Most shadar-kai realms are magocracies, ruled by powerful illusionists. Shadar-kai hate other fey, and they hunt and kill those fey unlucky enough to cross their path. Occasionally shadar-kai make alliances with other evil fey, usually to deceive or infiltrate a population of good humanoids.
The shadow curse haunts every aspect of shadar-kai culture, and remaining on the Material Plane is a constant struggle for these creatures. Most shadar-kai use a gal-ralan to fix their souls to their bodies and stave off the shadow curse.
When this cold-forged iron armband is donned (taking up the spot where a bracer would be worn), it pierces the wearer’s forearm with long needles of the same metal. The device fixes its wearer’s soul to her body but also causes never-ending pain. As long as a character wears a gal-ralan, she takes 1 point of Constitution damage that cannot be healed until after the gal-ralan is removed.
A gal-ralan provides its wearer with a +1 to +5 resistance bonus on her saving throws. This bonus increases by an additional +2 against death effects, energy drains, and effects that affect the wearer’s soul (such as the shadow curse). For example, a +2 gal-ralan provides a +4 resistance bonus against these effects, a +3 gal-ralan provides a +5 resistance bonus against these effects, and so on.
| Gal-Ralan | Price (gp) | Item Level | Caster Level | Aura (DC) | Cost to Create | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | XP | Days | |||||
| +1 | 625 | 3rd | 3rd | Faint (16) | 313 | 25 | 1 |
| +2 | 2,500 | 7th | 6th | Moderate (18) | 1,250 | 100 | 3 |
| +3 | 5,600 | 10th | 9th | Moderate (19) | 2,700 | 224 | 6 |
| +4 | 10,000 | 12th | 12th | Strong (21) | 5,000 | 400 | 10 |
| +5 | 15,600 | 14th | 15th | Strong (22) | 7,800 | 624 | 16 |
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, resistance, caster level must be three times that of the gal-ralan’s bonus.
Cost to Create: See table.
Price (Item Level): 3,300 gp (8th)
Body Slot: —
Caster Level: 9th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 19) conjuration
Activation: Standard (command)
Weight: —
Shadar-kai overcome by the shadow curse often make use of the blackstone rune. The rune is a complex sigil drawn on a small, glossy stone. On command, a blackstone rune allows its bearer to plane shift between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane (in either direction), along with up to 50 pounds of objects. A blackstone rune can be used three times before its magic fades.
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, plane shift.
Cost to Create: 1,650 gp, 66 XP, 4 days.
Price (Item Level): 50 gp (½)
Body Slot: —
Caster Level: 1st
Aura: Faint; (DC 15) evocation
Weight: —
When thrown or dropped, one vial of this magic liquid reduces the ambient light level to that of starlight in a 20-foot radius. Magical light still functions in the area (and counters the effect), but torches, lanterns, sunrods, and other mundane light sources are suppressed until removed from the area. The DC of Spot checks made against targets within the night extract’s area increases by +10, although creatures with darkvision or superior lowlight vision ignore this increase, and creatures with normal low-light vision gain a +5 bonus on Spot checks made in starlight. The night extract provides total concealment (50% miss chance) against creatures without low-light vision, concealment (20% miss chance) against creatures with low-light vision, and no concealment against creatures with darkvision or superior lowlight vision. The effect lasts for 10 minutes.
Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, light.
Cost to Create: 25 gp, 2 XP, 1 day.
A shadar-kai’s favored class is rogue. Although rogues are by far the most common characters among the shadow fey, many other shadar-kai become wizards or clerics. Few shadar-kai are strong in melee combat, so they rarely do well as fighters, rangers, monks, or barbarians.
Due to their starting Hit Dice and unique powers, a shadar-kai’s effective character level (ECL) is +4. Thus, a 1st-level shadar-kai rogue has an ECL of 5 and is the equivalent of a 5th-level character.
Source: Fiend Folio, page 150. Changes applied as per the D&D® v.3.5 Accessory Update. Changed references to nine-tenths concealment to total concealment; changed references to one-half concealment to concealment.