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|  | Shadow Plane and Shadowdancers
« Thread Started on Nov 3, 2007, 9:21am » | |
Originally posted on Saturday, 27 January 2007 09:25AM in Bioware Electrum Guild.
From the Manual of the Planes, by Jeff Grubb, copyright 1987:
"Large globs of proto-matter swirl about in the Ethereal, gathering other proto-matter, until a critical size is reached. At that time, the matter begins to pull away from the plane, growing its own Border Ethereal around it. This mass of proto-matter becomes a demi-plane.
Demi-planes are planes still in the formation process. They do not have a set place is the cosmography of the planes. They are not inner planes, though they exhibit some of those tendencies. Nor are they small Prime planes, though some are not hostile to Prime Material life. Some demi-planes fall in on themselves and break up, others merge with an inner plane or Prime Material plane."
"The Demi-Plane of Shadow is the largest of these planes, and is constructed of equal parts of the Positive and Negative Material planes. It is a murky realm filled with shadow monsters, some of which have earthly incarnations. Illusionists make use of the plane when they engage in the Shadow Walk spell. It is possible that natural ducts could be opened up in the shadows of the Prime Material plane."
These days the Shadow Plane is an established fact, so I guess 20 RL years is long enough for a demi-plane to become a full-fledged plane. As it is contructed of equal parts of the two most opposed Elemental Planes, I consider it to be the Plane of Non-Existence, or perhaps of Potentialities. It can be used as a transitive plane between ordinary shadows of the Prime, by those with the skill.
From MM2, by Gary Gygax, copyright 1983:
Shade
"All knowledgable authorities agree that shades are, or were, normal humans who through arcane magic or dark sciences have traded their souls or spirits for the essence of shadowstuff. While still retaining the shape and abilities of their original species, they have grown in power by joining with this shadowstuff."
"Dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, halflings, humans, and an occasional half-orc, are known to have forsaken goodness for the dark lure of shadowstuff. The stuff of shadow most certainly prolongs the life of shades, for unless they meet with an accident or are killed, they are undying."
From Bioware's HotU Manual:
"Operating on the border between light and darkness, shadowdancers are nimble artists of deception. They are mysterious and unknown, never completely trusted but always inducing wonder when met. Despite their link with the shadows and trickery, shadowdancers are as often good as evil."
A Shadowdancer is not a Shade. A Shadowdancer is someone who uses the border Shadow Plane to move unseen from place to place, and does minor tricks with small amounts of shadowstuff. A Shade is a person who willingly traded their soul for emptiness. Could a Shadowdancer become a Shade? Sure, but not on Electrum.
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| | Shadow Plane and Shadows
« Reply #1 on Nov 3, 2007, 9:40am » | |
Modified from the original post made on Saturday, 27 January 2007 10:08AM in Bioware Electrum Guild.
The modern-day Plane of Shadow is neutral in alignment. This seems to me to be reasonable, as it was formed from two Elemental Planes and those are all true neutral. Also, there are good potentialities as well as evil ones. Everything that could ever exist, but does not, is in there. So what kind of creatures live there, and why are Shadow-critters marked evil in the toolset?
To become a reality, something from Shadow must gain physical form. When people work together to make something come into being, they each give a little of themselves. It's not enough to hurt any of them, and from the point of conception onward, the new thing grows by means normal to the Prime.
Bioware Shadows and their ilk are potentialites that try to take all of their reality from the easiest place they can get it, which is by completely draining the existance of something else. This is an evil act, and they are therefore evil beings. Not everything from the Plane of Shadows is evil.
Most of it will still be hostile to those from the Material Plane.
Animated skeletons and corpses are dead bodies possessed by something from Shadow. Mages can facilitate the transition by use of Necromancy. This explains the apparent connection between Undead and some creatures from Shadow.
It is generally accepted that Shadow Dragons are CE. I have made them CN in Electrum, in line with other extraplaner dragons from the Inner Planes. There are evil extraplanar dragons, but they do not live in the Inner Planes. Shadow Dragons are not, however, friendly.
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