Manual of the Planes

The Plane of Shadow does not connect to the EtherealPlane. Spells and spell-like abilities that use or access theEthereal Plane do not function in the Plane of Shadow.The Plane of Shadow is coexistent with the Astral Plane,so various spells and portals make it possible to movebetween the two planes.Depending on your cosmology, the Plane of Shadowmight lead to alternate Material Planes and other planesof existence. This is a perilous way to travel, because theway to other planes plunges through parts of the Plane ofShadow that are not coexistent with any known planeand home to a variety of fell monsters.SHADOW INHABITANTSWhile the Plane of Shadow is not evil in and of itself, it ishome to a wide variety of foul creatures that hate thelight and the living. The best known denizen of the planeis the shadow, an undead creature that sucks the strengthfrom adventurers on either the Material Plane or thePlane of Shadow.The Plane of Shadow has native versions of many of theplants and animals found on the Material Plane, but theshadow versions are twisted, dark variants.More dangerous monsters such as the shadow mastiffand the nightshade call the Plane of Shadow home aswell. Chapter 9 details two new denizens of the plane,the ecalypse and the umbral banyan, and a third creature,the dusk beast, often found near vortices to thePlane of Shadow.There are numerous stories of castles and entire citiesthat have been sucked up by the Plane of Shadow overthe years. Some still survive, but they have been warpedby the insidious, toxic nature of the Plane of Shadow. Thistoxicity, described in the Features of the Plane of Shadowsection below, only manifests after decades on the Planeof Shadow. It grants strange abilities and inhuman attributesto those infected by shadow’s touch.MOVEMENT AND COMBATMovement is as normal on the Plane of Shadow, buttravelers can cover great distances on the correspondingMaterial Plane by stepping across the Plane ofShadow. Those who know the way can access otherplanes from the Plane of Shadow. Thrill-seekers cansimply wander through the Plane of Shadow, lookingfor adventure.Most Material Plane creatures on the Plane of Shadowuse the shadow walk spell. With this spell, the castermoves into the Plane of Shadow, moves in a particulardirection for a certain amount of time, and then stepsback into the Material Plane. Cardinal directions (north,south, east, and west) are the same on the Plane ofShadow and the Material Plane, but distances are deceptive.Travelers simply move faster on the Plane of Shadowthan on the Material Plane.For every 10 minutes moving in a particular direction,someone using shadow walk covers seven miles inthe same direction on the Material Plane. The travelspeed is the same regardless of the speed of the creatureusing shadow walk. Whether a wizard is mounted,on foot, or flying, she covers the same distance in thesame time. To maintain the pace, the traveler need onlykeep moving.Once the creature using shadow walk reaches thedesired location, the second part of the spell activates.This opens a portal back onto the Material Plane, againwith a shadowy road leading there. This road is illusory,but the portal at the end is real. The traveler emergesamong the nearest shadows to the destination. By studyingthe surroundings on the Plane of Shadow beforeemerging, a traveler may have some idea of where she isgoing to appear.When moving through the Plane of Shadow, travelerssee shadowy landscapes that are similar to, thoughnot exactly alike, the corresponding terrain on theMaterial Plane. Rivers may be changed or absent, forexample, and castles present, ruined, or altered entirely.But the basic terrain type (marsh, hills, mountains)remains the same.Shadow travelers may attempt to seek out a portal toan alternate Material Plane or an Outer Plane. If seekingan alternate Material Plane, the traveler forces herselfout of the areas that correspond to the originalMaterial Plane. The terrain grows extreme: Trees aremore massive than anything on the Material Plane,mountains become clifflike barriers, and rivers areraging torrents. It takes 1d4 hours of constant travel toreach the spot on the alternate Material Plane that correspondsto the departure point on the original MaterialPlane. At this point, the traveler can open a newportal and enter the alternate Material Plane. If yourcosmology doesn’t include alternate Material Planes (orthey haven’t been discovered yet), travelers are unableto open such a portal.In this rough terrain, shadow travelers also find portalsthat move through the Astral Plane and onto other Inneror Outer Planes. Again, it takes 1d4 hours of constanttravel to find a random portal of this type.When opening the portal at either end with a shadowwalk spell, the traveler creates a weak spot between theMaterial Plane and the Plane of Shadow. This weak spotlasts 1d6×10 minutes. During that time, creatures on thePlane of Shadow may attempt to push their way onto theMaterial Plane—or vice versa. It takes a Will savingthrow (DC 15) to push through to the other side, and theattempt can be made only once per weak spot.Individuals lost, abandoned, or otherwise stranded onthe Plane of Shadow must locate such a weak spot in theshadowy fabric of the plane, happen across a permanentportal or natural vortex, or find a traveler willing to bringthem back to the Material Plane.Shadow Combat: Given the limitations of vision andmagic noted above, combat on the Plane of Shadow isotherwise normal. Shadow combatants fight in a universethat is eternally in night. While the ground on theplane continually shifts due to the Plane of Shadow’sCHAPTER 5:THE TRANSITIVEPLANES61