Shadar-Kai

The Shadar-Kai were originally an Elven kingdom from the Feywild who agreed to participate in a ritual to pledge their souls and magic to their queen so she could enter Arvandor and take over the throne above the Gods, and rule the Eladrin above Corellon and Lolth during their conflict. This ritual was done with shadow magic from Shar's Shadow Weave, and it went horribly wrong, bringing about the shadow curse which doomed the Elven kingdom to lose their souls into the dark depths of the Plane of Shadows. From then on, their souls were only loosely bound to their bodies, so, when they were dazed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise close to death, a part of their soul risked being sent to the Plane of Shadow. It took great strength of will to resist the tremendous and inexorable pull the Plane of Shadow had on their souls. Many Shadar-Kai migrated to Chaulssin, an Underdark drow city lying half in the Plane of Shadow. They willingly gave up their freedom and served the Jaezred Chaulssin, in exchange for magical aid in fending off the curse and to seek respite in the city's Shadow Fringe.   Eventually, their leader Kithlord Thieraven came into contact with the Sharran priestess Esvele Greycastle, seeking aid in breaking the shadow curse. She claimed that Shar, goddess of the dark, could not break the bargain that led to the curse. However, she promised that if he and his followers aided in her scheme, then they would have a secret realm where they would be immune to the curse, with other sites planned in the future. She urged him to recruit other shadow cursed Elves to the effort. Thus, within a decade, Thieraven and a band of shadow cursed had been sent by Esvele to the Lost Refuge in the Vast Swamp to help the black dragon Despayr in his plot to tear apart the Weave of magic. Thieraven reopened the Dusk Lord's Passage to the Shadow Swamp in the Plane of Shadow, where the scheme was enacted. Commanded by Kithlord Thieraven, Kithguard Maurran and other shadow cursed guarded the swamp fort, while the ferrymaster Sithierel led the cultists to the Monastery of the Ebon Dome and ferried the victims of the cult to their dooms. Eventually, the plot was uncovered and the shadow cursed were defeated when an adventuring party in service to Mystra assaulted the fort.   After the Spellplague some shadovar humans and the children they gave birth to, as well as other humans across Toril that were somehow tied to the Shadowfell, were affected by the Spellplague and transformed into shade-like creatures with nearly identical features to the shadow cursed elves. Some people associated the birth of this new race with the decline of the krinth, as the numbers of the latter dwindled while those of the "newborn" race thrived.   To avoid chaos among the shadovar and shadow cursed elves, Prince Rivalen Tanthul said that they had been blessed by Shar, and called them "Shadar-Kai" (meaning "Those of Shadow's Gift", in the ancient Netherese language). Eventually, the magocratic empire of the Netherese where the Shadar-Kai and Shadovar lived came to a disastrous fall. With this, a bargain was made with the Raven Queen to serve her as her soldiers and citizens in exchange for safety within the Shadowfell, where their souls became tied to the shadow within and restored them from the shadow curse while inside.   Age: Shadar-Kai have lifespans similar to the Eladrin, and reach adulthood around 100 years of age; living between 750 and 1,000 years.   Alignment: Denizens of the Shadowfell, Shadar-Kai have no preferred alignment. Their dark nature tends to force them into exile from other elves, but they are often Neutral in alignment.   Size: Shadar-Kai are medium sized creatures.   Speed: As medium sized creatures, your base speed is 30 ft.   Perfect Darkvision: Shadar-Kai can see and discern colors and shapes in any nonmagical darkness just as well as in light.   Shadow Attuned: You have proficiency on Stealth checks.   Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Trance. Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.   Shadow Step: As a bonus action, you can magically teleport through the Shadowfell up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Languages. Netherese, Elven