This spell is related to the shadow monsters and demishadow monsters spells. The shades spell uses material from the Demiplane of Shadow to form semireal illusions of one or more monsters, up to 1 Hit Die per caster level. All shades created by one spell must be of the same sort, and they have 60% of the hit point total the real creatures would have. Those who view the shades and fail their saving throws vs. spell believe the illusion.
The shades perform as the real monsters with respect to Armor Class and attack forms. Special attack forms such as petrification or level drain do not actually occur, but a subject who believes the shades are real will react appropriately, until the illusion is countered by a dispel magic spell or the condition is countered by a heal spell. Those who roll successful saving throws see the shades as transparent images superimposed on vague shadowy forms. These are Armor Class 6 and cause only 60% of the true monsters' normal melee damage.
