Shadowfell

This dreary echo of the Prime Material Plane is a twisted place. Where on the material plane a traveler might encounter a castle, in the Shadowfell there would be decaying ruins or a heap of rubble covered in dust. Since several Stars of Power have been reignited across Rolara, crossings from the Prime into the Shadowfell have become prevalent. Wary adventurers should take care to avoid dark corners in crypts, inky black caves, or gloomy battlefields. It is all too easy to accidently mistep and find oneself somewhere else entirely less fortunate to be in. This is the opposite plane to the Moonwilde. The actions of the Fey court more than 1500 years ago have left this plane unbalanced, and its shadows have grown unchecked for more than a millenia. Some of the dragons that left Rolara when Ketenem did went to the Shadowfell through choice or trickery, and they are there now plotting their dark return.

Geography

The geography of the shadowfell was a dark and bleak mirror of the Prime Material Plane. Where great cities full of people were located in the material, lonely dilapidated ruins were wandered by undead and shadowy creatures existed in the Shadowfell.
There were no natural sources of light in the Shadowfell. Upon arrival, travelers were immediately struck by an inky black sky with no stars, no sun, no moons, and no clouds; only blackness above. All things appeared to have their color drained or leeched from them. In the darkness of shadow, most objects, which existed in shades of black or white, had the appearance of merely dark black or light black.
When you entered the Shadowfell, the landscape at first would seem very familiar, though dark. Upon each subsequent reentry to the plane of shadows, the paths away from this starting area would change and diverge. While many "shadow-analogues" existed, such as the city of Arvanshad existing opposite Myth Chokurri, the areas between places were nearly unmappable due to the influences of shadowy fey spirits and the dark nature of the plane itself.

Localized Phenomena

Light sources only radiated light for half the distance it would on the material plane, flames and fires put out less heat and even magical spells that evoked flames would occasionaly fail or only produce dark red embers. Spells that dealt with shadows or darkness, however, were occasionally enhanced.
Despite light sources being substantially dimmer while on the plane of shadows, creatures could spot a light source from up to ten times farther away than normal, potentially. With good conditions, a creature on the shadowfell might see a candle flicker almost 100 miles away. The trained eyes of perceptive creatures might have even be able to determine whether the light is magical or natural at middle distance.
The Shadowfell was also victim of frequent, though small earthquake-like events called shadowquakes. These events occasionally brought creatures that were meant to be teleporting elsewhere unfortunately into the plane of shadow during a minor natural disaster. Gravity and time in the Shadowfell typically aligned with that of the Prime Material Plane, however due to the interference of Elven High Magic rituals there are some areas of shadow linking great distances together, and the Shadar-Kai city of Arvanshad was enchanted long ago such that all creatures within its limits are always under the effects of a feather fall spell.

Alternative Name(s)

Plane of Shadows

Type

Magical Realm

Included Locations