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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5780765" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 261: July 1999 part 5/7This month's competition is to design a creature from the demiplane of shadow. Now that's an idea I can get behind. Arcane Lore is also getting dark and shadowy. Soon we'll have enough for shadow magic to be a viable specialisation in itself, like in certain other games. Muahahahaha! Dispel Light seems a bit pointless when a Darkness spell can cancel that out too, and do other stuff. No accounting for trickery. Shadow Lock seals a door so you can only open it by opening it's shadow. Now that is pretty ingenious as a way of keeping out the unknowing. Perfect for a group of cultists, especially as it's low enough level to be commonly used. Dancing Shadows is kinda the reverse of dancing lights. Like it, it's not hugely powerful, but can have useful flavour effects. And if you're a Shade, it'll mean you can always be at full power in an encounter. Obedient Shadow is another one that'll give you shade without a parasol, in less obtrusive form, and longer duration. Rest assured that when you need it, it'll keep the light off you. Shadow Sight is a limited clairvoyance that can only see out of shadows. Makes sense as a way of cutting corners. Make the buggers paranoid and then pull out the full spell to laugh at them. Shady Palm is yet another variant on the shade theme, making a mobile shadow of a palm tree to follow you around. Sip pina colladas on a flying carpet down in Zakhara with this one. Hide Shadow makes your shadow into a solid object you can remove and manipulate amusingly. This is full of potential when manipulating others. Thankfully, it's only temporary, so you aren't in danger of going mad like previous versions of this power. Shadow Weave also lets you reshape shadows to practical ends. And I don't think you'll have a trouble finding shadows to manipulate in a dungeon environment. Shadow Warrior lets you hurt people by having your shadow attack their shadow. A gimmick monster from issue 61 gets vindicated in amusing fashion. Shadow Replay is a nice little divination that'll help you get a retrospective on events in an area in interesting fashion. Once again, I quite approve. Transport via Shadow is a cutdown version of shadow walk, the dimension door to that's teleport. Once again, massive paranoia and neon lights will keep them from popping out in your home. Death Shade drains hit points permanently over a truly huge area. Nasty business that works well as a long term plot thing. Muahahaha. Shadow Trap puts you inside your own shadow, unable to affect anything, miming to people to try and get them to break the curse. Another nicely inventive bit of work with plenty of good sources to draw upon. The ecology of the Dark Naga: Hee. The association of monster hunters finally manages to get something done, albeit more through luck than skill. While they might be facing a serious creature, their antics are a comical as ever, and the monster responds in kind, with enough sarcasm to pickle an elephant. Mind you, with constant mind-reading, all sorts of allies, and the ability to choose their own spell lists, they're likely to be a huge pain in the butt even when played straight, for they'll be tactically one step ahead of you, and you can never be sure what tricks they have up their sleeve. Pair them up with kobolds, and even the mightiest adventurer will tremble at the thought of fighting one. Again, this is fun and useful, but maybe strays a little too far into wacky territory. There ought to be at least the feel that the characters are in real danger in situations like this, and any violence isn't just cartoon violence that'll be reset when the scene changes.</blockquote>

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