Looking for some ideas for Plane of Shadow

[fredramsey]

I have a group of 7th level characters on the Plane of Shadow. They are being led by a "Shadow Ranger" (my creation) to a city called Ebon, where they can find a way to return to their plane and to a particular physical location on that plane.

What I am looking for is some cool encounters to run into on the way. So I am throwing out my line to see what I can catch

(My players, please stay out of this thread)

 

[heirodule]

You could have them meet some natives of Ebon who'se language is hard to understand.

The name of their language is left as an exercize for the reader

 

[fredramsey]

Oh, my

Actually, where they are now is a tavern called the Black Lantern, where the crowd contains a beholder, a mind flayer, a couple of demons, along with a number of other "travellers" to the plane.

So the language thing (despite the joke) is not really what I'm looking for

You could have them meet some natives of Ebon who'se language is hard to understand.

The name of their language is left as an exercize for the reader

 

[Faraer]

A 100-page section of Gary Gygax's novel City of Hawks is the best published source on Gary's conception of Shadowland.

 

[Savage Wombat]

Well, my PCs have encountered (off the top of my head) a giant lantern-fish thing, blind undead beggars who try to steal your eyeballs, a fetch, a lurking grue, tenebrous worms, and of course the city denizens themselves.

 

[PaulKemp]

I have a group of 7th level characters on the Plane of Shadow. They are being led by a "Shadow Ranger" (my creation) to a city called Ebon, where they can find a way to return to their plane and to a particular physical location on that plane.

What I am looking for is some cool encounters to run into on the way. So I am throwing out my line to see what I can catch

(My players, please stay out of this thread)

"Dawn of Night," a Forgotten Realms novel by Paul S. Kemp, includes an extended excursion by the protagonists on the Plane of Shadow. The story includes encounters with a shadow dragon, a darkweaver, and an entire city long ago transplanted to the Shadow Plane and now populated by thousands of wraiths.

 

[ElectricDragon]

What about a pack of Shadow Mastiffs that can be heard first far off, baying and barking. The sounds get closer and closer until the party finally realizes the pack is after them. Give them 1-2 rounds to prepare and hit them with the baying ability while 4-6 Shadow Mastiffs charge into their area and try to grab and leave with any "daylight" enchanted items they can find. If no light items can be grabbed; let the pack bite and trip to its heart's content.

This will be a dangerous encounter (EL 9 for 4, EL 10 for 6); but the 1-2 rounds preparation should give the party some leeway to survive.

Ciao
Dave

 

[devilish]

Recent cosmology states that the Plane of Shadow extends through
all dimensions/worlds. You could throw in some mutants, Cthulhu-esque
creatures, or shadows of other humans (even, to be kitchsy, from
"our" Earth.)

I like to think of it from out of some Stephen King novel...like a darker
version of the plane/planet it's contigent with, with 1/100th the people.

 

[Narfellus]

i'd just go thru as many monster manuals as you can get your hands on, from any publisher, note creatures native to the plane of Shadow or related demi-planes, or just "weird" abberations that don't fit other places, and look at ways their ecologies might jive together. Someone else mentioned a City of Wraiths, and shadow mastiffs, and a shadow dragon. Those are all great ideas, and you'll likely get buried under so many encounter options you won't know where to start. Ideally, if you have the Manual of the Planes (from any DnD edition) it has further ideas regarding shadow and light, and the denizens of the dark realms. I'd give creatures lots of concealment bonuses, with many whispering things at the edge of sight, and LIGHT would not work properly. Halve the illumination for everything.

 

[fredramsey]

Yes, as a matter of fact, the "Shadow Ranger" is going to guide them by skirting through tangent points with other planes, sort of like "Shadow Walking" from the Amber series. There will be a force that is trying to steer them into bad places (one of the BBEGs). I already plan to have them enter an underground area and fight some obsidian Minotaurs, a grove where there are evil Treants, etc.

So, yes, I am quite wide open, I was just looking for some more inspiration.