Shadow-esque Cohort Help

[Charles Martel]

So I'm playing a gnome illusionist in a 3.5 game going for a reasonably played killergnome build and 7th level is rolling around. I cleared Leadership with my DM making it very clear that I'd keep my cohort out of the limelight and keep all of the followers as off screen as possible. Really it's more of a flavor/world building decision and something of an intentional minor nerf on my part on such a feat-starved build. That said the purpose of this post is I'm looking for some suggestions as to how to get my cohort to be a good interpretation of Living Shadow - Television Tropes & Idioms.

What I'm looking for is a living shadow that will probably in combat just watch my squishy wizard's back, pouncing on anything that jumps me, maybe aid another with some skills, disguise itself should the party be knocked-out and work to free us, that kind of thing. Obviously the first probability that comes to mind is simply making it a Shadow, see if I can bump it up to a Greater at some point, and I dunno throw in some class levels or some such. The problem I have with this solution is

1. It doesn't work terribly well thematically and would be more in-line with Undead Leadership, I'd much prefer something from the plane of shadow as shadowcraft mages have strong ties to it and it gels.
2. The chaotic-evil alignment, while my character is TN I still doubt that this would be a good fit.
3. A 6int is far from dumb animal level, but I'd like something a good bit higher than that. I mean the animated shadow of a master illusionist should have some of his formidable intellect no? Even if it might is used mainly to pull funny/mean pranks.
4. The abilities of a MM shadow also aren't optimal. Sure it gets the whole "is a shadow" thing down, but creating spawn and dealing str damage aren't exactly what I'm looking for either. Also the ability to look 2D and actually hide as my shadow are a must and the ability to interact with the corporeal/physical would be great.

Now it's possible that Leadership is an odd way to go about this because some of the other abilities that in general go with the trope such as a direct connection to my character's state of being are much more in line with a familiar, and as such Improved Familiar would work better. Unfortunately I already gave up my familiar for the decent if not mind blowing Chains of Disbelief. I'd still like to tie in some of these abilities somehow, but also fear that the only way to do so would be with some homebrewing on my DM's part. Heck it's entirely possible that the majority of this will have to be homebrewed and in that case I'd really appreciate some good bases to start with in order to try and keep this as in-line with published stuff as possible. I'm fairly positive that he'd go for it if I do the majority of the legwork with some help from yall of course.

Oh and I've already looked at the Dark and Shade templates and while some of the package is there such as hide in plain sight and ties to the plane of shadow, they also aren't 100% there. Any kind of input or suggestions as to how best to make this concept playable would be great.

 

[Jacob]

In keeping with the cohort being a Shadow direct from the Monster Manual and no homebrewing at all, the alignment issue can be discounted, given it could be considered one of the "unique or rare" creatures which adopted another alignment over time. And because it would be a special Shadow, it's possible to roll proper stats up for the cohort, then apply the stat bonuses/negatives as if it were playing as a Monster Race. With only a -4 to INT, you could simply assign one of the high rolls to that stat (or point buy, however you roll). So that's settled as well.

Aside from picking up some feats which allow your cohort to grasp material items (and other fun gems), the only problem I see is making the cohort mechanics function (HD + Level Adjustment to be accounted for). Especially given the fact you're likely to take advantage of the Create Spawn ability and have your own army under the Shadow's control (or Greater Shadow in this case)? It may not be what you're looking for (or the no save STR damage, I have no idea why), but if that's the case what prevents you from giving it PC Levels to make it something you want?

Other than that, Tome of Magic's Shadow Magic section may have ideas for you. On what they are I can't say, because I've said enough for now.

 

[Noir le Lotus]

Maybe you could ask your DM if he could allow you a Shae.

It's an 4-HD outsider from the plane of shadow in Pathfinder RPG and counts as a 7th level cohort for the Leadership feat.

From the PRD :

"The mysterious people known as the shaes are natives of the Shadow Plane. In their own language, their name means “unbound” or “unfettered.” According to shae history, they were once humanoids who through tireless study and self-perfection managed to transcend the bonds of a definite form. Though they still bear roughly humanoid shapes, shaes' outlines are perpetually wispy and impossible for any non-shaes to focus directly on."

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

The Shadowdanger PrC specifically states that the Shadow posesses the alignment of the PC.

There are specific instructions for what happens if a Shadow dies.

There are no instructions about what happens if the PC dies. What might happen to a Shadow, one with a good alignment, who's used to adventuring and tagging along with someone, and how that Shadow might possibly connect up with someone else looking for such a companion.

 

[emoplato]

So I'm playing a gnome illusionist in a 3.5 game going for a reasonably played killergnome build and 7th level is rolling around. I cleared Leadership with my DM making it very clear that I'd keep my cohort out of the limelight and keep all of the followers as off screen as possible. Really it's more of a flavor/world building decision and something of an intentional minor nerf on my part on such a feat-starved build. That said the purpose of this post is I'm looking for some suggestions as to how to get my cohort to be a good interpretation of Living Shadow - Television Tropes & Idioms.

What I'm looking for is a living shadow that will probably in combat just watch my squishy wizard's back, pouncing on anything that jumps me, maybe aid another with some skills, disguise itself should the party be knocked-out and work to free us, that kind of thing. Obviously the first probability that comes to mind is simply making it a Shadow, see if I can bump it up to a Greater at some point, and I dunno throw in some class levels or some such. The problem I have with this solution is

1. It doesn't work terribly well thematically and would be more in-line with Undead Leadership, I'd much prefer something from the plane of shadow as shadowcraft mages have strong ties to it and it gels.
2. The chaotic-evil alignment, while my character is TN I still doubt that this would be a good fit.
3. A 6int is far from dumb animal level, but I'd like something a good bit higher than that. I mean the animated shadow of a master illusionist should have some of his formidable intellect no? Even if it might is used mainly to pull funny/mean pranks.
4. The abilities of a MM shadow also aren't optimal. Sure it gets the whole "is a shadow" thing down, but creating spawn and dealing str damage aren't exactly what I'm looking for either. Also the ability to look 2D and actually hide as my shadow are a must and the ability to interact with the corporeal/physical would be great.

Now it's possible that Leadership is an odd way to go about this because some of the other abilities that in general go with the trope such as a direct connection to my character's state of being are much more in line with a familiar, and as such Improved Familiar would work better. Unfortunately I already gave up my familiar for the decent if not mind blowing Chains of Disbelief. I'd still like to tie in some of these abilities somehow, but also fear that the only way to do so would be with some homebrewing on my DM's part. Heck it's entirely possible that the majority of this will have to be homebrewed and in that case I'd really appreciate some good bases to start with in order to try and keep this as in-line with published stuff as possible. I'm fairly positive that he'd go for it if I do the majority of the legwork with some help from yall of course.

Oh and I've already looked at the Dark and Shade templates and while some of the package is there such as hide in plain sight and ties to the plane of shadow, they also aren't 100% there. Any kind of input or suggestions as to how best to make this concept playable would be great.

You could ask the DM if he would accept a modified Master of Shadows. Normally this is for shadowcasters as the feat, shadow familiar needs that casting and is required for the PrC. I would ask if you could treat it like the improved familiar feat. What this does is it majorly boosts you shadow familiar's capability gaining HD(yes, a familiar still) all sorts of custom boosts, incorporeality, and abilities while not sacrificing much casting.