Shadow

Shadow (CR 13)

Chaotic Evil - Medium - Undead (Incorporeal)

Lore:	Know (Religion)
26		41
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

24

Perception:
31	+21
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Darkvision 60 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.
• Hover 30 ft.

Defense

AC

34

Man Def

29

Monster Health
336	168	25
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+10
Refl:	+15
Will:	+10

Strong Against:

• Incorporeal
• (Undead 1) Immune (no effect): diseases (infected, diseased, blighted), poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), ability damage (dilution, damage, drain), and essence damage (suppression, omission, destruction)
• (Undead 2) Immune (no effect): bleeds (bruised, bleed, ruptured), fatigued, exhausted
• (Undead 3) Immune (no effect): magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned
• (Undead 4) Immune (no effect): any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless)
• (Incorporeal) Immune (no effect): all damage from non-magic weapons.
• (Incorporeal) Hardened (½ damage): magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects.
• (Incorporeal) Incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as all force effects.
• (Incorporeal) May enter and move through solid objects, but must remain within one square of the surface. May attack adjacent living creatures from within solid objects with a 50% miss chance. While doing so, they can also be attacked, with a 50% miss chance.

Weak Against:

• Vulnerable (1.5x damage): attacks that inflict Light (energy, uncommon) or Sunlight (energy, rare) damage

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+20

Man Off

+17

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Shadowy Fangs +24 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (3d10+17/x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  plus: 1d4 points of STR Damage

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Shadowy Fangs +24 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (3d10+17/x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  plus: 1d4 points of STR Damage
• 2x Shadowy Claws +20 (3d6+6/x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Shadowy Touch +24 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (3d10+17/x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 50 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Shadowy Touch +24 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (3d10+17/x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 50 ft.)

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

—

STR

16

DEX

—

CON

6

INT

12

WIS

15

CHA

Skills:

• Knowledge (Local): 21
• Perception: 21
• Stealth: 25 (-12 in bright light)
• All other skills: 16 (no ranks)

Languages: Common, Stilth

Feats:

Special Abilities

Distorted Shadow (Su) Swift Action 1/Enc

Once per encounter as a swift action, a Shadow may flicker and distort itself, throwing shards of itself in the area around it. While under the effects of Distorted Shadow, the shadow has an inclusive reach of 15 feet and temporarily gains the use of the Combat Reflexes feat, so it may make up to four attacks of opportunity each round, if provoked. Distorted shadow lasts until the beginning of the Shadow's next turn.

Torn Shadow (Su) Free Action 1/Enc

Up to once per encounter (or once per hour, if used outside of combat) as a free action during its turn, a shadow may choose a creature that it killed. The body of that creature remains on the field of play as a square of difficult terrain. Even worse, at the start of the killing shadow's next turn (following the use of this ability), a new Torn Shadow is spawned in that square, with an initiative value that is 1 lower than the creating Shadow's initiative. The Torn Shadow may act in the same round it spawns. Note that killing the spawning Shadow before the new Torn Shadow arrives WILL stop the new monster from appearing. A Torn Shadow has exactly the same stats as a Shadow, except that it cannot create new Torn Shadows until it has existed for a year and a day. If it is slain, it rewards treasure and experience as a normal Shadow.

Shadow

The exact origins of malevolent undead Shadows is the source of considerable controversy. Some say they arise from especially evil souls that cling to darkstuff to avoid their eternal fate. Others say they are malign spirits that suffuse the shades of the recently dead to act out their evil will upon the world of the living. Still others say that Shadows are a curse upon the world, the shadow of Undeath laid by some long-lost God or pantheon.

Regardless of their origin, Shadows are terrible foes. They are incorporeal, can move through and attack from inside solid objects, are resistant to or immune to almost everything, and inflict terrible draining attacks. Shadows are Lost undead, spirits who have no place, and as such they are endlessly restless and deadly. They are also Eaters, driven by The Hunger to consume life and spawn ever more undeath.

As such, shadows are deadly menaces: They can be constrained by reverence and blessed ground, but little else will stop their rampages. Whenever a nest of Shadows is discovered, they must be rooted and burned out without fear, falter, or failure, or tragedy is sure to follow.

Combat Tactics

The huge thing about Shadows is that they are incorporeal, so they are immune to non-magical attacks and take half damage from almost everything else. Add in that they have touch attacks and can attack from inside walls, and it gets very unpleasant very quickly.

Shadows are not mindless, but they are not smart, either. Their typical tactic is to hide inside the floor or walls of a room or corridor until they detect the living standing right next to them. They will then take an attack action with a 50 percent miss chance on creatures that walk adjacent to them, and then emerge from the wall and engage in melee.

Shadows love melee, and will strive to go to full attacks as fast as possible, trying to kill its enemy in hopes of getting some re-reinforcements by spawning a Torn Shadow. Shadows will not work for flanks, but they will definitely move as much as they can through solid surfaces (most often the floor), to deny their foes opportunity attacks and to move into the back ranks of their enemies as fast as possible.

Shadows are smart enough to 'pile on' a given foe, to try and kill a foe early, so as to gain more spawns in the fight.

Shadows will usually use their Distort Shadow power as soon as they are able to get into a cluster of enemies, to take advantage of their reach and temporary Combat Reflexes. Shadows will only use their ranged Shadow Touch if they cannot reasonably close to melee, say against a flying foe, and even then, they are likely to simply merge into a wall or the ground and hope their unreachable foe comes closer.

Out of Combat

Shadows are usually found close to where they were created, as they retain vague impressions of their living lives and like to keep familiar things around them. That said, if they are forced to flee or are otherwise scattered from their lairs, they will tend to drift along, usually moving at night when their Stealth is better.

A wandering Shadow will often find a remote village, and 'set up shop' in a quiet house, killing all the inhabitants and making them Torn Shadows. Such nests of shadows can persist for years in quiet areas, making knocking on a door a bit of a risky proposition....

Immortality
Many undead creatures, such as this one, cannot be killed by normal means. However, it will lie shattered and dormant after being defeated for as long as a thousand years before rising again to seek to rid the world of life. Casting Sanctify Corpse (Cleric Spell), Gentle Repose (Cleric Spell), Rest Eternal (Cleric Spell), Raise Dead (Cleric Spell), Resurrection (Cleric Spell), or using similar life-giving abilities in the space the creature was defeated only will delay its return for another millennia. In point of fact, there is no known way, short of a Wish (Sorcerer/Wizard Spell) or Miracle (Cleric Spell), or similar divine or quasi-divine intervention, to permanently destroy incorporeal undead.

Rewards

XP: 25,600

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 17,625 gp.

Weight: 130 lbs.     Volume: 5.2 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)