SHADOW MAGE

The shadow mages are reclusive splinter sect of the Mage’s Guild of Keth. The guild of shadow mages was formed almost 20
years ago after the High Mage Sepheron Dul discovered a way to tap into the Plane of Shadow in order to enhance his own
spells. Sepheron Dul was immediately evicted from the guild after his superiors learned of his research. The reasons given for
his eviction were vague, usually amounting to his ‘dangerous and heretic fantasies.’ Whatever the reasons, Dul set out on his
own and in the backwater portions of Keth, he began to apprentice others in the power of shadow magic.

Since then, Dul’s small, rag-tag group of mystics has grown in power and renown, often operating openly in places where the
Mage’s Guild has little to no influence. People go to them when a direct connection to a member of the Mage’s Guild is
extremely difficult or outright impossible and Dul’s little guild has prospered because of it. The Guild of Shadow (as it has
come to be known) deals in all manner of enterprises: shipping, magical goods, espionage, and a host of other activities many
of questionable morality.

In some few places, the Guild of Shadow has openly challenged the authority of the Mage Guild. In the border city of
Fanghold, Xaad Eral – one of Dul’s first Disciples – openly proclaimed the power of the Guild of Shadow. A tower of
shadow was raised opposite the Mage’s Guildhouse in Fanghold, rivaling it in design, style, and size. Outraged, the Mage’s
Guild sought to quash the rebellious cult and for several weeks afterward, the streets of Fanghold ran red with the blood of
both Guilds. Angered by the guild warfare, Emperor Karan IV sent one legion of Kethian troops to the city and demanded
that both Guilds cease their violent actions ‘Lest [their] traitorous spirits be ground into the soil of the land.’ Both Guilds
complied, although secretly they seek to undermine each other’s actions with subterfuge and clandestine activities.

Shadow mages tend towards neutrality more than any other alignment. The trappings of good and evil mean very little to
them and often just get in the way of their pursuits. Those good shadow mages tend to try and use their magic for the
betterment of society or to try and heal the rift between the corrupt Mage’s Guild and Dul’s Guild of Shadow.

INITIATION
Initiation into the Guild of Shadows generally is a two part process. First, the applicant must be deemed worthy to join the
guild by a Headmaster or High Mage. Second, the applicant must spend a day upon the Plane of Shadow. Usually, the
applicant is joined by several others wishing to join the Guild. Should the applicant survive the process, he is deemed worthy
of joining the guild. Afterwards, the training begins.

At this stage, the trainee is sent upon tasks of little importance by the High Mage. These tasks are usually errands of some
sort and are designed to help the student develop a further connection with shadow and how it helps in everyday life. These
tasks can run the gamut from silently filching a spoon from the guild’s chef without utilizing magic to other mundane things.

After this, the student must spend a week in a room with no light. The student must begin to attune himself to the darkness
and must learn to function in places where no light exists. After the week is passed, the student then begins to learn the true
art of shadow magery.

Note: The requirements of this class only state that the character must have visited the Plane of Shadow at least once. The
requirements do not list that the character must be deemed worthy by a senior member of the cult. This is because anyone
with the right knowledge can progress as a shadow mage. The requirement for initiation exists only for the purpose of joining
the Guild of Shadows. If you wish, you could tie shadow magic exclusively to a guild or an organization. If you do so,
consider having the character being deemed worthy by a senior member be a requirement to progress in the class.
Hit Die: d4.

Requirements
To qualify to become a shadow mage, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Hide 5 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 6 ranks
Feats: Tap the Shadow
Spells: Able to cast five different arcane spells with the darkness descriptor or from the shadow subschool, one of which
must be 3rd level or higher.
Special: The character must have visited the plane of Shadow at least once.

CLASS SKILLS
The shadow mage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disguise
(Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device
(Cha).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
The Shadow Mage
Base
Attack Fort Ref Will
Level Bonus Save Save Save Special Spells per Day
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Cloak of Shadows +1, Darkvision -
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Power of Darkness +1, Summoning the Darkness +1 level of existing class
3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Cold Resistance 5 +1 level of existing class
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Cloak of Shadows +2 +1 level of existing class
5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Power of Darkness +2 +1 level of existing class
6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Cold Resistance 10 +1 level of existing class
7th +3 +2 +2 +5 Cloak of Darkness +3, See in Darkness +1 level of existing class
8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Power of Darkness +3, Shadow Walk +1 level of existing class
9th +4 +3 +3 +6 Strengthening Shadows -
10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Cloak of Shadows +4, Shadow Transformation +1 level of existing class
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shadow mages gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At 2nd-level and every level thereafter (except for level 9), the character gains new spells
per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class she belonged to
before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained.
This essentially means that she adds the level of shadow mage to the level of some other arcane spellcasting class the
character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.
Cloak of Shadows (Su): At 1st level, the shadow mage can cloak his body in writhing tendrils of darkness at will. This has
the added effect of granting her a +1 deflection bonus to AC and a +1 bonus to Hide checks. This bonus increases by 1 every
3 levels (+2 at 4th, +3 at 7th, and +4 at 10th). The shadow mage can suppress or resume this ability as a free action on her
turn. This ability works only in shadowed or especially dark areas.
Darkvision (Ex): At 1st level, the shadow mage gains darkvision out to 60 ft. If the shadow mage already has darkvision,
then she gains no other benefit.
Summoning the Darkness (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, the shadow mage gains the ability to call upon the dreaded
Darkness Pseudo-elementals (see Dragon #322) when using a Summon Monster spell. The pseudo-elementals are added to
her summon monster list thusly:
Summon Monster Spell Pseudo-elemental Type
Summon Monster III Small Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster V Medium Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster VI Large Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster VII Huge Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster VIII Greater Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster IX Elder Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Power of Darkness: At 2nd level, the shadow mage begins to master the power of the plane of shadow more and more.
She casts spells with the darkness descriptor and from the shadow subschool at +1 caster level. The bonus increases to +2 at
5th level and to +3 at 8th level. If a spell has the darkness descriptor and is also from the shadow subschool, the bonuses do
not stack with each other. These bonuses do stack with the Tap the Shadow feat.
Cold Resistance (Su): Due to prolonged exposure to the unnatural chill of the Plane of Shadow, the shadow mage
becomes inured to the cold. She gains 5 cold resistance at 3rd level and at 6th level the resistance increases to 10.
See in Darkness (Su): Once per day at 7th level, for a number of minutes equal to the shadow mage’s total levels, the
shadow mage gains the ability to see in total darkness, even that created by a deeper darkness spell. The use of this ability
need not be continuous and the shadow mage can resume or end this effect as a free action on her turn.
Shadow Walk (Sp): At 8th level, once per day the shadow mage can shadow walk as per the spell as a spell-like ability
(caster level equals the shadow mage’s caster level). The use of this ability need not be continuous and the shadow mage may
freely break up its uses during the day.
Strengthening Shadows (Su): At 9th level, the shadow mage gains the ability to strengthen the power of shadow that
resonates within her magic. Any of her spells with the darkness descriptor and of the shadow subschool gain a +2 to the
saving throw DC’s. This effect stacks with Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus, but they do not stack with each other.
Shadow Transformation (Ex): Prolonged exposure to the Plane of Shadow results in a strange physical and mental
transformation. At 10th level, the mage’s skin pales, while her pupil and cornea turn a deep, dark black. The mage’s psyche
becomes dangerously unraveled from the strange energies of the plane of shadow, resulting in a -2 to Wisdom. However, the
mage becomes either more forceful of personality or more calculating (the character decides which upon gaining this ability)
and agile, granting him a +2 bonus to Dexterity and a +2 bonus on either Charisma or Intelligence. The mage also gains the
following traits: DR 5/silver, immune to cold, +4 racial bonus on Hide and Intimidate checks, and her type changes to
outsider (native).
FEATS
DARKEN SPELL [METAMAGIC,
SHADOW]
Prerequisite: Tap the Shadow
Benefit: You can imbue your spells with the power of
shadow making them more effective against light sources.
The spell becomes outlined with black flames which deal
an extra 1 point of cold damage per die of damage the
spell deals. Thus, a lightning bolt cast at 7th level would
deal 7d6 points of electricity damage plus 7 points of cold
damage. The spell also snuffs out light sources. Torches,
sunrods, or any other nonmagical sources of light within
the radius of the spell are immediately extinguished.
Magical sources of light (such as a light spell) are snuffed
out only if the caster succeeds at a caster level check. The
caster makes a check (1d20 + your caster level, maximum
+10) against the magical light source (DC 11 + spell’s
caster level). If you succeed, the light is extinguished. If
you fail, the light remains and the spell effects the targets
as normally. A darkened spell uses up a spell slot one
level higher than the spell’s actual level.
Spells modified by this feat gain the darkness descriptor
and become of the shadow subschool.
Special: This feat cannot be used on any spell that has
the fire, light, or darkness descriptor or is from the
shadow subschool. This feat represents the ability to
empower nonshadow spells with the power of shadow.

TAP THE SHADOW [SHADOW]

Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells.
Benefit: You learn to tap into the Plane of Shadow to
power your magic. As a result, you cast all spells with the
darkness descriptor and from the shadow subschool at +1
caster level. However, as a side effect of the source of
magic, you can no longer cast any spells with the light
descriptor. You also cast all spells with the fire descriptor
at -1 caster level. If this would you reduce your caster
level below the minimum required in order to cast such a
spell, then you cannot learn or cast it. For example, a 5th
level wizard with the Tap the Shadow feat casts all spells
with the darkness and shadow descriptors as a 6th level
wizard, however he casts any spells with the fire
descriptor as a 4th level wizard and he is unable to cast
any 3rd level spells with the fire descriptor.
Special: If a spell has more than one of the descriptors,
the bonuses do not stack. For example, a spell with the
darkness descriptor and from the shadow subschool only
receives a +1 bonus.