Shadow Plane

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The Shadow Plane is a dark, distorted mirror of the Material Plane, buffered in the mists of the Ethereal Plane. It serves as the barrier between the Material Plane and the Negative Energy Plane.¹

Geography

The Shadow Plane is always dimly lit by some unstable, unknown source, creating shadows everywhere, including in outer space. All external light sources lose half of their luminosity.¹

The Shadow Plane has similar, but distorted, features that can be found in the corresponding place within the Material Plane. However, its continually shifting nature makes cartography difficult and can be taken advantage of by certain magic. Because of this, prior to the advent of Drift travel, the Shadow Plane was used by certain groups to achieve faster-than-light travel via the shadow drive, which transitions an entire starship to the Shadow Plane, where they have to traverse much shorter distances compared to on the Material Plane. This method is slower and more dangerous than Drift travel, but continues to see use among velstracs and Kuthites.¹

Geographical features

Dark stars burn in the Shadow Plane, casting twilight on planets orbiting them. Deep in shadow space, dark clouds called sapping nebulae lurk and inflict travellers with apathy, eventually causing them to give up on life and die of detachment from reality. In well-travelled areas, sapping nebulae are clearly charted for navigators to avoid.¹

In certain areas, negative energy can leak from the Negative Energy Plane to the Shadow Plane, creating voidboils, which take the form of dark tumours growing on objects.¹

Inhabitants

Just as the lands of the Material Plane have a twisted reflection on the Shadow Plane, the people and wildlife do as well. Flora and fauna that emphasise rot and entropy, like fungi, are especially prominent. Numerous sentient species like d'ziriaks, ixcaliads, kayals, shadow giants, shaes, svartalfars and wayangs make their home in the Shadow Plane; the most infamous of them all are the velstracs, shadowy fiends originally from Hell who hunt for victims in the Material Plane in their macabre starships.¹

The petitioners of the Shadow Plane, known as the mutilated, were originally souls aligned with the values of the velstracs in life. Some of them are tormented by the velstracs to become new velstracs themselves, while those that fail are used as currency, labourers or raw material.¹

Places of interest

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 Saif Ansari, et al. “The Shadow Plane” in Heart of Night, 45–47. Paizo Inc., 2019
↑ ^2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 ^2.10 ^2.11 Saif Ansari, et al. “The Shadow Plane” in Heart of Night, 47–50. Paizo Inc., 2019
↑ Jenny Jarzabski, et al. “Fiends of Shadow” in The Penumbra Protocol, 50. Paizo Inc., 2018
↑ Saif Ansari, et al. “Heart of Night” in Heart of Night, 6. Paizo Inc., 2019

[heart-of-night-45-47-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 Saif Ansari, et al. “The Shadow Plane” in Heart of Night, 45–47. Paizo Inc., 2019

[heart-of-night-47-50-2] 2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 ^2.10 ^2.11 Saif Ansari, et al. “The Shadow Plane” in Heart of Night, 47–50. Paizo Inc., 2019

[the-penumbra-protocol-50-3] Jenny Jarzabski, et al. “Fiends of Shadow” in The Penumbra Protocol, 50. Paizo Inc., 2018

[heart-of-night-6-4] Saif Ansari, et al. “Heart of Night” in Heart of Night, 6. Paizo Inc., 2019

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