FREQUENCY: Rare
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Dungeon Level V])

FREQUENCY: Rare ([Cold Civilized Mountains], [Cold Civilized Forest], [Cold Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Cold Wilderness Mountains], [Cold Wilderness Forest], [Cold Wilderness Swamp])

FREQUENCY: Rare ([Temperate Civilized Mountains], [Temperate Civilized Forest], [Temperate Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Temperate Wilderness Mountains], [Temperate Wilderness Forest], [Temperate Wilderness Swamp])

FREQUENCY: Rare ([Tropical Civilized Mountains], [Tropical Civilized Forest], [Tropical Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Tropical Wilderness Mountains], [Tropical Wilderness Forest], [Tropical Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Wilderness Hills])

NO. APPEARING: 2-20
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: 12"
HIT DICE: 3 + 3
% IN LAIR: 40% (24 Shadows: mountains/high plateau, TPL24:4th, REF3.8)
TREASURE TYPE: [F]
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 ~ 16
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-5
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Strength drain
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Hit only by magic weapons, 90% undetectable
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: M
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IV | 255 + 4
Creature Notes (REF5)

These horrible undead creatures are found amidst ancient ruins || deep beneath the ground.

ENCOUNTER: They attack living things without hesitation in order to gain the life force of their prey.

SA: As they exist primarily on the -NMP- they drain STR by merely touching an opponent. <green light for the -NMP-?>
In addition to the 2-5 HP of damage their chill touch causes, each hit also saps 1 point of the victim's STR.
If a human opponent reaches 0 STR || HP,
the shadow drains his life force and he becomes a shadow.
Note that STR returns to a creature 2-8 turns after being touched.

MR: Shadows are not affected by sleep, charm or hold spells.
They are not subject to cold-based attacks.

Shadows are 90% undetectable, as they appear to be nothing more than their name.

If bright light is CAST -- such as from a continual light spell -- they can be clearly seen. <Note: see fighting in low visibility, in the WSG>

The Ecology of the Shadow

The wizard, Damien Nuren, frowned in
thought. "I suppose I could help you
with that," he said to Elegar, a young
cleric-in-training. "Always happy to
help the temple school, you know. But
this is apt to be an unpleasant scene.
May I ask if you wish to see it?"
Elegar shrugged modestly. "We're
studying the undead right now," he
explained. "It is safer to observe in this
way--and since you are said to be an
authority . . ."

"Quite right," agreed the wizard. "I do
know a bit about them. And I know just
the place to look for a suitable encounter.
Let's go to the study, shall we?"
Elegar followed the wizard to a
gloomy, cluttered chamber lit by a single
lamp. Damien pulled a crystal ball out
from under a pile of astrological calculations.
Dusting it off, he bade Elegar
sit down, and invited the youth to study
the ball closely. "Don't be surprised if
you share their thoughts" the wizard
warned.

"It's the ESP in the crystal -- the only kind of crystal ball worth having, really!"
Elegar nodded his understanding,
and Damien closed his eyes in concentration.
After a minute, a misty
scene took shape in the globe.

Laocoon held his blackwood staff
poised in one hand, a light spell shining
about one end of it. Pebbles tumbled
down the staircase he had just
descended, throwing small echoes
down the halls of the subterranean corridors.
Beside him stood tall Robin, her head
barely clearing the ancient stonework
of the passageway. A throwing dagger
gripped in each hand, Robin looked
nervously behind them, then tried to
see past the darkness ahead.

"Where do you think they are?" she
asked the cleric, her voice low and
tense.

Laocoon shrugged. Though they
were just roommates, they knew each
other well enough to share the same
unspoken thought. Their three companions
had vanished one by one in this
underground {maze}, and the shadow
hidden attackers that had struck down
their friends were after them next --
Robin, at least, was certain of it. "There
it is again!" she hissed, jabbing a knife to
point. "A stirring in the shadows--do
you see?"

Laocoon, frankly, did not. "Jumping
at shadows won't help," admonished the
cleric. "Let's be practical, now . . ."
The priest's voice died away as he
realized something truly was hiding in
the shadows beyond the archway.

Thinking quickly, he pulled a short
piece of iron from his pouch and spoke
the words of a hold spell. At the same
time, Robin's daggers sang through the
air -- and flew into the darkness with no
effect at all.

The cleric's spell was equally useless.
The darkness moved again--and a single
shadow moved forward, clearly
defined by the light from Laocoon's
staff. It was close enough for the adventurers
to feel the slight chill which radiated
from its form, and Laocoon's
thoughts raced furiously.

From his training, the cleric knew
this must be one of the undead--either
a shadow || a wraith, to judge by its
shape. If it was a shadow, he had a good
chance of turning it. In either case, no
regular weapon was capable of injuring
it. "Your sword!" the cleric blurted to
Robin, as he began the complex motions
required to turn undead.

Though she favored throwing knives,
Robin did not need encouragement to
use the short sword at her hip. The
magical weapon should be effective
against the unearthly foe she faced. She
pulled the blade from its sheath, and
stood shoulder to shoulder with Laocoon as the undead thing drew closer.

Laocoon gripped the holy crystal
around his neck, symbol of his deity,
and challenged the shadow form with
it. But it swept on, unaffected by the
cleric's efforts to TURN it, and stretched
one arm towards the priest.

Robin's blade flashed out, and sliced
through the arm of the insubstantial
creature. Soundlessly it recoiled, obviously
hurt by the shining weapon.

"Hah!" exclaimed the fighter as she
leapt after it. Laocoon's words of caution
came too late. Robin's next blow
missed, but the undead creature tagged
the fighter squarely on the swordarm.
A chilling numbness swept up Robin's
arm, staggering her in midstride and
causing the limb to dangle uselessly by
her side. The short sword tumbled
from the fighter's deadened fingers,
and a wave of weakness washed over
her.

Laocoon fumbled urgently in his belt
pouch. He saw Robin blanch when the
shadowy form attacked, but he was not
yet certain what kind of undead they
faced. Whether shadow || wraith, it
could drain the life force from its
victim--but a shadow would deplete its
victim's strength, which could be
restored later, while the more powerful
wraith drained entire levels of life
energy at a touch.

"But I suppose it doesn't matter,"
thought the cleric. "I can't TURN it, and
I'll know soon enough what it is if it
touches me." Pulling his only vial of
holy water from the pouch, Laocoon
uncorked it with his teeth. As the shadowy
figure moved to grasp Robin once
more, the vial flew toward it, hurled
with dispatch by the cleric. The vial
itself tumbled harmlessly through its
form, but the fluid which sprayed from
its mouth spattered against the undead
figure as if it were a solid thing.
The thing shrank back, more injured
by the holy water than it had been by
Robin's sword stroke. The fighter had
recovered her sword, and held it now
in her offhand; Laocoon stepped to her
side as they began a cautious retreat.

The wave of cold at their back warned them.
Laocoon glanced behind,
then whirled with a strangled cry.
Three more of the shadowy figures
floated behind them -- figures bearing a
distinct resemblance to their recently
vanished companions. Frozen with horror,
the foremost one struck the cleric before
he could respond.

Its numbing touch and the weakness
that followed told him, finally, what
they faced. "Shadows!" he croaked to
Robin in a pain-hoarsened voice.

"Tell me something new," spat the
fighter. "Run for it, Laocoon--we can't
fight them all!" Robin shoved the cleric
in the direction of the shadow they had
already fought and injured. The companions
ran, slashing wildly at the
shadow before them as the three at
their backs gave chase. Robin led the
way as Laocoon prayed intensely for
aid. He knew, though the fighter did
not, that his light spell would soon
expire. And when it did, they would be
blind as well as lost in these underground
passages, with only the darkness
and the shadows for company.

And shadows could track the living by
the life energy they radiated-energy
the shadows were eager to drain from
them.

Laocoon ran faster, and continued to pray.

Elegar leaned thoughtfully back in his
chair as the crystal vision faded. "I'll
offer a prayer for their safety," he
thought out loud. "But how is it, sir, that
shadows are created in the first place?"

Damien smiled sadly. "You know, of
course, that some persons who die are
not yet ready to leave life. Others are
murdered or killed under traumatic
conditions." The wizard tapped the
crystal ball to make his point. "When
that happens, the one who died may
leave behind a shadow-that part of a
spirit or soul that grasps greedily after
life. It is usually tied to a place of emotional
significance--the scene of its
death, for instance.

"The shadow is a pitiful sort of
undead being. It has but a vestige of the
intelligence it had when alive. It is driven <>
only by a desire to recapture the life
it has lost. A shadow drains life essence
of its victim in a doomed effort to live
again. Sad beings, shadows." The wizard
shook his head.

Elegar pondered for a moment.

"Then why is it that the living can survive
a shadow's touch at all" I thought,
existing mostly on the -Negative Energy Plane- as they do,
that a single touchwould be enough to drain its victim of all life."

"No, no, no," Damien shook his head emphatically.
"You've several misconceptions in one, there."

"Certainly shadows are undead, and
they are capable of draining life
energy-but only a little at a time. Once
it was thought that this showed a clear
connection to the Negative Energy
Plane, which sucks the vital energy
from material things. However, planar
travelers have discovered that nothing
can live on the Negative Energy Plane.
Nor is it connected to the Prime Material,
so no entity can be on both planes
simultaneously."

"Well, then," asked Elegar, baffled,
"where do shadows xist, and where do
they get their powers from?"

"To the best of our knowledge,"
Damien replied, "shadows exist on two
planes at once. The "physical" part of
them is usually found on the Prime
Material Plane, taking form as the shadowy
figure of a person. This shadow is
most human-looking shortly after
death, but soon loses detail of outline.
The shadow can be clearly seen in
bright light, and is impossible to pick
out of darkness. Sometimes this "physical
" aspect is also encountered on the
Negative Quasi-Planes, which shadows
seem to like because of the closeness to
the Negative Energy Plane.

"At the same time, the shadow exists
partially on the Demi-Plane of Shadows.
That plane is made up of equal parts of
pure negative and positive energy, and
it is connected to the Prime Material
Plane and Negative Quasi-Plane. The <>
negative energy of that demi-plane
allows shadows to drain life force in the
form of the strength of their victims.
<>
And the positive energy allows them to
manifest on the PMP
and retain their forms even in sunlight."

"Oh." Elegar sat silently while he
absorbed the new info. "So
when a person is slain by a shadow and
becomes a shadow himself:" the novice
ventured, "he can also be found on the
Demi-Plane of Shadows?"
Damien nodded. "A part of the
shadow, yes, because the negative
energy of that demi-plane is easily
tapped by shadow undead. Although if
a shadow is destroyed on either plane,
the negative energy which gave it form
dissipates and it vanishes completely
from both planes."

"Does that mean," asked Elegar, "that
all shadows on the Demi-Plane of
Shadows are undead?"

"Not at all!" exclaimed the wizard.

"Most inhabitants of that demi-plane
are 'shadows' in the general sense".
such as shades and shadow dragons. <"''">

The undead 'shadows' of Prime Material
persons gravitate to that place
because the balance of energies there
enables them to exist. It is said that
undead shadows can be a problem to
inhabitants of the Demi-Plane of Shadows as well as to us on the Prime Material Plane."

Elegar raised his eyebrows.
"Have you had a chance to travel to that plane, sir?"

<>
allows shadows to drain life force in the
form of the STR of their victims.
And the positive energy allows them to
manifest on the PMP and retain their forms even in sunlight."

"Oh."
Elegar sat silently while he absorbed the new info.
"So when a person is slain by a shadow and becomes a shadow himself?" the novice ventured,
"he can also be found on the Demi-Plane of Shadows?"

Damien nodded.
"A part of the shadow, yes,
because the negative energy of that demi-plane is easily tapped by shadow undead.
Although if a shadow is destroyed on either plane,
the negative energy which gave it form dissipates and it vanishes completely from both planes."

"Does that mean," asked Elegar, ?that
all shadows on the Demi-Plane of
Shadows are undead?"
zb
<fix text here>
Damien smiled and gave a slight nod.

"And I am happy to share what I know.
Now-not to rush you off, Elegar, but I
have something to attend to."

"Certainly, Sir. I understand." The novice
thanked Damien for his help and
took his leave. The wizard lingered by
his table after Elegar was gone, and
studied the crystal ball that lay there.
He reviewed the running figures in the
misty glass. Settling back into his chair,
he faced the small door in the far wall
and waited.

Some minutes later, the door burst
open. Laocoon and Robin charged into
the wizard's study, panting from their
long run and the dash up the short
<>

flight of stairs. They paused in midstride
and looked wildly about, startled
to find themselves in a wizard's study.
It was a fatal indecision. In a moment
the three pursuing shadows were upon
them. Soon, five shadows, not three,
wavered in the air of Damien's study.
With muttered words, the wizard <what spell?>
opened a planar {vortex} in the darkest
corner of his study. Protected from the
shadows by a ring of undead control, <>
the wizard gestured to the Demi-Plane of Shadows,
of Shadows, visible beyond the murky
gate. "Business awaits me," he said to
the undead. "If I need you, I'll see you
five on the other side." He stepped
through the gate, and it faded from
sight behind him.

The shadows faded into the dark corners
of the study to await their master's
return.

Creature Notes

1. Undead on the Negative Energy Plane are discussed in the MP on page 54 under "Undead."

2. Holy water is effective against
shadows because it dissolves the negative
energy bonds of their shadow
form. Enchanted blades (+1 and
greater) do the same, but silvered
weapons have no special effect on
shadows.

3. When newly created, a shadow
has the least HP psb.. The
undead being gains points (up to the HD
maximum) at the rate of 1 per Strength
point absorbed from any victim slain.

4. Shadows on the PMP are bound to the place of their
earth death and can travel no farther
than quarter mile away from that place.

5. A shadow is destroyed if eternal rest is CAST upon the victim's physical <link>
remains. If the victim is brought back to
life, the shadow is reabsorbed with the
souls return to its body. If the shadow is
destroyed before the victim is returned
to life, the character suffers a -20% penalty
to his system shock survival roll. If he
revives, he can never become a shadow
again, even if slain by one in the future.
 

"The freshness of the air was once more overlaid with the stench of evil.
Shadow men drew close--
and before them spread not only the rotten scent,
but also a cold,
deep enough to strike a man as might the full breath of a blizzard."
    - QUAG KEEP, by Andre Norton (page 96)