Shadar-Kai Player Race
Sworn as a race to the Raven Queen’s service, the Shadar-Kai make their home in the Shadowfell but often venture into the Material Plane to advance her will. Once they were elves like the rest of their kin, presumed to have been stranded in the Shadowfell when a flying city of Netheril crashed there. This legend is supported by Netherese still being the official diplomatic language of the major Shadar-Kai societies. Much can be learned about them from this entry in Professor Duinstan of Blackstaff Tower’s 3rd travel diary “A Crowstep Away, The Shadowfell On No Notice”:
A piece of common knowledge about the Shadar-Kai are their ancient practices of tattooing, scarification and piercing their bodies. These used to be necessary to fight the Apathy that lays siege to all minds not native to the Shadowfell until the Shadar-Kai as a whole went native. These days, while few admit to still needing the pain to control themselves, many Shadar-Kai retain and honor these traditions. Those Shadar-Kai prone to raiding the Material Plane have led a resurgence in these practices since the vibrant colors and energy of the other inner planes are now causing similar but opposite mental effects as the Shadowfell used to. Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma score increases by 1. Age: Shadar-Kai reach physical maturity at about the same age as Humans. Like other elves their understanding of Adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. However, since few Shadar-Kai reach the end of their natural lives which seems to be about 200 years, they typically attempt the ritual trials to claim Adulthood and an adult name anywhere from the age of 15 to 30. While these trials are always perilous and frequently cause hopefuls to be shamed, maimed or killed, their exact nature depends on the community the young Shadar-Kai grew up in. Alignment: Life is hard in the Shadowfell and Shadar-Kai have had to shed many of their elven heritage’s philosophies. Much of Shadar-Kai society in the cities is strictly regimented and rigidly hierarchical with the Deep Council firmly at the top. Despite its oligarchic underpinnings and frequent struggles for position within, the Deep Council is ultimately focused on the survival of all Shadar-Kai and represents an essentially benign government. And yet, many Shadar-Kai are more chaotic than even their elven kin. These self-imposed exiles avoid the stifling complexities of cities and band together in small individualist settlements of varying lawfulness, savage tribes and the opportunist nomadic Baleen fleets. Many of these raid oriented social structures are likely to be hostile towards any outsiders, up to and including other Shadar-Kai. Size: Shadar-Kai range from under 4’6” to about 5’10" tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium. Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision: Accustomed to the gloom of the Shadowfell, you have superior vision in dark and dim Conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. You cannot discern color in Darkness, only shades of gray. Shadowy Nature: All Shadar-Kai have a tendency to fade into the background and walk softly, ears pricked and eyes ablaze since death waits around every corner in their harsh environment. You have proficiency in Stealth and a +2 bonus to passive Perception Cantrip: You know one of the following cantrips of your choice: Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, or Thaumaturgy. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it. Crow Step: While in dim light or darkness and as a bonus action or reaction, you can teleport to another unoccupied patch of dim light or darkness within 30 feet. Once used, you must take a short or long rest before using the ability again. While on the Material Plane and in Darkness, this ability can instead take you back to the Shadowfell. Bright Light Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in Bright Light. Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common (Underdark) and Netherese. Netherese is fluid, with subtle intonations yet simple grammar and a guttural quality with many rolled Rs and throaty tones that differentiates it from Elvish languages.
“On the Appearance of Shadar-Kai:
The Shadar-Kai’s physique, while on the petite side, is essentially Elvish; but their long existence in the Shadowfell has left its mark. Their skin is uniformly pale, but not with the translucence of the Snow Elves of the Silver Marches. More solid in a way, like the smooth, warm alabaster of Amnish statues. Shadar-Kai pupils are unsettlingly large and dark with wide irises of dark blue, red, green or purple that are the only natural color on their bodies. The eyes have a tapetum lucidum, occasionally making them flash the same color as their iris at night. Hair color is all shades of grey from jet black to snow white, with greying apparent in older Shadar-Kai. The extremes of jet and snow are desired beauty ideals and hair dyed in rare and expensive colors are a sure sign of affluence. Yet fully half of all Shadar-Kai are bald, men and women alike with some displaying no body hair at all, I am pleased to report. Among the bald side of high society, man and woman alike, implantation of precious stones in the skull in decorative or status related patterns is common, as is the cephalic application of astounding artwork, ranging from tribal brutalist block shapes, intricate tromp l’oeil masterpieces, startling impressionist abstracts to high society filigree with high houses vying for the best artists in residence. Many faces in the streets here are covered by white masks of many designs and materials, the complexities and meaning of which still escape me...”
A piece of common knowledge about the Shadar-Kai are their ancient practices of tattooing, scarification and piercing their bodies. These used to be necessary to fight the Apathy that lays siege to all minds not native to the Shadowfell until the Shadar-Kai as a whole went native. These days, while few admit to still needing the pain to control themselves, many Shadar-Kai retain and honor these traditions. Those Shadar-Kai prone to raiding the Material Plane have led a resurgence in these practices since the vibrant colors and energy of the other inner planes are now causing similar but opposite mental effects as the Shadowfell used to. Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma score increases by 1. Age: Shadar-Kai reach physical maturity at about the same age as Humans. Like other elves their understanding of Adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. However, since few Shadar-Kai reach the end of their natural lives which seems to be about 200 years, they typically attempt the ritual trials to claim Adulthood and an adult name anywhere from the age of 15 to 30. While these trials are always perilous and frequently cause hopefuls to be shamed, maimed or killed, their exact nature depends on the community the young Shadar-Kai grew up in. Alignment: Life is hard in the Shadowfell and Shadar-Kai have had to shed many of their elven heritage’s philosophies. Much of Shadar-Kai society in the cities is strictly regimented and rigidly hierarchical with the Deep Council firmly at the top. Despite its oligarchic underpinnings and frequent struggles for position within, the Deep Council is ultimately focused on the survival of all Shadar-Kai and represents an essentially benign government. And yet, many Shadar-Kai are more chaotic than even their elven kin. These self-imposed exiles avoid the stifling complexities of cities and band together in small individualist settlements of varying lawfulness, savage tribes and the opportunist nomadic Baleen fleets. Many of these raid oriented social structures are likely to be hostile towards any outsiders, up to and including other Shadar-Kai. Size: Shadar-Kai range from under 4’6” to about 5’10" tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium. Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Darkvision: Accustomed to the gloom of the Shadowfell, you have superior vision in dark and dim Conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. You cannot discern color in Darkness, only shades of gray. Shadowy Nature: All Shadar-Kai have a tendency to fade into the background and walk softly, ears pricked and eyes ablaze since death waits around every corner in their harsh environment. You have proficiency in Stealth and a +2 bonus to passive Perception Cantrip: You know one of the following cantrips of your choice: Chill Touch, Spare the Dying, or Thaumaturgy. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it. Crow Step: While in dim light or darkness and as a bonus action or reaction, you can teleport to another unoccupied patch of dim light or darkness within 30 feet. Once used, you must take a short or long rest before using the ability again. While on the Material Plane and in Darkness, this ability can instead take you back to the Shadowfell. Bright Light Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in Bright Light. Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common (Underdark) and Netherese. Netherese is fluid, with subtle intonations yet simple grammar and a guttural quality with many rolled Rs and throaty tones that differentiates it from Elvish languages.
Highborn Shadar-Kai in Court outfit
Shadar-Kai of the Light-Scarred Raiders
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