Shadar Kai

Omens of the night.

"If a shadar kai shows up to your village one night, hope that you can run home fast enough to make sure your loved ones are still breathing. If you are approached by a shadar kai one night... make peace with your gods."

The Raven Queen's subordinates, agents, hitmen, and reapers. The influence of shadar kai and their ominous presence on the material plane has brought an imposing name to the race, no matter the intentions of the individual. Upon being seen, many are quite hesitant or guarded to approach, and the more superstitious may deflect and flee completely. Though the reaction to shadar kai on the material plane is a good portion fueled by stigma, the sayings and interpretations aren't false. The race is based in the Shadowfell, and only tend to shift into the Material Plane in order to pursue those on the Raven Queen's hitlist– those who have overstayed their welcome on Earth, and those who have avoided death by insufficient, indecent means. Needless to say, they are a rare sight. A lucky individual will likely never come face to face with a shadar kai in their life, though not all shadar kai are after the souls of the average person, and one can never immediately tell who a shadar kai is after in the first place.
Shadar Kai are a race with a complex history in which origins are commonly disputed, or simply different depending on the bloodline. The overall premise of a Shadar Kai, however, is marked by a direct soul and blood bound connection to the Raven Queen, and a specific origin of this unique brand of humanoid that is set within the Shadowfell. Shadar Kai are typically known to be the descendants of elves; an offshoot of elves that are bound in the Raven Queen's service and as such harbor specific Shadowfellite traits. A portion of shadar kai, however, may also appear with traits more attributed to that of a human, rather than an elf. After many, many years in service, with the Shadowfell influencing their bodies, magic, and behaviors, the difference is unimportant as they all share the same basic commonalities; dark, straight hair, cold and cutting eyes, very angular features, a tendency towards being thinner and more dexterous than bulky, and a pale skin tone that, depending on exposure to the material plane, can look as if it hasn't ever seen the light of day. They are commonly seen with symbolic tattoos and markings of their culture, and a specific dark and elegant combination of fashion choices.

"Due to their prolonged exposure to the Shadowfell, shadar-kai were nearly devoid of emotion. They were known to be bitter, grim-natured, troubled, and driven, with souls tainted by darkness. They were often seen as cold and pitiless to outsiders. Shadar-kai had very little regard for their own lives. Often viewing a present incarnation as but one in an endless cycle and death as foretold and impossible to change, they had grown jaded and careless with their bodies. Their affinity with the Shadowfell defined them as a people and influenced every aspect of their culture. Shadar-kai embraced living to the limits of pleasure, while striving for personal greatness, so that when they fell, stories of their great deeds would grant them a sort of immortality. In their search for personal glory, most shadar-kai ignored comfort, morality, and safety, traits they considered banalities." – [Forgotten Realms]

Basic Information

Anatomy

Shadar kai appear similarly to elves or humans in their structure, height, weight, and overall basic anatomy. They tend to be somewhat thin, and due to the Shadowfell's lack of sun or warmth and the raven's curse bestowed upon them, over millennia they lost nearly all melanin and saturation to their skin. The tone of a shadar kai's skin may be more or less hinting at a bloodline's historical tone however, simply depending on the individual and their genes. Their skin can range from ivory, to light grey, to dark grey resembling that of a drow, to desaturated shades of blue, bloodless flesh tones, or purple, and finally those resembling more humanoid skin tones possibly due to exposure to the material plane for a prolonged time period– appearing in shades of porcelain, beige, and olive. The average shadar kai is likely to have naturally sharp features in both their face and the rest of their body, rarely curvy or bulky.

Genetics and Reproduction

Shadar kai reproduce like any other humanoid race– however, they tend to have many dominant traits over that of, say, a human's, making it so it is more common for the offspring of a human and a shadar kai to be most or full blood shadar kai. With other races of strong genetics– for example Eladrin– the offspring of such a pairing may result in a punnet square effect, where there is a chance that the offspring is a mix of some kind or resembling of neither exactly (say, they end up appearing more like a typical material plane elf rather than either parent), or a likely chance that the offspring is fully one or the other. Example: Persephone Linnor (Eladrin) + Alastair Yumael (Shadar Kai) = Madeline Linnor (Eladrin), Fox Yumael Linnor (Shadar Kai)

Growth Rate & Stages

Like other subraces of elves, shadar kai can live to be ≈750 years of age, and when their time is up they are bound in service to the Raven Queen indefinitely and for eternity, continuing into the afterlife.

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Comparison of Elven to Human Maturity Rates:

	Human	Elf
Child	0-12	0-35
Teenager	13-19	36-80/90
Young Adult	20-35	91-200
Adult	36-60	200-600
Elder	62-85	600-750
Lifespan	80-110	700-750

Ecology and Habitats

The Shadowfell is a gloomy, cold place with no legitimate sunlight nor source of warmth. As such, shadar kai are born very accustomed to the cold and the dark and when on the material plane they will often prefer colder places (mountainous regions, foggy and dense forests, icy northern regions, etc.), and very often prefer night to day.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

They tend to have angular features; high cheekbones, sharp or frail jawlines, narrow eyes, and small, straight noses.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

• Darkvision (60ft) ; Shadowfell ancestry.
• Advantage on saves against being charmed
• Immune to magical sleep
• Natural Teleportation ; Raven Queen's blessing
• Meditation for 4 hours = 8 hours of sleep
• Resistance to necrotic damage

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Male: Anza, Baku, Caim, Akuma, Kouta, Sou, Amon, Ryo, Ashok, Asura, Yuu, Shin Female: Hayai, Kami, Lilin, Mara, Yuko/Uko, Aoi, Malanai, Irin, Lusae, Ryuna Uni: Jin, Syoun, Jun, Sirael, Rien, Shi

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Family/Surnames: Kaneun, Ararei, Azurae, Ion, Lailani, Kouyun, Yumael/Yumae

Major Organizations

The Raven Queen / The Shadowfell

Major Language Groups and Dialects

• Undercommon* (specific shadowfellite dialect)
• Elvish
• Common

Common Etiquette Rules

– Very reserved and do not show a lot of true emotion.
– In the Shadowfell/presence of the Raven Queen they will be extremely neutral and bureaucratic, adhering to social norms, which are rigid, pragmatic, and emotionless.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Elf
• Human

Origin/Ancestry

Shadowfell

Lifespan

750 years

Average Height

male: 5'8"- 6'0" female: 5'4"- 5'8" overall average: 5'6"- 5'10"

Average Weight

100lb -175lb

Average Physique

Shadar kai tend to be lithe and dexterous in their builds, making them great rogues and spies. They are more often than not thinner, in some cases with sunken features and sharp shoulders, hipbones, and collarbones. Despite this, they can also easily be found to have lithe, fit bodies that are gracefully quick and light on their feet. On rarer occasions those usually designated fighters or hitmen can be more built, with more muscle mass. Overall, in any of these builds, it is nearly unheard of for a shadar kai to be stout or overweight, as something in their genes seems to keep a few hints of necrosis ever-present and underlying.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Hair tends to be raven to jet black in color, straight and ranging from thinner to thicker depending on the individual. It is customary for them to wear it neat and long, and for parts of it to be tied back or shaved, but rarely completely. Their skin tones range between ivory, grey, dark grey, desaturated tones of blue or purple, desaturated blood-deprived humanoid flesh tones, or upon rare consistent exposure to the material plane, more humanoid fleshtones, still somewhat desaturated and light, including shades of porcelain, beige, and olive.
Shadar kai commonly have cultural tattoos and markings across their bodies– more of them as corresponds to their age and experience. These tattoos are completely monochrome, showing symbols and sigils in black across the body, sometimes adding up to brilliantly detailed sleeves and whole-body canvasses of intricate sigil work.