The churches of Lolth, Mask, Set, Shar, and Shargaas also had an interest in shadow magic. There were a few organizations that routinely practiced shadow magic in Faerûn, including: They required training in arcane illusion magic to access the shadow magic. But when a mundane mechanical apparatus wasn't up to the task, they tapped into the power of shadow magic instead to produce genuine supernatural outcomes. Some unlikely practitioners of shadow magic were gnomish and Lantanese artificers, who used technology to replicate the effects of arcane magical spells. They trained shadowcaster mystic theurges and noctumancers, in the hopes of cultivating an interest in darkness amongst their followers. Others were sponsored by a church of a deity of darkness, such as Shar, Mask, Set, Lolth, or Shargaas. They usually began as gifted apprentice mages who were discovered and taught by a shadowcaster mentor.
The most expert practitioner of shadow magic was the shadowcaster. Finally, they were transformed bodily into the monstrous Shadowking.
The Shadowking fought the bard for control, causing a split personality, and could control undead shadows. As the bard user gained new shadow powers, and if there was no other Shadowking in existence, the shadow magic slowly corrupted them into a new Shadowking to replace the old. However, such power carried a curse dating back to the evil Shadowking of Talfir. The most common and basic form of this was the ability to make natural shadows move and dance to their tunes. The majority of users of shadow magic were bards who possessed a rare and mysterious power known as "shadow magic". Experts and more traditional shadow mages were uncertain as to how this occurred, but it was a matter of ongoing study. They did not learn the ability through study, but acquired it instinctively through close association with shadow. Shadowdancers practiced a form of lesser shadow magic. A number of Tethyrian rogues became shadowdancers as a result. This included both a knack for practicing it, and for resisting its effects. Humans of the Tethyrian ethnic group had a legacy of shadow magic that dated back to the ancient Talfir. In such cases, it became a family tradition, its secrets passed down from grandparent or parent to child. The ability to use shadow magic had a tendency to run in families, manifesting in childhood.
Those pratitioners unable or yet unready to control this aspect of shadow magic became prone to bouts of uncontrollable anger, and increased suspicion of others that led to outright paranoia. The shadow self of a person that was kind and loyal would appear as cruel and treacherous, often in the form of some monstrous humanoid creature. Shadow Self Īs some practitioners tapped into shadow magic they were confronted their "shadow self", a reflection of their personality that existed in absence of their "true self". While shadow magic was harder to detect as other forms, it was just as easily negated by anti-magic fields. Notably, negative energy was not tied to shadow magic, and spells or effects drawing on negative energy did not harness it. Shadow magic casters could thus truly understand the Shadow Weave, and many were naturally attracted to it and could learn to utilize it. Despite this, the concept of the Shadow Weave closely aligned with the principle of reflection that underpinned shadow magic. Whereas shadow magic users drew upon the Plane of Shadow via Mystra's Weave, Shadow Weave magic users drew their power directly from Shar's dark weave, which was formed from the gaps and negatives in the Weave itself. Īlthough Shadow Weave magic was redolent of shadow magic, they were in fact unrelated, with some fundamental differences in practice and philosophy. Most users of shadow magic used the Weave to connect to the Plane of Shadow and channeled their magic directly from there, in a manner similar to typical conjuration spells. Shadow magic was but one of many ways of accessing and controlling the natural energies of the Weave, and was strongly tied to it.