Shadow-Tainted Creature (3.5e Template)
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Contents
Shadow-Tainted Creature
Shadow-tainted creatures live primarily on the Plane of Shadow. They are twisted by it, with their flesh and blood made of shadows. A creature native to the Material Plane can become shadow-tainted by simply living on the Shadow Plane and eating the local food for a sufficient length of time, generally a few years, although it varies from creature to creature, while a child conceived and carried on the Plane of Shadow is almost always born shadow-tainted. Whatever happens to their bodies, though their minds are still their own, although life on the plane of shadow tends to harden people and animals.
Shadow-tainted creatures have a few major differences from others. For one, they're almost all colorblind. In part this is because on the plane of shadow, there isn't enough color to provide valuable information, so they don't need it, and in part it is because making one's eyes of colorless shadowstuff impedes one's ability to see color, although they are excellent at seeing in the dark. Many can tell when contrasts in color exist, because that's useful when looking at the Material Plane, but they wouldn't be able to tell which color is on which side of the contrast. For another, they don't cast shadows. They have enough shadowstuff in their body to negate that.
Creating a Shadow-Tainted Creature[edit]
"Shadow-Tainted" is an acquired or inherited template that can be applied to any corporeal creature native to the Material Plane.
Type and Subtypes[edit]
Type is unchanged. A Shadow-Tainted creature is considered to be native to the Plane of Shadow and gains the (Extraplanar) subtype on the Material Plane.
Speed[edit]
A Shadow-Tainted creature gains +20' to its speed in all movement modes.
Special Attacks[edit]
Shadow-Tainted creatures have all the special attacks of the base creature, plus a set of spell-like abilities: Spell-Like Abilities: Darkness 1/day/4 hit dice (minimum 1/day), Silent Image 1/day/4 hit dice (minimum zero). Shadow-Tainted creatures with at least six hit dice can cast Shadow Walk and Mirror Image once per day, and those with at least ten hit dice can cast Shadow Conjuration once per day. Saving throws against their spell-like abilities are based on Charisma, and their caster level is equal to their hit dice.
Special Qualities[edit]
A Shadow-Tainted Creature gains Darkvision 60' and Low-light vision, in addition to the qualities the base creature already has. If it already has Darkvision 60' or more, it improves by 30'; if it already has Low-light vision, the distances at which it can see in the dark doubles. It also gains Damage Reduction 5/magic.
Light Sensitivity (ex): Shadow creatures are also dazzled if brought suddenly into full daylight or equivalent, such as a Daylight spell.
Evasion (ex): Shadow-tainted creatures gain Evasion, as a rogue of the same level.
Environment[edit]
Plane of Shadow
Challenge Rating[edit]
As the Base Creature +1.
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