Shadar-kai (Netherese)

Shadar-kai were a race of shadowy humanoids that emerged when the Spellplague awakened the latent shadow energy inherent in the bodies of Netherese who had been born human in the Shadowfell.

Description
Shadar-kai were similar to humans in appearance, but they had grey skin and eyes that were a solid, lustrous black with neither iris nor sclera visible. They almost always had complex patterns of tattoos and scars, as well as many piercings. They wore their hair long, either loose or shaved, styled, and/or braided in some manner.

They typically wore loose, dark garments with complex but subtle designs, and favored lightweight exotic weapons (such as spiked chains and katars). Shadows around shadar-kai seemed to deepen as they moved.

Personality
The transformation of human to shadar-kai gave cleverness and strange powers, but it exacted a harsh price: a dampening of sensation and emotion that could lead to great sadness and boredom; those who surrendered to this ennui lost their minds to oblivion as their bodies became undead horrors.

Their way of avoiding this was all manner of stimulation. Some pushed themselves to master complex and powerful arcane arts, while others sought to become peerless warriors. They aroused their emotions through anger, frustration, lust, or love; they scarred, pierced, and tattooed themselves to cause pain, and those who served darker powers cut, whipped, or otherwise injured themselves. Because of these habits, many thought the shadar-kai hedonists and slaves to their whims and desires (which was only true for some).

Abilities
Shadar-kai possessed low-light vision, and they were naturally acrobatic and stealthy. They also possessed an ability they called shadow jaunt, which let them teleport up to away, remaining insubstantial for a few seconds afterwards. Beyond those shared gifts, their abilities differed based on their training.

Chain fighters fought with spiked chains that they infused with necrotic energy, but had little magical training. Gloomblades learned to veil themselves with shadows, becoming invisible for a short time as they moved; they could also use magic to temporarily blind an enemy of they managed to attack without being seen. The deadlier shadar-kai warriors could, if they hit an enemy with two successive attacks, call coils of gloom to cage their foe.

Shadar-kai witches were true mages, attacking with blackfire (combined fire and necrotic energy) by touch; or as a ranged attack, cursing foes to not be able to see more than away. Most potently, witches could call an aura of thick, writhing shadows to surround themselves, concealing their bodies and damaging any other creature that entered the darkness.

Combat
Shadar-kai chain fighters used their speed and the reach of their spiked chains to cut bloody swathes through foes before choosing a good position to settle attack from. If surrounded, they left using their shadow jaunt gift, only to return to finish the fight. Gloomblades preferred to turn invisible and then strike from hiding, trying to blind an enemy, attacking over and over with their greatsword to continue the curse, focusing on only one foe at a time. They used their shadow jaunt gift to relocate to tactically better positions as needed.

Warriors used their shadow jaunt to jump right into someone's face and then went all out on attacking with their twin katars, using their magic to restrain troublesome foe where needed. Witches used their part-blinding curse on ranged attackers first before falling back on her aura and blackfire powers.

Society
Shadar-kai first appeared amongst Netherese humans, and much of their population remains part of Netheril, where they were a privileged class: not quite as blessed as the shades, but given unique training nonetheless. Others left, retreating to the Shadowfell or Underdark to form their own communities, with some seeking ways to alleviate what they saw as a curse upon them. Those who remained in Netheril typically acted as agents for that empire, working as part of the shades' schemes and gathering resources and information to further the empire's goals. Many of them longed to become true shades themselves.

Shadar-kai bred true. Their pairings between themselves and between shadar-kai and humans produced shadar-kai offspring.

Locations
The largest settlement of shadar-kai in Faerûn was Ikemmu in the Underdark, while other outposts of free shadar-kai were located along the Ramparts of Night. From there, shadar-kai harvested material valuables in the Underdark, and also surfaced to raid Thayan and Hordelands settlements and the drow of Undrek'Thoz. They were also found in Gloomwrought.

Relationships
Dark ones were known to live among shadar-kai the way halflings lived among humans.

Religion
The shadar-kai were not, as whole, a religious people, though they found value in religious ecstasy, and they tended to favor deities that helped stave off their ennui. Those who lived among the Netherese worshiped Shar as a matter of course, while those living elsewhere favored deities that suited their training: warriors tended to worship Tempus, those obsessed with the threat of death worshiped Kelemvor, and those who opposed their people's dark heritage worshiped Selûne.

History
After the Spellplague of 1385 DR, some shadovar humans and the children they gave birth to, as well as other humans across Toril that were somehow tied to the Shadowfell, were affected by the Spellplague and transformed into shade-like creatures. Some people associated the birth of this new race with the decline of the krinth, as the numbers of the latter dwindled while those of the "newborn" race thrived. Some scholars among the Netherese speculated that those events were related, and that somehow the shadar-kai were evolved forms of the failed krinth.

To avoid chaos among the shadovar, Prince Rivalen Tanthul said that they had been blessed by Shar, and called them "shadar-kai" (meaning "Those of Shadow's Gift", in the ancient Netherese language). Prince Rivalen even devised a ritual to change a human into a shadar-kai.

Shadar-kai became a race unto themselves in the generations that followed the Spellplague. Some shadar-kai remained in Netheril, while others, mostly those that weren't originally shadovar, went to the Shadowfell, the Underdark, or to live across the lands of Toril.

By 1479 DR, Netherese shadar-kai had existed for more than three generations, treated as a privileged class in Netheril- not as blessed as the shades, but still given unique training.

Notable shadar-kai

 * Ashok
 * Chanoch
 * Cree
 * Ilvani
 * Natan
 * Skagi
 * Traedis
 * Uwan
 * Vedoran

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Captive Flame • Unbroken Chain • The Darker Road • The Adversary • Lesser Evils • Spinner of Lies
 * Video games
 * Neverwinter • Dungeons & Dragons Online: Shadowfell Conspiracy
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * The Thin Gray Line • Scepter Tower of Spellgard • Search for the Diamond Staff • Escape from Sembia