Shadows? What are you using?

[Winterwolf]

So, I'm into our campaign fairly well, and my boys are about to go into the Bastards layer, but I'm curious what you are using as Shadows for hunting the streets.

I like the Shadowgarms, but they get old, and really don't challenge the PC's as much as I'd like, however the Shadow Mastiffs are rather too challenging (as are Shadow daemons and shadow dragons)... So my question, where can one go (again outside Shadows and Greater Shadow) to find a nice variety of Shadow creatures? Alternately, where can one maybe find a 3.x Shadow template to modify some "normalish" creatures.

[Rakshaka]

I too got a little tired of using the same statted out Shadowgarms, so I ended up advancing a few and giving them more light/darkness based abiliites. I think once they got up to 5 HD, I gave them a darkness aura (so they wouldn't spend the whole fight automatically staggered), and I believe the Alpha version (Large-size, 8 HD) I gave a dispelling aura (CL= HD)against light effects. Both versions I simply used the basic advancement rules in the bestiary.

[Rakshaka]

Other than that, yeah, you kind of have limited options:
Dark Creeper, Dark Stalkers, Shadows, Shadowgarms, and Shadow Mastiffs seem like the only available monsters so far in PRPG, though the newer paths might have some in their bestiary.

[Lyrax]

I know there's a template for this. There has to be. I just don't know where it is, exactly. There's an Umbral Creature template in Savage species, but that makes something incorporeal and strength-draining. Which is fun, but I think it's not what you're looking for.

[Deidre Tiriel]

Spoiler mostly from Mother of Flies:

The Totemrix, which is causing the shadow problems, allow Sivanshin to summon and control shadowgarms, shadows, "young shadows" (add the quick rules of the young template) and shadow rat swarms.

I threw a shadow at them when the were just 3rd level. Since they had sold the only magic item found, it was lucky that they had cure light spells & scrolls, so they survived. I had Fiosa, the halfling (potential) cleric of the Children of Westcrown follow them, unseen until the shadow. She's the halfling paladin's girlfriend, so it wasn't too unbelievable. Her channels came in handy.

After that I threw "Lesser Shadows" from the Tome of Horrors. Much easier to handle, though magic is still needed to hurt them. They only do 1d4 STR damage instead of 1d6.

Later on I also introduced:

spoiler for What Lies in Dust:

a vampire spawn. She was blasted with the minor circlet of blasting they found, and they followed her gaseous form around for a couple hours, 'cause she didn't have a coffin, being a newly created spawn.

Don't forget the "random encounter" tables in the bestiaries of the books. One is for Westcrown at night, another is for the Ruins at night.

[Treppa]

Studpuffin made me a template and a couple of samples you might be interested in. He whipped 'em up today and they have not been playtested. You could also toss in pieces of the Shadowgarm's abilities/disabilities to keep them consistent if you wanted. It's not a conversion of the old 3.5 template (umbral?) but you could try it if you want quick and dirty shadowbeasts.

Shadowbeast template:

Shadowbeast Template
Creatures with the Shadowbeast Template come from the Plane of Shadow. They are analogous to many of the creatures of the Material Plane. A Shadowbeast creature's CR increases by +1 only if it has 5 or more HD. Shadowbeast creature's quick and rebuild rules are the same.

Rebuild Rules: Senses gains darkvision 60 ft.; Defensive Abilities gains DR and energy resistance as noted on the table; SR gains SR equal to new CR +5; Special Qualities As creatures of shadow, Shadowbeast creatures gain a bonus on Escape Artist and Stealth checks equal to half their HD when in Normal Light or darker and may make Stealth Checks as if they had concealment even in Normal Light.

HD.......Resist Acid/Cold.......DR
1-4............5......................... --
5-10..........10.......................5/magic
11+...........10.......................10/magic

Sample Shadowbeast mastiff CR1:

SAMPLE
Shadowbeast Mastiff (Riding Dog) CR 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
N Medium Animal (Extraplanar)
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60ft, low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
AC 13 (+2 dex, +1 natural), T 12, FF 11
HP 13 (2d8+4)
Fort +5 Ref +5 Will +1
Resist Acid 5, Cold 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Speed 40ft
Melee Bite +3 (1d6+3 plus trip)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Str 15 Dex 15 Con 15 Int 2 Wis 12 Cha 6
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 15 (19 versus trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Acrobatics +6 (+14 jumping), Escape Artist +3, Perception +8, Stealth +3, Survival +1 (+5 scent tracking); Racial +4 jumping, survival when tracking by scent.

Sample Shadowbeast Great Hound CR4:

SAMPLE
Shadowbeast Great Hound (Dire Wolf) CR 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
N Large Animal (Extraplanar)
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60ft, low-light vision, scent; Perception +10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
AC 14 (+2 dex, +3 natural armor, -1 size), T 11, FF 12
HP 37 (5d8+15)
Fort +7 Ref +6 Will +2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Speed 50ft
Melee Bite +7 (1d8+6 plus trip)
Space 10ft; Reach 5ft
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Str 19 Dex 15 Con 17 Int 2 Wis 12 Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +8; CMD 20 (24 vs trip)
Feats Run, Skill Focus: Perception, Weapon Focus: bite
Skills Escape Artist +4, Perception +10, Stealth +5, Survival +1 (+5 scent tracking); Racial +4 survival when tracking by scent

[Winterwolf]

Thanks for the help, I'll be sure to use all of these, and maybe work up something else for myself.

[Demiurge 1138]

If I may shamelessly plug myself for a moment, may I make a suggestion?

My new PDF, Creature Codex: Monsters of Twilight was written in large part because I was hoping to diversify the monsters in Council of Thieves. And it's free!

[Helaman]

I havent started yet but I am just planning to make them flexible to every encounter - no shadow is generally alike... Encounter 1 - vanilla shadows... encounter 2 use shadow as template and give bull rush/imp grapple etc and up the CR1 - the shadow resembles a blob with tentacles that extended and then remerge with the shadow body etc.

The shadow dinosaur just annoys me but use the same statblock and give a different descript... say a monstrous scorpion and you got two horn attacks /Claws and a nose horn / stinger and it still can do all the other stuff.

Also giving the shadows the shadow dancer shadow jump feat can make them REAL spooky and add another CR to them as they burst forth from the wall attack then withdraw into a corner... only to emerge behind the party.