Hello,
today we had an encounter with 3 shadows spawning and surrounding my Paladin , resulting in his death. Other charcaters were surrounding the shadows but we couldn't damage them.
But we had some questions after the fight:
1. How do shadows act ? Do they target the lowest strength target ?
2. Can I die from the STR damage. (The shadow says so , but the core rulebook says something else)
1) They aren't very intelligent, but they can use tactics as they're moderately wise. Ultimately, it's how the GM sees them. The fact that the gameworld exists, however, is proof that they're not clever enough to utilize their powers to their full advantage.
2) This is a case of specific trumping general. The losing your strength from shadows kills you. When interacting with multiple strength-reducing effects, I look at it as whatever the last effect to hit you was. Thus, if you're suffering from STR drain from, say, poison, shadows are more likely to kill you. If, on the other hand, you're already suffering shadow drain, and, say, poison drains you, you're fine (well, as fine as you can be with 0 STR). That, however, is a ruling of mine, and I'm uncertain if the specifics of the interactions are spelled out.
Actually while we are on the subject of shadows I hope you don't mind me asking: how am I supposed to describe them. Because the picture of the shadow in the bestiary is a shadow like figure against a wall. Obviously these creatures are not bound to walls so what do they look like when they move out to strike a player? Is it like pride from Fullmetal Alchemist or something?
@Ausk we were confused by the description as well, first I thought they are flying around. Then our GM said "Walking on the floor" so would grease work ?
When the party escaped he realized the fly speed.
I wouldn't see them as pride from FMA more like Nocturne from LOL
Thanks for the comparison. That actually cleared it up pretty well for me, thanks.
Actually, a shadow prety much is what the picture shows it as.
The shadow plane has had very little definition added to it since its inception, so much of what I know is based on player consensus.
Example 1:
The Monster manual shadow is merely an imprint or likeness of a person on a wall.
Example 2:
The bestiary shadow i a creeping stick figure overlapping a bunch of rocks, like as if someone were castign a shadow on themm, but the source of the cast shadows is missing.
Example 3:
Baldurs gate/Icewind dale shadows were humanoid impressions on the ground, shadows of a missing shadow projekting creature.
By just these samples its pretty clear that shadows are like their plane, merely a fraction of the essence of a creature, as is common for denizens of that plane.
Game rules wise?
They are incorporeal thus they cant manipulate objekts, if the shadows on the ground/walls were their bodies then by extention they wouldnt really be incorporeal, if the shadow cast is vulnerable to damage then it isnt really incorporeal. This means that the shadow has some kind of body which is the part that you attack.
By extention, you need to be able to discern the creatures true location to attack it, you can do it by fighting blindly if there is no shadow to go by (but by the definition of the creature there is allways a strong shadow somewhere).
In my games a player with some strong detection or vision spell can see a shadow as they would an invisible stalker, perhaps as a roiling humanoid figure made of darkness.
When RP'ing fights with shadows it is completely reasonabl-e for the GM to ask what the players attack initially, giving the Shadovs the benefit of the doubt for a few attacks as the players might try and strike the apparitions on the floor instead of the shadows true bodies.