Marcella wrote:
3) I assume I can cast Mage Armor and Inflict Light Wounds upon it, though I think the former prevents it from going through objects. But, can I cast Silence, Darkness, Magic Fang, and/or Reduce Person? The last 3 list "object", "living creature", and "humanoid creature" as what can be targeted.
It is a creature, not an object. However, it is not a living creature or a humanoid. So Silence is fine, but Darkness, Magic Fang, and Reduce Person are all off-limits.
Marcella wrote:
What other spells are handy to cast upon it?
I would suggest getting someone in the party to use Haste - not only is it excellent for pretty much every martial character, but it also doubles the shadow's output of strength damage.
Marcella wrote:
4) If I do cast Silence upon my shadow, can it lurk inside the floor and still silence spellcasters, or does the magic radius require line-of-sight?
See above, it is an emanation and requires line of effect, so it is blocked by total cover. The shadow will have to pop out of the ground in order to affect anyone on the surface.
Marcella wrote:
If it "can communicate intelligibly" with me, is that verbally? I assume it can't eavesdrop & understand any languages.
Yes, I believe verbal communication is the default assumption. Treat it like a familiar's speak with master ability. And no, it can't eavesdrop on anyone else because it doesn't actually know any languages. Although maybe you could ask your GM to let your shadow make a check to remember some things it hears phonetically and repeat them back to you at a later point.
Marcella wrote:
5) How do I make it better than useless when our opponents are immune to ability damage? If I give it a Ghost Touch Amulet of Mighty Fists, would it be able to influence normal objects? If so, would having Str: -- mean it still couldn't actually lift or move anything? (I assume that said normal object could not then pass through doors.)
It would not allow it to influence objects in any way besides attacking them, because it only allows the shadow's unarmed strikes to count as incorporeal, not its hands or its whole body.
Marcella wrote:
Could it punch monsters with that amulet?
Yes, it could. It would use Dexterity to hit and deal 1d3 damage with no strength bonus to damage. Oh, and it would provoke an attack of opportunity. All in all, not something I would recommend. It also allows you to perform trip, disarm, and sunder maneuvers with your unarmed strikes, which is significantly more useful.
Marcella wrote:
6) If against a creature it can't hurt, and I want the shadow to flank, what counts as "threatening"? Can it just hover there and miss on purpose so the opponent thinks it's a threat?
If it is next to an opponent and capable of making a melee attack against them it threatens them, regardless of whether it would actually deal any damage.
Marcella wrote:
7) If I give it a Ghost Touch longspear, can it lurk inside the floor and try to stab up at people with the weapon's reach ability, not emerging even one bit?
I believe ghost touch weapons cannot pass through walls.
Marcella wrote:
8) Can I supplement or change its skills & feats? (My impression is, no.)
Not really, although you could give it an extra skill with an Headband of Vast Intelligence if you really wanted to.
Marcella wrote:
9) When choosing a rogue trick, is it worth it to get Ninja Trick: Pressure Points to synchronize with the shadow's STR damage? How about a Lesser Poisoner's Jacket (and perhaps the talent Lasting Poison) to do so via the poisoning route? Or do too many enemies typically make the Fort saves? (I might otherwise be taking Precise Shot, Toughness, and/or Resilience.)
Pressure Points is definitely worth it because you can spam it on every sneak attack and it doesn't allow a save. Poison is not worth it, mainly because of the save, as well as how long it takes for it to really have a significant effect.
Marcella wrote:
10) Other suggested tasks or tactics? If it matters, my shadowdancer is something of a switch-hitter who is recently shy of going toe-to-toe against Strong opponents.
Your shadow is capable of performing dirty trick combat maneuvers as long as you can explain how they are performed without moving them or their equipment. I suggest you use this to your advantage, particularly when fighting enemies immune to ability damage. Blinding your opponents is not only the most awesome for your shadow from a flavor standpoint, it is also the most effective, allowing you to perform full-attacks with sneak attack at either melee or range. The shadow uses your BAB and its Dexterity modifier so its CMB should be in okay shape, but it still provokes attacks of opportunity, so you'll want it to use dirty tricks carefully against opponents who have already taken their attack of opportunity, who have an obstacle preventing them from making the attack, or who just aren't wielding any magical weapons capable of harming the shadow in melee.
