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Table of Contents
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The City of 7 Seraphs
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Physical Description
No single set of attributes dominates the shadow Fey populace. Characteristics can even wildly vary from parent to child. Generally skin tones range from dusky black to bone white with variations of blues and purples. Shadow Fey born to the city often exhibit an oily darkness of flesh that is nearly translucent on close inspection showing hints of submerged iridescent colors. Some speculate that these individuals are blessed of the city, while others think it is merely another curious reaction of shadow born energy and the Radia. Eye color varies widely but is often a luminous red or blue followed shortly in commonality by jet black.
Other characteristics very widely. Horns are quite common in shades of ivory, ebon, and earthen brown. Vestigial wings are rarer but far from unheard of and most commonly resemble those of dragonflies or moths. Sometimes feathers are present but more often take the form of vivid plumage then winglike confirmation. Legs too are variable with reverse configuring limbs similar to those of satyr being nearly as common as a human-like bipedal stance. Some speculate that the intense variation is a lingering result of permanent thing shape change magic by ancestors others speculate it is the result of a heightened ability to interbreed with other species. Each family tells a different story for the presence or lack of any particular attribute.
Society
For the most part, shadow fey society revolves around position and family. Each family’s reputation is held as a whole and while outliers and standouts are acknowledged they often times elevate or decrease the standing of their kin regardless of actual intentions. This leads to even the most selfish members of their society taking vested interests in the actions of other family members and makes distancing oneself from the desires of parents, grandparents and even older generations somewhat challenging.
Families in turn proclaim allegiance to a ruler who speaks for their community in larger fey affairs. These hierarchies are strict in their observance and only the most brazen and reckless shadow fey try to proclaim direct affiliation with another “higher” fey court. The select few who do move out of standard statuses are seen by the rulers as threats and often find themselves the target of no small amount of hostility.
A smaller segment have accepted or embraced a sort of exile instead choosing to live among wider peoples of the city. These groups find themselves split mostly between the scholars of the educational district and the dark markets of the commerce district. Those who settle the neighborhoods of schools are logic-loving intellectuals who strive to re-create a merit-based society of association and work toward a passionate advocacy of the education. Others in these areas are authors of tragic drama and seeking to evoke the pangs of loss and sorrow that so many of the shadow fey crave.
The shadow fey who make their way to the markets are among the most wicked and gleeful of negotiators and cunning bargainers the city has to offer. Weary of plying their wit or excited by the new potentials of the marketplaces these families are swiftly rising to become some of the most powerful outside the main district.
Relations
Some say the shadow fey are drawn to the loss and pain of others, if it is true it might explain the strange friendship between the judow and the shadow fey species. Others would point to a selfless act of bravery by a shadow fey family cast out during the Wonder Wars and taking the chance to save the fledgeling judow from the clutches of the kyton progenitors and again their near destruction at the hands of their own judgeborn cousins, the judrai.
The veryx are wary of the shadow fey claiming that their species met in older times and individuals take time to move past this. This is possibly heightened by the shadow fey being unable to enter a semoxa-bound state. Magical incompatibility seems to be major force in this rejection. Mirrorkin fascinate the more narcissistic members of the species and some have been know to try to gain an essence-bond just to see how they reflect into another being.
Elves in particular tend to draw extremes of emotions as that the species may have a common ancestral link. Ceptu are curiosities who live life so alien from their own, the shadow fey find it difficult to relate to them at all. Other species tend to be more case by case with each relationship beginning individually and those of greater relevance being brought into the sphere of a particular family as needed.
Alignment & Religion
Many of the shadow fey of the city are Chaotic in terms of alignment. The strong sense of duty to family is the only really structure they are required to adhere to while individual achievements and expression are rewarded greatly. This goes doubly so when speaking of loyalty and obligation, a thousand shades of truth are spoke under the shining forest’s boughs they say and most of them could be attributed to the promises of shadow fey. Yet, a surprising number of them will hold to the letter of their agreements with a ferocity bordering on madness.
Adventurers
The shadow fey of the city take to adventure for any number of reasons. For the young, the opportunity to track their ancestor's journeys or to visit the fey courts can prove an irresistible curiosity, while others become enmeshed in the intrigues of the the rival courts of the shining woods and striving to please their own crowns in Shadow.
Others reject the culture of their forebears entirely instead favoring the intellectual lifestyle of academia. Many of these in turn find themselves drawn into the intrigues of the secret informational warfare of the Booksealers or the radical experimentations of the Steamstriders.
Names
Shadow Fey names tend to favor sibilant, low sounds (like Essuriel, Rissual, Urshual, or Surror) or more courtly compound words corresponding to houses and historic events (Lightshorn, Marshwillow, and Ravendark).
Shadow Fey Species Traits
+2 Dexterity +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution: Shadow fey are graceful and strangely alluring, but relatively frail.
Fey: Shadow fey are creatures of the fey type.
Medium: Shadow fey are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Speed: Shadow fey have a base speed of 30 ft.
Senses: Shadow fey have darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision.
Light Sensitivity: Shadow fey are dazzled in areas of bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
Secretive: Shadow fey are taught to conceal themselves almost from birth. Bluff and Stealth are always class skills for shadow fey.
Sneaky: Shadow fey receive a +2 species bonus on Stealth checks.
Spell-like Abilities: Shadow fey can cast shadow jump once per day as a spell-like ability, using their character level as their caster level.
Weight of the Court: Shadow fey have strong connections to the eternal fey courts of the areas where they live. They can use this influence to gain a +2 species bonus to Diplomacy or Intimidate checks with those aware of the fey in the area. Creatures that disrespect or hate fey instead suffer a -2 penalty to social interactions with.
Swift as Shadows: Shadow fey can remain stealthy even when moving. Shadow fey reduce the penalty for using Stealth while moving by 5 and reduce the Stealth check penalty for sniping by 10.
Small Shadow Fey Species Traits
Although rare, some shadow fey are born Small sized. Most believe that these shadow fey have particularly strong fey blood. Small shadow fey must take all of the following species traits, which alter or replace the standard shadow fey traits.
Small: Small shadow fey gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 penalty on combat maneuver checks and their CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks. This replaces the standard shadow fey size.
Speed: Small shadow fey have a base speed of 20 ft. This replaces the standard shadow fey speed.
Spell-like Abilities: Small shadow fey can cast vanish once per day as a spell-like ability, using their character level as their caster level. This ability is in addition to the shadow jump spelllike ability of the standard shadow fey.
Small shadow fey physically appear identical to their Medium kin in all other ways, though they too have a wide variance in outward appearance.
New Spell
Shadow Jump
School illumination (conjuration) (teleportation) [shadow]; Level shadowsworn 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 action
Components V
Range Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Duration instantaneous
You may move from one shadow to another within 100 ft. + 10 ft./lvl and line of sight without passing through intervening space. After moving, you can’t take any other actions until your next turn. You can bring along any object you are able to carry. You cannot bring creatures along with you unless they are small enough to share your space, such as a familiar.
Alternate Shadow Fey Species Traits
Dark Archer (Su)
You gain the shadow swarm hybrid sphere talent (see sidebar) useable 1/day at your character level. If you have the barrage or dark spheres you may expend martial focus or a spell point to use this ability more than additional times subject to normal use limits. This ability replaces the shadow jump spell-like ability.
Shadowmaw (Su)
You are sustained by the power of magic and shadow. If you succeed on a Will save against an effect with the shadow or darkness descriptor you gain 3 temporary hit points per level of the spell or effect you resisted. Additionally you are sustained as though you have eaten a full day of meals. This ability replaces secretive species trait of the standard shadow fey.
New Magic Traits for Shadow Fey
Lineage of the Black (Ex)
Increase your caster level for umbral origin, darkness or shadow descriptor spells, or spherecasting level by +2 for the dark sphere to a maximum of your character level.
Magical Wit (Su)
Select a class with an Intelligence or Wisdom-based set of abilities. Select either Intelligence or Wisdom. That class now references Charisma for all instances of class abilities. You gain a +1 trait bonus to Will Saves against darkness and shadow effects.
Psychology
While it is unfair to describe an entire people as capricious, the quicksilver tempers and volatile wit of the Shadow Fey lend to a complicated relationship with one another and the other people of the city. Perhaps it is a remnant Elven ancestry that extends their memories particularly when wronged for nearly generational duration.
Strangely it is often these grudges and the alliances they engender that give structure to the whole lives of most shadow fey. The promises of loyalty and vendetta form a sort of scaffolding which allows more temperamental aspects of their personas to be held in check.
Loyalty above all is rewarded, like for like. In a longer life you tend to lead to a certain level of material dispossession, causing shadow fey to be often generous givers to those in their esteem.
Physiology
The chimeric nature of the shadow fey has sparked a goodly deal of debate among scholars. Some posit that the species were simply elves lost in the depth of the Shadow Planar forest for so long that the particulars of their forms were lost the near constant assault of the pseudo-reality of plane eroding both sense of being and memory of truth. Others posit a more radical theory that the ancestors of the shadow fey seized upon Shadow’s mutability to bare offspring to those of other species. The shifting nature of the plane making offspring possible between species, genders, and creatures that should not have been possible in and more stringent reality.
Regardless of the reason, the Shadow is part of them now. They display a fundamental level of connection to the murky realm, struggling with sudden increases in brightness and dancing through the darkness as though it was a hallway leading from one room to another. Even rare tales exist of those who cannot bear to leave the world of Shadow at all or have unique abilities to conjure darkness in their attacks or weave illusion into reality. As is often the case with fey, cold iron is very painful for shadow fey to touch but they do not suffer the degree of anathema and disruption from its piercing the flesh.
Combat
Stealth and distance are the shadow fey’s allies in times of war. Their superior reflexes lead them to make excellent archers and their vision allows them exploit this in the thickest of canopies or depths of night. A tendency toward sorcery and magics of illusion also aids in these tactics allowing for false concealment to shied artillery and debilitating shadow spells to summon distracting creatures of semi-reality to unbalance their foes. When forced into melee situations, the shadow fey favor speed and precision, practicing the arts of finesse weapons and often developing tactics that take advantage of unaware opponents. Assassins and rooms trained within the depths of the lit woods are known to command prices as high as the skills they wield when eliminating their employer’s enemies.
Death
Any shadow fey that dies within reach of a warden circle or in the city limits is to be taken to the frozen graves. This is apparently at odds with most funerary customs of the lit woods and has led to some enmity with the shadow fey of that place.
Still, many of those who have lost a kinsman or a lover find their way to the frozen tombs and weep freezing tears for those who have fallen. The keening of these mourning shadow fey has been observed as so profound that the denizens of the crown district are known to hire the bereaved and forlorn to display sorrow at their own funerary services.
Favored Class Options
- Bard: Add +1/4 of a round of lingering bardic performances in dim or lower light conditions.
- CommanderSoM: Add +1 foot to the warleader sphere’s shout ability.
- DreadUP: Choose a dread terror, its DC to resist, if any increases by 1/3. You may select this benefit for another terror DC every 3 selections, or you may select it for the same terror up to six total times for a total +2 bonus to a specific terror.
- Druid: Add +1/2 damage to the natural attacks of animal companions flanking a foe.
- Echo: Add 1/6 a deeper reflection that grants access to a arcane or umbral source origin or grants a memory of power of a spell or psionic power with the darkness or shadow descriptor.
- Eclipse: Choose one veil with a shadow or darkness descriptor. When investing at least one point of essence in that veil, treat its effects as though you had used +1/5 additional points of essence. You may select the same or a different veil each time you take this feature five times. You may not exceed your current essence limits.
- Fey AdeptSoP: Add a +1/2 to the shadow fey’s shadow pool.
- GunslingerUC: Add +⅓ on critical hit confirmation rolls made with firearms (maximum bonus of +5). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.
- KineticistOA: Add 1/5 of an Extra Wild Talent feat that must be spent on a void or wood element wild talent.
- MesmeristOA: Add +1/2 a mesmerist trick to your daily use of the trick class feature.
- Nexus: Add 1/6 of a veil with the darkness or shadow descriptor to your nexus list.
- NinjaAPG: The ninja gains +1/6 of a new ninja trick.
- OccultistOA: Gain 1/3 a point of mental focus that can only be invested in illusion or enchantment school implements.
- ParamourCoLSP: +1/3 a point when committing tides of passion points to the heart’s magic expression for a darkness or shadow spell.
- PsychicOA: Add one arcane spell with the darkness or shadow descriptor to your list as a psychic spell one level higher than its arcane level.
- Rogue: Add +1/2 to sneak attack damage dealt to creatures with first attack after successful feint attempt.
- Shadow Weaver: +1/6 of a silhouette.
- Sorcerer: Add one sorcerer/wizard of spell with a darkness or shadow descriptor to your spells know.
- SoulknifeUP: +1/2 a point of negative energy damage when dealing a psychic strike to a foe. A shadow fey can suppress this ability as a free action.
- Theurge: Add one arcane spell with the darkness or shadow descriptor to your list as a divine theurge spell one level higher than its arcane level.
- TroubadourCoS: One of the troubadour’s personas gains +1/6th of an extra persona quirk. If that persona is dismissed, choose a different persona to gain this extra persona quirk. An individual persona cannot possess more than one bonus persona quirk.
- VizierAM: Add 1/6 a veil with the darkness or shadow descriptor to your nexus list.
- ZodiacCoLSZ: Increase the essence pool +1/5.Essence from this ability may only be used to summon equipment from constellations.
Shadow Fey Species Feats
Dark Tunnel
Prerequisites: Shadow jump species ability.
Benefit: You may expend an extra use of your shadow jump to take another creature with you when you teleport. You gain an additional use of your shadow jump ability.
Harvest Shadow
Prerequisites: Shadowmaw alternate species ability.
Benefit: Up to your Charisma modifier times per day when you save against a spell with your shadowmaw ability you may forgo your temporary hit point gain to recharge your own supernatural powers. You may recharge a spell-slot, regain a lost spell, or gain power points. The effect you resisted must be a level higher than the spell or spell-slot you wish to regain. You instead can gain power points equal to the 2 time a spell of one level lower than the spell you resisted. If instead you are a sphere caster with access to the dark sphere you may regain one spell point if the spell is higher than half your caster level.
Rushing Shadow (Combat)
Prerequisites: Shadow jump species ability.
Benefit: You may expend two uses to use shadow jump as part of an action to charge a creature. You must move in a straight line but you may charge regardless of whether squares in between you and your target are occupied or difficult terrain. You gain two additional uses of your shadow jump ability.
Shadow’s Crossroads
Prerequisites: Shadow jump species ability.
Benefit: You may expend a prepared spell or spell slot of 2nd level, a spell point, or 3 power points to activate your shadow jump species ability an additional time per day. You gain an additional use of your shadow jump ability.
Shadow Draw (Combat)
Prerequisites: Shadow jump species ability.
Benefit: You may expend an extra use of your shadow jump as a free action to draw or pickup an unattended weapon as your shadow jump. You gain two additional uses of your shadow jump ability.
Special: This feat counts as Quick Draw.
Shadowfed Strikes (Combat, Psionic)
Prerequisites: Shadowmaw alternate species ability.
Benefit: Up to your Charisma modifier times per day when you save against a spell with your shadowmaw ability you may forgo your temporary hit point gain to renew your mental and martial skills. You may regain a maneuver, regain your psionic focus, or gain martial focus. The effect you resisted must be a level higher than any maneuver you wish to regain.
Speeding Shadow
Prerequisites: Shadow jump species ability.
Benefit: You may expend two uses of your shadow jump to activate it as a move action. You gain an additional use of your shadow jump ability.
Swift Shadow
Prerequisites: Speeding Shadow, 5th level.
Benefit: You may expend three uses of your shadow jump to activate it as a swift action. You gain two additional uses of your shadow jump ability.
Twin Shadow (Combat)
Prerequisites: Swift Shadow (see page 360), 7th level.
Benefit: You may expend a use of your shadow jump to as a swift action before making a melee attack to flicker back and forth around a creature providing yourself the benefit of flanking for the following round. You gain two additional uses of your shadow jump ability.
Shadow Fey Options
-Master of Vagueries (Prestige Class)
| City of 7 Seraphs by Lost Spheres Publishing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classes | |||||||||||
| Aegis | Aethernaut | Echo | |||||||||
| Eclipse | Nexus | Radiant | |||||||||
| Shadow Weaver | Sphereshaper | Theurge | |||||||||
| Races | |||||||||||
| Ceptu | Judow | Mirrorkin | Rhyzala | Shadow Fey | Veryx | ||||||
| Xodai | |||||||||||
| Luminous Organizations | |||||||||||
| Ashlords | Children of Dreams | Everlasting Dawn | Foreseers | House of Prominence | Steamstriders | ||||||
| Neutral Organizations | |||||||||||
| Cocoon Pact | Descendants of Thunder | ||||||||||
| Umbral Organizations | |||||||||||
| Blackswords | Booksealers | Church of Coin | Frozen Graves | Hands of Burden | Scarlet Sovereignty | ||||||
| Get The City of 7 Seraphs | |||||||||||
| Get Spheres of Akasha | |||||||||||