Hailing from the grim landscape of the Shadowfell, shadowborn are a unique heritage in that an individual’s physical appearance and many of their inherited features are those of their “counterpart”, a sapient creature from the Material Plane. Like everything in the Shadowfell, shadowborn are a distorted reflection of those who reside on the Material Plane, identical in name and physical features, but opposite in many ways. Many interpret this as shadowborn being inherently evil, but that is not the case. For example, a farmer who fears every rustle of a leaf has a shadowborn who is recklessly brave, a bloodthirsty warmonger’s reflection will instead be a staunch pacifist, and so on.
When first formed, shadowborn look like carbon copies of their counterparts and their coloration is entirely in shades of black, white, and gray. More often than would otherwise happen, shadowborn sometimes find themselves pulled through portals to the Material Plane, as though the universe is trying to balance itself somehow. Upon their arrival, a shadowborn’s monochrome appearance changes. The longer that they stay on the Material Plane, the more pronounced the effect as they gradually assume the natural pigmentation of their counterpart. The speed of the process varies, with some attaining full color within a week and others taking closer to a year. Those who return to the Shadowfell similarly experience a slow “bleaching” process, as the color they gained on the Material Plane slowly fades away.
Due to their unique nature, shadowborn are not “born” in the traditional sense; they instead wink into being once their counterpart reaches a certain amount of self-awareness—usually around puberty. A shadowborn knows that there is another version of them out there somewhere, but they have no innate knowledge of their thoughts, memories, or personal relationships. However, if something physically catastrophic happens to their counterpart—such as a serious injury or the loss of a limb—the shadowborn feels a twinge of pain in that area on their body. They are also aware if their counterpart dies; the shadowborn ceases to physically age, and remains in that form until their natural lifespan runs out. In some instances, a shadowborn will even have dreams that show them snatches of their counterpart’s life. These sensations and visions do not go both ways, however. Similarly, many shadowborn find themselves with similar proclivities and talents to their counterparts, though they are far from bound to these inclinations, as their lived experiences can differ wildly.
When you choose this heritage, select the traits from an existing heritage. These represent your counterpart on the Material Plane and determine your physical appearance, the rate at which you age, your base walking speed, and any heritage traits.
While a shadowborn retains the physical characteristics of their counterpart, their Shadowfell origins give them unique gifts tied to the dark and shadowy plane. In addition to the traits found in your counterpart’s heritage, select one of the following gifts:
The Shadowfell is a dangerous place even for those who originate there, and some shadowborn have evolved to leverage the darkness to their advantage. You gain the following traits:
Lesser Darkvision. You gain darkvision to 30 feet. If you have darkvision already, its range increases by 30 feet.
Shadow Teleport. Shadows do more than hide you—they provide you with a handy form of short-distance transport. So long as you are in dim light or darkness, you can teleport up to 15 feet to an unoccupied square you can see as a bonus action. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.
Your time spent in the Shadowfell has given you the ability to bend the bleak aspects of your home plane to your will. You learn one of your choice of the following cantrips: chill touch, ray of frost, spare the dying. At 3rd level, choose one 1st- or 2nd-level spell from the cold, necrotic, or shadow schools. You may cast this spell once per long rest without expending a spell slot or requiring material components. At 5th level you can cast the chosen spell twice per long rest in this way. A 1st-level spell chosen this way can be cast at 2nd-level using this trait, if the spell allows. Your spellcasting modifier for this spell is Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, whichever is highest.
When you reach 10th level, you become a better shadowborn and gain one paragon gift from the following list.
Grasping Shadow. You can now use your shadow as effectively as any weapon. You can make a melee weapon attack with your shadow, which deals necrotic damage equal to 1d6 + the highest of your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifiers. On a successful hit, if the target is no more than one size category larger than you, you can grapple it with your shadow. The target makes a Strength saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + the ability modifier that you attacked with. On a failure, the creature is grappled. Until this grapple ends, you can’t grapple another creature with your shadow. The DC to escape the grapple is the same as the DC to avoid the grapple. Grappling a creature in this manner leaves your hands free. This allows you to attempt to grapple a creature yourself, though you can’t move a grappled creature if both you and your shadow are grappling a creature. Your shadow uses your carrying capacity when moving a grappled creature.
Shadowy Aspect. You have learned to mimic the power of the ghosts and shadows that populate your home plane, granting you the ability to take on a distorted form and grant it to others. You learn the blur spell and can cast it without components or using a spell slot. At the end of a long rest, choose one of the following options: you can cast blur 3 times per long rest; you can cast blur as a 4th-level spell twice per long rest; you can cast blur as a 6th-level spell once per long rest. Your spellcasting ability for this spell is Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (whichever is highest).
While you can choose any culture for your shadowborn character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: forsaken, itinerant, lone wanderer, wildling