This means that, if you want some of the more powerful mysteries, you are going to have to fill your precious mystery slots with flak that is situational at best. Some of the best mysteries, such as flicker, are buried at the end of paths that have underwhelming or outright useless mysteries earlier. To make matters worse, mysteries are set up in “paths.” In order to take a higher level mystery, you need to know all of the earlier mysteries in the path. There is no mechanic for bonus mysteries from a high ability score, no “specialist” variant that will let you learn more, nothing. You progress at the frustratingly slow rate of learning one new mystery per level, and until level 7, these will again all be used only once a day. Once that mystery is used for the day, you’re pretty much forced to fall back on cantrips.Īs you level, things don’t get much better. This mystery is about at the same power level of a 1st-level spell, although unlike a wizard, you have no encounter-ending options here like sleep or color spray. To give you an example, a level one shadowcaster begins play with three Fundamentals (essentially cantrips, although they do tend to scale slightly better), usable three times per day, and a single 1st-level mystery. While this problem does begin to alleviate itself in the higher levels, low to mid level shadowcasters can run out of resources excessively quickly. Like the truenamer, the shadowcaster has many hurdles to cross in order to be an effective character.Īt the heart of the shadowcaster’s flawed design is the low number of mysteries per day. Tome of Magic was notorious for not being properly playtested and reviewed, and the rules behind shadow magic are no exception.
Many mysteries simply duplicate existing spells and abilities, but there are several truly unique powers buried within the Tome of Magic. While mysteries have a wide variety of effects, most mysteries have a darkness or reflection theme behind them. Instead of spells, shadowcasters cast mysteries. Over the course of their career, a shadowcaster will learn to manipulate shadows to conceal, confuse and control. A shadowcaster’s power comes from the Plane of Shadow, which overlaps with the Material Plane. Functionally, the shadowcaster is a very specialized caster with a special emphasis on stealth, darkness and illusory effects.Īt its heart, shadow magic is a magical alternative that draws on the power of shadows to control their environment. Shadowcasters deal with the latter, wielding magic that is neither arcane nor divine but rather based on the Plane of Shadow. Tome of Magic presented three alternate magic systems to play with: pact, truenaming and shadow magic. PURPLE - Not very good, or too situational to fit in with most builds.
Generally this will either be something potentially useful but perhaps a bit limited in scope, or something that's not bad but not gamechanging, either. Will fit well into most builds.īLACK - Average choice. These should be one of the first things you look at.īLUE - Great choice overall. I'll be using the following rating system for this guide: Mysteries and Paths - What’s It All Mean?Ĭompiled Shadowcaster Handbook V3, by gorfnabĬityscape's Urban Magic Enhancement (including three bonus paths for shadowcasters)Ĭlass Chronicles: Shadowcasters (including information about Shadowcasters and the Weave) The Shadowcaster - Handbook and Build Guide "Pulvis et umbra sumus." (We are but dust and shadow)
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