Shadowswyfts are planetouched beings with ancestry from the Plane of Shadow.
Personality: Shadowswyfts are mercurial in temperament. They delight in action and in acting now. Delay or inactivity irritates shadowswyfts. In the amount of time it takes to formulate and evaluate a plan, worlds could be won or lost.
Physical Description: Shadowswyfts little resemble other races. Tall and slender, they have skin ranging in hue from medium brown to lustrous black and almost completely black, slanted eyes. Their dark colouring and light build make them very adept at hiding in shadows and moving quietly. The average male shadowswyft stands more than 6 feet tall and weighs about 165 pounds, with females somewhat shorter and lighter. Shadowswyfts reach adulthood at about the same age as a half-orc, but it’s rare for a shadowswyft to live beyond age 60.
Relations: To a shadowswyft, one’s actions are much more important than one’s species. Shadowswyfts will associate with chaotic creatures of all kinds. These alliances rarely last long, but they usually end amicably with the shadowswyft moving on to journey with other people in far-flung places.
Alignment: Shadowswyfts tend to be chaotic. Their generally short attention span and love of action without thought for its consequences is incompatible with lawful philosophies.
Religion: The most common religion among the shadowswyfts is the worship of Olidammara, the god of rogues. Shadowswyfts who do not worship the Laughing Rogue generally choose to travel and adventure, and they favour Fharlanghn or Boccob.
Language: Since shadowswyfts can see very well in low light and in darkness, their language utilizes sound and kinesics (body language including body movements, position, and facial expressions). To convey the full extent of meaning in written works, a variety of symbols are used. It’s not unusual for a single word to be accompanied by three or four symbols to help show its connotations and subtleties.
Names: Shadowswyft names tend to be short, usually monosyllabic, and accompanied by a signifying gesture. When a name is accurately translated into another language, it becomes a much longer sobriquet that shadowswyfts are apt to shorten.
Male Names: Bhear, Bhah, Brot, Flah, Flaht, Fraa, Pohl, Phaer, Prag.
Female Names: Gheer, Gree, Graf, Grif, Mhi, Mheer, Mrak, Tap, T’Har.
Signifying Gesture: Blink, bow, nod, lower hands, point left index finger, point right index finger, raise hands, shake head, shrug, touch chin or wink.
Adventurers: Adventure attracts shadowswyfts as a candle does moths. Most feel the pull to adventuring careers. They relish the variety and diversity of activity. An adventuring life is one filled with action and change, and thus is well suited to the shadowswyft’s temperament.
Source: Planar Handbook (Page 13)
Your character can be either male or female.
Every player character starts as an adult. You can choose or randomly generate your character’s age. If you choose it, it must be at least the minimum age for the character’s race and class (see Table: Starting Ages). Your character’s minimum starting age is the adulthood age of his or her race plus the number of dice indicated in the entry corresponding to the character’s race and class on Table: Starting Ages.
Alternatively, refer to Table: Starting Ages and roll dice to determine how old your character is.
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 years | +1d4 (13—16) years | +2d4 (14—20) years | +3d4 (15—24) years |
1 This category includes barbarians, rogues and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, fighters, paladins and rangers.
3 This category includes clerics, druids, monks and wizards.
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
| Middle Age1 | Old Age2 | Venerable3 | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 years | 37 years | 49 years | +2d10 years |
1 -1 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
2 -2 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
3 -3 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
When a character reaches venerable age, the DM secretly rolls his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year, as determined by the DM.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections or violence before getting to venerable age.
Choose your character’s height and weight from the ranges mentioned in the appropriate race description or from the ranges found on Table: Height and Weight. Think about what your character’s abilities might say about his or her height and weight. A weak but agile character may be thin. A strong and tough character may be tall or just heavy.
Alternatively, roll randomly for your character’s height and weight on Table: Height and Weight. The dice roll given in the Height Modifier column determines the character’s extra height beyond the base height. That same number multiplied by the dice roll or quantity given in the Weight Modifier column determines the character’s extra weight beyond the base weight.
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 5’ 4" | +3d6 (5’ 7"—6’ 10") | 120 lbs. | ×1d4 (123—192 lbs.) |
| Female | 5’ 0" | +3d6 (5’ 3"—6’ 6") | 80 lbs. | ×1d4 (83—152 lbs.) |
Source: Planar Handbook (Page 18)