D&D: Five Shadow Monsters that will have you Attacking the Darkness
Shadow monsters are a big part of D&D, and you’d be surprised at just how many kinds of “shadow monsters” there are.
When you’re playing D&D, sometimes, you just want to cast Magic Missile. Even if that means “attacking the darkness” which is a tradition that goes all the way back to the days of Dr. Demento.
And did you know it doesn’t have to just be for the sake of the meme. You can actually attack the darkness. There’s plenty of ways to do that, because, as it turns out, D&D is chock full of shadow monsters. From Shadows to death itself distilled into a sort of hateful malevolence that also…kinda looks like a shadow, here are some of D&D’s best shadow monsters.
Shadow
Let’s start with the original Shadow monster. The Shadow. These undead creatures are driven to steal life and warmth as they sap the physical forms of their prey. Shadows have been responsible for a number of unexpected player character deaths, and even a few TPKs, because they’re not so tough if all you look at is the CR, which is a mere 1/2.
But each time they hit a creature, they automatically drain away 1d4 Strength, which can quickly add up on characters who don’t have that much to begin with. And if you get reduced to 0, you not only immediately die, do not pass go, do not collect $200, you also become a Shadow yourself, eager to prey on the living.
Shadow Demon
Then there’s Shadow Demons, which are one of my favorite demons to use. These are demons who have been destroyed and who have been prevented from simply reforming in the Abyss. Their essence becomes a vague, shadowy form that exists outside of the infernal rankings of the Abyss, leaving insubstantial, shadowy forces of destruction.
They feast on fear and doubt and memory with every attack, which is extremely atmospheric and creepy. And practically it means they deal psychic damage, dealing extra if they get advantage on a target.
Shadow Horror
Slowly moving up the “shadow-” ranks, we have Shadow Horrors. Shadow Horrors are from the lands of Ravnica, where they are terror and madness personified. Shadow Horrors are terrifying evils that are take the form of an incorporeal shadow.
As you might imagine, they’re great in the darkness. They can teleport in shadows, can hide in darkness or dim light, and can cause your own shadows to deal necrotic damage to you, all while wielding fear and shadowy claws to terrible effects.
Shadow Dragon
Shadow dragons were once true dragons who were transformed by the Shadowfell, either because they were born there, or were exposed to its dark, dismal energies. Either way, these dragons become the stuff of Shadow itself, and where once they were vibrant dragons of chromatic or metallic hue, they now become charcoals and greys and darkness itself.
I love a shadow dragon because they’re one of very few templates in 5th Edition (we could have plenty more), which a DM can add to any dragon, giving it powerful abilities that enhance it in darkness. Their breath becomes a killing shadow exhalation that can turn those it slays into shadows under the dragon’s control, and it becomes extremely stealthy. On top of also being a dragon.
Nightwalker
Finally the terrifying Nightwalker. Nightwalkers are creatures of the Negative Plane. A place of death itself – and these all-devouring undead want nothing more than to annihilate any. Whenever someone enters the Negative Plane, a nightwalker is released to take their place in the world. Once there, it seeks out the living to annihilate, spreading the evil of destruction wherever it goes.
Whether its annihilating aura, or its enervating attacks or even its deadly Finger of Doom, these CR 20 creatures don’t mess around. And when they kill you, you can’t be revived except by a Wish spell. No death saves, no resurrections, nothing but reshaping reality itself can undo their terrible work.
But, funnily enough, not a single one of these shadow creatures is immune to Magic Missile. So attack the darkness – sometimes that might be your only chance to survive!
