Thanks.
The Shadow Stone was actually pretty good.
Agreed, the novel was pretty good and the Shadow Weave was actually done tolerably well there. Too bad it went south once 3.X started up.
In the years since it's destruction at the hands of Aeron Morieth, many of the shards were sought out and gathered by servants of Shar, who coveted and wielded them for their potent powers over the magic of the Weave. In recent history they were used to perform the Rite of Unwinding--a ritual that would slowly sunder the Weave over an vast area, ultimately in hopes of weakening or perhaps destroying Mystra herself.
One of these shards was recovered by a group of adventurers (the PCs) in Shadowdale upon the death of Esvele Greycastle, the Dark Abbess of Urmlaspyr. In addition to serving as the source of the rite of unwinding, the shard also possessed several others powers which would prove grievously injurious to Weave spellcasters.
It is likewise possible that the Ebon Diadem that was sequestered in the vaults of Elminster's Tower--in turn used by the Sharrans to defeat the Old Sage--may have been a shadow shard as well, though this is mere speculation, and now difficult to prove as both it and those who wielded it were quite certainly destroyed or lost in the chaos they unleashed by awakening it's power.
SOURCES:
Shadow Shard: in full detail; Shadowdale: the Scouring of the Land page 152.
Ebon Diadem: mentioned in passing; Shadowdale: the Scouring of the Land page 4.
Esvele Greycastle: biography and statistics in Lords of Darkness page 124; adventure background and combat encounter (revised stats) in Shadowdale: the Scouring of the Land.
**SPOILER***
It says the Imaskari discovered and used the SW before the Netherese. Though this plot device as far as I know as never been used beyond the novel, nor appear in any source books. But keep in mind The Shadow Stone came before 3.x shadowness stuff. Was the framework, and so it's 'fluff' retrofitted to 3.x and 4E. Doubt we'll see anything about Imaskari and the Shadow Weave. Although if one ever wanted to dabble in that, Tome of Magic's Shadow Magic is much more applicable to the Imaskari.
I would also assume that the ancient elves discovered Shadow Magic while messing with Illusion spells and the like. Now, if they discovered the Shadow weave and shunned it is another problem. I can see the first Shadowdancer being an elf, but the first Shadowmage....?
I like that, Shadowdancing being an elven invention.
The first demihuman shadowcraft mage could likely be a gnome!
even for me.. But back kinda to the topic, The Shadow Stone is a great stand alone novel, despite what may have stemmed from it, and written-off fluff. Thing that makes it rather unique to anyone interesting in the SW and things like that, is it's the first book that introduced it. Flat out states there's 2 weaves. Or rather, two roads to magic so to speak. It's just a little shocking. Consider this, The Shadow Stone was written in 1998. Who cares if it was for another campaign originally. RotA and 3rd Edition didn't hit til 2001. And in WotC's eyes, considering 4E effect of FR, it all stemmed from this novel. At least a large portion of it. 10-11 years ago.. And just look at how in the last few months they changed the Realms. It's definitely a book to pick up for at this point in the game... simple amusement IMO lol...
-Of course LK has a point, and a good one. When does he not? Honestly, though, there's no reason for more retroactivity concerning the Shadow Weave, in furture novels/whatever other sources.
Lol, not always :P But, all kidding aside, of course there are reasons, it's reason enough for anyone to know 'roots' haha, or simply to enjoy a good book. Or as fans could press Richard Baker to give us an update of Aeron Morieth. I'm not making a debate, ****, I liked the whole Imaskari involvement, much more than the Netherese, and then Deep Imaskar being around. Got my hopes up lol
But, nahh. They stuck with the flying city people.
idk. And Aeron entered a similar realm of excitement to readers because The Shadow Stone really opened up the eyes IMO to like, wait.. wtf? Thus leaving plot holes becauuuse his story has never been updated. Simply put, my point is the book because of it's framework in a RL sense, is a RSE.EDIT: No matter, age, or location. We post on these forums because we care. Because we care about the Realms, we enjoy D&D/FR. Past or present...
Now does Talfiric have anything to do with the shadow weave as it currently is. Was his shadow magic drawn the the same weave as is described in 4e?
-No, because the book(s) were written before the Shadow Weave was invented by the WotC design team. The Shadow Magic in the book was "2e Shadow Magic", which doesn't 100% match the Shadow Weave. That Shadow Magic was very Bard oriented, for example, and wasn't as (seemingly) inherently evil as the Shadow Weave is/was. Since the Shadow Weave was created, it was applied retroactively, so canonically, that Shadow Magic is the Shadow Weave. I don't have any problems with retroactive applications, here. Stuff like that needs to happen, to a degree, to give whatever it is legitimacy and some sense.
There seems to be many different versions of "shadowy" magic laying around in the rules: Shadowdancers, Tome Of Magic Shadow Magic, Shar's Shadow Weave, and just plain old spells like darkness and shadow conjuration from the PHB, and so on. Just as there are several in the lore: Talfirian, the Shadow Stone, the Shadow Weave. All might be facets or aspects of a larger body of shadow magic, or really just be separate things.
If the shadow weave is inherently evil can the so called good mages still use it to cast magic in the name of good if not how do they cast their spells? Again if the explaination is too long and detailed just let me know where I can fiind the thread and ill go there. ;) Thanks
-The Shadow Weave is inherently evil, as Shar is it's stewardess, and, in order to utilize the Shadow Weave, one must give her some amount of loyalty and fealty. Unlike Mystra, Shar is not mandated to let anyone and everyone use the Shadow Weave, and is not picky about "pulling the plug", so to speak. So, it is inherently evil in that Shar is the "traffic cop" who determines who can use it, and who can't. She is not going to let those who might not be of some kind of service to her use it.
There seems to be many different versions of "shadowy" magic laying around in the rules: Shadowdancers, Tome Of Magic Shadow Magic, Shar's Shadow Weave, and just plain old spells like darkness and shadow conjuration from the PHB, and so on.
-Shadow Magic from Tome of Magic is separate from the Shadow Weave. As much as I liked the concept of an overarching 'Shadow Magic' in the past, I don't anymore. Separate traditions, I like more.
-The Shadow Weave is inherently evil, as Shar is it's stewardess, and, in order to utilize the Shadow Weave, one must give her some amount of loyalty and fealty. Unlike Mystra, Shar is not mandated to let anyone and everyone use the Shadow Weave, and is not picky about "pulling the plug", so to speak. So, it is inherently evil in that Shar is the "traffic cop" who determines who can use it, and who can't. She is not going to let those who might not be of some kind of service to her use it.
Eh, requirements for the Shadow Weave Magic feat are patron deity Shar OR Wis 15 (in 3.5, Wisdom loss applied in 3E) and while she could block people opposed to her goals from using it, both Nihmedu and Morieth (who is a weaker example due to his tale being written before Shar got control of the SW) kept their magic even when opposing entities that were enhancing her position or weakening her enemies. That and Shar's printed response in sourcebooks if memory serves is more likely to have her agents hunt you down then put a block on you. While I do consider the Shadow Weave inherently dangerous due to the text regarding both Nihmedu and Morieth needing to control its influence on their thought processes and/or magical practice, I doubt Shar actively blocks well intentioned characters from using it. History seems to suggest that she finds it adequate to let them try and contain the corruption without intervention on her part. Well that and if she cuts them then they may have an easier time regaining True Weave access.
...and while she could block people opposed to her goals from using it, both Nihmedu and Morieth (who is a weaker example due to his tale being written before Shar got control of the SW) kept their magic even when opposing entities that were enhancing her position or weakening her enemies.
-The stories for both were written during the 2e-3e transition era, so a lot of the "technical details" might not have been hammered out yet, keep in mind.
good character = no Shadow Weave
serve enemy = no Shadow Weave
You can't be a good Shadow Adept but you can get the basic feat with a good alignment and no allegiance to Shar. If you get in her way then her assassin monks come looking for you but I'm not content to accept a blanket policy without historical backing or a crunch statement I'm missing.