I don't recall ever seeing any mechanical penalties for losing your shadow in D&D, at least in any source I've ever read across any of the editions I've looked over. I do recall wondering the same thing myself years ago and not finding any sources on the matter. Could be wrong though, kind of hope I am really.
-In the game SaGa Frontier, there is a world akin to the Plane of Shadows, in which, if a person enters, their shadow leaves their body. They cannot leave unless their shadow is recovered. Implementing a similar thing in D&D shouldn't be too hard. One can't enter the Plane of Shadows without one.
Sure, you can't reenter the Plane of Shadows/Shadowfell again, but who cares? You're suddenly cooking cupcakes, grinning like an idiot, and helping old ladies across the road because it is the "right" thing to do.
That's sort of why Faerie/Feywild and Plane of Shadows/Shadowfell are so easily accessible--both are polar extremes and reflections of the world as is. Ideally, any individual can't truly exist without having both parts of the whole.
The instance in Kemp's novel surely was interesting; with Elyril's dog being a gift from Shar I think he acted with the Dark Mothers best interests in mind. Eating shadows could be some sort of condemnation of the soul of such a person, ensuring Shar would have control of the subject in the afterlife.
Yeah. But, if you do that, then you get to the ethical nature of what a "shadow" truly is.
-Metaphysical? In D&D, shadows, as in the shadow an individual casts off, as opposed to the monsters, and the race, and all of that, has never actually been given much attention, I don't think.
-Me, personally, I prefer the notion that the shadow isn't anything special. It's just darkness created by an object (in this case, the person) blocking the path of a light source. I don't think that it has, or should have, any kind of particular sentience, or signifigance. Spells can imbue shadows with a limited sort of sentience or whatever, turning them into the monster. But, independent of that happening, I don't really like the idea that shadows are anything special.
Perhaps a shadowless being will be more prone to be stuck in the shadowplane upon death?
-Metaphysical? In D&D, shadows, as in the shadow an individual casts off, as opposed to the monsters, and the race, and all of that, has never actually been given much attention, I don't think.
My point here is that, in Return of the Archwizards (so I believe), Melegaunt speaks to Galaeron of the shadow in every individual (a.k.a. good and evil) and how that that alone is enough to give them connection to the power of shadow, should they just reach out for it.
So, what I refer to is on that definition. Sort of, like, if you have been stripped of all evil, how could you possibly enter hell...?
The instance in Kemp's novel surely was interesting; with Elyril's dog being a gift from Shar I think he acted with the Dark Mothers best interests in mind. Eating shadows could be some sort of condemnation of the soul of such a person, ensuring Shar would have control of the subject in the afterlife.
I see no issue with that at all. Evil feeds upon itself--just makes sense.
My point here is that, in Return of the Archwizards (so I believe), Melegaunt speaks to Galaeron of the shadow in every individual (a.k.a. good and evil) and how that that alone is enough to give them connection to the power of shadow, should they just reach out for it.
-An interesting point. A lot of what Melegaunt says, along with a lot of what other Shadovar such as High Prince Telamont, or his councilor Hadrhune, are often considered to be lies, or somehow otherwise misleading. Hadrune, for example, alluded to the idea that he was an Elf, or at least part Elf, when he was speaking to Galaeron in the third book. His stats, however, do not reflect any Elven blood in him, though. But, that's kind of neither here nor there, other than to cast a...shadow of a doubt (!) on what he was saying.
-I think this theory falls apart a little when applied to things other than sentient Humans, Elves, etc. A creature like Solar, who is theoretically composed completely of good, would have no prohibitions against traveling to the Plane of Shadows. Likewise, a creature that isn't sentient, and doesn't necessarily have "good" or "evil" inside of them wouldn't be, either.
So, what I refer to is on that definition. Sort of, like, if you have been stripped of all evil, how could you possibly enter hell...?
-A rhetorical question, I know. But, according to many religions, even if you live an extremely good life by the tenets if their religions, if you don't ascribe to their particular worldview, pay homage to their deities/prophets as they do, and so on, yes, you absolutely are going to Hell.
-I think this theory falls apart a little when applied to things....
Of course it does. That's why I brought it up. You just contradicted your own suggestion to the OP.
-A rhetorical question, I know....
Only where it applies to you actually answering it. It was simply there to accentuate the above point.
Of course it does. That's why I brought it up. You just contradicted your own suggestion to the OP.
-Wasn't really as much as suggestion as me just saying how SaGa Frontier did it. That game was pretty cool. It had a lot of Planeswalking in it- or something similar, anyway. More like Spelljamming and Planeswalking put together- the characters took ships to "fly" to different dimensional thingies. Lots of characters and endings to choose from, too. A good game.