Shadow mages are students of the power of darkness and twilight. While shadow mages are not necessarily evil, most tend to be grim characters who are at home in the darkness. The school of shadow is built around the thesis that all shadows are actually connected in some mystical way in the Demiplane of Shadow; the shadow mage’s repertoire of spells reflects this belief. Shadow mages must be keen-minded individuals; a character must have at least an Intelligence/Reason of 15 and a Ego/Willpower of 16 to select this specialty. The school of shadow is opposed by the schools of invocation/evocation and abjuration.
The shadow mage follows the normal rules for specialist wizards, with one notable exception: the target’s saving throw modifiers are tied to the prevalent lighting conditions, and range from +2 to –4. The shadow mage himself receives no saving throw modifiers versus spells of any kind (see Table 3.4.7 : Shadow Mage Target Saving Throw Modifiers).
Shadow mages also gain the ability to see in darkness due to their connection with the plane of gloom. At fourth-level, the shadow mage sees as well in moonlight as a normal human does by broad daylight, and all darkness-based combat penalties are reduced by one point. At seventh-level, he can see perfectly by starlight and reduces combat penalties for darkness by two points. At 10th-level, the shadow mage can see perfectly in total darkness, negating all combat penalties. Note that magical blindness or fog can still impair the wizard’s vision.
The shadow mage’s spells are both powerful and subtle. Of all the specialist wizards, he makes the best spy or infiltrator, especially by night. While the shadow mage isn’t very well-suited for open battle, his spells are perfect for solitary confrontations.
