The Shadows
The Shadows are the remnants of an ancient race of humans who, after losing an epic battle, were locked away in a magical prison by their conquerors. Now, after eons of captivity, they have been released. These beings exist only as swirling, half-mad shadows, driven by revenge—and occasionally puzzled about what happened to the mammoths.
Their goal is clear: to enslave the entire world in vengeance and cover it in darkness. They don’t believe in half-measures and have chosen Leonera as their first conquest—a sort of practice run for their tentacles, so to speak. And at first, it looked as though they would succeed.
The Brotherhood had long suspected that something profoundly evil was hidden in the world. Half by accident, half with unclear intentions, they finally opened a door in an underground temple that should have remained sealed. The ancient prison, guarded for millennia by a secret order, burst open, and a flood of malevolent darkness spilled into the world.
At first, the Shadows overran everything in their path. Humans and goblins held out in a few heavily fortified areas of Longfall, facing the end each night. But then, the legends about the national hero Pelagio proved true—a boy with a sword appeared, and a savior revealed her knowledge of ancient runes. Although the Shadows were not entirely defeated, their plans for world domination seem to have been halted, at least for the time being.
The Shadows are manifested darkness, having almost completely forgotten their former humanity, which they must painstakingly mimic. Many humans and goblins have a shadow twin, making infiltration a genuine threat. Some Shadows, however, were less discerning and chose animals or even lanterns as models for their new forms.
In their new shapes, many Shadows have discovered the mechanical superiority of tentacles over arms and legs. And why limit themselves to only two limbs? After all, more is better, isn’t it?
The Shadows need no weapons—they are the weapons. They can shape their limbs into close-combat weapons and project parts of themselves as ranged attacks. They also exploit the primal fear their enemies have of darkness, with many having developed abilities that amplify this terror.
The Shadows tend to favor close combat—not surprising, given that some of them can literally walk through walls.
A Shadows team can draw on a pool of shadow power, with which their characters can activate additional abilities and bonuses. The Shadows are also difficult to eliminate completely. When defeated, they turn into wisps that drift helplessly across the battlefield. If these wisps meet, they merge, reforming into a shadow character that was thought to be defeated.
Successful rulers of the Shadows must wisely manage their shadow power and strategically resurrect their characters to psychologically wear down their opponents, advancing their dark rule.