The Shadow Curse, Expanded Important!!! This is a not so lore friendly expansion of a very interesting phenomenon to me, the shadow curse. I'm well aware that not everything here fits into DnD canon, but i've tried to write it so it causes as little issue in game as possible. I hope you enjoy this and find use for it in your games! What is the shadow curse? The Raven Queen has a fascination with the emotions of humans, she loves seeing them in action, the fear of an adventurer facing down a dragon or the anxiety of a prisoner on death's row. The magic of the Shadowfell only heightens her enjoyment. Shadow magic feeds off of negative emotions; Green, Hate, Despair, Anger, these are all plentiful food sources for the magic. Shadar kai are cursed with this from birth, they have to live high stakes lives in order to ward off the shadow inside of them, for if they falter, allow their mind to wander into negativity, the shadow magic will tear their souls from their bodies, turning them into horrific creatures that walk the Shadowfell. But it is not only shadar kai that suffer this fate. Those who make pacts with powers from the shadowfell; Hexblades, The Raven Queen's warlocks, they find themselves subject to the same fate as the shadar kai. The shadow magic that fuels their abilities feeds on their emotions, and threaten to spawn a Nightmare in the material plane. These pact bearers are often hunted down before this could happen, as a Nightmare being able to walk the Material Plane could mean thousands of deaths. This phenomenon, formally known as the shadow curse, is a plague upon those who meddle in the shadowfell's power, and all will succumb to its influence eventually. Nightmares The Nightmares, manifestations of a mortal's negative emotions, walk the shadowfell for seemingly no other reason than to simply exist. Nightmares are incredibly powerful, they can decimate cities by themselves, and their might leaks into the material plane in the form of lesser beings. Their offspring, known as Wraiths, hunt mortals in the material plane using trapped demiplanes known as Lairs. No two Nightmares are the same, a nightmare born of hatred may take on the form of a fiery Giant surrounded by a cloud of black Miasma, or it could take on the form of a Gooey looking quadrouped, whose thick secretions are toxic to living creatures. The form it takes is dependant wholly on the victim, and their life and memories will also affect its form. An artist's Nightmare could use a magical pen to draw its Wraiths into existence, while a Mercenary may use coins as weapons. One who hurt themselves may cut off pieces of its self as a form of attack, while one who gave generously with intent to look good to society could hide a hideous visiage behind a pretty mask. Regardless of its form, Nightmares are a force to be reckoned with, which is why one of the main tasks of those who employ shadow magic is to hunt down those who are soon to succumb, to release their souls before they can become nightmares. Wraiths Wraiths are the offspring of Nightmares, and are the method by which Nightmares influence the material plane. When a Nightmare creates a Wraith, they appear in a place in the material plane corresponding to where they were spawned in the shadowfell. Wraiths cannot survive in the material plane, however. In order to hunt humanoids, their primary prey, they create demiplanes and create traps in the material plane which lure people in. A wraith may taint the water in a fountian, or create a trap on the knob of a door. Any human who comes into contact with one of these traps will find themselves within the Wraith's lair, where the wraith will send its specters to hunt its prey. Young Wraiths are driven wholly by hunger, and this makes them easy prey for adventurers, but those who have feasted upon the material plane have elevated conciousnesses and seek greater goals than its next meal. An old Wraith may seek to disrupt the political system of a peaceful nation, sowing seeds of chaos and setting its self up for east meals in the future. For this reason, wraiths must be killed as soon as they appear. Allowing one to grow old and more powerful is a dangerous prospect, and could put the entire plane at risk. Specters Specters are the spawn of wraiths, and are the lowest on the food chain. They tend to be pack creatures that make up for individual weakness in numbers, but this is not always the case. If a Wraith is killed, its demi plane will fade away, causing the specters within to die in the uninhabitable material plane. However, there have been very few recorded cases of a specter creating its own Demiplane in the aftermath of a wraith's death, so caution should be advised when doing so.

Statblocks Nightmares Nightmares are the beings created directly by the shadow curse, and are by far the most powerful. A Nightmare's CR can range between 11-23 depending on age, and the person who that Nightmare once was. A peasant with nothing special about them would fall on the low end, meanwhile an adventurer or a powerful leader would be on the high end. Here is an example of a Nightmare, specifically the Nightmare of Aria Trystwynn. Aria's Story Aria was a warlock who fought during Tiamat's ressurection, she discovered the Cult of the dragon was operating in the shadowfell with the intention of creating shadow dragons to enhance the dragon queen's army. She fought her way out of the shadowfell with the help of her patron, the seeker, and managed to free one other warlock on her way out, that warlock promising to return the favor one day. She fought against the cults for years, and eventually came into conflict with the warlock she'd saved. As it would happen, the people of her town were not tricked, they knew that the cult was operating there and were in full support of it, and Aria's realization that she was seen as a traitor and a monster by her home and family overwhelmed her with despair. After retreating into the woods, she fell into a deep depression, making a final request of her patron; to send her home, so she could decimate everything that she once loved. Aria became a Nightmare in the shadowfell, and used her warped powers of starlight to tear the town apart down to its foundation. Afterwords, she wandered the shadowfell, her heart heavy with hatred, seeking only to inflict suffering on those who had homes to return to. Aria's Nightmare Aria was always a cheerful person in life, she tried to make others feel safe and comfortable around her, even if it sometimes fell flat. She valued a trustworthy hand in combat more than gold, and her goal to dismantle the cult would place her among the stories of heroes for centuries. Her powers, the power to invoke starlight that was given to her by the seeker, became the conduit for her Nightmare's Strength. The Nightmare is a Quadroped that stands roughly 30ft tall, 60ft on its hind legs standing straight up. The creaute's body shimmers like diamonds having a light shone over their surface, the color of which reflects the nightmare's current intentions. White is passive, meaning the nightmare is simply wandering. Yellow means hunt, the nightmare is on the lookout for humanoids. Green means retreat, the nightmare has sustained injury, or otherwise needs to leave the area. Red means kill, the nightmare has selected a target and will persue it relentlessly. The Nightmare has cystaline teeth that shimmer in the light that it produces, an inky black void forming its tongue and insides. It has a long, spiked tail that seems to spin in place. The nightmare's proper name is Kuroboshi. Kuroboshi's Wraith Kuroboshi's wraith takes on the form of a pale humanoid with no face, instead having stars that shimmer where is major facial features should be. A whirl of stars is constantly spinning around it, and it holds a cracked rod in its right hand that looks like it was broken intentionally. When not in combat, the wraith can be seen curled up in the featal position, crying in a feminine voice. It uses starlight and spells to fight, and uses the mouth on its left hand to consume its prey. Kuroboshi's Specter Kuroboshi's Specters take on the form of small motes of starlight that slowly float towards those who fall into the lairs, causing a fiery explosion when they get close enough to a humanoid. If they survive, the explosion marks the humanoid for all other specters, and the wraith.

Kuroboshi, Aria's Nightmare Gargantuan Undead (Nightmare), Chaotic Evil Armor Class 19 (Natural Armor)

19 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 297 (22d20 + 66)

297 (22d20 + 66) Speed 40ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 23 (+6) 11 (+0) 17 (+3) 25 (+7) 13 (+1) 17 (+3) Condition Immunities Frightened, Charmed

Frightened, Charmed Skills Survival +7, Investigation +13, Intimidation +9

Survival +7, Investigation +13, Intimidation +9 Damage Immunities Necrotic, Radiant, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

Necrotic, Radiant, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons. Damage Resistences Fire, Cold

Fire, Cold Senses passive Perception 11

passive Perception 11 Languages Common, Nightmare

Common, Nightmare Challenge 21 (33,000 XP) Spellcasting. Kuroboshi is an 11th level spellcaster, its spellcasting ability is intelligence (spell save DC 21, Spell attack bonus +13) It regains all of its spell slots on a short or long rest, and it has the following warlock spells prepared. Cantrips (At will) Eldritch Blast (4 Blasts, +7 to damage rolls), Blade Ward, Chill touch (4d8) 1st-5th level (3 5th level slots) Guiding Bolt, Hold Person, Mind Spike, Counterspell, Armor of Agathys, Shadow of Moil, Sickening Radiance, Enervation. Innate Spellcasting. Kuroboshi can cast the following spells innately. Its spellcasting ability is intelligence (Spell Save DC 21, Spell attack bonus +13). At will Detect Magic, False Life 1/day each Mental Prison, Crown of Stars Glimmering Body. If Kuroboshi is not invisible, its attempts to hide will always fail. Regeneration. Kuroboshi recovers 15 hitpoints at the start of its turn. This regeneration does not work on Kuroboshi's next turn if it takes damage from a good aligned creature. Legendary Resistence (3/day) When Kuroboshi fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. Kuroboshi makes 3 attacks, one with its bite and two with its claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15ft., one target. Hit 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) radiant damage Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage Tail. Melee weapon attack: +12 to hit. Reach 20ft., one target. Hit 22 (3d10 + 6) Bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) radiant damage Shielding Aroura (Recharge 5-6). The stars on Kuroboshi's body swirl around it in a brilliant show of colors. Until the end of its next turn it has resistence to all damage, and creatures that end their turn within 20ft of Kuroboshi take 30 radiant damage Legendary Actions Kuroboshi can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Kuroboshi regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. Tail. Kuroboshi makes a tail attack Starry Flash (Costs 2 Actions). Kuroboshi creates a blinding flash from its body, each creature within 30ft of it when it uses this legendary action must make a DC 21 constitution saving throw, becoming blinded until the end of their next turn on a failure.

Naki-Boshi Medium undead (Wraith), Chaotic Evil Armor Class 12 (15 with mage armor)

12 (15 with mage armor) Hit Points 39 (6d8 + 12)

39 (6d8 + 12) Speed 30ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 7 (-2) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 21 (+5) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) Damage Resistences Bludgeoning, Piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks

Bludgeoning, Piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities Necrotic, Radiant

Necrotic, Radiant Senses passive Perception 11

passive Perception 11 Languages Nightmare, Common

Nightmare, Common Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Innate Spellcasting. Naki-boshi can cast the following spells innately. Its spellcasting modifier is intelligence (Spell Save DC 16, spell attack bonus +8) At will: Mage Armor, False Life Spellcasting. Naki-boshi is a 9th level spellcaster. Its spellcasting modifier is charisma (Spell save DC 16, Spell attack bonus +8). It has the following warlock spells prepared, and regains all its expended spell slots on a short or long rest. Cantrips (At will) Eldritch Blast (Two beams, +5 to damage rolls.), Blade Ward, Booming Blade. Spells 1st-5th (3 Slots) Arms of Hadar, Armor of Agathys, Guiding Bolt, Enervation, Negative energy flood, Shadow of Moil, Hypnotic Pattern Actions Cursed Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage Hoshi Tiny Undead (Specter), chaotic evil Armor Class 14

14 Hit Points 2 (1d4)

2 (1d4) Speed 10ft fly (Hover). STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 1 (-5) 19 (+4) 10 (+0) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 7 (-2) Condition Immunities Paralyzed, Prone, unconcious, Poisoned, Charmed, Frightened, Exhaustion, Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Petrified, Stunned

Paralyzed, Prone, unconcious, Poisoned, Charmed, Frightened, Exhaustion, Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Petrified, Stunned Damage Immunities Necrotic, Radiant

Necrotic, Radiant Skills Stealth +8

Stealth +8 Senses Blindsight 120ft (Blind Beyond this radius) passive Perception 11

Blindsight 120ft (Blind Beyond this radius) passive Perception 11 Languages Common, Nightmare

Common, Nightmare Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) Starlit Blast. When Hoshi are reduced to 0 hitpoints, they explode in a 10ft radius centered on them. Each creature in that area must succeed a DC 14 dexterity saving throw, taking 16 (3d10) radiant damage on a failure, half as much on a success. On a failure, a creature is also marked with starlight. Other Hoshi and Naki-Boshi within the lair can see a marked creature through walls up to 120ft, have advantage on checks made to find them, and marked targets have disadvantage on saving throws against their abilities. This mark fades after one hour, or after lesser restoration is cast on the target. Actions Starry Blast. Ranged Weapon attack: +6 to hit, range 100ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d10) radiant damage and the target's speed is reduced by 15ft until the end of their next turn.