It was a venomous realm of darkness and power.
It was a hidden place that loathed the light.
It was a desolate frontier, remote and unknown.
—The Shadow Realm.
The Shadow Plane was a dim, faintly glowing plane that both connected to and coexisted with the Prime Material Plane. It overlapped with the Prime Material Plane in much the same way as the Ethereal Plane, allowing Planar Travelers to make swift, long-distance jumps through it. The Shadow Realm also bordered other planes. Through spells, one could use the Shadow Plane as a stepping stone to visit the various planes of existence.
The Shadow Plane was filled with stark contrasts of black and white, monotonous and dull; its colors were tainted by the surrounding environment, as dim as the cosmos itself. In other respects, however, it closely resembled the Prime Material Plane, though it was not identical.
The sky overhead, for instance, was always a pitch-black dome without any visible sun, moon, or stars. Landmarks from the Prime Material Plane could be seen in the Shadow Plane, but they were twisted and distorted, only the vaguest reflections of their counterparts. Despite the lack of light, many plants, animals, and humanoids called the Shadow Plane home.
Usually, the geography of the Shadow Plane resembled the location in the Prime Material Plane through which a traveler entered it. If a wizard entered the Shadow Plane from a forest, she would first see a corresponding shadow forest. If she entered from underwater, she would emerge in a Shadow Sea that flowed just like the oceans of the Prime Material Plane, so her water-breathing spell would still work. Although the terrain of the Shadow Plane bore some resemblance to its counterpart in the Prime Material Plane, the environment would change as she moved away from