Shadow Curse

For the location see: Shadow-Cursed Lands, for the quest to lift the curse see: Lift the Shadow Curse

The Shadow Curse is a corrupted, necrotic curse that drains the life and light from the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Involvement

Creatures that venture into it without a source of light suffer the effects of the  Shadow Curse, and do not last long before dying or becoming  Shadow-Cursed Undead.

Party members with the Outlander background earn the inspiration ⁠Embracing the Environment for surviving two rounds of damage under the Shadow Curse.

The quest ⁠Lift the Shadow Curse can be completed to restore the land to its natural state, make the land's spirit whole once again, and remove Ketheric's undying grip. This is possible through the knowledge of  Art Cullagh, a Flaming Fist who knew one of the spirits, and  Halsin, a druid who had witnessed the original descent of the curse and then spent decades studying it.

Traversing through the Shadow Curse

In less dense areas of the curse, it is possible to travel safely with any form of light, such as  Torches or spells like  Daylight. Speaking with  Isobel at Last Light Inn can grant the whole party the  Blessing of Selûne which lets characters traverse such areas without a source of light. These areas don't affect  Shadowheart regardless of light sources, unless she chooses to spare the  Nightsong, after which this protection is removed from her.

In more dense areas, light is snuffed out and it becomes necessary to have a  Moonlantern or the  Pixie Blessing. Shadowheart's protection has no effect in such areas.

The  Shadow Curse condition can be removed with  Remove Curse. However, leaving and re-entering an affected area re-applies the condition.

History

Before they became cursed, the Shadow-Cursed Lands were known as a refuge for followers of  Selûne. Moonrise Towers itself, built by the Thorm family architect, was a symbol of devotion to Selûne .  Ketheric Thorm and his family lived there happily for many years, until his daughter died, causing him to turn to  Shar in grief.

Ketheric marshalled an army of Dark Justiciars to bring the world into shadow, but they were defeated by the allied Harpers and Emerald Grove druids, and the orthon  Yurgir, who had been pacted by the Thorm mason.

As his last stand, Ketheric released his lady Shar's power upon the land in the form of the Shadow Curse. The curse split the land's spirit in two, trapping half of them in the Shadowfell, the other half remaining in the cursed land. The land itself became twisted and necrotic, causing harm to any who ventured into it, and a cursed form of undeath to those who remained too long in the deepest reaches.

The two halves of the land spirit were  Oliver, who remained within the cursed land at the House in Deep Shadows, and  Thaniel, who had been trapped in the Shadowfell. A Flaming Fist by the name of  Art Cullagh had been sent to investigate the growing Sharran enclave in the area that had occurred prior to the curse, also became trapped. There, he met Thaniel, and the two looked after one another.

In more recent times, the necromancer  Balthazar discovered a way to traverse within more dense areas of the curse by using Pixie dust. He created  Moonlanterns, which were then installed around Moonrise Towers in order for the Cult of the Absolute to be stationed there.

See also

• ⁠Lift the Shadow Curse (quest)
•  Shadow Curse (condition)
• ⁠Shadow-Cursed Lands (location)
•  Shadow-Cursed Undead (condition)

Related literature

• Detailed Report, notes on the nature of the Shadow Curse, presumably written by Halsin
• Observations on the Shadow Curse
• Olam's Journal, a journal chronicling the first month of the shadow curse