Hey everyone.

So we all know shader-Kai are elves - and elves are known for their elegant and sleek designs in armour and weaponry - but would this still stand for shader Kai? Despite the gloomy and drab environment do they still hold true to their elven heritage in forging sleek and elegant armour and weaponry (with just a touch of goth added)?

cheers. 

If you're the DM, you can do whatever you want, but that's how I play them.

+1 for DM Discretion.

Cultural/Racial Aesthetics can vary wildly from setting to setting. However, if you're looking for a more "official" answer, you can find various artist depictions on the various wikia.

Generally speaking, you can assume a fairly large range of aesthetics that will roughly correspond to a level of Shadowfell corruption, and other factors. There may be subcultures that are committed to the Gloom, which will take on increasingly morbid features, others that merely exist within the shadowfell, taking on a traditional gothic appearance, and yet others still who actively resist the Shadowfell's influence and retain qualities of the feywild, producing something like Galadriel from LOTR when she was tempted by the One Ring. (Seemingly normal, but with moonlight and emotion revealing her true nature.)

Diversity within an archetype allows for a lot of variability.

DM decides.

That said, as written Shadar-kai are largely devoid of emotion. In keeping with that, I'd expect their weapons and armor (and tools and everyday items) to be utilitarian and efficient rather than artful or otherwise created with a charged aesthetic. They'd probably still be sleek (since that corresponds with their elven physique) and being weapons or armour they'll likely look menacing simply by virtue of being well-crafted for violent purposes, but not particularly artistic.

Questions about what things look like and aesthetics in general might better be answered in the Story and Lore forum or the Art's and Crafts forum.  Not that there's anything wrong with asking in the General forum, it's always just a question of where you might find people who know the subject better.

I imagine the Shadar-ki as looking pretty much like Drow with dark hair.  They suit their setting and blend right in to it.  Their armor and weapons could be elaborate and stylized or strictly utilitarian as you please, but they are a very long lived race, as are all Elves.  They have a lot of time on their hands.  I imagine things that look plain at first glance, but when examined closely, there's all kind of brilliant scrollwork engravings in precious metals, or designs painted in subtle shades the color of the Shadar-ki's favorite colors.  Shades of grey are fine and all, but that gets boring after 500 years or so.  The vivid blue skies of the Feywild, the greens of the leaves, metallic colors, jewels, are all great stuff to put into things the Shadar-ki make or use.

Such items would be a matter of great pride, handed down over an impressively long period of time, and even non-magical items of that sort would be things they would try to track down and get back if someone were to steal them.

Thanks guys for the replies, always helps to get opinions and perspectives on these things. 

I personally like the idea of the shadar kai being just like typical high elves in terms of aesthetic and beautiful craftsmanship etc but just with a gothic twist to it. 

On a related note, within the shadow fell, where do the shadar kai reside? Do they have multiple kingdoms dotted around the shadowfell or just one kingdom and that’s it? 

Quote from Carl887766 >>

 

On a related note, within the shadow fell, where do the shadar kai reside? Do they have multiple kingdoms dotted around the shadowfell or just one kingdom and that’s it? 

 You can find most of the established lore on sites like the Forgotten Realms Wikia.

TL;DR Netheril Shadar-Kai are going to be more organized under predatory magocracies, but the rest will be more scattered. Found in places long forgotten and shrouded in gloom.

Thanks for that reply. Is that information true of the current 5e elf version shadar kai or does that also include the older versions when they were human? If I’m right, shadar Kai lore has changed a lot since 5e right? 

That should be self-evident if you click on the link and read the article.

Ultimately, it's all arbitrary. Either you're playing with published content, which will include the relevant lore, or you're not, and the truth can be whatever you need it to be. You've already made an executive decision on the aesthetic of the Shadar-kai, so you should feel comfortable doing so with their lore as well.

In the lore we got for them in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes it is mentioned that they wear wooden masks -usually with animal faces - while in the Shadowfell, as they look old and decrepit while there.
It's a detail that I always found neat, but I don't know if it helps with your question about their general aesthetic.

Some of the different edition's lore is blurring in my memory (other than the big change between being shadow humans to shadow elves), but from one of the editions, if I recall, it was explained that their aesthetic of tattoos and piercing (and sometimes wild hair colors as well), etc. is specifically to ward off the gloom of the Shadowfell. So they do body modifications in order to feel something. Which I thought was an interesting angle.

So I would imagine their aesthetic would often be more extreme. Colors might not last long in the Shadowfell, but I imagine they would have the elven sleek elegance, but cranked up to 11 and exaggerated, but also influenced by the gloom. Sleek curves become flaring blades & spikes. For example, their art wouldn't be subtle, but abstract and bold in order to get any emotion at all through the gloom. When considering shadar-kai designs, I'd approach it as they have to try twice as hard to evoke half the emotion, all while heavily influenced by the Shadowfell gloom.

Cheers guys once again all valuable information. 

@KenMarable I like that take on the shadar Kai great ideas :)

just one last thing - I know in MToF book that there are 3 examples of NPC shadar Kai. But none of those 3 have bows and I’m sure shadar Kai are just like other elves in that they are stereotypically depicted as archers as they have proficiency in bows just like the other elves do. So I’m guessing that those 3 NPC types shown are just examples of specific class types that are shadar Kai specific, but outside of that they are still the stereotypical elves with bows and arrows? 

I will often just google image search stuff for inspiration. In this case, I see lots of Shadar-kai with blades and spiked chains (this is their signature weapon when I run them, don't remember how prevalent it is in official lore), but also several with bows.