what is something a wizard who is studying shadows, would want that can be obtained from only the Shadowfell? I was wanting to throw something different and we never have been off the prime, so a trip to the shadowfell would be interesting and go along with the main plot of the campaign.
A shadowfell shard just did not seem enough. And something from a shadow dragon is too much, so something in between. Shadow Chaos dragon is the end end BBE.
Maybe there's a kind of liquid tangible shadow which is highly valuable as a component in shadow magic (not sure what mechanical or story consequences you could wrangle this into - maybe treat it as a potion, but I'm not sure what one potion would be worth a whole quest; maybe they can come away with some large number of doses, though, or secure the ability to go back and make more). And let's say that if you know where to look in certain parts of the Shadowfell, there are in fact whole lakes of the stuff. Only, things live in the lakes. Maybe, like... sorrowsworn, if you want it to be a distinctly Shadowfell-y problem? Aberrations of some sort (party can probably handle an aboleth or an unspeakable horror)? Servants of the shadow chaos dragon, like a lizardfolk village that worships a hydra? In the latter case, maybe they could be slightly homebrewed to make them more shadow-y, possibly by copying some of the existing shadow dragon template's traits.
Maybe some Shadar-kai witch (use Dunbarrow Witch stats) has a pair of Scissors of Shadow Snipping that the party needs to deal with an enemy....or even worse, maybe the witch has a collection of snipped shadows, one of which is important to the Wizard in some way. Perks of rescuing the shadow and/or defeating the witch ae the scissors as treasure.
Maybe the wizard needs a book that was lost in the Shadowfell by a previous explorer and fellow scholar of Shadows. The book has irreplaceable knowledge and might be the only thing that can lead the wizard to [insert goal here].
Maybe there's an entire library of Shadows in the fortress of a Shadar-Kai lord, and they need to dungeon their way to the center of this keep to learn whatever forbidden knowledge the wizard seeks.
Among the Boons in Van Richten Guide to Ravenloft is something called a Living Shadow. I would look at that. But it is more geared towards melee fighters.
There is also the rare item called the Shadowfell Brand Tattoo that requires attunement I would consider offering them a version that does NOT require attunement. But it is more geared towards rogues.
If you really want something geared towards mages, I might make it myself. Make something similar to the Fulminating Treatise from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything but replace all the spells with things that are shadow related, from Darkvision to Illusory Dragon. Change it from evocation shadow.
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what is something a wizard who is studying shadows, would want that can be obtained from only the Shadowfell? I was wanting to throw something different and we never have been off the prime, so a trip to the shadowfell would be interesting and go along with the main plot of the campaign.
A shadowfell shard just did not seem enough. And something from a shadow dragon is too much, so something in between. Shadow Chaos dragon is the end end BBE.
Party is 7th level.
Maybe there's a kind of liquid tangible shadow which is highly valuable as a component in shadow magic (not sure what mechanical or story consequences you could wrangle this into - maybe treat it as a potion, but I'm not sure what one potion would be worth a whole quest; maybe they can come away with some large number of doses, though, or secure the ability to go back and make more). And let's say that if you know where to look in certain parts of the Shadowfell, there are in fact whole lakes of the stuff. Only, things live in the lakes. Maybe, like... sorrowsworn, if you want it to be a distinctly Shadowfell-y problem? Aberrations of some sort (party can probably handle an aboleth or an unspeakable horror)? Servants of the shadow chaos dragon, like a lizardfolk village that worships a hydra? In the latter case, maybe they could be slightly homebrewed to make them more shadow-y, possibly by copying some of the existing shadow dragon template's traits.
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
Maybe some Shadar-kai witch (use Dunbarrow Witch stats) has a pair of Scissors of Shadow Snipping that the party needs to deal with an enemy....or even worse, maybe the witch has a collection of snipped shadows, one of which is important to the Wizard in some way. Perks of rescuing the shadow and/or defeating the witch ae the scissors as treasure.
Maybe the wizard needs a book that was lost in the Shadowfell by a previous explorer and fellow scholar of Shadows. The book has irreplaceable knowledge and might be the only thing that can lead the wizard to [insert goal here].
Maybe there's an entire library of Shadows in the fortress of a Shadar-Kai lord, and they need to dungeon their way to the center of this keep to learn whatever forbidden knowledge the wizard seeks.
Among the Boons in Van Richten Guide to Ravenloft is something called a Living Shadow. I would look at that. But it is more geared towards melee fighters.
There is also the rare item called the Shadowfell Brand Tattoo that requires attunement I would consider offering them a version that does NOT require attunement. But it is more geared towards rogues.
If you really want something geared towards mages, I might make it myself. Make something similar to the Fulminating Treatise from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything but replace all the spells with things that are shadow related, from Darkvision to Illusory Dragon. Change it from evocation shadow.