The Shadow Singer

by Matthew Barrett

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7th-level Human Bard, Neutral Evil

Hit Dice 7d6+7 (26 hp)
Initiative +3 (Dex)
Speed 30 ft
AC 13 (+3 Dex)
Attacks Melee +5 / Melee +7/+2 (Shadow);
Damage By weapon -1 / By weapon
Special Attacks Shadow, Spells
Special Qualities Shadow, Spells
Saves Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +6
Abilities Str 8, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 15
Skills Climb +11, Decipher Script +10, Knowledge (Arcane) +4, Listen +10, Perform (singing) +5, Pick Pocket +10, Spellcraft +3, Spot +3
Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Dodge, Mobility
Statistics to the left of the slash are for Gwilliam, statistics to the right are for his shadow.

2nd edition stats :
The Shadow Dancer (hm bard): AC 7; MV 12; HD 7; hp 26; Str 8, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 15; # AT 2; Dmg by weapon; AL NE; SA Shadow, Spells, SD Spells; THAC0 17/14, Morale 12;
Rogue skills (includes no-armor and Dex. modifiers) : CW 60%, DN 50%, PP 55%, RL 55%

Spells usually memorized:
1st: Charm Person, Hypnotism, Ventriloquism
2nd: Scimitar of Shadows*, Hypnotic Pattern
3rd: Shadow Spiders*
(* : from Dragon Magazine issue #261)

Appearance

The Shadow Singer appears to be a perfectly unremarkable young man in his early twenties, dressed so simply that he blends into the audience. He is lean of limb, but only so much as would be appropriate for his slim build. His face is pleasant, even handsome, without the sunken eyes or brooding melancholy that people might expect from one who made his living by confessing his sorrows. The only sign of his inner pain is in his eyes, distant and longing, and in his voice, soft and breathless.
His "talent" that brought him to the Carnival is only obvious in bright light, which he avoids--tactfully--whenever he can. In dim light, only someone who is watching extremely closely will ever notice that his shadow moves independently of him at certain times. In brighter light, it becomes obvious that not only does his shadow have a mind of its own, but a body as well....

Background

The Shadow Singer's act is far different from what folks at the Carnival are used to when it comes to freaks. Those who come visit his tent are often surprised and dismayed to find no entertainer there waiting for them, but only an empty stool and a wide linen screen behind it. With the reassurance that he will be there on time, they sit down and wait. As time draws near, audience members assume that one of the lantern holders is the Shadow Singer, and they look eagerly for deformities, especially in their shadows.
In truth, the act has already begun. Gwilliam is sitting in the audience, alone and quiet. He blends in so well that only those who have seen his act before have any chance of picking him out. As the lights dim on the confused crowd, Gwilliam stands up and walks silently out of the audience, towards the screen and the stool. He pulls the screen aside briefly as the lights dim further still, and with a lute that was hiding behind the screen, he sits down facing the audience.
Confusion and amusement often cause the audience members to murmur and even jeer, but making them wait is all part of the show. As he begins to tune, a queer thing happens right before the audience's eyes. Amid the dim light of the tent, a bullseye lantern shines a light down from above, and each note from his lute brings the light a little lower, his shadow a little higher. Boos, mutters and hisses fade to whispers as speculations fly about the darkening tent, until, when the shadow is nearly as tall as he, all voices are silent. There is nothing more to speculate about, for there, on the screen behind him, is the shadow of a woman, full figured and long haired, though any other features she may have are impossible to discern.
Once he is finished tuning, Gwilliam will invite a few members of the audience to come and check his shadow, and if any wizards are present, he invites them to test the shadow for illusion magic. Anyone who examines Gwilliam will find that this shadow-woman originates from him as a shadow should, and any spells used will only reveal that the shadow is nonmagical in nature, and not undead. Once the audience has had a sufficient opportunity for examination, Gwilliam beckons them back to their seats, and begins to sing. During his song, the shadow-maid dances on the screen behind him, frighteningly real in her movement, yet hideously trapped in two dimensions. When, in her dance, her arms reach out to the audience, several people recoil in shock, for her arms cease to exist where they should leave the screen. At the end of their macabre performance, Shadow Singer and Shadow Dancer reach out to one another, almost touching through the screen, and the lights go out....
Everything from his name to her skirt can be recognized as originating in Tepest, and for this reason, there are many who begin to guess the origins of this strange pair from the moment they begin to perform. The Shadow Singer's story, as his tragic song says, began when he fell in love with Dara, a Tepesti maid whose father he worked for, and whose mother disapproved of their attentions to each other. He was a dream-eyed herdsman, a child of wanderers in a land where migrants were seen as thieves and worse. Dara's father had seen his work, though, and knew him to be honest. He gave them a chance, and spoke to his wife to quell her fears.
Perhaps her fears were justified, for it was during one of their walks by the river that they were beset by Sidhe from the Shadow Rift. As Gwilliam watched in stunned horror, the cruel elves stole the shadow of his love and fled into the mists. When news reached town, suspicion immediately fell upon Gwilliam, for he had been unharmed. With trouble brewing for him with every person who heard the tale, the boy fled, heading for the dreaded Shadow Rift, where his answers would satisfy the mob that was building back home. In the Shadow Rift, Gwilliam soon learned that the Shadow Elves would do him no harm, and upon being brought before Queen Maeve, he learned that he was part Arak, and that his people had wandered the land looking for home when their land disappeared. Though they had intermingled with the surface dwellers, the hint of Arak blood was unmistakable. He was now home, and was invited to stay and learn of his people.
In tears, Gwilliam told of his reasons for coming, and pleaded with the Arak to give him the shadow they had stolen from the woman he loved. When asked what he would give in exchange, he realized that he had nothing they would accept. In his grief, he told them that though he had looked for home his whole life, he could not bear living there without the woman that he loved, and he would surely give up his home now that he had found it, could he but have her back. Queen Maeve regarded him gravely and then told him that his wish was granted. He was stunned; he hadn't realized that he had actually made an exchange, but he had. He got Dara's shadow back, but would be forever homeless. Bidding a perplexed and bittersweet goodbye to a home he had never known, and now never could, Gwilliam sought his way back to the surface and his village, to save his love's life. As he neared her house, and angry throng of villagers met him and began to chase him before he could explain. Calling him a sorcerer and a friend of the Arak, they drove him into the woods, where he hid, using the shadow he intended to return as a blanket, to keep him company, and to keep him hidden.
In the morning, he awakened to the "keening," the mourning for the dead, and with dread in his heart he knew what had happened. His love was dead, and with her all hope of the happy life and home he had sought. As the sunlight touched his face, he realized that the shadow of his lady was gone as well. Only later, as he emerged from the woods in the beginning of his forlorn wandering, did he discover where she had disappeared to.
They were now to be together forever, even as they would always be apart.

Gwilliam arrived in the Carnival approximately 2 years ago, and his true history has been a puzzle ever since. A serious investigation would reveal that the Shadow Singer's alleged background from his act is false. "Gwilliam" is actually from outside of Ravenloft, but details about his homeworld are near-impossible to discern. So skilfully has he woven a tragic tale of love and pain about himself that those who have had any doubt of this tale often embellish it rather than discard it. Such people are many, and most anyone who delves into his past is bound to hear a hundred variations on the history Gwilliam himself tells. Truthful embellishments on a false tale are doubtful, of course, and to make matters worse, these variations shroud Gwilliam's real history so well that a serious investigation would go nowhere.
In fact, the Shadow Singer is an agent of the Fraternity of Shadows, the society of mages that plan on ruling the demiplane, by discerning and exploiting its secrets. What actually happened to his shadow is a mystery that undoubtedly involved arcane magic, most likely the spells Lorloveim's Shadowy Transformation and Shadow Warrior*, among others. The only clues as to the horrible torment that he went through happens during the rising and setting of the sun, during which time "Dara" can separate from him and roam where she wishes. She always returns before the sun has fled the horizon, but during these hours, Gwilliam is wracked with horrible hallucinations and nightmares, whether he is awake or asleep. When his shadow returns, she often has instructions from the Fraternity regarding his actions. Those few who know about his "affliction" give him privacy and are delicate in dealing with it, as everyone in the Carnival has some hidden sorrow, and would wish such treatment for themselves.
While the mystery of his alteration (creation?) will probably remain one, far less of a mystery is why an agent of the Fraternity of Shadows would travel with the Carnival. Gwilliam's relationship allows him to remain protected from the ire of domain lords, and he can have contact with just about anyone who chooses to visit, without arousing suspicion. Although his usual role is to contact members and scope out possible new recruits, he is sometimes employed in reconnaissance, theft, and even assassination. Currently, no one suspects his true role or his hidden powers. Perhaps one day the members of the Carnival will discover that their tents hide a man whose soul is as black as the shadows he deals in. Until then, he continues to sing....

Personality

Gwilliam's demeanor is a somber, tragic turn on the standard bard. His songs reflect his mood, which is often morose, but never truly dark or depressing. He is gracious to women and respectful to men, polite and affable when appropriate. He can be talkative if comfortable, and if the subject is not himself. If asked about his past, he politely asks people to see his act; telling his tale is how he earns his living, after all, and telling outside his act would be taking bread from his mouth. If pressed, he says that he is a private person, and leaves the matter at that.
Strangely, Gwilliam has no problem talking about Dara, his Shadow Dancer, as she is sometimes called. He treats her as an individual, even having conversations with her. Others in the Carnival address him and the Shadow Dancer individually. He will often bring out a candle so that Dara can listen in on the conversation, sometimes disconcerting others in the room.
Gwilliam plays his cards very close, never revealing his spellcasting powers to somebody he doesn't expect to kill. Instead of somatic and verbal components, he may opt to cast spells using his lute or even song and dance (see Bard's Handbook). While he could cast spells during his performance, he rarely does so except to enhance his act with little magics. The last thing he wants is for something suspicious to happen in the middle of his act.

Combat

When performing an assassination, Gwilliam usually uses a lethal combination of spells, poison, and blades to ensure a quick kill. Often Dara will join in just for the fun of it. Gwilliam prefers the spell Shadow Spidersto soften his foes. He allows the spiders to poison the potential victim, rendering him/her helpless before his blades. Gwylliam will sometimes attack from surprise with the spell already active, so that if his victim survives the first attack, he should be able to finish the job easily, often without a wound himself.
Dara can attack independently of him, as a fighter of equal level. Dara attacks by striking people's shadows, ignoring all AC except for dexterity bonuses. Dara can wield the _shadow_ of any melee weapon that Gwilliam has on his person, not duplicating any magical or special features that the original may possess. This attack is effective against flying creatures as if they were grounded, and will work against undead because Dara is not an illusion. Dara is _not_ able to strike creatures that are otherwise only hit by magical weapons, except for creatures of shadow--shadows, slow shadows, etc. If pressed into combat while in the Carnival, Dara fights for him, allowing him to keep his cover.

Adventure hooks

The Shadow Singer could appear in just about any role in an adventure, from a recurring villain, to a spectator or spy, to a mysterious benefactor. Most of the time, however, he will be acting on behalf of the Fraternity of Shadows.
Perhaps the easiest way to bring Gwilliam in is have him scope out a character (PC or NPC) as a possible recruit for the Fraternity. He or another agent then contacts the character in secret and offers membership. A series of tests is proposed to prove loyalty. In all likelihood, the character in question--if a PC--will balk at some point. When that happens, the Fraternity may decide that this person knows too much, and should be eliminated. If this adventure hook is chosen, the DM should take care to make Gwilliam one of several agents involved. Not only does this help each agent maintain individual secrets, but it also convinces the PC's that they are being watched by a much larger organization, rather than a single individual.
Alternatively, someone in the Carnival may be onto Gwilliam, and the PC's may be drawn into a web of intrigue when that person confides in them. The Shadow Singer has taken great pains to be a "team player" for the Carnival; the PC's will have to walk a very delicate line, both in gathering proof against him, and in displaying it. Should he be exposed, actions of the Carnival members may vary (some may not even care) but Gwilliam will most likely flee. Whether or not he is welcome in the Carnival, his secret identity is worthless, and the PC's will have made a deadly enemy.

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