Failed Shadow Gate A failed Shadow Gate was the result when an attempt to create a gate leading to the Plane of Shadow failed in some way . Rather than take a being to that plane , it risked subsuming their flesh with shadow , either killing them or transforming them into a dark creature . Effect . A being that dared walk through a failed Shadow Gate was taken — for one brief , stuttering instant — to the Plane of Shadow , and in that moment a kind of seed of shadow was implanted in their flesh . After traversing the failed gate , a heartbeat later , a change came over them . They felt a film of cold flow over their body , and their skin , clothes , and items all appeared blurred . At this point , the victim could either accept the change or resist it with a great force of will , but success was not guaranteed . Those who accepted or succumbed to the change saw their flesh and matter subsumed by shadow . This itself had only a 50 % chance of success , and of survival . Complete subsumption saw the being survive intact and gain a " shadow mantle " , which they could call up once a day to become a dark creature for some ten minutes at a time . However , incomplete subsumption , which occurred half the time , caused the victim ' s possessions , skin , flesh , and all soft tissues to turn to shadow and mist fleetingly away . Death came in seconds , unless there was a quick - thinking someone on hand to successfully heal the victim . Without this , only bare bones remained , with no sign of the cause of death . Those who successfully resisted the subsumption emerged unscathed and unchanged . The fortunate few who survived at least ten passages of a failed Shadow Gate , or remained in proximity to shadow and shadow - worshipers , were changed permanently into dark creatures , and their hearts irrevocably evil . History . In the Year of Lightning Storms , 1374 DR , when erecting their false Temple of Mystra in Wheloon , Cormyr , the cleric s of Shar tried to save time on travelling to the Dusk Lord ' s Passage in the Vast Swamp . They attempted to create a gate to the Plane of Shadow so they could travel there directly . However , whether due to their own inexperience or interference by Mystra , the effort was a failure , though this was unknown to them at the time . The first two to attempt a crossing were Father Sambar and a temple guard . Sambar died horrifically , but the guard survived as a dark creature . Rather than destroy it , they made of use it to transform themselves , the temple guards , and duped petitioners of the temple like Halish . The skeletons of those who failed , about fifty in all , were left behind the Shadow Gate and heaped around the altar as sacrifices . Temple guards who survived became shadow guards , whether through multiple crossings or continuing association with the Sharrans . The Sharrans termed it the " Mystic Gate " . Eventually , on Eleint 6 , some adventurers serving Mystra uncovered the Sharrans ' evil deeds and ruined their plots . The War Wizards of Cormyr arrived in a week to safely deal with the failed Shadow Gate . Description . The failed Shadow Gate in the false Temple of Mystra appeared as a curtain of darkness framed between two ink - black pillars . It was only just transparent , but it made all things seen through it appear murky and dark , even bright lights . The Sharrans left the skeletons of the slain heaped around their altar behind the Shadow gate , seeing them as sacrifices to Shar . Reputation . Those well versed in arcane or divine lore may have had heard stories of Shadow Gates that could whisk a being away to the Plane of Shadow , but which sometimes left them tainted by shadow , or else they never returned . All such stories spoke of the extreme danger of using one . Appendix . Although only one failed Shadow Gate is known to exist , the wording of the entry in " Cormyr : The Tearing of the Weave " suggests that others are possible . Furthermore , " failed Shadow Gate " suggests that normal Shadow Gates are possible , but it it not clear what properties these have . Presumably , they function as ordinary gates or portals to the Plane of Shadow .