Shadowstuff Shadowstuff , or shadow substance , was a shadowy form of matter integral to the Plane of Shadow . It was found in items and phenomena there and in the bodies of creatures of darkness , and it was employed in some forms of illusion magic and shadow magic . It could also be crafted as weaponry , building materials , and other items , but such things were hazy , insubstantial , and all too impermanent . Shadowstuff merged with rock was known as shadowstone . Locations . Shadowstuff was found on the Plane of Shadow . It was part of the fabric of the plane itself . The morphic nature of the Shadow Plane caused shadowstuff to manifest in strange ways . For example , in a cave in the Black Rift in the Shadow Swamp , stalactites dripped ephemeral shadowstuff , which was reabsorbed into the plane rather than form a puddle . Sites in the Shadow Fringe , the intersection between the Shadow Plane and the Prime Material Plane , tendrils of shadowstuff appeared and were seen to ebb and flow like tides . This was the case in the Underdark city of Chaulssin , the City of Wyrmshadows . Within a hidden mountain valley on the Shadow Plane known as the Adumbral Calyx , below demigod Volumvax ' s cylindrical tower , was a bottomless pit full of shadowstuff called the Aljibar . When human sacrifices were dumped into the Aljibar , their souls mixed with the shadowstuff to form shadow souls , which Volumvax used for his army . Curiously , the darkberry bush that grew in forests all around the Inner Sea on Toril in the Material Plane produced small , purple berries that contained shadowstuff . When crushed , they released a globe of darkness one could briefly hide in . Creatures . The aberrant creatures known as cloaker s , which had the power to manipulate shadow , appeared to have a special affinity with shadowstuff . When multiple cloaker lords governed a community , they would periodically come together in a Conclave of Shadows , grasping claws and arranging themselves in certain orientations to collectively form a ring , or occasionally a sphere . The whole conclave would then transform into a ring or sphere of living shadowstuff , with their minds merged . This was a temporary merger ; when a matter was decided , the cloaker lords would separate as individual beings again . The shade archmage s of Thultanthar , the City of Shade , tended to be infused with shadowstuff and wielded its power . A dark creature , one with a very strong connection to the Plane of Shadow , weighed somewhat less than an equivalent creature , suggesting a portion of its very substance had been replaced by shadowstuff . Dark creatures possessed a supernatural ability to hide in darkness and other powers , and had a duller coloration . A shadowslain creature was shrouded in shadowstuff , which formed a semisolid armor that deflected blows and helped it conceal itself . Uniquely , the black dragon Despayr , who was unable to breathe acid as others of his kind did , learned to breathe shadowstuff instead . This took the form of a barrage of shadow shards . Usage . The cloaker city of Rringlor Noroth in the Underdark traded heavily in shadowstuff items . The Shadowstalker caste hunted on the Plane of Shadow where they gathered raw shadowstuff and carried it home . The Shadowweaver caste then fashioned the raw shadowstuff into lasting goods , for their own use and a small quantity for trade with other races . Although they typically dissipated within a tenday of sale outside the city , many came to Rringlor Noroth for shadowstuff items and weaponry . Shadowstuff could even be used as a construction material . For example , Rringlor Noroth was carved into an arching bridge of shadowstuff stone called the Shadowspan , which spanned the Rift of Dhalnadar and lay in both the Material Plane and the Demiplane of Shadow . This " shadowstuff stone " or " shadowstone " was the result of rock and shadow substance existing where the two planes existed conterminously — that is , in exactly the same location with exactly the same boundaries . The bridge was only semi - solid , apt to dissolve and become immaterial at random places , if not continually subjected to certain subsonic moans delivered by the Orbmantle caste of cloakers . Meanwhile , buildings in the Shadow District of the Underdark gloaming city of Sphur Upra — that is , those that lay in the Plane of Shadow itself — were built from shadowstuff in an ordinary post - and - lintel design . Despite appearing indistinct and even insubstantial , they were sufficiently sturdy , at least on the Shadow Plane . The god Mask , Lord of Shadows , dwelt in a small castle built entirely of raw shadowstuff on the Plane of Shadow . Known as the Shadow Keep , it was shrouded in shadows and nigh impossible to even get a glimpse of against the background darkness of the plane , even up close and in magical daylight . In the Black Rift in the Shadow Swamp , Despayr and the cultists of Shar who served him employed shadow bellow s to collect shadowstuff . These magic pumps drew the substance from the fabric of the plane , then channeled it to his ritual chamber to power his efforts to tear a hole in the Weave . Tapestries of woven shadowstuff were even used as decoration in the House of Hidden Masters in the city of Chaulssin . Powers . An item made of shadowstuff was usually an impermanent creation , usually dissipating in a few years or even a matter of minutes , typically comparable to the product of a " major creation " spell . Naturally , this limited their appeal and application . Only cloakers knew the secret of crafting permanent shadowstuff objects , or rather , of maintaining their existence . According to the sage Saibh yi Saelmur , cloakers could create longer - lasting shadowstuff items if they spent more time on the work . An object made of shadowstuff weighed nothing . A shadowstuff weapon from Rringlor Noroth had the " ghost touch " and " brilliant energy " powers , except that it shed darkness rather than light for 20 feet ( 6 . 1 meters ) around . Magic . A number of illusion spell s , namely those of the shadow subschool , extracted a small portion of shadowstuff from the Plane of Shadow to add substance to their illusory effects , so they could do real damage and bear weight . Such spells included " shadow conjuration " and " shadow evocation " . In particular , the " shadow walk " spell allowed swift travel over a coiling path of shadowstuff along the border between the Prime Material Plane and the Shadow Plane . The spell " shadow dragon " could temporarily transform a dragon into pure shadowstuff . Some sages of draconic lore suspected that the deep dragon Dheubpurcwenpyl , who dwelled in the Rift of Dhalnadar and was often mistaken for a shadow dragon , actually made use of this spell . A number of powers of shadow magic summoned and shaped shadowstuff itself to create solid objects and effects . For example , the " carpet of shadow " mystery transformed a section of terrain into shadowstuff , having superimposed it with the Plane of Shadow ; while the " feign life " mystery infused objects with shadowstuff to animate them . " Greater flesh fails " infused a creature ' s body with shadowstuff to weaken it , while " languor " poured shadowstuff into their shadow to weigh them down or pull them back . A shadowsmith specialized in drawing shadowstuff from the night to craft tools and weaponry . A high - level shadow adept , a practitioner of Shadow Weave magic , could create a " shadow double " , a detailed and animate duplicate or his or herself woven of shadowstuff . Scholarship . The wizard Saibh yi Saelmur , who had lived in Rringlor Noroth since the late 1360s DR , dedicated himself to the study of shadowstuff , which the cloakers there collected and fashioned into items . From his research , he was gradually learning how to transform himself into a shade .