Shade

According to the various sources, shades are either—the true form of a demon when appearing outside of the Fade without a hostCodex entry: Shade—or the soul of the dead who have come back from the Fade into the mortal world.Dragon Age: Origins: Prima Official Game Guide, p. 151Dragon Age RPG, Set 1, Game Master's Guide, p. 34 
Additionally some scholars believe their confusion with the waking world leaves them unable to possess the living or dead. It has also been speculated that shades believe that they are still in the Fade. Some shades however are content to float as shadows assaulting the minds of those they encounter; living beings are thus weakened when a shade is within close proximity.
== Background ==
== Involvement ==
Shades are divided into two types: lesser and greater. The latter are more powerful and have several additional abilities. Both types have 50% Fire resistance and 5% Spirit resistance, and are immune to stun and sleep effects. Finally, they rely on mana and are thus vulnerable to templar abilities, Mana Drain, Mana Clash and Magebane Poison.
=== The Mage's Treasure ===
While on their way toward the final piece of the Juggernaut armor set, the Warden will encounter some uncommon shades. During the Elven Ritual, two ghostly shades will appear if the ritual is performed incorrectly, or if it is performed without the tablet. These ghostly shades use AI packages of Arcane Horrors, and thus can cast some dangerous spells unavailable to regular shades. On the other hand, they do not have any elemental resistances regular shades have. Another shade guards the sarcophagus containing the Juggernaut Plate Armor, and appears as the ghost of a female elf. Interestingly, the female elf shade has Captivating Song as one available abilities (though she does not use it), and both undead and demon resistances - meaning she has 75% Cold resistance, 5% Spirit resistance, and 50% Fire resistance from the "demon" part, but -25% Fire resistance from the "undead" part. She also uses an Arcane Horror AI package.
== Notable shades ==
:The Dark Theurge
:Ethereal golem
:Gazarath
:Possessed ogre commander
:Queen of the Blackmarsh
== Abilities & Skills ==
Shades:
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Greater shades also use in addition to the above:
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Sarcophagus shades:
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Ritual shades:
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== Variations ==
:Lesser shade
:Shade
:Greater shade
:Ancient tomb guardian
:Ash wraith
:Enraged spirit
:Forgotten spirit
:Gangue Shade
:Indignant spirit
:Legion spirit
:Phantasmal crossbowman
:Phantasmal shadow
:Phantasmal warrior
:Primal phantasm
:Treacherous ShadeTreacherous Path
:Shadow warrior
== Codex entries ==
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== Notes ==
* Three boss-ranked greater shades can be fought throughout the game: one in the Korcari Wilds during A Pinch of Ashes quest, the Gangue Shade in the Dead Trenches, and the other during the Treacherous Path random encounter.
* Although Misdirection Hex is one of greater shades' available spells, the target of this spell in their AI package is set to "self", rather than a hostile target. Furthermore, they actually cannot do the cast animation of Misdirection Hex, and so the spell would never go off, and would not be put on cooldown. This means they would attempt to cast the spell several times in quick succession, resulting in several feedback messages appearing at the same time (as well as wasting several times the actual activation cost).
* The greater shade in the abandoned campsite in the West Brecilian Forest does not have any of a typical shade's spells. It also uses the AI package of an Ash Wraith, and its creature file specifies that it is of boss rank, rather than lieutenant. It has a minimum level of 10.
* Like rage demons, shades will often rise up from the ground. However, instead of sinking back down with a black outline, they dissipate into a cloud of grayish-black substance, which disappears in seconds.
== Gallery ==
Creature-Lesser Shade.jpg|Lesser Shade
DA2 Shade enemy - demons - 2.jpg|A Shade in Dragon Age II 
Shade DAI.png|A Shade in Dragon Age: Inquisition
Greater Shade.png| A Greater Shade in Dragon Age: Inquisition
RPG Shade.png|Concept artwork of a Shade
ShadeHoDA.png|A Shade in Heroes of Dragon Age
== References ==
Category:Creatures
Category:Dragon Age: Origins creatures
Category:The Stone Prisoner creatures
Category:Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening creatures
Category:Dragon Age II creatures
Category:Legacy creatures
Category:Dragon Age (tabletop RPG) creatures
Category:Dragon Age: Inquisition creatures
Category:Heroes of Dragon Age creatures
Category:Demons
Category:Shades
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