Shadow crossing

A shadow crossing, sometimes called a shadow portal or a Bleak Path, was a location where the boundary between the Shadowfell and the Material Plane was so thin that it was possible to travel between the two planes. Some shadow crossings occurred naturally whereas others were portals that had been intentionally created.
==Description==
Shadow crossings oozed with darkness, cold, and gloom. They varied in size from small fissures in reality that were too small for travel to entire areas the size of a cemetery. A shadow crossing could appear as a blot of deep darkness, a passage into utter blackness, or as a normal place with no indication that it led to somewhere else. They were often hidden or concealed within areas of deep darkness, but in some cases, it was possible to stumble through one on accident. They could sometimes be spotted by the way that light would quickly fade as it passed through (although other shadow crossings were disabled by light). Individuals with darkvision noted how their sight could simply end at the crossing's threshold.
Some crossings were known to people who lived near them—whether because they had been intentionally created or because local superstitions spoke of them—and such sites might be adorned with crude shrines to gods and demon lords of death. Some rifts were too small to recognize, but might become the source of terrifying urban myths stemming from Shadowfell denizens stalking and snatching unsuspecting victims through them.
==Location==
Naturally occurring crossings might arise due to a planar conjunction or disaster, or could manifest in a few types of locations: low-lying areas that were nearly always kept in deep shadows (such as in the Underdark, caverns, the bottoms of ravines, dark forests, foggy swamps, or abandoned buildings), places where spirits or the dead were prevalent (such as cemeteries, crypts, or open graves), or locations where much death had occurred (such as battlefields or sites of mass killings). Naturally occurring shadow portals were a known hazard for travelers in the Lowerdark, where entire tunnels would be blocked by permanent gateways into the plane of shadow. These began to appear about below the surface, and became more prevalent as one traveled deeper and deeper.
Even artificial portals were often erected in places where the stench of death was pervasive because the veil between planes was more easily breached in such areas. 
Within the Shadowfell itself, mortal inhabitants often lived near a reliable shadow crossing.
==Activation==
Most shadow crossings were not continually active, and instead required some condition to be met in order to open them. This might include only opening on certain occasions—such as specific times of day, special days out of the year, or when a new moon or an eclipse was observed—while others might require special keys or commands—such as the hand of someone recently slain or a special magic powder. A shadow crossing might only function if in complete darkness, and would close if exposed to light. It was said that circle magic could be used to create or open a shadow crossing, and any inactive crossing could be opened with the Shadow Passage ritual.
While some crossings were bi-directional, others were one-way trips into the Shadowfell. It was estimated that about 1 in 5 of the naturally occurring portals in the Underdark were one-way only.
==Notable Shadow Crossings==
* Krystel Mansion in Battledale was a shadow crossing such that the entire estate overlapped into the Shadowfell.
* An open grave at Chalet Brantifax.
* A shadow crossing was created in Neverwinter's Neverdeath Graveyard that led to the Shadowfell city of Evernight.
* The Shadow Veil was a massive rift between the planes that bisected and gave name to the town of Veil in Thay.
==History==
Shadovar strike teams and their agents were known to make use of shadow crossings to launch attacks into enemy territory, such as in Cormyr.
In the late 15 century DR, agents of Thay identified a route that connected their realm all the way to the Sword Coast North that relied on a series of steps back-and-forth between the treacherous Shadowfell and remote parts of the Material Plane. They called this the Shadowfell Road.
The city of Neverwinter was known to contain many small breaches into the Shadowfell—known as "Crevices of Dusk"—through which the undead inhabitants of Evernight would hunt. Banderhobbs were likewise known to grab their prey through small fissures between the planes, and in fact had an innate ability to detect shadow crossings and to sense potential prey on the other side of them.
Scarecrows were said to be more powerful if created on or near a shadow crossing.
==Appendix==
===See Also===
* Fey crossroad
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Locations
Category:Locations in the Shadowfell
Category:Items