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| Darkness lies beyond the countless gateways of the Silent City, but there is so much more there than a mere absence of light. |
(edit 12/03/2024: I used AI to make the images in this article before I realised
how morally bankrupt the whole thing was. I'm not going to delete them
but I am going to point out that the generative AI industry isn't far
from a form of modern slavery. It's hollow and awful. Stealing work from
artists and using that stolen work to train an algorithm is
short-sighted, foolish, and basically evil.)
The Shadow is a rightly feared foe in D&D, but I wanted to create something a little more all-encompassing to reflect the idea that, when the light fades, the dark is all there is.
Thus, the Court of Shadows. It is many things- incorporeal horde, security system, location, even a transit system.
Living Darkness
People tell stories about the darkness within the walls of the Silent City- the place where the dead lie eternal. Those who have been there - who have walked its hallowed paths and seen its sacred chambers - they say that the dark there is deeper, more profound. It presses down on you like a weight, dimming the flame from your lamp and enfolding your senses. In the deep and forgotten parts of the great tomb city, amongst crumbling stones and inches of cold dust in flickering torchlight, you could almost be convinced that the shadows themselves are alive. Watching.
You wouldn't be entirely wrong.
The Silent City's history stretches far back into the forgotten depths of time. Countless thousands of dead have gone to rest within its walls, and the Court of Shadows is comprised of the very oldest of its denizens- those numberless who have become naught but air. Although the dead may take great pains to preserve their bodies, slathering themselves with pungent medicines, exotic oils and spices, there is nothing that can halt the march of time entirely. Every being succumbs, whether in ten years or ten-thousand. Skin turns to fine paper, crumbling in the breeze. Cold bones become scattered dust. The spirit itches, the mind wanders. Shadows are the remnants of dust left behind after a body finally loses its struggle with the immense weight of time.
This disembodiment does something strange to the mind and the senses- an unanchored abstraction. Unfathomable depths of shadow exist wherever light does not fall- in the infinitesimal cracks between ancient stones, or in the mountainous immensity under the very earth itself. This is where they make their home, their cities within the city. Shape, size, and even time become meaningless in this new dimension of thought. Affairs of the material world hold little significance. The Shadow Courts are not evil, merely indifferent.
Except, that is, when the living intrude upon their quietude. The light of the living offends all amongst the dead, and the Shadow Courts most of all.
Within the walls of the Silent City, the Shadow Courts have an ancient and powerful mandate: they uphold the antediluvian laws of the Corpse Lords, they decide who stays and who goes. It is to the Shadow Courts that people leave their offerings, their tithe for passage into the city. All the riches both permanent and perishable- gold and the rubies, the beautiful shells of seldom-seen molluscs, edible delicacies from far and wide, baskets of petals, tomes of knowledge, the temporal and spiritual riches of a life lived in pursuit of a single goal- quietude behind the hallowed walls.
When the dead are brought to the threshold, the Shadow Courts seethe into being. The black mist gathers and forms itself into indistinct, silent figures, sombre as mourners at a graveside. Borne upon palanquin and carried by pallbearer through the great doorways into the tombs, the dead make their way beneath the immense archers, the portals which guard passage into the resting places, into the crypts and catacombs, the monuments and mausolea which comprise the city's most sacred houses of repose. And when they do, the Shadow Courts are there, huddled around the stone columns, gathered beneath the ancient arches and lintels.
The verdicts that they give are final, and many petitioners (the so-named applicants who wish to be granted entry to the city) find themselves turned away. Despite the assurances of many who wish to profit from these pilgrimages, none can truly know the whims and requirements of the Court of Shadows.
As the Courts make their inscrutable way through the city's dark and empty
streets to observe the offerings of petitioners, a chill wind marks their passing, and
the sibilant cacophony of a thousand whispers fills the air. If travellers wander there without permission, they would do well to hide from the cold winds that blow, from the black mist, and from the long, uncast shadows which float across the cobbles. Else, they might quickly find themselves put on trial, and a trial can be difficult against plaintiffs so old that they know every precedent and verdict ever uttered.
Like their solitary counterparts, the Shadows, the Court can move through any gap through which air can pass. Unlike their solitary counterparts, the Court is able shrink or grow to fill any size of chamber. A coalescence of the Court can be a rapid thing- one moment, interlopers might be roaming through the deep, forgotten corridors and chambers. In these places, light falls softly from far above, through skylights, through layers of dust spinning through the air. It is utterly quiet. And the next moment, shadows slide upwards and obscure everything. The air becomes thick with seething, dark mist. The interlopers find themselves amongst crowds of black-robed figures. Their senses are bombarded by darkness and a chorus of hissing, muttering voices. Amongst the whispers, they hear allegations like:
Intruder,
Trespasser,
Outsider,
Begone!
Blinded and deafened, the accused feel themselves being jostled forwards to some unseen place. Those amongst the accused with keen senses in the dark might see aged figures clad in a swirling mass of dusty, decaying finery- the regalia of office which these beings wore in life now projected into their insubstantial forms.
~
Fighting the Court
You may wonder how it is that a person fights against such a foe. They have no corporeal body, and so cannot be harmed easily by conventional means. Like other incorporeal undead they may be harmed by magic - such as enchanted weapons and magical radiance - but doing so would prove ultimately futile, not to mention dangerous. With the disintegration of their physical bodies comes an equally diminished physical presence. They lack the strength to manipulate the world in the same way as they once could. A solid door and even a bright lamp might be able to keep them at bay for a while. However, then they do get their ghostly hands on their targets, this mass of shadows attacks in a similar way to solitary shadows, draining strength and energy like the cold of the grave itself. Except in this incarnation, they can expand to encompass any size of room. Mechanically, I suppose that could translate to them being any size from, let's say huge all the way to colossal, depending on how big and dark the room is. They can manifest in the open air too, but perhaps in a more limited way- only being able to mimic the shape of a crowd of humanoid figures, a sea of dark robes.
Even if bested in this way, the Court of Shadows is not truly gone. They will reform in a few short hours, and by the next nightfall they will again be at full strength. The Courts are likely to know the location of the intruders if they remain in the city, and the next time they appear, they may bring with them one of the City's feared Arbiters- a far more corporeal threat (more to come on those another time).
(Note- If you want to make this creature work in D&D, then have a look at the Book of Hordes on GM Binder. I've found it to be basically great for this purpose. But I'd like to give the disclaimer that in this case, a horde enemy isn't merely lazy GMing- the whole point is that this creature is a collective consciousness, something large and amorphous and communal. PLUS when combined with the Arbiter (coming up), the combat encounter could be very nasty indeed. You'll see why. Give the horde 4 attacks and 12 times the hitpoints of a regular shadow, but don't increase their strength (contrary to what the book suggests). Make anyone inside the horde subject to saves to avoid becoming deafened and blinded, and give them the ability to change their size to move through any space and fill any room, and you're basically there.)
Encountering the Court of Shadows on their own terms, in accordance with the laws of the Silent City, is more like testing one's powers of persuasion. The accused must prove that they are not trespassing within the walls, and that they have come to the city on legitimate business. This may even be true. Many come to the city on pilgrimage to the tombs of their ancestors, or to leave a prayer and a candle in one of the great halls, and it is all too easy to become lost in its twisting streets, alleys, and corridors.
If this trial goes well for the defendant, the Court of Shadows is likely to tolerate their presence for a time, perhaps until their next visit. The darkness recedes, the whispering ceases, and silence returns. The Court of Shadows cares little if the vindicated party does indeed go on to loot and pillage the tombs of the dead. Their abstract requirements have been satisfied.
That said, if the defendant is found to be guilty, a wholly different fate awaits them. It is within the ability of the Courts to transport a person temporarily into the plane of shadow and, in doing so, whisk them away to another location within the Silent City. While there they see a wholly different version of the city- a vision from the past mingled with that of the present, all dark and crumbling and warped, entangled with twisting roots and tendrils of shadow. That is, if such a thing as the plane of shadows exists in your campaign. If not, then some other explanation might suffice. Perhaps they can transform someone into the stuff of shadow itself for a time, rendering them immune to the normal laws of the physical world, able to move in the shadow way. They must pass some kind of strength test or find themselves transported at great speed. If the Court of Shadows is unable to best them fully, the defendant may be taken to the nearest gate out of the city and deposited unceremoniously at the foot of it. However, if the Courts pass the ultimate verdict, the defendant may be transported elsewhere...
~
The Deep Chambers
There are places in the Silent City where even the dead cannot go. Sealed and forgotten, the Deep Chambers form the city's lowest and most ancient layer. To find oneself here is to face wandering through ruined, empty rooms for the rest of one's life. Light from above still reaches some of these rooms, though the distance it has travelled renders it cold and wan. The walls are sheer, and the ceilings are high. Without climbing equipment, there is little hope of escape. There may be riches here beyond imagining- the first and greatest of the dead made this their home, along with their wealth and their knowledge. However, with nowhere to take them, all the riches in the world are for naught.
Perhaps, here of all places, a roll table is required. What room awaits after hours of wandering through empty corridors? What doorway is peered through in passing? Feasibly, upon transportation to the Deep Chambers, players could end up directly in one of these types of room. There would be little point trying to form a coherent or cohesive map of the Deep Chambers from this table alone, as they represent isolated points of interest interspersed amongst seemingly endless subterranean streets and corridors- places of note between nonspecific routes and choices of left or right, and so on.
Roll on the following table for each hour a group spends wandering through the Deep Chambers:
D100 Deep Chambers-
A number with 1 factor- In this room, piles of bones have been stacked as high as the ceiling, but these bones are unlike those of any human. They are a full ten times larger, almost tree-like in their scale. Perhaps there equally scaled grave goods- necklaces with beads of carnelian and malachite the size of a man's fist, and golden coins as large as dinner plates.
A number with 2 factors- This room contains a deep fissure which descends further than eyes can see- even those with darkvision. It may divide the room in two. Or perhaps the floor simply stops. Dropping something down it results in echoing crashes for a good few minutes, growing quieter until it can no longer be heard. If a lit object is dropped, it falls and ricochets off the walls until it can no longer be seen. There is no discernible bottom.
A number with 3 factors- This room is stuffed with crooked shelves, some of which have crumbled to nothing but splinters. But others are crammed with books and scrolls and tablets of all kinds. If any of these languages had been spoken in the last ten thousand years, or perhaps if anyone had the time to translate them, the knowledge within might be of great interest to a scholar. Histories, treatise on magic, usable spells. Fortunately, those wandering in the deep chambers have nothing but time.
A number with 4 factors- The room is particularly grand and large, but otherwise empty. Perhaps you find yourself in a long, tall gallery flanked by deep alcoves, or a wide circular chamber with a domed roof, or perhaps a chamber filled with thick, tree-like columns which hold up crooked arches. You wade through thick dust. Brittle stone pops and crumbles beneath your feet. Particles drift down like sparse snow from the vaulted ceiling overhead, and your shuffling footsteps echo back at you from strange angles.
A number with 5 factors- This chamber has suffered a catastrophic collapse. Huge blocks of masonry lie in heaps, the floor smashed to bits. Above is a gaping hole through which sunlight streams, a wound in the skin of the Silent City. High above, perhaps a hundred meters or more, the sky lies open. Whatever used to be here is now underneath tons of rock. Climbing over the ruins is possible, but what would you even find on the other side? More endless corridors and grey dust? Though perhaps the rubble has left a rough path upwards, for the skilled climber.
A number with 6 factors- There are large clay urns scattered throughout this room. Many of them are empty. Some of them are smashed or crumbled. Fewer still are sealed with mud or wax. Inside there may be rancid wine, or perhaps some small riches - corroded metal coins which are probably no longer legal tender, or semiprecious stones like amethyst and quartz. Or perhaps there is nothing in them but more dust.
A number with 7 factors- This room is tall and cylindrical. A spiral staircase winds around the wall, and many open doorways are dotted up the length of it, leading into the rock. Each doorway is barred with rusted iron, and leads to a cell little more than a metre squared. Some of them are empty, some of them contain one or more mouldering skeletons. In one of them, however, languishes one of the unquiet dead- a corpse which has clung to animus through sheer will alone. This person may be dangerous, or they may be amenable to conversation. But after such a long time, there is little chance of them being entirely sane. Perhaps they know a way out. Perhaps there is a deal to be struck.
A number with 8 factors- Upon the walls of this room are intricate murals and written texts which, though faded and worn, tell stories about lost and forgotten histories. Perhaps they are carved into the stone, or painted with ancient pigments in shades of red and brown. Animals which no longer exist cavort across the walls. Names and words unspoken in millennia are written beneath. These would be of immeasurable value to those who study such lore. Perhaps a skill increase can be given to those willing to study them.
A number with 9 factors- Water, dripping endlessly from the ceiling of this room, has formed a beautiful forest of stalactites. The calcite formations reach downwards like pale fingers.
A number with 10 factors- A spring wells up from the floor of this room. The water bubbles up through cracks, and pools in the centre of the chamber. Perhaps there are little patches of moss or lichen growing where light falls onto the flagstones. If passing wanderers feel so inclined, they could drink from the spring with no ill consequences. The water is sweet and cold.
A number with 11 factors- There are no numbers between one and one-hundred with eleven factors. Isn't that fun?
A number with 12 factors- A tomb. A sarcophagus atop a raised dais lies in the centre of this
room. The sarcophagus is of stone, large and solid. A recumbent effigy
of the interred is carved into the lid. The carving is perfect,
peaceful, even beautiful. Inside the stone casket could be vast riches- the funerary regalia of a long-dead lord or lady, high priest, or even a monarch of some kind. However, they are likely to be in there themselves, and probably wouldn't take kindly to being disturbed, let alone burglarized.
Consecutive odd-factored rolls- If consecutive odd-factored numbers are rolled (e.g., if a number with 5 factors is rolled, then a number with 9 factors) then the next room, in addition to its rolled content, contains some kind of staircase, mechanical lift, roughly-hewn tunnel, or easily scalable shaft which allows players to ascend (or descend) to another level of the city. Depending on how you are feeling, you could allow the players to escape the Deep Chambers entirely this way.
Perhaps players can also find their back to a previously visited room with a successful intelligence or wisdom check. It takes a number of hours equal to half the number of rooms visited so far, to reflect them knowing the way more directly instead of simply wandering aimlessly.
(n.b. This roll table is not meant for practical use unless you have another table of numbers from 1-100 ordered by number of factors. Sorry not sorry. Perhaps if you don't like that you could pre-generate a map based on some handy city-building mechanic like this one on the Last Gasp Grimoire site and then chuck in some more empty chambers for a laugh. I love that site, it's nuts.)
~
I have decided not to include any combat encounters in the previous table because I think it would be interesting to try and run a nonviolent escape session. Feel free to include some monsters if that's what you're after, but I wonder if something a little more puzzling and less hair-raising wouldn't be better or at least more fitting. There is no immediate fear in the Deep Chambers. There is only an interminable, existential kind of dread that you may never be able to find your way out. And that if you do manage to escape, the Court of Shadows will find you once more. Next time, they may not be so lenient.
Wrapping Up
This ability of the Court of Shadows to move people around within the Silent City has some interesting implications for those who pursue the agenda of the dead, for those who are in league with them. Sometimes, the Corpse Lords turn to members of the living to carry out their will. Sometimes, the living are invited into the Silent City to serve as agents of the eternal kings and queens who govern there. If the players carry some kind of writ from the Corpse Lords, perhaps the Shadow Courts can act as a kind of guide, able to ferry players to where they need to be rather more quickly than their legs could carry them. They would be able to take players from gate to gate, so that the Silent City acts as a metro system, of sorts. Perhaps they might even be able to take players to some vague place within the city, for example a vast library or treasure vault. The Shadows care little for the affairs of mortals, only that the laws are followed to the letter. To the uninvited, the place behind the walls is a forbidding realm- the threat of eternal imprisonment looms round every corner. But once in league with the Silent City, the Shadow Courts can be the ultimate conveyance, able to deliver a person to the very threshold of their wildest dreams.
However, all this is to be said only of the Shadows which reside within the Silent City itself. There are those afflicted by the unquiet sickness who slip away from the collective body of the Courts and pursue their own agenda. They slide solitary beneath doorways and through keyholes in the dark, seeking to extinguish the light of the living wherever they find it, for it wounds them deeply. These are the lonely silent killers which lurk in darkness. There are a number of creatures I've mentioned in this post somewhat tangentially- the Arbiters, the solitary shadows, petitioners denied entry to the Silent City, possibly more. I'll be writing about all of these in turn. But this post needs to end; it's becoming unwieldy.
As with the last post, I used Midjourney to generate the images, so if you're curious about the prompts and methods I used, get in touch with me on reddit - u/W-R-St - because for some reason I can't get post comments to work on blogger any more.
Peace,
Orlaster
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