Oh I love shadar-kai! I’ve played a shadar-kai phantom rogue that died in a tomb with a group of adventurers and the spirits in the tomb went into their body bringing them back to life. The process took away their emotions and now they have voices inside their head.
That’s so perfect!!!! The SHADAR Kai are a huge favorite of mine!!! I really like the voices in the head part adds depth and a little bit of mystery I hope the dm took advantage of that
This is my favorite race to play, the teleport ability is great for tanking when you need to or just putting yourself in a risky position. the necrotic resistance helps a lot against undead, and the trance proficiencies help when you get an idea for a money making scheme or need thieves tools
@@TheSinisterheroes I currently have a hexblade/paladin(lvl1 currently) knight who struggles with maintaining his lawful status while spilling blood for his patron, its been fun bolting around cleaving bandits and monsters with a angry greatsword. whats odd is his personality so far has been distant and devoid of emotion as a part of his character before I read the lore behind the Shadar-kai, it just works
Some times you just connect to a character. It works out though you could still have emotions just have an issue showing them, that way you can have some passion to what your doing or what your trying to fight against.
It is so useful. The resistance to everything is incredible!!. You have to be a khalishtar totem barbarian in order to get resistance to everything. It is very very cool themed, I love the way you show up as a ghost esq entity.
Play a Shadar-Kai Hexadin. Since the Raven Queen is both a god and a patron you can explain both your Paladin and warlock powers. Plus a teleporting Hexadin is amazing.
Thanks for making this video!! I'm creating a shadar-kai fighter who is also going to be using bows as a primary weapon and this really helped. Got me thinking about making them scared of short range fighting because of fear of death or injury...
I'm planning a Shadar Kai Bladesinger following the Shadow Snake Shadar Kai tradition of Bladesinging. The potential issue is that the SS uses the spiked chain as its Bladesinger weapon. Correct me if I'm wrong but TMK there's no official 5e ruling about the SC and since it's (evidently) a light weapon plus you can only use one end at a time ít should qualify as a Bladesinger weapon. Thoughts welcome.
Yes absolutely, though you have to be weary of the damage die you are using. If your looking to hit with a d8 or better you maybe pushing your luck with it being light. Though if you stay at d8 I do believe you could reflavor it as a unique rapier. It all comes down to what the conversation is with your dm.
@@TheSinisterheroes Yes it depends on the DM, but my DM is usually cool with situations like this. Actually the majority of the community seems to agree that the spiked chain has a 10 foot reach,does 2d4 damage on the main attack, you can also make a bonus attack with the other end, though it only does 1d4 damage, and it's also a Finesse weapon and not Heavy!
Excellent video! I'm currently playing a Shadar-Kai Twilight Cleric. I'm not sure how well that fits into the lore but it gives an awesome flavour in-game.
I mean it can work you could always be a Shadar Kai who escaped the raven queen and found comfort in twilight, or even just discuss it with your dm that the raven queen still gave you these kinds of abilities.
I bet sin had a hay day with this video i can so see him grinning from ear to ear like a kid in a candy store with the potential of how many evil characters you can make with this one i personally believe that the Shadar kai are the perfect opposite counter part to the Aladrin i think the college of spirits bard would make an interesting subclass for the Shadar kai and not to mention the death domain or grave domain cleric works well for a Shadar kai if you are hell bent on the raven queen being tied to your character
Love this video Long story incoming: I vaguely knew about the Shadar-Kai before but not lore or player character features. For a new game, i always start rogue, so I wanted to try something else and I was thinking a swarm keeper Ranger then multiclass into something else. And I wanted an elf and that sweet teleport. Decided on astral elf. That got me thinking blue/Nightcrawler. How do I get more teleports? Ooh, fighter gets more feats. Let’s do that! Ooh, echo knight? Hey, I could get elven accuracy and go Samurai for guaranteed triple advantage rolls!… starting game gets pushed back a few times. By now, I’m thinking I’ll start fighter. I also see the Shadar-Kai and their features. Zing! I HAVE to play that race! Become a very roguish custom background and level 1 fighter. Realize shadow monks get more teleporting, decide I’ll go into monk after fighter 4-8, then monk 8, and whatever’s left, maybe a Ranger. After listening to the background of the Shadar-Kai, I had an idea. So my DM let me stick with the previous version of needing to be extreme so you don’t fade away. My Shadar-Kai displeased the Raven Queen or failed her in some manner and when she was reincarnated, she left her loved one dead. No one realized I could teleport 😂 So she’s on a quest to earn enough favor to reunite with her loved one. My idea is that over time, the character becomes more aware that the Raven Queen is selfish and power hungry, maybe finds out RQ is why my character failed to make her indebted even more to the Raven Queen, and eventually, she leaves her, and maybe the party rescues her soul from the Raven Queen. My headcanon is also that everytime she levels, gains s new ability, that’s the Raven Queen instructing her fellow SK spirits to train her during the trance. I know I’m going into Shadow Monk at some point, but we are about to level to 3 and I can’t pick between Battlemaster or Samurai until then. I’m also planning on taking feats like Fey-touched for an extra teleport and silvery barbs 😂 Our first game, I shocked the table apparently when our first bandit I teleported behind and beheaded him and his buddy 😅
Nothing better than when you use a skill and your party really reacts to it. That feeling is amazing. If I were you I might go for samurai, simply because I think it scales better than battlemaster in the long run, also battle master is more geared to being in the thick of the fight. Where as samurai can be utilized in more circumstances. I like the story but definitely have a conversation with your DM and just be prepared for him to change that relationship a little if they see fit. The raven queen in a campaign can be really influential. Also a deity is going to be played by the DM. So you wanna make sure your not running there character. You should enjoy surprises if the dm decides to make them. Just a suggestion, it’s just my opinion. I think story wise you could make it work there’s so much lore about there loyalty to the Raven queen, but not much about what happens when a Shadar Kai disobeys, or fails. So there’s a lot to be explored in that realm. I mean your characters love interest could of had her soul forged into a hexblade.lots of possibilities
I'm just starting in a campaign as a Shadar-Kai Inquisitor Stars Druid. He's an inquisitor hunting down those who have are not true to the Raven Queen and instead use her gifts against her dark plans. The stars forms are tattoos which light up when I activate that form.
i love how you took the lore and made it a real tangible part of your motivations. its so awesome for me when people use the lore to there benefits. I like how the druid really compliments it, as your wild shape is not for combat so being a tiny spider will make it so you could sneak around ad follow suspects. theres alot there to pull from and so many cool ideas. big plus is your not just wandering hugging trees!
In the current custom campaign I'm running, one of my player's is running a melee based Shadar-Kai 3 Champion Fighter/10 Phantom Rogue running Sentinel. He uses his Blessing to midigate remaining in the heart of the battle to proc his Sentinel sneak attack. I mean first off, it's tough to beat the flavour of a Shadar-Kai Phantom Rogue but besides that he dishes out a surprisingly high amount of primary and secondary damage round after round after round. Should be noted I use the optional flanking rules. Both him and the rest of the party have been very impressed so far.
My idea for a SHADAR KAI is a bit wacky but hear me out: a paladin with blind devotion to the raven queen. Yet, not in the zealous way, but rather, she loves everything related to death and wishes to share its glory with every living being. The kicker? she is NOT a dark and brooding type, neither madwoman chopping heads for her Queen, but a sweet cinnamon roll who will kindly help old ladies across the street while sharing the wonders of the shadow realm with her. She's not looking to accelerate the prosses, but to feed eagerness into all that is living to embrace death. I didn't knew how to make it click, till I saw this video. That can be her "high chace": glee. She feels glee whenever she shares her visions of death and decay with others, and would hit unpresented highs when managing to get someone to embrace death out of their own free will (not in "self-terminating ways", mind you). And would also see fighting and killing as a way for sinners to make peace with her Queen, feeling even a bit envious of them. I have used her only once, but she was automatically loved by the party members, really excited to see how things will turn out for her.
Playing a shader Kai hexblade/swords bard. I’m playing main tank and battlefield control as a joined a campaign in session already. So far, super fun. I can teleport in and use flourish to pump my ac. Then I nova or start taking mob turns while soaking damage
It’s a powerful multiclass. It’s strong, hexblade falls into this category of being like a small 1 level dip or a 5 level dip, after that most everyone multiclasses it. What is your level split?
Interesting! I’m thinking about making my first Shadar Kai Character and I really want her to be a cleric but I can’t really decide on the realm yet. I’m thinking about twilight/grave or something completely different, the light realm. I think it could work or completely not since it inflicts with the shadow heritage, maybe she was searching for a way to connect to the light again, searching for a cure for the ever lasting torn between Death and life but the process made her go insane so she’s never sure to which voice she should listen to. But i don’t know if that would be maybe too hard since I’m a beginner :)
Beginner dosent matter. Just build ina way to bring your self back to normal. With all elves cus of the trance/revery I could see them regaining there sanity. There’s absolutely a way to go from the shadow fell and the raven queen to the light. It’s like a fall into darkness story of a hero but in reverse. You went to the material plane, and maybe you went into a temple and the light gripped you. Insanity is really hard to play just a heads up, you gotta do a lot of prep work for it. As opposed to insanity being jaded or hard lined could work in its place. Being vengeful or overly passionate, are good alternatives.
I wish i knew about these people before i made my last character for my current campaign. Im an air Genasi monk but i now want to be Shadar-kai way of shadow monk
@@red1izweird381 I would talk to my dm cus they up the damage die by one size in the new version and the monk really gets pretty good. Its not over powered it just fits better at all stages
@@TheSinisterheroes how does the new one work? I haven't seen anything about it. We're using paper and old books for our campaign but I'm sure he'd allow it
@@red1izweird381 well firstly your martial arts die starts at a d6 as opposed to a d4 there are a lot of quality of life improvements. Also the subclasses got a little revamping especially the shadow monk. There’s a lot of changes, too many to just write it out here, but definitely check it out if you have free time. I will be doing a video about it eventually, though I am positive someone already has one out.
Hexblade Warlock is my Shadar-Kai and I’m teleporting around everywhere, hexing everybody, hitting Eldritch Blasts over and over from hundreds of feet. Then I teleport up to them with my Legendary Longsword, Raven’s Beak.
That’s very thematic, especially considering most hexblade weapons are forged by the raven queen herself. Being SHADAR Kai and a hexblade is as lore based as possible. I love sticking to the lore for my characters.
I am ashamed for not thinking about it my self. It fits so well. Even there clothing and physical appearance matches really well. Just throw chains and black leather on everything! That’s such a genius idea.
Add pins, scars, wounds, clothes that accentuate those. Masocism, sadism and make them priest-like in their devotion to the Raven Queen. They can be very alien.
The grave domain cleric have flavor text mentioning the raven queen. She is one of the more powerful deities of death, also the patron mother of the shadar kai.
![Quando Rondo - Life Goes On [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eIf3fhMXAow/mqdefault.jpg)
Oh I love shadar-kai! I’ve played a shadar-kai phantom rogue that died in a tomb with a group of adventurers and the spirits in the tomb went into their body bringing them back to life. The process took away their emotions and now they have voices inside their head.
That’s so perfect!!!! The SHADAR Kai are a huge favorite of mine!!! I really like the voices in the head part adds depth and a little bit of mystery I hope the dm took advantage of that
This is my favorite race to play, the teleport ability is great for tanking when you need to or just putting yourself in a risky position. the necrotic resistance helps a lot against undead, and the trance proficiencies help when you get an idea for a money making scheme or need thieves tools
They are such a strong race but I never get to see them played
@@TheSinisterheroes I currently have a hexblade/paladin(lvl1 currently) knight who struggles with maintaining his lawful status while spilling blood for his patron, its been fun bolting around cleaving bandits and monsters with a angry greatsword.
whats odd is his personality so far has been distant and devoid of emotion as a part of his character before I read the lore behind the Shadar-kai, it just works
Some times you just connect to a character. It works out though you could still have emotions just have an issue showing them, that way you can have some passion to what your doing or what your trying to fight against.
Resistance Teleport is great option even for Rogues and Monks who already get Dash/Disengage as Bonus action as panic button.
It is so useful. The resistance to everything is incredible!!. You have to be a khalishtar totem barbarian in order to get resistance to everything. It is very very cool themed, I love the way you show up as a ghost esq entity.
Play a Shadar-Kai Hexadin. Since the Raven Queen is both a god and a patron you can explain both your Paladin and warlock powers. Plus a teleporting Hexadin is amazing.
It is a very powerful multiclass, but you may get more out of hexblade sorcerer simply because eldritch smite is just better than regular smite.
Goth rock bard 🖤 9:47
I think that’s my happy place 🤣😂🤣
Thanks for making this video!! I'm creating a shadar-kai fighter who is also going to be using bows as a primary weapon and this really helped. Got me thinking about making them scared of short range fighting because of fear of death or injury...
The Shadar Kai are awesome I am so glad to here your giving then a try.
Thank you for watching!!
I'm planning a Shadar Kai Bladesinger following the Shadow Snake Shadar Kai tradition of Bladesinging. The potential issue is that the SS uses the spiked chain as its Bladesinger weapon. Correct me if I'm wrong but TMK there's no official 5e ruling about the SC and since it's (evidently) a light weapon plus you can only use one end at a time ít should qualify as a Bladesinger weapon. Thoughts welcome.
Yes absolutely, though you have to be weary of the damage die you are using. If your looking to hit with a d8 or better you maybe pushing your luck with it being light. Though if you stay at d8 I do believe you could reflavor it as a unique rapier. It all comes down to what the conversation is with your dm.
@@TheSinisterheroes Yes it depends on the DM, but my DM is usually cool with situations like this. Actually the majority of the community seems to agree that the spiked chain has a 10 foot reach,does 2d4 damage on the main attack, you can also make a bonus attack with the other end, though it only does 1d4 damage, and it's also a Finesse weapon and not Heavy!
Oh awesome then rock it it’s great like that. You will always hit better than a 1d8
Excellent video! I'm currently playing a Shadar-Kai Twilight Cleric. I'm not sure how well that fits into the lore but it gives an awesome flavour in-game.
I mean it can work you could always be a Shadar Kai who escaped the raven queen and found comfort in twilight, or even just discuss it with your dm that the raven queen still gave you these kinds of abilities.
Shadar Kai Monk (Kensei)! I may do that next!
I happen to like the Kensai monk. I also love the Shadar Kai they are just so dark and insane
I just finished playing a Shadar-Kai character to level 20 and loved it. That relationship with the Raven Queen was interesting to play out.
Ooooo how awesome! What class and subclass were you?
@@TheSinisterheroes Phantom Rogue, baby!
THERE IT IS !!!!
I bet sin had a hay day with this video i can so see him grinning from ear to ear like a kid in a candy store with the potential of how many evil characters you can make with this one i personally believe that the Shadar kai are the perfect opposite counter part to the Aladrin i think the college of spirits bard would make an interesting subclass for the Shadar kai and not to mention the death domain or grave domain cleric works well for a Shadar kai if you are hell bent on the raven queen being tied to your character
I did have a lot of fun with this one. Shadar Kai are just so awesome. I also really love the raven queen.
Love this video
Long story incoming:
I vaguely knew about the Shadar-Kai before but not lore or player character features.
For a new game, i always start rogue, so I wanted to try something else and I was thinking a swarm keeper Ranger then multiclass into something else. And I wanted an elf and that sweet teleport. Decided on astral elf. That got me thinking blue/Nightcrawler. How do I get more teleports? Ooh, fighter gets more feats. Let’s do that! Ooh, echo knight?
Hey, I could get elven accuracy and go Samurai for guaranteed triple advantage rolls!… starting game gets pushed back a few times.
By now, I’m thinking I’ll start fighter. I also see the Shadar-Kai and their features. Zing! I HAVE to play that race!
Become a very roguish custom background and level 1 fighter.
Realize shadow monks get more teleporting, decide I’ll go into monk after fighter 4-8, then monk 8, and whatever’s left, maybe a Ranger.
After listening to the background of the Shadar-Kai, I had an idea. So my DM let me stick with the previous version of needing to be extreme so you don’t fade away.
My Shadar-Kai displeased the Raven Queen or failed her in some manner and when she was reincarnated, she left her loved one dead. No one realized I could teleport 😂
So she’s on a quest to earn enough favor to reunite with her loved one.
My idea is that over time, the character becomes more aware that the Raven Queen is selfish and power hungry, maybe finds out RQ is why my character failed to make her indebted even more to the Raven Queen, and eventually, she leaves her, and maybe the party rescues her soul from the Raven Queen.
My headcanon is also that everytime she levels, gains s new ability, that’s the Raven Queen instructing her fellow SK spirits to train her during the trance.
I know I’m going into Shadow Monk at some point, but we are about to level to 3 and I can’t pick between Battlemaster or Samurai until then.
I’m also planning on taking feats like Fey-touched for an extra teleport and silvery barbs 😂
Our first game, I shocked the table apparently when our first bandit I teleported behind and beheaded him and his buddy 😅
Nothing better than when you use a skill and your party really reacts to it. That feeling is amazing. If I were you I might go for samurai, simply because I think it scales better than battlemaster in the long run, also battle master is more geared to being in the thick of the fight. Where as samurai can be utilized in more circumstances.
I like the story but definitely have a conversation with your DM and just be prepared for him to change that relationship a little if they see fit. The raven queen in a campaign can be really influential. Also a deity is going to be played by the DM. So you wanna make sure your not running there character. You should enjoy surprises if the dm decides to make them. Just a suggestion, it’s just my opinion.
I think story wise you could make it work there’s so much lore about there loyalty to the Raven queen, but not much about what happens when a Shadar Kai disobeys, or fails. So there’s a lot to be explored in that realm. I mean your characters love interest could of had her soul forged into a hexblade.lots of possibilities
I'm just starting in a campaign as a Shadar-Kai Inquisitor Stars Druid. He's an inquisitor hunting down those who have are not true to the Raven Queen and instead use her gifts against her dark plans. The stars forms are tattoos which light up when I activate that form.
i love how you took the lore and made it a real tangible part of your motivations. its so awesome for me when people use the lore to there benefits. I like how the druid really compliments it, as your wild shape is not for combat so being a tiny spider will make it so you could sneak around ad follow suspects. theres alot there to pull from and so many cool ideas. big plus is your not just wandering hugging trees!
In the current custom campaign I'm running, one of my player's is running a melee based Shadar-Kai 3 Champion Fighter/10 Phantom Rogue running Sentinel. He uses his Blessing to midigate remaining in the heart of the battle to proc his Sentinel sneak attack.
I mean first off, it's tough to beat the flavour of a Shadar-Kai Phantom Rogue but besides that he dishes out a surprisingly high amount of primary and secondary damage round after round after round. Should be noted I use the optional flanking rules.
Both him and the rest of the party have been very impressed so far.
The phantom rogue is amazing hands down! I just love the SHADAR Kai they are just so cool and so dark.
@@TheSinisterheroes the only disappointment he has had so far was when I had to tell him the necrotic damage from his Wails can't crit.
Lol yeah it’s not a roll it’s just a tough pill to swallow
My idea for a SHADAR KAI is a bit wacky but hear me out: a paladin with blind devotion to the raven queen.
Yet, not in the zealous way, but rather, she loves everything related to death and wishes to share its glory with every living being.
The kicker? she is NOT a dark and brooding type, neither madwoman chopping heads for her Queen, but a sweet cinnamon roll who will kindly help old ladies across the street while sharing the wonders of the shadow realm with her. She's not looking to accelerate the prosses, but to feed eagerness into all that is living to embrace death.
I didn't knew how to make it click, till I saw this video. That can be her "high chace": glee.
She feels glee whenever she shares her visions of death and decay with others, and would hit unpresented highs when managing to get someone to embrace death out of their own free will (not in "self-terminating ways", mind you). And would also see fighting and killing as a way for sinners to make peace with her Queen, feeling even a bit envious of them.
I have used her only once, but she was automatically loved by the party members, really excited to see how things will turn out for her.
I am so glad I helped you!!! I wish you all the best!!! Your character sounds amazing. I am so happy that your having so much fun.
@@TheSinisterheroes Only time will tell. BTW, her personality is based on Mexican love for Day of the Death, just without the color.
I love it!! A SHADAR Kai after my own heart!
Playing a shader Kai hexblade/swords bard. I’m playing main tank and battlefield control as a joined a campaign in session already. So far, super fun.
I can teleport in and use flourish to pump my ac. Then I nova or start taking mob turns while soaking damage
It’s a powerful multiclass. It’s strong, hexblade falls into this category of being like a small 1 level dip or a 5 level dip, after that most everyone multiclasses it.
What is your level split?
Interesting!
I’m thinking about making my first Shadar Kai Character and I really want her to be a cleric but I can’t really decide on the realm yet. I’m thinking about twilight/grave or something completely different, the light realm. I think it could work or completely not since it inflicts with the shadow heritage, maybe she was searching for a way to connect to the light again, searching for a cure for the ever lasting torn between Death and life but the process made her go insane so she’s never sure to which voice she should listen to. But i don’t know if that would be maybe too hard since I’m a beginner :)
Beginner dosent matter. Just build ina way to bring your self back to normal. With all elves cus of the trance/revery I could see them regaining there sanity.
There’s absolutely a way to go from the shadow fell and the raven queen to the light. It’s like a fall into darkness story of a hero but in reverse. You went to the material plane, and maybe you went into a temple and the light gripped you.
Insanity is really hard to play just a heads up, you gotta do a lot of prep work for it. As opposed to insanity being jaded or hard lined could work in its place. Being vengeful or overly passionate, are good alternatives.
Am using the grave domin cleric for mine
I wish i knew about these people before i made my last character for my current campaign. Im an air Genasi monk but i now want to be Shadar-kai way of shadow monk
They are awesome! Genasi are not a bad species/race they just aren’t as cool. Are you using the new 2024 monk? Or the old one?
@@TheSinisterheroes that's a good question. I think old
@@red1izweird381 I would talk to my dm cus they up the damage die by one size in the new version and the monk really gets pretty good. Its not over powered it just fits better at all stages
@@TheSinisterheroes how does the new one work? I haven't seen anything about it. We're using paper and old books for our campaign but I'm sure he'd allow it
@@red1izweird381 well firstly your martial arts die starts at a d6 as opposed to a d4 there are a lot of quality of life improvements. Also the subclasses got a little revamping especially the shadow monk. There’s a lot of changes, too many to just write it out here, but definitely check it out if you have free time. I will be doing a video about it eventually, though I am positive someone already has one out.
She hates undead her biggest enemies are orcas and vecna
Well she covets the domain. Her history states that she feels that domain should be hers but it was taken away by other gods
@@TheSinisterheroes agree but the reason is cause the only undead should be her revinents
Hexblade Warlock is my Shadar-Kai and I’m teleporting around everywhere, hexing everybody, hitting Eldritch Blasts over and over from hundreds of feet. Then I teleport up to them with my Legendary Longsword, Raven’s Beak.
That’s very thematic, especially considering most hexblade weapons are forged by the raven queen herself. Being SHADAR Kai and a hexblade is as lore based as possible. I love sticking to the lore for my characters.
@@TheSinisterheroes same. I already loved playing Hexblade but paired with Shadar-Kai is like you said really lore based.
That’s awesome you gotta let me know how it goes
I flavor Shader-Kai to be Cenobite-ish
I am ashamed for not thinking about it my self. It fits so well. Even there clothing and physical appearance matches really well. Just throw chains and black leather on everything! That’s such a genius idea.
Add pins, scars, wounds, clothes that accentuate those. Masocism, sadism and make them priest-like in their devotion to the Raven Queen. They can be very alien.
I roll Aasimar but cynical, jaded and pissed off. Still ready to fight evil but more Gray in morality.
I happen to really like aasimar they are real strong. Also it makes it super easy to just hate the celestials
One of my character's is a shadar kai grave domin cleric
The grave domain cleric have flavor text mentioning the raven queen. She is one of the more powerful deities of death, also the patron mother of the shadar kai.