Shadow Walk: Through walls?

[Corsair]

Does the spell Shadow Walk allow you to walk through walls, mountains, underground, past oceans, etc? "You and any creature you touch are then transported along a coiling path of shadowstuff to the edge of the Material Plane where it borders the Plane of Shadow." This says to me that you aren't even on the same plane any more, so the concept of "solid mass" is largely irrelevant, but I wanted to just verify with other players/DMs. If I am in a sealed underground shadowy room, I can Shadow Walk out of it, right?


Part Deux:

Additionally, am I actually physically walking? Do I get fatigued because I walk 12 hours (12th level sorcerer in question) or does the magic move me? I am leaning towards the latter, that the magic is doing the moving, and the characters are just along for the ride.

 

[Cabled]

Same here

I've always interpreted it the way you describe too, with people sensitive enough to "see" across planar boundaries maybe picking out particularly poignant landmarks back on the prime as they travel.

 

[Li Shenron]

The description is, well, shadowy because it mentions first that you're moving along the border between the material plane and the plane of shadow, but then specifies that you can try to reach even other planes (as long as they border with shadow).

IMO it is not completely setting-independent, so it is partly up to the DM to adjudicate how it works, depending on how the plane of shadow is in your setting, but probably it is most common to allow this spell to let you move through obstacles, since it is basically a sort of teleportation spell (albeit not instantaneous).

 

[Krelios]

The Plane of Shadow is a dimly lit dimension that is both coterminous to and coexistent with the Material Plane. It overlaps the Material Plane much as the Ethereal Plane does, so a planar traveler can use the Plane of Shadow to cover great distances quickly.

The Plane of Shadow is magically morphic, and parts continually flow onto other planes. As a result, creating a precise map of the plane is next to impossible, despite the presence of landmarks.

That doesn't tell us much, but the DMG and Planar Handbook go into more detail on it. Basically the plane of Shadow is roughly the same where it touches the Material plane, thus landmarks and obstacles on the Material also exist in the Shadow (most of the time). Shadow walk creates a "coiling path of shadow stuff" so it's easy to imagine it snaking around or above obstacles and making them largely irrelevant, but whether you could use it to go into an enemy fortress with barred windows and doors is up to your DM. If s/he rules that it also exists in the plane of Shadow, then you're out of luck.

 

[cmanos]

To use the shadow walk spell, you must be in an area of shadowy illumination. You and any creature you touch are then transported along a coiling path of shadowstuff to the edge of the Material Plane where it borders the Plane of Shadow. The effect is largely illusory, but the path is quasi-real. You can take more than one creature along with you (subject to your level limit), but all must be touching each other.
In the region of shadow, you move at a rate of 50 miles per hour, moving normally on the borders of the Plane of Shadow but much more rapidly relative to the Material Plane. Thus, you can use this spell to travel rapidly by stepping onto the Plane of Shadow, moving the desired distance, and then stepping back onto the Material Plane.
Because of the blurring of reality between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane, you can’t make out details of the terrain or areas you pass over during transit, nor can you predict perfectly where your travel will end. It’s impossible to judge distances accurately, making the spell virtually useless for scouting or spying. Furthermore, when the spell effect ends, you are shunted 1d10x100 feet in a random horizontal direction from your desired endpoint. If this would place you within a solid object, you are shunted 1d10x1,000 feet in the same direction. If this would still place you within a solid object, you (and any creatures with you) are shunted to the nearest empty space available, but the strain of this activity renders each creature fatigued (no save).
Shadow walk can also be used to travel to other planes that border on the Plane of Shadow, but this usage requires the transit of the Plane of Shadow to arrive at a border with another plane of reality. The transit of the Plane of Shadow requires 1d4 hours.
Any creatures touched by you when shadow walk is cast also make the transition to the borders of the Plane of Shadow.
They may opt to follow you, wander off through the plane, or stumble back into the Material Plane (50% chance for either of the latter results if they are lost or abandoned by you). Creatures unwilling to accompany you into the Plane of Shadow receive a Will saving throw, negating the effect if successful.

OK lets answer some questions.

Does the spell Shadow Walk allow you to walk through walls, mountains, underground, past oceans, etc?

You aren't on the material plane. You are effectively on the Plane of Shadow. Those barriers may or may not exist on the PoS. As I would rule it, you can move anywhere within the range of the spell. If cast by an 11th level Wiz, you could effectively move anywhere within (50miles/hour * 1 hour/level * 11th level) 550 miles of your starting position. Yes you could use this to get out of a completely sealed chamber.

Additionally, am I actually physically walking? Do I get fatigued because I walk 12 hours (12th level sorcerer in question) or does the magic move me? I am leaning towards the latter, that the magic is doing the moving, and the characters are just along for the ride.

Personally, I would say you walk. I don't have my MotP with me so I don't know how time flows on the PoS. If it is different than the Prime Material, is the casting time subjective to the material plane or the plane of shadow? Personally, I see the spell as...cast spell, walk into Plane of Shadow, wander around for a while, walk out of the Plane of Shadow 11 hours away and 550 miles away. How much time you spend travelling would depend on how time works on the Plane of Shadow.

 

[Li Shenron]

Additionally, am I actually physically walking? Do I get fatigued because I walk 12 hours (12th level sorcerer in question) or does the magic move me? I am leaning towards the latter, that the magic is doing the moving, and the characters are just along for the ride.

I forgot the second question... IMHO you definitely have to move on the plane of shadows just like you were in the material plane. The "speed up effect" in travelling is a result of distances being different between two corresponding point on different planes.

(Unless in your own campaign the plane of shadow works like the astral plane, where you float around by will...)

 

[Corsair]

I forgot the second question... IMHO you definitely have to move on the plane of shadows just like you were in the material plane. The "speed up effect" in travelling is a result of distances being different between two corresponding point on different planes.

(Unless in your own campaign the plane of shadow works like the astral plane, where you float around by will...)

Well the only reason I question this is because then shouldn't your speed while shadow walking be related to your normal movement? There should be a difference between a dwarf in fullplate shadow walking and a high level monk shadow walking.

 

[Patlin]

Shadow Walk. A spell of which I have often thought "Cool flavor... but why would anyone ever cast it?"

Teleport, which is lower level, seems much superior to me.

 

[Corsair]

Shadow Walk. A spell of which I have often thought "Cool flavor... but why would anyone ever cast it?"

Teleport, which is lower level, seems much superior to me.

reasons in favor of Shadow Walk, listed in order of importance:

1) I'm playing a Shadowcrafter, so I need to keep 1 [Shadow] spell of 4th level or higher. I can already get free shadow conjurations and evocations through hieghtened silent images, so I didn't want to waste a higher level slot of them. I decided to get a somewhat useful [Shadow] spell.

2) You can Shadow walk with 1 passenger per caster level. Our group only has 4 players, but we routinely travel with anywhere from 1 to 6 NPCs from time to time.

3) You can Shadow walk to places you've never seen before and will only miss by a few thousand feet. If try that with teleport and miss, you can miss by miles and miles.

 

[maggot]

Shadow walk is superior in many ways to the higher level Greater Teleport (more people go along, you can go to other planes, etc.). I like to compare shadow walk to wind walk because they are both the same level. Wind walk affects less people and leaves you in this plane. Shadow walk affects more people, so I wouldn't let it get you out of air tight rooms or stuff like that.