Shadow Roads are the Dark Paths that hide in the Penumbras of the Ley Lines. If you know the Key Arcana to enter one of the Shadow Roads, it can provide a very fast mode of travel…but with numerous beasts and guardians crouching along their lengths, they are very dangerous roads indeed. . . .

—Book of Ebon Tides

Shadow roads, the umbral paths that parallel the ley lines of the “real” world, provide a fast but dangerous mode of travel. A traveler can cover thousands of miles in days, but the way is fraught with dangers.

To mitigate those dangers, arcane spellcasters have created a number of spells to protect and guide travelers through the umbral realms. A number of them have been collected and recorded in the Book of Ebon Tides. A select few of these are represented below:

Burst of Shadow

3rd-Level Evocation | Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 200 feet
Components: V, S, M (a small piece of charcoal, onyx or obsidian)
Duration: Instantaneous

A narrow streak of shadow shoots from your finger to a point you can see within range. There, it silently bursts into a roiling sphere of shadows. Any creature in a 20-foot sphere centered on that point must make a Strength saving throw. A creature that fails the save takes 2d8 cold damage, 2d8 necrotic damage, and is frightened and blinded for 1d4 rounds. On a success, the creature takes half damage and is not blinded or frightened.

Door through Shadow

3rd-Level Conjuration | Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 400 feet/five levels (line of sight only)
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

You teleport, passing through shadow, from your current location to any spot you can see within range and is in shadow or darkness. You can bring along any number of willing creatures and equipment within 5 feet of you when you cast the spell, so long as the total weight of creatures and equipment does not exceed 400 pounds per every five levels of spellcasting you possess. For example, a 20^th level spellcaster could bring along 1,600 pounds of creatures and equipment in total.

Locate Shadow Portal

1st-Level Divination | Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 1 mile
Components: V, S, M (one or more divinatory tools: e.g. a dowsing rod, dice, runestones)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Using a divinatory device, you can sense the presence of a portal which enters or exits the Shadow Realms. Note the spell does not indicate the nature of the portal, how to unlock or open it, or where it leads, only its existence and location.

Locate Shadow Road

2nd-Level Divination | Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (3 onyx stones)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You can cast this spell to attempt to find a shadow road. By holding the stones in your hand and concentrating, you can sense the direction to the nearest shadow road, but not the exact distance. If you were recently on a shadow road, it might be a different section or 1d4 days before (or after) you originally left the road.

Shadow Shield

3rd-Level Evocation | Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (a small piece of charcoal)
Duration: 10 minutes

Your body is wreathed with dark wisps of writhing shadows for the duration, though you can end the spell at any time as a bonus action. If you are light-sensitive, the spell negates any and all penalties for bright light for the duration of the spell. While in effect, you can attempt to Hide as a bonus action, so long as you are in or adjacent to shadows or darkness, or have enough movement remaining to reach a shadowed or dark area. All attacks against you have disadvantage for the duration of the spell.

Wall of Shadow

4th-Level Evocation | Class: Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S, M (a small piece of onyx or obsidian)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You cause a wall of shadow to spring into existence at any point you can see within range. The wall appears in any orientation of your choice, free floating or resting on a solid surface. It can be formed into a sphere or hemisphere up to 10 feet in radius, or a flat surface made up of up to ten 10’ x 10’ panels. Each panel must be contiguous with one or more other panels. The wall is 1/4 inch thick, opaque to normal sight (providing disadvantage to attacking creatures without darkvision), and lasts for the duration of the spell.

If the wall passes through the space of a creature when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall (spellcaster’s choice). One side of the wall, chosen by the spellcaster when the spell is cast, deals 2d8 cold damage and 2d8 necrotic damage to each creature ending its turn within 10 feet of that side. The other side of the wall does no damage.

See what has come before in this series!