Shadowfell spontaneously undead

[AthasianWarlock]

Has anyone heard of anything in the lore where the shadowfell can spontaneously raise people who die there as undead?

[StSword]

There's a pathfinder book that has an area in the Plane of Shadows that has a portal to the negative energy plane that causes spontaneous undead creation, but if you're talking DnD proper, while the shadow plane is known to include areas that are negative energy aligned where shadows, ghosts, and vampires dwell, but I'm not aware of any mention of spontaneous undead creation.

[Psyren]

Is Shadowfell a 5e term? This might need to be moved if so.

[Thurbane]

It's mentioned in PGtF and Dragon 213, so I think it's fine to be here...

Never mind, looks like I was mistaken - seems to have appeared in 4E.

[StevenC21]

The Shadowfell does not exist in D&D 3e or derivatives.

[Zaq]

From the 4e Manual of the Planes, pg. 51: "Reanimation: Living humanoids killed in darklands reanimate as zombies 3d6 minutes after death." (Darklands are specific terrain in the Shadowfell.)

Is it possible that this was what you were looking for?

[Thurbane]

Curious now: was there any similar effects for the Plane of Shadow in 3.X?

[Florian]

Curious now: was there any similar effects for the Plane of Shadow in 3.X?

Nope. That makes the Shadowfell of 4E/5E so much fun, as with the First World of PF as an equivalent.

[gkathellar]

Curious now: was there any similar effects for the Plane of Shadow in 3.X?

Not explicitly, but the Plane of Shadows is full of undead, and they do have to come from somewhere.

In general, spontaneous undead creation is alluded to but never defined in 3E, which is probably for the best.

[ShurikVch]

From the 4e Manual of the Planes, pg. 51: "Reanimation: Living humanoids killed in darklands reanimate as zombies 3d6 minutes after death." (Darklands are specific terrain in the Shadowfell.)

Is it possible that this was what you were looking for?From the 3E Manual of the Planes:
Darklands
On the Plane of Shadow, patches of darkness exist that are even darker than the shadows themselves. Negative energy infuses these places. Whether the negative energy is bleeding over from the Negative Energy Plane or it's simply a byproduct of the high concentration of undead shadows and other life-draining undead is unknown.
Darklands regions have the minor negative-dominant trait. Living creatures that enter the darklands take 1d6 points of damage per round from negative energy and crumble into ash if they reach 0 hit points or less. Spells and magic items that protect against negative energy function normally within the darklands.
Travelers to the Plane of Shadow can identify darklands easily. They are more desolate and bleak than the surrounding areas (which are themselves pretty bleak on this plane). Plants are dead and desiccated from the longterm effects of the negative energy.
Natural vortices from other planes do not open into darklands regions, and spells or spell-like abilities opening a portal from the Material Plane warn the traveler (usually with a cold shiver down the spine) that a darklands region lies ahead. Darklands often correspond to haunted battlefields, unconsecrated graveyards, and lairs of powerful necromancers on the Material Plane, as well as any location dominated by undead.

[Psyren]

Nope. That makes the Shadowfell of 4E/5E so much fun, as with the First World of PF as an equivalent.

First World is actually the Feywild equivalent, i.e. opposite of the Shadowfell/PoS. Riotous life, vibrant colors, little to no civilization etc.


From the 3E Manual of the Planes:

Good find, so 3e D&D does it in the other direction; In 3e, negative energy is associated with the plane because of Shadows living there and mirroring necromantic sites, whereas in PF, the NEP is located at the Plane of Shadow's core and that's where Shadows and the like (plus the generally sinister vibe of the PoS) come from.

I'd say either approach can work, but to answer the OP's question, any concentration of negative energy can lead to spontaneous (and uncontrolled) undead.