What are Possible Ancestors/Sources for a Shadow Sorcerer Bloodline?

[DarkMoon250]

Since I got a lot of good answers for my question about the Hexblade from this forum, I have returned seeking advice for the other class I was interested in. Namely, the Shadow Magic Sorcerer.

Back in middle school when I thought DnD and Pathfinder were somehow the same thing, I fell in love with the Sorcerer as Pathfinder had presented it: a semi-magical creature that had a supernatural or esoteric being lurking somewhere in there family tree, whether as an actual genealogical ancestor or who left a big arcane stain on the real ancestors. And, being born right next to Halloween, loving the "Dark is not Evil" trope, and sticking to the shade as a kid due to light and heat sensitivity, I felt some connection with the Shadow Bloodline Sorcerer and its abilities. Later, I would learn that Pathfinder and DnD were quite separate franchises, and quickly discover and fall in love with 5e's own Shadow Magic Sorcerer (just wish it had subclass spells like Pathfinder's; like why not, Jeremy?!).

Here's where my problem arises; I still want to play a Sorcerer with a supernatural ancestor, rather than just being exposed to high levels of planar magic or being experimented on, but I can't think of a single potential type of candidate for that role in the ancestry of a Shadow Magic Sorcerer. All the species and entities I know of from the Shadowfell are either not magical enough, feral beasts and monsters, or so evil and destructive (and undead) it's hard to imagine them having some kind of family or letting anyone who could synergize with their dark power actually survive.

I need inspiration.

[Magicspook]

> An unseelie fey? One of my current canpaigns features 'the shadow prince', an archfey and local powerhouse.

> a vampire? (Depending on your headcanon on their fertility)

>a 'shadow spirit'? Think folklore or media such as avatar: the last airbender or spirited away. Theres plenty of umbral entities in all three which could function as a sort of mythological progenitor.

[Xervous]

There once was a bard in old Hamber Yard who was known to party hard.
But one day it came that the lay of blame fell on his head all the same.
A curse from a witch, a slump in the ditch, no more his path shaded pitch.
He stirred to a fright, for he saw the light, a lack of shadow his plight.
Loudly did he swear to once again wear that dashing outline so fair.
So he dwelt on it, a bar he did sit, pondering this dismal pit.
Soon word reached his ears, confirming his fears, shadow was after his dears.
With naught but his pants he saw just once chance, win shadow back with a dance.
Oh did they prance across the great manse, viewers could see at a glance
The shadow did sag and begin to lag, to slow too zig at his zag.
So came victory on floors hickory, that’s grandfathers whole story.

[jojosskul]

If you're looking for some godlike/deity entities, Mask either currently or used to make his home in the Shadowfell, same with Shar. Maybe some Sharites performed some sort of odd rites on your pregnant mother? Or your mother was a Sharite and performed them on herself?

Also apparently the Ghost King, who is involved with some novels by Bob Salvatore but I haven't read them so don't have much background info on that one.

[Wizard_Lizard]

I have a shadow sorcerer who's powers come from the shadowfell itself.

[Evaar]

Well, the Queen of Air and Darkness has it in the name. And the Raven Queen.

There's also a race of fey creatures called Darklings. Darkling Elders look a lot like elves. If one of them had a child with a human, it might be essentially a half elf. And maybe the curse that affects all Darklings manifests differently on that child.

Or any number of devils might have shadowy magic - they can all see through magical darkness, after all.

[RedMage125]

I have a shadow sorcerer who's powers come from the shadowfell itself.

I was going to suggest something similar. Remember that a sorcerer's power comes from within. It doesn't NEED to be a bloodline. You could have grown up in a place where the Shadowfell was close, like the planar barriers were thin. OR, your powers could have even been the result of some distinct event, like exposure to a single instance of Shadow energy that permanently bonded with you. Kind of like Captain Marvel in the MCU, but with Shadow.

[micahaphone]

One of your ancestors was a miner, pulling ore deep out of the mountains he had always called home. During a tough winter, his wife home with a sick child, the company cutting pay, and work quotas higher than ever, he was working on a fresh shaft, deeper than ever before. He felt a strange rush of air move past him, extinguishing his lamp, and a terrible rumble several layers up above him. Desperately praying that he wasn't to be caved in, exploded by gas, or other terrible fates for those who mine the earth, he was shocked to hear a deep voice respond out of the darkness. It offered him his life, his child's life, and a warm home for his family. He promised to be its acolyte, its preacher, to encourage people to dig deeper to grant it freedom. He was saved, and found life good for a long while. But old buried things don't always properly maintain their promises....

This is loosely stolen from the excellent narrative fiction podcast "Old Gods of Appalachia".

[Evaar]

I was going to suggest something similar. Remember that a sorcerer's power comes from within. It doesn't NEED to be a bloodline.

Cool but that's not what was requested.

Here's where my problem arises; I still want to play a Sorcerer with a supernatural ancestor, rather than just being exposed to high levels of planar magic or being experimented on

[jojosskul]

Steal the Blade origin story. Your mother was pregnant with you when she was turned into a vampire. You are born, automatically free willed and a "daywalker" vampire. The dilluted vampire blood in your veins grants you Shadow magic/powers and explains the weird quirks Shadow Sorcerers have, like forgetting to breathe sometimes, or not blinking.

This doesn't even have to be YOUR origin story. This could be your grandparents story. You could have an entire family line with differing degrees of connection to shadow magic. You may even have other family members who are full vampires who occasionally turn pregnant members of the family to replenish the family "stock" and keep the powers strong.

This is a perfect candidate for the custom race feature in Tashas, take +2 Cha and Shadow Touched as your feat and you're off to the races with a starting charisma of 18 and an entire family "line" to enrich and complicate your life.

[Mjolnirbear]

I'm guessing this doesn't fit your criteria, but possibly a Curse "You shall never again enjoy the light of day!"

A descendant of a creature that has been so cursed.

A shadow dragon.

Any powerful being trapped too long in the Shadowfell, that after escape ultimately became your ancestor.

Certain fiends, perhaps. Yugoloths are primarily deceivers, which could conceivably be related to shadow. Especially considering "working from the shadows" could be taken quite literally.

In Eberron, you could conceivably consider the Quori as possible bloodlines. They are nightmare fiends, and darkness is certainly a nightmare tool. Since Quori are largely cut off from Eberron, they would likely have birthed you via an Inspired, a mortal line perfectly suited for Quori possession.

You also have the Overlords and the Daelkyr, both world-ending baddies locked away who are working through intermediaries to direct the Prophecy and thus manipulate the world. Aside from the (possibly literally) working in shadows analogy, only a handful of either have known names and spheres of influence. Which means you could use, well, anything. The Wild Heart is an overlord using nature, and nature contains many, many nocturnal hunters. The Daelkyr are often experiments so less likely to be of interest to you, but being descended from one of their creations is an option too. In general, overlords are fiends and daelkyr work through aberrations, opening up a ton of possible options.

In Eberron there are also planar tieflings. Kind of like genasi. Your ancestor could have been one of the first tieflings formed from a Mabaran manifest zone.

Also: hags. Eberron-wise, I'm thinking Sora Kell and her three daughters. But any Night hag might work. If your character is female, you could simply be the daughter if a night hag. If male, your birth (and subsequent not-murder by the hag) would require a freakish number of coincidences to actually happen, any of which could apply to or influence your sorcerous powers.

There are tons of potential options. Have you decided what "shadow sorcerer" means to you? Are shadows evil, like with Shar, fiends, and much of the Shadowfell? Are they neutral, like with many Fey or some deep places of Khyber or the Underdark? Are shadows potentially good, as one might see in a desert culture? Are they illusory, or are they semi-real? Would it be elemental, like light, fire and air? Maybe it's a taint on your magic you can't escape, like male Aes Sedai. Maybe instead of a taint or aspect of your magic, every spell you cast is flavoured to reflect actually manipulating shadows, making it more trickery or illusion.

[Unoriginal]

Ancestor could have been a powerful Demon who became a Shadow Demon after being defeated, and who ended up affecting their mortal descendants' powers when they tried to use that link to cling to their previous state.

Or the ancestor could be a Nabassu Demon.