Deep Dive - The Nightshade
The Nightshade is our next Halloween Deep Dive, and this is more than just a single creature, but rather a family of creatures. They come in fun shapes and sizes, from massive 100-foot-long worm creatures to medium gargoyle-looking monsters. No matter what form they are, a Nightshade is your worst nightmare. They are evil beyond imagination and exist only to destroy every living thing they encounter. We know we’ve said that about lots of monsters, but when the said monster lives on the Negative Energy Plane, you know they are big trouble.
2e - Nightshade (Nightcrawler)
Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Nil
Intelligence: Supra-genius (19-20)
Treasure: U
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: -4
Movement: 12, Br 24
Hit Dice: 25
THAC0: 4
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 2d10 (bite)/2d4 (sting)
Special Attacks: Surprise; see below
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: G (100’ long)
Morale: Fearless (20)
XP Value: 19,000
It took a bit of searching, but we found the Nightshade in the Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994). The Nightshade is an all-encompassing term for three creatures from the Negative Energy Plane: the Nightcrawler, Nightwalker, and Nightwing. Nightshades spend most of their lives in the black void of Negative Energy, feeding off the energy of that plane of existence. If they ever need a vacation from entropy and death itself, a Nightshade can travel to the Ethereal Plane at will.
Nightwing / Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix, 1994 TSR Inc / Wizards of the Coast
You'll only encounter a Nightshade on the Material Plane when they are summoned, and it's there that a Nightshade will destroy you, your friends, the trees, grass, innocent little bunnies, and anything else that dares to be alive while near them. There's always some mad necromancer who loves summoning creatures of death and despair because they just can't help themselves. The Nightshade is on every bat-shit crazy wizard's top ten list of must-summon monsters. Of course, that is a bad idea for everyone involved, unless you happen to be a Nightshade.
The Nightshade is a lone wolf, not bothering to make friends with other Nightshades or anyone else since they will kill all living creatures on sight. That said, they do have a special place in their hearts for other undead. There's one theory that when enough undead creatures are destroyed, their collective energy coalesces to form a Nightshade. The other theory is that they come from blackballs, which may be a larval, an egg, heroin, or some sort of metamorphosed form, like how a caterpillar turns into a cocoon, which then turns into a murderous undead monster that seeks to destroy all life.
Before we go any further, we should say that you really want to avoid this creature unless you're a high-level character. And by high level, we mean you have numerous artifacts, an insane number of hit points, and an armor class that makes you virtually invulnerable. We're giving you such a dire warning because of their poison, but we'll get to that in just a second.
So how do you know that you are about to have the life shattered out of your frail mortal body? The description first says that the Nightshade has a better-than-normal chance of surprising you because of its high stealth and black shadowy appearance, but the cold aura surrounding the creature is a warning that bad things are about to happen to you and your friends. It's not the cold that should concern you, but that it automatically spoils all the liquids and food you have on your person. We're sure you'll be sad that your trail mix snack tastes like crap and even more upset when you find out all your potions, oils, holy water, and other alchemical and magical goodies have been rendered useless.
If you do stumble across these creatures on a dark night, the Nightshade has some impressive defenses you'll have to overcome if you want to defeat it. They can see invisible objects and detect magic. A cleric can turn them since they are undead creatures, but their 'special' listing makes it extremely difficult, regardless of the cleric's level. If you don't have a +3 or greater weapon, don't even bother trying to hit it cause you can't. Spellcasters don't fare much better since any spells of 5th level and lower have no effect on a Nightshade. And, of course, being undead, a Nightshade is immune to poison, petrification, illusion, charm, and cold spell effects.
Now let’s get into the really good stuff. Unless you're a player. In which case, you probably don't want to keep reading. Depending on the type of Nightshade you’re desperately fighting against, its touch, bite, or sting is poisonous. You get to make a saving throw, unlike your poor potion of healing, doing so at a -2 penalty. Fail, and in typical old-school fashion, you die. Don't pass go, don't collect 200 gold pieces, you're dead. If you do make the save, congratulations! Now, you only have to contend with the creature casting finger of death at you. It can only do so once per day, that said, it can also cast charm person, invisibility, haste, confusion, cloudkill, darkness, hold person, cause disease, and dispel magic at will. You’re going to roll a natural 1 at some point.
Let’s start looking at the distinct forms that a Nightshade can be. First up, is the terrifying Nightcrawler. This damned undead-worm is nearly black as night, 100 feet long, and 15 feet wide. They burrow underground, erupting from underneath in an attempt to surprise you. Think purple worm, only much more deadly. Once they have scared the crap out of you, a Nightcrawler will bite you. It's not the huge, sharp teeth you need to worry about—though, you should worry about them—but that the Nightcrawler also has a chance to swallow you on a 19 or 20 on the dice roll. For every round you’re trapped in the Nightcrawler tummy, you'll lose 1 level. That's right, an entire level. It will be more than a bit awkward when your 3rd-level fighter travels around with a 15th-level party, so get out of there by any means necessary.
The Nightcrawler can also use its poisonous tail stinger. Remember how the poison kills you if you fail your save? A Nightcrawler’s poison is so deadly that you make the saving throw at -4 instead of -2. Finally, a Nightcrawler can reduce you to 20% of your normal size. You have to love the earlier editions, making you do math. Once you've been shrunk, any attack roll of 15 or more results in you being swallowed. As a reminder, you really, and we mean really, don't want to be swallowed.
Up next, the Nightwalker isn't 100 feet long but only 20 feet tall. You may think it would be hard for a creature that size to hide in the shadows. Of course, they are jet black, so in the shadows, they wait. Once you get close to them, they jump out and surprise you, pummeling you with their fists. Nightwalker fists have poison on them, and you get to make a saving throw each time one hits you or, you know what, never mind, you should know what that means by now. With two attacks per round, that's a lot of saving throws and a lot of dead characters littering the ground.
Those fists can also crush your armor and turn your shield into a pile of scrap metal. Your items do make saving throws, and magical armor and shields get to add their modifier, but yes, they can destroy magical items with their fists. That shiny sword you're wielding can be crushed flat if they get their hands on it. All they have to do is grab it or pick it up, and the weapon is crushed flatter than roadkill that's been lying in the road for a week.
Finally, we get into the Nightwing. This isn't Robin after he got sick of Batman's no killing rule, changed his name, and went out on his own. It is, however, a giant black bat with a 50-foot wingspan. The Nightwing loves to dive-bomb living creatures and has the best chance of all the Nightshades to surprise you.
We have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that the Nightwing doesn't have a poison attack. The bad news isn't just bad for you but for all your nearby friends. On a hit, and if you fail your saving throw, you're transformed into a giant bat. As a bat, you're under the control of the Nightwing. When you're flying around trying to kill your comrades, the Nightwing will try to strike their magical weapons. If it does, it can drain said item of one magic point so that a +2 mace would become a +1 mace. Which is really bad since only +3 or greater weapons can damage them.
In conclusion, here's our advice: Don't play in the Mystara campaign setting. Play Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms. Even Dark Sun is a better setting, and that's saying a lot. Anything is better than having the chance to encounter one of these creatures and being drained of life and hope.
3e - Nightshade (Nightwalker)
Huge Undead (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 21d12 (178 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 40 ft (8 squares)., fly 20 ft. (poor)
Armor Class: 32 (–2 size, +2 Dex, +22 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+34
Attack: Slam +24 melee (2d6+16)
Full Attack: 2 slams +24 melee (2d6+16)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Crush item, desecrating aura, evil gaze, spell-like abilities, summon undead
Special Qualities: Aversion to daylight, damage reduction 15/silver and magic, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to cold, spell resistance 29, telepathy 100 ft., undead traits
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +19
Abilities: Str 38, Dex 14, Con —, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 18
Skills: Concentration +28, Diplomacy +6, Hide+18*, Knowledge (arcana) +29, Listen +29, Move Silently +26, Search +29, Sense Motive +29, Spellcraft +31, Spot +29, Survival +5 (+7 following tracks)
Feats: Cleave, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (unholy blight)
Environment: Plane of Shadow
Organization: Solitary, pair, or gang (3–4)
Challenge Rating: 16
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 22–31 HD (Huge); 32–42 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —
Nightwalker / Monster Manual, 2000 Wizards of the Coast / Sam Wood
Printed in the Monster Manual (2000/2003), the same three Nightshades are back to haunt your nightmares. Luckily, there's no more insta-kill poison attack, so maybe they are a kinder, gentler horror. That said, they retain their aura, a negative energy shroud called a Desecrating Aura. Undead are buffed while in the aura, which means these creatures are always traveling with a pack of undead. Maybe they haven’t turned a new, kinder, desiccated leaf after all.
Let’s look at what’s new starting with the shadow worm of death. The Nightcrawler can now travel with a friend since facing off against one giant black worm-like monster wasn't enough. It remains a burrowing worm-like creature, traveling through the earth until it explodes out of the ground to attack you. It is still ridiculously long at 100 feet and 7 feet wide. We also learn that it weighs over 27 tons, which may not be something you wanted to know, but we're here to give you all the information we can find, whether you like it or not.
Speaking of whether you like it or not, the Nightcrawler has a biting problem and it wants to bite you and then sting you with its tail. If you get stung, you’re poisoned, which doesn’t kill you outright, but does hurt a lot and for a long time due to ongoing poison. Since it likes to bite so much, when it does bite you, it will attempt to grabble you with its gigantic teeth. If you are grabbed, the Nightcrawler will try to swallow you, no matter how bad you smell after a long day of adventuring. Once you reach its belly, the Nightcrawler's Energy Drain ability takes hold. This causes you to gain one negative level per round and grants the creature 5 temporary hit points, which is only good if you happen to be the Nightcrawler.
Up next is the Nightwalker at 20 feet tall and 12,000 pounds. It still hides its massive form in the shadows and only strikes when the time is right. When its giant hands aren't punching you in the face, they are crushing your weapons and items into a pile of useless junk. Its Evil Gaze instills fear in those who look into its eyes for up to 8 rounds, and they have a host of spells they can levy at you in case you thought you would get the opportunity to fight back.
Looking at the last Nightshade, the Nightwings are the least powerful of the Nightshades but can still ruin your day. With a wingspan of 40 feet and clocking in at a mere 4,000 pounds, the Nightwing glides through the night, dive-bombing its victims. It's Magic Drain ability allows the Nightwing to diminish the power of all your magical gear and weapons. The items lose all their other properties once it reduces your +X items to +0. Bye-bye resistances, immunities, and cool things like your sword erupting in flame. The Nightwing also has spells to cast, albeit at a lower level than its brethren, but it’s more than you can do once it’s done with you.
We guess the powers that be decided to give you a chance to brag about killing a Nightshade by creating the Nighthaunt. Found in Lost Empires of Faerun (2005), the Nighthaunt is just a medium-sized creature that reminds you of a gargoyle when you first look at it. That doesn't mean you should underestimate them, as they still possess many of the same abilities as their bigger cousins. Add to that that you can encounter up to 16 of them at once, and the Nighthaunt isn't something you want to take lightly.
Light is the bane of the creature's existence, causing huge penalties to all their dice rolls. Fight them during the day, and you have a better chance of defeating them or running away. That said, you probably won’t get a chance to decide when you fight them. Nighthaunts like to fly only in darkness, when they can dictate when they strike. When in groups, they will coordinate to harass their prey from the air before landing. When they strike from above or on the ground, the Nighthaunt's claws may rip your flesh from your bones or try to grab you. If you're grabbed, enjoy the two negative levels you'll endure as you feel the very life get sucked out of you. We told you not to take the Nighthaunt lightly.
Going back in time by a year, the Libris Mortis: Book of the Undead (2004) sourcebook has a step-by-step guide on how Nightshades will attack and probably kill you. While each creature has its own special features detailed above, they have some things in common.
While waiting in the shadows to attack, Nightshades use their ability to summon undead and wait to attack until your allies appear. While they wait on their new friend, the Nightshades will also cast haste, invisibility, and see invisibility on themselves. Once everyone is ready, the summoned undead lead the charge, acting as both a distraction and a meatshield. During this time, the Nightshade will unleash their unique abilities, picking on weak party members first, so we guess wizards are dying first.
4e - Nightwalker
Level 20 Elite Brute
Medium natural humanoid (undead) XP 500
Void Chill (Cold, Necrotic) aura 5; enemies that start their turns inthe aura take 5 cold and necrotic damage.
HP 464; Bloodied 232
AC 34; Fortitude 32, Reflex 30, Will 32
Immune disease, poison; Resist 20 cold, 20 necrotic; Vulnerable 20 radiant Saving Throws +2
Speed 8
Action Points 1
Slam (standard; at-will) ✦ Cold, Necrotic Reach 2; +23 vs. AC; 1d8 + 7 plus 2d8 cold and necrotic damage.
Finger of Death (standard; encounter) ✦ Gaze, Necrotic Ranged 5; aff ects a bloodied target only; +21 vs. Fortitude; the target drops to 0 hit points. Resistance to necrotic damage does not apply to this power.
Void Gaze (minor 1/round; at-will) ✦ Gaze, Necrotic Close blast 5; +21 vs. Will; 1d8 + 7 necrotic damage, and the target is pushed 4 squares and takes a –2 penalty to all defenses (save ends).
Alignment Evil Languages Common, telepaty 20
Skills Bluff +15, Insight +12, Intimidate +15
Str 24 (+17) Dex 20 (+15) Wis 18 (+14) Con 22 (+16) Int 17 (+13) Cha 24 (+17)
Nightwalker / Monster Manual, 2008 Wizards of the Coast / Ron Spears
While the family of Nightshades may not be here, the Nightwalker appears in the Monster Manual (2008), followed closely by the Nighthaunt in Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead (2009). The Nightwalker hails from the Shadowfell, and are large undead creatures made from shadows and pure evil souls. These evil souls were so hateful and cruel as mortals that they did not pass from the Shadowfell on their way to their final rewards. Instead, through sheer force of will, these stubborn and cruel creatures maintained their corporeal forms, transforming into a Nightwalker.
Their aura is now called Void Chill, inflicting cold and necrotic damage on all who get too close. You won't have much choice since the Nightwalker loves melee combat. Its fist won't destroy your items now but will cause you great physical distress when it slams you upside the head. The Nightwalker will use its Void Gaze in conjunction with the aura to sap your hit points by inflicting cold and necrotic damage slowly. Once you've been bloodied, the Nightwalker will finger you—get your mind out of the gutter—its Finger of Death necrotic attack will drop you to 0 hit points. So powerful is this attack that it will blow through any resistances you may have to necrotic damage.
In Open Grave, the Nighthaunt is shown more love than its shadowy cousin with three types of creatures for your reading pleasure. They usually travel with other undead, ranging from a vampire lord to an oblivion wraith, which is just as terrifying as the name implies. All Nighthaunts love the rich and hearty life forces of children and young adults, making them a delicacy among the Nighthaunts. They could care less if little Suzy is about to celebrate her 8th birthday or innocent little Johnny cries when he steps on a bug. So unfeeling and remorseless are they, the soulless Nighthaunt will stop at nothing to drain every last ounce of life force from their bodies, the same way that Hollywood drains the life force of child actors to keep Tom Cruise young.
And, if you’ve been yearning for more, we finally get some cool lore about Nightshade, including an origin story! You may not know the names and places, but don't let that distract from the story.
There once was a little tower known as the Black Tower of Vumerion. All things necromancy, evil, and generally all-around horrible were embraced here. It served as a laboratory of sorts for all those mad and power-hungry necromancers in the world. It was in this tower they created all kinds of scary stuff. One such creation was corpse grass, which, when eaten, would make you feel warm, fuzzy, and robust. Sounds great, right? There were side effects because, of course, something created by a necromancer in a place called a Black Tower would have side effects. When you went to sleep, the eater was consumed by terrible nightmares. It was also addictive, so once you started, you were probably hooked for life, which probably won’t be very long. There's one other tiny side effect we should mention. Anyone who eats even a little corpse grass becomes a Nighthaunt upon death.
Nighthaunt / Open Graves: Secrets of the Undead, 2009 Wizards of the Coast / Anthony Waters
The Nighthaunt Slip is the weakest of the bunch, each with only a single hit point to their name due to being minions. They will, however, swarm their intended victim, clawing away at them. The more Nighthaunt Slips there are, the more damage they deliver.
The Nighthaunt Whisperer is the next iteration of these shadowy death merchants. Their claws do more damage than the Slip's. You're grabbed in the Whisperer's Night's Embrace when both claw attacks hit. Once grabbed, you're subjected to the Night's Fell Kiss. If the attack hits, then not only do you bleed from the claw marks, but you are stunned. Finally, if the Whisperer moves its maximum fly speed in a turn, it goes invisible until the start of its next turn.
Last but not least is the Nighthaunt Shrine. It will start by finding a target and using its Terrifying Gaze upon them. If the target doesn't look away, they are subjected to psychic damage and knocked prone. Once prone, the Shrine will blast you with its Shadowfell Taint—we aren’t sure if a 15-year-old boy named all of these abilities but we have our theories—this creates a void of darkness around the target, and as long as they stay with it, necrotic damage will ensue. As a bonus, the Shrine can move the Taint, keeping you trapped within. Finally, there's Life Leak. When you or your friends are bloodied, the Shrine will unleash this ability, causing you to take necrotic damage, which is then funneled to any nearby undead minions and turned into temporary hit points to heal them.
5e - Nightwalker
Huge Undead, chaotic evil
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 297 (22d12+154)
Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft.
STR 22 (+6) DEX 19 (+4) CON 24 (+7) INT 6 (-2) WIS 9 (-1) CHA 8 (-1)
Saving Throws CON +13
Damage Resistances Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Thunder; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison
Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 9
Languages --
Challenge 20 (25,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +6
Annihilating Aura. Any creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of the nightwalker must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or take 21 (6d6) necrotic damage. Undead are immune to this aura.
Life Eater. A creature dies if reduced to 0 hit points by the nightwalker and can’t be revived except by a wish spell.
Unusual Nature. The nightwalker doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Multiattack. The nightwalker makes two Enervating Focus attacks, one of which can be replaced by Finger of Doom, if available.
Enervating Focus. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (5d8 + 6) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0.
Finger of Doom (Recharge 6). The nightwalker points at one creature it can see within 300 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or take 39 (6d12) necrotic damage and become frightened until the end of the nightwalker’s next turn. While frightened in this way, the creature is also paralyzed. If a target’s saving throw is successful, the target is immune to the nightwalker’s Finger of Doom for the next 24 hours.
Nightwalker / Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, 2018 Wizards of the Coast / Ben Wootten
The Nightwalker appears in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018) and is reprinted in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (2022) with very few changes. Sadly, only the Nightwalker appears in this edition, with no other Nightshades to split a soul with.
Have you ever thought about taking a trip to the Negative Plane? Turn left into Shadowfell and follow the trail of raw negative energy to the thin veil between the two Planes. It's a dark place, and you won't have to worry about running into anyone since it's full of death and sadness. Even getting close to the plane might change you into a Nightwalker. It's probably not on your list of must-see destinations, but some want to harness its power for their wicked plans. Cue up the evil necromancer music and let the bodies hit the floor.
If you survive the crossover to the Negative Plane, a Nightwalker will replace you from whence you came. Of course, you'll be surrounded by all the negative energy you could ever have, so you may think it's worth it if you're an evil necromancer looking to do naughty things. There's one small problem. Even if you can gather up some of the evilness of the realm, getting out will prove harder than getting in.
If you want to get home, you'll have to entice the Nightwalker who replaced you to come home. All you have to do is promise them all the life energy they could imagine. By life force, we mean living creatures, so volunteers may be hard to come by. It will be even harder to do if the Nightwalker has made their way to the Material Plane, a plane chock full of living creatures to destroy. And if the Nightwalker is killed before it crosses back over? You're screwed, doomed to spend eternity on the Negative Plane.
This is a very… odd change for the Negative Energy Plane, but we don’t really have anywhere else to corroborate this information since this edition refuses to provide any information on the planes beyond bits and pieces here and there.
The Nightwalker retains its aura from the previous editions, so don't stand too close—being drained of life isn’t high on anyone’s list. The shadow creature will use its Enervating Focus ability to lower your hit point maximum as much as possible. Sure, healing will still work, but having 100 fewer hit points to heal is very bad since you have fewer hit points to get back up to. Whenever it can, the Nightwalker will use its Finger of Doom to finger you with doom—yes, we know how that sounds and we won’t apologize. The necrotic damage from this fingering is the least of your worries as you'll be so scared, that you'll be paralyzed in place.
There's one final injustice to be had at the fingers of the Nightwalker. If you fall to a Nightwalker, you are so dead that only a wish spell can bring you back. It's nice to see this edition honoring the earlier editions by making your death so complete a mere resurrection spell has no hope of bringing you back to the land of the living.
The Nightshade is a dangerous family of shadow monsters who lurk in the dark and horrible places. They seek only the destruction of all living things, which makes them right at home leading armies of undead. Of course, they’ll have to fight the Skull Lords who believe they are the true generals of undead armies.\
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