Perilous Gateways

The Shadow Path: A Portal Network

By James Wyatt

Four dark portals are the only milestones on this subterranean road, and its travelers are few. However, in the Underdark, travelers have to be strong to survive. Are your characters strong enough to brave the Shadow Path? Tread lightly, for drow, mind flayers, and worse lurk along its pathways . . .

"The Shadow Path" is a portal network connecting four disparate regions of Faerûn's vast Underdark: the region known as the Labyrinth beneath the Dessarin River, the illithid city of Oryndoll beneath the Shining Plains, the dwarven halls of Iltkazar far to the south, and the Unspoken Hall near Ched Nasad beneath the Fallen Lands. At a glance, the four regions have nothing in common but that they are far below the surface of Faerûn, but a dark secret links both their ancient past and their terrible present.

A single node of the Shadow Path might appear in the course of an ongoing campaign, perhaps while characters are traveling through the Underdark in the middle of the City of the Spider Queen superadventure. Alternatively, the Shadow Path could form the backbone of a mini-campaign all its own. Consider the following hooks to draw characters into the portal network and the dark mystery behind it.

Shadow Path:

Statistics and supplemental information:

About the Author

James Wyatt wrote articles for Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine before joining the Wizards of the Coast staff in January 2000. Game design is career Number Five, after stints as a childcare worker, ordained minister, technical writer, and web designer. He currently resides in Washington state.


Portals of Faerûn