Shade Hunger¶

Light

Light draws the shadows. Travel in the dark.

At a glance
Kind of world	Light
Serum in the arrival Box	2 ampoules
Native Serum stand-in	Umbral Essence
Quests	None

Screenshot comingshade-hunger-torch

A dark forest at midnight, one torch burning in a clearing, black shapes stepping out of the trees toward it

What happens when you arrive¶

It is midnight in a dark forest, and it always will be. A black fog swallows everything past a few dozen blocks. The first thing anyone does is light a torch, and that is the wrong thing to do. Shapes step out of the dark around the light, come straight for you, and swat the torch out on their way.

Here, light is what hunts you. The dark is safe.

The rule: light draws the shades¶

Situation	What happens
You stand in torchlight (block light 8 or brighter at your feet)	Every 5 seconds there is an even chance a Shade steps out of the dark 10 to 20 blocks away and comes for you, up to 4 at a time.
You stand in the dark	Shades can't see you at all. Nothing is drawn, and any shade hunting you loses you the moment you step out of the light.
A light is burning nearby	Between hunts, a shade goes for the nearest light within 10 blocks and puts it out. The torch drops, so you can pick it up again.

Only light from blocks counts (torches, lanterns, glowstone and the like). There is no sun and no moon to worry about.

No other monsters spawn here: no zombies, skeletons or creepers. Only shades, and a few wander the forest on their own even when you are in the dark.

Beds explode

The night never ends, so there is nothing to sleep through. A bed blows up like in the Nether.

Shades¶

A Shade has 16 health and hits for 4. It is quick but not tough. In the dark it is harmless to you, and in the light it is a straightforward fight, which is fine as long as only one comes. Stand in the light too long and you have four.

Screenshot comingshade-hunger-snuff

A shade reaching up to snuff out a torch the player left burning, the player watching from the shadows

Working in the dark¶

The trick is to light up only to work:

Walk in the dark.
When you need to mine or build, place one torch, do the job, and pick the torch back up the moment you are done.
If a shade comes, step out of the light. It stops, loses you, and drifts off toward the next flame.

What to bring home¶

Find	Where	Why it's worth it
Umbral Essence	Every shade drops 1 or 2.	The native Serum active.
Ores	The usual Overworld ores under the forest floor.	Mining is quiet; it is the torch that gets you noticed.

Serum and getting home¶

The arrival Box's cache holds 2 Serum Ampoules.
Native stand-in: Umbral Essence. It takes the place of Somnium Powder in the Synthesizer. To farm it, light a single torch, stand by it with a weapon ready, and fight shades one at a time.
The Box is lit, so shades come for you there too. Get in quickly and close the door.

Tips¶

Turn your screen brightness up before you go.
Never leave a torch burning behind you. Shades put it out, and a burning torch near your camp draws them in.
To farm essence safely, stand at the edge of a torch's light: step into it to draw a shade, step back out to make it lose you.
Night vision potions let you see without lighting anything.

Birds¶

Birds you can photograph for your bird log here. Open one to turn it round, watch it move and hear its call.

Glowthroat Thrush: common
Wisp Heron: rare, dangerous

The traveler's tape¶

Every arrival Box has a chest by its door holding a cassette: the last traveler reading their journal of this world aloud. This is what they say. It gives a lot away.

Read the journal (spoilers)

It is always night in this forest, and the first thing I did was light a torch, which was the wrong thing to do. Shapes stepped out of the dark around the light, came straight for me, and swatted the torch out on their way. They are blind to anyone standing in shadow: step out of the light and they stop, lose you, drift off looking for the next flame. So I walk in the dark, light a torch only when I have to work, and pick it up the moment I am done; the shades leave a dark essence behind, which goes into the Synthesizer in place of Somnium Powder. The Box is lit, so get in quickly, and close the door with the Serum still in you.