Friday, 28th January 2011, 16:57 by mageykun
Personally, I love the idea. Heck, it's one I've had myself.
That said... I think the reason it's a weapon now is to make an interesting choice- do you want a weapon, or free summons? The only time I've found the free meatshields (shadowshields? :p) worth it is in the abyss, where you do more running than fighting anyways. Mele with free support could be unbalanced, though I suppose you are still giving up the ability to use a shield, or better two handed weapon damage output, so maybe not.
Biggest problem I see is that the item acts a double boost to negative energy. A necromancer with the shadow equivalent of two rings of fire, free summon spam, and a hand free to wield something else could definitely be unbalanced.
Maybe you should be able to wield it in either hand, and the effect is diminished if you use it in the off hand? Justify it by saying the neg boost and rate of summoning is linked to the concentration of the wielder, and if you split your concentration it's less effective.