Hi, last game the situation came up where we were in stage1 and Sauron had 4 influence in the shadowpool. He then plays a shadow card (can't remember the name) that allows Sauron to put additional influence in the shadow pool.

So the question is if the stage limit of influence in shadow pool is there even if you play shadow cards that give you bonus influence?

Rules p.16: The amount of influence that Sauron may have in the Shadow Pool is equal to four times the current game stage.

So Sauron may not have more influence in Shadow Pool then specified in rule above. At least we played that way. I think that it'll give too more power for Sauron on early stages.

LEGA has it right. The shadow pool is capped at 4 per phase. The shadow card you mention would be better played at the beginning of Stage 2 to grab a boost to the pool.