Saturday, September 9, 2023

TwK: Weak Points in Time and Space

by FantasyMaker
The universe is not as cohesive as you might imagine.  The fabric of space and time is patchy and frayed, with places where it's worn thin, full of rips and holes and general wear and tear. This is both highly inconvenient and terribly useful, provided you know what you're doing.  

There is a phenomenon known as Trans-Dimensional Conjunction, where two different universes will become temporarily connected through naturally occurring rifts in time and space.  Normal people refer to these as 'Weak Points'.  

You can travel through these and end up in some very strange places.  Just be careful when doing so- not all Weak Points remain open long and it's very easy to find yourself lost, a stranger in a strange land, with no way home.   

To generate a Weak Point, roll on the tables below: 

Where is it?

1d20
1- In a basement.
2- In the cupboard/closet/wardrobe.
3- Under the stairs.
4- In a sealed door in an abandoned building.
5- A door set in the last standing wall of a collapsed building.
6- In a cave.
7- Along a forest path.
8- In a Fairy Ring.
9- Along a Fairy Road.
10- In the Attic.
11- Under the bed.
12- In a Crawl Space.
13- In a tunnel.
14- Under a bridge.
15- Through a storm drain/sewer drain/drainage pipe.
16- Through a gap/hole in a wall.   
17- Through a mysterious door that appeared where a door shouldn't be.  
18- In a hole in the ground.  
19- Underwater, at the bottom of a lake/pond/river.  
20- Underwater, just submerging yourself is enough to travel through it.  

It stays open for...

1d4
1- 1d6+2 minutes
2- 1d4+1 hours
3- 1d3+1 days
4- 1d6 weeks

Where does it lead?

1d12
1- To one of the Accursed Planes.  

2- To one of the Blessed Planes.  

3- An Empty World.  The world is exactly as yours is, with the single exception of 1d3 [1= All humans are gone, as if they were blinked out of existence; 2= All humans and domestic animals vanished without a trace; 3= All animals disappear, there is only the things humans built and plants left.]

4- A Parallel World that is very similar to ours except where where 1d8 [1= The alternate party is pursuing a different goal that they share with the original party; 2= The alternate party failed the last quest the party succeeded at; 3= The alternate party succeeded on the last quest the original party failed at; 4= The alternate party committed some sort of crime that the original party did not; 5= The alternate party has lost one member, either among the party itself or among their NPC followers; 6= The alternate party has a new member or follower; 6= The alternate party is different because one member of that party is a different class; 7= The alternate party is different because one member of that party is a different race; 8= The alternate party is exactly like you, except for minor differences in clothing, hair and equipment- ie, this is what you'd look like if you finally decided to get a mullet.] 

5- An Alternate History World.  Like our world, but something different happened in history that changed the face of this world.  This world is different from our world because 1d4 [1= The Black Death exterminated the vast majority of Europeans, Muslims colonized a (mostly) empty continent.  Technological progress was stifled, the Old World is majority Islamic, except for the distant East; 2= The Romans never abandoned Britain, but the colony there survived and became an independent Empire that lasted for much longer, syncretizing with the locals; 3= The Muslims never closed off the silk road, so Europeans never sought out alternative trade routes and discovered the New World; 4= The Chinese discovered America long before Europeans ever got there and began a trading relationship that brought Old World plagues, technology and domesticated animals to the New World centuries before Columbus ever found the West Indies.]    

6- An alternate History World that is 1d8 [1= Stone Age; 2= Bronze Age; 3= Iron Age; 4= Early Medieval; 5= High Medieval; 6= Renaissance/Early Modern; 7= Colonial Era; 8= Victorian Era], but with 1d4 [1= Dragons are an intelligent species that dwells in the land along with humans; 2= Alchemists figured out how to create useful things like potions of eternal youth, formulae to turn other metals to gold, etc; 3= Prophets and priests with magical powers are still around in this era; 4= Faeries did not withdraw from the world as they largely did in this world, but instead maintained bonds with humanity.  

7- The Elflands.  A vast, semi-settled land full of beautiful, alien creatures with a great talent for magic and a low ability, or care for, reason and good sense.  This is the homeland of the Fair Folk and their various sub-races, the Fauns, the Goblins, the Cait Sidhe, etc.  A terrible, beautiful, wondrous place.  Trust nothing and no-one while you are here. 

8- To the future of your own World.  Nothing you do cannot be undone, as long as you return to the past.  To those who remain in the past, it will be as if you blinked out of history.  The future you end up in is 1d6 [1= 1d6 hours into the future; 2= 1d6 days into the future; 3= 1d6 weeks into the future; 4= 2d6 months into the future; 5= 1d6 years into the future; 6= 1d20+5 years into the future] and is an outcome that is 1d6 [1= Extremely unlikely; 2= Unlikely; 3-4= Somewhat likely, maybe a 50%; 5= Likely to occur; 6= Extremely likely] to occur.  Note that the further you go into the future, the more likely you are to encounter drastic changes.    

9- To the past of your own World.  You are sent 1d6 [1= 1d6 hours into the past; 2= 1d6 days into the past; 3= 1d6 weeks into the past; 4= 2d6 months into the past; 5= 1d6 years into the past; 6= 1d20+5 years into the past].  Be careful not to change too much, if you do, you might draw the attention of the Guardians of Time.  Each change you make has an X-in-20 chance (as determined by the Referee) of being detected by one of these Guardians, and the chance increases the closer it is to the event.  The severity of the change will also affect it.  Trying to stop an assassination will change things dramatically, while eating a sandwich in the café that Hitler and Stalin used to frequent during their activist days will probably change little, unless you try to debate them on the merits of free-market capitalism or tell them about the potential of nuclear weapons.  

10- To a "fictional setting" of the Referee's choice.  Here are a few examples 1d10 [1= Warhammer 40K; Marvel Comics/The Cinematic Universe; 3= DC Comics; 4= Star Wars; 5= The Forgotten Realms; 6= The world of the Lovecraft Mythos; 7= The World of the Wheel of Time; 8= Roshar from the Stormlight Archive; 9= The depopulated world during The Stand by Stephen King; 10= Westeros from A Song of Ice and Fire.]

11- To one of your Referee's other settings.  The Referee should list and number them, then roll an appropriately sized die.    

12- A Mirror World.  This world is a perfect inversion of your world.  Your alternate in this world is the exact opposite of you and the same goes for all your friend.  If you are a nice person and live in an ascendant Empire, your alternate is an evil son of a gun who lives in a corrupt and crumbling shell of a once-mighty Emperor.  The evil necromancer you were fighting in your world, his alternate is a righteous healer trying to overthrow the old Empire and restore peace and justice to the land.  

by Zdzisław Beksiński

Saturday, September 2, 2023

OSR: Teleportation or "Oh God, Here we Go"

This is a power you should be very hesitant to give out to players.  Be careful and do not do it lightly.  Ideas borrowed from 5E.

by Tenjigen
Instant Transmission between points is considered one of the greatest achievements a Magi can ever obtain, along with achieving immortality and turning lead into gold.  However, as the latter two are often considered morally or politically dubious, the first is the one primarily researched.  

Almost all cultures have stories of how in ancient times, Magi or even normal people could instantly travel across the world with no more effort than crossing a busy street.  However, depending on a culture's records, feelings about magic and potential losses of knowledge over time, whether due to political purges, wars or the slow erosion of time and entropy, this knowledge is often lost.  If it is not lost, it is usually tightly controlled and often kept secret by either the most ancient and powerful Wizarding Orders or by a Cabal of State-sponsored Wizards: this may in fact describe the same group.

In other cases, the spell may be lost and concealed in the depths of an ancient ruin, a long desolate tomb, the laboratory of an extremely preoccupied Lich who was around when the precursor civilization your race squats amid the detritus of or flying freely through a turbulent region of the Astral Sea.  

In a more high-magic setting, Teleport is still a rare spell, but it isn't impossibly rare.  It is, in fact, a highly dangerous tool of espionage, assassination and state-craft.  Any nation that has access to Teleport will be able to dominate those of it's enemies that do not.  You will find agreeing to a treaty or military alliance much more convincing when you know that there is a risk that your rivals could teleport a pack of armed killers into your Sovereign's bedchamber.  

Teleport
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R: touch    T: objects    D: 0 
  
Up to [sum] touched objects and/or creatures are teleported to a location of your choice.  When casting this spell, roll 1d20 on the 'Teleportation Result' table and modify it based on the destination you choose and your method of targeting the location.

Teleportation Result:

1d20
1-5: Mishap.  Your journey is not smooth- all creatures and objects transported take 2[dice] damage.  Additionally, 1d4 [1= A stranger appears at your destination with you.  Roll on the 'Man out of Time' sub-Table; 2= You arrive 1d20 hours after you left, though you did not experience this time lag, to you it happened in an instant; 3= You are blasted with extra-universal radiation, you take 2d6 CON damage, save for half.  CON is restored at a point of 1 point per day.  If reduced to 0 CON, a creature dies; 4= You are exposed to alien geometries and cosmic knowledge- save or develop an insanity.  Roll on the Referee's favorite insanity table or roll on the 'Cosmic Madness' sub-Table below.]      

6-10: Similar Area.  You are transported to a similar area to the one you targeted.  For example, if you wanted to go to a your Wizard's Tower, you will end up in a Wizard Tower, but it could be one anywhere on the same plane of existence.  If you wanted to teleport to a King's Palace, you might end up in the Palace of a foreign monarch on the other side of the world.  

11-15: Off Target.  The DM should roll 1d10*1d10%.  The first d10 determines the direction you traveled and the second d10 determines the distance you are off target.  The directions for the first d10 are [1= North; 2= Northeast; 3= East; 4= Southeast; 5= South; 6= Southwest; 7= West; 8= Northwest; 9= Upwards; 10= Downwards.]  So, for example, if you tried to travel somewhere that would take 30 days to travel to and rolled 'Off Target' then got a "5" on the first d10 and a "3" on the second, that means you end up 9 days South of your intended destination.      

16-20: On Target.  You arrive at your intended destination.  

Modifiers: 

- Permanent Circle (+15)
- Associated Object (+10)
- Very Familiar Location (+5)
- Seen Casually (+3)
- Viewed Once (+2)
- Description (+1)
- False Destination (-5)
- Rolled Chaos (-5)
- Rolled Corruption (-10)

Man Out of Time:

1d4
1- The stranger is from a different era of your world.  He* is from 1d6 [1= The distant past; 2= The recent past; 3-4= The present; 5= the near future; 6= The distant future.]
2- The stranger is from a different plane of existence.  He is from 1d3 [1= One of the Accursed Planes; 2= One of the Parallel Worlds; 3= One of the Blessed Planes.]
3- The stranger is random copy of one living creature that was transported.  
4- The stranger is an Outsider, a Spirit, Angel or Demon that was accidentally snagged by the caster's spell and inadvertantly dragged to this location.  

*Obviously the stranger could be woman/female.   

Cosmic Madness:

1d6
1- "The Stars, they See!"  You become convinced the stars are watching, observing and judging you.  You must avoid them as much as possible.  Camping outside without a tent or something to cover yourself is impossible- being outside at night is difficult, any thing that means they might see you is painful.  
2- "Life is just one sick, demented gag."  The World is absurd, you realize.  You have a hard time taking anything seriously, as nothing means anything.  
3- "I am God made flesh."  You realize you are in fact, a God, a divine immortal stuffed into this frail, temporary vessel.  You may seek suicide, worldly immortality or apatheosis, but you cannot remain as you are.
4- "The End is Nigh."  The World is going to end, and soon, you realize.  You must prepare.  
5- "I am a Laughing, Walking Mockery."  You realize that you have utterly failed to live up to your potential/destiny and thus develop the most crippling case of imposter syndrome imaginable.
6- "The Weave of Fate is Iron Thread."  You realize your own destiny is absolute- it will happen, no matter what you wish to occur.  You develop a staggering fatalism and an apathy to match.

by CyberSkye
Terms to Know:

Permanent Circle: These are circles or locations inscribed with a unique series of arcane runes.  If memorized or studied before casting the spell, a Magi can 'lock on' to these runes, allowing the Magi to arrive at the destination with relatively little risk.  These Circles are often located within ruins or in the relics of older, more advanced civilizations.  If more contemporary cultures have built any, they are usually kept secret and under heavy guard to prevent enemy Magi from being able to use them to bypass other defenses.

Associated Object: This is an object associated with the location you want to go to.  For example, a stone from the Archmagi's garden.  Using this, you can teleport to the garden of the Archmagi with relative ease.  Note that Associated Objects only last 6 months or so, and must be regularly refreshed.  They also only take you to the same space as where they came from.  You can't use a stone from the Archmagi's garden to teleport into his parlour.

Familiarity: How well do you know the location?  Very Familiar means you have been there multiple times and have a good sense of the location, Seen Casually means you have been there once, while Viewed Once means you have only seen the location once, either from a distance or through some other means, such as a Scry-glass.  

Description: You have heard a description of a place or read about one in a book.  If the description you used is false or very inaccurate, this counts instead as 'False Destination'.    

False Destination: You attempted to teleport to a place that doesn't exist or is very different then you thought.  For example, if you tried to teleport to Atlantis but did not know it had been sunk beneath the waves.  Regardless of what result you roll on the Teleportation Result table, to determine your actual destination, the Referee should select a 'Similar Area' that most resembles what the spell-caster had in mind.     

How do I stop this?

Tetragrammatic Runes are symbols that when formed in the physical world, influence the effect of magic.  Some attract magic, while others repel it.  Tetragrammatic Runes are not magical themselves, but can produce similar effects when laid out in proper patterns.  One pattern, also called Gate Wards, prevent teleportation or the opening of portals within the warded area.  These wards are often carved into stones at the edges of important buildings, engraved into metal sheets which are placed against the walls or carved into wood or metal decorations around important rooms.  These protections are considered as paramount for the protection of vital assets and important personnel, such as the Sovereign and his/her family, important military leaders and etc.  Even in cultures where knowledge of these wards has been lost, the Ward-signs themselves often stick around as symbols of protection or good luck.

Plot Hooks: 

1d8
1- A group of Magi want to harm a rival.  They hire you to break into one of the rival's secure buildings and find the teleportation circle hidden inside.  Record the runic sequence on the circle and return without giving away your intentions.  If they discover you were after the runic sequence, they may destroy the circle and thus no one will be able to use it.  
2- A group of Magi want to harm a rival.  Convince them that you are a traitor to your employer's cause and give them misinformation, including this false runic sequence.  When they try to use it, it will only harm their rivals.
3- A group of Magi want to harm a rival.  Go to the location of their enemies and secret inscribe a runic sequence to allow the Magi to teleport something there.  You'll also need to trash any Wards against teleportation you find there.   
4- A powerful Magi wants to go to a location that is dangerous or inconvenient, but doesn't want to take the risks.  Go to the location and bring him back an item that will allow him to teleport there safely.
5- An artistic savant has been discovered who is able to flawlessly recreate things he has seen in highly detailed sketches.  He would be a great asset to our Magi and a threat to us, should our enemies manage to get their hands on him.  Find a way to recruit him to our cause or dispose of him, if the former option is impossible.  
6- A Teleportation attempt gone awry has led to a stranger who claims to be from the far future to appear in the present day.  The stranger also says that a catastrophe that he recalls from history has not occurred yet.  Find out if what this stranger says is going to happen is true.  
7- A Magi tried to teleport and instead never arrived.  A powerful Demon reached out to your employer and told him that the Demon knows where the Magi is and will exchange the information for something important, valuable or dangerous.  You have been hired to either bring the Demon what it wants, try to prevent the Demon from betraying your employer, double-cross the Demon first or some combination of the following.  
8- The party teleported and ended up in the past.  If they change things too much, maybe they'll be erased from history, Marty McFly-style.  Or maybe they need to help something occur, Prisoner of Azkban-style.  Either way, the overseers of Time are pissed off at this intrusion and are hunting the players.  You don't want them to catch you, as you'll end up in Time Prison, or worse.

by THESUPERNATURALALONE

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

OSR: Animal Brides, Skin-Changers and Skinwalkers

 

by wraithdt

Skin-changing is a form of folk-magic widely misunderstood by urban folk and more "civilized" peoples.  They consider it to be kissing cousins with being a Werewolf or being possessed, which often means those accused of it will be hauled before magistrates and blamed for grave-robbings, murderers or fornication with animals.  These stories have little or anything to do with the truth of Skin-changing, however.  

In reality, Skin-changing is an ancient form of magic that once protected countless people as Shamans bound the spirits of great beasts to protect their people.  Clad in the skins of predators and wild things, they lent aid to warriors and hunters, calling on the strength of the Animal Kingdoms to preserve the nascent territory of the Tool-Users.  

Today, Skin-changing is only practiced by tribal peoples and those without a deep basis of inherited knowledge.  It is not the most powerful of abilities and in many ways, the civilized people have found more useful, or at least more powerful, sources of magic.  But the knowledge remains true and the art vital, even after many centuries of neglect.  And should it be called upon again, the people of so-called civilization will find that the superstitions of their ancestors hold far more weight than even they who venerate the long dead would have given them credit for.  

Skin-Changing:

An ancient Art of folk-magic, much ridiculed by Wizards, which allows the user to take upon the form and powers of a Beast.  Those who take the form of beasts like this are often called  Animal Brides for the common folk stories describing Skin-changers as disguised as common animals until they take off their fur cloaks to reveal themselves to be beautiful, naked women.  There is a plentiful amount of art depicting these scenes, for obvious reasons.    

Become Animal Bride or Create Hide Cloak

Base DC: 5+X [X is the HD of the creature being slain]

Materials Needed: Something to draw a circle with, a skinning knife, a regular knife, a cup, wine or milk or honey (depends on the animal)

First, find the type of animal you want to be able to transform into.  Then find a creature that fits your criteria.  

Kill that creature.  Draw a circle around.  

Offer a prayer to the creature's spirit, thanking it for it's life and meat.  

Skin the creature and be careful to damage the hide as little as possible.  Set the hide aside.  Carve out the creature's heart and eat it raw.  

Follow this by anointing yourself with the creature's blood.  

Then channel the creature's remaining mana out of it's body and use it to create a sympathetic bond between yourself and the hide.  

Then make the hide into a cloak.  If you have done it correctly, this will become a Hide Cloak for whatever animal you skinned.  

Failed Ritualism Check:

1d6

1- You are possessed by the spirit of the animal you slew.  Until exorcised, you act as if you were that kind of animal trapped in the body of whatever you are.

2- You fail to establish the sympathetic link.  You now have a perfectly fine but non-magical cloak.

3- You fail to properly channel the animal's remaining mana.  Everyone within X*10' takes Xd6 damage, save for half.  X equals the animal's HD.

4- You fail to properly channel the animal's remaining mana.  The animal's corpse rises as an Unbound Undead.  

5- You suffer a mutation that makes you look more like the animal whose hide you are attempting to link to.  Ex: Yellow eyes for a Wolf-skin, small tusks for a wild boar, etc.  

6- You feel the pain the animal suffered in it's last moments.  This does anywhere from 1d6 to 3d6 psychic damage, depending on how cleanly it was killed. 

by GuzBoroda
Shamans and others who practice this Art tend to only have knowledge of how to do this for certain types of animals, usually the animals a tribe feels closest to.  For example, if a powerful Wolf spirit protects a Tribe, then their Shamans probably know how to become Wolf Animal Brides.

Note that this only works on members of the Animal Kingdoms.  It does not work on those who stand outside the Laws of Predation (ie Monsters).  Attempting to make a Hide Cloak out of a Magical Beast or a Monster is a fool's errand that cannot go well.

Note that saying prayers over the dead animal is not necessary to the ritual, but most shamans practice it to prevent themselves from being haunted or possessed by the ghost of the animal they slew.  This is also why many Shamans use every part of any animal they kill for this purpose, for reasons beyond the merely practical.   

Rules for Transformation: 

An Animal Bride must be wearing his Hide Cloak to transform.  

He cannot be wearing or carrying any form of metal.  

He must either be naked or wearing skin-tight clothing.  Nothing that protrudes from the body in any way is acceptable, including such things as shoes, coats, armor, etc.   
    
All Animal Brides can:

- Communicate with animals of the same kind.  Ex: Wolves can talk to Wolves, Dogs, Coyotes, Jackals, etc.  

- Have a second pool of HP.  When they put on their Hide Cloak, they gain access to that Second Pool of HP, which is tracked separately.  This also includes other forms of damage including Horrible Wounds, but not conditions such as being Diseased, Petrified, Frightened, Charmed, etc.    

- If they are reduced to 0 HP when in Animal form, they revert to their normal form and their Hide Cloak is destroyed.  

- Each one also gets a special power based on what animal they slew.   

Powers:
- Wolf: You can communicate with Ghost Wolves as well as regular wolves.  You can also enter the Spirit World in-spirit whenever you dream, as long as you are touching your Hide Cloak.    
- Deer: As long as you're wearing your Hide Cloak, you have advantage on checks based on hearing.   
- Lion: Depends on whether your Hide Cloak came from a Lion or a Lioness.  A Hide Cloak from a Lion grants a roar that 1/Day forces creatures who hear it and see the source to save or be Frightened.  A Hide Cloak from a Lioness grants the ability to   
- Shark: As long as you are touching your Hide Cloak, you can breathe underwater.  
- Crocodile: As long as you are touching your Hide Cloak, you can hold so still people will think you are a part of the scenery, as long as there's nothing to indicate otherwise, such as being dressed in lurid colors in the middle of a forest.   
- Buffalo: You gain a Charge Attack that you can use in both human and animal forms, though it is much more effective in animal form.  
- Bear: You can gorge yourself and gain a blubbery layer of fat which is consumed when you do not have enough food to eat.  You can store enough calories to equal up to 1/2 your CON score.
- Seal: Your Hide Cloak is ludicrously bouyant and can function as a flotation device.  
- Hyena: When in Animal form, you are immune to disease and instead act as a carrier.  When in Human form, as long as you are touching your Hide Cloak, you have advantage on saves vs disease.
- Badger: When in Animal form, you have a burrowing speed equal to your walking/running speed.

Example Statblock:

Tribal Shaman
HD 2  AR 0  Atk Atlatl (1d6+2/1d6+2) or Spear (1d6)
Mor 10  Saves 9 or less

Animal Bride: The Shaman possesses the Hide Cloak of a Coyote.  If he dons this Cloak, as an action, he can transform into a Coyote.  This changes his stats below.  

Tactics:
- Transform for tracking, stealth or escape
- Use hit and run tactics
- Protect your fellow tribesmen

Animal Bride- Coyote
HD 3  AR 2  Atk Bite (1d6+1+grapple)
Mor 10  Saves 9 or less

Animal Bride: The Animal Bride is actually a transformed Shaman.  He can transform into his human form back as a free action.

Dogspeech: The Animal Bride can communicate with any form of Canine, including Dogs, Wolves, Coyotes, Jackals, etc.

Tracker: When in Coyote form, the Animal Bride has advantage on any checks made to track or follow a creature based on scent or sound.

Trade: By ingesting a creature's a blood, the Animal Bride can create a link between himself and the other creature.  Whenever one of the creatures take damage, that damage is evenly divided between all linked creatures.  This link lasts for 1 day, or until it is broken via mutual consent.

Tactics:
- see above

by Gavin Valentine
Skinwalkers:

Number Appearing: 1
Alignment: Any Evil
Languages: The Lingua Franca plus Tribal Tongue and the secret language of the Shamans
Treasure: Stained Cloak, trophies from murder victims, stolen goods (varies depending on Skinwalker's crimes)

One common mistake that many adventurers make is that if they take a Hide Cloak off someone, they will be able to use it themselves.  To their surprise, they will find themselves in the possession of a magical but otherwise inert item.  This is because a Hide Cloak is not really a magical item, in that it possesses no power of it's own.  Instead it is the mark of a ritual and thus no matter who wears it, it will only perform it's function for the one who performed the ritual in the first place.  

That's not to say there is no way to steal one, however.  Doing so, however, is both difficult and vile.  It requires a wicked deed and the perversion of the original ritual.  It is, as the Shamans and Tribal Elders might refer to it, "An Empty Path".

A Skinwalker is one who walks such a path.  Despite their fearsome reputations, Skinwalkers are not Demons nor Folk nor some kind of horrific unnatural beast.  They are something far worse- men who have twisted tools meant to aid the tribe and help the community into instruments of revenge and desolation.  They are those mortals who when given the option to gain more power at the expense of others gladly took the deal.  

Skinwalkers are almost always Shamans or those trained by them, from a culture that practices Skin-changing.  They are those who perverted the original ritual that is used to permit Skin-changing or performed some other sin which amplified their own powers, granting them the ability to take other forms and perform other terrible feats.  When clad in their Stained Cloaks, they are terrors and destroyers, capable of rending flesh and striking fear into all who face them.  

But when they doff them, they can easily pass for any normal person.  They are farmers, merchants, barkeeps and anything else.  The drifter who started working as a farmhand or the traveling peddler or the community leader, widely respected by all, any of them could be the horror of ever-shifting bone and gristle haunting the nearby wilderness, seeking those they may devour.      

Skinwalker- Mortal form
HD Varies, see below
AR Varies, see below
Atk Varies, see below
Mor 5+HD
Saves (7+HD) or less

Shapeshifter: Skinwalkers have access to magical garments called Stained Cloaks.  When they don these cloaks, they can transform into a variety of forms.  Skinwalkers gain new forms by killing the creature whose form they want to take and eating that creature's heart.  They can take the form of any creature that has HD less than or equal to theirs.  They can transform as a free action.  When transformed, they use a different pool of HP (see below).    

Regeneration: Skinwalkers recover X HD per round, depending on their overall strength.  

Specific Death Condition: Skinwalkers, regardless of form, can only be killed in specific ways.  Otherwise they return to life.  

Memory Thief: If a Skinwalker eats the brain of a creature, he gains the memories of that creature.  These memories fade over time so unless the Skinwalker takes steps to record or otherwise remember them, the Skinwalker will gradually forget what it learned. 

Black Feast: Skinwalkers gain power from those they slay.  If a Skinwalker kills and consumes a creature, which takes at least 10 minutes for a Medium creature, half that for a Small one, it gains +1 HD and is restored to full HP.   

Tactics:
- Pretend to be a normal person
- Use your animal forms to ambush creatures
- Attack lone creatures, kill and eat them  

Skinwalker- Beast Form
HD Varies
AR Varies
Atk Varies, see below
Mor 5+HD
Saves (7+HD) or less

Collective Pool: A Skinwalker's Secondary Pool of HP, the one it accesses in it's Beast form, is double what it has in it's Mortal form.  This pool of HD is shared among all the various forms a Skinwalker has.  The Skinwalker can transform as a free action between forms or back to it's mortal form.

Magic Resistance: Mana-based attacks and abilities are hard to use against a Skinwalker in Beast form.  When someone uses one of these against them, there is a X-in-20 chance that the mana-based ability (magic, psychic powers, bio-energy blasts) or attack does not affect them.  This causes the attack or ability to slip around them and strike the nearest target.  If there is no obvious choice, roll randomly.  For Skinwalkers, this chance is equal to their HD in Beast form.  

Tactics:
- See above

artist unknown
To customize a Skinwalker, roll on the tables below:

How did he become a Skinwalker?

1d4
1- He stole a Hide Cloak from a Shaman and killed the original wearer, then rebound the Cloak to himself.  This Skinwalker's Specific Death Condition is that it can only be killed by a weapon marked with white ash from a fire, all other weapons will fail to strike a mortal blow.  
2- He kidnapped a stranger then skinned him/her alive and turned the flayed skin into a Stained Cloak.  This Skinwalker's Specific Death Condition is that it can only be killed by someone who does not know who he is- all others will fail to strike a mortal blow.  
3- He killed a member of his tribe and drank their blood, then used their skin as lining for a Stained Cloak.  This Skinwalker's Specific Death Condition is that it can only be killed by an Leader/Elder of the tribe he belongs to.  This can be a religious, spiritual, political or military leader, as long as they hold a position of authority in the tribe.  All others will fail to kill the Skinwalker.       
4- He killed his brother (or another family member) and ate his heart.  This Skinwalker's Specific Death Condition is that it can only be killed by a member of his own family (or bloodline) or by an Agent of divine vengeance.  All others will fail to kill the Skinwalker.          

How old/powerful is this Skinwalker?

1d4
1- Newborn.  This Skinwalker has 3 HD in mortal form and 6 HD in Beast form.  It has 3 AR.  It has 1d4+1 forms.  It makes 2 Attacks that do 1d8+2 damage.  It has a 1-in-6 chance of having 1 Blasphemous Gift.  It also has Magic Resistance equal to 6-in-20 in Beast form.    

2- Young.  This Skinwalker has 4 HD in mortal form and 8 HD in Beast form.  It has 2 AR.  It has 1d6+2 forms.  It can make 2 Attacks that do 1d8+3 damage.  It has a 2-in-6 chance of having 1d3 Blasphemous Gifts.  It also has Magic Resistance equal to 8-in-20 in Beast form.  

3- Old.  This Skinwalker has 5 HD in mortal form and 10 HD in Beast form.  It has AR 2.  It has 1d10+2 forms.  It can make 2 Attacks that do 1d10 damage.  It has a 3-in-6 chance of having 1d4+1 Blasphemous Gifts.  It also has Magic Resistance equal to 10-in-20 (3-in-6 - 50%) in Beast form.   

4- Ancient.  This Skinwalker has 6 HD in mortal form and 12 in Beast form.  It has AR 1.  It has 1d20+2 forms.  It can make 2 Attacks that do 1d10+1 damage.  It has a 4-in-6 chance of having 1d4+2 Blasphemous Gifts.  It also has Magic Resistance equal to 12-in-20 (6-in-10 - 60%) in Beast form.       

A Skinwalker's Blasphemous Gifts:

1d10
1- The Skinwalker can take the forms of creatures much smaller than itself, such as birds, rats, etc.
2- The Skinwalker can utter a terrifying roar that forces all creatures within 1 mile to save or be Frightened.  Frightened creatures won't approach it, have disadvantage on Attacks against it and take 1d6 COG damage each round they can see/sense it.  Frightened creatures must also pass a Morale check to rest in the area they think the source of their fear is in.    
3- The Skinwalker can move through trees and foliage as if they aren't there.  This also makes it more difficult to track, as it doesn't damage branches, shubbery or the like.  Checks made to track it via non-magical means are done with disadvantage.    
4- The Skinwalker only leaves footprints on wood and stone.
5- The Skinwalker can speak the tongues of 1d4 [1= Birds (and creatures) of the Air; 2= Creeping things; 3= Beasts of the Field; 4= Trees and Growing Things] even in mortal form.  If rolled twice, it learns multiple languages.    
6- The Skinwalker can mimic sounds it has heard before, regardless of what form it has taken.  Creatures must pass a COG check with a DC equal to [5+Skinwalker's Beast form HD] to tell if the sound did not come from the proper type of creature.    
7- The Skinwalker can turn invisible.  It can turn invisible for up to 1 hour, but it turns back as soon as it changes form or makes an attack.    
8- The Skinwalker can summon 1d4 lesser spirits.  These take the form of 1d4 [1= Crows; 2= Rats; 3= Black Cats; 4= Feral Dogs.]  These spirits help the Skinwalker by 1d4 [1= Spying on it's enemies; 2= Spreading false rumors about it, such as claiming it's a different type of creature; 3= Stealing things the Skinwalker might find useful; 4= Performing petty sabotage against the Skinwalker's enemies.] 
9- The Skinwalker can enter the Spirit World in-spirit as long as it has access to it's Stained Cloak.  It can use this to enter the dreams of sleeping people.  If this result is rolled twice, it has the power to draw people from their dreams into the Spirit World.
10- The Skinwalker made a pact with a spirit.  This gives it the ability to 1d4 [1= Make itself invulnerable to a type of weapon 1/Day.  For example, it can't be hurt by swords or spears or arrows; 2= It can bind the spirits of the dead if it performs a ritual over their fresh corpse.  This causes some of their spirit to linger as Ghosts.  These ghosts obey the Skinwalker and can spy on or monitor intruders in an area around the corpse.  The ghosts can also possess corpses and rise as Undead; 3= Gives it a venomous bite that does 1d6 bonus damage a round, until it does 3d6 damage or a creature passes a CON save; 4= Causes the Skinwalker to be the carrier for a horrible disease.  Whenever someone comes in contact with one of the Skinwalker's bodily fluids, that creature must save or contract the disease.  The Skinwalker can also choose not to infect people if it wishes.]

by Eemeling

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Twk: Four More Dread Archetypes for the Problem

These are so more sub-classes for my Problem Class, which is intended to be my version of the Spook from Esoteric Enterprises.  If you don't know what that means, basically it means you're human who is slowly turning into Something Else due to your continued use of otherworldly forces, inhuman bloodline or a curse.  You can find the first sequel to that original post here.     

from here
Revenant

The Good Book instructs those who cling to it not to seek revenge, for vengeance belongs to God alone.  Justice arrives through the consequences of violating Natural Law, of suffering in this life or of the naked misery of clinging to wickedness.  But in certain cases, Justice arrives in a far less subtle form.  You are a servant of Heaven, a soul who cried out for justice and received a special dispensation to hunt and destroy the ones who wronged you.  You are a soldier of God, an Angel of Vengeance.  You are Revenant and you live again.

To become a Revenant, you must have been seriously wronged by someone.  To track down and punish this person is your goal.  This person is known as your Principal Target.    

First Fruit: You can, when in the presence of evil, fly into a frothing, righteous rage.  While raging, you get +2 to Atk and Damage, but enemies get advantage on all saves against ranged projectiles.  You also cannot perform any task requiring intelligence, tact or anything other than screaming and violence.  Additionally, while raging, you can ignore the effects of Horrible Wounds, unless they would stop you from taking certain actions (such as rolling attacks at disadvantage) or kill you outright.     

Predator's Eye: By looking into someone's eyes, you can see his sins.  Confessed sins or those that have been paid for are invisible to you, but those that linger and stain the soul are vivid to your sight.  

Rotten Bloom: By touching someone, you may place a mark upon him.  This mark is invisible, but can still be detected by those who can sense mana.  As long as a target is marked by you, you can sense their location and general direction, with your sense of his location getting more precise the closer you are.  If you're across the room from your target, you could pierce their nipple blindfolded, but if they were on the other side of the country, you would only be able to know that they were somewhere "That way".   

Natural Born Killer: By meditating for an hour with a weapon in your hands, you can bless the weapon and make it a tool of holy vengeance.  This causes the weapon to become magical and holy for the purposes of overcoming resistances and do +1d6 damage on a hit when used against an evil creature.  If this creature was marked by you, the weapon does +2d6 damage.  If this creature is one that personally wronged you, your blessed weapon does +2d6 against them, or +3d6 if they are marked.  You may only bond with two weapons at one time, and only you gain these effects when wielding them.    

Malign Form: You may cover yourself in an illusion that makes you look like another person.  You can look like anyone, as long as that person has the same bodyplan as you.  You could disguise yourself as a human servant of your enemy, but not as pile of tentacles and gaping mouths.  You can also take the form of one of your enemy's victims.  When confronted by a victim, especially if that victim is supposed to be dead, enemies must make a morale check or be frightened.  

Born Again: 

Agent of Vengeance (Darkness): When confronted by your Principal Target, you choose blood.  You must punish this person to the fullest extent.  For every stripe he gave you, you return it.  For every blow, every lash, every cruelty is paid back in full.  Then, as a further measure, destroy your Principal Target in the most terrible way you can.  Do this and you will become an Agent of Vengeance.  You will become Ageless, immune to the flow and degradation of time, and Immortal, only capable of dying if slain in the act of pursuing justice or by becoming corrupted and being slain as an act of justice.  

But should you choose this path, you will become a barely human shell of your former self.  Your personality will become eggshell thin, a layer of rice paper over the iron rod of judgement that crushes the wicked.  You will constantly be able to sense those who deserve retribution and will be compelled to pursue them.  Once you have selected a target, you must pursue them and render judgement, not abandoning the pursuit until you see justice is done or die.  If you refuse to select a target, you will feel a stronger and stronger pull in their direction until you have no choice.  If you go more than 7 days without selecting a target or taking some action to pursue them, you die in your sleep.      

Servant of Mercy (Light): When confronted by your Principal Target, you instead take a more radical choice.  You forgive the person and let go of your anger and hatred.  If you do so, you may still punish the person, they have still committed a sin, but you must not revel in it nor indulge in any cruelty.  If you do so, you become a Servant of Mercy.  You lose all your Revenant powers, but instead gain the ability to heal wounds, purge diseases and poisons and remove negative conditions.  You also gain the ability to absorb damage and readminister it to those who deserve it.  You also lose any Dark Convictions you picked up from being a Revenant.    

A Revenant's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I cannot rest."  You do not like to sit idle or feel like you're not doing anything.  When you haven't done anything to pursue vengeance against a wicked soul or your Principal Target, you must save or take some action to advance this goal, even if it's something as simple as buying more ammunition.  
2- "I will not stand idly by."  If you see an act of injustice, no matter how small, you must save or intervene, no matter the personal consequences.  
3- "I must protect him/her."  If you see a person you regard as innocent, you will feel the need to protect them.  If such a person is in danger, you must save or rush to his defense.  
4- "I am unworthy."  You do not like others wasting time thinking about you.  All that matters is the goal.  If you have the chance to refuse help, you must save or do so.  You will not refuse help that is needed to keep you alive or prevent your death, but anything that is not absolutely critical can be put off.  
5- "I cannot control my temper."  You are filled with violent, barely controlled anger.  When you get angry, or something happens that could make you angry, save or react in a violent or angry manner.  
6- "I should not be alive."  You are wracked with survivor's guilt.  Others suffered far worse, but you survived.  As such, you take risks that others would find unacceptable.  You can ignore Fear saves or other effects that might prevent a more rational person from leaping into danger.  Additionally, if faced with such a situation where you could achieve your revenge, even if death is likely, you will take it, unless you successfully save.  

by Bogna Gawrońska
Human Parasite

You ever hear of social vampires?  They are people who drain energy and attention from others but never contribute anything.  They are a detriment to any social circle or poor fool who fails to dissuade one from latching on to them and bleeding them white.  You don't like people talking about such things, as anyone talking about Human Parasites might start asking pointed questions about you.  And as soon as that happens, nothing good is likely to result.  

First Fruit: You can, as a free action, exude a field of anti-memetic radiation.  This makes you appear to be boring, drab and utterly forgettable to observers.  They must successfully save to pay attention to you or notice what you are doing.  If you do something interesting, they may receive bonuses to their saves.  If you are doing something dangerous that concerns them, they automatically pass.  Similarly, if you are doing something normal or otherwise uninteresting, they may receive penalties to their saves.  For example, if you are at a party and are lurking by the buffet instead of socializing, it would be easy to overlook you.  If you started making a scene and screaming at one of the guests, it would be easier to notice you.  If you pulled a knife on someone and tried to stab them, almost everyone would notice you.  You can turn off the field as a free action.  

Predator's Eye: You have the ability to see thermal radiation.  This allows you to see living creatures in cooler environments and be able to navigate in pitch-black environments.  This does not always work if you're in a hot environment, such as a rocky area with a hot climate.  In such places, with stones that have been baking in the sun all day, you will find it harder or impossible to pick out living things from their environment.  

Rotten Bloom: You can secrete a cloud of pheremones that lower stress hormones and induce a vague sense of euphoria in humans.  This affects everyone within 30'.  Humans that are affected by this must successfully save to take hostile or violent action.  If they are already in a dangerous scenario, they automatically pass.  Additionally, creatures under the influence of your pheremones will be much more agreeable and treat you as someone they like.  You can also touch someone to give them disadvantage on any of his saves against this ability, as you can coat your hands in a thin slime that contains a much higher amount of the pheremones.    

Natural Born Killer: You develop a pair of stingers concealed in the third finger of your hands.  When you touch a creature with one, you can sting that creature.  Creatures stung like this must save or be paralyzed for one minute, and are permitted a new save each round to end the paralysis early.  Additionally, X times per day, where X is your CON modifier, you can sting a creature to do 2d6 poison damage, save for half.    

Malign Form: You grow a cluster of muscular tentacles that emerge from a cavity in your back.  These tentacles have a reach of 10' and can be used to make melee attacks which do 1d4+STR damage on a hit, automatically grapples the target unless you wish otherwise.  These tentacles are strong enough to hold you and are covered in suction cups, so that when they are extended, you can add double your STR modifier to checks made to climb, lift or manipulate objects.  You can also use your tentacles to make a bonus attack on your turn if they are extended.  It is a full action to extend and retract your tentacles, though even when extended, you can still hide them under a baggy coat or layers of fabric.  Your tentacles can also be used to secrete your pheremones.  If seen with your tentacles out, creatures automatically save against your Anti-Memetic field.    

Born Again: 

Parasite Queen (Darkness): You have finally matured enough that the urge to procreate has finally come upon you.  You tentacles change, becoming tipped with new ovipositors.  Your pheremones become stronger, now they intoxicate humans who are exposed to them and reduce pain and harmful sensations.  They also become addictive.  Creatures exposed to them will feel the need to experience them once again and must successfully save for (7-X) days to get over their craving, where X is their COG modifier (add Negative modifiers to 7).  

While intoxicated, you can inject your eggs into a human.  These eggs will incubate inside their human hosts for three weeks.  After that, they hatch and begin burrowing through their host and devouring them from inside.  This does 1 CON damage a day, until day 7, then it does 1d4 CON damage a day.  This continues for 1d4+1 more days, after which the larvae are fully grown and emerge from their host.  The larvae will then devour the weakened host, unless provided with an alternate food source.  Any creature reduced to 0 CON by this process dies and is devoured down to the bones by the larvae.          

Ethical Consumption (Light): Your race has always needed humanity, as a food source and as a way to incubate your youth.  But there is another way, far less dangerous for the host.  You will need to find a specific type of human, an Ultimate.  These are humans who naturally possess a specific heritage that makes them nearly impervious to intrusion and interference, chemical, psychic or otherwise.  Once you locate this person, convince them to help you reproduce.  With their superior genome, you will be able to produce high-quality offspring in a way that does not put the lives of lesser humans in danger.  If you do this, once your offspring is born, you can pupate and continue to the next stage of your life-cycle.  You'll spin yourself a cocoon and enter it, your body undergoing physiological changes while inside.  

You will become more beautiful inside there, gaining an appearance of otherworldy beauty.  Others will be hesitant to harm you, unless you have proved to be a threat to them and theirs.  You will lose your tentacles but instead gain a pair of wings and gain the ability to fly.  Your stingers will change as well, becoming long, retractible blades that can cut through anything short of stone and tempered steel.  You also gain a pair of antennae that allow you to sense the emotional state of everyone around you.  Finally, you will gain the ability to dispense your pheremones as dry dust from your wings, which you can blast outward in a great flap of your wings, or leave a trail behind you as you fly, which will slowly rain down on those underneath.      

A Human Parasite's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I like this person."  You meet a human you actually like and not just as a potential incubator or food source.  Whenever you have the chance, you must save or you'll sneak off to spend time with this person.  
2- "Is this ethical?"  You are troubled by ethical concerns.  When confronted with a moral quandry or questionable situation, you must save.  On a failed save, you will be unable or unwilling to rationalize it and must instead think through the action and determine whether or not it would be ethical to do such a thing.  If it is, then you may do it.  If not, you may not.  Your allies may help you by offering their own arguments or rationalizations.  
3- "I don't want to hurt them."  You are disgusted with yourself and the fact that your race needs to harm humans.  Whenever you would use your abilities in a situation that isn't a life-or-death situation, you must save to do so.  
4- "I just need someone to talk to."  You are desperately lonely.  If given the chance to talk to something intelligent, you must save or begin dumping your backstory, troubles, woes on that person.  
5- "I bet they would understand."  You know that the Elders told you that you must keep your existence secret, that humans would react badly if they knew, but this person is different.  You bet if you told them, things would be different.  Whenever you get close to a human and feel like you can trust them, you must save or reveal your secret to them.    
6- "I don't want to be around them."  Being around humans fills you with impulses you're not comfortable with.  When given the chance to shun the company of Mankind, you must save to avoid doing so.

from here
Violetblood

In ancient days, mankind was prey to the monsters and creatures which haunted the wilds of our world, able to defeat us through their superior physical and magical abilities.  To combat this, humans organized first into bands, then tribes, then nations.  We built walls and cities and instituted strict watches to keep us safe.  But these early cities were hot-beds of violence and disease, little safer than the countryside.  Hearing the pleas and cries of their people, Humanity's Gods heard the lament of their children and sent them a gift.  They sent them Kings.

A true King is appointed by God, granted divine right from birth to rule over people or peoples.  You are one of these lucky few, granted special status by blood and birth.  In this Godless, democratic age your talents are likely not to be acknowledged, but that does not erase them.  Regardless of whether anyone plants a crown on your head, you are Royal.   

First Fruit: You have preternatural Charisma.  If you look someone in the eye and ask them for something reasonable, they must make a save.  On a failed save, they will give you what you ask for.  What is "reasonable" depends on that creature's opinion.  Creatures will not give you anything they need to survive or anything that might immediately imperil them.  Additionally, creatures who dislike or have good reason to distrust you automatically pass their saves, unless there is some compelling reason why they would listen now.  

Predator's Eye: You can, by studying a group of creatures, identify the one most submissive and most willing to submit to your authority, presumed or otherwise.  You will still need to convince that creature to listen to any requests and there is no guarantee that the creature will listen, but it will listen, unless it has a good reason not to.

Rotten Bloom: Your Charisma takes on a supernatural level of power.  You can now impose your will on groups of creatures.  If you are confronted by a group of creatures who you have not attacked, you may attempt to convince them to do something reasonable.  They must succeed a Charisma save or do what you ask.  "Reasonable" here means what the majority of those creatures think would be appropriate given their status and circumstances.  Creatures who have a good reason to dislike you or have felt you made an unreasonable request automatically pass their saves.    

Natural Born Killer: Your intellect increases to the point where even in the chaos of battle, you always remain cool and collected.  You can almost always see what the best options are, even if others are blind to them.  If you give a creature an order as an action, and that creature obeys, it gets advantage on any roll it makes as a result of following your order.  Additionally, if you order it to make an attack and it hits, it can add double your CHA modifier to the damage roll.    

Malign Form: You are now surrounded by an aura of kingly radiance.  When enemies first see you, they must successfully save to attack or directly harm you.  Indirect harm is always permitted.  Creatures may attack you if you strike first or to defend themselves from your aggression.  

Born Again: 

Gluttonous Tyrant (Darkness): Your Charisma becomes an overpowering cloud that constantly clings to you.  Creatures who spend too long around you will find their wills gradually ground down, until they are little more than instruments for your will.  For every 1 day a creature spends in your presence, reduce that creature's COG by 1 (min 3).  Creatures who have their Cognition reduced to less than half of it's normal around you become unable to disobey you, unless they pass a save.  They also gain advantage on any save against Charm or Fear, if they feel that the orders they are being given would contradict what you told them to do.  

You gain the ability to consume your subjects.  By touching one of your retainers/followers, you can drain life from them.  By touching them, you can drain as many points of HP as they have and transfer them to yourself.  If you drain at least 8 points of HP a day, no longer need to eat or drink, though you still feel the desire to do so.  If you eat the flesh of your followers and drink their blood, you gain double the amount of HP/FS you would ordinarily recover from such a meal.  

Your maximum HP increases to 50, but it decreases by 1 each day.  

White King (Light): You are visited by an Angel in a dream, who reveals who you are entrusted with.  You are the representative and steward of one of the nations and must care for it.  You will find your current nation in crisis.  You will likely need the help of your friends and allies to save your people.  You will be granted the crown of this nation and the right to rule over it, but also responsibility over it.  

The Angel also gives you three gifts to ensure that you can fulfill your destiny.  First, you will be given a sign that heralds your coming.  The people who see it will know that their King is coming.  Second, you will be given the power to remove afflictions such as poisons, diseases, and other negative effects from others and take them unto yourself.  You will also gain the ability to transfer your HP to others through touch.  Finally, you will be given a small magical trinket which will, in some mysterious way, aid you on your quest.    
 
A Violetblood's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I deserve this."  When you see something valuable, special or important, you must save or be convinced that you deserve to possess that item/creature/title/etc.  
2- "I am better than them."  You become convinced that you are better than other humans.  When given a chance to assert your superiority or pull rank to avoid something unpleasant, you must successfully save or do so.  
3- "They should be grateful."  You become irritated by the lack of adoration from those you consider beneath you.  When not properly praised, you must successfully save or become unhelpful and irritable.  
4- "Why should I help?"  You decide that some problems are beneath your notice.  You must successfully save to intervene, otherwise you abandon those with the problem to their fates.  
5- "I don't want this."  You become stricken with the desire that this burden of leadership and power is something you suddenly dislike.  You must successfully save or when given the opportunity, you will shirk your duties as much as possible.  
6- "I don't want to die."  You become terrified of death.  When faced with potential death, you must save or become frightened.  On a failed save, you will immediately seek to escape or otherwise evade the danger.  

by Peter Mohrbacher
Nephilim

Sinful and sensual, you are descended from not only a line of ancient royals, rulers, administrators and governors, but of a deeper line, one that surpasses humanity in grace, vitality and power.  You suspect that many legends of superhuman warriors, kings and leaders flow from those inhuman ancestors or hybrids like yourself.  Despite your woefully human appearance, you possess greater spiritual abilities than them, who are chattering monkeys in comparison.  And though your skills are nothing compared to those wielded by those in generations past, you are still a formidable foe.  Your people survived Alexander, the Macabees, the Catholics, Calvinists, Roundheads and Yankees.  Whatever you're faced with, you know you'll be able to survive and thrive.  For now matter who comes after your tribe, they somehow always find themselves serving you grapes while you recline on cushions and silk.     

First Fruit: You can exude an aura of emotional energy that causes those who interact with you to save.  On a failed save, creatures around you will be affected by this emotion that you are inflicting upon them.  Even on a successful save, the creature will still be affected, but they will realize that this feeling is not natural and is coming from you.  This feeling can be any emotion you want, as long as it is a feeling and not a specific desire.  For example, it could be something like angry, happy, sad, but not something like hungry or sleepy.  

Predator's Eye: You can, as a free action, open your third eye and peer into the Shallows of the spiritual realm.  This allows you to see the auras of living creatures, which reveal their emotional states via corresponding colors and patterns.  For example, a bank robber currently in the middle of a heist would have an aura thick with fear (of being caught) and excitement (of the potential loot he's about to obtain).  

Rotten Bloom: You can now cause your aura to exude a specific desire, such as being hungry, sleepy or any other common desire.  Creatures must save or immediately try to satisfy that desire.  Creatures who pass their save can resist this impulse, but they must save again if they spend too long around the source of that desire.  You can also remove this aura from yourself and place it over an object, which becomes the new source for that desire.    

Natural Born Killer: You can, as an action, try to suppress a creature's desires and emotions.  As an action, you can force that creature in a Cognition (COG or INT if you don't use my ability scores) contest.  If the creature wins, nothing happens.  But if you win, then the creature is struck into a near-fugue state as all their desires and emotions vanish and they enter a null state created by their own confusion.  Until the creature is reminded of why he is doing what he is doing, he will do nothing.  For example, if in a fight, that creature will stop fighting until reminded why it was fighting or given a reason to continue fighting, such as someone trying to stab them.  

Malign Form: Your form becomes plastic, dependent on the feelings and desires of others.  The more time you spend around someone and closer the contact, the more you will change to suit their desires.  For example, if you are with a man who likes beautiful women, your form will naturally change to become more feminine and beautiful, regardless of how you looked before.  If you are with someone who wants a strong leader, you will change to more closely fit whatever their visual idea of what a leader is.  Additionally, these changes only reflect the closest relationship/contact you have at the time.

Born Again: 

Avatar of Desire (Darkness): You become an archetype of manipulation, a puppeteer who plucks at the strings of the strongest.  The mightiest men and the highest Gods are no match for your silver tongue and generous gifts.  You gain the ability to learn people's desires by tasting their blood and the ability to shapeshift to whatever form they would most desire.  You can become a seductive temptress perfectly tailored to your target's preferences, or you can take the form of a ghostly mother to a widowed child.  

Additionally, any creature who gives into one of the desires you motivated them with becomes weak to your influence.  Such creatures are more likely to listen to you and have disadvantage on mental effects directed against them when produced by you.     

Shepherd of the Flock (Light): You recognize the immense harm your abilities could produce, but also the great benefit they could produce for humans.  You become a beneficient guardian, one who teaches humans how to better themselves, to elevate their consciousness above the muck of base desires and animal drive.  You gain the ability to read the minds of nearby humans and detect the presence of immaterial beings.

A Nephilim's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I want to help that person."  When a human is particularly helpful, kind or otherwise draws your interest, you develop a fixation with helping them whenever you can.  When given a chance to help that creature, you must successfully save to resist.  You will be self-sacrificial and careless with your resources when doing so, as nothing is more important in the moment than helping your little friend.    
2- "I want to harm that person."  When someone does something that offends, upsets or irritates you, you must successfully save or develop a fixation with harming that creature.  Your fixation depends on the offense and is usually proportional.  When you have the chance, you must successfully save or commit an act of malice against that creature.     
3- "These little monkeys are very funny."  You tend to underestimate humans and why wouldn't you?  I mean, just look at them?  When humans do something seemingly stupid, you must successfully save or overlook what they did as nothing more than primate foolishness.  
4- "I fail to understand why I should care."  You fail to care about many things that so bother humans.  When faced with their problems, you must successfully save in order to actually care about them.  If you fail, you regard them as things beneath your notice or otherwise irrelevant to you.  
5- "I fear divine vengeance."  When you see something that reminds you of God, you are stricken by fear of eternal punishment.  You must successfully save or take action to attempt to either mitigate your guilt impulsively or flee from the source of your fear.
6- "I am your superior."  You are overtaken by a sense of immense smugness.  Whenever you see someone fail at a task, you must successfully save or condescend to them.

by artorifreedom