Notes

Shadowwalkers

Low Fantasy Horror

Characters

You remember the first time you died. And the second . . . You remember because Death fucking hurts, and the unavoidable process of coming back from the Dry Lands is a bastard's illegitimate bitch of a fuck.

With one foot in the land of the living and one in the dust of the lands beyond, you have seen what lies on the other side.

And you know what is coming.

Setting

Seven generations have passed among the sons of men since the miasma struck the fair folk with its crippling madness. Seven generations since the Elven Nations invaded the Hall of the Mountain King during the Dwarven Clanclave and slaughtered every soul born of stone before they themselves were swallowed in a vast tomb of earth and iron when the magic of that place collapsed its gates forever.

In the generations that followed, folk began to forget, and many have ceased to believe that the fair folk or the rockbrothers ever existed at all. Across the generations, not so much as a whisper has drifted down from those barrow hills.

Until now.

Now, trappers from the high crags report a blight spreading through the greensward corrupting bark and bough, while shepherds on the foothills report strange, shifting mists filled with the shadowy figures of men in the early gloaming of the night.

On the king's road, conflicting rumors drift from tavern to tavern of a large, bearded man who is not a wolf and a massive grey wolf who is not a man. The word Halfdwarf is uttered in hushed whispers around the fire.

Setting Rules

Hard Choices pp 139

Races

Three racial types (described below) are available as player characters in this game; Humans, Kindred, and Wildlings. Each has something unique to set it apart, and each differs slightly from similar entries in the core book, so please use the write-ups on this wiki page as final reference when settling on your character's people.

Human

With the longer lived races vanished from the lands, Humans have emerged as a dominant force, their penchant for warring among themselves the only thing constraining their expansion and keeping them in check.

Humans in the setting run the gamut of size and coloration with certain trends more prevalent by region, but players should play whatever ethnic and cultural type they prefer.

Adaptable: Humans begin play with one free Novice Edge of their choosing. They must meet its Requirements as usual.

Physical Advantage: Pick Strength or Vigor to begin at d6 instead of d4. The Max of the stat you choose increases to d12 + 1.

Kindred

Twisted and scarred in their natural forms, Kindred are Faelings who were glamoured and placed in the cribs of stolen Human or Wildling babes to be raised among them.

Limited Shape Change: Kindred have the ability to alter their size, coloration (skin/hair/eyes), and features at will within the normal ranges for Wildlings and Humans and are even able to mimic the appearance of specific individuals provided they have had time to study the individual in question.

Note: Assuming a Human or Wildling form does not require a roll if no one is observing the change and the Kindred has a turn to concentrate on making the change. If they are observed or significantly stressed a roll vs a target of 4 is required.

Note: The natural form of Kindred are alien and disturbing, their skin appearing scarred and bark-like and often ill formed or improperly put together. Kindred who become fatigued or exhausted must immediately make a Spirit check to maintain their assumed form, surmounting whatever penalty is appropriate to the given condition.

Note: Except for the (Wildling) Outsider disadvantage, Kindred do not take on any of the advantages or disadvantages of the racial type they are mimicking, nor do they lose their own.

Low Light Vision: Because of their Fae heritage, Kindred ignore penalties for dim and dark illumination.

Armor +2: The thick, bark-like hides of Kindred acts as leather armor.

Phobia, Fire: Kindred are terrified of open flame. If they are in a room with an open flame (hearth, lamp, candles, etc) they will try to maintain distance from the source of the flame and subtract -1 from all trait rolls. If openly confronted with fire or trapped in a close proximity to open flame they subtract -2 from all trait rolls.

Secret: Kindred work hard to pass among Humans and Wildlings and will go to great lengths to keep their secret, but if their true nature is discovered they risk becoming Shunned by the community until the secret of their identity is restored.

Wildling

Beardless and small of stature, with delicate pointed ears, Wildlings have an almost childlike appearance by Human standards. That they can often be seen laughing and chasing one another and climbing walls and trees apparently just for fun, does little to dispel the impression of perpetual youth.

Rather than build their own villages or towns, Wildlings prefer to establish small communities tucked in among Human settlements, and given the option, they will almost always choose to dwell in the lowest points of their adopted boroughs, making their homes below ground when it is practical to do so.

Luck: Wildlings draw one additional Benny per session.

Climbing: Agile and adept at using their fingers and hands as readily as their feet and toes, Wildlings climb at their normal walking Pace.

Way of the Hand: Wildlings practice a martial discipline that allows them to use their hands and feet as weapons (doing STR + 1d4 damage) and grants +2 when making unarmed strikes.

Way of the Wild Locust: Wildlings can jump twice as far as normal. Additionally, they add +4 damage when leaping as part of a Wild Attack instead of the regular +2.

Size -1: Wildlings are slight of build and rarely stand more than 4' tall. Size and Toughness are each reduced by -1.

Outsider: Living among Humans, Wildlings make up less than a quarter of the population in any given town and are culturally distinct in ways that often result in friction between the two peoples. Subtract -2 from Persuasion rolls to influence non-Wildlings.

Hindrances

The following hindrances may not be taken or have special circumstances. Special circumstance hindrances are bolded. As a preface, I'll state that I am a huge non-fan of hindrances, but I've done my best to rein in my intrinsic dislike for them in favor of a fun RP experience. The eight straight-up vetoed ones are ones I believe inappropriate to the setting or just don't effectively pull their weight or even actively get in the way in PBP games.

Arrogant: Do Not Take

Big Mouth: Do Not Take

Blind: Do Not Take

Bloodthirsty: This one could (probably will) legit get you hanged in setting, so . . .

Code of Honor: If you take this we talk backstage first and agree on the precise parameters of the Code in question.

Death Wish: Do Not Take

Driven: As Code of Honor regarding agreeing on precisely what Drives your character.

Greedy: Do Not Take

Habit: As Code and Driven regarding agreeing on the Habit you intend to RP

Heroic: I'm fine with Heroic in general so long as players follow the caveat in the introduction to Hindrances above, but be aware that this is a Horror game. Maintaining a heroic stance is going to get tiresome if not outright exhausting.

Jealous: Do Not Take

Mute: Do Not Take (great fun around a table, less so where you can't make hand gestures/faces).

Obligation: Do Not Take

Outsider: You can take this one but it will require some backstage conversation to hammer out details.

Overconfident: Eh. If you want it, make a case. Again, this is a horror game, so this one could legit get you killed to death.

Phobia: Backstage discussion required.

Quirk: Backstage discussion required.

Secret: Please think twice if you are already playing a Kindred character. And, yeah, mucho backstage discussion.

Shamed: Backstage discussion required.

Slow: Prosthesis would be a peg leg if anything. Wheelchair and other options would be a nope. Kindred who choose this hindrance cannot bypass it via shape change.

Stubborn: Do Not Take

Suspicious: Do Not Take

Tongue Tied: I always take this one. It can be very flavorful around the table but it can draw things to a drag if used injudiciously in PBP. If you take this hindrance it should mostly come into serious play when the group is in danger or the character is under significant stress. Other times just a bit of intelligible word play, please.

Vow: Much the same as Code, etc up above.

Skills

The following skills may not be taken or have special circumstances. Special circumstance skills are bolded.

Driving: Do Not Take

Electronics: Do Not Take

Faith: Do Not Take

Focus: Do Not Take

Hacking: Do Not Take

Languages: Languages is a special case. There is only one language 'active' in the setting, but since there is a chance to come across the Elven and Dwarven languages (most likely in written form) or *Fae (spoken only), I'll leave it open as an option, just understand it will likely be a rarely encountered option.

Note: Kindred characters start play knowing the Fae tongue for free.

Occult: This skill will come into play mostly in reference to the subject of Cryptozoology. Aside from that it will virtually never be an appropriate roll.

Piloting: Do Not Take

Riding: This skill encompasses familiarity with animal powered vehicles.

Science: Do Not Take

Spellcasting: Do Not Take

Weird Science: Do Not Take

Edges

The following edges may not be taken or have special circumstances. Special circumstance edges will be bolded.

BACKGROUND EDGES

Arcane Background: Psionics is the only available Arcane Background. If you select it, be sure to put points into the Psionics skill (Smarts). Also, check available powers before deciding to take Psionics.

Fame/Famous: Do Not Take

Linguist: Should probably only be taken in lieu of Languages skill, not both togetehr.

Rich/Filthy Rich: Do Not Take

COMBAT EDGES

Double Tap: Do Not Take

Giant Killer: Do Not Take

Martial Artist/Martial Warrior: Does not stack with Wildling Way of the Hand

Rapid Fire/Improved Rapid Fire: Do Not Take

Rock and Roll: Do Not Take

Two Gun Kid: Do Not Take

LEADERSHIP EDGES

All Leadership Edges are available if you otherwise meet their requirements.

POWER EDGES

Extra Effort: Do Not Take

Gadgeteer: Do Not Take

Holy/Unholy Warrior: Do Not Take

Wizard: Do Not Take

PROFESSIONAL EDGES

Ace: Do Not Take

SOCIAL EDGES

All Leadership Edges are available if you otherwise meet their requirements.

WEIRD EDGES

All Weird Edges are available if you otherwise meet their requirements.

LEGENDARY EDGES

Will discuss Legendary Edges if/when we reach that rank.

Powers

The following powers may not be taken.

NOVICE POWERS

Burrow: Do Not Take

Elemental Manipulation: Do Not Take

Entangle: Do Not Take

Environmental Protection: Do Not Take

Healing: Do Not Take

Illusion: Do Not Take

Relief: Do Not Take

Shape Change: Do Not Take

Summon Ally: Do Not Take

Wall Walker: Do Not Take

SEASONED POWERS

Barrier: Do Not Take

Disguise: Do Not Take

Dispel: Do Not Take

Growth/Shrink: Do Not Take

Invisibility: Do Not Take

Sloth/Speed: Do Not Take

Teleport: Do Not Take

VETERAN POWERS

Fly: Do Not Take

Zombie: Do Not Take

HEROIC POWERS

Intangibility: Do Not Take

Resurrection: Do Not Take