Shadow people

Myrion · 11-05-2013, 10:13 AM

Hey everyone,

the next big threat that my players shall face is a race of shadow people, so called, because they're made of shadow.

We've established that darkness is their weakness (only light casts shadows...) and the players have the magical tools to create darkness weapons.

I could use some help in figuring out how to model the shadow people in GURPS stats, because as free-wheeling as I GM, I like to have some guidance in the form of stats.

What I have come up with is that I want them to be either Diffuse or Homogenous (I'm reading up on those two now), with low IQ (semi-animal~ish) and NOT invincible to everything else.

Thank you for brainstorming with me!

Dwarf99 · 11-05-2013, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myrion

Hey everyone, We've established that darkness is their weakness (only light casts shadows...)

That's an odd one. I would think that darkness would be a totality of shadow, allowing ultimate freedom of movement, whereas light would at minimum pin them to a surface, effectively making them 2D in those instances.

Nymdok · 11-05-2013, 11:39 AM

A few things.

As dwarf mentioned, figure out what you mean by the differnece between darkness and shadow.

How would a flash spell affect them for example? A light Jet? What happens if the PCs snuff out all the light via a Darkness spell? Does the darkness then make them 3d and thus vulnerable to melee attacks?

When you say not invincible to everything else, what else do you want them to be vulnerable to?

Do you want 'normal' weapons to affect them? Is there DR involved? Look at the different damage types Burning, Corrosive, Crushing, Piercing, Impaling, Cutting and decide from there how you handle those.

Are they 3d or 2d creatures?

Do they actually combat the PCs or the PC's shadows and the damage is transfered to the PCs?

We love helping, but the more info you provide us with, the more efficiently we can help you.

Nymdok

samd6 · 11-05-2013, 11:48 AM

Well, here's a writeup I did for the Vote Up a Fantasy Setting:

Quote:

Originally Posted by samd6

Shadow-men[8]:

IT:Homogeneous[40]
Doesn't breathe [20]
Night Vision 9 [9]
Perk: Racial option: Shadow Magic[1]
Don't eat/drink [10]
Reduced Sleep 4 [8]
Shadow Form(medium carry) [-10]
invertebrate[-20]
Mute[-25]
Dependency(Light, Very common, hourly) [-20]
No Sense of Smell[-5]

The shadow-men are a race of sentient shadows. *Being shadows, they are very hard to kill by normal means, but are restricted in how they can interact with the world.
They are well adapted to darkness, but need light to survive. *

They are probably best as NPCs.

For your setting, the racial option (Shadow Magic) might not apply

Myrion · 11-05-2013, 02:51 PM

Dwarf99:
Yes, but I think it's a cool mechanism. The reasoning is that they dissolve in complete darkness and need at least some light to exist.
Bright light will still stun and displace them, though. Making them temporarily
2D is a great idea that I might steal!

Nymdok:
Thank you for the input, I don't have the answers to all your questions yet, and thinking about them will definitely help me flesh out my shadow people.
About the invincibility: They are 3D creatures, made of something like living shadow, which is very hard to damage or hurt by anything except utter darkness (magical) or corrosive attacks (which they can't regenerate). Possibly lasers would work like regular guns, not so sure. Regular light is at most good for a stun.
So just shooting them will take a lot more effort than shooting a human, but should work. Meanwhile a magical anti-flashlight will hurt them badly.
I don't think DR should be involved, but I don't really know... I haven't designed my own race yet :)
They attack the PCs, so far. Attacking their shadows... That's an idea :) Maybe for some of their special attacks.

Thanks for helping even with little info. I try to offer as much as I can, but there isn't too much yet. I tend to flesh out my world on the go, but I've never invented a race with such a 'special' ability.

Samd6
What does Shadow Form(medium carry) mean?

Nereidalbel · 11-05-2013, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myrion

What does Shadow Form(medium carry) mean?

It means they can grab objects up to their medium encumbrance and make them into shadows (said objects become physical when dropped).

Dwarf99 · 11-05-2013, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myrion

Dwarf99:
Yes, but I think it's a cool mechanism. The reasoning is that they dissolve in complete darkness and need at least some light to exist.
Bright light will still stun and displace them, though. Making them temporarily
2D is a great idea that I might steal!

it's actually canonical. B. 283.

11-05-2013, 10:13 AM	#1
Myrion Join Date: Jan 2011	Shadow people Hey everyone, the next big threat that my players shall face is a race of shadow people, so called, because they're made of shadow. We've established that darkness is their weakness (only light casts shadows...) and the players have the magical tools to create darkness weapons. I could use some help in figuring out how to model the shadow people in GURPS stats, because as free-wheeling as I GM, I like to have some guidance in the form of stats. What I have come up with is that I want them to be either Diffuse or Homogenous (I'm reading up on those two now), with low IQ (semi-animal~ish) and NOT invincible to everything else. Thank you for brainstorming with me!

11-05-2013, 11:39 AM	#3
Nymdok Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Houston	Re: Shadow people A few things. As dwarf mentioned, figure out what you mean by the differnece between darkness and shadow. How would a flash spell affect them for example? A light Jet? What happens if the PCs snuff out all the light via a Darkness spell? Does the darkness then make them 3d and thus vulnerable to melee attacks? When you say not invincible to everything else, what else do you want them to be vulnerable to? Do you want 'normal' weapons to affect them? Is there DR involved? Look at the different damage types Burning, Corrosive, Crushing, Piercing, Impaling, Cutting and decide from there how you handle those. Are they 3d or 2d creatures? Do they actually combat the PCs or the PC's shadows and the damage is transfered to the PCs? We love helping, but the more info you provide us with, the more efficiently we can help you. Nymdok

11-05-2013, 02:51 PM	#5
Myrion Join Date: Jan 2011	Re: Shadow people Dwarf99: Yes, but I think it's a cool mechanism. The reasoning is that they dissolve in complete darkness and need at least some light to exist. Bright light will still stun and displace them, though. Making them temporarily 2D is a great idea that I might steal! Nymdok: Thank you for the input, I don't have the answers to all your questions yet, and thinking about them will definitely help me flesh out my shadow people. About the invincibility: They are 3D creatures, made of something like living shadow, which is very hard to damage or hurt by anything except utter darkness (magical) or corrosive attacks (which they can't regenerate). Possibly lasers would work like regular guns, not so sure. Regular light is at most good for a stun. So just shooting them will take a lot more effort than shooting a human, but should work. Meanwhile a magical anti-flashlight will hurt them badly. I don't think DR should be involved, but I don't really know... I haven't designed my own race yet :) They attack the PCs, so far. Attacking their shadows... That's an idea :) Maybe for some of their special attacks. Thanks for helping even with little info. I try to offer as much as I can, but there isn't too much yet. I tend to flesh out my world on the go, but I've never invented a race with such a 'special' ability. Samd6 What does Shadow Form(medium carry) mean?