THE SHADOW

"Oh, don't talk of love,' the shadows purr Murmuring me away from you 'Don't talk of worlds that never were The end is all that's ever true There's nothing you can ever say Nothing you can ever do" Burn, The Cure

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How the shadow manifests and what the shadow does when it manifests can be found under wraith systems.

This page deals with -what- the shadow IS and its Archetypes and Thorns.

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THE SHADOW SPEAKS

"Here’s the thing. The meat, it forgets. Brain cells died. Memories went away. You could always drink yourself into forgetting, or try drugs, or just bury the bad stuff you did where it will never bother you again. And that works, for a while. But it doesn’t go away for good. It just gets all bundled up for when you cross over to the other side, and then it all comes back. All the bad thoughts and things you were ashamed of, all the lies and the cheats and the mean things you said about friends that you didn’t mean — or that you did. That’s what I am, and you can’t make me go away. You can’t outlive me. You can’t drown me in booze and drugs and therapy. You have to face me every day for the rest of eternity, because I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to remind you of all the crappy things you did, and I’m going to get you to do more of them, because you’re still you and you still have all those nasty little urges floating around. Only now I’m here to highlight the opportunities you have to indulge. So go on. If you won’t say how stupid your friend looks in her new Moliate job, that’s OK, I’ll say it for you — and I’ll do it at the worst possible moment for you to bust up laughing. You’re going to be good and share those relics you found with your friends? I’ll be right there explaining why you deserve to keep the best stuff, and they never need to know about it. And then once you do, I’ll be along to remind you that you screwed them. You can’t run. You can’t shut me up. You can’t get away from me, because I’m you, and I’m just as much a part of you as all the noble bullcrap about saving your family and protecting your favorite teddy bear. Accept that, and maybe I won’t be able to end us the first chance I get. Accept that, and we’ll get along just fine."

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The Shadow is the hidden half of a wraith, the version of her personality where the worst of her impulses and cruelty reside. No matter how vicious or kind she was in life, those dark aspects were present, a part of who she was. Once she died, however, those impulses and urges became something else — something powerful, self-aware, and dangerous.

 

Every wraith has a Shadow, and every Shadow is simultaneously similar to others and yet terrifyingly unique. It is the dark secret every one of the Restless shares, and it is the enemy that each of them must ultimately face alone. And it is with the wraith, urging her to self-destruction, always. At its core, a Shadow is everything in us we were taught to hate and fear about ourselves, and it has a direct pipeline to a wraith’s attention because it lives inside his head. Dwelling in the wraith’s subconscious, it knows the wraith better than the wraith knows himself. It knows the weak spots, the secret shames and hidden sparks of resentment that can be fanned into flame, and it is neither shy or ashamed of putting this information to use. It is the refined product of each wraith’s inner darkness, given agency and a voice, and most terribly, a goal: Drag the wraith down to Oblivion. The Shadow is in constant communication with the Psyche, offering a stream of threats, comments, and bribes. It speaks directly to the wraith from inside her head. No one else can hear its whispered asides, its snide takedowns of the wraith’s friends or its attempts to goad the wraith into inappropriate responses.

 

Occasionally the wraith will forget who’s talking to them and will respond out loud. Such moments are embarrassments. Everyone’s got a Shadow, after all, but nobody likes to talk about it. Being forcibly reminded of the Shadow’s presence makes everyone wary and uncomfortable. Talking isn’t the only way the Shadow gets its claws into the Psyche. It has powers, called Thorns, that enable it to warp reality to its wishes. It draws power from negative emotions that match its own Dark Passions. And it can offer “help” — loaning the wraith strength at key moments, but always with a potential cost. And woe betide the wraith who comes to rely on his Shadow’s goodwill, as there will inevitably come the moment when the expected assistance is withheld, and the wraith goes down under the weight of the betrayal. Then again, as the scorpion said to the frog, it’s in the Shadow’s nature.

 

To be clear, all Shadows may be on the side of Oblivion, but that doesn’t mean they’re solely about putting their wraith on the express train to annihilation. After all, that would be too easy. Instead, the path to Oblivion that a Shadow orchestrates is often a slow one. A Shadow relishes every second of the struggles against it, building carefully upon every victory it achieves over the Psyche. If the fight is over too soon, the Shadow is denied the pleasures of that journey. Shadows are not desperate and suicidal. It is self-destructive, and no other force in the Shadowlands hates a wraith as much as her Shadow does. The Shadow takes its time because it’s going to enjoy making her suffer. The fact that the evil the wraith does on her slow slide to Oblivion will help claim other souls? That’s the icing on the metaphysical cake. The Shadow doesn’t always come across as purely adversarial. It can fake the qualities the Psyche possesses, such as restraint, a moral conscience, and even mercy. In truth, it has none of these things. But a Shadow is playing a long game, and can fake the higher emotions as necessary in the service of his larger goals. It can offer good advice, provide actual assistance, and other benefits, tricking the Psyche into thinking it’s reformed

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SHADOW ARCHETYPES

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• The Delver — Nothing is as simple as it seems, and nothing is worthwhile unless it involves some significant issue. This Shadow plumbs the depths of everything and anything,looking for a subtext even if one doesn’t exist. “What are you really thinking?” is her mantra; “Why did you really do that?” The Delver’s not satisfied with easy or obvious answers; she has to pick everything apart until she drives you, your friends, and everyone you encounter stark raving mad. The Delver isn’t paranoid in the traditional sense; she may suspect conspiracies against you, but that’s not her real focus. No, she just wants to figure out what lies beyond the obvious answers, and she will not accept that some things are exactly what they appear to be. When she takes control, the Shadow asks painfully probing questions, dissects every answer, and comes back for more. By seeking a root cause behind every gesture, joke, or glance, she throws you into a downward spiral where everything demands a second guess…and a third, fourth, and fifth. Her relentless overanalyzing makes her Psyche (at best) continually trying to the patience of everyone around her, even as the Byzantine nature of Stygian politics means that once in a while, she just might be right.

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• The Abuser — Hurt terribly once, this impatient and jealous Shadow exists to inflict his pain on others. He scrutinizes the failures of everyone around him, heaping scorn upon them whenever he can. This is done partially to bolster his self-image, but primarily to make everyone else hurt just as much as he does. The Abuser will often goad you to attempt the impossible, just to watch you fail so that he can dine upon the self-loathing your failure engenders. Chaotic and crazed, the Abuser lashes out at any target other than his favorite one: himself. When dominant, the Abuser will spew his vitriol in all directions. Any excuse will set him off, and if no excuse is provided, he will create one. Demands for obedience, absurd requests, and systematic verbal or physical abuse are this Shadow’s hallmarks. After all, why should the rest of the world hurt less than he does?

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• The Director — Quiet and organized, the Director will take you apart with clockwork precision. Icy in her hatred, she will strip your defenses away layer by layer, taking pleasure in the surgical nature of the torment she inflicts. There’s nothing personal in what the Director does; she’s just setting the record straight by removing any delusions you might have about your goodness, sanity, or any other worthwhile qualities you might have thought you had. The Director’s usual modus operandi is to rifle through the back drawers of your mind, cataloging every weakness, every painful memory, and every personality flaw, no matter how minor. This ammunition isn’t randomly flung about, either, but hoarded for special occasions. Should your grasp on reality start to falter, the Director knows just how much pressure to apply to push you over the edge. When in control, the Director likes to lay long-range plans for the next time she is dominant, and to prepare little revelations for you to discover at carefully timed intervals. She also enjoys picking apart your companions, making cutting observations that will poison any friendships you make on the other side. And the worst part is that she’s usually right.

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• The False Friend — Cheerful and personable, the False Friend doesn’t seem like an enemy. Sure, it’s fond of making nasty wisecracks about your associates when they’re around, and of course it puts down any course of action you think up with a vicious bon mot, but it’s just so darn much fun to be around that you don’t mind. The fact that it’s slowly poisoning your relationship with everyone you know by filling you with contempt for them just slides on by. Your Shadow makes you feel cool, so what do you need those other losers for? And when it’s separated you from your friends, then the False Friend turns around and lets you know exactly what it thinks of you, how easily it fooled you, and how worthless and faithless you really are. Ultimately, the False Friend is driven to tear you down with your own hypocrisy, driving you to mock the same flaws in others it will then turn around and point out in you. It’s always thinking about how to slide the knife in, making you feel superior one moment then leaving you unable to turn to anyone for help the next. It’ll get you to tear down everyone around you until they’re all gone, and the only one left to target is you.

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• The Parent — No one else can love you as much, or as well, as the Parent. No one else can take care of you as well, or make you as happy. The Parent even accepts all of your little imperfections, which she’ ll harp on endlessly in order to prove to you she loves you despite your nearly infinite flaws. She’ll protect you from people who don’t have your best interests at heart, and only she can decide who those are (usually, it’s everyone else you know). You’re her darling baby, so naturally she’ll help you with the hard decisions, and even make them for you. Mother (or Father) knows best, even if you break her heart by never listening to her and running around with those Renegade hooligans…. When in command, the Parent will seek to insulate you from any corrupting or dangerous influences (i.e., anyone and anything else). To accomplish this, she will do and say anything to alienate those who care about you, using the fact that they could be driven off as proof that they weren’t really your friends in the first place. It just goes to show that she’s right, and that no one else can love you the way that she does.

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• The Martyr — Noble self-sacrifice has its place, but what the Martyr offers is a shallow mockery of it instead. By constantly demanding that you give of yourself because you can take the pain better than anyone else can, the Martyr cheapens your faith and indulges your arrogance. Claiming your sacrifice will bring about a greater good, the Martyr will then take pleasure in demonstrating that your pain didn’t do anything at all, and that your suffering was pointless…. Still, that won’t keep him from urging you to give up yourself for others every chance it gets. After all, it’s just looking for a good excuse to take the easy way out. When the Martyr takes control, he will attempt to maneuver you into situations where, no matter what, in order to escape you’ll have to give up something important. The Martyr also tries to arrange for witnesses whenever possible, so that its very public sacrifices can be used to shame others into similarly self-destructive acts.

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• The Monster — Brutally direct, the Monster is all about pain and greed. Whatever it wants, it will command you to take. Whatever it hates, it will demand that you destroy. If you refuse, it will try to destroy you as well, for it cannot stand to be resisted in any way. There’s no compromise or subtlety in the Monster, and often it’s the most dignified and delicate wraiths who have a Monster lurking behind their eyes. To see the Monster dominant is to see a sneak peek of Spectrehood. It will lay waste to anything in its path, taking what it wants and destroying everything else out of sheer spite. Guttural and vulgar, the Monster rarely has anything to say that isn’t an obscenity. Why bother being polite to anyone else when they’re nothing more than obstacles to your pleasure?

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• The Somnambulist — Life was a blur, unlife more so. The Somnambulist sleepwalks through the afterlife, dripping ennui. Nothing is worthy of her attention unless it’s directly in front of her, and then she won’t do anything to remove the obstacle. The Somnambulist downplays the importance of anything and everything, claiming that the details are always irrelevant. It wants the Psyche to slow down and not give it a migraine worrying about what that growing patch of black on the wall might mean down the road. For the moment, the splotch isn’t bothering anyone, and that’s all the Somnambulist cares about.
  When in command, the Somnambulist withdraws from any activities or commitments. She drops the ball, preferably in the most spectacular way possible (Yeah, I know we needed those swords forged but I just didn’t have the motivation. Oh, wait, are those Spectres?). On the surface a relatively mild Shadow to have, the Somnambulist enjoys lulling its Psyche into a false sense of security, then drawing back the curtain on an unpleasant surprise.

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• The Perfectionist — Nothing you do will ever be good enough for the Perfectionist. Perform seven impossible things before breakfast, and he’ll be screaming at you for nor having pulled off eight. Any imperfection can serve as a launching point for a tirade; any flaw will be a magnet for withering sarcasm. By playing up your inevitable errors, the Perfectionist inspires your self-hatred and saps your confidence in your own abilities. Then, once your confidence is shot, he’ll be more than happy to step in and show you how to do things right. If you had any sense at all, you’d turn things over to him permanently and make sure that everything got done properly the first time. It’s not like you’re capable of it, after all. When in control, the Perfectionist will take every example to criticize whatever or whoever catches his eye. He’ll also take the opportunity to embroil you in impossible scenarios, anxiously awaiting your inevitable failure. Still, at least he doesn’t play favorites. When everyone around him is equally flawed, one target’s as good as the next.

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• The Voice of Hope — You never really died. This is all a mistake. Once you figure out how to reverse this condition, you can return to your old life as if nothing happened. This whole thing is one long bad dream. You will wake up… you have to, sooner or later… right? This cruel Shadow denies the reality that is your ghostly existence. He holds out a bright candle that sustains you through bad patches, but that becomes an unattainable torment as time wears on. How long could a nightmare possibly continue, anyway? Doesn’t it ever end? When he takes control, the Voice of Hope shuts out any possibility that the Underworld is anything other than an extended nightmare. If you ever manage to convince him that you are indeed condemned to this twilight existence, he shifts your concentration toward finding a “cure” for your Restless state. He’ll lead you to elder wraiths, living sages, magical spells, and spiritual quests, all of which will supposedly undo your death and restore you to the living world. Although he seems relatively cheery compared to say, the Monster, this Shadow inflicts endless pain by offering up hope, seeing it dashed, then repeating the process endlessly.

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• The Stormcrow — Always the bearer of bad news, the Stormcrow is convinced that there’s a land mine under every speed bump. She is certain that every wraith harbors it ill will, that every action is going to be disastrous, and that every corner houses a lurking Spectre. More to the point, she will detail these worries ad nauseam to the Psyche, reveling in every gruesome detail she can invent. As far as the Stormcrow is concerned, it’s not enough that a wraith’s actions be doomed to failure. The wraith has to fail spectacularly, and in such a way that the wraith gets the chance to regret the error for a very long time. A dominant Stormcrow does her best to dissuade the wraith’s companions from any actions that might be beneficial to the Psyche. She dourly points out potential consequences and repercussions, all of which are bound to be catastrophic. She also puts effort into booby trapping all of the Psyche’s work, making certain that the dire fate she foresees will inevitably come to pass.

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• The Freak- Everything that you ever were ashamed of wanting to do is what the Freak lives for. Gleefully perverse, the Freak is an expression of pure self-hatred. It revels in taking each of your imperfections and holding it up to the light, so that it can be ridiculed by the rest of the world. Anything you’re ashamed of doing, the Freak will encourage you to do, and the more you resist the more insistent he’ll become. Once you give in, though, he’ll turn around and point out how perverted you are, how sick your wants are, and how no one else would sink as low as you. This won’t keep him, however, from reminding you how good all of those perversions felt, and how enjoyable it would be to taste their pleasures again…. Shame and abandon are the Freak’s favourite weapons, and he uses them as often as he can.

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• The Leech- Wearing on the will and nerves like sandpaper, the Leech gets its way through whining and cajoling, begging and throwing tantrums. It’s a black hole for attention and affection, and no matter how often you give in to its demands, it’s never enough. No matter how much you give the Leech, it will want more, and won’t relent until its wants are satisfied for the moment. Of course, the price of giving in again- and again, and again, and again- is to go deeper and deeper in debt, sliding slowly into Oblivion. Childish and selfish, the Leech can never be satisfied, and every time you give it what it wants, it’s that much harder to say no the next time. When the Leech takes control, it attempts to work its wiles on others in order to extract whatever sustenance they offer. If permitted, it will drain everyone around it dry, then discard the husks and set out to look for new victims. As far as the Leech is concerned, everything others have and more is just its rightful due. It’s owed the world on a silver platter and more besides, and woe betide any who try to tell a Leech otherwise.

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• The Pusher- The Pusher will always be glad to help you achieve the impossible. He wants you to think of him as a friend, a friend you can always ask for help. Of course, the price for the Pushers help is always too high, and if you don’t pay, he’ll extract it with interest. Every so often when you’re counting on him, he’ll decide that you need to appreciate him more, and he’ll withhold that support you were counting on so desperately. When the Pusher is in charge, he’ll do everything he can to put you into situations you’ll need his help to escape. The quicker he can make you rack up a debt to him, the happier he is. Then again, an unhappy Pusher can be unpleasant indeed….

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• The Rationalist- The Rationalist will give you all of the right reasons for all of the wrong decisions. Calmly leading you down the path to Oblivion, it offers rationales and explanations for why you should do what it says. It offers proofs for the wisdom of everything it tells you, making all of its suggestions seem so sensible. The more you argue, the tighter its bonds of logic become, and the more foolish you feel for resisting. In many ways the Rationalist is similar to the Director, but without the Director’s personal involvement. As far as the Rationalist is concerned, sending the Psyche to Oblivion is an intellectual exercise, albeit a challenging one. When dominant, the Rationalist takes precise, well-organized steps toward the Void. It will sabotage your long-range plans and set in motion ones that superficially look better; it will systematically make you enemies and alienate or eliminate your friends. There’s no sense in taking one’s time giving in to Oblivion, is there, when it’s assured of winning in the end? The Rationalist is just making the surrender more efficient.

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• The Alien - The Alien was never human. It does not remember what it was, but if the Psyche is convinced she was once a human, and The Alien is her Shadow, it will cast doubt on every human emotion to exert its own narrative. The Alien believes it never belonged to a human Corpus. The Shadow might not even know what it believes it once was — cryptid, alien, or spirit — but it knows definitively what it was not. Of course, this Shadow is lying. It was a human Corpus, but for whatever reason, it decided it was not. Maybe it’s just one giant lie to cast self-doubt on the Psyche, or perhaps it just likes making the Psyche question her own memory of what she once was. The Alien lies by making the Psyche feel as though she was not once human and distancing herself from those who were. When dominant, this Shadow makes a Psyche doubt what she remembers. It can convince the Psyche what she remembers is wrong and she was not what she thinks her Corpus was. Extreme gaslighting is the name of the game with this Shadow.

 

• The Conqueror - The Conqueror wants to dominate and compel others to follow it and lead them to their collective doom. It wants to conquer. Having a fraction of control is unacceptable to the Conqueror. After the Conqueror has total control of the Psyche, it’s not going to stop there. What the Conqueror wants isn’t just dominion over one Psyche. No, that would be too small for it. The Conqueror wants to own more Psyches — it wants followers and its own place to call its domain. It wants the whole Underworld. This Shadow does not negotiate or even consider negotiation as a practical means to its goal. It prefers to use brute force to gain whatever it seeks. When dominant, the Shadow takes command of any situation if possible, and does so with an iron fist. Everything this Shadow does is in service of total control. The Shadow makes it so the Psyche does everything that the Conqueror commands, whether or not it is good for the wraith in question. It takes control of everything around it.

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• The Destroyer - The Destroyer wants to wreck things, most especially things important to its Psyche. Does the Psyche feel particularly attached to a tether? That tether ends up in the sights of the Destroyer. If the Psyche has a specific relationship she wants to strengthen, the Destroyer guns for it with gusto. This Shadow isn’t seeking control or power; it wants a combustible end to everything its Psyche desires, including existence itself. It wants to see the world burn and has little self-preservation instinct. The Psyche will be fighting the Destroyer tooth and nail not to set things on fire, not to break things to pieces, and not to destroy relationships and precious Artifacts. When dominant, The Destroyer does anything it wants. It compels the Psyche to act on destructive impulses are often detrimental to the Psyche.

 

• The Disincarnate -  This Shadow believes it’s never lived, and it has bubbled up from the Labyrinth to attach itself to the newly dead Psyche. It believes existence is a torment and a moment-to-moment hell from which there’s only one true escape. If it could leave the Psyche forever, it would instantly do so. However, because leaving isn’t an option, it must drag the Psyche along with it into Oblivion, and it will use any means to accomplish its goal. The Disincarnate Shadow does its best to share its torment with its Psyche by showing her that existence is a nightmarish hell and a bombardment of unwelcome sensations and experiences. When dominant, the Shadow lashes out at or escapes anything that overstimulates it. It abandons any situation too bright, too loud, too painful, or too much. If there’s an obvious source, it puts an end to the source if possible. Although this reaction is irrational, it’s not impulsive. It abandons companions and hurts them if necessary at the worst possible moment. It leaves things worse than it found them every time.

 

• The Fearless - Courageous beyond measure, the Fearless Shadow is heroism without compassion and a champion without mercy. It believes in righteous action and pushes its Psyche to intervene in even the most ambiguous situations because it believes there is a single decisively correct course to take. The Shadow believes doing something, even if it’s wrong, is better than doing nothing at all. It always insists the Psyche act even if she doesn’t take the action the Shadow prefers. However, the Shadow does not have a typical moral compass. After all, it is a Shadow, and it believes any action that brings anyone or anything closer to Oblivion is the best possible action. If it can’t compel the Psyche to act that way, convincing the Psyche to act without thinking too carefully about the consequences is the next best thing. When dominant, the Fearless always knows what to do and does it without hesitation regardless of the cost to itself or its Psyche. It knows that it’s righteous and does not question itself.

 

• The Future Reincarnation This Shadow believes in its future it will incarnate as a living human. It believes that to achieve this incarnation, it must drive its Psyche into Oblivion. Unlike most Shadows, this one craves its future life. It acts with a desperation unusual to Shadows and believes this is its one way out of the Shadowlands. To achieve its end, the Shadow tempts its Psyche with memories of what it was like to be alive and the possibilities of living again, and its Harrowings reflect that. It plays up the torments of death, representing them as worse than they are. It constantly pushes the Psyche toward Oblivion by dangling the possibility of reincarnating into a future life in the Skinlands. It can use its Arcanoi to help reinforce its projected life by showing the Psyche apparent evidence. The Shadow’s plans are always about what the future brings and how the present isn’t good enough and can never be. Pure craving drives it forward; if it convinces the Psyche to share that craving, so much the better. When dominant, the Shadow seeks to experience a taste of life no matter the cost to itself or its Psyche; in fact, the greater the cost is, the better. The Shadow doesn’t necessarily use Embody or Puppetry to interact directly with the Skinlands; it’s more likely it tries to get into intense situations that “feel” alive to it regardless of the danger for itself or others.

 

• The Narcissist - The Narcissist believes it is the superior being in its relationship with the Psyche, and it does anything to preserve its superiority. It makes the Psyche feel like she is heard just long enough to give the Shadow a fraction of what it wants. The Narcissist takes constant advantage of the Psyche and leaves a seed of doubt by telling the Psyche it’s what the Psyche really wanted all along. It isn’t that the Narcissist has no goals; it’s that the goals of the Narcissist are about its survival. It doesn’t want to blink out of existence, so it does whatever it can to preserve itself. It keeps the Psyche from attaining any sort of Transcendence or even coming close to it. When dominant, the Narcissist does whatever and however it wants and continues to push the needs of the Psyche even further down to try to cut away its self-control and willpower until the Shadow can take control. The Narcissist is pure self-interest and behaves as such. If there’s something the Psyche really wants, the Narcissist ensures it never happens unless it severs its needs.

 

• The Obsessed - The Obsessed wants to achieve one difficult goal over all things except for Oblivion. Whether that goal is to assassinate someone important or steal a powerful Artifact, it constantly drives the Shadow. Much like the ultimate goal of dragging its Psyche into Oblivion, it doesn’t seek to achieve it by way of the most direct route; she wants the Psyche to achieve it, if possible. The Shadow negotiates for its goal whenever possible by offering assistance in exchange for a few more steps toward achieving its goal. If it achieves its goal, it finds another one. The Obsessed isn’t about achieving only one goal but rather a series of impossible goals where each one is more difficult than the last one. When dominant, the Shadow arranges matters to make it easier to encourage the Psyche to achieve the Shadow’s goal, and it manipulates others to encourage its Psyche toward that goal.

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• The Reincarnation - The Shadow is or believes it is the reincarnation of a Psyche that already fell to Oblivion. It believes it was reborn in this form when its wraith succumbed to Oblivion. This Shadow might devote itself to gaslighting the Psyche by convincing it that things it remembers didn’t happen or things that didn’t happen at all did. The Shadow doesn’t want something as simple as forcing the Psyche to relive the Shadow’s past life but something more subtle: It wants to mix the two lives so the Psyche no longer knows what’s real for her and what happened to someone else. The Shadow wants to impose a past existence where it fell to Oblivion onto the Psyche, so the Shadow seeks to parallel that fall as closely as possible while robbing the wraith of certainty about its own experiences. If the Psyche can be encouraged to retrace those steps to Oblivion of her own volition, so much the better. When dominant, the Reincarnation seeks out or creates situations like those of its “past life” by choosing to “relive” them in such a way to harm the Psyche’s reputation or worse. The Shadow isn’t always overtly abusive or malicious but makes bad choices that lead to worse outcomes if possible.

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• The Revolutionary - The Revolutionary seeks to disrupt the existing social order and not in a good way. It inflames the Psyche’s relationships and upends her expected structure where possible. If there’s authority, it undermines it. If there’s love, it tries to twist it to hate. The Revolutionary envisions a brave new world in which strife is the rule. The Shadow doesn’t limit itself to the Psyche’s immediate social circle because the more strife and conflict there is, the better it is for the Shadow’s goals. The Revolutionary looks to disrupt the paradigms it sees; it does anything to change a system for the worse. It finds a society living in perfect harmony? It finds the chink in the social fabric to tear the seam apart. It finds a Legion on a mission? It gives someone a reason to fight the leader, question authority, and break ranks. When the Shadow is dominant, it becomes a disruptive force and sows distrust as much as it can. It prefers not to undermine its own authority in the process and hopes to manipulate others to look to it before they look to each other. In truth, the Revolutionary is a narcissist whose attempts to divide and conquer serve only his own ego.

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SHADOW THORNS

Thorns  The shadow of every wraith has access to special abilities known as thorns; powers that often require it to spend Angst, but are generally used to torment the Psyche or accomplish whatever dark passions it has.

Thorns are certain, unique powers the Shadow has at its disposal. These range from minor tricks to potent abilities that can threaten a wraith’s very existence,  The Shadow can also use Thorns (when applicable) during Catharsis.

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Upon Character Generation you MUST spend 10 points on Thorns. You may consider these as flaws. They are self destructive in nature! Chose wisely.

 

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SPECTRE PRESTIGE

SHADOW STATUS: When the Shadow IS in control.

COST: 1 POINT PER LEVEL (MAX FIVE)

Many Spectres have the ability to communicate with wraiths’ Shadows. Shadows with this Thorn have garnered the respect of the Shadow-Eaten, and will be treated accordingly.

This allows the shadow when in control  (and only the shadow) to add +1 per Level of Spectre Prestige to all social rolls against NPC spectres.
 

TAINTED RELIC

COST: 1 POINT PER LEVEL (MAX FIVE)

SHADOW STATUS: During a catharsis check!

This is a relic that only manifests during a Catharsis roll. A Tainted Relic will always manifest when the Shadow does, even if it has been “lost” or “destroyed.” A wraith’s Tainted Relic will always have some significance to him, even if he doesn’t admit it. A toy from an abusive relative he never mentions, or a shiv from time spent in prison that he’s some how avoided ever talking about are the kind of Tainted Relics he may strenuously deny knowing anything about.

SYSTEM: During a Catharsis roll add + 1 to the difficulty per level of the Tainted Relic.

If you choose this option, you must also note a description of the relic and what it represents.

 

DEATHS SIGIL 

COST: 1 POINT PER SIGIL (MAX FIVE)

SHADOW STATUS: N/A this effect is always in play.

Death's Sigil is a very obvious sign of Oblivion's touch on the character that is always visible wherever the character goes. A wraith may choose any number of Sigils to display. One wraith might have wings of choking smoke, another might leave footprints of salt water in the Skinlands, another could exude an odur of burned flesh.

UNDERWORLD/ WRAITH INTERACTIONS all social attributes are lowered by 1 point when dealing with wraith to a minimum of 1 dot.

THE FOG: Mortals remove 1 dot per Sigil on  their Composure + Resolve total when it comes to resolving the fog. 

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SHADOW TRAITS

COST: 1 point per dot of Attribute or Skill 

SHADOW STATUS: Attribute and skill dots can only be used when the shadow IS in control.

The shadow can purchase 1 dot per point of any attribute or skill.

These extra dots are added to the wraiths attributes and skills but are ONLY  available to the shadow when it takes over, making it a far more potent foe for the wraith. With each purchase of this Thorn note the Attribute /Skill. This MAY NOT  take the shadow beyond five dots in an attribute or skill.

 

NIGHTMARES

COST: 2 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS: When shadow is NOT in control and wraith is slumbering.

When the wraith slumbers in his fetter the wraith inflicts terrible and intense nightmares. The visions created by this thorn are so horrific that the wraith must roll COMPOSURE + RESOLVE. DIFFICULTY 12+

Failing this roll means the wraith wakes up and loses all benefits of slumber.

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MIRROR, MIRROR

COST: 3 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS: N/A passive, always in play.

With this thorn the Shadow makes the wraiths reflection hideous and monstrous. The more Angst a shadow has , the more distorted the wraiths reflection, this reflection is visible to all, even if the wraith himself is hidden, (Such as the wraith being in shadowlands and mirror in the Skinlands)

This reflection appears in ALL reflective surfaces in the scene, water, windows, mirrors. This thorn also notifies savvy wraith of just how much Angst the wraiths shadow has accrued and may make them distrustful of the wraith.

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BAD LUCK

COST: 3 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS:  The shadow is NOT in control.

The reverse of "Helping Hand" really. The wraith may choose to invoke bad luck in order to burn off Angst. So long as the Angst of the shadow is below 5.

SYSTEM.

Each point of Angst used reduces the Attribute or Skill ranks of the wraith by 1 dot (or increases the difficulty of  feat rolls by +1) for the duration of the scene. The maximum amount of Angst that can be used to inflict bad luck on oneself is 5. This represents the Shadow deliberately hindering the wraith for the duration of the scene

 

SHADOWED FACE

COST: 3 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS: The shadow IS in control

With this Thorn the shadow completely changes the appearance of its wraith when it takes over. Shadowed face allows the shadow to have ONE other visage (not a Varity) it may be of any gender or ethnicity . The shadow may -choose- to adopt shadowed face or keep the wraiths original appearance when it takes over. Typically, but not always, this shadowed face will have a strong connection to characters from the wraiths past. It could be a person who abused the wraith in life, someone the wraith failed in life, someone the wraith was crushing on. If the wraith had  body or gender dysmorphia in real life this form could be the idealized version the wraith could never achieve, or it could be the negative body image the wraith struggled to escape, becoming Literally the ghost of the characters 'Dead Name' .

One blessing of Shadowed face is that the wraith is protected to some degree, from consequences arising from its shadows actions when it is in control. One curse of this, is the wraiths shadow, guising as another entity can spread lies about the wraith character quite easily...almost as if they were trying to frame the wraith.

Paired with "Manifest" this is a powerful tool to use against the wraith.

 

HONEYED TONGUE:

COST: 4 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS: The shadow IS in control.

The shadow is almost preternaturally persuasive, and can really turn on the charm when it chooses to do so.

SYSTEM:

SPEND: 1 ANGST

ROLL: CHARISMA + ANGST versus WITS + INTELLIGENCE

SUCCESS: The Shadow may make a single statement to the target and the target is forbidden from making a spot lie check, even those with supernatural passives to automatically detect lies won't question the statement and take the shadow at face value.

The statement covers everything from "I'm sure Lucien won't mind if you steal his relic beer" to "The Shade won't bite if you just lean over and pet it nicely" 

LIMITATION:

Honeyed tongue can be used once per scene.

Honeyed tongue can not "Force" a character to take negative actions, it can only make such suggestions "appear" to harbor no ill intent or ulterior motive.

 

TAINTED TOUCH:

COST: 4 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS: The shadow is NOT in control.
This Thorn makes a wraith something of a Typhoid Mary among the Restless. When afflicted with Tainted Touch, a wraith spreads Oblivion with the brush of a finger. Whenever a wraith with Tainted Touch comes in contact with another wraith’s Corpus, he must make a roll. NOTE: The wraith with this thorn does not have to "initiate" the touch, another wraith may touch them and the thorn still take effect. This effectively makes the wraith unable to touch or be touched by other wraith without spreading the condition.

SYSTEM:

ROLL: 10+ ANGST vs COMPOSURE + RESOLVE

SUCCESS

Each success inflicts 1 point of Angst on the other wraith, this does not lower the user of this thorns Angst.

• A wraith with Tainted Touch can spend  one point of pathos and one point of health  to turn the effect off for a scene.

• This Thorn can only affect an individual wraith once per day.

• Wraith who have their shadow in play, can still gain angst....attempting to restrain a wraith in the throws of shadow take over risks prolonging the situation.

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SHADOWPLAY

COST: 5 POINTS.

SHADOW STATUS: The shadow is NOT in control.

Shadowplay allows a wraith to either attack a target more than once or allows the wraith to attack multiple targets. However this comes at a cost.

SYSTEM: SPEND 1 PATHOS

GAIN:    1 ANGST

ROLL:      CHARISMA + COMPOSURE DIFFICULTY: 10+ ANGST

SUCCESS:

On a success the wraith may add his successes to his next melee/brawl  attack roll against a single target, or the wraith may attack 1 target per success. The melee/brawl attack against multiple targets is rolled against a difficulty of 10+ and those targeted roll their defence at a difficulty of 10+

NOTE: While the cost of activating this Thorn is deceptively low, a wraith who comes to rely upon it can feed her Shadow’s strength very quickly, and also can find herself in dire straits when the bonus she was counting on suddenly isn’t forthcoming in a crisis.

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SHADOW LIFE

COST: 5 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS: The Shadow BECOMES active while the wraith slumbers.

Whenever a wraith with this Thorn Slumbers, her Shadow takes control of their shared Corpus and sets out to do its worst. This will lead to no end of trouble for the Psyche, as she will constantly find herself encountering situations her Shadow has created and people whom her Shadow has wronged. Of course, all of the blame for the Shadow’s actions will land squarely on the Psyche. Wraiths with this Thorn are aware that their Shadows do get up and walk around, but have no way of knowing what precisely their dark halves do. When shadowlife is active, the shadow will indulge its passions just as in shadow take over, however the wraith has no idea of what the shadow has done while the wraith was slumbering.

NOTE: As this takes place during Slumber, a wraith cannot have this thorn AND nightmares.

 

 

WHISPERS

COST: 6 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS:  The Shadow is NOT in control but in the presence of other wraiths or specters.

WHAT HAPPENS:

If you botch a roll when you are in control, causes  your shadow to begin whispering to the shadow of others informing them of your secrets, in return they share the secrets of their own wraith.

• Every wraith in the scene gains 1 point of Angst including your own.

• Initially the source of this Angst maybe a mystery, but repeated use of this Thorn will lead others to simply believe you are bad luck.

• This may well lead some wraith to automatically give into shadow control if it pushed their Angst to 10.

• This thorn is limited to one use per night, it prevents one catharsis roll a night.
   

MANIFESTATION

COST: 6 POINTS

SHADOW STATUS:  The Shadow IS in control

SPEND: 4 points of Angst.

WHAT HAPPENS?

The shadow materializes as an entity entirely separate from its wraith. While in this state it converse, affect objects, use an thorns. 

It is ALWAYS physically identical to the wraith from which emerged.

Bystanders without castigate will be unable to tell the difference. If this is used with "Shadowed face" BOTH wraith and shadow will have the "Shadowed face", even the aura's of wraith and shadow are identical.

Legionnaires spotting this will attempt to dispatch both Shadow and Wraith, believing that a Doppelganger is present.

The manifestation lasts a single scene. 

Wraith and shadow have identical attributes and gear, though the shadow who has chosen shadow traits will have a significant advantage over their wraith.

STOP HITTING YOURSELF!

Should the wraith or shadow decide to go toe to toe in combat they will need to roll against difficulty 10+ rather than a versus roll, as you can't versus roll against yourself. Most successes wins, difference in successes is the damage caused. This is also one of the rare instances where a wraith can perform two actions in a scene. (One for the wraith, one for the shadow)

(Imagine if you can the fight in superman 3 between Clark Kent and Dark Superman) 

If the shadow is defeated it will merge with the wraith and remain silent for the next scene.

If the wraith is defeated it will enter a corpus harrowing.

Combat between the wraith and shadow is NOT required, the shadow will generally stay with the wraith indulging in its dark passions.

IMPORTANT: The shadow will never use this ability to AID a wraith against a threat, the shadow does not care about the wraith at all!

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DEVIL'S DARE

COST 7 POINTS

This is the emotional equivalent of a game of chicken. The Shadow daring its wraith to do a dastardly dare.

SHADOW STATUS: This thorn is used when shadow is NOT in control.

WHEN:

• ONCE PER DAY

• Shadow Angst is 5 or less

• When a wraith botches a roll (This is used instead of the Catharsis roll) Limited to once a night.

WHAT HAPPENS:​

The shadow -bets- ALL of it's current Angst on its wraith.

1. point of Angst  : Wraith is dared to steal (not borrow) an object from / openly insult a more highly ranked wraith (Hierarchy or more powerful)

2. points of Angst : Wraith is dared to break the dictum mortuum in some significant (consequence bringing) way.

3. points of Angst : Wraith is dared to NOT feed a ONE dot passion (or closest to one dot)  during the scene (This will cause a passion harrowing)

4. points of Angst : Wraith is dared to antagonise the foe with the most potential to physically harm the wraith in the scene.

5. points of Angst : Wraith is dared to use its highest angst gaining Arcanoi against the person it has the strongest positive connection to in the scene. (If the person if a fetter, it will definitely cause a fetter harrowing!, a wraith will always have a stronger positive connection to a fetter than non fetter.)

CONDITIONS:

• The wraith MUST fulfil the dare ​by the end of the scene.

• If the wraith fails the dare the shadow gains 2 x Angst invested.

• If the wrath succeeds the dare all invested Angst is burned off.

• If the target of the dare is not present in a scene, the wraith must go and find the target or fail the dare.

• A Shadow with 5 angst will automatically take control if the wraith fails its dare, as the shadow winning would take it to 10 angst immediately.

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VAMPIRIC NATURE

COST 7 POINTS

This Thorn enables a Shadow to siphon Angst from others for its own purposes.

SHADOW STATUS: This thorn is used when shadow is NOT in control.

WHEN: This thorn is automatically rolled once per scene when the shadow's wraith is within tough range of another wraith or spectre.

ROLL:     ANGST + RESOLVE versus targets COMPOSURE + RESOLVE.

SUCCESS:

• Each success siphons 1 point of Angst from its target and transfers it to the shadow. 

• The shadow can not siphon more Angst from its target than the target has.

• Neither the target or host wraith are aware of this transfer, but BOTH Shadows involved do indeed know of this transfer.

• The target must immediately make a Catharsis roll. If the shadow wins the Catharsis roll it will no doubt focus on the shadow who stole its Angst.

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