HOUSE SHADE

By Seth Rutledge (sprutled@uncc.edu) (8 November 1995)

Description

House Shade is a minor house, probably an offshoot of House Eiluned, with an extremely negative reputation. The founder of House Shade, whose name has been lost in the darkness he spawned, was a sorceror of great power. Not content with his own abilities, he entered into a pact with a dark group of beings. There has been much speculation as to the nature of the entities, and it is generally believe that they were either demons, spectres, or a dark breed of chimera. Regardless, at the instant of the pact, the Shadow Lord ceased to be merely a changeling.

Members of the House of Shade have a third seeming added to their being. In addition to their mortal and kith seemings, they gained a shadow seeming, comprised of all things dark from the other two. In addition, the shadow seeming, or shade, has a seperate identity and ego from the original. Whatever demon bonds with the member, it takes on personality traits that mirror the deepest, darkest corners of its host's mind. It is literally the sick hopes and fears of the changeling. As changelings have excellent imaginations, shades are truly twisted beings.

Boon

Members of House Shade have extremely potent boons. Because of the multiple personalities in their being, they gain a +2 to resist all forms of mental attacks that attempt to read thoughts or dominate the changeling.

They can also draw on the powers of their shade. Any Art or skill that the shade has knowledge of can be used by the changeling. Shades learn incredibly quickly, and the player can opt to teach the shade using exp for 2/3's the cost of the ability or art that the changeling would pay for. For example, it ony costs a shade 5 exp to learn a level 3 art.

The shade and the changeling can cooperate and pool their dice to work at a task they both have skill in, similarly to how two people can work together at a job.

Flaw

The flaw of this clan is the flip-side of its boon: The shade is continually trying to subvert and take control of the changeling. Every time the player uses any of the shade's dice, the character gains a point of angst. When temporary angst is higher than temporary willpower, the shade gains control of the body until it has to sleep. If permanent willpower ever drops below permanent angst, the changeling's mind snaps and the shade gains full power. Starting angst equals starting banality - willpower. This score cannot ever be lower than 1.

Instead of gaining a point glamour, a changeling can opt to decrease temporary angst similarly to banality.

Shade

Shades start with 15 freebie points to allocate to abilities, backgrounds, arts, realms or advantages. For ideas about advantages and backgrounds appropriate to shades, look in the Wraith game.

Note also that the shade is fully independent of the changeling, lacking only a body to perform actions. It can communicate fully with the changeling, and is free to use its abilites to try and convince the changeling to do what it wants. Shades have the same mental and social traits as their hosts. Anyone with kenning that looks at a member of House Shade will see that her physical shadows are much darker than everyone else's, and they seem to move on their own violition -- they do.