Shades of Adversity (Mortals)

8/10/2019 Shades of Adversity (Mortals)

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Theatre of the Shadows Preview Edition

by Paul Allen Timm based on the CovenMaster series of live-action roleplaying games

1997 Silver Shadows Publishing

Inheriting the Wind

Ralph, who works at the local fast food joint. Thatcute teller at the bank. The woman in line at thegrocery store who has to write a check for half agallon of milk. These are the everyday inhabitantsof the world. These poor slugs just chug throughlife without even an inkling of whats really goingon around them. And there are many complicatedlayers of intrigue and deception in place to keep itthat way. These are the true mortals. Anyonewho truly understands even a part of what isaround them would be considered Enlightened,meaning that theres something special aboutthem that sets them apart from the rest of theherd.

Not everyone is born Enlightened. It is quitepossible for Ralph (You want fries with that?)to have his status changed and becomeEnlightened. Although it can happen, its not easyfor this transition to occur as most creatures whouse mortals as servants like to keep them in thedark as to whats going on through emotional andmental commands or manipulation. To complicatethings, the Knowing and the Haunting both tendto have an effect on mortals that makes themrationalize unusual events.

Only a rare 3% of the population could beconsidered Enlightened. Two percent of thatnumber is only aware of a few isolated secrets.They simply know things that they shouldnt.Enlightened of this level often spend the rest oftheir lived moving from place to place, alwaysthinking they feel someone watching them. Orthey check into asylums for their own protection.

Maybe they take up a crusade against the evilcreatures theyve seen (and then get thrown intoan asylum). These poor mortals know whats outthere, but even more frightening, they knowtheres nothing they can really do about it.

That last percent are the few who might actuallybe able to interact with those who rule DarkReality. These are the Enlightened mortals whohave a gift or two that sets them apart from therest of their kind. And usually brings them to theattention of an Ageless or Immortal creature whoneeds a pawn. The Enlightened may or may nothave any prior knowledge of the supernatural.Many live out their lives without ever knowingthat the person who pays for their services is acreature they would never believe existed.

Just a reminder: mortals, interesting as they can be, are not the stars of the CovenMaster system and cant be used as official player characters, their NPC status makes them great for players to usewhen they need a break, but theyre so easily

disposable that it makes playing one for any length of time rather difficult.

Realms

Most mortals are simply that: normal mortals. If amortal is Enlightened but has no gifts, then they

are usually referred to as an Enlightened Normal.But for those Enlightened that have gifts, they areusually classified according to the four realms thattheir powers can come from: Blessed, Cursed,Psychic, and Mystic.

Those who are Blessed have some connection tothe Divine and matters of faith. Perhaps they hada vision of their god and ended up with the abilityto cure the sick. Stigmatics are definitely Blessed


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mortals. Some mortals who have a faith so intensethat it provides them special abilities. Of course iftheir faith wavers, so do their gifts.

Cursed mortals can occur in many ways; call itthe casualty of free will. This is where characterswhove sold their souls would be placed. Or thosewhose ancestors did something to earn the curseof lycanthropy. Somewhere along the line therehas to be Diabolic influence for a character to becursed. As told throughout literature, beingcursed does not mean theres no way out. Look atFaust as an example. Quests for redemption are agreat device to introduce mortals to the world ofDark Reality.

Youre either born with it or youre not. Thatsthe defining mark of a Psychic mortal. Althoughthe gifts may not manifest until puberty, they arethere and cant easily be taken away. These giftsusually always involve a sixth sense or mentalmanipulation of forces. Think of the classic storiesof ESPers or Psionicists. Unfortunately, theseEnlightened have the tendency to burn themselvesout while theyre still young.

The last of the Enlightened realms is the Mystic.Unlike Psychic mortals who use internal, mentalenergy to affect their surroundings, Mystics aresomehow more attuned to external energies. Themortal could be born with these abilities, theycould manifest through accidents, or othersupernatural creatures could even bestow them.

Some people consider Normal to be a realm of itsown. Thats the area back at the beginning thatholds all the Ralphs of the world. As well as a fewwhove peeked behind the green door.

Mortal Character Creation

Developing a mortal non-player character in DarkReality is quite different from Ageless andImmortal characters. Lets jump in and begin:

1.

First you need to decide what purposethis character is going to serve in yourgame. No character should just happen toshow up with no rhyme or reason forbeing there; this is especially true ofNPCs. Is this character meant to be apawn of a Bey from another city? Howabout a revenge filled brother to aVampires victim? Or a talented psychicwhos figured out that certain events in

the city are not of natural origin? Thentheres always Ralph, the fast food fryguy (wrong place, wrong time).

In this first stage, you need to choose anoccupation for this NPC. What does thisguy (or gal) do when theyre not involvedwith the denizens of Dark Reality? Oftenthis will be directly related to what youneed the character to do in your game. Heshould have friends, family, and co-workers (who would miss the character ifanything suspicious should happen).What goals does the character have forhimself? Does he just want to gatherinformation about certain events? Is shelooking for someone to teach her terriblesecrets of the unknown? Or does sheserve the dark strangers wishes withoutquestion?

So important that it needs its ownparagraph is the topic of the characterspersonality. What is it about thischaracter that sets him apart from otherpeople in the area? Does she have anyhabits that help define her personality(chews her fingernails, always looks at thefloor when speaking, likes to use multi-syllable words all the time, etc.)? Just asthe NPCs shouldnt show up without areason, they shouldnt show up as two-dimensional target practice dummies for

players. Mortals can be some of the mostcomplicated and intricate characters inthe game. Give em a chance.

2. Next, you must decide what the base DPTand the base Reaction Score of thecharacter will be. This is true whether ornot the character will be simply a mortalor an Enlightened mortal. A DPT chart isgiven below. This chart shows the

maximum DPT allowed for a mortal ofthat age range who is in absolutely perfectphysical condition. These DPT totals can

be adjusted downwards for charactersthat are less than perfect for their agerange.

0-7 years = 3-6DPT*** 8 years =8DPT*** 13 years = 12DPT

16 years = 18DPT*** 20 years =23DPT*** 25 years = 25DPT

30 years = 30 DPT*** 40 years = 23DPT*** 50 years = 18DPT


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60 years = 14DPT*** 70 years = 12DPT*** 80 years = 10DPT

The base Reaction Score for mortals is

the same as for Ageless or Immortalcreatures: zero (0). Again, this should beadjusted downwards for age and/orlifestyle. You could safely assume that a70 year old grandmother would have aReaction Score hovering in the 3 range.

3. Once you have the base numbers for yourmortal character you need to decide if heor she is going to be Enlightened or not. Ifnot, then you dont have to change athing; just continue fleshing the characterout with details appropriate to your

game. If he is one of the Enlightened,which Realm does he belong to: Blessed,Cursed, Mystic, or Psychic.

4. For Enlightened mortals, you need tomake another decision: Does this mortal

just have the knowledge of thesupernatural, has she actually been giftedwith some abilities that lift them abovethe mortal herds, or possibly both?

In the case of knowledge only, you need todecide what information the characterhas and how much of it is valid. Perhapsshe witnessed some event and the memorywas never erased. Or he came across hisgreat-grandfathers journal that containspartial information about a Canon ofWitches. This would also be the time tostart planning any contacts the charactermight have within Dark Reality. He orshe may not be aware of the true natureof these contacts, but its good to knowwho knows who.

5. If the character has an ability or two, younow get into the concept of slots. EachEnlightened character has up to four slotswhere she can place any combination ofgifts. These could be simple ReactionScore Bonuses (+1 per slot), the ability tosend telepathic messages, or even a

Healing Touch . Some of these gifts havegeneral and unique restrictions.

As stated above, Enlightened mortals can

have up to four of these slots. This is amaximum not a minimum. If the NPCbegins play with all four slots taken byvarious gifts then theres no room for herto later discover some latent talent inherself, or to be blessed with a protectivemeasure reward for her continuingservice. Its also suggested to keep thegifts appropriate to the realm of thecharacter. Telepathy and Telekinesis aremore appropriate to Psychic charactersthan Blessed ones.

Take a look at the list of gifts that areavailable to the Enlightened. Whenchoosing which ones you want tointroduce to your games, be aware thatmortals are meant to be second-classcitizens in Dark Reality. A mortal withthe best combination of gifts might barelysurvive a full on encounter with a 30DPTAgeless or Immortal creature. Keep yourcharacters balanced and believable andyour games will provide the players witha sense of place in the world. And whoknows, you just might have a good timetoo.

Mortal Gains

Mortals do have the opportunity to advance theirabilities over time a long time. Many of the giftshave aspects that can be increased by gaining.Usually this is the number of times the gift can beused, the range, duration, or amount of damage ofthe particular gift. Each chapter (3 month sessionof play) the mortal can increase one aspect of onegift. It takes a long time for mortals to advance insupernatural abilities.

For example: The gift Healing Touch has twochances for a gain. Every three months thecharacter can have either the times per day or theamount of damage gain but not both. Tocomplicate matters, if the mortal has both HealingTouch and Telekinesis , then she has to choosewhether the times per day or the amount ofdamage or the weight (of Telekinesis ) is gained. Nomatter how many gifts the characters has, onlyone aspect of one gift can increase a chapter.

Gifts


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ArmorThe character is made more resilient to Normaland Execrated Damage; Consecrated Damage willaffect her as usual. The Enlightened is able toignore the first 10 points Normal or ExecratedDamage per strike . This can be increased by twopoints per gain up to a maximum of 20 points perstrike.

Astral ProjectionThe Enlightened is able to leave her body andtravel the world for a short time. While in thisform she is visible to supernatural creatures andother Enlightened, but not normal mortals. Unlessshe has other abilities, she cannot communicatewith anyone while astral.

This is not the same form as the Vampire power Astral Double or the Ghost ability to beinsubstantial; this is a completely different state ofbeing. The mortal cannot have any powers usedon her astral form and she cannot use any of herpowers on anyone who is not in astral form.

If anything happens to the mortals body whileshe is not in it, she will be snapped back into it thefollowing round, confused and disoriented for atleast two more rounds. If her body is killed whileshe is astral, then her soul slowly slips from astralform and she becomes a Ghost (30DPT and noEnlightened gifts).

This can be done once a day.

AuthorityThe presence of the Enlightened is so strong thatpeople tend to do what she says. Anyone whoseDPT is less than the users will find themselvesdoing what they can to accomplish whatever shehas told them to do. The major exception to thisbeing anything that puts the victim in a position ofphysical danger. These commands must be carriedout immediately; they cannot be time delayed.

The command must be a request that a mortalwould normally be able to make and expect tohave it fulfilled by a faithful friend, employee, orservant. Commanding someone to Vomit! onthe spot is not acceptable. If the user said, Forgetyou saw me here, the victim would stillremember it, he just wouldnt talk about it toanyone.

This can be done once per day, plus once per gain.

BoltThe Enlightened has been granted the ability tocause pain and damage to a target. This effect isalways visible and must be specified for the

character when this gift is first used and it has tostay that way. It could be streaks of blue lightningthat shoot from her hands, heat beams from hereyes, or some other signature effect. Regardless ofthe effect chosen, this will only do 10 points ofExecrated Damage to the target, nothing else. Itwill be readily apparent to anyone looking that theuser did something really unnatural and that itwas aimed at the target. The victim must beclearly visible to the Enlightened and must bewithin five feet of her. Blessed mortals would nothave access to this gift.

This can be done once a day plus once per gain upto a maximum of 5 times a day. The damage startsat 10ED and can be increased by 2 points per gainup to a maximum of 20ED. Remember, only oneelement of this can be increased with a gain: timesper day or damage. It would take 9 gains (27months) to max this out.

ClairvoyanceThe mortal is able to get sensory informationabout a place that she is not currently in. She musthave been physically present in that place withinthe past six months for the gift to function. The

Enlightened receives a 10 second audio/visualimage of what is currently happening in thelocation.

On her own, she can use this once a day. Butoften, this image will come to the users mindwithout her asking for it. Most often whensomeone she has a connection to is in danger orsomething unusual is happening at the location.

Communicate with AnimalsAlthough intellectually stimulating conversationsare not practical, the Enlightened is able to speak

to an animal and have it understand her wishes.There is no actual language involved in this. Themortal simply speaks to the animal, and itresponds appropriately.

Communicate with GhostsAlthough the mortal with this cannot necessarilysee Ghosts around her, she can understand themwhen they speak whether they use Shroud Speech


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or are just speaking normally. Although themortal can understand what is being said, shemust still respond in her own language (she cantcommunicate in Shroud Speech).

Detect InfluenceThough no details can be figured out, theEnlightened with this gift is able to tell that atarget individual is under some sort ofsupernatural influence.

Detect LieThese Enlightened just have a sense that thetarget isnt telling the truth or is beingdeliberately misleading. This gift is usually seenamong the Blessed and Psychic Enlightened.

DPT Bonus (maximum of three

slots)The characters DPT is permanently raised by 10points. Each use of this gift must occupy aseparate slot.

Empathic LinkBy touching a target for at least a minute, theEnlightened is able to forge a one-way link to him.If he is hurt in a traumatic manner or suffers anextreme emotional response to something, the userwill experience a lesser version of the same thingat the same moment. A minor amount of damagemight be taken (1-3 points Normal Damage), but

the primary experience is the physical, emotional,and mental sensations.

Alternately, the user can create a link from herselfto a target. In that way, if she suffers any of theabove stimuli, her target will be acutely aware ofwhat is happening.

It is possible for a link to become active withoutthe user initiating anything on her behalf. Usuallythis happens with an individual that she has TrueLove for. Regardless of how the link is set, theuser can only have three links active at any one

time (each link is one way). She cannot choose todissolve a link; the target must die in order for thelink to be broken (under normal circumstances).The person receiving the information will knowwho is on the other end of the link.

Guiding FigureNo one knows exactly where these voices comefrom, but they often impart warnings,

information, or commands to the Enlightened.There is no telling when they might havesomething to say, but when they do, its usuallyimportant enough to listen to.

Healing TouchBy touching the target and concentrating for a fullminute, the Enlightened is able to restore healthand vigor. CDPT is raised by 10 points for eachuse of this. Broken bones and other seriouswounds can be fixed by this, but will be weak andsusceptible until theyve fully set. Diseases andafflictions could possibly be lessened or even curedby this power but thats a Story Guide call andshould happen with extreme rarity. This will notwork on anyone who is insubstantial or trulydead.

The mortal can call on this once a day plus once

per gain up to a maximum of five times a day. Thehealing rate starts at 10CDPT and can beincreased two points per gain up to a maximum of20CDPT. Please remember the gain is either intimes per day or CDPT.

As an FYI, mortals regain CDPT very slowly.After a good nights rest, they could regain asmuch as 3CDPT. With a doctors care and accessto medication, that can be doubled. Anythingfaster would require special healing methods.

Be careful with this one. Mortals with this

gift should not be treated as walking firstaid kits. Pay special attention to why thischaracter can do this. Only Enlightenedwho are Blessed (or possible Mystic)should have access to this gift.

Hypnotic GazeThis is not hypnosis or mind control. Instead, thisallows the mortal to calm an individual to areasonable state of activity. Note that this applies

to anyone who is acting irrationally: from fear,anger, uncontrolled happiness, or anxiety. Thiswill not affect anyone under a Command but canbe used on those who have had emotionsmanipulated. They will still feel those emotions,but they arent necessarily acted upon. Thiscannot be used against Forced Fulfillment or othersimilar powers.


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First the mortal must get the target to look intoher eyes. Next she begins to speak in a calm, quiet,manner with words that are generally thought ofas soothing. In other words, the user cant sayStop it right now or Ill break your face in ahoney soft voice and expect it to work.

This can be accomplished up to three times a day.

Knowing ImmunityMortals with this gift are aware that somethingodd is going on around them, but they arecompletely immune to the Knowings effects. Thesame applies for the Haunting.

Knowing ResistanceAlthough the mortal is aware of the presence ofthe Knowing, the Quality of it is reduced by onelevel. Note that this will reduce a Quality of Gentleto non-existent for this mortal only. This alsolessens the intensity of the Haunting.

No SymbolThe Enlightened must first possess True Faith.With this gift, the faith is so strong that shedoesnt need a symbol to project her faith. Shemust however see her target clearly in order toaffect him.

PrayerThis can only be used by Blessed or Cursedindividuals who know that they have a connectionto Divine or Diabolic creatures. Depending onwhat the prayer is, it may be granted. This is atricky one and should only be used when trulyappropriate (dire need). 9 times out of 10, aBlessed character would never user this for herown personal gain or benefit. After all, a personalsacrifice is one of the main issues with Blessedcharacters. Cursed mortals may make use of thistoo, but it usually comes at a horrible price.

Psychic AttackBy concentrating all of her will, the Enlightenedcan interrupt her targets thought process justenough to cause him to lose one action. She can do

this as many times a night as she wishes, but sheloses 5CDPT each time she uses it.

Psychic ShieldOnce set in place, these shields block all attempts

to access the Enlighteneds mind and/or emotionsfor a period of one hour plus one per gain. If themortal keeps the shields in place for theirmaximum, she will collapse due to the strain andwill need to rest for at least 15 minutes.

This power is useless against creatures with a DPTof 500 or higher.

PsychometryBy touching an object and concentrating on it fora full minute, the mortal is able to get very shortglimpses of the most recent events involving theobject. These images will come from the event thathad some sort of intense emotional involvement.Although the murder weapon was most recentlyused at dinner to cut a steak, the images themortal receives would be of the murder itself.

These images are very fleeting and vague; only animpression or two will stick in the Enlightenedsmemory. However, emotions will be strongly felt.These could be any or all of the emotions felt by

the user of the object or someone it may have beenused on.

This can be done once a day, plus once a day pergain.

Reaction Score Bonus (maximum ofthree slots)The characters Reaction Score is raised by +1each time this ability is taken. This represents thecharacters speed and dexterity. Each use of thisgift must occupy a separate slot. This means thecharacter can never have a Reaction Score abovethree.

Read ThoughtsAt the base level of this gift, the Enlightened isable to read the surface thoughts of anyone shecan see clearly. These are whatever the person


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may be thinking to himself at the time. Thesethoughts come in their verbal version or aspictures (depending on what the target wasthinking about). It will take the Enlightened two

gains in order to be able to read subtle thoughts.Subtle thoughts are motivations and underlyinggoals, and are usually expressed as concepts orfeelings. This can be done once a day plus once pergain.

Unfortunately, even the most skilled Psychics canmake mistakes. Every time the Enlightened usesthis gift, there is a 1 in 10 chance that the victimwill become aware of just what is going on. Its upto him to take matters from there.

Resist Emotional ManipulationAny powers that target the Enlightenedsemotions work only half of the time. Flip a coin.

Resist Mental ManipulationAny powers that target the Enlighteneds mentalcapacity only work 50% of the time. This includesillusion-based powers, attempts to Command theEnlightened, altering her memories, etc. If this giftis chosen, it occupies two of the characters slots.

The Enlightened can choose to allow herself to be

affected by such powers. But once permission isgiven

See GhostsNormally, Ghosts are unable to be seen by themortals of the world. Only if a Ghost has specialpowers may he become visible to the world of theliving. Those Enlightened mortals with this giftcan see the Ghost just as any other supernaturalcreature can; that is, unless the Ghost takesspecial measures to make himself undetectable.

Note that this does not allow the Enlightened tounderstand the Ghosts Shroud Speech.

Sense PresenceThe mortal is able to detect that someone is in thesame room with them. Although she cant seeanyone whos hidden or invisible, she knowssomeone is there. The Enlightened can have a

Standard Chance Check to determine if shenotices that more than one individual is present.

Stun ImmunityThe Enlightened is able to shrug off all stunning

effects as they occur; other aspects of given powerare treated normally. If this gift is chosen itoccupies two of the characters slots.

TelekinesisBy looking at an object, the Enlightened can causeit to levitate, slide, turn, or otherwise movewithout physically touching it. In a fit of rage, themortal is able to telekinetically hurl an objectcausing 1-10 points of Normal Damage dependingon the object (Story Guides call).

At the base level, the user is able to move anobject weighing up to 20 pounds. The object muststay in her sight at all times and she mustmaintain concentration. If either restriction is notmet, the object immediately falls.

With each gain, the user is able to affect anadditional 10 pounds.

TelepathyThe mortal is able to establish a two-way mentalcommunication with any one person she hastagged. No pictures can be sent, and only thewords sent will be received. This does not allowthe target to hear what the user is hearing and isnot a form of mind reading; stray thoughts willnot be received.In order to tag someone, the mortal must touchtheir forehead for a full minute in order to tuneinto their specific pattern. Telepathy can only beused with one person at a time, though anynumber of tags can be active at once. A tag will

only stay active for one week before it needs to bereset.


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Shades of Adversity (Mortals)