The dark is a place of deception and illusion. Tucked snugly in bed, with just enough light so that the shadows seem alive, things mundane in the day can be perceived as terrors in the night. Sometimes a mere flick of the light switch does not always dispel these apparitions, as they are not a mirage but a monster hungering for life.
There are many realms that exist at the fringe of perception, such as the world of dreams and the plane of shadow. These are home to a number of creatures trapped between existence and oblivion. They are not quite ghosts, but they are very dangerous nonetheless. In the moments in which nightmares or powerfully negative emotions can bridge the gap between their world and the mortal plane, they claw their way into the waking realm and begin the quest to become real.
At first they are but shadows, with little or no ability to affect the physical world. However, they carefully engage in a campaign of trickery to illicit terror from those who reside in their new domain, with the goal to alleviate the disability of being incorporeal. As they gain more power, they move objects around in the dark to confuse and further distress their victims. They feed on fear it makes them stronger until one day, they become real and can rw1 wild into the world. Until this rime, they cannot appear in the light, and they first resort to showing glimpses of themselves to their victims to slowly build the crusade of fright. The process may take several weeks, depending on the number of victims available and their strength of will.
Typically, the last act of the creature, before its metamorphosis from apparition to beast, is to emerge from its hiding place in all its shadowy glory, materialize, terrorize its victim, and complete its ascension into true existence. Then, with its belly empty of material sustenance, it consumes its victim whole and takes off into the night. No trace of the body is left behind.
These monsters cannot be battled conventionally when they are simply shadows. Weapons pass through chem and nor even magic attacks will have any effect. The shadow must be banished, by religious or magical ritual, back into its home realm.
0 nee real, the key to destroying one of these creatures is light. As monsters born of darkness and shadow, they have poor vision in brightly lit areas and direct twilight, making them vulnerable to attack. At this point, any blessed, magical, or similar special attack will do damage to the creature. AJI mundane wounds are instantly healed.
The manifested monster typically has the shape of its favorite form when it was a shadow, perhaps a devilish humanoid, dire wolf, or tentacled fiend. The form is nearly always jet black, with eyes that glow of red or yellow. Once free, it stalks the night and seeks to consume lost children, pets, or those it can easily frighten. It can only feed on those who are in fear of it, having failed a bravery check against the monster’s intimidation skill. As with its first victim, no body will be left behind after feeding. Some in the occult community have suggested that these monsters are a reason for some missing people.
Typical Bedroom Monster
Reflexes 4D: brawling 5D+2, contortion 8D, dodge 6D+l, sneak 6D+2
Coordination 2D
Physique 5D: running 5D+2
Knowledge 2D: scholar: occult 3D
Perception 4D: hide 6D, search 5D
Presence 2D+2: intimidation 4D, willpower 4D
Strength Damage: 30
Move: 14
Fate Points: 0
Character Points: 0
Body Points: 25
Wound levels: 3
Natural Abilities: resistant to non-enchanted/ non blessed weapons (+4D to damage resistance rolls against related attacks); claws, tentacles, or fangs (damage + 1D); fear (+4 to intimidation totals and combat totals against those affected by intimidation attempts; ineffective in bright light); shadow cloaking (may use shadows to become invisible); enhanced sight (can see in dim or dark conditions); vulnerability to bright light (takes 3D damage when exposed to bright light); feeds on fear; large size (scale value 1 or 2)
Note: Physical characteristics are only for the manifested creature