I’ve been spending a good amount of time lately thinking about horror. NMP’s upcoming product Dead Queens of Morvena fits snugly into this genre. The basic premise of this setting and the initial adventure that accompanies it is that civilization, in attempting to impose order on the Fetherruin, has made a mistake that has terrible consequences. The PCs are protagonists of civilization, seeking to defend New Morvena from its doom, and on a larger scale, engaging in the struggle of civilization against chaos. This makes me wonder, is disorder more frightening than evil? That’s probably a question that is best left unanswered, although I’d certainly be interested in reading responses.
What Scares You?
A Procession in the Catacomb of Callistus (public domain, from http://www.fromoldbooks.org/)
For those who venture into the lands of the Dead Queens, three main types of creatures are placed in the GM’s monster box. They are: Incabeh or Fiends, which could be described as devilish faeries, or perhaps fey devils; Spirits, which are incorporeal entities that occasionally manifest in the Middle Realm; and the traditional Undead type, which in this setting are also known as Amortu. DQM runs on the Savage Worlds engine, and below is a new Spirit Monstrous Ability and its associated powers for your consideration and usage in your own games:
Spirit Monstrous Ability
- Ethereal: Spirits have no form in the physical world, although they may reveal themselves by using horrific projection. Ethereal Spirits can attack through elemental manipulation, pummel, or temperature change, or by throwing objects. Unless otherwise noted in individual descriptions, each Spirit has 5 Power Points to use on the powers listed above; new abilities are detailed below. Ethereal creatures cannot be harmed by normal physical attacks, although they are affected by magical items, magical weapons, and supernatural or magical powers.
- Fearless: Spirits are immune to Fear effects and cannot be Intimidated. They may be affected by Taunt.
- Infravision: Spirits are rooted in the Second Hell and, while in the Middle Realm, are visually sensitive only to heat impressions. They halve penalties (round down) for Dark or Dim lighting when attacking living targets.
- Hard of Hearing (Deaf): Spirits are rooted in the Second Hell and are unable to hear any sounds within the Middle Realm. Spirits automatically fail any Notice roll that depends on hearing. They also cannot be communicated with through language.
New Powers
HORRIFIC PROJECTION
- Rank: Heroic
- Power Points: 3
- Range: Self
- Duration: 1 (1/round)
- Trappings: Rotting corpse, caricatured mirror image of opponent, floating body parts, elemental form
A creature or character must be Ethereal or affected by intangibility to use this power. With a successful arcane skill roll (or in the case of Spirits, a Spirit roll), the character projects a tangible, horrific form into the physical world. All who see it must make a Guts check; additionally, the caster may target a specific opponent with the projection and impose a -2 penalty to the target’s Guts check.
The projection may affect the physical world, yet the caster retains the benefits of Intangibility, meaning it cannot be affected by the physical world. The form assumed, though corporeal for purposes of attacking and damaging others, retains the ability to pass through walls and remains immune to non-magical weapons. Physical damage inflicted by the projection is determined by the caster’s Spirit rather than Strength; for example, a projection that appears as a rotting corpse wielding a long sword deals damage equal to Spirit + d8 rather than Strength + d8.
The horrific projection may affect both corporeal and incorporeal beings. Through the form, the caster is susceptible to magic attacks, including physical powers, such as bolt, and magic items.
TEMPERATURE CHANGE
- Rank: Novice
- Power Points: 2-4
- Range: Smarts
- Duration: 1 hour (1-2/hour)
- Trappings: Cooling mist, stifling humidity, warm glow
This power allows the caster to increase of decrease the temperature of an area by 10 degrees for one hour. For every raise scored on the arcane skill roll, the caster can choose to increase or decrease the temperature an additional 10 degrees.
For 2 points, the temperature change affects a small burst template, 3 points affects a medium burst template, and 4 points affects a large burst template. Small and medium burst templates may be maintained for 1 PP per extra hour, while a large burst template costs 2 PP per extra hour.
Scare Us!
Develop a new monster using the Spirit Monstrous Ability. If we’re impressed by your creature, we may include it in the bestiary of the upcoming Dead Queens of Morvena adventure setting, with proper credit going to the creator, of course. Entries should be posted on our new public forums, in the “Spirit” thread.
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