Shade
From Cf
Shades are one of the player races available for play in the Codex Futurum roleplaying world. They are also known as posthumans.
Contents |
Evolution
The neoms who coined the phrase transhuman in the first place, were people who considered their own development a transient state towards a perfect posthuman condition. While these neoms were able to genetically engineer offspring, with superior intelligence and capacity for psionic powers, they met certain biological hindrances. Superior intelligence, meant bigger brains and larger heads. These engineered offspring could not be born naturally, and were incapable of sustaining themselves in a natural environment.
They countered this with extracting the embryos, placing them in an oxygenated saline solution, where they would not grow much physically. When they stimulated them psionically, the embryos slowly started to interact with the world through psionics powers alone. With years of psionic capabilities as their only means of communication, these creatures slowly, and for short periods of time, learned how to manifest incorporeal psionic representations of themselves. These psionic beings became known as shades.
The neoms continue to develop shades, with the ultimate goal a true psionic being, that can exist without any physical, corporeal body at all. They have yet to reach that goal.
Description
Shades consist of two parts. They have both a physical body and an incorporeal psionic manifestation; an avatar of their true selves. Their physical bodies are small and almost embryonic, with overproportioned heads. These bodies lie bereft of all ordinary senses in an oxygenated saline solution.
The psionic avatars are incorporeal, projected images that, to some extent, can interact with the surrounding environment. At first, this avatar is almost entirely transparent with a vaguely humanoid shape. As the psionic avatar interacts with creatures around him, his appearance adapts accordingly. When the shade reaches adult age, the shape of the psionic avatar is fixed and remain unchanged. This psionic avatar may appear male or female. It will be humanoid, primarily resembling one of the other humanoid races, in all their potential variety.
Society
Shades do not have an organized society of their own. They are often employed by the neom factions that have engineered them, in a variety of functions. Shades are feared spies and assassins, on account of their ability to come and go where they please. Some shades relate more to human or wark groups, and find their place among these. Other shades are loners, who care only about exploring the mysteries of psionic existence. Nonetheless, almost all shades are ultimately at the mercy of their neom developers, who protect their corporeal, helpless bodies.
Culture
While shades do not have a distinct cultural expression of their own, most shades are more deeply spiritual than their neom kin. They seem to have aquired a taste of mysticism, perhaps as a result of their detachment from the physical world. More on shades and religion...
Relations with other races
Shades often come in one of three major varieties. There are those who empathize with humanity and the purely corporeal species, and strive to be a natural part of their societies. Other shades have a strong dislike of one or more of the other races, and show almost sociopathic tendencies in their dealings with them. And finally, there are shades who are primarily indifferent to the corporeal species, preferring to have as little to do with them as possible.
Special powers
Psionic powers
The shade can manifest the following psionic powers at will, regardless of class and level, but limited to their allotment of remaining power points.
- asdf
- asdf
Manifest avatar
From a young age, a shade starts interacting with the world through its psionic capabilities. When she reaches adulthood, she can manifest a psionic avatar 1/day for a duration of 6 hours. With each additional hit die the shade can manifest the psionic avatar once more per day, for an additional hour more in total. This incorporeal avatar can move about and interact with her surroundings as an extension of her corporeal body.
The psionic avatar has the following incorporeal traits:
- It does not have any sense of taste, smell or touch.
- It is immune to critical hits, extra damage from being favored enemies, and from sneak attacks.
- It can move in any direction at will. It does not need to walk on the ground.
- It can pass through solid objects at will, although it cannot see when its eyes are within solid matter.
- It can pass through and operate in water as easily as in air.
- It cannot fall or take falling damage.
- It has no weight and does not set off traps that are triggered by weight.
- It does not leave footprints, have no scent, and make no noise unless the shade does so intentionally.
- It can not by harmed by any physical attacks, including those of another psionic avatar.
- It is not burned by normal fires, affected by natural cold, or harmed by mundane acids.
Interaction:
- The shade can see and hear through the psionic avatar as if physically present.
- The shade can communicate through the psionic avatar in any language she knows.
- The shade can manifest all known psionic powers through the psionic avatar, as if she was physically present.
- Psionic avatars are subject to all psionic attacks and psionic powers as normal. More....
- The psionic avatar is of medium size.
Manifestation:
- Manifesting or disbanding a psionic avatar is a full round action (using hastened manifestation this can be shortened to a move-equivalent action).
- A shade can manifest its psionic avatar within 30 feet of its corporeal body, or at the precise location where the manifestation was previously disbanded (using extended manifestation it can appear in any known location).
- If the shade falls asleep or unconscious, is frightened, panicked or dies, the manifestation is automatically disbanded.
- For all practical purposes, the psionic avatar does not have strength and constitution scores. Nonetheless, psionic powers and attacks targeting the psionic avatar, that affect these scores, will affect the shade's corporeal body.
- The psionic avatar has a speed of 30 feet. It cannot run.
- The psionic avatar may have a size of small, medium or large. If it resembles a neom, it will have extended reach.
Racial features
- Ability scores: +4 intelligence, +4 charisma , -6 strength, -6 constitution.
- Small: The normal benefits or penalties associated with being of small size are non-applicable.
- Speed: A shade's corporeal body has no movement.
- Psionic powers: See special powers above.
- Manifest avatar: See special powers above.
- Frail body: Shades have very frail bodies that cannot move or be sustained outside the artificial environment of their oxygenated saline solution. They will die from exposure at any duration of rounds exceeding their constitution score.
- Helpless: A shade's corporeal body is always considered helpless.
- Sensory loss: A shade's corporeal body is always considered blinded and deafened.
- Naturally psionic: Shades gain 4 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does grant them the ability to manifest psionic powers, even if they do not have any levels in a psionic class.
- Automatic languages: Neom standard. Bonus languages: Any (non-secret).
