New Skill

Shroud (Prs)

Shroud represents your mastery of shadowcraft, allowing to twist and manipulate the darkness around you. Because many horror abilities rely on ambient illumination, mastery of shadowcraft is among the most foundational skills taught to young horrors. Shroud doesn't create darkness from nothing, but it allows you to stretch and extend existing shadows into gloom.

In general terms, Shroud is used in checks specifically related to a horror's general mastery over their fear-based powers. All horrors start at Apprentice Proficiency with Shroud. 

Drain Terror ⬤ ◌ ◌ 

You draw ambient Anima from another being, twisting it into raw terror to feed your Beast. Spend 1 Action to make a Shroud check against the Resolve Defence of a target within Close Range.

Cloak ⬤ ◌ ◌

You wrap yourself in your own shadow. Spend 1 Action to make a Shroud Check against your observers' Awareness Defence. 

Success: You gain the Concealed condition against this target until the end of your turn. You can use this concealment to take the Hide action from all targets who failed against you.

Sculpt Shadows ⬤ ⬤ ◌ 

You mold and shape the ambient shadows in Close Range, bending the darkness to your will. There must be physical shadows in the area to sculpt; you cannot sculpt magical light or magical darkness. You can increase or decrease the darkness in Close range by 1 step.

Spend 2 Actions to attempt a Shroud check based on the current illumination: Bright Light (DC 20), Normal Light (DC 15), Dim Light (DC 10), Darkness (DC 15).

Sucess: You increase or decrease the illumination level in Close Range by 1 step. This change persists as long as you spend 1 Action per round to Concentrate on maintaining the shadows.

Fear and House

All horrors incarnate a primordial fear. Over the centuries, these fears have become filtered through humanity's collective unconsciousness into certain archetypal forms.

When you create your horror, choose a fear that they are the incarnation of. This can be incredibly broad (claustrophobia, fear of loss, fear of the dark) or rather specific (fear of being betrayed by your friends, fear of being forgotten after you die). There is no restriction on what fear you incarnate, beyond common sense and GM discretion.

After you select a fear, choose a House to pledge allegiance to. The 30 Houses of the Horrors represent lenses through which humans process fear. If your fear is who you are, your House is how you share that with the world. Two horrors who embody similar fears but belong to different houses will express their fears in different ways. For example, a horror of claustrophobia from the Forest of Fangs might choose to embody their fear as a nimble predator, making their prey feel surrounded on all sides and unable to escape. Meanwhile, a horror of claustrophobia from the Nightmare Lantern might choose to embody their fear by blocking alternate routes and escapes, making their prey feel boxed in and stuck on a single, undesirable path.

In Secret Wars, there are 5 Houses you can choose from. If you wish to be aligned with one of the other 25 Houses, consult with your GM.

Monstrous Form

Horrors are primordial beasts, ripped straight from the darkest parts of humanity's collective unconsciousness. They are the things that lurked just beyond the campfire, or outside the cave, eyes glinting in the darkness, waiting for a gap in our defences to slip through and make off with the weakest of us. But horrors are more than just unthinking predators. They're people too, besouled creatures with free will and desires. These two forces exist in constant tension, resulting in a horror's monstrous form.

Your horror has three forms:

• The Veiled form: Your human disguise used to interact with the mundane world.

• The Beast: The primordial monster lurking at your heart.

• The Monster: The form you are most comfortable in, and what you revert to if your shapeshifting is dispelled or your concentration is broken.

Building a Monster

When in your True Form, you gain specific physical adaptations based on humanity's oldest ancestral fears: other animals. Pick one base animal to serve as the chassis for your True Form. You gain its specific physical attacks, speeds, and an Origin Bonus to the listed Ability Modifier and Skill while in this form.

Note: As long as a Horror has a pair of limbs, they are fully capable of fine manipulation (complete with opposable thumbs). A monster stopped by a doorknob isn't very intimidating. 

• Common traits: Speed 1 Range, Size 3 (Small)

• Arachnid (Spider, scorpion, sun scorpion)

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d6 piercing  (Finesse)

  • Dexterity +1

  • Stealth +2

  • Climb Speed 1/2

  • Bonus Atavism: Toxic

• Bat

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d6 piercing  (Finesse)

  • Agility +1

  • Fly Speed 1

  • Bonus Sense: Precise Hearing (1 Range)

• Canine (Hound, fox, wolf)

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d8 piercing  (Finesse)

  • Brawn +1

  • Speed increases to 2

  • Survival +2

  • Bonus Sense: Precise Scent (1 Range)

• Dragon

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d6 piercing  (Fnesse)

  • Natural Weapon: Claw 1d4 slashing (Agile, Finesse)

  • Brawn +1

  • Fly Speed 1 

  • Bonus Atavism: Extra Limbs

• Feline (Leopard, lynx, panther)

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d6 piercing (Finesse)

  • Natural Weapon: Claw 1d4 slashing (Agile, Finesse)

  • Agility +1

  • Stealth +2

  • Speed increases to 2

• Hyena

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d8 piercing  (Finesse)

  • Consitution +1

  • Speed increases to 2

  • Intimidation +2

• Mustelid (Badger, wolverine, marten)

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d8 piercing  (Finesse)

  • Agility +1

  • Acrobatics +2

  • Burrow Speed 1/2, Climb Speed 1/2

Raptor (Eagle, hawk or owl)

• • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d6 piercing  (Finesse)

  • Natural Weapon: Claw 1d4 slashing (Agile, Finesse)

  • Agility +1

  • Fly Speed 2 Range

• Rodent (Rat, mouse, porcupine)

  • Natural Weapon: Bite 1d6 piercing (Finesse)

  • Dexterity +1

  • Survival +2

  • Speed: 1 Range, Swim Speed 1/2

  • Bonus Sense: Precise Scent (1 Range)

Once you've chosen your base monster form, you can alter your form to fit your Fear and your House. You are, after all, a monster, not some mundane animal. Perhaps your form is covered in thorns and spines. Perhaps your flesh or hide is peeled away at certain points, revealing the bones beneath. Perhaps chains or vines weave their way through your flesh. Perhaps part of your body is composed of grinding gears and hissing pistons. Your base animal serves only as a chassis for your monstrous form to be built atop. The following are ideas you can expand on, based on your House:

• Dark City: Your form melds living flesh with strange machines. Perhaps a portion of your body is replaced by clockwork or other obviously artificial parts. Most members of the Technocracy have a brass eye embedded somewhere on their form, whether replacing one of their own eyes or located elsewhere, such as the small of their back, their chest, or the tip of their tail. While the horror might not be able to see out of this eye, Big Brother, the Bogeyman of their House, can, ensuring that he can always watch his followers.

• Forest of Fangs: You blend plant and animal matter into your form. Perhaps a limb is composed of bark and vine. Perhaps you have horns that are made of gnarled branches. Or perhaps vines wend their way through your body.

• Hateful Sun: Your form is golden and regal. Perhaps a part of your form is made of living gold and silver. You might also bear runes that evoke power or rulership tattooed or carved into your form. These runes glow with golden light when you invoke your powers.

• Nightmare Lantern: Your form is covered with dark fur or feathers, allowing you to blend into the night. Many members are bioluminescent, their eyes and mouths glowing eerily in the dark. Jack o'lanterns and pumpkins are additional sources of inspiration, evoking the Bogeyman of the house, Jack O'Lantern.

• Obsidian Sands: Your form draws upon ash and flame for inspiration, and may involve flame-like patterns of fur, feather or scale. A portion of your form may even be horribly burnt, even charred down to the blackened bone. You may also possess a softly flickering flame somewhere on your body, most typically within your ribcage or between your horns.

Once you have settled on how you want your monstrous for to appear, select two atavisms. Atavisms represent monstrous enhancements to your form that you draw from humanity's ancestral nightmares. These include acidic bites, bones of metal, the ability to breathe fire, a larger form, and so on. 

You can purchase additional atavisms for 3 Experience. 

Horror Abilities

Healing and Injuries

You can't keep a good monster down. So long as a horror is well-fed, they have an incredible ability to bounce back from injuries. 

Fast Healing ⬤ ◌ ◌: A Horror can spend 1 Action and 1 point of Terror to heal 1d4 + Presence Modifier Vitality Points.

Wounds: Wounds cannot be healed through Terror and require medical attention, magic, or simple time to repair. A horror heals Wounds as a mortal.

Reformation: Horrors reduced to 0 Wounds do not die unless the final blow was dealt with an Anathema. Otherwise, the Horror explodes into a burst of shadow, only to reform out of the darkness in a number of days equal to (28 - their Shroud Proficiency Bonus). This regeneration can be accelerated through certain rituals.

Resting: A horror does not regain anima by resting. However, resting heals a horror's Wound Points and Vitality Points like other living creatures.

Nightmares

Reality is naturally a scary place. Horrors know how to nudge it in the right ways to make it truly terrifying. Nightmares represent a horror's ability to twist reality in supernatural ways, thwarting their prey and bolstering their allies.

Horrors start with one nightmare chosen from their House's nightmares, in addition to the one basic Nightmare possessed by all horrors: Flicker. Additional nightmares can be purchased for 3 experience if they are from your house's fear, and 4 experience if the nightmare is from beyond your House. All nightmares have a Terror cost to activate.

Senses

Horrors are creatures of shadow, the liminal spaces between night and day, between the city and the wilds, between the safety of home and the dangers that lurk outside. 

All horrors have low-light vision. Depending on their monstrous form, they might possess other senses as well. 

In addition, Horrors have Terror Sense, which allows them to detect the terror wafting off sapient creatures. A horror can detect all creatures within 1 range suffering from the Frightened condition. This is a metaphysical sense that manifests in horror as the sound of a thudding heart, ragged breath, or frightened whimpers. This is a Precise sense, and allows a Horror to instantly locate Hiding or Invisible creatures, so long as the creature is afraid, with a Seek action.

Supernal Creature

A horror is a supernal creature, hailing from one of the Earth's metaphysical mirrors. They are not native to the Mortal realm, and are composed primarily of aether--or dark matter--instead of the material of the living world. However, because they derive their existence from humanity, and possess a soul like a human's, they suffer afflictions just like living creatures.

• Horrors need to eat, breathe and sleep. A horror can force itself to ignore these needs through sheer willpower for a few degrees longer than humans, because these needs are more psychological than physical, but a horror denied food will begin to starve, and a horror denied air will suffocate. A horror can add their Spirit modifier to their Constitution modifier number of rounds they can hold their breath, and checks to avoid the effects of starvation and dehydration. 

• Horrors are vulnerable to the same poisons and diseases as humans

• Unlike a human, a horror only needs 4 hours of sleep a day to benefit from a full period of rest.

• Every day upon waking from their rest, a horror consumes 1d4 points of Terror. If they do not have sufficient terror, a horror istead takes the missing points as non-lethal damage. 

• A horror is vulnerable to banishment and exorcism rituals. A horror who is banished or exorcized is shunted into the Twilight. However, this is especially ineffective on horrors, given their innate ability to slip through gaps in reality.

Terror & Satitety 

Though a horror is a living being, their ties to the Pit and the forces of entropy mean their anima is naturally weak and fading. However, through mortal terror, a horror can re-energize its anima and perform supernatural acts.

Terror represents a secondary resource, in addition to Anima. Terror is spent to activate many of a horror's innate abilities. 

 A horror has a Terror pool (TP) equal to the following equation:

TP=4+Spirit Modifier+Shroud Procicy Bonus

Anima Converions  ⬤ ◌ ◌:A horror can also convert Terror into Anima by taking 1 action to convert 1 point of Terror into 1 point of Terror. This transfer is one-way, and horrors cannot use Anima to regain Terror.

Attacks that damage a horror's Anima do not affect a horror's Terror, as the two are separate. A horror takes Anima damage like any other living creature, and once reduced to 0 Anima, additional damage is dealt to a horror's Wounds instead. 

Satiety

Beasts hunger. They don't just want to feed on the scraps of fear their horror might spare them. They want to feast on the screams of mortals, like the monsters they are. Many horrors focus on lessons, on only inflicting their haunts on humans who deserve the punishment the horror metes out. But the Beast doesn't care about the lesson. All it knows is the feast.

A horror's Satiety is measured by its current Terror points versus the size of its Terror Pool. When a horror is at high Satiety, their Beast is restful, and not prone to lending their horror power. When a horror is at low satiety, their Beast is closer to the surface, making it easier to draw on their powers but also more difficult to control.

• Zero Terror: The Beast is nothing but hunger, and will not rest until it feasts. The horror gains the Ravenous condition. 

• Below 50% Threshold: The Beast is hungry, and that makes the horror more dangerous. The horror gains the Hungry condition, and their nightmares are more effective.

• At or Above 50% Threshold. The Beast has enough fear to be satisfied and isn't concerned about its survival. The horror gains the Sated condition, and you function normally with no mechanical impacts from your Beast's hunger.

• At MaximumTerror: The Beast is content and retreats into near-slumber. The horror finds it more difficult to activate their nightmares. The horror gains the Slumbering condition.

Veiling

A horror relies on the Veil to interact with humanity's modern world. When on the Mortal Plane, a Horror can freely shapeshift between their Monstrous form and a human form. This human form remains constant and reflects the horror's self-image of what it would look like if it were human. Therefore, this form is of a similar age to the horror and has numerous tells linking the two, most commonly hair colour, eyes, and markings. Because of these tells, anyone who is knowledgeable about Veiling can easily draw a line between the horror's human and Monstrous forms, even if they don't see the horror shapeshift.

Horror loses their Atavisms, speed bonuses, and natural weapons while in human form, but they can still use their Nightmares and acess the Shroud skill.

Shifting ⬤ ⬤ ⬤: Shifting between a horror's human form and monstrous form takes 3 actions. This usually involves invoking a spiral of shadow to shroud a horror in one form, and then emerging from the shadow in their other form. 

A horror subjected to a polymorph spell, or another forceful transformation effect, cannot shift between their forms until that spell or ability is dispelled or fades.

Equipment: Any clothing and items (up to 1 bulk) merge into an extra-dimensional space within the Horror's shadow when they shift to Monstrous Form. They can be accessed by spending 1 Action to reach into the darkness. Any items over a horror's carrying capacity simply cannot fit, and spill to the ground around them. All magical talismans shift with the horror, and adjust to fit the new form. For example, a bracelet on a human might become a band around the horror's forelimb or wing.

Other Planes: The Veil only affects the Mortal Realm, and not the other planes of existence. Therefore, a horror cannot use Veiling when not on the mortal realm, and they immediately shift into their monstrous form when passing through a planar gate.

The Beast

The beast is the primordial aspect of a horror, the monster of legend they were meant to be, tapped into humanity's collective unconsciousness and drawing form and powers from our deepest fears and phobias. It is the inner self, some would argue the true self, yearning to break free and spread chaos and terror. Most horrors disagree with this interpretation, seeing the beast instead as merely their own personal demon, a weakness they have yet to conquer and bend to their will. It is a daily struggle to ignore it, to not give in to the temptations and become the monster they know dwells within.

The beast isn't some alien entity or even alternate personality--it's more of a reflection of the horror through a broken mirror, a version of themselves without the humanity, where they have fully embraced the monster that dwells within them. A horror will always have their beast with them--it's as fundamental to the horror as the ego, superego, and id are to humans. It constantly tempts them into committing monstrous acts, ratting the bars of its mental cage because it is hungry and it needs to feed. 

When a Beast breaks free of its cage, it becomes Unleashed.

Gaining Unleashed

If a Horror drops to 0 Terror, or is faced with extreme emotional stress, they must make a Resolve check with a DC equal to 10 + their Shadow ranks + environmental modifiers. There are numerous modifiers that can be applied, but here are some: 

• +2 for every point of Terror you could not spend when waking up after a Long Rest

• +2: You spent Terror over the past minute, you are being Intimidated by another creature, or you are in Bright Light, or for every application of Rattling the Cage you have

• +4: Unleashing the Beast might help you fulfill your Vice, you are currently Wounded, you are are currently Hungry

• +6: you are in a scene filled with fear and terror, such as on a battlefield or a natural disaster; you are currently Ravenous

• +8: a mortal dies near you

• -2: the only people around the horror are their friends and allies, or you are in a calm situation

• -4: You are at currently Slumbering

These represent only some conditions that may affect a check to resist Unleashed.

The outcomes of this check are as follows:

• Critical Success: You resist your Beast entirely.

• Success: You resist, but the Beast is agitated. You gain 1 application of Rattling the Cage.

• Failure: The Beast breaks its bonds and becomes Unleashed

Rattling the Cage (Condition)

Your beast has become agitated and is actively fighting you for control. The DC to resist becoming Unleashed increases by +2 for every application of Rattling the Cage you have. 

Rattling the Cage can be applied in many stressful situations and usually lasts until you can next take a Long Rest. However, applications of Rattling the Cage caused by consuming the dying terror of a human can take days or weeks to resolve. Such applications decrease by 1 per chapter.

The Beast Unleashed

When your Beast is Unleashed, you drop your Veiling entirely and assume your Monstrous Form. 

When Unchained:

•  You ignore all penalties from the Fatigued, Exhausted or Wounded conditions

• You also gain a +4 origin bonus to your Resolve and Composure defences, 

• You gain Fortune against any magical attempts to influence your emotions.

• You recognize allies and will not use lethal force against them, but you cannot benefit from their tactical abilities (like Flanking or Aid).

• Redirecting your Beast while it is Unleashed requires a Resolve check against the original DC that unleashed your Beashed. You may make this check as a free action at the start of your round. If you succeed, you gain full control of your actions for the next round. Every subsequent attempt to Redirect your Beast this Scene imposes a cumulative -2 penalty on that check. If you achieve a Critical Success, you cage your beast and you regain control.

While in control, your Beast does whatever it can to inflict the most fear and violence around it. The beast is not suicidal or foolish, but it is violent, amoral, and, most of all, hungry. Your beast will usually try to attack the closest prey, attempting to cripple them or send them fleeing away. Ultimately, the beast usually wishes to kill a mortal and feast on their dying fear, at which point the Beast is sated, and the horror is left staring down at the blood on their claws.

Regaining Control

A horror whose Beast is Unleashed Frenzy can regain control under one of the following circumstances:

• Achieving a Critical Success to Redirect the Beast.

• You gain the Slumbering condition (your beast falls asleed, satiated)

• You feed upon the dying fear of a mortal

• You are knocked unconscious.

• The Scene ends.

Haunting & Feeding

Horrors need human fear to survive. They thirst for it like a man in a desert thirsts for water. If a horror ever stops being afraid, they will collapse into shadow and be drawn down into the endless darkness of the Pit. And so they must continually replenish their fear, to keep it sharp, to remind them of the sensations of terror all over again. They feast on the frights and scares of mortals, turning panicked screams and bursts of adrenaline into what they need to prevent their dread of oblivion from wearing dull.

Drain Terror

A horror can feed normally by using the Drain Terror action of the Shroud skill to absorb the metaphysical essence of terror from a mortal or besouled creature within Close Range.

Dying Fear

If you slay a human with your own claws, you can consume their Dying Fear. This instantly restores your Terror Pool to full, and grants 8 Temporary Terror Points that last for a number of hours equal to your Shroud Tier.

However, dying fear is addictive. A horror that consumes the dying fear of a human often finds itself hungering for that final, empowering burst of terror. Every time you consume a victim's dying fear, you must make a Resolve check against your own Shroud DC. On a failure, you gain 1 application of the Rattling the Cage condition. Ranks gained this way do not fade on a Rest; they decrease at a rate of 1 per Chapter.

It is for this reason that the Parliament of Shadows forbids their members from killing except in self-defence. "A corpse cannot feel fear," the saying goes, and the Parliament would prefer loyal horrors remain above their baser addictions. 

Downtime Haunting

In a mixed-origin party, taking time away from the adventure to focus on a horror's haunting can distract from the overall story. So a horror can instead use some of its downtime or resting time to haunt some prey.

A Feeding check takes 1 hour. A horror makes a Shadow check to track down proper prey. The DC for this check is usually 15, but may be adjusted based on the circumstances (a town wracked by paranoia might have a DC of 10, while a placid rural region might have a DC of 20). The result is as follows:

• Critical Success: You have an exceptionally satisfying night of haunting. Regain 2d6 + Spirit Modifier Terror.

• Success: Your haunting goes as intended. Regain 1d6 + Spirit Modifier Terror.

• Failure: You feed, but your Beast is unsatisfied. You gain 0 Terror, but you don't have to spend any Terror after waking from your next Long Rest.

• Critical Failure:  Your Beast rejects all the fear you try to feed it, and you waste 1 point of Terror in your attempts. If this reduces you to 0 Terror, make a Resolve check to resist having your Beast unchained.

Weaknesses

Anathamas 

In nearly every human culture, there are things that individuals believe will keep away the things that go bump in the night. This might be a certain flower, or a holy icon. In modern society, these are usually nightlights and stuffed animals. 

It's not so much the object that has power as people's belief in it. What functions as an anathema in the hands of one individual might not function in the hands of another. One cannot simply pick up a random item at hand and declare it to be an anathema. It has to be an item with a story behind it, usually passed down from a parent or guardian to a child.

• Vulnerability: You are Vulnerable to Anathemas. When struck by an Anathema, you take 1d4 Psychic damage, which bypasses your Vitality entirely and damages your Wounds directly. If struck by an Anathema, you cannot use your Nightmares until the end of your next turn.

• Environmental: If you remain in an area warded by an Anathema, you must make a Willpower check (Typical DC 20) at the start of your turn or take 1d4 Psychic damage, which bypasses your Vitality entirely and damages your Wounds directly. If in the area warded by an Anathema, you cannot use your Nightmares until the end of your next turn.

• Disruption: 

Blinding Light

Horrors are creatures of shadows, not darkness. Light might bother a horror, but it doesn't dramatically affect them. After all, the sun is the source of most shadows on Earth. 

However, artificial illumination is often created with the express purpose of driving back shadows, and that includes horrors. If you are exposed to Bright Light from artificial illumination such as a floodlight, powerful flashlight, or magnesium flare, you take 1d8 Radiant damage at the start of your turn. You also gain the Enfeebled 2 condition and cannot use Nightmares as long as you remain in the blinding light.

Orichalcum

Horrors are uniquely Vulnerable to weapons forged from Orichalcum, the sun-metal of ancient Atlantis, meaning you take standard weapon damage to your Vitality from a weapon made of Orichalcum, plus 1 point of Wound Damage for every dice rolled, even if you still have Vitality Points remaining.

Sated Conditions

Hungry

Your Beast is gnawing at its cage, constantly urging you to give in and feed it. You feel on edge, and your Beast is more than happy to lend you its power.

Increase the power of your nightmares, per their descriptions. 

Ravenous

You have run out of terror and are beyond starvation. Your beast is a pit of rage and hunger, lashing out at its mental cage. It is hard for you to focus on anything other than haunting. While Ravenous:

• You cannot spend Anima on any ability or feat other than in the pursuit of Terror. 

• Every day that passes while you are Ravenous deals 1 point of Wound damage that cannot be healed until you recover 1 point of Terror.

• You cannot use your Nightmares.

• When you Drain Terror, you double the amount of Terror you gain, but your feeding violently deals 1d4 Psychic damage to the target per point of Anima drained.

Sated

Your Beast is satisfied, for now. It wants more terror, but it doesn't need more terror. It's still there, testing your mental defences, but it's not actively trying to escape.

There are no mechanical impacts for being Sated.

Slumbering

You are at full Terror, and your Beast has become lethargic as a result. 

While slumbering, you cannot spend any Terror without first making a DC 20 Shroud check as a Free Action to wake your Beast up. If this check fails, your Beast doesn't respond, and the actions you would have spent to activate a Nightmare, Atavism, or other ability are wasted.