Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 necroticbanana Jun 25, 2008 16:01:40	I was toying with the idea that whenever one of the PCs reach -9 HP in my shadow chasers game they might gain the ability to acctually see (and possibly interact with) death. So basically anytime there is a death nearby, they might notice (with a normal spot check) the same old man at the scene everytime, no matter where the PCs might acctually be. I'm picturing him as a pale and aging man..but after that i'm not really sure how else to describe him. I dont want the character to be evil, but he's a no nonsense kinda guy. I'm also thinking that eventually, the PCs might acctually try to challange him or possibly try to elude him, so some kinda stats would be helpful. I was thinking that his divine influence would allow him a "floating skill pool" So that way if any of the PCs wanted to challenge them for there soul he could automatically assign those points to whatever skill or ability he may need. i dunno what you guys think?
#2 crazy_monkey Jun 25, 2008 17:38:06	Are you looking for rules advice or fluff? From a fluff perspective, I think this is a nifty idea. The first image that comes immediately to mind is a cowboy-esque figure, dressed in black, with an etched and grizzled face (think Clint Eastwood). The second image is a manifestation of Legba, a creole/voodoo figure. An old black man, dressed in formal attire and carrying some sort of musical instrument. From a game mechanics perspective, I'd be carefuly of making him arbitrarily "unbeatable." Either he's a plot device, and thus shouldn't have stats, or he (or at least this aspect of him) is a defeatable adversary that should therefore have a full set of stats. You may want to delve into the Deities and Demigods supplement for D&D for inspiration and ideas for stats.
#3 necroticbanana Jun 25, 2008 17:55:27	Mostly fluff i guess, but in my years of DM'ing i've learned that players can (and will) do anything, so i like to have a solid set of stats just in case. And no, i wouldn't make him unbeatable, just very, very hard to do so.
#4 thinkhard Jun 25, 2008 22:19:01	for inspiration check the episode "Faith" from Season 1 of supernatural
#5 powercat Jun 25, 2008 22:51:27	Maybe "Death" appears, they can only catch fleeting glances of it in the periphery of their vision, and when they look over, it is gone.
#6 j0lt Jun 26, 2008 0:10:13	for inspiration check the episode "Faith" from Season 1 of supernatural I was just gonna say that! :D
#7 necroticbanana Jun 26, 2008 10:34:13	I know i just got hooked on that show and netflix aint fast enuf to slate my new found thirst!! lol i only got the first two disc of season 1 so far
#8 j0lt Jun 26, 2008 11:37:52	My wife and I watch it religiously. I've seen right to the end of season 3. Good news: it's been picked up by the network for 2 more seasons. :D
#9 necroticbanana Jun 26, 2008 17:02:17	sweet! i always wanted to do a shadow chasers game but i was afraid it would just become kinda lame y'know? like seeing a bugbear bagging groceries at the local wal-mart was a common thing or something...then i saw the show and i was like "perfect!" My wife has been wanting me to run d20 modern since i got the books when they first came out...she's playing a nerdy colledge student who just happens to be decended from lycanthropes.
#10 j0lt Jun 26, 2008 22:24:15	Interesting... Yeah, the way it's presented in the book is pretty good, but runs a line that goes dangerously close to hokey if you don't choose your "monsters" right as a GM. I did a solo game for my wife where she was playing a nurse whose family had a secret tradition of Shadow Chasing. She found out the hard way (through the first two session), with her first encounter with Shadow, and then stunning revelations from her grandfather.
#11 doomsought Jun 27, 2008 8:40:22	I Dr. McNinja he was a waiter, but unless you are doing comedy that won't work. Describe him as a person that takes you where you need to go, so each time your PCs see him he is something different. a cab driver, a pilot, a bus driver, a ferryman, a waiter, and so on.
#12 necroticbanana Jun 27, 2008 9:47:10	i toyed with this idea too, like maybe he doesnt always show up as a human. maybe if the PCs are out in the jungle he may show up as a panther, or maybe a large black snake, but maybe they all have the same distinguishing feature, a mark or something? But the creature is always something dark and forboding. crows in perticular come to mind
#13 j0lt Jun 27, 2008 9:56:49	I like that. Maybe a fur pattern or tattoo, the same symbol but presented in a different way each time.
#14 necroticbanana Jun 27, 2008 21:11:22	Well i got my next disc of Supernatural today, and i ran inside giggleing like a school-girl (albeit a 300 pound school girl) and i saw the "faith" episode. i loved it and i'm already brainstorming. now i just wonder if i'll ever have the chance to use it...i'm sure i will once i bring in the "Boogey-man" killer. he's sure to leave my players in the negitives for awhile. lol
#15 j0lt Jun 28, 2008 0:17:43	man, I GOTTA put my notes onto my PC, your ideas are sounding VERY similar to the ones I've been having! (the first encounter I designed was a Boogeyman)
#16 necroticbanana Jun 28, 2008 22:08:49	wanna be a real jerk? do what i did...put the boogey man template.....on a troll! then i gave em a fire ax. seemed creepeir than a chainsaw. :D
#17 j0lt Jun 28, 2008 23:41:26	Geez! lol My Boogeyman was just a Tough Hero psychopath, kinda along the lines of Michael Meyers. It was great when they took him down and thought he was done, but then he kept getting back up. :P
#18 necroticbanana Jun 29, 2008 16:32:01	Heres a quick rundown of the boogyman killer (this is the fully powered version) i plan on introducing him at various levels, and if the PCs ever manage to acctually finish him off i plan on making it so that his axe..wich has killed so many that it has somehow soaked up bits and peices of his victims spirits, so basically the ax will possess anyone attempting to touch it and force them to kill again following the original killers M.O. and thus leading the PCs to track down multiple copy cat killers with absolutly no other connections to each other. Standing in front of you, blocking your only escape is a towering beast of a man, He stands upwards of 7' His gait seems akward and his posture stooped and twisted, as if his body had been completly broken and poorly mended, multiple layers of tattered clothing hang from his frame including what appears to be peices of an old faded prison outfit and a pair of gore spattered coveralls. A black leather hood, like the type used in prison electrocutions has been strapped and buckled to his head, and the only thing visible is a pair of wild, bloodshot eyes, gripped in his pale, wrinkled, meaty hand is a massive, gore spattered axe that leaves thick smears as it drags across the ground. Boogeyman killer (tough 10/boogeyman): Large giant; CR 18 (?); 242 HP; MAS 37; Init+7; Spd 30'; Defense 27, touch 27, flat-footed 24; BAB +11/+6; Atk +23/+17 (1d8+10 nonlethal, unarmed strike), or +19/+14 (1d6+10, claw x2), or +20/+15 (1d8+10, fire axe); SV Fort+24, Ref+10, Will+7; AP 10; Str 31, Dex 17, Con 34, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 12. Skills: Hide -1, intimidate +12, listen +8, search +11, spot +10, survival +5. Feats: Archaic weapon prof. (ax), brawl, improved brawl, knockout punch, improved knockout punch, great fortitude, improved damage threshold, iron will, lighting reflex, power attack, cleave, great cleave, simple weapon prof. weapon focus (claw), weapon focus (axe) talents: acid resist 12, fire resist 12, robust, 2nd wind, stamina. regeneration 10 (no fire or acid) scent, darkvision 90', must be reduced to neg. Con score to die (-34)
#19 j0lt Jun 29, 2008 19:35:19	Heres a quick rundown of the boogyman killer (this is the fully powered version) i plan on introducing him at various levels, and if the PCs ever manage to acctually finish him off i plan on making it so that his axe..wich has killed so many that it has somehow soaked up bits and peices of his victims spirits, so basically the ax will possess anyone attempting to touch it and force them to kill again following the original killers M.O. and thus leading the PCs to track down multiple copy cat killers with absolutly no other connections to each other. That's cool, I like that idea. That's one hell of a tough monster! lol
#20 necroticbanana Jun 29, 2008 22:18:52	lol thanks...i got the axe idea from an Insane clown posse song (its a wierd rap group). I'm still not sure on a back story for that guy tho, or weaknesses. still working on it.
#21 tema69 Jun 30, 2008 12:50:21	"I took the axe - what the f*k am I s'posed to do with that - it's all bloody and it looks like it's been in and out of someones back" Am I right?
#22 necroticbanana Jun 30, 2008 17:04:14	Yes!! :D "Pass the axe" by dark lotus (a combination if I.C.P. and Twiztid)
#23 tema69 Jul 01, 2008 7:06:03	Great music from these guys. Glad to find a fellow fan (I think I know around 4-5 guys all in all who knows/like them). " 'took the axe back to the shed where I stay, cleaned of the blood and then sharpen'd up the blade" Anyway, as for the purpose of this thread: I like the idea of having Death appear, although I'm not sure I'll let 'em try to smack 'im. I think I'll have him come closer and closer, only to say "I'll get you next time" if the PC is stabilized/healed. Hmm... I might have to incorporate that in some sort of Sanity-related (from Unearthed Arcana) thing. Like, PCs with low sanity have a tendency to spot him, while others may not see him as often.
#24 doomsought Jul 02, 2008 21:53:20	there is a Slasher class in Undocumented features of dark earth. 10th level power is "sequel." Heh. More death apearances: tour guide, security guard (if your character was evil), Janitor (?)(If they were really EVIL, or made a mess of), a pale horse (they ride), a really old car (white paint job), an elevator, an elevator operator, A bouncer (in front of an exclusive club, letting the guy in "you are in front of the line")
#25 turalisj Jul 09, 2008 8:37:42	Well, in my campaign, this is how death is pictured (and purgatory) Purgatory: An empty field of grass with no trees around it and a road that seems to go on forever. Roughly in the middle sits a garden bench, like the kind you find at a bus stop. Sitting on the bench is an old man in a tuxedo with white hair and a scythe resting on one shoulder, smoking a cigar. This is death. Pretty simple, but then again the Grim Reaper doesn't realy need to be too complex. As for stats, I wouldn't bother. If the players try to attack them, then have their spell/power/bullets/sword/whatever hit him, but they end up wounded instead of him.
#26 emissary23 Aug 06, 2008 19:40:31	There are several versions of Death that we use, Lesser Death: An old man dressed in funeral garb, carrying a knife Death: A skeletal figure in a black cloak, carrying a scythe Greater Death: See death sans skeleton Death+: An empty void hovering in your peripheral vision that seems to be closing in without ever moving Death++: A programming language for the dead Death 2.0: A decaying corpse dressed in a black tuxedo or other formal wear, often mistaken for a well groomed zombie Death∞: As your life flashes before your eyes, in every memory there is a pale man dressed in a black suit Mecha-Death: A robotic skeleton with the Blue Screen Of Death compressed inside its rib cage, it carries a BFG9000 OmniDeath: A pitch black raven, cat, snake, spider, or carnivorous fish flies/walks/slithers/crawls/swims up to you Giant Squid Death: Black squid tentacles rise from the ground/water/clouds/what-ever-the-hell-is-below-you Lesser, Greater, Mecha, 2.0, Death, and Death+ all are defeat-able, the others are not. This system of multiple deaths of varying importance allows you to indicate to your players how close to death, how severe their condition is, and what the cosmos (aka GM) thinks of their death (Better death is a better Death). Robots and cyborgs are the only ones to ever encounter Mecha-Death. Death 2.0 is a comic relief only and should be used if a character dies of their own stupidity.