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Scene: During a roleplaying scene, the players face the potential for combat against some enemies while large crowds are nearby observing. Because of the fey/psychic nature of their enemies, a strange effect begins to occur - the minds of the PCs begin projecting the images of previously defeated foes and the characters catch sight of people who should be dead moving through the crowds during the fight, unnerving them. Imagine the slow-mo scenes in a movie when the hated enemy that died in Act I is back, moving through the crowd, locking eyes with the protagonist.

UNNERVING SHADES
Out of the corners of your eyes, barely in your field of vision, you catch sight of someone moving through the crowd of spectators. You turn your head to look and lock eyes with a familiar and unnerving face from the past. You can see your friend looking around in the same way, a worrisome look on his face.

As long as you can see a shade that haunts you, you have a -2 penalty to defenses and saving throws.

You Can’t Be Real (DC 24): You try to ignore unnerving shades, bracing your will to shut them out of your mind or using your memories to defeat them with reason. Make an Endurance, History or Streetwise check as a minor action. The shades do not affect you until the end of your next turn.

Snap Out of It (DC 24): Your friend suffers from a similar effect and needs help to see the truth. Make a Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Religion check as a minor action. The shades do not affect an ally of your choice until the end of your next turn.

Attempt to Disbelieve (DC 29): You try to pierce through the unnerving shades with a weapon or with keen observation. Make a basic attack, Insight, or Perception check as a minor action. The shade haunting you is dispelled.


Mechanically speaking, this isn't a skill challenge in the traditional sense. There are no victory or defeat conditions per se though I'm sure some could be devised. When the combat is over or if someone is able to dispel the shades haunting them, the effect ends. Because the game I play is online, I was able to drop pogs of the old enemies onto the map and move them around, make them vanish and reappear, and otherwise do spooky things in addition to the effect above. I made it a minor action for the PCs to interact with the shades because that was appropriate for my particular PCs; I could see this done as a free action 1/round, too. Because they rely upon line of sight to affect a PC, I put places on the map (buildings and such) that could be used to shut them out if needed - the old run-into-the-room-and-slam-the-door trick from the movies.

In practice, I never got to see this play out. As things got heated between the PCs and their adversaries (evil gnomes in this case), I started adding the pogs into the crowds. After some initial panic and roleplaying with each other trying to figure out what was going on, the PCs fled the scene. They didn't want any part of it. Mission accomplished, I guess, though I would have liked to see the actual mechanics in play.

That seems like it would be interesting to play out. I don't see anything I'd change about it.

This is an excellent idea !

However, this feels more like a trap - a "zone" within which the characters are beset by the effect.

I'd have the trap attack Will and have the checks you created grant defense bonuses or even dispel the effect (minor action for bonus, move to remove the effect).

In the same vein as the original idea, enough successes during the encounter could lead to a bonus or clue form one of the shades. Perhaps that one shade was a lost loved one that lets drop a cloth stained with blood and with the bbeg's initials. Or that old master has one last piece of advice that makes a missed blow strike true or a repositioning of the legs that allows for a proper dodge. Etc.

Nov 8, 2011 -- 3:14PM, Movanic wrote:

This is an excellent idea !

However, this feels more like a trap - a "zone" within which the characters are beset by the effect.

I'd have the trap attack Will and have the checks you created grant defense bonuses or even dispel the effect (minor action for bonus, move to remove the effect).

In the same vein as the original idea, enough successes during the encounter could lead to a bonus or clue form one of the shades. Perhaps that one shade was a lost loved one that lets drop a cloth stained with blood and with the bbeg's initials. Or that old master has one last piece of advice that makes a missed blow strike true or a repositioning of the legs that allows for a proper dodge. Etc.

Thanks. I definitely see your point. That could easily be a trap or hazard.

Good idea on the clues too. Easy way to insert story devices.