*OBSCURAS - Master of Darkness, Lord of the Shadows >Description: Obscuras is the half-brother of Alluminas. Originally allied to law, he became jealous of Alluminas' wondrous light and claimed the realm of darkness for himself. When dedicated Obscuras cultists die, their shadow becomes fixed as it was at the moment of death, leaves their body and heads straight for Obscuras' shadow realm - a place of total blackness, but where those blessed to come can 'see' perfectly. >Symbol: Obscuras appears as a tall, dark haired man clad in black, who somehow seems to "radiate" darkness, and also takes the form of a bat. His followers wear black in rituals and his symbol is an eclipsed Morrslieb. >Alignment: Chaotic, but will tolerate Evil. >Area of Worship: Obscuras has secret cults throughout the old world, and rituals always take place in near or total darkness. He is followed by those necromancers who do not follow Khaine, and with others who work mainly in the shadows (eg. footpads). Dedicated cultists are admitted to the "brotherhood of the shadow" which shelters and works with fellow cultists travelling from other areas. >Temples: Being outlawed, Obscuras has no formal temples. His worshippers operate temporary shrines that can be quickly dismantled in an emergency. >Friends and Enemies: Obscuras severely dislikes the gods of law, but reserves the majority of his hatred for Alluminas. He maintains friendly relations with the Horned Rat and tends to ignore all other gods (including the other chaos gods) unless some scheme of theirs piques his interest. >Holy days: Holy days of Obscuras are generally when Morrslieb is new, as well as any and all times when an eclipse of the sun or either moon occurs. Another day held sacred is the winter solstice, when the Old World day is at its' shortest. >Cult Requirements: Obscuras welcomes all who wish to turn to the shadow. >Strictures: - Hunt down and destroy all followers of law, and especially of Alluminas. - Never kill a creature of darkness (eg. a bat) unless in self defence. - Sympathise with the Skaven and their aims. - Extinguish the lights that burn in the temples of Ulric whenever possible. - Extinguish all lights unless this would make the cultist unable to see. >Spell Use: Obscuras grants all petty, illusion and battle spells (except those that produce light), as well as allowing Necromancers who turn to him to keep and expand on their necromantic abilities. In particular, the level 4 spell "Illusion of Darkness" may be learned and used from level one onwards and the following special spells are available: >Night Sight Petty, 2 MP, personal range, effects last until next sunrise This spell grants to the character the ability to see in the dark without light, as for Night Vision, for the period of effect. >Extinguish Light Level 1, 3 MP, 12 yds. range, effects last until light is relit This spell will extinguish a single light source within 12 yds. of the caster, which will flicker a moment before being put out. Non- magical lights are extinguished automatically, but magical lights require a WP test to be made. Note that magical lights do NOT include normal lights started by magical means. >Manipulate Shadow (based on a spell written by Paul Keenan) Level 1, 2 MP, range: touch (or self), lasts until the next sunrise This has the effect of changing the shadow of the victim (who gets a WP save only if they notice being touched - an I test) into that of another humanoid creature of similar size (caster's whim). This may not seem particulary devastating, but to a suspiscious person / persons, it could have the effect of making them think the person is something else in disguise! (eg, a human with an ork shadow or a Chaos Warrior's shadow or a Daemonette's shadow!). The caster may even wish to make the victim have no shadow at all! To work, the spell requires something from the victim's body (hair, etc) and something from the body of the creature whose shadow the caster will imitate. >Cloak of Darkness Level 2, 8 MP, personal range, 1D6x10 turns duration This spell will work only during the hours of darkness (in the open) or in darkened areas, and cloaks the caster in an obscuring gloom. The caster sees normally out of the cloak, but viewers have difficulty looking into it. If confers a + or - 20 modifier to all hide, etc. tests in favour of the caster. >ShadowBolt Level 2, 6 MP, 48 yds range, instantaneous This spell is Obscuras' answer to the fireball and Alluminas' LightBall. It allows the caster to throw the ShadowBolt, a razor- sharp bolt of dark energy, at a target within 48 yds. The ShadowBolt always hits and counts as a magical missile, causing D10 damage at a strength of 6. Non-magical armour is ignored. >Summon Shadow Level 3, 14 MP, personal range, 1+ hours duration This spell summons a shadow from Obscuras' shadow realm to appear within 6 yds. of the caster, who must control the shadow (WP test, additional MPs may be spent to aid the test) if it is not to disappear again immediately. If controlled, it will obey the caster for the spells duration befre returning to the shadow realm. The shadow is subject to instablility and has the same abilities and restrictions as a ghost with regard to physical objects. As such, they are usually used for scouting duties and such, reporting their findings back to the caster. >Skills: One of the Night Vision and Astronomy skills may be bought at each level. >Trials: Protect a group of creatures of darkness (eg. prevent a rural community from harming or moving some bats in a temple roof), destroy a local cult of Alluminas, extinguish the light in the temple of the White Wolf in Middenheim, etc. >Blessings: Night Vision and Astronomy are favoured skills and favoured tests include all hide, shadow, etc. tests in darkness or semi-darkness. Obscuras may also confer the magical disability Nocturnal Lifestyle, and a one-shot use of the "Illusion of Darkness" spell is also relatively common. *SHADOWPHYTES M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel 6 90 - 6 7 50 80 6 - 80 80 80 80 - Also known as 'shadow demons', that name is quite accurate. Shadowphytes are demons of Obscuras with most of the normal demonic abilities, and the most dedicated of Obscuras' cultists hope to join the ranks of the Shadowphytes upon their deaths. Shadowphytes appear as black shadowy humanoids whose features are only barely visible through the inner darkness they radiate. They cannot fly but possess the ability to melt into the shadows in one place and reappear in the shadows somewhere else within their line of sight. They cannot be harmed by non-magical weapons, but suffer a loss of half their characteristics when not shrouded in full or semi- darkness. They are utterly destroyed if hit by Alluminas' pure light and Alluminas' LightBall and Hand of Light spells cause double damage to a ShadowPhyte. They can cause no physical wounding, but cause damage through their touch, which has the same strength robbing property as that of a wraith, and Shadowphytes can throw up to one ShadowBolt per round without need to formally cast the spell. Any character slain by a Shadowphyte is condemned to eternal torment in Obscuras' shadow realm, where his shadow will leave his body for immediately. Shadowphytes are immune to all psycholgy except that caused by a god, but are subject to instability when not shrouded in full or semi-darkness. Shadowphytes cause terror in creatures in creatures under 10 feet tall.