Nightbane

The Nightbane

Only a few facts are known about the Nightbane. They are shape-changers, with a human form known as the Façade, and a monstrous form called the Morphus. No two Nightbane have the same Morphus; in fact, a few are beautiful in an inhuman way. All Nightbane are adopted children or orphans. Who their parents are, and where they come from, remains unknown to them. They all are born on the day of a total solar eclipse. They are supernaturally strong and resistant to injury, have several different supernatural powers, and have life spans measured in centuries. They can also sense the presence of others of their kind.

There are many theories and rumors about the Nightbane, especially among their own kind. Some say they are being of pure energy that take human form in an instinctive effort to blend in. When a Nightbane is killed in Morphus form, his body dissolves into a pool of black light which dissipates in a matter of seconds, lending credence to that theory. When he dies in his human form, the Façade decomposes like a normal human body. Other occultists think the Nightbane have the power to manifest their soul or their personality in the Morphus. Their proof is the fact that the Morphus’ shape is typically related to the fears, likes or dislikes of the Nightbane. Nobody knows whether either theory is right; a few think that maybe both are right and wrong at the same time.

Nightbane have existed for centuries. Most Nightbane have lived out their lives without suspecting their inhuman origins; they lived and died as normal human, and their Facades decomposed with the passage of time. The few who had their identities revealed helped give rise to the legends of demons, werewolves, changelings, and faerie children. The Nightbane discovered they aged very slowly and learned to use their supernatural powers and monstrous visage to their benefit; some fore good, others for evil. In the dawn of history, some of these beings were worshipped as gods on Earth, and founded entire empires. Some of the animal-headed gods of Egypt and the mythical god-kings of Mesopotamia are believed to be Nightbane whose powers manifested themselves.

Eventually, awe gave way to fear. By the Middle Ages, the Nightbane were considered to be demons and hunted down everywhere. The ones who survived persecution lived in hiding, often traveling the world never staying in one place for long, especially as the passage of years did not tarnish their physical appearance. Some Nightbane formed secret societies and established a system of mutual assistance. The rules for these organizations were usually simple: Hide your Morphus from humans, do not harm humans unless absolutely necessary, and help any Nightbane you encounter. Any new member of their race was approached quickly, usually as soon as his/her powers manifested and offered shelter and protection. Those who were Nightbane but whose nature had not awakened were watched but left alone, since chances were they might never transform, especially if the change hadn’t occurred by age 24.

Nightbane Information

The Two Sides of the Nightbane: The two forms “worn” by Nightbane are symbolic of the duality that effects the entire race. Nightbane have a human form, contemptuously called the Façade. It is the shape they grew up with and which they considered their only shape before the Becoming. After their supernatural nature manifests itself, the Nightbane can switch back and forth between the Façade and an alien, monstrous form known as the Morphus. Nobody is sure which one is the “real” or “true” form, although most Nightbane tend to consider the Morphus to be their “true” shape.

The Race of the Thousand Shapes: Unlike any known species, the Nightbane do not have a standard physical appearance. Each Nightbane has a unique Morphus, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. In general the, the Nightbane’s Morphus will reflect some part of the character’s personality. For example: a character fascinated (or afraid) of snakes might turn into a were-snake creature or have scaly skin or a serpent’s tongue. A shy and/or unattractive person might actually transform into an awesomely beautiful, albeit inhuman, form or see himself as a monster and turn into a hulking beast.

The Becoming: The Nightbane appear to be normal humans until they experience their Becoming transformation. From that day forward they have two identities, human and superhuman monster. After the first Becoming, the Nightbane have the ability to shift at will from their human Facade to their Morphus. Typically, the initial Becoming is brought on by periods of heightened anxiety, stress and usually takes place in the late teens or early twenties. If the Becoming has not taken place by the Nightbane’s 24th birthday it is very likely that it will never occur and they will continue through life living and dying as a human.

The transformation process varies widely from one Nightbane to another. In some cases (especially when the Morphus is larger than the Façade), clothes will disappear, coming back only when the Nightbane returns to his Facade. In other cases, the Nightbane appears wearing the same clothing he had in his Façade, or is wearing a different set altogether. The actual Becoming may be as simple as a burst of brilliant light or a puff of smoke as the Nightbane assumes its Morphus. Or it can be more complex, even horrific, such as all the skin on the Facade’s face melting off to reveal a burning skull.

Supernatural Senses: The Nightbane have night vision in both the Morphus and the Façade, but the range changes dramatically. It is roughly 200 feet in the Facade and 500 in the Morphus. Nightbane in either form can sense the presence of other Nightbane as long as they are no further away then roughly 300 feet.

Supernatural Attributes: In their Morphus form Nightbane have supernatural strength and endurance, being several times stronger than an average human. They are also incredibly resilient and heal rapidly from injuries.

Vulnerabilities: While other supernatural creatures can be notoriously difficult to kill; silver bullet for a werewolf, decapitating/burning a vampire and so on, anything that can kill a human can kill a Nightbane. So getting a shotgun blast to the face isn’t something that’s just going to be shrugged off. It may not kill instantly but it might be a while before your face grows back. In addition, while in their Façade form Nightbane are just as fragile as any other normal human.

Infertile: All Nightbane are incapable of reproducing, even while in their Facade and with a normal human. The only time they can reproduce is before the first change.

The Morphus

Below is a small sampling of physical attributes that may be part of a Morphus.

Doll-Like Appearance
Elfin Features
Animal Form
-Giant Animal: Full animal appearance only much larger than normal size.
-Were-Animal: Half animal, half human.
-Animal Head
-Other Animal Body Parts/Attributes: Tails, fur, scales, large canines, claws, wings ect.
Glowing Eyes
Extra Eyes/One Eye
Misshapen Facial Features
Skull Face
Horns
Tentacles
Boney Exoskeleton
Thorns
Unusual Skin Color
Extra Arms
Metal Endoskeleton
Mechanical Limbs(can looks futuristic, steam-powered, piston-driven ect.)
Weapon Hand(chainsaws for hands!)
Corpse-Like(brains!)
Nails Sticking out of your body
Eternal Wounds(face looks like it was barbecued by a blow torch)
Other Icky Stuff

An example of a Morphus can be a fur covered man with ram horns, no nose, green glowing eyes, a snake’s lower body, four arms(two of which end in swords), and flaming hair. Simply put let your imaginations run wild.


Talents

Talents are supernatural powers, somewhat similar to magic spells, instinctively known to Nightbane; they cannot be taught or learned. Talents typically appear for the first time at the first Becoming. Later on, additional Talents are acquired as the Nightbane grows in strength. Talents can only be used while in the Morphus form.

Level 1: 2 Talents
Level 2: +1 Talent
Level 3: +2 Talents
Level 4: +1 Talents

Animate Shadow: This Talent causes the shadow of the Nightbane’s Morphus form to come to life. This shadowy creature looks like a solid ink-black version of the Nightbane, although without any distinguishing features beyond its outline. The shape will follow mental commands given by its creator, and can fight and follow most complex orders competently. The shadow is more fragile than the Nightbane, cannot regenerate damage and will only last for two minutes per level of the character or until dismissed.

Anti-Arcane: When activating this Talent, the Nightbane is surrounded by an aura of black light. While this aura is in effect, the Nightbane is utterly invulnerable to the effects of magic. This Talent is not available until level four and will only last for one minute and can only be cast once per day.

Darksong: The Nightbane can emit a piercing, deafening sound; it can be an inhuman howl, a mighty roar, an ultrasonic keening, or even electronic feedback, depending on the Nightbane’s Morphus.

Darkwhip: Creates tendrils of darkness that can be used to attack, entangle or disarm a target. The tendrils can have any shape, not limited to whips and tentacles, although those are the most common.

Nightbringer: Absorbs light around a Nightbane, creating an area of darkness. The darkness is so complete a vampire can remain in the center of it during the day and not be harmed by the sun.

Shadow Shield: Creates a force field of dark energy around a Nightbane that will protect him from attack until he cancels it or the attacks break through the shield.

Shadow Slide: The Nightbane becomes an insubstantial shadow, or , more accurately, like one of those mirages you can see on a paved road during a sunny day - a flickering shadow that seems to sink into the earth and fades away as if it never was. While in this two-dimensional form, the Nightbane can slither along walls and across the ground, virtually invisible and able to slide through any opening, no matter how narrow. The Nightbane’s clothing is transformed automatically.

Shadow Blast: The Nightbane can fire a black energy bolt from their hands or eyes. Damage increases with each level starting roughly equivalent to a 9mm bullet to that of a cannon. In addition to the impact trauma the wounded area suffers from burn wounds though from intense cold rather than heat.

Shadows of Fear: This Talent must be used in a shadowy or dark area. Throughout the area of effect, the shadows seem to move (can only be seen from the corner of one’s eye) and strange and frightening noises can be heard coming from every shadow. Some are like the rustling sounds of small animals, while others sound like deep growls and the shuffling steps of some large creature.

Sharing the Flesh: This is a strange and horrific healing spell. The Nightbane touches an injured person to magically transfer the person’s wounds, injury and pain to himself. The person being healed falls into a coma or sleep that lasts from anywhere from several minutes to several hours then awakens completely well. The effect is often gruesome, with nasty wounds spontaneously appearing on the Nightbane as the subject heals.

The Shroud: This powerful Talent enables a Nightbane to become invisible and noiseless to both normal vision as well as to electronic devices like cameras, motion detectors, heat sensors, ect. This ability can be used selectively, enabling some people to see the character while others can’t. Vengeful Nightbane have been known to drive a human insane by pursuing him in plain sight, invisible to everyone else. The victim’s cries for help would be useless, for nobody can see the monster threatening him!

Splittin’ Image: This powerful ability enables the Nightbane to separate his Façade and Morphus forms and act normally in both of them. The Nightbane in effect, becomes two people. The character is aware of what both sides are doing, but his consciousness must be focused on one form or the other (he can switch viewpoints at will). The form his consciousness is focused on acts normally; the other appears to lapse into a trance-like state. If either form is killed the Nighbane dies. Not available until 3rd level.

Information taken from the Nightbane Role-Playing Game handbook and modified were required.