So, in my Britannia 3E campaign where I've banned elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, wizards, clerics, monks, paladins and a partridge in a pear tree, I found myself running a dungeon based (very) loosely on G3: Hall of the Fire Giant King. And as all of you who have heard of or played in G3 will know, it has drow.
Given my track record thus far, I sure as heck didn't want to have drow running around my nice clean world and leaving cooties behind. But that left a hole in my adversary lineup that I didn't have anything handy to fill with. I didn't really want to use orcs. I have absolutely nothing against orcs; some of my worst enemies are or have been orcs. But they just didn't have the feel that would be required for that particular part of the dungeon. Only one hit die; not evil enough.
So to solve my dilemma, I made up a new race.
Shadow spirit
Shadow spirits are capital-E Evil. In game terms, they exist as an adversary race, one that is completely antithetical to what the heroes stand for. They give a reason for PCs to slay monsters in heroic fashion.
Within the context of Britannia itself, shadow spirits are (almost literally) demons made flesh, a reflection of all the base urges that lurk within ourselves. They delight in cruelty for its own sake, and seem to take great pleasure in inflicting pain. It's said that shadow spirits have a complex system of ethics that is a twisted reflection of those which govern societies of the surface world. If so -- and shadow spirits certainly seem to have the capacity to develop such a thing -- none have yet reported on it.
Shadow spirits share a similar origin to orcs, who are creatures of hatred; but shadow spirits are more powerful, since they draw on all aspects of negative emotion and desire, and have the intellect and strength of will to harness this to their own ends. While an orc fails to understand what it is that drives him to kill and destroy, a shadow spirit knows and embraces her nature. Armed with this knowledge, she has the potential to be a far more formidable foe than any orc.
Go here for description and stats:
Shadow spirits
Turn the page, and I'm sure you'll agree that meeting one of these guys as an NPC is bound to provoke fits of furious rage and violence from even the most laid-back player.
Given my track record thus far, I sure as heck didn't want to have drow running around my nice clean world and leaving cooties behind. But that left a hole in my adversary lineup that I didn't have anything handy to fill with. I didn't really want to use orcs. I have absolutely nothing against orcs; some of my worst enemies are or have been orcs. But they just didn't have the feel that would be required for that particular part of the dungeon. Only one hit die; not evil enough.
So to solve my dilemma, I made up a new race.
Shadow spirit
Shadow spirits are capital-E Evil. In game terms, they exist as an adversary race, one that is completely antithetical to what the heroes stand for. They give a reason for PCs to slay monsters in heroic fashion.
Within the context of Britannia itself, shadow spirits are (almost literally) demons made flesh, a reflection of all the base urges that lurk within ourselves. They delight in cruelty for its own sake, and seem to take great pleasure in inflicting pain. It's said that shadow spirits have a complex system of ethics that is a twisted reflection of those which govern societies of the surface world. If so -- and shadow spirits certainly seem to have the capacity to develop such a thing -- none have yet reported on it.
Shadow spirits share a similar origin to orcs, who are creatures of hatred; but shadow spirits are more powerful, since they draw on all aspects of negative emotion and desire, and have the intellect and strength of will to harness this to their own ends. While an orc fails to understand what it is that drives him to kill and destroy, a shadow spirit knows and embraces her nature. Armed with this knowledge, she has the potential to be a far more formidable foe than any orc.
Go here for description and stats:
Shadow spirits
Turn the page, and I'm sure you'll agree that meeting one of these guys as an NPC is bound to provoke fits of furious rage and violence from even the most laid-back player.
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