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Greater Shadow

Greater Shadow

AX.GHW.13.06.05

A Shadow entity of significant independent power. Not a tool sent to do a job, but something with its own agenda operating in the hidden world for its own reasons. Greater Shadow Entities are beings that the compact system was designed to contain; a Greater Shadow Entity in the hidden world without compact constraint is a genuine crisis.

Type: Shadow Entity (Greater)

Threat Power Package: Elite

Size: Large (true form) or Medium (when inhabiting a vessel)

Attributes

  • Body: 4D
  • Speed: 3D
  • Wit: 5D

Talents

  • Brawl: 3D
  • Supernatural Power (Shadow): 4D
  • Persuade: 3D
  • Deceive: 3D
  • Notice: 3D
  • Resolve: 3D
  • Fortitude: 2D

Combat Statistics

  • Health: 39 (20 + Body 4 + Elite modifier 15)
  • Defense: 3 (Speed 3 + supernatural resilience = effective Defense 3)
  • Armor: Supernatural resilience (equivalent to Light +1)

Saves

  • Body Save: 6D (Body 4D + Fortitude 2D)
  • Speed Save: 3D (Speed 3D)
  • Wit Save: 8D (Wit 5D + Resolve 3D)

Attacks

  • Shadow Claw: Body 4D + Brawl 3D = 7D vs Defense, 5–7 Shadow damage typical; target must make Body Save vs Threshold 3 or gain a persistent Shadow Brand (a darkened mark at the site of the wound that causes 1 Shadow damage per scene until removed; Threshold 3 Sacred Fire application)
  • Dark Surge: Wit 5D + Supernatural Power 4D = 9D vs Defense (Near range), 4–6 Shadow damage typical; area effect, all targets within Close range of the targeted point
  • Domination: Wit 5D + Supernatural Power 4D = 9D vs target's Wit + Resolve (contested), Near range; on success, target is compelled to follow one specific instruction for the remainder of the scene

Shadow Traits

  • Shadow Immunity: Immune to Shadow damage
  • Radiant Vulnerability: Double damage from Radiant; blessed water deals 2D6 Radiant damage
  • True Form: The Greater Shadow Entity has a physical manifestation beyond the human scale. When fighting in true form, it gains +1D to all Brawl attacks and +5 HP but becomes unmistakably non-human. Veil implications are severe.

Special Abilities

  • Shadow Presence: All non-Shadow-Bound characters within Near range of the Greater Shadow Entity must make a Wit Save vs Threshold 3 at the start of each scene or become Shaken for the duration of the scene. Shadow-Bound Marked characters are immune; Light-Bound Marked characters roll this Save at +2D.
  • Compact Reading: The Greater Shadow Entity can read any compact within Far range without a roll. It knows the terms, the parties, the current state of obligation, and any violations. This includes Shadow-Bound Marked characters' bloodline compacts.
  • Shadow Aura: Any creature that begins its Turn in Close range of the Greater Shadow Entity takes 1D3 Shadow damage from ambient shadow energy: a consuming cold that emanates from the entity's presence.

Tactics

Greater Shadow Entities are tactically sophisticated and psychologically practiced. They use Shadow Presence to impose Shaken conditions before engaging directly, Domination to neutralize the most capable combatant and Dark Surge against clustered targets. They maintain awareness of every character's compact status and exploit any existing compact obligations. A character with even a minor obligation is potentially subject to the entity's authority claims. In extended combat they use the Shadow Aura to discourage Close-range engagement while making ranged attacks.

Lore & Ecology

Greater Shadow Entities in the hidden world without compact constraint are rare because the compact system exists specifically to prevent it. When a Greater Shadow Entity is operating freely, something has broken down: a Shadow-Bound Marked practitioner's compact has been voided through violation, a compact binding has failed, or something or someone opened a breach deliberately. Determining which of these situations applies is the first investigative priority. The entity's presence is not incidental; it has a purpose, and understanding that purpose is essential to resolving the situation.

Banishment

Banishing a Greater Shadow Entity requires a full expulsion ritual (Governing Attribute + Occult vs Threshold 4, Extended Work, minimum 30 minutes, often with active resistance from the entity). Sacred Fire's Accord's Command at high Threshold can contain the entity in a specific space, allowing the expulsion to proceed without the entity escaping. Destroying a Greater Shadow Entity physically requires sustained Radiant damage: a sustained Sacred Fire engagement at Threshold 3+ applications, repeated over the course of a fight. It is achievable but requires resources.

Scene Materials

  • Significant shadow residue (environmental contamination that persists for days, Veil emergency; $1,000–3,000 to Aldersham)
  • Evidence of how the entity entered the hidden world (crucial for preventing recurrence)
  • Compact documentation if the entity was operating under any obligation structure