Traits

Index:

Echoed Voice

You once put your voice at stake in a wager with a thing that collects sounds. You kept speaking, but the sound that leaves your mouth sometimes carries a second owner. In quiet moments, your laugh can come out wrong, like a borrowed recording.

Type: Character Trait

• Borrowed Timbre: You can mimic a voice you have heard clearly for at least 1 minute. Opponents who know the original voice may attempt an Opposed Test: your Entertain (Acting) vs their Intuition. If you win, they accept the mimicry for the scene. If you lose, they notice something off and gain +1 SL on their next Social Test against you this scene.
• The Laugh That Slips: Once per session, the GM may call for a Challenging (+0) Cool Test when you are stressed, amused, or trying to keep a straight face. On a failure, your laugh triggers at the wrong time or in the wrong voice. You suffer -10 to your next Social Test, and the nearest observer who can hear you gains +1 Advantage for social pressure, interrogation, or intimidation against you until the end of the next round.
• Echo Payment: If you score a Critical on a Social Test that uses your voice (Charm, Gossip, Entertain, Intimidate, Leadership), you may choose to "push the echo". Add +2 SL after the roll. Then immediately gain 1 Corruption point or become Fatigued (choose). The voice is not free.
• Unsteady Truth: You suffer -10 to Charm Tests when speaking plainly about your own past or making heartfelt promises. You do not take this penalty when using a mimicry, a rehearsed persona, or a formal script.

Use this as a character trait, or as a template for an NPC who "speaks with overlap".

• Vocal Mask: You are trained in deception tasks that rely on voice, such as impersonation, forged phone calls, shouted orders, and distracting banter.
• Perfect Recall of Tone: If you have heard a person speak for at least one minute, you can reproduce their cadence and pitch well enough to fool casual listeners.
• Wrong Laugh: When you are under pressure, the GM can intrude. Your laugh or a stray phrase comes out in the wrong voice. Your next interaction task is hindered. If you accept the intrusion, you gain 2 XP as normal.

Special Ability, Push the Echo (2 Intellect points): As part of a deception or persuasion interaction, you lace your words with the echo’s weight. You gain an asset on the task. After the roll, choose one cost: take 2 Intellect damage, or the GM gains an immediate intrusion option tied to who "owned" the voice.

Living Shadow

A Shadebound Apparition is a person-shaped shadow that hooked up with someone and stayesd. It clings to edges of light and uses darkness as both skin and entry. It can slip through narrow gaps, hide in plain sight, and smother light with a touch.

Type: Creature Trait
Rules:

• Shadow Body: The creature counts as Ethereal for non-magical attacks. Non-magical weapons cannot harm it unless they have the Magical quality or are blessed. Magical attacks, spells, and weapons with Magical can damage it normally.
• Umbral Slip: The creature ignores penalties for moving through darkness, smoke, or crowds. It can pass through any gap a cat could fit through, even if its form looks human-sized. This movement never triggers Free Attacks.
• Light Aversion: While in Bright light (direct sunlight, strong lanternlight, or a Light spell effect), it suffers -10 to all Tests and cannot use Umbral Slip. If it starts its turn in Bright light, it must pass an Average (+20) Cool Test or spend its Move to reach shadow if any is within reach.
• Shadow Feast: If it ends its turn fully in darkness or deep shadow, it immediately removes 1 Condition affecting it (Bleeding, Ablaze, Entangled, Fatigued, Poisoned, Prone). If none apply, it instead gains +1 Advantage (to a maximum of its normal limit).
• Smother the Flame: As an Action, it targets a light source within Willpower Bonus yards. It makes an Opposed Test: Willpower vs the bearer's Cool (or the source's creator's Language (Magick) for magical light). If it wins, mundane light dims to a weak glow for WPB rounds. If it wins by 3+ SL, the light goes out. Magical light instead has its radius halved for WPB rounds.
• Shadow Grasp: If it hits in melee, it may choose to deal no Wounds and instead inflict Fatigued. If the target is already Fatigued, it also loses 1 Advantage (minimum 0).

GM Notes, quick hooks:

• It prefers alleys, stairwells, curtains, waggon undersides, and crowds at dusk to move.
• It scouts by "wearing" a wall shadow and listening through it.
• It fears open courtyards at noon more than blades.

Descriptor-style Trait for Shadebound Apparitions
Rules:

• Step Through Shade: It can move through a space as narrow as its head if both sides touch darkness or deep shadow. This is a short-range movement and ignores hindering terrain. Using it is an action.
• Melt to Contrast: While it stands in dim light or darker, it is specialized in Stealth and Speed defense tasks.
• Drink the Dark: If it spends ten minutes resting in darkness, it regain 1 additional recovery roll step (or the GM can allow it to recover +2 Might or +2 Speed instead).

Weakness:

• Bright Light Aversion: In bright light (direct sun, intense artificial light, strong light effects), all its tasks are hindered. It also cannot use Step Through Shade there.

Special Ability, Smother Light (2 Intellect points): Choose a light source within short range. Mundane light dims to near-darkness for one minute. If the light is magical or a cypher effect, make an Intellect task against the effect's level. On a success, its illumination is reduced by one step (bright to dim, dim to near-dark) for one minute.
Optional offensive rider, Shadow Grasp (1 Might point): When it hits with a melee attack in dim light or darkness, it can deal 2 less damage to inflict "weariness". The target's next action is hindered.