Riddlegeist
Riddlegeists are a form of intelligent undead created by the Golden Cloister for defense against magic- and technology-wielding foes, especially groups like the Kit's Crater Five.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Riddlegeists' natural affinity for illusion magic and applied sciences make them difficult to distinguish from living people at a distance. Seams along the coronal plane of their bodies indicate that their flesh is actually sewn onto their bodies like a glove, but this is easily concealed by clothing or hair. The eyes of a riddlegeist glint with blue or green light when they use their magical powers.
Genetics and Reproduction
Riddlegeists are created through foul necromantic rituals employed by the Golden Cloister which strips them of life and pollutes their spirits so that they are no longer a part of the natural cycle of death and rebirth. Riddlegeists are painfully aware of this latter fact (see Behavior & Psychology) and only fight on the behalf of the cult because of other binding magics inherent to that ritual. A riddlegeist freed of its handler will make no attempt to make other undead, and, in fact, will attack other undead before destroying itself if able.
Ecology and Habitats
Riddlegeists are occasionally, but rarely, loosed from Sanctum Ignis in the service of their cult masters as covert agents. Otherwise, Cloister members generally recognize that the risk of public discovery is too great and, instead, use these undead as auxiliaries when defending from incursions from the Kit's Crater Five or the OPSR. Thus, most riddlegeists are encountered in underground chokepoints with lots of adjacent spaces into which they can scry to provide early warning of such incursions.
Behaviour
Far from the evil, mindless, shambling corpses one might imagine when one pictures the undead, riddlegeists are tragic figures victimized by the Cloister's deliberate, scientific application of magic for evil ends. Riddlegeists are sentient and imbued with three particular pieces of knowledge: that their unnatural existence will cause God-fearing folk aware of their nature to attempt to kill them upon discovery, that the existence of undead threatens the ontological stability of the world itself - and that their souls are too corrupted to re-enter the spiritual cycle so that their next death will be 'true death.' Thus, while riddlegeists generally wish to be destroyed to protect the world and their surviving loved ones from whatever calamity might come from the existence of undead, they also fear the unknown that comes with true death, and, as such, fight with all of their might to forestall their own demise.
Importantly, though they have the capacity to create undead due to their acquaintance with summoning magic, a riddlegeist will never knowingly create undead; most of them wish for nothing more than the complete destruction of undead, themselves and their kind last. Because of this mindset, riddlegeists will not provide non-riddlegeist undead their protective services and, thus, are generally only employed in matched pairs alongside living Cloister agents. A riddlegeist almost always lets opponents make the first move, delaying their actions until they can be delivered to smartly foil whatever the enemy does. The riddlegeist will search out opponents using its scrying ability so that it has enough time to prepare the battlefield. Once engaged, a riddlegeist might use their illusion magic to conjure banks of fog or darkness to block line-of-sight, use their transmutation magic to temporarily render allies invulnerable to non-standard modes of attack, or conjure animals or cultists to interpose between themselves and the enemy. Outside of combat, riddlegeists are generally drawn from technical fields and, as such, can be employed to craft consumables.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Riddlegeists have a limited ability to scry through both space and time, granting them exceptional situational awareness even in comparison to most of their Cloister handlers. With the additional application of transmutation magic, a riddlegeist can also grant itself exceptional perceptual modes, such as infrared-spectrum vision or the ability to sense opponents through tremors in the ground. In general, one does not get the jump on a riddlegeist, but, because of their defensive proclivities (see Behavior & Psychology), a riddlegeist seldom gets the jump on its opponent, either.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Geographic Distribution
Riddlegeist, Lv. 25 (35 xp)
S: 1 | D: 1 | E: 3 | I: 6 | P: 6 | C: 1 | A: 6HP: 105 | PD: 1 (7) | AD: 6 (9)*
*+2 vs. Teleport/Restrain/Blast
MA: 1 (7) | RA: 1 (7)
Skills: Applied Science 1 (11/2), Summon 1 (12/1), Transmute 2 (14/3), Scry 1 (14/2), Illusion 1 (12/1)
CF: Non-Living (5), Special Perception (see infrared)(via Transmute), Hybrid Melee Attack (S/A, claws)(via Transmute), Hybrid Ranged Attack (D/A, eye rays)(via Transmute), Resist (2 vs. Teleport/2 vs. Restrain/2 vs. Blast)(via items)
Syn: S D E I P C AA
Equipment
Description
See description at left.
Tactics
Riddlegeists are constantly splitting their attentions between their own Transmute-enhanced senses and an area nearby targeted via Scry. Once engaged, the riddlegeist will attempt to Summon an ally, suppress enemy Summon abilities, render itself or allies immune to attacks they suspect an enemy might use, or create sight-breaks via Illusion. If an enemy is detected early, the riddlegeist may use Illusion to prepare the battlefield via smoke clouds or illusory allies to confuse enemy Scry users. The riddlegeist is not skilled at combat, but may use claws, eye rays, or grenades to apply Pile-On to opponents.
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