Darktouched

"Sure, of course I can smile more."

To many, Darktouched (also called Nightkin or Duskdwellers) are an enigma thanks to the element they represent, and the stigma around it results in many unflattering rumors. Some say they are born to Elves who have lost themselves in emotion and that they emerge from deep in the woods. Others say they are born of those conceived at the moment when the Nightstar is at its darkest, or from those violated by nightmarish beings of shadow. The truth is more likely closer to other Planetouched, but few hold true devotion to The Shadow, and many of those touched by darkness are not even certain where they came from.
While they are frequently treated no better than Tieflings, Darktouched do not have an inherently evil nature. They do have a strong connection to negative emotion and are not particularly sociable, but they take no joy in causing fear, anger, or pain. In fact, they tend to take little joy in anything, frequently being dour, depressed, and nearly monotone themselves. This same description often encompasses their physical features as well - strangely colorless or grayscale skin, hair, and eyes, with the eyes and hair often being unnervingly pitch-black. Some learn to fake positivity as they need to, but they rarely feel positive emotions, and when they do find something that truly brings them joy, they often become unhealthily obsessed with it.

Racial Modifiers

• Characteristics: Darktouched gain a +1 to DEX and WP, but suffer a -1 to POW. They have strong instincts and will, but are not very expressive.
• Lightless Vision: More than night vision, Darktouched take no penalties from natural or supernatural darkness. Note that this still does not apply to all blindness, such as from damage to the eyes, smoke, or stealth.
• Inured: Due to their nature, Darktouched are inherently adept at controlling their negative emotions. They experience halved penalties for Fear, and cannot experience Terror (if they would, they instead experience Fear at the full penalty). They may also ignore the detrimental effects of Rage.
• Duskwalker: Adept at subtlety, Darktouched gain a +30 to Stealth and Hide, as well as +20 to Magic Appraisal to conceal their spells, +20 Psychic Potential when using Hide Matrices, and a +10 to Ki Concealment (on top of what is provided from their Hide bonus).
• Shadow's Roar: Normally, civilized Darktouched control and conceal their emotions to act more in line with the expectations of others. Their true internal nature, however, is something much more primal. By spending a point of Fatigue, the Darktouched can let out a roar infused with their emotions. Those that hear this roar must make a Psychic Resistance Check against the character's Presence + 40 or suffer the state of Fear towards the Darktouched for one round for every 10 points of difference between the target number and the roll. If used in melee range and focused on a single target, the difficulty increases to Presence + 60, but conversely, the difficulty drops by -40 if the hearing of the target is partially obscured. Finally, using this ability brings the Darktouched into a primal state, preventing the use of Inured and Duskwalker and allowing the use of Primal Violence and Predator's Gait. They may leave this primal state by passing a Difficult Composure check or taking one half hour outside of strenuous situations. At the GM's discretion, this may be employed without the use of a Fatigue point if there is a good reason for the character to be experiencing such strong negative emotion.
• Primal Violence: When consumed by emotion, Darktouched experience less effects from pain and Fatigue, halving the penalties from both. Their unarmed attacks are also considered Dark for the purposes of beings with weaknesses to such attacks. However, this power also clouds their senses, giving them a -30 to Notice, Search, Magic Appraisal used for identifying magic, and a -10 to Ki Detection.
• Predator's Gait: When running while employing stealth in their primal state, Darktouched halve their penalty to Stealth down to -40. Their terrifying demeanor also grants them a +40 to Intimidate, but they suffer a -20 to most other non-combat actions (namely, any Creative, Social, or Intellectual ability checks besides Intimidate, and Subterfuge checks besides Hide and Stealth).
• Nightkin: Darktouched take half damage from attacks based on Darkness, but 50% more against attacks based on Light. In addition, they suffer a -20 to Resistance checks against effects related to positive emotions, including Fascination.
• Imbalance towards Darkness: Darktouched that learn elemental abilities are obligated to focus in those related to Darkness first. In other words, their first Path of Magic or Elemental Compatibility must be Darkness, and their first Psychic Discipline must be Sentience (for which they must focus on negative emotion). However, they gain an additional +10 MA or +40 Potential when casting from this path or using this discipline, respectively, and any attacks based on their element gain +10 Base Damage.