Midnight Shadows

The Midnight Shadows are a type of Bane that only shows up in "The Last Battleground" scenario for the Apocalypse book.

Overview

What the Wyrm released were some of the oldest Banes in existence, previously confined to the Abyss. These foul creatures are called the Midnight Shadows, and the Wyrm has finally unleashed them for the Apocalypse. They now represent a terrifying new enemy to the soldiers of Gaia, and a crucial part of the Wyrm's plans.

Physically, the Midnight Shadows are a hideous combination of a centipede, a slug and a huma child, coated in darkness. They have long, chitinous bodies that trail out behind them like a tail, with many legs, but this body (and the rest of them) is covered in a coat of swirling darkness and shadow. Only the legs are visible. Any Garou slicing through this coat enough to peer beneath for a few seconds sees flesh very much like that of a human's, but white and pure. Their legs are short and stubby, but human. Toward the front of this body, the cloak slowly rises to accommodate a vertical torso and a hood that conceals the creature's face, which is only drawn back when it feeds. Any that observe one feeding sees the face of an infant, passive and sleepy.

Their weaponry is impressive and highly deceptive. They do not have caws, but their cloak of shadow can extend up to five feet from their bodies in any direction. Raking across their opponents, these tendrils leave gaping wounds. Despite appearing small and flat, their teeth are razor sharp and they strongly favor bite attacks. They are also prone to acts of frenzied bloodlust, often mutilating fallen foes after a battle, as well as devouring specific internal organs. Other displays of wanton cruelty and sadism are common.

However, what it most frightening about these creatures is not their martial prowess, but rather their unparalleled hunting abilities. The Midnight Shadows do not appear to share a strict hive mind. They act independently of each other and appear to communicate in some way (though clearly not vocally, the Shadows make no sound) but they also act with a curious unity of purpose. Without direction, they understand their first duty is to kill every last Nuwisha alive, and they do so with stunning accuracy. Relying not upon conventional senses (except perhaps taste), they simply proceed towards their target, with no indication of how they know its location. This tracking sense is not perfect, however. They discover moving targets more easily than still ones. Tasting the blood of a target makes it notably easier for them. And the more unique the target, the harder it is for them to discover. Once they have tasted the blood of one Nuwisha, they discover finding the others has become much easier. Finding a specific Celestine might prove much more difficult.

Stats

Willpower: 5; Rage: 9; Gnosis: 10; Essence: 25
Charms: Airt Sense, Divine Prey, Materialize, Peek, Tracking, Wyrm's Mind
*Divine Prey: Surely their most feared ability, Midnight Shadows intuitively sense where their prey is even without ever having even seen or smelled it before. This prey can be defined as a single group rather than an individual, so long as the prey all share strong physical or social similarities. Naming "The Black Furies" or "the Garou" as prey is possible, as is "wolves" or "humanity," though the last might be rather pointless. "Shapeshifters" is too broad, however, since there is little similarity between the different Changing Breeds. Likewise, "Celestines" is too broad, although naming "Luna" works. When hunting a group, this charm finds the nearest example of that group.
To activate this power, the Shadow spends one Essence and rolls Gnosis against a difficulty of 10. This difficulty is reduced by one if the target is moving rapidly, and by one for every time the Shadow has tasted its prey's blood. When the Shadows were hunting the Nuwisha, the first Nuwisha they each hunted was a difficulty 10. But after one tased Nuwisha blood, its next victim was only difficulty 9, and so on. With large groups, hunting soon becomes child's play.
To pinpoint prey requires five successes. Once a Shadow has located its prey may use the Tracking harm to ensure an accurate chase. Four successes reveal a target's location within a very small area (such as a room), three reveal a specific but general location (such as a city), and two a vague location such as a country. One success reveals only what world they are in, such as a specific Realm, the Penumbra or the material world. Note that while this makes early hunting somewhat unreliable, Midnight Shadows hunt in groups of ten, and once one of them finds a lead, they prove excellent trackers by conventional means as well, with acute senses.
*Shared Purpose: While the Midnight Shadows do not work as a hive mind (they each have individual personalities and perspectives) they do nonetheless act upon a shared purpose, seemingly conveyed to them by the Triatic Wyrms. If the Storyteller wishes to explore this idea, it is possible that there are in fact three factions of Midnight Shadows, one devoted to each part of the Triatic Wyrm. If this is the case, the three factions may not work together perfectly.

References

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