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All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity to characters or persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: This character class is based solely on the original movie, The Crow, and its sequal, The Crow: City of Angels and not on any comics or graphic novels. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right. I thought that Eric was the last. I never imagined there would be another... - Sarah, from The Crow: City of Angels The undead commonly known as Wraiths have no proper name. They are rare and not very well known. However they are very powerful and not to be trifled with. It is not recommended to get between one of these supernatural avengers and their target. The few that have rarely lived to tell of their mistakes. An undead such as this is created most often when a person is murdered along with a loved one. They are carried to the Underworld while carrying the great sadness of knowing that their loved one(s) are dying or already dead. They are then brought back to the mortal world in order to avenge the deaths. This almost NEVER happens to characters that are miscreant or diabolic. "The crow is his link between the land of the living and the realm of the dead." - Myca, from The Crow The undead's tie to the world of the living is the crow. A crow follows them everywhere and if the crow dies, the undead is vulnerable to injury. The crow is fragile and easily hurt, but almost no one knows to kill the crow and not the undead. The crow has 6 hitpoints. If a mortal sacrifices the crow and drinks his blood, the mortal gains all of the powers of a Wraith without the side-effect of having a task to complete and then dying. Because of this, whenever a Wraith is known to exist, they are hunted down by Necromancers and other practitioners of evil. When the undead is hurt (shot for example) the injury is inflicted but then healed almost instantaneously. The wound visably closes and blood on the body of the undead disappears (yes, they bleed even though they are undead). The undead can regenerate from ANY injury that is not from some type of magic or psionic attack. If a wound is inflicted by magic, psionics, or magic attacks (this includes punches and attacks by Vampires and Nightbane and other supernatural creatures), they regenerate at a rate of 10 HP per melee. Horror Factor: 15 when a target realizes who the undead is. 12 to others who realize the undead's intent. Alignment: Aberrant, always. They will kill anyone deemed not worthy of living that get in their way, but help people and protect them. Attributes: IQ, ME, and MA are the same as when they were living. PS: 3D6+10, PP: 5D6, PE: Not applicable, never tires. PB: As in life, Spd: 6D6. Hit Points (Special): 1D4x10 +60; see natural armor rating Natural Armor Rating: The Wraith is impervious to ALL physical attacks while the crow is unhurt. If the crow is hurt or dies, they are vulnerable, just like a normal human. The only thing that can hurt the Wraith while the crow is healthy is magic or psionics. The ONLY thing. P.P.E.: 1D4x100 due to their highly magical nature. This makes them prized sacrificial victims, in addition to the powers conferred by drinking the blood of the crow (see above). Natural Abilities: Shadow Meld at will, indefinite duration. Can see and hear, etc. through the crow's senses. Similar to a familiar. Does not need to breath, eat, or sleep. Can survive underwater or in a vacuum. Magic: None unless previously known (in life). If they knew magic, they can cast it at 1/2 strength due to the fact that they are no longer alive. Psionics Abilities: Empathy (Super), Object Read, Empathic Transmission. All special versions: Empathy: By touch only. This powerful version of Empathy allows the undead to also retrieve memories and the corresponding emotions, similar to mind bond. However the target does not learn anything about the undead. The target can not save. (Like when Eric Draven retrieved memories of Shelly's final hours from Albrecht's mind). Object Read: By touching objects that were special to the undead or his friends in life the undead will receive flashes from his life, buried memories. This serves to bring back his memories and let him know what is happening. (Like what happens when Eric Draven touches the cat (Gabriel) in the movie). Uncontrollable, and a good plot device for the GM to use. Empathic Transmission: This power allows the undead to instill emotions in the target. However they can also instill mental anguish with effects similar to the spell Agony. Target cannot move and is paralyzed with mental agony. They cannot attack or defend but suffer no damage. There is a 5% chance of the target's heart stopping. Roll once on the random insanity table if the target lives. (Like when Eric Draven grabs Top Dollar and gives him the memory of Shelly's last hours) Combat: Supernatural abilities. 6 attacks per melee. Bonuses: Use the Martial Arts table at 8th level proficiency for combat bonuses in addition to attribute bonuses. Alternately, use Tiger Claw Kung-Fu (Fu-Chiao Pai) from Ninjas & Superspies at 9th level. This includes all moves, attacks, etc except for Martial Arts powers. Also the undead is impervious to horror factor. Damage: As per supernatural strength table Skills: Has same skills as in life, however the undead does not increase in level no matter how long they are "alive". Average Life Span: Effectively Immortal. Will "die" within 1D6 hours of fulfilling their objective. Habitat: Anywhere in the Megaverse. Allies: Previous friends, good priests, etc. Enemies: Previous enemies, their target and his/her friends / cronies. Size: Same size as in life. Weight: Same weight as in life. Appearance: Appears as they did in life except paler than usual. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Created by Gabriel http://thegarden.neonexus.com