Revision as of 00:36, 6 April 2010

Traits

The Somnial share a number of traits with their Abyssal kin, including:

• Eternal Life: Somnials and Abyssals share their immortality from death
• Eternal Death: Somnials have the same ultimate fate as the Abyssals
• Damned: Somnials are creatures of unholy power
• Rejected By Creation: Somnials, as creatures that are made with the power of the Labrynth, and by extension the Void, are repelled by the essence of life
• Recovering Essence: Somnials have the same respiration rules as the Abyssal exalted when in Creation or the Underworld, with the exception of blood drinking. They regain essence by taking the humor of their respective caste.
• Backgrounds: Somnials have the same list of backrounds as the Abyssals
• Dark Fate: Somnial no longer have Clarity, instead taking Resonance like the Abyssals.
• Monstrances: Somnials have Monstrances of Celestial Portion, just like Abyssals. In fact, these work for Somnials like Vats do for Alchemicals...

== Note: List taken from FrivYeti's Nihilic Exalted . Any resemblence to their list is entirely... semi-intentional. ==

Bodies of Fallen Men

The Somnials have many differences from their Alchemical cousins. To start, they do not of bodies made from Magical Materials. Rather, their current bodies are Necrotech constructs, with a gem of soulsteel made from a single, qualified soul to substitute the soul gem. This means they can not use the charms the Alchemicals can, with the exception of Voidtech charms, much to the confusion of both parties. Instead, their native charms are very much Necrotech influenced, if not outright necrotech. The Somnials are masters of all things to do with Necrotech, and can animate it with either certain charms, or with Delusions(described below).

This is not to say that having a Necrotech body is always a good thing. This trait is quite obvious, so without proper charms, it's impossible to hide. It also needs constant maintenance, as these bodies are subject to constant use. Their "steelgems" are also subject to problems, being made with more Labyrinth stuff than souls, unlike most soulsteel. This amounts to Somnials having a unique relationship with the sleeping Neverborn- namely, that they can hear their whispers more easily than even Abyssals. This also causes Somnials to(usually) be quite loyal to the Deathlords' cause, only furthering their usefulness- not that a Somnial cannot rebel.

Control of the Labyrinth

The Alchemicals have the power to manipulate the very threads of Fate. Because the Somnials are outside fate, they are not permitted to use these powers. Instead, they have the power to manipulate the Labyrinth itself to perform acts reminiscent of Necromancy, among other things. These Delusions, as they are called, are quite potent, despite only having two circles- Lucid and Nightmare, respectively. While these powers aren't required, most, if not all, Somnials have at least Lucid Circle Delusions. It's especially useful for animating complex Necrotech machines.

While Delusions can be helpful, using them and rising within their power causes a Somnial to connect even closer to the Neverborn. Certain Delusions also cause the Neverborn to become displeased, causing the user in question to gain resonance.

Comments

• Umm, I'm still not sure if the term "Delusion" is a good name for their powers. But I can't think of something better to use instead. Help? - Kuiper

• Delusions seem like a perfectly reasonable name based on the fluff you've provided, their powers being based on the dreams of the Neverborn and the manipulation of the Labyrinth. If what you're going for is saying that these zombie-robots are using the dreams of dead gods to destroy reality and make me foam at the mouth like I've just seen an elder god, Delusions sound pretty cool. - EwindaleMoss
  • ... you managed to make this idea sound much cooler than I originally thought it was. XD I'm keeping Delusions then. And that foaming at the mouth thing will be put on the list of things I need to add when I get into making Delusions... - Kuiper

• Okay, I have a problem with that section where I mention Somnials alternate essence-regaining method. Mainly... I have no clue what it should be. I have four ideas, but I wanted to run them through the comments first before adding them.

1) I could have them eat flesh. Seems a bit odd to me, though, and maybe un-thematic.

2) I could have something to do with them attaching the flesh of fallen enemies to themselves or something to that effect. Seems a bit messy, though.

3) I could do some bone-eating thing... maybe? I dunno, haven't thought this one through.

4) My least favorite idea, I could have them drink blood like Abyssals. I don't like it that much, seems a bit boring, but it might have to work... - Kuiper

• • Okay, figured it out. They now drink/take the fluid that they're caste is of to regain essence. Figured it made the Castes slightly more important. ^^; But if you people have better ideas, please come out and say them! I won't bite! ^^ - Kuiper