Telgar/Gedog
Gedog (level 5 Familiar)
Native to the Farthest East where the trees grow so thick and close together that sunlight cannot penetrate the overlapping leaves, Gedogs are masters of the darkness that is their home. They feed on moss and lichens, occasionally eating albino crickets or worms. No more then a foot long their sleek bodies are covered in short black fur. They have tiny black eyes, most often seen squinted against any sort of light. Gedogs are almost blind and they rely on their large, quivering noses and huge ears to make up for the lack. Gedogs resemble rats, to a degree, though they lack a tail and their ears are large, floppy things that measure half the length of their bodies. They often use their ears to cover their eyes when in sunlight.
Physically weak and unimposing, Gedogs are possessed of unique magical abilities related to shadows and darkness from which they derive their name. In Old Realm 'gedog' is a word for masks often associated with Wayang the God of Silence and Shadows. A Gedog's magic can bend darkness and bring shadows to life to attack, ensnare or suffocate their enemies or simply to hide the Gedog. They are intelligent enough to use their powers to create complicated illusions and traps. In their native habitat, Gedogs are quite ferocious and powerful but they become more timid when taken away from the darkness and exposed to light.
Most often prefered as Familiars by Abyssals and Endings Caste Sidereals a few Gedogs are known to serve Night Caste Solars or nocturnal Lunars. Even bound by Essence, Gedogs are stubborn creatures and they can be difficult to deal with unless their wishes coincide with that of their master. Gedogs are well aware of their power and how helpful they are to Exalted and, thus, quite proud. While they cannot normally speak, they can illustrate complex points using shadow performances and understand human languages after a short learning period.
Attributes: Str 1 Dex 5, Sta 1, Cha 1, Man 5, App 1, Per 4, Int 3, Wits 3
Abilities: Brawl 1, Survival 1 (Dark Places x3), Athletics 4, Awareness 4 (In Darkness x3), Dodge 4, Stealth 4 (In Darkness x2), Occult 1, Performance 4 (Shadows x3)
Dodge & Soak: 11 | 1B/1L
Essence: 3 (100 motes)
Willpower: 7
Health Levels: -0, -1, -2, -4, Incap
Virtues: Compassion 1, Temperence 3, Conviction 3, Valor 3
Attacks:
- Claw - Acc 7 | Dmg 2L | Def 5 | Rate 3 | Spd 9
- Bite - Acc 5 | Dmg 4L | Def 3 | Rate 2 | Spd 6
Special Notes:
- Light Sensitive - Gedogs are not happy when in bright light and suffer a -1 penalty to all actions. Using their magic in bright light imposes a +2 difficulty on any roll required for the magic's use. Gedogs are treated as Creatures of Darkness for purposes of Solar Charms not because they are unnatural but because the brilliant Light of Solar powers is quite painful for them.
- Shadow Magic - The special magic of a Gedog allows them to command darkness and shadow as a tangible force, weiling it as a weapon or shaping it into complex forms to communicate, entertain or decieve.
- Animate Shadow - Bringing a creature's shadow to life effectively creates a duplicate of the creature which is under the Gedog's control. Shadow-dopplegangers have the same stats as the original creature but lack any magical powers. A Gedog must be able to hear, smell or see it's target for as long as it wishes the doppleganger to remain in existence. Animating a shadow costs 10 motes. Motes used to create dopplegangers are committed until the shadow is dispursed or destroyed. Dopplegangers have as many health levels as their original source does without the benefit of Ox-Body or similar effects.
- Weave Shadows - Simply gathering darkness and shadow into whatever form they wish, a Gedog can write words, create shadow theater, produce frightening images or whatever else they wish. Shadows animated and moved using this power can not actually do anything requiring physical form, nor are they convincing illusions of real objects. This power is quite broad and Storytellers are encouraged to use it carefully. It requires 5 motes per scene of use and a Wits + Performance roll to create detailed or complex images. This is the primary method by which Gedogs communicate with humans.
- Living Shadows - Similar to Animate Shadow, this power allows a Gedog to give solid form to darkness. Using this power a Gedog cannot create faux-shadows of creatures not present but they can bring the shadows around them to life in the forms of tentacles, weapons or other forms. Effectively this power allows a Gedog to make attacks using whatever mundane weapon they choose with their Wits + Performance pool. Each shadow animated costs 10 motes per scene. Motes used to create shadow weapons are committed until the weapon is dispursed or destroyed. Shadow-weapons have 4 health levels.
