The Umbran are a striking and enigmatic people, their very existence a living testament to the pervasive, transformative power of the Rift and the hidden realms it contains. Once a lineage of humans, they were fundamentally reshaped by a desperate flight into the deep, shadow-infused reaches of the Outer Planes (specifically, a realm within the Rift attuned to entropy and despair) during a catastrophic era. This harrowing experience forged them into beings intricately connected to gloom, reflection, and the elusive dance between dimensions. Their monochrome complexions, glowing eyes, and supernatural shadows are not mere physical traits, but indelible marks of their unique planar heritage, making them master infiltrators and silent observers in the Starfall Galaxy.
Core Identity: Duality, Adaptation, and the Shifting Veil Umbran are defined by their inherent duality – existing between light and shadow, between the material and the ethereal. They are perpetual outsiders, driven by a cautious worldview forged in peril, and possess an uncanny ability to adapt to prevailing circumstances. They value discretion, resilience, and the subtle manipulation of their environment, often seeking out gloomy areas with plenty of shadows where they feel most at home. Their unique shadows, which rarely reflect their bodies faithfully, serve as a constant reminder of their other-planar origins, flickering, shifting, or even imitating the forms of other creatures. For an Umbran, every Yom is a moment to navigate the shifting veil of existence, and every Dei a tool to survive unseen. They maintain composure when faced with strange creatures and circumstances, as their history has taught them the unpredictable nature of reality. Their skin tones range on a monochromatic scale from stark white to deep black, with all the shades of gray in between, and reflective, pupilless eyes that pierce the darkness. Their bodies are as diverse in shape and size as humans, but most display a certain fluidity of motion reminiscent of shifting shadows. They are known for their composure in dangerous situations, their preference for solitude or tight-knit communal bonds, and their ability to leverage their natural litheness and shadowy powers. Stories of Umbran in Starfall often highlight their mysterious origins, their mastery over light and darkness, and their unwavering pursuit of survival and knowledge from the hidden corners of the galaxy.
YOU MIGHT...
Seek out gloom and shadows, feeling most comfortable in dimly lit or dark environments.
Prefer to observe and influence from the unseen, acting as a master infiltrator or silent scout.
Adapt quickly to new and dangerous circumstances, relying on your resilience and discretion.
Explore the hidden realms of the Rift, seeking to understand its shadowy aspects.
OTHERS PROBABLY...
Find you enigmatic and hard to read due to your monochrome appearance and quiet nature.
Are wary of your connection to shadows and the Rift.
Seek your expertise in stealth, infiltration, or dealing with planar phenomena.
Are impressed by your composure in dangerous situations and your adaptability.
Physical Description
Umbran have monochrome complexions, ranging from stark white to deep black, and all the shades of gray in between. Their eyes are reflective and pupilless, often glowing faintly, allowing them to pierce darkness. While their bodies are as diverse in shape and size as humans, most display a certain fluidity of motion reminiscent of shifting shadows. Their unique shadows rarely reflect their bodies faithfully, flickering, shifting, or even imitating other creatures' forms, serving as a constant reminder of their other-planar origins.
Umbran typically wear practical, dark clothing that allows them to blend into shadows, often favoring lightweight materials that don't impede their fluid movements. They might incorporate subtle, reflective elements into their attire to play with light and shadow. Their voices are often soft and measured, reflecting their cautious and observant nature.
Society
Umbran society is typically insular and highly adaptable, often forming tight communal bonds based on shared experience and mutual protection. They are masters of blending into the background, preferring to observe and influence from the unseen corners of the galaxy.
Outer Sphere (Nomadic Enclaves & Hidden Havens): The Outer Sphere is home to many Umbran enclaves, often hidden deep within asteroid fields, derelict stations, or within the natural shadows of large, forgotten structures. They thrive as discreet merchants, couriers of sensitive information, or skilled troubleshooters, often trading their unique abilities for safe passage or vital resources amidst the Resource Wars. Their predilection for forming tight communal bonds and adapting to local customs has allowed them to persist where others fall, carefully navigating the volatile political landscape and avoiding direct conflict when possible.
Inner Sphere (Covert Operatives & Silent Watchers): In the gleaming, overcrowded ecumenopolises of the Inner Sphere, Umbran are a subtle, often unseen presence. They leverage their innate stealth and shadow-manipulating abilities to operate as highly effective information brokers, infiltrators, or even as discreet agents for cabals and corporations seeking to undermine rivals. Their ability to slip through the cracks of the Commission's pervasive surveillance makes them invaluable for clandestine operations, though they often face suspicion or fascination from other species aware of their shadowy reputation.
Frontier (Rift-Bound Explorers & Shadow-Weavers): The most adventurous Umbran are drawn to the chaotic Frontier, seeking out the deepest, darkest Rift-Burgs and areas of intense Planar Bleed to explore the origins of their own existence. They are fascinated by the raw, unadulterated shadows and temporal distortions found here, believing they hold keys to understanding their unique powers. Some even become specialized Rift-Navigators, capable of sensing shadow-aligned pathways within the Maelstrom, though the risk of debilitating Rift-Taint is constant.
Connection to the Rift and Shadow Infusion
The Umbran's unique connection to the Rift is not merely a psychic one, but a fundamental infusion of its entropic and shadowy energies. Their ancestry was forged when early human refugees, fleeing a cataclysm (perhaps an early localized Rift-Storm Cataclysm event or a desperate flight from the burgeoning Automaton Concordance), were forced to take refuge within a specific, dark Outer Plane that had bled into the Rift. This prolonged exposure to the plane's essence fundamentally warped their biology, leaching color from their forms and imbuing them with control over shadow, access to occult powers, and the ability to subtly shift between dimensions.
Their powers over shadows are a direct manifestation of this connection to the Rift's darker aspects. They can manipulate ambient gloom, render themselves unseen, or even manifest objects from pure shadow. The Rift-Storm Cataclysm, while a devastating event for the galaxy, might have been the very cosmic upheaval that provided the necessary influx of planar energy to complete their transformation. Exposure to intense Rift-Taint often manifests differently in Umbran, sometimes amplifying their shadow abilities or their connection to the Outer Planes, rather than simply mutating them. They are wary of anything that would bind them too closely to a single plane, cherishing their ability to traverse the veil.
Beliefs
Umbran beliefs are centered on their inherent duality – existing between light and shadow, between the material and the ethereal. They are perpetual outsiders, driven by a cautious worldview forged in peril, and possess an uncanny ability to adapt to prevailing circumstances. They value discretion, resilience, and the subtle manipulation of their environment. They typically do not adhere to rigid theological doctrines, but rather embody a philosophy of cautious survival, hidden influence, and understanding the shifting nature of reality. They might revere abstract concepts like "The Shifting Veil" or "The Cosmic Reflection."
They believe every Yom is a moment to navigate the shifting veil of existence, and every Dei a tool to survive unseen. Their history has taught them the unpredictable nature of reality, reinforcing their composure in strange circumstances.
Popular Edicts: Value discretion, adapt to circumstances, survive unseen, understand duality, manipulate shadows.
Popular Anathema: Act overtly, reveal secrets, ignore danger, succumb to rigid thinking, be bound to one reality.
Umbran Mechanics
Umbran are a Humanoid, Umbran ancestry.
Hit Points: 8
Size: Medium
Speed: 25 feet
Ability Boosts: Dexterity, Intelligence, and one Free Ability Boost.
Languages: Common, Shadowtongue. You can learn additional languages equal to 1 + your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from the list of common languages and any other languages to which you have access.
Senses: Darkvision (You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light.)
Traits: Humanoid, Umbran.
Umbran Heritages
At 1st level, choose one of the following Umbran heritages.
Bright Umbran: Your body proves that shadow can't exist without light. Perhaps your eyes glow brighter or your veins occasionally pulse with light. You emit dim light within 5 feet of you. You can activate or suppress this ability as an action, which has the concentrate trait. Additionally, you can force fragments of your shadow to glow and cast dancing lights and light as occult innate cantrips. Cantrips are heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up.
Deep Umbran: Your predecessors dwelled in the Rift's deepest, most treacherous regions or in the most oppressive of the Outer Planes. You might cast a denser shadow, have a slower pulse, or find comfort in the embrace of darkness. You gain cold or negative resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1), chosen when you gain this heritage.
Liminal Umbran: You come from a line of Umbran with a closer connection to the Ethereal Plane and Shadow Planes within the Rift, and you share those realms' affinity with the in-between and unseen. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to locate undetected creatures within 60 feet when using the Seek action. Your flat check to target concealed creatures is DC 3 instead of DC 5, and your flat check to target undetected creatures is DC 9 instead of DC 11.
Resolute Umbran: Your ancestors have long dealt with the horrific—in the Rift's chaotic depths or elsewhere—and you bear their mental fortitude. When you roll a success on a saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a critical success instead.
Wisp Umbran: Your ancestors' exposure to the Rift's planar influences wrought great physical changes. Your hair or skin sometimes appears insubstantial, and you're slighter and more agile than other Umbran. You're Small instead of Medium. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Acrobatics, the Quick Squeeze skill feat, and a +1 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Tumble Through. If you would automatically become trained in Acrobatics (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice.
Umbran Ancestry Feats
You can select Umbran ancestry feats from the following options.
1st Level Feats
Umbran Lore (Common, Umbran) Feat 1: You've learned obscure lessons about your fellow Umbran, their planar origins, and their shadow-woven communities. You gain training in Umbran Lore. If you were already trained in Umbran Lore, you instead become an expert.
Hard to Fool (Common, Umbran) Feat 1: You're accustomed to seeing through shifting darkness, bewildering temporal effects, and deceptive magic. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Sense Motive checks to detect lies or illusions.
Shadow Blending (Common, Fetchling, Illusion, Occult, Shadow) Feat 1: You draw shadows close to create a shroud. When you are in dim light or darkness, you can use a single action to become concealed until you move, use a hostile action, or enter an area of bright light.
Shrouded Magic (Common, Umbran) Feat 1: Choose one cantrip from the occult spell list. You can cast this spell as an innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up.
Shrouded Mien (Common, Umbran) Feat 1: You're used to dealing with dangerous situations and sinister creatures from the Rift or other planes. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Will saves against emotion effects caused by creatures of the aberration or planar traits.
Slink (Common, Umbran) Feat 1: You can move through gloom with the speed of darkness. When you are in dim light or darkness, your Speed increases by 5 feet.
5th Level Feats
Clever Shadow (Common, Evocation, Umbran, Occult, Shadow) Feat 5: You can perform simple Interact actions with your shadow, such as opening an unlocked door or retrieving a small object. Your shadow extends up to 10 feet from you and can manipulate objects within that range.
Extinguish Light (Common, Darkness, Evocation, Umbran, Occult) Feat 5: You wrap shadow around a single unattended light source within 120 feet that's no larger than a torch. You can extinguish it as a single action.
Lightless Litheness (Common, Umbran) Feat 5: Your body is almost as flexible as your shadow. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Squeeze or Tumble Through.
Shadowy Disguise (Common, Umbran) Feat 5: You wrap yourself in shadow to change your appearance. You can cast illusory disguise as a 1st-rank innate occult spell once per day. Its effects persist until dismissed or you enter bright light.
9th Level Feats
Hefting Shadow (Common, Conjuration, Umbran, Occult, Shadow) Feat 9: Prerequisites Clever Shadow. Your shadow can contain objects. You can store up to 1 Bulk of items within your shadow. Retrieving an item from your shadow is a single action. The item appears to flicker into existence from the gloom.
Sculpt Shadows (Common, Conjuration, Umbran, Occult, Shadow) Feat 9: You coax nearby shadows into the shape of a simple weapon or a simple tool or item, using a tiny piece of your shadow to make it solid; in doing so, you lose 1 Hit Point. The created item is made of solid shadow, has the statistics of the chosen item, and lasts for 1 hour or until you dismiss it.
Shadow Sight (Common, Umbran, Occult, Transmutation) Feat 9: You draw on your connection with the Rift's Shadow Plane to see through all but the deepest darkness. You gain greater darkvision.
13th Level Feats
Shadow's Assault (Common, Umbran) Feat 13: Your shadow assaults your foes. When you make a melee Strike, you can choose to have your shadow strike an adjacent foe instead of your own body, dealing the same damage. This allows you to make a melee Strike from 5 feet away.
Skirt the Light (Uncommon, Umbran) Feat 13: You can travel the border between the Material and the shadow-aligned regions of the Rift. As a single action, you can become ethereal for 1 round. You can bring one adjacent willing creature with you.
17th Level Feats
Pierce the Light (Uncommon, Umbran) Feat 17: You tear the veil between the Material Plane and its shadow-aligned reflections in the Rift. Once per day, you can cast dimension door as a 7th-rank innate occult spell. When you use this spell, you can appear in a dim light or dark area, even if you do not have line of sight to it, provided you have line of effect.
Here are a few adventure hooks designed to appeal to an Umbran Player Character, leveraging their unique traits, connection to shadows and the Rift, and their cautious, adaptable nature within the Starfall Galaxy:
Adventure Hooks for Umbran Player Characters
The Glitch in the Metropolis's Shadows:
Hook: A highly advanced, light-saturated Commission ecumenopolis in the Inner Sphere is experiencing a series of inexplicable "shadow glitches." Security cameras report phantom figures, automated lights flicker erratically, and sensitive data is being subtly siphoned from secure networks, always from areas of dim light or artificial darkness. The Commission suspects a highly sophisticated cyber-attack, but the Umbran PC instinctively senses a deeper, more planar disturbance. A desperate Ysoki technician, baffled by the sheer subtlety of the infiltration, or a Vaelen who senses an unusual planar resonance, seeks an Umbran to pinpoint the source and perhaps escalate the delightful chaos, or uncover a sinister plot.
Umbran Appeal: This hook is a perfect fit for an Umbran's mastery of infiltration and observation. The PC would thrive in the city's underbelly, using Shadow Blending, Slink, Lightless Litheness, and Hefting Shadow to bypass security and retrieve data. Their Hard to Fool trait would be vital for discerning true threats from illusions, appealing to their role as silent, discreet operatives.
The Bleeding Rift-Gate:
Hook: A newly discovered, highly unstable Rift-gate in the Frontier is not leading to a known dimension, but to a previously uncharted, shadow-aligned pocket realm within the Rift itself. This "Bleeding Gate" is causing localized Planar Bleed, manifesting as strange, shifting shadows, temporal distortions, and the occasional appearance of unsettling, non-corporeal entities. A desperate Nomad-Kin clan, whose migration route is now threatened, or a curious Shisk archivist, seeking to catalog this unique planar phenomenon, needs an Umbran to navigate the dangerous realm, stabilize the gate, or retrieve a unique artifact before the bleed expands.
Umbran Appeal: This hook directly taps into the Umbran's origins and their connection to the Rift's shadow planes. The PC would be driven to explore the unknown, using Skirt the Light, Pierce the Light, and Shadow Sight to traverse the ethereal and dark realms. Their Deep Umbran heritage (if applicable) might grant them resistance to the planar energies, making them uniquely suited to confront the dangers of the Bleeding Gate.
The Stolen Echoes of the Past:
Hook: A series of ancient, shadow-infused artifacts, believed to contain "echoes" of pre-Cataclysm events or even fragments of the Aether-Synapse's original consciousness, have been stolen from a heavily guarded Lashunta academy archive in the Inner Sphere. The thieves left no trace, seemingly vanishing into thin air. The Lashunta, with their psychic prowess, are baffled. The Umbran PC, sensing a subtle manipulation of shadows or a familiar planar resonance from the crime scenes, realizes a Shadar or another shadow-aligned entity is behind the thefts, perhaps attempting to "reclaim" or corrupt these echoes for a sinister purpose.
Umbran Appeal: This hook plays on the Umbran's unique perception and their role as silent observers. The PC would use their Hard to Fool to see through deceptions, Shrouded Mien to withstand planar influences, and Umbran Lore to understand the motivations of the shadowy thieves. The challenge lies in uncovering the truth and recovering the artifacts without revealing too much of their own secretive nature, potentially leading to a confrontation with a powerful shadow-weaver.
The Sunken City's Shifting Secrets:
Hook: An ancient, long-lost city, submerged beneath the toxic waters of a desolate Outer Sphere world, has recently become accessible due to a receding tide or a geological shift. Rumors speak of forgotten technology, vast treasures, and unsettling, shifting shadows that seem to move independently of light sources. A desperate Grakken crew, seeking valuable salvage but wary of the city's eerie reputation, or a Choran bio-engineer, concerned about the city's potential ecological impact, seeks an Umbran. The city is said to be guarded by ancient Automatons or even Scarred warped by the deep shadows and Rift-Taint.
Umbran Appeal: This hook combines exploration, mystery, and a challenging environment for an Umbran. The PC would be drawn by the promise of hidden knowledge and the unique interaction of shadows and ancient technology. Their Sculpt Shadows could be used to create pathways or distractions, Shadow's Assault to strike from unexpected angles, and their Resilient Umbran heritage would help them endure the city's unsettling atmosphere. The goal would be to uncover the city's secrets and perhaps secure its treasures, all while navigating its treacherous, ever-shifting gloom.
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