I had a couple of free hours, wanted to write something easy and have some fun. This is the result. I had this in my system since some months before the most recent IT movie: I had to get it out eventually.
It's nothing special, both in writing and mechanics, and it's obviously not original, but sometimes a fan needs to do this kind of stuff too. I said this before, but with Stephen King being my go-to source of CoD inspiration along with Hellboy, this pretty much is a natural consequence of things for me
I'm satisfied with the results, feel like making Pennywise an idigam is the best way to go if you want to translate it directly into the CoD (seriously, that bastard checks a lot of boxes of an Earth-Bound Formless). I hope you'll like it too, but all sort of criticism and comments are welcome.
If you feel there are some Beast traces in how I made IT and how it expand its web, that's because it was intentional: I remember reading one of the writers saying that Pennywise and Derry's sewers were one of the inspirational sources for Lairs and Chambers (can't remember who said it, though) , so it seemed fitting to make things go full circle while I was writing this.
This version of Pennywise is mostly based on the book, though there are a couple of things here and there that come from the TV series and movie. Expect references to other King books too.
IT, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, The Spider
.
IT is a cruel ravenous horror that took residence in the depths of the earth under what would become the town of Derry. The idigam claims to be as ancient as this universe and holds a grudge against powerful spirits and Pangeans, but with IT there’s no way to know what’s true, what’s a delusion and what’s a lie. IT is a sadistic monsters that hungers for negative emotions and flesh. Every time the creature wakes, its feeding cycle plunges Derry into years of terror and violence. Among all the emotions that the idigam can influence and feed upon, fear is no doubt the most powerful, with the vivid one provided by terrified children being its favorite. IT is a vile parasite, a monster like few other under every possible meaning of the word, but its undeniable power, age, mastery over fear and undisputed dominance over the population of Derry both fuel its arrogance and make the idigam a terrifying opponent without any trace of empathy or remorse. There might be stronger idigam out there, creatures of greater cosmic power, men in black and crimson kings that are a bigger threat to the universe than IT, but none of those who met this monster can forget the terror that the mere sighting of Pennywise would cause.
Rank: 5
Attributes: Power 15, Finesse 13, Resistance 13
Willpower: 10
Essence: 100
Initiative: 26
Defense: 13
Speed: 33 in its “spider” form. See “Fearshifting” below for more details.
Size: 15 in its “spider” form, though it varies a lot depending on the form IT currently is in.
Corpus: 28 in its “spider” form
Armor: 10 in its “spider” form
Influences: Fear 5, Hate 3, Abuse 2
Manifestations: Discorporate, Reaching, Gauntlet Breach, Image, Materialize, Fetter, Unfetter,
Numina: Aggressive Meme, Awe, Emotional Aura, Hallucination, Implant Mission, Left-Handed Spanner, Sign.
Essence Shaping: Essence Attack, Essence Void, Locus Manipulation (special, see below), One Million Eyes, Forge Herald, Spider’s Web,
Dread Powers: Blinding Spray 3, Chameleon Horror, Eye Spy, Hunter’s Senses (Children), Hypnotic Gaze, Maze, Natural Weapons 3, Reality Stutter, Snare, Wall Climb, Sense Terror, Fearshifting, Taint of the Dead Lights
Ban: IT can remain active only for three years at the time, after which it hides into its lair and goes into lethargy for twenty-seven years, until the cycle starts anew. Use of the Discorporate Manifestation also will send IT into lethargy. IT will wake up if disturbed or menaced during this interval, but will get back to sleep after a scene.
Banes: The might of IT relies in great part on its emotional dominance over its prey. IT’s enemies can enter a battle of wits and willpower against the idigam and, if victorious, create the weapons needed to harm the monster themselves thanks to their imagination and beliefs. Once per scene, a character who’s aware of this possibility can roll Wits + Resolve against IT’s Finesse + Resistance. On a success, the character declares the nature of the Bane, which will work for the remainder of the scene. Notably, children, for all their vulnerabilities, have a talent for this and gain a +3 bonus on the roll. There are mentions of ancient rites that can help a pack of werewolves to win this mind battle, but they are lost to modern Uratha. Additionally, IT also has a stable Bane: the bones of centenary turtle. The idigam is aware of the both Banes, but can’t help but to think itself too strong to be truly affected by those. It is not, though, and will be extremely shocked by evidence of the contrary.
Sense Terror: IT has the innate ability to pierce the minds of its opponents and learn about their worst fears with ease. By spending 1 Essence and succeeding at a Power + Finesse roll contested by the prey’s Resolve + Primal Urge, the Idigam can either sift through their worst memories for turns equal to the successes rolled or learn what scares them, ranging from simple fears to their most terrible nightmares.
Fearshifting: Fearshifting is IT’s unique version of the Shifting Dread Power. It works the same, except for some important differences. The idigam is able to change form according to the fears of those it used the Sense Terror power on. Once IT used a certain shape, that nightmarish form becomes part of its arsenal and the Idigam is able to use it anytime and combine It with others, but the monster cannot transform into something that did not reflect the fear of one of its preys at some point. Fearshifting grants IT a +5 bonus to deceive and intimidate those who gave shape to the Idigam’s current form, but it also leaves IT exposed: unlike most other idigam, IT’s changes of Size and shape also influence its Corpus, Speed and Armor (meaning that a clown, an abusive father or a swarm of leeches have considerably less resilient than a giant spider and move accordingly) and all the weaknesses people think IT should have when shapeshifted, such as silver for a werewolf or fear of the sun for a vampire, are indeed an anathema to the creature. They don’t apply by default, but if the prey of the idigam fight back, they are considered to be additional Ban and Banes, depending on the circumstances. If IT is exposed to these special Ban and Banes, it remains locked in its current form for the remainder of the scene. Being a vile coward, the idigam prefers to target children because they’re often too scared to retaliate and generally does its best to hide the weaknesses behind this power.
Spider’s Web: IT is able to attune to the locations tainted by pain, sorrow, violence and fear, thus increasing its grip over Derry with time. These places are forever corrupted by its influence, the vilest ones both feared and avoided. Any location where a character lost Integrity (or a supernatural equivalent) via a breaking point while IT was present or able to perceive the event and places where a human character rolled a dramatic failure or lost Integrity during a confrontation with IT qualify. By spending 18 Essence and rolling Power + Finesse, IT can add one of these places to its vast collection of haunts and lairs. On a success, the location turns into a locus whose rating and dimensions change according to the size of the place. IT, if awake, treats these locations as if they were loci under the influence of Locus Manipulation. At the same time, though, It cannot use that Locus Manipulation power on already existing loci that don’t satisfy the Spider’s Web requirements. All the locations that belong to IT’s web are tagged with the Resonant and Open Conditions for the Idigam. A locus corrupted by IT can be purified, but those created by the Idigam are tainted until IT is permanently slained (and will probably retain a negative resonance even after that)
Taint of the Deadlights: Each month, those living in an area under IT’s influence or those who have been targeted by any of the idigam’s Numina, Influences or Dread Powers (regardless of their current distance from IT) must roll Resolve + Composure + Primal Urge with IT's Rank as malus or become tagged with the Delusion Condition and start to ignore and forget all the evidence of IT’s activities and even the pain the creature causes from behind the scenes. If forced to confront with the memory of IT, many will rather flee or shut down. People who resist to the Taint of the Dead Lights for twenty-seven months will become immune, though not many people are that strong and the atmosphere of alienating apathy around them will likely demoralize them. Notably, children, both human and wolf-blooded are completely immune to this until they grow up. This Dread Power works even when IT is currently in its hybernation cycle
PENNYWISE LIVES!
It's nothing special, both in writing and mechanics, and it's obviously not original, but sometimes a fan needs to do this kind of stuff too. I said this before, but with Stephen King being my go-to source of CoD inspiration along with Hellboy, this pretty much is a natural consequence of things for me
I'm satisfied with the results, feel like making Pennywise an idigam is the best way to go if you want to translate it directly into the CoD (seriously, that bastard checks a lot of boxes of an Earth-Bound Formless). I hope you'll like it too, but all sort of criticism and comments are welcome.
If you feel there are some Beast traces in how I made IT and how it expand its web, that's because it was intentional: I remember reading one of the writers saying that Pennywise and Derry's sewers were one of the inspirational sources for Lairs and Chambers (can't remember who said it, though) , so it seemed fitting to make things go full circle while I was writing this.
This version of Pennywise is mostly based on the book, though there are a couple of things here and there that come from the TV series and movie. Expect references to other King books too.
IT, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, The Spider
.
IT is a cruel ravenous horror that took residence in the depths of the earth under what would become the town of Derry. The idigam claims to be as ancient as this universe and holds a grudge against powerful spirits and Pangeans, but with IT there’s no way to know what’s true, what’s a delusion and what’s a lie. IT is a sadistic monsters that hungers for negative emotions and flesh. Every time the creature wakes, its feeding cycle plunges Derry into years of terror and violence. Among all the emotions that the idigam can influence and feed upon, fear is no doubt the most powerful, with the vivid one provided by terrified children being its favorite. IT is a vile parasite, a monster like few other under every possible meaning of the word, but its undeniable power, age, mastery over fear and undisputed dominance over the population of Derry both fuel its arrogance and make the idigam a terrifying opponent without any trace of empathy or remorse. There might be stronger idigam out there, creatures of greater cosmic power, men in black and crimson kings that are a bigger threat to the universe than IT, but none of those who met this monster can forget the terror that the mere sighting of Pennywise would cause.
Rank: 5
Attributes: Power 15, Finesse 13, Resistance 13
Willpower: 10
Essence: 100
Initiative: 26
Defense: 13
Speed: 33 in its “spider” form. See “Fearshifting” below for more details.
Size: 15 in its “spider” form, though it varies a lot depending on the form IT currently is in.
Corpus: 28 in its “spider” form
Armor: 10 in its “spider” form
Influences: Fear 5, Hate 3, Abuse 2
Manifestations: Discorporate, Reaching, Gauntlet Breach, Image, Materialize, Fetter, Unfetter,
Numina: Aggressive Meme, Awe, Emotional Aura, Hallucination, Implant Mission, Left-Handed Spanner, Sign.
Essence Shaping: Essence Attack, Essence Void, Locus Manipulation (special, see below), One Million Eyes, Forge Herald, Spider’s Web,
Dread Powers: Blinding Spray 3, Chameleon Horror, Eye Spy, Hunter’s Senses (Children), Hypnotic Gaze, Maze, Natural Weapons 3, Reality Stutter, Snare, Wall Climb, Sense Terror, Fearshifting, Taint of the Dead Lights
Ban: IT can remain active only for three years at the time, after which it hides into its lair and goes into lethargy for twenty-seven years, until the cycle starts anew. Use of the Discorporate Manifestation also will send IT into lethargy. IT will wake up if disturbed or menaced during this interval, but will get back to sleep after a scene.
Banes: The might of IT relies in great part on its emotional dominance over its prey. IT’s enemies can enter a battle of wits and willpower against the idigam and, if victorious, create the weapons needed to harm the monster themselves thanks to their imagination and beliefs. Once per scene, a character who’s aware of this possibility can roll Wits + Resolve against IT’s Finesse + Resistance. On a success, the character declares the nature of the Bane, which will work for the remainder of the scene. Notably, children, for all their vulnerabilities, have a talent for this and gain a +3 bonus on the roll. There are mentions of ancient rites that can help a pack of werewolves to win this mind battle, but they are lost to modern Uratha. Additionally, IT also has a stable Bane: the bones of centenary turtle. The idigam is aware of the both Banes, but can’t help but to think itself too strong to be truly affected by those. It is not, though, and will be extremely shocked by evidence of the contrary.
Sense Terror: IT has the innate ability to pierce the minds of its opponents and learn about their worst fears with ease. By spending 1 Essence and succeeding at a Power + Finesse roll contested by the prey’s Resolve + Primal Urge, the Idigam can either sift through their worst memories for turns equal to the successes rolled or learn what scares them, ranging from simple fears to their most terrible nightmares.
Fearshifting: Fearshifting is IT’s unique version of the Shifting Dread Power. It works the same, except for some important differences. The idigam is able to change form according to the fears of those it used the Sense Terror power on. Once IT used a certain shape, that nightmarish form becomes part of its arsenal and the Idigam is able to use it anytime and combine It with others, but the monster cannot transform into something that did not reflect the fear of one of its preys at some point. Fearshifting grants IT a +5 bonus to deceive and intimidate those who gave shape to the Idigam’s current form, but it also leaves IT exposed: unlike most other idigam, IT’s changes of Size and shape also influence its Corpus, Speed and Armor (meaning that a clown, an abusive father or a swarm of leeches have considerably less resilient than a giant spider and move accordingly) and all the weaknesses people think IT should have when shapeshifted, such as silver for a werewolf or fear of the sun for a vampire, are indeed an anathema to the creature. They don’t apply by default, but if the prey of the idigam fight back, they are considered to be additional Ban and Banes, depending on the circumstances. If IT is exposed to these special Ban and Banes, it remains locked in its current form for the remainder of the scene. Being a vile coward, the idigam prefers to target children because they’re often too scared to retaliate and generally does its best to hide the weaknesses behind this power.
Spider’s Web: IT is able to attune to the locations tainted by pain, sorrow, violence and fear, thus increasing its grip over Derry with time. These places are forever corrupted by its influence, the vilest ones both feared and avoided. Any location where a character lost Integrity (or a supernatural equivalent) via a breaking point while IT was present or able to perceive the event and places where a human character rolled a dramatic failure or lost Integrity during a confrontation with IT qualify. By spending 18 Essence and rolling Power + Finesse, IT can add one of these places to its vast collection of haunts and lairs. On a success, the location turns into a locus whose rating and dimensions change according to the size of the place. IT, if awake, treats these locations as if they were loci under the influence of Locus Manipulation. At the same time, though, It cannot use that Locus Manipulation power on already existing loci that don’t satisfy the Spider’s Web requirements. All the locations that belong to IT’s web are tagged with the Resonant and Open Conditions for the Idigam. A locus corrupted by IT can be purified, but those created by the Idigam are tainted until IT is permanently slained (and will probably retain a negative resonance even after that)
Taint of the Deadlights: Each month, those living in an area under IT’s influence or those who have been targeted by any of the idigam’s Numina, Influences or Dread Powers (regardless of their current distance from IT) must roll Resolve + Composure + Primal Urge with IT's Rank as malus or become tagged with the Delusion Condition and start to ignore and forget all the evidence of IT’s activities and even the pain the creature causes from behind the scenes. If forced to confront with the memory of IT, many will rather flee or shut down. People who resist to the Taint of the Dead Lights for twenty-seven months will become immune, though not many people are that strong and the atmosphere of alienating apathy around them will likely demoralize them. Notably, children, both human and wolf-blooded are completely immune to this until they grow up. This Dread Power works even when IT is currently in its hybernation cycle
PENNYWISE LIVES!
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