What is a Shade?

There are many entities in the Dreaming who do not have a physical body. They are present in the Dreaming but do not have a way to interact with it. These entities are called Shades. There are a few different types of them.

A Shade wanders the Dreaming until it is summoned by a Spell, Ritual or Dream Walk. If given the opportunity, a Shade can possess a Wake and occupy that body. That player now uses the Shade's stats and skills. If the character receives a Death Strike, or remains knocked out for 60 seconds, the Shade will flee the body.

If someone gives you the ability to play a Shade while you are playing your character, you must first wander "off stage" (see: Entering or Leaving Game). Then you may return with a blue arm band on, indicating to everybody that you are a Shade and are not playing your normal character. If you were a Wake when you were summoned, (meaning you weren't playing, or your character is dead for the night, but you're still hanging around as a wake) you may put on the arm band and come into game immediately.

Shades often wear masks.

A Shade's Behavior

Shades do not have names, and they generally do not live long.

As a Shade, most of the time you will be under the control of the person who summoned you. You are not your character, and cannot speak or act on your character's behalf. You must follow any instructions that your creator gives to you. Generally, these must be simple instructions like "follow me", "guard this spot", or "attack this person".

Sometimes your creator will be a ritual or Dream Walk. In this case, you may have more complex instructions.

If you are attacked as a Shade, it does not damage you, but the shade spirit. If you receive a death blow, or lie unconscious for more than 60 seconds, the shade spirit will vanish. At this point, You say "I vanish", and take off your shade arm-band. If you were transformed from your character into a Shade, you may now wander back on-stage as your character.

Your character remembers anything that happened while you were playing a Shade. So if you're trying to keep a secret, you shouldn't say it in front of Shades -- When they return as their character they'll still remember what they've seen and heard.

Monsters

Certain types of Shades, called Monsters, are controlled by destructive forces beyond our understanding. Monsters are hostile, violent, and do not attempt to communicate with Dreams. You will often encounter monsters during Dream Walks. Sometimes you will not be able to begin a Dream Walk without allowing some people to be possessed by monsters.

Most Dreams applaud the hunting and slaughter of monsters. It is thought that the Monster itself contains some of this destructive force. By slaying the monster, one safely disperses that energy. Over time, perhaps the inevitable destruction of the universe can be averted by slaying monsters.

The monsters come from a few different factions.

The Unseelie Court

In the realm of Faerie, there have always been two houses, the Seelie court and the Unseelie court. The two courts have been at each other's throats for millennia. A long time ago, these courts once stood for something - the Seelie court was associated with light, beauty, and goodness, while the Unseelie epitomized all that is dark, foul, and evil. Over centuries of warfare, each court took on some of its opponent's properties. By the 1800s, the difference between the two courts was in name only.

Around the time of the Waking World's Industrial Revolution, something happened to the Unseelie Court. They began to fight with no regard for their own survival. They were consumed by their mission to destroy their enemies. History would reveal that their attempts to tap into the Void of Nonexistence had corrupted them beyond measure.

In the year 2010, the Unseelie Court succeeded in its ancient goal of repelling the Seelie Fae from Faerie. In doing so, they had also destroyed themselves. Most members of the Unseelie Court still roam Faerie, which is now a deserted wasteland. Some have followed their ancient enemies into the Dreaming and become monsters.

Your Fae character can be one of the Unseelie Fae, 
but if they find out, other Fae may not want to associate with you!

The Outsiders

Nobody knows where the Outsiders came from. They come from a realm beyond ours which is difficult for us to understand. Like all monsters, they seek to slay the inhabitants of the Dreaming. It is theorized that they are aliens who have chosen to invade our world through its Dreaming instead of its Waking counterpart. Perhaps the Outsiders are the dreams of space aliens in deep slumber as they hurdle towards us from outer space.

The Outsiders arrived in the year 2010.

The Labyrinthine

Sometimes creatures leave the Labyrinth, the twisted knot which connects all worlds. They seek to right a malfunctioning part of the universe -- the Lost Souls should have arrived in the Afterlife, but instead they still wander the universe. The Labyrinth sends creatures to slay the Lost Souls, thereby decreasing their will to exist.

But something is also wrong within the Labyrinth. One would expect that the denizens of the Labyrinth would have no problem with the other races of the Dreaming. But they seem to have been driven mad - they are unable to distinguish Lost Souls from other creatures, and seek to end all life in the Dreaming.

Types of Shades

Imp

Adept

Demon