Waff

A waff is a body double whose image depicts a character at the moment of his or her death. The waff may be spotted by the character himself or by an acquaintance. Waffs are products of the Seeming, illusions generated by the Shadow World itself to terrorize trespassers.

Because a character’s death may be very near or hover far in the future, the waff may appear exactly like the character does now or as an older image. The Seeming, however, can influence a waff’s appearance: Just because a 20-year-old character sights a 60-year-old waff, the vision does not ensure that the person’s death is indeed 40 years away. It does not even guarantee that the person will die by the means depicted—although the shock of a sighting usually leads characters to believe they will.

The method of death might be obvious, such as a dagger in the back, a noose around the neck, or a great sucking wound in the chest. Or it may be more mysterious: The waff might simply wear a horrified expression. Whatever the cause, the image is always disturbing.

Though they appear corporeal, waffs are creatures of illusion. They cannot be harmed, healed, or held. They are made of shadow stuff and return to it once they have sufficiently shocked their viewers.

Although waffs look like ordinary individuals and can be mistaken for the real people they duplicate, waffs cannot speak. They make no attempt to communicate, even if directly addressed. They have no knowledge of future events and therefore could not warn a viewer of imminent danger even if they wanted to do so.

It is said that spotting one’s own waff is a portent of death. It is up to the DM to decide whether this bit of Shadow World folklore is true. But even if a DM allows a character to avoid perishing as “predicted ” by a waff, the sighting of a double should produce shock, paranoia, and eerieness among the PCs—and their players. Wa ff s can be used as the catalyst for an adventure, or to add a spooky element to the atmosphere of a Shadow World excursio

Combat: Most encounters with waffs are shocking but peaceful, as the double disappears once seen.

Upon spotting a waff, characters must succeed in a saving throw vs. petrification or go into shock. If the waff is one’s own double (as opposed to that of an acquaintance), the character suffers a +3 penalty to this roll. Shocked characters lose the ability to act for 1d6 rounds. For the remainder of the turn, the victim has trouble thinking coherently, suffering a -2 or -10% penalty to all actions and a -4 or -20% penalty to Intelligence- or Wisdombased activities. The DM may choose to reduce these amounts if the waff does not take on a character’s own form. (For actions not involving die rolls, the DM should impose other appropriate penalties.)

Once recognized for the individual they duplicate, waffs dissipate back into the Seeming. Should a character manage to land a blow before this occurs, however, the blow passes right through the waff—and will appear to have caused the dissipation.

The true terror of an encounter with a waff should occur after the double disappears. Was this truly an omen of the PC’s death? What can be done to avoid this fate?

In cases where a character sees his or her own waff, DMs should encourage the character’s—and player’s—paranoia. DMs can also use their discretion in imposing penalties during encounters related to the death vision. For example, Aledric’s dread , and distraction, might cause him to suffer a -3 penalty against any axe-wielding opponent. PCs might suffer nightmares or become obsessed with the vision.

If well roleplayed, an encounter with a waff should leave PCs looking over their shoulders for the rest of an adventure, the rest of a Shadow World campaign, or the rest of their lives.

Waffs are creatures of the Seeming, but have no ability to manipulate it themselves.

Habitat/Society: Waffs are encountered almost exclusively in the Shadow World. The sighting of one in Cerilia would serve as an omen of not just one individual’s demise—but the spilling over of shadowstuff into the waking world.

Because waffs cannot speak and do not attempt to communicate, they will seem aloof to anyone who tries to address them. For example, if Shalana encounters a double of her former adventuring companion Daken and tries to speak to it (thinking it is, in fact, Daken), the waff will ignore her and continue on its way— leaving Shalana believing that her old friend has just treated her very rudely.

Ecology: Waffs coalesce out of the Seeming itself and exist long enough to fulfill their purpose—horrifying someone they encounter. They usually generate spontaneously, though a native Shadow World creature with a greater-level Seeming score can shape them from the Seeming (perhaps to provide a distraction while working toward some other end).

Once sighted, waffs dissipate back into the shadows. This may occur before the viewer’s eyes, or while the character’s gaze is averted. (“I glanced away for a moment, and when I turned around, Daken was gone!”)

Waffs who seem perfectly healthy (in other words, not depicting a character’s death) have been known to appear on occasion. They look like they’re just going about their business. They generally exist to confuse party members: Which of the six Dakens is the friend they have come to rescue?