The Tygre
2013-11-21, 07:14 PM
Shadow Gossip
http://imageshack.us/a/img46/2362/f92o.jpg
You hear voices coming from the darkness. The shadows of two petite young girls are cast upon the wall, seemingly from somewhere out of sight in the gloom. They cheerfully chat, between dancing and acts of impromptu shadow theater, “Did you hear? Did you hear? Did you hear? A lion is the king of his pride; everything belongs to him!”
“So does that mean he owns what he owns owns?”
“Only if some own him owning what only he owns them!”
“Own no!”
The two figures dance back into the darkness, and you suddenly find yourself remembering a riddle that you’ve never heard before.
Shadow Gossip CR 7
3200 XP
Neutral Medium Outsider (Native, Incorporeal)
Init: +1; Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., See in Darkness ; Perception +14
Defenses
AC: 15, Touch 15, Flatfooted 13; (+3 deflection, +1 Dex, +1 Dodge)
30 hp (6d10)
Fort + 2, Ref +6, Will +7
Defensive Abilities: Incorporeal, Shadow Blend, You Didn’t Hear It From Me
Offenses
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee: Incorporeal Touch +7 (1d4 wisdom damage)
Space: 5x5 ft.; Reach: 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Shadow Puppet
Spell-like Abilities (CL 6)
At-Will - Shadow Conjuration
Statistics
Str -, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk: +4; CMB: +7; CMD: 17
Feats: Careful Speaker, Deceitful (B), Dodge, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills: Bluff +12, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +9, Knowledge (History) +8, Knowledge (Local) +13, Knowledge (Nobility) +13, Knowledge (Planes) +10, Perception +14, Perform (Shadow Puppetry) +12, Sense Motive +6, Stealth +10
Languages: Common and 2 Local Languages -or- Gnome & Draconic
Special Abilities
Gossip (Ex): A Shadow Gossip adds half her Hit Die to all Knowledge skill checks and may make all knowledge skill tricks untrained.
In the Flesh (Su): A Shadow Gossip may alter her appearance to appear as a normal, corporeal humanoid 3/day as a standard action. This ability functions like the spell disguise self, except that the Shadow Gossip may sustain the illusion for up to an hour. While appearing corporeal, the Shadow Gossip loses access to her Shadow Blend, Shadow Jump, and Shadow Shift abilities. However, she is still incorporeal, can See in Darkness, summon a Shadow Puppet, and is still subject to You Didn’t Hear It From Me. The Shadow Gossip can end this effect as a standard action.
See in Darkness (Su): Shadow Gossips can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by magic such as the deeper darkness spell.
Shadow Blend (Ex): During any conditions other than bright light, a shadow gossip can disappear into the shadows as a move-equivalent action, effectively becoming invisible. Artificial illumination or light spells of 2nd level or lower do not negate this ability.
Shadow Jump (Su): A Shadow Gossip can travel between shadows as if by a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some dim light, and the Shadow Gossip may not take any other individuals with her. A Shadow Gossip jumps at her standard speed, and is not required to exit the jump until she chooses.
Shadow Puppet (Sp): Once per day, a Shadow Gossip may make a Perform (Shadow Puppetry) check (DC 16) to animate one of her shadow puppets and have it act on her command as a full round action. This ability functions like the spell summon monster II, and can only be performed in areas without bright light. If the Shadow Gossips succeeds by five or more on her Perform (Shadow Puppetry) check, then the shadow puppet remains for as long as the Shadow Gossip wishes it, rather than the limitations of summon monster II. A roll of five or less indicates that the Shadow Gossip summons nothing, and she may not make another Performance (Shadow Puppetry) check for any reason without first succeeding on a Will save (DC 12).
Shadow Shift (Sp): Once per day, a Shadow Gossip may travel to the Plane of Shadows as per the plane shift spell. The Shadow Gossip can perform this as a standard move-equivalent action so long as she is in an area that is not in bright light. The Shadow Gossip may take one other individual with her. The Shadow Gossip cannot use this ability again for twenty four hours after she shifts between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadows; after twenty four hours, she may once again shift back to the other plane.
You Didn’t Hear It From Me (Su): Nobody knows how rumors start, and the Shadow Gossips keep it that way. In order to remember encountering a Shadow Gossip, a character must make a DC 16 Will save (10+ 1/2 Shadow Gossip’s HD+ Shadow Gossip’s Cha. modifier). If the character succeeds, they remember all interactions they had with the Shadow Gossip during the encounter. If they fail, then they only remember the details surrounding the encounter, including time, location, and who else was present. In either case, the character always remembers whatever information the Shadow Gossip relays.
Ecology
Environment: Any Urban
Organization: Solitary, Pair, or Trio
Treasure: None
Where do rumors come from? How does idle gossip begin, and how does it spread so fast? Oh, certainly, talk is cheap, and word does get around. But what carries the smell of dirty laundry to the far corners of the globe in little less than an evening? Who gives truth just enough of a lie to be entertaining, and grounds flights of fancy with strings of wisdom? For those who can see through the gloom, they say to look no further than the Shadow Gossips.
Shadow Gossips are a race of umbral spirits native to the Material Plane whose sole function in life seems to be spreading information; in particular, they are lovers of scandal and drama. As incorporeal beings of shadow, they can move through darkness at ease, and are master spies. Of times, the only wa to detect a Shadow Gossip is by searching for a silhouette coming from the darkness itself. However, getting information out of them is not always easy; Shadow Gossips prefer to relay their information through shadow theater and cryptic riddles, rarely even acknowledging individuals who are not an ‘audience’. Further complicating matters is a seemingly magical aura around Shadow Gossips that may make them impossible to be remembered.
In combat, Shadow Gossips will almost always take ‘flight’ over ‘fight’. They rarely feel any sense of allegiance, except to each other, and are more than willing to let a good ‘scoop’ get away if it would endanger their personal safety. Their touch, while capable of dulling reason, is used more for getting people to ‘loosen up’ then offense. If an opponent comes after a Shadow Gossip, they will immediately retreat to the nearest source of darkness and hope to either hide or run away via Shadow Jump. For good measure, they may conjure an illusion to hopefully trick their enemies. While they can shift to the Plane of Shadows, they prefer not to; the shift invariably cuts them off from the Material Plane, and the Shadow Plane is so boring. In case of emergency, they can animate one of their shadow performances and send it against an opponent to serve as a distraction, but never lethally. (However, they have been known to use their animate shadow puppets for more mischievous purposes in the past.)
Much like their literal mystery plays, Shadow Gossips are something of an enigma. Nothing is known of their ecology or society, or if they even have one, nor does any one source seem to know where they come from, an issue no doubt convoluted by the Gossips themselves. They rarely interfere with corporeal creatures, preferring only to watch and spread salacious rumors as they will. Gossips are, however, fond of pranks, mockery, and practical jokes, in particular taking pleasure in jokes on the pompous and arrogant. However, very rarely, they have been known to assume a humanoid disguise so that they might communicate directly with someone. These spectacular cases are usually preludes to the revelation of some dark truth or an ancient mystery.
And Shadow Gossips do have such knowledge. While rumors are what they are best known for, Shadow Gossips also contain boundless wisdom and hidden knowledge; they just don’t feel like sharing it. This has only fueled speculation about their origins. There have been no observed male Shadow Gossips, or any other known methods of reproduction; but then again there have been few recorded instances of anybody killing a Shadow Gossip. Scholars postulate that Gossips are the souls of those deceived by illusion or enchantments, victims of creatures such as succubae and faerie kings. They became so obsessed with the stories spun around them that their souls never stopped seeking more, and without a constant stream of information, they simply fade out of existence.
Seekers of lore and planar explorers hold that the Shadow Gossips were created; some lost goddess from the dawn of time created them to hold precious information, and over the ages the accrual of gossip simply comes naturally to them. Supporters of this theory point to the occasional direct intervention from the Gossips, subtle acts to guide individuals to their own unique destinies within the goddess’s plans.
Still a third group of theorists believe that the reasons for these actions are far more obvious; they are stage directions. Indeed, bards and illusionists seem confused that anybody would concoct more complicated theories then what is readily apparent, that the Shadow Gossips perceive the world as one massive stage, with all its people simultaneously actors and audience in an eternal play. The Gossips themselves fill the same role as a chorus, providing either relief or tension to the tone of the act, and summarizing what is happening on stage for the audience. In between, they make fools out of kings, princes from paupers, and songs from scandal. When an ‘actor’ seems to be straying from their ‘part’, or is needed to fill an ‘extra role’, the Gossips will appear ‘on-stage’ to keep the flow of the play going in the right direction. (All while in character, of course.)
Whatever their origins, Shadow Gossips prefer their own cliques to outside creatures; however, there are a few exceptions. Their use of illusions, love of tricks, and desire for aesthetic expression make them swift allies to gnomes, even if the little folk do not always realize it. They are naturally drawn to bards and loremasters; the former may find themselves rewarded with an unseen applause after some performance, while the latter may find themselves casting an extra set of shadows while accessing a hidden library or giving a lecture. Illusionists, especially those who work with shadow magic, may occasionally conjure up a spell only to find a Gossip or Gossips interacting with it on casting. The Shadow Gossips leave within 1d4 rounds, and are usually as surprised as the illusionist at the encounter.
Shadow Gossips are surprisingly evasive when it comes to monsters of a similar nature. As less aggressive creatures existing in essentially the same state, they avoid undead Shadows, staying away from anywhere the undead might infest. Gossips consider the hateful creatures to be unnatural, and furthermore, wholly unpleasant, being absolutely uncooperative in their shadow plays. Still, on rare occasions, a troupe of Shadow Gossips musters up the gumption to try and contain undead Shadows, and, if the spiteful creatures can be coaxed into cooperation or the Gossips are willing to become a little more malevolent themselves, then the two creatures might share an environment.
Gossips are deathly afraid of Nightshades. The exact origin of this fear is unknown, but even the mere mention of one of these fiendish undead is enough to keep Shadow Gossips well clear of an area. It is speculated that Nightshades may be the true cause of the Shadow Gossips’ distaste for the Shadow Plane; the Gossips almost never leave the ‘shallows’ of the Plane of Shadows, and have to be forced to explore any part of the plane that is outside the area where they shifted in. For their part, Nightshades pay little heed to the Shadow Gossips, considering them little more than nuisances.
Shadow Gossips are natural enemies of Shadow Demons, and invidiaks return the feeling with furor. Shadow Demons will go out of their way to hunt and kill Gossips, and Shadow Gossips in turn are the first to alert a community to an invidiak possession. While they cannot usually face Shadow Demons head-on, Shadow Gossips are more than happy to provide any potential exorcists with the information necessary to combat the fiends. The exact origin and nature of this racial feud is unknown; it may be the source of the Shadow Gossips’ fear of Nightshades, as the titanic undead is born from the twisted souls of fiends. The invidiak’s hatred for the Gossips may stem from the simple fact that they try to operate discreetly, and the Gossips can convert the shadows from cover to center stage, or it may be that by their very nature, Gossips are prone to letting loose the Shadow Demons’ plans. In either case, the conflict has escalated to such a point that Gossips are willing to manifest their humanoid disguises to seek aid, and the Shadow Demons want nothing less than every Gossip to be rendered extinct.
Shadow Gossips usually congregate in groups of at least two, though three is the preferred number for a ‘troupe’. They tend to dwell in cities and towns, though they have been known to appear in the wilderness. Naturally, they are lovers of any place that will provide them with a unique balance of light and darkness to play in. They appear most often at sunset, taking advantage of the twilight distortions of shadows. They do not have any apparent kind of diet or need for sleep, though of course they have been observed eating and sleeping in their shadow plays. A given area will only have a handful of Shadow Gossips in it at any given time (no more than 12), lest the whole city be deprived of secrets and the streets set abuzz with puns and sing-song. Planar travelers whisper of a secret fortress somewhere deep within the Plane of Shadows where Shadow Gossips converge, a veritable hive of rumors, information, spy-networks, chatter, and ecstatic hearsay that speaks on everything from crumpled-up junk mail to hacked scrying spells streamed live.
Shadow Gossips appear to be between five and six feet tall. As incorporeal creatures, they are weightless, but their forms always look preternaturally slender and long-limbed. Though difficult to tell in the silhouette, Shadow Gossips are usually dressed in clothes befitting a young woman while allowing full flexibility and contortion of their limbs, with a troupe appearing in matching uniforms. Favored outfits include couriers, ballerinas, minstrels, and even knights’ squires. However, they may appear in any number of outlandish costumes while engaged in a shadow play.
Shadow Gossips speak Common and two languages local to the area, or Gnome and Draconic.
On Golarion
Shadow Gossips are former residents of the Plane of Shadows. They escaped to the Material Plane during the Age of Darkness, when Zon-Kuthon came to full power on the Shadow Plane. The Midnight Lord seems to bear a particular hatred for the Gossips, taking a special delight in torturing the flighty spirits. Rumor has it the Gossips’ themselves are responsible for this particular enmity; if the Shadow Gossips are to be believed, then Dou-Bral’s original departure from Shelyn was more than friction between siblings, but also a lover’s quarrel. The fact that neither Shelyn nor her church offer any sanctuary to the Shadow Gossips does little to dispel, or desist, the incestuous implications.
Shadow Gossips’ feud with Shadow Demons stems from the two creature’s nature. In life, the invidiak were envious souls, and prone to rumor-mongering and gossip themselves to lay low the obstacles between them and their coveted idols. In their new demonic forms, the Shadow Demons are enraged that they are still denied their desires, and just as a liar believes that everyone else is lying, a gossip is prone to believe that they are the subject of mocking gossip. The Shadow Gossips pay for the Shadow Demons’ own sense of inadequacy. Further confounding matters, Shadow Gossips warn their kind against growing too obsessed with one subject, or using their gossip maliciously. For who is to say that during the play, a Gossip might dress as a demon, and never see fit to change?
Gossips tend to congregate in Absalom, Cheliax, and Galt. They also gather around the rare gnome communities, where they try to covertly provide the First World folk a constant stream of information and inspiration to combat the Bleaching.
Plot Hooks
+ The Prince: The PCs find themselves trying to maneuver the courts of a corrupt monarch. However, the monarch also happens to be an illusionist of incredible talent, capable of fabricating all manner of political snares and traps to thwart the PCs. Only a troupe of Shadow Gossips can help the players discern what and even who is real.
+ The Princess: The spirited daughter of a local noble wishes to abandon her life at court and take up being an adventurer. She has taken to dressing as a boy and doing minor adventuring in the city. However, she has had several close run-ins with guards and bounty hunters from her father. She believes a troupe of Gossips may have found out her secret and are already spreading rumors. The princess commissions the PCs to track down the Shadow Gossips and by all means silence them.
+ The Witch: The PCs are going through a standard dungeon crawl, trying to defeat a necromancer or some other villain at the end of the dungeon. At about the half-way point, in the middle of a battle no less, a troupe of Shadow Gossips march out from the darkness demanding a cease-fire. The Gossips inform the PCs that they’ve been doing it all wrong and the entire adventure has gone completely off the rails. They order the PCs and even the monsters to switch various roles (the fighter is now a caster, the orc chieftain is the party rogue, the paladin is now a rust monster, etc.) The Gossips warn that if there are any more slip-ups, the ‘director’ will step in to work personally before they slip back in to shadows and yell to get back on with the ‘show’.
____________________________
Whoo! First time working in Pathfinder, so these gals are definitely gonna' need some polish.
http://imageshack.us/a/img46/2362/f92o.jpg
You hear voices coming from the darkness. The shadows of two petite young girls are cast upon the wall, seemingly from somewhere out of sight in the gloom. They cheerfully chat, between dancing and acts of impromptu shadow theater, “Did you hear? Did you hear? Did you hear? A lion is the king of his pride; everything belongs to him!”
“So does that mean he owns what he owns owns?”
“Only if some own him owning what only he owns them!”
“Own no!”
The two figures dance back into the darkness, and you suddenly find yourself remembering a riddle that you’ve never heard before.
Shadow Gossip CR 7
3200 XP
Neutral Medium Outsider (Native, Incorporeal)
Init: +1; Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., See in Darkness ; Perception +14
Defenses
AC: 15, Touch 15, Flatfooted 13; (+3 deflection, +1 Dex, +1 Dodge)
30 hp (6d10)
Fort + 2, Ref +6, Will +7
Defensive Abilities: Incorporeal, Shadow Blend, You Didn’t Hear It From Me
Offenses
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee: Incorporeal Touch +7 (1d4 wisdom damage)
Space: 5x5 ft.; Reach: 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Shadow Puppet
Spell-like Abilities (CL 6)
At-Will - Shadow Conjuration
Statistics
Str -, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk: +4; CMB: +7; CMD: 17
Feats: Careful Speaker, Deceitful (B), Dodge, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills: Bluff +12, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +9, Knowledge (History) +8, Knowledge (Local) +13, Knowledge (Nobility) +13, Knowledge (Planes) +10, Perception +14, Perform (Shadow Puppetry) +12, Sense Motive +6, Stealth +10
Languages: Common and 2 Local Languages -or- Gnome & Draconic
Special Abilities
Gossip (Ex): A Shadow Gossip adds half her Hit Die to all Knowledge skill checks and may make all knowledge skill tricks untrained.
In the Flesh (Su): A Shadow Gossip may alter her appearance to appear as a normal, corporeal humanoid 3/day as a standard action. This ability functions like the spell disguise self, except that the Shadow Gossip may sustain the illusion for up to an hour. While appearing corporeal, the Shadow Gossip loses access to her Shadow Blend, Shadow Jump, and Shadow Shift abilities. However, she is still incorporeal, can See in Darkness, summon a Shadow Puppet, and is still subject to You Didn’t Hear It From Me. The Shadow Gossip can end this effect as a standard action.
See in Darkness (Su): Shadow Gossips can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by magic such as the deeper darkness spell.
Shadow Blend (Ex): During any conditions other than bright light, a shadow gossip can disappear into the shadows as a move-equivalent action, effectively becoming invisible. Artificial illumination or light spells of 2nd level or lower do not negate this ability.
Shadow Jump (Su): A Shadow Gossip can travel between shadows as if by a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some dim light, and the Shadow Gossip may not take any other individuals with her. A Shadow Gossip jumps at her standard speed, and is not required to exit the jump until she chooses.
Shadow Puppet (Sp): Once per day, a Shadow Gossip may make a Perform (Shadow Puppetry) check (DC 16) to animate one of her shadow puppets and have it act on her command as a full round action. This ability functions like the spell summon monster II, and can only be performed in areas without bright light. If the Shadow Gossips succeeds by five or more on her Perform (Shadow Puppetry) check, then the shadow puppet remains for as long as the Shadow Gossip wishes it, rather than the limitations of summon monster II. A roll of five or less indicates that the Shadow Gossip summons nothing, and she may not make another Performance (Shadow Puppetry) check for any reason without first succeeding on a Will save (DC 12).
Shadow Shift (Sp): Once per day, a Shadow Gossip may travel to the Plane of Shadows as per the plane shift spell. The Shadow Gossip can perform this as a standard move-equivalent action so long as she is in an area that is not in bright light. The Shadow Gossip may take one other individual with her. The Shadow Gossip cannot use this ability again for twenty four hours after she shifts between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadows; after twenty four hours, she may once again shift back to the other plane.
You Didn’t Hear It From Me (Su): Nobody knows how rumors start, and the Shadow Gossips keep it that way. In order to remember encountering a Shadow Gossip, a character must make a DC 16 Will save (10+ 1/2 Shadow Gossip’s HD+ Shadow Gossip’s Cha. modifier). If the character succeeds, they remember all interactions they had with the Shadow Gossip during the encounter. If they fail, then they only remember the details surrounding the encounter, including time, location, and who else was present. In either case, the character always remembers whatever information the Shadow Gossip relays.
Ecology
Environment: Any Urban
Organization: Solitary, Pair, or Trio
Treasure: None
Where do rumors come from? How does idle gossip begin, and how does it spread so fast? Oh, certainly, talk is cheap, and word does get around. But what carries the smell of dirty laundry to the far corners of the globe in little less than an evening? Who gives truth just enough of a lie to be entertaining, and grounds flights of fancy with strings of wisdom? For those who can see through the gloom, they say to look no further than the Shadow Gossips.
Shadow Gossips are a race of umbral spirits native to the Material Plane whose sole function in life seems to be spreading information; in particular, they are lovers of scandal and drama. As incorporeal beings of shadow, they can move through darkness at ease, and are master spies. Of times, the only wa to detect a Shadow Gossip is by searching for a silhouette coming from the darkness itself. However, getting information out of them is not always easy; Shadow Gossips prefer to relay their information through shadow theater and cryptic riddles, rarely even acknowledging individuals who are not an ‘audience’. Further complicating matters is a seemingly magical aura around Shadow Gossips that may make them impossible to be remembered.
In combat, Shadow Gossips will almost always take ‘flight’ over ‘fight’. They rarely feel any sense of allegiance, except to each other, and are more than willing to let a good ‘scoop’ get away if it would endanger their personal safety. Their touch, while capable of dulling reason, is used more for getting people to ‘loosen up’ then offense. If an opponent comes after a Shadow Gossip, they will immediately retreat to the nearest source of darkness and hope to either hide or run away via Shadow Jump. For good measure, they may conjure an illusion to hopefully trick their enemies. While they can shift to the Plane of Shadows, they prefer not to; the shift invariably cuts them off from the Material Plane, and the Shadow Plane is so boring. In case of emergency, they can animate one of their shadow performances and send it against an opponent to serve as a distraction, but never lethally. (However, they have been known to use their animate shadow puppets for more mischievous purposes in the past.)
Much like their literal mystery plays, Shadow Gossips are something of an enigma. Nothing is known of their ecology or society, or if they even have one, nor does any one source seem to know where they come from, an issue no doubt convoluted by the Gossips themselves. They rarely interfere with corporeal creatures, preferring only to watch and spread salacious rumors as they will. Gossips are, however, fond of pranks, mockery, and practical jokes, in particular taking pleasure in jokes on the pompous and arrogant. However, very rarely, they have been known to assume a humanoid disguise so that they might communicate directly with someone. These spectacular cases are usually preludes to the revelation of some dark truth or an ancient mystery.
And Shadow Gossips do have such knowledge. While rumors are what they are best known for, Shadow Gossips also contain boundless wisdom and hidden knowledge; they just don’t feel like sharing it. This has only fueled speculation about their origins. There have been no observed male Shadow Gossips, or any other known methods of reproduction; but then again there have been few recorded instances of anybody killing a Shadow Gossip. Scholars postulate that Gossips are the souls of those deceived by illusion or enchantments, victims of creatures such as succubae and faerie kings. They became so obsessed with the stories spun around them that their souls never stopped seeking more, and without a constant stream of information, they simply fade out of existence.
Seekers of lore and planar explorers hold that the Shadow Gossips were created; some lost goddess from the dawn of time created them to hold precious information, and over the ages the accrual of gossip simply comes naturally to them. Supporters of this theory point to the occasional direct intervention from the Gossips, subtle acts to guide individuals to their own unique destinies within the goddess’s plans.
Still a third group of theorists believe that the reasons for these actions are far more obvious; they are stage directions. Indeed, bards and illusionists seem confused that anybody would concoct more complicated theories then what is readily apparent, that the Shadow Gossips perceive the world as one massive stage, with all its people simultaneously actors and audience in an eternal play. The Gossips themselves fill the same role as a chorus, providing either relief or tension to the tone of the act, and summarizing what is happening on stage for the audience. In between, they make fools out of kings, princes from paupers, and songs from scandal. When an ‘actor’ seems to be straying from their ‘part’, or is needed to fill an ‘extra role’, the Gossips will appear ‘on-stage’ to keep the flow of the play going in the right direction. (All while in character, of course.)
Whatever their origins, Shadow Gossips prefer their own cliques to outside creatures; however, there are a few exceptions. Their use of illusions, love of tricks, and desire for aesthetic expression make them swift allies to gnomes, even if the little folk do not always realize it. They are naturally drawn to bards and loremasters; the former may find themselves rewarded with an unseen applause after some performance, while the latter may find themselves casting an extra set of shadows while accessing a hidden library or giving a lecture. Illusionists, especially those who work with shadow magic, may occasionally conjure up a spell only to find a Gossip or Gossips interacting with it on casting. The Shadow Gossips leave within 1d4 rounds, and are usually as surprised as the illusionist at the encounter.
Shadow Gossips are surprisingly evasive when it comes to monsters of a similar nature. As less aggressive creatures existing in essentially the same state, they avoid undead Shadows, staying away from anywhere the undead might infest. Gossips consider the hateful creatures to be unnatural, and furthermore, wholly unpleasant, being absolutely uncooperative in their shadow plays. Still, on rare occasions, a troupe of Shadow Gossips musters up the gumption to try and contain undead Shadows, and, if the spiteful creatures can be coaxed into cooperation or the Gossips are willing to become a little more malevolent themselves, then the two creatures might share an environment.
Gossips are deathly afraid of Nightshades. The exact origin of this fear is unknown, but even the mere mention of one of these fiendish undead is enough to keep Shadow Gossips well clear of an area. It is speculated that Nightshades may be the true cause of the Shadow Gossips’ distaste for the Shadow Plane; the Gossips almost never leave the ‘shallows’ of the Plane of Shadows, and have to be forced to explore any part of the plane that is outside the area where they shifted in. For their part, Nightshades pay little heed to the Shadow Gossips, considering them little more than nuisances.
Shadow Gossips are natural enemies of Shadow Demons, and invidiaks return the feeling with furor. Shadow Demons will go out of their way to hunt and kill Gossips, and Shadow Gossips in turn are the first to alert a community to an invidiak possession. While they cannot usually face Shadow Demons head-on, Shadow Gossips are more than happy to provide any potential exorcists with the information necessary to combat the fiends. The exact origin and nature of this racial feud is unknown; it may be the source of the Shadow Gossips’ fear of Nightshades, as the titanic undead is born from the twisted souls of fiends. The invidiak’s hatred for the Gossips may stem from the simple fact that they try to operate discreetly, and the Gossips can convert the shadows from cover to center stage, or it may be that by their very nature, Gossips are prone to letting loose the Shadow Demons’ plans. In either case, the conflict has escalated to such a point that Gossips are willing to manifest their humanoid disguises to seek aid, and the Shadow Demons want nothing less than every Gossip to be rendered extinct.
Shadow Gossips usually congregate in groups of at least two, though three is the preferred number for a ‘troupe’. They tend to dwell in cities and towns, though they have been known to appear in the wilderness. Naturally, they are lovers of any place that will provide them with a unique balance of light and darkness to play in. They appear most often at sunset, taking advantage of the twilight distortions of shadows. They do not have any apparent kind of diet or need for sleep, though of course they have been observed eating and sleeping in their shadow plays. A given area will only have a handful of Shadow Gossips in it at any given time (no more than 12), lest the whole city be deprived of secrets and the streets set abuzz with puns and sing-song. Planar travelers whisper of a secret fortress somewhere deep within the Plane of Shadows where Shadow Gossips converge, a veritable hive of rumors, information, spy-networks, chatter, and ecstatic hearsay that speaks on everything from crumpled-up junk mail to hacked scrying spells streamed live.
Shadow Gossips appear to be between five and six feet tall. As incorporeal creatures, they are weightless, but their forms always look preternaturally slender and long-limbed. Though difficult to tell in the silhouette, Shadow Gossips are usually dressed in clothes befitting a young woman while allowing full flexibility and contortion of their limbs, with a troupe appearing in matching uniforms. Favored outfits include couriers, ballerinas, minstrels, and even knights’ squires. However, they may appear in any number of outlandish costumes while engaged in a shadow play.
Shadow Gossips speak Common and two languages local to the area, or Gnome and Draconic.
On Golarion
Shadow Gossips are former residents of the Plane of Shadows. They escaped to the Material Plane during the Age of Darkness, when Zon-Kuthon came to full power on the Shadow Plane. The Midnight Lord seems to bear a particular hatred for the Gossips, taking a special delight in torturing the flighty spirits. Rumor has it the Gossips’ themselves are responsible for this particular enmity; if the Shadow Gossips are to be believed, then Dou-Bral’s original departure from Shelyn was more than friction between siblings, but also a lover’s quarrel. The fact that neither Shelyn nor her church offer any sanctuary to the Shadow Gossips does little to dispel, or desist, the incestuous implications.
Shadow Gossips’ feud with Shadow Demons stems from the two creature’s nature. In life, the invidiak were envious souls, and prone to rumor-mongering and gossip themselves to lay low the obstacles between them and their coveted idols. In their new demonic forms, the Shadow Demons are enraged that they are still denied their desires, and just as a liar believes that everyone else is lying, a gossip is prone to believe that they are the subject of mocking gossip. The Shadow Gossips pay for the Shadow Demons’ own sense of inadequacy. Further confounding matters, Shadow Gossips warn their kind against growing too obsessed with one subject, or using their gossip maliciously. For who is to say that during the play, a Gossip might dress as a demon, and never see fit to change?
Gossips tend to congregate in Absalom, Cheliax, and Galt. They also gather around the rare gnome communities, where they try to covertly provide the First World folk a constant stream of information and inspiration to combat the Bleaching.
Plot Hooks
+ The Prince: The PCs find themselves trying to maneuver the courts of a corrupt monarch. However, the monarch also happens to be an illusionist of incredible talent, capable of fabricating all manner of political snares and traps to thwart the PCs. Only a troupe of Shadow Gossips can help the players discern what and even who is real.
+ The Princess: The spirited daughter of a local noble wishes to abandon her life at court and take up being an adventurer. She has taken to dressing as a boy and doing minor adventuring in the city. However, she has had several close run-ins with guards and bounty hunters from her father. She believes a troupe of Gossips may have found out her secret and are already spreading rumors. The princess commissions the PCs to track down the Shadow Gossips and by all means silence them.
+ The Witch: The PCs are going through a standard dungeon crawl, trying to defeat a necromancer or some other villain at the end of the dungeon. At about the half-way point, in the middle of a battle no less, a troupe of Shadow Gossips march out from the darkness demanding a cease-fire. The Gossips inform the PCs that they’ve been doing it all wrong and the entire adventure has gone completely off the rails. They order the PCs and even the monsters to switch various roles (the fighter is now a caster, the orc chieftain is the party rogue, the paladin is now a rust monster, etc.) The Gossips warn that if there are any more slip-ups, the ‘director’ will step in to work personally before they slip back in to shadows and yell to get back on with the ‘show’.
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Whoo! First time working in Pathfinder, so these gals are definitely gonna' need some polish.