Seeming Walker

Seeming walkers are chameleonlike creatures that “wade” through the Seeming, camouflaged by the illusions then in effect.

Nobody is entirely sure what a Seeming walker really looks like. It's often perceived as a ripple in another image as the Seeming walker moves through it, like a stagehand brushing up on a scenery curtain

Sages believe that, stripped of the Seeming's shroud, Seeming walkers are ugly little creatures. Full-grown walkers are believed to stand 4 feet tall, have wrinkled green skin covered with thin yellowish fur, and bear only a few tufts of hair on turnip-shaped heads. They are said to have thin arms and legs, with an opposable thumb and two large fingers on each hand, and three toes per foot. This description, however, is mere speculation and has never been reliably confirmed.

Seeming walkers tend to mind their own business, moving through Shadow World terrain in pursuit of their own simple goals and not taking an interest in the larger, more worldly affairs of other inhabitants.

However, because they move through the illusions woven by the Shadow World's powerful denizens, Seeming walkers inadvertently bear witness to major events and conversations. Akin to the proverbial “fly on the wall,” a Seeming walker could relate fascinating stories—provided the would-be listener managed to track one down.

Combat: Though many Seeming walkers exist in the Shadow World, encounters with them are rare, and combat rarer still. Because a Seeming walker needs active uses of the Seeming in order to travel, it unconsciously exerts an effect on encounters between other parties in order to sustain the tension between them. Should the active Seeming face a th reat of exposure, the presenc e of a Seeming walker temporarily boosts the Seeming score s of all involved creatures by 10 points (provided the creatures have at least slight Seeming to begin with ).

A Seeming walker can create this boost up to three times per encounter. So, each time an active use of the Seeming starts to falter or the encounter to resolve itself, the active Seeming increases. The effect can occur even within cooperating parties; characters start believing their companions are behaving suspiciously, when in fact they are merely going about their business.

Seeming walkers don't wish to harm anyone with this unintentional escalation—they merely need to keep the Seeming active as long as possible.

Seeming walkers usually pass right by others undetected. If spotted (as a ripple), they hold still, attempting to camouflage themselves within the Seeming.

If a Seeming walker is attacked or the Seeming is penetrated by some other means, the illusions around the creature shatter. The Seeming walker is extremely vulnerable in this state; its movement rate drops to 3 and its armor class shifts to 10. In addition, the creature loses 1d8 hit points per day that it remains exposed to view. It will beg for its freedom and promise nearly anything in exchange. (See “Peaceful Encounters,” below.)

Should combat prove inevitable, the creature uses the shards of shattered illusions as missile weapons, hurling them toward opponents. The Seeming shards create random illusions when they hit a target or the ground. Damage is based on the nature of the illusion created (see restrictions for the seemer). DMs may select the illusions themselves, or allow the shards to function like a deck of illusions. Seeming walkers use the chaos created by the illusions to attempt escape.

Seeming walkers avoid encounters with others if at all possible. Painfully self-conscious, they cannot bear to be looked at or be near someone who knows they exist.

If captured, a Seeming walker negotiates for its freedom—all the while ducking its head and trying to shrink from view. It offers nearly anything in its possession, from information to spare Seeming shards. Failing that, the creature watches for opportunities to use shards to create distractions that enable it to slip away.

Seeming walkers have extraordinary perception, which grants them the ability to navigate through the Seeming.

While Seeming walkers have a greater Seeming score, it represents only how high a character's perception must be to spot a Seeming walker's rippling movements. A viewer's perception score must exceed a Seeming walker's Seeming score by at least 20 points before its true appearance is revealed.

Though Seeming walkers possess a unique ability to use the Seeming as a medium for travel, they cannot otherwise manipulate it.

Habitat/Society: Solitary creatures by nature, Seeming walkers wander in search of a “comfortable” illusion in which to dwell for a time. They prefer environmental manifestations of the Seeming—passive, semipermanent illusions that cloak the landscape—as opposed to the more active manipulations wrought by Shadow World denizens who can control the Seeming. Seeming walkers generally remain in a passive illusion for several weeks unless disturbed (the illusion shifts, or a character penetrates it).

Seeming walkers travel from place to place through the Seeming, often using active manipulations as “bridges” between passive illusions. Thus, observant characters facing a large dragon might notice a ripple pass along its belly—evidence that the formidable beast is just an illusion.

Ecology: Though Seeming walkers create ripples while traveling through the Seeming, they have little other effect on the environment and leave behind no evidence of their passing. They dine on broken illusions—pieces of images shattered by a perceptive character's ability to penetrate the Seeming. When they die, the Seeming absorbs their bodies.