Hushed One Concept Test

tHe HusHed ones Description: They are the distant scream in the wind, the razor cold that cuts all the way to the marrow and the white billowing cloud that obscures all vision and leaves men lost in the cold. They never close their eyes in sleep; they stare unblinkingly into the sun and never go blind. The hushed ones are predators in the cold. They run over the softest snow but never leave a mark. They never make a single sound until they are upon their prey. On the surface, these Wyld-corrupted people look like ordinary men or women, but there is noth- ing ordinary about them. They run naked through the white landscapes and never, ever utter a word. They communicate through a strange group mind that enables all of them to do exactly what is required to help the group as a whole. On some rare occa- sions, they’ve even been known to wear clothes and sneak into en- campments to scout the places out. Even then, they can be recognized for what they are by the coldness of their skin and their icy and empty stare, which chills the soul of all who look into their unblinking eyes. All of the hushed ones have long, black hair on their head, but their skin is otherwise very smooth and de- void of hair, scars or other marks. Injured hushed ones al- ways heal very quickly, and their wounds never leave a trace on their skins. There are pockets of Wyld all over the Northern lands, and the hushed ones spend most of their free time in them, until it’s necessary to embark on another food-gathering run to feed their young. They rut among themselves and produce more of their kind — more mouths to feed, more hunters on the loose. They rarely let themselves be seen, and they never, ever engage anyone in a fair fight. Instead, the hushed ones prefer to pick suitable spots for ambush. They have even been known to cause avalanches to bury travelers, then dig them out at their leisure. Humans always attract them; they have no need for treasure, but a group of humans and their beasts of burden offer a stock of food that will last these carnivores a long time. The hushed ones always run in packs; if one of them sneaks into a human encampment, the rest of the pack is very close by. The hushed ones are intelligent and can use weapons if need be, but that intelligence is a cold, inhuman and alien one; one can no more reason, bargain or negotiate with them than one could do so with a fly. In fights, the hushed ones rely on numbers, group tactics made all the more effi- cient by their hive mind, their inhuman strength and stamina and the sharp, bony claws that extend from their fingertips. The hushed ones don’t usually kill their victims right away if they can avoid it, preferring their meat to be f r e s h ; i n - stead, the pale crea- tures drag their victims off into their n e s t s f o r later con- s u m p t i o n . The hushed ones have been known to break their vic- tims’ limbs to prevent escape. Rescuing imprisoned victims from the hushed ones’ nests means going after them into a pocket of Wyld, which is no simple feat. Even if the would-be rescuers survive without being affected by the Wyld or torn apart by the hushed ones themselves, there’s no guarantee that the victims are in any condition to be rescued. There is a good chance that the Wyld has turned them into something rescuers no longer particularly want to bring back —supposing that they haven’t already ended up as dinner. Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6, Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 3, Perception 5, Intelligence 5, Wits 5 Virtues: Compassion 0, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, Valor 5 Abilities: Archery 4, Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Brawl 5, Dodge 5, Endurance 2, Medicine 3, Melee 5, Presence 2, Resistance 2, Stealth 4, Survival 2 Base Initiative: 9 Attack: Claw: Speed 9 Accuracy 9 Damage 7L Defense 9 (Can be used to parry melee weapons) Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 8 Damage 7B Defense 8 Slashing Sword: Speed 12 Accuracy 10 Damage 8L Defense 10 Long Bow: Speed 9 Accuracy 8 Damage 8L (Rate 3, Range 200) Dodge Pool: 8 Soak: 3L/9B (Thick skin, 3L/3B. Hushed ones rarely wear mortal armor but can do so.) Willpower: 6 Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/ -2/-4/Incap Essence: 1 Other Notes: Due to their hive mind, anything a single hushed one learns is instantly learned by other members of the pack. Thus, they are all tremendously homogenous in their abilities; whenever one of them improves his skills with a weapon, so do the others. This means that a pack that has been around for a while often becomes very strong in several different ways. The hushed ones prefer to single out the strongest member of a group of enemies and kill him first, then mop up the others at their leisure. The hushed ones have the following Wyld mutations: Eye Color (icy blue, allows them to see in the dark), Claws (only on their hands) and Thick Skin. They also heal a level of lethal damage every 30 minutes or a level of bashing damage every 15 minutes, but only if they are in the Bordermarches or deeper in the Wyld.