Spirit (FiD)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page

A spirit is an immaterial creature, a manifestation of power. Powers come very natural to you, but you have a hard time affecting the physical world and understanding its creatures. Your general form is that of your race, but more extreme, with idealized physical features and borrowing features from other races, animals, and your powers. As you learn to use more powers, your appearance is likely to change.

Trauma Condition—Immaterial Powers come very easy to you, triggered by simple acts of will. The effects are subtle and seemingly natural when you are immaterial, highly visible and dramatic when you are Manifested. What troubles you is two things—interacting with other creatures, and interacting with the physical world.

You are naturally immaterial and exist in the spirit world. This is a different plane that is partially parallel to physical reality. If you move close to the Earth, you can move about in a small circle and observe events. You cannot travel to spirit world locations matching other places in the physical world by following the terrain like a physical creature can. You can use prowl powers to travel and you can go to where you have close associates. This includes any member of your crew and others you have a close bond with. You simply think of them, and there you are. When you travel in this way, you remain in the spirit world. Even if you were using the Manifestation ability before, that ends when you travel to a friend. You can also travel deeper into the spirit world, to planes connected to the powers you know. In such worlds you are always manifested. See the Apex attune abilities of your powers to learn what such worlds are like. You are native to these planes and unlikely to encounter any challenges there.

While immaterial you cannot physically interact with anything, but you can whisper in peoples' ears. You are faintly visible, people with high effect Survey actions or potent Survey action or wearing a spirit mask can see you, but since you are immaterial you can find very many places to hide. You can show yourself as a dim outline. You need not participate in group Prowl actions to stay out of sight. While immaterial you cannot be damaged unless the attack is potent. Your effect is always limited even on the actions you can use, and your position is always controlled when you act and even when you assist someone else.

You always have a light load and can only use items specific to this playbook, not the general items available to all characters. This limitation on items applies even when you use Manifestation.

You can only use certain powers, those associated with the Attune, Consort, Prowl, Study, and Survey actions. There are many different powers you can have, so this rule needs to be applied so that it makes sense in the fiction. The gamemaster may forbid particularly physical effects of these actions and allow subtle effects of other actions. In particular you can often use advanced Hunt effects that change the environment.

Spirit worlds are personal. No other creature can exist in the spirit world you live in. Even plane travelers cannot access your spirit world, and other spirits are in their own personal spirit worlds that are as hard to affect as the physical world, but in which you cannot materialize. There are effects, such as the Occultists Ground Spirit, that can affect you while you are in the spirit world.

Finally it is difficult for you to understand others. You can deal with up to half a dozen creatures at once without major effort, but beyond that you get anxious and annoyed. Being anxious and annoyed is dangerous, to avoid this you usually just don't manifest and observe from the spirit world but you may choose to grow angry.

Special Abilities

1. Alternate Form: You can assume another specific form chosen when this ability is taken. This is usually an animal or monster, but might be a different person or even an object or a terrain feature. It is always the same. You may use this ability at the same time you use Manifestation, so that you immediately manifest in your alternate form. You can select this ability multiple times to gain additional alternate forms.
2. Invulnerability: You are highly resistant to damage. When you take physical harm, make a Wreck roll. 1-3: Nothing. 4-5: Reduce level of harm by one. 6: Reduce level of harm by two. Crit: Negate all harm and recover 1 stress. This stacks with the basic skirmish ability of many powers to absorb damage when both are relevant.
3. Judge of Life: You can either add or subtract 2d to healing treatment rolls of those you spend time with. You do not need to manifest to use this ability.
4. Manifest Object: You can select any load and materialize standard items beyond those on the list for this playbook. This reduces the restrictions of Trauma Condition—Immaterial.
5. Manifestation: You can manifest in the physical world. This makes you a material creature, able to use all Actions and affect physical reality. This reduces the restrictions of Trauma Condition—Immaterial.
6. Resilience: You may expend your special armor to reduce a social or mental consequence or to push yourself on a Prowl or Survey action.
7. Size Change: You can change size to become either much smaller or much larger than typical, less than half a meter or more than three meters in height. In either case, you suffer one less level of physical harm either by rolling with blows or simply being tough. A large creature can use Wreck with additional outcome but has less effect on Prowl actions, a small creature is the opposite. You can use this ability at the same time you use Manifestation, so that you immediately manifest as large or small.
8. Powers: Air, Animal, Barrier, Darkness, Death, Earth, Electricity, Fire, Ice, Flux, Illusion, Kinesis, Life, Light, Metal, Mind, Order, Plant, Space, Time, and Water.

Dramatic Encounters

˄ ˅ Alder, an animist

˄ ˅ Ash, a child

˄ ˅ Wicko, an occultist

˄ ˅ Cress, an inquisitor

˄ ˅ Thorne, a lunatic who can see you

Items

☐ Fine clothes and accessories.

☐, ☐, ☐ Natural object related to your powers, such as a branch for plant or a rock for earth.

☐ Potent weapon adapted to your size and abilities.

☐ Simple disguise that avoids attention as long as you lie low.

☐, ☐ Gift given to you. This is the only way you can pick up objects.

XP

• Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.

• You addressed a challenge using advice or powers.
• You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
• You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.

Starting Actions

Prowl 1

Survey 2

4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one