 |
|
| Race | Hollower |
| Over-race | Doppleganger |
| Classification | Pseudohuman |
| Family | N/A |
| Sphere | Pestilence |
| Origin | Hollow Jack fashioned them out of his own curse |
| Lifespan | Varies by type |
| Habitat | Anywhere |
| Food | Identities, meat |
| Description | Hollowers have three forms: living skin, skinless one, and hollower. Without a body to latch onto, a living skin looks like a puddle of flesh-toned fluid. Once they have a body to latch onto, they take that form. A skinless one is muscle & sinew, bone & guts, but no skin: walking, talking, interacting, & seeking new skins to be comfortable. A hollower looks like an amalgamation of the parent beings that created them (a living skin and a skinless one), though which personality of the former selves is dominant determines the exact look at the time--it shifts between each. As time passes, however, their bodies tend to slowly "melt," decaying into a deranged, lesser version of their former selves, blending the forms into a hideous monster. |
| Procreation | A living skin procreates with others of the race he or she is impersonating. The child will, for several years, appear to be a normal member of the race they are impersonating, but will eventually "molt," at which point, the skin will turn to living liquid & the body will die. Once a skinless one has taken the skin of another, they can procrate with that race. Very rarely, hollowers are created when a living skin & a skinless one try to consume each other. Two hollowers mating is rare, but when it happens, the resultant being is stillborn. |
| Magic | One in a million with soul magic; one in five hundred thousand with heart magic. Mind & body magic are possible, & faith is not unheard of. Void is possible. |
| Special Powers | A living skin can attach itself to the body of any individual & assume their identity, though only the most powerful can steal the abilities of their victims. Anyone victimized by a living skin will have a seam visible down the back or front of their bodies. After anywhere between a week & a month, a living skin will need to take a new victim or at least lose their old one, because, though the process is slowed, the bodies still begin to rot when the victim dies. In liquid form, a living skin is impervious to blunt attacks & extremely quick & powerful, but will dry out & die within a matter of days without a new host. A living skin has the ability to remove their victim's skin with a touch before they consume the body. A skinless one is different from his doppleganger brethren in that a mere touch is not enough to take an identity. A skinless one must actually kill & flay their victims to take the identity. They can attach the new skin easily once it is removed from the original, but not before. However, skinless ones can make themselves skins from a patchwork of skins. Therefore, many are horrific patchwork men. With a touch, they can cause subdermal necrosis in their victims, loosening the skin for harvesting. The process, however, is known to take long periods of time. If the skinless one is strong enough & has enough of the skin, they might take on the abilities of their victim. A hollower's identities have the powers of the original form, but as they begin to blend, these powers weaken & change, until the hollower has strange corruptions of its former powers: bodily decay by touch, identity blurring (that is, the victim loses his or her identity partially, but the hollower gains nothing), & ultimately, husking (ripping the insides out of a victim & creating a new living skin & a new skinless one from the remains). Husking is only possible the last month or so of the natural span of a hollower's life. If a living skin or skinless one falls victim to a hollower, it absorbs them. |
| Weaknesses | Being bodiless will cause a living skin to dry out & die. Healing magic or faith can hurt them. It takes upwards of a day to fit properly upon their host body. For skinless ones, going without skin for too long will kill them. Healing magic or faith can hurt them. As to hollowers, pestilence magic or faith can separate them, & healing magic or fatih can destroy them. The split personalities of a hollower often war for control. They have the need to consume new identities regularly, but the fusing saps their ability to do so. By the end of the first few months, a hollower is completely mad. A doppleganger who tries to consume a hollower will cause it to split into its composite parts, if they are lucky. |
| Culture | Living skins live like a family of snakes. Shortly after their young are born, they abandon them to a member of the race they appear to be a member of. When a living skin first molts, if another living skin is nearby, they may well take them on as an apprentice. Generally, though, every living skin must survive on his own. They are sensitive, creative, insidious, unpredictable, & erotic. Skinless ones live horrific existences, trying to get by in civilized society by hunting in the dark & blending in as best they can, or by banding together in the wild & hunting in packs. They are secretive, practical, brutal, calculating, & sinister. We will drink milk from your skullFrom your teeth we will make a necklace From your bones, flutes From your skin we will make a dress And then we will dance -- Skinless nursery chant (with apologies to the Incans) Hollowers are mad, monstrous beings roaming the world looking for victims. They are the creatures of horrific nightmares. Luckily, they are very rare. |
| Notables | The Hollow King |
| Sample statistics | PRO ATH STR AWA WIL ROG Stats vary by bodyAbilities vary by age Consume 10 |
GrandGuignol
Copyright © by the contributing authors. All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors. Ideas, requests, problems regarding Foswiki? Send feedback