Skulkin: I swear, it's looking at me.

[DatsVatSheSaid]

Homebrew Race: Skulkin

False men in tattered clothes left to occupy abandoned fields to fend off birds and the easily frightened, cobbled together from tattered rags, straw and various debris, broken tools and refuse. Left to watch and inspire fear, these strawmen instill an unsettling uneasiness in onlookers of these false people in tattered clothes. Becoming veritable effigies of fear themselves these empty shells began to resonate with the warp empowered by the universal fear and uneasiness they instill in sentient races, it was a matter of time before they became host to demonic influence.

Serving as easy hosts to weak daemons who lacked the power to overwhelm the living, these effigies of rags and tatters resonated like a beacon into the warp and were too tempting as ideal hosts. But these lesser possessors weren't prepared for the form they were entering, now bound to the form they inhabit lesser daemons found their identity and memory washed away by the empty form and the form warped by the possessor creating these frighteningly vicious monsters. The Skulkin now exist as unique entities an amalgamation of daemon and construct, a form perverted with a dark, feral intelligence and a new grim purpose. Watch where you walk at night and assume that scarecrow IS watching you, The Skulkin stalk the wheel.

Physical Statistics:
Average Height:1.4 - 2.0m
Average Weight:15-65kg
Languages:Trade, Any one extra
Common Personality Traits: Curious, Sadistic, Mischievous, Feral, Clever, Playful, Cruel
Common Physical Traits: Tattered Rags, Makeshift Anatomy, Cobbled Limbs, Distorted Limbs, Stuffed with straw or refuse.
Example Names: Scratch, Cropsy, Wick, Reaper, Till, Rags, Stiches, Stykks, Zardy

Racial Statistics:
Characteristics: + 1 to Charisma or Dexterity
Skill Bonus: + 1 to Intimidation and Crafts
Power-- Harmless Scarecrow: Your form conceals your true purpose, a makeshift construct of steel, refuse and tattered rags, people don't desire to know what you truly are. You have no need for food, water or sleep, and must be healed with Crafts instead of Medicae. You may enter an inanimate state, able to go a long time without moving or blinking. You can remain in this state indefinitely and can snap out of it instantly -- you're still aware of your immediate surroundings. While inanimate, onlookers receive a check in any test to perceive or discern your true nature.
Size:3-4

Racial Feats:

Makeshift Monstrosity[Skulkin]: Being made out of junk and cobbled together makes you quite mutable and variable, and you are quite creative with how terrifying you wish to be. You may, as a Half-Action give your self the Flyer(your speed), Quadraped, or Crawler Traits for the duration of the scene, you may only have one of these traits at a time. You gain a Natural Weapon with the following profile: : (1k1 I or R, Melee, Brawling, Torturous)

Effigy of Fear[Skulkin]:You gain Fearless and creatures affected by spells you cast with the Mind-Affecting keyword take a check on any Willpower tests for the rest of the scene.

Unnerving Presence[Skulkin]: Your form makes it easy to make attackers lose the nerve to properly attack you. You may use Intimidation in place of Acrobatics when dodging.

Warped Whisperer[Skulkin]: You have learned from the corvids that stalk your domain, and have developed a wicked form of their mimicry. You can cast the spell Ghost Sound, using your Level + Charisma in place of the normal Focus Power test. You may cast this even while in your inert state.


Paragon Asset:

Reaper King[Skulkin, Paragon]:
You gain Fear with a rating equal to your Excellence.

Physical Qualities:
Skulkin resemble humanoids by the loosest of definitions, made from tatters, scrap and cobbled bits it becomes very obvious they aren't actually humanoids. Either too few limbs or too many non-functioning ones, heads made of rotting pumpkins, buckets or sack cloth the skulkin are crude imitations of the humanoid form. While standing still there is no way to tell them apart from harmless scarecrows or effigies, but while in motion their true nature is revealed their parts distort and warp to more accurately resemble functioning limbs and their mass becomes more "full" as the entity within attempts to bring function and animation to a form not expected to move.

Another sign you are dealing with a Skulkin, they have no vocal chords to speak with their attempts to speak come off as a cacaphony of creaking, groaning, gridning and breathless wheezing in shrill, almost violent noises as their form buckles in attempt to make the proper sounds to speak. What you could distinguish as a "voice" is an amalgamation of sounds and imitations of what they overhear as that is how they learned to speak.

As Skulkin "age" so to speak, their form becomes more warped and tattered and has had various new pieces added almost appearing more brutal and insidious by design more "organic" bits appear to protrude from the center of the being as if the entity was "leaking out" of the form.

Playing a Skulkin:
Skulkin are to be frank... assholes in some way or another, naturally cruel and equally playful they find causing torment and fear to be "Fun". What a skulkin might consider a simple "prank" would be considered violent assault and torture to most other "normal" races. They openly engage in mockery and enjoy mind games and various mean-spirited antics.

Skulkin don't typically have a "Culture" typically speaking, usually solitary but in rare cases in dense agricultural regions several Skulkin might emerge and take over a village for their own. In these cases it is best to leave quite quickly from empty villages with only scarecrows in sight, lest you be tormented to death by the very bored mob of Skulkin with only you to play with.

Lastly, Skulkin are temperamental and easily enraged and almost feral in how they exact this anger. It is best not to meddle with lone strawmen, it might get mad and stuff you and hang you on a pole. At their best, Skulkin are playful, mischevious rogues and at their worst they are violent tormentors with viciously cruel bouts of anger.