Umbral Unmasking
Source Champions of Corruption pg. 29 (Amazon)
You cast no shadow whatsoever, or the shadow you do have is monstrous. Under normal lighted conditions, this is not hard to observe—but uncommon to notice. Creatures that succeed at a DC 15 Wisdom check notice it plainly (an additional Perception check may be required based on environmental conditions). This telltale sign of wickedness cannot be concealed by misdirection, nondetection, or illusions, except those that also affect shadows (such as invisibility)
Now that we are all caught up, advice on what to do should a PC take this drawback? Social interaction penalty should they notice seems to be the the easiest way but should a game not be interacting with NPCS that much what else can you do?
There are a lot of drawbacks that only apply in social situations, so this is hardly unusual. At least it offers some cool flavor, unlike something like Condescending which does nothing to a character who isn't investing in face skills anyways.
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A drawback only gives you an extra trait, so it doesn't need to have a big effect. If Umbral Unmasking results in a distinctly negative NPC reaction once every few levels, that's good enough.
If you really don't have any NPC interactions then you could get a little creative. Any type of creature can potentially notice the unusual shadow. Animals may be unnerved by the unusual shadow, applying a penalty on Handle Animal checks. You can also have monsters react to it - maybe even preferentially targeting the character - though this would be easy to take too far. You want to make the player feel that the drawback is affecting his character, but not in a punishing way.
In fact, I wouldn't be opposed to giving a character with this trait an occasional chance to use it in an advantageous way, such as getting a bonus on a bluff to convince another person that they are an evil cultist, fiend in disguise, etc.
I like this drawback as it's kind of quirky, but taken to its logical extension it has issues.
Look at some photos of faces, and note that large amounts of the definition come from the shadows your own features cast. Also note that the inside of your mouth is dark because of your own shadow.
If you cast no shadow:
a) the DC to notice this drawback is way too high, it's going to be super obvious.
b) Random peasants are going to run you out of town or beat you to death for the soulless monster you are.
Vampire hunters. You show an obvious sign of being one, so some are getting sent your way at least a few times.
Vampire hunters. You show an obvious sign of being one, so some are getting sent your way at least a few times.
There are more reasons to lack a shadow than vampirism. Like, "Help, a Shadow Collector stole my shadow!"
Or, like in my case, "What do you mean 'I have no shadow'? She's standing right over there, giving you angry looks."I like this drawback as it's kind of quirky, but taken to its logical extension it has issues.
Look at some photos of faces, and note that large amounts of the definition come from the shadows your own features cast. Also note that the inside of your mouth is dark because of your own shadow.
If you cast no shadow:
a) the DC to notice this drawback is way too high, it's going to be super obvious.
b) Random peasants are going to run you out of town or beat you to death for the soulless monster you are.
Apart from "there are perfectly reasonable reasons to not cast a shadow, please put away the pitchforks"... yeah, this.
Apparently, sunlight goes right through me, but I'm still not invisible? Weird. Can I pull the hood of my cloak over my face to protect me from the sun's glare? If so, why doesn't it also prevent the light from reaching the ground?
or the shadow you do have is monstrous.
What I want to know is if you have a monstrous shape normally [skinwalker, tiefling, ect], can you opt to cast a 'normal' shadow? If not, how is the shadow different than your usual shadow? What's 'monstrous' when you have claws, fangs, vestigial wings, vestigial tails, horns. ect...?
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In fact, I wouldn't be opposed to giving a character with this trait an occasional chance to use it in an advantageous way, such as getting a bonus on a bluff to convince another person that they are an evil cultist, fiend in disguise, etc.
I've done this on a character once. Played someone specializing in illusions and had the 'quirk' of 'forgetting' to make shadows for my illusions. One NPC ignored me in a fight because they knew my quirk and assumed I was an illusion. ;)
Make them lose coolness. For many players being less cool is an actual punishment. Every once in a while just throw out there how much better looking they would be if they could cast a shadow. Seriously though so many dramatic poses are ruined by not having a shadow
A bright light would illuminate him for everyone regardless of angle. In specific instances he might be the only party member anyone could ID
If it applies to objects he's holding as well umbrellas/hats don't provide shade
He can't make shadow puppets..... This can most definitely be made a problem somehow