The reclusive leaders of the Black
Serpent organization, the Shadow Dragons rule from their
fortress on Lothos, an ancient temple
known as the Temple of Shadows and Light, whose existence was one
of the reasons for their choice of Lothos as a home for the Black
Serpents. They have traveled far from their roots as the Jhemadan,
a scholarly breakaway sect of Jedi. Now a ruthless organization of
Dark Jedi, the Shadow Dragons have been the only known force users
in the Yaeger sector for thousands of years, though rumors of a
surviving Jhemadan Master have been floating around the
organization for years.
The Shadow Dragons are an exclusively human and near human
organization, making it their business to kill any non-human force
users that they can find, and they are very good at finding things.
They recruit their members mainly from the Black Serpent
organization, though when they find a natural force user elsewhere,
they make it their business to either turn and recruit them, or
kill them.
They have a very strict hierarchy, with the rankings being
Acolyte, Disciple, Initiate, Student, Knight, Lord, Master, and
Grand-Master. A member of one rank is completely subservient to
the members of the higher ranks. The only way that a Shadow Dragon
can reach a higher rank is by passing the requisite tests, which
vary from level to level, and receiving a promotion by a member of
Lord level or higher. In order to achieve the level of Lord or
Master, the Shadow Dragon must pass the tests in the presence of
all members of the level above the one he is striving for that are
not on active assignment, and receive their approval. To achieve
the level of Grand Master, a candidate must pass the tests, and if
there is a sitting Grand Master, he must immediately defeat him in
mortal combat.
The Jhemadan prided themselves on their simple, almost
monastic lifestyle, and that ethic is still part of the Shadow
Dragon ethic. All members below the rank of Student are restricted
to the outer court, where they own nothing other than a coarse grey
robe, and perform eight hours of backbreaking labor a day, in
addition to their long and tiring lessons. A Student moves into
the opulent Inner court, though he is still allowed no personal
property other than his robe. Each student is made the personal
servant of a Knight, who is also that student's instructor (another
carry over from the Jhemadan). The Student will now leave the
Temple of Shadows and Night for the first time since his arrival
there, accompanying his master on his assignments. When the Knight
judges him as being ready for his test, he is taken back to the
Temple, and if he passes his test, he graduates to the opulent
lifestyle of the higher ranking Shadow Dragons.
Generally speaking, the Shadow Dragons have around five
Masters, ten to fifteen Lords, around a hundred Knights, and an
equal number of Students (no Initiate is raised to Student unless
there is a Knight without a Student), two hundred or so Initiates,
four hundred Disciples, and nearly a thousand Acolytes. Around
once every tenth generation, a Master attains the rank of Grand
Master. The Shadow Dragons currently have a Grand Master, Iridian
Soh, but Grand Master Iridian is almost two hundred years old, and
beginning to become feeble and incoherent.
The relationship between the Shadow Dragons and the Black
Serpent organization started as being a very close one, but the two
organizations have drifted apart somewhat, with the Shadow Dragons
viewing the Black Serpents as tools that will be used to serve a
purpose, and if necessary to be left by the wayside. The Serpent
Tooth assassins are much closer to the Shadow Dragons than the rest
of the organization is, and they serve as the Shadow Dragon's
contact with the rest of the Black Serpent.
One of the facets of the Jhemadan that the Shadow Dragons have
maintained is their devotion to the art of hand to hand combat. In
fact, the school of martial arts that the Shadow Dragon's practice
is still called the Jhemada school, though it a somewhat debased
and formalized reflection of the original. The Serpent Tooth
practice this form as well, but without the Force manipulations
that the Shadow Dragons include.
The force powers of the Shadow Dragons are connected to those
of the Jedi by a very tenuous thread, a thread that has been
strained a number of times. Therefore, they do not have all of the
powers that most Jedi know. They do not know: Absorb/Dissipate
Energy, Enhance Attribute, Instinctive Astrogation Control, Short
Term Memory Enhancement, Instinctive Astrogation, Force Lightning,
Lightsaber Combat, Accelerate Another's Healing, Return Another to
Consciousness, Doppleganger, Force Harmony, Telekinetic Kill,
Transfer Life, or Transfer Force. However, they have an entire
battery of powers that they developed on their own, which are
unknown in the rest of the galaxy.
Control:
Cloak of Darkness
Control Difficulty: 30 -total Dark Side Points, to a
minimum of 5, may not be attempted by an individual with less than
5 DSP.
Effect: When this power is called, the jedi calls upon
the palpable essence of the Dark Side, turning himself into a
silhouette so dark that the eye recoils from it. When this power
is invoked, it grants a +3D bonus to the Hide and +2D to Sneak, and
the jedi holding it will not register on electronic sensors of any
type (although the space he is in will register as being completely
empty, and some sophisticated systems will be able to detect him
due to the lack of normal air in his space). This is a power that
can be kept up.
The Dragon
Control Difficulty: Very Difficult
Required Powers: Emptiness, Control Pain
Effect: This is the power that proved the undoing of
the Jhemadan, and it remains the cornerstone of the Shadow Dragons.
The Jhemadan had been experimenting with essences, and the Dragon
was the image associated with the essence of Power. When the power
is invoked, the Jedi's physical Strength doubles, for as long the
power is maintained. In addition, the thought processes of the
invoker increase 33% in speed, enabling much more efficient
retrieval of information (KNO skills).
This tampering with the essential nature of the invoker is not
without it's penalties, as the Jhemadan discovered. When a Jedi is
under the influence of the Dragon, he sees everything through the
amoral and arrogant view of unbound power. In addition, the power
is somewhat addictive in nature, and once experienced, the Jedi
will find himself desiring to repeat that experience whenever
possible. Finally, frequent use of the power diminishes the power
of it's effects, and starts to cause a physical transformation of
it's user into a six limbed, reptilian creature of some sort, but
as the partial transformations have always proved fatal somewhere
along the line, the exact nature of the creature that the Jedi is
on the road to becoming is unknown.
In game terms, the first time the power is invoked, the
invoker must make an easy willpower roll to avoid committing an
evil act when the opportunity presents itself when the power is up.
Each additional time that the power is invoked, the difficulty of
the check increases by 2. Secondly, once the power has invoked the
power once, they must make an easy willpower roll to avoid
attempting to call on that power when the need arises. Each
subsequent time the power is called upon will increase the
difficulty of that check by 2. This number will decrease by 2 for
every month that passes without the power being called upon, until
it no longer exists. However, each time the power is called upon
after that, the check will reappear, at the highest level of
difficulty that it reached, +2. Thirdly, every third time the
power is called upon, it's power decreases by 10%. Finally, if the
wild die comes up with a mishap any time the power is called, a
minor physical change will take place in the invoker. 3 changes
will be noticeable, and 10 will be fatal. This is a power that can
be kept up.
Hands of the Jhemadan
Control Difficulty: Medium
Effect: This is one of the powers that have carried
over from the Jhemadan times. When called upon, this power causes
the Jedi's hands to be encased in a glowing blue field of Force.
This field is impenetrable, and extends up to the users elbows.
The power protects it's users hands from extreme heat and cold, but
that is not it's primary function. When used in conjunction with
Jhemada school martial arts, the Hands of the Jhemadan add 2D+2 to
the damage caused. When invoked by a Dark Jedi, the field is red.
There are rumors that the Jhemadan had a more powerful version of
this power, but they have never been proven. This is a power that
can be kept up.
Sense:
The Clouds, Parting
Sense Difficulty: Medium
Effect: Another of the powers that was also practiced
by the Jhemadan, The Clouds, Parting is designed to sweep away all
the obstacles blocking clear sight and Sense powers. When invoked,
all powers in effect designed to obstruct or confuse the target
must immediately make opposed rolls with the Jedi who invoked The
Clouds, Parting. Failure causes those powers to be dispelled
instantly, and even a near miss will causes them to waver slightly.
Alter:
Crimson Burst
Sense Difficulty: Targets Control or Perception roll,
modified by distance.
Required Powers: Life Sense, Telekinesis
Effect: This power is the Shadow Dragon's version of
the Telekinetic Kill power. In game terms, it has the same effects
as that power, except it can be used from a distance, as long as
line of sight is maintained. In actuality, the power is far more
gruesome, as it's effects are achieved by altering the pressures on
the various areas of the targets bodies. The result is that blood
starts to flow from the target's pores and orifices as soon as he
starts to take damage. Eyesight is lost immediately, in addition
to the damaging effects.
Shadow Mist
Sense Difficulty: Difficult
Effect: When this power is called upon, a thick layer
of mist will pour from the ground around the Jedi calling it up.
This layer will produce a ground hugging layer around one meter
thick, and around twenty meters in diameter. The mist will
dissipate after an hour, but until that time, it is impenetrable to
visible and electronic imaging, making it ideal for concealing
retreats. The Jedi that produces this mist can see through it as
though it was not there. This power can be negated by "The Clouds,
Parting."
Control and Sense:
Jhemada Combat
Control Difficulty: Moderate
Sense Difficulty: Easy
Effect: This power is handled in the same way as
lightsaber combat, except that it is used to amplify the user's
skills at Jhemada school unarmed combat instead of Lightsaber
combat. It can be used in conjunction with the "Hands of Jhemada"
power, and the blaster bolt deflection can only be done when that
power is up.
Control and Alter:
Shadow Split
Control Difficulty: Easy
Sense Difficulty: Moderate
Effect: When this power is called upon, the Jedi
invoking it appears to split into four copies of himself, each of
moves away in a different direction. In actuality, only one of the
images is real, the others are merely shadows, created by the
portioning out of some of the invoker's life force. Each time the
power is invoked, the Jedi must expend a character point. These
images do not take damage, and are completely insubstantial. As
all forms of matter and energy pass right through them, they can be
detected in that manner. This power can be maintained from round
to round, costing a character point every 10 rounds. The images
can attack, although they cause no damage on a successful hit. The
two ways in which this power is commonly used are to aid in flight,
with the various images running away as well, drawing off enemy
fire, and to aid in combat, where they draw fire, and distract
opponents, making them dodge or parry illusionary attacks. This
power can be dispelled by "The Clouds, Parting"
Control, Sense, and Alter:
Mind Sand
Control Difficulty: Easy
Sense Difficulty: Target's Control or Perception Roll
(whichever is higher)
Alter Difficulty: Medium
Required Powers: Affect Mind
Effect: This power is designed to cripple the abilities
of opposing Jedi. When invoked, and the target's roll is lower
than the sense roll, the target can no longer use the force skill
of Sense, and any powers based on that skill. When he tries to do
so, all he will see is a featureless grey field. If he tries, he
can make an opposed roll every round to break the control, though
that does count as an action. All other Force Powers can still be
used normally. This power can be kept up from round to round. It
is particularly vulnerable to "The Clouds, Parting" as a successful
invocation of that power will not only negate the effects of this
power, the person holding the "Mind Sand" power will still believe
that the power is up, and can expend effort trying to keep it up
with no effect.