Hey folks,

Been 'hijacking' an RP (GM got fed up and/or lazy/busy/otherwise-engaged and we the players are taking over!). His descriptions prior to the hijack indicated something vaguely Umbra-ish. Anyone got any rules for them?

I had a routine search around the internet, but didn't find very much. Will be thinking on the issue in effort to write my own if I can find something more suitable in the meantime.

Cheers for any help, if possible.
Xisor

P.S. I'm very happy with my umbra being scattered shards of the god Qah. But that's not a crucial factor!

In the excellent book Xenology, that was published by Black Library (a part of Games Workshop) in 2005 as a sourcebook for the 40k table top game, there is a creature/being described under the name "Umbra" (p30-ish, the pages are not numbered). The Xenology book contains no rules, but a series of dissection reports from a magos biologis that works for an Inquisitor studying xenos lifeforms. Each dissection report is a few pages long, contains some very nice scetches in slightly-michelangelo-style and some notes on physiology and behaviour in captivity, toghether with collected eyewitness accounts regarding the xeno. This is all interwoven into a very captivating story about the magos and his fate. If you can, get hold of this book. It is a wonderful excellent tool for a creative GM that's into the Xenos part of the Holy Ordos. I understand it is very hard to find it in stores, since it has been out of print for a while, and the second hand ones are pretty costly (around $100 on amazon or ebay for example). Your LFGS might have one hidden behind the Black Reach boxes, or someone among your friends might have one to borrow you. If a friend wants to sell it to you, smack them over the head and tell them you couldn't ever bereave a friend of such a wondrous item. Buy it from someone you dislike instead :-) I've even heard there was a collectors edition...

However, since the book is out of print and hard to get I'll share some of the info on the Umbra:

Outward appearence is a perfect sphere with glossy finish and pearly shifting colours, about 8cm across. It hovers seemingly without means of support and are commonly found clustered near warpdrives of voidfaring vessels, as moths drawn to a flame. They are generally considered a annoying non-sentient pest, native to the void, and the Omnissiah have granted even his lowliest servants the tools to remove them from engine exhausts and other critical systems when a ship is in docks. The Umbra fears the light, and withdraws as if in panic if a strong light is shone upon it. If lightsources can be placed so that no way of retreat is possible and all the sides of the sphere is strongly lit, the umbra will "die", turn black and fall to the floor in accordance with any gravity that might be present, while keeping a perfect surface temperature of 10°C. If dissected, a hollow ball of ceramic materials, and a center cavity filled with goo is all that will be encountered.

Every now and then one or a few Umbra are encountered that does not act like their brethren. It is unclear why this is so. Instead of shying away from light they become as if enraged by it and defend themselves. These Umbra can cause any nearby shadow, down to the darkness inside a humans eye, to solidify and take shape, including sharp hooks, spikes and blades. These forms and tentacles of darkness are then used to physically attack anyone percieved as a threat, usually with very horrible results. The sharper the light to contrast with, the more horrible the damage inflicted. One could assume that fighting the Umbra in complete darkness would be a wise strategy, since there would in a way be no shadows. This has not proven an effective strategy, everything seems to be in shadow from something. Only by the most powerful of weapons can the umbra be hurt.

There is a theory, ascribed in large parts to the deranged hallucinations of the self-proclaimed heretic Calculus-Logi Byrr, that the Umbra are the shattered lingering remains of one of the Old Gods that went and hid in the warp to observe the ongoings of the universe. It was however sundered and banished to the "real" world by Slaanesh, and now it's parts are blindly fumbling their way back to the warp. The aggressive Umbra encountered could be ones that has retained/attained/accumulated more of the originals power. The Rules of Narrativity tells us that since this earthshatteringly epic, utterly mad and exceedingly incredible theory comes from such a disputable source (who in turn claims Slaanesh in person as his source of the "info"), it must be the truth.

I'll try to claim this post as being at least partly a review of the Xenology book. And as such I am allowed (at least by the copyright laws in Sweden, and I hope in the mind of the moderators of this forum, and GWs legal team) to post a reproduction of a sample of the thing being reviewed. So I brought out my camera and took a picture of the Umbra dissection report. The quality of the image does not do the feeling of the book justice, but it can serve as an example of the amazing look and language of Xenology. I do not in any way attempt to challenge GWs copyright by this image, it is merely used as an illustration of their product. Right, I hope that will be enough to let me keep my posting rights on these forums... *crosses fingers*

As for rules, you are going to have to make them up yourselves. Good luck with the GMing and I hope this was of some help.

Cheers for that handy collating, Mellon!

I've ruled up the Umbra using a combo of Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader rules. For the purposes of making a concrete switch, it's just different psychic powers really. Now, I've not tested them or, truth be told, really thought them out to their logical conclusions. Still, I've got a working template down which should 'loosely' represent 'em with careful GM adjudication. And by adjudication, it is essentially the GM asserting quite what 'level' or 'flavour' they actually wish to use. The shattered, fragmented, lingering remnants of a god or unspeakable night-terrors from the depths of space. Or both. Or neither.

As you can guess, fudging the numbers is probably important. As is carrying torches and being prepared to run away. Here's my take:

THAT WHICH LINGERS
The Umbra in Dark Heresy & Rogue Trader

Small black sphere of maybe 80mm diameter, sticks to the shadows. The Umbra are often found near common warp translation points. Where they come from is entirely unkown, but it is noted that they shoal and follow starships, seeming to cluster around the exterior warp engines and stick with the vessel until warp translation. They are drawn to psychic phenomena and are a known pest when it comes to exterior repairs.

The Umbra themselves are rarely encountered directly by starfarers, though they remain a popular myth being purported to literally strike with the shadows. Folklore calls them the shadow-puppets. On the times when they do enter starships, space stations or appear on planet's surfaces, no end of incomprehensible, unbelievable, massivey contradictory stories of abstract horrors floods the reporting.

WS 1
BS 30
S 10 (2)
T 55 (10)
Ag 30
Int 5
Per 30
WP 30
Fel 1
Wounds 8

Traits : The Shadows Live, Amorphous, Fear (2), From Beyond, Hoverer 2, Puny, Strange Physiology, The Stuff of Nightmares, Unnatural Senses (15m)
Skills : Awareness, Climb, Psyniscience, Silent Move
Talents: Natural Armour 4, Psy Rating 4, Unnatural Strength, Unnatural Toughness
Powers: Psychic Scream, Telekinetic Crush, Sensory Deprivation & Void Watcher (Novice)

Threat Rating : Obscuro Minoris

The Shadows Live

When an Umbra is threatened or active against acolytes or explorers, roll for every patch of shadow within 2*WP metre, roll D100. An Umbra in the region may 'tap' any region in range to gain bonus for Focus Power test purposes. Ebon Geists appearing in this way do not Consume Life.

Frightfully small: 1% chance of Ebon Geist manifesting from it, +1 to FP test
Dark recess: 5% chance of Ebon Geist, +3 to FP test
Under the bunk: 25% chance of Ebon Geist, +5 to FP test
Darkened room: 50% chance of Ebon Geist, +10 to FP test
Utter darkness: 80% chance of Ebon Geist, +20 to FP test

Furthermore, Umbra suffer noticeably from extreme broad-spectrum illumination. If subject to a moderately powerful intensity of light (industrial grade or specialist design luminem globe) the Umbra suffers a -10 to WP per source. If three such sources surround the Umbra it loses its Unnatural Toughness ability and is essentially pinned to the spot. If unprovoked or confronted with immense intensity of light, the Umbra will usually flee.