Shadowy Critters

[Grazzik]

You'd have to take the Stalker backstory into account. It specifically says how they utterly despise the concept of summoning and are beholden to no-one. Yet, they treat Shadow Beasts as mounts, not necessarily equals. I'd probably assume 9 times out of 10, they'd see the Shadow Mage as an abomination and maybe see other Shadow denizens who accommodate Shadow Mages as misguided. So, while other denizens may simply ignore the Mage, the Stalker would in most cases still attack, even if it were as simple as a kneejerk reaction. However, they aren't mindless killers... they'd probably back off if a Shadow Lord openly extended their patronage to the Mage.

It would be nice if dimensions such as the Shadow Dimension and the Astral Plane were properly described instead of trying to cobble together a patchwork from across various sources. These two particularly since there are so many powers or spells that weave them between Rifts, BtS, PFRPG, NB, etc. NB does a good job for the Astral Plane and the same for DB15 and the Shadow Dimension, but they are still just broad brushstrokes and feel somewhat incomplete or not living up to their full potential as megaversal settings.

[drewkitty ~..~]

If these two items from two different games were brought into a GM's campaign I would agree with Grazzik...mostly. Otherwise I'd say the situation is moot because they are from two different games.

As for the comments about the Shadow Realm and the Astral Plane, (& in relation the dreamstream)....
These places are suppose to be mysterious, and not detailing them lets GM's use their imagination to fill out the story as they would.

[Grazzik]

As for the comments about the Shadow Realm and the Astral Plane, (& in relation the dreamstream)....
These places are suppose to be mysterious, and not detailing them lets GM's use their imagination to fill out the story as they would.

Yes, I'll grant you that. I wouldn't expect a Hades or Dyval type book where it is laid out with maps and such. You are right, Drewkitty. The GM should be owning the setting in which their players inhabit.

Though some expansion on common elements that GMs could leverage would be helpful. For example: The Inner Plane has more structure to it than the Outer Plane or the Void, so this could be given some more points of interest that might serve as examples of how things work on the Inner Plane... i.e. how frequent encounters are on the Dragon Roads, how communities function near nexuses (or not), are there existential threats to communities or the Inner Plane itself, do the dimensional rules in DB7 apply to the Inner Plane as is or are there unique aspects to consider, etc. More than simply a white misty landscape where, pop, anything can appear out of the fog at the GM's whim.

When it comes to the Shadow Dimension, I wouldn't be surprised if the Shadow Realm from which the Stalkers came from ended up being the PFRPG Shadow Dimension with different beasties than DB15, since according to DB15 (which references the dimensional rules in DB7) every world/dimension has its own shadow dimension. It also means that the shadow dimensions don't all operate on the same dimensional laws either. DB15 details the Rifts shadow realm with its purple ley lines, but perhaps the NB shadow realm is different with silvery ley lines that tap into the Mirrorwall somehow. Anyway, the point is that maybe GMs could be given a bit more flavor as to how to use the Shadow Dimension(s) meaningfully in the various games, without being spoon fed a dimensional atlas.

Though I have to admit, I can be lazy at times and have wished for more detailed books about alien worlds/dimensions like Wormwood, so I don't have to. I've used some of the dimensions in DB7 as settings and I found that when descriptions are limited to just a few pages focusing on the environs and a handful of monsters/NPCs, the blank space beyond can be intimidating for GMs to fill in and so things get repeated and boring if the effort isn't put into it. If the description doesn't go past surface level, it becomes more of a concept than a setting.

So bringing it back to the Shadow dimension(s), it would be nice to know more than the dimensional properties and a brief description of one instance. For example, whether, in addition to Shadow Doors, there are unique ways to get there/escape, which Shadow worlds have (Shadow Mage led?) populations that have held off the Shadow denizens and what creative ways they have used to do so, etc. I could imagine in a PW version, people have sought refuge in space, but there are still Space Shadows that flit from asteroid to asteroid, avoiding solar winds.

There's enough wish lists for books on so many topics, I don't expect this one to happen. However, it just goes to show how critical the GM is to expanding the games and their settings for players, yet most of the content we get is modified stat blocks for gear, vehicles, weapons, etc. rather than worldbuilding and storytelling tools. Ah well.

[drewkitty ~..~]

If these two items from two different games were brought into a GM's campaign I would agree with Grazzik...mostly. Otherwise I'd say the situation is moot because they are from two different games.

There is precedent for cross pollination of the different settings.

Original Vampire Kingdoms pg. 109-111 or Vampire Sourcebook 50-52 - Peqita - Palladium Changeling
original vampire kingdoms pg. 114-115 or Vampire Sourcebook 53-54 - Robert "Grizzly" Carter - Palladium Elf -
Juicer Uprising pg. 108 - Yolanda, 15th level Nightbane sorcerer (admittedly this is just a one off mention buried in fluff text)

Smiling_Bandit - Has been known to cross pollinate on occasion

The examples you gave are from official importing from different PB games not for other settings. So how does that make your point.

Talking about taking stuff from different settings....
Taking stuff from the 3G setting and moving them onto rifts earth.
Or taking items from the AU Milkyway setting and dropping them down onto HU earth.
Or even taking something out of 'The Land of the Damned" books; that is suppose to be sealed in TLoD; into the broader PF world.
Those are settings cross pollination.

What you were giving examples for was cross-Game imports.
Which I have no problem with GMs importing things, as I implied in the first line of 'What You Quoted' from me.

[eliakon]

My personal take would be that they would say "you set off my filter, you die"
It doesn't say that they would exempt Shadow Beings, and given that at least some shadow creatures can cast spells it seems like the simplest answer is "they would kill you like any other summoner"

[Curbludgeon]

Of the shadow critters detailed only outside DB15 which come to mind, Shadow Wolves could work with Shadow Lords while Moord-Sith (both PFRPG11) and Shadow Sharks (Rifts WB7), if they can even be counted as critters, wouldn't know to care. Stalkers, though, ain't having it.

I was playing until recently a shadow-themed Powers Unlimited 2 Immortal Godling. Shadow Magic spells, with the powers APS:Shadow, Shadow Manipulation, and Impervious to Light and Lasers. Shadow Beasts were one of the few things capable of hurting them, especially physically.