Invisible Monsters

    In the course of thinking of interesting things to write about, I thought about the theme of “invisibility” with respect to monsters. Here begins some of the original content for this blog veering away from the Skycrawl campaign.

Why is it invisible?

Invisibility as a survival tactic
    Such as a wizard using the Invisibility spell to avoid being targeted. The gelatinous cube is something like this as well, since it’s an ambush predator.

Invisibility as a curse
    I’m not aware of any example of this in TTRPGs, but it’s the basis of H.G. Wells’s “Invisible Man.” Being invisible and unable to turn it off would naturally alienate one from the rest of society, even if it doesn’t turn you into an antisocial killer.

    There’s also the fact that if your body was completely invisible, that would include your retinas. Invisibility means blindness. That might be an interesting complication for a botched invisibility potion or spell.

Invisible due to its material

    Some monsters are invisible by their very nature. The invisible stalker is like this, and I imagine most ghosts are like this, too. I think of ghosts as fading in and out of visibility not as some kind of combat strategy, but just because they’re acting out their last moments in life, or whatever. I don’t see how anyone could die, be cursed to remain between the veil of life and death unable to pass on and forced to reenact the last moments of their life and remain sane.

Handling Invisibility in Dungeon World

    The core rulebook is pretty light on details regarding visibility and light. I think a good way to handle it would just be to impose a -2 penalty to Hack and Slash against an invisible opponent. 

    Ranged attacked against an invisible opponent seem practically impossible. I would rule that they automatically fail.

    If the players figure out what’s going on, they might try one of the mitigation techniques described below. Depending on the details, it might reduce the penalty or negate it entirely.

How to defeat an invisible monster

Smoke/mist
    An invisible monster might leave a noticeable void in a bank of smoke, mist, or other semi-opaque gas.
    This might make Volleying possible, albeit with a -2 penalty, and reduce the penalty for Hack and Slash to -1.

Water displacement
    Similarly, an invisible monster would displace water. If they were partially submerged, you would just have to aim for the spot above the leg-shaped void in the water’s surface. Take a -1 penalty to Hack and Slash, and a -2 to Volley.

Grass/foliage displacement
    Extremely tall grass or dense foliage would be disturbed by their passing. This might be completely negated if they just hold perfectly still, though. Take a -1 penalty to Hack and Slash and Volley, as long as the target is moving.

Paint/dye
    Depending on how thoroughly coated the target is, this might render their invisibility completely useless, negating any penalty to attacking them. The only problem is that it requires a corporeal target, so that rules out ghosts and the like.

Reflections

    Now we’re getting into the more interesting stuff. Suppose a monster is invisible because it’s partly in another dimension, like the mirror realm or something. Or maybe a ghost with reverse vampire rules. I’m pretty sure Paper Mario did something like this once.
    When fighting an enemy by observing its position through a reflection, take a -1 penalty to Hack and Slash or Volley.

One eye blind
    This ritual is an important part of a shaman’s initiation, in certain traditions. A stick is burned in a special, consecrated fire, and the glowing coal at the tip is pressed into the initiate’s eye. Though blinded to the physical world, the eye is forever open to the spiritual. Which means the ability to see through any invisibility and illusions, at the cost of depth perception.
    As a solemn, sacred rite, this is not likely to be for sale. It might be necessary to blackmail a witch doctor, which will certainly come back to haunt the PCs later.

Cat
    All cats have the innate ability see the invisible. Everyone knows that. Why else would they be constantly batting or staring at things no one else can see? Why else would witches always keep them around? The terrified hissing of a cat at an ostensibly empty corner might give you precious time to react to an approaching evil spirit.

Monsters

DS2 is good, actually.

Forest Hunters    6 HP    2 Armor

Group, Organized, Intelligent, Stealthy

Damage: X

    Once there was an evil wizard who lurked in the deep woods, commanding a band of outlaws to attack travelers and his rivals. His favorite tactic was to cast a spell of invisibility on his entire squadron, making them unparalleled at ambush tactics.

    The outlaws ate like kings, and all was well until a stray crossbow bolt struck the wizard in the head. Despite being dead, his invisibility spell remains. The outlaws and all their gear are now permanently invisible, with no way to undo it.

    They have remained in the forest, lurking around their former master’s lair. Their permanent invisibility has alienated them from their fellow beings, making them as nihilistic and ruthless as they are dangerous.

Instinct: To take by force

Special Qualities: Invisible

Moves:

• Vanish into the mists
• Attack without warning
• Call for reinforcements

Starvelings    1 HP

Group, Small, Stealthy, Devious, Magical

Damage: N/A

    These are the ghosts of children who died in conflict, mostly of starvation or exposure. They have an instinctive need for food and warmth, despite being unable to benefit from it. Food despoils at their touch, and fires spontaneously go out. Their presence may only be heard by occasional, faint crying.

    A cleric can turn them, as any undead, but failing that, they can be lured with soothing words towards an orphanage or a soup kitchen, which causes them to pass on to the afterlife immediately.

Instinct: To seek food, warmth, and safety

Special Qualities: Incorporeal, Invisible

Moves:

• Despoil food with a touch
• Extinguish a fire
• Cry

Ghost of the Theater    10 HP

Solitary, Stealthy, Magical

Damage: Thrown object (1d8, close, near, forceful)

    There once was a rising star in the theater. A bard and thespian of remarkable talent. They were scheduled to play the lead role in a well-loved play, and were thrilled to learn that the Duke and his family would be in attendance.

    But in the week before opening night, they were murdered by a jealous rival, who hid their body in an unused cistern beneath the theater. Now the ghost of the murdered actor haunts the theater, causing mayhem and terror, desperate to be seen.

Instinct: To seek attention

Special Qualities: Invisible, Incorporeal

Moves:

• Wail and moan
• Stage an unfortunate "accident"
• Levitate and throw objects

Mist-Wolf    4 HP    1 Armor

Horde, Stealthy, Magical

Damage: Bite (1d6, close, +1 piercing)

    Humans weren’t the first species to develop magic. And neither were the elves. In certain remote regions of the world, even species of subhuman intelligence show some rudimentary magical ability.

    In their natural state these creatures resemble slender wolves with long silver fur and a distinctive crescent moon pattern of lighter fur on their backs. They possess the magical ability to become invisible at will, making them the perfect ambush predators.

Instinct: To hunt prey

Moves:

• Turn invisible
• Howl for others of their pack
• Track prey by scent

Killer Tulpa    16 HP

Solitary, Intelligent, Stealthy, Devious, Magical

Damage: Imaginary weapons (d10, close, ignores armor)

    A “tulpa” is an entity born from their creator’s imagination, yet somehow achieves a degree of autonomy. The killer tulpa is one meant specifically to harm.

    A victim becomes vulnerable to a killer tulpa when they learn of their existence. They might read of it in a book or have it described to them aloud by an enemy. Once you become aware of it, it effectively “lives” in your head. You can attempt to reason with it by imagining a conversation.

    Given its imaginary nature, a tulpa can’t be harmed by conventional means. Any effect that erases it from your memory effectively makes you immune, unable to harm it or be harmed by it unless you are reminded about it again.

Instinct: To kill

Special Qualities: Imaginary

Moves:

• Spread through memetic contagion
• When you are attacked by a hostile tulpa, roll+INT. On a 10+, you avoid damage. On a 7-9, you take damage, but are able to deal your class damage as a counterattack. On a -6, you take damage.
• When you imagine attacking a hostile tulpa, roll+CHA. On a 10+, deal your damage. On a 7-9, choose 1:

• You open yourself to danger, taking a hit from the tulpa.
• It was only a glancing blow: -1d6 damage.
• You deal damage, but your mind reels from psychic feedback. You are momentarily stunned.

Anti-Vampire    10 HP    1 Armor

Group, Intelligent, Stealthy, Magical

Damage: Claws (1d8, close, +2 piercing)

    They were much like us, once. They walked beneath the sun, lived off the land, and lived and died. These wretched creatures once belonged to an ancient clan of warriors who served a great emperor. But, fearing their power, he made war against them and banished them into the land of mirrors.

    They can only be found in the ancient crypts and undercrofts of the long-vanquished empire, where dusty, accursed mirrors still adorn the sealed-off chambers.

    They first appear as a visual distortion in the reflection, like a swirl of color bending the light. They soon resolve into tall, gangly humanoids whose translucent bodies are striped with white. They have long, sharp claws on their hands, mouths full of teeth, and huge, pale eyes filled with hatred.

    They can only be seen in reflections, hence the name. Provided you can fight them while looking at your reflection, they can be fought and killed as normal.

Instinct: To seek revenge

Special Qualities: Only visible in mirrors

Moves:

• Suddenly appear in a reflection
• Fly into a murderous rage

Solar Exile    6 HP    1 Armor

Group, Intelligent, Stealthy, Magical

Damage: Firebolt (1d8, near, ignores armor), Improvised Weapon (1d6, close)

    In ancient times, it was a popular rite of passage among powerful mages to challenge the sun itself. Those who succeeded in stealing a spark of the sun's fire were rewarded with tremendous power. Those who failed, however, made themselves enemies of the sun forevermore.

    They were cursed to never again receive any of the sun's heat or light, even indirectly. They are invisible, and see only blackness. Though they can eat, most sources of calories ultimately derive from the sun, so they can derive no nourishment from them. They lurk about, swaddled in invisible rags to try and ward away the bitter cold they always feel.

    Starvation, hypothermia, and age cannot kill them, thanks to their immortality charms. They live underground, seeking warmth from the planet's core and licking algae off of geothermal vents. Despite their wretched existence, they know that what awaits them is even worse.

Instinct: To seek food and warmth, apart from the sun

Special Qualities: Invisible

Moves:

• Yell insane ramblings
• Cast a devastating spell
• When you feed a Solar Exile food that was made completely without sunlight, they briefly regain their lucidity, and will be grateful.