Ashborn
- HP
- 4
- Defense
- 12
- AR
- 0
- Mettle
- 0
Attacks
| Attack | Pool | WR | Tempo | Qualities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flay | 4 | 2 | 4 | — | On Crit: destroy 1 point of target's AR (armor shredded by grit). |
Traits
- Swarm: Low HP but very high Defense — they are made of air and sand. Area-effect attacks (Scatter, Blast, Cone) deal normal damage. Single-target attacks have their damage reduced by 3.
- Reform: Returns 1d6 minutes after being destroyed unless killed by water or Psionic attack. The sand simply gathers again.
- Dust Form: Immune to Bleeding, Grapple, and Knockdown. Takes ×2 damage from Water (a canteen deals 4 damage; immersion destroys instantly).
- Storm-Bound: Ashborn cannot exist without wind. In still air (indoors, calm days), they collapse within 1d6 minutes.
Dust-spirits that coalesce during sandstorms in the Scorchveil, spinning into vaguely humanoid shapes of whirling grit and debris. They are not ghosts — they are the Current given form through friction and fury, temporary constructs that exist only as long as the wind sustains them.
Ashborn are fast, erratic, and almost impossible to see during a storm. They strip flesh from bone with grinding spirals of sand — a death that is as slow as it is inevitable unless you can disperse them first. Water is their great weakness. A full canteen thrown at an Ashborn collapses it instantly — but on the Scorchveil, water is life, and spending it on a dust-ghost is a terrible trade.
Speed 10. Classified as Minion (Swarm) — see Swarm trait.
Tactics
Swarm the weakest or most encumbered target — the one carrying the water, the one in heavy armor. Ignore during sandstorms (they’re everywhere and undifferentiated from the wind). The GM should describe the wind becoming hostile rather than clearly defined enemies appearing.
Encounter Design
Ashborn work best as environmental hazards during travel, not stand-up fights. The party hears the storm coming. Do they shelter and lose time, or push through and fight the wind itself?