mirror/no mirror
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2014 6:42 pm
What happens if mirror walk is attempted on a mirror with no duplicate? How do you determine if one has a duplicate or not?
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Zer0 Kay wrote:What happens if mirror walk is attempted on a mirror with no duplicate? How do you determine if one has a duplicate or not?
eliakon wrote:Zer0 Kay wrote:What happens if mirror walk is attempted on a mirror with no duplicate? How do you determine if one has a duplicate or not?
To the first that depends on the Game Masters view. In some games I don't allow the process to be started. In others I have had them do a mirror walk...and come out where they started. In others I just have them start and then snap back where they began. It depends on the tone and world (i.e. it has not really been set forth in canon AFAIK)
As for the second....that's a GM call. I believe it mentions that most large immobile mirrors have analogues...but not all.
Zer0 Kay wrote:eliakon wrote:Zer0 Kay wrote:What happens if mirror walk is attempted on a mirror with no duplicate? How do you determine if one has a duplicate or not?
To the first that depends on the Game Masters view. In some games I don't allow the process to be started. In others I have had them do a mirror walk...and come out where they started. In others I just have them start and then snap back where they began. It depends on the tone and world (i.e. it has not really been set forth in canon AFAIK)
As for the second....that's a GM call. I believe it mentions that most large immobile mirrors have analogues...but not all.
I was thinking for the first there could be a random table and a 00 is stuck in mirror pocket dimension. Like they're between the glass and a now rough and non reflective silver backing. The dimension is full of mist and just happens to be the size of the building the mirror was in. All other non connected mirrors in the building, now windows, can be seen through but you can't be seen. You can only be seen through the mirror you got stuck in. To escape you must have your hand against the window and someone capable of mirror walking can mirror walk and grab your hand and pull you back through.
eliakon wrote:Zer0 Kay wrote:eliakon wrote:Zer0 Kay wrote:What happens if mirror walk is attempted on a mirror with no duplicate? How do you determine if one has a duplicate or not?
To the first that depends on the Game Masters view. In some games I don't allow the process to be started. In others I have had them do a mirror walk...and come out where they started. In others I just have them start and then snap back where they began. It depends on the tone and world (i.e. it has not really been set forth in canon AFAIK)
As for the second....that's a GM call. I believe it mentions that most large immobile mirrors have analogues...but not all.
I was thinking for the first there could be a random table and a 00 is stuck in mirror pocket dimension. Like they're between the glass and a now rough and non reflective silver backing. The dimension is full of mist and just happens to be the size of the building the mirror was in. All other non connected mirrors in the building, now windows, can be seen through but you can't be seen. You can only be seen through the mirror you got stuck in. To escape you must have your hand against the window and someone capable of mirror walking can mirror walk and grab your hand and pull you back through.
There is a table in the book Through the Glass Darkly in the Mirror Magic section that covers what happens to someone who is inhabiting a mirror that is broken that may be adaptable for this. (the entire Mirror Magic section in fact may be helpful)
Malcontent-Khyron wrote:I'd go the comedic route of PC headbutts glass takes 1d6 sdc lol.
Zer0 Kay wrote:What happens if mirror walk is attempted on a mirror with no duplicate? How do you determine if one has a duplicate or not?
To perform this ability, a mirror of any size, even a small hand mirror, will do, but the mirror must have a counterpart in the Nightlands. Typically, mirrors built into homes and buildings will have a counterpart in the alien dimension. Mirrors on vehicles rarely do because there are no cars in the Nightlands.
This Talent enables the Nightbane to see the other side of a mirror, into the Nightlands, and vice versa, as if it were a window. A mirror or any highly reflective surface (glass, polished metal, a quiet body of water) must be available. The character can only see what the mirror image faces in the Nightlands, and vice versa.
There is an entire world on the other side of every mirror; a nightmarish reflection of our reality.
Nightbane need neither magic nor accidents to reach the Nightlands. They can cross into the twilight world simply by stepping through a mirror! As the Nightbane concentrates, the surface of the mirror turns into a reflective black, then opens up into a vista on the "other side," the part of the Nightlands that corresponds to the mirror position on Earth. Then the Nightbane turns into black light and pours himself through the mirror, no matter how small.
Using this ability is very safe. Nightbanes cannot Mirror Walk themselves into a solid object on the other side, or appear a mile (1.6 km) up in the air. Whenever the power is used, the character will appear within a hundred feet of the nearest body of land or water.
There are only two ways to reach the Warcamp from Earth. One is to swim in Lake Michigan and use the Mirror Walk Nightbane ability (fortunately, as long as the Nightbane is within 100 feet/30.5 m of his destination, he will arrive in one of the buried chambers).
After traveling hundreds of miles, he came to a dead end, lost control of himself and rushed headlong into a plate glass window. In sheer panic, he wished to be - elsewhere. The desire unconsciously triggered the Mirror Walk power, and Harvey vanished into the reflective surface of the window to reappear in the Nightlands
Her home lies beyond the Mirrorwall (the reflective surface of her pool, somewhere in Britain or France, allows her to step through here on fine days)
Glistam wrote:Zer0 Kay wrote:What happens if mirror walk is attempted on a mirror with no duplicate? How do you determine if one has a duplicate or not?
After looking through all the Nightbane books (Main Book, Between the Shadows, Nightlands, Through the Glass Darkly, Shadows of Light, Nightbane Survival Guide), I found some information which I believe addresses the original post. I hope this proves helpful. Out of all the books, only the Main Book, Nightlands, and Through the Glass Darkly had anything of note to excerpt.
Nightbane Main BookOn page 87 of the Nightbane main book, their ability #4 to Mirrorwalk has this to say regarding mirrors:
On page 109, the power of "Mirrorsight" offers a little more information:
To perform this ability, a mirror of any size, even a small hand mirror, will do, but the mirror must have a counterpart in the Nightlands. Typically, mirrors built into homes and buildings will have a counterpart in the alien dimension. Mirrors on vehicles rarely do because there are no cars in the Nightlands.Page 155 of the main book offers this quick little bit of flavor:
This Talent enables the Nightbane to see the other side of a mirror, into the Nightlands, and vice versa, as if it were a window. A mirror or any highly reflective surface (glass, polished metal, a quiet body of water) must be available. The character can only see what the mirror image faces in the Nightlands, and vice versa.Then page 157 offers this description:
There is an entire world on the other side of every mirror; a nightmarish reflection of our reality.
Nightbane need neither magic nor accidents to reach the Nightlands. They can cross into the twilight world simply by stepping through a mirror! As the Nightbane concentrates, the surface of the mirror turns into a reflective black, then opens up into a vista on the "other side," the part of the Nightlands that corresponds to the mirror position on Earth. Then the Nightbane turns into black light and pours himself through the mirror, no matter how small.
Book 2: NightlandsLooking through the Nightlands book, there's some additional interesting mirror and mirror walking info - starting on page 13:
Page 91, in discussion of the (literally) underground location known as the Warcamp, has this to say about using a lake as a portal:
Using this ability is very safe. Nightbanes cannot Mirror Walk themselves into a solid object on the other side, or appear a mile (1.6 km) up in the air. Whenever the power is used, the character will appear within a hundred feet of the nearest body of land or water.In the biography of the Nightbane known as "Death Harley" on page 124, one finds this note regarding windows:
There are only two ways to reach the Warcamp from Earth. One is to swim in Lake Michigan and use the Mirror Walk Nightbane ability (fortunately, as long as the Nightbane is within 100 feet/30.5 m of his destination, he will arrive in one of the buried chambers).
After traveling hundreds of miles, he came to a dead end, lost control of himself and rushed headlong into a plate glass window. In sheer panic, he wished to be - elsewhere. The desire unconsciously triggered the Mirror Walk power, and Harvey vanished into the reflective surface of the window to reappear in the Nightlands
Book 3: Through the Glass DarklyThe book Through the Glass Darkly didn't have as much info as I thought it would have in this regard, especially considering the O.C.C. "Mirrormage," their unique brand of Mirror Magic, and a description of the Mirrorwall itself are all present in that book. Still, I did find one bit of information I thought worth noting, if only because it collaborates with other information. Here, on page 104 in the description of the Lady of the Lake, is more proof that a body of water can be mirrorwalked:
Her home lies beyond the Mirrorwall (the reflective surface of her pool, somewhere in Britain or France, allows her to step through here on fine days)
Based on all this information I'd say that if a Nightbane or other being tries to mirrorwalk through a mirror with no Nightlands counterpart, then nothing happens. They focus on the mirror but it never "opens" up to reveal what's on the "other side."
As far as determining if there is a corresponding mirror in the Nightlands, it seems to be entirely in the G.M.'s hands. As a thumbrule/guide, the books seem to suggest that mirrors (or reflective surfaces in general) will have a counterpart if such a location or type of mirror makes sense to exist in the Nightlands.
Glistam wrote:So, this is actually quite a scary thought for the world of Nightbane, especially considering how many Nightlord minions can mirrorwalk. It seems that most mirrors, or reflective surfaces, or even still pools of water have counterparts in the Nightlands, and thus can be used to mirrorwalk! The sheer abundance of mirrored surfaces in our modern world, coupled with the abundance of mirrors in general, makes this a frightening thought. How do you fight an enemy who can take advantage of these portals like this?
Windows, even, can be portals into and out of the Nightlands. Anything that can and does cast a reflection. The paranoia this could cause would be intense.
Glistam wrote:So, this is actually quite a scary thought for the world of Nightbane, especially considering how many Nightlord minions can mirrorwalk. It seems that most mirrors, or reflective surfaces, or even still pools of water have counterparts in the Nightlands, and thus can be used to mirrorwalk! The sheer abundance of mirrored surfaces in our modern world, coupled with the abundance of mirrors in general, makes this a frightening thought. How do you fight an enemy who can take advantage of these portals like this?
Windows, even, can be portals into and out of the Nightlands. Anything that can and does cast a reflection. The paranoia this could cause would be intense.
Warwolf wrote:Funny, I just gave an answer of sorts in the Dark Designs manuscript. My opinion is that Nightbane can tell simply by looking at a mirror whether or not it links with the Nightlands. If a Nightbane tries to Mirrorwalk through one without a counterpart nothing happens. Dimensional magic is necessary to reach the Mirrorwall itself.Glistam wrote:So, this is actually quite a scary thought for the world of Nightbane, especially considering how many Nightlord minions can mirrorwalk. It seems that most mirrors, or reflective surfaces, or even still pools of water have counterparts in the Nightlands, and thus can be used to mirrorwalk! The sheer abundance of mirrored surfaces in our modern world, coupled with the abundance of mirrors in general, makes this a frightening thought. How do you fight an enemy who can take advantage of these portals like this?
Windows, even, can be portals into and out of the Nightlands. Anything that can and does cast a reflection. The paranoia this could cause would be intense.
Yep. Had a Spook Squad character in my first campaign that would remove or break any mirror present anywhere he'd sleep. Of course, that was after waking up on Dark Day to a Hound coming through his bathroom mirror. Can't say I blame him...
Zer0 Kay wrote:Warwolf wrote:Funny, I just gave an answer of sorts in the Dark Designs manuscript. My opinion is that Nightbane can tell simply by looking at a mirror whether or not it links with the Nightlands. If a Nightbane tries to Mirrorwalk through one without a counterpart nothing happens. Dimensional magic is necessary to reach the Mirrorwall itself.Glistam wrote:So, this is actually quite a scary thought for the world of Nightbane, especially considering how many Nightlord minions can mirrorwalk. It seems that most mirrors, or reflective surfaces, or even still pools of water have counterparts in the Nightlands, and thus can be used to mirrorwalk! The sheer abundance of mirrored surfaces in our modern world, coupled with the abundance of mirrors in general, makes this a frightening thought. How do you fight an enemy who can take advantage of these portals like this?
Windows, even, can be portals into and out of the Nightlands. Anything that can and does cast a reflection. The paranoia this could cause would be intense.
Yep. Had a Spook Squad character in my first campaign that would remove or break any mirror present anywhere he'd sleep. Of course, that was after waking up on Dark Day to a Hound coming through his bathroom mirror. Can't say I blame him...
Breaking us no good, then there are hundreds of reflections. Must paint or otherwise make non-reflective. Maybe suspend all mirrors face down over a rock grinder in a dark room.
Glistam wrote:Zer0 Kay wrote:Warwolf wrote:Funny, I just gave an answer of sorts in the Dark Designs manuscript. My opinion is that Nightbane can tell simply by looking at a mirror whether or not it links with the Nightlands. If a Nightbane tries to Mirrorwalk through one without a counterpart nothing happens. Dimensional magic is necessary to reach the Mirrorwall itself.Glistam wrote:So, this is actually quite a scary thought for the world of Nightbane, especially considering how many Nightlord minions can mirrorwalk. It seems that most mirrors, or reflective surfaces, or even still pools of water have counterparts in the Nightlands, and thus can be used to mirrorwalk! The sheer abundance of mirrored surfaces in our modern world, coupled with the abundance of mirrors in general, makes this a frightening thought. How do you fight an enemy who can take advantage of these portals like this?
Windows, even, can be portals into and out of the Nightlands. Anything that can and does cast a reflection. The paranoia this could cause would be intense.
Yep. Had a Spook Squad character in my first campaign that would remove or break any mirror present anywhere he'd sleep. Of course, that was after waking up on Dark Day to a Hound coming through his bathroom mirror. Can't say I blame him...
Breaking us no good, then there are hundreds of reflections. Must paint or otherwise make non-reflective. Maybe suspend all mirrors face down over a rock grinder in a dark room.
I don't know about that. Once the mirror is broken it becomes a bunch of tiny mirrors, and they would no longer have a direct Nightlands counterpart. I think breaking it would work to break the mirrorwall link between Nightlands mirror and Earth mirror.
Glistam wrote:The sheer abundance of mirrored surfaces in our modern world, coupled with the abundance of mirrors in general, makes this a frightening thought. How do you fight an enemy who can take advantage of these portals like this?
Tor wrote:Glistam wrote:The sheer abundance of mirrored surfaces in our modern world, coupled with the abundance of mirrors in general, makes this a frightening thought. How do you fight an enemy who can take advantage of these portals like this?
This is reminding me a lot of the January 30th episode of Constantine "A Whole World Out There"
It does; see my quoted excerpts here.Tor wrote:Some wiggle-room might be allowed regarding what qualifies as a 'permanent' mirror. Something fluid like water probably wouldn't...
There are no exclusions. If it has a reflection, and could have a counterpart in the Nightlands, it will allow mirrorwalking and traversing the mirrorwall.Tor wrote:In the sense of standard glass-on-polished-metal I can't think of a way to exclude other things without excluding this, including GBs.
Is the abbreviation "GBs" supposed to refer to "Glitter Boys," as in the laser reflective robotic power armor from the Chaos Earth and Rifts dimensions? Hardly relevant in the Nightbane dimension (especially because of the anti-tech dimensional barriers). But to indulge the thought experiment I will remind you that things like car mirrors don't have Nightlands equivalents because the Nightlands has no cars. Do you postulate that the Nightlands has Glitter Boys? That is the only way you could use the reflective armor of a Glitter Boy to mirrorwalk.Tor wrote:Maybe GBs don't reflect a clear enough image? Only a fuzzy non-mirror thing to lessen laser
eliakon wrote:Actually, to be fair the Lady of the Lake excerpt doesn't necessarily mean that everyone, or even anyone, can mirror walk through water. Just that she can travel, through some means, through her lake. Which leaves the possibility that if it is mirror walking (it is not explicitly stated to be such),its a special ability of hers, or due to her bond with the lake. Especially since this book says that the Mirror Wall is the barrier that separates dimensions, so saying her home is beyond the Mirrorwall only means its in another dimension, and her ability to step through it is not said to be mirror walking, just that she can use it as a portal.
Glistam wrote:eliakon wrote:Actually, to be fair the Lady of the Lake excerpt doesn't necessarily mean that everyone, or even anyone, can mirror walk through water. Just that she can travel, through some means, through her lake. Which leaves the possibility that if it is mirror walking (it is not explicitly stated to be such),its a special ability of hers, or due to her bond with the lake. Especially since this book says that the Mirror Wall is the barrier that separates dimensions, so saying her home is beyond the Mirrorwall only means its in another dimension, and her ability to step through it is not said to be mirror walking, just that she can use it as a portal.
The Warcamp excerpt also indicates the ability to mirror-walk through a lake.
Glistam wrote:The power of "Mirrorsight" works with "a quiet body of water" as well as other mirrored surfaces.
Glistam wrote:In response to this off-topic post from another thread...It does; see my quoted excerpts here.Tor wrote:Some wiggle-room might be allowed regarding what qualifies as a 'permanent' mirror. Something fluid like water probably wouldn't...
Anything "could" have a reflection, whether or not it does is a GM judgment I guess. How flexible a counterpart is in appearance also seems like a GM thing. The Nightlands counterpart of a mirror on Earth could probably look different (menacing border and stuff) but I'd figure they would have similar size/shape of surface at least.Glistam wrote:There are no exclusions. If it has a reflection, and could have a counterpart in the Nightlands, it will allow mirrorwalking and traversing the mirrorwall.
Can't those morphing chariot things turn into cars though?Glistam wrote:I will remind you that things like car mirrors don't have Nightlands equivalents because the Nightlands has no cars.
Glistam wrote:Do you postulate that the Nightlands has Glitter Boys? That is the only way you could use the reflective armor of a Glitter Boy to mirrorwalk.