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I am currently writing and reworking some scenarios for Rifts, Phase World, and Heroes Unlimited. The HU game has aspects of BtS in it and some of the Rifts and HU games have parts of Nightbane in them. Now I've been doing scenarios like these for a long time but as I was writing out some of the basics for what PCs can find and how they can use their skills I ran into several assumptions that I had been making for a long time and I wanted to get some input from people.

1 - Do the tracks of Sphinx look like a lion? If I find tracks a scene would it look like a Lion's? (I say yes)
2 - Do CoM leave things like hair behind? If I walk into a room that a Sphinx has been fighting in would he leave hair behind? (I've said yes)
3 - Do CoM have DNA? If you find blood or hair and analyze them can you say this is sphinx or this is Nightbane? (I've always said no)
4 - If a Nightbane is in Façade and you take blood, does it look normal? Is there DNA? What about when he is in Morhpus? (This was the question that stopped when I was planning my scenario. I just don't know)
5 - Do creatures of magic or supernatural beings have individual thermal signatures like humans do? (I've said yes).

First, if you have encountered answers to any of these questions in books, I would love to get a citation. Otherwise I would love to hear how other people answer these questions. Also, if you have your own house rules on these love to hear them.

-*gets out my Monsters & Animals book looks at the picture of the sphinx* yes, a lion's.
-maybe...gm's choice
-the canon text is mute on this. but as per a rifter article....yes they do,... of a type.....sort of, but it degrades within seconds of being disconnected from the CoM.
---with NB severed morphus parts dissolve into shadow and that shadow evaporates.
-NB appear to be human in their facade in all ways. (if an elf NB they appear to be an elf in all ways...etc..dwarf...orc...etc...).
-nb morphus: this is defined at char ceration for each individual NB. There is no one standard with NB's amorphous forms.
-CoM & SN IR signetures...depends on the type of CoM and SN. there is no one answer for this question.

Warshield73 wrote:Do the tracks of Sphinx look like a lion? If I find tracks a scene would it look like a Lion's? (I say yes)

The size might be different (don't know if they're both the same size or not), but otherwise it should look like a lion print.

Do CoM leave things like hair behind? If I walk into a room that a Sphinx has been fighting in would he leave hair behind? (I've said yes)

MoM1 states that CoMs are "beings that are not immortal or supernatural(such as demons, Deevils, demigods and gods), but who are more than human, often long lived, and possess magic powers and P.P.E. as a result of their innate, natural, magical essence. Creatures of magic are born with magic powers and do not learn them." Since they are born and have life spans IMO they'd leave DNA behind.

Supernatural beings on the other hand are "usually immortal, clearly inhuman and not flesh and blood mortal beings." So I think that's going to vary on the setting more. For instance, in BTS2 they seem to discorporate upon death.

Do creatures of magic or supernatural beings have individual thermal signatures like humans do? (I've said yes).

I imagine they would, but the only ones I know that have anything said about seeing them in thermal optics are vampires.

Warshield73 wrote:I am currently writing and reworking some scenarios for Rifts, Phase World, and Heroes Unlimited. The HU game has aspects of BtS in it and some of the Rifts and HU games have parts of Nightbane in them. Now I've been doing scenarios like these for a long time but as I was writing out some of the basics for what PCs can find and how they can use their skills I ran into several assumptions that I had been making for a long time and I wanted to get some input from people.

- Do the tracks of Sphinx look like a lion? If I find tracks a scene would it look like a Lion's? (I say yes)
- Do CoM leave things like hair behind? If I walk into a room that a Sphinx has been fighting in would he leave hair behind? (I've said yes)
- Do CoM have DNA? If you find blood or hair and analyze them can you say this is sphinx or this is Nightbane? (I've always said no)
- If a Nightbane is in Façade and you take blood, does it look normal? Is there DNA? What about when he is in Morhpus? (This was the question that stopped when I was planning my scenario. I just don't know)
- Do creatures of magic or supernatural beings have individual thermal signatures like humans do? (I've said yes).

First, if you have encountered answers to any of these questions in books, I would love to get a citation. Otherwise I would love to hear how other people answer these questions. Also, if you have your own house rules on these love to hear them.

1. I don't know, I'd go with yes though size difference of a Sphinx and Lion might need to be taken into consideration.
2. Dragons (which are CoM) leave behind scales and blood, so yes.
3. CoM and SN beings per the Auto-G entry (WB30 pg29) would suggest no (or if they do have DNA its to "alien")
4. No idea, don't play Nightbane.
5. Yes, based on Rifts WB8 Japan (pg116), the SNARLS sensor includes thermal sensors in its suite (there are limits to what it can detect, but Dragons and demons are specifically called out).

Thanks for your input everyone. I was worried that I was putting too much of this in science but I think I have enough clues for skills people as well as psychics and mages to find to push things along.