The Narrator – A Thing for Cryptworld
**The Narrator**
STR: 4 (50) — WPR: 8 (120)
DEX: 5 (65) — PER: 6 (90)
AGL: 4 (50) — PCN: 6 (90)
STA: 6 (90) — PWR: 8 (120)
ATT: 2/58% — WND: 16*
MV: L 75†
_*The Narrator cannot be harmed by normal attacks or environmental damage, only by completing the narrative_ _(see below)_
**Experience:** 3000
_“Submitted for your approval; a man on the run. Keegan Holmes has lived his life by his wits, always one step ahead of the law. He kept his hands clean, until yesterday. Now he’s running scared, with the hounds at his heels. He’s looking for a way out, and he may have just found one. A man can’t run forever….unless he takes a turn, into the Twilight Zone”_
**Description**
The Narrator is a unique entity, possibly a modern incarnation of a trickster deity like Loki, Coyote or Puck). Though he occasionally changes form (or is perhaps temporarily replaced), his most persistent form is that of a black and white image of a handsome 5’4″ man in his late thirties to early forties, with dark hair and strong dark eyebrows. He typically wears a dark suit and tie, and occasionally smokes, regardless of local laws or customs.
The full extent of the Narrator’s powers are unclear. He appears to either herald or in some way cause, strange breakdowns in the normal reality of an targeted individual or group (sometimes an area). The Narrator seems able to warp or shape these zones of unreality to deliver a lesson, dispense justice, or simply challenge ingenuity, by creating _puzzle_ , _lesson_ or _punishment_ zones. These strange shadow realms briefly intersect with normal reality at changing points, opening and closing apparently at random. The minimum duration of an intersection is 25 minutes (outside, though time inside appears to have no relation to exterior time), to a maximum of two and a half hours. Those who do not escape a zone before the intersection closes are trapped within, possibly forever.
_**Puzzle Zone:** _Puzzles Zones often have a kind of nightmare logic to them, and can be figured out with calm observation. Unfortunately most people aren’t calm when their reality seems to take a strange left turn. Puzzle zones may appear almost identical to normal reality, but with strange reversals or distortions of cause and effect. An individual may wake up to find that no one remembers them, or that their entire family has been replaced, or that inanimate objects now comment on everything he does sarcastically. Understanding why this is and being able to predict behaviours of this strange zone is the key to escaping it, the purpose of the zone being apparently to test the fortitude and ingenuity of those trapped within them, without causing actual harm.
**_Lesson Zone:_** Like the puzzle zone above, _Lesson Zones_ often look like normal reality, with odd distortions or reversals. Unlike puzzle zones, these are normally targeted at the trapped individual or group, with the apprent intention of imparting a lesson to them. The lesson may be moral, or a more philosophical life lesson. They can range from being as simple as “treasure every day, for life is fleeting”, to as seemingly complex as “trying to hold on to something you love too hard will lead to you losing it.” Like the puzzle zones, while a lesson zone may be distressing, it seems that no actual harm is intended. once the lezzon is learned and accepted, the trapped are returned to normal reality to continue their (hopefully improved) lives.
**_Punishment Zone:_** These zones are far darker and more dangerous than either the lesson or puzzle zones, and are the only ones that are capable of causing actual physical harm to the trapped. The Narrator appears to have a strong sense of justice, and reserves punishment zones only for those who have done something truly bad. Like the puzzle and lesson zones, the punishment zone may appear just like the real world, but with darkly ironic twists of logic, history or cause and effect. A racist and bigot may find himself inhabiting the life of the people he hates the most, experiencing the effects of his own bigotry on his victims. A murderer may find himself pursued by his victims, or discover that his reflection has transformed into a replica of his victim. A cheat or a swindler may find himself surrounded by liars determined to take him for every penny he has, and more. Being trapped in a punishment zone is not a death sentence, however. Those caught within can escape it if they truly and honestly accept responsibility for their sins and commit to atone for them, no matter the cost to themselves. This isn’t something a character can welch on either; those who have gone back on their intentions have found themselves back in their punishment zone, trapped for all eternity in a kind of living hell, or killed by the forces within in a suitably ironic manner.
The Narrator appears before an intersection with the zone of unreality begins and at its end, bookending the strange occurances with pithy social commentary and insights into the human condition revealed by the behaviour of those affected by the zone. While making these comments, the Narrator can only be seen and heard by those caught in the zone of unreality. Though he cannot be harmed by normal means, magical or psychic attacks _may_ injure him, at the GM’s discretion. While he sometimes speaks directly to those caught in the zone, he usually speaks _past_ them, as if narrating to an audience watching through an invisible “fourth wall”. Astute observers listening to the Narrator may get clues as to the nature of the zone of unreality, and perhaps a key to escaping it successfully.
So far the only means observed to effectively escape both the Narrator and the zone of unreality is to either solve the zone (if it is a _puzzle_ zone, where the strange rules of the reality must be deduced by observation and then exploited), to learn the morality or life-lesson and accept it as a truth (if it is a _lesson_ zone), or to fully and honestly accept responsibility for one’s sins and wholeheartedly resolve to atone for them (if it is a _punishment_ zone). Those who do not figure out what kind of zone they are in, or fail to figure out why they are there and take steps to address it, are destined to be trapped there, often becoming “bit players” in someone else’s zone of unreality.
**Narrator Powers**
**_Narrative Omniscience:_** The Narrator knows everything about those destined to enter the zone of unreality, with a particular focus on their moral character. This extends to their potential for both good and evil, even if it has gone unexpressed so far in their life. This ability works like the paranormal talent _read thoughts_ , but costs 5 current WPR.
**_Ironic Justice:_** The Narrator seems able to warp or shape zones of unreality to deliver a lesson, dispense justice, or simply challenge ingenuity, by creating _puzzle_ , _lesson_ or _punishment_ zones (see above). The Narrator can open an interface to a zone at a cost of 1d10WPR per person affected (this does not include the Narrator, the beings or copies of being that are part of the zone itself). This power is instantaneous and cannot be resisted. Once within the zone, the Narrator can appear when and where he wishes, to observe and ironically comment on the actions of the trapped.
**Lore**
The uncanny entity occultists refer to as “The Narrator” is a comparatively recent addition to the pantheon of trickster gods and spirits, having only been recorded since 1959. While it has recently either changed its form or possibly been replaced by others of its kind, its most favoured form remains that of noted film and TV writer Rod Serling, as he looked during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Strangely, he appears in black and white when taking the form of Serling, though he appears in colour when taking other forms.
Exactly what purpose the Narrator has is unknown, unless it is simply to impart moral lessons, dispense punishment or test character. He seems an interested — if impartial —observer of the human condition.
Some analysts believe that the Narrator is an extra-dimensional entity, possibly native to a metaphysical realm closely aligned to human imagination. In this theory, the Narrator is a researcher, attempting to understand how humans function under stress by placing them in controlled experimental environments. The fact that these “experiments” all involve some element of the fantastical or supernatural suggests that either the Narrator (and his audience) are only interested in human responses to esoteric events, or that their understanding of normal cause and effect is so flawed (possibly because of their native environment) that they don’t understand how weird the zones of unreality are.
**Sources:** _The Twilight Zone_ (TV series, Rod Serling, 1959-1964)
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