MULTIPLE BODIES [–7]
Description: Two heads are better than one, and many hands make light work; you can split off a single copy of yourself, which shares your memories and abilities. Depending on the upgrades taken, this power could represent the fission of an ooze demon, the splitting up of a swarm of lesser creatures, or even the magical duplicative hair of Sun Wukong.
Skills Affected: Physical skills.
Effects:
Cloning Blues. You may produce a single, exact copy of yourself as a supplemental action. This copy is indistinguishable physically, though mystical observation shows it to be a construct of ectoplasm. The copy has the same skills, stunts and powers as you, and has your memories at the time of creation; the only mechanical difference (besides the normal vulnerabilities of ectoplasmic constructs) is that their High Concept is “Copy of a [Original High Concept]”. You have no special ability to communicate with your copy (outside of invoking their High Concept to guess what they’ll do next), and do not learn what they learn unless you recall them (requiring a free action while in physical contact), at which point they dissolve into ectoplasm and you gain all their memories since they were created. You and your copy have separate stress tracks; however, your supply of consequences remains the same, and must be split between the two of you. You do not cash out (see page 206) for consequences suffered by your copy. If your copy is killed (rather than being recalled) you may not generate a new one until the next scene (if you are killed, your copy immediately dissolves into ectoplasm). Note that despite having the same powers as you, your copy does not acquire their own item slots from spellcraft powers, and cannot create its own copies through this power.
We Are Many [-1]. This upgrade increases the number of copies that you can have active at the same time by one. You may take this upgrade multiple times, increasing the number of potential copies by one for each purchase. Note that, should one of your copies be killed, it does not completely remove your ability to create new ones until the next scene; it simply reduces the maximum number you can create this scene by one.
Von Neumann’s Magic [-2]. The We Are Many upgrade is a prerequisite for this one. Your copies can create copies of their own using this power. They use the creating copy’s memories, rather than your own, but are otherwise created just as described in Cloning Blues. They are still your copies, and therefore cannot exceed the number of copies you may have active at once.
Distant Recall [-1]. This upgrade allows you to recall your copy from a distance as a free action, instantly dissolving it into the ectoplasm from which it was formed. If you have a Hive Mind (below), this upgrade becomes free.
Hive Mind [-2]. You and your copy share minds. You know everything they know, and vice-versa, allowing real-time sharing of information and memories without the need for recall. This has numerous applications, and adds two shifts to any maneuver made by you or your copy to co-ordinate an action with the other (see page 208). However, with this upgrade, you and your copy share the same mental stress track; this means that you are treated as the same target for the purposes of psychic attacks, allowing them to damage both of you at once. In addition, you and your copy both suffer from the taggable aspect produced by taking a mental consequence, regardless of which of you actually “spent” the consequence in question. Other appropriate temporary aspects might also "spill over" in this way.
Ontological Inertia [-0]. This upgrade cannot be taken by characters with positive refresh. Upon taking this upgrade, your copies become just as “real” as you are (arguably, not very), making the question of who the original is rather moot. As a result, rather than imploding into ectoplasm upon your death, your copies will remain intact (and may produce another copy to replace you, if they have that ability). This will sometimes result in one of your copies acquiring true independence, at which point it becomes a separate character with the ability to create its own roster of copies; a number of creatures native to the Nevernever reproduce in this manner.
Split Skills [+4]. Rather than being able to produce exact duplicates of yourself, you must split your power amongst the bodies you produce, resulting in a set of weaker copies. Whenever you produce a copy, all of its skills default to Mediocre (+0). You must provide it with skills by reducing your own and adding an equivalent number of skill points to its sheet (see page 65). For example, by reducing a Superb (+5) skills to Good (+3), you would acquire two skill points to raise one of your copy’s skills to Fair (+2). Skill points taken from one skill need not be spent on that same skill; it is acceptable to reduce your Might in order to increase your copy’s Lore. Your copy may not have any skill ratings higher than your original score in that skill. Keep a record of your character’s original skill ratings; they return to their previous level once the copy is recalled (if the copy is killed, it is treated as being recalled one scene later).
Split Power [+Varies]. This upgrade provides you with refresh equal to half the total refresh cost of your supernatural powers (excluding Multiple Bodies, but including any refresh spent on We Are Many), rounded down. Whenever you produce a copy, you must total up the cost of your supernatural powers (excluding Multiple Bodies) and divide it by two. This is the new refresh cost of the powers you and your copy may possess. You must first spend this refresh on powers that are core to your High Concept (i.e. (i.e. Living Dead for a Zombie or Lawbreaker for a Warlock), and you cannot produce a copy without such powers. Often, this will result in a simple reduction of power; splitting Supernatural Toughness into two iterations of Inhuman Toughness, or reducing Evocation and Refinement into two iterations of Channelling. You cannot provide your copy with supernatural powers you do not possess any version of. If you have any spare refresh, you may temporarily assign it to appropriate powers for you or your copy.
Keep a record of your character’s original powers; they return to normal once the copy is recall (if the copy is killed, it is treated as being recalled one scene later). If you can produce more than one copy, then you must divide the refresh cost of your supernatural powers evenly again between yourself and each copy, each time you produce one. It would probably be wise to produce a number of "templates" based on the kind of power-sets you could give different numbers of clones, to save time.
----------------------------------------
Incidentally, the Shen work pretty well if you stat them out as a single Kong-sized version with Multiple Bodies, the Split Power and Ontological Inertia upgrade, and We Are Many x3. A Kong can then split off into a pair of Gorillas, a trio of baboons, or a quintet of Chimps, with its power being reduced appropriately with each split.
SHEN
High Concept: Demonic Poo-Flinging Kong
Skills
Fists: Good (+3) Might: Good (+3)
Most other physical skills are Fair, the rest are Mediocre.
Powers
Breath Weapon [–2] (incendiary poo)
Wings [–1]
Supernatural Strength [–4]
Supernatural Toughness [–4]
Inhuman Recovery [–2]
*The Catch [+2]: Only functions against mundane sources of damage.
Hulking Size [–2]
Multiple Bodies [-7]
*We Are Many (x3) [-3]
*Von Neumann's Magic [-2]
*Ontological Inertia [-0]
*Split Power [+8]
Stress
Mental oo, Physical ooooooooo, Social oo
Total Refresh Cost: –17
