“They came into town after the alpha dogs had torn it apart. They were dressed in black trenchcoats and they all wore these iron masks — totally smooth, no features at all — and they interrogated the survivors. When I say interrogated, I guess that’s what it would have to be, because they didn’t speak. There were no words, just… one of them approached you, pulled you close to its mask…and your mind started flooding with shame, with anxiety, with fear, and guilt…before you knew it you were revealing everything you know about anything. I could hear myself babbling and bawling like a baby, but I couldn’t stop. I just couldn’t stop. Once they got the person they had come for, they dragged him out of town and left us survivors here, weak, exhausted, and empty.
“Despite all that happened, it’s getting difficult to remember. If you had stopped by tomorrow, I don’t know if I could tell you anything. That’s what is truly terrifying. They have the power to attack us, to kill us and take our people, but also the power to make us forget what they’ve done. Maybe they’ve done this to our town a hundred times! And each time we forget, until they come in and take another soul, and we forget that person too. I can’t tell you who they took the other day.
“Worse yet, what if they are raiding our village and turning those taken into them? The people in the iron masks, were they once like you and me? What do they do with those they take? What…what…
“What were we talking about again?”
The main agents of the Un-Kingdom, Nullmen acts as the hands and feet of the Conquering Dreamer. The appearance of a Fear Chapel prefaces an invasion of Nullmen in an area. While their initial numbers start small, every being that they capture and bring back to the chapel creates a new soldier for their ranks. It is possible that the life of a Nullman is brief, so they must constantly be replaced, but no one really knows. Few even remember the soldiers of the Un-Kingdom after they have left.
Appearance: Nullmen get their namesake for the featureless black iron masks they wear. Ironface nullmen wear black trenchcoats and wield pistols that shoot dark energy bullets. Ironclad nullmen are shock troopers, clad in black metal armor from head to toe and wielding large metal hammers. Nullmen do not speak at all, though they can project fear and basic concepts through telepathy.
Nullman Ironface Level 6 Minion
HP 1; a miss never deals damage to a minion
AC 20; Fortitude 18; Reflex 18; Will 18
Speed 5
Immune psychic
Initiative +6
Perception +4
Blindsight 5
Traits
Nobody was there
After an encounter with Nullmen, make a +8 attack vs Will against each character. Each successful hit causes the character to forget the details of the encounter within 1 day. No matter how many Nullmen are in the encounter, make only one attack against each character.
Standard Actions
m Fearsome Brawling * At-Will
+10 vs AC; 6 damage and the target gains vulnerable 5 dark (save ends)
m Darkshot Pistol * At-Will
+8 vs Reflex; 5 dark damage.
Skills: Athletics +8, Intimidate +8
Str 12 (+3) Dex 12 (+3) Wis 12 (+3)
Con 12 (+3) Int 12 (+3) Cha 12 (+3)
Nullman Ironclad Level 7 Soldier
HP 65 Bloodied 33
AC 23; Fortitude 20; Reflex 19; Will 19
Speed 4
Resist 5 radiation, 5 ranged attacks
Immune psychic
Initiative +4
Perception +4
Blindsight 5
Traits
Nobody was there
After an encounter with Nullmen, make a +8 attack vs Will against each character. Each successful hit causes the character to forget the details of the encounter within 1 day. No matter how many Nullmen are in the encounter, make only one attack against each character.
Standard Actions
m Null Iron Hammer * At-Will
+11 vs AC; 2d12+2 radiation damage and target is pushed 2 squares.
M Null Charge * Recharge 5+
Ironclad moves 6 squares before the attack; +12 vs AC; 3d12+2 damage and target is knocked prone.
Triggered Actions
M Brutal Counter * Encounter
Trigger: the Ironclad is hit with a melee attack.
+11 vs Fort; target is dazed (save ends).
Skils: Athletics +12, Intimidate +8
Str 20 (+7) Dex 12 (+3) Wis 12 (+3)
Con 18 (+6) Int 12 (+3) Cha 12 (+3)
Using Nullmen
After the players survive an attack from a few Alpha Dogs, an encounter with the Nullmen can be harrowing for players, though their characters will almost certainly forget. You can exploit this unique effect to generate more interesting stories. What if everyone forgets the encounter except 1 character? What if all the character forget? For any characters who succumb to “Nobody was there”, you can use this memory hole to place odd effect or items with the characters. These represent things that happened or were gainedd in the fight that characters don’t remember taking part in. It can be a fun way to move stories forward.
Hopefully appearances from the nullmen and their alpha dogs will get players and characters asking questions about these strange beings. Who do they work for? What do they want?
If they can survive the onslaught of a thoughteater, they might have a chance to find out….
I think it would be cool to have the characters, after lunch, realize they are exhausted, beat up, and wounded. And then later have them remember the fight by perhaps doing a flashback encounter.
Oh, that is good. Very cool way to start out a story and can also work pretty well with the thoughteaters coming up next.
Great idea, thank you! I guess, I will modify your nullmen a bit and use them in my D&D campaign, which includes some kind of time-traveling. They could be coming from the future, trying to erase all memories of the strange things that happend due to time-travelling in the first place…