[His entire face brightens up, the way Chariot's would if someone asked her to go into detail about astrology.]
They're manifestations of the thoughts and emotions that people keep hidden from the world. They come in two categories, which behave very differently both in terms of actual interaction with them and what happens when you do things that influence them.
Generic Shadows don't belong to any one specific person, and my theory about them is that they represent a sort of ambient emotion, repressed desires of society as a whole. They usually take forms similar to figures from mythology or pop culture, images common in public cognition. They're generally aggressively territorial and will attack any human they see, unless they're clearly outmatched. They can be negotiated with, though, if you can put them in a disadvantaged position. Otherwise, nothing you do to them has any impact. All identical Shadows seem to share a common memory and personality, since I've destroyed one and had another recognize me and act the same way the first did when intimidated...or aggravated.
Personal Shadows are...different in a lot of ways. They're the unique manifestation of an individual's hidden thoughts and desires, and generally look like how that person views themselves. Their behavior varies heavily depending on the kind of person they come from, but one common trait is that they all want people to know about them. You can learn a lot about a person's secrets by talking to their Shadow, it's actually part of how I've been so successful as a detective...but it can be dangerous. Not only do you have to be careful of generic Shadows, which can be commanded by a powerful enough individual Shadow, but the latter transforms into a monstrous creature symbolic of its true nature if angered or threatened. These Shadows are much more powerful than anything else in the area, and often have unique or uncommon abilities. Interacting with them can have effects on the person they spawned from, ranging from subtle behavioral differences from changes in the Shadow's mood to...
[His expression falls at this point, and he glances away in guilt.]
A complete loss of motivation for even basic functions like eating, if the Shadow is destroyed.
Nerd Mode: Activate
They're manifestations of the thoughts and emotions that people keep hidden from the world. They come in two categories, which behave very differently both in terms of actual interaction with them and what happens when you do things that influence them.
Generic Shadows don't belong to any one specific person, and my theory about them is that they represent a sort of ambient emotion, repressed desires of society as a whole. They usually take forms similar to figures from mythology or pop culture, images common in public cognition. They're generally aggressively territorial and will attack any human they see, unless they're clearly outmatched. They can be negotiated with, though, if you can put them in a disadvantaged position. Otherwise, nothing you do to them has any impact. All identical Shadows seem to share a common memory and personality, since I've destroyed one and had another recognize me and act the same way the first did when intimidated...or aggravated.
Personal Shadows are...different in a lot of ways. They're the unique manifestation of an individual's hidden thoughts and desires, and generally look like how that person views themselves. Their behavior varies heavily depending on the kind of person they come from, but one common trait is that they all want people to know about them. You can learn a lot about a person's secrets by talking to their Shadow, it's actually part of how I've been so successful as a detective...but it can be dangerous. Not only do you have to be careful of generic Shadows, which can be commanded by a powerful enough individual Shadow, but the latter transforms into a monstrous creature symbolic of its true nature if angered or threatened. These Shadows are much more powerful than anything else in the area, and often have unique or uncommon abilities. Interacting with them can have effects on the person they spawned from, ranging from subtle behavioral differences from changes in the Shadow's mood to...
[His expression falls at this point, and he glances away in guilt.]
A complete loss of motivation for even basic functions like eating, if the Shadow is destroyed.