Sense Stealers are very mysterious Horrors, with no descriptions in any known Occult text. The rare times they are mentioned it is more for their lack of being than any physical descriptor - "cannot be seen when looked directly at", "silent as the grave", "physical resistance without any tangible grip", and so on. One text even gives a very interesting, if long winded, description of exactly what "nothing" smells like. Even those lucky enough to have defeated a Sense Stealer have been unable to shed any light on the subject, their memories of the incident fading as quickly as their senses return.
Because of this lack of information, it is unknown exactly how the Sense Stealer operates. Some point to the tales of isolated individuals and weary travelers and say that they are solitary hunters. Others tell tales of almost plague-like outbreaks of blindness or deafness, and insist that the creatures travel in vast heards, invisible and intagible and always present. It is not even known if a single Sense Stealer is capable of stealing more than one sense, or if there are five - or more! - "species", each specializing in the theft of a single sense. On top of this the methods of the Sense Stealer are not even consistent. Usually they remove a sense without any physical basis for it's loss, leaving their victims to be dismissed as merely hysterical. But often they will steal the physical organ of sense along with it's use, leaving only a patch of smooth unbroken flesh in it's place. And in some cases the Sense Stealers would appear to loses their own senses and throw subtlety to the winds, simply ripping out the sense organ to bloddy effect, making it impossible to determine whther one is dealing with a Sense Stealer or sense-specialized Harvester. (Sense Stealers existed long before BodySnatch became a Nightmare however. True to form, the origin of Sense Stealers remains unknown.)
To steal a sense, the Sense Stealer makes an Apportation total versus the PER of it's victim, and the result points are read on the Success Level chart. A Minimal success indicates the theft of a single sense, with one additional sense for each subsequent level. The loss lasts as long as the Sense Stealer remains in the presence of the victim, and up to twenty-four hours afterwards. Loss of a targeting sense - sight and hearing in the case of most humanoids, though many Living Land inhabitants depend more on smell and touch - causes a -4 penalty to all actions requiring on the sense, while loss of a non-targeting sense is only a -1 penalty for the distraction of not sensing. These penalties are cumulative, up to a maximum of -11 for most sensing beings. Non-standard senses such as Psionics, Pulp Powers, Spirit Medium and some Cybernetic implants and Martial Arts disciplines require an additional Apportation total against the appropriate skill value, with any result points indicating sucess. Such senses also incur a penalty, usually only a -1.
A victim of a Sense Stealer will find a very obvious whole in their memories, even upon the return of their senses. In addition, any present at the death of a Sense Stealer are subject to an additional Apportation check versus PER, with any appropriate penalties, with even a minimal success indicating not the loss of a sense, but of the exact details of the death, up to a complete blank for a Spectacular success. It is thought that this ability is behind the rumor that some Sense Stealers are able to not only steal senses, but any PER based ability of their victims as well.
DEXTERITY 14
Stealth 17
STRENGTH 5
TOUGHNESS 10
PERCEPTION 13
Scholar(Any) 14, Trick (25)
MIND 7
Apportation 15, Test (20), Willpower 13
CHARISMA 0
Taunt 9, Taunt (25)
SPIRIT 8
Faith(Orrorsh) 9, Intimidation (20)
Possibility Potential: some (55).
Natural Tools: "Talons" (??? - STR+5/Damage Value 10).
Power Rating: 5 (Suggested Powers: life drain (senses), blur form, silence)
Corruption Value: 20
Fear Rating: 1/2
Suggested Perseverance DN: 15
Suggested Weakness: Peace and quiet (stymie)
Suggested True Death: Fully remembered death.