Everything

The

Crowned with this powerful Gift can travel the world as though it were still the dawn of time. A journey from the shores of Africa to South America, for example, may take only a matter of days. Crocodile-spirits teach this gift.

System: Once the character begins her journey, the player rolls Stamina + Rituals, difficulty 7. The Crowning leads any companions traveling with her in a song of the oldest times, of smoking mountains and gods that walk in thunder. The group passes in and out of the world as

in a dream, bypassing oceans as though the land were connected as it was in the days of Pangaea.

As the oldest members of the Pact with the spirit world, the Mokolé employ ancient, traditional variations of many Garou rites, although notably they use few rites dealing with the Umbra.

Burning the Library

Level One, Mystic This rite is named for the day when fire destroyed the Library of Alexandria. It can erase a memory from someone who has witnessed (or perpetrated) an event; if the rite is performed communally, remove all of the participants’ memories of the event.

System: The ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals, diffi­ culty 7, while describing the memories that must be destroyed. She then intones the Words of Unmaking, which seek out and destroy the offending memories. For each success, one memory (up to a scene long) can be destroyed. This rite can be performed on either the ritualist herself, or others; unwilling targets must be restrained or otherwise subdued.

Silence of the Oracles

Level Two, Mystic The Mokolé’s control of memories allows them to heal minds and well as preserving the past. This rite allows the weresaurians to protect a person from memories that cause pain or madness. The Mokolé draws the damaging aspects of a memory away, quarantining them safely within her Mnesis. No memory should be lost, especially those cataloguing the evils of an Age.

System: The ritemaster takes one memory (up to a scene in length) from the target per success, storing it in her Mnesis, removing the parts that cause him pain and suffering. The victim does not fully forget the events but has a level of detachment that locks away the pain and harm of the memory. This rite may also be used on a character suffering a Derangement or similar state. In such cases the individual acts free of the Derangement for one scene per success.

Rock Art

Level Three, Caern The Mokolé dream memories of ages long past, but they know that weresaurians are not the only ones who might have need of what they have learned. This rite enriches Mokolé artwork with the memories she would share with future generations. Despite the name, she can infuse any form of visual art with her memories.

System: The artist rolls Wits + Expression (difficulty 6) with the number of successes indicating the clarity of the

In modern times nomadic Mokolé have used this rite to share current events and warnings with other shapeshifters who pass through an area.

memory stored within the art. Any character with a Gnosis trait can experience the memory by spending a point of Gnosis. The Storyteller decides how much information he gains, but even one success is sufficient to communicate the Mokolé’s basic message.

STEREOTYPES

Radiant Tsanga remembers the Bête:

• Garou: Some of you talk of forgiveness, of sorrow. I remember you showing neither when you slaugh­ tered my people.

“I do not care if the dragons forgive us or hate us to their graves. I care that they realise that we are not their greatest enemies.” — Caspar Van Lutyens

• Ananasi: We remember what happened. The others do not. For now, I will remain quiet. But remember this: you will aid us now, or the world will know of your treachery.

“They did what we needed of them once. They will do it again. The lizards make excellent pawns, so easy to goad.” — Genevieve Monfort

• Corax: Our cousins. You learn so much, but you gave up the Memory to do so. If you talk, we will listen, but do not expect much in return.

“They hang out in lots of places that don’t suit our temperament– ever seen a goth in a rainforest? Yeah. But if you can catch one in a talkative mood, it’s so worth it.” —Raina Fader

Deadly assassins, the Nagah survive to ply their trade in Gaia’s service only because they faked their own extinction thousands of year ago. Now they sit in judgment of human and Changing Breed alike, executing those who turn their back on Gaia’s purpose.

Before the War of Rage, the Nagah played the role of Gaia’s mystics — an individual weresnake might present herself as a scholar, a sacred dancer, or an ascetic monk. They held territory throughout what is now north Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, with a few clutches venturing further, ostensibly to share their knowledge. Other shapeshifters who valued esoteric lore would travel far to learn their secrets, though few could bear to be around the wereserpents for any length of time due to the Nagah’s emotionless nature and serpentine demeanor. This suited the Nagah well, as it kept other Breeds from discovering the truth: that they were actually Gaia’s executioners, merciless killers charged with secretly eliminating anyone — human or shapeshifter — who posed a threat to Gaia. While the Garou hunted down obvious enemies and openly killed them, the Nagah dealt with the secret dangers — including corrupt or traitorous Garou. In that role, the wereserpents travelled across the world in service to the Mother, though they took great care that other Changing Breeds did not divine their true purpose.

Some of the most observant shapeshifters didn’t trust the Nagah, but very few ever learned their true purpose — and fewer still survived to tell others. The oldest and most powerful weresnakes whisper stories of how, in ancient times, their kind killed several prominent Garou in an attempt to curb the werewolves’ drive to dominate the Fera. Unfor­ tunately, their plan backfired — the Garou blamed these murders on other shapeshifters. The anger of the Garou at these murders was the spark that ignited the war of Rage.

Very few Nagah actually died in the War of Rage. When their mistake became clear, and the early battles began, they retreated en masse into the Umbra. There, away from the fighting, the wereserpents faked their extinction — not just in the eyes of other shapeshifters, but to the Umbra itself, severing their ties with the spirits they once served and

been mentored by. Without spiritual allies, and outside of the pact of kinship between Gaia’s children and the spirit world, the Nagah prepared for the future.

When they finally returned to the physical realm, the weresnakes concealed their presence and activities even more carefully than before. In order to maintain their cha­ rade, nobody could know of their existence. Since then, the Nagah have been sufficiently careful that almost every other shifter still believes that they became extinct during the War of Rage. Even in the Beast Courts of Asia — where a small group of wereserpents revealed their existence in the belief that the Hengeyokai would make strong allies — most shifters remain unaware of their existence. The few Hengeyokai who do know of the Nagah are bound by honor not to tell of the Nagah’s existence to those outside of the Courts.

Kinfolk Cults

Because they hide their true natures from almost everyone else, most Nagah become quite close to their human Kinfolk — often a wereserpent’s Kin are the only people who know that she truly exists. A few maintain ties to their old human lives, but even then they need a tight network of allies to maintain an illusion of normalcy. Because of that, and to keep their existence a closely guarded secret, weresnakes keep careful track of their Kinfolk. The Nagah have an ulterior motive to their careful records — they can also make certain that none of their kind undergoes their First Change someplace where one of the other Changing Breeds might notice them.

For thousands of years the Nagah have used their Kin­ folk to create secret serpent-worshipping cults and carefully hidden clans of assassins. When a wereserpent discovers new Kin — either through Samskara or tracing families thought lost to the records — she attempts to recruit any them into a local Kinfolk cult. She can arrange offers of lucrative work, while existing sect members act as mysterious patrons and new friends who gradually bring the new Kinfolk into their social and spiritual circle. To preserve secrecy, the cult reveals only a few hints about their existence before the outsider formally agrees to join. The weresnakes watch from the shadows and protect those who seems like they would refuse if they knew the truth. Despite being pitiless

assassins, they never kill their Kinfolk, unless that particular Kinfolk has betrayed them — not out of an emotional sense of loyalty, but because Kinfolk are a valuable commodity.

A Kinfolk cult or criminal organization can aid their shapeshifting relatives in a more direct fashion. They guard nests of Nagah, especially young weresnakes who may not be able to defend themselves. The most skilled and reliable help with assassinations, cleaning up evidence of the Nagah’s presence or collecting data on targets. Others perform more mundane feats: managing the cult’s finances, gathering necessary resources, or working as drivers and personal assistants. Their elders teach young Kinfolk that weresnakes are sacred beings who receive divine commandments to slay wrongdoers. Despite being relatively solitary creatures, Nagah often grow up surrounded by dedicated relatives. This upbringing also helps to insure that both weresnakes and Kinfolk alike understand the importance of secrecy.

Being a Nagah means living with secrets, including the most important and sacred secrets of all — their duties and the fact of their continued existence. The Beast Courts of Asia know that the weresnakes exist and have some understand­ ing of what they do, but even then the Nagah limit what outsiders know. The Hengeyokai significantly underestimate the numbers of wereserpents, and know little of their methods, tactics or goals. Even one of the few Nagah to join a sentai will only go so far as to discuss her own life, never revealing her people’s secrets.

In the rest of the world, the Nagah must be far more secretive, preserving the myth of their extinction. While most shapeshifters only worry about protecting the Veil, the Nagah go much further. They must minimize all evidence of their presence — calling on Kinfolk to help sanitize a crime scene, disposing of bodies in hidden spaces where neither Garou nor mortal authorities can find them, and silencing or killing witnesses. Do­ ing any less would endanger the Sacred Secret.

The level of paranoia necessary for a Nagah to live her life would overwhelm most people, but not the wereserpents. A young Nagah manifests serpentine personality traits long before her First Change: she’s hyper-vigilant to her surroundings and doesn’t care who knows that she’s watching

NAGAH

NAGAH LEXICON

Ananta: A secret realm in the Umbra. It’s portable if

dedicated to a specific Nagah.

Crown: A regional council of wereserpents.

Devi: An aspect of the Earth Mother or “Emerald Mother.”

Where Gaia is an aspect of the Earth Mother known for Her love, Devi is known for Her wrath.

Khurah: The Nagah’s term for other shapeshifters.

Nandana: The Ananta of the Sesha, the spiritual realm

where the nine elders of the wereserpents meet in secret.

Nemontana: A Crown of Nagah that judges the shape­

shifters of Europe.

Nest: A nomadic group, usually two or three Nagah, linked by

bonds closer than family or lovers; akin to a pack of Garou.

Sacred Secret: The ultimate secret: that the Nagah still

exist. Kept from the Garou at all costs. Some of the Hengeyokai know the secret, and the Mokolé suspect it (as they do not remember the Nagah’s extinction).

Samskara: Nagah rites, often performed in a river or in a

place sacred to their serpentine Kin because Nagah do not hold Caerns.

Sannyasin: A Nagah who does not belong to a Nest. Nagah

custom forbids a wereserpent from hunting alone, so to be a Sannyasin is to become a hermit or ascetic, retired from a life of sitting in judgment on others. Some Nagah choose to become Sannysain to atone for losing their Nests.

them. She’s usually quiet and reserved even when emotion would overcome most people, and she’s always planning. When she does act, she’s swift and decisive, executing what she believes is the most efficient plan based on the information available to her. Outside observers see a neat, fastidious person who acts with an economy of motion, never seeming to put in more effort than is necessary for any given task. That’s not to say that a Nagah is utterly devoid of emotions — some fall in love and even have children with humans or Kinfolk. However, their spouses will never know the truth of what the wereserpent is up to, only the information that she believes they need to know to help her plans and keep her secret safe.

The weresnakes adhere to a stricter hierarchy than most other Changing Breeds, observing stations and roles that go beyond mere rank and Renown. Their true leaders are the

Serpent Waters: Aquatic Glens, purified areas of the

Umbra claimed by the Nagah, sometimes called “Jeweled Pools” by young Nagah. Wereserpents can step sideways in Serpent Waters, at least until the Wyrm corrupts them or another Changing Breed rededicates them.

Sesha: The ruling council of the Nagah, nine wereserpents

who are the highest governing body of their kind.

Vrita: A Crown of Nagah judging the shapeshifters of

India and Asia.

Wani: The great dragon-spirits that act as patrons to the

Nagah, the only spirits who know the Sacred Secret. Also known as “Dragon Kings” or “Lu Lung.” These spirits are distant relatives to the ancestor spirits of ancient Mokolé. Nagah serve the Wani in lieu of totems or patron spirits.

Yamilka: The Crown that judges the shapeshifters of the

Middle East

Xi Wang Chi: The spiritual realm of the Wani, the spirit-

gods of the Nagah. Only Nagah and Mokolé can reach this Umbral realm, and even then only briefly.

Zuzeka: A Crown of Nagah sitting in judgment of the

shapeshifters of the Americas.

Wani, the Dragon Kings who dwell in Xi Wang Chi. The Nagah’s bond with the Wani is especially important to the Breed, for they lack pacts with other spirits as a result of their Sacred Secret. Instead, they must rely upon the servants of the Wani to summon other spirits and learn their Gifts.

Sitting beneath the Wani are the Sesha, the nine highest-ranking Nagah who dwell Nandana, their vast and opulent Ananta. The Sesha oversee the affairs of all weresnakes and by law must dispense justice to any who betray their breed. They also regularly review the behav­ ior and success of each nest, awarding increased rank to deserving weresnakes, and answering petitions from Nests to summon spirits that the Nagah may learn new Gifts.

Beneath the nine Sesha are the Crowns, the wereserpents’ regional councils. Each Crown oversees a specific region, and is composed of three high-ranking weresnakes, who administer the various nests within their region. Each Crown works with nests of Nagah and Kinfolk cults in their region to

monitor threats to Gaia, and pass on suitable targets to other nests. A Crown must use the resources available to them — the Zuzeka sit in judgment over the Americas, but most of their nests spend their time in the rainforests of South and Central America. When they decide to act against a threat in North America, the Crown may only have one or two nests capable of reaching their target in time. The Crown will hear about any Nagah who betray their Breed — unless, of course, the traitor is part of the Crown — but must pass the matter to the Sesha. Traitors are poison to the wereser­ pents as a whole, not just one region, and thus are a matter for higher sanction than any individual Crown can muster.

At the lowest level of the hierarchy is the nest, a small group of Nagah who work together when the situation re­ quires it. Members of a nest may be as close to one another as beloved siblings, or exhibit a friendly rivalry. Although the Nagah are more solitary than the Garou and members of a nest may spend periods away from their fellows, the nest is a sacred bond. Even the most paranoid weresnake shares almost all of his secrets with his nestmates.

While the Nagah are most populous in South and Southeast Asia, some nomadic nests go wherever the Sesha or Crown sends them. Others make their home in a specific region, including South and Central America, Africa, and parts of Australia. A few nests make their base in the cities of Europe and North America, but the Nagah remain rare in places that are too cold for their serpent Kin to thrive,

A Nagah’s most sacred task is to hunt down and assas­ sinate the enemies of Gaia. A nest may receive missions from their region’s Crown, based on a wide net of informa­ tion that points to a single target. A few nests receive their sacred duties directly from the Sesha, tasked to kill those seen as a threat to all Nagah. More often, a nest Nagah uncovers their targets using Samskara. They combine this with information from Kinfolk cults and detailed research to identify their targets and obtain justification for killing them. With this obtained, the weresnake’s hunt is on. She studies her victim, learning his habits, weaknesses and flaws. How long she takes depends on her victim’s importance, and whether he possesses any supernatural defenses. She may only spend a day observing a low-level corporate functionary, but a well-protected CEO — or a high-ranking Garou — could take weeks or even months to analyze. Once the weresnake sufficiently knows her target, she can use what she has learned to come up with a plan to execute him. Aside from planning a successful strike, her main concern is how to avoid leaving any evidence of her presence. Especially when hunting other Changing Breeds, the latter is just as important as the former.

Many Nagah decide on both the method of the kill and how they frame the death based upon their victim’s crimes. A wereserpent will likely make some kills look like

THE SACRED LAWS

Preserve the Sacred Secret at All Costs

Honor The Three Mothers —

Earth, Moon, and River Punish Those Who Betray Their Duties

Never Hunt Alone

Remain Humble Abhor Imbalance Strike Against the Corruptor

if the Opportunity is True

accidents, especially if a murder might draw suspicion to the involvement of the Nagah. More often, the assassin makes obvious kills, framing the victim as a warning to others who commit similar crimes. Whenever possible, she arranges her kill so that another enemy of the Nagah or threat to Gaia appears to be the perpetrator, focusing the enemy’s allies’ urge for vengeance to take down another victim.

Some Nagah specialize in hunting down targets, like Black Spiral Dancers, fomori, and other powerful Wyrm­ spawn, although such creatures often draw the ire of less subtle killers, like the Garou, as well. The wereserpents only involve themselves with such victims when other Changing Breeds do not have a presence in the area, or when the victim is so well-hidden that only the Nagah have uncovered his crimes. Other daring weresnakes hunt traitorous shapeshifters — especially the Garou — or those whose incompetence or blindness aids the Wyrm while a few of the Nagah’s most skilled assassins hunt vampires, mages, and other supernatural threats.

As non-mammalian shapeshifters, Nagah have sig­ nificant physical (and spiritual) differences from many of the other Changing Breeds.

Nagah are partly amphibious and can hold their breath twice as long as Garou. Nagah in Kali Dahaka form (see below) possess gills and can breathe water as easily as air.

In all forms, a Nagah has keen eyesight and color vision. Their senses of taste and smell become increas­ ingly acute as they shift from Balaram to Vasuki form. For each form removed from Balaram, reduce the difficulty of Perception rolls involving taste and smell by –1 (to a

minimum difficulty of 3). In Kali Dahaka form, the Nagah also gains the benefits of the lupus Gift: Scent of Sight.

Wereserpents also have somewhat poor hearing. In Kali Dahaka form, Nagah gain a +3 difficulty to all hearing-based Perception rolls. In Vasuki form, Nagah are deaf to all airborne sounds.

All Nagah begin with Willpower 4.

Rage

Nagah regain one point of Rage for each hour spent un­ derwater or partially submerged. However, their cold-blooded nature means that their capacity for Rage increases slowly. Nagah pay double the freebie point cost (2 per point) and experience point cost (current rating x 2) to increase their Rage.

For each point a Nagah’s Rage exceeds his Willpower, he loses one die on all Social dice pools. Humans can feel the presence of this cruel and ruthless creature, and avoid prolonged contact. Nagah are subject to frenzy (but not the Thrall of the Wyrm), but require six successes on a Rage roll to lose control.

Umbra and Totems

Weresnakes do not have easy access to the Umbra. A Nagah can only step sideways in the immediate presence of the Ananta to which it and its nest-mates are dedicated. If a Nagah carries the Ananta within himself (see Ananta, p. 211) he can attempt to step sideways anywhere, leading his other nest-mates across the Gauntlet with him. Any Nagah can step sideways in the Serpent Waters — aquatic Glens where the Umbra bleeds into the physical world.

Nagah have neither individual nor pack Totems. However, Nagah who belong to the same nest share a powerful spiritual bond. Nagah can lead their nest-mates into the Umbra as though they were a pack. This bond also allows them to use Pack Tactics (W20, p. 300) as though they had a totem.

Venom

In any form other than Balaram, a Nagah can inject a chosen victim with supernaturally potent venom. A Nagah can deliver this poison when her bite inflicts at least one health level of damage. Her poison causes an ad­ ditional seven health levels of aggravated damage that the victim soaks separately from the bite. Her venom cannot affect spirits (even materialized spirits) or other Nagah. A Nagah can store three doses of venom in her poison glands, and each dose takes 24 hours to replenish itself.

In Azhi Dahaka form, Nagah can attempt to spit venom into a target, poisoning and perhaps blinding him. Spitting venom uses up the equivalent of two doses of poison. Roll Dexterity + Athletics, difficulty 7 (dif­ ficulty 9 when targeting the eyes). If the attack hits, the victim has until the Nagah’s next turn to wash it off. If

he cannot, the venom inflicts seven levels of aggravated damage as normal. If the attack hits the eyes, the venom also blinds the victim for a number of rounds equal to (10 – victim’s Stamina; minimum 3 rounds).

Unlike other Changing Breeds, Nagah do not use a system of publicly sung tales for their Renown. As they never gather or organize themselves in groups larger than three (other than the Sesha) and prize anonymity as key to the success of their sacred duties, public Renown is counter to everything the Nagah stand for. Nor do they rely upon the spirit hosts to hear their tales and judge their worth; their relationship with the Wani take place of connections to myriad spirits that other shapeshifters rely upon. A Nagah’s rank is determined solely by the judgment of the Sesha (which is to say, the Storyteller). When the time comes for a nest to be considered for advancement in rank, they are summoned before the Sesha. There, they are taken into audience one at a time to recount the details of their deeds, to report any information gleaned for the good of the Breed, and finally, to evaluate each other’s performances since the last such audience. Later, they are each called into the Hall of the Wani, where they are informed if they have achieved a new rank, and the Wani summon spirits to teach any new Gifts earned by their deeds.

Nagah have three breeds: balaram (a weresnake born as a human), ahi (a Nagah “metis”), and vasuki (born as one of a clutch of young serpents). Female Nagah always know if they are carrying a wereserpent or one of the Kinfolk. If she is bearing Kinfolk, a pregnant Nagah can choose to give birth to a human child or a clutch of snakes using the Rite of Bearing — a choice she must make if the father is also Nagah. If she does not use the Rite, her offspring share the breed of their Nagah parent.

• Balaram: Human relations are important to the Nagah; without information networks and clean-up crews, the assassins would be much less effective as a whole. Those Nagah born into a Nagah cult or crime family are often considered specially blessed, as they begin learning their nature very early; weresnakes who grow up knowing nothing about their heritage are often horrified to suddenly become a monstrous serpent. Long ago, most balaram were the children of human nobles, but for the last few centuries Nagah have bred predominantly with humans they admire, regardless of their paramours’ mortal standing.

Beginning Gnosis: 1

Beginning Gifts: Persuasion, Prehensile Body • Ahi: Ahi are not deformed or stigmatized. Instead, Nagah particularly prize and cherish the children of two

of their breed, seeing them as creatures born to maintain harmony — only one in every ten children born to two Nagah parents is ahi. The parents of an ahi almost always belong to the same nest. A female Nagah can only bear a single ahi at a time, and must give birth in an Ananta or in Serpent Waters. As the child is born in Ahzi Dahaka and cannot shapeshift for the first few years of life, the parents raise ahi in the Umbra away from prying eyes. The child must enter the physical world at least once every three months or else he becomes a spirit. Because of their upbringing, ahi Nagah are the most dedicated to their nests, and the most familiar with the spirit world.

Beginning Gnosis: 3

Beginning Gifts: Weaver Sense, Wyld Sense, Wyrm Sense • Vasuki: Born as part of a clutch of a dozen or more eggs, vasuki grow up living as snakes. Only a single member of a clutch ever becomes a weresnake; the rest are Kinfolk. Both the human world and the spirit world can be very strange for newly changed vasuki. Seemingly simple tasks like walking or holding a weapon can be a challenge to a creature born with no limbs or appendages, and teaching a vasuki to integrate can require considerable time and effort. However, vasuki are also by far the most comfortable with wild areas and the natural world, and thus an important part of the Breed.

Beginning Gnosis: 5

Beginning Gifts: River’s Gift, Treesnake’s Blessing

A Nagah’s role and temperament depends upon the season of the year they were born in. Moon phase has no relation to this, nor does where the Nagah was born. Each season is also associated with one of the four classical elements.

• Kamakshi (Spring): In the spring, serpents wake and leave hibernation. This is also the breeding season for many snakes. Many Kamakshi excel in medicine, teaching and raising children, and helping others. They tend to be active, but somewhat less inclined to violence than most other Nagah — though still merciless killers, a Spring Nagah is more likely to regret a needless death. Their elemental association is to Earth.

Beginning Rage: 3

Beginning Gifts: Ganga’s Caress, Resist Pain • Kartikeya (Summer): Snakes are most active and aggressive in the summer. Many Kartikeya are warriors who love battle, allowing their Rage to change them into bloodthirsty monsters. They are more impulsive and inclined to acts of extreme violence than other Nagah. Their elemental association is to Fire.

Beginning Rage: 4

Beginning Gifts: Eyes of the War God, Scent of the True Form

BREEDS OF SNAKES

Nagah always transform into large and deadly poisonous snakes. However, the exact type of snake differs. When a homid weresnake under­ goes their first change, she usually transform into a snake native to her local area. Nagah are most commonly associated with cobras, but this is largely because cobras are large deadly snakes found all across Africa and Asia. In other parts of the world, homid Nagah can become vipers like the fer-de-lance or the bushmaster, cottonmouth moccasins, or even rattlesnakes. However, once a Nagah has undergone their First Change, they always become the same type of snake.

• Kamsa (Autumn): Snakes prepare for hibernation in autumn. Kamsa reflect that, being careful planners and exceptionally devious. They are more inclined than other Nagah to indulge in complex machinations, both in the course of their lives and when hunting targets to assassinate. Most are intellectuals who love riddles and mysteries, and many are extremely introspective. Their elemental association is to Air.

Beginning Rage: 3

Beginning Gifts: Executioner’s Edge, Slayer’s Eye • Kali (Winter): Winter is a difficult time for snakes and the Kali use difficulty to motivate them to do their best. They are the most ruthless and persistent of the four types of Nagah, preferring simple and direct action to complex schemes or impulsive violence. Their elemental association is to Water.

Beginning Rage: 4

Beginning Gifts: Guided Strike, Iron Coils

Nagah can assume five different forms. • Balaram: In human form, the Nagah tend towards lithe forms of sinuous grace and wiry muscle. Many are of East Indian or Asian descent, but as the Breed has expanded across the globe, it has assimilated new humans into the family, and now contains members of all races.

• Silkaram: In Silkaram, the Nagah becomes a scaled humanoid with serpent eyes, and claws that do Strength + 0 lethal damage. Silkaram Nagah are slightly taller than in their Balaram form, and increase in mass between 10% and 30%.

• Azhi Dahaka: Like a cobra poised to strike, this hideous, serpentine battle form can stretch to 25 feet,

but is capable of upright posture and movement. While otherwise snake-like, to better serve their holy directive Naga in the Azhi Dahaka form also have flexible, mus­ cular arms that end in viciously clawed hands (Strength +1 aggravated damage). All Nagah can manifest hoods like cobras in Azhi Dahaka, regardless of the species of their natural snake form.

• Kali Dahaka: In Kali Dahaka, the Nagah becomes a huge snake, stretching up to 30 feet long and as thick around as a strong man’s leg. Unlike Azhi Dahaka, a Nagah in this form moves like a natural serpent, and appears to be an unnaturally large version of the breed of snake the Nagah assumes in his Vasuki form.

• Vasuki: While in Vasuki form, a Nagah looks like a large, poisonous snake. While most Nagah were originally cobras, the wereserpents can breed with any large, poisonous serpent, including mambas, rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and vipers. The patterning and look of her Vasuki form carries through to her other forms except Balaram, influencing the look of her scales and coloration.

Form Statistics

Silkaram Azhi Dahaka Kali Dahaka Vasuki

Str: +2 Str: +3 Str: +2 Str: –1 Dex: +0 Dex: +2 Dex: +2 Dex: +2 Sta: +2 Sta: +3 Sta: +2 Sta: +1 App: –2 App: 0 App: 0 Man: –2 Man: –3 Man: –3 Man: 0

Wereserpents exist outside of the Pact that allows other Changing Breeds to receive the blessings of the spirit world. Instead, Nagah receive nearly all of their Gifts from the serpent-spirit servants of the Wani. Nagah usually learn new Gifts between missions, during “review” sessions with the Sesha, although on some occasions they may venture to Xi Wang Chi in search of a Gift for which they find particular need.

Wereseprents begin play with three Gifts: one general Nagah Gift, one breed Gift, and one auspice Gift.

General Nagah Gifts