Everything

The Xibalan may be gone but their legacy lives on. Garou and Fera alike tell of giant bats whose jaws drip with acidic blood, and whose shrieks herald madness. These Bloodbats are all that’s left of the Camazotz. Some Mokolé and Ananasi claim that they are all that remains of the Gaian Camazotz who tried to stop Bat falling to the Wyrm. Others believe that the Bloodbats are nothing but a vicious mockery, an attempt by the great deceiver to dishearten the Garou by reminding them of their great folly.

Attributes

Strength 3, Dexterity 7, Stamina 4, Charisma 0,

Manipulation 2, Appearance 0, Perception 4, Intelligence 1, Wits 4 Abilities: Alertness 4, Athletics 2, Brawl 3, Intimidation 3,

Primal-Urge 2, Stealth 5, Subterfuge 3

Rage

5, Willpower 4

Health Levels

OK, OK, –1, –1, –2, –2, –5, Incapacitated Attacks: Bite (Strength + 1 aggravated), Wing Swipe

(Strength + 1 lethal) Powers: Burning Blood*, Regeneration, Terrifying

Shriek* * Burning Blood: A Bloodbat’s acidic ichor can burn even Garou flesh. In addition to making the Bloodbat’s bite deal aggravated damage, anyone who successfully bites a Bloodbat suffers three dice of aggravated damage as caustic fluids burn her mouth and throat. Damage from this power (including a Bloodbat’s bite damage) is always soaked at difficulty 9.

* Terrifying Shriek: A Bloodbat can unleash an ultrasonic shriek that instills primal terror in anyone who hears it. Spend a point of Willpower and roll Manipulation + Subterfuge. Everyone within twenty yards of the Bloodbat suffers the Delirium, even if they are normally immune. Reduce the victim’s effective Willpower by one for each success rolled.

Image: Bloodbats are black bats the size of a human being, with wicked talons on their wings. Their heads look like a cross between bat and wolf, much like some Black Spiral Dancers. Their jaws contain too many needle-like fangs, which constantly drip acidic blood. Each Bloodbat has a unique pattern of burn-marks where their own blood has dissolved their fur.

Background

Whether descended from the Xibalan or not, the Bloodbats are a recent appearance in the World of Darkness. Nobody had encountered one until three years ago, when a Bloodbat attacked a clutch of Mokolé in Australia. Since then, they have grown in number, and their attacks have grown more frequent.

Storytelling Notes: Bloodbats prefer wild, shadowy places where they can hide in the dark, swooping out to attack their prey. They create a cacophony of sounds to distract their prey, then send them fleeing with a terrifying shriek, and swoop down to pick off stragglers.

Now and then, things go right for Pentex. Neuro-Dynamic Laboratories is a Pentex front established several decades ago for the primary purpose of conducting corporate asset raids against Developmental Neogenetics Amalgamated, and finding something useful to do with any research it managed to steal.

Much to the sorrow of the Garou and all other things that are of Gaia, Pentex considers the program a rousing success. Until recently, NDL was officially a sub-operation of Project Iliad, Pentex’s fomor-creating operation, with the internal company code-name of Project Lycaon. The purpose of Project Lycaon is nothing less than the artificial creation of a Changing Breed under Pentex’s direct control. They want a more cooperative and pliable alternative to the temperamental and arrogant Black Spiral Dancers, able to provide Pentex with easy access to Wyrmish magic on par with that of the Dancers, and also capable of fighting the Garou head to head.

Project Iliad was initially unaware of NDL’s overall aims. This changed in the whirlwind of exposés, smears, and lies as part of the latest election to the Board of Directors (p. 62). Discovering that part of his operation wanted to do away with the need for Black Spiral Dancers, Francesco was incensed. He would have destroyed Project Lycaon if it hadn’t split away in a flurry of mergers and backroom deals. In the end, NDL split away from Project Iliad, becoming its own entity under the control of Sir Frederick Appleton — himself the result of one of NDL’s experiments.

To date, none of NDL’s major projects has fully succeeded in realizing these goals, but none has been abject failures, either. Pentex continues to funnel research funds into Project Lycaon, and continues to keep word of it well away from the company’s Spiral allies.

The abominations known as War Wolves were Project Lycaon’s first successful project. Using genetic material from several captured werewolves as well as copious amounts of stolen DNA research, Pentex scientists managed to create perfect, custom-built killing machines, able to get close to their Garou targets and strike with the advantages of both surprise and overwhelming force. War Wolves have no higher intelligence, and certainly nothing resembling morals; they have no need for understanding, only an in-born hunger for the flesh of the Garou. Attributes: Strength 4 (7), Dexterity 4 (3), Stamina 4 (5),

Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 1, Perception 3, Intelligence 1, Wits 2 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 4, Brawl 2, Primal-Urge 3,

Stealth 3, Survival 4

Rage

8; Willpower: 6

Powers: Immunity to the Delirium; Regeneration,

Shapeshifting* * Shapeshifting: War Wolves are capable of only one transformation: from Lupus (their natural form) to Crinos, and back again. Shapeshifting is always automatically

successful and immediate, and costs the War Wolf one point of Rage. The number in brackets for their Physical Attributes is for Crinos form.

Image: War Wolves appear to be emaciated, drooling wolves with ragged pelts. In Crinos form, they are rangy and savage. They smell rank and ill, and reek of the Wyrm to spiritual senses. Unfortunately, they also smell enough like wolves to be able to work their way close enough to wolf Kin that once their victims realize something is wrong, it’s much too late.

Background

War Wolves were Neuro-Dynamic’s first answer to the Garou: genetically altered dogs and wolves with immunity to the Delirium and the ability to fight on the same level as the Garou. These “artificial werewolves” have a very selective diet, and remain constantly hungry until they encounter either Kinfolk or Garou. Other meat nourishes them, but does not satisfy. Pentex goes to great pains to steer War Wolves away from Black Spiral Dancer Kinfolk, but the Spirals are naturally secretive about the location and numbers of their kin. Accidents are inevitable.

The Wolves’ shapeshifting is semi-mystical in nature, but because they aren’t half-spirit like true Garou, they can’t manage any forms other than Lupus and Crinos. They can’t use Gifts, have no Gnosis, and the spirit word doesn’t consider them shapeshifters in any way by the spirit world, yet they share the Garou’s weakness to silver. They are also incapable of stepping sideways.

Storytelling Notes: War Wolves hunt in packs, and the rare nature of their preferred prey means that when encountered, they will almost invariably be starving. These mongrel horrors are perhaps Pentex’s greatest insult to the Garou to date, and can provide terrifying stories beginning with the characters finding gnawed bones and racing against the clock to find out what is hunting their Kin, and to avenge them against the creators of the War Wolves.

It’s difficult to say quite what drove the creation of the Anurana. Officially, they were supposed to shore up a critical deficiency in Pentex maritime security, acting as a counterbalance to the Rokea; they might have also been deployed in the sewers to flush out Bone Gnawer packs, or to patrol heavily polluted rivers, lakes, and estuaries around Pentex factories. Privately, the Pentex Board of Directors suspects that personnel from the disastrous Freakfeet fomor project (see p. 132), reassigned from Project Iliad to Project Lycaon, simply wanted another shot at doing things right.

In the end, they screwed up again. The Anurana are the result of a mixture of repurposed NDL technologies based on those that created the War

Wolves and improved techniques from the Freakfeet project. The aim was to create a breed of true shapeshifters under Pentex control, codenamed the Anurana (a portmanteau of order: Anura, genus: rana, presumably because “werefrog” didn’t sound sufficiently intimidat-ing). The project was a limited success, but the Anurana proved entirely uncontrollable. Hypnotic, mystical, and Bane-implant conditioning all failed utterly, and the first generation of test subjects, sent out on a scouting mission to investigate Rokea activity off the coast of New England, never returned.

They survived, though, and now thrive in the wild. The Anurana have a strange, lingering connection to Pentex, and stalk its facilities and personnel to this day, preferring to dwell and breed in the pollution-rich waters near the Wyrm-corporation’s factories. This does not make them allies of the Garou, however; the Anurana are terrible things, designed to thrive in the polluted waters of the Apocalyptic world, and fiercely attack any who attempt to cleanse the tainted places the Anurana call home. They have a kind of understanding with the Balefire Sharks who also patrol those horrific waters.

Traits: Anurana vary as much as any other “shapeshifter,” though they have a distinct tendency toward low Intelligence and Appearance ratings, and toward high Brawl, Primal-Urge, Athletics, and Willpower. Their particular features are as follows:

Breeds: Anurana have only two Breeds, homid and metis, as they are entirely incapable of reproduction with any kind of earthly amphibian. Homid Anurana begin with Rage 3, Gnosis 1, Willpower 5; the more powerful, monstrous Metis Anurana begin with Rage 5, Gnosis 2, Willpower 3.

Forms: Anurana have three forms: Homid, Anuran (roughly equivalent to Glabro), and Dagon (roughly equivalent to Crinos).

The trait modifiers for Anuran are Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Stamina +1, Appearance –2. The character can swim at his full movement speed as though he were on land. The character can hold his breath for up to (Stamina) hours.

Dagon form modifiers are Strength +2, Dexterity +2, Stamina +2, Appearance 0. The character gains claw and bite attacks as a Garou, can swim at twice his normal movement speed, and triples his leaping distances. The character can operate underwater indefinitely. Witnessing a character in Dagon form induces the Delirium in humans.

Powers: Anurana can step sideways by submerging themselves in polluted waters, or emerging from the same. They regenerate damage at the same rate as Garou, but do not suffer any vulnerability to silver or any other substance. They are immune to the Delirium.

The Anurana are not part of the Pact with the spirit world, and no spirits will consent to teach them Gifts. Even Banes look down on these pretend-shapeshifters. Instead, Anurana have a number of innate, fomor-like powers in Dagon form. These include: Eyes of the Wyrm, Frog Tongue, Maw of the Wyrm and Nimbleness.

Image: Anurana in Homid form seem distinctly off. They suffer from a number of subtle malformations. Wide-set eyes, broad thin-lipped mouths, tiny or huge ears, and elongated fingers are all common for them.

In Anuran form, a werefrog’s bodily and facial hair vanishes, and any hair on their head becomes slick and patchy. Their limbs elongate and bulge with rubbery muscle. Their fingers and toes develop webbing, and their skin takes on a grayish or greenish cast. Eyes bulge, lips vanish, and the skin develops a distinct sheen.

A werefrog in Dagon form is both absurd and terrifying — a great hulking hunch-backed frogman, with staring eyes, a huge mouth, and long gangling arms and legs. Something of the fish is present in this form as well, for some reason, the form’s limbs terminate in wicked, webbed talons, and its mouth is crowded with tiny needle teeth.

Background

The Anurana haven’t spread very far beyond the confines of the American East Coast, at least as far as Pentex is aware. The details of their reproduction help to slow their spread, while also precluding any sort of normal life away from their polluted nests. Anurana have no Kinfolk and are incapable of producing any; most pregnancies borne or caused by an Anurana end in a singularly hideous miscarriage, as the swirling stew of altered genes and polluted magic simply fail to come together to produce anything viable; the final product is a rush of briny water, malformed bones, and dead frogs. On the rare occasions when a werefrog’s spawn manages to survive to full term and birth, the result is always Anurana.

Anurana Metis are worse. They’re much less likely to fail in utero, but are born sterile, deformed, and monstrous. Rather than an infant, an Anurana metis is born as something like a cat-sized tadpole with a human-ish face; they reach full maturity in only five years, and are able to abandon their immature form in favor of shapeshifting into Homid, Anuran, and Dagon forms after only three years. They have, as best Pentex can tell, a life expectancy of little over two decades.

Storytelling Notes: Given their penchant for abducting Pentex employees as breeding stock, Garou briefly may consider thinking of the Anurana as allies. Nothing could be further from the truth; the “werefrogs” are a slap in the face to Gaia’s design, a new almost-Changing Breed manufactured in a Pentex laboratory. The Anurana harass Pentex simply because they don’t like getting poked, prodded, or intruded upon.

The Anurana are outsiders in the war for Gaia, and routinely snubbed or even hunted during their forays into the spirit world, but they’re slowly learning about the various powers and factions of the supernatural world. They know enough to understand that the Garou will stop at nothing to destroy them, once the werewolves become aware enough of the Anurana to realize they’re something other than unusually resilient fomori. Some werefrogs are formulating plans to strike first, while the most cunning of their kind ponder what elements they may be missing that Gaia’s shapeshifters have. Perhaps breeding with normal humans has been a mistake; perhaps Garou Kinfolk already carrying changing blood is what they need.

Project Metamorphosis aimed to produce the ultimate corporate espionage tool — a swarm-based shapeshifter that could infiltrate anywhere and immediately pass information back through the link shared by every member of the swarm. NDL’s product marketing personnel sold the idea of an assassin concealed in a hundred different places in a room, waiting for a target to arrive before reforming into a single killing form.

Unfortunately, the NDL scientists could not meet these goals. They have created a human/insect hybrid, but it cannot separate into a swarm. Instead, the Samsa are mind-shattered eight-foot tall bipedal cockroaches that are terrified of the dark. Pentex closed Project Metamorphosis as an abject failure, leaving NDL with several dozen prototype Samsa gibbering with fear in their cells.

Traits: Samsa are highly variable but tend toward high Stamina and low Appearance. Samsa also tend toward high Alertness, Streetwise and Survival. High Willpower is useful, but their mindset rarely supports such strength of character. All Samsa have the Paranoia Derangement (W20 p.486) and must choose a second Derangement.

Breeds: Samsa have two Breeds, homid and metis. Homid Samsa begin with Rage 2, Gnosis 4, Willpower 3, while metis Samsa begin with Rage 3, Gnosis 2, Willpower 4.

Forms: Samsa have only two forms: Homid and Ungeziefer. Homid Samsa invariably have a disheveled and confused appearance, and a feverish madness in their eyes. Ungeziefer are nightmarish eight-foot tall bipedal cockroaches with greenish-brown armored carapaces and clicking mandibles.

Ungeziefer trait modifiers are Strength +3, Dexterity +1, Stamina +3, Appearance 0. Their serrated exoskeleton permits claw attacks (Str +2 L) but they cannot bite. Ungeziefer inflicts the Delirium on vulnerable witnesses.

Each time a Samsa takes Ungeziefer she chooses two traits from the following list. The majority are fomori

powers function as per W20 (pp. 430-439) except as noted; Antenna and Swarm are unique to the Samsa. They can manifest different traits with the first transformation each scene, but keep those traits until the scene ends. • Antenna: Add 3 dice to Perception rolls, and can detect spirits only as Sense the Unnatural (W20, p. 436). • Armored Carapace: Samsa armor cannot soak aggravated damage caused by insecticide. • Claws • Darksight: Even when Samsa can see in pitch blackness, it doesn’t stop the voices. • Extra Limbs: All Ungeziefer have an extra pair of limp, useless arms. With this the arms are as capable as their primary set. • Wings: Samsa are clumsy fliers. They have Dex –2 while airborne. • Swarm: Each turn, dozens of cockroaches fall from beneath the Samsa’s carapace. These cockroaches obey the Samsa’s spoken commands. • Wall Walking Powers: Samsa are incapable of stepping sideways but they hear nearby spirits whenever they enter deep shadow or darkness — feeding the Samsa’s paranoia and dread. Samsa are only immune to the Delirium in Ungeziefer form — in Homid they are as vulnerable as any human.