Gifts

As the Black Fury Gift.

Rite of the Hungry Soul

Level Three, Mystic The Rite of the Hungry Soul represents the ultimate expression of the Grondr philosophy — consuming evil without being tainted by it. This rite allows a wereboar to consume a spirit, as long as it cannot escape. Some Grondr use the rite on spirits they have defeated in combat, while others consume the Banes that power corrupted fetishes, or even those possessing fomori — though in most cases consuming the Bane kills the host. Traditionally, Grondr use this rite on Banes and other corrupt spirits, but the rite works equally well on any kind of spirit. Indiscriminately using this rite is an easy way to attract the ire of almost every spirit in the Umbra.

Performing this rite is a contested roll between the ritemaster’s Wits + Rituals and the spirit’s Rage. The ritemaster’s difficulty is equal to the difficulty of sum­ moning the spirit (see W20 p. 212), the difficulty of the spirit’s roll is the ritemaster’s Gnosis.

If he is successful, the ritemaster consumes the spirit. He can use the spirit’s Charms as though they were innate powers, spending the captive spirit’s Essence. Whenever the ritemaster would spend a point of Gnosis she can spend a point of the consumed spirit’s Essence instead. It cannot regain Essence, and loses one point per week of captivity. When the spirit runs out of Essence, it is destroyed; the ritemaster consumes its very core. While the spirit lives, it can still get free — if someone kills the ritemaster.

The Grondr who used this rite to consume Banes and other tainted monstrosities did not suffer from any Wyrm-taint. Any shapeshifter who rediscovers this ritual in modern times might not benefit from the same protection.

Though the Changing Breeds — even the Garou — all mourn the loss of the Apis, Camazotz, and Grondr, they’re not the only Breeds to be lost to history. The Bastet tell of the Khara, a lost tribe of sabertooth werecats. The War of Shame that killed the Okuma is the darkest stain on the history of the Hengeyokai. The Mokolé lost their turtle varna, and the Ratkin lost their Bards — though some insist that they found a deeper connection to the Wyld and became the Munchmausen.

Despite their fearsome teeth, the weresabertooths were as much creatures of memory with strong ties to the Mokolé-mbembe as they were warriors. Their most ancient animal kin included species that bridged the gap between reptiles and mammals. Sabertooths were some of the first cats, and the Khara claimed to be the eldest of Cat’s children. The Khara were as inquisitive as any Bastet tribe, but their mandate extended beyond the finding of secrets to the remembering of secrets. Sadly for those who came after, the Khara refused to keep records of what they had learned, claiming that giving a secret physical form made it too vulnerable. They passed their secrets orally within the tribe from generation to generation, and when the last Khara died, the tribe’s secrets died with her. Their pride prevented them from passing on what they knew, believing to the last that they could save themselves.

Such was their taboo against writing was that it shows even in their rituals. When the Khara encountered a secret that should not be remembered by anyone, they would inscribe it on the teeth of a dead sabertooth and bury the head far away from any paths. No one remembers what this ritual was supposed to accomplish, but many of these strange graves are now mystic sites. The Balam, Gurahl, and even some Garou may not realize it, but they guard secrets that the Khara stole to this very day.

The Khara were also ferocious warriors. Because they kept their secrets in their memories, every Khara was a library of valuable knowledge. Only the least among them didn’t have at least one unique secret, so each Khara needed to be skilled at protecting themselves.

The Khara lived in small family groups led by the eldest female. Their society was divided on gender lines, with males encouraged to earn Renown by discovering secrets and bringing them to the females. In turn the women judged what only the Khara should remember,

what secrets were minor enough that they could passed along to the Mokolé or other Bastet, and what should be forgotten by the world.

The secrets that a Khara remembered took on a spiritual significance. The tribe defined each individual by the secrets she kept, and each Khara could add to their prestige by learning new ones — either by seeking them out or by stealing them from other Khara. Many weresa­ bertooths gave their secrets cryptic names that hinted to their content, not just as a way to frustrate spies but to help index what they knew. A challenge between two Khara might take the form of each reciting the names of the secrets she knows, back and forth, until one of them must admit to not knowing. In return, the winner would have to share that last secret with the loser, so the chal­ lenge would remain fair in future.

Over the course of their long history, the Khara wan­ dered far across the world. Many finally settled down in the Southewestern corner of North America, though they continued to travel all across the world in search of secrets.

The original Khara bred with people who would be­ come the Apache, Comanche, and Hopi tribes of Native Americans. The Khara were, however, not particularly picky about which humans they bred with — when the Khara died out, humanity was still very new — and threads of Khara ancestry may be found all across the world.

Khara had a certain gravity about them in all their forms. They weren’t clumsy or bulky, but they had powerful muscles and thick, durable frames. Their distinctive sabre teeth jutted from their jaws in their Crinos, Chatro, and Feline forms. Different lineages had different configura­ tions of teeth, either one or two sets of long upper canines. Some had a set or two of long lower canines as well.

Form Statistics

Sokto Crinos Chatro Feline

Str: +1 Str: +3 Str: +3 Str: +3 Dex: +1 Dex: +1 Dex: +2 Dex: +2 Sta: +3 Sta: +4 Sta: +4 Sta: +3 Man: –1 Man: –3 Man: –3 Man: –3 App: –1 App: 0 App: 0 App: 0

As keepers of secrets and guardians of memory, the Khara would have access to Gifts and rites that keep to that theme. As such, Mokolé and Corax Gifts relating to secrets, memory, and knowledge are appropriate.

The Okuma were a tribe of Gurahl who lived in southeast Asia, including the northern parts of India and as far East as Japan. Their animal Kinfolk included sun bears, moon bears, and giant pandas. Unlike other Gurahl tribes, who worship Gaia as their mother and Luna as the source of their shapeshifting powers, the Okuma also had a special relationship with Helios. Each Okuma’s fur was marked with patches of bright color. The fact that their Kinfolk species have survived and possess similar markings centuries after the Okuma died, is for some a symbol of hope that the Okuma may some day return.

The Okuma originated in the tropical rainforests of southeast Asia among the sun bears. The Okuma were never very picky about their animal mates and bred with many of the ursine species they encountered along the way, including giant pandas and moon bears. Eventually, the tribe was evenly split between all three families. Wherever they roamed, the jungles and rainforests were theirs to protect, and they rarely strayed far from their territories.

The Okuma’s open-mindedness regarding their mates applied to their human partners just as much as their animal Kinfolk. As a result, there were once Okuma of all manner of human tribes from India to Japan, and all the territories in-between. The one thing that all Okuma kinfolk shared was the capacity to live in harmony with the rainforest. As a result, they were rarely born into lives of wealth or privilege. Their human kin mostly included farmers, hermits, and homeless wanderers.

Despite their diminutive bear-kin, the Okuma were scions of Helios. Like all of the sun’s chosen, they had a special flair for seeking out and destroying corruption, especially creatures of the night and darkness. In addi­ tion to the servants of the Wyrm, this brought them into conflict with the Kuei-jin, reanimated corpses weighed down and corrupted by their sins. The Okuma had an ancient rivalry with these strange creatures.

While the other members of the Beast Courts some­ times preferred to ignore the Kuei-jin in favor of more immediately destructive threats, the Okuma were not as willing to compromise. Easy-going as they were among their own kind, they became resolute when faced with these strange immortals. That they indulged their cravings for luxury and decadence rankled the Okuma, who almost universally hailed from among the poorest people. When

the Kue-jin turned the Hengeyokai against one another, they made sure that the Okuma would be the first to fall.

When they weren’t hunting Wyrm-things and undead in their beloved jungles, the Okuma were good-natured, playful, and almost pathologically irreverent. Their culture placed a high value on cleverness and wit, and many of them were accomplished practical jokers. As a tribe, the Okuma’s beliefs were very close to the wu wei of Taoism and elements of Zen Buddhism. They cultivated an air of ease and freedom — to do without doing — which their critics and enemies found infuriating.

Okuma were almost always of Asian heritage, though they could come from any region in the broad stretch between India and Japan. Their Homid forms tended to be tough, wiry, and athletic, while their ursine forms re­ sembled sun bears, moon bears, or giant pandas, depending on their heritage. Okuma Homid shapes tended to have traits that recalled their animal forms, so an Okuma who changed into a moon bear might be stockier than one born to sun bears, while a werebear with a giant panda shape might have a more powerful build and tend to put on fat and muscle in equal measure.

In addition to the Gifts that Gurahl still learn today, Okuma were able to learn specialized gifts as a result of their connection to Helios. Gifts that are taught by a sun or fire-spirit, create light, or cause harm to the tainted or unclean are good candidates. The Gift lists for other breeds with connections to Helios — including the Corax and Mokolé — are excellent resources for Okuma gifts.

The lost turtle varna of the Mokolé had many names. In the Indian Subcontinent, they were called Kurmaraja, named after the tortoise whose body formed the boundar­ ies of the world. In North America, they were known as the Kahaila, and were credited with creating the world. As a varna, they referred to themselves as the Ao, nam­ ing themselves after an elder so great he would even be remembered in the myths of humans as the Chinese sea-turtle who sacrificed his legs to hold up the sky. Despite being scattered all over the world, the Ao shared a con­ nection unique among the varna. This may be because they were the oldest varna, or because their patient and contemplative nature was not given to rifts or divisions. Turtles are an ancient family was perfectly adapted to its niche millenia before most life on Earth today had evolved.

Most of the world’s myths about tur­ tles identify them as creators and preservers, and this was true of the Ao as well. Among the longest-lived varna, other Mokolé saw especially old Ao as living wellsprings of Mnesis, the eyes that had beheld a thousand thousand memories now given to all in dreams. As the Ao include a large number of sea turtles, they had the most contact with the Rokea — appraising the weresharks of happen­ ings on land, and lending an extra set of teeth and claws when the Rokea found something worth destroying.

The Ao included all manner of turtles and tortoises, with the following statistics: Str +1, Dex –1, Sta +4, Man –4, Rage 3. Ao benefit from the Armored Scales charac­ teristic in Suchid form but could only move at half their Homid form’s land speed. Turtle Ao had a swimming speed equal to their Homid form’s land speed.

The Mokolé dream different

dreams when searching Mnesis

to find what caused the Ao’s

disappearance. Some claim that their own solitary, se­ cretive natures doomed the turtle varna. Starting around 540 BCE, other Mokolé began to notice that the Ao’s numbers were dropping. When asked about it, however, the

Ao would dissemble or, if pressed, simply re­ fuse to answer. The turtle varna became more

and more rare until, by the beginning of the

first century CE, they had vanished

altogether. Some Mokolé ascribe

sinister causes to the Ao’s

disappearance, while others

believe it was part of the

natural cycle, and that the Ao will arise again if the time comes right.

A few weresaurians believe that the Ao were not doomed because they did not die. They point to the lack of any sign of dismay or struggle, and say that the Ao did not succumb but were called into the Umbra to serve Gaia in some unknown capacity. Perhaps the Mokolé varna best known as preservers and creators foresaw the Apocalypse years before anyone else and retreated to an Umbral realm where they could weather the storm and return at the time of the Earth’s most desperate need.

The onrushing apocalypse has brought strange new Aspects to the Ratkin, but it has also robbed them of part of their history: the Ratkin Bard. Rats are some of the most social mammals in the world, and Bards were responsible for maintaining the complex web of social connections that define a Ratkin colony.

Unlike other “loremasters” found among the Changing Breeds, Ratkin Bards didn’t tell stories so much as they led the community in creating the story they needed to hear. Rather than performers, the Ratkin Bards were directors, leading the entire community in a spontaneous and improvised performance. The Bards used the fact that everyone already knew the legends to create a brand new tale that was exactly what the community needed to hear, instead of reciting the same boring words.

Some Ratkin theorize that the Bards were too sensi­ tive. As the world’s sickness and madness grew, the same

awareness that allowed them to pluck stories out of the minds of their community drove them insane. The delu­ sional Munchmousen, they say, may be all that is left of the brilliant Ratkin Bards.

Bards possess the following Strengths and Weaknesses: The Red Thread: All Bards receive three dots of Em­ pathy for free. This does not count against their starting allotment of abilities, though going higher than Empathy 3 at character creation still requires freebie points. The Right Tale: Once a day, the Bard can weave a story that encourages and uplifts everyone who takes part. Roll Charisma + Empathy, difficulty 7. Everyone who participates in the story regains one point of Rage, Willpower, or Gnosis per success. The participant must choose which trait she wants to regain before the roll is made; any points over her maximum are lost.

Spiritual Sensitivity: When a Ratkin Bard is in an area that emanates spiritual energy — such as a Caern or in the presence of a powerful spirit — she increases the difficulty of all actions that are not in tune with her surroundings by +2. The penalty would apply when trying to intimidate someone in the presence of a spirit of contemplation, or trying to kill someone in a Caern of Healing. In an area corrupted by the Wyrm or the Weaver, this sensitivity leads to blinding headaches and +2 difficulty to all rolls.

Initial Rage: 4 Starting Gifts: The Right Joke, Mindspeak