Tribes & Fera

The wereserpents, as far as most of the Fera are aware, are dancers. The very few legends that speak of them talk of the Nagah swaying to and fro, performing some sinister ritual with their sinuous bodies. The other Fera wiped them out in the War of Rage, and now the Garou wonder what the world might be missing for the Nagah’s absence.

Of course, the Nagah aren’t dead, they simply slith­ ered into the Umbra and waited for the War to end. They perform the same function they always have — they kill those that need to die, acting as judge and executioner in the name of Gaia.

The Nagah travel in groups of two or three, choosing their targets and executing them carefully. Sometimes their work brings them into conflict with Garou or other Fera, but they have centuries of practice in remaining out of sight. Who knows what the Garou might do if they discover that the Nagah still live and that, occasionally, the wereserpents feel a werewolf has to die?

Breeds: Nagah have three breeds: balaram (homid), ahi (metis), and vasuki (serpent). Unlike many Fera, a female Nagah knows at the moment of conception whether the pregnancy will result in a new wereserpent. She can also choose to give birth to a human child or a clutch of snakes, regardless of the species of the father.

Ahi Nagah are not deformed, and indeed are cherished among the Nagah. They must be taken into the physical world once every three months during their early lives, or else they become spirits. They begin with Gnosis 3.

Balaram Nagah begin with Gnosis 1, vasuki with Gnosis 5.

Auspices: Nagah auspices are based upon the sea­ son in which they are born. Kamakshi (spring) Nagah are healers, motivators and leaders (Rage 3). Kartikeya (summer) are warriors — these Nagah are zealous and bloodthirsty (Rage 5). Kamsa (autumn) Nagah are logi­ cal and introspective, relishing the mental challenge of plotting an assassination or solving a problem (Rage 3). Kali (winter) Nagah are ruthless and driven in all they do. They are direct and coldly efficient, eschewing complex schemes for a quick bite in the dark (Rage 4).

Traits:

• A Nagah’s Rage depends on his auspice, while his Gnosis depends on his breed. A Nagah regains one Rage for each hour spent underwater or partially submerged. However, their cold-blooded natures prevent them from developing the Garou’s extremes of anger. When increasing a Nagah’s Rage Trait, the freebie point cost (2 per point) and expe­ rience point cost (current rating x 2) is double what it is for Garou.

• Nagah are partly am­ phibious, able to hold their breath twice as long as were­ wolves normally can. In

their Kali Dahaka form (see below), they can breathe water as easily as they can breathe air.

• Nagah do not have easy access to the Umbra. A Nagah can only step sideways in the immediate presence of the Ananta (Umbral Den) to which it is dedicated. If a Nagah carries the Ananta “within himself,” however, he can attempt to step sideways anywhere, leading his other nestmates across the Gauntlet with him.

• Nagah do not have pack totems, as Garou do, but wereserpents that dedicate themselves to the same nest share a spiritual bond. (At the Storyteller’s discre­ tion, this may allow them to purchase variants of pack maneuvers.) A Nagah can lead another of his kind into the Umbra if they belong to the same nest.

• In all forms, a Nagah has decent eyesight and color vision. As it shifts from Balaram to Vasuki form, the creature’s sense of taste and smell become more acute. For each form removed from Balaram, it gains a cumulative –1 difficulty to Perception rolls involving taste and smell (to a minimum difficulty of 3). In Kali Dahaka form, the shapeshifter gains the benefits of the lupus Gift: Scent of Sight.

Unfortunately, the species also has poor hearing in certain forms. In Kali Dahaka form, the creature gains a +3 difficulty to all hearing-based Perception rolls. In Vasuki form, the Nagah is deaf to all airborne sounds, since it is dependent on vibrations passing through solid objects it’s touching to actually “hear” anything.

• In any form other than Balaram, a Nagah can inject a chosen victim with a supernaturally potent venom. She has enough “doses” for three venomous attacks; after the last one is used, she must wait 24 hours before regaining all three doses.

The Nagah can only transfer this poison after she has inflicted at least one health level of damage with her bite (after the victim’s soak roll). Poisoned victims suffer seven health levels of lethal damage; this damage is soaked separately. This venom cannot affect spirits (even materialized spirits) or other Nagah.

In Azhi Dahaka form, the Nagah can attempt to spit this venom into a target’s face, blinding him. (A Nagah with the 2-point Merit: Spitting Cobra can also do this in Vasuki or Kali Dahaka form.) This special attack uses up the equivalent of two doses of venom. Roll Dexterity + Athletics, difficulty 7 (difficulty 9 when targeting the eyes). If the attack hits, the venom still inflicts seven (soakable) health levels of damage, but the damage is delayed for one round. If the venom is washed off before then (such as with water created by the metis Gift: Create Element), the venom has no effect. If the attack hits the eyes, the victim is immediately blinded for a number of rounds equal to (10 minus his Stamina; minimum 3 rounds).

• All Nagah begin with Willpower 4. Forms: Nagah can assume five different forms. Their Balaram form is that of a normal human being. Many are of Indian or Asian descent, but the breed is widespread enough that all races are represented.

Silkaram: Only slightly heavier than the Balaram form, this “snake-man” form becomes hairless and slightly slouched, with slitted eyes and webbed toes. The fingers boast small claws that can be used to attack (Strength, lethal damage). Modifiers: Str +2, Sta +2, App –2, Man –2

Azhi Dahaka: The battle form of the Nagah, this horror is a massive serpent with two strong arms, com­ plete with wicked clawed hands (Strength +1, aggravated damage). In this form, the Nagah’s head is serpentine and boasts the cobra hood, and the tail is bulky enough to support the creature’s body with 20 feet of tail left over. Modifiers: Str +3, Dex +2, Sta +3, App 0, Man –3

Kali Dahaka: This form is an immense snake, nearly 30 feet long, resembling the breed of serpent that the Nagah takes on in Vasuki form. Modifiers: Str +2, Dex +2, Sta +2, App 0, Man –3

Vasuki: A normal, if large, example of the character’s particular species of snake. While the Nagah descend from cobras, they have spread throughout the world and bred with the serpents of every continent. As such, they might be rattlesnakes, mambas, cottonmouths, cobras, or vipers. Modifiers: Str –1, Dex +2, Sta +1, Man 0

Sample Gifts: Nagah Gifts focus on stealth, assas­ sination, the elements, and making best use of their serpent forms. Breed Gifts are more or less analogous to Garou breed Gifts. Kamakshi Gifts can be drawn from Theurge or Children of Gaia lists; Kartikeya from Philodox or Ragabash; Kamsa from Shadow Lord or Glass Walker; and Kali from any Gift list that includes combat or weakness-detecting (or -exploiting) Gifts.

STEREOTYPES

Silver Fangs: We used to breed with nobility, too. We had the sense to stop when the word “nobility” lost its meaning.

Fianna: Drove out all the serpents, huh? Look under your bed.

Gurahl: If there was one thing we could have done differently, one place we should have intervened, it was here.

Rokea: We swim, too, and much deeper than the sharks realize. They think no one sees what they’re doing to each other. We see. We’re assessing.