W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

monitor threats to Gaia, and pass on suitable targets to othernests. A Crown must use the resources available to them —the Zuzeka sit in judgment over the Americas, but most oftheir nests spend their time in the rainforests of South andCentral America. When they decide to act against a threatin North America, the Crown may only have one or twonests capable of reaching their target in time. The Crownwill hear about any Nagah who betray their Breed — unless,of course, the traitor is part of the Crown — but must passthe matter to the Sesha. Traitors are poison to the wereserpentsas a whole, not just one region, and thus are a matterfor higher sanction than any individual Crown can muster.At the lowest level of the hierarchy is the nest, a smallgroup of Nagah who work together when the situation requiresit. Members of a nest may be as close to one anotheras beloved siblings, or exhibit a friendly rivalry. Althoughthe Nagah are more solitary than the Garou and membersof a nest may spend periods away from their fellows, thenest is a sacred bond. Even the most paranoid weresnakeshares almost all of his secrets with his nestmates.While the Nagah are most populous in South andSoutheast Asia, some nomadic nests go wherever the Seshaor Crown sends them. Others make their home in a specificregion, including South and Central America, Africa, andparts of Australia. A few nests make their base in the citiesof Europe and North America, but the Nagah remain rarein places that are too cold for their serpent Kin to thrive,The HuntA Nagah’s most sacred task is to hunt down and assassinatethe enemies of Gaia. A nest may receive missionsfrom their region’s Crown, based on a wide net of informationthat points to a single target. A few nests receive theirsacred duties directly from the Sesha, tasked to kill thoseseen as a threat to all Nagah. More often, a nest Nagahuncovers their targets using Samskara. They combine thiswith information from Kinfolk cults and detailed researchto identify their targets and obtain justification for killingthem. With this obtained, the weresnake’s hunt is on. Shestudies her victim, learning his habits, weaknesses and flaws.How long she takes depends on her victim’s importance, andwhether he possesses any supernatural defenses. She may onlyspend a day observing a low-level corporate functionary, buta well-protected CEO — or a high-ranking Garou — couldtake weeks or even months to analyze. Once the weresnakesufficiently knows her target, she can use what she has learnedto come up with a plan to execute him. Aside from planninga successful strike, her main concern is how to avoid leavingany evidence of her presence. Especially when hunting otherChanging Breeds, the latter is just as important as the former.Many Nagah decide on both the method of the killand how they frame the death based upon their victim’scrimes. A wereserpent will likely make some kills look like156CHANGING BREEDSTHE SACRED LAWSPreserve the Sacred Secret at All CostsHonor The Three Mothers —Earth, Moon, and RiverPunish Those Who Betray Their DutiesNever Hunt AloneRemain HumbleAbhor ImbalanceStrike Against the Corruptorif the Opportunity is Trueaccidents, especially if a murder might draw suspicion to theinvolvement of the Nagah. More often, the assassin makesobvious kills, framing the victim as a warning to others whocommit similar crimes. Whenever possible, she arranges herkill so that another enemy of the Nagah or threat to Gaiaappears to be the perpetrator, focusing the enemy’s allies’urge for vengeance to take down another victim.Some Nagah specialize in hunting down targets, likeBlack Spiral Dancers, fomori, and other powerful Wyrmspawn,although such creatures often draw the ire of lesssubtle killers, like the Garou, as well. The wereserpentsonly involve themselves with such victims when otherChanging Breeds do not have a presence in the area, orwhen the victim is so well-hidden that only the Nagahhave uncovered his crimes. Other daring weresnakeshunt traitorous shapeshifters — especially the Garou— or those whose incompetence or blindness aids theWyrm while a few of the Nagah’s most skilled assassinshunt vampires, mages, and other supernatural threats.TraitsAs non-mammalian shapeshifters, Nagah have significantphysical (and spiritual) differences from manyof the other Changing Breeds.Nagah are partly amphibious and can hold their breathtwice as long as Garou. Nagah in Kali Dahaka form (seebelow) possess gills and can breathe water as easily as air.In all forms, a Nagah has keen eyesight and colorvision. Their senses of taste and smell become increasinglyacute as they shift from Balaram to Vasuki form. Foreach form removed from Balaram, reduce the difficultyof Perception rolls involving taste and smell by –1 (to a