W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

RATKIN LEXICONColony: A breeding ground for Ratkin, usuallyattended by packs of courtiers and ruled bya Rat King.Courtiers: A group of Ratkin that defends acolony and serves a Rat King.Nest: A colony built around a sacred site whereRatkin can meditate and regain Gnosis.Plague: A large community of Ratkin nestsstretching across a continent.Ramblers: The wererats in a rat pack. Theyserve no king and have no home, but canchoose a totem.Rampage: An anarchistic and temporary ratpack. A rampage has no home and can onlyserve the Rat Totem. Courtiers sometimescall them “gangs.”Rat Pack: A group of Ratkin dedicated to eachother and a totem; a group of ramblers.Ratling: A Ratkin who has not yet earned rank(rather like a Garou cub). Ratlings formRampages.Ratkin build nests on sacred sites, and every wellestablished nest has a number of resident Shadow Seerswho make treaties with local spirits. Portions of these nestsextend into tunnels through the Umbra, so the ShadowSeers protect the tunnels from spiritual interference. Ratkinalso find that powerful spirits make excellent allies intheir attempts to sabotage and destroy human civilization.Rat Kings & CourtsWhile a colony’s ruler is called a Rat King, in theorythe nest’s elders elect him in a unanimous vote. The nest’selders occasionally choose a Rat King (or Queen) becausethey have a collective vision of that Ratkin as their ruler.More often (in true Ratkin fashion), a prospective ruler’sallies kill or drive off any elders who would vote against them.Regardless of how they are elected, Rat Kings orQueens serve for life. The only way to replace a RatKing is to kill him. Once in office, the King or Queenis responsible for holding regular gatherings and feastswhere any Ratkin can bring complaints or problems tothe King and seek redress.Rat Kings and their courts helps rodens Ratkinmake sense of the world. Their ceremonies restrain theanarchic madness that wererats feel, giving form andorder to their world. Rats are intensely social animals,and the customs surrounding Rat Kings and their courtschannel the Rage and insanity of Ratkin that inhabitthe largest nests towards productive tasks.Rat PacksRatkin who leave their nests strike out on their ownin small groups. These independent wererats are welcometo stay in other colonies, but must continually move onif they don’t want to join the colony’s breeding program.Most of those who leave join up with similar Ratkin toform temporary rampages or more permanent rat packs.The ramblers who make up most rat packs are notorious forbeing some of the most violent and unstable of their kind.Many Ratlings leave their home nest at some pointto form a rampage — especially young females who wantmore from life than perpetual breeding. When they comeof age, some return to the colonies and nests, findingcomfort in structure. Others never settle, going on to joinone of the long-term rat packs that ramble from colonyto nest. Female wererats who do not wish to becomebreeders typically mark themselves with scars or tattoosto indicate their status. The residents of most nests willtreat them with some contempt, but that’s a small priceto pay for freedom. To be so marked ensures that theRatkin will never have a true home in wererat society,for she will never be able to settle as part of a colony.Ratkin are intensely social creatures. If a wereratcannot find others of his kind, he might consider forminga rat pack with other Changing Breeds — or evenother supernatural creatures. Anything’s better thanbeing alone. Despite that, wererats never give their fullloyalty or trust to anyone not of their kind.Rat packs normally have between five and 10 membersand possess a strict hierarchy. One Ratkin leads, whileone is always the runt, given the worst duties and theleast respect. Some runts leave for other packs, or findways of getting revenge upon one of the higher-rankingmembers. If the attempt at revenge succeeds, the runt’svictim often becomes the new runt. Homid Ratkin oftenjoin rat packs that actively avoid larger nests, preferringto keep well away from both brutal Ratkin politics andthe distrust of homids common among rodens Ratkin.TraitsRatkin have –2 difficulty to Perception rolls involvingsmell in their Crinos and Rodens forms, thanks to theirkeen sense of smell. They also possess a special "tunnelRATKIN181