W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

Shared BackgroundsThe following Backgrounds are available to morethan one Changing Breed.SecretsThe character possesses information that would beconsidered desirable — or damaging — by someone else.While such knowledge can sometimes place the characterin danger, mostly it gives her leverage and advantages.What the character does with these secrets (barteringthem for favors or cash, using them to take down minionsof the Wyrm, or something else entirely) is up to her.The player and Storyteller should work together todetermine what sort of secrets the character possesses.The Background’s rating determines the value and numberof secrets the character knows. This Background isnormally the province of Corax and Bastet, though otherChanging Breeds (and even the odd Shadow Lord!) occasionallypick it up as well.• A small but noteworthy secret — a secret affair,•••••a hidden sexual orientation, a minor crime.A moderate secret. The human identities of aGarou pack, the whereabouts of a criminal onthe run, a significant crime, or evidence of twoGarou sleeping together. Alternately, a few minorsecrets.A substantial secret, or equivalent amount of lessersecrets. A matter of life and death or utterruination for someone. The location of a lostfetish that someone needs to stay lost. The identityof a murderer of one or more Fera.•••• A heavy secret, or equivalent amount of lessersecrets. The location of a national fugitive, avampire’s “little black book” of contacts, thelocation of a Gurahl.••••• An enormous secret, or equivalent amount oflesser secrets. A high-level Pentex plot. Thelocation of a legendary cursed fetish. The secretweakness of an Incarna.Umbral MapsThe character possesses a wealth of experience andreceived information about Umbral navigation. These“Umbral maps” are not physical objects, but rather thecollected lore of symbolic navigation among spirit paths,the entry methods for safe havens and refuges, the cyclesof natural spirit paths, and reliable methods to bypassvarious obstacles along the way.This Background is normally the province of Coraxand Nuwisha, though other Changing Breeds occasionallypick it up as well.• A few safe paths and refuges. The character enjoys–1 difficulty to rolls to navigate the Umbra.•• Several routes to common destinations. As LevelOne, plus once per story the character can re-rolla failed attempt to navigate through the Umbra.••• Safe zones, routes to virtually any place, andknowledge of where not to go. –2 difficulty to rollsto navigate the Umbra, plus one re-roll per story.•••• Several safe places and refuges, extensiveknowledge of Umbral paths and dwellers in thoseareas. –2 difficulty to rolls to navigate the Umbra,plus two re-rolls per story.••••• No one knows the Near Umbra like the character.–3 difficulty to rolls to navigate the Umbra, plusthree re-rolls per story.TotemMost Fera make use of totems in the same manneras the Garou, whether to bind together their “packs” oras personal patrons. The Ananasi, Corax, and Nagahform notable exceptions.So what happens when a Garou, a Bastet, an Ajabaand a Mokolé band together?Most Fera would regard the very idea as little morethan the set-up to a bad joke, but as the Wyrm’s shadowdarkens such places as Africa and the Amazon, it’s aquestion an increasing number of shapeshifters findthemselves seriously considering. Can Gaia’s changingchildren, so long divided, work together?The answer is yes — with some difficulty.The Rite of the Totem (see W20, p. 213) is particularlycalibrated to the sensibilities and capabilitiesof the Garou — those Fera who cannot innately stepsideways would have particular difficulty with it. Theequivalent rites used by the other Changing Breeds aresimilarly specialized.A rare and particular rite exists, however — the Riteof the Joined Circle — which may be used to attract aspirit to act as a totem for a diverse pack of Fera. Mechanicallyidentical to the Rite of the Totem, it requiresthe ritemaster to prepare a ritual space decorated withitems pleasing to the spirit they hope to attract whilesinging of Gaia’s need for renewal. Some Mokolé withpowerful Mnesis remember this rite from the timesbefore the War of Rage, and a few African packs haverecently independently re-discovered or re-created therite. The Beast Courts of Asia use very a similar rite toform their sentai.A multi-Fera pack may pool its Background pointsto buy its Totem in the same fashion as a Garou pack.Owing perhaps to some similarity to the rites used bythe hengeyokai, even Corax and Gurahl are able to212CHANGING BREEDS