W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

DIMWATERRank Valor Harmony Innovation1 (1) 2 (1)2 3 5 03 5 7 14 7 9 25 8 10 3DARKWATERRank Valor Harmony Innovation1 (1) (1) 22 1 2 33 2 4 64 3 6 85 4 8 10All Rank 1 Rokea begin with two dots in a set category,and one she may place in either of the other two categories.Changing BreedAbominationsIt’s rare for most vampires to even meet one of theChanging Breeds, much less decide they’d make a goodchilde. On the other hand, the Leeches are ever in searchof an edge in their predatory status games; an exoticchilde with a wide array of unusual powers may seem torepresent such an advantage.In the event that any Changer is Embraced by avampire and the Storyteller wishes to leave the result upto chance, the player rolls Gnosis (difficulty 6). Successgives a clean and final death. Failure produces a torturousbut equally final death. If the roll botches:Garou become what are known as Abominations — avampire-werewolf. This miserable wretch gains its sire’sclan weakness, three dots of Disciplines, and undeadnature. It may spend Blood Points like any other vampire(see V20) for the same benefits. On the other hand, itcan no longer gain Renown or rise in rank, regeneratewounds without spending Blood Points, or successfullyexecute any non-Wyrmish rites. Only Banes will teachit new Gifts. At the time of death, all dedicated itemsand attuned fetishes lose their connection to the corpsewolf.The Abomination cannot spend Blood Points inthe same turn it uses Rage or Gnosis for any purpose.Finally, any Abomination with a Gnosis rating below 7exists in a state of permanent Harano, perpetually able tofeel Gaia’s grace and glory only by their absence from itssoul. The Abomination’s Gnosis trait acts as Humanitywould for a vampire; any violation of the Litany causesthe wretch to roll Gnosis (difficulty 7); a failure means itloses a permanent point of Gnosis. The Abomination cannever raise its Gnosis naturally. When the Abomination’sGnosis is all gone, it can no longer step sideways or useany Gifts or fetishes, and is little more than a feral beast.There is only one way for an undead werewolf toavoid this fate — by offering itself utterly to the Wyrm(or, more precisely, to one of its powerful manifestations,such as a Maeljin Incarna). The Abomination’sGnosis is safe thereafter, as the Wyrm sees to fueling itsspiritual energy. However, the horror must obey all thecommands of its new patron in both letter and spiritafterward; it loses any semblance of the free will to resistor misinterpret the Corrupter’s wishes.Ajaba Abominations work in the same manner asGarou, save that they lose Gnosis for violating the particularcommandments handed to their people by Gaia,rather than the Garou Litany.Ananasi simply cannot be Embraced (or even turnedinto a ghoul) — their system violently rejects vampireblood; in death, it sits insert in a werespider’s mouth andthroat, doing nothing.Bastet may be Embraced, but if anything suffer aneven more pathetic fate than Garou. Every 28 days, theBastet automatically loses one dot of permanent Gnosisuntil it is a mindless cannibal corpse.A Corax Abomination will at least be quickly releasedfrom its suffering — it bursts into flames and diesthe Final Death when Helios rises, even if it is hiddenfrom his rays.Gurahl, sadly, may suffer the Wyrm’s ultimate degradationin the same fashion as Garou, save that theylose Gnosis for violating the Code of Ursa.Kitsune are protected from becoming Abominations;Bai Mianxi has bargained with Helios, Luna, andGaia to ensure it. An Embraced Kitsune instantly diesthe Blood-Fire Death: its body erupts into a brief butincredibly intense pillar of flame, leaving behind nothingbut a pile of ash (possibly two piles, if its would-besire can’t get away quickly enough).Mokolé Abominations die at sunrise like their Coraxcounterparts. Unlike the wereravens, and unfortunatelyfor everyone in the area (including its sire), a MokoléAbomination spends the entirety of its short unlife in abrutal, mindless frenzy.Nagah subjected to the Embrace simply die; a botchedGnosis roll only prolongs their death throes.Nuwisha cannot be Embraced; they die peacefullywithout the need to make a Gnosis roll.Ratkin are susceptible to the Embrace, but sufferperhaps the most gruesome fate of any of the ChangingBreeds. Whatever force suspends a vampire’s body atthe time of death doesn’t work for the Ratkin; its corpseundergoes a normal cycle of rot and decay even as it224CHANGING BREEDS