W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

spends three Gnosis points. The next child conceivedby the blessed individual has an additional 25% chanceto breed true (thus, a 35% chance of breeding true if thecharacter mates with a Kin of no particular Pure Breed).If neither the Gift’s target nor her mate are a shapeshifteror Kinfolk, there is still a 25% chance that their childwill breed true, becoming a shapeshifter of the same typeas the Gift’s user.• Persuasion (Level Three) — As the homid Gift.• Strength of Purpose (Level Three) — As thePhilodox Gift.• Strength of the Brazen Bull (Level Three) — TheApis may turn his hide to brass, his hooves and horns toiron, and his breath to flame.System: The player spends one Rage point and rollsStamina + Survival, difficulty 6. The character gains twoextra soak dice and two extra damage dice to bite, gore,and kick attacks. This Gift lasts for one turn per success.• Attunement (Level Four) — As the Silent StriderGift.• Finding the Blood (Level Four) — The Apis mayturn her nose to the wind and follow the thin scent ofChanging blood to the nearest Kinfolk, wherever andwhoever that might be.System: The player may roll Perception + Primal-Urge (difficulty 8) to learn the direction and roughdistance of the nearest Changing Kinfolk of any sort.Spending a Gnosis point allows the character to narrowher search down to Kin of a particular Breed.• Form of the Land Titan (Level Four) — The wereaurochsmay assume the form of the primal bull, massive andunstoppable, a juggernaut almost the size of an elephant.System: The player spends one point of Rage andGnosis while in Aurouchs form and rolls Stamina +Primal-Urge (difficulty 8). Success adds two Strength andStamina for the rest of the scene, and causes Aurouchsform to induce reduced Delirium.• Heart of the Mountain (Level Four) — As theGet of Fenris Gift.• Mindblock (Level Four) — As the Silver Fang Gift.• Assimilation (Level Five) — As the homid Gift.• Kiss of Helios (Level Five) — As the Ahroun Gift.• Mercy for the Misbegotten (Level Five) — ThisGift, among the mightiest known to the Apis, grantsfertility to those normally incapable of bearing offspring— including even infertile metis.System: The Apis touches the subject of her blessingand the player spends three Gnosis points. The subjectis cured of any infertility, impotence, or even outrightmutilation of the generative organs for the next 24 hours.In the case of women who conceive under the auspicesof this Gift, any necessary blessings continue to lingeruntil the child is delivered.RitesRite of the Earth’s WombLevel Four, AccordOne of the greatest demonstrations of the Apis’ power,this rite is only ever known to a handful of wereaurochsat any time. Using this ritual, the Apis could cause theEarth — the body of Gaia itself — to carry a baby toterm. This ritual was most frequently employed whena grievous injury beyond even the Apis’ ability to healprevented conception, though dark legends tell of theApis using it to create children from ‘perfect’ parentswho they knew would never breed. At least once, thisritual was used when the mother of a foretold hero waskilled. The dead body was carried to a secret spot wherethe grieved husband helped the Apis to create the childhis mate should have borne. A few Apis noted that therite doesn’t require a male and a female participant, andused this rite to help homosexual couples have childrenof their own, though each parent must at some point havebeen able to bear children — those born sterile, includingmetis Changing Breeds, cannot benefit from this rite.This ritual takes place in otherwise unspoiled wilderness,and requires a sample of blood or semen from bothparents, along with a lock of hair or fur. Neither parentneeds to be present or even alive, though the fluids mustbe less than twelve hours old. The ritemaster sanctifiesthe area, digs a hole, and buries the mingled bodily fluidsand hair along with a lock of his own hair. He must alsospend two points of Gnosis, which he cannot regainuntil the child is born. Over the next month, the ritualsite bulges and swells, finally breaking open to reveal anewborn child. If one of the parents was a shapeshifter,the child is inevitably a shapeshifter as well. If bothparents were Kinfolk, the child has double the normalchance of being a shapeshifter.The ritemaster retains a mystic link to the ritualsite over the course of the pregnancy, and can sense ifanyone with hostile intentions comes within fifty yards.CHAPTER FOUR: THE LOST BREEDS235