W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

member of the kganmadi steps forward; to his left is a bowlof earth, to his right a bowl of water, and directly beforehim, a fire. He speaks of the burden Gaia has placed uponhim, and cries out to the sky to render him aid. Led bythe ritemaster, the members of his kganmadi step forwardand speak to his back, affirming their brotherhood andswearing to help shoulder his burden until his duty hasbeen discharged. The kganmadi then departs in pursuitof their sworn mission.A variant version of this rite, known as the Rite ofOne Mind, is a level three Mystic rite. It is used whenjoining together a group of shapeshifters who wishto pursue a specific goal together, but are not alreadymembers of a kganmadi.System: The ritemaster rolls Intelligence + Rituals(difficulty 7). Success binds the kganmadi members totheir brother’s task for one full cycle of the moon per successrolled, or until the quest is fulfilled, whichever comesfirst. The task must be something with a defined scopeand ending (such as “slay the corrupt sorcerer HendrikLamar”), and must be firmly within the purpose Gaiaintended for that individual’s Breed. Thus, for a KuchaEkundu it must involve destroying the Wyrm’s minions;for a Corax, ferreting out information about the enemyor delivering it to those who need it most; for a Mokolé,ensuring that important knowledge is not lost; and so on.For the duration of the rite, the spirit world considersthe other members of the kganmadi to be properly empoweredto take up their brother’s duty as their own, andto gain Renown for it. Thus, a Simba could gain Renownfor helping his Ajaba brother to cull the corrupt, whilea Ratkin could gain Renown for helping to preserve anancient songline sought by a Mokolé. This translatesto the closest applicable Renown type of the kganmadimembers (slaying a Garou’s sworn enemy would grantan Ajaba Ferocity rather than Glory, for example); if indoubt, default to the “Ahadi Renown” described in theRite of the Joined Circle.The Rite of One Mind is identical, save that its roll isagainst difficulty 8, and that for the duration of the rite’seffect, the Fera are also bound into a ‘questing kganmadi’— effectively, a pack that may gain Renown together andperform Pack Tactics, but which has no totem.Gifts of the AhadiThe Ahadi are young, with only a small number ofspirit-patrons. Nonetheless, the pact’s handful of eldershas been busy, and several kganmadi have dedicatedthemselves full-time to scouring the Umbra in searchof more allies for the group. They’ve had a startlingamount of success, acquiring a small body of Gifts that allmembers of the Ahadi can learn. These lack the smoothpolish of the Gifts of the Beast Courts — they’re messy,APPENDIX ONE: THE AHADIhybrid things; attempts to bind the strength or talentsof different Breeds together.All Ahadi Gifts are granted through simultaneouscommunion with two spirits. In all of the Mokolé’s Mnesis,this process is unique to the Ahadi. This requirementdoes deepen the Ahadi’s dependence on caerns. It’s veryunlikely to find a friendly spider-spirit and a crocodilespiritlingering together in the Umbra, so the kganmadisummon the appropriate spirits to a caern, appease them,and learn the Gifts.In all instances where Ahadi Gifts cost Rage, shapeshifterswho do not possess Rage pay this cost with a pointof Willpower; Ananasi must spend or a Blood Point. Additionally,where Ahadi Gifts make reference to membersof a character’s kganmadi, they also apply to traditionalpackmates if the character is a member of the Ahadi but notpart of a kganmadi (as is the case with a significant numberof Ajaba, Simba, Kucha Ekundu, and Silent Striders).For games set during the war against Black Tooth,the Storyteller might allow characters to purchase LevelOne and Two Ahadi Gifts — the mightier Gifts listedhere aren’t developed until well after the tyrant Simba’sdemise. Any character that has undergone the DawningRitual is able to learn these Gifts for an experience pointcost of (Level x 5).• Blood Webs (Level One) — The shapeshifter mayenchant her blood so that it becomes a sticky coagulatedmass when spilled, the better to entangle her foes. Aspider-spirit and a crocodile-spirit teach this Gift.System: The player spends one point of Willpower.For the rest of the scene, any opponent who inflicts lethalor aggravated damage on the character with a hand-tohandattack must make an immediate reflexive Dexterity+ Brawl roll (difficulty 9). Failure indicates that the attackerhas been splashed with sticky, crimson webbing,inflicting a cumulative –1 penalty to all Dexterity-basedrolls. Removing one –1 penalty worth of webbing requiresa Strength + Athletics action at difficulty 7.• Dragon Musk (Level One) — The shapeshifteremits a sulfurous, eye-searing stench, actually visible asa yellowish cloud rolling off of his body. This reek notonly discomfits the character’s enemies, it also helpsmembers of his kganmadi to find him. A crocodile-spiritand a hyena-spirit teach this Gift.System: The player spends one point of Willpower.For the rest of the scene, all individuals save for membersof the character’s kganmadi who are within (Character’sRank x 5) yards add +2 to the difficulty of all Perceptionand Stamina-based rolls, including soak rolls, due tothe searing stench. While this Gift is active, reduce thedifficulty for all members of the character’s kganmadi tolocate her by any means by 2.267