W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

are living symbols of absolute dedication to the Wyrm,for they eat their way out of their mother’s womb. Metisbegin with Gnosis 5.The Kumo Gifts below are considered Hatar Gifts,should any western Ananasi gain the opportunity tolearn them.• Spider Scurry (Level One) — As the homid Gift:City Running• Shadow Sway (Level One) — The Kumo seems toblink from one location to another; in reality, she hasn’tmoved at all. A spirit-minion of Nareau teaches this Gift.System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rollsWits + Subterfuge (difficulty 6). The character appearsto be up to (Rank) yards from her true location per success.Those who realize her duplicate is fake suffer a +3difficulty penalty to attempts to strike her; HeightenedSenses or similar reduces this penalty to +1. This Giftlasts for (Gnosis rating) turns, or until the Kumo strikesan opponent; it can only be used once per scene.• Spittle of Corruption (Level Two) — The Kumomay spit her digestive fluids at an opponent in combat.A spirit-minion of Marawa teaches this Gift.System: The player spends a blood point and makes aDexterity + Brawl roll (difficulty 6) to attack an opponentwithin 30 feet. The digestive spray inflicts (Stamina +2) dice of aggravated damage.• Snare of Beauty (Level Three) — The Kumobecomes inhumanly beautiful and desirable. A spiritservantof Rati teaches this Gift.System: The player spends one blood point and rollsManipulation + Occult (difficulty 7). The character’sAppearance is raised by one dot per success for the next(Rank) hours.• Web Tremors (Level Four) — Faint vibrationsin the world of spirits warn the Kumo when she is beingwatched or stalked. A spirit-servant of Marawa grantsthis Gift.System: The player spends a Gnosis point. For therest of the night, she gains three automatic successes onall Perception rolls to spot anyone attempting to hidefrom her.• Megarachnid (Level Five) — Gathering theblessings of the Destroyer, the Kumo’s Pithus form swellsto truly nightmarish proportions, growing as large as atruck. A scorpion-spirit teaches this Gift.System: The character’s Pithus form gains an additional+2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, and +2 Stamina. Itinflicts the Delirium as though the victim’s Willpowerwere one point lower than it truly is. The player mustpay one point of Gnosis when assuming the Pithus formto gain these benefits.NagahThe existence of the wereserpents is public knowledgeamong the Beast Courts, but they remain the mostsecretive of the Eastern Changing Breeds. Nagah arethe judges and enforcers of the Beast Courts and oftenremain outside the mainstream of Court society, everwatchful but rarely personally involved in politics or asmembers of sentai. Although the other members of theBeast Courts know little about the Nagah’s true role asGaia's assassins, many other hengeyokai regard them assomewhat sinister, though devoted to the Courts.Most Nagah don't join mountain sentai, and manyprefer working solely with their own kind to even theshort-term cooperation of belonging to a wave sentai.However, the few who join sentai are as loyal and devotedto their fellows as members of any other Changing Breed.Most of those Nagah who join a sentai choose the Leafor the Pillar Auspice.The other hengeyokai know that the Nagah mustkeep their presence secret from any of the Sunset People.That they support and uphold the sacred secret is oneof the bonds that helps keep the Nagah fiercely loyal tothe Beast Courts.NAGAH SECRECYWith an increasing number of Westernersliving in Hong Kong and other Asian cities, andBeast Courts thriving in cities in the UnitedStates, Canada, and Australia, some membersof the Beast Courts wonder why the SunsetPeople, and especially the Western Garou havenot learned that the Nagah still exist. In part,the reason is that almost all members of theBeast Courts take their oath to keep knowledgeof the Nagah from the Sunset People very seriously.However, the other reason is the Garouthemselves.Almost all of Western werewolves are certainthat the Nagah died out during the War of Rage,and dismiss suggestions that the weresnakes stillexist as mistakes, tales by supposedly ignorantand gullible Asian Fera or even deception byvampires or mages who can take on the shapeof serpents. Of course, the fact that the Nagahdon't hesitate to kill any Western Garou wholearns of their existence also helps keep theirexistence secret.APPENDIX TWO: HENGEYOKAI275