W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

OrganizationThe Nagah of the Beast Courts prefer the companyof other wereserpents and Kinfolk to the outside world.Most dwell with others of their own kind and their humanloyal Kinfolk, close to rivers or lakes that can holdthe nest’s shared Ananta. Some instead choose to livein one of the Beast Courts, where they remain as quietand watchful guardians. Those who do not join sentai aremost often courtiers who protect the Dragon Nest andkeep a careful watch for both traitors and outside threats.A disproportionate number of Nagah died during theWar of Shame, and for centuries only a handful of theirnests survived in the Beast Courts, but their numbershave steadily grown over the past couple of hundred years.Nagah Traits and GiftsThe Nagah of the Beast Courts use the same traitsand magic as their counterparts throughout the rest ofthe world.NezumiThe Emerald Mother placed the Nezumi in charge ofkeeping human populations under control, but while theirown numbers continue to grow, they have had little successlimiting the swift increase of Asia's population over the lasthalf century. In the wars between Beast Courts and Bakemono,the Nezumi do not use the High War of the Hakken or Khan,where combatants engage in single combat or deadly formalbattles. The Nezumi are the undisputed masters of the LowWar, using sabotage, assassination, bribery, and other dirtytricks when High War fails to deliver the desired result.The Nezumi are loyal members of the Beast Courts,who work closely with the other Breeds and regularlyjoin both wave and mountain sentai. Some of the otherBreeds question their dual loyalty to their Western kinand the Beast Courts —the Nagah especially distrust thefact that the wererats seem to serve two masters. MostNezumi see little problem in maintaining close ties toother wererats and acting as loyal members of the BeastCourts. Regardless of where they were born or underwentthe Birthing Plague, all wererats consider themselves tobe part of the same vast and teaming family. As a reflectionof their divided loyalties, most Nezumi have threenames: a human name they use solely as a disguise, aprivate name in their own tongue that they use amongthe Ratkin, and a formal name they use in the Courts.The tensions between the Nezumi and most otherhengeyokai run both ways. Most wererats dislike the otherhengeyokai’s focus on humans and human society — theirattachment can put them at odds with the Nezumi whodo the job the Emerald Mother chose them for. Manyhengeyokai long for the past, when humans revered their276CHANGING BREEDSkind as exotic nobility or living demigods, but the Nezumialways came from among the poor and downtrodden. Assuch, they have little tolerance for romantic nostalgiaor the trappings of human wealth and power. As rodensNezumi greatly outnumber homids, few Nezumi feel anyclose connection to humans either rich or poor.OrganizationAmong themselves, Nezumi nests all have a singleleader — usually the eldest of their number — who teachesthe other wererats the ways of the Breed and the importanceof loyalty to both the Ratkin and the Beast Courts.The older members of the Nest also teach the young themany tricks involved in manipulating humans and cullingtheir numbers. The numbers of Nezumi continues to growas the population of almost all Asian cities continues toincrease. They live much like Western Ratkin, in tunnelsand sewers, and occasionally in rooms in crowded slums.Nezumi Traits and GiftsNezumi of the Beast Courts have historically lackedFreak Aspects — only in the last few years have suchaberrations begun to appear among their ranks. Theyknow a number of Ratkin Gifts that are exceedinglyuncommon outside of Asia.• Hunter in Crowds (Level One) — The Nezumican sense the presence of another shapeshifter in a largegroup of people. A dog-spirit teaches this Gift.System: The player rolls Perception + Awareness(difficulty 6 if the shapeshifter is of a Breed the Nezumiis familiar with, 7 if the Nezumi has never encountered itbefore). The more successes gained, the better the Nezumican estimate the shapeshifter’s location (or locations). TheStoryteller should keep the difficulty of this roll secret, soas not to give away what sort of shifter might be nearby,and might not even tell the player why they’re rolling.• Raiding the Umbral Horde (Level Two) — TheNezumi may summon a swarm of rat spirits to steal orspoil caches of food. A rat-spirit teaches this Gift.System: The Ratkin’s player spends one point ofeither Gnosis or Rage. Spending Gnosis steals the food;Rage instead spoils it. The player rolls Wits + Larceny(difficulty 5). The Ratkin can steal or spoil ten poundsof food per success. At Rank Four, the Ratkin’s playermay spend an additional Willpower point to affect oneton of food per success.• Cloak of Darkest Night (Level Three) — TheNezumi pulls a cloak of shadows around her sentai’sactivities, extinguishing all lights that might give themaway. A shadow-spirit teaches this Gift.System: The player spends two Gnosis points. Forthe rest of the scene, all artificial lights extinguish whenher sentai approaches, granting a +3 bonus to Stealth-