W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

OrganizationLike the Rokea, Same-Bito congregate in slews, mostoften numbering between three and twelve members.Unlike the Rokea, almost a quarter of the Same-Bitoare homid-born, and they protect and value their humankinfolk.Same-Bito also belong to families or factions calledhabatsu that are similar to Hakken clans. Factions choosenew leaders using trial by combat. They split this combatinto two parts, half on the land and half in the sea.Most losers survive, but suffer disgrace. The majority ofSame-Bito leaders are small goblin sharks (see p. 197),whose ability to step sideways into the Umbra gives thema great advantage over other weresharks.Same-Bito Traits and GiftsSame-Bito differ significantly from other Rokea.They alone among the weresharks sire and accept homidRokea — a position that earns them significantanimosity among the other weresharks. They all havea starting Willpower of 4, and lower Rage scores. TheirBrightwaters, known as Karui, have a beginning Rage of4. Their Dimwaters, known as Koshuku, have a beginningRage of 3. Their Darkwaters, known as Irono, havea beginning Rage of 2.Unlike other Rokea, Same-Bito may purchasemultiple dots of human Kinfolk (though at double thenormal cost, beyond the first dot).The Same-Bito also commonly master a number ofGifts which are not seen in other portions of Sea:• Shou of Zhong Lung (Level One) — This Giftallows the Rokea to spit out a tiny spirit-shark, whichswims away to her Mentor, if she has one, to seekwhatever wisdom the Rokea desires. It returns bearingthe mentor’s answer once the he provides it — usuallywithin the same session. A frog-spirit teaches this Gift.System: The player spends one point of Gnosis tocreate the spirit-shark; the Rokea can ask any questionshe likes, but the Storyteller decides how long an answerwill take.• Blood Scent (Level One) — The wereshark cansense the presence of hengeyokai or other shen. A sharkspiritteaches this Gift.System: The player rolls Perception + Primal-Urge.The difficulty to sense shapeshifters is 7, while othershen are 9.• Sight Without Sight (Level Two) — As the LupusGift: Scent of Sight, save that it uses the wereshark’sability to sense electric fields rather than scent to locateobjects and creatures.• Iron Jaws (Level Three) — As the Ahroun Gift:Clenched Jaw.278CHANGING BREEDS• Perfect Predator (Level Four) — The wereshark’sjaws and teeth transform into glistening and unbreakablejade, able to bite through anything. A shark-spiritteaches this Gift.System: The player spends one Rage point whenmaking a Bite attack; that attack is made at difficulty 2.• Teanoi’s Rage (Level Five) — The wereshark entersan unstoppable blood rage. One of Teanoi’s servantsteaches this Gift.System: The player rolls Rage (difficulty 7). If she getsat least three successes, the wereshark voluntarily entersfrenzy. The character immediately gains three points ofRage, and gains another two points at the beginning ofeach turn that can take him above his maximum — andabove ten points. The Rokea’s damage rolls also increaseby two dice. This Gift lasts for the rest of the scene.TenguLike their Western relatives, the Tengu are the BeastCourts' scouts, messengers and information gatherers.Like the Hakken, most Tengu take a keen interest inhumans and their lives and customs. Being what theyare, Tengu are fascinated with human secrets and enjoytalking with any human who can spare the time.Tengu often take great pleasure in talking to humansabout the Changing Breeds and other supernatural terrors.They spin a mixture of lies and half-truths to mislead thecurious and frighten away potential threats. Their fatallies about the Changing Breeds’ weaknesses render themore determined threats harmless.Recently, a group of Tengu calling themselves theGrey Clouds Temple has found another use for curioushumans. They abduct promising humans and train themto hunt threats like Kumo and Bakemono, providingthem with both knowledge of the creatures' weaknessesas well as specialized weapons and training. Most of theseso-called goblin-slayers do not survive more than one ortwo encounters with their foes, but a few have becomeskilled monster hunters — and have begun to wonderabout their mysterious mentors.OrganizationMost Tengu live alone, occasionally gathering forgroup meetings where they gossip and share information.They rarely join mountain sentai, preferring toavoid the loss of privacy that that comes with that sortof commitment. Wereravens instead prefer the mercurialwave sentai, and those who join either wave or mountainsentai learn to find joy in being part of a group. Tengualso regularly acts as advisors to the various courts. Theirskill at gathering information puts any court lucky enoughto have a wereraven counselor at a distinct advantage.