W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

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As the Pakistani government is, for the most part, onlyslightly less corrupt and murderous than the bandits, the fewlocal Nagah in the area have their work cut out for them.Some seek to judge those governmental leaders whose vicereaches the furthest and thus claims the highest blood-toll.Others support the government and attempt to kill the mostviolent bandit leaders — the wererat warlords among them.Either way, the Pakistani weresnakes are exceedingly carefulin all of their efforts, because they know that the Ratkinsuspect their presence and are unlikely to ask questionsbefore delivering their own retribution.AfghanistanAcross the border in Afghanistan, a rare alliance ofBastet, Ratkin, and Corax works together in opposition tothe United States’ ongoing control of the country. Fearingthat the American presence is a prelude to increasedmining and industrialization, these shapeshifters attemptto drive off both western troops and the industrialistswho are trying to exploit the area.Several of the Pakistani Ratkin warlords supportthe alliance, making it one of the few places where nonhengeyokaiRatkin openly cooperate with several differentChanging Breeds. Although they don’t know it, a trioof Nagah also assists the allies. This nest of assassins hasalready removed several corporate officials and a few of theAfghani politicians working with them, in judgment for thecrimes against humanity perpetrated in the name of profit.East and Southeast AsiaSeveral Chinese cities and towns number among themost polluted places on the planet. In these regions, fomoriand banes don’t merely thrive; they walk openly, supremelyconfident in their power. Their suffocating presence, alongwith incredibly potent toxins, has forced even the Ratkinto leave the most polluted cities, or else perish against theWyrm’s overwhelming might. In the surrounding area,the Beast Courts battle the growing armies of evil that aredrawn to the pollution like moths to a corrupted flame.JapanThe Beast Courts have had moderate success in theirrecent efforts to reduce pollution and destroy the agentsof the Wyrm throughout Japan. Their efforts, however,were recently severely set back by the 2011 earthquakeand tsunami that devastated much of the country, andthe nuclear accident at Fukushima that followed. Now,the Beast Courts must deal with the banes spawned bythat series of events, the ailing Gaian spirits of the area,the irradiated land and water, and the nearby humansthat the disaster has made easy prey for the Wyrm’smanipulation, before the devastation creates even moreWyrm-tainted spirits.The Beast CourtsMost western shapeshifters know little about therelatively isolated shapeshifters who make up the BeastCourts of Asia. Known to themselves as hengeyokai,they live in communities that include all manner of localChanging Breeds, including the Garou — an arrangementthat baffles and sometimes horrifies western shapeshifters.As contact between East and West increases, immigrantsand visitors from both the Beast Courts and the westernworld have begun learning more about one another.HistoryThe Asian Changing Breeds are physically the sameas their western counterparts, however, their culture andhistory is very different.In the Middle Kingdom, the traditional protectorateof the Beast Courts, Wyrm-tainted creatures called theKuei-Jin tricked the Changing Breeds into what is nowreferred to as the War of Shame. The war wiped out theOkuma, Gurahl who took the form of Asian bears, andbecause of it, the Kumo (Asian werespiders) retreatedfrom the other shapeshifters, eventually giving themselvesover to the Wyrm.The surviving Breeds eventually learned of the Kuei-Jin’s treachery and rallied together against this threat.Since this time, the Changing Breeds have workedtogether. Surprisingly, this arrangement has been quitesuccessful; it is not uncommon for the hengeyokai toeven form packs, or sentai, that include different Breeds.Perhaps even more notably, the normally secretive Nagahactually share information in the Beast Courts of theEmerald Mother, and have been known to join sentaiwith other shapeshifters.To outsiders, the politics of the Beast Courts canappear slow and hobbled with layers of ancient tradition.In truth, however, the careful formality defuses conflictbetween court members with a measure of elegancenot found in traditional challenges. As a result, mosthengeyokai feel more loyalty to their court than they doto their own Breed of shapeshifter. Individual courts mayfight, and even wage war against one another, but theirstrict rules of behavior ensure that the hengeyokai willnever experience the madness of another War of Shame.Because East and Southeast Asia have been denselypopulated for thousands of years, the hengeyokai live incloser proximity to both their wild Kin and to humanitythan elsewhere. As a result the Beast Courts makesome accommodations for their population density.The hengeyokai have far more in the way of centralorganization than any of the western Changing Breeds,which provides a set of strict rules to help them avoidCHAPTER ONE: THE CHANGING WORLD 35
36KUMATAI: THE SPIDER CULTMany of the oldest and most powerful MiddleEastern Ananasi are Kumatai: members of a strangeand horrific spider cult. These werespiders setthemselves up to be worshipped as living gods,by humans and less powerful shapeshifters alike.The Kumatai reject their Breed’s quest for balanceamong the Triat, their ties to the Umbra, and eventheir connection to Queen Ananasa. Instead, theybelieve themselves to be her equal: divine beingswho deserve to be worshipped and grow in power.After years, decades, or generations ofworship, Kumatai become huge, bloated creatureswho spend most of their time in their Lilian orPithus form, basking in the mixture of terror andwonder their cultists feel when gazing upon them.detection. Like an inhuman mirror of the traditionalChinese form of government, the shapeshifters ofthe Middle Kingdom also have their own complexbureaucracy and offices.OrganizationThe basic unit of hengeyokai government is thecourt. Each Dragon Nest has its own court, and anelaborate network of treaties and alliances bind the manydifferent courts together into a collective amalgamationcalled the Beast Courts. All of the Changing Breedsare welcome members of all courts — save for theKumo, whose assumed alliance with the Wyrm forcesthem to be outsiders. Although westerners find theidea very strange, the Beast Courts’ rules of diplomacyand formality permit Kumo ambassadors to visit mostcourts as long as they observe proper protocols. A fewKumo even join sentai with other hengeyokai, but suchalliances rarely last long.Each court has four major offices, and most ofthe larger courts possess a host of lesser offices. Thehighest ranking office is that of Regent, a judge whois also responsible for peacetime leadership. Directlybeneath the Regent are the General, the Seer, and theHistorian. A General leads the court in wartime, andis responsible for both leading and training the court’swarriors. Seers are both scholars of, and ambassadors to,spirits and other denizens of the Mirror Lands. Historianskeep the court’s oral and written traditions, as well astracking the various ancient and complex treaties thatlink different courts.CHANGING BREEDSEach court is divided into a number of sentai: packsof shapeshifters who loyally work together towards acommon goal. Almost all of these war parties containmembers of two or more Changing Breeds. Just as thehengeyokai recognize five sacred elements, five cardinaldirections (one being center), and five phases of theMoon, they believe that the most auspicious number ofmembers for a sentai is five. Some go further, believingit is best for those five to each come from a differentChanging Breed. Including more than one Breed ina western pack might be quite unusual, but a sentaicontaining a Hakken, a Khan, a Nezumi, a Tengu, anda Zhong Lung is not at all uncommon.HENGEYOKAI LEXICONBakemono: A fomor; fomoriDragon Nest: A caernEmerald Mother: GaiaGai’nan: A ranking court official; “magistrate”Hakken: Hengeyokai GarouKumo: Hengeyokai AnanasiMirror Lands: The spirit worldNezumi: Hengeyokai RatkinOkuma: Hengeyokai Gurahl, now extinctSame-Bito: Hengeyokai RokeaSan Yuan: The TriatSentai: A mixed war party or “pack” of hengeyokai.Mountain sentai are permanent groupsbonded by a totem; wave sentai are temporaryalliances.Shen: Supernatural beings; vampires, werebeasts,and the like.Sunset People: Western shapechangers; theterm references the westerners’ fatalism asmuch as their place of origin.Tapestry: The Near UmbraTengu: Hengeyokai CoraxYang World: The Deep UmbraYin World: The Dark UmbraZhong Lung: Hengeyokai Mokolé
Page 2 and 3: TABLE OF CONTENTS9
Page 4 and 5: Introduction: Beasts of the Wild 16
Page 6 and 7: General Kitsune Gifts 130Kojin Gift
Page 8: Rites 266The Dawning Ritual 266Rite
Page 11 and 12: But each of the Changing Breeds is
Page 13 and 14: Changing Breed GamesThe easiest way
Page 16 and 17: Chapter One:The ChangingWorldThe re
Page 18 and 19: who dwelled there. Only a few other
Page 20 and 21: these groups from acting in an effe
Page 22 and 23: Many werehyenas ran to the cities a
Page 24 and 25: courts there. Any cooperation betwe
Page 26 and 27: venom — a belief that has spread
Page 30 and 31: Some sentai are created for a singl
Page 32: from America and Europe, provide a
Page 35 and 36: Once, Ajaba played a vital role in
Page 37 and 38: the herd, and we know that what sur
Page 39 and 40: through her First Change. As she wa
Page 41 and 42: not know what to make of these new
Page 43 and 44: aspect is determined by the time of
Page 45 and 46: • Laugh of the Hyena (Level Three
Page 47 and 48: • Calling the Eshu (Level Three)
Page 49 and 50: Serving their Wyrm-imprisoned Queen
Page 51 and 52: Anansi: The first and wisest of the
Page 53 and 54: many ways. Some are obvious — no
Page 55 and 56: Where the Wyrm’s taint is signifi
Page 57 and 58: development where it might not othe
Page 59 and 60: • Replenishment of the Flesh (Lev
Page 61 and 62: System: Usable only on Level One or
Page 63 and 64: Proud and aloof, the Bastet serve a
Page 65 and 66: the globe where they are found, the
Page 67 and 68: 74HUMAN KINTraditionally, Indian Ba
Page 69 and 70: KYPHUR CATSIt is also possible that
Page 71 and 72: EXTINCTION AND THE CUNNING CATAccor
Page 73 and 74: Form StatisticsSokto Crinos Chatro
Page 75 and 76: OUT OF AFRICAOutside of Africa, wil
Page 77 and 78: RenownBastet value Ferocity above G
Page 79 and 80:
System: The player rolls Dexterity
Page 81 and 82:
Balam Gifts• Hunter’s Mists (Le
Page 83 and 84:
• Armor of Kings (Level Two) —
Page 85 and 86:
Whether in the physical or Umbral r
Page 87 and 88:
CyberSpyingIt used to be that if yo
Page 89 and 90:
of like walking can-openers, if you
Page 91 and 92:
If you meet up with one, prepare to
Page 93 and 94:
• Spirit Speech (Level One) — A
Page 95 and 96:
STEREOTYPESRaina Fader goes on at l
Page 97 and 98:
The Gurahl had turned to the Wyrm.W
Page 99 and 100:
Gallivant and Buri-JaanAn exception
Page 101 and 102:
A Gurahl may also increase her Stre
Page 103 and 104:
Kin. When those who left for the Um
Page 105 and 106:
Home TerritoriesOnce common to all
Page 107 and 108:
FOLLOWING THE GREAT BEARAll Gurahl
Page 109 and 110:
System: The player spends a point o
Page 111 and 112:
• Song of Terra (Level Two) — T
Page 113 and 114:
System: The player spends a point o
Page 115 and 116:
Tricksters, assassins, magicians, a
Page 117 and 118:
KITSUNE LEXICONKitsune have their o
Page 119 and 120:
126KINFOLK AND THE CURSEWhenever a
Page 121 and 122:
Nonetheless, they are usually insat
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Form StatisticsSambuhenge Koto Juko
Page 125 and 126:
• Forest Lord (Level Four) — As
Page 127 and 128:
• Spirit of the Fray (Level Two)
Page 129 and 130:
Moonlight-Over-River has a few word
Page 131 and 132:
are preparing for whatever comes ne
Page 133 and 134:
MOKOLÉ LEXICONAge of Kings: The er
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are occurrence. Some young weresaur
Page 137 and 138:
occur. Drawn to darkness, they stil
Page 139 and 140:
FormsMokolé have three forms: Homi
Page 141 and 142:
GiftsMokolé begin with one aspect
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System: The player spends one Gnosi
Page 145 and 146:
memory stored within the art. Any c
Page 147 and 148:
assassins, they never kill their Ki
Page 149 and 150:
monitor threats to Gaia, and pass o
Page 151 and 152:
of their breed, seeing them as crea
Page 153 and 154:
General Nagah Gifts• Eyes of the
Page 155 and 156:
• Lightning Strike (Level Two)
Page 157 and 158:
• Song of Winter (Level Four) —
Page 159 and 160:
The Nuwisha may appear to be little
Page 161 and 162:
Both to accommodate the Umbral Dans
Page 163 and 164:
PtahBackground Cost: 5A spirit of w
Page 165 and 166:
the werecoyote has taught him the e
Page 167 and 168:
System: The player spends one Willp
Page 169 and 170:
with a song. Just as Coyote is the
Page 171 and 172:
An Urge to ViolenceMore than any of
Page 173 and 174:
More than any other Changing Breed,
Page 175 and 176:
sense" that gives them an exception
Page 177 and 178:
Tough: All Blade Slaves have an ext
Page 179 and 180:
to their long, yellowed teeth, thei
Page 181 and 182:
System: Once the character decides
Page 183 and 184:
• Blur of the Weeping Eyes (Level
Page 185 and 186:
Kray Meren shares what he knows:STE
Page 187 and 188:
lives a life of sleeping, swimming,
Page 189 and 190:
culture long denied them did nothin
Page 191 and 192:
the Zhong-Lung as wise and sacred t
Page 193 and 194:
and are also natural leaders. Dimwa
Page 195 and 196:
ground, and watches what happens ar
Page 197 and 198:
and the souls of those not of his s
Page 199 and 200:
206
Page 201 and 202:
Gauntlet Runner(2-pt. Merit, Ratkin
Page 203 and 204:
BastetBastet use most of the same B
Page 205 and 206:
Shared BackgroundsThe following Bac
Page 207 and 208:
Corax• Eye Pluck: Corax can attem
Page 209 and 210:
New Pack Tactics• Circle: This ma
Page 211 and 212:
Cunning is gained through discoveri
Page 213 and 214:
GlorySample BehaviorAwardTelling a
Page 215 and 216:
WisdomSample BehaviorAwardShowing m
Page 217 and 218:
DIMWATERRank Valor Harmony Innovati
Page 219 and 220:
226
Page 221 and 222:
When a Breed’s animal Kin is no m
Page 223 and 224:
The Apis once worked openly with hu
Page 225 and 226:
alphas becoming increasingly picky
Page 227 and 228:
animal) slain in combat, he immedia
Page 229 and 230:
The werebats were known as the Ears
Page 231 and 232:
knew of hiding places and good terr
Page 233 and 234:
Microchiroptera(3-point Merit, Cama
Page 235 and 236:
All shapeshifters were created to p
Page 237 and 238:
244CHANGING BREEDSCharms without ri
Page 239 and 240:
• Grondr had especially keen sens
Page 241 and 242:
The OthersThough the Changing Breed
Page 243 and 244:
Mostof the world’smyths about tur
Page 245 and 246:
Appendix One:The AhadiLooking to th
Page 247 and 248:
Though his attacks would culminate
Page 249 and 250:
Knowing what was at stake, the Moko
Page 251 and 252:
peopled by only a single Breed, wer
Page 253 and 254:
themselves? Are they now to give up
Page 255 and 256:
The odd wererat who breaks with the
Page 257 and 258:
spider or rat in their kganmadi? Wh
Page 259 and 260:
expect it to fall apart within a de
Page 261 and 262:
• Ogun’s Blessing (Level One)
Page 263 and 264:
Appendix Two:HengeyokaiThe Beast Co
Page 265 and 266:
Wisdom by performing their duties w
Page 267 and 268:
their martial prowess and their imp
Page 269 and 270:
OrganizationThe Nagah of the Beast
Page 271 and 272:
OrganizationLike the Rokea, Same-Bi
Page 273 and 274:
mates before resuming their solitar
Page 275 and 276:
282CHANGING BREEDStively high incom
Page 277 and 278:
Creating Beast CourtCharactersChara
Page 279 and 280:
• Blurring the Mirror (Level Four
Page 281 and 282:
Army of the NightAaron AlbergAlan H
Page 283 and 284:
el MākoErhannis KirranEyes in the
Page 285 and 286:
sevSeven TanShadar Twilight-ClawShi
Page 287 and 288:
Felipe MarquesGabriel CostaGobbosGr
Page 289 and 290:
Kevin Butcher• • •Lewis “Cr
Page 291 and 292:
NoChangeDifficulty:Strength( )_____
Page 293 and 294:
History____________________________
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