W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

the most attractive of the Changing Breeds. These days,most tend to dress in cast-off clothing and carry improvisedweapons out of necessity. While their Yava is notcommonly known to outsiders, many Ajaba are carefulto wear some sort of protection over the weak spot nearthe base of their skull — once bitten, twice shy.TraitsWillpowerAlthough they can be great warriors, and their mystictie to the needs of their homeland was a matter of greatpride to them, Ajaba are not noted for their strong will.All Ajaba begin play with 3 Willpower.RenownThe Ajaba place a high priority on Ferocity and Cunning,but they find that the weight placed upon Honorby the Garou and Bastet is more trouble than it’s worth.Instead, Ajaba value an individual’s willingness to placethe needs of the pack (and the Breed as a whole) aboveher own, which is embodied in the trait of Obligation.BreedsLike many Shifters, Ajaba have three breeds: homid(of human parentage), metis (of Shifter interbreeding) andhyaenid (of animal parentage). Historically, hyaenid Ajabawere the most numerous, although the massacre struck twoandfour-legged Ajaba equally as brutally. When forced outof their native territory, homids may have found it easier tohide among city shadows than their hyena-born brethren.The Shifting blood runs stronger in Ajaba than itdoes in other Breeds. As many as three in ten offspringbetween two Kinfolk (human or hyena) will becomeshifters, and the number increases drastically when oneparent or the other is a werehyena.• Homid: Historically, most homid Ajaba were ofnative Central and Southern African descent. As Europeanspressed south onto the continent, however, theywere also incorporated into the werehyenas’ breedingpool, creating a broad spectrum of racial representation.That diversity has increased even further since theAjaba were driven out of their native homelands. Desperateto renew their numbers, the Breed feels a strongerimperative than ever before to ensure their next generationis a populous one.Starting Gifts: Apecraft’s Blessings, City Running,Master of Fire, Persuasion, Smell of Man• Metis: Matings between two Ajaba are also exceptionallyfertile, and when conception occurs betweentwo werehyenas, it always results in a metis offspring. Therace has never shared the usual Changing Breed view ofmetis, however, and the current crisis only makes themmore accepted.Now more than ever, metis Ajaba tend to be fullyaccepted as members of the tribe. While they are sterile(and thus cannot help increase the Ajaba’s population ontheir own), they develop into functional adults withina few years of being born, rather than undergoing thedecade-long childhood and several-year adolescence ofhomid Ajaba. This, coupled with the near-assurance ofconception has led some Ajaba to turn to interbreedingas a solution to increase the Breed’s numbers — at leastin the short-term.While observers mistakenly thought all naturalhyenas to be hermaphrodites, metis Ajaba do exhibita higher-than-average rate of hermaphroditism as theirmetis disfigurement.Starting Gifts: Create Element, Primal Anger, RatHead, Sense Wyrm, Shed• Hyaenid: While there are several species of hyena,only one — the spotted hyena — is the traditionalKinfolk of the Ajaba. Despite having a reputation asfoul scavengers, spotted hyenas hunt up to 95% of thefood they eat, and other “predators” of the region (suchas lions) often attempt to steal their kills.Hyaenid breed Ajaba have historically been themost common, as hyenas have outnumbered humanson the African continent for much of its history. Today,the shorter adolescence period of hyaenid Ajaba wouldbe a great boon to the Ajaba’s efforts to restore theirpopulation to its pre-massacre heights.Unfortunately, due to the mystic wards the Simbahave raised over much of their native homelands incentral and southern Africa, most of the Ajaba’s wildhyena Kin are out of their reach. Some Ajaba are workingto counter this ban by freeing captive Kin from zoos,preserves, and refuges in an attempt to create a new wildclan for the next generation. Others have moved intonorthern Africa, the Middle East, and India to try tocourt the striped hyena there who share ancestry withthe Ajaba’s spotted hyena Kin. The results have been lessthan promising so far, but Ajaba do not give up easily.Starting Gifts: Hare’s Leap, Heightened Senses,Predator’s Arsenal, Prey Mind, Sense PreyAspectsHistorically, Ajaba elders recognized three majoraspects: Dawn, Midnight, and Dusk. Dawn and Duskaspects were most common among females of the Breed,translating to a high aptitude for pack or clan leadership,respectively. Midnight aspects were most often male,making the oft-abused and little-respected male Ajabathe most stable and centered of the Breed. An Ajaba’sAJABA49