Custom Atavisms

Death’s Touch  (Eshmaki)

Created by Capybara

For some Begotten, there’s other ways to approach a fight, some use their brawn, others their voice, for others still, it’s a matter of mind.

Action: Instant

Normal: The Beast can unleash a blast of decay and energy, one that slowly rips away at the lifeforce of those it targets. This attack is Intelligence + Occult + Lair – The Targets Resolve + Supernatural Tolerance. As this attack hits in a scene, the Beast gains more power for further blows. Drawing strength from the enemies suffering. The damage modifier for this attack is equal to the successful times this attack has landed.This modifier is capped by your dots in Lair.

When this Power is put into a Weapon via Channel, you simply add its attack modifier to the damage of the weapon. The Low Satiety and Satiety Expenditure effects can be used as normal.

Low Satiety: Drawing upon the strength of the suffering of others can further empower the Begotten, whenever the Begotten kills or otherwise disables an enemy in combat, they can heal themself or another they have Kinship with for half the damage they just inflicted. This healing is capped by Lair.

Satiety Expenditure: With the added power of Satiety, the Begotten can ignore the normal limitations of being only able to heal those they have Kinship with, instead of attacking, they can roll Intelligence+Occult+Lair and heal a number of Lethal equal to each success. Though, as easily as Death can give life, it can take away. Any further damage the character receives in the scene is increased by one. This can only target allies, the Begotten can’t heal themself as well with this power.

False Trails (Inguma)

Created by: Aeveth

Some monster are renowned for being tricksters and notoriously hard to track down or all well know to leave false trails that lead their would be hunters to their doom, the Ciguapa for example has backward feets to confuse anyone following after her steps, the fair folk legends are filled with tales of them leading people astray deep in the woods. The Beast with this atavism is a particularly dangerous prey to track, a well know trickster it can turn any hunt on its would be hunter often with deadly results.

Dice Pool: Intelligence+Subterfuge+Lair (Satiety Expenditure)

Action: Persistent (Normal effect), Reflexive (Low Satiety), Contested and Extended (Satiety Expenditure)

Normal Effect: Any attempt to track down or investigate the passing of the beast character must contend with their Lair as a penalty as the beast occludes the marks of his passage or actions, little evidence is left behind or if there is any evidence it is misleading and hard to parse. Supernatural attempts have to contend with a clash of wills as this atavism muddles even the supernatural senses of would be hunters.

Note: This effect doesn’t work on Heroic tracking (there is the Spoor merit for that), but see below.

Low Satiety: Tricksters are hard to deal with because more often than not they are onto anyone trying to pull one over them, while starving the beast gets a sense of someone trying to track down or investigate the beast followed with a single short vision of their would be stalker and a vague sense of the state of the investigation or tracking attempt. In mechanical terms, for one time only it reveals how many clues are left until they solve the case, how many doors are left to open on someone divulging information or how many successes are left on an extended tracking action, this includes heroic tracking.

Satiety Expenditure: This ability is what makes trying to track down a trickster so dangerous, when the beast spends satiety it actually starts to leave a believable trail, the normal effect still occludes the investigation or tracking but now it works to hide the deception, the Beast for the next 24 hours works to mislead its pursuers entering a contested action against them. Against supernatural abilities it forces a clash of wills but the Beast adds half its lair rating rounded up as automatic successes, this includes heroic tracking.

Dramatic Failure: The Beast pretty much hands itself in a silver plate, the pursuers gain a situational advantage against the Beast when they finally found them, the storyteller has the final say of what constitutes a situational advantage but it’s a substantial boon to the pursuers or a major complication to the Beast.

Failure: No success are achieved on the roll, if the pursuers win they are unaffected by the beast atavism and suffer no drawbacks.

Success: The beast accumulates successes needed to win, if the beast wins it can lead the pursuers away or should the beast character choose to face them it does so with a number of advantages equal to half their lair rounded up, the storyteller has the final say on what is appropriate, but the beast can choose the location and timing of their encounter, the pursuer or pursuers face the beast ill equipped to deal with them, they are led to one of the Beast chambers, etc.

Exceptional success: A great many successes are accumulated and if the beast wins they can choose one major advantage over their pursuers, again the storyteller has the final say of what is appropriate or possible.

Mother’s Little Monster (Inguma)

Created by Capybara

Some beasts pretend to be other people, but there is a certain fear involved in an animal following a person, always there, always watching. Though, by and large, beyond the target, such a camouflage would be rather ignored except in extreme circumstances. I mean, who pays attention to a random bird, except the person who’s seen the same bird everywhere he goes?

Action: Instant (Normal and Low Satiety)

Normal: The Begotten takes the form of an animal, though she retains all her stats, her health remains at its normal levels, despite her change in size. The only thing that changes is her appearance as well as her species factor. She also gains any natural weapons the animal she’s turned into has. However, she can only take the form of an animal up to her size in human form, this is unaffected by other powers that change size, but is affected by merits that change size.

Low: Sometimes, an animal isn’t a good enough disguise, and in those times, it’s better to turn into an object, or perhaps even a weapon. The Begotten’s form takes the shape of an object down to size 1. If the Beast turns into an object or Weapon, and is used by another character they give an equipment bonus equal to half their Lair dots. Or deal Lethal damage equal to half their lair dots on hit. The Beast can still move while in the form of an object. And can still take actions that make sense. And if being used as a weapon by another character, they can still take an attack action, though using their own dice pool, as they manhandle the character wielding them.

Satiety Expenditure: With the power of Satiety, the Begotten can reach new heights of transformative powers.

If the Begotten is taking the form of an animal, they can take the form of an animal up to size 10. Even a supernatural animal. Though, they do not get the benefits of that supernatural creature. If they take the form of a Unicorn, they can’t magically heal with their horn. While in the animals form, they gain any beneficial changes to their attributes between human to animal forms.

If the Begotten takes the form of an object or a weapon. They can spend a number of points up to their Lair to change the stats of the weapon, in the following ways one point of lair per change.

• Increasing/Decreasing Damage
• Adding Bonuses
• Increasing/Decreasing Size
• Adding/Removing Appropriate Tags
• Lowering the Init Penalty

Tools of Monsters and Men (Inguma)

The necklace of Harmonia, Muramasa swords, the ring of Andvari, Jason Voorhees machete and others such wondrous and deadly items and weapons are present in several stories and folk tales the Beast can make and wield such weapons of myths.

Dice Pool: Dexterity + Crafts (Normal Effect)

Action: Extended (Normal Effect) One roll per Hour per Effect imbued, Reflexive (Satiety Expenditure)

Normal: The Beast creates an item from the primordial dream or imbues his essence into an already existing one, either way the beast works on the item or weapon and can imbue a number of items equal to their resolve, the items in question can’t have a larger size than the Beast, and the number of effects a particular item can retain is equal to the Beast Lair, the effects that a Beast can imbue include the following:

• Channeling: The Beast can channel the effects of one of the Atavisms it posses through the item if appropriate, a jacket can turn the wearer invisible (From the Shadows) a weapon is particularly deadly (Limb from Limb or Dragonfire), a dress makes the wearer alluring (Alien Allure). Each atavism effects are subject to the same hunger rules of the Beast that made it, so the low satiety effects are only available if the Beast is Starving, the effects don’t stack so you can’t add the same atavism twice for double bonus but the equipment bonus does even if that would take the bonus above 5. The item can be lended and the new wielder can use the atavism, but if they try to use the Satiety expenditure effect they must pay the cost themselves, if they aren’t a Beast however they must pay a point of willpower and risk a breaking point or its equivalent for the creature in question (Clarity damage for changelings, instability for Deviants, etc.)

• Blessing: The item grants a +1 skill bonus, this effect can be chosen multiple times.

• Accursed: If the item is ever taken from the hands of the Beast without their permission it lays the Curse condition on the target until returned, if the Beast steals it back however the Curse becomes persistent for the duration of a Story.

• Durable: The item gains +2 Durability and +Lair Structure

• Quick Draw: The Beast can summon the item to its hands with a thought, this is reflexively unless the item in question was stolen from the Beast.

Drawback: A Hero that steals the item can easily turn it into an anathema to the Beast gaining a bonus equal to the Beast Lair when making rolls to impose or discover an Anathema.

Low Satiety: The Beast hunger sharpens the skills of the Beast, when using an item forged by them they gain 8-again on rolls, furthermore if the item was stolen the item lays a soft curse on the thief, any rolls to use it do not benefit from 10-again and each time it is used without permission it signals the beast giving it a sense for where it is and what it is being used for.

Satiety Expenditure: The Beast superior craftsmanship shows and it won’t allow any other to upstage it, when the Beat expends satiety any mundane tools, weapons or armor fail to function for the duration of the scene, supernaturally blessed or enhanced equipment needs to win a clash of wills against the beast in order to work their intended effects. The Beast can spare allies equipment from this effect