| Mockingbird's Mirror
|
According to legend, an early Pumonca known as Three Spiders Climb mastered the art of mimicry and
ventriloquism, and passed the secret on to his friends. This secret lets a cougar imitate whomever he
wishes - birds, animals, humans, even machines - and allows him to throw his new voice for some
distance. As the name suggests, a Mockingbird-spirit often passes the secret along, usually in return for
food.
|
The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge to imitate sounds within the normal human vocal
range. So long as he's successful, his mimicry is flawless. If he tries to mirror sounds outside the normal
range - subsonic vibrations, explosions, high-frequency whines, etc. - the cat must spent and a Gnosis
point and the difficulty is 7. This gift lasts roughly a scene, and sounds can be "thrown" up to 100 feet
away from where the werecat stands.
| Wanderer's Boon
|
Travel is hard, especially given the Spartan ways of the Pumonca.
This Gift allows a cougar to adapt to changing climates quickly or to ignore the pangs of hunger or thirst
for some time. Bird and Bear-spirits pass this Gift along.
|
By rolling Stamina + Survival and spending a Willpower point, the player allows he werecat to
do one of the following things: ignore the worst effects of normal heat and cold for a week, go one day
without water or go three days without food. The difficulty for the roll is 6, although harsh conditions
(blizzards, droughts, heat waves, etc.) can raise it by two or more. The Gift can be repeated, but the
difficulty rises by one each time it's performed in succession.
| Level Two
| Gift
| System
| Raincalling
|
The spirits of wind and weather are the best friends and the worst enemies a
Pumonca can have. This Gift, which cam from a pact between Old Stone Face and the East Wind,
allows a cougar to call forth rain. The shower is more a drizzle than a thunderstorm, but it can cool a hot
day, water crops or dampen an empty creek bed in minutes.
|
The cougar's player rolls Manipulation + Survival and spends a Gnosis point to call forth rain.
The difficulty depends on the conditions: humid, overcast skies are difficulty 6, while dry, clear skies
raise it to 10. If there aren't any clouds in sight, the Gift could take some time to manifest. The intensity
and length of the shower depends on the successes rolled; one success might get a brief drizzle, while
five successes would make it rain fairly hard for an hour or so. This Gift inflicts no damage and cannot
flood most areas.
| Stonework
|
As the Level Three Homid Gift: Craft of the Maker, except that it only affects stone, dirt, clay and glass,
employs a Manipulation + Survival roll, and reshapes the object permanently.
|
As Craft of the Maker, save it is a Manipulation+Survival roll.
| Level Three
| Gift
| System
| Bayou Shambler
|
Deserts and mountains aren't the only places Pumonca roam. So-called "swampcats" know the Southern
wetlands well. By crooning to the spirits of the bayous and calling upon any favors owed, a Pumonca
can call forth a swamp elemental, dripping with plants and ooze, to assist her. While the creature retains
its own free will, a Shambler is disposed to be friendly to the cat and hostile toward anyone in her way.
|
The player spends two points each of Rage and Gnosis to animate the Shambler, and rolls
Willpower against difficulty 7. The resulting creature is semi-intelligent at best, smells terrible, and lasts
for three turns per success.
Suggested Shambler Traits are:
Attributes: |
Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 5, Wits 1 |
Abilities: |
Alertness 1, Brawl 3, Stealth 3 |
Health Levels: |
Two per success, and no penalties apply. Once its Health Levels are gone, the Shambler falls apart. |
|
| Thunderbolt
|
A pact with the spirits of the storm allows some Pumonca to call down a thunderbolt. So long as at least one cloud hangs in the air, the cougar can call down lightening. Most cougars learn this mighty spell from Thunderbird himself.
|
The cougar's player spends a point of Rage to summon a bolt of lightening, and rolls Dexterity + Survival to hit the target. Under normal conditions (partly cloudy skies, human-sized target), the roll's difficulty is 8, large targets or stormy skies can decrease it to 7 or 6, while dry conditions or unusually small targets can raise the difficulty to 9 or even 10. The bolt inflicts two Health Levels worth of fire damage for every point of the werecat's Gnosis. Even if the thunderbolt misses its victim, it's still a terrifying experience to be on the receiving end of a lightning strike. Would-be victims to roll their Willpower against difficulty 8 to avoid running in fear.
| Level Four
| Gift
| System
|
| Element-Folk Favor
|
Old Stone Face made many allies among the elemental spirits, and performed many favors for their kind before passing on. The ageless spirits remember his good deeds by aiding those who invoke their ancient ancestor. A Pumonca who performs this Gift can call up an elemental spirit (see Werewolf pages 266-267) for help. Once it arrives, the spirit will do what it can to assist the cat; after it finishes one task, the spirit departs.
|
The player rolls Manipulation + Enigmas and spends a Gnosis point to summon the elemental. The roll's difficulty is that of the local Gauntlet. The spirit, if it appears, will be friendly toward the cat, so long as she reminds him of her blood-link to Old Stone Face. No other tribe warrants the same kindness; in fact, Bubasti who have tried to swipe this Gift have been destroyed by the angry elemental spirits they called up. When the first service named has been finished, or when one hour has elapsed, the elemental departs peacefully.
| The Hungry Earth
|
The Mother is not at peace. Some Pumonca know how to rouse her enough to show her displeasure. When this Gift is employed, the ground shakes, opens or given, way, covering tracks, sealing passages or burying the cat's opponents alive.
|
Depending on the cat's environment, this Gift takes many different forms: among hills or mountains, it causes an avalanche; in the swamps, it begets quicksand; in deserts and plains, it causes the ground to peon up beneath a target. To invoke these disasters, the cat's player rolls Manipulation + Survival, with the difficulty being the area's Gauntlet +2 (maximum 10) and spends a Rage point. The exact effects are up to the Storyteller, but often affect a 100-foot radius for each success rolled. If the attack causes damage assume that the victim takes two or three normal Health Levels for each success. Some attacks, like falling rocks, are more deadly, but may allow the target a Dexterity + Athletics roll (Difficulty 6-8) for help. Once it arrives, the spirit will do what it can to assist the cat; after it finishes one task, the spirit departs.
| Level Five
| Gift
| System
| Earthspeaking
|
By sifting dirt and calling on the spirits within the ground, a puma receives visions of things that have happened in the area. These insights can help her follow trails, "witness" past events, or learn where things came from or went. Bird-spirits often pass this Gift along, but some worm and elemental chaya do they part too, especially if the Bastet's questions serve the spirits' ends.
|
The Pumonca concentrates while chanting a single question and a plea. While she does, the player rolls perception + Enigmas to see into the past. Success reveals the answer. The more distant the even, the higher the difficulty, unless it left impressions so vivid that they never fade (like the Trail of Tears), which might reduce the difficulty by one or two. Events that occurred more than a year ago require a Gnosis point to "see". The vision comes from the perspective of the ground nearby, which might make details hard to read (imagine a worm's-eye view of a murder); some dreams pass emotional impressions, too, leaving moods that can last for hours.
Time Elapsed |
Difficulty |
A week |
4 |
A month |
5 |
Six months |
6 |
A year |
7 |
10 years |
8 |
50 years |
9 |
100 years + |
10 |
|
| Thunderbird's Cry
|
As the Level Five Metis Gift: Wrath of Nala, except that the storm may last for up to an hour if the player's roll exceeds five successes.
|
As Wrath of Nala.
| Earthquake
|
An old and desperate secret known only to a handful of living cats, this pact allows a Pumonca to shake the earth herself, wrecking roads and crumbling buildings. Although the epicenter of the quake is fairly small, the tremors can be felt for miles.
|
As the Gift: The Hungry Earth, except that an Earthquake requires two Gnosis points and two Rage points, affects one mile, and causes damage proportionate to the cat's successes (one success can break windows; two would crack plaster; three crumble asphalt, four shatter concrete, and vie buckle metal).
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