Bygone Powers
Powers
Acute Smell
The symphony of odors, the spectacle of sensation, the rich epics told by every passing breeze or warm surface — humans sense these things but dimly. Virtually every land animal and every creeping thing, however, knows and understands the language of smells.
Cost
2-3 points
Effects
Level 1 (2 points): You can smell water on the wind, tell the species of an unseen stalker (or target), recognize a familiar smell, and find hidden food or aromatic treasures (like spices, wine, potions, etc.). This is the level at which deer, horses, and bears smell.
Level 2 (3 points): This level is enjoyed by hounds and wolves. You can track anyone by scent, recognize individuals by smell (both human and animal), tell who (or what) has been in a room or handling an object, smell powerful emotions on creatures whose kind you know (as dogs can smell fear), find hidden water, and predict the weather.
Game Terms
Level 1 (2 points): Earn an additional two dice for Perception rolls involving scent.
Level 2 (3 points): Add three dice to your Perception pool for scent-related rolls. At this level, smell is your dominant sense, and virtually all Perception rolls involving scent benefit from this heightened ability.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 111
Description: Your character's raw and brute power..
•• Average: 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
•••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 201
Armor
The creature's body is covered in protective layers that can absorb and deflect physical attacks. This natural armor can vary in form and strength, providing significant defense against harm. The armor's appearance can be as simple as a thick hide or as complex as interlocking scales or bony plates. These layers not only provide physical protection but also often serve as an intimidating factor, discouraging potential attackers. Natural protective layers that provide defense against attacks. This can include thick fur, scales, or other forms of natural armor that reduce damage taken from various sources.
Cost
1-4 points
Effects
Armor provides a certain number of extra dice to soak damage from physical attacks. Each point invested in Armor translates into an additional soak die. The specific benefits are as follows:
1 point: Light natural armor, such as thick skin, that reduces damage by 1 point.
2 points: Moderate natural armor, such as scales, that reduces damage by 2 points.
3 points: Heavy natural armor, such as chitinous plates, that reduces damage by 3 points.
4 points: Extreme natural armor, such as dragon scales, that reduces damage by 4 points.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 111
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
• Poor: Lift/Carry 40 lbs (about 20 kgs).
•• Average: 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
•••• Exceptional: 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 202
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
• Poor: Lift/Carry 40 lbs (about 20 kgs).
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
Source(s): ???
Bond-Sharing
Sea-folk tales tell of the shark who gave his breath to a young pearl-diver. Magicians speak of the familiar-bond which allows them to commune with their "pets." Like those creatures, you can pass along certain natural sensations or faculties to a character you favor. With a bit of concentration, you could help a person see in the dark, breathe underwater, or withstand weather that would kill a normal human being.
Cost
4-6 points
Effects
This Advantage lets you share a sense or physical adaptation with someone who doesn't normally have it.
- 4 points: Your friend can use one of your senses or withstand one environment (fire, water, cold, heat, etc.) to which you're native.
- 5 points: Your friend can go anywhere you can go, or feel anything you can feel.
- 6 points: Your friend can do both at once.
Conditions
To use the bond, both of your characters must have established a lasting and profound relationship; casual contact, even simple companionship, is not enough. You may establish only one such bond at a time, and breaking it is traumatic for both parties. Death on either side is almost physically devastating to the survivor.
Limitations
The Advantage does not work over distances, unless both of you are within half a mile or less. Sharing requires an act of will, and you must decide to "send" your senses to your partner, since she's not linked to you at all times.
Bonding Process
Each time you bond, a powerful almost sexual current passes between both partners, deepening both the bond and the feelings which ride through it.
Notes
Your bond-mate need not be human; a shark may befriend a dog. Stranger things have happened...
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 111
Description:: Your character's raw and brute power.
• Poor: Lift/Carry 40 lbs (about 20 kgs).
•• Average: 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
•••• Exceptional: 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 203
Chameleon Coloration/Shadow-Walking
The ability to blend into the surroundings, changing coloration or darkening the pelt to match the background. This power enhances stealth and camouflage, making the creature difficult to detect.
Cost
4/6/8 points
Effects
Shadow-Walking (4 points): The creature can darken its pelt to blend in with shadows, effectively becoming invisible in dimly lit areas.
Chameleon Coloration (6 points): The creature can change hues within the range of a single color (e.g., shades of green, red, or brown), allowing it to blend into similar colored backgrounds.
Advanced Chameleon Coloration (8 points): The creature can change to fit any color background, providing maximum camouflage.
Perception Difficulty
Perceiving a creature using Chameleon Coloration or Shadow-Walking requires a Wits + Alertness roll with a difficulty of 7.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 111
Claws, Fangs, or Horns
Natural weapons that can be used in combat. These include claws, fangs, and horns, each providing a different form of attack. These natural weapons are an integral part of many creatures' offensive and defensive capabilities, allowing them to fight and protect themselves effectively.
Cost
3/5/7 points
Effects
Claws, fangs, and horns provide creatures with powerful natural weapons that can deal significant damage in combat. The effectiveness and damage potential of these weapons increase with higher point investments.
Damage
Bite: Strength + 1
Claw: Strength + 2
Gore: Strength + 2 (Strength + 4 after a charge if moving 10 yards or more)
Tail Strike: Strength (possible bonuses for a spiked or poisonous tail)
Level 1 (3 points)
Basic natural weapons. The creature possesses small claws or fangs, providing a slight advantage in combat. Damage is minimal but can still be effective in certain situations.
Level 2 (5 points)
Enhanced natural weapons. The creature's claws or fangs are larger and more dangerous, dealing greater damage in combat. These weapons can penetrate tougher defenses and inflict more severe injuries.
Level 3 (7 points)
Superior natural weapons. The creature possesses massive claws, fangs, or horns that deal significant damage in combat. These weapons are highly effective against most opponents, capable of causing severe injuries and even killing in a single blow.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 111
Deadly Demise
Deadly Demise is a power that triggers a lethal effect upon the creature's death, causing harm to its killer or those nearby. This ability ensures that the creature can exact a final measure of revenge, even in death, making it a formidable opponent to any would-be attacker.
Cost
3 points
Effects
When the creature dies, it releases a harmful effect that can damage or otherwise negatively affect those nearby. This can manifest in various ways, depending on the nature of the creature:
- Explosive Death: The creature's body explodes upon death, dealing physical damage to anyone within a certain radius.
- Venomous Blood: The creature's blood is highly toxic, causing severe poisoning or damage to anyone who comes into contact with it.
- Curse: The creature's death triggers a supernatural curse that affects its killer or those in the vicinity, causing long-term negative effects.
Game Mechanics
The specific effects and damage caused by Deadly Demise can vary, but generally, the power inflicts significant harm that cannot be easily avoided or mitigated. The exact nature and intensity of the effect should be determined by the storyteller, based on the creature's characteristics and the narrative context.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 113
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 118
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
• Poor: Lift/Carry 40 lbs (about 20 kgs).
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 204
Description:' Your character's raw and brute power.
•• Average: 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 204br>
Elemental Touch
Elemental Touch
Beasts (greater and lesser alike) share deep ties to the elements, ties humans can only envy. A horse is said to bring forth water from dry ground by tapping his hoof until a spring rises; geese are linked to the coming of winter and spring; the mighty air dragon calls down lightning, while the fenghuang dances in fire. While the links between animals and the elements have been exaggerated by folklore — few beasts can call up storms from nothing — you do possess a notable bond with your element.
In story terms, the strength of this talent varies, from the dog's ability to sniff out water holes, to the goose's penchant for laying golden eggs, to the dragons' command of storms. It takes time and effort to use the talent — the more dramatic the effect, the longer it takes and the more energy it consumes — but you can, given both, invoke the element that you're aligned with. Once invoked, the element is usually beyond your control. (Fire goes where it will, and few creatures can demand otherwise....) Although you're not in any way immune to the phenomena, the signs of your Elemental Touch follow you everywhere — the mane of a storm-mare always seems to be blowing in the wind, and a fenghuang glows with an inner fire.
Cost
3/5/7/10/15 points
Effects
This Advantage allows you to use varying degrees of control over weather or other elements. Depending on the cost of the Advantage, you can perform the following feats:
- 3 points: Sense the presence of a large quantity of your chosen element within a half-mile or so. Requires a successful Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 6-9, depending on the amount of the element and the obstacles between it and you).
- 5 points: Sniff out concentrations of your chosen element (fires; water holes or springs; gold; forests; approaching storms, etc.). Roll as above.
- 7 points: Exert some small amount of command (making fire flicker from a distance; making water flow a certain direction; causing dirt to shift; rippling thin metal or wood; turning a breeze in your direction) over your chosen element. Requires a Manipulation + Awareness roll (difficulty as above) and a point of Willpower.
- 10 points: Bring a small amount (roughly one foot square; five pounds or gallons; or a strong gust) of your element into being. You must touch the area with some part of your body. Requires roll and Willpower cost as above.
- 15 points: Shift large amounts of existing elements in some unusual way (spreading fires; raising waters or causing riptides; creating small-scale earth tremors; warping or corroding several pounds of metal; twisting plants or small trees; calling up a wind or drastically dropping temperature). Requires roll as above, and costs two Willpower points.
Truly godlike creatures can perform even greater feats, but such talents are the providence of immortal god-servants, not humble creatures like yourself.
Limitations
This Advantage works only with "pure" simple elements; complex compounds like uranium, cobalt, cut gems, alloys, plastics, radiation and other technological elements and concoctions are totally beyond an animal's understanding. Biological elements — venom, blood, bone, etc. — are likewise beyond this talent. However, pure precious metals — gold, silver, copper and such — fall reasonably within the element of Earth (or metal, for celestial dragons), hence, the goose with the golden eggs or the mule who paws silver from the earth.
Each beast is attuned to a single element (see "Elemental Affinities"), and that Affinity is the sphere of your influence. The golden goose cannot command fire, nor can the air dragon command the seas. In its higher levels, this power can be deeply magical, defying scientific preconceptions of reality and many troupes' conceptions of game balance. The Storyteller who wishes to limit or deny this Advantage is within his rights to do so. Even in a fantasy setting, it's a rare creature who can boast such abilities.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 111
Enhancement
Elephants are tougher than humans, apes stronger, cats more agile, dragons more intelligent. If your kind is superior to humanity in any way (or many ways), you will want this Advantage. This power allows a creature to exceed human limitations in various attributes or health, reflecting their exceptional nature.
Cost
Variable (5 points per enhancement)
Effects
For each five points spent, you may buy another dot (above five) for any Attribute, or add one more Health Level (above eight) to your total.
- Enhanced Strength: Increases the creature's physical power, allowing it to perform feats of strength beyond human capability.
- Enhanced Dexterity: Increases the creature's agility, enabling it to move with greater speed and precision.
- Enhanced Stamina: Increases the creature's endurance, allowing it to withstand more physical strain and recover more quickly.
- Enhanced Intelligence: Increases the creature's cognitive abilities, providing superior problem-solving skills and knowledge.
- Enhanced Perception: Enhances the creature's sensory abilities, allowing it to detect things more acutely.
- Enhanced Health: Adds additional Health Levels, making the creature more resilient and harder to kill.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 113
Extra Head(s)
Beasts that exceed the traditional number of heads are not common, but they do exist, at least in the Mythic Ages. The amphisbaena has two heads, the chimera three, and the hydra an extravagant nine!
Cost
3 points per head
Effects
Having extra heads provides several advantages:
- Increased Alertness: Roll two extra dice on Alertness rolls against surprise for each extra head.
- Combat Advantage: For each head, you may add two dice to your Dexterity + Brawl attack Dice Pool.
Combat Mechanics
To attack with more than one head at a time, divide the Dice Pool by the number of heads.
Example: Jess's triple-headed dragon can choose to bite with all three heads. If Jess wants to do so, the player would add four dice to the dragon's usual Dice Pool. If that Pool was originally seven dice, Jess would have a total of 11 dice to divide three ways. Jess can attack three different magi in one turn, as long as they're all within reach. This option only applies to biting attacks which include more than one head. If Jess's dragon attacked with one head and had the others watch, he would roll only seven dice, not 11.
Vulnerability
If the extra heads are severed, the bonus is lost. If all heads are destroyed, the creature dies.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 113
Extra Limb(s)
Travelers bring tales out of India of men with more than one pair of arms, and sailors have stories of krakens and other beasts with eight, ten, or even twenty grasping tentacles. Like these far-flung beasts, you have more than two grasping limbs (the human standard). This extra limb might be a trunk, a prehensile tail, or an actual extra arm.
Cost
3 points per limb
Effects
Each extra limb allows you to make one additional melee attack each turn (by splitting your Dice Pools). This Advantage applies only to limbs which can be used to grab and hold things. Extra legs are either purely cosmetic, or should be bought as Extra Speed.
- Extra Arm: Grants an additional arm that can be used for holding weapons, tools, or other objects, allowing for more versatile combat and multitasking.
- Prehensile Tail: Provides a tail that can grasp objects, aiding in balance and allowing for additional actions such as holding weapons or manipulating the environment.
- Trunk: Offers an elephant-like trunk that can be used for a variety of tasks, including lifting objects, performing precise movements, and making additional attacks.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and usability of each extra limb can be influenced by various factors:
- Coordination: The creature must coordinate the actions of multiple limbs, which may require practice and skill to use effectively.
- Strength: Extra limbs may have different levels of strength and dexterity, affecting their performance in combat and other activities.
- Special Abilities: Each limb may possess unique abilities or enhancements, providing specialized advantages in specific situations.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to properly coordinate its extra limbs, it may suffer penalties to its actions or become disoriented. In combat, this can result in missed attacks or reduced effectiveness.
Associated Traits
Extra limbs are often associated with specific traits or species known for their multi-limbed forms, such as certain mythological beings, fantasy creatures, or beasts from sailor tales.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 113
Extra Speed
The race is not always to the swift, but it often seems that way. The leopard among beasts, the hawk among birds, and the dolphin among sea creatures can outdistance any of their fellows. This power grants the creature enhanced movement speed, allowing it to move more quickly and react faster than ordinary beings.
Cost
Variable (5 points per enhancement)
Effects
For each five points spent, you may take one additional action per turn without splitting your Dice Pool. When moving, this Advantage allows you to multiply a normal human's speed by 1.5 for each five points spent.
- Additional Actions: Grants one additional action per turn without the need to split the Dice Pool, providing a significant advantage in combat and other rapid-response situations.
- Increased Movement Speed: Enhances the creature's movement speed, allowing it to move faster than normal.
Fast-swimming beasts need not purchase this Advantage, but fast-flying beasts should. Check the description of your character's kind elsewhere in The Bygone Bestiary to find the appropriate level at which to purchase this Advantage.
Movement Rates
Below are the movement rates for creatures with Extra Speed, based on the number of points spent:
| Points | Walk | Run | Fly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opts (Human) | 7 | 20 | NA |
| 3 pts | 9 | 25 | 25 |
| 5 pts | 11 | 30 | 30 |
| 7 pts | 12 | 33 | 35 |
| 9 pts | 13 | 37 | 40 |
| 10 pts | 14 | 40 | 45 |
Modifiers
The effectiveness of Extra Speed can be influenced by various factors:
- Coordination: The creature must coordinate its movements to fully utilize its enhanced speed.
- Endurance: Sustained use of extra speed may require greater stamina and can lead to fatigue.
- Environment: Certain environments may limit the effectiveness of extra speed, such as difficult terrain or confined spaces.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to properly manage its extra speed, it may suffer penalties such as reduced control over its movements or increased risk of accidents. In combat, this can result in missed attacks or leaving oneself vulnerable to counterattacks.
Associated Traits
Extra Speed is often associated with specific traits or species known for their swiftness, such as certain predators, mythological beings, or fantasy creatures known for their agility and speed.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 113
Feast of Nettles
As an agent of Divine (or Infernal) will, you can absorb and redirect the energies that manifest around magickal weaveries. The Scourge (known in later days as Paradox; see The Sorcerers Crusade, pages 231-237, or Mage: The Ascension, pages 176-179) is a strange fruit to you, and with this mystical ability, you can swallow it even as it swirls into being. Naturally, the Scourge tastes bitter and sharp — this favor isn't called "the Feast of Nettles" for nothing! — but there is a certain refreshing tang to it. And the magi in your presence are so grateful for your help...
In story terms, you see the Scourge as a dark, flickering cloud — much like a bush of thorns lit by fireflies. As magi employ their Arts, this cloud swells. Although it usually remains invisible to your compatriots, you can smell and see it plainly. To take it into yourself, open your mouth and inhale until your lungs come close to bursting, close your mouth upon the "nettles," swallow, then sleep it off. Eating God's own anger takes a great deal out of you. After a Feast, you must either rest for a day or two, or stagger around in a daze until you fall over.
Cost
2-6 points
Effects
In game terms, you cancel out several points of Scourge before they manifest as a backlash. No roll is necessary — simply concentrate for two to four turns, inhale, and swallow. However, a beast that takes in more Scourge than his rating allows will burst like a Daedalean's balloon-ship! Such a shock kills your character instantly, scattering his innards like falling leaves.
The amount of Scourge you can absorb depends on the cost of the Trait:
- 2 points: Three points of Scourge per week
- 3 points: Five points of Scourge per week
- 4 points: Ten points of Scourge per week
- 5 points: Fifteen points of Scourge per week
- 6 points: Twenty points of Scourge per week
Exceeding this amount by so much as a single Scourge point is fatal, so keep track of what you eat! Ingesting part of a larger backlash requires a Wits + Awareness roll (difficulty 8). A failed or botched roll results in overfeeding, with all the mess that entails.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 114
Flexible
The serpent twists and coils like a rhetorician's argument. You, too, can bend your body double, loop around limbs, and squeeze your opponents until their breath leaves them. This ability allows you to move with incredible agility and precision, enhancing your defensive and offensive capabilities in combat.
Cost
2 points
Effects
This power provides the following benefits:
- Dodge Rolls: Add one die to Dodge rolls, improving your ability to evade attacks.
- Grapple Attacks: Add two dice to Grapple attacks, increasing your effectiveness in close combat situations where you can use your flexibility to entangle and subdue opponents.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 114
Hazardous Breath
Dealing death from a distance is not the exclusive province of the bestial elite. The dragon's flames, the basilisk's breath, and the gorgon's gaze fascinate tellers of tales, surely. However, the quills of the porpentine and the fiery excrement of the bonnacon can injure an enemy just as certainly.
Whatever the means (breath, gaze, spittle, quills), you can blast out something (fire, poison gas, caustic acid) deadly, or at least dangerous, at range and at will. The exact mechanics and specifications of the attack will vary depending on its nature, as the Storyteller should determine.
Cost
Variable
Effects
For every five points spent, you inflict one Health Level of damage with your attack on a successful Dexterity + Brawl roll (difficulty 7). For seven points per Health Level, the damage can be caustic (Greek fire, acid, clouds of gas) and inflict an additional Health Level per turn until washed off. For double the cost, damage can be aggravated. Your target can soak any of these types of damage.
You can use this weapon once per scene for every point of Stamina that you possess. If your attack could conceivably affect multiple targets (like the basilisk's poison clouds), assume that each success above the first allows an additional victim to be hurt if they are within range of the attack. Your Storyteller will determine these ranges. Area weapons are usually effective at a shorter range than "pinpoint" attacks. A gas cloud will affect a large area, but at shorter range than hurled lightning, for example.
- 5 points: Inflict one Health Level of damage.
- 7 points: Inflict caustic damage that causes an additional Health Level of damage per turn until washed off.
- Double cost: Inflict aggravated damage.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and range of the attack can be influenced by various factors:
- Type of Attack: Breath, gaze, spittle, quills, etc.
- Nature of the Attack: Fire, poison gas, caustic acid, etc.
- Range: Determined by the Storyteller, varies based on the type of attack.
- Area of Effect: Area weapons affect a larger area but have shorter range compared to pinpoint attacks.
Cost of Failure
If the attack misses or is ineffective, the creature may lose the opportunity to use the attack again during that scene, depending on the number of uses allowed by their Stamina.
Associated Traits
Hazardous Breath is often associated with specific traits or species known for their deadly breath or ranged attacks, such as dragons, basilisks, and mythical beasts.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 114
Healing Lick
Healing Lick
As penance cleanses the wounds of the soul, the tongue of certain hounds heals wounds to the body. You have the gift of healing, whether by tongue (as the hound), breath (as the panther) or some other means. This power allows you to heal wounds by using a special method unique to your nature.
Cost
3 or 6 points
Effects
For three points, you may restore one Health Level per turn to either yourself or to another creature. For six points, you may heal one Health Level of an aggravated wound per turn. This Advantage heals only wounds and burns, not poison, broken bones, damaged organs or other traumas.
- 3 Points: Heal one Health Level of normal damage per turn.
- 6 Points: Heal one Health Level of aggravated damage per turn.
Modifiers
The effectiveness of the healing lick can be influenced by various factors:
- Creature's Health: If the creature is injured or fatigued, the healing process may be slower or less effective.
- Environment: Healing may be more challenging in harsh environments or under adverse conditions.
- Magical Interference: Certain magical effects or curses may resist the healing properties of the lick, requiring additional effort to overcome.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to properly heal a wound, the injury may become worse or become infected. In critical situations, this failure could be life-threatening.
Associated Traits
The healing lick is often associated with creatures known for their nurturing and protective nature, such as certain mythical beasts, magical animals, or spirit guardians.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 114
Hibernation
Toads may sleep in mud for centuries and awaken as though only a morning had passed. Bears take to their caves for the winter and consume no food therein. Like these somnolent beasts, you can go to sleep, needing no food or water until you awaken. During this period, you can conserve energy and survive in adverse conditions by entering a state of deep sleep or dormancy.
Cost
2 points
Effects
This power allows you to enter a voluntary state of hibernation. While hibernating, you do not require food or water and can appear dead to others. Only magical means can detect signs of life during this period.
- Energy Conservation: The creature's metabolic rate slows down, allowing it to survive without sustenance.
- Survival: The creature can endure long periods of inactivity, making it an effective strategy for surviving harsh environmental conditions.
- Deceptive Appearance: The creature may appear dead to others, providing a form of camouflage or protection from predators.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and duration of hibernation can be influenced by various factors:
- Environment: The creature's ability to hibernate may depend on the availability of a safe and suitable location.
- Health: If the creature is injured or sick, hibernation may be less effective or take longer to initiate.
- Interruptions: Disturbances or threats may prematurely end the hibernation state, requiring the creature to wake up and respond.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to enter or maintain a proper state of hibernation, it may suffer from exhaustion, malnutrition, or exposure to environmental dangers. Additionally, incomplete hibernation may result in insufficient energy conservation, jeopardizing the creature's survival.
Associated Traits
Hibernation is often associated with creatures known for their ability to endure long periods of inactivity, such as bears, toads, and other animals that can enter a dormant state to survive through unfavorable conditions.
Notes
You need only buy this Advantage if your hibernation is completely voluntary. Automatic or mandatory hibernation falls under the Flaw: Compulsion.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 114
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
•• Average: 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
•••• Exceptional: 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 206
Human Speech
In Russian legend, all animals can speak in human tongues (or at least in Russian) on Christmas Eve. You may wish to speak to humans more often than that, however. If so, this Advantage grants both the ability to speak in a recognizably human voice, and facility in one human language of your choice. Additional languages should be bought as the Linguistics Ability, of course.
Cost
1 point
Effects
This power allows the creature to speak in a human voice and converse fluently in one human language. This ability is especially useful for beasts that interact frequently with humans or need to communicate detailed information.
- Recognizable Human Voice: The creature can speak in a voice that humans can understand, making interactions smoother and more natural.
- Fluency in One Language: The creature can speak one human language fluently, which must be chosen at the time this advantage is taken.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and utility of human speech can be influenced by various factors:
- Linguistic Proficiency: The creature's ability to learn additional languages can be expanded by purchasing the Linguistics Ability.
- Interaction with Humans: Frequent interaction with humans may enhance the creature's ability to use and understand human speech effectively.
- Magical Beings: At the Storyteller's discretion, some magical beasts (such as dragons or gryphons) may automatically possess this advantage without paying points.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to use human speech correctly, it may lead to misunderstandings or suspicion from humans. In some cases, the creature's true nature might be revealed, leading to potential danger or conflict.
Associated Traits
Human Speech is often associated with creatures that have close interactions with humans or those that need to convey complex information. Beasts with Musical Influence may also communicate with humans in a limited fashion without using this advantage.
Notes
Humans do not need to purchase this Advantage, and it is typically granted automatically to some magical beasts. Beasts with the ability to influence humans through music or other means might not require this Advantage but will have limited conversational capabilities.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 114
Immunity
As the cock withstands the searing poison of the basilisk, you can ignore the effect of some dangerous (or at least unpleasant) thing. Some Immunities are part and parcel of a beast's nature; others, like Mithradites' immunity to poison, accrue over a long period of conditioning. Immunities vary in price, depending on their lethality and their frequency, much as Vulnerabilities do. You must buy each Immunity separately, although the Storyteller may allow a number of similar Immunities (basilisks, snakes, toadstools, iocaine powder) to be packaged as one more common Immunity (poisons).
Cost
2/5/10/15 points
Effects
This power allows the creature to ignore the effects of certain dangerous or unpleasant things. The specific immunity can be to minor nuisances, major threats, terminal threats, or even death, depending on the points spent.
- 2 Points: A minor nuisance (poison oak, common cold), or a very rare threat (basilisks).
- 5 Points: A major threat (disease, hunger), or a moderately rare threat (poisons, extreme heat or cold).
- 10 Points: A terminal threat (fire, drowning), or a common threat (fire, metals).
- 15 Points: Death. You're essentially immortal, but can be hurt or even crippled. The Storyteller may decide that one thing (or combination of things) can still kill you, though he may or may not tell you what that thing is.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and breadth of an immunity can be influenced by various factors:
- Conditioning: Some immunities may require long periods of conditioning to develop fully.
- Scope: Immunities can be broad (covering various poisons) or narrow (specific to one type of poison).
- Storyteller Discretion: The Storyteller may allow certain similar immunities to be combined into a broader immunity package.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to gain immunity or maintain it, it will suffer from the effects of the dangerous substance or condition. The severity of the consequences depends on the type of threat they are exposed to, ranging from minor irritations to potentially fatal outcomes.
Associated Traits
Immunity is often associated with creatures that have adapted to withstand certain dangers or have been conditioned over time to resist specific threats. Examples include animals immune to certain toxins or creatures that have developed resistance to environmental extremes.
Notes
Each Immunity must be purchased separately, although similar Immunities may be grouped at the Storyteller's discretion. The costs and effects are reflective of the lethality and frequency of the threat being guarded against.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 115
Information Font
Augurs have always known that hidden information is revealed by animals. Magical creatures may have access to even more esoteric lore. For the human mystic, such communions serve as conduits between the world of humanity and the hidden hearts of nature. To the beast, it might simply serve as a new way to earn food and shelter, or perhaps as a bond between friends or allies.
Cost
3 points
Effects
Magical beasts, especially familiars, come up with seemingly bizarre yet often helpful information at unpredictable intervals. These fragments of lore, forgotten songs, or helpful rumors seem fairly cryptic to humans, and the human concepts necessary to explain them are often completely foreign to you, the beast. You feel that this wisdom should be instantly comprehensible, and you find humans, used to different ways of thought and feeling, frustratingly slow on the uptake.
- Cryptic Insights: The beast can provide obscure yet useful information that may seem bizarre but is often helpful.
- Communication Challenges: The information provided may be difficult for humans to understand due to differing perspectives and concepts.
- Roleplaying Opportunities: This power allows for enjoyable off-the-wall roleplaying with cryptic remarks and weird allusions that humans must decipher.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and accuracy of the information font can be influenced by various factors:
- Perception: The beast must make a Perception + Ability roll (difficulty 7) to come up with a suitably obscure revelation.
- Human Understanding: The human attempting to understand the beast's information must roll Intelligence + Enigmas Dice Pool, with the difficulty ranging from 6 to 10 depending on the weirdness of the observation.
Cost of Failure
If the beast fails to provide accurate information, it may result in misunderstandings or misinterpretations that could lead to incorrect actions or decisions by the humans involved. Additionally, repeated failures may lead to a loss of trust in the beast's insights.
Associated Traits
Information Font is often associated with creatures known for their wisdom and connection to the mystical world, such as augurs, familiars, and other magical beasts that serve as conduits of hidden knowledge and esoteric lore.
Notes
This power is typically used in situations requiring obscure or mystical knowledge. The Storyteller can allow the beast to attempt a Perception + Ability roll to provide a revelation, and the human attempting to understand it should roll Intelligence + Enigmas. Both players may roll only once per situation.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 115
Intangibility
Vanishing cats, intangible ghosts, and disappearing beasts of all kinds have been with us for centuries. They may be with us right now — after all, how could you tell? This annoying habit of appearing at bad times may be why many Storytellers forbid this Advantage entirely, for it can play hob with many plot threads in a chronicle.
Cost
8/10 points
Effects
If your Storyteller allows you to have this Advantage, you can disappear from plain sight (eight points) or become totally incorporeal as well (10 points). Going intangible (in either variety) does not require a roll, but it does cost one point of Willpower whenever you shift from one state to the other. Running out of Willpower traps you in your current state until you can recover.
- Seamless Transformation: An incorporeal beast cannot be physically touched or harmed; True Faith, magick, and other mystical attacks and forces can transcend this protection, however.
- Temporary Incorporeality: Before the incorporeal beast can orient itself to address (or attack) a physical being, it must "fade in" for a turn or so, achieving a sort of shadowy half-physical state which can be touched normally, but which proves difficult to see (Perception + Awareness or Alertness, difficulty 8).
- Undetectable: Normal human observers will have no way to find an intangible target, although vampiric Auspex, Lifesight, and sensing Gifts and magicks will detect you on a normal Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 7).
Modifiers
The effectiveness and duration of intangibility can be influenced by various factors:
- Concentration: Maintaining the intangible state requires concentration; distractions or injuries may cause the beast to revert to its natural form.
- Environment: The beast must be familiar with the environment it is infiltrating to avoid detection.
- Magical Detection: Magical beings or individuals with heightened perception may see through the guise if they suspect deception.
- Physical Effects: If you remain corporeal, you still affect your surroundings and perhaps make noise, and a sharp observer can locate you from these disturbances with a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 9). This Advantage does not mask your smell, thus dogs, for instance, will barely notice the difference between visible and invisible prey.
Cost of Failure
If the beast fails to maintain its intangible state, it may suffer from exposure and immediate threat from humans who discover its true nature. Additionally, a failed transformation may result in partial changes, leaving the beast vulnerable and conspicuous.
Associated Traits
Intangibility is often associated with creatures known for their elusive and mysterious nature, such as ghosts, spirits, and other supernatural entities. These creatures use their ability to become intangible to evade threats, infiltrate areas unseen, and interact with the physical world in unique ways.
Notes
This power is typically voluntary and requires the beast to have a clear understanding of the physical and mystical forces it wishes to manipulate. Involuntary transformations or partial changes can result in significant disadvantages and risks. A lack of scent is worth three points and can be bought on its own or in addition to Intangibility.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 115
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 115
Mesmerism
The power to hypnotize or influence the minds of others. This can be used to control or manipulate the actions of other beings.
Cost
3-6 points
Effects
Level 1: Basic hypnotic ability (e.g., minor suggestions).
Level 2: Enhanced hypnotic ability (e.g., stronger suggestions and minor control).
Level 3: Superior hypnotic ability (e.g., complete control for short periods).
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 209
Nightsight
Enhanced vision in low-light conditions, allowing the creature to see in near-total darkness. This power is particularly useful for nocturnal creatures.
Cost
3 points
Effects
The creature can see in near-total darkness, providing a significant advantage in low-light conditions.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Rapid Healing
Unusually fast recovery from injuries. This power allows the creature to heal at an accelerated rate.
Cost
Variable
Effects
Each two points reduce the healing time for one Health Level. For example, three days to recover from being Injured instead of one week.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 210
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
• Poor: Lift/Carry 40 lbs (about 20 kgs).
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 210
Regrowth
The ability to regrow lost body parts. This power ensures that the creature can recover from severe injuries over time.
Cost
2/4/6 points
Effects
Level 1 (2 points): Regrow secondary protrusions (tails, horns).
Level 2 (4 points): Regrow limbs or eyes.
Level 3 (6 points): Only fatal injuries (e.g., burned to ash) prevent regrowth.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Shapechanger
The ability to shift into different forms. This power allows the creature to assume various shapes as needed.
Cost
3/5/8 points
Effects
Level 1 (3 points): One alternate form.
Level 2 (5 points): Any form within a certain range (e.g., birds, humans).
Level 3 (8 points): Ability to change into anything, assuming necessary Advantages are purchased.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 117
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••••• Exceptional: 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
••••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 117
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
•••••••• Exceptional: 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
•••••••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 117
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 211
Spirit Travel
The ability to move through the spirit world or interact with spiritual entities. This power allows the creature to navigate the spiritual realm.
Cost
8 points
Effects
The creature can move through the spirit world or interact with spiritual entities, allowing for travel and communication beyond the physical realm.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 119
Spirit Vision
The ability to see spirits and other supernatural entities. This power provides the creature with enhanced perception of the spiritual world.
Cost
Variable
Effects
The creature can see spirits and other supernatural entities, allowing it to perceive and interact with beings that are invisible to ordinary senses.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 212
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
•• Average: 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
•••• Exceptional: 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
•••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 212
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Unaging
Immortality or drastically slowed aging, allowing the creature to live for centuries. This power ensures that the creature remains unaffected by the passage of time.
Cost
Variable
Effects
The creature is immortal or ages very slowly, allowing it to live for centuries without the usual effects of aging.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s): Gods and Monsters p. 213
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
•••• Exceptional: 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
•• Average: 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••• Good: 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Description: Your character's raw and brute power.
••••••• Outstanding: 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs)
Source(s):Changeling the Dreaming v29 p. 32