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
Alacrity (2-6 pts.)
Description: Damn, you’re fast! Capable of bursts of inhuman speed, you can strike before most people can think.
Mechanics:
- Each two points spent in this Advantage, up to the maximum six points, allows you to spend a Willpower point and take one extra action within a single turn.
- A six-point Advantage would let you act four times in a single turn for the cost of one Willpower point.
- Subsequent Willpower points spent that turn do not add up; six points let you act four times in one turn no matter how many Willpower points you spent that turn.
- This bonus lasts only one turn per point of Willpower spent that turn.
- You can burn Willpower to move like the wind for as long as your Willpower lasts.
Advantages Point Cost:
- 2 points: 1 extra action per turn
- 4 points: 2 extra actions per turn
- 6 points: 3 extra actions per turn
Example Use:
- Allows for rapid, multiple actions in combat or other critical situations.
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
OR
M20 Gods & Monsters Version pg. 202
Armor (Variable Points)
Description: Thanks to thick hide, armored plates, warty skin, or some other form of innate protection, your character gains extra soak dice and can soak lethal damage as well. For double the usual cost (i.e., two freebie points per point of protection), they can soak aggravated damage, too. This armor isn’t invisible; in most cases, it’s pretty obvious. For every three points in protection, the character loses one point of Appearance. (This penalty does not apply to animals or beasts with natural armor — turtles, alligators, dragons, etc.)
Mechanics:
- 1 pt.: One soak die (thick fur or hide)
- 2 pts.: Two soak dice (scales, ridges)
- 3 pts.: Three soak dice (chitin, shell)
- 4 pts.: Four soak dice (bone plating, dragon hide)
- 5 pts.: Five soak dice (metal plates, thick hide plus layers of fat and muscle)
Optional Rule: The Storyteller might decide that an aimed blow (typically +3 difficulty, although the specific penalty depends upon the nature of the armor) can bypass the protection.
Aura
Uncanny radiance surrounds you. This aura could manifest in various ways: shimmering with holiness, reeking of death, smoldering with the essence of the Pit, or reflecting an affinity for a particular element. The specifics depend on the nature of the creature and its true essence. For instance:
- An infernal entity might project an unholy aura with a scent of brimstone and an unnerving chorus of damned souls.
- An elemental might cause phenomena related to its element, such as a breeze, flickering flames, dampness, or blooming plants.
- An embodiment of technological principles might radiate cold perfection.
Cost
3 points as an Advantage, or 3 points as a Supernatural Flaw
Effects
As an Advantage, this aura affects the localized environment around the entity:
- The aura does not inflict damage but can be unnerving to those who fear such entities.
- Opposed entities (e.g., demons in the presence of an angel) feel compelled to flee unless they spend a Willpower point to remain nearby. If they stay, they suffer a +3 difficulty on all rolls against the aura-bearing character.
- Neutral characters notice the aura's environmental effects (e.g., withering or flourishing plant life, light or darkness, faint music, or metallic clanging). These effects don't influence system modifiers but indicate the nature of the entity.
- The character can spend a Willpower point to suppress the Advantage for one scene. In this state, a witness must make a successful Awareness roll (difficulty 7) to discern the character's true nature.
As a Flaw, the aura cannot be suppressed, betraying the character’s nature whether they want it to be obvious or not.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 202
Aww!
Cuteness excuses a multitude of sins. In your case, you’re so adorable that people tend to give you more slack than your activities deserve. This innate charm can make it easier for you to get away with things that others might not.
Cost
1-4 points
Effects
Every point in this Advantage adds one die to the Social rolls you make based upon endearing yourself to someone through your sheer cuteness. This power works in any form, but it grants only half of the usual bonus (rounded up) when you’re in a human guise.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 202
Bare Necessities
Physical shape-changing typically deals only with the body itself. A radical shapeshift — say, from woman to wolf — usually forces the character in question to spend a turn or more either stripping down before changing, or else wiggling out of the discarded clothing and possessions afterward. With this Advantage, however, you can shape-change with your clothing and small possessions intact, and then carry them over with you when you return to your natural form.
Cost
1 or 3 points
Effects
For one point, you can retain your clothing and small items that are worn close to your skin (wallets, watches, knives strapped to your leg, etc.). For three points, you can meld small carried items as well: backpacks, swords, a walking stick, and so forth. The carried items must be small and light enough to be held in one hand; a pistol could be transformed and carried this way, but an AR-15 could not. The transformed items essentially disappear when your character shapeshifts, and they cannot be used or taken away if they were being worn or held at the time of transformation. When you change back to your natural form, however, the items are wherever they were when you shifted shape.
Unless it involves some technological method (like small compartments that open within a robot and stow the items inside that robot’s body), this Advantage is essentially magic. The Storyteller might rule that sophisticated technologies (computers, firearms, cell phones, etc.) transformed by magic might malfunction when the character changes back to her natural form. Although this malfunction check would involve a successful roll of Stamina + Technology, difficulty 7, for non-mages (and a Willpower + Avatar roll with that same difficulty if the Storyteller allows Awakened mage characters to take this Advantage), a character whose paradigm is based on hyperscience instead of natural magic can simply define the Advantage with anime-like technologies.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 202
Bioluminescence
Fireflies, anglerfish, certain forms of mold, and you. Like those luminescent beings, your body — or parts of it — can glow, and you can turn this self-contained light on and off at will. This ability can be used for various purposes, from illuminating your surroundings to blinding opponents in certain situations.
Cost
1-3 points
Effects
Bioluminescence provides different levels of brightness and control depending on the number of points invested:
1 point: The glow is roughly as bright as an average cell phone and cannot be focused or directed.
2 points: The glow is either brighter (like a halogen flashlight) or directable.
3 points: The glow can be both brighter and directable.
The light can come from natural luminescent organs, cybernetic implants, biotech body modifications, magical powers, mutant abilities, or other sources. Generally, this light allows you to illuminate a small area as if you’re holding a hand-held light source. Directable luminescence can be used to blind a character for a turn or so with a successful Dexterity + Perception roll. The difficulty for this application depends on the target’s sensitivity to light, contrast between light and darkness, protective gear, cover, distance, and other factors, ranging from 4 (a point-blank flash) to 10 (blinding a protected opponent at range).
Beyond 15 feet or so, this Advantage illuminates an area but isn’t strong enough to blind someone at range.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 202
Blending
This creature has the ability to alter their appearance to match the dominant attributes of their surroundings, much like a chameleon. This adaptation can be used for stealth or to avoid detection in various environments. The creature can blend in slowly over time or quickly if needed.
Cost
1 point
Effects
The creature can either:
- Slowly acclimate to their surroundings, requiring at least a scene to blend in.
- Quickly acclimate through a successful Wits + Survival roll (difficulty 8).
Additionally, creatures with either Quintessence or Gnosis may spend a point to immediately blend into their environment. Successfully blending causes a +2 difficulty to perceive the creature with any natural sense.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 202
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
OR M20 Gods and Monsters pg. 203
Bond-Sharing
Certain legendary creatures, most notably witch-familiars and heart-bonded companions, can share perceptions, thoughts, and even certain abilities with their close friends. This Advantage allows you to exchange such communions, enabling various forms of mystic bonds between close companions. For instance, a horse may "move as one" with its rider, a dolphin might share water-breathing with its land-born lover, or a bear could confer healing powers upon its totem-sister. Such bonds require intense connection and trust.
Cost
4-6 points
Effects
Game-wise, this Advantage creates a "bridge" between partners, allowing them to share a certain ability or range of abilities. The specific benefits are as follows:
- 4 points: Your companion can use one of your senses or withstand one environment (intense cold, underwater, fire, etc.) that’s native to your character.
- 5 points: Your companion can go anywhere you can go (including, in an Avatar Storm chronicle, through the Gauntlet without harm) or, by sharing your senses, feel anything you can feel.
- 6 points: Your companion can do both at the same time.
This "bridge" stretches roughly half a mile but works best when both characters remain in close proximity. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a Stamina roll might be necessary to form a "link" across distances of 300 feet (or 100 meters) or more.
Each partner imparts a bit of their essence with the other one. If one partner suffers, the other partner feels pain even if they’re not bond-sharing at the time. The death of one partner inflicts agony upon the other — a few levels of bashing damage, if nothing else, possibly an incapacitating psychic shock if the partners were especially intimate. Sharing also involves an act of will; both partners must make a conscious decision to "connect" each time they share abilities or perceptions. Such bonding sends a powerful surge of energy between both partners — a communion that the partners may share simply for enjoyment’s sake. Incidentally, neither partner needs to be human; though it’s odd to see such levels of connection between, say, a dog and a gryphon, stranger things have happened.
Cause Insanity
Consciousness is fragile. With this Advantage, a creature can rattle the cage of sanity and provoke temporary fits of madness. Generally possessed by entities of cosmic horror or stunning beauty, this power provokes hallucinations, derails trains of thought, and forces the target to doubt their grasp on reality. Especially among mages, this ability can have fearsome consequences.
Cost
2 points per die
Effects
A target of this Advantage must be within visual sight of the creature who inflicts the madness. The player with this Trait spends one point of Willpower and rolls one die for every two points spent on this Advantage. The target’s Willpower Trait provides the difficulty for that roll. A single success forces the targeted character to assume a Derangement (Mage 20, pp. 649-650) for one day per success rolled. If the target is a mage, three successes or more also force that mage to make a Willpower roll (difficulty is that mage’s current Paradox + 2), or else suffer one level of Quiet, too (Mage 20, pp. 555-556).
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
OR
M20 Gods and Monsters pg203-204
Claws, Fangs, or Horns
Unlike frail, soft humans, you possess natural weaponry: slashing talons, gnashing fangs, goring horns, or perhaps a combination of all three. These hardy attacks inflict lethal, sometimes even aggravated, damage in addition to your natural strength and mass. They can’t be removed without ripping or cutting off body parts, and so you’re never really without the ability to hurt someone.
Cost
3, 5, or 7 points
Effects
The number and nature of these natural weapons depend upon the points spent on this Advantage:
- 3 points: One form of attack (Claws, Fangs, or Horns) that deals lethal damage.
- 5 points: Two forms of attack (any combination of Claws, Fangs, or Horns) that deal lethal damage.
- 7 points: All three forms of attack (Claws, Fangs, and Horns) that deal lethal damage.
Each type of attack allows you to use certain combat maneuvers:
- Bite: Difficulty 5, Damage Strength +1
- Claw: Difficulty 6, Damage Strength +2
- Gore: Difficulty 7, Damage Strength +2 (Strength +4 after a charge of 10 yards or more)
For double the usual cost, the damage becomes aggravated. With certain types of characters (cats, demons, etc.), the claws or fangs might be retractable — a minor benefit that does not cost additional points. Other kinds of beasts might have “horns” on the back or tail, claws on wings, rending “teeth” embedded into tentacles, and so forth.
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
OR
M20 Gods and Monsters pg. 204
Deadly Demise
Certain enemies take you with them when they go. Often associated with zombies, robots, poisonous fungus-folk, and other beings with innate capacities for self-destruction, this advantage inflicts damage on everyone nearby when the character goes to meet its maker. If that character drops below the Incapacitated health level due to lethal or aggravated damage, then the character screams, explodes, or performs some other final strike against its enemies on the following turn, dealing out damage.
Cost
2, 4, or 6 points
Effects
The blast radius for this final strike is roughly 30 feet (nine meters). If the character is some sort of vehicle or is carrying other characters in its body, arms, or other means, then those characters meet a messy demise unless they escape before the blast. The damage dealt depends on the points spent:
2 points: 4 dice of lethal damage.
4 points: 6 dice of lethal damage.
6 points: 8 dice of lethal damage (or 6 dice of aggravated damage).
Soul-Sense/Death-Sense
Animals are remarkably perceptive; it's hard to trick them, even if you happen to be a magical creature. Dogs can sense the vampire; cats bristle as the dragon walks by; horses shy away from the cockatrice, even if he appears to be a normal man. This Advantage reflects that sensitivity. A Perception + Awareness (or Occult, if you're an exceptionally intelligent beast) reveals the presence of a mystical creature, even if she happens to be hidden or disguised.
Soul-Sense is not limited to sniffing out night-folk, however. Blind as they are, most humans miss powerful spirit-traces. You, however, do not. People and places that are deeply attuned to a particular Resonance, passion, or spiritual affiliation give off sensations that a perceptive beast like you can notice. A deeply evil man smells like death; a holy man radiates waves of light; a murder-site sets your skin crawling. While you might not realize what it is that's setting your hackles on end, Soul-Sense allows you to feel the presence of spiritual power or corruption.
Cost
2 points (Soul-Sense), 3 points (Death-Sense)
Effects
The basic Soul-Sense power allows you to detect mystical creatures and spirit-traces through heightened perception. The advanced Death-Sense version allows you to see the blazing aura of a powerful life-force or the impending shadow of death, granting momentary prescience regarding life and death situations.
- Detection of Mystical Creatures: Ability to sense mystical beings and spirit-traces.
- Sensing Spiritual Power: Feel the presence of spiritual power or corruption.
- Death-Sense (Advanced): See the aura of life-force or impending death, providing momentary prescience about life and death.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and sensitivity of Soul-Sense/Death-Sense can be influenced by various factors:
- Concentration: Maintaining focus enhances the sensitivity of the sense.
- Environment: Being in a spiritually active or charged area can amplify the sensations.
- Magical Concealment: If a creature uses magic to hide its true nature, a Perception Dice Pool roll in a resisted contest with the creature's Wits + Subterfuge may be required to detect it.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to detect the presence of a mystical creature or spirit-trace, you may remain unaware of potential threats or opportunities. In the case of Death-Sense, failing to recognize an impending death could result in missed opportunities to intervene or prepare.
Associated Traits
Soul-Sense/Death-Sense is often associated with animals known for their heightened senses and perceptiveness, such as dogs, cats, and certain magical creatures. These traits make them particularly attuned to the unseen and spiritual aspects of the world.
Notes
This power is usually involuntary and based on the creature's natural sensitivity to spiritual energies. It provides distinct sensations rather than explicit information, making it more of an intuitive sense than a precise tool for detection.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 118
Dominance
You have a naturally commanding demeanor, or an elevated place in the social hierarchy of your people or species. This gives you a significant advantage in social situations, allowing you to assert your will more effectively.
Cost
1 point
Effects
Dominance provides the following benefits:
- Gain three additional dice to any Social interaction within the appropriate groups.
- Reduce the difficulties for your Intimidation or Leadership rolls by –2.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 204
Earthbond
A bond with your surroundings helps you perceive trouble and respond to potential threats. This connection enhances your awareness of the environment, making it easier to spot dangers and react swiftly.
Cost
2 points
Effects
This Advantage reduces the difficulty of your perception rolls by -2 when trying to spot potential trouble. Your keen senses, whether through natural abilities or enhanced means such as passive sonar or high-tech scanning devices, allow you to detect trespassers and other threats. However, you are still susceptible to being surprised by entities using unusual methods like teleportation or stepping in from the Umbra.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 204br>
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
OR M20 Gods and Monsters pg. 204-205
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
Mesmerism
The lamps of the wolf's eyes paralyze the hunter, striking him dumb with terror. Serpents and their draconian cousins can actually cause prey to walk into their jaws. Even humans can be so affected — Artemidorus the Grammarian was driven mad by the gaze of a crocodile.
Cost
3/6 points
Effects
With this Advantage, you can freeze a creature in your gaze (3 points) or actually draw it slowly closer to you with its defenses down (6 points). Either form of this Advantage requires you to roll Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty 6) and collect successes equal to the target's Willpower. A botch means that the target has shaken off your influence and cannot be hypnotized this way again. Although most folklore speaks of creatures with hypnotic eyes, the Mesmerism Advantage might work through sound (siren songs), scent (a panther's breath), or even taste (the honeyed touch of a Venus flytrap's nectar).
- Freeze Gaze: The creature is paralyzed and unable to move while under your influence.
- Draw Closer: The creature is compelled to walk towards you, lowering its defenses and making it vulnerable.
- Various Mediums: Mesmerism can be performed through visual, auditory, olfactory, or even gustatory means.
Modifiers
The effectiveness of Mesmerism can be influenced by various factors:
- Willpower: Higher Willpower targets require more successes to mesmerize.
- Botched Roll: A botch makes the target immune to future attempts of mesmerism from the same source.
- Medium of Influence: The method of mesmerism (eyes, song, scent, etc.) can affect its success.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to mesmerize your target, it may become aware of your attempt and could react aggressively. A botch makes the target immune to your future attempts to mesmerize them.
Associated Traits
Mesmerism is often associated with creatures known for their hypnotic capabilities, such as wolves, serpents, and mythical beings like sirens and dragons.
Notes
Mesmerism can be a powerful tool in the right hands but requires careful consideration of the target's Willpower and the medium used to exert influence. The method of delivery should be chosen based on the situation and the target's potential resistance.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Musical Influence
You have the song of the siren, the wail of the banshee, or even the laugh of the hyena. Be it howl, wail, hum, hiss, or actual song, you can create a powerful miasma of emotion with which to ensnare the unwary, inspire the timid, or enrage the mob. You can charm, cheer, terrify, or depress anyone within hearing. These feelings are surface emotions, not soul-altering magicks, but they can have powerful effects nonetheless.
Cost
3 points
Effects
This power allows you to influence the emotions of those who hear your song. The specific effects depend on the type of influence exerted, ranging from inspiration to terror.
- Emotional Ensnarement: You can charm, cheer, terrify, or depress anyone within hearing.
- Surface Emotions: The feelings induced are surface emotions and not deep, soul-altering changes.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and range of musical influence can be influenced by various factors:
- Social Attributes: The success of the influence is determined by a Social Attribute + Ability roll (difficulty is the target's Willpower, and extra successes allow additional victims to be influenced).
- Specific Abilities: Different combinations of Attributes and Abilities can be used, such as Manipulation + Seduction to lure, Charisma + Leadership to inspire, or Manipulation + Intimidation to terrify.
Cost of Failure
If the influence fails, the target may realize why they feel the way they do and can dismiss those feelings as witchery. Emotions, however, tend to linger in spite of common sense.
Associated Traits
Musical Influence is often associated with creatures known for their vocal abilities, such as sirens, banshees, and hyenas. These creatures use their vocalizations to manipulate the emotions of those around them for various purposes.
Notes
This power is not a compulsion, but it can strongly affect surface emotions, making it easier to manipulate, inspire, or intimidate others.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Mystick Shield
True to its chancy and changeable nature, magick does not affect all beasts equally. Some seem simply insensible to it; spells roll off of others like water off a duck's back. Some beasts can instinctively (or purposely) throw up a sudden shield against mystical strikes. A few lucky creatures are just, well, lucky — they never seem to be right there, or properly in focus, or out from behind cover. Whatever form your defense takes (you and the Storyteller should agree on its precise nature before the game), it helps keep your fur unsinged in magickal combat.
Cost
Varies
Effects
This power allows the creature to resist magickal attacks by either adding dice for countermagick or increasing the difficulty of the mystical attack against it. The precise nature of the defense should be determined in collaboration with the Storyteller.
- Countermagick: For every two points spent, the creature gains one die of countermagick.
- Increased Difficulty: Alternatively, for every two points spent, the difficulty of a mystical attack (such as Gifts, Thaumaturgy, cantrips, etc.) directed at the creature is increased by one.
Modifiers
The effectiveness of the Mystick Shield can be influenced by various factors:
- Concentration: Using this power requires concentration and must be declared as an action each turn. It takes dice away from other tasks.
- Distraction: Attempting to use the shield while performing other tasks is distracting, and the dice used in the shield must be subtracted from the creature's normal total.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to maintain its Mystick Shield, it may suffer full effects of the magickal attack. A failed defense might leave the creature vulnerable to subsequent attacks and could result in severe injury or other detrimental effects.
Associated Traits
Mystick Shield is often associated with creatures known for their resilience and adaptability in combat, particularly those who are frequently targeted by magickal entities or who dwell in highly magical environments.
Notes
The specific nature of the Mystick Shield should be agreed upon with the Storyteller before the game to ensure it fits within the narrative and mechanics of the campaign. This power requires careful management of actions and concentration during combat.
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
Like a cat, you can see in the dark as long as even a dim light source (starlight, one candle, etc.) exists. Even in total darkness, a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 8) reveals the outlines of your surroundings. The Storyteller may also require rolls (at varying difficulties) if you want to see through conditions like fog, smoke, etc. Despite its name, this Advantage reflects all kinds of sensory "mapping," from dolphin calls to cat's whiskers. Depending on the sense and circumstances, you might suffer some additional penalty if that "sight" is blocked. Sharp noises confuse the dolphin, and no cat can sense distant things with his whiskers.
Cost
3 points
Effects
This power allows you to see in low-light conditions and even in total darkness with some limitations. Your ability to navigate and perceive your surroundings in the dark is significantly enhanced.
- Enhanced Vision: You can see clearly in low-light environments and discern shapes and outlines in total darkness.
- Adaptability: The power includes various forms of sensory mapping, allowing you to perceive your surroundings using other senses if vision is impaired.
- Perception: You can make Perception + Alertness rolls to detect details in complete darkness, although the difficulty may vary based on conditions like fog or smoke.
Modifiers
The effectiveness of nightsight can be influenced by various factors:
- Light Sources: The presence of even minimal light greatly enhances your vision.
- Environmental Conditions: Conditions like fog, smoke, or other obstructions may require additional Perception + Alertness rolls at varying difficulties.
- Sensory Interference: Certain noises or other sensory inputs can disrupt your ability to "see" using other senses.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to utilize your nightsight effectively, you may struggle to navigate or perceive threats in the dark. This can lead to increased vulnerability and potential danger from unseen hazards.
Associated Traits
Nightsight is often associated with nocturnal creatures and those adapted to dark environments, such as cats, owls, and other animals with heightened night vision capabilities.
Notes
This power requires a basic level of light for optimal effectiveness, but can also include various forms of sensory mapping for complete darkness. It is crucial for navigating and surviving in dark environments.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Rapid Healing
Rapid Healing
Like Antaeus, who sprang back from every blow refreshed, you heal with uncanny speed. This ability allows you to recover from injuries much faster than normal creatures.
Cost
Variable
Effects
For each two points you spend on this Advantage, you recover at the rate appropriate for one Health Level lower. For instance, you only take three days to recover from being Injured (rather than the normal one week), as if you were merely Hurt. If you are Bruised, you regain that Health Level in one (noncombat) turn, rather than one day. For four points, you only take one day to recuperate from being Injured, as if you are merely Bruised, and so on.
- Accelerated Recovery: The creature heals injuries at a significantly faster rate, reducing downtime and vulnerability.
- Enhanced Vitality: The creature's body repairs itself with remarkable efficiency, restoring health and stamina quickly.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and duration of rapid healing can be influenced by various factors:
- Severity of Injury: More severe injuries may still take longer to heal, despite the accelerated rate.
- Overall Health: The creature's general health and condition can impact the speed and effectiveness of healing.
- Magical Interference: Magical or supernatural effects might disrupt or enhance the rapid healing process.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to heal rapidly, it may suffer prolonged pain, reduced mobility, and increased vulnerability to further injuries. Additionally, the healing process might be incomplete, leaving scars or weakened areas susceptible to future damage.
Associated Traits
Rapid Healing is often associated with creatures known for their resilience and survivability, such as certain mythical beings and magical creatures. These entities use their rapid healing abilities to withstand and recover from the harshest of battles and environments.
Notes
This power is typically voluntary and requires the creature to have a natural or magical inclination towards accelerated healing. Involuntary or uncontrolled rapid healing can lead to complications and unintended consequences.
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 lizard regrows his tail and the hydra regrows her heads. Your powers lie somewhere in this range. For two points, you can regrow a tail, tentacle, horn, or similar secondary protrusion. For four points, you can count on severed limbs or gouged eyes being restored. For six points, you must be burned to ash, dissolved in acid, or given deadly poison to "stay dead."
Cost
2/4/6 points
Effects
This power allows you to regrow lost body parts, from minor protrusions to major limbs and even vital organs, depending on the level of investment. The process is not instant and requires time proportional to the severity of the injury.
- Minor Protrusions (2 points): Regrow tails, tentacles, horns, or similar parts. This process takes at least one day.
- Major Limbs (4 points): Regrow severed limbs or gouged eyes. This process takes at least three days.
- Vital Organs (6 points): Regrow vital organs such as the heart or brain. This process takes at least a week.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and duration of regrowth can be influenced by various factors:
- Healing Lick: This Advantage can speed normal healing and stop the pain of your injuries but will not help regrow severed parts.
- Cauterization: Fire or acid can cauterize a stump, preventing you from healing the lost piece(s) at all.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to maintain the regrowth process, you may suffer from incomplete regeneration, resulting in non-functional or malformed body parts. Additionally, the effort to regrow a part without success can lead to significant exhaustion and potential vulnerability.
Associated Traits
Regrowth is often associated with creatures known for their remarkable regenerative abilities, such as lizards and mythical hydras. These creatures use their power to recover from injuries that would be fatal to most beings, reflecting their resilience and adaptability.
Notes
This power requires time and a safe environment to be effective. Attempting to regrow body parts in dangerous or unstable conditions can lead to failure and further injury.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 116
Shapechanger
Some beasts shift forms even more dramatically than the barnacle goose, which transforms from clam to bird, and that only once. Many of the greater mystical creatures — dragons, unicorns, even some exceptional "normal" animals — can change their forms as easily as humans change their clothes. Although you bear no relation to the so-called "Changing Breeds," you are able to shift forms.
Cost
3/5/8 points
Effects
This power allows the creature to change its shape. Switching forms usually takes one turn, although the nature of your change may indicate a slower (or faster) change. Barding, weapons, gear, and clothing do not shift; if your forms have differing numbers of limbs or different arrangements of them, you'll probably want to transform while naked.
- Single Alternate Form: For 3 points, you can take one alternate form (a hawk, woman, lynx, or shark).
- Range of Forms: For 5 points, you may take any form within a certain range (birds, humans, cats, fish).
- Unlimited Forms: For 8 points, you may change into anything, assuming that you have the necessary Advantages.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and versatility of shapechanging can be influenced by various factors:
- Additional Advantages: This Advantage only grants you the ability to change shape; any extra Advantages or special characteristics of the new form must be purchased separately. For example, an ape who wished to transform into a falcon must purchase wings, claws, and reduced size.
- Magical Detection: To those who notice such things (Perception + Awareness, difficulty 7, or any number of magicks), shapeshifters can be easily seen as the magical beings that they are.
- Consistency of Smell: Your smell may either shift with your form or remain the same, or you may always smell like all of your forms at the Storyteller's discretion.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to successfully change shape, it may suffer from partial transformations, leading to physical and functional disadvantages. This can leave the creature vulnerable and conspicuous.
Associated Traits
Shapechanger is often associated with mystical creatures like dragons, unicorns, and exceptional animals that can change their forms as easily as humans change clothes. These creatures use their ability to shift shapes for various purposes, including survival, espionage, and deception.
Notes
The point cost for shapechanging depends on the number of forms you can shift into. This power requires a clear understanding of the forms the creature wishes to assume, and the Storyteller may allow you to buy Talents, Skills, or Knowledges unique to one of your forms at a discount if they support an excellent character concept.
The Storyteller may also rule that if a human transforms into a pig, for example, he must purchase Human Speech to retain the ability to talk.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 117
Magi and their familiars often share an intense empathic link; you feel what she feels and even know, in a way, what she knows. Through the same channel, she feels your emotions and shares your knowledge. This is a tremendous feeling when relations are good, although suspicion, secrecy, and mistrust can poison this bond even more thoroughly than usual.
Cost
5/7 points
Effects
This power allows you to see through each other's eyes and access each other's thoughts, sharing hunches, gut feelings, and instincts. It is not telepathy in the strictest sense but a mystic bond that facilitates the exchange of understanding between you and your familiar.
- Shared Knowledge: At five points, either of you can utilize any Knowledge that the other possesses, so long as you're both in the same room (or within 50 feet or so outdoors). This is intuitive understanding, not formal instruction, so the Ability fades when the channel is closed or broken. You must both make a conscious decision to commune and share wisdom. For especially complex understandings (like dragon politics or Talmudic commentary), you might both have to make a Wits + Intuition roll (difficulty = Knowledge rating + 3).
- Shared Vision: For seven points, you also gain the ability to literally see through the other's eyes.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and duration of Shared Knowledge can be influenced by various factors:
- Distance: Both abilities function up to a distance equal to your Willpower in hundreds of yards. Using this power over longer distances can be exceedingly disconcerting.
- Emotional State: The bond is more effective when relations are good; suspicion, secrecy, and mistrust can weaken or disrupt the connection.
Cost of Failure
If the bond is poisoned by negative emotions or the connection is disrupted, you may lose access to the shared Knowledge and insights, and the emotional turmoil can cause distress or confusion.
Associated Traits
Shared Knowledge is often associated with magi and their familiars, reflecting an intense bond that goes beyond mere sensation sharing. This power is linked to deep understanding and mutual trust, often found in relationships where the participants are closely aligned in purpose and spirit.
Notes
This power requires both parties to make a conscious decision to share Knowledge and wisdom. It is a voluntary and mutual process, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and trust in maintaining the bond.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 117
Size
Man occupies the center of creation, not merely theologically but physiologically. Beasts, fishes, and birds all range from the incomparably vast (elephant, whale, roc) to the minute (shrew, minnow, bee), with humanity right in the middle. If your size is roughly human (wolf, great ape, leopard), then you need not purchase this Advantage, although you might consider either the Merit: Huge or the Flaw: Short to reflect your personal size.
Cost
3/5/8/10 points
Effects
If you're considerably larger or smaller than a human, the following Advantage levels apply:
- 3 points: A bit larger (lion, pony, condor) or smaller (mastiff, cheetah, eagle) than human.
- 5 points: A lot larger (horse, boa, crocodile, bear) or smaller (cat, pike, falcon) than human.
- 8 points: Considerably larger (gryphon, great shark, buffalo) or smaller (pigeon, mouse, carp) than human.
- 10 points: Immensely larger (elephant, roc, whale) or smaller (spider, hummingbird, minnow) than human.
Each size level adds (or subtracts) one Health Level to the amount of damage you can withstand, and gives (or takes) one additional point of either Strength or Stamina. If you have two levels of increased size, subtract one from your opponents' difficulty to spot you (and to hit you); add one to those difficulties for each level of reduced size. At three levels, subtract or add two from those difficulties; at four levels, subtract or add three.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and implications of size can be influenced by various factors:
- Environment: The physical advantages of increased size are at least somewhat negated by the inconvenience of maneuvering in cramped quarters (like buildings, city streets, shipboard or forests), just as the disadvantages of being small are redressed by the ease with which tiny creatures can slip through cracks and spy on unwary prey.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to appropriately utilize its size, it may face difficulties in survival or combat. The disadvantages of being either too large or too small in certain environments can pose significant threats to the creature’s well-being and effectiveness.
Associated Traits
Size is often associated with the creature's overall capabilities and physical attributes. Larger creatures tend to have more strength and durability, while smaller creatures may benefit from stealth and agility.
Notes
When considering the Size Advantage, it’s important to take into account the creature’s typical environment and lifestyle to maximize the benefits and mitigate the drawbacks associated with its size.
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
Like the spirit-kin Changing Breeds, you can "step sideways" into one of the three Otherworlds that surround this mortal one. You may need to peer into a reflection, dive into a pool of water, step through a fire or a cloud of smoke, or use some other method to get across, but you can pass over.
Cost
8/10/15 points
Effects
This power allows you to approach different Otherworlds depending on the points spent:
- 8 points: Travel to one chosen World—the Middle World, the astral lands, or the Underworld.
- 10 points: Travel to two different Otherworlds.
- 15 points: Travel to all three Otherworlds.
The journey begins in the Penumbra and reaches out (or down) from there. In systems terms, Spirit Travel requires rolling five dice against the local Gauntlet rating and spending a point of Willpower.
- Seamless Passage: Depending on the number of successes, passage through the Gauntlet varies from instantaneous to taking three turns.
- Botch: Failure, lose Willpower point (or get stuck!)
- None: Failure, try again
- One success: Three turns to pass through
- Two successes: Takes two turns
- Three or Four successes: Takes one turn
- Five or more successes: Instant passage
Modifiers
The effectiveness and duration of spirit travel can be influenced by various factors:
- Travel Method: The method of travel should be determined with your Storyteller before play and may be linked to your Elemental Affinity.
- Environment: The destination within the Otherworlds often corresponds to the traveler’s nature. For example, a venomous cockatrice would gravitate toward the Lands of the Dead, while a virtuous stag would bound into the Middle World forests.
- Realm Restrictions: Some realms may be off-limits, or home worlds may be suggested by the Storyteller.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to maintain proper spirit travel, you may suffer from getting stuck between worlds, losing a Willpower point, or facing other adverse effects.
Associated Traits
Spirit Travel is often associated with creatures that have a strong connection to otherworldly realms and elements. These creatures use their ability to travel between worlds for various purposes, including exploration, communication with spirits, and evasion.
Notes
This power requires a clear understanding of the desired travel method and may necessitate familiarity with the cultural and environmental context of the destination Otherworld.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 119
Spirit Vision
Although you cannot pass beyond the Gauntlet between this world and the next, you can see through it. Since such "double vision" would drive you insane, this Penumbral sight is vague at best. The spirit world floats as a haze over the world you live in, rarely distinct enough to be intrusive, but visible nonetheless. Like most senses, this "vision" could be rooted in smell, taste, hearing, or touch—everything might look perfectly normal, but you can smell the icy rot of a nearby ghost. With a moment of concentration, you can sharpen this sense enough to drown out all other distractions—a useful talent if that ghost is coming closer.
Cost
3 points
Effects
This power allows you to perceive the spirit world overlaying the physical world. This perception is not clear or detailed but provides enough information to detect spiritual entities and activities in the vicinity.
- Vague Perception: The spirit world appears as a faint haze over the physical world, with occasional more distinct manifestations.
- Multi-Sensory Rooting: This vision can manifest through different senses, such as smell, hearing, or touch, in addition to sight.
- Concentration: With focused concentration, you can enhance this perception to gain clearer insights into the spiritual presence around you.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and clarity of Spirit Vision can be influenced by various factors:
- Mental State: Stress, distraction, or injury may impair your ability to use Spirit Vision effectively.
- Environmental Factors: Areas with strong spiritual activity or disturbances may either enhance or obscure your perception.
- Magical Interference: Strong magical auras or wards may distort or block Spirit Vision, requiring greater effort to see through them.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to maintain the focus required for Spirit Vision, you may experience sensory overload or confusion, potentially leading to a temporary loss of the ability or incorrect interpretations of spiritual phenomena. Additionally, failure to detect a significant spiritual threat in time can result in direct danger.
Associated Traits
Spirit Vision is often associated with creatures or individuals who have a strong connection to the spirit world, such as shamans, spirit-kin, and certain magical creatures. This ability allows them to navigate and interact with both the physical and spiritual realms more effectively.
Notes
Spirit Vision is a voluntary ability that requires practice and mental discipline to use effectively. It is not an innate or passive perception but one that must be consciously activated and maintained.
Source(s):Gods and Monsters p. 212
Tunneling
Worms burrow in the earth, but they're not alone. The lazy badger and the greedy mole also make their homes hidden away from Nature's pure sunlight. Should you choose to follow their example, you will also have the ability to tunnel through soft earth at half your normal walking speed (if you wish to leave a tunnel behind you), or at walking speed (if you only seek to move through the earth). The tunnel you leave is no larger than you are, of course; moles cannot dig tunnels under walls for men to follow. Exceptionally long tunnels may require a Stamina + Willpower roll to complete without surfacing; sooner or later, however, you'll have to come up for air.
Cost
3 points
Effects
This power allows the creature to tunnel through soft earth, providing a means of underground travel and potential escape from threats. The creature can choose to either leave a tunnel behind or simply move through the earth, disappearing from view.
- Burrowing Speed: The creature can tunnel through soft earth at half its normal walking speed if leaving a tunnel behind, or at full walking speed if not.
- Limited Tunnel Size: The tunnel created is no larger than the creature itself, preventing larger beings from following through.
- Stamina Requirement: Exceptionally long tunnels may require a Stamina + Willpower roll to complete without needing to surface for air.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and ease of tunneling can be influenced by various factors:
- Soil Composition: The type of soil or earth being tunneled through can affect the speed and difficulty of tunneling.
- Obstacles: Rocks, roots, and other underground obstacles may slow down the tunneling process or force the creature to find an alternate route.
- Physical Condition: The creature's physical condition, including fatigue and injury, can impact its ability to tunnel effectively.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to maintain its tunneling ability or encounters insurmountable obstacles, it may suffer from exhaustion or become trapped underground. A failed Stamina + Willpower roll may result in the need to surface prematurely for air, potentially exposing the creature to danger.
Associated Traits
Tunneling is often associated with creatures known for their burrowing habits, such as moles, badgers, and other subterranean animals. These creatures use their tunneling ability for protection, hunting, and creating homes hidden from surface threats.
Notes
This power is typically voluntary and requires the creature to have a clear understanding of its surroundings to tunnel effectively. Involuntary tunneling or tunneling in unfamiliar terrain can result in significant risks and challenges.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Unaging
Like the carp, you never show any sign of age or senescence. You will remain in the flower of maturity until cut down by predator, murder, or accident. This Advantage may seem useless in day-to-day experience, but can be most useful (and uncanny) in chronicles that sweep across great spans of time.
Cost
2 points
Effects
This power grants you eternal youth, preventing any visible signs of aging. Your physical and mental abilities remain at their peak, unaltered by the passage of time. This makes you appear forever in the prime of your life, unaffected by the ravages of age.
- Eternal Youth: Your appearance remains youthful and vigorous, never showing signs of aging.
- Peak Physical Condition: Your physical abilities do not decline over time, maintaining the same level of strength, agility, and endurance.
- Unchanging Mind: Your mental faculties remain sharp and clear, free from the degenerative effects of aging.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and impact of the Unaging trait can be influenced by various factors:
- Visibility: Remaining forever youthful may attract attention and curiosity from others, potentially leading to suspicion or envy.
- Emotional Impact: Witnessing loved ones age and die while you remain unchanged can lead to emotional distress and loneliness.
- Physical Injury: While aging is prevented, physical injuries and ailments can still occur and must be dealt with through normal healing processes.
Cost of Failure
There is no specific failure associated with the Unaging trait, but its advantages may come with unforeseen consequences such as social isolation or emotional challenges due to the disparity in aging between you and those around you.
Associated Traits
Unaging is often associated with mythical or supernatural beings known for their eternal youth and longevity, such as certain fae, vampires, or legendary creatures.
Notes
This Advantage does not grant immortality in terms of invulnerability to harm or death. It solely prevents aging, meaning that you can still be injured, fall ill, or be killed by other means.
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
Venom
All the venom in Satan's jealousy of man is contained in the bite of the serpent; can you wonder that such a wound poisons and festers? You also possess such venom, although it may not spring from such theological origins.
Cost
Variable
Effects
Venom can be delivered in a bite, claw, spur, or sting. Venomous breath or spittle is considered Hazardous Breath. If damage from the normal attack penetrates your victim's defenses, the poison takes effect as well. For every three points in this Advantage, you inflict one aggravated Health Level of poison damage. Contact poison, delivered by a simple touch, costs five points per Health Level and inflicts aggravated damage on any victim who touches you with his bare flesh or ingests your blood or organs.
- Poison Delivery: The venom can be administered through various means such as bites, claws, or stings, and even through contact with bare skin or ingestion of blood or organs.
- Aggravated Damage: The poison inflicts aggravated Health Level damage, making it more severe and harder to heal.
- Variable Cost: The cost of the venom depends on its method of delivery and the amount of damage it inflicts.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and severity of the venom can be influenced by various factors:
- Method of Delivery: The type of delivery (bite, claw, sting, contact) can affect the cost and impact of the venom.
- Victim's Stamina: The victim's stamina and ability to resist poison can influence the overall damage and effect of the venom.
- Environmental Conditions: Certain environmental conditions might enhance or diminish the venom's potency.
Cost of Failure
If the venom fails to take effect, it may result in the attacker being exposed to the venomous substance. Additionally, a failed venom attack might alert the victim to the nature of the threat, allowing them to take precautions or countermeasures.
Associated Traits
Venom is often associated with creatures known for their toxic abilities, such as snakes, spiders, and other venomous animals. These creatures use their venom both for hunting and self-defense.
Notes
This Advantage requires a thorough understanding of the poison and its effects on various victims. It is essential to consider the type of venom and its method of delivery when calculating the cost and impact of this Advantage.
See "Poison" in the Sorcerers Crusade rulebook (pages 201-202) for other suggestions about venom and poisoning.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Wall-Crawling
Like the spider, you can walk on walls or ceilings as easily as if they were floors (and at normal walking speed). This natural talent allows you to defy gravity and traverse vertical or inverted surfaces effortlessly.
Cost
4 points
Effects
This power grants you the ability to adhere to and move across walls and ceilings as if they were horizontal surfaces. The skill is instinctive and does not require conscious effort, making it an innate part of your abilities.
- Gravity Defiance: You can walk on any vertical or inverted surface without difficulty, maintaining your normal speed and agility.
- Stealth Advantage: This ability allows you to navigate environments in ways that others cannot, providing opportunities for ambush or escape.
- Versatility: You can use this skill in various situations, from climbing buildings to avoiding ground-based threats.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and ease of wall-crawling can be influenced by various factors:
- Surface Texture: Slippery or extremely smooth surfaces may require a roll to maintain grip, while rough surfaces are easier to traverse.
- External Forces: Strong winds or other environmental factors can affect your ability to stay attached to surfaces.
- Obstructions: Grasping hands or physical barriers can impede your movement, requiring additional effort to navigate around or through them.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to maintain your grip while wall-crawling, you may fall, leading to potential injury and exposure to danger. Additionally, losing concentration or being distracted can result in a sudden drop, compromising your position and safety.
Associated Traits
Wall-Crawling is often associated with creatures known for their agility and climbing abilities, such as spiders and certain lizards. These creatures use their natural talents to navigate complex environments and evade predators.
Notes
This power is typically innate and does not require any additional training or effort to use effectively. However, maintaining awareness of environmental factors and potential hazards is crucial to utilizing this ability to its fullest potential.
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Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Water-Breathing
As fishes and frogs do, you may breathe water as easily as air. For five points, you need not bother to breathe at all. If you cannot breathe air normally, you may buy this Advantage to be able to live as a fish out of water. (Being able to breathe only water costs no points.) This Advantage helps you withstand the rigors of deep or rapid diving, up to a point.
Cost
2/5 points
Effects
This power allows you to breathe underwater as naturally as you breathe air. For five points, you can exist without the need to breathe either water or air, effectively making you immune to suffocation.
- Underwater Breathing: You can inhale and exhale water without any harm, enabling you to stay submerged indefinitely.
- Pressure Resistance: Your body can withstand the pressures of deep water dives.
- Dual Environment Adaptation: For five points, you can live without needing to breathe either water or air, making you adaptable to both aquatic and terrestrial environments without limitations.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and duration of water-breathing can be influenced by various factors:
- Environment: The purity and temperature of the water may affect your comfort and efficiency while using this power.
- Physical Condition: Injuries or illnesses may impact your ability to maintain effective water-breathing.
- Magical Interference: Magical spells or curses may disrupt or enhance your water-breathing capabilities.
Cost of Failure
If you fail to properly activate or maintain your water-breathing, you may suffer from drowning or the bends (decompression sickness) if you are diving deep. Additionally, incomplete adaptation may result in breathing difficulties, both underwater and on land.
Associated Traits
Water-Breathing is often associated with aquatic creatures and those adapted to underwater environments, such as merfolk, amphibians, and certain water spirits. These beings possess an inherent affinity for aquatic habitats and often display remarkable swimming and diving abilities.
Notes
This power is typically voluntary and requires a clear understanding of the aquatic environment. Involuntary or partial activation can lead to significant disadvantages and risks, particularly when transitioning between water and air environments.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Webbing
The spider's web traps the unwary fly — the more it struggles, the more certain is its doom. Like the spider, you can entrap your enemies in webbing, a magical beard, sticky saliva, or some other substance.
Cost
5 points
Effects
This power allows you to create and use webbing to trap foes, travel distances, or manipulate objects from afar. The webbing can be used in various ways depending on the complexity and the user's skill in Webworking.
- Travel: Move up, down, or across distances on your web with ease.
- Craft Large Webs: Create extensive webs to cover large areas or block entrances.
- Snare Foes: Trap enemies in your web, immobilizing them.
- Manipulate Objects: Grab objects at a distance or block entrances using the webbing.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and durability of the webbing can be influenced by various factors:
- Web Strength: Standard webbing has six soak dice and three Health Levels. To escape, a victim must achieve three or more successes on a Strength roll with difficulty 8. Weaker or stronger webbing may adjust this difficulty at the Storyteller's discretion.
- Skill in Webworking: A good Dexterity + Webworking roll is required to perform complex web-weaving tasks.
- Environmental Factors: External conditions such as wind, rain, or magical interference can affect the stability and usability of the webbing.
Cost of Failure
If the webbing fails to trap the intended target, the user may be exposed to immediate danger. Additionally, a failed web may not provide adequate support for travel or object manipulation, potentially leading to falls or dropped items.
Associated Traits
Webbing is often associated with creatures known for their cunning and trapping abilities, such as spiders and other silk-spinners. These creatures use their webbing for various purposes, including hunting, defense, and mobility.
Notes
Webworking is considered a Skill that only silk-spinners can purchase. Complex web-weaving must be learned and mastered to use this power effectively.
Source(s): The Bygone Bestiary p. 120
Wings
The simplicity of this Advantage's name is exceeded only by the simplicity of its nature: You may fly. Most flying beasts possess physical wings, although some fabulous creatures need nothing but their own innate magic. For three points, you may fly at up to normal human jogging speed (13 yards/turn); for five points, you may cover 20 yards per turn. To fly faster than human running speed, you must purchase the Advantage: Extra Speed.
Cost
3 points for 13 yards/turn, 5 points for 20 yards/turn
Effects
This power allows the creature to fly, using either physical wings or innate magic. The speed and maneuverability of the flight depend on the points spent.
- Flight Capability: The creature can fly, with speeds depending on the points allocated (13 yards/turn for 3 points, 20 yards/turn for 5 points).
- Versatility: The power of flight can be used for various purposes, including travel, combat, and evasion.
- Magical or Physical: Flight can be achieved through either physical wings or innate magical abilities.
Modifiers
The effectiveness and utility of wings can be influenced by various factors:
- Environment: Flight may be affected by environmental conditions such as weather, terrain, and altitude.
- Physical Condition: Injuries or fatigue can impact the ability to fly effectively.
- Magical Interference: Certain magical fields or spells may hinder or enhance flight capabilities.
Cost of Failure
If the creature fails to maintain proper flight, it may suffer from falls, collisions, or other aerial mishaps. Additionally, failing to fly can lead to vulnerability to ground-based threats and obstacles.
Associated Traits
Wings are often associated with creatures known for their grace, agility, and ability to traverse great distances. Examples include birds, dragons, and other mythical beings with the power of flight.
Notes
This advantage is primarily for voluntary flight. Creatures with involuntary or uncontrollable flight may consider this a Flaw rather than an Advantage.
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