ASHRINGA
WEREHORSES FOR WHITE WOLF’S WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE™ REVISED EDITION By Laura “Tamara” Henson
Ashringa - Werehorses for White Wolf’s Werewolf: the Apocalypse Revised Edition © 2005, 2007, 2009; Laura “Tamara” Henson This book is copyrighted but you are encouraged to make copies and print-outs as needed. This PDF has been published as a free download – if you are asked to pay for it you have been a victim of fraud. This document is a reorganized and reedited version of my original werehorse rules which were first published in nine parts back in 2005. This book is a Breed book designed for use with Werewolf: the Apocalypse published by White Wolf © 1994-2004 and a copy of that book is needed to play this game.
All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional or used in a fictional context and any similarity to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. The art used in this book comes from a variety of copyright free images as well as various Clipart publications including Corel Clipart, Hemera, Microsoft Works and Word, and Wikipedia Commons. All copyrighted work is from Simply Software’s Sci-Fi & Fantasy Clipart 3 and Witches and Wizards Clipart both edited by Jon Gustafson and © 1997-2008, No Hassle Home.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Horses of the Dawn: An Introduction
Introduction Bibliography Werehorses in the World of Darkness Ashringa Lexicon
2 4 6 12
Horses of the Sun: Creating A Character
Character Creation Merits & Flaws Forms and Movement
16 22 23
Horses of War: Combat
Combat Rules Iron, Rage, & the Delirium Renown
26 29 30
Horses of the Moon: Lore of the Unicorn
Gifts Rites Fetishes & Talens
32 53 56
Horses of Thunder: Totems & Spirits
Totems Antagonists A Death Valley Bestiary
60 71 75
Horses of Fire: A Setting
Death Valley National Park The Dwells of America
87 101
Horses of the Wind: The Animal Kinfolk The Kinfolk of the Arweharis: Zebras The Kinfolk of the Avarim: Celtic Ponies The Kinfolk of the Karkadamm: Asiatic Asses
The Kinfolk of the Killina: the Takhi The Kinfolk of the Nabrima: the Brumby The Kinfolk of the Nhurim: the Mustang The Kinfolk of the Nimbi: the Donkey Character Sheets
120 122 125 128 130 131 131 134 135
HORSES OF THE DAWN: AN INTRODUCTION
“Now I will believe that there are unicorns” -William Shakespeare In 2006 I decided to start a Werewolf: the Apocalypse® Chronicle. Unfortunately two of my players were full of misinformation about wolves and refused to participate as they did not want to play “evil animals”. I asked my players what kind of animals they would like to play and everyone agreed that horses were “nice”. So I did some research than sat down with a copy of the Werewolf core rules (2nd edition) and the Player’s guide and created this document. As this book was meant to replace the werewolves in my Apocalypse chronicle it is rather lengthily so I originally published it on the internet in nine parts. However that version did not convert to PDF very well as the pictures bled into the watermark I used as a background. This revised Edition corrects that problem as well as fixes some` mistakes made in the original edition. This is not the first attempt to adapt werehorses to the Storyteller System’s Werewolf: the Apocalypse® game, three others have already been published on various internet sites, yet all of those versions were disappointing to me. The previous adaptations all had two things in common, they were incomplete and their authors seemed ignorant of the plight of the many species of wild horse in the world. In fact only one version had a tribe based on a wild species instead of a domesticated breed and that was the most obvious- the Zebra. Yet there are seven species of wild equine in the world (as well as such “feral” types as the mustang and brumby) and many of these are among the most endangered animals on Earth, a fact that gives a ready made plot hook to an Apocalypse game! In this book I am going to combine elements from the previous efforts with actual horse mythology. In particular I am going to change the name of the race to reflect actual legends. All the previous versions used different names for their werehorses (Equi, Equinasi, and Kelpies) but only one was a name found in actual mythology. However this name (Kelpie) is already found in Werewolf: the Dark Ages as the Garou term for a bane possessed mortal horse so I decided to start afresh with a new name. I decided upon Ashringa based on the Indian legends of Rishyashringa, a boy who had a human for a father and a unicorn for a mother. A character noted for his role in defeating the demon dragon of drought and healing a kingdom from corruption. What better myth to link an Apocalypse tribe to?
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Nonfiction (Horses) The World According to Horses: How They Run, See, and Think- by Stephen Budiansky: just as the title says. This book gives a good summary of facts about horses and their behavior. The Horse in Magic and Myth- by M. Oldfield Howey: Everything you ever wanted to know about horses in mythology, folklore and ancient religious rituals. This is simply the best book on the subject. A Natural History of Zebras- by Dorcas MacClintock: Everything you need to know about the history and behavior of zebras. It also has some information on the other species of wild horse as well. Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies- PBS. An Emmy wining episode of Nature that documents the life of a wild mustang in the Arrowhead Mountains. The DVD version also includes the sequel Cloud’s Legacy. America’s Last Wild Horses- by Hope Ryden: A strong stomach is recommended when reading this book which details the attempts the US government has taken to exterminate the native mustangs in order to demoralize the Native American Population. A must read for Nhurim players. The Last Wild Horse- by Morris Weeks: The story of the Przhevaslsky’s horse and the Tarpan. Zoobooks: Wild Horses- by John Wexo: A little magazine with a huge amount of information. It not only describes but illustrates (in color) every species of equine known.
Nonfiction (Unicorns) Unicornis: On the History and truth of the Unicorn- by Michael Green: A beautifully illustrated book claiming to be a translation of the Codex Unicornis, a 15th century manuscript written by a Gnostic monk named Magnalucius. The seven houses of the unicorn were my inspiration for the Ashringa’s tribes and its E. Piebus Untimus seemed to already be made for Werewolf: the Apocalypse. This is a book that I highly recommend for Ashringa or Child of Gaia players. The Unicorn- by Nancy Hathaway: A book on unicorn folklore dating from biblical times to today. It also contains the most detailed retelling of the story of Rishyashringa I have ever found. The Lore of the Unicorn- by Odell Shepherd: The best book ever written about the unicorn. For ancient reports and beliefs about the one horned wonder this is the book to read. Unicorns I Have Known and The Unicorn of Mount Kilimanjaro- by Robert Vavra: A book composed of incredible color photographs of horses made up into the most realistic unicorns ever. The text near the end is just as wonderful as the photos and is full of rare facts about the unicorn.
Nonfiction (Death Valley & Native American Mythology) American Elves: An Encyclopedia of Little People from the Lore of 380 Ethnic groups of the Western Hemisphere – John E. Roth: an encyclopedia of Native American Faerie Lore. Death Valley – Kenneth Alexander: a good introduction to the park. Death Valley’s Scotty‘s Castle: the Story Behind the Scenery by Stanley Paher: A tourist magazine that tells the history of Death Valley Scotty and highlights many of the features of the Castle he built in Death Valley.
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Death Valley: the Story Behind the Scenery - Bill Clark: A tourists picture book magazine showing some of the sites around the park. Dragons: A Natural History – Karl Shuker: A richly illustrated compendium of dragon legends from around the world. Exploring Death Valley: 3rd Edition – Ruth Kirk: An overview of the history of Death Valley, complete with many Shoshone legends but is a bit patronizing towards the Native American cultures. The Geological Story of Death Valley - –Thomas Clements: The geological and zoological history of Death Valley and one of the few books to point out that the donkeys and the bighorn sheep they are supposed to be competing with actually inhabit different areas of the park. The Origins of Inyo http://www.equinox-project.com: an interesting article on the Celtic inscriptions found throughout the Valley. Sacred Sites: A Traveler’s Guide to North America’s Most Powerful, Mystical Landmarks – Natasha Peterson: the perfect resource for finding a potential caern site in your local state. Weird America – Jim Brandon: An encyclopedia of Weird Events (such as rains of Blood, odd disappearances, Monster Sightings, Lost Treasures, and bizarre artifacts) from every state in North America. You can find more inspiration for a chronicle in this little book than in a dozen game products. Highly recommended, just make sure you get the 1978 version by Jim Brandon as a current book with the same title details nothing more than odd tourist spots.
Fiction (Ludography) Werepony: the Canter- by Red Raptor, (
[email protected] ): The first werehorse game. Short but has some nice gifts and Métis flaws. Werehorses-, author unknown but was located at: www.amgelfire.com/mi2/horsefeathers/equi.html. This is the second known werehorse text. Almost all the tribes were based on domestic breeds but it had an inspired Auspice system that I adopted for this book. Kelpies- by Art, www.maxpages.com/sibericandreams/kelpies.html: The final werehorse text that predates my own. It contains many gifts but divides the tribes into the warm blood and cold blood divisions used for domestic horses. It differs from the previous efforts in having the hispo form being the extinct Equus gigantus which he describes as a giant black horse instead of the Clydesdale sized zebra it really was.
Fiction (Novels & Films) Acornia- by Anne McCaffrey: A modern science fiction retelling of the Rishyashringa legend that has grown into an extensive series. Does for unicorns what her Dragon Riders of Pern series did for dragons. Birth of the Firebringer- by Meredith Ann Pierce: The first book in a trilogy this is one of the best unicorn stories ever published. Often described as “My Little Pony for grownups”, it is the story of Aljan, prince of the unicorns, and his quest to drive the evil wyrms from the Hollowed Hills. The Grey Horse- by R. A. MacAvoy: the story of an Irish werehorse searching for a kin-folk wife. While called a puca in the book, Ruairi Mac Eibhir has more in common with the Ashringa than with the pookas of Changeling: the Dreaming.
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The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West- by Mary Stanton: This is the book for adapting equines to the World of Darkness. Despite the fact that it was written in the 1980s it could easily be a chronicle all by itself- the spirit world, moon bridges, the wyrm, this book has it all! It was followed by a sequel called Piper’s Song which is almost as rare as the first novel. The Last Unicorn- by Peter S. Beagle: The classic novel (and movie) about a unicorn who is turned into a human woman in her quest to free her kind from the Red Bull. Mad Amos by Alan Dean Foster: A collection of all his Mad Amos Malone stories. Misty of Chincoteague, Brighty of the Grand Canyon, and Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West- by Marguerite Henry. These books tell the true stories of a wild Chincoteague pony, a heroic donkey, and Wild Horse Anne, a young woman disfigured by disease that single handedly saved the mustang from extinction. All were also made into movies. Nico the Unicorn- MGM Motion Picture: The best live action unicorn film ever. A young crippled boy rescues an abused pony only for it to give birth to a most unusual foal. Ignore the film “The Little Unicorn” as it is only a poorly made and childish remake of the much superior Nico. Nightmare- by Piers Anthony: A Xanith novel that turns the usual horse symbolism on its head when a good nightmare saves the land of Xanth from an invasion masterminded by an evil werehorse. The Unicorns of Balinor- by Mary Stanton: While Heavenly Horse is Stanton’s masterpiece this latter series for children may be useful for storytellers needing inspiration. It reminds me of an old 1985 cartoon series called Wildfire which I also recommend for Ashringa players if it ever is released on DVD. The Year of the Unicorn and The Key of the Keplian- by Andre Norton: These two Witch World novels are among the most recommended of the series as far as werehorses are concerned. In the first book a woman is kidnapped by a group of lycanthropes who call themselves the Wereriders because their leader is a werehorse. In the second story a Native American woman stumbles across the umbra into the Witch World where she rescues a race of magical horses from the forces of darkness. Unicorns! And Unicorns II- edited by Jack Dann and Gardener Dozois: A very good collection of modern fiction. Included in II are Michael Bishop’s The Calling of Paisley Coldpony about a Native American totem unicorn spirit, and a fantastic bit by Janet Kagan called Naked Wish Fulfillment about a unicorn spirit on the set of a porn film!
WEREHORSES IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS The horse is a major figure in mythology; even in areas where domesticated steeds were unknown equines were seen as representing the wild untamable force of nature itself, the wind incarnate and the Mother of the Moon. Indeed in many cultures Mother Earth was said to be a great white mare who fled as the moon before the Sun Stallion and whose mating (during an eclipse, as it was then that the sun obviously captured the moon) resulted in all the life on Earth. The horse was first domesticated by the nomads of Central Asia over 6,600 years ago and these nomads eventually became the Scythians and Aryans who introduced the domestic horse throughout Eurasia. To their early Greek, Egyptian, Celtic, and Indian neighbors the early horse riders seemed almost supernatural and were depicted as centaurs in ancient art. To the Nomadic tribes of India the horse was the symbol of leadership as bestowed by the Great Mother, even their kings were chosen by whose horse neighed first at the rising sun. Because of this close relationship with the horse it is no surprise that India’s legends are filled with men becoming horses, horses becoming men, and a marriage that resulted in Unicorn’s children.
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The Legend of Rishyashringa Long ago there lived an Indian holy man named Vibhandaka. For many years Vibhandaka lived alone in a cave high up in the Himalayas. Eventually the old hermit became so lonely that he prayed that the gods would send him a companion. Gaia granted his request by sending one of her creatures to him. The being that came to Vibhandaka’s cave was a white pony with the grace of a gazelle and a single golden horn in the center of her forehead. She was the most beautiful creature Vibhandaka had ever seen and he instantly fell in love with her and, with the blessing of Gaia, Vibhandaka was married to the unicorn by the gandharvas of the mountains. In time the unicorn gave birth to a son who was human in every way except for the horn in the center of his forehead. Vibhandaka and his wife named their son Ashringa which means “unicorn” and he eventually grew into a young man so wise in the ways of nature that he earned the title of Rishy which means “great sage” while still teen. One evening Rishyashringa returned home and found that his parents had died. He buried Vibhandaka and his mother and would have lived out his days alone in the mountains if it had not been for the princess Shanta. Shanta was the daughter of a king so greedy that Britra, the Dragon of Drought breathed upon the land and turned his realm into a barren desert. The king’s wise men told him that only the famous unicorn boy could restore his kingdom but the king refused to listen to the advice of the Brahmans. Thus princess Shanta felt that it was her duty to run away from home and find Rishyashringa to break her father’s curse. After months of searching Shanta finally found the unicorn boy and, by approaching him as a repentant disciple, she finally gained his trust. Eventually they fell in love and Shanta persuaded Rishyashringa to help her people. When Shanta returned to the drought struck kingdom the prideful king refused Rishashringa’s help and ordered his guards to kill him. As the guards approached him Rishyashringa began to pray and for the first time in over a year it began to rain. As the land turned from desert to farmland the shamed king turned his realm over to his daughter and took to his deathbed. Queen Shanta then married Rishyashringa and they all lived happily ever after. The legend narrated above is the short and sweet version of the origin of the werehorses. According to Ashringa lore the werehorses are simply the descendants of Rishyashringa and Princess Shanta. According to their myths the princess and the unicorn boy had seven sons. Each son in turn gave rise to one of the seven tribes (or bão) of Ashringa. The first of these sons was Assalam, the Mighty who crossed the bridge of ice to the new world. The next born was Ilvilon, the Devoted, who loved mankind. The third son was Vata, the Destroyer, who protected the desert from bandits and evil. The forth son was Ohani, the Trickster, who danced with the gandharvas and little people of the woods. The fifth son was Kestevara, the Peaceful, who brought the gift of writing to the east. The sixth son was Abram, Lover of the Sea, who ruled the islands to the south. And, finally the last son was Isfendarmd, Who Guards the Night, who brought light to a continent of darkness. Each of these seven stallions eventually moved to different lands where they interbred with the native peoples and equines and so sired one of the seven bãos (tribes) of the Ashringa. This is why each bão resembles a different human race and a different horse kin and it is also why all Ashringa belong to the same family and have a common goal.
The Creed of the Ashringa Just as the werewolves are Gaia’s immune system and the werecats are her eyes so the Werehorses are her kidneys. Their duty is to purify the lands and waters of the world to restore the fertility and balance of nature. They are Gaia’s love personified, charged with keeping her waters and lands clean of poison and
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disease a duty which is similar to that of the Gurahl’s but the goals of the two be êteiffer. While a werebear would allow itself to be killed so that a starving village could eat a werehorse would restore the fertility of the land so that the village could plant crops for long term survival. The Ashringa believe that there may still be hope for Gaia if the Earth Mother is returned to its original pure state. To do this they seek to return the Triat to health. It is not the Ashringa’s duty to go against the Wyrm, rather their duty is to purify the Wyrm of its corruption and restore the balancer Wyrm to power. The Ashringa have a lot of work to do to rebuild Gaia. Some groups fight to clean polluted areas by increasing regulations on air, water, and land quality. Others seek to restore endangered species and restore the Ashringa’s link with the other shape shifters. Still others seek to rescue wild equines from government sponsored roundups and slaughter houses in order to preserve their wild kin. Many still seek lost human kinfolk in blighted cities or poverty stricken reservations. The Ashringa follow the Codex Unicornis, a prophecy equivalent to the Garou Prophecy of the Phoenix. To the Ashringa now is obviously the time mentioned in the Codex. This has caused the Ashringa to change their habits for the better. In the past the werehorses were more concerned with hiding from the werewolves and preserving their horse kin then in human affairs. But the Codex declares that now is the time for Unicorn to show himself and the Ashringa are disclosing their presence to the world. The Time of the Great Purification is at hand and unicorn’s children must be ready to come out of hiding and rebuild the world to prevent the Apocalypse. Even humanity must become aware of their presence for the Codex states that man must know the true nature of the unicorn if he is to resist the corrupting influence of the Wyrm. But showing oneself to man is dangerous so the Ashringa have responded by encouraging unicorn images in literature and art. Most Ashringa will show themselves in monoceros form to people whom they judge to be innocent or pure of heart for it is only by knowing that magic is real and that Gaia loves all her children that man can find the hope that will cure the Wyrm’s madness and restore the Earth to primal harmony
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The Codex Unicornis The unicorn is a kindred race, bound to us in love and service. He points the way, he guards the gate, and he waits until the end. Behold! An age shall come when science shall darken everywhere the hopes of men. Chariots of iron shall roll the land, which shall grow hard and barren to bear their weight. The air shall be filled with the clamor of many voices. Unknown plagues and sicknesses shall arise. The sphere of the moon shall bear the booted heels of man. Two mighty kingdoms will contend for the world, and turn against it, until the soil and the sea shall sicken and the winds become a flux of poisoned vapors. And men shall be sorly tried, so that at the last, none may escape the choice between light and darkness. Then, in the time of Great Purification, will the unicorn return in strength, lingering at the margins of our realm, to seed our minds with dreams of a brighter age to come, and many shall hunger to see him in his true shape. But being a spiritual creature, the unicorn must conform himself to the images held in the hearts of those who call him forth. And there will be so many ill-formed and conflicting ideas as to his nature, that he can hardly find a way to satisfy them all. Then must these pages be revealed and broadcasts without restraint; that all confusion may be resolved and a unity of vision call forth the unicorn in his true, original, and perfect state. © Michael Green, from “Unicornis: The History and Truth of the Unicorn.
Attitudes of the Other Shape Shifters Garou: Most Garou tribes believe that the Ashringa worship the Wyrm and were only put on Earth by Gaia to be their prey. All Garou, except for Black Furies, Children of Gaia, Stargazers and Silent Striders will attack an Ashringa on sight and aim to kill, believing them to be made for just that. If ever convinced otherwise the Garou nation will find a very dedicated force ready to combat the corrupted Wyrm. Corax: the Corax, on the other hand, know that the purpose of the Ashringa is to restore the balance and are trying to convince the Garou that the horses are good for Gaia, though the Garou are as stubborn as always. Corax and Ashringa get along exceptionally well. Anansi: its’ uncertain if the spider-folk knows of the Ashringa’s existence, nor what they think of it. Bastet: In essence, the cats are no better than the wolves. With the exception of the Bubasti, Ceilican and Qualmi, all cats see horses as their natural prey. Balam, Pumonca and Simba in particular go after the Ashringa who they see as their natural enemies. Gurahl: The bears on the other hand, being Gaia's’healers themselves, are the closest allies the Ashringa will ever have. They accept the werehorse’s work and occasionally help. Mokolé: The were-crocs remember the Ashringa, through until recently most Streams believed that that they had died out. While the larger crocodilians may eat horses it is uncommon and in any case the Mokolé know and accept the Ashringa’s purpose as it is similar to their own. In many areas allied Mokolé come to Ashringa Glories to tell the gathered werehorses of the times when real unicorns walked the Earth. Nagah: The were-snakes believe that the Ashringa have died out.
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Nuwisha and Kitsune: The trickster foxes and coyotes respect the Ashringa but rarely interfere with their problems. The Nuwisha especially enjoy exchanging tales of trickery with the Nimbi Tribe of Ashringa. Ratkin: It’s’ quite sure that the Ratkin know of the Ashringa’s existence, but they stay underground too much to make up an opinion on them. Then again, Ratkin like very few people, so it is debatable if they make an exception here. Rokea: Spending their existence in the waters, The Rokea knows only of the Nabrima Tribe of the Ashringa who they view as rather difficult prey. Other Supernatural Beings: Ashringa hate and despise vampires as the undead are a symptom of the Wyrm’s madness. The werehorses are also in conflict with the Technocracy mages who see the Ashringa’s attempt to show humanity the magic in the world as a threat. Dragons, Gargoyles and Faeries however are the Ashringas greatest allies as they all believe in returning the world back to the Mythic Age. Mummies do not know of the Ashringas existence and Immortals think they are a myth.
Ashringa Society “A horse is a member of a company. A horse is one with her fellows.” -El Arat, Dream Speaker of Bishop Farm (from Mary Stanton’s “Heavenly Horse”) Horses are heard animals and this is reflected by the society of the Ashringa. However horse herds are not organized like those of cattle or deer. Horses roam in bands consisting of a stallion, a lead mare, and from 1-13 subordinate mares and their foals. These mares are not related to the stallion. Despite popular belief, wild equines do not commit incest and both the young fillies and colts will leave their home band to find an unrelated mate when they reach puberty. A band rarely contains more than 16 animals and each band roams a territory of approximately 1-4 miles per adult member of the band. Only in times of migration do the various bands come together to form the huge herds that were once so common in the American West and in Africa. Even in a herd, however, each band is distinct with its own lead stallion and mare. One stallion in the herd is chosen by ritual combat to be the “king stallion” and it is this animal who decides on the herds movement and directs the other stallions in the defense of the herd. The Ashringa also have individual territories 1-4 miles square and every werehorse in the area belongs to a group called a charm. A charm is equivalent to a Garou pack and rarely contains more than 10 members. Equine kin are allowed to come and go throughout a charms territory. A perfect charm is supposed to contain one of each Suhn (Ashringa auspice) but these days a perfect charm is almost as rare as Unicorn herself.
Dwells “So in the course of his wanderings he returns to favored spots called dwells where he may safely rest.” - Magnalucius, 15th Century. As in the Garou the Ashringa gather in places of power. The Ashringa call these areas dwells and they are the equivalent of Garou cairns. Several charms that use the same dwell are collectively known as a grace. Originally graces were all composed of the same bão but as the number of safe havens dwindled mixed graces became the norm. The grace performs the same social, political, religious and protective duties as a Garou sept. The grace usually has one charm composed of older members who remain on permanent vigilance to care for the dwell and protect it. These elders often employ charms of younger Ashringa to perform missions for it. Most dwells are located in the deep wilderness but sometimes out of necessity one may be found near the haunts of men. Otherwise the composition, size of the Kossiacky (the land around the dwell, named after an
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Old Russian term for a wild horse’s territory, equivalent to a Garou bawn), dwell level, and totems are the same as in Garou cairns. The only real difference is the form taken by the cairn’s center. In an Ashringa grace the dwells center is always a naturally hidden spot. This could be as simple as a nest of ferns in tall grass, a secret bower in the center of a tangled hedge of wild rose, or a clearing in the forest or as elaborate as a hidden cave behind a waterfall, a pool of water, or even a long abandoned dolmen or stone circle. In all cases the center opens into an umbral glade which is the true heart of the dwell. Any Ashringa may enter the heart of a dwell in order to pass into the umbra. This is good because Ashringa, like most were-beasts, otherwise need a special gift to enter the spirit world. Many a predator has chased a wild horse into a grove of trees only to have it disappear into the umbra. The umbral dwell is a large area that appears to be an idealized version of the mortal world, filled with umbral plants and friendly spirit animals. If the outside is barren desert than the glade will be covered in golden sand bestrewn with wildflowers, if in the forest than all the trees will be perfectly healthy and in bloom, while city dwells will seem to be the loveliest of parks. In all cases the heart will be large enough to allow the grace to hold council and perform rites.
Glories “But when some great need comes to pass, the more ancient of the unicorns gather, unbidden, and of their own accord, in some remote place, whether lofty crag or secret glade. And there they hold their council.” - Magnalucius, 15th Century. The glory is the Ashringa counterpart to the Garou moot. The functions and dynamics are similar to those of the Garou but have their own cultural flavor. Each bão of Ashringa gives its own twist to a Glory. The Arweharis like to employ African chants and dances, the Nabrima commonly perform such feats as fire walking and other traits of the Pacific Islanders, while most modern Nimbi prefer drinking tequila, Latino music and breaking piñatas to the Native American sun dances and peace pipe smoking of their Nhurim neighbors. In all cases an Ashringa glory is divided into five sections: the Shu-pah, Ry-ya, Ya-rhuhn, Saiyah, and the Ya-eehaugh! Shu-pah: All glories begin with the Shu-pah or “opening neigh”. The local king stallion of the dwell acts in the roll the Garou call “the Master of the Howl.” Changing to Monoceros or Equine form the glory king rears onto his hind legs and calls out a welcome. This call is then answered by the rest of the Glory in an exuberant outburst of neighs, brays, whistles, stomping and general noise. In this way no matter their original suhn, bão, or charm all attending the glory are made to feel like one herd. Ry-ya: The Ry-ya, or “obedience to the spirits”, is dedicated to strengthening the dwell by contacting its totem spirits. It is thus equivalent to the Garou “inner sky” portion of a moot. Ya-rhuhn: Ya-rhuhn literally means “divine grazing” and it is the Ashringa equivalent to the Garou’s “cracking of the bone.” It begins with the “great recollection” in which the Glory’s Truthcatcher leads the elders in a speech in which they recount the history of their race and ends with the entire Glory pledging anew their vow to restore the Earth to purity. Only after finishing their vow do the Ashringa turn to dealing with the business of the Glory. During this time grievances are aired, grace policy is made, personal conduct is addressed, and decisions are made about the future. Sai-yah: The Sai-yah or “telling of divine stories” is led by the Grace’s Storyteller. She leads the Glory in spinning stories about the past and present. Ancient heroes are remembered and new ones honored with calls of recognition and praise. An Ashringa whose deeds have earned him a Storyteller’s praise gains much renown in the eyes of his peers. During this time visiting Mokole’ may be asked to share their memories and to remember the deeds of the Ashringa being honored at the Glory. This part of the Glory usually ends with music, feasting and dancing. Two dances, the “Moon Dance” (a circle dance) and the
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Dance of the Stars (a dance in which the entire Glory forms a single twisting line led by the king), are commonly performed at Glories. Ya-eehaugh: The Ya-eehaugh, or “divine challenge,” cumulates the Glory. As the stories, songs, and dances stir the Ashringa’s souls to a fever pitch the werehorse serving as Wyrm Foe changes into Monoceros form and gives forth the ringing cry of a stallion challenging a rival. The rest of the Glory answer his call, change to Monoceros (if not already in that form) and charge out of the Glory’s heart. The stampeding herd is then led on an exhausting run to clear the kossiacky of enemies. The energy released in the Ya-eehaugh is effectively raw gnosis (at least one point per person attending the Glory) which is used to recharge the dwell. As in Garou cairns a dwell needs at least five points of gnosis per level donated to it each moon to remain charged.
Ashringa Lexicon Alicorn: a unicorn or Monoceros form Ashringa’s horn. Alma: The Earth Mother Gaia in her form as the moon horse. Asbar: literally meaning “horse-head” this is one of the Ashringa’s “Glabro” forms. An Asbar resembles a horse headed man in contrast to the second Centaurus Glabro form. Baguale: a feral horse from South America, one of the Nhurim’s kinfolk. Brumby: the feral horses of Indonesia, New Zealand, and Australia, Nabrima kinfolk. Centaurus: one of the two “Glabro” forms of the Ashringa. It resembles a centaur. See Asbar. Colt: a male horse under four years old. Also slang for a Rank one male Ashringa. Chalico: the Ashringa’s Crinos form. It resembles the prehistoric Chalicotherium. Charm: Small groups of Ashringa, similar to a Garou pack. Dwell: a sacred place where Ashringa meet, similar to a Garou cairn. Equid: the type of wild horse an Ashringa is kinfolk with, mustang, ass, tarpan, onager, etc. Feathers: the shaggy hair on the lower legs of a horse. Filly: a female horse under four years old. Also slang for a Rank one female Ashringa. Forest of Brocileande: The umbral lands the Garou call The Summer Country. Galgallim: the true name of Unicorn, the whirlpool of harmony and love. Gelding: a castrated male horse. A castrated donkey is sometimes called a john instead. Also slang for an Ashringa who is cowardly (I.e. a wimp). Glory: a meeting of Ashringa at a dwell, similar to a Garou moot. Grace: a group of Ashringa who attend to a dwell, similar to a Garou sept. Hack: a “nag”, used as a slang term for an equine Ashringa born of domestic horse stock.
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Hand: a unit of measurement (equaling 4 inches) used to measure a horse’s height from the shoulders down. Herd: a group of horses. It is also a slang term for an Ashringa’s kinfolk, similar to the Garou “flock.” Hinny: a hybrid where the mother is a donkey and the father is a horse. Also slang for a female Métis Ashringa. Hobgoblin: a demon horse. From “Hob,” a small horse and “Goblin,” an evil spirit. Kossiacky: the territory claimed by a herd of wild horses, also the territory claimed by a Grace, similar to a Garou bawn. Mare: an adult (over 4 years old) female horse. A female donkey is sometimes called a jenny instead. Monoceros: the Ashringa’s Hispo form. It resembles a unicorn. Mulassier: A term meaning “mule breeder” that is used for an Ashringa who sleeps with another Ashringa, similar to the Garou “charach.” Mule: a hybrid with the mother being a horse and the father a donkey. Also slang for a male Métis. Orkus: the “dragon of death.” The beast of war aspect of the Wyrm. Palfrey: a fancy riding horse, also slang for an Ashringa who is a dandy or a yuppie. Rapture: the Ashringa word for a frenzy. It is divided into the Battle Rapture (berserk frenzy) and the Wind Rapture (fox frenzy). Rishy: a holy man of the continent of India who has renounced civilization. Used by modern Ashringa for a werehorse that belongs to no charm, similar to the Garou ronin. Roncey: a cob type horse. Also slang for a fat Ashringa. Serpens: the deceiver dragon. The defiler aspect of the Wyrm. Shamagrim: the Ashringa term for Pangaea. Stallion: an entire male horse over four years old. Male donkeys are sometimes called jacks instead. Takin Shara Nuru: “the mountains of the yellow horses” in Mongolia, the first Killina dwell. Tarasque: the ever hungry dragon. The eater of soul’s aspect of the Wyrm. Yaldaboath: the Wyrm. Seen as female by the Ashringa, Yaldaboath is the dark mother gone mad from the poisons that have sunk into the Earth. Only by purifying the world will nature be restored and the fragmented aspects of Yaldaboath once more form the balancer of nature she was meant to be.
A Lexicon of Equine Colors The coat colors and markings of horses is a science in and of its self with names that baffle the layman. What a horse breeder calls brown the average Joe calls black and the Lone Ranger’s horse Silver was
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actually gray not white. For that reason I am placing it in a lexicon all by itself for ease of reference. In the colors below a horse’s points are its lower legs, ear tips, muzzle, and dorsal stripe. Albino: white hair on pink skin with red eyes. This color is easily confused with White and Ivory. Bay: golden brown to reddish brown with black points. This color is called “russet” in donkeys and may have roaning on the face and legs. Black: black fur over the entire body. “dull black” is slightly reddish while “raven” is dark and glossy. Brindle: any solid equine color marked with stripes on the majority of the body. This color is extremely rare in horses, ponies and asses but is the only color found in zebras. Brown: black fur over most of the body fading to brown on the muzzle and belly. In donkeys this color has darker legs like a bay. Chestnut: this color, also called Sorrel, is brown ranging from tawny to reddish (a “bloodstone” horse is actually maroon in hue), bronze or chocolate. The mane and tail are the same color or slightly lighter (“flaxen”). Dun: this is either dark Ivory (called “buckskin” or “yellow dun“) or Grulla (called “mouse” or “blue” dun) with black points. Zebra stripes on the legs and mealy markings are common. “Rose dun”, a light pinkish grey with darker points, is a color unique to the donkey. Roses often arise from chestnut and slate parents and a rose that mates with a chestnut always produces slate foals. Frosted: white fur on pink skin with dark brown eyes. Genetically this is a roaned pinto and not a variant of Ivory or White. It is more common in the donkey than in horses. Gray: a gray horse is born black and gradually turns lighter as more and more white hairs appear. A young horse that is predominantly black is said to be “steel gray”, they then become “flecked” (black with occasional clusters of white), then “dappled” (the clusters become clearly defined patches of white) and finally “flea bitten” which is almost pure white with small, scattered patches of black hair. Some lighten even more to “silver” which is pure white fur on black skin. Grulla: this color, called Slate in donkeys, is gray hair on black shin. Often this color has a blue or pinkish tinge. See also dun. Ivory: this color, also known as Cremallo, is light cream, ranging from near white to golden, on pink or tan skin. The mane and tail is the same shade or darker than the body making it look like a white horse with a golden mane and tail. Eyes may be blue, amber, or brown. Palomino: Ivory with a white mane and tail. The perfect palomino is the color of a newly minted gold coin. Pinto: this color, called “spotted” in donkeys, is large patches of white and another color. It is called piebald if the colors are black and white and skewbald if it is white and any other color but black. Calico (two or more colors on white) is also known. Pinto is often called Paint but that is a breed of horse with pinto coloring rather than a hue. Roan: Roan is blue gray (“blue roan”) or reddish chestnut (“strawberry roan”) sprinkled with white hairs for a frosted effect. Arabian horses may have reddish hairs mixed among blue roan for a purple effect but this fades by eight years of age. Roan horses tend to have darker heads and legs while roan donkeys are lighter in these areas. Donkeys may also have dapples with dark centers on a lighter background. Smoky Black: a color unique to the donkey, this hue is actually black dun! The body is black with a visibly darker mane, tail, dorsal stripe, and zebra stripes on the legs. The muzzle is lighter than the body.
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Tyger: this is the spotted color found in the spotted donkey and the Appaloosa horse. There are several patterns including “leopard” (white with colored spots), “blanket” (dark with a white rump patch), “spotted blanket” (as in “blanket” but with the white patch covered with dark spots), “snowflake” (dark with light spots), marble (solid colored with both darker and lighter spots) and mixtures such as marbled blanket. Genetically it is similar to brindle except that the stripes have broken up into spots, note however that the hooves are still marked with vertical stripes and that zebras are occasionally born with this pattern. White: white hair on pink skin. Unlike albino white horses have blue or amber eyes. White horses may have a bluish (porcelain) or yellowish (dirty) tinge. Compare to Albino, Grey, Frosted, and Ivory.
Not Always Black and White: An Ivory Common Zebra
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HORSES OF THE SUN: CREATING A CHARACTER
And the Horse of the sun passed lightly through him. He felt it enter him. -“The Sun Horse”, ancient Navaho legend This chapter will contain the basic rules needed to create an Ashringa Character. It will contain the basic werebeast classifications as Breed, Tribe, and Auspice as well as notes on the forms, abilities, and Renown. Last I will give Character Sheet designed for Ashringa Characters. To create an Ashringa use the chart on pages 76-77 of Werewolf: the Apocalypse, substituting the following for the Garou equivalent.
Character Creation BREED Homid: You were born human and were raised by human parents. You did not know you were a werehorse until you were a teenager though you were probably always fascinated by horses, unicorns, or fantasy. You resemble the human race native to your bãos land of origin. Nickname: Horseman. Initial Gnosis: 1 Starting Gifts: Hoof’s Might, Nature‘s Plenty, Smell of Man. Métis: Unlike most Béte, Ashringa Métis are born in Monoceros (hispo) form instead of crinos form. By causing the most beautiful form an Ashringa can obtain to be twisted and deformed Gaia shows her displeasure in the sin that birthed him. Métis can be born as the result of mating by different bão in this case the hybrid resembles whatever cross their equine kin would have made (mule, hinny, zebrass, zorse, etc.) and the willpower will be the average of the two bão. Initial bão gifts may be taken from either parent’s list but subsequent gifts must be the same as that of the mother since it is her totem that teaches these gifts. Like most Béte, Métis Ashringa are sterile. Nickname: Mule Initial Gnosis: 3 Starting Gifts: Hobble, Sense Wyrm, Unicorn‘s Favor.
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Equine: You were born a wild horse, ass or zebra. You lived in the wild, the zoo, a wild animal park, or if really unfortunate, a stable. You did not know that you were one of Unicorn’s children until your first change at around 4-5 years old. Nickname: Cayuse Initial Gnosis: 5 Starting Gifts: Banish Crop, Heightened senses, Leap of Pegasus.
SUHN “We are not born to the Dark, only to shade and shadow.” -Sharna of the Keplians, Andre Norton
The Ashringa call their auspices suhns and they have ties to both the sun and the moon. As in the Mokolé the werehorses suhn is based on the time of day it is born but unlike Dragon’s children it is not the position of the sun that matters but the size of the newborn’s shadow. Ones suhn determines the character’s role in Ashringa society, which member of the Triat he follows, and how easily they Rage. Hrunnhe: Smaller Shadows (the Caretakers): Born in the morning the Caretaker’s shadow was smaller than she was at birth. Caretakers act as the healers, midwives and teachers. It is they who teach the new Ashringa the ins and outs of werehorse culture, proper behavior during glories, and how to survive in a difficult world. Outgoing and friendly, Caretakers are servants of the Wyld. Initial Rage: 1 Renown/Gifts: as Warding Mokolé Starting Gifts: Armor of the Tortoise, Blissful Ignorance, Sense Wyrm. Hrunnhai: Even Shadows (the Protectors): Born in the afternoon the shadow of the Equi was the same height as he was. Protectors are the fierce warriors of the sun. Unimaginative yet practical, they tend to see the world in black and white. Something is either a threat to the herd or it is not, there is no in-between. Many herd stallions belong to this suhn who see the Weaver as the chosen of the Triat. Initial Rage: 5 Renown/Gifts: as Ahroun werewolves Starting Gifts: Full Moon’s Blessing, Inspiration, Razor Horn. Hrunnsai: No Shadows (the Storyteller): Born at noon when shadows are nonexistent this is the rarest of the six suhns. The storyteller is the lore keeper of the Ashringa. She is the teller of ancient legends and recounts the history of their race. As a musician, poet and dancer she is free to serve any member of the Triat she chooses, and to change her alliance at will. Initial Rage: 4 Renown/Gifts: as Galliard werewolves Starting Gifts: Beast Speech, Mind Speak, Shadhavar‘s Horn. Hrunnsaiya: Long Shadows (the Dreamspeaker): Born at twilight, when the shadow of the Ashringa was taller than she was, the Dreamspeaker is the Shaman of the Ashringa. Spiritualistic and introspective, they are the callers of spirits, the keepers of rites, and the interpreters of visions. Dreamspeakers are adamant servants of the Wyld.
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Initial Rage: 2 Renown/Gifts: as Theurge werewolves Starting Gifts: Call Spirit, Mother’s Touch, Spirit Speech. Hrunnya: Moon Shadows (the Judge): The Ashringa was born at night when all shadows are cast by the moon. This is the most common suhn of the Ashringa and they are known for their common sense and good judgment. This innate “horse sense” allows them to make decisions that the rest of the herd will accept. Most lead mares of this suhn which serves the balancer Wyrm. Initial Rage: 3 Renown/Gifts: as Philodox werewolves. Starting Gifts: Sense Guilt, Scent of True Form, Truth of Gaia. Hrunnsaf: All Shadows (the Trickster): The Trickster was born on a moonless night when the shadows are all around him. The “jacks of all trade” of the herd they tend to have good teaching skills, some artistic talent, the ability to sense spirits, and good judgment. However all of this talent is smothered under an independent, willful, and mischievous nature. Horseplay is their life and they love to trick others, this annoying habit comes into its own in battle, however, for no other suhn is as clever in outsmarting the enemy. Many are the Wyrm servants who have been caught in the traps, decoys and ambushes planed by a trickster. The All Shadow Ashringa serves no member of the Triat but instead serves Gaia herself. Initial Rage: 1 Renown/Gifts: as Ragabash werewolves. Starting Gifts: Colt‘s Foot, Mimic, Scent of Running Water.
BÃO Truly, the unicorn displays a great variety of shapes, sizes, and temperaments, from the delicate deer like Avarim to the bold Arweharis that guards the night. -Magnalucius, 15th century. There are seven tribes or “bão” of Ashringa. Each bão is directly descended from one of the seven sons of Rishyashringa and each claims a separate horse kin which that bão resembles in animal form.
Arweharis This bão is descended from Isfendarmad. They inhabit the continent of Africa and their animal kinfolk are the several species of zebra. In equine form they are always striped, though their stripes may fade to silver in Monoceros form. Of all the bãos the Arweharis were the least affected by the War of Rage but they still lost the quagga when the wolves first came to Africa. Outside of Africa this tribe is most common in the Americas where both African Americans and zoo zebras are common. In other lands they are confined to areas with access to their animal kin. The Arweharis are a proud tribe that constantly strives to win the leadership of the Ashringa
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from their Nhurim brothers. Initial Willpower: 3 Backgrounds; No allies or mentor Tribal Totem: Lion Tribal Gifts as the: Shadow Lords Initial Gifts: Aura of Confidence, Camouflage, Fatal Flaw
Avarim: This bão is descended from Ilvilion and their homeland is Europe, England, and Russia. Their Monoceros shape is the typical unicorn of English art and their equine form is that of the “feral ponies” of their homeland. They come in all horse colors but many are a blue grey in the summer and white in the winter. In ancient times their animal kin was the tarpan but when that species was almost exterminated in 1887 (only a single hybrid herd survives in Poland) their kinfolk of choice became the many herds of wild ponies of Europe and the Chincoteague and Sable Island ponies of North America. The Avarim are the bão most in touch with humanity, indeed they have come to believe that the only hope for the survival of their animal kinfolk is in captivity. Initial Willpower: 3 Backgrounds; No Pure Breed Tribal Totem: Pegasus Tribal Gifts as the: Black Furies Initial Gifts: Heightened Senses, Impala’s Flight, Sense Wyrm
Karkadamm: This bão originated in the harsh deserts of Arabia. They are the children of Vata the Destroyer and to this day they believe that the best way to save Gaia is to destroy any human that dares to enter the wilderness. The Karkadamm are a predominantly equine tribe whose animal kin is the many forms of Asiatic Wild Ass (Kiangs, Kulans, Dzigettai, Khur, and Onagers) found in their homeland. In animal form they are yellowish grey to deep rusty gold with a grey to white underside and muzzle. Their animal kin are well known for being the fastest and most ferocious of all wild horses and their Ashringa relatives also live up to this reputation with bared teeth and blooded horns. Initial Willpower: 3 Backgrounds; No allies, contacts or resources Tribal Totem: Bull Tribal Gifts as the: Silent Striders Initial Gifts: Find Water, Sense Wyrm, Speed of Thought
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Killina: This bão is native to the Orient. They are the children of Kestivara and they are a gentle and honorable tribe. In their home country this tribe’s Monoceros form was known as the Qi-lin and it was considered a good omen to see one and bad luck to harm one, for this reason this tribe was relatively untouched by the War of Rage, it was modern hunters that decimated the Killina’s animal kin and not the Garou. Their equine form is the Takhi (Przewalski’s horse) and like their kin they are yellowish in color varying from ivory white to golden to a deep chestnut brown with a darker mane and tail. The legs are either black or zebra striped and the underside and muzzle are white. In the winter both sexes grow a goat like beard. While the takhi is nearly extinct in the wild there is a large zoo population. Their human kinfolk are of Chinese or Japanese decent. Initial Willpower: 4 Backgrounds; No restrictions Tribal Totem: Unicorn Tribal Gifts as the: Children of Gaia Initial Gifts: Mother’s Touch, Resist Pain, Sky Running.
Nabrima: The children of Abran originally inhabited the islands of Okinawa (Japan) and throughout Indonesia but as the wild ponies of this area began to be die out the bão swam to the south where they adopted the Australian brumby as kinfolk. Today only two herds of yonaguni survive and the brumby is nearing extinction due to over hunting so this bão is very rare. The Nabrima love the sea and all of their gifts come there, for example the gift Balance is taught to them by sea lion spirits, Merciful Blow by dolphin spirits, and Circular Attack by shark spirits. . The Nabrima come in all horse colors as well as a color unique to the wild ponies of Indonesia, dark chocolate brown with a cream mane, tail and covered with cream spots. Initial Willpower: 3 Backgrounds; No Allies, Pure Breed, or Resources Tribal Totem: Dolphin. Tribal Gifts as the: Stargazers Initial Gifts: Balance, Resist Weakness, Snorkel Horn.
Nhurim: It was only natural that the firstborn of Rishyashringa, Assalom, should make his way to North America and take as his kin the Native Americans and wild horses found there. The Nhurim’s original animal kin was the ice age Arctic Tarpan, a relative of the Takhi. During the War of Rage most of these American horses became extinct except for a few herds hidden in the mountains of Nevada. When the Spanish came they decimated the Nhurin’s human kinfolk but, as if in balance, they brought the mustang which escaped their masters and interbred with the surviving tarpans bringing much needed new blood to the Nhurim. Today there are no pure bred arctic tarpans , they have become so
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mixed with the feral herds that all Nhurim mate with mustangs. Their ancestry from Assalom makes them the lords of the werehorses but their mixed blood puts them in poor stead with the Arweharis. Initial Willpower: 5 Backgrounds; No Pure Breed or Resources Tribal Totem: Bison Tribal Gifts as the: Silver Fangs Initial Gifts: Lambent Flame, Leap of the Unicorn, Walk behind the Mirror.
Nimbi: The children of Ohani are the smallest of the Ashringa. They originally bred with the striped wild ass of North Africa. Today the African wild ass is nearly extinct and the Nimbi survive by breeding with the feral donkeys of Asia and the American West. Their human kinfolk vary more than those of any other bão; those Nimbi who live in Eurasia usually have gypsy kinfolk, those of Africa have Muslim kin, while those in the America prefer kinfolk of Hispanic descent. Their animal form is a donkey or burro. The Nimbi are a playful and friendly bunch that have a good relationship with the faeries as, like their faerie cousins, they live to enjoy life and love to play pranks on others. The Nimbi see themselves as the protectors of children and the innocent and are the tribe most involved with the making of unicorn toys and cartoons. Initial Willpower: 4 Backgrounds; No restrictions Tribal Totem: Stag Tribal Gifts as the: Fianna Initial Gifts: Eyes of Oberon, Persuasion, Resist Toxin.
MERITS AND FLAWS Ashringa may choose most of the merits and flaws listed in the Werewolf Players Guide with the exception of Mark of the Predator, Sign of the wolf, and Strict Carnivore. Change Wolf Years to Horse Years and add the Mokolé flaws Exclusive Herbivore and Sterile/Barren (for geldings) to the list. Below are a list of merits and flaws unique to the Ashringa. Cold Blood (2 point flaw) You have the blood of domestic draft horses somewhere in your ancestry. You cannot take the trait of Primal Urge and have no dexterity bonus to movement in Equine, Monoceros, or Centaurus form because you move with the plodding gait of a cart horse. Only Avarim, Killina, Nabrima, and Nhurim may choose this flaw. Deformed Horn (2 point flaw) Your horn is not that of a typical unicorn. It may lean in an odd angle (far forward, backward or twist to one side) or resemble the antler of a deer. Some Ashringa may even have two horns or even a fleshy stub. This trait only appears in Monoceros form (unless a gift is used to give a horn in other forms) and it adds +2 to all difficulties to use the horn. Métis characters can take this flaw as their deformity. Fangs (1 point flaw) Your teeth resemble those of a predatory animal, such as a wolf, and your lower canines (if you are male) may protrude from your mouth and resemble the tusks of a boar. You do strength +1 aggravated damage
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with your bite but you have trouble eating vegetation, cannot crop grass like a normal horse and you have a -3 penalty to appearance when in any form but Homid. Métis characters may take this flaw as their deformity Horse of a Different Color (1 point merit) Your Monoceros form is colored in a way never found in nature: Sky blue, green, purple, flame red etc. In some Ashringa the mane and tail may be rainbow colored or even resemble the tail of a peacock. Ashringa whose equine form is spotted or striped may even be multi colored (an orange zebra with lime green stripes or a pink with purple polka-dot appaloosa, for example). Ashringa with this merit cause the Delirium at difficulty 7 when in Monoceros form. Hot Blood (2 point merit) One of your ancestors was an Arabian horse or a Caspian pony and you have the slim legs and light build of one of these princely horses. You add +2 to all appearance rolls when in Monoceros or Equine form. Only Avarim, Killina, Nabrima, and Nhurim may choose this merit. Monstrous Centaurus (5 point flaw) In centaurs form you have no human torso or arms. You resemble a horse with a human head. This human headed horse cannot manipulate objects as it has no hands and is so ugly that it has a -3 penalty to appearance. Métis characters can take this as their deformity but they must keep the human head in their Monoceros form as well as in Centaurus. No Hooves (1 point flaw) You are a throwback to prehistoric Eohippus and other fossil horses which had dog like paws instead of hooves. You are -2 to all appearance rolls. You may take this flaw as your Métis deformity. Two Heads (4 point flaw) You are monstrously deformed and have two heads in all of your forms. You are -5 to appearance, -1 to dexterity, and +2 to perception. Métis characters may take this as their deformity. Uneven Feet (2 point flaw) Your front feet do not match your hind feet when you are in any form but homid. You may have normally shaped hooves in front and the webbed rear feet like a duck or the forepaws of an elephant and the hind feet of a goat. In all cases you get no dexterity bonus to movement due to your uneven gait and you are so odd looking you are -2 to all appearance rolls. Métis characters may take this as their deformity. Wings (3 point merit) Your ties to the spirit world are stronger than in most werehorses and you have a pair of wings in Monoceros form. These wings may be bird, bat, or even butterfly like. The wings allow the Ashringa to fly at double running speed for a number of turns equal to stamina (in combat) or 20 miles per dot of stamina when traveling at an easy pace. Wyrm Steed (5 point flaw) Your aura is one of fear and danger instead of the awe and joy radiated by most Ashringa in Monoceros form. When in Monoceros form you trigger memories of nightmares, kelpies, and demons rather than Gaia’s love in mortals. This causes your Monoceros form to cause true fear as in werewolves instead of awe on the Delirium chart. Even worse the Ashringa also appears as an untrustworthy sneak or bully in human form and as a vice filled nag in horse form giving you a -1 penalty to social rolls. Métis Ashringa may take this as their deformity.
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Forms I have seen a unicorn confronted by danger seem to grow more robust in size and musculature, there may be no final shape to which the beast must hold. -Magnalucius, 15th century. Homid (the human) This is the normal Human form. Fairly much all Ashringa are tall with thick head hair, powerful builds, and somewhat noticeable teeth, some may have buck teeth, perfect teeth, or gaps, etc. A light colored birthmark is often found on the forehead. This form cannot regenerate but can handle iron without harm. Stats: No Change, Difficulty 6. Klatra (the half horse) The Klatra (Glabro) form differs depending on the individual Ashringa. Only one type of Klatra form may be chosen by a character and there is no difference in their statistics only in their appearance. The two forms of Klatra are the Asbar and the Centaurus. Unlike Garou glabro there is no way a Klatra Ashringa can pass for human unless he can somehow conceal his equine parts (a mask and loose clothes for Asbar and hiding the lower body behind a wall in Centaurus will work). While the Klatra form can pronounce human speech easily it cannot speak the equine tongue and the Ashringa tongue can only be spoken in a crude fashion (“you run”, “me want fight”, etc.) unless a willpower point is spent. The Asbar form resembles that of the horse satyrs (silini and gandharvas) of Greek and Indian myth. The Ashringa grows an extra 6-8 inches in height and adds 100-200 lbs to body weight in muscle. His body becomes very hairy and his ears become horse-like. His nose and mouth extend into a muzzle and his fingers become reduced four. Movement in asbar form is the same as in human shape. Younger Ashringa sometimes call this form “horse-face”. The Centaurus form resembles that of the Greek centaur. The head, torso, and arms remain human (except for equine ears and four fingers on each hand) while the lower body is the four legged figure of a horse. The Centaurus gains an extra 175-275 % of body weight and an extra 8-10 inches in height. Movement is as in the Equine form. Stats: Str+2, Dex: +1, Sta: +2, Man: -1, App: -1, Difficulty 7 Chalico (the war-horse) The Chalico form is that of the prehistoric chalicotherium. The body and arms becomes gorilla like while the head becomes horse-like. A thick bony bump appears on the forehead and the hands end in three thick fingers tipped with huge talons. The legs have three toed hooves and a rhino like tail appears. This form is the same size as the Garou crinos form and has the same
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characteristics as far as speech and movement are concerned. The huge claws do not allow fine manipulation of objects (+2 to Difficulties) but jumping and other gross motor skills are as normal. This form causes the and is only assumed when combat is the only option. Stats: Str+4, Dex: +2, Sta: +3, Man: -3, App: always 0, Difficulty 6 Monoceros (the unicorn) The Monoceros form is a delicate horse like creature with cloven hooves, a single spiraled horn up to 24 inches long, and a long flowing mane and tail. This form is the size of as Arabian horse (8-15 hands tall) and weighs 50100 pounds less than the Equine form. Monoceros have no hands and can only pick things up in their mouths. They cause an Awe effect rather than fear in the Delirium and the effect is at -2 on the Delirium chart. Human speech is impossible in this form but the Ashringa and equine tongue is easily spoken. Gait is even faster than in the equine form. Stats: Str+3, Dex: +3, Sta: +3, Man: -1, App: +2, Difficulty 7 Equine (the horse) Ashringa in Equine form are in the normal horse shape of their bão. All wild horses are about the same size as the Monoceros form but are more heavily built, see the chart below for the actual size ranges of each species (note that wild horses are no larger than an Arabian horse and are sometimes considerably smaller as they have not been tampered with by selective breeding by man.) This form has no hands so must use the mouth to pick up objects. Speech in this form is limited to the equine tongue and a limited form of the Ashringa language. The equine form has movement as in the equine form, of course. This form cannot regenerate but it can carry iron without harm. Stats: Str+3, Dex: +2, Sta: +3, Man: -3, App: -1, Difficulty 6 Bão Arweharis Avarim, Killina, Nabrima, Nhurim Karkadamm Nimbi
Average Height (in Hands) 12-15 12-14 10-13 8-10
Average Weight (in Pounds) 500-950 750-800 500-640 400-600
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Movement Horses are known for their speed but while a cheetah can reach a top speed of over 60 mph an onager’s (or a very fast Racehorse’s ) top speed is only about 45 mph. however a cheetah can run for only a few seconds while a horse can travel for over 100 miles (averaging 8 mph) for 12 hours without a break! Movement rates in the game vary depending on form as in the chart below Form Homid & Asbar Chalico Monoceros Equine and Centaurus
Walk 7 7 (9) 14 10
Jog (Trot) 12 + Dexterity 12 (14) + Dexterity 24 + Dexterity x 2 24 + Dexterity x 1.5
Run (Gallop) 20 + (Dexterity x 3) 20 (22) + (Dexterity x 3) 40 + (Dexterity x 3) x2 40 + (Dexterity x 3) x1.5
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HORSES OF WAR: COMBAT The unicorn fights with the mouth and with the heels, the mouth biting like a lion and with the heels kicking like a horse - Edward Topsell
Combat The Ashringa were created to rebuild Gaia not to combat the Wyrm, however the time of The Great Purification is at hand and sometimes the return to a better world can only be gained through the purgative powers of destruction. As a diseased limb must sometimes be amputated to save a life so sometimes a spirit or creature must die to prevent the further corruption of the Earth. The Table below list the automatic combat maneuvers for the various forms using Dexterity + Brawl. The abbreviations are: Special: see the Core Rulebook for a detailed description of this maneuver Str: Strength
(a): aggravated damage, difficulty 8 to soak (b): bashing damage, difficulty 4 to soak (n): normal damage, difficulty 6 to soak N/A: not applicable, this form cannot do this combat maneuver Maneuver (Difficulty) Bite (5) Body Slam (7) Claw (6) Grapple (6) Horn (6)
Homid
Asbar
Centaurus
Chalico
Monoceros
Equine
Str -1 (b) special N/A special N/A
Str (b) special N/A special N/A
Str (b) special N/A special N/A
Str (n) special Str +2 (a) special Str +1 (b)
Str (b) special N/A N/A Str +3 (a)
Str (b) special N/A N/A N/A
Kick (7) Punch (6)
Str (b) Str (b)
Str +1 (b) Str (b)
Str +1 (b) Str (b)
Str +1 (b) Str (b)
Str +1 (b) N/A
Str +1 (b) N/A
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Ashringa can do the following Special Maneuvers: Evasive Action (all forms), Hamstring (Monoceros – equine), Jaw Lock (Chalico – Equine), Leaping Rake (Chalico), and Taunt (all forms). They also have the following exclusive maneuvers:
Brush Off This maneuver is used to get an attacker off of an Ashringa’s back. The werehorse scrapes his sides along fences, walls or trees (or runs under low branches) to dislodge a foe. He can also fall onto his back to crush an opponent. System: Roll Wits + Athletics (Difficulty = the rider’s Dexterity + Animal-kin). On a success the rider is knocked off and takes damage equal to the Ashringa’s successes. On a failure the rider stays on. On a Botch, the rider knows enough about horses that he can stay aboard like a trick rider and this maneuver automatically fails if used again. Used By: Centaurus – Equine.
Actions: 1
Bucking This is the classic rodeo art of leaping, rearing, bucking and thrashing about to throw a rider or predator off your back. System: The Ashringa has a contested Dexterity + Athletics roll (Difficulty = the rider’s Animal-ken + 3 for the Ashringa and the werehorse’s Brawl + 3 for the rider.) The winner of the contest gets to add one dice to her next roll while the loser loses one dice from his pool. The following occurs if a roll botches or a dice pool is reduced to 0. If the rider botches he is thrown off. If the Ashringa botches the horse is too exhausted to fight back any longer. Used By: Centaurus – Equine
Actions: 1
Capriole This feat is used to drive away foes when one is surrounded. The Ashringa leaps into the air and kicks his legs out behind him as if he is going to fly away like Pegasus. System: On a successful Dexterity + Athletics roll (Difficulty 3+ the number of opponents) the Ashringa clears a path behind him as the attackers dodge out of the way of his flying hooves. The Ashringa then pirouettes about and gallops away out of the now cleared path. If an opponent spends a willpower point to keep from dodging than that opponent takes the Ashringa’s Strength + 4 in normal damage and is knocked down for one turn. If the Ashringa fails than the opponents were able to dodge his flying heels and surround him before he could flee. On a botch the Ashringa falls for one turn. Used By: Monoceros- Equine movement)
Actions: 2 (leap +
Charge The Ashringa runs at full speed at a target and rams him with his horn for Strength +3 unsoakable aggravated damage as the horn impales its victim. System: Dexterity + Brawl, Difficulty 8 Used By: Monoceros
Actions: 2 (move + stab)
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Courbette The Ashringa rears upright upon his hind legs than leaps forward while still standing upright in a series of short hops. This is a maneuver used to help a rider. Any rider on a courbetting steed may use a sword, lasso, spear or other melee weapon (but not firearms) at normal difficulty. System: The Ashringa rolls Dexterity + Athletics (Difficulty 6) to perform this action and each success is the number of yards hopped. The rider can attack once per hop at normal difficulty as long as he is using a hand held weapon. On a Botch the rider slips and must roll Dexterity + Animal-ken roll at a Difficulty of 8 or fall off. Used By: Monoceros - Equine
Actions: 2 (rear + hop)
Cow Kick The Ashringa slams a hoof (or claw in Chalico form) into a target for strength +2 damage. In addition the victim must roll Dexterity + Athletics (Difficulty = the Ashringa’s successes) or fall down. A fallen victim can take no action for one turn (three turns if he botches) and may be trampled or otherwise attacked by the werehorse at -1 difficulty. System: Dexterity + Brawl (Difficulty 8) Used By: Centaurus – Equine
Actions: 1
Levade Like the courbette this is an old warhorse trick to assist a rider in combat. The Ashringa rears upward and crouches on his hind legs with his hocks almost touching the ground. Like a statue he holds this position while the rider while the rider uses a handheld weapon (even weapons requiring two hands or firearms) at normal difficulty. System: The Ashringa rolls Stamina + Athletics (Difficulty 8) and each success is the number of turns the werehorse can maintain the levade before he must return to all fours. Used By: Monoceros – Equine
Actions: 1
Mule Kick The Ashringa stands on his fore hooves and kicks back with both hind feet for Strength + 4 normal damage. System: Roll Dexterity + Brawl, Difficulty 7. Used By: Centaurus – Equine
Actions: 1
Slashing Bite Wild stallions use this maneuver to rip out the throat, cripple the limbs, or even to castrate rival males. The werehorse holds his head low to the ground and then whips his head out like a striking snake to bite his opponent in a particularly vulnerable area. The bite inflicts aggravated damage and even worse the target must roll on the battle scars chart while adding one to the chart for each point of damage he was unable to soak. These scars do not give Ashringa who bear them automatic Glory as they prove his weakness in combat. It is considered unseemly for females to learn this maneuver. System: This maneuver takes up two Brawl slots instead of one and is performed by rolling Dexterity + Brawl at Difficulty 8. The damage is strength +1 aggravated.
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Used By: Chalico – Equine
Actions: 1
Trample The Ashringa actually runs over an opponent. Damage is taken from all four hooves if the victim fails to dodge away in time. System: The Ashringa rolls Dexterity + Brawl (Difficulty 6) and the damage is strength +4. Used By: Centaurus, Monoceros, and Equine
Actions: 2 (move + stomp)
Iron, Rage, & the Delirium Iron and the Ashringa In the beginning Alma, the Great Mother transformed herself into the white mare of the moon to wed the sun stallion. Their child was the Unicorn who gave birth to Rishyashringa. The Ashringa are thus the children of both the sun and the moon, the wind given physical shape, so it is the metal of the sky (iron) that inflicts unsoakable aggravated damage upon them. All the rules used for silver in werewolves apply to Ashringa but replace silver with iron. Iron is a very common metal but luckily for the Ashringa only pure iron is deadly to them. Steel and other alloys only cause normal aggravated damage and do not cause gnosis loss. In addition Ashringa in Homid or Equine form are not harmed by sky metal.
Rage Ashringa find it much harder to Rage than do werewolves. After all they were created to heal not harm. Follow the normal rules but at the following difficulties: New Moon 10 Gibbous Moon 7 Crescent Moon 9
Full Moon 6 Half moon 8 Eclipse 7
The Delirium Humans were never preyed upon by horses but both the Chalico and Monoceros form cause a form of delirium. Racal memories of the chalicotherium with its wicked claws causes true delirium effects (as in W:tA) while the Monoceros form causes the wonderment derived from seeing the awesome power of the unicorn. Like most changing breeds, the Ashringa are not as innately frightening as the Garou and all delirium rolls (wits + occult)are at difficulty 5 (instead of 7 as in werewolves) or add 2 dice to willpower instead. Note that unless the viewer has an unmodified willpower of 8 or higher than he will remember the Monoceros only as a beautiful horse (“must have been an Arab”) and will try to rationalize the Chalico (“a bear, it had to have been a bear”), whenever possible. A good example of this is in the movie The Last Unicorn when the unicorn flicks a farmers lasso away with her horn the man thinks that he must have slipped when trying to catch the Arabian horse. Willpower 1
Fear Reaction Catatonic Fear: The viewer rolls into a ball and whimpers until the chalico is gone.
Awe Reaction Shock: The viewer falls on his rump and stares whimpering in disbelief. Will remember nothing.
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2
Panic: Runs away at full speed smashing through anything in his way
3 4
Disbelief: “I must be going crazy.” Berserk: Will run in a blind frenzy, but will not harm him self in the process. Terror: Will run but will look for a place to hide and will stop once he seems to be safe Conciliatory: Will stay calm and try anything not to get hurt. Controlled Fear: May be scared but will remain rational. Curiosity: More fascinated than frightened. Will run if it seems appropriate.
5 6 7 8 9 10
Anger: “Ain’t no man afraid of no hoss!” No special reaction.
Religious Awe: Falls to his knees in and prays at the sight. Will only remember an angelic presence. Disbelief: “There’s no such Thing!” Berserk: Goes crazy with joy, clapping, screaming, dancing, and praying aloud Fascinated: Will just stand and stare, “It’s a unicorn, holy smoke it’s a unicorn! Possessive: Wishes to capture the Monoceros, “what a beautiful horse!” Protective: Will want to help or touch the Monoceros at all costs. Curiosity: Will be absolutely fascinated and will probably follow or ask questions of the Monoceros Hunter: Will be filled with desire for the Monoceros’ horn and will want to capture the Ashringa No special reaction.
RENOWN Ashringa use the same Renown system as werewolves except that purifying a Wyrm tainted place, person, or object is even more important to them. An Ashringa gets more glory from performing a great task of building or repairing nature than from combat. A werehorse will get more renown for almost killing himself building a protective wall around a dwell than one who is injured picking on Wyrm things. After all it is much better to heal a spirit of the Wyrm’s madness so that it can rejoin Gaia. Ashringa also gain honor for staying and protecting innocents from danger and they gain wisdom for any time they make a decision in which the solution to a problem is working to repair the land or heal another. Act Purifying a Wyrm tainted object, person, or place Purifying a polluted area Healing someone of a normal toxin Performing a successful Rite of Birth Participating in a failed Rite of Birth. -2 -1 Protecting an innocent or a dwell.
Glory 3 2 1 2 -2 1
Honor 2 1 1 1 -1 1
Wisdom 2 1 1 1 0 0
RANK & NAME: 1 Hedrigi (the tireless youth) 2 Saklaini (the intelligent and brave) 3 Destriders (the heroes of war) 4 Hedban (the noble and valiant) 5 Trefi (the proud elders)
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RENOWN CHART Hrunnhe (Caretakers) & Hrunnhai (Protectors) Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Glory 1 4 6 8 10
Honor 1 2 3 4 5
Wisdom 1 2 3 4 5
Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Glory 2 5 7 9 10
Honor 1 3 5 7 8
Wisdom 0 1 1 2 3
Hrunnsai (Storyteller) & Hrunnsaiya(Dreamspeaker) Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Glory 2 4 6 8 10
Honor 0 0 1 2 3
Wisdom 1 3 5 6 8
Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Glory 0 1 2 4 5
Honor 0 0 1 2 3
Wisdom 3 5 7 9 10
Hrunnya (Moonshadows) & Hrunnsaf (Trickster) Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Glory 0 1 3 3 4
Honor 3 5 7 9 10
Wisdom 0 1 4 7 9
Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Any Combination 3 7 12 17 24
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HORSES OF THE MOON: LORE OF THE UNICORN Joachim, the Silver, the Horse-in- the-Moon Looked down from a nighttime sky To a ribbon of dark that was river With his Moon’s unwinking eye. “Come down!” the beech trees whispered With a dried leaf rattle and hiss. “Come down,” they sang with a breezy snarl, “Come down for a beech trees kiss.” Joachim, the Ageless, the Horse-in-the-Moon Whose heart beat ardent with time Looked past to the forest’s dark secrets Where his shadow lay pooled in the pines. “Come dance,” the meat-eaters invited, Hiding their hunger in song,
“Come dance in the forest among us,” “We’ll spin as we play to your song.” Joachim, the Waxing, the Horse-in-the-Moon Looked down in the farmlands to see Men with their whips and their bridles, “We’ll ride on your back- You’ll be free.” Joachim the Waning, wise and aloof Remained where he was in the sky. Like a spider, slow spinning, A web’s end to beginning, Watching the mortals pass by. - he Horse-in-the-Moon” from Mary Stanton’s the “Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West”
This chapter details the gifts, rites, and fetishes of the Ashringa. The powers given below are from various sources but most of the gifts and rites given below can be found in Werewolf: the Apocalypse (2nd Edition), The Werewolf Player’s Guide (2nd edition), and the Mokole’ Tribe Book .
GIFTS Funny thing how that Avalanche came up on that howling horse. He’d forgotten that, but it came back to him now, sharp an’ clear. That big old animal a howlin’ like a wolf, and then the snow crashen’ down on them and buryin’ poor Great Knox and somehow jest missing all the horses. - “Weither a Borrower Be…” a Mad Amos story by Alan Dean Foster
As in werewolves, Ashringa start with three gifts, one from breed, suhn, and bão. The gifts of the appropriate Garou breed and auspice can be learned by Ashringa as can certain Garou tribal gifts but in some cases the gifts in question may have to be modified in order to be appropriate for Ashringa characters. For example, the Garou gift Razor Claws would only work in Chalico form as that is the only Ashringa shape that has claws. Gifts unique to the Ashringa can be found below.
BREED GIFTS Homid Gifts Hoof’s’ Might (1) In Homid form, the Ashringa may call on her foot to become as strong as a horse's’ hoof for feats of strength. This Gift is taught by a Horse-spirit. The Ashringa spends 1 Rage and rolls Strength + Brawl difficulty 6. A kick of this can break doors, shatter wood, but not metal or stone, and is good for one kick only. Nature’s Plenty (1) As the Gurahl gift.
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Scholar’s Friend (1) As the Bastet (Bubasti) gift. Soothe Cousin (2) Homid Ashringa gains the ability to soothe any horse, no matter how frightened it is. A Horse-Spirit teaches this Gift. The werehorse spends 1 Gnosis and rolls Charisma +Empathy, difficulty depending on the height of the horse’s rage. After this Gift succeeds, the horse will be calm for the rest of the scene. Talk (2) As the Mokolé gift. Inspiration (3) The Ashringa appears so impressive and inspiring that to humans that they are inspired to work just as hard to preserve nature. Some people affected by this gift have become activist for cleaning up pollution while others have been inspired to paint nature scenes. As soon as the avatar of Gaia blesses the werehorse with this Gift, it stays in effect for as long as the Ashringa lives and affects any human who sees it in Monoceros form on a Charisma + Empathy roll, difficulty = the viewers Delirium score. Voice of a Thousand (3) The Ashringa, to work together with humans of any race, may invoke the power to translate any human language in her vicinity, and speak in it. A monkey-spirit teaches this Gift. Roll Manipulation + Linguistics difficulty 6. Lasts for five minutes per success. Adaptation (4) As the Garou Gift of the same name. Control Spider's Brood (4) As in the Garou Glass Walker Gift Control Complex Machines Fools Luck (4) As the level three Mokolé Icy Chill of Despair (5) As the Garou gift. Touch of Hoof (5) Some human Kinfolk of the Ashringa are so proud of their heritage, that they wish to be able to become horses themselves. With this special Gift, the Homid Ashringa may invoke an enchantment that turns a human into a horse for one day. This Gift is taught by a Horse-spirit. The Ashringa spends five Gnosis and touches the Human, then rolls Manipulation + Animal Ken, difficulty equaling the human‘s willpower. The human turns completely into a horse and doesn't revert back to Human shape until the next morning.
Métis Gifts Hobble (1) The user can, by expending a Gnosis point and winning a Willpower roll at a difficulty equal to the target‘s dexterity + 4, cause any opponent to be hobbled. The user may only take small steps and may not run (divide speed by the number of successes) and has a -3 penalty to dexterity. This gift lasts for one scene and is taught by a snail spirit.
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Unicorn's’ Favor (1) The Ashringa can call upon the spirit of the Unicorn, grow a temporary horn on her skull in any form. Although this protrusion is a bit unsightly, it allows horn attacks in shapes other than Monoceros. This Gift is taught by an avatar of Unicorn. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis point to grow the horn. This lasts for one scene, and allows her to gore her opponent for Strength+2, Aggravated damage Difficulty 7. Hoof of Diamond (2) The Ashringa may turn her Hoof as hard as diamond allowing her to walk through rocky terrain, over broken glass or on hot coals unharmed. A Rock-Spirit teaches this Gift. The Ashringa spends one Willpower point and the gift is activated, and stays on for one scene per success on a stamina + athletics, difficulty 6, roll. Mother's Touch (2) As the Garou gift. Open the Gate (2) The user can, by expending 2 Gnosis, open any door or gate that bars his path. This gift will not work on electrical locks. This gift is taught by a pony, moose, or orangutan spirit. Stomp (2) The Ashringa focuses all her strength into one devastating kick, which can break bone and shatter steel. This Gift is taught by an Elephant-Spirit. The Ashringa spends one Willpower point, and rolls Strength + Primal-Urge, Difficulty depending on what the target is. This Gift works only once and inflicts strength + 3 aggravated damage. If the kick misses, the roll has to be repeated and the Willpower point is lost. Eyes of the Dragon Kings (2) As the level one Nagha gift. Scent of Sweet Honey (2) As the level one Garou Bone Gnawer gift. Love of Gaia (3) The Ashringa can look a human in the eye and activate this Gift which shows the human the beauty of Gaia. Even Fomori will be bedazzled by it and might repent. This Gift is taught by an avatar of Unicorn. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis and one Willpower point and rolls Charisma + Empathy difficulty 6. For a normal human, one success is enough, for a wyrm-tainted human it takes three, for Fomori and Black Spiral Dancers it has to be a perfect row of successes. Power of the Mule (3) The user can, by expending 4 Gnosis points, quadruple her Strength for pulling objects. If the user botches any strength roll while using this gift she loses a permanent Strength point. Talon's Terror (3) Since the Red Talons and most other Garou try to hunt the Ashringa down for sport, the Ashringa may turn their hooves to pure silver and gain an aura of power that sends some younger Garou running away in panic. An avatar of Pegasus teaches this Gift. The Ashringa spends one Rage and one Willpower point and rolls Strength + Intimidation against a difficulty of 7. If it succeeds, the Gift gives the werehorse silver hooves that do aggravated damage against Garou, and works like "Icy Chill of Despair" , If it botches, however, a great weakness overcomes the Ashringa, and she seems vulnerable and open to attacks. Walking Between Worlds (3)
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With this gift, the Ashringa gains the ability to enter the Umbra. The werehorse may now enter in the same way as the Garou. Heave-Ho (4) As the Nuwisha Gift. Pegasus' ’light (4) For the remainder of the scene, the Ashringa grows a set of bird's wings. With these, the werehorse can fly as if he has the winged merit. This Gift is taught by a bird spirit or an avatar of Pegasus. The Ashringa spends two Gnosis points to grow the wings. This lasts for one scene and vanishes afterwards. Umbral Leap (4) As the level three Ratkin gift. Bright Glory (5) when activated, the Ashringa transforms to Monoceros form, her fur and mane becomes brightest white, the horn on her forehead grows golden, and her eyes bright blue. The white of the fur is so bright that non-Ashringa are blinded for a few seconds, and find them selves nearly overwhelmed by the glory of the beast. This Gift is taught by an avatar of Unicorn. The Ashringa spends three Gnosis points and two points of Willpower to cause the change. The Ashringa must now roll Manipulation + Intimidation, difficulty 7, to invoke fear in the hearts of foes (-1 to all rolls) and courage in the hearts of friends (+1 to all rolls). For the blinding effect, the Ashringa rolls Appearance + Expression Difficulty 8, for every success scored, the foe is blinded for 1 turn. Earthquake Stomp (5) The Ashringa focuses all his might into one foot and stomps onto the ground, creating a tremor. This Gift is taught by Earth-Spirits. The Ashringa spends two Rage points and two Gnosis points then rolls Strength + Primal Urge, difficulty 9, before stomping a hoof onto the ground. An earthquake is created that breaks the ground in a single line, racing towards a target. If it connects, whatever target it was aimed at is swallowed by the Earth. All others within a hundred yards of the werehorse (except the Ashringa himself of course) must also roll Dexterity + Athletics, diff 7, to remain standing. If they succeed, the take no damage; if they fail, they must soak 3 levels. Buildings can be damaged by this gift. Horn of Life (5) This powerful gift is taught only to the wisest and most honorable Ashringa and it is not to be shared with the other Béte. Utilizing this gift the werehorse can actually bring the recently dead (less than an hour) back to life. In the past this gift was only used on those who died nobly sacrificing themselves for others. This gift is taught by Unicorn. The Ashringa spends a permanent point of gnosis and rolls Stamina + Occult (difficulty = 6 for mortals, 8 for other bête, and 10 for other supernatural beings) and on a success the dead is resurrected with a number of regained health levels equal to the Ashringa’s successes up to the racial maximum. On a failure the dead person’s spirit will not return to the living and on a botch the Ashringa will take an amount of aggravated damage equal the dead person’s willpower.
Equine Gifts Banish Crop (1) When the Ashringa cast a glance at a human holding a riding crop, whip, or any other tool of horse domestication that tool turns to dust in the target's hands immediately. This Gift is taught by a Rust-Spirit. The Ashringa simply spends one Gnosis and rolls Manipulation + Primal-Urge Difficulty 7. For each success scored, the Ashringa may "disintegrate" one object, if she scores more successes than the number
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of objects are around, she can't save them up, they are simply lost. For whip fetishes wielded by other skin changers, she must score successes equal to the level of the Fetish +2. Leap of Pegasus (1) As the Garou gift Leap of the Kangaroo. Prancing the Moon's Path (1) While the moon is out, the user many run across the air as if he was flying. This gift is useable any night the moon rises, including during lunar eclipses. The Ashringa rolls dexterity + occult, difficulty equaling the difficulty to rage during the current lunar phase, and can gallop across the sky at normal running speed for a number of turns equal to successes. Sense Skin (1) With this gift, the Ashringa may sense the true wereform of a skin changer. This Gift is taught by any animal spirit. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis and rolls Perception + Empathy, difficulty 6. If successful, a ghostly/spectral image of the werecreatures true skin appears to the Ashringa (and only her), then vanishes. Camouflage (2) As the level one Wendigo gift. Impala’s flight (2) As the Silent Strider Garou gift Speed of Thought. Serene Pasture (2) The user can, with the expenditure of a Gnosis point, cleanse any 100 ft area of Wyrm taint and cause a meadow to grow at the site. This takes 14 days minus the Gnosis of the user. This gift will not work at Wyrm cairns. Equus Speech (3) The Ashringa may speak to any horse-related animal, such as mules, zebras, etc, and understand its language. This Gift is taught by a Horse-Spirit This Gift doesn't need to be activated, it just immediately comes into effect as it is learned. Form of the Wild (3) The Ashringa may take the form of any wild horse, such as Zebras, Takhis, etc. This Gift is taught by a Horse-Spirit. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis and rolls Appearance + Animal Ken, difficulty 6, to take the form. This lasts for one scene. Moonfire (3) By expending 2 Gnosis, the user can immolate her body with silver fire. The user is not affected by this. All Wyrm creatures will take 1 aggravated point of damage each time they touch the user. This gift lasts for 1 scene. Sense Magic (3) As the level one Uktena Garou gift. Smell Poison (3) As the level three Ratkin gift. Call the Herd (4) The Ashringa may summon any other werehorse or Ashringa Kinfolk to her side that is in the same city, by Yelling (neighing) so loudly that everyone can hear. All Ashringa and their Kinfolk will find the call impossible to resist. This Gift is taught by an avatar of Pegasus.
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The Ashringa spends 1 Gnosis and 1 Willpower point, then rolls Manipulation + Leadership, difficulty 6. The effect will draw all Ashringa and their Kinfolk to the caller’s side, as long as they’re’ in the same city. Flight of Infinity (4) As the Garou gift Open Moon Bridge. Scrying (4) As the level 3 Uktena Garou gift. Asura’s Bane (5) As the level 4 Bastet (Khan) gift. Snap Man's Restraints (5) Though they can be friendly, Ashringa are oftentimes insulted by the way humans treat horses - first they beat them into slavery with crops and whips, then use them until they grow old, then slaughter them. Equus Ashringa oftentimes sees this behavior - rightfully- as a sin against Gaia. With this Gift, the werehorse can weaken the ropes of horses, and send them into frenzy strong enough to free them selves, throw their riders off and bolt away. This Gift is taught by any Animal-Spirit, but mostly spirits of wolves (just because the Garou are clueless, doesn't mean the spirits are) or wild oxen/buffalo. The Ashringa spends a Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Primal-Urge. The difficulty depends on the number of horses to be freed. Kelpies Nature (5) Even though Ashringa are usually very forgiving, sometimes an offense can be so great they call upon the power of the Kelpie - – murderous faerie horse spirit. The Ashringa approaches a human in Equine shape, and emits an aura that makes it seem like a friendly lost animal, persuading the human to mount it. Anyone who falls for it will find them selves unable to get off the back of the Ashringa, as if glued on the spot. Forgiving Ashringa may use this only to scare humans; particularly bitter ones will do what the mythical spirits did - –o to the nearest body of water and drown the rider. A Kelpie teaches this Gift. The Ashringa rolls Charisma + Performance and spends a Gnosis point to lure the human. She spends another two Gnosis points as soon as the human gets on to glue him in place, then rolls Stamina + PrimalUrge difficulty 6. Each success keeps the victim glued to the Ashringa’s back for one hour, or until the rider dies or the Ashringa releases him by spending a willpower point - –whichever comes first.
SUHN GIFTS
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Hrunnhe (Caretaker) Gifts The caretakers have gifts as in the Warding Mokolé in addition to the gifts below. Armor of the Tortoise (1) This gift gives the user two additional soak dice in Monoceros form as a tortoise shell forms on its back. The Ashringa rolls stamina + occult, difficulty 7, each success equals the number of turns the shell remains. This gift is learned from turtle spirits. Blissful Ignorance (1) As the Garou gift. Sense Wyrm (1) As the Garou gift Scholar’s Friend (2) As the Bastet (Bubasti) gift. Lambent Flame (2) As the Garou gift Talk (2) As the Mokolé gift. Falling Touch (3) As the Garou gift Scent of Sweet Nectar (3) As the Garou gift Wise Mind (3) Once this Gift is learned, the Ashringa can make a Perception roll to see through any illusion. Sense Iron (4) Same as sense Silver but with iron. The gift sense silver may still be learned, but separately. Resist Weakness (4) The Ashringa may ignore all symptoms of exhaustion or weakness for a time, to literally keep working no matter what. If the werehorse does this too long, she's going have a nasty awakening, however. The Ashringa spends 1 Willpower point for each day she doesn’t want to rest-simple as that. For each day thus decreed, she doesn't feel tired at all or feels the need to sleep, eat, or drink, she just keeps working. After days of going on like this, she might very well awake to find herself worked to absolute exhaustion, leaving her a perfect victim for slaughter-happy Garou. Shed the Wolf Skin (5) A truly fearsome gift, the Ashringa guards it closely. Some claim to have seen whole packs of Garou run yelping in terror before an angry caretaker protecting her charges. The Ashringa spends a permanent point of Gnosis and makes eye contact with the attacking predatory shifter. The attacking shifter suddenly feels the terror of a prey animal, and sees the Ashringa using the gift as the predator. The shifter enters a form of Fox Frenzy and flees from the werehorse. Tame Sunbeam (5) The Ashringa are kin to the sun as well as to the moon. Because of this, the Sun Stallion grants his descendants the power to tame the sun. A werehorse with this gift may cause the light to shine at any time,
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even when it is highly improbable or altogether impossible. It works just like the Mokolé gift of the same name.
Hrunnhai (Protector) Gifts The protectors have gifts are as in the Ahroun Garou in addition to the gifts below. Full Moon's Blessing (1) While the full moon is out the user of this gift may spend Gnosis and Rage in the same turn. Razor Horn (1) This gift works just like the Garou power of Razor Claws except that it only affects the horn of the Ashringa in Monoceros Crossing the Silver Veil (2) The user may, by expending 1 Gnosis, cross to the Umbra. By expending 1 more Gnosis the user can bring one other character with her. This gift may only be used during the full moon. Sentinel’s Warning (2) As the level one Gurahl gift. Gaia's Lance (3) The user may, by expending a Gnosis while the moon is full, gain an automatic success for all attacks against Wyrm creatures. Silver Horn (3) This gift works just like the Garou power of Silver Claws except that it only affects the horn of the Ashringa in Monoceros form. Hero’s Stand (4) As the Get of Fenris gift. Might of Thor (4) As the Get of Fenris gift. Tiger Eater’s Rage (5) The Ashringa may take the form of the Poh. By using this gift the Ashringa takes the form of a gigantic hybrid of leopard and antelope with a unicorn’s horn. Statistics are as in Chalico form except that movement is always quadruped. The poh can bite for strength +1 aggravated damage and claw for strength + 2 aggravated damage, as well as use its horn and run like a Monoceros. The Ashringa must spend a point of gnosis to take poh form. The transformation lasts for one scene Unstoppable Charge (5) The Ashringa must be in Monoceros form to use this gift and he must be able to see an opponent. He can then begin charging at a target within his line of sight and continue going, even through walls or other barriers. He cannot be stopped unless he reaches his target, meets an object he cannot smash, dies en route, or chooses to end the Gift. He spends a point of Willpower and begins running at full speed toward his intended victim. He will always charge in a straight line toward his victim as long as he is within visual range (even if the target runs behind a wall or is obscured from sight.) The Ashringa can turn on a dime if necessary to maintain a straight charge to the target (assuming the target teleported behind him, the Ashringa would do a complete 180' and continue toward the victim; however, if he teleported several miles away, he would be out of the werehorse's visual range and the Ashringa would stop charging.) He can cancel the Gift at will and come to a complete stop within 5' ’f necessary (to keep from falling in a pit or running into a lake), though he will have to activate the Gift again. Any barriers between him and his target (trees, walls, etc) take double trample damage, which should be enough to blow through almost anything; if
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this isn't the case, the Ashringa inflicts his own trample damage on himself and the Gift ends.) Once the werehorse reaches his target, he inflicts both normal trample and horn damage and the Gift ends. this gift is taught by a rhinoceros or elephant spirit.
Hrunnsai (Storyteller) Gifts Storytellers have gifts as in the Galliard Garou in addition to the gifts below. Call the Breeze (1) As the Wendigo gift. Pebble (1) By expending a Gnosis point, the user can cause a pebble to appear directly under an opponent's foot. The victim must then immediately make a Dexterity check or fall down. Shadhavar’s Horn (1) By transforming to Monoceros and rolling Performance + Rites (difficulty 7) the Ashringa can form openings in his horn through which he can play music. Each individual Ashringa has his own musical sound (harmonica, saxophone, piano, etc.) and the character must choose his which sound he will make. This gift is normally used to make music during certain rituals but by spending a gnosis point the user can cause any listener to make a willpower roll (difficulty = the Ashringa’s willpower) or follow the Ashringa about as if he were the Pied Piper. This gift is taught by Shadhavar, an aspect of Unicorn. Moon Dance (2) The user can, by dancing and singing a happy tune, cause all who view her to roll Stamina + Occult at a difficulty equal to the Hrunsai’s willpower. On a failure the viewer will start to dance. The victims will dance as long as the Ashringa dances or until 1 hour per their points of Stamina has passed. After this time they will need to make a Stamina + Athletics check or collapse from exhaustion. On a botch the victim dances herself to death. If this gift is used during a gibbous moon the user may perform as long as she likes without making Stamina check of her own. Gaia's Steed (3) The user may, by taking a rider of Gaia and expending a Gnosis point, travel at incredible speed. The user may run so fast he become airborne if he assumes Monoceros form. This gift may only be used during a gibbous moon. By spending a gnosis point and rolling Stamina + Athletics (difficulty 6) the Ashringa can double her speed for each success. In Monoceros form she can actually run about a foot above the ground for each success as well. Call Elemental (4) As the Uktena gift. Invoke the Spirit of the Storm (5) As the Wendigo gift.
Hrunnsaiya (Dream Speaker) Gifts Dream Speakers have gifts as in the Theurge Garou in addition to the gifts below. Call Spirit (1) The user may, by expending a Gnosis point, call a horse spirit to help him. The type of spirit depends on location, an Ashringa using this gift in India would probably summon a gandharva, one in England would summon a faerie steed, one in America a thunder horse, etc. This spirit will help the user in any way it is
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asked, but will not fight for the user. The power of the spirit depends on the Dream Speaker’s Charisma + Rituals roll. Crossing the Silver Veil (1) As in the level two Protector gift. Force of Nature (2) The user can, by expending a Gnosis point and rolling Manipulation + Herbalism (difficulty 7), cause any one plant the user focuses on to grow to gigantic size. This takes 3 turns and a single plant will double in size with each success. Using this gift a tree can become large enough for its roots to destroy the foundations of buildings. This gift may only be used during a crescent moon. The plant remains its new size much to the surprise of botanist. Sense Moon (2) As the level one Mokolé gift. Call the Rain (3) As the level one Mokolé gift. Hands of Gaia (3) The user can, by expending 4 Gnosis, heal all damage done to one target by a Wyrm creature. This includes battle scars, effects from balefire and vampiric disciplines. This gift may only be used during a crescent moon. Voice of the Grave (3) Both unicorns and horses (especially if they are black, grey, or white in color) are associate them with death in both Oriental and European mythology. By going to a graveyard and spending a point of Gnosis then rolling her Gnosis against the local gauntlet, a werehorse can enter the land of the dead. The Ashringa finds herself in a grey misty land filled with the shades of the dead. The Ashringa cannot command these wraiths but she can speak to them normally and move about the spirit graveyard to find a particular shade. Force of Gaia (4) The user can, by expending a Gnosis point and rolling Manipulation + Herbalism (difficulty 7), cause several plants the to grow to gigantic size. This takes 3 turns and a number of plants equal to successes will double in size. Using this gift a grove of saplings can be made into a group of trees large enough to conceal a dwell. This gift may only be used during a crescent moon. The plants remains its new size much to the surprise of botanist. Speak with Wind Spirits (4) As the level two Wendigo gift. Calling the Spirit Herd (5) By spending a point of Gnosis and rolling Cha + Animal Ken, the Ashringa can summon forth a number of horse spirits equal the Gnosis in his pool. These are the spirits of normal equines (not unicorns, pegasi, or other magical steeds) of the Ashringa's kin and the spirits don't have to spend power to manifest as this Gift provides the power. The summoned horses will attempt to trample any opponents of the Ashringa and will stay until defeated, dispelled or the combat is over. If summoned for a non-combative purpose, they will stay for one scene. They will obey the summoner to the best of their ability. Each spirit horse that is "slain" siphons a point of Gnosis from the Ashringa. Gaia’s Vengeance (5) As the Red Talon gift.
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Hrunnya (Judge) Gifts The Judges have gifts as in the Philodox Garou in addition to the gifts below. Sense Guilt (1) As the level one Get of Fenris gift. Sense Wyrm (1) As the level one Garou Gift. Guidance of Gaia (1) The Ashringa, by spending a Gnosis point and making a Gnosis roll against a difficulty of 6 in rural areas and 8 in urban areas will be guided to food and water. If the roll succeeds, the werehorse is directed to food, water, and safe shelter. If the roll is botched, The Ashringa misinterprets Gaia's directions and heads to rotten food, poisoned water, and possibly Wyrm-inhabited shelter. Weathering (2) The user may, by expending 3 Gnosis points (and winning a resisted Willpower test if against living beings or difficulty 8 if nonliving) age any person or object by the winds of time. Successes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Amount Aged 1 day 1 week 1 month 1 year 10 years 100 years 1000 years
Secrets (3) As the Uktena gift. Gaia's Shield (3) The user may, by expending a Gnosis point and protecting any creature of Gaia, gain 10 health levels. The user may not initiate any attack unless in self-defense or in defense of others. While using this gift, only half of the user will be visible. This gift may only be used during a half moon. Cutting Wind (4) As the level two Wendigo gift. Elemental Favor (5) As the level three Red Talon gift
Hrunnsaf (Trickster) Gifts Tricksters have gifts as in the Ragabash Garou in addition to the gifts below. Colt's Foot (1) The user can, by expending a Gnosis point and touching an opponent, removes a random supernatural power of the victim. This will last for once scene. This gift may only be used during a new moon. Mimic (1)
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As the level two Galliard gift. Dwelling (2) This gift is similar to the Croatian Gift Safe Cave, with it the Ashringa can cause the earth to split before him, creating a small cave that can hold up to five human sized people. The hole can be sealed once within the cave, so that no one outside can discern its presence without supernatural means. Any burrowing animal or earth spirit can teach this gift. System: The player must spend one Gnosis point and make a Charisma + Survival roll, Difficulty 7, to open the cave. The decision of whether or not to seal the cave must be made within three turns of using this gift or it remains open. The cave lasts for a variable amount of time and once the duration expires anyone in the cave will pop out as the cave disappears. Anyone in a sealed cave is safe from physical attack, but some Gifts (such as Hand of the Earth Lords) can still affect them, as can any concerted burrowing effort that can dig down into the cave and break it’s seal. Success One Two Three Four Five+
Time Before the Event 1 Minute 10 Minutes An Hour Six Hours Twelve Hours
. Form of Mist (2) By expending a Gnosis point, the user can convert his body to pure mist. In this form he can seep under doors or avoid damage. The user then can only be damaged by fire attacks. He may maintain mist form for 1 turn per point of stamina . This gift may only be used during a new moon. Shroud (2) As the level one Uktena gift. Gaia's Horn (3) This gift is only useable in Monoceros form. The user may, by touching an opponent with her horn, remove Wyrm taint from the opponent. This will cause 3 dice of aggravated damage to all Wyrm creatures. Spirit of the Bird (3) As the level two Uktena gift. Recycle (4) As the Red Talon gift. Invisibility (5) As the level three Uktena gift
BÃO GIFTS
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Arweharis Gifts The zebra tribe has the same gifts as the Shadow Lord Garou as well as the gifts below. Unlike the Shadow Lords however the Arweharis do not have the gift Summon Storm Crow, as thunderbirds are not an African spirit type. Camouflage (1) As the Windigo gift. Sight Out the Triat (1) Similar to the Garou gift Sense Wyrm, this gift allows the Ashringa to “see” what member of the Triat, if any, is the most prevalent in the area. It senses any of the Triat, be it Wyrm, Weaver, or Wyld. Sight out the Predator (1) As the Garou gift Sense of the True Form. Change Pattern (2) The use of this gift is frowned upon, but most of the Arweharis tribe is willing to look the other way when it is used. The Ashringa can take on the appearance of anyone she has ever seen before. In this way her homid appearance can look like any person who she has ever seen, and many a cleaver Arweharis has used this gift to fool Garou by changing her Chalico form to that of a Crinos werewolf. The were-zebra rolls Performance + Subterfuge against the target’s Intelligence +3. If successful, the Ashringa takes on the appearance of her choice. Note that any use of gifts of powers, such as Scent of the True Form, will reveal the Ashringa. Hide in Plain Sight (3) This gift, a favorite of the Zebra-people, is used most often to help the Ashringa remain undetected. It is as if the werehorse simply disappears. The Ashringa spends a point of Willpower and rolls her Stealth rating. The number of successes dictates how well she is hidden. She doesn’t disappear, but takes on the colors and patterns of the area around her, by standing still, she can effectively “hide” in plain sight. This gift lasts as long as the Ashringa remains still or moves no faster than in a walk. Mark the Enemy (3) As the Get of Fenris gift. Fetish Doll (4) As the level five Uktena gift. Safety in Numbers (4) On the African plains, zebras bunch together so that predators will have a hard time picking one out from the rest. Many a Garou has attacked an Arweharis only to be nearly trampled by the sudden appearance of a herd of huge zebras. When the dust settled the Ashringa was gone. The Arweharis spends a point of permanent Gnosis to invoke this gift. As soon as the gift is used, ten zebras, with exactly the same stripe pattern as she does in Equine form, appear before the Ashringa. These apparitions bolt immediately, and the Arweharis often goes to her equine form and follows. The apparitions are assumed to have one health level. While the attacker(s) are busy “killing” a few of the false zebras, the Ashringa has an opportunity to escape. The apparitions vanish once the Arweharis is safe or when they are all “dead”. Heal the Broken Spirit (5) The Arweharis are the only tribe that remained mostly untouched by the War of Rage. However, they see the suffering of the other tribes, and this gift was developed to help ease the pain. By using this gift, the
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Ashringa can temporarily cure any given target of one debilitating flaw, negative trait, or mental illness. The Ashringa spends a point of willpower and rolls her Empathy + Medicine against a difficulty equal to her target’s stamina. If successful, the target is ‘cured” of some randomly selected problem for the remainder of the night. Panic/Pacify the Masses (5) Crowds of peaceful people have swiftly turned into riots or vise versa when a Arweharis uses this gift. The Ashringa spends a permanent point of willpower and gnosis, and chants a single purpose under his breath. Everyone within sight of the Arweharis suddenly feels compelled to try and achieve the goal the Arweharis has set before them. The goal must be a small one, such as “calm each other down” or “stop those gang members’. The goal cannot be very complex. Additionally, the Ashringa must remove a dot in any random ability each time she uses this gift. All are affected EXCEPT those who are not “alive”, such as vampires or wraiths.
Avarim Gifts The Avarim have the same gifts as the Black Furies in addition to the gifts given below. Daredevil's Flight (1) This gift is named after the fast horse of Brom Bones in Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ”The Ashringa may call upon a great burst of speed, taught by a horse spirit. A successful Stamina + Athletics roll (difficulty 6) boosts the Ashringa’s maximum speed to double. It does not confer additional actions in the same turn. The Gift lasts two turns per success, but unlike Impala‘s Flight, it doesn't work in all forms - only in Centaurus, Monoceros and Equus form. Leap of Pegasus (1) As the Garou gift Leap of the Kangaroo. Neigh of Glory (2) The Ashringa releases a loud neigh that inspires courage in her allies and panic in the enemy. A falcon spirit teaches this Gift. The werehorse rolls Charisma + Intimidation, difficulty 8. All allies' battle difficulty rolls are reduced by 1, and increased by 1 for the enemy. Aternae’s Horn (3) By changing to Monoceros form and spending a Rage point per attack the Ashringa’s horn becomes covered with sharp barbs. As in the Garou gift Visceral Agony the horn attack inflicts no extra damage but all wound penalties caused by the horn are doubled for the duration of the scene. This gift is taught by Aternae, the saw horned Unicorn. Awe (3) As the Garou gift. Chill of the Early Frost (3) As the Wendigo gift. Create Flame (3) Much like the Create Element Métis Gift, the Ashringa may create any amount of fire - from a huge ball she can throw at an opponent to a small flame for a candle. In all cases, she will not be harmed by the flame.
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The werehorse spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis (difficulty depending on the amount of fire to be created) and stays until it burns out. Lighten Task (4) Horses just weren't made to carry heavy loads. The Ashringa may reduce the weight of anything she carries, which can also result in impressing people at "how much" she can carry. A bird-spirit teaches this Gift. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis point and rolls Wits + Enigmas, difficulty 6. For every success scored, the weight upon her back is halved - meaning that at two successes a 100lbs load would first become 50lbs, and then 25lbs, in order. This effect lasts for 1 Scene. Weight of Feather (4) The Ashringa may also reduce her own weight in the same manner as Lighten Task. This is for walking narrow, fragile paths and ledges. It doesn't alter her actual appearance into a super model - it just reduces her weight without appearance change. A bird-spirit teaches this Gift. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis and rolls Wits + Enigmas at difficulty 6. For every success scored, her own weight is halved for the rest of the scene. Flaming Mane (5) Sometimes the proud Ashringa don't like being ridden on. In this case, they call upon flame spirits to turn their mane and tail into blazing fire, that doesn't hurt them, but does burn anyone who touches it. This Gift is taught by a Flame-Spirit. The Ashringa spends two Gnosis, and rolls Wits + Enigmas, difficulty 7. This fire scores 3 points of aggravated damage to anyone who touches it and lasts for an entire scene. Fire Breath (5) The Ashringa snorts through the nostrils, releasing two beams of flame shooting out at an opponent. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis point and rolls Stamina + Athletics, difficulty 7, to hit an opponent. Each success inflicts one aggravated Health Level of flame damage, which may ignite flammable items. Javelin Horn (5) This gift is similar to Wasp Talons except that it affects the horn of the Monoceros instead of the claws of the Chalico. The horn of the Monoceros actually flies off the Ashringa’s head and embeds itself in a target. A horn attack cannot be made for a full two turns after using this gift as the horn needs to regenerate. To use this gift the Ashringa rolls Dexterity + Brawl with the difficulty determined by the location of the target as in the chart below and modified using the firearms table. Damage is as in normal horn damage. Range Point Blank (within 1 yard) Close (2-20 yards) Far (22-40 yards)
Difficulty 4 6 8
Karkadamm Gifts The Karkadamm have the same gifts as the Silent Striders in addition to the gifts below.
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Find Water (1) As the Mokolé gift. Kick of Iron (1) Fiercely territorial, the Asiatic wild asses will drive other horse types out of their territory. Cold iron burns the Ashringa like a brand and by kicking the air, the Ashringa can transform his hooves into blocks of iron to drive other Ashringa away. The Karkadamm must kick the air twice and spend a point of gnosis to invoke this gift. The werehorse takes no damage from the iron, but her speed is reduced by half. The hooves do aggravated damage to any who fear iron more than any other metal. This gift lasts for an entire scene. Defy Fatigue (2) The onager has long been hailed as the most capable when it comes to endurance work, and sometimes this gift is added to make them seem able to tackle tasks others would be to weary to do. The Ashringa spends a point of willpower and does not feel tired for a full 24 hour day, no matter what he does. At the end of the day, however, she is forced to collapse due to exhaustion. Heat Metal (2) As the Glass Walker gift. Gold Shod( 3) As per the gift Iron Shod but the hooves become gold instead. Rage of the Predator (3) By spending a point of Gnosis the Ashringa “steals” the Rage of her target, making it her own. Survivor (3) As the level five Bone Gnawer gift. Steal the Wolf’s Jaws (4) The Karkadamm are very proud of this gift, which they created. By glaring maliciously at a predatory shape shifter, the Ashringa can effectively render the shifter’s teeth and claws bearable. They no longer do aggravated damage, while the Ashringa’s hooves and teeth do. The Ashringa rolls Strength + Brawl, difficulty 6. If successful, the gift works as mentioned before. Silver Shod (5) As per the gift Iron Shod but the hooves become silver instead. Shed the Wolf Skin (5) As the Caretaker gift.
Killina Gifts The Killina have the same gifts as the Children of Gaia in addition to the gifts below. Sky Running (1) As the level three Wendigo gift.
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Strength of the Shire (1) The Mongolian pony has long been hailed for their strength, and the Killina’s use of this gift supports this concept very well. Simply roll Strength + Willpower. If successful, the Ashringa increases her strength rating by three for one scene. Mountain’s Peace (2) While other horses may run in terror, the Killina can stand his ground against any being imaginable. Through the use of this gift, the Ashringa becomes immune to the effects of any power that can affect the mind such as Dominate or Presence as well as any gift that incites a Fox Frenzy of fear. Roll Willpower + Intelligence and spend a gnosis point to use this gift. Calm of the North Winds (2) This gift is useful when the Ashringa faces predatory creatures such as the Garou. It is said that a slavering pack of Crinos Get of Fenris can be reduced to passive people who rival the Children of Gaea for sheer calm when this gift is used. By spending a Willpower point and rolling Willpower + Manipulation, the Ashringa can reduce the Rage of another creature by one point per turn until there is no Rage left. Needless to say this gift does not work on anything that does not have Rage, like the Nuwisha. Charge of the Righteous (3) When the Charger hits an opponent that opponent is knocked off his feet. Once the charge is initiated it cannot be dodged and any damage suffered is aggravated. The Ashringa must chant an inspirational poem to her totem then spend a permanent Willpower point. Once the charge begins, the Ashringa cannot stop, and the chosen target cannot dodge or remain standing. No other power can be used to counteract the effects of this gift. Dragon‘s Scales (3) This gift gives the user two additional soak dice in Monoceros form as dragon’s scales forms on its back. The Ashringa rolls stamina + occult, difficulty 7, each success equals the number of turns the scales remain. This gift is learned from the Wani. Song of Sorrow (4) The Killina have learned to channel the self pity of their almost extinct kin and give it to another. Any who hear the wailing cry of an Ashringa using this gift is struck with a sense of loss and sadness bordering on harano. (Not really very good in combat, this gift is still useful when trying to get others to see things from the Ashringa’s point of view. The werehorse rolls her Manipulation + Performance against a difficulty set by the number of Targets it hits. For each success, the more depressed the audience feels. The effects of this gift last for one scene. 1-2 Targets = Difficulty 3 4-8 Targets = Difficulty 5 10-15 Targets = Difficulty 7 2-4 Targets = Difficulty 4 8-10 Targets = Difficulty 6 15+ Targets = Difficulty 8 Ferrier’s Rasp (4) By speaking a sharp word the Ashringa can effectively dull the teeth and claws of any predator in the immediate area. The fangs and talons that other bête are so proud of become flat and blunt. (The Killina spends a gnosis point for each creature affected. The teeth and claws of all predators or animal form shifters are dulled and the damage they cause is halved and no longer cause aggravated damage. This gift lasts for a number of scenes equal to the Killina’s Gnosis rating. Hand of the Earth Lords (5) As the level four Uktena gift. Flaming Mane (5) The same as the Rank 5 Avarim Gift of the same name; indeed the illustration accompanying the description above is of a Killina using this gift as well as the gift of Dragon’s Scales.
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Nabrima Gifts The Nabrima have the same gifts as the Stargazers in addition to the gifts below. Gift of the Seahorse (1) By spending a gnosis point the Ashringa can take on another form. The form taken depends on the Ashringa’s shape when he triggered this gift and statistics stay the same except for the changes given in the chart below. This gift works for an entire scene. New Form
Original Form Homid Klatra Chalico Monoceros Equine
A Mermaid (a human with a fish tail instead of legs) A Hippocampus (a horse with a dolphin’s tail instead of a horse’s hind legs and tail) A Camparech (a hippocampus with a short unicorn horn) A Narwhal (a dolphin-like whale with a single very long tusk like a unicorn’s horn) A sea Horse (a normal tiny fish)
Powers When In This Form Swims at double land speed Swim at double equine speed As in Hippocampus plus a horn that does Strength +2 aggravated damage Swim at double monoceros speed and horn attack as normal for Monoceros shape Can breathe underwater, no effective attacks, movement as in human form
Resist Pain (1) As the Garou Gift Snorkel Horn (1) By transforming to Monoceros and rolling stamina + athletics (difficulty 7) the Ashringa can form an opening in the tip of his horn through which he can breathe underwater. Calm (2) As the Child of Gaia Gift. The Falling Touch (2) As the Ahroun Gift. Spirit of the Fish (2) As the Uktena gift. Add Weight (3) Sometimes it is best if an object is a lot heaver than it appears. With this gift a Nabrima may make a pebble heavy enough to knock someone out when it is thrown or make a weapon to heavy to lift. The Ashringa may add weight to any object he touches. This Gift is taught by an Elephant spirit. The Ashringa spends one Gnosis and rolls Stamina + Enigmas difficulty 7, each success doubles the target's weight. This lasts for 1 scene. Find Land (3) As the level one Mokolé gift. Perfect Step (3) Even through slippery ice and tricky rocks, the Ashringa’s step becomes sure and doesn't become a problem, in an effort to keep going. This Gift is taught by a spider-spirit. The Ashringa spends 1 Gnosis and 1 Willpower point to activate this Gift, which lasts for 1 Scene.
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Hoof of Ice (4) The Ashringa’s hoof freezes anything it touches. An ice spirit teaches this Gift. The Ashringa spends 1 Gnosis and 1 Rage, then rolls Strength + Enigmas, difficulty 7. Each success inflicts an aggravated Health Level of ice damage when the target is hit by the hoof. The hoof's freezing effect stays in effect for 1 scene. Quicksand (4) As the Red Talon gift. Stand Ground (4) To continue going, even in storms and heavy weather, the Ashringa can call on greatest willpower, to pull through a storm without trouble. A storm-spirit teaches this Gift. The Ashringa rolls Willpower against the difficulty appropriate for the storm or trouble the werehorse has to pull through. The Gift lasts for an entire chapter. Boxer's Might (5) The Ashringa named this Gift after the famous hard-working house from "Animal Farm". Invoking this Gift, they may increase their Strength attribute for one scene, to do amazing feats. An avatar of Gaia teaches this Gift. The Ashringa rolls Stamina + Athletics, upon success their Strength is quadrupled, ONLY for accomplishing tasks to directly help Gaia, like plant an uprooted tree back into the ground, etc. Strength of Will (5) as the Ahroun Gift
Nhurim Gifts The Nhurim have the same gifts as the Silver Fangs in addition to the gifts below. Leap of the Unicorn (1) The Ashringa can leap off a cliff or other high area when in Monoceros form and land unharmed by landing on his horn. The Ashringa is effectively immune to falls under 100 feet but must spend his next turn pulling his horn out of the ground. Walk behind the Mirror (1) This gift brings the ability to step into the umbra. Once learned, the werehorse can enter and exit the umbra the same as the Garou do. Scrying (2) As the level three Uktena gift. Winds of the North (2) Many Garou have been surprised by this gift. With a shout or whinny, the Ashringa can call down a blinding snowstorm. The Nhurim spends a point of Gnosis and either shouts or neighs loudly. A light but thick snowfall ensures, blinding all, except the Ashringa. The snow lasts for two scenes, and then ends abruptly. Recognize Kin (2)
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The name of this gift is deceptive, since it doesn’t detect anyone but a werewolf or kinfolk of the Garou tribe of the Wendigo. However the Nhurim once considered these Garou to be their kin, and do so even today. As per the gift Scent of True Form but it only shows who is Wendigo or Wendigo kinfolk. Avalanche (3) As the forth level Red Talon gift. Scent of Kin (3) The Nhurim still walk among their former allies the Wendigo tribe unassalted due to this gift as far as the Garou are concerned , the Ashringa seems to be “one of us” as per the 5th level Nimbi gift Scent of the Fae Wolf, but the Nhurim more closely resembles a Wendigo. Hailstorm (4) The trademark gift of the Nhurim, the Hailstorm is exactly what it sounds like: a hail storm that does regular damage and is soakable. The Ashringa spends a permanent point of Gnosis and rolls Strength + Stamina with the number of successes equaling damage. Tusks of the Predator (4) Only male Ashringa or characters can learn this gift. The small, relatively blunt canines of the Ashringa enlarge when this gift is used and become as sharp as any Garou’s. The Ashringa spends a point of Willpower and grows a set of fangs any werewolf would be proud of. The teeth of the Ashringa do +1 aggravated damage when this gift is used and they last for the remainder of the night. Summon Storm Crow (5) As the special Judge of Doom (Shadow Lord) gift except that any Nhurim can summon a thunderbird. Warrior’s Pride (5) Using this gift the Ashringa’s skin turns into solid iron, her teeth and hooves do aggravated damage (unsoakable by other werehorses or faeries), and she can not enter a Fox Frenzy when under the influence of this gift. The Ashringa rolls Strength + Stamina. If successful, the werehorse is assumed to have a number of extra Rage points equal to her strength rating. The gift continues to work until the Ashringa runs out of Rage. Once the gift wears off, the werehorse must immediately attempt to resist an automatic Fox Frenzy.
Nimbi Gifts The Nimbi have the same gifts as the Fianna in addition to the gifts below. Balance (1) As the Stargazer gift but taught by a donkey, mule, or goat spirit. Eyes of Oberon (1) It is rumored that the Nimbi tribe is related to the faerie. If this is true, they certainly are good at recognizing their own kin. Using this gift, the Nimbi can tell who is and who is not faerie or of fae stock. By spending a willpower point the Ashringa can decipher any Faerie in the area no matter his disguise. Cardboard Mansion (2)
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As the level one Bone Gnawer gift. Kick of Iron (2) Cold iron burns the Faerie like a brand and by kicking the air, the Nimbi can transform her little hooves into blocks of iron. The Ashringa must kick the air twice and spend a point of gnosis to invoke this gift. The Ashringa takes no damage from the iron, but her speed is reduced by half. The hooves do aggravated damage to any who fear iron more than any other metal. This gift lasts for an entire scene. Iron Stomach (2) Horses have notoriously weak stomachs, but donkeys can eat much tougher food and their Nimbi kin have found a way to ignore the danger of colic. When this gift is in use none may poison the Nimbi and alcohol can’t make her drunk. The Ashringa rolls Intelligence + Stamina and spends a willpower point. For the remainder of the night no toxins, poisons, or alcohol can harm the Ashringa’s digestive system. Glamour of the Faeries (3) The Nimbi can cast an illusion on himself that has full visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile components. In this way he can make someone think that he is a bale of straw, a rock, or even a golden statue. The only limitation is that the Nimbi’s size does not change. The Nimbi spends one Gnosis point then rolls perception + Alertness (difficulty 6). All who see the illusion veiled Ashringa must match or exceed the number of successes with a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 6) or believe that the illusion is real. Unicorn’s Blessing (3) When this gift is used a unicorn’s horn made of pure silver and gold grows in the center of the Nimbi’s forehead. The horn can appear in any form and the sight causes the awe delirium even if she is not in Monoceros form. The horn, being silver and gold, causes unshakable aggravated damage to most predatory shifters. The Ashringa rolls her Stamina + melee to grow the horn. The number of successes is the number of scenes the horn remains. Pride of the Monarch (4) By calling upon the totem spirit of the Faerie, the Nimbi can grow a set of satin-like butterfly wings. They enable her to fly for a short period of time. The Nimbi simply spends a point of Willpower to grow the wings. She can fly at 20 miles per hour for one scene, after which the wings are reabsorbed into her body. Trackless Waste (4) As the level three Red Talon gift. Coat of the Fae Wolf (5) How is it that the some Ashringa can walk among the werewolves and not be detected? The Nimbi’s use of this gift is one of the reasons. When this gift is used the, the Nimbi can escape detection. If another uses a power to tell what she is they see her as a werewolf, specifically a Fianna. This gift lasts for the remainder of the night. The Ashringa rolls her performance + subterfuge. Naturally if the Ashringa shifts to a horse like form, the gift is automatically canceled. Survivor (5) As the Bone Gnawer gift.
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RITES
Unicorn rearing. Lion raises up on hind legs to full height, snarling, teeth gleam white in going light. Appear like boxers sparing, lion striking out with paws, unicorn with his hooves. Move closer. Stop… can see lion is not unsheathing claws as he strikes. All sounds and violent movements are of battle, but realize it must instead be part of some strange, inoffensive , ritual. -Robert Vavra, “The Unicorn of Kilimanjaro”. Ashringa have most of the rites known to the Garou. Not being predatory animals, the Ashringa do not know the following rites: The Rite of the Winter Wolf, Voice of the Jackal, The Hunt, Rending the Veil, The Great Hunt, The Rite of Keres, and Hunting Prayer. The Ashringa do know the Gurahl Rite of the Pure Land, and the Mokolé rites Silence of the Oracles, Feed the Wallow (called by the Ashringa Feed the Herd), The Oknanikilla, and Into the Waterhole. Two rites known by most Ashringa are Greeting the Sun and Greeting the Moon. The Ashringa also can learn the following special rites: Rite of Galgallim Level one, Mystic Rite. This Rite is practiced by all tribes of Ashringa. It is a celebration of life and hope that summons the spirit of Galgallim, the guide to the light which leads the Rite Master to a sacred spot. This rite can only be performed during a thunderstorm. The Rite Master shifts to Monoceros form and begins to leap, buck, rear and spin about in the storm. As he exalts in the tempest he rolls Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 8). At the end of the dance a whirlwind will form out of the storm, move over the Rite Master and appear to enter the Ashringa’s horn. The Rite Master’s horn will then begin to glow whenever he points it in the direction of holy ground (a Garou cairn, Ashringa dwell, Faerie Circle, church etc.) Once the holy ground is found the light goes out and the rite ends. Rite of Balder Level two, Mystic Rite) This rite calls upon the spirits to heal the injured leg of a horse or Ashringa. Horses have particularly vulnerable legs and this rite can even heal severed limbs or shattered bones. While chanting (exact chant depending on the Celestine being invoked) the Rite Master ties a black thread with seven knots around the injury. Each success on the rituals roll heals one fractured limb (an extra success is needed to heal a severed limb) and it works on multiple subjects. Rite of the Lion Level two, Seasonal Rite This rite is mostly practiced by the African Arweharis and the American Nhurim. This rite allows
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an Ashringa to take some of the power from a great cat spirit. This rite is performed in the spring and it represents a fight between the moon and the sun. The Rite Master must first locate a big cat spirit (preferably a lion or puma), then persuades the spirit to engage him in ritual battle. A rituals roll with a difficulty equal to the spirit’s willpower determines the outcome of the rite. On a success the Ashringa gains dominance and can force the spirit to give up an amount of gnosis, rage, or willpower points (or a combination) equal to the successes. These points are subtracted from the spirit’s totals and the spirit will always keep at least one point in each category for himself. On a failure the Ashringa loses the contest for dominance and does not gain any power. On a botch the cat spirit becomes enraged and attacks the Rite Master. Garlands of Bright Flowers Level three, Cairn Rite This rite encourages a number of birds to nest near an Ashringa dwell. These birds act as an early warning system for the dwell in case of intruders and may encourage bird spirits to give assistance to the grace. The Rite Master moves to an open flower strewn area within the bawn of the dwell. Once there she rolls charisma + rituals (difficulty 7) and one bird spirit per success appears. The Rite Master then spends a gnosis point to allow the birds to materialize. The materialized birds will then gather flowers and decorate the Ashringa’s mane and tail. This action attracts a number of bird pairs equal to successes to the dwell. These physical birds will then build their nests upon the dwells borders and will call loudly whenever a non Ashringa enters the bawn. Rite of the Fearful Woods Level three Cairn Rite This rite causes anyone who sees an Ashringa in Monoceros form to be affected by fear instead of the awe normally experienced on the delirium chart. The Rite Master stands in the center of the dwell in Monoceros form and calls upon Alma to shroud the dwell in fear. He then rolls gnosis (difficulty 7) and walks to the edge of the bawn rapping upon the trees, bushes and rocks that make up the boundary with his horn. On a success all humans who are not kinfolk who enter the bawn will suffer the delirium upon sighting a Monoceros. This rite lasts one month per success. Rite of the Hobby Horse Level four, Mystic Rite. In the ancient times man attempted to appease the kelpies of the water by giving them the sacrifice of a horse so that the hobgoblin steeds would not eat the villagers. This rite honors these spirits by offering a substitute for an actual animal sacrifice. A model horse is made of hide stuffed with the best grass, hay and other foods enjoyed by horses. This hobby horse is supported by hoops so that it can be lifted by assistants and can support the Rite Master as he rides it in a circle around the bawn. Before enacting this rite the Rite Master must shift to Asbar form or wear a horse mask while remaining in human shape. After the dwells border has been completely circled the hobby horse is thrown into the water and allowed to sink. If properly performed no water horse spirit will prey upon any member of a dwell or their Kinfolk but will instead aid the Ashringa or kin. Rite of Birth Level four, Cairn Rite. This rite creates an umbral pocket within the dwell where the females of the grace can give birth in safety. All females who bear their young within this area will not have any complications from the pregnancy. In addition no natural predator will willingly set foot in the birthing area and any supernatural hunters must make willpower roll at a difficulty of 6 + the Rite Master’s number of successes to enter. This rite is performed by several male Ashringa during the full moon. During this rite all the stallions take Monoceros form and begin to leap and rush about as if in a frenzy, rearing upon their hind legs and calling to the moon. At the end of this display the Rite Master rolls Charisma + Rituals at a difficulty of 10 minus the number of stallions that participated in the rite. On a success Luna was impressed by the performance and fills an area of the dwell with moon light. For the next month any female who gives birth in that spot will do so with no problems and will have a healthy child. The Rite of Fertility Level four, Rite of Accord This rite ensures fertility and increases the chance that a birth will result in an Ashringa foal. The Rite Master and the female Ashringa who desires fertility change to Monoceros form. The mare then coats her horn in honey (either by inserting it into a beehive or by having a friend in human form assist
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her) then the Rite Master trots about her several times before picking up a mouthful of flowers and shaking the petals onto her horn. If the petals stick (a successful Rituals roll) the Rite Master then draws his horn down the female’s side to her womb. The mare will now become pregnant the next time she mates and her chance of bearing an Ashringa child increases to 7 out of 10. The Rite of Torgut Level four, Seasonal Rite. This rite was originated by the Avarim and it celebrates a major victory over the Garou. Legend tells of a tribe called the Torguls who once lived in ancient Russia. One day the lovely princess Ingrid and the magnificent Avarim stallion Runs-through-the -g–ass decided to present their young son Torgut to all the Ashringa in Russia. Stallions, mares and foals came from all over the compass to witness the event. Unfortunately the Silver Fangs wanted the Torguls for themselves and attacked the Ashringa. This was the first battle of the War of Rage encountered by the werehorses and after a ferocious battle where 20,000 wolves were routed the young Torgut rode to the victory glory on his father’s back. This rite is performed on the autumn equinox and is the Ashringa equivalent to the Garou Rite of Keres. The Rite Master first leads a dirge reciting the deeds of all the Ashringa who have died at the claws of the Garou in the service of Gaia. The gathered Ashringa then take turns reciting how they have suffered at the hands of the werewolves. After telling his story the Ashringa takes Monoceros form and plunges his horn into a pond, stream, or bucker of water set in the middle of the gathered werehorses. The last to dip his horn is the Rite Master who calls out to the spirit of Torgut to grant strength to replace the Ashringa’s grief. If the rite is successful the wind will blow fearsomely through the dwell and the Rite Master will lead the herd in a revel to celebrate the purging of the Wyrm taint from their souls. All of the Ashringa who participated in this rite are may make a stamina + rituals roll (difficulty 7). If successful the participant receives one permanent point of willpower for casting forth her inner fears and resisting the Garou. Failure causes them to lose honor in the eyes of the grace. A botch causes them to lose one point of permanent willpower and will cause them to automatically suffer the Delirium the next time they see a werewolf. Rite of Samagin Level five, Mystic Rite. With this rite the Rite Master creates a miniature replica of the Garden of Samagin (Eden) on Earth. It is one of the most famous Ashringa rituals and is performed by striking the ground with a hoof or piercing it with a horn. On a success a stream of pure water will gush from the ground and this stream will quickly make the soil fertile. Within two days after performing this rite the plants will be growing even in the most contaminated of soil. Within a month the plants will have grown to their full size and wildlife will begin to inhabit the area. In this way a toxic waste dump can be turned into virgin forest in less than three weeks! This rite is used to restore those areas devastated by the Wyrm and it restores one mile of land per success. Rite of the Vampire Slayer Level five, Mystic Rite This rite is performed so that the hidden coffin of a vampire can be discovered so that the undead demon can be safely destroyed during the day. The Rite Master enters the cemetery, house, or other area where it is suspected that a vampire lies hidden and assumes Monoceros or Equine form. A young virgin child then rides the Ashringa as he begins the intricate dance like series of steps that enact this rite. If it is performed properly the spirits will lead the Rite Master to a number of vampires or ghouls equal to the successes.
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FETISHES & TALENS “Oh winged horse as fast as light, take me on a magic flight” -the little boy in the old cartoon series Luno whenever he summoned the spirit inside a toy Pegasus.
Fetishes Items marked with an asterisk (*) are made of Iron so their manufacture is deadly to the Ashringa. Those who carry these items lose one point from their effective gnosis rating and using them against another Ashringa is considered a grave offence Carbuncle Level 3 Gnosis 7 This is a flawless red gemstone (usually a garnet or ruby) cut by a jeweler into a domed shape and infused with a fire spirit. Once made the fetish is heated in a fire then branded into the Ashringa’s forehead where it is visible in all forms as a nasty boil except when in Monoceros when the carbuncle is covered with the horn. When activated the gem appears as its normal appearance and glows giving the Ashringa three extra dice on intimidation rolls verses vampires, fomori, and other creatures of the Wyrm and darkness. Golden Bridle Level 3 Gnosis 4 This fetish is a bridle made out of golden thread or ribbons with the metal parts, including the bit, made out of solid gold. Needless to say this item is both extremely expensive and very fragile. When placed upon any member of the horse family it causes that horse to become instantly tame and obedient to the owner of the bridle. In game terms the attempt control a horse wearing this fetish has its difficulty reduces by an amount equal to the user’s Animal ken trait. This fetish will also work on other Ashringa as well as on Pegasus and other spirit horses. To make this fetish the item must have a horse spirit bound into it. Horseshoes of Surefootedness * Level 1 Gnosis 2 This fetish is a pair of iron horseshoes with runes of grace and balance carved into them. Once made the shoes are worn on the hind feet and actually change shape with the wearer. In horse form they remain typical horseshoes while in human shape they become hiking boots or tennis shoes. When activated the shoes give their wearer an automatic success when walking along cliffs, narrow ledges, or steep mountain passes. This fetish has a goat, mountain sheep, chamois, or donkey spirit bound into it. Lightning Shoes Level 4 Gnosis 6 This fetish is a pair of horseshoes made of pure silver. They are worn upon the forefeet and manifest only when the Ashringa is in Monoceros or Equine form. In other shapes they appear to be simply silver nail polish. Because they are made of silver these weapons are used as weapons against other shape changers. These shoes not only cause strength +2 unsoakable aggravated damage to those were beasts “allergic” to silver but they also inflict strength +2 aggravated damage (though this is soakable) to any other creature struck with the hooves. This extra damage is caused by electrocution. In addition these shoes can create sparks when their wearer strikes them against rock or metal. These sparks can be used to light fires or briefly illuminate a dark room. This fetish has a lightning or storm spirit bound into it. Lucky Horseshoe * Level 2 Gnosis 4 This is another horseshoe fetish, in this case it is a single iron horseshoe decorated with runes and feathers. This item is a protective charm which is used by nailing it above a doorway with the convex side up and the “horns” turned upward so the luck will not run out. Once activated a lucky horseshoe will prevent any Wyrm spirit or unseelie faerie from entering the building it is nailed to for a full 24 hours. A lune or other moon spirit is bound into this fetish. Medicine Bag of the Asvins Level 1 Gnosis 6 This fetish is a small bag decorated with feathers and containing the hairs taken from the crucifix shaped dorsal stripe of a donkey. When hung on a cord around the neck of a sick person and activated this fetish
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will cure one nonfatal disease (like the flu, mumps, whooping cough, etc.) and when combined with a healing rite or gift it will even cure diseases (like cancer, aids, diabetes, etc.) that are usually fatal. Only supernatural diseases cannot be cured using this fetish. One of the donkey or horse spirits who serve the Asvins must be bound into this fetish. Purification Cup Level 3 Gnosis 6 This item is a cup carved from rhinoceros, ibex, or antelope horn or the tusk of a narwhal. It is carved inside and out with images of birds, animals, and forest plants and painted red at the bottom, back in the middle, and white around the rim. A unicorn spirit is then bound into the cup. When activated any liquid placed inside the cup becomes pure, any dirt or contaminants will disappear and any poison (including alcohol) will be neutralized. Ring of the Unicorn Level 2 Gnosis 5 This is a simple ring carved of horn or ivory. When activated it changes to a purple hue and begins to “sweat” in the presence of poison. The closer to the source of the poison the darker the ring will become. If placed upon a poisonous substance it will turn nearly black. A unicorn spirit is bound into this device. Saddle of Epona Level 3 Gnosis 6 This is a leather saddle or woven blanket that has been decorated with runes of stability and balance. Another cloth soaked in a mixture of honey and glue is then sewn into the item and a wind, eagle, or horse spirit is bound into the fetish. Once activated anyone who sits on the saddle will not fall off even if unconscious or the horse performs a back flip! This fetish is generally used to help move injured herd mates or kinfolk. Socks of Nyssa Level 2 Gnosis 4 This fetish is a pair of socks woven from Ashringa hair and infused with a chameleon spirit. When worn and activated it will make the wearer, even if he is human or in human form, resemble a normal horse of the same color as the socks. This is an illusion (so anybody who touches the horse will feel the wearer’s actual form) but it is a useful way of fooling pursuers. Sword of Mech-Gladinez * Level 4/5/6 Gnosis 7 The first sword of this type was forged for the legendary Russian hero Ilya Muromets and it is both the most potent and the rarest of Ashringa fetishes. Like a Garou klave, most of these swords are very ancient and are handed down by Ashringa lineages (especially the Nhurim, Avarim, and Killina) as their manufacture is not only deadly to the Ashringa but the spirits bound to this item are many and powerful. To manufacture this fetish one must first forge an iron long sword with a horsehide hilt and scabbard. Once the physical weapon is forged one must bind up to three spirits into the sword: a war spirit, a light spirit, and/or a Pegasus spirit. Because these fetishes are so honored these spirits are often flattered to share the item but each spirit may give a special request (or ban) to keep them bound to the item. A sword with a single spirit bound to it is worth 4 points, a two spirit sword cost 5 and the rare sword containing all three spirits can only be created (or discovered) in play (a 6 point fetish) Because of its size and nature a Sword of Mech-Gladinez causes unsoakable aggravated damage to any Ashringa or Faerie it strikes. In addition any Ashringa of fae who carries one of these swords loses two points of effective gnosis. In addition each of the three spirits contained in the sword grants it an additional power. The war spirit allows the user of this sword to add three dice to his attack pool when wielding this weapon. In addition the sword inflicts strength +4 aggravated damage to anything it strikes. Without the war spirit this fetish will not do aggravated damage (unless used on creatures “allergic” to iron) or give a bonus to hit. The most common ban for this spirit is that it must taste blood at least once a moon. The light spirit will cause the sword to glow in response to the proximity of Wyrm spirits. When it is glowing the sword illuminates an area with a radius of 15 feet. This glow is bright enough to illuminate
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even magical darkness. The Most common ban for this spirit is that it must be laid out in full sunlight (or moonlight, depending on the whim of the spirit) for three days (or nights) a month. The Pegasus spirit will materialize when summoned and allow itself to be ridden by the wielder of the sword. This “horse of lightning speed” varies in appearance depending on the type of Pegasus spirit bound into it. Spirits from America, Europe or Africa resemble the conventional image of a horse with wings but one from the Orient or Indonesia will most likely be a dragon horse (aka a Ri-rin or Ky-lin). Statistics for the horse of lightning speed Attributes: Str: 6, Dex: 4, Sta: 6, Int: 3, Per: 4, Wits: 4, ,Cha: 2, Man: 2, App: 4, Will: 7, Rage: 6, Gnosis: 4, Power: 11 (not counting the 27 points used to materialize). Abilities: Alertness 3, Empathy 2, Survival 1 Charms: Airt sense, Armor, Frozen breath, Materialize, sense Wyrm, Updraft. Powers: Move: 19/ fly 37, Health levels: as normal +1 extra bruised level, Delirium Difficulty: 7 (awe), Soak Bonus due to armor: +1, Damage: Strength +0 (bite), Strength +1 aggravated (hooves).
Turquoise Charm Level 3 Gnosis 6 This charm is a piece of turquoise with a kelpie spirit bound into it. The charm when attached to the saddle of a horse keeps the steed from becoming exhausted and keeps the rider from falling. All difficulties for stamina (for the horse) and balance (for the rider) rolls are reduced by 2. In return for inhabiting this fetish the spirit inside demands a yearly horse sacrifice or the enacting of the Rite of the Hobby Horse in his name.
Talens Buckeye Gnosis 4 This is the seed of a horse chestnut tree. If the plant is awakened and the seed worn about the neck or in one’s pocket then it will cure lameness or arthritis for one day. Chastity Water Gnosis 6 By mixing pure waters with lavender oil and awakened this plant extract will help maintain the chastity of anyone it is sprinkled upon. The user has a +2 added to all difficulties to seduce the character. Coltsfoot Tobacco Gnosis 4 Coltsfoot is a plant found in Europe, America, and the east Indies. When smoked it adds +1 to all healing rolls against severe coughs or bronchitis. It can also be used to make a yellow green dye. When awakened this plant will instantly cure any disease which causes coughs and if chewed and the resulting paste smeared upon the affected area it will also cure insect bites, burns and leg ulcers. Horn of the Evil Eye Gnosis 7 This talen is made to help ward off the evil eye. A piece of stag or Monoceros horn is tipped with silver and attached to a cord made from the tail hairs of a black mare. A falcon or other keen eyed bird spirit is then bound into the item which is then worn around the neck. If a spell, gift, charm, or power is used on the wearer with intent to harm him then the necklace banishes the magic before falling apart. Horseweed Gnosis 8 When un-awakened this plant is used to help cure digestive problems, internal bleeding, and menstrual irregularities. Once awakened however this plant truly lives up to its nickname of “Blood Staunch”. If a
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vampire is somehow forced of tricked into drinking a tea made from this plant will be unable to spend any blood points for one turn of the moon. This prevents the vampire from healing itself and, as the leech continues to lose one blood point every night he rises from his coffin the vampire may very well starve. Even worse every time the vampire attempts to feed he must roll Willpower at difficulty 8 or be unable to digest the blood. Periadham Gnosis 7 This is a small round ball of pearlescent ivory made from the Ashringa’s horn ground up and mixed with resin. When swallowed this item removes all feelings of anger, rage, depression (including harano) and guilt for one turn per Rank of the Ashringa who made it. Werewolves who eat this talen cannot Rage or spend rage points for the duration of the item. Soma of the Gandharvas Gnosis 8 The Soma of the Gandharvas is the most potent of all talens. Soma is a milky white fermented liquor pressed out of a rare plant from India (though variations made out of saki or wine can also be made) that when infused with a unicorn or phoenix spirit can cure any disease, heal up to four aggravated health levels, or bring the recently dead back to life. The soma must be drank (or poured into the corpse’s mouth for resurrection) and one dose can only perform a single function Cure, Heal or Resurrect. Resurrected people are revived with a single health level and will have to be healed beyond incapacitated level to travel. Buying this talen will give the character a small vial containing only a single dose of soma. Buying more than one dose will only give the character a larger flask containing more doses.
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HORSES OF THUNDER: TOTEMS & SPIRITS Probably no family of animals has had so great a totemistic and economic significance for human civilization as the horse. -David Day, “The Doomsday Book of Animals”
In this chapter I will describe the totems, spirits, and the most common animals known to the Ashringa. This is necessary because there is much more to equine spirits than unicorns and pegasi. In addition wild animal statistics are conspicuously absent from Werewolf despite being constantly referred to so I am going to list the most common wild animals of the North American west for use in W:tA games.
TOTEMS The Ashringa worship many of the same totems as the Garou and have both charm totems (equivalent to pack totems) and Dwell totems (equivalent to cairn totems) and the rules are the same for both bête. Ashringa rarely have carnivorous mammals as totems (Lion, the totem of the Arweharis, is an exception) but predatory birds are often chosen. Common totems include Bison, Boar, Bull, Crow, Dana, Dolphin, Duck, Elephant, Herne the Hunter (Avarim only), Fog, Goat, Hare, Heron, Falcon, Grandfather Thunder (Nhurim only), Kanau the Wedge Tailed Eagle (Nabrima only), Lyrebird (Nabrima only), Merlin, Owl, Pegasus, Quetzal, Raven, Rooster, Squirrel, Stag, Twister, Uktena, Unicorn, Wind, and Yongar the Kangaroo. Below are several new totems for werehorse characters. Entries in italics were previously published on the internet and have been updated and clarified for Ashringa characters.
Alcyoneus (Totem of Wisdom) Background Cost 3
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When Mary rode into Bethlehem she rode a donkey that was granted long life in return. Later this same donkey served as the steed of Christ and bore his crucified body to its tomb. The faithful beast was rewarded by being taken into Heaven where he became an angel. A true servant of God Alcyoneus (also known as Al Borak the Lightning) took Mahomet to heaven. Today this spirit manifests as a winged donkey (sometimes depicted with a human head) the color of saffron that represents the virtues of patience and faithfulness. Traits: Alcyoneus grants his children 2 willpower points per story, the gift Gaea’s Steed, and one dot of True Faith. Ban: Children of Alcyoneus must always help woman or children find shelter or medical help.
Antelope Totem of (varies) Background cost 5 Like his brother Wind, Antelope has different aspects that Charms can take. The two totems are said to proceed from the same source and the followers of Antelope will find great allies in the Children of the Winds. All aspects will bring their children's Stamina up one dot (max of 5) and impart the Silent Strider Gifts The Great Leap and Speed of Thought. Apataleon (Totem of Wisdom) This bizarre spirit looks almost demonic with his serrated horns, goat like beard, hawk's beak instead of a muzzle and fangs. He is said to be an amalgam of the other four Antelopes. His children lose one dot in Appearance but gain knowledge of the Métis Gift Create Element, and 3 dots in Enigmas (specialty is Visual). The Alchemical Antelope's brother Wind aspect is the Umbral Wind. Chinkara the Gazelle (Totem of Respect) (7 points) Chinkara is the original Antelope and the others are reflections of him. He is the American Pronghorn, the duikers and Impala of Africa, the Blackbuck of India and the Saiga of the arctic as well as the many species of gazelle found throughout Asia and Africa. He fears not death; for he is one of the oldest of the totems, and he is wise enough to know that the relationship between predator and prey is a sacred one. This deer like creature is famed for its speed and breeds prolifically, females conceiving litters and miscarrying all but one or two: his children have a 4 in 10 chance of breeding true. He imparts the Philodox Gift Wisdom of the Ancient Ways and one dot in Past Lives. He teaches the Minor Rite Prayer for the Prey. Pronghorn's brother Wind aspect is the West Wind. Herola the Horse Antelope (Totem of War) Herola represents the African and Arabian sable, roan, gemsbok, oryx, addax, hartebeests, and gnu. This totem stands for no nonsense. Tough, combative and lusty, Herola only runs a short distance before he turns at bay and starts swinging his sharp, saber-like horns around. He teaches his children Melee with specialties in swords and lances, and the Weapon technique Fencing. Sable's brother Wind Aspect is the South Wind. Isard the Goat Antelope (Totem of Cunning) Dancing ever on the edge, Isard represents the chamois of Europe, The American mountain goat, the Oriental serow, the Indian goral and the African klipspringer. Isard will add one dot to his children's Dexterity (if this takes them over 4, the specialty is "Sure-Footed")” gives them the Merit: Daredevil, and increase their Willpower by 1. Chamois's brother Wind aspect is the North Wind. Khnemu the Spiral Horned Antelope (Totem of Wisdom)
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Khnemu represents the African Kudu (and it‘s cousins the nyala, bongo, eland, and bushbuck) and the nilgai of India. Large yet graceful, gentle Khnemu gives his children one dot each in Appearance and Dexterity (Deft), and the Gifts Invent, and Reshape Object. Khnemu sculpts our bodies: if his children conceive a Métis, they will have lighter deformities or, (Storyteller's option) will be deformed but fertile (the deformity will carry over). His children also gain the Flaw Shy. Kudu's brother Wind aspect is the East Wind. Ban: Children of Antelope are not barred from hunting the physical embodiment of their totem, but if they ever forget to be thankful for his sacrifice Antelope will abandon them.
Ass (Totem of Respect) Background Cost 4 Ass is known for his strength, stubbornness and his utter disdain of social niceties. Although reasoning is not his strong point, very few can sway the mind of this totem once he decides on something. Traits: Ass gives his followers the gift Lighten Task, and two additional points of Willpower (maximum 10.) He also gives the Mule Kick attack maneuver. Ban: Followers of Ass are at +2 difficulties on all Intelligence and Social rolls. They also sound damned silly when they laugh: "Hee-haw, hee-haw".”
Asvins (Totem of Wisdom) Background Cost: 6 The Asvins (or Aswins) are the Indian deities Dasra and Nasatya, patrons of the dawn and healers. The offspring of the Indian sun god Vivavat and a mare, the twins take the form of horse headed men with golden skin. The Asvins help their father the sun by driving their mule drawn chariot across the sky right before dawn and dusk in order to make a path that the sun can travel. Traits: Children of the Asvins gain a dot of Herbalism and Medicine (up to a maximum of five) as well as the gifts Mother’s Touch and Tame Sunbeam. They also give their followers an additional point of Dexterity and will restore up to 2 additional Gnosis points per story. Ban: Worshipers of the Asvins must always heal the sick.
Bayard (Totem of War) Background Cost: 4 Bayard was a Kelpie that legend said could only be tamed when a man threw him to the ground. When the knight Renaud heard this tale he decided to win Bayard as his warhorse. Renaud tricked Bayard into falling down and the kelpie agreed to act as the knight’s horse in order to regain his lost honor. King Charlemagne declared Renaud an outlaw and demanded Bayard in exchange for the knight’s freedom. Renaud agreed and the vengeful king tied a millstone to the horse’s neck and threw him in the river. Luckily Bayard was a faerie horse and simply used magic to slip the weight of the stone and swam away to freedom. Traits: Bayard grants his children the gifts Kelpie’s Nature, Lighten Task, and Impala’s Flight. He also grants the ability to swim at twice normal rate and the combat maneuver Courbette. Ban: Followers of Bayard must combat corruption in political leaders.
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Camparech the Narwhal (Totem of Wisdom) Background Cost: 5 Camparech, the iridescent green and silver Narwhal, roams the arctic seas and fills the air with his song. The sea unicorn, with his dolphin’s body and single spiraling tusk has been depicted in art as a unicorn headed whale or, more fancifully, as a unicorn with webbed hind feet. Symbolically, like his sisters Unicorn and Dolphin, Camparech is associated with peace, joy, and healing. However Narwhals are rarely hunted for just as his horn can pierce the ice of his arctic home so it can also be used to give enemies the point. Traits: Narwhal gives two additional points of wisdom and reduces the difficulty of any craft roll to carve ivory by -2. He also teaches the gifts Gaia’s Lance and Serine Pasture. Ban: Camparech’s children must never hunt whales or dolphins- a high price indeed to a native Inuit who usually follow him.
Dharmapala (Totems of War) Background Cost: 5 The Dharmapala are the protectors of the Mongolian horse nomads. They are represented as fierce warriors with three eyes and hair of flame. The two most notable members of this group of spirits are the brothers Hayagriva and Beg-Ts’e. Hayagriva is the lord of wrath and the protector of horses. He appears as a 50 foot tall horse headed giant wearing a skull cap and armed with a huge meat cleaver. Beg-Ts’e is the patron of cavalrymen and he appears dressed in the boots of the Mongol horse rider and wielding a sword with a shrimp shaped hilt. Traits: Followers of the Dharmapala horse kings gain an extra dot in melee (specialty in the axe or sword), -2 to all brawl difficulties, the gift Beast Life (horses only) and an extra two points of Rage per story. Ban: Children of the Dharmapala must protect horses and conduct the proper rites if one is slain.
Dragon Horse (Totem of Respect) Background Cost: 6 Dragon Horse is known from many cultures, he is CeffylDwr to the Celts, Conopini in Asia, Ri-rin in Japan and Kylin in China. He usually appears as a horse with the scales, head, wings and tail of a dragon. He represents the magic modern science calls evaporation, the transformation of water to fire (the “smoke” we call clouds) and the clouds to water again as rain. Traits: Dragon Horse grants his children one extra point of willpower per story and reduces the difficulties of any Occult dice pool by -2. He also teaches the gifts Sky Running, Dragon’s Scales, and Fire Breath. In
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addition once per story the entire charm or grace can pray and dance for one hour. The result of this rain dance works exactly like the Mokole’ gift Call the Rain. Ban: Children of Dragon horse must never harm one of Dragon’s children. This demand includes true dragons, crocodilians, monitor lizards, dinosaurs, and Mokole’.
Epona (Totem of Wisdom) Background Cost: 8 Epona (also known as Rhiannon) is the “divine horse of the moon” and “Great Mother Mare” of Celtic mythology. As an aspect of both Gaia and Luna she is a deity of fertility, maternity, prosperity, healing, and crops. She is said to be the Queen of the Faeries and all fae defer to her. In addition to horses Epona is associated with doves and butterflies that are said to serve as her messengers. Traits: Epona grants her children a dot of Animal-ken (to a maximum of 5), two points of willpower per story, one point of wisdom and the gifts Call Spirit (as the Dreamspeaker gift but able to summon birds as well as horses), Pride of the Monarch, and Eyes of Oberon. Epona also teaches the Rite of Birth and the Rite of Fertility. Ban: Epona’s Children must become parents as soon as possible. In addition she demands that her followers never harm horses, birds, or butterflies.
Hippalectryon the Cock Horse (Totem of Cunning) Background Cost: 5 Hippalectryon is a spirit found in India and the orient (though the American Jersey Devil sounds a lot like this creature) that has the head and hind legs of a horse and the body of a peacock. This combination of the most beautiful of both mammals and birds is a trickster whose bloodcurdling screams and blazing red eyes cause terror in lone travelers and whose beautiful body hides a bellicose temper and flashing hooves. Traits: Hippalectryon grants his Children one point of appearance (maximum of 5), -2 to the difficulties of any subterfuge dice pool and the gifts Howl of the Banshee and Dazzle. He also teaches the Rite of the Fearful Woods. Ban: Charms chosen by Hippalectryon must never gain a battle scar that mars their physical appearance or contain a Métis character with an appearance under 3 in any form.
Hippocampus the Sea Horse (Totem of Wisdom) Background Cost: 5 Hippocampus with his horse’s head and fish’s tail combines the hard working honesty of Horse with the playfulness of Dolphin. Hippocampus represents the wisdom of the sea with his slow movements and his devotion to his young as he carries them in his pouch, but when the sea is in danger he is not above serving as the steed of the gods, charging into battle with armored skull and strangling tail.
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Traits: Hippocampus gives his children a point of wisdom, 2 willpower points per story and the gifts Marsupial pouch, Gift of the Sea Horse and Monkey’s Tail. Ban: Children of Sea Horse must protect the sea from pollution and over fishing.
Hippogriff (Totem of War) Background Cost: 5 An eagle’s head and wings and a horse’s body makes hippogriff less fearsome than his brother Griffin but his s tearing beak is just as deadly. Hippogriff guards the wilderness but unlike his brother Hippogriff is willing to compromise with man as long as that man shows him and the wild respect. Traits: Hippogriff’s eagle eyes and horse’s ears gives him excellent senses and grant his children +3 on all perception dice pool. In addition he grants a point of Glory and a point of Honor. The gift Bacchante’s Rage is also given to those chosen by Hippogriff. Ban: Hippogriff demands that his followers only associate with humans who respect the wilderness.
Horse (Totem of Respect) Background Cost: 4 Horse has long been of great importance around the globe, and a focal point of many cultures. He was present in nearly all endeavors of civilization and tribal life until the recent rise of technology displaced him. Horse is the tireless worker, friend of Man, and a symbol of freedom as the wild stallion or mustang. Even in the midst of battle, Horse has been there. Although once highly important, he is now held in greatest esteem by the Avarim and Nhurim. Traits: Horse grants his children his tireless endurance (they gain an additional point of Stamina), and they gain his stubborn will (they can call upon an extra 3 Willpower points per story). Horse is a totem of minor Honor and Respect (each pack member gains 1 point of honor). Ban: Children of Horse must be hard-working and honest, advocating the use of the horse above many modern tools.
Io the Elder Serpent (Totem of War) Background Cost 9 The Elder Serpent resides atop the highest crags in the central mountain ranges of Pangaea. The greatest of all dragons, Io can change his size from that of a mouse to over a mile in length. Although he appears to be a Celestine of the Wyld, he is actually a Wyrm Celestine, a representation of the Wyrm's true calling, that of balance. Traits: Io grants his children the power to give and take damage, giving +1 to Strength and +1 to Stamina, as well as enhancing the connection to the instincts of the ancient world, +1 to Primal Urge. Also Wyrm spirits may balk at the character, sensing in them something that they have lost.
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Ban: Children of the Elder Serpent must seek the balance. They must fight the Weaver as well as the Wyrm, even occasionally the Wyld itself. To mark his children, the Elder Serpent places a small tattoo of a dragon on their skin. When in any form other than Homid and Klatra, this tattoo will change into a multicolored scale of the same size. As Io is a Celestine of the forgotten true Wyrm, it could become disastrous for a charm bearing Io’s mark to be discovered as such. Guard well, for most Garou would not take the time to discover the Elder Serpent's true intentions.
Pavo the Peacock (Totem of Respect) Background Cost 5 A large pheasant native to India and Southeast Asia peafowl are best known for the brilliant iridescent tail of the male (the peacock) which is waved like a fan in courtship displays. Only the male has the crested head and a large fan-shaped tail with brilliantly colored blue and green spots the female is a plain brown bird known for her timid nature. The male is famed for his harsh scream and his delight in following unicorns in Indian folklore. Traits: Followers of peafowl gain one point of glory and two dots of appearance. They also gain the gift Scream of Gaia and dazzle. Ban: Children of peafowl must behave in a vain fashion and show this especially in the way he or she behaves and dresses. Peacock’s children must always be flamboyant, dress in bright colors, and be the center of attention.
Porcupine (Totem of Respect) Background Cost 5 Porcupines are herbivorous tree climbing rodents from Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Ranging in size from that of a guinea pig to that of a dog all porcupines are covered in barbed quills that make them nearly immune to predators. Porcupines are also addicted to salt and have been known to eat axe handles and chew up the saddles of horses in order to eat the salts placed on these items by the sweat of their users. In African myth porcupine is the daughter of the All-Devourer. When the Wyrm went mad she fled to the home of Mantis who became her foster father. Later she married the Rainbow-Serpent and gave birth to her son, Ichneumon the mongoose. In Native American myth she is a trickster who is Coyote’s respected friend. Traits: Followers of porcupine gain two points of Intimidation a point of wits and a point of Enigmas (up to a total of 5). They also gain the gifts Gnaw, Tree Climber and (of course) Gift of the Porcupine. Ban: Children of porcupine must seek to heal Wyrm creatures of their madness. Her followers also gain a craving for salt and must make a Willpower roll to keep from eating salty foods of to eat foods that are not sprinkled with salt (lots of salty marsh grasses for these horses).
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Ram (Totem of War) Background Cost 6 The massive curving horns of Ram crash like thunder when they strike an opponent while his nimble hooves can walk the narrowest of ledges without fear. Sure-footed Ram does not go looking for a fight but when challenged he is fearless, charging with battering horns. Stubborn, Ram is a survivor, but he is not renowned for his wisdom for his children include the domestic sheep as well as the great bighorns and argali of the mountains. Ram is associated with the Egyptian sun god Ammon-Ra, Ares with his golden fleece, and with the lamb of the Hebrew God. Traits: Followers of Ram gain access to 3 Willpower per story, the gifts Balance and Hoof of Diamond and can add +2 to all Athletics pools. Ram’s Children can also learn to survive in harsh climates (+2 to Survival dice pools) and gain the head butt special maneuver. Ban: Ram’s Children must never start a fight (though they certainly can finish one) and, because of their totems association with domestic sheep children of Ram lose one point of permanent honor.
Rhinoceros (Totem of War) Background Cost: 5 Unlike his sister Unicorn, Rhinoceros is a fierce and aggressive warrior who tends to attack first and look later. Massive, armored ad armed with one or more horns Rhino is known for his keen sense of smell, poor eyesight, and healing horn. Rhinoceros is also famed for his dislike of fire; many a native has been charged by an angry rhino only to have the animal stop to stamp out his campfire. Traits: Rhinoceros grants his children 2 points of strength, one point of perception when using the sense of smell and the gifts Smell poison and Horn of Life. Ban: Rhino demands that his children combat wild fires and help prevent the poaching of rhinos for their horns.
Tziminchac the Thunder Horse (Totem of War) Background Cost: 3 When the Spaniards invaded Mexico Cortez brought his favorite warhorse, the black stallion Morzillo, with him. When Morzillo became lame Cortez left him in the care of the Lake Peten Indians. The Native Americans housed the horse in their royal palace and fed him their finest dishes off of golden platters but despite this treatment the horse died of his injuries. When the Spanish returned they found the Indians worshiping a stone statue of Morzillo who after death had become the spirit Tziminchac Lord of Thunder and Lightning.
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Traits: Tziminchac grants his children -2 difficulties on all dice pools using special combat maneuvers and the gifts Earthquake Stomp, Call lightning, and Clap of Thunder. Ban: The children of this spirit must combat animal cruelty and honor their dead by making a stone image of them.
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE UNICORN TOTEM Unicorn comes in many forms as she represents many aspects of nature. For the most part these aspects are formed of the combined essences of Unicorn and some other totem. In all of these aspects the cost and most of the traits remain the same as in Unicorn except that the trait of subtracting two from all difficulties involving healing and empathy and the inability to harm other bête. These traits are replaced with the special characteristic of that aspect. Lost totems of Unicorn can be summoned using the gift Song of the Great Beast.
ACTIVE TOTEMS Al mi’ raj (Totem of Wisdom) This aspect combines Unicorn with Hare. He is a golden unicorn horned rabbit. A trickster who protects the wilderness from human encroachment Al mi’raj grants the gift Leap of the Kangaroo and his ban is the same as Hare. Aternae (Totem of War) This aspect, a combination of Wolf with Unicorn, has a greyhound like body and a barbed horn. The sight of this canine creature causes a chilled awe in the viewer instead of the wonder of the true unicorn. This Arabian spirit gives the gift of Aternae’s Horn and has the same ban as Fenris Wolf. Attagen (Totem of Cunning) Appearing as a beautiful songbird with a single horn this aspect teaches the gift Call of the Wyld. A combination of Unicorn and Uburra the Magpie this totem shares the latter’s ban. Centacora (Totem of Wisdom) A combination of Unicorn and Chimera, Centacora combines the head of a bear, the ears of an elephant, the front legs and mane of a lion, the rear legs and tail of a horse and the horn of a unicorn. Centacora, being a puzzling combination himself, gives +3 to all Enigma dice pools. Otherwise the ban is as in Unicorn. Elisserian (Totem of Cunning) Elisserian is the goat unicorn. He grants +2 to all subterfuge dice pools and his ban is the same as Goat. Hai-Chai (Totem of Wisdom) This is the typical horse unicorn depicted in Werewolf and her stats can be found in the basic rule book. Kioh-Twan (Totem of Cunning) This totem is a combination of Unicorn and the aspect of Antelope known as Isard. Small, green, and goat like this mountain spirit grants the gift Leap of the Unicorn and his ban is as in Antelope. Lu (Totem of Respect) A combination of Unicorn and Ass, Lu is the one horned donkey that carries upon his back Papa Silenus the King of the Gandharva. Lu grants the gift Lighten Task and has the same ban as Ass. Oniont (Totem of Wisdom) A combination of Unicorn and Uktena, Oniont is a Native American spirit in the form of single horned
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serpent or dragon. Oniont grants her children protection (+3 to soak rolls) when they are in the Umbra and her ban is the same as in Uktena. Poh (Totem of War) Poh is a combination of Unicorn and Panther. A leopard the size of a horse with a single horn, Poh is also known as the Tiger Eater because he is at war with the Tiger totem that sees all of Panther’s brood as pale imitations of himself. Poh grants his children the gift Eyes of the Cat and his ban is the same as Panther except that followers of Poh must never help a tiger. Sardula (Totem of Respect) The aspect of Unicorn associated with justice, Sardula (also known as Kai-Tsi and Tou Jun Sheu) is a combination of Unicorn and Lion. Depicted as a maned lion (sometimes with wings and cloven hooves) Sardula pierces the guilty with her single horn. Sardula grants her children an undying font of rage when fighting the guilty and her ban is the same as Lion. Shadahvar (Totem of Respect) A combination of Unicorn and Stag, Shadahvar is also known as King for he is the lord of the wilderness. Shadahvar is a great elk with a single antler covered with small holes through which this spirit can play music. Shadahvar needs to wild hunt to claim his victims for his music draws evil spirits close enough to pierce with his horn. Shadahvar grants the gift Shadahvar’s Horn and his ban is as in Stag. Sin-you (Totem of Respect) The unicorn ram (also known as Si Yang Y Shu) is an aspect of Ram and shares that spirits ban while granting the gift Balance. Sin-you represents the strength of the mountains. Sz (Totem of War) Sz the sword ox is a combination of Unicorn with Bull. A buffalo with a single horn he represents the temperamental aspects of nature. A Sz grant +1 to all brawl rolls and his ban is the same as in Bull.
LOST TOTEMS Elasmotherium (Totem of Respect) This lost totem was the most recent unicorn to become extinct. An elephant sized member of the rhinoceros family this species had a horse like head with a single six foot long horn on the forehead. Elasmotherium became extinct in the Iron Age where the ancient Chinese called it the Zi and the Hebrews called it the Reem. If found this Unicorn aspect grants the gift Horn of Life and her only ban is for her children to remind others that real unicorns once walked the Earth. Willpower: 7 Rage: 8 Gnosis: 6 Power: 35 Charms: Healing, Scent of Sight, Tracking Attributes: Strength 13 Dexterity 4 Stamina 3 Perception 2 Abilities: Alertness 3 Brawl 4 Dodge 3 Attacks: 16 dice horn, 13 dice trample Armor: 0 Health Levels: 0 (x2),-1(x3),-2(x2),-5(x2).
Keratocephalus (Totem of Respect) This lost totem was the first of Unicorn’s children on Earth. Living in Permian Africa this species will only be known by Ashringa who have connections with the oldest Mokole’. Keratocephalus was a mammal-like reptile that resembled a one horned reptilian hippo. Like the modern hippo this creature was amphibious
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and not particularly fast (so her followers would lack Unicorn’s high speed in the Umbra) but gives the gift Surface Attunement. Keratocephalus’ ban is for her children to never eat meat for she is a vegetarian paramammal. Willpower: 5 Rage: 6 Gnosis: 3 Power: 30 Charms: Armor, Scent of Sight, Surface Attunement Attributes: Strength 10 Dexterity 2 Stamina 6 Perception 2 Abilities: Alertness 3 Brawl 3 Dodge 2 Attacks: 12 dice horn, 10 dice trample Armor: 1 Health Levels: 0(x2),-1(x3),-2(x2),-5(x2).
Kubanocherus (Totem of War) Resembling a monstrous one horned warthog this creature lived in Africa and Europe during the Eocene and Pliocene. This ox sized boar will grant an extra point of stamina and his ban is the same as boar. Willpower: 7 Rage: 8 Gnosis: 3 Power: 25 Charms: Armor, Scent of Sight, Tracking Attributes: Strength 8 Dexterity 4 Stamina 3 Perception 4 Abilities: Alertness 3 Brawl 5 Dodge 4 Attacks: 10 dice horn, 8 dice trample Armor: 1 Health Levels: 0(x2),-1(x2),-2(x2),-5(x2) Tsaidamotherium (Totem of Cunning) A takin like relative of the musk ox Tsaidmotherium (or Urmiatherium) is a Eurasian Pliocene animal with one large horn and a tiny second horn which is hidden in her mane. She grants the gift Catfeet and her ban is that her children must try to preserve endangered species. Willpower: 5 Rage: 3 Gnosis: 4 Power: 25 Charms: Balance, Catfeet, Leap of the Kangaroo Attributes: Strength 5 Dexterity 4 Stamina 3 Perception 3 Abilities: Alertness 3 Brawl 3 Dodge 4 Attacks: 7 dice horn, 5 dice trample Armor: 0 Health Levels: 0,-1,-1,-2,-2,-5,-5 Tsintaosaurus Tsintaosaurus was a duck billed dinosaur from Cretaceous China that had a forward facing hollow crest on her forehead resembling a unicorn’s horn. A graceful and gentle herbivorous dinosaur this avatar of Unicorn grants the usual healing bonus and ban of that totem. Unlike modern Unicorns however she was not particularly fast (no speed bonus in the Umbra) but did have a loud call so grants the gift Howl of the Banshee. Willpower: 5 Rage: 6 Gnosis: 8 Power: 35 Charms: Armor, Healing, Scent of Sight, Tracking, Howl of the Banshee Attributes: Strength 14 Dexterity 5 Stamina 5 Perception 4 Abilities: Alertness 4 Brawl 3 Dodge 3 Attacks: 17 dice horn, 14 dice trample, 15 dice tail lash. Armor: 2 Health Levels: 0(x3),-1, (x3),-2(x2),-5(x2).
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ANTAGONISTS AND OTHER SPIRITS Then does the dragon, who, Chained in the caverns to eternity Curses the Champion of Erin Moan and yell loud at the lone hour of midnight And twine his vast wreaths round the forms of the demons Then in agony roll his dead swimming eyeballs Though ‘wildered by death, yet never to die! Then he shakes from his skeleton folds the nightmares Who, shrieking in agony Seek the couch of some fevered wrench who courts sleep in vain - From “The Spectral Horseman”, by Shelly. This section describes the spirits most encountered by the Ashringa. Unicorn’s children call banes in equine form hobgoblins. The reason for this is that the word hobgoblin, while no longer used as such by most people originally signified a demon horse. As the word hobgoblin is used for kelpies, nightmares, and similar spirits the word bane is reserved only for non horse like Wyrm spirits. The Ashringa believe that all banes are simply corrupted Gaian spirits and hobgoblins are no exception. As described below the queen of the nightmares is no other than Gaia herself. To the Ashringa this is a clear indication that when the world is restored to its proper balanced state then the Nightmare Queen will become the bright mare of the moon once more and the hobgoblins will become the pure Gaian spirits they were always meant to be.
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Mountain Divas (Wyld Spirit) Rage: 4 Will: 5 Pow: 30 Gnosis: 5 Move: 7 Charms: camouflage (as the gift), chant of Morpheus* (as the gift), curse of Aeolus (as the gift), disorient, dragon fear * (as the Mokole’ gift), forest sense, materialize, phantasm (as the gift), shape shift, and song of the siren * (as the gift). Both the ancient Greeks and the people of India said that there were divas that represented the mountain mists. Both cultures claimed that these nature spirits resembled small men with the ears, legs and tails of horses and donkeys. The Greeks called the males Silini and the females Oreads while in India the sexes were called gandharvas (males) or apsarasas (females). Like their forest cousins the satyrs and dryads, mountain divas enjoy dancing, making music, and drinking alcohol and games of chance. The males in particular like to play the pan pipes the music of which can have several effects including sleep, fear, and attraction (the charms marked with an asterisk * above may only be used while playing the pipes) and will often use the pipes to trick mortals into joining their dancing or gambling games. The mountain divas are said to be spirits of the mountain mists who inhabit the cloud cities of Alaka and Vismapana on sacred Mt. Meru. They were created to protect the sacred rice wine (soma) of the gods (much like the Greek fauns were said to do) and to be the protectors of virgins and marriage. This latter function is ironic for many a mountain diva has taken human form to seduce a mortal lover.
Hendar (Hobgoblin Bane) Rage: 16 Will: 7 Pow: 40 Gnosis: 4 Move: 4/ swim 10/ fly 23 Charms: corruption, clenched jaw (as Garou gift), eyes of the cat (as gift), materialize, spew (as the Mokole’ gift), and spirit of the fish (as the gift). Hendar are Wyrm creatures resembling a black earthworm 14-22 feet long covered with purplish slime with bat like wings and horse like heads. The hairless equine head of a hendar has fiery red eyes and a whitish grey mane of spiky scales. These spirits inhabit wet and warm places like swamps, bogs, and deep lakes. In areas with cold winters hendar hibernate but in warm climates they are active all year. These banes are spirits of vanity and can often be found gazing into the water at their own reflection or using their corruption powers to increase the vain tendencies of mortals. In combat and when angry hendar utter deep rumbling roars and snort vapor and slime from their nostrils. they attack by biting and if they get a good grip (using the gift clenched jaw) they will attempt to drag their victim underwater and hold him there until he drowns.
Horse Spirits (Wyld Spirits) Rage: 7/9/12 Will: 4 Pow: 30/35/40 Gnosis: 3 Move: 13 Charms: airt sense, power of the mule (as the gift), speed of thought (as gift), messenger’s fortitude (as the gift), and materialize.
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There are many kinds of horse spirits and the statistics above are those of the typical domestic and wild species. The statistics for rage and power are divided into three sections: ponies and wild horses/ typical riding horses/ and draft and war horses. In addition to these typical spirits there are many other equine spirits and the powers associated with them can be found below. Anaskelades: goblin donkeys (also called brags) with cloven hooves and mischievous natures. The most famous of these spirits was the Hedley Kow of England though the same type of creature is found in the myths of Greece, India and Africa. Charms: blissful ignorance, cat feet, disorient, shape shift, phantasm, talk. Grant: this warning spirit appears as a black yearling colt that dances on its hind legs and entices dogs to chase it. The appearance of the grant warns of disaster, especially fires, to the village it wanders through. Charms: blast flame, create fires, disorient, incite frenzy (in canines only). Kelpie: water hobgoblins that entice people to ride them then dive into the water to drown their prey. Kelpies may resemble ponies or horses of a black or grey color or a human. In both forms the creature can be recognized by its weed encrusted hair. Charms: find water, gift of the spriggan, kelpie’s nature (as the gift), shape change, spirit of the fish (as the gift). Pegasus: a winged horse from any culture. Charms: Create Wind, Sense Wyrm, Spirit of the Bird. Qi-lin: While often confused for the Chinese Unicorn (the zhilin or ki-rin), the true qi-lin (or ri-rin) is a dragon horse. The body is equine with a flowing mane and tail, scaled skin, and a draconic head crowned with two moose-like horns. The gentlest creature on Earth, the qi-lin appears only to herald the birth of a great leader who will bring about a golden age. Sadly this spirit has not been seen in centuries. Charms: dazzle, leap of the kangaroo, spirit of the bird, mental Speech, sense wyrm, flame defense. Sun horses: the horses that pull the chariot of the sun. Charms: cleanse the blight, flame defense, halo of the sun, kiss of Helios, tame sunbeam. Thunder horses: the horses of thunder include the horses that pull the chariot of the storm gods of to the rhino like titanotheres of prehistoric America whom the Indians believed caused thunder by galloping across the heavens. Charms: clap of thunder, lambent flame, lightning bolts. Tien-lin: the celestial horse of China has the body of a dog and the head of a horse. It is often depicted with either bird or bat like wings. Charms: clenched jaw, sense of the prey, spirit of the bird, tracking. Unicorn: this entry can be used for all true unicorns. Charms: cleanse the blight, dark sight, dazzle, healing, leap of the kangaroo, mental speech, mind block, sense Wyrm, spirit ward, reform, resist toxin. Yyllethyn: this spirit equine is even more delicate than an Arabian and has a long, silky mane and tail. Also known as an elf horse, yyllethyn are usually encountered while being ridden by their elven partners. Charms: beauty (an attacker needs to make a successful willpower roll at difficulty 9 to harm the elf horse), gift of the spriggan, magic resistance (+1 dice to resist any spell, charm, or gift), shape change, static electricity (2 power points for 2 dice normal damage).
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Kaliya (Bane) Rage: 18 Will: 9 Pow: 70 Gnosis: 6 Move: 8 Charms: armor, eyes of the cat, eye of the cobra, joint snake’s mojo, paralyzing stare, perfect poison (as the Rat-kin gift), venom, venom blood. A kaliya is the very spawn of Kaliyat, the five headed demon dragon of stagnant water. These banes are the mortal enemies of the Ashringa and take the form of huge, white, slime covered serpents with crested heads. Their greatest joy is to spray their poisonous spittle into drinking water in order to cause mass sickness and death so they can feed on the resultant despair. Kaliya are nocturnal and like dragons they have acidic blood and captivating eyes. Their bite is poisonous (as in the gift venom) but they are far more likely to spend five power points to spray the poison into drinking water where it acts as the gift perfect poison when ingested. If chopped in half the severed parts of the serpent will join back together. The easiest way to slay one of these serpents is to crush it, an attack perfect for Ashringa hooves.
Lavellan (Bane) Rage: 1 Will: 2 Pow: 20 Gnosis: 3 Move: 9 Charms: burrow (as gift), cats feet (as gift), gnaw (as gift), plague bite (as Rat-kin gift), materialize. The lavellan is a bane possessed rat with grizzled black fur and a slime covered worm like tail. It is a spirit of disease, especially those diseases that affect ungulates such as anthrax and hoof-and-mouth disease. This ability to spread disease is caused by the lavellan’s bite (treat as the gift plague bite but hoofed animals resist at difficulty 8 and all others at difficulty 6.) and the creature especially enjoys causing illness in captive animals that cannot escape it by fleeing. The diseases caused by a lavellan can be cured in just one way, the skin of the beast must be dipped in water with the appropriate ritual words spoken (intelligence + rituals, difficulty 7) and the water drank by the sick.
Nightmare (Hobgoblin Bane) Rage: 16 Will: 6 Pow: 40 Gnosis: 5 Move: 15/ fly 23 Charms: blast flame (hooves only), fire breath (as gift), flame defense (as gift), grasp the beyond (as the gift), Kick of iron (as the gift but no cost and always active), materialize, mind speak (as the gift), dream speak (as the gift), sky running (as the gift), and smoke cloud (see below) Nightmares, or demon horses, are foul Wyrm spirits that takes the shape of a terrible black horse with hooves that burn like embers and manes and tails composed of sulperous flames. Nightmares inhabit the Umbra where they use their dream speak power on helpless sleepers in order to create horrible dreams. In time such dreams may cause a victim to become vulnerable to corrupting banes or even to go insane. In fact other types of banes will often use a nightmare as a steed since the hobgoblin can carry riders out of the Umbra as in the gift grasp of beyond.
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In combat these monsters bite with viper like fangs and strike with iron hooves. They can also make their hooves and mane burst into flame and it actually breathes fire. This combination allows a nightmare to burn any combustible material they come in contact with as well as cause devastating wounds. In addition to fire a nightmare may blast out a cloud of smoke and ash which blinds and gags anyone within 3 yards (10 feet) of the beast. Creatures affected by the smoke must roll perception + survival (difficulty 6) or minus 2 from all dice pools for the next three turns as the smoke clears. According to myth the queen of the nightmares appears either as a skull headed white horse with blue eyes or as a grim woman in a robe the color of storm clouds and with the head of a fanged horse. In both cases she wears a gold medallion in the shape of a crescent moon and is accompanied by her retinue of nine black man-eating foals. These foals are typical nightmares as described in this section but the queen herself is no less than a manifestation of Epona as the dark side of Gaia.
Skeletal Steed (Hobgoblin Bane) Rage: 9 Will: 6 Pow: 20 Gnosis: 0 Move: 16 Charms: armor, dragon fear (as the Mokole’ gift), lambent flame (as the gift), materialize, stinking breath (as the Mokole’ gift), and survivor (special, no cost). These undead horses were originally created by a master vampire named Strahd and the secret of creating them is an exclusive discipline to his bloodline. A skeletal steed is usually first encountered as a pile of dusty horse bones that suddenly rise up and reassemble. The mere sight of this action causes fear even in supernatural beings (treat as the Mokole’ gift dragon fear). Skeletal steeds usually attack with their bony hooves and teeth but every other turn the bane will exhale a breath from the grave. This deathly breath acts as the Mokole’ gift stinking breath as its foulness repels all living creatures. Being undead skeletal steeds are immune to poison, cold, heat, radiation, and take no penalties from pain (as in the gift survivor) but they do take aggravated damage from blunt weapons and unsoakable aggravated damage from electricity and sunlight. These skeletal horses are used as guards or as mounts for ghouls or animated human skeletons.
A DEATH VALLEY BESTIARY There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings -America, “Horse with No Name”. In this bestiary will be listed the most common large animals in Death Valley National Park, the setting given in the next chapter. All of these animals that can be friends or foes. Three species that are now extinct in Death Valley, the grizzly bear, jaguar, and wolf will be listed as well. These species will be included because they would make fierce antagonists and the Government is currently planning to reintroduce native species that have been exterminated to the national parks. In addition statistics will be given for those spirits most likely to be encountered in the area. These statistics will not include those already given in the Antagonists chapter but will include many native American faerie races and monsters.
Animals Wildlife includes several raptors, such as the golden eagle and the prairie falcon, as well as bighorn sheep - California Wilderness Areas Volume 2: The Deserts by National Geographic. All animals, no matter their species, will have the following traits: Mental 1, Social 1, Survival (foraging hunting, and tracking) 4, a Gnosis score equal to Willpower and a Rage score (used to make extra actions
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only, animals do not frenzy) equal to the Brawl score and they can also split their dice pool to do extra attacks per turn. Thanks to The Bygone Bestiary by White Wolf games for some of the statistics given below. Changes can be made to these statistics to create monsters simply by changing their size, appearance, and making their attacks do aggravated damage. When changing a creature’s size add or subtract the Attribute modifier given below to the creature’s Strength, Stamina and Health level rolls and remember to change the Difficulty modifier to reflect the new size. The difficulty modifier is added or subtracted to all rolls to detect the creature or to strike the creature. Size Fine Diminutive Tiny Small Medium Large Huge Giant Colossal
Example Insects Rat Cat Dog Man Horse Rhino Elephant Whale
Attribute Modifier -4 -3 -2 -1 +0 +0 +1 +2 +3
Difficulty modifier +3 +2 +1 +0 +0 +0 -1 -2 -3
For example, a mountain lion mutated to the size of a rhinoceros by radioactive waste would add +1 to strength, stamina, and life points but would be easer to see coming and would make a larger target.
Bats The bats of Death Valley are all small, harmless insect eaters. The only real danger from them is having them swarm about you in a precarious situation, thus distracting you, or from being bitten by the rare rabid animal. The most interesting desert species are the Mexican free tailed bats that inhabit some local caves in the thousands and the pallid bat which eats mainly scorpions and thus is immune to their venom. Attributes: Strength 1 Dexterity 4 Stamina 1 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 4, Brawl 1, Dodge 3 Willpower: 1 Health Level: Ok,-1,-2,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for 1 die. Size: Diminutive (+2) Move: 1, fly 10 Powers: Darksight, Resist Toxin (pallid bat only), Scent of Sight, Tree Climber.
Bear (Black/Grizzly) There are two bears native to Death Valley: the common black bear and the extinct grizzly bear. Both are omnivorous beasts with bad tempers that may try to attack anyone who seems wounded or who gets between a female and her cubs. Black bears average six feet tall on their hind legs and can weigh up to 300 pounds. Grizzlies can be up to 8 feet tall and can weigh half a ton! Attributes: Strength 5/6 Dexterity 2 Stamina 5/6 Abilities: Alertness 3, Brawl 3, Intimidation 2, Stealth 1 Willpower: 4 Health Level: Ok (x 3), -1 (x 3), -3, -5, Incapacitated.
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Armor Rating: 1 Attacks: Bite for strength, Claw for strength +2. Size: Medium/Large (0) Move: 5/20 Powers: Heightened senses (smell), Hibernation, Resist Pain.
Bird (Crows and other small avians) Both the common crow and the raven are found in Death Valley. These statistics may also be used for jays, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, roadrunners and large aggressive songbirds. Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 3 Stamina 2 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 2 Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok,-1 (x2),-2,-5, Dead. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Peck for 1 die, Claw for 2 dice. Size: Diminutive (+2) Move: 1, fly 20 Powers: Balance, Mimic, Speed of the Impala (roadrunner only) Tree Climber.
Bird (ducks and other waterfowl) The statistics for waterfowl may be used for ducks, geese, swans and herons. Many are fairly large birds (the common Great Blue heron can be 3 feet tall) with nasty bites and bony spurs on the wings that can break a man’s leg with one blow. Luckily these birds are harmless unless cornered or their young are endangered. These birds are migratory and usually enter the park during the winter months. Attributes: Strength 1 (duck/goose)/2 (swan/heron) Dexterity 2 Stamina 3 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 2, Brawl 1 Willpower: 2 Health Level: Duck or Goose: Ok,-1, -5, Incapacitated. Swan or Heron: Ok, -1 (x2), -2 (x2),-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Peck for strength, Wing buffet strength + 1 dice. Size: Tiny or Small (+1/0) Move: 2 fly 20 Powers: Camouflage, Sneak Attack.
Bird: Owl The owls of Death Valley range from the tiny elf owl to the eagle sized Great horned owl. They are nocturnal birds of prey with feathers that make no sound when the wings flap. Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 3 Stamina 2 Abilities: Alertness 4, Brawl 1, Dodge 2. Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok,-1(x2),-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength 1 die, claw for 2 dice. Size: Tiny to small (+1/0)
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Move: 1/ 2, fly 20 Powers: Darksight, Heightened Senses (hearing), Silent Stalking (only when in the air).
Bird: Raptor Small/Large Raptors include falcons, hawks, vultures, and eagles. Wingspans in raptors range from 12 inches in the Sparrow hawk to 8 feet in the Golden eagle, and 10 feet in the Californian Condor. All have spectacular vision, wicked beaks and razor sharp talons. Attributes: Strength 2 (3 in eagles) Dexterity 3 Stamina 2 Perception 5 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Intimidation 2 (3 in eagles) Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok,-1 (x2),-2,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength -1 die, claw for strength +1 dice. Size: Small (0) Move: 1/ 2 fly 25 Powers: Eyes of the Raptor, Heightened Senses (smell, vultures and condors only).
Bobcat The only small cat in Death Valley is a small desert lynx called the bobcat. This American wildcat is up to three feet long and can weigh up to 25 pounds. It will attack animals many times its own size but is wary of man. Attributes: Strength 1 Dexterity 3 Stamina 3 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 2 (climbing +1), Brawl 2, Dodge 3, Intimidation 2, Stealth 4 Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok,-1,-2,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite or Claw for 1 die. If both forepaws hit in the same turn then the hind claws may rake for 2 dice. Size: Small (0) Move: 5/20 Powers: Cat Feet, Darksight, Heightened senses (hearing), Tree Climber.
Coyote The coyote is a wild dog similar to a jackal. It is larger than a fox but smaller than a wolf and is the most common wolf-like animal in America. Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 2 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Stealth 2 Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok,-1,-2,-3,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength +1 die, claw for strength. Size: Small (0) Move: 7/28 Powers: Darksight, Heightened Senses (smell), Trip.
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Deer (Doe/Buck) The only deer native to Death Valley is the desert mule deer. One of the largest deer, a mule deer buck can have up to 22 tines on its antlers and weigh over 300 pounds. As in most deer only the males have antlers. Attributes: Strength 2/3 Dexterity 3 Stamina 2/3 Abilities: Alertness 2, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Empathy 2, Stealth 2 Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok (x2),-1 (x2),-2,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Hooves for Strength +1, Antlers (buck only) 5 dice. Size: Medium (0) Move: 7/30 Powers: Darksight, Camouflage (fawn only), Heightened Senses (hearing), Leap of the Kangaroo.
Fox (Kit/Gray) There are two species of fox native to Death Valley, the kit fox and the gray fox. The kit fox is one of the smallest foxes in the world and inhabits arid deserts. The gray fox in contrast is a forest dweller that often climbs trees, boulders, and even telephone poles. Attributes: Strength 1 Dexterity 3 Stamina 2 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Dodge 4, Stealth 3 Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok,-1,-2,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength +1 die. Size: Tiny (+1) Move: 7/25 Powers: Camouflage (Kit fox only), Darksight, Heightened Senses (hearing), Scent of Running Water, Tree Climber (Gray fox only).
Frogs, Toads, and Lizards There are several harmless reptile and amphibian species in Death Valley. They are included here because some fool may attempt to eat a poisonous toad or to make mutant monsters for antagonists. Attributes: Strength 1 Dexterity 2 Stamina 1 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 1, Dodge 3, Stealth 3 Willpower: 2 Health Level: Ok,-1, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength. Size: Diminutive (+2) Move: 7/28 Powers: Darksight, Leap of the Kangaroo (Frog only), Water Breathing (Amphibians only), Scales (+1 to armor, lizards only), Venom (Toad only: Respiratory Poison at Difficulty 4).
Jaguar The jaguar is the largest of all American cats. This leopard like animal weighs up to 300 pounds and was once believed to have been exterminated from the United States until a few animals were photographed in
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the Arizona desert. While not now located in Death Valley it is possible that the cat will eventually occupy the area. Attributes: Strength 3 Dexterity 4 Stamina 2 Perception 2 Abilities: Athletics 4, Brawl 4, Dodge 2, Intimidation 2, Stealth 2 Willpower: 5 Health Level: Ok (x2),-1 (x3),-2 (x2),-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength +2 die, claw for strength +2. Size: Large (0) Move: 10/30 Powers: Balance, Cat Feet, Darksight, Heightened Senses (hearing).
Horse/Burro Here is something every Ashringa needs, the average statistics for his animal kinfolk. Attributes: Strength 5/4 Dexterity 2 Stamina 4 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 1, Dodge 1. Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok (x4),-1,-3 (x2),-5 (x2), Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Hooves for strength +1 die bite for strength -2. Size: Large (0) Move: 10/35 Powers: Darksight, Heightened Senses (hearing), Speed of Thought.
Puma The puma (also known as a cougar, panther or mountain lion) is the second largest cat in the Americas at 8 feet long and 200 pounds in weight. In appearance it resembles a small maneless lion and it is found from desert heat to arctic snows. Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 4 Stamina 2 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 4, Brawl 3, Dodge 1, Intimidation 2, Stealth 3 Willpower: 5 Health Level: Ok,-1,-2,-3,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength +1 die, claw for strength +2. Size: Medium (0) Move: 10/30 Powers: Balance, Cat Feet, Darksight, Heightened Senses (hearing), Trip.
Sheep The only wild sheep in Death Valley is the desert bighorn. The ram is a large sheep and can be up to 6 feet long, 3 feet tall and weigh as much as 225 pounds. Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 3 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 2 Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok (x2),-1 (x2),-5, Incapacitated.
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Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Horns for strength +2. Size: Medium (0) Move: 8/15 Powers: Balance, Heightened Senses (smell).
Small Mammal Small mammals include all the smaller animals that do not fit into any of the other categories. This group contains opossums, moles, shrews, raccoons, ringtails, weasels, skunks, badgers, ground and tree squirrels, gophers, voles, lagomorphs, porcupines and rats and mice. Attributes: Strength 1 Dexterity 3 Stamina 1 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 3, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Stealth 1 Willpower: 2 Health Level: Ok,-1, -3,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0 Attacks: Bite for strength. Size: Tiny (+1) Move: 5/20 Fly 25 (flying squirrel only). Powers: Balance (squirrels only), Burrow, Darksight, Camouflage, Gift of the Porcupine (porcupine only), Gnaw (rodents and lagomorphs only), Heightened Senses (usually smell but hearing in rabbits and touch in raccoons), Leap of the Kangaroo (rabbits and hares only), Odious Aroma (skunks only), Resist Pain (badger only) Sneak Attack (weasels only), Wood land Stride.
Snake Several serpents inhabit Death Valley including the rosy boa and two rattlesnakes. Most (including the boa) are only a few feet long but the Western Diamondback can be over 7 feet in length. The only other poisonous snake is the sidewinder whose deadly venom is only mollified due to its small size. Attributes: Strength 1-2 Dexterity 3 Stamina 1-2 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 3, Brawl 1. Willpower: 2 Health Level: Ok,-1, Incapacitated (most snakes) Ok,-1, -2,-3, Incapacitated (Diamondbacks) Armor Rating: 1 Attacks: Bite for strength, constrict for strength +2. Size: Small-Medium (0) Move: 2/5 (small) or 5/10 (diamondback). Powers: Darksight, Heightened Senses (smell), Paralyzing Stare. Poisonous vipers have a muscle poison at the following difficulties to resist: Western Diamondback 8 Sidewinder 6
Wolf The wolf is currently extinct in the southern U.S.A. but it is being planed to reintroduce the species to many of the national parks in California including Death Valley. Attributes: Strength 3 Dexterity 2 Stamina 3 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 1, Brawl 3, Dodge 1, Stealth 2 Willpower: 3 Health Level: Ok,-1 (x2),-3,-5, Incapacitated. Armor Rating: 0
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Attacks: Bite for strength +1 die, claw for strength. Size: Medium (0) Move: 7/28 Powers: Darksight, Heightened Senses (smell), Trip.
SPIRITS In the land of the pigmies there was a strange sight, from mountain to mountain a bowstring was stretched and a line of dust rose where they danced -Traditional Shoshone Indian chant. All the spirits given below are from the myths of the American Indians of the Southwestern deserts. In a few cases the Shoshone term for a particular spirit could not be found so I used a name from another Native American culture. They are all typical adult individuals of their kind and physical statistics may vary with age or even the whim of the spirit. These spirits rarely materialize in this day and age and when they are reported the witnesses are usually labeled kooks by the media.
Dragon (Couatl) The couatl appears as a winged, poisonous, serpent covered with brilliant green body feathers and with bird-like wings and a feathered crest in a rainbow of hues. These majestic dragons are the sacred spirits of rain who bring life giving moisture to the parched desert sands. This role means that they were worshiped much like the dragons of China throughout the southwest, indeed Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec God of Life, was depicted as one of these dragons. Willpower: 9 Rage: 5 Gnosis: 7 Power: 40 Size: Huge (-1) Charms: Airt Sense, Armor, Healing (touch), Materialize (Power Cost 33, Strength 4, Dexterity 7, Stamina 4, Charisma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3, Perception 5, Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Alertness 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Intimidation 3, Linguistics 1, Survival 2, Armor Rating 3, Health levels [ok (x4) ,-1 (x3), -3 (x2), -5, Incapacitated] Bite for 6 dice of aggravated damage), Open Moon Bridge, Shapeshift, Venom (as the Garou Gift).
Dragon (Piasa) The Piasa is the guivre of America. It appears as a huge scaly jaguar with the claws of a grizzly bear, the antlers of a deer, the face of a man, and the tail of a fish. The wings are those of a bat but they are covered in feathers like a bird. Piasas vary from helpful guardians of the umbra to vicious man eaters in Indian mythology and thus are much like the dragons of European myth. Willpower: 8 Rage: 5 Gnosis: 10 Power: 50 Size: Giant (-2) Charms: Airt Sense, Armor, Blast Flame (Breath) or Frozen Breath, Healing (lick), Materialize (Power Cost
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33, Strength 5, Dexterity 6, Stamina 3, Charisma 4, Manipulation 6, Appearance 4, Perception 5, Intelligence 9, Wits 6, Alertness 4, Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Enigmas 4, Intimidation 4, Linguistics 1, Stealth 2, Survival 3, Health levels [ok (x3) ,-1 (x3), -3 (x2), -5, Incapacitated] Bite for 7 dice and claw for 6 dice of aggravated damage), Open Moon Bridge, Paralyzing Stare (as the Garou Gift), Shapeshift.
Dragon (Wakinyan) The Wakinyan is the American Wyvern. Like its British cousin it resembles a serpent with a crocodilian head, two legs and bat’s wings. Unlike its cousin, however this spirit lacks armored scales and a poisonous sting. Instead the wakinyan is covered in smooth silvery white metallic skin and can breathe bolts of lightning. These gigantic dragons were believed to have warred with the horned serpents sometime in the past and still feel anger towards Unktena’s brood. Today reports of these creatures are usually dismissed as UFO reports even by the terrified airplane pilots who are occasionally chased out of the desert by one of these spirits. After all which are your superiors more likely to believe, that you were attacked by a UFO or by a 90 foot long flying crocodile? Willpower: 10 Rage: 9 Gnosis: 7 Power: 60 Size: Colossal (-3) Charms: Airt Sense, Armor, Control Electrical Systems, Materialize (Power Cost 44, Strength 9, Dexterity 9, Stamina 6, Charisma 3 Manipulation 2, Appearance 5, Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Alertness 2, Athletics 5, Brawl 5, Intimidation 5, Survival 3, Health levels [ok (x5) ,-1 (x5), -3 (x3), -5 (x3), Incapacitated] Bite for 12 dice and claw for 10 dice of aggravated damage), Open Moon Bridge, Paralyzing Stare (as the Garou Gift).
Dzoo-no-qua The Dzoo-no-qua are troll like earth spirits made of living stone. They are ponderous 12 foot giants that carry whole uprooted tree trunks as clubs. Unseelie Dzoo-no-qua are man eating horrors responsible for the disappearance of many hikers and campers in the badlands. Seelie members of this troll tribe in contrast may move heavy objects or otherwise help others but will remain hidden if at all possible. Willpower: 9 Rage: 9 Gnosis: 7 Power: 40 Size: Large (-1) Charms: Airt Sense, Armor, Avalanche (as the Garou Gift), Materialize (Power Cost 27, Strength 7, Dexterity 2, Stamina 6, Social 2, Mental 2, Brawl 2, Intimidation 4, Survival 2, Health levels [ok (x3) ,-1 (x3), -3 (x3), -5, Incapacitated] Bite for 9 dice and claw for 8 dice of aggravated damage), Regenerate (1 level per turn but takes aggravated damage from fire).
Eye Killer The eye killer is a vile cockatrice like monster with the head of an owl, the wings of a bat, the legs of a coyote, and the tail of a serpent. This cat sized beast differs from its relative in having two huge eyes that shoot beams of electricity at its victims instead of a gaze that turns its victim to stone. An eye killer’s gaze can merely shock a victim or cause fatal burns depending upon the intensity of the beams. Willpower: 7 Rage: 7 Gnosis: 7 Power: 30 Size: Tiny (+1) Charms: Armor, Lightning Bolts, Materialize (Power Cost 20, Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3, Social 1, Mental 2, Brawl 4, Dodge 4, Expression 2, Intimidation 3, Stealth 3, Survival 4, Health levels [ok ,-1, 2,-3,-5, Incapacitated] Bite for 4 dice and claw for 5 dice of aggravated damage), Tracking.
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Hohoq Hohoqs (pronounced “Hoh-hoks”) are banes that from a distance appear to be winged men. Up close they more closely resemble a cross between a giant bat (or pterodactyl) and an owl with dark brown to gray leathery skin, blazing red eyes in a gorilla like face and a toothed beak. Legend says that they are the spirits of witches wronged by a faithless husband. Like UFOS these creatures can cause automobiles to stall and often appear as omens of disaster. Willpower: 6 Rage: 7 Gnosis: 5 Power: 20 Size: Medium (0) Charms: Airt Sense, Materialize (Power Cost 12, Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2, Social 3, Mental 2, Brawl 3, Dodge 3, Health levels [ok (x2) ,-1,-1 (x2), -2 (x2), -5, Incapacitated] Claws for 4 dice aggravated damage, Paralyzing Stare (as the Garou Gift), Short Out.
Kai-nu-suvs The Kai-nu-suvs are the elves of Death Valley. These spirits take the form of small men with skin the color of sunset clouds and flowing hair. Some say their king has snow white hair and wears a crown of antlers. The Kainu-suvs ride bighorn sheep and use coyotes to herd the valley’s deer. In the old days any Indian who killed a deer or bighorn was supposed to leave some of the meat to the elves in payment. Those Indians who failed to leave the Kai-nu-suvs their tribute would be elf-shot for stealing from the faerie herds. These elves are associated with the spirit Wee-sa-kee-jac (corrupted to “Whisky Jack” by Europeans) the local name for the trickster god Coyote. Willpower: 5 Rage: 3 Gnosis: 8 Power: 40 Size: Small to Medium (0) Charms: Airt Sense, Control Electrical Systems, Disorient, Eyes of the Cat, Gift of the Spriggan (as the Fianna gift), Materialize (Power Cost 27, Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Social 5, Mental 3, Alertness 3, Animal Ken 2, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Expression 3, Firearms 3, Healing 2, Melee 2, Performance 3, Repair 2, Stealth 2, Occult 4, Survival 4, Health levels [ok (x2) ,-1 (x2), -2 (x2),-5, Incapacitated] Elfin Bow (Treat as a crossbow doing 4 dice of aggravated damage) or Sword or spear for Strength 4 dice aggravated damage., Phantasm (as the Fianna gift), Shapeshift, Woodland Stride.
Ohdowa The ohdowa are small reptilian humanoids similar to the kobolds of Europe. Ohdowas are possessed of huge eyes and ears, are covered with rusty red to black scales, and have long tails. The Indians believe that the ohdowa were the prototypes of humanity, discarded by the Creator long ago because of their extreme ugliness. In shame these small goblins fled underground. There they mine for the metals used by the other faerie races of the desert. Willpower: 4 Rage: 3 Gnosis: 4 Power: 30 Size: Small (0) Charms: Airt Sense, Burrow, Eyes of the Cat, Materialize (Power Cost 20, Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3, Social 3, Mental 5, Alertness 2, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Melee 3, Repair 4, Stealth 3, Occult 1,
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Survival 3, Health levels [ok (x2) ,-1,-1 (x2), -2 (x2), -5, Incapacitated] Club or spear for Strength 4 dice aggravated damage, Reshape Object (as the Fianna gift).
Pa-o-has Pa-o-has are water spirits resembling mermaids that inhabit the valley’s rivers and lakes. These spirits can often be seen swimming around or sitting on the shore while combing their hair. They are famed for using their singing to lure unwary men and children close enough to drown them. Willpower: 6 Rage: 5 Gnosis: 8 Power: 30 Size: Medium (0) Charms: Eyes of the Cat, Materialize (Power Cost 17, Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2, Social 5, Mental 3, Alertness 2, Brawl 2, Expression 3, Healing 2, Performance 5, Occult 2, Survival 2, Health levels [ok (x2) ,-1,-1 (x2), -2 (x2), -5, Incapacitated], Spirit of the Fish (as the Uktena Gift), Song of the Siren (as the Galliard gift).
Thunderbird The thunderbird of the American southwest is an immense eagle-like condor with a 30 foot wingspan. It is sometimes confused with the much larger Wakinyan from a distance but it has feathers and cannot breathe lightning, though its wings can flap with the sound of thunder and create windstorms and tornados. Willpower: 8 Rage: 8 Gnosis: 4 Power: 60 Size: Huge (-1) Charms: Airt Sense, Clap of Thunder (as the Shadow Lord gift), Create Wind, Eyes of the Raptor, Healing, Materialize (Power Cost 43, Strength 10, Dexterity 4, Stamina 9, Social 3, Mental 5, Alertness 5, Brawl 5, Dodge 4, Intimidation 5, Occult 4, Survival 5, Health levels [ok (x3) ,-1 (x2), -2 (x2), -5 (x2), Incapacitated, Claw for 12 dice and bite for 10 dice aggravated damage).
U-nu-pits U-nu-pits are banes, spirits of serpents and disease. Theses demons live in the craggy mountains where they seek to cause illness and injury by tripping (or pushing) people off of cliffs, causing landslides, and placing snakes in their beds. Like many banes they can also posses others. A possessed victim may have the demon driven out by having the exorcist cut the victim with an obsidian knife and rubbing the wound with ash and live coals while a circle of chanters surround the Ritemaster. Willpower: 7 Rage: 8 Gnosis: 7 Power: 30 Size: Medium (0) Charms: Airt Sense, Blighted Touch, Possession, Materialize (Power Cost 18, Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3, Social 3, Mental 5, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Melee 2, Stealth 3, Health levels [ok (x2) ,-1 (x2), -2 (x2), -5, Incapacitated] spear for Strength 4 dice aggravated damage), Perfect Poison (5 power to activate, otherwise as the Ratkin gift).
Yan-tups Yan-tups are water spirits similar to naiads and nixies. A nymph of lakes, rivers, and springs Yan-tups are skilled in music and dancing, and are supposed to have healing powers. Like all water nymphs they often seduce men and attempt to carry them off to their underwater realms. In Death Valley’s salt pools however it was believed that these Nymphs were truly evil and became corrupted as their lakes dried up and became
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encrusted with arsenic laded Epsom salts. These evil spirits sit by the salt pools singing of their loss and waiting to poison some unwary man with a kiss. Willpower: 6 Rage: 5 Gnosis: 7 Power: 20 Size: Medium (0) Charms: Airt Sense, Kiss of Death (the kiss of the nymph causes the victim to in poisoned water: the cost is 2 points per damage caused), Materialize (Power Cost 10, Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Social 5, Mental 3, Athletics 4, Brawl 1, Performance 5, Subterfuge 2, Health levels [ok (x2) ,-1 (x2), -2 (x2), -5, Incapacitated] Claw for 2 dice aggravated damage, Seductive Song (cost 5 power: the victim will fall madly in love with the nymph), Spirit of the Fish.
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HORSES OF THE FIRE: A SETTING “Indian riddles, teleporting rocks, unidentified flying objects, Charles Manson-this area has had a lot more going foe it than merely the lowest elevation and the highest temperatures.” - Jim Brandon, about Death Valley National Park in “Weird America”.
This chapter is a sample setting for Ashringa characters set in the deserts of California and Nevada. In it you will find all the information you need to run a chronicle in Death Valley National Monument and its surrounding areas. Death Valley was known to the Shoshone Indians as Tomesha, a word which means “the ground is afire”, and it is a land known for it’s extremes in temperature, abundance of paranormal phenomena, and colorful history. The Death Valley area includes most of the parks in the Great Basin desert. Laying between the cities of Los Angeles on the west and Los Vegas on the east this area adds up to 3.4 million acres of designated wilderness, an area of land that is actually larger than the entire state of Oregon! Within the park are ten named mountain ranges and several large valleys, many of them unexplored. In addition the sheer size of the area (the National Monument itself covers 3,000 square miles) ensures that several Ashringa Dwells can inhabit the setting with room to spare! Death Valley is famous for being the hottest and driest pace in the world. It averages only 1.8 inches of rain a year and summer temperatures in the valleys commonly reach 128° F while in 1913 the hottest temperature ever recorded was 134° F –in the shade! In 1972 the ground temperature actually reached 201° F, which is hot enough to boil water! At night it ranges from 90° F in the summer to a record of 65° F in the winter of 1913 (and yes the coldest and hottest records were on the same year) and it often snows in the higher elevations.
Death Valley’s History One cannot truly understand this land of extremes without first knowing its history. During the last ice age Death Valley was a cool land of woods and plains that surrounded a large lake called Lake Manly. Lake Manly was about 116 miles long, 12 miles wide and 600 feet deep. Beginning about 11,000 years ago the lake began to turn brackish and dry up, by 2000 years ago it had become a mere 30 feet deep. Today it consists of the many, seemingly unconnected rivers, streams, and hot pools found throughout the park. Water is not uncommon in Death Valley. Indeed, one is rarely more than 15 miles from water, the trouble is finding it! Many streams and rivers dry up in the summer or flow completely underground while others are so contaminated with salt that they are un-drinkable. Today the only evidence that lake Manly ever
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existed is the extensive salt flats that cover what was once the lake bed and the unique flora and fauna of Death Valley, many of which are descended from aquatic ancestors. At least four Indian tribes have lived in Death Valley. The first of these tribes is known only as the Nevares Spring culture that entered the valley about 7,000 years ago. Other tribes were the Mesquite Flat culture (3000 to 1 B.C.), the Saratoga Springs culture (900-1,100 A.D.), and finally the present day Piute speaking Shoshone Nation who entered the valley about a thousand years ago. Today the Shoshone live in a mountain reservation to the south east of the valley. The modern tribal members are essentially similar to their white neighbors and know little of their history and lore, indeed their last Shaman died out in the 1950’s. The first white men in Death Valley stumbled into the desert by accident in 1849. Several families led by the Bennett and Arcan (sometimes spelled Arcane) were on their way to the California gold fields when they left their guide to take a shortcut. Twenty seven wagons went into Death Valley but only one came out. On the way out the departing survivors of the Bennett-Arcan party stood upon a hill overlooking the valley which had nearly become their grave. “Good by, Death Valley,” murmured one of the women and the valley received the name it bears to this day. Eventually some of the ’49ers returned to the valley in order to prospect for minerals. Prospectors searching for gold, silver, copper, and lead were doomed to failure for the valley’s ore was too difficult to prospect in quantity. More profitable were those who came to mine for salt and borax. Borax was a popular cleaning agent at that time and the famous 20 mule teams were created to haul huge wagons weighing as much as 36 ½ tons from Death Valley to the railroads in Mojave. This trip took 10 to 12 days one way and covered 165 miles. Several towns were erected in the valley most of them with reputations as dreadful as the climate. The boom years were short, within five years a market panic scared off investors and the mines closed. Today the only reminders of Death Valley’s Wild West days are crumbling ruins, rusting pipes, and pathetic holes dug in the rocky walls by desperate prospectors. The most famous resident of Death Valley was undoubtedly Walter Scott, better known as “Death Valley Scotty. In his youth Scotty traveled with Buffalo Bill Cody’s “Wild West Show.” eventually he married a woman in New York City but by 1905 he had left her to prospect for gold in Death Valley. Later that year he came out of the valley carrying suspiciously refined looking gold which he claimed to have found in the Grapevine Mountains. Critics claimed that the gold must have been stolen but they never found any proof. In the contrary whenever Scotty came to town he caused a great uproar by hiring a personal train called “the Coyote Special” for $5,000 to carry him to Los Angeles, where he tied up traffic by throwing gold coins out the windows of his hotel room! How Scotty avoided the heat and deadly quicksand of Death Valley amazed everyone and when asked all he would say was that the mine’s location was known only to him and his burro. In 1924 Scotty became friends with a shy insurance millionaire named Albert Johnson. Together they built a two million dollar Moorish Castile in Grapevine Canyon to the North of Death Valley. The castle was massive with a huge swimming pool, ancient medieval furniture, and even a clock tower! Scotty claimed the money came from his mine but critics said it came from Johnson. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930’s construction ceased on the castle when Scotty’s ex-wife and the old grubstaker (who had financed his show business act) tried to sue him for a part of the mine’s profits. In addition the Government, who wished to turn Death Valley into a National Monument, tried to evict
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Scotty. Scotty got out of the difficulty by claiming that there was no mine (and indeed the mine has never been found) so his wife could not claim a share of money that did not exist! As for the Government they were flummoxed when Scotty invoked the old homesteader laws to keep the castle. Scott and Johnson lived in the castle for the rest of their lives, still coming to town, throwing gold about, and making people wonder. Death Valley was designated a national monument in 1933. In 1984 it was recognized as a Biosphere Reserve due to its many unique plant and animal species. It was finally enlarged and upgraded to National Park status in 1994.
The History of the Ashringa in Death Valley The first Ashringa in Death Valley were Nhurim who were the kinfolk of the Nevares Spring culture and the Arctic tarpan. These ancient werehorses opened the Grace of the Ancient Waters on the shore of Lake Manly about 6,000 years ago. As the tribes came and went from Death Valley the Nhurim stayed to care for the dwell. At this point the extinction of their horse kin combined with the disappearance of Lake Manly caused the bão to abandon the Dwell. Hundreds of years later the prospectors arrived in Death Valley. The prospectors did not come alone, however. With the miners came the “miner’s canary,” the little gray donkey, that carried the prospectors ore. The abandoning of Death Valley after the boom days resulted in the abandonment of these burros into the park. With the burros came the Nimbi, including Walter Scott and Albert Johnson. The two Nimbi used their connection with the Faerie folk to borrow gold from the Elvin city of Shin-au-av. When the government and Scotty’s wife threatened both the Nimbi’s and the Fae’s safety the two Nimbi traveled deep into the Umbra where they not only awakened the original Dwell’s totem but also brought forth the spirit of The Great Spotted Roadrunner who was only to happy to give them advice on outwitting their opponents. Called by the feelings of fellowship from the newly reopened Dwell, the Nhurim came back to Death Valley and joined their small cousins. Eventually, as the number of immigrants increased in California, the other bãos also came to the valley. Some of them promptly opened minor dwells in the great wilderness but all acknowledged the authority of the old dwell and eventually formed the Tomesha Council to govern Ashringa affairs in the United States. The American governments attempt to exterminate wild horses from the National Parks was finally enacted in the 1980’s. Between 1983 and 1987, over 6,000 burros, 87 horses, and 4 mules were removed from the park. The government claimed that the equines were overgrazing the grass eaten by bighorn sheep and fouling waterholes. When naturalist disagreed, pointing out that the sheep inhabit different mountain ranges than the burros and that burros actually dig waterholes that benefit wildlife, the government simply claimed it was attempting to make the park look the same as it had before the 49ers had arrived. To the dismay of officials however new burros and horses moved in from the surrounding wilderness. Attempts to remove these horses however have been stifled by the Ashringa who hide the herds whenever a roundup is scheduled. Today, despite removal attempts, about 200 burros can be found in Death Valley and an unknown number of burros and mustangs inhabit the neighboring parks.
Flora & Fauna The abundance of plant and animal life in Death Valley and its surrounding parks is surprising and, as if to remind visitors that this area was once an inland sea, a large number of species seems more suited for a wetlands habitat instead of a desert. This is most obvious with the animals which include six species of
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pupfish, a shrimp, and a sea snail which are found nowhere else on Earth. In addition to physical life the local Indians also peopled the valley with many spirits, most of them of the faerie type. As for human life, it is mostly confined to tourists. Mammals: There are over 50 species of mammal in Death Valley, the majority of them small in size. Among the most interesting of the Valley’s small game are at least 13 species of bat, one pica, three rabbits (the Desert, Pygmy, and Bush), one hare (the Black Tailed Jackrabbit), two chipmunks, a marmot, two ground squirrels, two tree squirrels, one flying squirrel, one gopher, several species of rat (including Grasshopper Mice, Packrats, Muskrats, Kangaroo Rats, and the tiny jerboa known as the Jumping “Mouse”), and the unique Inyo Shrew. Carnivores include coyotes, gray and kit foxes, black bears, raccoons, cacomistles, weasels, badgers, skunks, bobcats, and cougars. Wolves, Jaguars, and Grizzly bears once inhabited the area but are now extinct. Large herbivores are the bighorn sheep, mule deer, mustangs (and possibly a few wild Curly horses), and burros. Birds: several hundred species of bird have been seen in Death Valley. Ravens, roadrunners, hawks, and golden eagles are commonly seen all year round. Migratory birds visit the park between September and May. Migrants include flickers, larks, sparrows, phoebes, kinglets, shrikes, pipits, robins, doves, bluebirds, warblers, swallows, ducks, snipe, cormorants, wood ibis, coots, grebes, great blue herons and swans. On several occasions even snowy egrets and arctic loons have been seen in the park. Reptiles and Amphibians: there are five species of amphibian native to Death Valley all of them varieties of Spade Foot Toad or Burrowing Frog. More typical of a desert climate are the 36 species of lizard (mostly whiptails, geckos, and chuckwallas) and 18 species of snake. Dangerous snakes are the sidewinder and Western diamondback rattlesnake. Gila monsters are almost unknown in Death Valley National monument, though the species is very common in the southern Kingston Range to the south. The most common animal in the park is the Californian desert tortoise which is the states National Reptile. Fish: the normal types of fish native to California can be found in the permanent rivers and lakes of Death Valley, most of them stocked by the government for fishing. There are, however, six endangered species of pupfish that can be found nowhere else in the world. These pupfish are all descended from a single ancestor that once lived in Lake Manly. Today these fish inhabit the boiling waters (the Devil’s Hole species inhabits water with a temperature of at least 186 F.) of the deserts many hot springs and underground rivers. Invertebrates: as a reminder of Death Valley’s past the Californian Fairy Shrimp and the Salt Pan Sea Snail are the most unique invertebrates in the state. The fairy shrimp abounds in most of the waterholes and temporary rivers in the Valley throughout the winter. In the summer when this water dries up the shrimp die, leaving their eggs to hatch out during the next wet season. The sea snail is actually found on land and survives the lack of water by actually living among the moist roots of the iodine bushes that grow in the salt pans that once formed the lake bottom. There are no deadly scorpions or centipedes in Death Valley; however the poisonous Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders are common. The most dangerous and irritating animal in Death Valley however is an insect- a type of inch long, disease carrying, blood sucking, horsefly. Plants: Death Valley is famous for its many unique species of plants. More than 1,000 species, including two orchids, six lilies, ten ferns, and over thirty grasses can be found there. Many plants including the Evening Primrose, Panamint Daisy, and Monkey Flower are found nowhere else. As a reminder of the valley’s wet past it comes to a surprise to many that over 15% of the plants in Death Valley are cat tails, marsh rushes and reeds. Cactuses are rare, though the common Beavertail, Prickly Pair, and Barrel cactus do occur. The most common plant in the mountains is sagebrush but in the valleys this plant is, surprisingly, replaced by an evergreen shrub called the Creosote bush. Several trees are also native to the valley. Joshua trees are the most common in the lowlands but along the watercourses one can also find Willows and Cottonwood. Pinyon Pine (from the seeds of which the natives ground flour) and Juniper can be found between 6,000 and 9,000 feet. At higher elevations these trees are replaced with forests of Bristlecone (the oldest known trees, Bristlecone can live for over 3000 to 5000 years) and Lumber Pine.
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The famous Mesquite tree, from the pods of which the Indians made fermented drinks and candy, are abundant throughout the area. Spirits: the Shoshone Indians called the spirit world Na-gun-tu-wip and described many of its residents.. According to Indian lore the Faerie folk lived in Shin-au-av a city located beneath the Panamint Mountains near Wingate Pass. The numerous references to elves in Shoshone lore seem odd until you realize that many of the prehistoric rock etchings in the Death Valley area show Celtic inscriptions. Even more amazing native lore claims that the faerie originally came from a distant land and that they escaped to America by riding on shooting stars when their own world perished. Perhaps this explains some of the UFO reports of the area. In addition to the faerie folk the valley contains numerous animal spirits, glade children (though the spirits of the bristlecone are the so old that “glade ancients” would be a better term), Thunder-horses, Thunderbirds, Eye Killers, Ancestor spirits and even Dragons. As for banes several corrupted Native American spirits inhabit the area and work with the two local tribes of Black Spiral Dancers. In addition the proximity of Nellis Air Force Base, the location of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site for nuclear bombs, allows for a great variety of Wyrm beasts to appear.
Geography and Umbrascape Where will you wander, hither and yonder, letting your heart be your guide? -My Little Pony theme song The Death Valley area is usually dismissed as ‘lifeless desert” and, while there are nine campgrounds, it is an odd fact that there are only two maintained trails in the entire park. In addition, despite the many dirt (and even a few paved) roads, most tourists stick to these two trails. The only other people in the park are the park rangers who stay at the visitor center and a few Shoshone families that winter in the valleys but retreat to the cooler mountains in the summer. Nevertheless there are several places of interest in Death Valley. Some of these areas are known for their history, others for seemingly unexplained phenomena, and yet others are just plain odd. In the pages below a tour of Death Valley National Monument and its satellite parks will be given. The portion in regular text is Death Valley as the mortals know it, everything written here, no matter how strange, is true and part of the public record. The text in italics details Umbral features or things known only to the supernatural denizens of the park and was created specifically for Werewolf: the Apocalypse.
Amargosa and other rivers (varies) Several watercourses flow through Death Valley that is remnants of the rivers that once brought water to Lake Manley. The most notable of these is Salt Creek (2 miles north of Daylight Pass junction), the Amargosa River (on the border between Death Valley National Monument and the Kingston Range), and Saratoga Springs (25 miles south of Ashford Mill). These rivers are strictly protected as each one holds a different species of pupfish found only in that river. The rivers are easily told apart from the other watercourses in the desert due to the six foot high reeds that border the shores. Animals are commonly encountered near the rivers and it is the only place where desert holly can be gathered.
Argus Range Wilderness (Directly west of Death Valley National Monument) The Argus range is a long, narrow mountain chain some 28 miles long but only 5 miles wide. Yet this tiny area of wilderness is dissected by numerous canyons and steep slopes. The Argus Range is best known as the source of stone for ancient tools and as a source of Pinyon pine nuts for the local Indians and as a
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habitat for bighorn sheep. The area is also riddled with mining roads and trails leading to caverns and other sites once frequented by prospectors. The umbral Argus Range is noted for an abundance of ancestor spirits of all kinds. It is also the hunting ground of the Dzoo-no-qua (stone trolls) of native myths.
Artist Drive (7 ½ miles north of Badwater) This paved road runs one way and winds eight miles through washes and clay hills. The buff and black hills are streaked and speckled with red, orange, yellow, green, and purple colors caused by the oxidation of iron bearing minerals in the soil. The result looks much as if some crazy artist painted the hills with a dripping brush, thus its name. The road through Artists Drive is in place by pattern spiders that spin long threads to try to keep the traffic going on the proper direction. Off the road, however, this area of the Weaver is quickly overwhelmed by the Wyld as the dull grey of the road is abruptly replaced by rainbow colored hills. This is an excellent place to meet rainbow horses.
Ashford Mill (65 miles from Badwater) Ashford Mill dated from World War I and is located at the junction of two dirt roads. The land was first settled by three brothers who staked a claim in the Black Mountains. The brothers sold the land to a Hungarian Nobleman for $60,000 who in turn sold it to a miller for $105,000. When the new owner received his shipment of cement to build his mill he found that the Freight Company had sent an extra cartload of cement. As it would have been to costly to ship it back the miller simply used it to build a 50 ton mill out in the middle of nowhere and waited for a fortune that never came. Many people have commented that Ashford Mill could double as a fortress, and indeed that is exactly what it is. The mill was actually built by the Ashringa and Faerie to withstand an attack by Garou or other supernatural beings. Built to resist both physical and umbral attacks, the mill is used only in the direst of emergencies.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (Nine miles from Death Valley Junction) Ash Meadows comprises some 22,000 acres of wetlands and desert that is reached by an unpaved road leading to the lower end of the Amargosa valley. The Meadows is filled with springs, small reservoirs, streams and small lakes and it provides the sole habitat for no fewer than 24 species. Only Crystal Spring (a pool of blue-green water about 8 yards across) and Crystal Reservoir (where boating, swimming, and fishing is allowed) are open to the public. The most famous area of Ash Meadows is undoubtedly Devil’s Hole. This rocky tarn is located in the northeast corner of the refuge, at the base of a range of barren hills. The entire area is closed to the public and is not signposted or even on many maps. In addition the site is enclosed by a high security fence. The reason for all this secrecy is to prevent anyone from disturbing the rusty scientific equipment which monitors the severely endangered pupfish that live in the tarn. In addition to the pupfish, Devils Hole is also the sole home of a species of beetle, two sea snails (one of which may be extinct), and cave salamanders. Once known as Miners Bathtub, Devil’s Hole is a sheer sided cavity in the rocks (10 yards deep) that leads to a flooded cave system. The opening to the caverns is about 6 feet by 18 feet and no one knows how deep the tarn is. The temperature of Devil’s Hole averages 186 degrees Fahrenheit and increases the further
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down one goes and divers who have tried to find out the depth of the tarn descended for 300 feet (without touching the bottom) before being forced to the surface by the heat. Devil’s Hole has an interesting history. The Shoshone Indians believed that it was where they left the third world for the fourth and considered it a sacred site. In the 1960s two divers descended into the tarn and never returned, presumably lost or cooked alive in the lake’s murky depths. Soon after the divers disappearance Charles Manson became fascinated with Devil’s Hole. Combining Hopi myth with the book of Revelations in the Bible, Manson believed that he could escape the law by swimming through the tarn into the Umbra but Manson was captured before he could make his escape. In 1976, the first court order of the Endangered Species Act was declared for Devil’s Hole. This order forced people to regulate water usage in Ash Meadows so that lowered water tables would not expose the shelf where the pupfish breed. The last time Devil’s Hole was explored was in 1995 when three scientists were sent to count the pupfish. Devil’s Hole is the entrance to Death Valley’s largest dwell. The Dwell of the Ancient Waters is reached by walking through the cave opening, over the platform used to count the fish, and into the water. Ashringa and others of a spiritual nature will enter the hot water only to emerge in a moonlit glade bordered by willow trees and with the moss covered shore of a sparkling lake to one side. This lake is a representation of Lake Manley as it was hundreds of years ago with the tarn now a rocky wall, covered with petroglyphs of horses, birds, and horned serpents, from which a clear stream emerges from the moss covered rocks and flows into the lake. The Grace of the Ancient Waters is a level 3 fellowship dwell under the stewardship of Nyrallar, a totem spirit of Oniont's brood. More recently a second totem, The Great Spotted Roadrunner had also become part of the dwell. This dwell is run mostly by Nhurim and Nimbi but as it is also the headquarters of the Tomesha Council all bãos may be found here.
Badwater (16 ½ miles South of Furnace Creek) At 279.8 feet below sea level this is one of the lowest places in the world. Its name comes from the fact that much of the water here is salty and undrinkable. A half mile from Badwater are several six foot wide saucer shaped mounds of mud rimmed with salt caused from the evaporation of small pools created from lake Manley. Two miles north of Badwater is a natural bridge that arches fifty feet off the ground and beyond the bridge is a great chute of water with a dozen spillways that have cut a grotto 75 feet deep in the canyon wall. This scenic area is often photographed by tourists. The cavern behind the waterfall is frequented by a local charm of Nimbi following the totem spirit of the Heron.
Darwin Falls (Argus Range) This is a major tourist spot notable for its ferns, lush vegetation, and a 25 foot waterfall. However by climbing up the slick, smooth canyon walls (difficulty 8) and following a game trail upstream through some willow woods one will come to a 140 foot waterfall and a pool that is seldom visited. Water spirits called Pa-o-has inhabit this hidden pool. In the Umbra one can often see these mermaids sitting on the shore combing their hair or swimming. The pa-o-has may attempt to drown unwary tourists and while they can be capricious they are usually friendly to the Ashringa.
Daylight Pass and Rhyolite (36 miles northeast of Furnace Creek) Daylight Pass is the main road into Death Valley National Park. Ten miles up this road brings a tourist to Hell’s Gate, an area so hot it reminded prospectors of the gates of Hell. Beyond the gate is a ¼ mile trail
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leading to Hole in the Rock Spring, a small cave containing a seep of fresh water that has saved the lives of many a traveler. The main road however leads to Rhyolite, and important tourist spot. Rhyolite was an important town between 1905 and 1908 but is now a ghost town. The ruins of the schoolhouse, doctor’s office, the country store and the local jail still stand but the towns most famous building is its bottle house. The bottle house is a unique building made out of 51,000 beer bottles. Today the bottle house is open to the public with food and souvenirs for sale. Other sites in this area include Rhyolite’s Boot Hill graveyard (which lies one mile south of the town), the gaping hole of an old mine (to the north), and the ruins of Bullfrog, the site of the deserts first Copper mine to the west. This area is similar to Furnace Creek, though glass spirits hang about the bottle house and ghosts are said to haunt Boot Hill.
Devil’s Cornfield (1 ½ miles northwest of Salt Creek) The Devil’s Cornfield is an area of marshy land that is noticeably cooler than the rest of the park. This area gets its name from the arrowhead bushes that grow in peculiar clumps due to erosion of the soil. The stalks of these plants were once used by the Indians to make arrow shafts, thus their name. Nearby was once a trading post but it is now nothing more than a canopy of reeds held together with phone wire. Stalks from the arrowhead bushes, when awakened, make exceptionally potent fetish arrows. The exact effect is up to the storyteller but may include an automatic success to bind a spirit to the arrow, arrows that are -1 difficulty to shoot or for a target to soak, or causing unshakable aggravated damage to a certain type of creature. The fae make their elf shot from these arrows.
Devil’s Golf Course (11 miles south of Golden Canyon) The Devil’s Golf Course is the name given to what was once the bottom of old Lake Manley 2000 years ago. Today this area is a layer of rock hard salt crystallized into a jumble of spines and ridges (some as high as two feet tall and as sharp as knives) that covers some 200 miles of land. Several depressions in the land may contain salt water if it has rained recently. The only animal life in this hellish salt pan is a few flies, Desert Sea Snails, the Fairy Shrimp and the very rare migrating sea bird or flamingo. The Devil’s Golf Course is infested by Yan-Tups of the foulest nature. These corrupted undines sit near the few pools of water singing of their lost sea and waiting to poison foolish mortals with a kiss.
Echo Canyon (2 miles east of Furnace Creek Inn) Because the road to Echo canyon is composed of lose gravel it is only accessible by jeep so tourists are rare. This area contains the crumbling ruins of the Inyo Mine Company and a few decaying houses which are all that remains of the town of Schwaub. Just inside the canyon can be found one of Death Valley’s major landmarks. Needle’s Eye is a ten foot triangular hole in the south wall of the canyon that allows one to see the desert outside as if it is a window. In the Umbra the area around Needle’s Eye is alive with enigma spirits and anyone who sleeps in this spot overnight will have a prophetic dream. Schwab is covered with the webs of pattern spiders but the spirits themselves are rapidly being overwhelmed by the Wyld.
Fall Canyon (Grapevine Mountains) Fall Canyon starts out wide and becomes narrower as it proceeds upstream. At 2.6 miles upstream the canyon narrows until it is only 8 miles across before ending at 3 miles at a (usually dry) waterfall. Most
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tourists stop here. On the south side of the canyon, about 300 feet from the falls, is an area marked by cairns. These cairns mark an area that can be scaled using rock climbing skills (difficulty 9) to reach an area behind the falls where the canyon narrows for about a third of a mile before enlarging again. After passing several side canyons and climbing many rock formations the canyon opens into a wide valley covered with pinion, pine, juniper, and other trees. At the end of the valley are the waterfalls headwaters located beneath the 6,701 foot tall Peak of Palmer Mountain. This valley is rarely reached by tourists and is abundant in bighorn sheep and other wildlife. The hidden valley at the base of Palmer Mountain is the location of a charm of Avarim, Killina, and Nimbi under the protection of the Ram Totem.
Furnace Creek (Directly south of Badwater) This is an area covering 24 miles that contains the majority of the tourists that enter Death Valley. It consists of the abandoned Harmony Borax Works (1882-1888), Mustard Canyon (where rust has colored the hills yellow sprinkled with so much salt it resembles snow), The National Park Service Visitor Center and Museum, Furnace Creek Inn, Furnace Creek Wash (which divides the Amargosa range into the Black Mountains to the South and the Funerals to the North), Travertine Springs (once used for a hydroelectric plant), Twenty Mule Team Canyon, and the mountain of Dante’s View. This is the main area of the Weaver in Death Valley. A data stream spurts from the visitor center and pattern spiders crawl everywhere. About once a week or so a foolish pattern spider will try to enter the park only to be consumed by the Wyld.
Golden Canyon (located 2 miles from Furnace Creek Inn) This small canyon was the source of the red clay that the local Indians used to make their war paint. It gets its name from the golden red color of its rocks. Golden Canyon is a good place to meet ancestor spirits, especially if you are a Nhurim.
Harris-Dayton Graves (1 ½ miles south of the Devil’s Golf Course) Jim Dayton was a caretaker at Furnace Creek Ranch who died in 1899 while on a trip to get supplies. Dolph Nevares and Frank Tilton, two of his co-workers found his body and buried him. When Shorty Harris died in 1934 he requested to be buried beside Dayton. Above the graves is a marker stating “Here lays Shorty Harris, a single-blanket jackass prospector”. The two graves in this area act as “Graves of the Hallowed Heroes” to all the Ashringa in Death Valley. Other than the body of the two Nimbi, Jim and Shorty, the graves serve as a memorial to the deceased rather than as an actual cemetery.
Hidden Valley (Grapevine Mountains) This is a valley nestled high in the Cottonwood Mountains. A road lies through this area but it is hard to trek and practically untouched by tourists. One side road leads to Lost Burro Mine but the other leads to an abandoned Asbestos mine which lies on the Mountain crest overlooking Death Valley. The Asbestos mine is the headquarters of the Black Spiral Dancers who belong to the Hive of the Poisoned Flesh. These demonic dogs are assisted in their atrocities by U-nu-pits, banes of serpents and disease. These Wyrm worshiping Garou are planning to turn the rest of the Garou against the Ashringa much as the Australian Black Spirals turned them against the Bunyip. They have already planted evidence that the hive
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is located at Devil’s Hole and will soon begin a plan of terror to bring the Garou to the desert in numbers. Once the Ashringa are gone Death Valley will no longer have anyone to heal the land and the desert will soon fall to the Wyrm.
Keane Wonder and Chloride (22 miles north of Furnace Creek) The ghost town of Keane Wonder is down a dirt road that is passable only if driving slowly. Gold was found there in 1903 but today the only remains are the foundation of the mill and a rusting bull wheel. Eight miles from Keane Wonder is the turn to Keane Spring, once the town’s major water source. An old road once led from Keane Spring’s pump house to the town of Chloride but it was washed away years ago and is now impassable even by jeep. Chloride boomed from 1878 to 1910 but today the only remnants are two “houses” dug into the bank of a wash and several wells. Leading from the town are several trails that lead to Chloride Cliff which gives several views of the valley. Chloride is a meeting spot for a small pack of Silent Strider Garou. The Garou came to fight the Black Spirals in the park and are planning to open a caern somewhere in the park. The Garou and the Ashringa are on ambivalent terms, both bête know that wolves think of horses as prey yet they will need all the help they can get against the Black Spirals.
Kingston Range (Southeast of the Amargosa River) The Amargosa River divides this park from Death Valley National Monument and it is notable for being only 50 miles from Los Vegas. The Kingston range is notable for its mile high mountains that rise like islands over the nearby lowlands. The largest mountain in the range is 7,323 foot Kingston Peak which is surrounded by 17 square miles of mountainous land, none of it less than 6,000 feet tall. It is notable for being the only habitat of the Gila monster in the Death Valley area. The Kingston Range is important to the Mokole’ as it is the only part of the park where their animal kinfolk dwell. The local clutch often travels to Death Valley to commune with the Ashringa and Faerie.
Malpais Mesa (Inyo Mountains) Malpais Mesa is located on the western border of Death Valley National Park and was formed when a volcano exploded and covered the southern end of the Inyo Mountains. The hard volcanic rock now forms a flat topped, steep-sided plateau covering 32,360 acres. Several silver and zinc mines once topped this mesa but most are now abandoned. Within the umbra Malpais Mesa is the lair of an ancient 90 foot Wakinyan, a type of American dragon. This spirit is currently sleeping but a renewal of mining may awaken the beast.
Military Bases (On the western, southern, and northeastern borders of the park) There are three military bases bordering Death Valley, to the west is the China Lake Naval Weapons station, to the south is the Fort Irwin Military Reservation, and to the northeast is Nellis Air Force Base. By far the most interesting of these three bases is Nellis as this is the location of Area 51 of UFO fame. In 1997 the CIA finally admitted that the U.S. military had deceived the American public in an effort to hide information about high-altitude spy planes. These planes, the Lockheed U-2A and the Lockheed SR-71, accounted for over half of the UFO reports during the late 1950s and 1960s. The other half are still unexplained, though reports of “strange sky beasts” are mentioned in some Air Force reports.
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Another site of interest, though not actually a part of Death Valley is the Tonopah Atomic Testing Range. This area of land, located only 80 miles northwest of Los Vegas, is where the US government tested atomic bombs from 1953 to the 1963. Open air testing ceased when the many Nevada residents and military personnel sued the federal government because they had never been warned of the health risks of nuclear radiation. In 1982 the National Cancer Institute looked into these reports and determined that people as far away as Montana, Utah, South Dakota, and Colorado had been affected with thyroid cancer that was a direct effect of windblown radiation from nuclear testing. Once this was announced to the public all bombing ceased in the early 1990s. Unfortunately this area of desert is now being proposed as a site to bury nuclear waste as the companies claim that the ground is already contaminated and “just useless desert anyway.” The umbral land around all military bases is thickly scared by the Wyrm and the Weaver. Surviving plants and rock formations are shrouded with webs and the ground consists of soil blackened with sulpherous soot and dotted with gaping pits leading to Hellholes or the lairs of banes. Tonopah is particularly blighted as the very soil glows a sickly blue and leaks balefire. Tonopah is also the home of the largest Black Spiral Dancer hive in North America, the horrid Hive of the Blasted Earth who have a level 4 cairn located at the blast zone.
Racetrack (31 miles southwest of Scotty’s Castle) The Racetrack is a dry lake bed where stones ranging in size from that of a pebble to 600 pound boulders apparently move all by themselves. No one has actually seen them move but the furrows scratched into the soil and records kept by scientists prove that they do move. The furrows range from 34 to 1,200 feet long and may be straight, irregular, curved, or even form complete loops! The only scientific theory proposed to explain this mystery is that rainwater either makes the sun baked soil slippery or makes it freeze and then hurricane force winds push the rocks along. Unfortunately for this theory rain (not to mention snow and hurricanes) is exceedingly rare in Death Valley and some of the rocks form zigzag paths or in some cases rocks that started out together have moved in opposite directions. The Racetrack is, of course, actually an umbral playground for the Kainu-suvs, the elves of Death Valley. These mischievous fae have realized that they can really mess with the minds of supposedly rational mortals simply by moving a few rocks about. The elves then sit back invisibly and laugh at the appalled scientists.
Ryan (5 miles from Dante’s View road) This area was once the location of two small towns, Greenwater and Furnace, until 1914 when the two villages were merged to create the borax town of Ryan. Ryan was an active until 1928 when it was abandoned. Today all that remains of Ryan is some beer bottles, rusting stoves, pieces of model Ts, houseless basements and several dangerous vertical shafts (one of them is 1,600 feet deep!). A few of the larger homes survive in what was once downtown Ryan and they are still occasionally used to house visiting scientists. Though several roads lead to these towns they are all closed to the public for obvious reasons. In the Umbra pattern spiders still inhabit the few intact buildings while the pits are suspected of housing banes or leading to hellholes or worse.
Sand Dunes (Eureka valley) The sand dunes are an area of classic Sahara type desert spanning a full 14 square miles. Wind ripples the surface and occasionally whips up blinding sandstorms that may last for days. Stovepipe Well on the north edge fringe of the dunes was once an important waterhole but is now nothing more than a rusty pump. The road to this pump is unpaved, 3 ½ miles long and connects between State 190 and Scotty’s Castle Road.
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The dunes are the home of a charm of fierce Karkadamm warriors. The totem of this charm is the Desert Tortoise (cost 3) who gives is children +1 stamina and the gifts Armor of the Tortoise and Lighten Task. Desert Tortoise’s ban is to protect his species and the purity of the desert.
Scotty’s Castle (36 miles north of Daylight Pass) Built by Walter Scott and Albert Johnson, this Moorish mansion was inherited by the Park Services when first Johnson (in 1946) and then Scotty (in 1954 at the age of 81) died. Inside the castle are 18 fireplaces, one entire room devoted to an organ, a living room that features a jasper fountain that splashes into a fish pond, and elaborate furniture built to resemble antique fixtures from Europe. The outside of the castle is notable for its weathervane which is shaped like a burro, a 260 foot swimming pool, and the 120,000 railroad ties (purchased when a local track was torn up) that are stacked against one wall to serve as firewood. When the original owners died the castle was inherited by the National Park service who allows guided tours of the building for a nominal fee. The guides who lead tourists through Scotty’s Castle are all Ashringa or kinfolk who have converted a few rooms for important visitors. These guest rooms usually hosts the Royal Court of Faerie on its rare trips to Shin-au-av.
Skidoo (7 miles east of Emigrant Canyon) Skidoo is a ghost town that can be reached only by a dangerous dirt road. Little survives of this town except for the graveyard and the abandoned gold mine. Skidoo is unique among Death Valley’s ghost towns n that it actually was profitable! Six million dollars worth of gold came out of Skidoo before it was abandoned. Skidoo is so decayed that the pattern spiders have almost been overwhelmed by the Wyld. Only the mine still has active webs. Ghosts may be found in the graveyard but do not commonly materialize.
Surprise Canyon (Panamint Mountains) Surprise Canyon is located directly beneath Telescope Peak on Death Valley’s western border. The canyon gets its name from the abundant plant life and water it contains. The road to this canyon was washed out decades ago and now four wheel drives are needed to get to this part of the park. It is best known as the location of Panamint City. The abandoned silver mining town of Panamint was built in 1873 and was abandoned in 1876 after a severe flood killed over 200 people. During the four years of Panamint City’s existence there were 50 fatal shootings, a fact that gave this town an ill reputation. When Wells Fargo refused to set foot in the town local bankers were forced to ship the silver ore across the desert to the railroad in open freight wagons. They were never robbed because they cast the bullion into quarter ton balls that were way too large for highwaymen to gallop off with! In 1982 there was an attempt to reopen the silver mine and in the process much of Panamint City was bulldozed to the ground before the idea was abandoned. All that remains of Panamint City today is a few houses and the 65 foot chimney that was once part of the ore smelter. Unlike the abandoned towns in the rest of Death Valley Panamint City is a true ghost town. During the day the umbral buildings are home of pattern spiders of the Weaver. At night, however, Panamint becomes a focal point for the energy of the Wyld. Shocking and brutal visions from the towns past come to life haunting anyone who stays in the town after dark. It was these ghosts that frightened away the miners in the 1980s. A path to the Atrocity Realm can also be found here.
Telescope Peak (Death Valley Basin) 98
Telescope Peak is the one of the two maintained trails in Death Valley. One of the highest peaks in the area Telescope Peak rises directly from the salt pans to a height of nearly two miles straight up! The trail passes through a pinion and juniper forest reaching Arcane meadows 2.6 miles from the trail head. The trail then continues along many steep, pine covered switchbacks until reaching the top. In the Umbra Arcane Meadows is a site of great magical power. The common presence of tourists have prevented the area from being used as a cairn or dwell but any use of magic (including rites and gifts) gain an automatic success.
Titanothere Canyon (Grapevine Mountains) This trail is named for its many fossils of the rhinoceros-like ice age thunder horses embedded into the canyon walls. One can use an automobile to get to the base of the trail but drivers must walk the rest of the way. The trail begins at an 80 foot waterfall that must be bypassed by climbing down a talus slope to the side of the fall. Here one enters the 50 foot wide canyon. Just beyond this spot is Lost Man Springs (usually dry but marked by a few cottonwood trees) then the trail leads for 12 miles through Kit Fox Hills to Scotty’s Castle Road. In the Umbral canyon one can encounter Thunder horse spirits.
Titus Canyon (Grapevine Mountains) The road to Titus Canyon is closed from May to October because of flooding but turns off the Beatty Highway 7 miles east of the California-Nevada border. The walls of Titus Canyon is marked with petroglyphs of lizards, men, bighorn sheep, circles, crosshatches, wavy lines, suspiciously Celtic looking inscriptions, and UFO shaped objects. Several of the nearby gravel fans are also marked with 20-30 foot stone circles and serpentine lines. The Shoshone Indians know nothing about these glyphs and regard them with superstitious awe and scientists can only assume that they were made by some unknown ice age tribe. Nobody has deciphered their meaning and in the 18th century miners sometimes mistook the drawings for representations of trails and waterholes and got lost tying to make sense of them. Titus Canyon is an area celebrating the Past. It is a place used as a meeting place for the Mokole’ who here to gather information from each other, the Ashringa, and the Faerie folk. The inscriptions consist of bête and Fae writing which tells of the history of the various supernatural tribes of Death Valley and illustrates various umbral features. The stone circles on the other hand are for relaxation and celebration as they are the rings in which the faeries dance.
Ubehebe Crater (5 miles from the turnoff to Scotty’s Castle) Ubehebe’s Crater is named after an Indian woman who once lived near this area but to the natives it was Duh-vee’tah Wah’sah (“the Earth Mother’s Carrying Basket”) and it was considered a sacred site. The named crater is actually a pit caused by a volcanic explosion that is a full 500 feet deep and ½ mile across. Other, smaller craters, one containing a nearly perfect volcanic cone, can be found to the south of Ubebebe. As a sacred volcanic area the land about Ubehebe Crater is frequented by salamanders, fire elementals, and earth spirits. The Ashringa sometimes make offerings to Alma (Gaia) by throwing them into her basket. This is usually done in the umbra so tourists will not disturb the gifts.
Wildrose (Panamint Mountains)
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Wildrose is other maintained trail in Death Valley. This trail climbs 2,200 feet in four miles. The treeless summit offers a 360 degree view of the entire park. The trail includes several kilns once used as mining smelters. Around the kilns can be found several tree stumps which have been preserved by the dry air ever since the loggers cut the trees down for fuel the ovens over 100 years ago. In the Umbra fire spirits may be found still inhabiting the kilns and weeping glade children sit upon the stumps and bemoan the fate of their trees.
Wingate Pass (Panamint Mountains) Originally this area of the park was avoided by the local Indians who believed that a hidden city of elves called Shin-au-av was located here. The elves were said to have come from a far land on shooting stars and after they made their homes in the desert they rode bighorn sheep while using coyotes to herd the parks deer. This lore was dismissed as folklore when the white man came and nearly forgotten. In the 1880s twenty mule teams pulled multi ton wagons full of borax over a pass in the southern Panamints. The drivers named the pass “Windy Gap” because of the constant high winds and in time this name became shortened to Wingate. Wingate met high technology in 1920 when the backers of an Epson salt mine decided to build a monorail from the railroad in Trona all the way to the mines at Epsomite. However the monorail was doomed to failure when the first engine proved to be too weak to pull the cars and the second was so heavy that it sank the A-frames of the rail into the mire of Searle’s Lake! Later in the 1920s a prospector named white fell through a floor in an abandoned mine in this area. He found himself in an underground tunnel that led to a series of rooms filled with hundreds of short, leather clad humanoid mummies and gold bars stacked like bricks against the walls or piled in bins. White quickly ran to get help removing the loot but when he came back he was unable to find the tunnel again, even though he tried several times. Later an Indian guide named Tom Wilson claimed that his grandfather had wandered into a miles long labyrinth of caves beneath the valley floor that eventually ended in an underground city filled with tiny, leather clad people who spoke an incomprehensible language. The little men showed up again in the 1940s when several UFO reports came from the Wingate area. The most detailed report comes from 1949 when two prospectors witnessed the apparent crash of a flying saucer. When the prospectors approached the craft two little men leaped from the UFO and fled into the desert. The miners gave chase but lost the little men in the wilderness and when they returned to the site of the crash the UFO was gone. The native Shoshone Indians would not have been surprised by all the stories coming out of Wingate for a cavern under this pass was said to lead t the faerie city of Shin-au-av. This Umbral city is inhabited by all sorts of faerie races. Many kiths, including Kai-nu-suvs (elves), Yan-tups (undines), Paahas (mermaids), and ohdowa (kobolds), may be found in this city. All the odd things that have plagued Wingate are simply the faerie folk playing tricks on ignorant mortals who attempt to build on their land. The fae also enjoy harassing the neighboring Nellis Air Force Base, Fort Irwin Military Reservation, and China Lake Naval Weapons Station, all of whom are infested with UFO sightings and gremlin reports.
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The Dwells of America I’ve been to the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name ‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain. - America, “Horse with No Name” This chapter gives an overview of some sample characters for Death Valley and the Tomesha Council. All werebeasts in this chapter have their statistics in the following format for ease of play: Homid /Glabro or Klatra/ Crinos or Chalico/ Hispo or Monoceros/Lupus or Equine).
Statistics for Typical Ashringa NPCs The average NPC Ashringa from California will have the following statistics: Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6), Dexterity 4(5/6/7/6), Stamina 3(5/6/6/6), Charisma 2, Manipulation 2 (1/0/1/0), Appearance 2 (1/0/4/1), Perception 2, Intelligence 3, Wits 3. Abilities: Animal Ken 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 2, Crafts 1, Computers 2, Dodge 5, Enigmas 2, Empathy 2, Firearms 1 Melee 1, Occult 1, Performance 1, Pilot (Car) 2, Primal Urge 3, Rituals 1, Survival 1. Breed Stats: Homid (Gnosis: 1, Gift: Smell of Man) Métis (Gnosis: 3, Gift: Sense Wyrm) Equine (Gnosis: 5, Gift: Heightened Senses). Suhn Stats: Hrunnhe (Caretaker) Rage: 1, Gift: Blissful Ignorance. Hrunnhi (Protector) Rage 5, Gift: Razor Horn. Hrunnsai (Storyteller) Rage: 4, Gift: Beast Speech. Hrunnsaiya (Dreamspeaker) Rage 2, Gift: Spirit Speech. Hrunnya (Judge) Rage: 3, Gift: Truth of Gaia. Hrunnsaf (Trickster) Rage 1, Gift: Mimic.
Bão Stats: Arweharis (Will: 3, Gift: Camouflage, Totem: Lion, Animal Form: Zebra.) Avarim (Will: 3, Gift: Impala‘s Flight, Totem: Pegasus, Animal Form: Pony). Karkadamm (Will: 3, Gift: Speed of Thought, Totem: Bull, Animal Form: Onager). Killina (Will: 4, Gift: Mother‘s Touch, Totem: Unicorn, Animal Form: Prezwalski‘s Horse). Nabrima (Will: 3, Gift: Balance, Totem: Dolphin, Animal Form: Brumby). Nhurim (Will: 5, Gift: Lambent Flame, Totem: Bison, Animal Form: Mustang). Nimbi (Will: 4, Gift: Eyes of Oberon, Totem: Stag, Animal Form: Burro).
Higher Ranks: Ashringa gain an extra two dots per Rank to apply to Attributes, Abilities Rage, and Willpower, they also gain one gift of the appropriate level and one level one gift per every two ranks.
The Grace of the Ancient Waters Under the cities is a heart made of ground But the humans will give no love - America, “Horse with No Name”. Location: Devil’s Hole, Ash Meadows, Death Valley, California-Nevada Border
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Level: 3
Gauntlet: 3
Type: Fellowship & Healing
Bão Structure: Open, dominated by Nimbi and Nhurim but all bãos are represented. Totems: Nyrallar and the Great Spotted Roadrunner History: The Grace of the Ancient Waters is one of the oldest dwells in North America. The dwell was opened by the Nhurim during the last ice age when Death Valley was filled with the crystalline waters of Lake Manley. The Grace was once one of the most powerful dwells in the world but time has reduced its power. The drying up of the lake, the activities of the white settlers, the shunting of the Native Americans into reservations and the attempted extermination of the mustang all contributed to its loss of power and to the Nhurim’s abandonment of the dwell. The coming of the prospectors however introduced the Nimbi tribe and during the Great Depression the Nimbi not only reawakened the dwells original Totem but also brought a second totem into the area. Now the dwell is dedicated to both healing and fellowship and it acts as a magnet to all Ashringa no matter their bão. The dwell is the headquarters of the Tomesha Council is used as a meeting place for the head Ashringa of each bãos in America. The Kossiacky: The Dwell of the Ancient Waters is located in Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge on the border between California and Nevada. This area is a part of Death Valley National Park and a full description of the area may be found in the previous chapter. The Kossiacky covers all of Ash meadows as well as most of north and central Death Valley National Monument, the Piper and Sylvania Mountains, and Resting Spring Park. The dwells center is entered by walking through the cave opening of Devil‘s Hole and then diving into the water. Those of a spiritual nature will enter the hot water only to emerge in a moonlit glade bordered by willow trees and with the moss covered shore of a sparkling lake to one side. Tourists and Campers are not allowed in Devil’s Hole and the tarn is both absent from hiking maps and surrounded by a rusty chain link fence to keep them out. This is no real barrier as humans can still climb over it and horses can simply jump over the obstruction. The hole’s unique species of pupfish are monitored electronically by rusting equipment used to monitor the water levels and the fish themselves are only counted once every decade or so which limits even the presence of park officials. In addition even if strangers do make it into the center most would not survive diving into the near boiling water as most creatures lack the healing abilities of were-creatures. All in all, the Grace of the Ancient Waters is a private place of neutral territory perfect for the council’s meetings. Umbrascape: Within the Kossiacky the land resembles the Death Valley of the Ice Age with most of the land taken up by a large but shallow lake. At the Dwell’s center, where Devil’s Hole should be, is a rocky wall covered with petroglyphs of horses, birds, and horned serpents. A clear stream emerges from that wall and flows into the lake which is filled with pupfish spirits as well as the occasional salamander (which is both an aquatic animal and a fire spirit) and water elementals. There are two totem spirits associated with this Dwell. The oldest is Nyrallar who was first summoned by the Nhurim during the ice age. The other totem is the Great Spotted Roadrunner who came to the aid of the Nimbi during the 1930’s. Nyrallar is an ancient and powerful water spirit who belongs to Oniont’s brood. She manifests as a dragon the color of moonlight with eyes as green as leaves and a single horn. Water acts as a focus for her powers and her moon bridges join with all bodies of water inside the Death Valley area. When the Dwell was first opened Nyrallar was a very powerful spirit of healing but as the waters of Lake Manley dried up and her followers moved away she diminished in power. Even so she is still greatly respected by the Ashringa, Mokole’ and Fairy tribes of the desert. Nyrallar is a spirit of healing, not just of the body but of the soul. She believes that the Ashringa must stand together, not only with each other but also with the other Béte’,
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the Faerie, and all other creatures who wish to restore the universe to its original state. Just as all the widely separated rivers and lakes in Death Valley are really one so the Ashringa need unity if they are to survive. Nyrallar is a shy spirit who rarely manifests without first sending some minor spirit to check on the motives of visitors. When she does appear it is with the following statistics: Rage 7, Willpower 9, Gnosis 10, and Power 70. She has the following charms and gifts: Armor, Healing, Materialize (cost 55, Strength 9, Dexterity 6, Stamina 8, Mental 5, Social 4, Alertness 6, Athletics 5, Brawl 5, Dodge 4, Empathy 2, Enigmas 3, Occult 5, Claw for 10 dice and Bite for 11 dice, Armor 2, Health levels are ok (x5),-1 (x3),-3 (x3),- 5(x3),Immaterialized), Disorient, Open Moon Bridge, Cleanse the Blight, Shape shift, Breath of the Dragon Lords (as the Nagah gift), and Dreamspeak (as the gift). Nyrallar’s nature is that of a caregiver and her demeanor is that of confident. The Great Spotted Roadrunner is more often encountered than Nyrallar and is much more in touch with the modern world. As Roadrunner is a spirit of Cunning who relies on both his quick wits and fast feet to avoid harm he gains power by the cunning deeds enacted by the grace. In addition he is much more likely to come to the assistance of charms that are in battle with Wyrm beasts for as expects his wards to overcome the Wyrm just as physical roadrunners subdue snakes. The Great Spotted Roadrunner manifest with the following statistics: Rage 2, Willpower 7, Gnosis 4, and Power 20. He has the following charms and gifts: Airt sense, Materialize (cost 13, Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Mental 3, Social 3, Alertness 3, Athletics 3, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Peck for 2 dice, claw for 2 dice, Normal Health levels), Survivor, Impala’s Flight, Messenger’s Fortitude, Speed beyond Thought, and Avoid fate. Roadrunner’s Nature is that of a Gallant but his demeanor is definitely that of a Show off.
Characters to Meet Cage-Leaper (Oromo Cage) Position: Liaison between the Grace and the various zoos in North America Breed: Equine Suhn: Hrunnsai (Storyteller) Bão: Arweharis Nature/Demeanor: Confidant/Caregiver Attributes: Strength 5 (7/9/8/8) Dexterity 4 (5/6/7/6) Stamina 4 (6/7/7/7) Charisma 2 Manipulation 1 (0/0/0/0) Appearance 2 (1/0/4/1) Perception 4 Intelligence 3 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 3, Animal Ken 3, Athletics 2, Brawl 3, Contacts 5, Dodge 2, Enigmas 3, Expression 2, Intimidation 3, Leadership 2, Melee 2, Primal-Urge 5, Performance 2, Rituals 3, Stealth 2, Survival 5. Backgrounds: Kinfolk 3 (Grevy‘s Zebras at the San Diego Zoo), Pure Breed 2 Rank: 3 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 7/5/9 Gifts (1) Aura of Confidence, Beast Speech, Leap of Pegasus. (2) Moon Dancer, Serene Pasture. (3) Equus Speech, Fetish Doll, Form of the Wild. Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Opened Cairn, Moot Rite, Rite of the Lion, Rite of Passage, Rite of Ostracism, Rite of the Fearful Woods. Fetishes: Lightning Shoes.
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Born at the San Diego zoo Cage-Leaper (in monoceros form) jumped over the fence enclosing his zebra kinfolk during his first change and ran wild until he was found by the zookeeper the next day. The keeper (Benson King) was not only an Arweharis but Cage’s sire and he introduced the young equine to Ashringa society. Eventually he was taken to the Grace of the Burning Sands where he quickly grew in Rank. When King retired from his job he persuaded the zoo to hire his son to replace him. Cage now acts as the person to contact in order to find an equine mate of the proper species as he has extensive contacts with every zoo in the country and a few outside America as well. In equine form Cage-Leaper is a Grevy’s Zebra and in Homid he is a tall black man with a light birthmark on his forehead. His Klatra form is an asbar and in equine he is a common zebra.
Crusher-of-Evil (Faris Hashim) Position: Stallion at the Karkadamm Charm found in the Sand Dunes. Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnhai (Protector) Bão: Karkadamm Nature/Demeanor: Competitor/Alpha Attributes: Strength 4 (6/8/7/7) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 5 (7/8/8/8) Charisma 2 Manipulation 3 (2/0/2/0) Appearance 3 (2/0/5/2) Perception 4 Intelligence 4 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 3, Animal Ken 2, Brawl 4, Demolitions 3, Dodge 3, Firearms 4, Intimidation 4, Leadership 4, Melee 3, Primal-Urge 3, Politics 4, Rituals 2, Survival 2. Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 6/5/7 Gifts (1) Hoof’s Might, Sense Wyrm, Speed of Thought, Razor Horn. (2) Defy Fatigue (3) Rage of the Predator (4) Steal the Wolf’s Jaws Rites: Moot Rite, Rite of Passage, Baptism of Fire, Stone of Scorn, Rite of Ostracism Fetishes: Klaive, Bane Arrows. Crusher-of-Evil was born in Saudi Arabia and came to the United States as an exchange student. He quickly rose to be the leader of a local gang but this came to an end when 9/11 took place. The attack on the World Trade Center and his criminal record caused Crusher to fear being deported so he fled to the desert where he joined the Sand Dune Charm under the leadership of Kris. He fantasizes about becoming the leader of all the Karkadamm in America. He plans to take over the charm when Kris retires and then to challenge that pip-squeak of a donkey, Thunder Jack, for leadership of the Grace of the Ancient Waters. Once he leads the Grace he will then challenge the Karkadamm council member for that post. Once he is leader of all the Karkadamm, Hashim plans to destroy every human being who enters a national park. Crusher is a sandy colored onager in equine form and a asbar in Klatra.
Kris (Rishi Krishan) Position: Leader of the Karkadamm charm in the Sand Dunes Breed: Equine Suhn: Hrunnsaiya (Dreamspeaker) Bão: Karkadamm Nature/Demeanor: Judge/Confident Attributes: Strength 2 (4/6/5/5) Dexterity 2 (3/4/5/4) Stamina 3 (5/6/6/6) Charisma 2 Manipulation 2 (1/0/1/0) Appearance 3 (2/0/5/2) Perception 3 Intelligence 3 Wits 2 Abilities: Alertness 1, Animal-ken 4, Brawl 4, Dodge 2, Enigmas 4, Intimidation 2, Leadership 4, Occult 2, Performance 5, Primal-Urge 5, Rituals 4, Stealth 3, Survival 5. Backgrounds: Past Life 4, Mentor 2 Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 2/10/8
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Gifts (1) Call Spirit, Find Water, Heightened Senses, Spirit Speech. (2) Command Spirit, Force of Nature, Impala’s Flight, Name the Spirit. (3) Form of the Wild. (4) Speak with Wind Spirits, Spirit Drain. Rites: Rite of Talisman Dedication, Rite of the Opened Cairn, Rite of Binding, Rite of Spirit Awakening, Ritual of Summoning, Rite of Passage, Rite of the Fetish, Rite of the Opened Bridge. Fetishes: Spirit Whistle. Kris was conceived in the deserts of Pakistan and came to the United States when his pregnant mother was rounded up and shipped to the San Diego Zoo. He was coached through his first change by Benson King the Arweharis zookeeper who and introduced to the Charm of the Burning Sand where he eventually became leader. Today Kris is in his late 50’s and while he knows he must choose a successor soon he waits because he believes that Crusher-of- Evil is too power hungry to lead. Kris received his name because in Monoceros form his horn has a wavy shape like the Malaysian sword called a Kris. In equine form he is a khur with dark fur and in Homid he is a small dark skinned Indian man. His Klatra form is a centaur.
Long Ears (Nestor Cornelio) Position: Gatekeeper at the Grace of the Ancient Waters Breed: Métis Suhn: Hrunnsai (Storyteller) Bão: Nimbi Nature/Demeanor: Conformer/Confident Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 3 (5/6/6/6) Charisma 2 Manipulation 3 (2/0/2/0) Appearance 2 (1/0/4/1) Perception 3 Intelligence 3 Wits 4 Abilities: Athletics 3, Dodge 3, Empathy 3, Enigmas 3, Linguistics 5, Melee 3, Occult 3, Performance 3, Primal Urge 1, Subterfuge 2, Stealth 2, Rituals 4. Backgrounds: Fetish 3, Mentor 3 Rank: 3 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 5/4/4 Gifts (1) Eyes of Oberon, Shadhavar’s Horn, Unicorn’s Favor (2) Open the Gate, Moon Dancer (3) Power of the Mule, Walk between Worlds Rites: Rite of the Opened Bridge, The Badger’s Burrow Fetishes: Staff of the Mule Merits/Flaws: Long ears (Métis deformity), Natural Channel, Natural Linguist. Long Ears is a mule born accidentally when the old Gatekeeper, the Nimbi Eloy Cornelio, mated with a mustang mare. To his surprise the mare subsequently underwent her first change and was now a Nhurim pregnant with a Métis foal. When Long Ears was born the mare gave her son to his father and left the Grace. To this day Long Ears wonders what happened to her. Eloy trained his son in the arts of being Gatekeeper and after his death in a Black Spiral Dancer attack Long Ears took over his sire’s position in the Grace. Long Ears natural form is a mule with a unicorn’s horn and huge, drooping donkey’s ears that actually drag on the ground. These ears also appear in Asbar and Chalico form and make him somewhat clumsy (+2 Difficulty on all Dexterity rolls when in Monoceros, Klatra, or Chalico form, on a botch he trips over his own ears). In human form he resembles a middle aged Aztec Indian, in klatra form he is an asbar, and in equine form he is a small slate mule with lop ears.
Mustang Meg (Megan Tsunke) Position: Lead mare of the Grace of the Ancient Waters. Breed: Homid. Suhn: Hrunya (Judge)
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Bão: Nhurim Nature/Demeanor: Maker/Caregiver Attributes: Strength 2 (4/6/5/5) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 4 (6/7/7/7) Charisma 4 Manipulation 3 (2/0/1/0) Appearance 2 (1/0/4/1) Perception 4 Intelligence 4 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 3, Empathy 5, Expression 4, Primal Urge 3, Leadership 4, Linguistics 3, Medicine 3, Rituals 4, Survival 3. Backgrounds: Kinfolk (Shoshone Indians) 5 Rank: 5 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 3/5/10 Gifts (1) Nature’s Plenty, Sense Guilt, Truth of Gaia, and Walk behind the Mirror (2) Talk, Sense Wyrm (3) Wisdom of the Ancient Ways (4) Adaptation (5) Summon Storm Crow Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Opened Cairn, Moot Rite, Rite of Binding, Rite of Summoning, Rite of Passage, Rite of Birth. Fetishes: Horn of the Evil Eye, Medicine Bag of the Asvins, Spirit Drum. Mustang Meg is an older (in her 60’s) Shoshone Indian woman who grew up in the nearby reservation. Meg changed form early in life and was introduced to Ashringa culture by her Ashringa father. She is a tough, no nonsense woman who has led the grace since she was twenty. In equine form she is a swaybacked brown mare and in Klatra she is a centaur.
Mei Yin (Silver Rose) Position: Healer and Advisor at the Dwell of the Ancient Waters Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnhe (Caretaker) Bão: Killina Nature/Demeanor: Judge/Caregiver Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6) Dexterity 4 (5/6/8/7) Stamina 3 (5/6/6/6) Charisma 4 Manipulation 2 (1/0/1/0) Appearance 4 (3/0/6/3) Perception 4 Intelligence 4 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 4, Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 4, Linguistics 3, Primal Urge 2, Subterfuge 2, Animal ken 2, Leadership 4, Enigmas 3, Rituals 4, Politics 3. Backgrounds: Contacts 5, Pure Breed 5 Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 2/5/8 Gifts (1) Blissful Ignorance, Mother’s Touch, Nature’s Plenty. (2) Calm, Mountain’s Peace, Stare down (3) Inspiration, Dragon’s Scales (4) Serenity, Tame Sunbeam Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Opened Cairn, Moot Rite, Rite of Passage, Rite of Birth. Fetishes: Friendship Ring, Fang Dagger Growing up in San Francisco’s Chinatown Mei’s human parents was part of the radical peace movement of the 60’s. When she was 16 she was contacted by her uncle from China who showed her true heritage and gave her a family heirloom, a dagger said to be made from the tooth of an oriental dragon. She once worked for Social Services and has a great amount of pull through various contacts in the government. She worked long and hard to get National Park status for the Death Valley area. She is a pale yellow takhi in equine form fading to in Monoceros. In Klatra form she is an asbar.
Rowena Grant
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Position: Keeper of the Land at the Dwell of the Ancient Waters Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnhe (Caretaker) Bão: Avarim Nature/Demeanor: Conformist/Autist Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 2 (4/5/5/5) Charisma 3 Manipulation 4 (3/1/3/1) Appearance 3(2/0/5/2) Perception 3 Intelligence 3 Wits 2 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Empathy 3, Expression 2, Animal Ken 4, Performance (Drawing) 2, Primal-Urge 3, Enigmas 2, Science (Botany) 3. Backgrounds: Mentor 3 Rank: 3 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 3/7/5 Gifts (1) Blissful Ignorance, Sense Wyrm, Smell of Man. (2) Lambent Flame, Neigh of Glory, Talk. (3) Awe Rites: Garlands of Bright Flowers, Gathering for the Departed, Rite of Remembrance. Fetishes: None Merits/Flaws: Common Sense, Soft Hearted, Reputation Rowena was born in the Maryland city of Annapolis to a family of ex-hippies. She grew up surrounded by her parent’s creed of universal peace and love and was also aware of her family’s Celtic heritage thanks to her Welsh grandparents. Thus it was no surprise that Rowena was attracted to the New Age movement in her early teens. However it did surprise her when on her 18th birthday she became not a witch but a werehorse. Adopted by a local charm of Avarim, Rowena was taught the ins and outs of werehorse culture and at the age of 21 moved to California where she joined the dwell. Rowena’s equine form is that of a white welsh pony and her Monoceros form is that of a classic unicorn. She is a asbar in Klatra form.
Runs-Beside Horses (Agna-iyanke) Position: Master of the Rite at the Grace of the Ancient Waters Breed: Equus Suhn: Hrunnsaiya (Dreamspeaker) Bão: Nhurim Nature/Demeanor: Autist/Judge Attributes: Strength 2 (4/6/5/5) Dexterity 4 (5/6/7/6) Stamina 3 (5/6/6/6) Charisma 3 Manipulation 3 (2/0/2/0) Appearance 4 (3/0/6/3) Perception 4 Intelligence 3 Wits 4 Abilities: Alertness 4, Athletics 1, Brawl 2, Dodge 3, Empathy 3, Expression 4, Primal Urge 2, AnimalKen 2, Etiquette 3, Melee 3, Leadership 2, Performance 2, Enigmas 4, Occult 3, Rituals 5. Backgrounds: Past Life 3, Totem 4 Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 2/7/4 Gifts (1) Heightened Senses, Leap of the Unicorn, Spirit Speech, Walk behind the Mirror. (2) Dream Speak, Impala’s Flight, Sense the Unnatural. (3) Detect Spirit, Sense Magic. (4) Speak with Wind Spirits, Scrying Rites: Assume that Agna-iyanke knows any rite appropriate to his station. Fetishes: Gnostic bag, Spirit Bell and Candles, Harp of the Heavens (works as a Spirit Drum), plus many healing Talens. Agna-iyanke chose his human moniker from a Dakota Indian name meaning “Runs beside Horses”, an appropriate title since he grew up among a tribe of wild mustangs in Wyoming. He received a vision from Nyrallar soon after his first change which told him to come to California and he has been Master of the Rite there for the past twenty years. In human shape he is a tall Native American man in his early thirties with very long black hair, in equine he is a bay stallion. His Klatra form is a centaur.
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Owl Chief (Kibbe Lesharo) Position: Master of the Challenge at the Grace of the Ancient Waters Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnhai (Protector) Bão: Nhurim Nature/Demeanor: Traditionalist/Bravo Attributes: Strength 5 (7/9/8/8) Dexterity 4 (5/7/8/7) Stamina 4 (6/7/7/7) Charisma 3 Manipulation 2 (1/0/1/0) Appearance 3 (2/0/5/2) Perception 3 Intelligence 2 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 4, Athletics 4, Brawl 5, Dodge 5, Enigmas 2, Firearms 3, Medicine 2, Melee 5, PrimalUrge 3, Stealth 5. Backgrounds: Kinfolk 2, Familiar Spirit 3 Rank: 3 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 5/3/4 Gifts (1) Lambent Flame, Hoof‘s Might, Razor Horn, (2) Sentinel’s Warning (3) Gaia’s Lance Rites: none Fetishes: none Born in the Shoshone Indian Reservation in 1980s Kibbe had always wanted to be a great warrior like the Indians of old and not the pathetic “white-man wanabees” his tribe had become. In response his parents enrolled him in a martial arts class (where he soon received a black belt in karate) in an attempt to curb his warrior spirit. Still he seemed obsessed with the Plains Indians and their horses. As a result he was overjoyed when he underwent his first change at the age of sixteen. While young to have such an important position, Kibbe has proven his abilities again and again. Kibbe received his name from the owl familiar that constantly follows him about, an omen echoed in his Indian name which means “chief of the night bird”. Kibbe Lesharo is a pinto stallion in equine form and an asbar in Klatra.
Thunder Jack (Adriano Gomez) Position: Dwell Warder and lead stallion at the Grace of the Ancient Waters Breed: Equus Suhn: Hrunnsaf (Trickster) Bão: Nimbi Nature/Demeanor: Caregiver/ Jester Attributes: Strength 5 (7/9/8/8) Dexterity 4 (5/6/7/6) Stamina 4 (6/7/7/7) Charisma 2 Manipulation 2 (1/0/1/0) Appearance 2 (1/0/4/1) Perception 4 Intelligence 3 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 4, Animal Kin 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Dodge 3, Leadership 3, Melee 4, Primal Urge 5, Rituals 3, Survival 4. Rank: 3 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 1/5/4 Gifts (1) Heightened Senses, Colt’s Foot, Eyes of Oberon (2) Serene Pasture (3) Glamour of the Faeries, Unicorn’s Blessing Rites: Rite of the Fearful Woods Fetishes: None Merits/Flaws: Horse Park department ties, Short. Born in Titanathere canyon, Thunder jack, like all Nimbi, is a lover of practical jokes. A happy-go-lucky sort of man Adriano likes to use glamour to make himself look taller and to make Meg seem younger during council meetings. After all appearance is everything when dealing with outsiders. In human form he calls himself Adriano Gomez and passes himself off as a park ranger. Thunder Jack is a smoky black burro in equine form and an asbar in Klatra.
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Grace of the Desert Intaglios Like the Nazca lines of Peru, the intaglios are visible from the ground but their clear and full impact becomes evident only when looking down from the sky.
- Peterson, Natasha, Sacred Sites Location: Southern California Level: 3 Gauntlet: 4 Type: Strength Bão Structure: Open, dominated by Arweharis and Nimbi Totems: Puma History: Sometime in the past an unknown group of Native Americans scraped away the dark gravel to expose the lighter topsoil beneath the desert sands on the border between California and Arizona. Much like the Nazca lines of Peru these figures can only be seen from the air but unlike the famous lines in South America the intaglios have more in common with the “giants” and “white horses” of Europe. This is because one figure is that of a 94 foot tall man while the other is a horse. The presence of the horse caused most historians to date the intaglios to less than 500 years old, claiming that they must have been made by a wandering tribe (because none of the local tribes would admit to making them) fleeing the Spanish. When it was revealed that the covering of desert varnish over the figures proves that they were several thousand years old the academics still had to account for the horse so either still insisted on a young age for the intaglios or claimed that the animal was a badly drawn mountain lion. Because the figures are only scraped into the ground they were in danger of being destroyed by visitors using off road vehicles until the local boy scouts built a fence around them. Today the figures are under the care of the Bureau of land Management in Riverside California but no tower or other ability for people to see the intaglios have been built and they are still practically unknown to the public. The intaglios are actually an old Nhurim dwell that was taken over by the Arweharis in the early 19 century. The Arweharis took over the dwell when the native mustangs were driven away and today the only wild equines near the intaglios are a few feral donkeys. The Arweharis members visit the nearby San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park to breed. th
The Kossiacky The Grace of the Desert Intaglios is located 15 miles north of the city of Blythe near Route 95. The Kossiacky includes most of the border between California and Arizona including a portion of the Colorado River. The dwells center is reached by walking the spiral path. When one reaches the center they will find themselves in the dwells heart. Umbrascape Within the Kossiacky the land appears to be a glorified version of its physical appearance. The intaglios are unmarred by tracks and trails and gleam a snowy white against the black soil that surrounds them. A dance ring marked with piles of gravel surrounds the human figure and anyone who sleeps on the giant may gain a horse’s strength even in human form for one turn after performing the proper ritual dance. Horse spirits of all kinds abound in this and a huge spiritual mountain lion, the totem of the dwell, lies at the heart of the horse figure.
Fangs-In-The-Dark Position: Grace leader and Tomesha Council member
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Breed: Métis Suhn: Hrunnhi (Protector) Bão: Arweharis Nature/Demeanor: Competitor/Alpha Attributes: Strength 4 (6/8/7/7) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 5 (7/8/8/8) Charisma 2 Manipulation 2 (1/0/1/0) Appearance 2 (1/0/4/1) Perception 4 Intelligence 5 Wits 4 Abilities: Alertness 3, Animal-ken 5, Brawl 4, Firearms 2, Intimidation 4, Leadership 4, Linguistics 1, Melee 3, Politics 3, Primal-urge 3, Rituals 2, Survival 4. Backgrounds: Contacts 3, Pure Breed 4 Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 6/8/7 Gifts (1) Camouflage, Sense Wyrm, Sight out the Predator, Razor Horn (2) Staredown (3) Form of the Wild (4) Safety in Numbers Rites: Moot Rite, Rite of Passage, Baptism of Fire, Rite of the Lion, Rite of Ostracism Fetishes: Carbuncle, Purification Cup Merits and flaws: Common sense, Deformed Horn (Métis deformity), Fangs. Fangs-In–The-Dark was born to punish the hubris of two equine Arweharis who were too proud to breed with zoo animals. Born with three horns and lupine fangs, the parents were horrified and dumped their offspring in the desert. The abandoned foal then lived with a herd of wild burros until he was found by a charm of Nimbi. As time went on Fangs grew strong enough to defeat the puma spirit that was guarding the Grace of the Desert Intaglios. This act reopened the dwell and gave Fangs much renown. His act attracted many young Arweharis tired of the posing of their elders and his grace is now the largest zebra dominated grace in the west. In human form Fangs is a stern looking black man, in klatra form he is an asbar and his equine form is a common zebra. He has fierce-looking canine teeth in all his forms.
Grace of the Great Hero “By carving Crazy Horse if I can give back to the Indian some of his pride and create the means to keep alive his culture and heritage, my life will have been worthwhile”. - Korzcak Ziolkowski Location: Crazy Horse Monument, The Black Hills, South Dakota Level: 4 Gauntlet: 3 Type: Kingship Bão Structure: Closed, Nhurim Only Totems: Horse History The location of this dwell is not an ancient sacred site but rather one made in recent years. In 1939, Chief Henry Standing Bear of the Sioux had a vision of a monument to Native Americans that would rival the nearby Mt. Rushmore. Standing Bear contacted the sculptor Korzcak Ziolkowski, who dedicated his entire life and that of his descendants into finishing the monument. Korzcak was over forty when he began carving a monument that would be larger than the Great Pyramid of Egypt. After his death, Korzak’s grandchildren finished and dedicated the statue in 1998. The Nhurim are, of course, responsible for this monument the dedication of the statue allowed for the opening of the first new major dwell in historical times. The monument serves as monument to all Native Americans and the horses that were defeated with them. The Kossiacky
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Located just 17 miles from Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument is the largest sculpture in the world. Carved out of an entire granite mountain it is a staggering sight, a handsome, grim-faced native warrior pointing towards the east from the back of a leaping horse that seems to be rushing forward into the sky. He rises up a full 600 feet high and carved at his horse’s feet are the words “My lands are where my dead lie buried”. Near the statue stands the Indian Museum of North America, representing some 80 tribes. Eventually the area will also include The North American Indian University and Medical Training Center. To enter the dwell one must go down a trail leading from behind the statue to a circle of trees. Entering the glade brings one into the dwell. Umbrascape Within the Kossiacky the land appears to be a glorified version of its physical appearance. The hills are pristine and unmarred and Ancestor spirits ride spirits of mustangs, hunting spirit buffalo, much as they once did in the physical world.
Sun Eagle (Etu Dyami) Position: Grace leader and Tomesha Council member Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnhai (Protector) Bão: Nhurim Nature/Demeanor: Idealist/Maker Attributes: Strength 4 (6/8/7/7) Dexterity 4 (5/6/7/6) Stamina 4 (6/7/7/7) Charisma 3 Manipulation 3 (2/0/2/0) Appearance 3 (2/0/5/2) Perception 2 Intelligence 4 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 3, Brawl 2, Empathy 4, Enigmas 3, Intimidation 3, Leadership 4, Linguistics 1, Melee 3, Occult 3, Politics 2, Primal-urge 3, Rituals 3. Backgrounds: Contacts 4, Kinfolk 4 (Sioux Tribe), Past Life 3 Rank: 5 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 5/5/6 Gifts (1) Inspiration, Lambent Flame, Persuasion, Walk Behind the Mirror. (2) Awe, Winds of the North. (3) Silver Horn. (4) Mastery (5) Summon Storm Crow, Warrior’s Pride. Rites: Rite of Contrition, Moot Rite, Rite of Talisman Dedication, Rite of Passage. Fetishes: Sword of Mech-Gladinez (War and Light) Sun Eagle is the direct descendant of Crazy Horse himself, and many believe that he is the Nhurim destined to not only unite the Ashringa, but to unite the Indian Tribes and bring them back to prominence in North America. Sun Eagle was born to a Sioux family in 1980 and soon showed promise to the elders of the tribe, as he seemed to have visions of the spirits. Many took this to mean that the child was destined to become a shaman but others thought the child was too warlike for this, as the boy loved nothing more than hunting from horseback. When he was 16 Sun eagle was approached by his Grandfather who revealed his Ashringa heritage. Sun Eagle is a chestnut pinto with curly fur in equine form and a centaur in klatra.
Grace of the House of the Sun Aloha -Ancient Hawaiian Greeting Location: Haleakala Crater, Hawaii Level: 4 Gauntlet: 3 Type: Wyld Bão Structure: Open, dominated by Nabrima Totems: Madame Pele
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History Hawaii is said to be paradise on Earth but it is really a land filled with the spirits of fire and water. Many overeager land developers have laughed at the “native superstitions” only to have their million dollar homes collapse into the sea or smothered by burning lava, Mother Pele will not be laughed at. Legend says that the Haleakala volcano is the place where the trickster spirit Maui captured the sun in order to give his people more daylight to fish. It was also said to be the home of Madame Pele, goddess of fire and volcanoes. The area was so sacred that it was made a national park almost as soon as Hawaii became part of the United States. As part of Polynesia, Hawaii, was settled by and has a language very close to that of Australian natives. That, along with its access to water, means that the Nabrima quickly made it their home. There are a few feral herds of mustang-like horses in Hawaii so most Ashringa of equine need not leave the islands to breed. The Kossiacky Haleakala National park is on the island of Maui, the second largest of the Hawaiian islands. The center of the park is dominated by a one of the largest volcanoes in the world ( the crater alone is as big as Manhatten Island in New York City) and surrounded by lush orchid trees. The single road leading to the summit starts in tropical jungle and ends 40 miles later at a arctic cold lava rock plain. As the volcano rises 30 degrees straight up, one cannot see the land from the summit but instead are surrounded by clouds and the sea. Interesting features are the Leleiwi Overlook (located six miles from the visitor center) which projects a mirage of clouds surrounded by rainbows called the Specter of Brocken, Pele’s Pig Pen (a rock formation that looks like a corral) and the Bottomless Pit. The Bottomless Pit is an old volcanic vent where it is said that Pele’s sister, Keanawilinau, entered Pele’s domain in an unsuccessful attempt to put out the volcanoes fires. There are two visitor centers, the main one at Park Headquarters at the mountains base and the other located near the summit. The Main Visitor Center stands out because of the piles of lave rocks thrown outside its rear entrance. Legend stats that any foreigner who takes one of Pele’s rocks of the island will suffer bad luck until the rock is returned, and every year the visitor center is mailed hundreds of rocks from people who dared scoff at this belief and suffered the consequences. Thirty miles from the summit road is the Pug Ululate Visitor center. A mile from this Center is Science City, an astronomical research station where astronauts once practiced traveling to the moon. The only way down to these areas is by horseback (stables are provided at a scenic spot the end of the road) or hiking. The dwell is entered from the Bottomless Pit, the Ashringa enter the vent and exit an umbra opening to the surface to enter the volcano’s spirit world. Umbrascape Within the Kossiacky the land is one with the elements. The rock of the mountain gleams with obsidian and streams of lava flow from the crater. Clouds surround the top and the sea below sparkles with rainbows. One rarely sees Madame Pele unless she is angered, and then the volcano erupts in the physical world. More common are various fire spirits, the were-sharks of the nearby ocean, and the Ku, green furred faerie hounds identical the cu-sidhe of Irish myth.
Keahi Ekewaka (Guardian-of-the –Flame) Position: Grace leader and Tomesha Council member Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnsai (Storyteller) Bão: Nabrima Nature/Demeanor: Confidant/Reveler Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 3 (5/6/6/6) Charisma 4 Manipulation 4 (3/1/3/1) Appearance 3 (2/0/5/2) Perception 2 Intelligence 4 Wits 5 Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 4 (surfing) Brawl 3, Drive 3, Enigmas 2, Empathy 3, Law 3, Leadership 4,
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Linguistics 1, Medicine 1, Melee 3, Occult 3, Pilot 3 (aircraft), Primal-Urge 3, Repair 3, Rituals 3, Stealth 3, Survival 4. Backgrounds: Allies 5, Mentor 3, Resources 2. Rank: 3 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 4/6/8 Gifts (1) Smell of Man, Snorkel horn, Balance, Find Water (2) Spirit of the Fish. (3) Clarity Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Opened Cairn, Moot Rite, Rite of the Fetish Fetishes: Lightning Shoes. Keahi was born the son of a native Hawaiian man and an Australian aborigine woman. He thus had an early education in the spirits of the Polynesian islands of fire and water. With his head filled with tales from both countries, Keahi soon became a master storyteller, writing short stories in school based on his people’s legends. His plans to become a fiction writer were put on hold when his parents took him to the dwell for his first change at the age of 18. Today Keahi is both the leader of the House of the Sun and also a famous writer who uses his job as an excuse to travel to the mainland “on business”. In the continental United States he had a small beach house near Long Beach California where he practices surfing and flying his private jet. In equine form Keahi is a bay brumby and in klatra he is an asbar.
Grace of the Isle of Grass As July afternoon temperatures pushed into the 90s, I decided to join in refuge bodysurfing and beach blanket lounging. The scene came complete with lifeguards, changing rooms, and “Parking Lot Full” signs. I thoroughly enjoyed the plunge. But exactly what all this had to do with wildlife was hard to tell. - Douglas H. Chadwick, National Geographic Location: Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia Level: 3 Gauntlet: 3 Type: Calm Bão Structure: Closed, Avarim only Totems: Fog History 14,400-acre Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is found on Assateague Island off the east coast of the United States. Assateague Island is a long narrow barrier beach that lies partly in Maryland and partly in Virginia. The island’s coastline is characterized by sandy beaches, behind which are extensive salt marshes and shallow lagoons. In the days of the conquistadors a ship carrying Moorish ponies sank off Assateague island and its load of horses swam to the islands where they lived in the wild for nearly a hundred years. When Europeans discovered the islands they quickly settled Assateague’s sister island, Chincoteague, and once a year the wild ponies were rounded up and driven across the small channel between the islands where a few of the foals were kept by the islanders while the rest were swum back to Assateague. Pony Penning Day became a local holiday, well loved by the islands inhabitants who left Assateague to the ponies and made homes only in Chincoteague. The Island became famous in the 1950’s due to the novel
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Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. Released as a film in 1961, this movie made Pony Penning Day famous and turned Chincoteague into a tourist trap. The increases interest in the horses caused the Government to step in and declare that the ponies a menace to the local wetlands, despite the fact that the ponies had been there for nearly 200 years without bothering the birds. As a result the natives were forced to sell their land to the government who promptly fenced off most of the ponies grazing land resulting in an increase in diseases and death by drowning because the horses could no longer escape from hurricanes by moving inland. Today a bridge actually reaches from Maryland all the way to Assateague Island and the 14,400-acre Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, once pristine wetlands, is now filled with fast-food outlets and curio shops. Once inside the reserve one finds oneself in a summer tourist throng of 1.3 million visitors who pour through little Chincoteague each year. The ponies are still present but in very small numbers and mostly in captivity. The Kossiacky The territory of the Isle of Grass is the entire island of Assateague. The Ashringa dislike the thousands of tourists who flock to her shores all looking to buy the wild ponies that are nearly extinct instead of buying perfectly tame members of the same breed that have been preserved on nearby Chincoteague. Even worse is the effect such traffic is having on the wetlands that the government was supposed to be saving by eliminating the horses. The heart of the dwell is located within a ring of stones and trees found on the islands far side. Umbrascape Within the Kossiacky the land is still unspoiled wetlands, sandy beaches surrounded by blue seas and with the land covered in pristine forest. The only exception is the NWR entrance where the trees are thick with the cobwebs of the Weaver. Bird, Horse and water spirits abound in this dwell.
Autumn Mane (Philippa Brown) Position: Grace leader and Tomesha Council member Breed: Equine Suhn: Hrunnsayai (Dreamspeaker) Bão: Avarim Nature/Demeanor: Visionary/Traditionalist Attributes: Strength 2 (4/6/5/5) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 2 (4/5/5/5) Charisma 4 Manipulation 3 (2/0/2/0) Appearance 3 (2/0/5/2) Perception 2 Intelligence 4 Wits 2 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Empathy 3, Expression 3, Primal Urge 4, Leadership 1, Enigmas 3, Medicine 3, Rituals 4. Backgrounds: Kinfolk 2, Past Life 2 Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 2/10/4 Gifts (1) Impala’s flight, Heightened senses, Leap of the kangaroo, Spirit speech. (2) Name the spirit. (3) Pulse of the Invisible. (4) Grasp of the beyond Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Opened Cairn, Moot Rite, Gathering for the Departed, Rite of Spirit Awakening, Rite of Becoming, Rite of the Opened Bridge, Rite of the Shrouded Glen. Fetishes: Blanket of peaceful Dreams, Key to the Umbra Autumn Mane was born a pony on Assateague Island in the 1970’s. Her Ashringa mother easily kept her from the pony penners simply by entering the Umbra with her on the day of the Holiday. She underwent her first change at a year old when, apart from her parent, she found herself being herded to auction. Frightened by the screaming cowboy she changed to Monoceros form and leaped full over horse and rider. The cowboy calmly tied his horse, took monoceros form himself, and catching up with the startled mare explained to her what she was. Thus Autumn mane was introduced to Avarim society and eventually became Dreamspeaker and lead mare of the dwell. She was horrified by the changes the government
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wrought to the islands in the 1980’s and now relies on her homid tribe members to deal with the government and hopes to eventually return the island to its native people and horses. In equine form Autumn Mane is a dark chestnut pony with a bit of Shetland blood. In klatra form she is an asbar.
The Grace of the Lost Temple “The greatest good of the greatest number applies to the number within the womb of time compared to which those now alive form but an insignificant fraction.” - Theodore Roosevelt Location: The Grand Canyon, Arizona Level: 3 Gauntlet: 3 Type: Primal Urge Bão Structure: Open, dominated by Nimbi and Karkadamm Totems: Bright Angel, an aspect of Ass History The Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural wonders in the world. It is an exceptionally deep, steep walled canyon in northwestern Arizona, excavated by the Colorado River and a full 277 miles long and 18 miles wide. The walls of the canyon plunge a full 5000 feet deep and expose rocks from every era in Earth’s history. The entire canyon is extremely beautiful, containing towering buttes, mesas, and valleys within its main gorge. Beloved by President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt it was one of the first national parks in America. Today Grand Canyon National Park receives about four million visitors a year. The Kossiacky Perhaps the greatest secret in America is the Egyptian Temple discovered in the Grand Canyon during the 1920’s. Newspapers at the time plastered the story all across America but today when anyone asks about the temple they are told that the story was a hoax. However it is an interesting fact that geographic maps of the canyon have areas marked with such enigmatic names as The Osiris Temple, the Isis Temple and The Buddha temple. In addition the part of the canyon where these names appear is the only area in the canyon where both visitors and government workers are not allowed to go. The official reason is that the cartographers just “liked Egyptian and Indian names” and that the area is filled with dangerous holes and cliffs. The real reason is that this area is the land of the Grace of the Hidden Temple, home to those Ashringa and faeries that make Arizona their home. The dwell is that of the Hidden Temple and its people insist that it remain hidden, visitors have their eyes covered until they enter the heart of the dwell, only then are they allowed to see where they are. Anyone who refuses to cover their eyes has their memories wiped by the faeries of the canyon. Umbrascape Within the Kossiacky the land appears to be covered in golden sand surrounded by towering sun-colored canyon walls to steep to climb. To the east there are temples to Osiris, Isis, and Buddha surrounding an Egyptian pyramid at the top of which is a shrine to Amon Ra, Egyptian god of the sun. To the west is a waterfall pouring down the canyon wall into the umbral Colorado river. The river is bordered with bizarre rock formations and trees filled with faerie and animal spirits. Often the spirit of Bright Angel himself, the wild donkey that once lived in the canyon and who was declared its spirit by Roosevelt himself can be seen splashing in the water.
Bishr Habesha (Joyful Mountain) Position: Grace leader and Tomesha Council member Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnsaf (Trickster)
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Bão: Nimbi Nature/Demeanor: Rebel/Gallant Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 4 (6/7/7/7) Charisma 5 Manipulation 5 (4/2/4/2) Appearance 2 (1/0/4/1) Perception 3 Intelligence 3 Wits 5 Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 4, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Drive 2, Empathy 3, Expression 5, Primal-Urge 4, Leadership 2, Politics 3. Backgrounds: Allies 3, Pure Breed 3 Rank: 3 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 1/5/8 Gifts (1) Eyes of Oberon, Mimic, Persuasion, Resist Toxin. (2) Glib Tongue. (3) Faerie kin. Rites: none. Fetishes: none. In the 1970’s many immigrants from Egypt came to America and Bishr Habesha parents were among them. Born in the 1980’s Bishr became a true class clown during childhood. One day during detention, he was looking at a magazine on the Grand Canyon, a place his father, Shadi often went on business. He pestered his father about it and to his delight dad took him with him on his next trip to the canyon. There the two hiked deep into the forbidden part of the park where Shadi announced that he and his son were Ashringa and introduced him to his new family. In equine form he looks like a pure blooded Somali wild Ass. In klatra shape he is a centaur.
Grace/Sept of the Lothinian Brotherhood “Icy Shasta…when I first caught sight of it over the braided folds of the Sacramento Valley I was fifty miles away, afoot, alone and weary. Yet all my blood turned to wine, and I have not been weary since.” - John Muir, 1886 Location: Mount Shasta, California Level: 3 Gauntlet: 3 Type: Enigmas Bão Structure: Closed, Karkadamm, Nhurim, Nimbi and Stargazer werewolves only Totems: Stag History Mount Shasta is located in northern California’s Cascade range. It is a dormant volcano 14,162 feet high with a scarred cone with lava flows and a snowcapped summit. Five glaciers encircle the mountain, the longest of which reaches 9,500 feet. From its western slope rises a secondary peak, about 12,000 ft high, called Shastina. Although Mount Shasta has not erupted in modern times, steam vents are still to be seen on its cindered slopes. While officially “discovered” in 1827 by the Canadian fur trader Peter Skene Ogden, Shasta had been a sacred site to the American Indians since the Ice Age. The metaphysical mysteries surrounding Mount Shasta are varied and many. It is reputably the home of a great many spirits. Some say that when Atlantis (or Lemuria or Mu) vanished beneath the waves the last of their mystics traveled to Mount Shasta where using magic crystals they can fade away into the world of the spirits. Another myth tells of the Yaktayvians, a race belonging to the Secret Commonwealth (Faeries) that use magical bells to manipulate the elements. Others claim that a secret brotherhood of Tibetans have tunnels dug into the mountain filled with their sacred libraries. Another myth tells of a giant deer, larger than an elk, with huge antlers that vanishes when hunters get to close. In addition the odd, disc-shaped clouds that surround the mountain have spawned rumors of UFOs and alien abductions.
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The New Age also ushered in the I AM cult established by Guy Ballard, who claimed to have climbed Mount Shasta where he met the Ascended Master St. Germain (claimed by many to have been a vampire), who gave Ballard the tenets of his new religion. The Kossiacky Mount Shasta is part of the Trinity National Forest, which contains some 38,000 acres. The town of Shasta at the base of the mountain, lies in a basin and is bordered by both the Klamath and Cascade mountain ranges. Temperatures are extreme and change suddenly without warning from roasting hot to freezing cold, indeed the biggest cause of fatalities in the mountain is hypothermia, altitude sickness and sunburn. The paranormal activities of the mountain are the result of a truly unique sacred spot within the mountain. Mount Shasta is both an Ashringa dwell and a Garou caern. The land was awakened by a pack of Tibetan Stargazers and a charm of kulan Karkadamm in the 1940s in order to have a sacred spot dedicated to preserving the ancient knowledge of the ancient Orient. The totem of the dwell /caern is Stag whose presence confounds many a hunter, and the faeries are indeed found on Mt. Shasta. Umbrascape The heart of the caern is near the mountain’s peak where a cave leads to a hidden valley in which the Stargazers have built dwellings similar to those in their homeland. The largest of these buildings is the great library, a cavern dug into the very walls of the mountain, filled with scrolls saved from the book burnings of China, sacred text from Tibet and India, and rare and potent fetishes. This librarian is protected by the Counte St. Germain, a vampire who joined the brotherhood to gain enlightenment and purge the wyrm from his soul. St. Germain spread the I AM religion to discourage people from climbing the sacred mountain and disturbing the dwell, an act sure to lead to their deaths either by freezing to death or by the fangs and hooves of the werebeasts.
Javas Ramanan (Swift as the Moon) Position: Grace leader and Tomesha Council member Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnya (Judge) Bão: Karkadamm Nature/Demeanor: Fanatic/Martyr Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 4 (6/7/7/7) Charisma 3 Manipulation 4 (3/1/3/1) Appearance 4 (3/0/6/3) Perception 2 Intelligence 5 Wits 3 Abilities: Alertness 3, Brawl 4, Dodge 3, Enigmas 3, Etiquette 2, Empathy 3, Expression 4, Intimidation 4, Linguistics 1, Leadership 3, Science 3, Streetwise 3. Backgrounds: Pure Breed 3, Resources 3 Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 6/3/9 Gifts (1) Resist Pain, Scent of the True Form, Speed of Thought, Truth of Gaea, Unicorn’s Favor. (2) Staredown. (3) Disquiet, Tongues. (4) Roll Over Rites: Rite of Wounding, Rite of the Winter Wolf, Rite of Ostracism. Fetishes: Pine Dagger (permanent not a talen, disrupts the form of a materialized bane) Swift as the Moon is the descendant of one of the founders of the dwell and the leader of the equine population of the mountain. Like all the Ashringa of Mt. Shasta he is a scholar who hopes to enlighten the world to Gaia’s pain and believes that purifying oneself must be done before you can purify others.
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However, he is a Karkadamm, and like all his kind believes that the best way to keep Gaia pure is to keep people out of it. To this point he travels the mountain pretending to be a Park Ranger, Space Brother, Policeman, or whatever will get the job done to discourage climbers. Those who get violent are treated to a whirlwind of martial arts and if that doesn’t work the chalico form will. While tolerant for a Karkadamm Javas will kill if he sees no other way. Javas is an stunning sight in monoceros form, a silvery white unicorn with a flowing mane, beard and tail and elegantly elongated ears. In equine form he is an albino kulan and in klatra he is an asbar.
Grace of the Rainbow Dragon Rain, however, does not go anywhere without clouds - Natasha Peterson, Sacred Sites Location: Rainbow Bridge, Utah Level: 2 Gauntlet: 4 Type: Fertility Bão Structure: Open, dominated by Killina and Nhurim Totems: Rainbow History Rainbow Bridge National Monument was formed proclaimed in 1910 to protect Rainbow Bridge. This bridge is a natural formation of salmon-pink sandstone that resembles the arc of a rainbow. The largest natural bridge in the world Rainbow Bridge is a full 309 feet high and spans 278 feet over Bridge Canyon. The bridge is also 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide. The bridge can be reached in only two ways, by boat or by trail. Most tourists take one of the boats and go on all day cruises that visit the bridge only briefly. The trails can be hiked or traveled by horseback and are 13 to 14 miles long. Hiking and horseback riding permits must be obtained from the Navaho Tribe. A former branch of the Colorado River created Rainbow Bridge through erosion.. The Native American Navaho people considered the bridge one of their most sacred spots but it became famous only after 1909, when Native American guides led a group of white explorers there. In the early days of western expansion Chinamen were brought in to work on the railroads. A few of these Chinese were Killina who soon joined up with the native Navaho Nhurim. These Nhurim had worshiped at the rainbow bridge for as long as their ancestors had been in the land and, as the Chinese beliefs were not much different the two bão soon joined together. The Kossiacky According to Navaho legend Rainbow Bridge is an actual bridge between the physical and spiritual realms. It is an actual doorway into the Umbra that leads to the home to the Rainbow god and his spirits. As Rainbow’s magical sky serpents were believed to bring rain to the Indian’s crops just like the dragons of China. It is no surprise that the Killina soon joined their Nhurim brothers in worshiping at this site. The dwell is located under the bridge. The Ashringa travel along one of the many trails and then plunge into the water and swim under the bridge until they come out the shore at other side into the Umbra. Umbrascape The Kossiacky is like a sight out of a book on fairy tales, the stone bridge is replaced by a huge rainbow spanning the lake and sprays of water cause smaller rainbows to form near the base. Faerie and dragon spirits of all colors and sized sprawl about on the surrounding canyon walls and the occasional thunderbird or stormcrow is also seen.
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Hu-lin Marrim (Spotted Tiger) Position: Grace leader and Tomesha Council member Breed: Homid Suhn: Hrunnhe (Caretaker) Bão: Killina Nature/Demeanor: Traditionalists/Nurturer Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/6) Dexterity 3 (4/5/6/5) Stamina 3 (5/6/6/6) Charisma 4 Manipulation 5 (4/2/4/2) Appearance 3 (2/0/5/2) Perception 2 Intelligence 3 Wits 4 Abilities: Alertness 3, Brawl 3, Dodge 2, Enigmas 2, Intimidation 3,Investigation 2, Leadership 4, Linguistics 1, Melee 3, Politics 3, Rituals 3, Science 4, Streetwise 4, Subterfuge 3. Backgrounds: Allies 4, Contacts 4, Resources 3 Merits/Flaws: Horse of a different color Rank: 4 Rage/Gnosis/Willpower: 3/4/8 Gifts (1) Blissful Ignorance, Mother’s Touch, Persuasion, Smell of Man. (2) Calm. (3) Dazzle. (4) Unicorn’s grace. Rites: Rite of Talisman dedication, Rite of the Opened Caern, Gathering for the Departed, Fertility Rite, Rite of the Winter Wolf. Fetishes: Clear Water, Dream trap, Tears of Gaea. Born to an old Killina family, Hu-lin grew up knowing that she might one day join the horse people who protected the land. She showed all the signs of being Ashringa and when Hu-lin had her first change many in the dwell thought that it was an omen or blessing from the dwell spirit for her fur in monoceros form was all the colors of the rainbow. Her equine and klatra forms are less flashy, a plain yellow dun Takhi or centaur. Today Hu-lin is the lead mare of the grace and makes sure that the traditions of both Navaho and China are maintained – no radios and fast food in her dwell, its sacred drums and maize all the way.
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HORSES OF THE WIND: THE WILD KINFOLK
In the Beginning there was a wild horse, and that horse was man… -Ancient Babylonian Myth. Very little has been written on wild horses and most people simply assume that they are similar to domestic steeds. In reality, however, wild equines are as different from tame horses as wolves are from dogs. As in wolves, wild horses live in extended family groups that have a strict pecking order. The herd is led by a lead mare and stallion. The stallion is dominant in most situations for it is his job to scout ahead to find good pasture, keep the herd safe from predators, and locate safe water and places to rest. The lead mare on the other hand keeps order in the herd and decides the herd’s movement, leading the band as it moves in single file in order of rank as the stallion brings up the rear. Next come the mature mares and their young (foals have the same rank as their mother until they are weaned) in order of age. Unlike wolves, horse herds are bound together by bonds of friendship as well as family relationships. To cement herd bonds two horses stand side by side, head to tail, and groom each others head and back. As horses cannot reach this area of their bodies by themselves they must learn to trust the close presence of another horse to keep themselves clean. All herd members will groom other herd members and will not groom strangers. Interestingly, a horse herd may have non-equine members. Many wild horses have herds that include various antelopes, small wild cats, or even ostriches that repay the herd with using their superior senses to detect predators. Even humans may be adopted into a horse herd, if a man stands in front of a horse and reaches out to scratch its neck and the horse reaches out ant begins to groom the man’s shoulder than that
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man is considered a member of the herd. No doubt this is how the first horses became “tame” enough to trust man. Rank order is maintained by pantomime aggression, instead of kicking another horse the lead mare may simply lift a hoof or instead of biting she may simply snarl. Other facial expressions include smiling (ears up and mouth partially open without showing the teeth) and a variety of angry expressions ranging from a closed mouth frown (with the ears back) to a true snarl with the ears back and the teeth showing. The submissive members of the herd show their status by lowering their head and tail and clacking their teeth. Stallions often show a gesture called snaking that looks ferocious (the male lowers his head and snakes it forward while snarling) but is really a signal for the herd to move because the stallion senses danger. The mares and their young remain united whether or not the stallion is present. If he dies or leaves the herd for any reason the normal family existence continues until another male adopts the herd. Sometimes (especially during the mating season, which is February to March in the northern hemisphere) a displaced young stallion may attempt to take a herd away from another stallion by force. If the old stallion is defeated, the herd accepts the new male without any disturbance to the rank relationships (however individual mares have been known to flee back to their chosen stallion when they have the chance). Unlike many mammals the new male does not kill the young of the previous male but those young stallions that are old enough to leave their mother may go with their father when he leaves the herd. It is commonly believed that stallions drive off or kill their young colts while the young mares stay in the herd but this is a falsehood. In reality the young stallions leave their family groups when they are around three years old, not because they are driven off (indeed they may be on very good terms with their father), but because they wish to start a life of their own. Groups of adolescent males form bachelor herds of around fifteen animals that have no apparent rank order. This group of friends eventually breaks up as members meet available fillies or encounter an unrelated group of mares and form their own herd. The young female leaves the family group at an earlier age than her brother, often during her first heat when she is only fifteen months old. Fillies are seldom fertile this first season but the sight and smell of these young mares is especially attractive to young bachelor males. Females who stay with their families during this time will find their herd pestered by hoards of lustful teenage males who may utterly exhaust the family stallion as he attempts to chase them away from his daughter. Eventually she will leave with one of her suitors (or her herd will actually take her to a group of bachelors so she can pick a young one) and send a year or so traveling from one herd to another until she finally settles down with a male. If the mare’s chosen stallion already has a family than she becomes a member of his harem, if he is a bachelor than she becomes the lead mare of a new herd. Once pregnant all wild equines carry their young for one full year and the newborn is able to walk within hours of being born. Of course the lifestyle described above differs somewhat according to species. The wild asses and Grevy’s zebra are relatively solitary species that live in small groups and do not migrate when food becomes scarce. Instead the males and females separate into same sex herds that occupies different areas of the territory until food is plentiful again. During the mating season these species also form leks in which the males mark out an area with dung and urine and any female who wishes to mate with him simply enters his territory. The African wild ass differs in that the couples engages in ritual combat, a female not choosing a male that she can defeat in battle. Some herds have to deal with interference by man. In this case there is a yearly roundup of the horses and many of the mares and foals are sold at auction while almost all the males are either killed or gelded. The remaining females are set free with only those few males that the government decides are worth breeding. Sometimes the males released are not even of the same breed but are domestic stallions that the men hope will contaminate the bloodline. This “management” often “improves the breed” (I.e. makes the horses look more like domestic animals) but makes the horses less fit to survive in the wild. Most of the wild equines treated in this fashion are the wild ponies of Europe and America, Mustangs and Brumbies Most people think horses have limited vocalizations but equines do more than just neigh. The calls of equines fall into three basic types: the whinny, the nicker, and the blow. These sounds correspond in
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function respectively to the howl, whine, and barking of wolves. The whinny (a sound that varies from the neigh of true horses to the braying of the asses and the barking of the zebras) is a low pitched sound that carries for several miles and is used to communicate over a long distances, to call another member of the herd, to call other herds (stallions will often call to one another so that they will not intrude on each others territory) and to welcome back missing herd mates. The nicker is a low vibrating sound used by mothers to call their foals and as a submissive call between adults. The blow is an unusual sound that is made by exhaling sharply through the nose. In pitch and loudness this call is exactly like a dog’s bark and is used when the horse senses something unusual, to get the attention of the herd, or to signal a neutral state of mind without the aggression of a scream (the horse equivalent of a growl) or the submission of a nicker. Horses have excellent senses of hearing and smell. They also have the largest eyes of any land mammal and the eyes are placed on the sides of the head, an arrangement that allows the horse to see in a wider arc than man. In horses the only blind spot is directly behind the animal. Unfortunately this eye placement allows for less depth perception than the eyesight of men or wolves. In addition all equines are far sighted and have trouble focusing on things that are close up through their distance vision is superb. Horses do see in color but have trouble distinguishing between yellows and greens. Their night vision is equivalent to that of a wolf. All together the vision of horses is better than that of rats so there is no more need for special vision rules for Ashringa in equine form than there is for Rat-kin in rodent form so none are given in these rules. Horses are also among the most intelligent of animals and come out as number six on animal IQ tests. In these tests the order of the most to least intelligent are humans, apes, dolphins, elephants, wolves, horses, pigs, goats, cattle, deer, kangaroos, sheep and rats. Donkeys, mules, and onagers are even more intelligent than true horses so much so that one scientist declared that “the dumbest jackass on earth is a genius compared to the smartest horse that ever lived.” the IQ of wild equines has never been studied but it is likely that it is closer to the donkey level than that of the pampered domestic horse much as wolves score higher on IQ tests than domestic dogs. Even so domestic horses have learned how to open their stable doors, turn on lights, and even how to line dance to western country music!
The Kinfolk of the Arweharis “They say that no man dared to ride him and he remained forever the spirit of the valley, saddled only by the sun, moon, stars, and shadow - Abjer, the horse of Antar.” - “The Horse of Antar”, an African myth more than 1500 years old. Of all the Ashringa the Arweharis were the least affected by the ravages of the other shape shifters. The only equine kin of the Arweharis known outside of Africa was Grevy’s zebra which was captured for use in the gladiator arenas of the Romans. With the collapse of the Roman Empire the zebra became regulated to myth, a monstrous beast half horse half tiger that no serious European believed in. When the Dutch settlers of South Africa rediscovered the zebra they soon began to ruthlessly slaughter the animals in order to make their hides into shoes, vegetable sacks, and the connecting bands for machinery. By 1883 two types of zebra were extinct and the rest severely endangered. Today three zebra species are still endangered but the three varieties of plains zebra are the most numerous wild horses in the world, both in the wild and in zoos.
Mountain Zebra (Equus [Hippotigris] zebra) The first zebra to be discovered by Europeans was called the Berkwagga, Wildepaard, or Dauw by the Native Africans. It was the smallest zebra at only 12 hands high, seven feet long and 500 lbs. In appearance it resembles a short eared donkey with a dewlap of skin hanging from its throat. There are two distinct types of Mountain Zebra, The Cape (E. zebra zebra) inhabits Namibia and the west coast of South Africa and the Hartmann’s (E. zebra hartimannae) inhabits central South Africa. The Cape variety is white with a
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brownish black muzzle and stripes of the same color extending all the way to the hooves. Hartmann’s is slightly larger (571 lbs.) and appears whiter due to the fact that its stripes are much narrower than the Cape subspecies. Mountain zebras were once very common but by 1850 the Cape variety was almost exterminated. The only survivors were a few herds that lived on land owned by Boer farmers. In 1937 one of these farms was bought by the South African government and declared to be Mountain Zebra National Park. By that time only six animals (five stallions and a mare) inhabited the area. By 1950 this number had dropped to two so a neighboring farmer named J. K. Lombaard, donated his herd of five stallions and six mares. In 1964 the herd had grown to 25 and the “Doornhoek” herd of 30 was added to the park. Today there are still only 600 Cape zebras throughout the world. Hartmann’s Mountain zebra did much better but even it has dropped from a high of 50,000 animals in 1956 to only 5,000-8,000 today. Grevy’s Zebra (Equus [Dolichohippus] grevyi In its native Africa this species is known as the Fer’o, N’dorobo, or Kangani. It is the largest zebra at up to nine feet long, 14-15 hands tall at the shoulder, and weighing 780-950 lbs. In appearance Grevy’s zebra is white with many narrow stripes that reach down to the hooves but do not touch the belly. The muzzle is dark and the ears are large and rounded. This is a desert species that inhabits the arid grasslands of Ethiopia and Sudan. Never numerous, the fencing in of waterholes for use by domestic cattle and horses has placed Grevy’s zebra on the endangered species list. Common Plains Zebra (Equus [Hippotigris] quagga) The most abundant of all zebras is the Common Plains Zebra, it comes in three surviving races and two that are provisionally extinct. The two extinct forms are the quagga (E. q. quagga) and the bontiquagga (E.q. burchelli). The quagga inhabited most of South Africa and had a brown head and body, white legs and tail and black stripes on its head, neck and shoulders. Sometimes the stripes would persist as appaloosa spots on the rump but most were almost solid brown. The bontiquagga of South Africa’s East coast, in contrast, was almost pure white with pale stripes only on its head, neck and upper back. Both were exterminated by over hunting and both were selected by the South African Museum’s Quagga Project in 1988 to be recreated by selectively breeding Chapman’s zebras with the proper markings. In November 1991 the fist foal displaying proper quagga coloration was born. The project continues with assistance from cloning and it is hoped that soon all zebra species will once again roam Africa’s savannahs. Grant’s (or Böhm’s) Zebra (Equus quagga granti)
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Grant’s zebra is the most common of all zebras. Its range extends from southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, south into Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. This is the zebra of Tsavo National Park and the Ngorongoro crater. In appearance it is pony like and quite variable in color. Most are white with wide black stripes that encircle the belly and reach to the hooves but a few are black with white stripes, white with brown stripes, or even black with white spots like a snowflake appaloosa!
Selou’s Zebra (Equus quagga selousi) Selou’s zebra resembles Grant’s subspecies but the stripes are narrower, more numerous and sometimes do not cover the belly. Faint brownish shadow stripes may mark the hindquarters. Sometimes mistaken for Burchell’s zebra (E.q. burchelli) in websites, Selou’s Zebra ranges from the Lower Zambezi River south to the Limpopo River in Mozambique, eastern Zambia and Malawi. Chapman’s Zebra (Equus quagga chapmanni) Chapman’s zebra ranges from Benguela in Angola, through Damaraland in south West Africa and east into the Transvaal and Zululand provinces of South Africa. It is another variable race with brownish black stripes on a cream background. Most have numerous shadow stripes throughout their coats and stripes do not usually extend to the hooves. A few are very pale with cream stripes on a white background or with no stripes on the belly.
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The Kinfolk of the Avarim “An abundance of myths link the little horse with the unicorn. Perhaps, as some say, the pony is really the unicorn minus the horn.” - Gerald and Loretta Hausman, “The Mythology of Horses”. The dun and white tarpan had roamed Europe since the ice age and was held sacred by the native tribes. In Celtic myth they were the sacred animals of Rhiannon, the Earth Mother, and a “were-tarpan” was said to have founded the royal line of Russia. The commoners deliberately staked their pony mares in the open in the hope that they would have colts sired by their wild relatives as the results were prized for their stamina and intelligence. This lasted until the sixteenth century when Henry the VIII, king of England passed a law that effectively allowed only the nobility to own horses. This was the Bill for the Breeding of Horses that called for the extermination of any horse less than 14 hands in height. As a result in England, and to a lesser extent Europe, all ponies (including all wild horses) were viciously hunted to near extinction. It was during this period of extermination that ponies became associated with the little people. It was claimed that the reason there are still ponies in Ireland is because the Faeries took them Underhill until the King’s law was changed. Unfortunately the law was not repealed until the nineteenth century and by then the last pureblooded tarpan had become extinct. Today the Avarim find equine breeding stock in the feral ponies of Europe and North America and in the hybrid tarpans found in wildlife parks and zoos. In most of these horses a yearly roundup in which the foals are sold at auction is performed, an action that means that that most Equine Avarim make their first change in captivity. Steppe Tarpan (Equus [Equus] ferus gmelini) The Steppe Tarpan is the original wild horse of Europe and is the horse found in the famous ice age cave paintings of France. Until the 16th Century the steppe tarpan was a major game animal, hunted for meat and sport. At this time the value of ponies plummeted in favor of hot blooded race horses and horses that could carry heavy armor. As tarpans were notorious for killing domestic stallions the verdict was death to the wild horse. In 1879 the last wild steppe tarpan was killed in a desperate attempt to avoid capture and the last tarpan on earth died only eight years later in the Munich Zoo. The Polish government in a desperate attempt to preserve the species collected a number of ponies with tarpan blood and set them loose in the forest reserves of Bialowlieza and Popieleno. Many years later several takhi (Przewalski’s horses) were released in the reserves to try to overwhelm the last of the domestic blood. Today experts argue over whether the species was preserved or restored but its appearance suggests that it is as pure as its Takhi relative. It is a small equine (6 ½ feet long, 13 hands tall, and weighing 750 lbs.) with a lighter build than the takhi and with a more flowing mane. In the summer it is a blue grey (grulla) color fading to snow white in the winter. Note that the Steppe tarpan is not the only subspecies of tarpan. Tarpans once came in a forest variety (E.f. silvestris) that gave rise to the domestic cart horse and a desert species called the plateau tarpan (E. f. ferus)
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which gave rise to most the Arabian and Akhal-teke. However both of these types had died out by Roman times. Caspian Pony (Equus [Equus] caballus aquilius) This is a form of the domestic horse descended from the Plateau tarpan (E. caballus ferus ferus) and by 3000 BC it was tamed for use by the Egyptian charioteers. In time it was bred for larger size and crossed with other tarpan types to create the Arabian and other “warm blooded” horse breeds and the original strain was believed to have died out. In 1965 a few herds of this variety were discovered running wild in the Elburtz Mountains near the Caspian Sea. Captured Caspian ponies were soon redomesticated and can now be found as a riding horse worldwide. Caspian ponies resemble miniature Arabian horses only 9-12 hands tall. In color they are gray, brown, bay, or chestnut. White markings on the head and legs are rare. European Feral Ponies (Equus [Equus] caballus celticus) European feral ponies these are the descendants of domestic ponies that returned to the wild during the times of Henry VIII. These ponies can be found in semi-wild herds that are rounded up once a year by the local government and sold at auction. Those stallions considered fit to breed are released while the rest are sold and gelded. Many of these ponies have since become established breeds that can be found worldwide. European Breeds: Germany is home to two breeds, the Senner which is almost extinct (or is extinct according to some authorities) which inhabits the forest of Teutoberger Wald, and the Dulmen which now numbers less than 100 animals and is found in the Meerfelder Bruch reserve in Westphalia, which are 12 hands tall and black, brown, or dun in color. Another breed can be found in the forest of Hojsta on Sweden’s Gotland Island. The Gotland is common in captivity and is 12-13 hands high and dun, black, bay, chestnut, gray, or palomino in color. France has three breeds of feral pony. The Basque region has the Pottock which resembles a large with whiskers on its upper lip which protect its nose from the thorny plants it eats and comes in black, brown, bay, chestnut and pinto. The Camarguais (gray, bay, or brown) and the Merens (which is always black in color) are slightly larger (13-14 hands high) and are especially loved by the Gypsy peoples. Brittish Breeds: There are two wild ponies remaining in Britain. These are the Welsh and new Forest ponies. The last wild Welsh ponies can be found in the mountains of Wales where several Arabian horses released into the area have made it a near twin of the Caspian. Another pony is found only in the New Forest preserve in England. These New Forest ponies are 12-14 hands tall and come in all equine colors except pinto and tyger. American Feral Ponies (Equus [Equus] caballus caballus )
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The New World contains two populations of wild ponies, one in Canada and one in America. They are basically hybrids of the ibericus, aqilus and celticus subspecies created when various domestic breeds turned feral. The Canadian breed is the Sable Island pony. This 14 hands tall tarpan like pony is said to be descended from French ponies that were abandoned on the tiny treeless Island in the eighteenth century. There are currently only 300 Sable Island ponies in the world and they are gray, black, brown, bay, or dark chestnut in color. More famous is the Chincoteague pony of the United States. These ponies are 12 hands tall and are found only on Assateague Island off West Virginia. According to legend they are the descendants of Caspian ponies that escaped from a Moorish ship that sank near the Island during the early days of American exploration. In colonial times Shetland ponies were released onto the island which caused the native horses to diminish in size, changed the color to pinto, and made the breed more massive in build. In the early 20th century the release of several Welsh ponies onto Assateague Island restored some of the original pony’s quality. For decades the ponies were rounded up by the volunteer fire department of Chincoteague Island on the last Thursday and Friday in July. The horses were then swum across the narrow channel between the two islands where the foals were sold at auction. Recently the American government has fenced off the ponies from most of Assateague island claiming that the ponies harm the wetlands. This move that has angered the people of Chincoteague who point out that the ponies have lived on the island for centuries without affecting the wetlands and that the fence was actually built to keep the ponies from their main grazing land and shelter from storms. This view seems to be correct for hurricanes have devastated the herds since the fence was built making “pony penning day” a thing of the past.
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The Kinfolk of the Karkadamm A man said to a wild ass one day “Let me ride you and I will feed you”, whereupon the ass replied, “Keep your fodder and may you never ride me!” - from “The Book of Abiquar,” written in the fifth century. The wild asses of Arabia are the kinfolk of the Karkadamm. These creatures (often called demi-asses) resemble mules but are a group of species unto themselves. Demi-asses once roamed the entire northern hemisphere before the end of the ice age restricted them to Asia. In the days of the Sumerians onagers and their kin were captured to pull chariots but were so vicious they had to be controlled with a nose ring. Once the donkey was tamed anyone who still owned a demi-ass was said to be “half assed” because onagers were half again harder to control then even the wildest donkey. Once returned to the wild the demi-asses soon became favored game for royal hunts due to their great speed, tender meat, and their unique ankle bones which were used to make dice. This hunting was so extreme that two subspecies quickly became extinct and most of the rest are severely endangered. Luckily for the proud Karkadamm their animal kin are well represented in many wild animal parks and zoos worldwide. Onager (Equus [Assinus] hemionus onager) The onager subspecies of demi-ass inhabits western Arabia in the form of two races. The true Onager (E. h. o. onager) can be found in North West Persia, Kasbin, Western Pakistan, and Iran. It is 10-12 hands high, 6 ½ feet long, and weigh up to 640 lbs. In color the true Onager is sandy yellow with a white belly and muzzle. Its mane, tail and dorsal stripe is brown. The Khur (E. h. o. khur) is closely related to the onager and differs in having white lower legs and ranging from South Pakistan to West India. Severely endangered there are less then a thousand khurs and no more than 400 true onagers left on Earth. Kulan (Equus [Assinus] hemionus kulan kulan) The Kulan (and its extinct kin the Anatolian ass [E. h. kulan anatoliensis] which died out in Roman times and the Syrian ass [E. h. kulan hemippus] who died out in 1930) are sometimes classed as Onagers and sometimes as Dzigettais and sometimes as their own subspecies by scientists. The living race once roamed from Iran to Mongolia but today it is restricted to Turkistan and North West Afghanistan. It is the same size and color as the Onager except that the legs are almost entirely white. The kulan is the fastest equine on earth and is able to run at over 40 mph. today there are less than 2000 kulans in the world.
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Dzigettai (Equus [Assinus] hemionus hemionus) The Dzigettai are better known in the West as the ghorkhur and it is a large demi-ass (13 hands tall) from Mongolia’s Gobi desert and the plains of east Kazakhstan, Manchuria, Balkash, and Kansu. It resembles a kulan but differs in having the white on the belly extending to the rump and a darker dorsal stripe, mane and tail. There are less than 300 of these animals in the world. Kiang (Equus [Asinus] kiang) The kiang was long classified as a subspecies of hemionus but its behavior is so different that it is now placed in its own species. The main difference between the kiang and the other demi-asses is the fact that kiangs live in large herds and love to swim while the other demi-asses are solitary and will refuse to even step in water. It resembles a deep reddish gold dzigettai and is found in Northern and Eastern India and is particularly common in Tibet. The kiang is the only demi-ass that is not in danger of extinction.
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The Kinfolk of the Killina The unicorn is to come in the shape of an incomparable man, a revealer of mysteries, supernatural and divine, and a great lover of mankind. - N. McCloud, “An Epitome of the Ancient History of Japan”. Przewalski’s horse was known for centuries as the Takhi or “good luck horse” in its native lands of Mongolia and China but expanding agriculture and hunting soon made the horse almost extinct. Discovered by science only in 1881 it was deemed to be almost identical to the steppe tarpan drawn in the cave paintings of Eastern Europe and moves were quickly made to preserve these horses from the wars that were killing off so much of China’s wildlife at the time. The Duke of Bedford, a member of the Zoological Society of London, arranged for the capture of several takhi for his organization but of the 50 takhi captured only 13 lived to reach England. The surviving horses were bred to domestic Mongolian ponies to prevent inbreeding and their descendants are now found in zoos worldwide. This was fortunate for by 1969 it had become extinct in the wild. There are now 200 animals in zoos and wildlife parks and about 50 were released into the Takin Shara Nuru (“mountains of the yellow horses“) in Mongolia in 1990. Takhi (Equus [Equus] ferus przwalskii przwalskii) the Asiatic wild horse stands 12-14 hands tall, is 6-8 feet long and weighs up to 767 lbs. In color it is yellow, ranging from cream to deep golden brown with a dark brown to black mane and tail and a white muzzle. The lower legs are either the same color as the mane or marked with zebra stripes. In the winter the coat becomes longer and greyer in color and both sexes develop a goat-like beard. The Takhi shares with the American Curly the unusual trait of shedding their entire mane and tail when molting instead of simply shedding individual hairs all year like other horses. Yonaguni (Equus [Equus] caballus ibericus) The yonaguni is a pony of the Mongolian type that runs wild in two herds on Okinawa Island in Japan. Like most feral ponies the Yonaguni is rounded up yearly for vaccinations and to have the “excess” foals auctioned off. These tiny (11 hands tall) ponies are used as kinfolk by both the Nabrima and those few Killina who still live in Japan.
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The Kinfolk of the Nabrima One by one in the moonlight there, Neighing far off on the haunted air, The unicorns come down to the sea. - Corbin Aiken, “Evening Song”. Many wild ponies of the tarpan type once inhabited Indonesia but as man colonized these islands the native horses were captured and crossbred with domestic stock. The surviving Nabrima are now stuck with only three kinfolk, each one at the extreme north or south and east of the bão’s range. The kinfolk to the north are the Yonaguni which is shared with the Killina (see above) while the kinfolk to the south are the Australian Brumby. Those Nabrima who live on the Hawaiian Islands breed with the brumby-like feral ponies that can be found in the jungles there, Outside Indonesia and Australia most Nabrima are usually of human stock though it is possible for a few kinfolk horses to be kept in captivity. Brumby and Hawaiian Pony (Equus [Equus] caballus caballus) The brumby is the descendant of many domestic horse breeds, including ponies and draft horses, which were abandoned in the outback by the early settlers of Australia. These horses were allowed to run wild and eventually reverted to a wild type much like the American mustang. Unlike the Mustang however the brumby has become so wild that it is practically untamable. In size the Brumby ranges from 13 to 15 hands high and comes in all equine colors. In the 1960’s the Australian government declared war on the brumby, claiming that they ate grass meant for sheep, and began to shoot at them from trucks and helicopters. Today the brumby is very rare and inhabits only the most remote areas of the outback. Similar to the brumby is the Hawaiian feral pony, which is managed much like the mustangs on the mainland of the United States. These ponies are in fact mustangs abandoned by cowboys when the Sandwich Islands (as Hawaii used to be known) were used primarily to herd cattle. They differ from the mustang of the mainland by being somewhat smaller in size as is normal for an island population of animals.
The Kinfolk of the Nhurim “The mustang doesn’t just belong to Nevada. He is a symbol of freedom to all. He is our American heritage, as meaningful as the battlefield at Yorktown or the White Church at Lexington. Even more so, because he is a living symbol!” - Wild Horse Annie during her famous trial to illegalize mustanging. The horse evolved in North America and many species once roamed the New World including Grant’s zebras, kiangs, and donkeys. By the end of the last ice age, however, only one species remained. This was the Arctic Tarpan. It was similar to the Takhi of China except that it had a thick wooly coat to protect it from the arctic snow and tended to be palomino in color. When man fist came to the New World these horses were hunted like deer and, as the ice age waned and the environment warmed, the horses became rarer and moved into the relatively cooler mountains. Though thought to have died out at the end of the Pleistocene some evidence indicates that a few survived by retreating to the isolated desert mountains of California and Nevada.
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In the early 1500’s the first Spaniards landed on the east coast of Mexico and, as the eastern Indian tribes knew nothing of horses, they treated the Spanish horses as supernatural beasts. By the time the first Europeans traveled to the west it had become “a fact” that America had no wild horses so any seen by the explorers “had to be escaped domestic steeds”. Thus the myth that all of America’s horses died out over 12,000 years age became part of the history books despite the insistence of the Indians of Nevada and California that there were “horses before there were horses” and the presence of American cave drawings and sculptures in that area of horses that date from before the coming of the Spanish! Today there is conflict between the government, which wants to exterminate the horse (which it regards as a non-native species) from America’s national parks, and the average citizen who sees the mustang as the very symbol of the west. The latter recently received confirmation of their view in 1993 when miners working in Alaska dug up a mummified horse. Analysis showed that it was over 26,000 years old but when genetic tests were done this supposed new species (the remains were dubbed Equus lambi) turned out to be genetically identical to the living mustang! The fight to change the status of the American horse from “feral pest” to an endangered species is currently being fought by the National Mustang Association and the Nhurim are in the thick of the battle. Mustang (Equus [Equus] caballus) The mustang is the descendant of the Andalusian and Barb breeds of domestic horse (both of subspecies ibericus), and Arabian (subspecies aqilus) horses that were stolen from the Spanish by the Apache Indians in 1598. As time went on the “elk dog” (as the Indians called it) soon became indispensable to the lives of the plains Indians, a fact that soon got it the enmity of the new American Government. At fist new settlers were simply encouraged to fence mustangs off from grazing land and watering holes. Soon the farmers were told to shoot the horses because they supposedly competed with domestic cattle for grass, fouled watering holes (in reality horses dig watering holes which benefit’s the local wildlife), and stole domestic mares. Cowboys called “mustangers” captured the horses and sold them for $10.00 each to the British for use in the Boer War in the 1890’s. By 1925 the U.S. government decided to expand cattle ranching in the west. As an excuse to remove the mustang from public land once and for all the government claimed there were now too many mustangs. In actuality the herds had already dropped from a high of over two million animals to less than a million. They passed a law that allowed any unbranded horse to be sold by anyone who captured it. These horses were then sold for $2.00-$3.00 each to pet food plants. In 1934 congress demoted the wild horse from “wildlife” to “feral pest” and gave permission for them to be rounded up out of the national parks and sold for profit. By the end of the 1950’s more then 100,000 mustangs in Nevada alone were killed to make chicken feed. In 1959 Mrs. Velma C. Johnston, better known as Wild Horse Annie, was driving along a country road when she saw a truck leaking blood and gore. Curious she followed the truck to a slaughter house and to her horror saw that the truck was full of mustangs. The wheelchair bound young woman disfigured by polio filmed the atrocities committed by the mustangers. She filmed them as they chased their quarry in helicopters while shooting at them to make them run over sharp rocks until their hooves were nothing but bloody stumps until they finally chased them over cliffs to break their legs. The horses were then tied up with barbed wire and piled atop one another in the trucks which then carted them away to the rendering plants. Though ridiculed by politicians (who nicknamed the woman “Horse-Faced Annie”) the public was outraged by this misuse of tax dollars and forced the passing of the Wild Horse Act which prohibited the hunting of mustangs with airplanes and automobiles. Despite the Wild Horse Act the hunting continued for the Act did not prevent mustang hunting on horseback or the selling of branded horses on public land. During this time many mustangs were captured, branded, and sold to slaughter houses in order to bypass the law. The poaching finally resulted in a massive public protest that resulted in the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act that made it a crime to capture, brand or kill a wild horse or burro.
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By now there were less than 10,000 mustangs alive. Nevertheless a mere ten years later in 1981 the government claimed there were now 55,000 mustangs and began rounding them up and putting them up for adoption. In 1990 it was revealed that the adoption program was a sham and that most of the horses were sold to government agents who then sold the mustangs to slaughter houses. Public outrage was the result but the practice continues. Today there are an estimated 45,000 mustangs but most of these specimens have been bred on farms and ranches for generations as cow or rodeo ponies and most contain the blood of domestic breeds. The true wild population teeters at only a few thousand and only the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Refuge in Montana and the Owyhee Desert in Nevada have sizable herds. Mustangs come in all horse colors and average 15 hands high. American Curly (Equus [Equus] ferus przwalskii arcticus) The arctic tarpan was long believed extinct when a rancher named Peter Damele rounded up three odd looking animals among a herd of mustangs in 1898. The new horses were much smaller than a mustang with oriental eyes, perfectly round hooves, a double mane and the curly coat of a sheep. Since the Damele family had a Ripley’s believe it or not cartoon claiming that the Russian Bashkirsky horse had curly hair the Damele’s simply assumed that the ponies were members of that breed. Later they would learn that such horses had been reported from America as long ago as 1700 and the local Indians had always known of the horses. By 1971 only 20 of these horses were known to exist and the Damele family crossed these last known Arctic tarpans with mustangs, Morgan, and Quarter horses. Today the breed has crossbred so extensively with the mustang that it is technically extinct as a true subspecies. In captivity however the modern hybrid American Bashkir Curly numbers 2,500 members. Curlys stand 14-15 hands tall and weigh 800 to 1,100 pounds. They share with the takhi the unusual feature of having a mane and tail that is completely shed each year. The mane is always double and the coat comes in all colors including pinto and tyger. The original coat color of palomino in the summer and pure white in the winter is still common even in hybrid animals. The mane and tail is long and falls in kinky waves while the body fur varies from only slightly wavy in the summer to long ringlets in the winter. Though thought to be extinct it is possible that a few of this subspecies may survive in the remote mountains of California and Nevada.
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The Kinfolk of the Nimbi All of a sudden that stone gave a squeal and jumped right in the air, and you may be sure that the old woman jumped too. But before she had the chance to run, the stone let down four lanky legs and threw out two long ears and waved a great long tail. Then away it went, squealing and laughing like a naughty boy. - The Hedley Kow”, an ancient English folktale. The Nimbi’s animal kin is the African wild ass and the feral donkeys (Equus [Assinus] assinus) of the world. While today the ass is associated with stubbornness and stupidity in ancient times the gray-horse was the very symbol of cleverness, trickery, and the faeries. It was the playful Hedley Kow which changed its shape to trick the greedy, it was Bottom in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Nights Dream, and it was Bright Angel the very spirit of the Grand Canyon. The wild ass originally came in four types of which three are considered extinct. The Northern Ass (E. a. hydruntinus) inhabited the entire northern hemisphere from Europe to California. It became extinct at the end of the ice age and is known only from fossils. The Algerian (E. a. atlantics) inhabited the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco. It was exterminated in Roman times but it gave rise first to the domestic donkey at least 6,000 years ago. The Nubian Ass (E. a. africanus) inhabited Egypt and the Sudan until the late 1980’s. Today it can be found only on the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean where the last known survivors escaped from a zoo and hybridized with escaped feral donkeys. Somali Wild Ass (Equus assinus somaliensis) This subspecies of donkey was so different from its dungray relatives that it was originally classified as a separate species. It is the smallest of all wild horses at only 8-10 hands high, 6 ½ feet long and weighing up to 600 pounds. In color it is slate or rose, often with a bluish cast with a white underside and muzzle and with zebra stripes on the legs. It lacks the dorsal stripe and shoulder cross found in all other donkeys. The Somali originally inhabited Somalia and Ethiopia but due to over hunting, the fencing off of watering holes and chasing the animals for sport the population has been reduced to only a few hundred found in the deserts of the Sudan. Burro (Equus [Assinus] assinus assinus) The North American burro is descended from domestic donkeys that were released by prospectors and miners during the days of California’s Gold Rush. Its history is similar to that of the mustang including the change in its status from wildlife to feral foreign species and the removal of all wild burros from public land. Even the statue of Bright Angel was torn down from its place in the Grand Canyon and replaced with a sign claiming that wild burros destroy waterholes and eat the grass meant for native sheep. Also like the mustang recent fossil finds have caused the public to ask about these policies for an ice age burro was found in 1990 in California’s La Brea Tar Pits, a find that refutes the government’s claims that the burro is not a native species. The wild burro comes in all donkey colors though slate with a white belly, muzzle, and eye ring is the most common. Like its domestic kin most burros have a dorsal cross of dark hair and shaggy coats.
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ASHRINGA The Earth is sick and while the Wyrm withes with insanity, the werewolves fight the plague with tooth and claw, their rage merely fueling the fires of the Wyrm's madness. The children of Unicorn have hid from the Garou since the War of Rage, now they will hide no longer! They have come to heal the Wyrm and restore the Balance and they are not going to let the Garou stop them from doing everything they can to save Gaia!
Ashringa is a complete breed book for playing werehorses in the world of Werewolf: the Apocalypse. It also contains new Gifts, Fetishes, and Antagonists for Werewolf as well as a full description of Death Valley National Park (as well as hints about several other sacred spots including the Mount Shasta Stargazers Caern) and statistics for the wildlife within.
Get Ready to Rage!
