Brood Kenning is the ability to match mates so as to maximize the chance of a desired offspring, a happy union, or some similar goal. If trying to maximize the chances of a Mokolé babe, the matchmaker observes her charges carefully, anywhere from a day to a month or more, and finally makes a Brood Kenning roll (usually paired with Intelligence, Perception or Wits at the Storyteller’s discretion). The difficulty is typically 9, but can be reduced with extra observation. The number of successes is added to the chance for a Mokole offspring; a particularly insightful and ridiculously lucky matchmaker could thus increase the odds of breeding true up to 20%.
This skill can only be used once for any given couple, at least when enhancing the odds of breeding true. It can also be used to make matches that will wind up happy, or to recognize the signs of hidden trysting (such as if two Mokolé are secretly mating and might produce an innocent). Brood kenners are compensated and esteemed, whether they are Mokolé or Kin. It is a common choice for Gathering. • You can arrange blind dates that aren’t
total disasters.
•• Your clutchmates sneak off to you for romantic advice.
••• You patch up stormy, confused teenage relationships on a regular basis.
•••• If you’d been present in Verona, Romeo and Juliet would have lived happily ever after.
•••••Even the fiercest Crowning bows his head to you and calls you “auntie.”
Knowledges
Miaieusis
Originated by Greek and Egyptian philosophers, the rare skill of Maieusis enables a practitioner to bring out memories lost in the recesses of another’s soul. Called “the midwife’s art,” it involves questions, ritual dialogue and the pronunciation of syllables whose meaning is obscure. The player must specify how many levels of Mnesis he wishes to evoke in the subject, or how many memories he wishes the subject to recall, and the two participants must speak the same language (usually the Dragon’s Tongue). The subject must have the Mnesis to do this, or the potential to remember the subjects involved. The practitioner must spend a number of hours equal to the level of Mnesis desired to call out the memory, then make a Manipulation + Maieusis roll. The difficulty is 6 for ordinary memories, 7 for Mnesis, and 8 for difficult or obscure subjects. For each success, one memory is recalled.
Maieusis is a daring art. Memories long forgotten can emerge, and a soul be made anew. The Unshading sometimes send lawbreakers to receive the midwife’s art rather than die, hoping that their memories will contain enough righteousness to return them to good. It is said that the Fallen have been
overcome with grief when subjected to Maieusis, realizing the horrors that they have become, and have died voluntarily in their remorse.
• You can remind your partner of that night in Rio. •• You can bring new insight to people. ••• You are known as a lover of wisdom. •••• You are revered as a teacher/counselor. ••••• Watch out for the hemlock...
Mnesis Emulation
This strange knowledge may be learned only by Mokolé. It enables a Mokolé to “learn” almost any skill or knowledge that could have been known to an ancestor.
The Mokolé must meditate on the ability desired and enter a Mnesis trance. The trance is usually not long perhaps one night. Finally, she makes a Mnesis + Mnesis Emulation roll, difficulty 7. For every two successes, the seeker gains a dot in the given Ability for one day (rounding up); she may spend dots to increase the duration, however. For instance, five successes could give her a skill of 3 for one day or a skill of 1 for three days. Mnesis Emulation cannot grant any supernatural abilities (such as Gifts, rites or powers of other Awakened creatures). For example, a Mokolé may use Mnesis Emulation to learn the language of the Bastet, but would not be able to turn into a cat even if she had a Bastet ancestor. • You can call up a hint of memory. •• You can usually see the right place and time. ••• You have something to say to everyone. •••• You are at home everywhere. ••••• You can imitate anyone who has ever lived.
Saurimancy
The giant reptiles of the world, because of their profoundly different thought processes, have always fascinated humans. The slither of alligators and the chirping of lizards have for ages been thought to hold mystic insights. This skill, the art of saurian divination, allows Kin and Mokolé to divine the future or the will of Sun from saurian omens. It is most common among Kin in India. The diviner must listen to lizards chirping at dusk, meditate on the tracks of crocodiles, or use a similar method. For each day that she spends in such study, she may make
a Perception + Saurimancy rating roll, difficulty 7. For each success, she may gain one “insight” of the Storyteller’s choice. The omen may be vague or quite clear, as the Storyteller thinks appropriate. • You heard a lizard once. •• You knew when Father had died. ••• You know tomorrow’s weather. •••• You are a famous fortuneteller. ••••• The alligators tell all.
Backgrounds
Mokolé do not possess the Ancestors Background, replacing it with Mnesis instead.
Mnesis
Any Mokolé (even one without this Background) may place himself into a Mnesis quest — a sort of autohypnosis in which the character journeys deep into the halls of ancestral memory, much like the Umbral vision-quests of the Garou. Because a Mnesis quest can easily last for hours and renders the seeker oblivious to the outside world for its duration, most Mokolé will only enter Mnesis while in the safety of their wallows. The rating of the Background determines how far back the Mokolé may remember. 0 Roughly a century. • Three to five hundred years. •• Roughly a millennium. ••• The Impergium and the beginning of human civilization. •••• The awakening of the mammalian shapeshifters. •••••The time of the Dinosaur Kings.
Wallow
The Wallow Background means that you have ties to a Mokolé wallow, one with some history and other Mokolé residents. If you are a homid, this may be a village, rural homestead, or isolated island such as Komodo. If you are a suchid, it may be an ancient temple, jungle swamp, zoo, or gator farm. Any Allies, Contacts, or Kinfolk you may have likely live at the wallow. The wallow is a place where you can meditate to regain Gnosis in Sun’s light, hold gathers and perform rites. You may live there all the time; of course, if you don’t have Resources, your home might not be very luxurious.
• A poor wallow. One Mokolé lives there or perhaps only Kin.
•• No palace. A few Mokolé and Kin live there. ••• The wallow has lots of land (maybe a national
park) or places to live.
•••• A nice place: a village, isolated creek, or lake.
•••••A temple, alligator farm, or large village.
Totem
The Rite of the Totem (see W20, p. 213) is particularly calibrated to the sensibilities and capabilities of the Garou — those Fera who cannot innately step sideways would have particular difficulty with it. The equivalent rites used by the other Changing Breeds are similarly specialized.
A rare and particular rite exists, however — the Rite of the Joined Circle — which may be used to attract a spirit to act as a totem for a diverse pack of Fera. Mechanically identical to the Rite of the Totem, it requires the ritemaster to prepare
a ritual space decorated with items pleasing to the spirit they hope to attract while singing of Gaia’s need for renewal. Some Mokolé with powerful Mnesis remember this rite from the times before the War of Rage, and a few African packs have recently independently re-discovered or re-created the rite. More about Totem Background in W20 p. 140 & 371. Check also p. 87 of this book to see Mokolé Totems.
Forms
Mokolé have three forms: Homid (human), Archid (draconic), and Suchid (reptilian). Their legendary Drachid form was lost in the Wonder-Work and no Mokolé since has been able to achieve it.
Shapechanging requires a Stamina + Primal- Urge roll, difficulty 6 (regardless of form). Changing from Homid to Suchid (or back) requires two successes. Changing to Archid (or back) requires one. As usual, the shapeshifter can assume any form instantly by spending one Rage.
• Homid: This form is indistinguishable from an ordinary human. The ethnicity in Homid form usually depends on the creature’s stream, although it is almost always from a warm climate. As the End Times advance, the streams are slowly becoming more culturally diverse.
• Archid: This draconic form is an amalgam of the Mokolé’s genetic legacy. It may (but does not always) resemble a monstrous version of their varna. Aspects of modern-day reptilian creatures blend with attributes from prehistoric behemoths that have been all-but forgotten, or draconic monsters that never were. The form first appears to a potential Mokolé in his nightmares, but during the First Change, it becomes real in the waking world.
During character creation, a player can choose “enhancements” to the creature’s Archid form. When the player knows his character’s final starting Gnosis Trait, he can purchase a number of Archid Characteristics equal to the character’s Gnosis. (Thus, a character with Gnosis 3 can choose 3 points of Archid Characteristics.) Some (where specifically listed) may be purchased multiple times. All Gumagan start with the Gills characteristic.
If the character’s base Gnosis increases during play, he may add corresponding points of Archid Characteristics at the same time, essentially evolving the Archid Form as the Mokolé’s Gnosis grows. Approving the details of this form is left purely to the discretion of the Storyteller.
Each Mokolé’s Archid form has the following trait modifiers in addition to any bonuses given via Archid Characteristics: Strength +4, Dexterity –1, Stamina +4, Manipulation –3, Appearance 0; causes Delirium, may bite and claw for aggravated damage (both at Strength +2).
• Suchid: This is the reptilian form of the Mokolé. Each stream contains specific suchid forms, called “varna” which are most commonly associated with that stream. Because of vastly different sizes and body shapes, a Mokolé’s Rage and statistics for its suchid form are both determined by its varna. Champsa (Nile crocodile): Str +3, Dex –2, Sta +3, Man –4, Rage 3
Gharial (Gavails): Str +1, Dex –1, Sta +3, Man –4, Rage 4
Halpatee (American alligator): Str +2, Dex –1, Sta +3, Man –2, Rage 4
Note: Running speed is halved; swimming speed equals Homid form’s land speed.
Karna (Saltwater Crocodile): Str +3, Dex –2, Sta +3, Man –4, Rage 3
Makara (Mugger crocodile, Chinese alligator): Str +1, Dex +0, Sta +2, Man –3, Rage 3
Ora (Monitor lizards): Str +0, Dex +0, Sta +2, Man –4, Rage 5
Note: Running speed same as Homid form; sprints are possible; limited swimming. Poison Sacs, per the Archid Characteristic above.
Piasa (American crocodile): Str +2, Dex –1, Sta +3, Man –2, Rage 4
Note: Running speed is halved; swimming speed equals Homid form’s land speed.
Syrta (Caimans): Str +1, Dex –1, Sta +3, Man –4, Rage 4
Unktehi (Gila monster): Str –1, Dex +0, Sta +1, Man –3, Rage 5
Note: Half human running speed, cannot swim. Bite inflicts Strength –1 damage. Poison Sacs, per the Archid Characteristic above.