PARA PERSONAS DE 15 AÑOS Y MÁS DE EDAD

All Mokolé instinctively share a common language, the Dragon’s Tongue spoken by all Lizard Kings in the time before time. Mnesis memories reveal the simplest parts of this language when a Mokolé undergoes its First Change. Many old-fashioned Mokolé refer to it as “the Speech” and will refuse to admit that “rat’s chitter” is capable of fluent expression.

Mnesis brings knowledge of the Speech when a new Mokolé dreams her shape. If the newly Changed one has never heard the Dragon’s Tongue, she will understand it but be hesitant to speak until she has heard more. Expression is idiomatic in the Dragon’s Tongue, and figures of speech are common. “She has dug her nest” means that someone has made up her mind, while “to lash my tail” means to move towards a goal. The Speech can be written phonetically but is more often written using the original claw-print script. In classic tales, hand and body motions accompany the speech. The Dragon’s Tongue is also the language of Mokolé in Archid, and even Suchid form allows some halting, primitive converse in the Speech. Shrouded Sun adepts tell their students that the original form of the language was as a dance. The hand and body movements are called the Language of Claws and must be learned separately. Someone who knows this language can speak volumes without making a sound.

It’s an arduous task to learn the Dragon’s Tongue, and only Mokolé Kin are likely to have the time and opportunity to do so. A rare few Corax, Nagah, and Bastet allies have managed to squeeze out some remedial knowledge of the language, but almost none are fluent. The language is not strictly a secret, but it is difficult to understand. Add in the fact that Mokolé themselves don’t learn it, but know it through Mnesis, and the coosts in experience point costs for learning the language (three times that of gaining another dot in Linguistics the usual way), even if a Mokolé agrees to teach it.

Matre

The Mokolé recognize a mystical power in ferti¬lity, which they call Matre (MOTT-ray). A Mokolé female mates every year, but lays eggs, or births babies, if Homid, every two or three. For each egg hatched or baby birthed that is Mokolé, the mother gets one

permanent die to add anywhere. These are her Matre dice. Once Matre dice are distributed, they cannot be changed, although the mother can gain more by birthing more true Mokolé.

Alligators and crocodiles lay perhaps a dozen eggs in each clutch, and each clutch has a 10% chance of containing one Mokolé. No matter how many eggs a suchid female lays, there is still only a 10% chance of one Mokolé appearing; multiple Mokolé from the same clutch are so rare that they’re legendary. It is therefore impossible to gain huge amounts of Matre “instantly” by laying a nest full of eggs. However, the skill: Brood Kenning, and the merits Retain Seed and Retain Eggs make breeding easier. In the present day, as Mokolé lands shrink and the Dissolver poisons the world, Matre is not the never-ending fountain of power that it might seem. Player characters who wish to gain Matre must roleplay courtship and safeguard their offspring. Mokolé have great affection for children, using the Rite of the Nesting

Mound to safeguard them.

It might seem that only female Mokolé can gain Matre dice. However, if a male directly fathers a Mokolé (rare, for the gene is quite recessive; most often the birth is due to a recessive gene), he, too, can gain a Matre point at the Storyteller’s discretion. Since Matre is a connection to Gaian fertility, the male will know when he is a true sire if he gains Matre.

Kin are sometimes spoken of as having Matre. If a Kin character has a true Mokolé child, then the Storyteller may allow a point of Matre.

Rage

The Mokolé have as much Rage as any Garou, and use it in much the same manner — they may frenzy, gain extra actions, change forms instantly, recover from stunning, or make Rage rolls to remain active when critically wounded. They regain it in similar fashion, when angered or humiliated, or between stories as usual (more information W20, p. 144, 256, 262, 288). Furthermore, Mokolé regain Rage the first time that they see Sun during the day, such as at sunrise. The amount recovered depends on how bright Sun is. Light Conditions Rage Regained Sun is completely obscured by None mountains, buildings, etc; the

Mokolé is indoors.

Sun’s disc is hidden by clouds or 1 is seen through windows.

Sun’s disc is visible through 2 clouds or fog.

Sun is low or dim. 3

Sun is bright. 4

Sun is blazing directly overhead. 5

Any Mokolé seeing her sun auspice gets back all Rage. Midnight Suns get. back Rage from seeing their “sign,” not the Sun. They may not recover their full Rage it the moon is clouded, or the stars ate dim. No-Suns cannot see the empty sky and Many- Suns cannot see the stars if smog or city lights block their view.

Zhong Lung and Makara regain all their Rage each day of the season of their auspice when they first see the sun, but recover Rage piecemeal if it’s “not their season.”

Gnosis

Mokolé may not regain Gnosis if cut off from the sun, save when sleeping the Sleep of the Dragon. The less Sun is visible, the more time Mokolé must spend meditating in his Light. Naturally, Mokolé are usually uncomfortable in cities, unless they are in the tropics. They regain Gnosis in the typical fashion of meditation (which they must do while basking in sunlight) or by bargaining with spirits, and may regain Gnosis between stories as usual (more info W20, p. 146).

Healing

Mokolé regenerate wounds at the same rate as Garou, following the standard rules for healing and regeneration (More info in W20, p. 256).

Willpower

Same as Garou do (see W20, p. 147). Characters may also regain Willpower by acting according to their auspices.

Renown

Mokolé come together in Gathers before wars, at the summer and winter solstices, when a Crowning takes office, and at other momentous times. These gatherings are solemn and slowly-paced affairs, full of somber ritual and storytelling, law-making and judgment, each in its own time. During these Gathers, tales of Renown are spoken, and new ranks distributed as appropriate.

Mokolé gain Renown and advance in rank in largely the same manner and categories as Garou (See W20, p. 142 & 246). They also use the system of Glory, Honor and Wisdom, acknowledging five ranks. Mokolé gain 1 point each of Glory, Honor and Wisdom for passing through their coming of age Mnesis trance. They do not get Renown for subsequent Mnesis use (save Mnesis quests, see below). The Mokolé-mbembe and Gumagan use the same Rank system.

When awarding Renown, allow for a few differences from the Renown chart in W20. Some examples:

•3 Wisdom for completing a Mnesis quest

•1 Wisdom and 1 Glory for inwitting a good story •1 each for awakening a Sleeper

•1 each for surviving a long sleep (more than a human lifetime) in Sleep of the Dragon

•3 Wisdom and 3 Honor for retrieving lost Mnesis •1 Glory for wandering for a year

•3 Wisdom for mating and producing a child of any sort

•1 Glory for producing a Mokolé child

•1 Honor for mating as is best for yourself, your clutch and the Mokolé, that is, choosing a proper mate. Monogamy is not mandatory.

•1 Honor for each year of proper mating •-1 Honor for mating unwisely

•-7 Honor for mating with another Mokolé

Renown Chart