nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance

[Xallace]

(Though don't worry too much about balancing the powers with those. Their power level... varies. Wildly.)

Within werewolf lodges alone you range from a predetermined specialty (a highly situational +1 bonus) to a +4 bonus on any roll, mundane or magic, that even remotely requires fire and a whole unique gift list. Let us worry about balance.

Edit: Also, since Unique Legacies no longer follow any of the rules of regular legacies, we were thinking of changing what they're called. How do "Birthrights" sound to everyone?

[Sgt. Cookie]

Understood.

Current thoughts of House Echinda is that they only sprung up when the Human arts of science arose. As such, small aspects of them over the years were likely at the centre of large, historical scientific achievements. Were Newton or Galileo Heirs? Highly unlikely. But it wouldn't be a waste of money to bet that someone close to them was.

In the past, they would have experimented on a wide variety of creatures, creating strange and exotic animals in a bid to refine their art. Many a young Heir, upon learning of their existence, has wondered how much of Australia is their fault.

Unless there are some pre-written rules for this sort of thing (Which I'll adapt, otherwise, gonna have to build them from scratch), I'm thinking that the core legacy of House Echinda is some sort of Extended Action where the Echindian uses both science and sorcery to alter and adapt a creature. A Cat with Crab Pincers? Go for it. A Dog that can change his coat like a chameleon? Why not?

Some of the higher level auxiliaries will allow the Echindian to apply Draconic features to animals.

Of the currently thought-of creatures, the Hoardlings and those Drakonos-inducing flies, I have a couple of ideas. The Hoardlings were modified rats, albeit modified a loooooooong time ago, and those flies are probably the only regret they have (Something that puts the Draconic society AT LARGE at risk? Uh, oops. That's kinda the opposite of our goal.). Originally, they would have been used as a vector, but they failed and, well, escaped.

How's that sound, so far?

[One Tin Soldier]

So since Unique Legacies have become so different from the other Legacies, Xallace and I were thinking that changing the name might be a good idea. The first thing he thought of was Birthright, which I think sounds good.

What does the thread think? And should we call them Birthright Legacies, or just Birthrights?

Understood.

Current thoughts of House Echinda is that they only sprung up when the Human arts of science arose. As such, small aspects of them over the years were likely at the centre of large, historical scientific achievements. Were Newton or Galileo Heirs? Highly unlikely. But it wouldn't be a waste of money to bet that someone close to them was.

In the past, they would have experimented on a wide variety of creatures, creating strange and exotic animals in a bid to refine their art. Many a young Heir, upon learning of their existence, has wondered how much of Australia is their fault.

Hah!

Unless there are some pre-written rules for this sort of thing (Which I'll adapt, otherwise, gonna have to build them from scratch), I'm thinking that the core legacy of House Echinda is some sort of Extended Action where the Echindian uses both science and sorcery to alter and adapt a creature. A Cat with Crab Pincers? Go for it. A Dog that can change his coat like a chameleon? Why not?

Some of the higher level auxiliaries will allow the Echindian to apply Draconic features to animals.

Of the currently thought-of creatures, the Hoardlings and those Drakonos-inducing flies, I have a couple of ideas. The Hoardlings were modified rats, albeit modified a loooooooong time ago, and those flies are probably the only regret they have (Something that puts the Draconic society AT LARGE at risk? Uh, oops. That's kinda the opposite of our goal.). Originally, they would have been used as a vector, but they failed and, well, escaped.

How's that sound, so far?

It sounds good to me so far. Genetic manipulation by way of magic. I'm always a sucker for magitech, so this sounds like fun to me.
(Personally, I would have namedropped Mendel and Darwin instead of Newton and Galileo, but that's not that important.)

[Almarck]

I was thinking of calling them Inheritances since they're part of the whole... shtick, ya?
Or just... Heritages or Heritage Legacies.

Anyways, just finished up this train of thought for Monument rules in case you have yet to define it fully. It's... interesting, to say the least. I add a few more concepts and terms to define Monument specific terminology as well as put place holder information.

Spoiler: Monuments

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No matter how strong or powerful an individual Heir becomes, the fact of the matter is that Heirs are still mortal, able to perish from illness, injury, and misfortune. Make no mistake, Heirs are blessed with powerful bodies able to recover from many illnesses and ailments that lesser creatures would succumb to, able to shrug off the worst that war can do to it. Yet this body is still temporary; no dragon, not even in the ancient, long forgotten Empire truly tasted immortally.

Let no dragon is simply willing to let their Will end with them, they were not content to just let death be the end of them. To this end, Heirs devised a means to allow those that come after them to carry on for them, to enact their Will from beyond the mortal coil. They might not be ruling themselves, but Monuments are as the next best thing.

Monuments are the physical manifestation and representation of an idea or concept empowered and backed by its creator’s Will. Each fulfills a function instilled from the moment of its creation and influences the world around them in subtle and not so subtle ways. The creator of the Monument, hereafter described as an Architect defines all of the aspects of the Monument from its powers, to its goals, to its rules of succession. There is no rule about monuments not also having mundane functions such as important libraries of the sort.

However, as stated before, dragons are not immortal and thus they do die. When this happens, Monuments seek out new owners as defined by the Architect's Will, influencing Fate and events to bring itself into contact with a new Steward. However, sometimes, an individual attempts to force control over the Monument, in effect forcing himself to become the new Steward. Stewards and Architects need not perish in order for a Monument to change control over to another, but most dragons are not too keen on letting the ultimate Heirlooms fall out of their grasp… Either way, once a new Steward is proclaimed, the Monument is fully and totally obedient to his Will so long as it does not directly clash with that of the Architect that created it.

Dragons are not the only creatures able to create and control Monuments. Hives and Garuda are known for their own structures often representing their ideals made manifest. In fact, it is not unthinkable that some monuments were constructed by wholly mortal hands.


Monument Rules:
-Obeys it Architect or Steward’s Will.
-Has the 3 Spirit attributes of Power, Finesse, and Resillience, but none of the Derived statistics of Health, Corpus, Willpower, Essence, Defense, or Initiatve.. Monuments have ranks, but these only exist to keep track of attribute maximums. These attributes are used for enacting Powers.
-Monuments otherwise function as normal versions of the object or building they are built to represent, such as a Library or Statue.
-In place of Health or Corpus, Monuments possess Morale, a measure of their standing and stability. Morale is equal to Resillience times 2 and recovers at a rate of the lower of Finesse or Power per day. If a Monument loses all Morale, it shuts down, becoming dormant until it recovers all Morale.

-Monuments possess an Influence/powers as defined by its Architect. Using powers drains Morale.
-In addition, depending on who the current Steward is, the Monument gains either the Dragon Song (for dragons), Bird Song (for Garuda), or Assimilate (for Hives) dread power. If the Steward changes control, the Monument loses this dread power and replaces it with one appropriate to it.

-Monuments do not have standard turns of initiative, unless they manifest as creature. Instead, all Monuments (that are still object) are given turns via “Tension” as defined below.

Tension defines the speed at which Monuments may act. During times of peace, they are slow, passive, but when idealogy and purpose are on the line, they are called into service and act more rapidly and impressively, but drain much faster.

At Tension 0, Monuments receive a single “turn” once per day.
At 1, this changes to once per 12 hours.
At 2, 6 hours.
At 3, 3 hours.
At 4, 1 hour
At 5, every 15 minutes.
At 6, they act every turn.




Tension is a “Global” mechanic that persists for long periods of time only lessened as danger and events wind down to less dangerous and volatile states. It increases as plot conflicts arrise, especially when other Monuments are involved. All Monuments act on the same “initiative” of their Stewards if it is ever called into question and all Monuments involved are on the same Tension, thus acting in the same rate.

At the end of every scene, if any of the following occur roll dice as determined by the event. If more than one of these events occur, total the dice together, then roll the dice. On a success, Tension increases by 1. On an Exceptional Success, Tension increases by 2.


-Steward receives a Tilt. 1 per Tilt.
-Monument damaged by other monument as an attack. 1 per success.
-Steward’s foes verbally disrespect his ideals. 2 per insult.
-Foe directly disrespects the Monument. 3 per insult.

-Other Monument Steward owns is destroyed. Raise Tension by 1 immediately.
-Monument physically under attack by hostile forces. Raise Tension by 1 immediately.

[Sgt. Cookie]

Personally, I would have namedropped Mendel and Darwin instead of Newton and Galileo, but that's not that important.)

Yeah, just had to think of some scientists. Will change 'em in the "official", uh, thing.




As an aside, I'm actually playing Mendel in Fiddler on the Roof in about 20 mins. Coincidences, huh?

[Xallace]

I spent some time on Waters of Hualong. How's this for beefy?

Spoiler: Waters of Hualong v2

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Waters of Hualong

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The wyrm is the supreme aquatic being, a master of all things in river and ocean. This mastery reveals itself in the first dot of Waters of Hualong, which removes the dangers of life beneath the sea and reinforces her sovereignty over it.

As an aquatic creature, the dragon’s Drakonos gains the ability to swim up to her Speed without making any sort of Athletics checks. She is just as capable of breathing water as air in Drakonos, and can spend as long as she likes underwater. While in Anthropos, the wyrm adds her dots in this legacy to her Stamina for the purpose of holding her breath.

The dragon is the lord over all other beasts of the sea. She becomes capable of communicating with any aquatic or amphibious life, both understanding and making herself understood. Further, all such creatures will not attack or interfere with the dragon of their own accord. They will fight back if the dragon attacks, but will never strike first unless magically coerced. Even the hungriest shark will not try to take a bite out of the dragon.

But the dragon is not just lord of those under the waves, but the waves themselves. While in Drakonos, the wyrm is never hindered by any environmental tilt or condition resulting from water. No matter how choppy the waves, harsh the rapids, or pressuring the deep, the dragon will always be just fine. She swims just as well in a still pond as a violent rush of water.

The wyrm’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

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The wyrm can dig her claws into the water around her and transmute it into other forms. As an instant action, any water or water-based liquid that the wyrm is touching transforms into another water-based liquid of her choice. Water turns to wine, wine turns to root beer, or root beer turns to gasoline. She can transmute a number of size points in one round equal to her Kauchaomai score.

Alternatively, water can be ruined or purified through this method. Any impurities can simply be removed, leaving behind pure, drinkable water. If the dragon chooses to ruin a liquid, nameless impurities are added to the drink that cause horrible smells and discoloration. Any creature that drinks the water will very likely become sick.

Water can also be made to change matter states using this Birthright. Steam can be quickly condensed into water, water into ice, or ice into water or steam again. Water can simply be made to boil or cool to a drinkable temperature, as well. Again, the limit is simply a number of size points per round equal to the dragon’s Kauchaomai. Water being used as weapon (such as a firehose against a group of humans) deals lethal damage if transmuted into ice or boiling water deals lethal damage instead of bashing.

Any of these effects can be used within perception range by spending a point of Willpower per round. She cannot transmute the water that makes up parts of living beings with this Birthright.

The wyrm’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

000

A creature of the water herself, the wyrm’s power of water starts to infuse into her own form. She becomes remarkably graceful, flowing with liquid prowess like a beautiful and elegant flow of water.

The dragon can walk upon water, in either form, should she choose to do so. She can begin or end this power at any time, dropping into the water while standing or placing her hands on the surface and pulling her up onto it like a ledge. She can also spend a point of Willpower as a Reflexive action to add her Kauchaomai to her Defense and Athletics and Expression checks to balance, jump, swim, or appear especially graceful for a scene.

The dragon’s swim speed doubles.She can spend a point of Willpower to gain this swim speed in Anthropos form, and she may even use this speed while standing atop the water - effectively becoming a human speedboat.

Finally, the dragon can control the water around her with mere force of will.

Action: Reflexive
Cost: 1 Willpower
Roll: Dexterity + Kauchaomai - Size of water to be controlled

Dramatic Failure: The water rebels against the dragon, whipping out and dealing them two points of Bashing damage. The effect is obviously supernatural and the dragon must roll Enkindling if humans notice.
Failure: The water remains how it is, unbending to the dragon’s will.
Success or Exceptional Success: The dragon takes command of the water.

If the dragon takes control of the water, she may take any of the following actions:

Move: The water can move up to 10 yards as a Reflexive action, once per turn.

Shape Water: The water can be morphed into pleasing or useful shapes. These shapes can be “hard,” with surface tension strong enough that they act like solid objects, or “soft,” so that they are shaped like an object but still act like water. No shape more complex than a simple machine (lever, lift, pulley, etc) can be made this way, and intricate models may require a Dexterity + Crafts roll, as the Storyteller sees fit.

Entertain: The water can be used to entertain onlookers by assuming fun shapes or doing neat tricks. This is an extended action that requires a Dexterity + Expression + Kauchaomai roll every minute, but is otherwise treated as any other Expression roll.

Attack: The water can be used to attack as an Instant action. This requires a Dexterity + Athletics - Defense roll. The water deals Bashing damage and gains a damage bonus equal to its Size - 1. The water can be moved up to 10 yards as part of this action.

Defense: The water can be used to defend the dragon. When Dodging, the dragon may spend a Willpower point to add the water’s Size to Defense, after doubling. The water immediately rushes to the Wyrm’s side when this maneuver is used.

Push: The water can be used to push objects or creatures around. The Dragon must roll Dexterity + Athletics - Size (for an object) or Strength (for a creature) as an Instant action. Each success pushes a target 3 yards in a direction of the dragon’s choosing.

Control over the water remains for the remainder of the scene or until the dragon relinquishes control, whichever comes first.

The wyrm’s Drakonos gains one point of size.


0000

The dragon is the water, and the water is the dragon. The wyrm’s very form is infused with the spirit of the waves, and it allows her remarkable capabilities.

The dragon can create pure water from its essence within her. She can now produce water from her hands or mouth, which is pure and potable (though can be changed with previous dots of this Birthright). The water can appear gently, filling her cupped hands or pouring lightly into a container of her choosing, or it can appear with force, spraying from her hands or mouth like a sprinkler… or a geyser. The most force produced is equivalent to that of a fire hose, and it can be used to harm a target or put out fires in the same way a fire hose would. The water is real and only disappears when it would evaporate into the water cycle. It costs a point of Willpower as a Reflexive action to be able to produce water for the scene.

But it does not stop there. The dragon can pull surrounding water into her form to restore it. While in Drakonos, the dragon can use an Instant action to heal a number of points of Bashing or Lethal damage equal to her Kauchaomai, so long as she is at least halfway submerged in water. This will likewise heal tilts or conditions brought on by that damage. If she is in Tyranos form, this happens automatically once per round.

This leads into the final benefit of reaching this height of power: the dragon can bring out the aquatic essence of surrounding liquid and use it to forge her Drakonos. If she enters Drakonos while fully submerged in enough water to contain her Drakonos form, her human body dissipates into the abyss, and from the surface rises a terrifying serpent of pure water. This form pulls from the surrounding liquid and grants additional size to the dragon equal to her Kauchaomai dots, with attendant benefits. She can now create water (as per the first part of this power) without needing to spend Willpower. She can easily move into the spaces occupied by other creatures, and any space she occupies gains the Flooded tilt. She heals while submerged automatically each round, as though in Tyranos form.

She may also forge her Tyranos from water. Many of the same benefits apply, although enhanced by her new Kauchaomai score and legacies. Additionally, she can spend an Instant action to heal one Aggravated damage each round she remains fully submerged in water. Most horribly, she can transmute herself into a tidal wave with a height in yards equal to her size and width of half that much. By spending a point of Willpower as an Instant action, she rushes forward a number of yards equal to her speed. All creatures and objects in the path take Bashing damage equal to her Strength + Kauchamai. Creatures may make reflexive Dexterity + Athletics rolls to avoid the current, with each successes negating one point of damage. Creatures that fail the roll are swept the length of the current and deposited on the far end, at the feet of the reformed dragon.

Finally, the wyrm’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size, as with every dot of the Birthright.


00000

The dragon is now the supreme ruler of river and sea. Her powers are virtually limitless over the water that surrounds her, and she can change the natural course of water’s flow.

The dragon can alter the natural currents of the water around her. By spending 4 points of Willpower and focusing her attention on a waterway, she can divert the natural flow of any stream or river with a width of her Kauchaomai x 10 yards or less. She can force the water to overflow its banks or simply carve out a new path into the land, permanently altering that part of the landscape. She cannot control the full course of the river or stream, only the parts she can perceive, and must make her way down river to further alter the course. Waterways change course at a rate of about five yards a minute, and the dragon must be able to focus the entire time to complete the change.

Lakes or ponds can likewise be moved, so long as they fall within the size range necessary for the power. If made to “change course,” they simply carve out a new hole in the ground as they move along, their old position drying up and filling in as it moves.

The dragon can also choose for the waters to cause apocalyptic, indiscriminate destruction. This requires 5 points of Willpower and an Instant action. All waterways, ponds, and lakes immediately overflow their banks and flood the surrounding areas. Water towers and pipes burst, and other artificial containers break open. Geysers erupt if the geology of the area could sustain them, and torrential rains pour from the sky if the clouds are overhead.

Essentially, an area with a diameter of (Kauchaomai) miles undergoes apocalyptic flooding, with devastation measuring in lives lost and millions of dollars of property damage. The exact effects cannot be contained within simple game mechanics, and the horror is best left up the Storyteller to describe.

The wyrm’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

[Almarck]

Most impressive. Now that feels like something a dragon that is master of the water would have.

Lots of power lts of destruction.


Correct me if am I wrong but are auxiliaries getting removed from Birthrights?

[Amechra]

They're folded into the body of the powers.

It looks overly verbose to me, but that's just me.

(Break a leg, Cookie!)

[Sgt. Cookie]

Does anyone have a good name for those Drakonos-inducing flies? Because I can't think of one right now. "Drakosquito" is about the best I can come up with.

[Almarck]

Does anyone have a good name for those Drakonos-inducing flies? Because I can't think of one right now. "Drakosquito" is about the best I can come up with.

I think that might be a little too silly of a name.

I also can't say I am really sold on the concept because I do not understand how they fit in.
-Dragons identify as dragons with human form being a disguise they take. It's kind of the point and why as they rise in Kau it starts becoming hard to maintain or assume a human identity.
-Addionally, why a mosquito? And why ...and how does it work? Such things kind of need to be thought of. I mean, are we talking magical cursed flies that are closely related to Fate or something?
-Despite your intro fiction, it still feels a little silly for dragons to have little as an antagonist that is capable of being a serious threat to them, but I suppose that is poetic for something so tiny to being such a huge threat. The WoD does have similar creatures all over the place....



With that out of the way though, might I suggest Psuedo-Latin? Like say... uh Drakonis Vespertes? It's probably the wrong words for it, but it sounds more refined.

[One Tin Soldier]

Does anyone have a good name for those Drakonos-inducing flies? Because I can't think of one right now. "Drakosquito" is about the best I can come up with.

I think that might be a little too silly of a name.

I also can't say I am really sold on the concept because I do not understand how they fit in.
-Dragons identify as dragons with human form being a disguise they take. It's kind of the point and why as they rise in Kau it starts becoming hard to maintain or assume a human identity.
-Addionally, why a mosquito? And why ...and how does it work? Such things kind of need to be thought of. I mean, are we talking magical cursed flies that are closely related to Fate or something?
-Despite your intro fiction, it still feels a little silly for dragons to have little as an antagonist that is capable of being a serious threat to them, but I suppose that is poetic for something so tiny to being such a huge threat. The WoD does have similar creatures all over the place....



With that out of the way though, might I suggest Psuedo-Latin? Like say... uh Drakonis Vespertes? It's probably the wrong words for it, but it sounds more refined.

I'm fine with them being weird House Echinda mad-science creations.

And I can't believe the thought didn't occur to me until now, its so obvious.

Dragonflies

[Sgt. Cookie]

@Almarck:

It's likely that they were mosquitoes originally, due to the fact that they infect humans with Malaria. If you were to replace the Malaria parasite with a retrovirus that contains Draconic genetic material, you'd have the perfect vector to transmit Dragon DNA to the masses. Send them out, they'll bite Humans and the Retrovirus will rewrite their DNA to become more Draconic in nature. Perfect, right?

Well, no.

What House Echinda didn't count on was the retrovirus altering the DNA of the mosquitoes themselves, changing them into something far more Draconic. On the one hand, the retrovirus worked, on the other it now created a problem. The "Drakonium Parasitus", as it was now dubbed, could only breed inside of Dragons. Unfortunately, a batch of these creatures escaped and an even more horrifying aspect was discovered.

They can force an Heir to assume Drakonos. How they manage this has not quite been identified, yet, but the working theory is that it has something to do chemicals injected into the Heir's bloodstream affecting the parts of the brain that control that ability. Of course, this didn't spring up overnight, it took more than a few generations of these things to "perfect" their life cycle.

On the flipside, once a Drakonium Parasitus infection is discovered, it's actually quite simple to remove them from the Heir's body.


Unrelated, but I'm fairly sure these guys are Drakes:

Spoiler

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[Xallace]

So I'm not fully sold on using ephemeral being rules for Monuments, but I do like the idea behind Morale and the Architect/Steward dynamic. If you take the option to enhance the consciousness of the monument into a full entity then it might gain the ephemeral traits, but I'm not feeling it for most of them.

The things I am interested in that we've discussed so far include the following:

• Tiers (Clutch/Local/Dynastic/Higher?) that influence power and abilities
• Morale, or a system like it
• Architects/Stewards
• Claimed Monuments count as Touchstones for dragons

I'll come back to this with a more complete idea of my own input for monuments, don't have much time right now.

[Almarck]

The reason to have Empherial traits as standard for all Monuments is a simple one: In order to actually give monuments statistics to measure so that they can interact abd be interacted with, attributes have to be given. If for nothing else, so you can figure out how much resistance a tiger statue will put up before letting you command it as a new familiar.

It's not like I am asking for Monuments to have Willpower, Corpus, or Essense, just the 3 Attributes to determne... everything else. Certainly, if there are any Monument powers that need to be contested, such as mental domination, you kind of need to define how powerful the Monument is when using this power.

It also skirts the issue of having to arbitrarily or fashioning a cut off point to determining at what level does a Monument lack attributes, versus at what point would a Monument would have them.


Anyways enough about that. I am glad you liked Morale. The idea is that it is both Mana and Health at the same time, though I suppose that has problems of its own.



Anyways. Cookie, I had an idea. What if the flies also affected normal humans, turning them into partially draconic cretures? Maybe they act as carriers of "seeds" the House of Echidna uses for testing?

[Sgt. Cookie]

Yeah, actually, I can see that. The Drakonium (Which sounds like an ore, when its standalone like that) still carrying new strains of the retrovirus. They change not only Humans, but animals into some sort of vague, Dragon-like abomination so that they're more compatible as Hosts.

This is exactly the kind of screw-up mad, Draconic scientists would make. Or perhaps it's Fate saying "Nooo, nooo. You no make progress.". Echindians, being scientists first and foremost, prefer to not think of the latter.

[Almarck]

Maybe less.... science should be involved and more ... mothers. Mothers who are obsessed about "adoption" in all of the wrong ways.


Additionally: some Monument powers.

Dragon Song
Cost 1 Morale
Roll Power
1 Turn

The Moonument radiates a glow of energy that proclaims the glories and truths of dragons in descrete and subtle ways. The Steward gains a bonus dice towards Enkindling and social rolls so long as she is in her Drakonos equal to successes.

Additionally, those nearby the statue at any point during the day Dragon Song is used other than the Steward or Archetect receive the Monument's Aspiration as a bonus Aspiration for a number of days equal to successes. This does not count against the subject's Aspirations and it counts for all intents and purposes as the character's own, but the subject is only allowed to have one Monument instilled Aspiration at any point in time. To change the subject's Monument given Aspiration, another Monument must beat or match the number of successes of the previous current Monument.

Subjects in daily contact with the Monument "renew" the duration of Dragon Song each day they are in contact that instilled that Aspiration.


So, I've been thinking, one of the things that is new in 2e is that character goals are now a functional game mechanic of sort. So I figure, maybe Monuments add goals too that roster.
Monuments would have an Aspiration given to it by its Steward or Architect and part of the function of Monuments in general is to instill this Aspiration within others.

This encourages that those whoare not the Steward to follow these monument given impulses without, well, being forced into it.

From a metagaming perpective, the beats rewards means that PCs subjected to a Monument would be tempted to follow its owner's ideals.



Create Guardian
Cost 1 Morale
No roll.
1 Turn
The Monument creates some sort of Guardian as defined by the Architect or Steward at the time this power is taken.

When this Guardian is activated, the Monument falls into dormancy and is unable to be attacked through psychic means so long as the Guardian remains standing. Other Monuments may not attack its Morale, though they may attempt to physically damage the Monument.

If the Guardian is destroyed, the Monument suffers Morale damage and is no longer invulnerable against Morale attacks.

[Eris]

My take on the Hunger birthright. Most of it is simply the original auxiliaries modified a bit. I like the fluff of consuming attacks on the fifth dots, but at the same point it might be too complex, and the swallowing attacks might fit better at a lower tier. At the least this should help fit in with the other Birthright changes we were discussing, even if it isn't the most clean write up. I also may have just been reading about ungoliant before writing this.

Hunger of Nidhögg

Spoiler

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The wyvern Drakonos possesses a massive and terrible maw full of sword-like teeth, a great and powerful tool meant for carving through and consuming nearly anything. The wyvern gains a powerful bite attack that deals 1L, which stacks with any damage bonuses from Bones of the Mountain. What’s more, the bite ignores one point of Durability or Armor per dot. Because it is a bite, this damage cannot be used with any ability that indicates another part of the dragon’s body, such as horns or claws. When used in Anthropos, the dragon must grapple an opponent to make use of the attack. Wyverns have been known to simply take bites out of the weapons of unsuspecting enemies, usually ending the fight quite quickly.

The dragon also gains the ability to digest any matter that they can chew, which becomes an expansive list as the dragon gains dots. As dragons are no longer bound by such things as nutrition and caloric intake, the wyvern can now subsist entirely on materials such as wood, plastics, and even gemstones and metals. They also have no need to worry about stomach size. Whatever they choose to feast on is truly devoured, always leaving room for more.
This legacy does nothing to improve the taste of anything that dragon puts in their mouth.

The Wyvern's Drakonos gains one point of size.

00

All know not to mess around with a hungry beast, and wyverns really prove this point. By spending a point of Willpower as an Instant action, the dragon feels the hunger rise. Skin stretches tight over bones and the starving beast awakens. In this hungry frenzy, they know nothing other than the emptiness inside them. They must spend each turn either devouring whatever is nearby or dashing towards their next meal. They gain +2 to all physical actions they take, and add their stamina to dice pools to resist supernatural emotion or mind control. This frenzy last one scene.
Additionally, they may gain a willpower once a day by engorging themselves. While many wyverns prefer meat, they may choose to feast on whatever they have available. This meal may be taken in Anthropos form, though they still must eat a large enough meal to feed their Drakonos form.

The Wyvern's Drakonos gains one point of size.

000

The wyvern is a bloody carnivore, and this legacy improves their ability to reduce their prey to bones. While in Drakonos, the dragon gains a number of benefits when making called shots with Brawl attacks. First, they reduce all called shot penalties by 1. Second, all called shots deal +1L damage. Third, a called shot that deals lethal is considered to deal Agg only for the purpose of determining the duration of tilts such as Arm Wrack, Leg Wrack, or Wing Wrack.
The dragon’s hunger knows no bounds, and this legacy allows them to carve their way through even the earth itself with enough time. The dragon gains a burrow speed, by which they can move through solid objects. The dragon may only burrow through substances that have their durability reduced to 0 or less by this birthright, and can dig a number of yards each turn equal to their strength+stamina.
The storyteller may deem that irresponsible use of this legacy can result in structural collapse of buildings that the dragon eats through or under. The dragon is free to try and do this on purpose, of course.

This hunger also transcends beyond just biting chunks out of whatever they wish. Their hunger is an empty, endless void. Whenever a target takes damage from the wyverns bite attack, they also lose a point of willpower as something essential is drawn out of them and destroyed.

The Wyvern's Drakonos gains one point of size.

0000

The Wyvern can unhinge their jaws, allowing them to swallow people and objects that seem far too large to be consumed in one gulp. Whenever the Wyvern makes a successful attack with their bite against a character or object whose Size is equal to or less than their Kauchaomai + Hunger of Nidhogg, they may reflexively spend one Willpower to consume the target. Unlike most things the wyvern eats, the target is not considered to have been subsumed by the void within, and instead is given the swallowed whole tilt. This power is especially disturbing when used in Anthropos form.
Additionally, whenever the wyvern drains a willpower from a target, they may also reflexivly heal 1 lethal or 2 bashing. If a sentient being dies while suffering from their swallowed whole tilt, they may heal 1 agg, 3 lethal, or 5 bashing.

The Wyvern's Drakonos gains one point of size.

00000

The Wyvern doesn't simply devour flesh and glass; it consumes hope, dines upon light, and greedily slurps up spirits. Whenever they make a successful attack with their bite, they forgo gaining a willpower to give their target the Soulless condition. If the target already has the Soulless condition, they instead immediately suffer a Breaking Point as if they had satisfied their Vice. If the target lacks an Integrity equivalent entirely (or is otherwise not subject to the Soulless condition), this attack instead deals Aggravated damage.
The wyvern may also reflexively attempt to consume incoming attacks rather than avoid them. By spending a willpower and readying their vast hunger, they subtract their Hunger of Nidhogg+Kauchaumai from attackers dice pools rather than their defense. If the attack roll results in zero successes, it is consumed. Swords are swallowed, bullets and their corresponding guns disappear, fire is drawn into their void, and the dragon may immediately roll an attack against anyone foolish enough to strike the Wyvern without a weapon.
This power can even swallow mystical energies whole. Any magical effect suffers the same penalty above instead of the usual penalty, if there is one. If they score no successes, they assailant loses a point of willpower as their essence is drawn into the hunger.

The Wyvern's Drakonos gains one point of size.

[Amechra]

If everyone else is doing it, I will too:

Spoiler: Immortality of Lerna

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The Coils Eternal (•)
Cost: None (or 1 Willpower)
Action: None (or Reflexive)
Effects: A Hydra is made of sterner stuff than most Dragons (which is saying something); as such, they divide all healing times by [1 + Immortality of Lerna], and add [Immortality of Lerna] to their Size.
In addition, whenever they recover Willpower, they may use an Epoulos as a Reflexive action, the rush restoring their bodies to health; initially, only the following Epoulos are available to them:

• Heal two levels of Bashing damage.
• Heal one level of Lethal damage.
• Downgrade two levels of Lethal damage to Bashing.

They may spend one Willpower as a Reflexive action to enter a regenerative state for a number of Turns equal to their dots in Immortality of Lerna. As long as they are in this state, they may use a single Epoulos as a Reflexive action each turn, in addition to any they would be entitled to due to regaining Willpower.

The Masses of Serpentflesh (••)
Cost: None
Action: None (or Reflexive)
Effects: As their bodies develop, Hydras begin to grow redundancies and toughen organs; they gain [Immortality of Lerna]/0 Armor against attacks made against specific targets. This Armor stacks with that granted by Hide of Iron.
In addition, a Hydra may Reflexively change how healthy their bodies appear, superficially covering mortal wounds or opening harmless cuts on their skin; they gain 8-again on any roll intended to deceive someone - or which involves bluffing - with regards to their physical health.

Skin-Shedding Rejuvenation (•••)
Cost: None
Action: None
Effects: Just like a snake, a Hydra can rejuvenate themselves by shedding their skin. They add [Immortality of Lerna] to their Health; in addition, they gain access to the following Epoulos:

• Remove a Personal Tilt.

Doing so sheds the skin around the wounded or destroyed extremity, revealing pale and healthy skin beneath. As a side benefit, Hydras who possess Skin-Shedding Rejuvenation are immune to all non-Supernatural diseases in both of their forms, laughing off colds and Ebola with equal ease.

From a Single Scale (••••)
Cost: None
Action: None
Effects: Hydras can dismiss even the most egregious of wounds with a thought; they recoverfrom Tilts inflicted by aggravated damage when they heal the associated wound. In addition, they gain the following Epoulos:

• Spend one Willpower to remove one level of Aggravated damage.

As a peripheral benefit, they downgrade all Lethal damage they have suffered to Bashing when they revert to Anthropos; scratches on a Dragon remain scratches.

Ouroboros Swallows Itself (•••••)
Cost: None
Action: None
Effects: The Hydra devours themselves forever and ever, easily restoring themselves to their idealized form. Whenever they activate their regenerative state, it lasts for one Scene instead of five turns.
More impressively, they cannot be killed unless their head is destroyed, regardless of whether or not their HLs are filled with Aggravated damage or not. A Hydra's whose body is entirely destroyed, leaving them with only their head, takes the Destroyed Body Tilt. Their skulls develop an incredible resilience as well; they downgrade all damage dealt to their heads by one step.
As almost an afterthought, the Hydra no longer ages in either of their forms; their bodies revert to the prime of their youth, and they are immune to aging through mundane or supernatural means.

Rather than stick "Slayers ignore this, you guys" on every Birthright/Legacy, I suggest giving all Slayers the following (in addition to the "all the damage they deal is Aggravated"):

Bulwark of Fate: Slayers are effectively built to do what their name suggests; therefore, any damage they deal cannot be downgraded by a Dragon's supernatural abilities. Additionally, if a Slayer fills a Dragon's rightmost HL with Aggravated damage, they die and stay dead even if they have a Supernatural ability that would prevent or reverse their death. Finally, they themselves downgrade any Aggravated damage dealt to them by a Dragon's Supernatural abilities to Lethal.

Also, I think I have to rejigger Destroyed Body; I forgot you can grow extra heads, so I think we need a Head Wrack Tilt.

[Almarck]

Well, since Ame did it, I guessed I might as well do something too.

Spoiler: Proposal: Radiance of Quetzalcoatl

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Awe Inspiring Light (•)
Cost: None
Action: None (or Reflexive)
Effects: An Amphitere is blessed with power that almost practically confirms her divinity. The deific confidence and godlike right of the amphitere coalesces around their form like a halo, an ephemeral glow of sacred countenance that reinforces their image of being simply better. All amphipteres shine with a divine light, signifying their might and authority.

They may at any point choose to radiate this light from their bodies much like a searchlight, illuminating the nearby area for up to her Dots in Radiance times twenty in distance away, removing penalties due to darkness. This distance doubles if the dragon is in the air, as the Amphitere connects to the heavens above. This light does not cause blindness or impairment and may reveal the dragon to others who otherwise would not have noticed her.

Additionally, for every dot in Radiance of Quetzalcoatl the dragon possesses, she gains 1 die to all social rolls that would benefit from enhanced appearance and adds her dots in Radiance of Quetzalcoatl to her size in Drakonos.





Divine Living (••)
Cost: None or 1 Willpower
Action[/I]: None
Effects: A divine being does not need to concern themselves with the trivial trials and tribulations of mundane life. An Amphitere has events seem to work out in their favor wherever they go. Their bus always shows up on time, their tools never break while they are using them, job opportunities show up at their doorstep, and all manner of other small things go well for them on a daily basis.
In addition, so long as the dragon spends at least one hour exposed too bright sunlight, his body is sustained and renewed by the warmth of the sun’s light, effectively removing his need to eat or drink for the day as well as ending any hunger phangs and food deficiencies.





Godly Form (••••)
Cost: None
Action: None
Effects: The key to divinity is to project the image of invulnerability. With this legacy, an Amphitere never has to reveal weakness. Any wounds taken by the dragon do not show, creating the appearance that the dragon is unharmed. Any rolls that would take advantage of this appearance, usually Stamina+Intimidation, gain the 8-again property, in addition to the core benefit of Radiance of Quetzalcoatl. This applies to both Drakonos and Anthropos forms.
The wounds are still there, however, and the dragon suffers all damage, damage-inflicted Tilts, and wound penalties as normal. If the dragon encounters a situation where this legacy would be a hinderance, such as when they require medical attention, they may reflexively deactivate it for the scene at no cost.

Additionally, Divine Blessing’s secondary effect also applies to sleeping and breathing, potentially removing exhaustion penalties and conferring immunity to suffocation.


Unfettered Glory (•••••)
Cost: 2 Willpower
Action: Reflexive
Duration: 1 Scene.
Effects: By tapping in most primal and divine aspects of her very being the Amperite may unleash a bright light as intense as the midday Sun itself. Everywhere within up 200 feet of her is bathed in light.

Unlike her normal light though, the light given off by unfettered glory is harmful to anyone looking directly at her and does not have her express permission to do so. Each turn, hostile foes that look at the Amphitere must succeed on a Stamina roll or gain the blind, awed, or terrified conditions, at the dragon’s choice, for the rest of the scene.

Additionally, when using Unfettered Glory, any supernatural creatures that are weak to sunlight treat the Amphitere as if she were the Sun itself. In short, vampires may burn to ash in her presence.

I had to cut out Divine Magic because I find that a Willpower cost reduction while strong probably takes up way too many “points” in my opinion. It also felt out of place and the fluff for Sorcery was changing as well as some mechanics. I decided it was simply best to gloss it over for now.

Fused Charmed Life and Ambrosia together. Both had the same niche so I figured it’d be good for simplicity make them part of the same thing. I did change Charmed Life though, mostly to give it more mechanical consistency instead of making it a GM Fait thing for when it applied.

I would have put more stuff from the actual legacy, but as it was right now, Radiance was kind of lacking in stuff near the end with what material there was mostly unexplained in some effect.


Blessing of the Gods did not explain or convey its purpose well..

I also felt the teleport thing probably should be a Sorcery. Same with Champion of the Gods. Those things did not feel like they really spoke of “Radiance” or “Divinity” that well.

Servant’s boon was also not impressive enough for my tastes and I feel that maybe it should be a merit instead. Probably a modified version of the Retainer or Staff merits..

As a result, I decided to focus more on the “light” aspect and made up some Legacies. Sadly, not sure what to put in 3 dots.

[One Tin Soldier]

For what its worth, I think that Xallace and I were intending to work on the Birthrights a bit more "in-house" than the others, since we've been talking about what kinds of things should apply across all of the Birthrights. I also think that you guys have severely underestimated how strong we want the Birthrights to be.

For reference, here's the revised version of Poison of Fafnir, which is the same as the version that is now in the doc.

Spoiler: Poison of Fafnir

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●
The drake is a creature of venom, capable of poisoning both body and mind. A drake’s anger does not merely destroy its target, it undermines its very foundations. The first dot of Poison of Fafnir grants the drake the ability to produce poison within their own body, as well as an instinctive knack for exploiting physical and mental weaknesses.
The dragon’s Drakonos can produce poison from glands in their mouth, much like a venomous snake. This poison is persistent and insidious, harming anyone who comes into contact with it. The poison has a Toxicity equal to the drake’s Stamina + Kauchaomai. A poisoned character takes Lethal damage equal to the Toxicity of the poison at each time interval. At each time interval after the first, the effective Toxicity decreases by 1. The time interval depends on transmission method:
If the poison is spread by blood contact, then the time interval is 1 turn. (Or, to simplify, the target gains the Poisoned Tilt for a number of turns equal to Toxicity.) Examples of this method include biting or injection.
If the poison is spread by ingestion, then the time interval is 1 minute. Examples of this method include kissing, planting it in food or drink, or spitting in the eyes.
If the poison is spread by skin contact, then the time interval is 1 hour. Examples of this method include spitting on the skin, licking, or planting it in skin cream.
By spending a point of Willpower, the drake can grow poisonous fangs in their Anthropos form for the rest of the scene.
The roll to apply the poison, if necessary, depends on the specific method of transmission, and ranges from Strength+Brawl (to bite) to Dexterity+Athletics (to spit) to Dexterity+Larceny (to slip it into a drink). Reapplying the poison does not increase the damage dealt per interval, but simply resets the time limit.
The recipient of the poison has an opportunity to resist the poison’s effects. Each time they would take damage, they make a reflexive Stamina + Resolve – Toxicity roll, where each success negates one point of damage. If the target manages to eliminate their exposure to the poison, they stop taking damage. Vigorous cleaning can eliminate skin contact and flushing stomach contents can removed ingested poisons, and even blood contact can be removed if all of the affected blood is somehow removed (though this unlikely, unless they are poisoned in the middle of an emergency room). It is also possible to make an antivenom, which requires a sample of venom from the dragon in question and an extended Intelligence+Science roll. (The roll takes place once every minute, requires appropriate equipment, and has a target number of successes equal to Toxicity.) The dragon is always immune to their own poison.
In addition to being able to produce poison, the dragon becomes more resistant to other poisons. When rolling Stamina + Resolve to resist a poison’s damage (or a sedative’s effect, or similar), the drake adds twice their Birthright dot rating to the roll. The dragon gains this benefit in both Drakonos and Anthropos forms. To the chagrin of many drakes, this resistance applies to desirable “poisons” as well, such as alcohol, recreational drugs, or medicine, requiring them to consume quantities ranging from “great” to “heroic” in order to achieve the same effect.
The dragon can also read a target’s weaknesses by gazing into their eyes, gaining an instinctive understanding of how to erode their will and exploit their desires.
Action: Instant and Resisted
Cost: 1 Willpower Point
Roll: Empathy + Kauchaomai - Composure

Dramatic Failure: The drake drastically misreads their target, learning a false weakness about their target that will likely backfire when pressed. For the next scene, any rolls made to exploit the false weakness suffer a -4 penalty.
Failure: The drake is unable to get a read on the target.
Success: The drake learns one of the following facts about their target: one of the Aspirations, their Vice, Ambition, or equivalent Anchor trait, or a negative Condition that they suffer from, including the Obsessed Condition. For the next scene, they gain a bonus to all rolls exploiting that weakness equal to activation successes.
Exceptional Success: In addition to the benefits of more successes, the drake learns two of the above facts about their target.

The drake’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

●●
The drake gains greater control over poison, both the venom they produce themselves and poisons, drugs, and toxins that already exist. They also become capable of identifying poison on sight, and enabling people to act on their mental poisons.
The drake can change the properties of an existing poison. By adding some of their own venom to it, the dragon can increase (or decrease) its Toxicity by up to their dots in Poison of Fafnir. They may also increase the potency or effectiveness of alcohol, drugs, or medicine without making it significantly more lethal. So a beer might become as strong as vodka, or over-the-counter pain medication could become as potent as morphine. Many drakes use this property as a way to counteract their innate resistance to toxins. Only mundane poisons can be enhanced this way; they cannot use it to make another drake’s poison more deadly, and they certainly cannot use it on their own poison.
However, the drake can modify their venom to convert it to a less deadly, but potentially more useful, paralytic agent. Instead of dealing damage to the recipient, the poison causes their limbs to seize up, causing their movements to weaken and slow, or stop moving altogether. If the poison’s Toxicity is less than the target’s Stamina, the target gains the Slowed Tilt. If the Toxicity higher than the target’s Stamina, they gain the Immobilized Tilt. After being paralyzed, the target has a chance to throw off the effects with a Stamina + Resolve - Toxicity roll, at intervals depending on the method of transmission.
Skin contact: 1 roll per turn
Ingestion: 1 roll per minute
Blood contact: 1 roll per hour
Alternately, the drake may modify their venom so that it affects the target’s mind instead of their body by reflexively spending a point of Willpower. The target is not physically poisoned and takes no damage. Instead, the target’s conscience and inhibitions are suppressed, leaving them free to pursue their goals and desires without pesky annoyances like other people’s feelings.
The target loses all sense of inhibition for as long as this effect lasts. They act out without care for the social or legal consequences of their actions, and generally do as they would if nobody could stop them. Note that this doesn’t play on a target’s deepest desires, necessarily - alcohol removes inhibitions and it doesn’t turn everyone into murderers, you already have to be pretty nasty for that to happen. This can even have positive effects by getting a shy person to stand up to a bully or letting a therapy patient talk about how they really feel without any psychological blockages. The exact effects are dependent upon the person.
The poison remains in the target’s system for a time dependent on the method of transmission:
Skin contact: one minute
Ingestion: one scene
Blood contact: one day
(It is worth noting that, despite the increased duration, biting or injecting someone who is about to have all of their inhibitions removed is generally not considered the wisest course of action.)
Lastly, the dragon can identify any form of poison with only a cursory examination. This information is usually transmitted through sight and smell. At base, this ability only informs the dragon of the general presence of poison, not its form or effects. By spending a point of Willpower as an Instant action, the drake can learn the exact effects of all poisons they can sense.

The drake’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

●●●
Poison begins to infuse into the drake’s form. Their Drakonos doesn’t just produce poison - it breathes and bleeds it. Their innate poison can be refined to the point of only attacking specific targets, and they can now poison the mind to a greater degree.
The drake’s poison can now be transmitted through inhalation, as they gain the ability to breathe out clouds of poisonous gas. Transmission via inhalation is treated identically to transmission via [blood contact or ingestion?]. The drake can project their poison gas out to (Stamina x 3) yards as an Instant action, engulfing as many targets as the Storyteller allows. Targets can avoid being affected by not breathing in the gas, whether by holding their breath or wearing a gas mask or other methods. This only works if they avoid breathing in the gas in the first place; holding one’s breath after inhaling the poison is of very limited effectiveness. The poisonous gas will hang in the air for [however long, several minutes? Dependant on Kau?] before dispersing into the air. Strong winds or efficient ventilation systems may disperse it more quickly, at the Storyteller’s discretion. Any variation of the drake’s poison can be transmitted through the gas. The gas is visible as a green-tinged haze.
The drake may also tailor their poison to include or exclude specific targets. The poison has no thoughts or will of its own, of course, so criteria of who can be affected must rely on biological factors. So a drake could make a poison that only affects cows, or normal humans, or males, but they could not create a poison that excludes people wearing hats, or Jim the IT guy, or Zmaj. There is theoretically no limit to the number of criteria that can be placed on a single poison, though in practice most drakes find that combining more than 2 or 3 criteria is too much of a headache to bother with. When creating their poisons, the drake has the option to use different poison effects on different groups. For example, a drake can breathe out a poison cloud that damages dragons, removes the inhibitions of werewolves, and leaves normal humans unharmed.
In addition, the drake’s very blood becomes like acid. Whenever they are dealt Lethal damage from a Brawl or Weaponry attack, the attacker suffers Lethal damage equal to the dragon’s Kauchaomai. This damage may be reduced by Armor, though its value is halved unless it protects the whole body.
Finally, the dragon can now poison minds more effectively, planting new obsessions for their victims to follow. When using their mind-altering poison, they may also give the target either a new Aspiration, or the Obsessed condition. The dragon chooses the object of this new goal or obsession.

The drake’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

●●●●
The drake is poison. They don’t just become capable of producing poison anymore - they have to hold themselves back to not create it with every breath they take. The barriers between mental and physical poisons begin to break down, and the drake can take advantage of their own obsessions to recuperate as much physically as they do mentally. They also become a master of mundane poisons, capable of reproducing any toxin that they themselves have suffered from.
The dragon may now breathe poison more easily than before. Their poisonous gas now emerges with every exhalation, poisoning anyone who dares to approach them or follow in their wake. This cloud extends a few feet away from the dragon, and will linger in any place the dragon has been for several minutes. The drake may reflexively activate or deactivate this ability, although by default it is active whenever the dragon is in Drakonos, particularly when the dragon is asleep or unconscious. If the dragon is not consciously controlling what kind of poison is produced this way, it only deals damage. In addition, the dragon no longer has to spend Willpower to produce poison in their Anthropos form.
When the drake enters their Tyranos form, their poisons become more potent. In addition to the benefits of their temporarily higher Kauchaomai rating, the Toxicity of their poisons increases by 1.
The drake also gains a new type of poison that they can produce: a powerful hallucinogenic that alters how its targets perceive reality. A target affected by this poison takes on the Insane, Insensate, or Blinded and Deafened Tilts. (Blinded and Deafened use the more severe version of the Tilts, and Insensate is replaced by Drugged when it ends due to taking damage.) The target has a chance to throw off the effects, as described for the paralytic venom.
Another option that the drake gains for producing poison is to replicate any mundane poison that they have previously been exposed to. They may spit cyanide, breathe out tear gas, or even fill a glass with liquidized ibuprofen. An application of any of these poisons is equivalent to one dose of it in its normal form, and must be applied in the same way as it would be in its normal form. The Toxicity rating of a reproduced poison is the same as it was when the drake was exposed to it, and cannot be raised or lowered by the second dot effect of Poison of Fafnir.
Finally, the drake becomes more in tune with their own obsessions, to the point where refreshing their will by indulging in them refreshes their body as well. Whenever the drake regains Willpower by basking in their Hoard, they also heal an amount of Lethal or Bashing damage equal to the Willpower they regained. (If the dragon gains fewer Willpower points than they usually would due to their Willpower cap, they still heal the full amount.)

The drake’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

●●●●●
The drake’s very presence becomes poisonous. Fields become fallow, birds fall dead out of the sky, and even structures rot away. The barrier between mental and physical poisons disappears completely, allowing the drake’s venom to propagate itself through the spread of ideas. And they no longer have to choose between the effects of their poison, but instead can make their venom as dangerous and versatile as they wish.
By spending 4 points of Willpower, the drake may cause the landscape around them to become poisoned and rotted. An area around the drake with a radius of (Kauchaomai) miles becomes a toxic wasteland. Over the course of a couple weeks, plants and animals wither and die, as do young children, the elderly, and the ill. Healthy adults become sick. Buildings become unstable as their foundations rot away, and roadways crumble into masses of potholes. Even the land itself becomes inhospitable in the final stages, potentially causing sinkholes to open, mountainsides to collapse in landslides, or even localized earthquakes. By the time the poison has run its course, the area has become a blasted wasteland, where only the hardiest and most adaptable life remains.
The drake can now transmit their poison memetically. They communicate an idea to the target, which causes them to take the effects of the poison.
Action: Instant and Contested
Cost: 1 Willpower
Roll: Manipulation + Kauchaomai vs. Resolve + Kauchaomai
Dramatic Failure: The memetic poison rebounds on the dragon, causing them to suffer its effects. The dragon’s normal immunity to their own poison does not apply in this case. The dragon cannot spread this effect memetically.
Failure: The poison fails to take hold.
Success: The target falls under the effects of the poison. The time interval for the poison resistance roll is once per hour for all such varieties, or one day for poisons with flat durations. While under the effects of the poison, any time the target communicates the idea to another person, they become affected as well, and so on. This does not spread infinitely, however. For each step removed from the initial target, the poison becomes more diluted, losing 1 point of Toxicity.
Exceptional Success: The memetic poison is especially virulent. The first “step” away from the initial target does not lose any Toxicity, after which it dilutes normally.
Lastly, the drake can now combine the various types of poisons that they create. They may apply as many effects as they wish to any application of their poison.

The drake’s Drakonos gains an additional point of size.

EDIT: Granted, there might be some editing that needs to be done later. Scaling the poison Toxicity off of damage, for instance, could end up being too abusable, and some other factors may need to be simplified, like how the duration is limited. And I'm sure that the memetic poison option needs some clarification.


One of the important differences we discussed is for all Birthrights to grant a healing option at 4 dots, as well as a significant passive change to their Drakonos and Tyranos (which means Hydrae need to have something really special for their 4 dot healing). And 5 dot effects are very powerful.

[Amechra]

I dunno what you're talking about when you say Immortality of Lerna is currently weak (besides not permanently boosting Drakonos and Tyranos); the only way I personally would pump it up would be adding the following to the fourth level:

"Additionally, whenever the Hydra recovers Willpower, they may use a number of Epoulos equal to the amount of Willpower they gained, rather than just one."

As it stands, the fifth level would already let you regrow your body in between 15 seconds and a minute, depending on whether you have wings or extra heads. If you add my tweak to the fourth dot, they go from "fast healers" to "lolheal".

I'll throw on some tweaks, and we'll see if it's good enough.

EDIT: Tyranos is also not in the document at the moment. What were you going with on Tyranos, by the way?

[Almarck]

So, I'm trying to read through Fafnir and well, I'm thinking that for ease, maybe setting it up so that the options are on bullet points or some bold text to list out seperate parts tied to a certain aspect would make it easier to read.

Then again, I guess it's still a draft. So far, everything looks good, just readability needs to be improved.

What I recommend is that each seperate part have a "Tag" for instance Poison Bite, Poison Spit, Toxic Gas, ect. This is to show that when higher dot abilities are involved that a particular subpart of that ability influences a previous subpart. You don't need to go overboard, but it'd certainly make Fafnir easier to read and quick search what benefits what.


This reminds me though, since you're now standardizing having draconic aspects via Partial Metamorphisis, would it be prudent then to replace any other references to manifesting draconic traits with "Like all Legacies, this Legacy may be used via Partial Metamorphisis"?

Also, here's something that I just noticed. Doesn't the Attribute limit exceed 5 naturally when using Legacies? As far as I am aware, buffs (which Legacies by game mechanics are) allow you to break the limit by default, so is it really neccesary to state that Drakonos is "uncapped" as far as Maximums are concerned or is it a function of Legacies that their attributte boosts do not take you above the usual maximums without Drakonos?



I'll admit, I was just throwing random words together when I came up with Tyranos (obviously a reference to tyrant) since I was hoping someone else would have a better name...

[One Tin Soldier]

I dunno what you're talking about when you say Immortality of Lerna is currently weak (besides not permanently boosting Drakonos and Tyranos); the only way I personally would pump it up would be adding the following to the fourth level:

"Additionally, whenever the Hydra recovers Willpower, they may use a number of Epoulos equal to the amount of Willpower they gained, rather than just one."

As it stands, the fifth level would already let you regrow your body in between 15 seconds and a minute, depending on whether you have wings or extra heads. If you add my tweak to the fourth dot, they go from "fast healers" to "lolheal".

I'll throw on some tweaks, and we'll see if it's good enough.

EDIT: Tyranos is also not in the document at the moment. What were you going with on Tyranos, by the way?

Really, being able to natively heal agg is probably enough for special healing at the 4th dot. And like I was saying, it will probably be easiest to balance all of these if it's mostly me and Xallace writing these up.

So, I'm trying to read through Fafnir and well, I'm thinking that for ease, maybe setting it up so that the options are on bullet points or some bold text to list out seperate parts tied to a certain aspect would make it easier to read.

Then again, I guess it's still a draft. So far, everything looks good, just readability needs to be improved.

What I recommend is that each seperate part have a "Tag" for instance Poison Bite, Poison Spit, Toxic Gas, ect. This is to show that when higher dot abilities are involved that a particular subpart of that ability influences a previous subpart. You don't need to go overboard, but it'd certainly make Fafnir easier to read and quick search what benefits what.

GitP doesn't read indents very well. Look at it on the main doc, I think it's significantly easier to read there. Though I do want to format the Birthright stuff in table-like stuff, with each individual benefit in a separate cell. Preferably with the quick-and dirty description at the start of the cell.

This reminds me though, since you're now standardizing having draconic aspects via Partial Metamorphisis, would it be prudent then to replace any other references to manifesting draconic traits with "Like all Legacies, this Legacy may be used via Partial Metamorphisis"?

But Birthrights aren't Legacies. They have quite a few effects that apply to both forms, and its important to differentiate. Similarly, there are a number of auxiliaries that require the Legacy to be fully active to apply their effect, since it is possible to only activate the Attribute boost.

Also, here's something that I just noticed. Doesn't the Attribute limit exceed 5 naturally when using Legacies? As far as I am aware, buffs (which Legacies by game mechanics are) allow you to break the limit by default, so is it really neccesary to state that Drakonos is "uncapped" as far as Maximums are concerned or is it a function of Legacies that their attributte boosts do not take you above the usual maximums without Drakonos?



I'll admit, I was just throwing random words together when I came up with Tyranos (obviously a reference to tyrant) since I was hoping someone else would have a better name...

I think it is necessary to say. It's only a single sentence, after all, and it eliminates potential confusion.

[Amechra]

True enough; Tyranos is still not in the GDoc.

[One Tin Soldier]

True enough; Tyranos is still not in the GDoc.

That is something that we should remedy.

Also, I was pretty drunk last night, so I probably wasn't the clearest. So sorry for any confusion that may have resulted.

[Almarck]

So uh can you then explain how the attribute dots past 5 thing work for Anthropos? Because legacies typically boost it higher than normal and buffs do not normally follow the human caps. Still kind of confused on that.

[One Tin Soldier]

So uh can you then explain how the attribute dots past 5 thing work for Anthropos? Because legacies typically boost it higher than normal and buffs do not normally follow the human caps. Still kind of confused on that.

That is a good point. We should rephrase it to say that Legacy boosts are not restrained by Attribute caps.

[Almarck]

That is a good point. We should rephrase it to say that Legacy boosts are not restrained by Attribute caps.

So that then means you have to remove the wording that Drakonos is uncapped in terms of attributes since there's no way,you'd break the cap anyways.
Unless it's a mechanic that you can spend exp to go over 5 in. Base attributes but ant numbers past a certain point do not apply in Anthropos unless your kau is high enough.

[Xallace]

@Sgt. Cookie: I like what you've got so far, although I agree with Almarck about the motherly bent. They are the "Mothers of Monsters," after all, and nothing says you can't be a maternal mad scientist...

Additionally, I don't know if it's fully laid out in the doc (I thought it was) but Houses do not have a strong enough collective identity for a full legacy. Obviously, any mutation-type powers are going to be pretty strong but don't worry about filling out 11 abilities. If Houses have legacy-type-dealies, they should have only a handful of auxs at most. Otherwise, once again, like it so far!

@Amechra & OneTinSoldier: I think Amechra's take on Immortality is pretty in line with what we want. It's definitely strong, and the internal nature of the birthright is going to mean it has to leave out really outrageous effects like moving rivers and such. I can see adding in a few extra side-powers and but it's got a solid core going on.

@OneTinSoldier: I think I was drunk that night too, we shoulda compared notes.

@Amechra: Adding that Slayer trait is certainly more elegant than our current solution.

@Almarck: An interesting take on Radiance. I'm typing it up myself and I may port some of the things you suggested into the final product.

[One Tin Soldier]

I've finished the writeup of Hunger of Nidhogg, which is largely similar to what Eris got down, with some effects shifted to lower dots and a couple new effects. Putting it up in the doc now.

EDIT: We are going to keep changing a couple things around, particularly making the 5th dot more impactful.