Vampire the Masqurade: Animal Features

[TheElfLord]

I'm running a Dark Ages vampire game right now and one of the things I'm working on is comming up with a list of animal features for Gangrels. I figured instead of putting one mind to the job, why not tap into the power of the playground.

What are some animal features you have used in games, thought about using, or can think up?

[amanamana]

Back in the old days when I used to play vampire, I usually had the aproach of choosing an animal species to draw all the animal features of a specific gangrel.
Things like:
Cat: Cat-like eyes, slightly furrier body, hairy pointy ears, shortened cat-like nose, always extended canine teeth... and even a tail, for a advanced level of changing.
Wolf: Claws always extended, always extended canine teeth, very hairy body, thick fur-like hair and beard...
Lizard: Forked tongue, dry and rough skin, later upgrading to very small scales, claws always extended... this one, as much as snakes, might make them look like setites...

[amanamana]

And you can always intimidate your players by making them believe that you may choose an animal like a duck!

"You come back of your frenzy to realize the damage you caused... the ghouls are torn to pieces and two of your allies are on the ground. You've attacked them, and their blood's taste still can be felt in your beak...
What? Yeah, I said beak... that big duck beak you have in place of your mouth!"

[Gavin Sage]

The Storyteller in a game I've played has an NPC Gangrel that looks like a humanoid slug. Complete with slime.

Oh and have you exhausted the Clanbook list of features?

[TheElfLord]

Sadly I don't have the clanbook, though now that you mention it, that would be a good place to look

[kbk]

Have the player choose a type of animal. Wolves and large cats are pretty popular. Sometimes hawks and other predatory birds can fit. Generally speaking predatory animals are preferred because they match the predatory nature of vampires.


Create a list of more and more severe features. So a tiger list might look like:
Cat eyes
Slightly pointed ears.
Light fur on body parts that already have hair.
Whiskers
Stripes
More cat-like ears (further up the head, pointier)
Sharper cat-like teeth
Heavier fur across the body, including parts that aren't normally furry.
Short tail
Longer Tail


And so on. The idea is the features get more pronounced with more and more frenzies. You might brake some changes up into several stages, like have the stripes develop over several frenzies, or you might combine some that I've separated here.

Sometimes people mix and match features across different animals, but I think I prefer the idea of staying with a single species.

[Gavin Sage]

Sadly I don't have the clanbook, though now that you mention it, that would be a good place to look

Not that hard to find in PDF form online for a small price (Listed at $7.98) and I'm sure you could find it on certain disreputable sites for ahem... less.

They've got some good ones that provide defined mechanical benefit/drawbacks. My favorite is the Hide, free armor for the price of a dex penanlty and freaky skin.

[Te'Shen]

...there are mental traits, too.

Some animals bury food to come back to it later. I remember one of the npc gangrel in a module had that flaw. Turning around before you sit/lay down. Scenting persons you meet could be one. Being easily distracted by movement could be one... any behavior that is fairly instinctive could be acquired by frenzies/flaws.

[LibraryOgre]

Go with the other vampire stereotype: Bats.

"Good news! Your Gangrel is turning into a Nosferatu!"

[AstralFire]

Go with the other vampire stereotype: Bats.

"Good news! Your Gangrel is turning into a Nosferatu!"