OD 10.6.2002 [5:05 p.m.]

Okay, first off, sorry about sending it like 2 times while writing it. I kept clicking Send on accident. Anyway! A couple general things before I start moving down the char sheet:

1. Triat. Bastet see the Triat as Rahjah the Maker, Cahlash the Unmaker, and Nala the Mad. You can ROUGHLY equate that to Weaver, Wyrm and Wyld, but in the Bastet worldview all three are necessary, none of the three are mad, and all three are a part of every Bastet.

2. Asura. This is what Bastet call the forces of the "wyrm". Though the Bastet recognize that Cahlash unleashed Asura, they don't really blame him for it, and they don't see him as particularly affiliated with it. This is the bastard child of Cahlash, and it's dangerous and bad and evil and awful - but it's not Cahlash, who is the Dark Father of them all.

3. Umbra. Gone. Not there. Bastet can't go into it, and this kills them. They have gifts to look into it and speak to spirits in it - but until level 4 or 5 for most Bastet, the Umbra is out of reach. This is thanks to the War of Rage.

4. Totems. Also gone. Also thanks to the War of Rage.

5. Ancestors. Also gone. Also thanks to the War of Rage. Basically, everything related to spirits and the spirit world is gone, except for the most basic stuff. This is ironic because Bastet are a lot more in tune with the spirits than the Garou - signified by their higher Gnosis, but running much deeper than that.

6. Boons and Bans. Bastet get two "goodies" - first, Kheaur, their common language, which stretches across all forms, all breeds, all tribes. It's partly vocal, mostly subtle posturing, which I take to mean they can communicate simple ideas with a truncated form of Kheaur silently, and without doing any crazy contortions.

Second, they get -2 perception difficulties on ALL forms except Homid. Garou only get this on Lupus. More on the forms later. Also, in non-Homid they can see normally in anything but absolute darkness, and even in absolute darkness probably take a smaller penalty, since a lot of their perception comes from sound and the padaa (aka Flehmen reaction, where the cat kinda grimaces and looks like it's snarling, lips peeled back and all, and inhales).

For that, though, they get a Yava: 3 tribal secrets that, if let out, can destroy the tribe. First off, they can be very dangerous (like the Khan sun-sleep one, where it says all Khan sleep like the dead on an eclipse, all day, all night); secondly, anyone who knows it has a -2 difficulty on all magic against the tribe in question, and all of the tribe has a +2 difficulty on magic against the person. Very, very bad.

7. The Forms and Delirium. Homid's homid; felis is felis. In between Sokto isn't slouching and hairy; it's lean, supple, and compellingly exotic, even for the tribes that lose a point of appearance. Crinos invokes lessened Delirium (act as if all bystanders had +2 WP); Chatro, though - the humongous sabertoothed form - invokes Full Delirium. Thus, the warform of Bastet tends to be the Chatro form, not the Crinos.

8. The Moon. Seline. This is the Bastet's patron deity. They might live on Gaia, but it's the moon they revere, the moon they love, and the moon that loves them best. This might be part of why they aren't as gung-ho as the Garou are. Their differing views on the Triat are the other reason.

9. Gatherings. Taghairms. These are informal "moots" that can be called anytime, which are usually just get-togethers where Bastet come to tell their stories and share their Gifts. Most Gifts are learned from each other, so the Bastet tell the secrets freely - with one catch. They disguise the trick as riddles, so only those smart enough to understand will learn the Gift. Of course, since WW is an ass, taghairms tend to end in orgies.

Name, Player, Chronicle

Duh.

Breed

This one's pretty obvious too, but I'll go over it quickly:

Homid: born to a human/homid parent, Homids grew up mostly human...but different. Though their thought processes are most similar to normal human's, they tend to be arrogant - though not necessarily in a way that you can tell. They're always prettier than the ones around them, even if it wasn't physical. They're just...arresting, somehow. People are drawn to them, but they're also a little frightened of them. Homid Bastet have a way of looking at others that kept the ones they didn't like far, far away, and had the ones they liked eating out of their hand. They know this, when manipulation is so important for the human world, it tends to give the Homids an unshakeable confidence in themselves.

After they Changed, they retained this sense of superiority, even to metises and felines of their own kind. But then again, all Bastet think they're the end-all-be-all.

Metis: like Garou metises, Bastet metises grow up with the full awareness of what they are. By the time they First Change into one of their other forms, they've already lived years as a Bastet. As such, they perhaps know what it is to be Bastet best of all. In addition to that, they have a deeper link to the primal nature of things than either Homid or Feline. Also like Garou metises, the price they pay for this is a deformity they will never, ever escape.

Unlike Garou, they're respected and secretly envied for their assets, rather than shunned. Bastet don't look down on the metis of their kind...but, for a race that prides itself so greatly on their perfection in every way, the flaws metises carry are a deep burden on themselves. Though they know best what it is to be Bastet, they're probably the least confident, and possibly the most bitter/angry.

Feline: these are the ones born and raised by big cats in the wild. Their minds are very alien compared to a human mind - which isn't to say they're all grunting and hairy and uncouth like Lupus Garou. They're, well. Cats. Proud, assiduous, lazy, tempestuous, smug, amoral, almost cruel by turns. I can't really put this down on paper very well, but the best way to get a feel for them is to watch Galahad for a while. Hee.

Pryio

This is the Bastet version of Auspice. Unlike Garou auspices, though, they're very loose, very vague, and more suggestions than an order passed down by the gods. It's based on the time a Bastet is born (or First Changes...I forgot which). However, I think Bastet still regain Rage like a Garou does (depending on moon phase)...I just don't know how they regain "full" rage. Maybe based on what moon phase they were born under? Who knows.

Anyway, since they don't have Auspice, they don't have Auspice Gifts either. Instead, they have a big pool of "General" gifts, which is rather neat.

Daylight: straightforward folk. These are the most incomprehensible of Bastet for me. I mean. Wtf? Straightforward Bastet? Oxymoron, anyone? Anyway, they're supposed to be brave, hearty, bright people who see things directly and tackle things head-on. Whatever!

Twilight: this is what most of my Bastet are. These are complex characters who are frequently moody and capricious, springing from amusement to violence on a dime's drop. They're also stylish, artistic Bastet who see the many facets of everything, and tend to play life - and everyone around them - as a game. In essence, this is what I think ALL Bastet are.

Night: these are the dark, moody creatures that lurk at the edges of the shadows. They don't say much, they watch everything, and they're frequently hostile in demeanor. I guess this is all right, but it's a bit too Highlander-esque for me. Also too Garou-ish. Then again, maybe it's just cuz I haven't seen one really played well yet. I think Castis was Night? And his alter ego, whatever his name was, was either Daylight or Twilight.

Tribe

There's nine of them. You're interested in the Bubasti, but I'll run down the rest for you, too. For the Bubasti themselves, you can read the expanded rant that I gave you at work the other day. Hee.

Bagheera: wereleopards. WW has them as wise travelers; I say differently. I see the African ones as implacable, dangerous cats, the leopards lounging in the trees waiting to strike down an unlucky gazelle. I think thunderstorms over the plains, flash-floods, the wisdom of blood and predation. On the contrary, Indian Bagheera are more jungle cats, sultry creatures that embody the monsoons that (relatively) quietly drench everything. They're earthy, liquid, compelling, mysterious. Beginning Rage 2, WP 4.

Balam: werejaguars. WW has them as angry natives, almost exclusively Mayan or Incan or whatever. Not white, basically. They hate everything white, they hate everything Wyrm, they hate everything in general, but they like guns. Think a Wendigo with guns, and you've got the WW stereotype. I'm sure there's a way to play them beautifully, but I'm so turned off by what WW made them out to be that I don't even try to think about it. Though, as a side note, jaguars are secretive cats who'd rather vanish than face confrontation. There are stories, though, of jaguars trailing frightened wanderers all the way to the edge of the forest, as though escorting them out, and then vanishing without a trace. Beginning Rage 4, WP 3.

Bubasti: you already got the big long rant on these. They're very sleek, mysterious creatures; the epitome of a "small" bastet. Once their feline kin were the Kyphur cats worshipped as gods by ancient Egyptians, but they're almost totally extinct now. For that, the Bubasti carry a hidden blood-debt, but they aren't so overt about it as the Balam. They tend to be beautiful people, dark and entrancing, lean and green-eyed - but not so much emerald, as moss. They're well-versed in sorcery, including lots of Hedge Magic in addition to their rites and gifts, and also tend to be rather urbane - in their own, dark, predatory way. In feline, they're black as sin - one and all. Beginning Rage 1, WP 5.

Ceilican: fae cats. Another breed for which WW never really specifies a feline parallel. Some people think these are just cats, period - like those little wildcats that you find in Britain and stuff? I'm not that big a fan of these, either. Heck, to be honest, I only really like the great cats (minus the f'ed up Balam) - Bagheera, Khan, Simba - and Bubasti. But, yeah. Fae cats! Supposedly extinct, they hide themselves as other tribes. They're very musical, keeping in touch through all these songs w/ hidden messages, and generally...well, think Fianna, only cats. Fianna+Satyr+cat. Beginning Rage 3, WP 3.

Khan: weretigers. WW has these as raging avengers of the gods, the tribe of sunlight, like a sorta feline Silver Fang; I think they got it ALL wrong, seeing as how tigers are nocturnal predators like most cats, and besides that prefer the shade of the jungles. That's why they're striped, after all. I see them more as big, powerful things, languid on a full belly, implacable on an empty one. Beginning Rage 5, WP 2.

Pumonca: werecougars. WW says they're wandering cool-in-touch-with-the-earth native-types, hardy and enduring. They like to travel, but they can't leave American soil for more than a month or they'll die. They're also quiet, preferring to listen rather than speak, and don't like technology all that much - though Raindance Smith, the "signature" Pumonca from the book, rides a Harley. Beginning Rage 3, WP 4.

Qualmi: werelynxes. Riddlers and shamans, they also tend to be adept at magic of all sorts, though theirs is more focused on divining and perhaps healing, and stem from the earth rather than...darker...things, like the Bubasti. These are the ones that speak in riddles and confuse the hell out of everyone. No one really knows what a Qualmi is saying - not even himself, sometimes. Louis played a great Qualmi (Tricks the Hare). Beginning Rage 2, WP 5.

Simba: werelions. Big, powerful, dominating. WW has them basically as the foils to the Khan, the feline Shadow Lords, but for one that actually kind of fits. Not so much scheming and manipulative, though, these guys hold strength as the pinnacle achievement. Like real lions, they travel in prides, usually with one male leading for as long as he can fend off rivals, sometimes with up to three if three males beat down the old male together. Instinct will usually cause the three to fight among themselves eventually, though, until only run remains. Females aren't so much submissive, I think, as they are somewhat uncaring of the powerplay. All in all, I kinda see the Simba as slightly jaded. Of course, Equinox was the quintessential Simba lioness. Beginning Rage 5, WP 2.

Swara: werecheetahs. Like the real things, they're elusive, high-strung, jittery, and distrustful. They of all the cats can easily pass into the Umbra - their sidestepping gift comes at a whopping level 2, not 4 or 5 for the rest of the Bastet. They got seriously f'ed over by the Simba though, and generally don't trust anyone anymore. Unlike the real thing, WW also has them as couriers a la Silent Striders; I think that's really stupid, and tend to ignore it. Why would a breed that doesn't particularly WANT to stay in touch with each other need a whole tribe to pass messages? Beginning Rage 2, WP 4.

Pride

You can pretty much ignore this. Though some people put their non-Simba characters into a pride, this is really only for Simba.

Jamak

This is a background. For the most part significantly less powerful than Garou totems, a Jamak is more like a spirit friend who happens to give a few favors. You can think of them sort of like crosses between personal totems and familiar spirits. I'm just gonna list the Jamak in the book with their boons/bans and a really short description:

Bonyscrap: Cost 1. This is like. A foul-mouthed vulture who disses everyone. Obviously, honorable/fussy cats don't like him much. Bubasti are most likely to associate with him, because to them the info is more important than anything else. Boon: He gives +1/2 to either Enigmas or Investigations as he sees fit. In RP, this means he taunts the cat before finally giving up some little hint or other. Ban: nothing, except that he's annoying and stinky.

Butterfly: Cost 1. A symbol of change, hope, metamorphosis, rebirth. Balam, Bagheera and Qualmi like it a lot. Peaceful and full of wonder, Butterfly is without anger or despair. Boon: Monkey's Uncle gift. This is REALLY GOOD. That's like the Level Four or Five gift that lets you assume any face you like. Also adds +2 frenzy diff. However, it's kinda boring to play a happy-happy bastet. Heh. Jarl Thane was a friend of Butterfly, though. Ban: cannot attack in anger, only for self-defense.

Citlacoatl, the Feathered Serpent King: Cost 3. Crafty, clever, chuckling, but also wise in the ways of life and death, and spirit. Some affinity to the Uroboros here, I think. Only Balam and Pumonca take this one, though. Boon: advice, etc. Sometimes snakes come to help the Bastet. Occasionally the Bastet learns Dance of the Cobra (level 3 Bagheera gift). Even more occasionally, he might teach the Rite of Nine Lives (lets you reincarnate 8 times) or the gift Walking Between Worlds (lets you go Umbral). Ban: WW fucked up here. Agents of the Unmaker Wyrm? WTF? More like, Asura. Anyway - Citlacoatl hates Asura. Also, he hates King Snake, so anyone who follows one or the other isn't gonna be his friend. King Snake isn't even in the book though, so...

Hatii the Thunderer: Cost 5. Elephant spirit, very powerful. Never chooses a Simba ally. Never forgives a slight, nor a kindness. Favored by the Khan. This is Lancaster's Jamak. Boon: +2 stamina in battle. Photographic Memory for one event per story. In Africa or India, elephants might come to aid a desperate Bastet. Ban: should defend elephants if possible, and hunt down those who kill elephants for sport or ivory.

Ika-Ika the Monkey King: Cost 3. Noisy, boisterous, representing mischief, ferocity, nonsense and caprice, he's wisdom masked in chaos. He's also very loyal. He might screw around with his friends, but if the shit really hits the fan, he'll be the first to show up to fight. Bagheera and Swara like him; Khan and Simba don't. Bubasti HATE him. With a vengeance. Boon: +1 dex, +1 acrobatics for a day when he feels like it. Sometimes teaches Treeclimber or Farsight. On rare cases, he might teach Clawstorm or Monkey's Uncle, but to learn these, you gotta be at least Tilau (lvl 3). Bans: Must like anarchy, but must know when to stop and not be cruel.

King-of-Cats: Cost 3. Dashing, quick and clever, he's both the bright charm of Rahjah and the dark allure of Cahlash. Some people think he's one or the other manifested; some people know he's both. He's all about style and grace. This was Wish's Jamak. Boons: +1 dex permanently; also Graceful Merit. Can also teach any Bastet gift, but rarely does. Bans: Cannot be depressed or morbid.

King of Beasts: Cost 6. Pretty much only Simba prides (up to four Bastet) can afford this one by pooling their background dots. He's majestic, powerful, dominating, and takes no crap from anyone. Boons: +1 str, -3 Intimidation diff. He also teaches many gifts if he feels a pride is worthy. Bans: Followers must bow to him while dominating everyone else. Cowardice or faltering will cost a pride his aid, and possibly forever.

Mantis: Cost 2. Khan and Bagheera, and the Kalahari Simba (there are three "subtribes" of Simba - one dead, one large and strong, one small and "peaceful") like this one. He's all about silence and patience. Boons: the Bastet can roll WP vs. diff 9 to reduce the difficulty of an Enigma, Occult or Investigation roll by one point per success. This cannot be done in combat - but it'd be strange to think of a combat where you'd need those skills, anyway. Bans: cannot be hasty or reckless.

Mistress of Catkind: Cost 5. This lady is basically the embodiment of Creation, and has a little bit of every goddess in her. I can go on, but I won't. Hee. Boons: Usually, just advice. She can, however, teach any Gift, grant strange powers not in any book, etc. Bans: she hates Asura. The book gets a bit self-contradictory here: a Bastet who joins with Cahlash loses her. I think it should read, a Bastet who dabbles too deeply in Asura loses her - because Cahlash is in every Bastet. Anyway...

Old Snapjaw: Cost 2. Bubasti like this one. It's an alligator/crocodile spirit who, like a sphinx, riddles a would-be follower and consumes him if he shows hesitation or cowardice. Sometimes she kills him; most times, she just marks him as a coward forever. Boons: +3 enigma, +1 rage. Bans: must be willing to do anything to learn a magical secret.

Thunderbird: Cost 5. This is not the same as the Wendigo Thunderbird, though it is another aspect of the same spirit. Pumonca like him, obviously, though he likes humans too. Boons: can teach any Pumonca gift, and often does. Can send thunderbolts to help his followers. Hawks and eagles also come to the cat's aid, and bursts of sheer terror can send his enemies fleeing (like True Fear, I guess). Bans: no cowardice, no corruption.

Tzinzie: Cost 2. The Fly Lord, he's a trickster and a rather annoying one at that. Bubasti, Ceilican and Qualmi favor him. Boons: Catfeet, Swipe and First Strike gifts (yeah, a lot...), +1 dex when fleeing from a larger opponent. Ban: Must never bully the weak, or let a self-important person rest peacefully.

Whispers: Cost 2. The spirit of Secrets. It's said she's the echo of the Jamaa themselves (Rahjah, Nala and Cahlash). Elusive, she reveals herself only to the wisest. Boons: Percep+Awareness vs. diff 7 - if successful, can lower Enigma diff by 3. Might also grant (one use per grant) gifts Night's Passage, Cheshire Prank, or Eavesdropper's Ear.

Attributes and Abilities

These are the same as in Werewolf, so I'll just leave them alone.

Backgrounds

These are MOSTLY the same, except:

Banned: Due to the War of Rage, Bastet cannot take Ancestors and Totem. They can have Fetishes, but it's called a Trinket, and they can also have "trinkets" from other character types (like Mage Talismans (but only up to level 3) or Changeling Treasures).

New Backgrounds: Jamak, which I just covered; Trinkets, which I just covered. Also:

Den Realm

Basically a Den-Realm is like a mini-Caern for a single Bastet. It's his personal territory and holy ground. Depending on the level of the background taken, it can be small or large, and can have a high Gauntlet or a low (more on this later). A Den-Realm has an Penumbral reflection as well, behaving basically like a mini-Domain (it's like a Realm, only in the Penumbra) that looks like whatever the Bastet wants it to look like. From the outside, the Den-Realm usually can't be seen for what it is. In the Umbra, they're usually "camouflaged", and it's hard to find them by just looking.

In a Den-Realm, a Bastet has a lot of special powers he doesn't have elsewhere:

1. Sidestepping. Most notably, he can sidestep without a Gift. He can also bring associates across one at a time by touching them while he sidesteps. For him, the Gauntlet is only ever 3. For everyone else, it's whatever his background points indicate. Once sidestepped he can go anywhere in the Umbral - but can only come out again when he finds his own Den-Realm. Fortunately...

2. Tracking. He can always "feel" where his Den-Realm is. No matter how far he goes, he's tied to the land there, and will always be able to find his way back.

3. Skipping. He can also "skip" in the Den-Realm - that is, he can jump into the air, roll gnosis vs. 6, and vanish. He can then reappear anywhere within a distance you can travel in a usual turn, as long as it's a solid place (a tree, a rock - not midair). If you fail the roll, you just land wherever your jump ends. If you BOTCH, you get "stuck" until the next turn. You can do this as many times as you have Gnosis in a scene.

4. Sensing. You can always sense when someone's fucking with your land. With Percep+Den-Realm vs. diff 8, you can sense where, and roughly how.

5. Peeking. You can peek across the Gauntlet, which only counts as 3 against this.

The different levels of the Background go as follows:

O - Size of house in city/one square mile in wild - Base gauntlet 5.

OO - Size of mansion/two sq. miles. Base Gauntlet 6.

OOO - Size of a city block square/five sq. miles. Base Gauntlet 7.

OOOO - Size of 2 city blocks square/ten sq. miles. Base Gauntlet 8.

OOOOO - Size of 5 city blocks square/twenty sq. miles. Base Gauntlet 9.

You can set the Gauntlet one level higher by spending 2 extra gnosis during creation (using the level 3 Rite of Claiming - see later).

Secrets

This is a Background that means you have some sorta secret. I personally think it's sorta dumb, but hey...

O - Gossip (affairs, minor bribes, president's bad habits)

OO - Interesting tidbits (which cops are on the take, mayor's mistress and her address, "proof" of aliens)

OOO - Serious dirt (corrupt politicians, Kindred politics)

OOOO - Frightening dirt (governor's black book, elder vampire's haven, second gunman on grassy knoll)

OOOOO - Danger to others and to yourself (capo's bank account, archwizard's True Name, plans for upcoming invasion of China)

Secrets come in two flavors: General (local scope, but fairly broad - which cops are on the take in Brooklyn, etc. If you leave Brooklyn, you have to either trade in the dots for something else, get a new secret with the dots, or try to specialize in finding corrupt cops everywhere); and Specific (worldwide scope, but one single secret that's gone once it's out, forcing you to get a new secret or trade in the dots).

Gifts and Rites

...entirely too many to name, so I'm just going to refer you to these pages:

http://members.aol.com/WiidKatt2/intro1.html

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Chasm/6406/charcreation.html

The first page is a little better organized, but I think the second page has a lot more info (including stuff I've glossed over above) if you dig around a bit. I will add this about the Rites, though:

Rites are organized into these categories: Kuasha (sort of a combination of Accord and Mystic), Moon (mostly Mysticish), Need (also mostly Mystic, some Caernish), and Taghairm (mostly Caern, some Accord and Death). The following rites are shared between Garou and Bastet:

Kuasha: Dedication Rite (Rite of Talisman Dedication), Rite of Contrition.

Moon: Bind the Spirit-Fetish (Rite of the Fetish), Rite of Summoning, Rouse the Sleeping Spirit (Rite of Spirit Awakening).

Need: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Opened Bridge (since cats don't have Caerns, I don't know where the Bridges go. Heh).

Taghairm: Festival of Flowers (Gathering for the Departed).

Renown and Rank

Bastet renown is a bit different from Garou renown.

1) There's a bigger gap in renown between rank one and two, and two and three, because it takes a while for a new Bastet to do enough for his elders to take him seriously. After that, his name becomes "known" and the renown gap might actually be smaller than that for Garou.

2) There's no set pattern for getting renown. You get renown however you like - as long as you scrape up enough points, you move on. Sorta like Ragabash. Ranks go like this:

Tekhmet - Rank 1. 3 renown.

Aka - Rank 2. 10 renown (compared to like...6 or 7 for Garou).

Tilau - Rank 3. 15 renown (compared to like 10 or so for Garou).

Ilani - Rank 4. 20 renown.

Bon Bhat - Rank 5. 25 renown.

Some Bastet get to Rank 6, which has no name, but basically means you da man.

3) Renown categories are different:

Ferocity - instead of glory, which is sort of more like bragging rights, Bastet value raw ferocity. It's not how cool you looked killing so and so - it's how badass you are, period.

Honor - this has the same name, but means quite a different thing. Most Bastet don't consider screwing non-bastet over a breach of honor. Most Bastet DO, however, guard their own honor jealously, and also expect to treat and be treated by other Bastet honorably.

Cunning - instead of Wisdom, Bastet value cunning, which is sort of a more practical application of Wisdom, and also a more down-and-dirty form of it. Wisdom might be knowing the true names of the Celestines; Cunning is knowing them and using them to get what you want.

Tempers

...are the same for Bastet as for Garou.

Yava

This is kinda cool. The book never specifies whether or not these are true, whether some are true and others aren't, or whether they're all false. But here they are all the same:

Bagheera:

1) Bagheera sleep deeply during the new moon. Once they slumber, nothing short of violence can wake them.

2) Make a trail of salt; a panther will follow it from beginning to end without stopping.

3) Blessing a leopard's prey with Aabhaya (a hand gesture meaning protection) will force the cat to flee unless his rage is just.

Bubasti:

1) When all immortals of the tribe are slain, the tribe itself will die with them. [Who are the immortals? Beats me.]

2) The Black Soil of Khem is forever tied to the tribe. If all Bubasti in a generation flee the land, they will be the last of their kind.

3) Bubasti are always hungry. Though no amount of food or drink will ease their craving, they will always eat what's put before them.

Ceilican: [sucks to be these guys, cuz they have FOUR]

1) Faerie cats fear the touch of cold iron. It burns them like a brand.

2) Reciting a Ceilican's name backwards three times causes him discomfort; recite it six times thus, and he will die.

3) The sound of a silver bell or church hymn strikes a faerie cat deaf for three days after.

4) The race's passion undoes them. Each year, they must forget who they are and become someone else. Some cats must do this often, and by their landless ways, you shall know them. [This is actually implied to be true by the book - Ceilicans tend to have multiple personalities where they shift Pryio at least twice a year at Samhain and Beltain.]

Khan:

1) The Khan belong to the tribe of the sun; when he sleeps, the sleep also. During an eclipse, all Khan slumber for one day, then awaken hungry. [This is the only Yava flat-out said to be true in the book - the eclipse one, which is how the Tiger Wars of the 1950s ended up killing almost all the Khan (one Khan used the Yava on his rival's people). However, about the sleeping at night thing - I think most people online ignore it, since so many sites are eternal night.]

2) Khan cannot resist the meat of an innocent child, though it violates their laws to eat it.

3) A tiger cannot resist a direct challenge. To turn away costs him his rage for a fortnight.

Pumonca:

1) A Pumonca is one with her land; if she leaves it for more than a full moon cycle, she will die.

2) The essence of the poisoned land (toxic waste, radiation, sewage) is deadly to a puma. Immerse him in its toxins and he will quickly perish.

3) All beasts fear the puma. No horse will bear him, no dog will follow him. The great cats are his Kin and they befriend him, but no other animal can approach without terror.

Qualmi:

1) The power of a lynx lies in her riddles; to unravel them is to undo her magic.

2) The Qualmi share a soul with the salmon; poison the salmon, and you harm the tribe.

3) No lynx can speak the truth about her parents. Confront her with their names and faces, and she will be confused for days.

Simba: [I like the Simba ones, hee.]

1) A rope made of lion's mane will bind a Simba fast.

2) To defeat a lion, steal his roar. In it, you may find a bit of his soul. He will not harm the one who holds that soul until he finds his roar again. [And no, I don't know what this means either, though I take it to be highly metaphorical - as in, shame the lion, or enchant him, or something like that = "steal his roar".]

3) No male Simba will kill his wife, or allow another to do the same. [Knowing me, you'll know why I like this one.]

Swara:

1) The Swara are very protective of their mother's good name. By telling tales of Damaa's cowardice, you can reduce a cheetah to madness.

2) The soil of the moon intoxicates the Swara. Mix it into his drink, and he will dance and laugh for days.

3) The Unmaker has his hand deep in all Bastets' souls. A frenzy will herald his approach. A Swara fears such frenzy, and must avoid its taint at all costs. [I think it's talking about Thrall of the Wyrm here.]

The Forms

Bastet vary so much that their form stats are all different. I already went over the forms briefly earlier, so here I'll just list the stats.

Bagheera:

Sokto

Str +1

Dex +1

Sta +2

Man -1

App -1

Crinos

Str +3

Dex +3

Sta +3

Man -3

App 0

Chatro

Str +2

Dex +3

Sta +3

Man -3

App -2

Feline

Str +1

Dex +3

Sta +2

Man -3

Balam

Sokto

Str +2

Dex +1

Sta +2

Man -1

App -1

Crinos

Str +3

Dex +3

Sta +3

Man -4 [they're really not people persons]

App 0

Chatro

Str +3

Dex +2

Sta -3

Man -4

App 0 [not too goodlookin' either]

Feline

Str +2

Dex +3

Sta +2

Man -3

Bubasti

Sokto

Str +0

Dex +1

Sta +0

Man -0 [damned slick...]

App +1 [...and damned beautiful]

Crinos

Str +1

Dex +3

Sta +1

Man -2 [in CRINOS!]

App -3 [Not 0!]

Chatro

Str +2

Dex +4 [jesus god!]

Sta +1

Man -2 [in CHATRO!]

App 0 [k, now they're ugly]

Feline

Str -1

Dex +4

Sta +1

Man -0

Ceilican

Sokto

Str +0

Dex +2

Sta +1

Man -0

App +1

Crinos

Str +1

Dex +3

Sta +1

Man -0

App -2

Chatro

Str +0

Dex +4

Sta +1

Man -2

App -2

Feline

Str -1

Dex +4

Sta +0

Man -2

Khan

Sokto

Str +2

Dex +1

Sta +2

Man -1

App -1

Crinos

Str +3

Dex +2

Sta +3

Man -3

App 0

Chatro

Str +4

Dex +2

Sta +3

Man -3

App 0

Feline

Str +2

Dex +2

Dex +3

Man -3

Pumonca [I think this tribe's needlessly twinked. Cougars aren't THAT badass...sheesh. I mean - worse than lions?]

Sokto

Str +1

Dex +2

Sta +2

Man -1

App -0

Crinos

Str +3

Dex +3

Sta +4

Man -3

App 0

Chatro

Str +3

Dex +3

Sta +3

Man -3

App 0

Feline

Str +2

Dex +3

Sta +3

Man +0

Qualmi

Sokto

Str +0

Dex +2

Sta +0

Man -0

App +1

Crinos

Str +1

Dex +3

Sta +1

Man -2

App 0

Chatro

Str +1

Str +4

Sta +1

Man -2

App 0

Feline

Str +0

Dex +4

Sta +0

Man -2

Simba [...and, an undertwinked tribe *LOL* I find it hard to believe a lion's stats don't exceed those of a wolf]

Sokto

Str +2

Dex +1

Stam +2

Man -1

App +1 [but pretty]

Crinos

Str +3

Dex +2

Sta +3

Man -2

App 0

Chatro

Str +3

Dex +2

Sta +3

Man -2

App 0

Feline

Str +3

Dex +3

Sta +2

Man -1

Swara

Sokto

Str +1

Dex +2

Sta +1

Man -1

App +0

Crinos

Str +2

Dex +4

Sta +3

Man -3

App 0

Chatro

Str +2

Dex +4

Sta +3

Man -3

App 0

Feline

Str +1

Dex +4

Sta +2

Man -3

Merits and Flaws

Here are a few merits and flaws specific to Bastet:

Graceful (+2): this should probably be termed charismatic, as it also include non-physical "grace". Basically, people love you. -2 social difficulties whenever appropriate (yes, it'll help you seduce; no, it won't help you scare someone shitless by flexing your muscles - though it will help you intimidate someone by your sheer beauty).

Culture Knack (+3): you can just...blend. It doesn't help you look like the culture, but it makes it easy for you to pick up the quirks and the knacks of a culture quickly. If you botch a Social roll, this merit lets you reroll it again at normal difficulty.

Photographic Memory (+3): duh.

Gift of Seline (+5): on the nights of the full moon, you get a bonus. For example, +2 Rage, +1 Str or Sta, +1 dice to all Social pools, -1 perception diff, +2 gnosis, or +2 WP. This only happens at night for that one night, and only one bonus comes on at a time.

Disconcerting (-2): sort of like Eerie Presence, this adds +2 diff to all social rolls involving making someone like or trust you.

Graceless (-2): just that. +2 diff to social rolls involving looking good. This SUCKS for a werecat.

Sensation Junkie (-2): like Mae West, you always wanna try the evil you haven't tried yet. It was Mae West, right? Anyway, you have to make a WP roll to resist a new kick. The more dangerous it looks, the lower the diff. If you fail, though, you MUST go through with it. Chance "Hey Drop Me Over Those Rocks" Solomon had this, obviously.

Too Curious (-3): just that. WP roll vs. varying diff (the more convoluted it LOOKS, the lower the diff) to avoid following up anything that lies unsolved.

Moon-Mad (-5): when the moon is full, you get +2 Rage, and generally stalk around in a very bad mood. I can see how this flaw can be SERIOUSLY twinked with, as some people wouldn't mind having two extra Rage and five extra freebies to play around with, but this is supposed to be a bad thing.

Multiple Personalities (-5): this is like, the Ceilican curse. You switch Pryio, Nature or Demeanor - or all three - unpredictably. You have to have at least one extra personality to hop over to.

Trinkets

Expanding on what I said earlier on Trinkets, here are a coupla trinkets specific to Bastet:

Devil's Deck: (Level 1, Gnosis 5) Basically, a collection of "normal" playing cards. If you blow on them and ask for luck (aka roll Gnosis vs. diff 5 to activate the deck), it'll give you +5 Gambling dice, or add to your existing dice. This more or less gives you a surefire win.

Lotus Petals: (Level 2, Gnosis N/A) Petals from lotuses on the moon, every Bastet who journeys to the moon (by that one Level 5 Gift that I forgot the name of) can bring back five. They're said to have special properties including 1) Power to dissolve any poison inside or outside the body; 2) Ability to heal any mortal disease if eaten; 3) Power to increase the potency of moon rites; 4) Seed to ensure the birth of a Bastet kitten. Whether or not these are true are up to the ST.

Grandmother's Stones: (Level 2, Gnosis 5) Gemstones that raise the Gnosis of any female Bastet who wears them. For every success the werecat rolls to attune with the fetish (Gnosis vs. diff 5) during the full moon, she gets an extra Gnosis until spent. The extra Gnosis, however, only works at night.

Truth-Speaker Stick: (Level 3, Gnosis 5) These sticks are sometimes passed around at taghairms to make sure people aren't exaggerating the truth about their renown. If the person holding it tells the truth, no biggie; if the person lies, the stick flies into the air and smashes the person on the head repeatedly until everyone knows he was lying. Then it flies back to the owner. If surrounded by liars, it glows like an ember and tries to jump out of the owner's hand. If allowed to, it'll beat everyone up.

Silver Hakarr: (Level 4, Gnosis 6) This is, in essence, a Bastet klaive. Most look like hunga-mungas (big weapons with like a million blades in every direction), but I don't see why they can't look prettier. Heh. I mean, these are CATS we're talking about! Anyhow, it's difficulty 6 to use, and inflicts Str+4 silver aggravated damage. It can also be thrown up to the thrower's strength x3 in yards. Scary.

Swiping

...mainly comes in two flavors.

Hedge Magic

Just that. Though the Bastet can't learn the Spheres, they can (and many do) learn Hedge Magic. Since I don't have the book for it (mostly out of Mage's "Ascension's Right Hand", a few out of Wraith's "The Quick and the Dead"), I have no idea what it means, but this might mean something to you:

Bubasti tend to learn Cursing, Enchantment, Ephemera, Herbalism, Spirit Control (from The Quick and the Dead), Summoning/Binding/Warding.

Ceilican tend to learn Conjuration, Cursing, Enchantment, Healing, Herbalism.

Qualmi tend to learn Ephemera, Healing, Herbalism, Spirit Control.

Any Bastet can learn any of the Paths, but those are just the ones certain tribes like to specialize in (and thus might be able to find teachers for more easily).

Swiping Gifts

Bastet have a way of stealing Gifts from each other (from different Tribes and Breeds - though NO one can swipe a Bastet Metis's gifts) and even from other shifters. As a rule, the XP points might be higher - for especially alien Gifts (like say, that one BSD gift that lets you fly not-so-like an eagle), you might treat them as one level higher for the Bastet than for its original owner.

Also, some Gifts just can't be swiped - usually because Bastet just don't have the equipment needed. For example, the Ananasi have several webspinning Gifts. Bastet don't have spinnerets, so they're outta luck.

Finally, no Gift can be swiped at a lower level than it would normally be for the Bastet. The most obvious application of this is the Gift, Walking Between Worlds, which lets a Bastet sidestep. A Swara can either learn it as a level four(?) Common Gift - or a level two Tribe Gift. A Khan, though, MUST learn it as the level four Common Gift, and cannot swipe it at level two from a Swara.

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