The Begotten are children of the Dark Mother, their Horrors born in Her dark Lair, emerging forth to terrify and consume. But a Beast is not their Horror alone - their bodies outside the Primordial Dream remain as human as they were before their Devouring. And humans are known to have children. Most of the offspring of Beasts are human too, even after the Devouring. Some, however, for reasons unknown, retain a stronger connection to the monstrous side of their parent. These children, called Caliban by those with an affection for Shakespeare and/or theater, possess a portion of their progenitor's primal abilities and hungers.
Born of Monsters
Creating a Caliban is much like making any other mortal character - they are, after all, still mostly human. Where they differ is as follows:that they possess Unseen Sense (Primordial Dream), a Birthright and Atavisms like their Beast forebears, as well as a Hunger and the ability to acquire Beast-only Merits.
Unseen Sense (Primordial Dream)
The children of Beasts possess an uncanny sense for products of the Primordial Dream's influence, if not their parent's general sense of the supernatural.
Birthright
Caliban can purchase Merits as though they were a Cultist of a Beast with the same Family as their ancestor.
Atavisms
All Caliban possess at least one Atavism, frequently one their parent had or one suited to their Family. Atavisms use the Caliban's current Integrity rating instead of Satiety, and can voluntarily lower their Integrity to trigger the Satiety Expenditure effect. Lair is treated as if they had 1 dot. They can use Experience to acquire others.
Hunger
Caliban possess a Hunger like Begotten do though since they lack Satiety, its effects manifest in a different manner. They can roll for Feeding, measuring Satiety Potential as normal, but they subtract their current Integrity from the dice pool. Instead of points of Satiety, they gain Monstrous Beats. The Experiences gained from these Beats can be spent to increase Integrity or acquire Atavisms.
Merits
Caliban can qualify for Beast-only Merits, as long as they can satisfy any other prerequisites.
Anathema
The nature of the Caliban render them vulnerable to the Anathema imposed by Heroes - and without a Horror to protect them and their monstrous heritage so close to the surface, they can always be applied. Since Caliban cannot Resolve them through Satiety, the Anathema can be bought off with 5 Monstrous XP.
So, here's what I've come up with so far. Additional flavor, or advice upon the mechanics would be appreciated. The purpose behind this is A) For the children of Begotten to have some bloodline-based effect (suitable for potential crossing with other splat's inherent minor templates) and B) offering an "intro" Mortal+ Template, for players to use some of Beast's mechanics without having to deal with all of them at once.
Born of Monsters
Creating a Caliban is much like making any other mortal character - they are, after all, still mostly human. Where they differ is as follows:that they possess Unseen Sense (Primordial Dream), a Birthright and Atavisms like their Beast forebears, as well as a Hunger and the ability to acquire Beast-only Merits.
Unseen Sense (Primordial Dream)
The children of Beasts possess an uncanny sense for products of the Primordial Dream's influence, if not their parent's general sense of the supernatural.
Birthright
Caliban can purchase Merits as though they were a Cultist of a Beast with the same Family as their ancestor.
Atavisms
All Caliban possess at least one Atavism, frequently one their parent had or one suited to their Family. Atavisms use the Caliban's current Integrity rating instead of Satiety, and can voluntarily lower their Integrity to trigger the Satiety Expenditure effect. Lair is treated as if they had 1 dot. They can use Experience to acquire others.
Hunger
Caliban possess a Hunger like Begotten do though since they lack Satiety, its effects manifest in a different manner. They can roll for Feeding, measuring Satiety Potential as normal, but they subtract their current Integrity from the dice pool. Instead of points of Satiety, they gain Monstrous Beats. The Experiences gained from these Beats can be spent to increase Integrity or acquire Atavisms.
Merits
Caliban can qualify for Beast-only Merits, as long as they can satisfy any other prerequisites.
Anathema
The nature of the Caliban render them vulnerable to the Anathema imposed by Heroes - and without a Horror to protect them and their monstrous heritage so close to the surface, they can always be applied. Since Caliban cannot Resolve them through Satiety, the Anathema can be bought off with 5 Monstrous XP.
| Side-Bar: Mark of the Beast |
| While Atavisms are usually subtle and only manifest outward signs to supernatural viewers, or when extreme effort is expended, Caliban have their inner-monster a bit closer to the surface. At lower Integrity (4 or less), their Atavisms start warping their bodies - never to the point they aren't recognizably human any more, but signs of them are clearly present. |
So, here's what I've come up with so far. Additional flavor, or advice upon the mechanics would be appreciated. The purpose behind this is A) For the children of Begotten to have some bloodline-based effect (suitable for potential crossing with other splat's inherent minor templates) and B) offering an "intro" Mortal+ Template, for players to use some of Beast's mechanics without having to deal with all of them at once.
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