Beast: the Monomyth
A Storytelling Game of Vicious Cycles
A Storytelling Game of Vicious Cycles
I simply can't play Beast: the Primordial, but I want to. I love the core ideas, it's just the execution I had personal problems with. So, I’ve decided to take the concept in a very different direction in Beast: the Monomyth (which, alongside Beast: the Primordial, will be referred to by their subtitles from here on).
Monomyth is less of a homebrew and more of a complete overhaul. Nearly everything has been changed. The only thing it has in common with Primordial is the core concepts and some other bits here and there. Monomyth is not meant to replace Primordial for those that enjoy it, you still have your game. Monomyth is for those who’re dissatisfied with Primordial but still like the core concepts. This is my attempt at changing Primordial to suit me and those like me (though you’re certainly welcome to enjoy this along with Primordial).
Update Log
27-1-19
- Renamed Amaroka to Nyarlathoteps.
- Added singular forms to Breed names that aren't obvious.
- Changed up the Overview's wording so that it didn't compare itself to Primordial (only mentioning it when it matches Primordial from now on).
- Renamed Themes to Motifs so they wouldn't be confused with the game's major themes.
- Replaced the Ogbanje Breed with Shakpana because Shakpana had more relevance as a monster type.
- Added Breed nicknames in italics within their descriptions.
- Replaced the Torture Motif with Blight.
- Added the Falsity Motif.
- Replaced the Light Motif with the Lore and Revelation Motifs and removed the Euthanasia and Bounty Motifs.
- Added the Justice Motif.
- Added lists for the Leitmotifs of Breeds, Creeds, and Foils.
- Renamed Insatiables to Archetypes (Archetypes makes more sense for Conformity 10 Beasts, as well as being less confronting to Primordial)
- Changed the introduction to better convey why I'm making Monomyth
- Myth is no longer an Integrity analogue. Instead, Beasts and Heroes have Conformity.
- Renamed Maledictions to Mala
- Added basic descriptions of the game's major themes.
- Corrected my mistake about Primordial Heroes requiring low Integrity.
Overview
Themes
The Monomyth
Both Beasts and Heroes are tied to a mysterious phenomenon called the Monomyth. While it is unknown what the Monomyth is exactly, what is known is how it influences Beasts and Heroes alike. It’s like a metaphysical script that tries to force them into a series of vicious cycles; dooming them to glorious but tragic fates. That doesn't have to be their story, however.
Subversion
The Monomyth commands Beasts to die and Heroes to slay them. Naturally, most Beasts don't appreciate that, so they do everything they can to defy and/or escape it. Beasts may be monsters, but that doesn't mean make them evil or worthy of death because of what the universe tells them.
Family
Beast aren't human. They were never human. In fact, humans look tasty to them now. Regardless, they still lived human lives and are (typically) genuinely close to their human friends and family. In addition, they often find fellow Beasts who share their plight and other supernaturals who have different but similar stories. When the world deems you nothing more than a scourge to be eradicated, all Beast have is their family.
Beasts
Beasts aren’t and never were human, nor do they have a human-monster duality. They are pure monster with a human form known as their Guise. Their true monstrous form is known as their Id. From the perspective of the World of Darkness at large, they are a type of ephemeral entity.
Dormancy & Emergence
Beasts are born Dormant, meaning they begin life believing they are fully human, develop a human mentality, and build a human social life, but were just a little bit different from the rest. Once a Beast Emerges, they realize what they truly are. While everything makes sense now they know of they were never human to begin with, it’s often not a well-received revelation.
X-Axis - Breeds
Beasts are nightmares incarnate. While there are innumerable individual nightmares, broad patterns have naturally emerged. Groups of nightmares based on the same broad fears. Breeds have formed from these broad fears that plague humanity.
Y-Axis - Creeds
The Y-axis. Beasts have loose social factions called Creeds; general philosophies for how they manage their feeding.
Fiends are Beasts belonging to antagonistic Creeds.
Myth is a Beast's story, the tale they tell with their actions. Since Beasts are creatures of human thought, they can be shaped by thought. By weaving an elaborate narrative through haunting humanity's collective soul, they give their Myth, and by extension themselves, power.
Integrity Analogue - Conformity
Conformity represents a Beast's attunement to the Monomyth. They risk increasing it when they commit Rising Acts, which are actions befitting what the Monomyth says they should do. They can decrease it down to 0 dots by spending Experiences. Beasts start with 3 dots of Conformity at character creation, and become Storyteller characters at 10 dots, as they are consumed by the Monomyth.
Powers
Motifs
Motifs represent the particular fears a Beast embodies and feed from. They also form the prerequisites for their powers. The Motifs are:
Each Breed has Motifs that come more easily to them than the others, their Leitmotifs. Beasts spend less Experiences buying Leitmotif dots than for other Motifs. Each Breed also has a Central Leitmotif, which a Beast automatically gains a dot in during character creation. Each Creed also has a Leitmotif, which also grants an automatic dot during character creation. Below is a list of each Breed and Creed's Leitmotifs. Central Leitmotifs are in italics.
Atavisms represent the bodily traits of a Beast’s Id, such as claws and tentacles. For all other types of powers, Beasts have Mala (singular Malum). Both Atavisms and Mala have a Guised/Manifested dynamic representing how obviously and powerfully they're used. If they Manifest an Atavism or Malum in front of any Commoner witnesses, they may risk a Cry (see "Weaknesses" below).
Lair & Elements
Lairs generally work the same way as in Primordial. Lair Traits have been renamed Elements. Other than that and their Theme prerequisites, nothing else about them has changed.
Fuel - Distress
Distress is the fear and suffering in the form of energy that nourishes Beasts. It automatically depletes as they hunger and they can spend it to evoke Atavisms, Elements, and Mala, but they can replenish it by feeding.
Waypoints
Demur & Urge
Demur represents how the Beast acts against the Monomyth; Urge represents the monstrous aspect they tend cave in to. Much like other supernatural Waypoints, they can regain either a single point or all their spent Willpower through them.
Touchstones
Beasts have two types of Touchstones: Family and Humanity. Family Touchstones are the supernaturals (Beasts and Cousins alike) important to them, whereas Humanity Touchstones are the Commoner (or Relative) equivalent.
Weaknesses
Hunger
Beasts automatically consume an amount of Distress based on their Myth dots at intervals based on their Conformity dots. More Myth dots means more Distress consumed and more Conformity dots means shorter intervals.
Bans & Bane
As a Beast's Myth grows in potency, it also grows in complexity. Their Myth gains more nuance and caveats, some of which come in the form of Bans. Each Beast has one particular weakness, their Bane, but it becomes more deadly as they rise in Conformity.
Crying & Signs
If a Beast hastily/harshly feeds on a Commoner, Manifests their powers in front of them, or otherwise displays their inner Beastly nature, they risk producing Signs and causing Commoners to Cry. Cries are basically Hero beacons. Signs are a Beast's taint on places that are invisible except to Heroes and others that have an ability to sense them.
Incitement
The Monomyth prods at Beasts with Inciting Conditions, which cause them to act more obvious and monstrous.
Heroes
Where Beasts prowl, Heroes rise in their wake. When certain Commoners are severely traumatized by a Beast's activities, the Monomyth presents them with an option: slay the Beast who harmed you so. Heroes are both Beasts' greatest enemies and greatest shame.
Calling, Trial, & Forging
Commoners who fulfill the below criteria:
X-Axis: Foils
Heroes are the other side of Beasts' coin. Where Beasts come in Breeds, Heroes follow with Foils. The Forged Hero opposes the Beast that made them most of all, so the Monomyth gives them the tools to destroy them. The Foils (with their corresponding Breeds) are as follows:
To be honest, I’m not sure whether or not Heroes need Creeds. Sure, Creeds are what Beasts use to give themselves an alternative to the Monomyth (usually), but the real reason they have Creeds is because they once lived human lives and are horrified at what they realize they always were. They hate what they are now, so they try to ease their conscious with a purpose.
Even if a Hero realizes they’re just part of a violent cycle, they don’t need to cause fear and suffering to live like Beasts do. Besides, there’s plenty of genuinely evil Beasts to focus their efforts on. I might end up giving them Creeds in the future, but as of now I don’t see a reason to.
Myth, Conformity, & Motifs
Just like Beasts, Heroes have Myth, Conformity, and Motifs, and they generally work the same way. Albeit, Hero Motifs are based on various “heroic” aspects instead.
Gifts have been renamed Boons and have Motif prerequisites. These Boons are powered by Valor, which the Hero can gain mainly through Praise, which Commoners supply. Basically, they can fuel their powers if they become known and praised for dealing with Beasts and other monsters.
Waypoints
Ideal & Life
Ideal represents the specific motivation the Hero has for fighting Beasts. Life is the same as in Primordial.
Touchstones
Heroes simply have Touchstones with Commoners (usually).
Other Antagonists
Delvers
Some lucky Commoners who somehow enter the Primordial Dream manage to escape. Unlucky for them, however, many become addicted to the Primordial Dream, entering it again and again for thrills, power, and knowledge. They often seek Beasts out to study, and typically in unpleasant ways.
Horrors
Pre-Beasts. They’re feral natives of the Primordial Dream. They instinctively compete with Beasts, kill or retreat from Heroes, and prey on Commoners.
The Devoured
If a Commoner astrally projects (Delvers usually do this) into the Primordial Dream and gets eaten by a Horror, they become one of the Devoured. Devoured are Beasts gone wrong, similar to Revenants, Banishers, Pandorans, etc..
Archetypes
Archetypes are Conformity 10 Beasts and Heroes. They can only exist in the Dreams (both Primordial and Bright) and are single-mindedly focused on fulfilling the Monomyth.
The Abomination Chronicles
The Primordial Dream is like a giant sinkhole for the World of Darkness. Commoners, Heroes, Cousins, Relatives, and just about everything else have fallen into it. Those unlucky (or lucky?) enough to not escape wind up becoming Abominations. Unnatural amalgamations of various creatures, Abominations seek to escape the Primordial Dream to satisfy their alien appetites. By sheer proximity, Beasts are the vanguard against these monstrosities.
This is a sample plotline that’s also crossover-friendly.
The Monomyth
Both Beasts and Heroes are tied to a mysterious phenomenon called the Monomyth. While it is unknown what the Monomyth is exactly, what is known is how it influences Beasts and Heroes alike. It’s like a metaphysical script that tries to force them into a series of vicious cycles; dooming them to glorious but tragic fates. That doesn't have to be their story, however.
Subversion
The Monomyth commands Beasts to die and Heroes to slay them. Naturally, most Beasts don't appreciate that, so they do everything they can to defy and/or escape it. Beasts may be monsters, but that doesn't mean make them evil or worthy of death because of what the universe tells them.
Family
Beast aren't human. They were never human. In fact, humans look tasty to them now. Regardless, they still lived human lives and are (typically) genuinely close to their human friends and family. In addition, they often find fellow Beasts who share their plight and other supernaturals who have different but similar stories. When the world deems you nothing more than a scourge to be eradicated, all Beast have is their family.
Beasts
Beasts aren’t and never were human, nor do they have a human-monster duality. They are pure monster with a human form known as their Guise. Their true monstrous form is known as their Id. From the perspective of the World of Darkness at large, they are a type of ephemeral entity.
Dormancy & Emergence
Beasts are born Dormant, meaning they begin life believing they are fully human, develop a human mentality, and build a human social life, but were just a little bit different from the rest. Once a Beast Emerges, they realize what they truly are. While everything makes sense now they know of they were never human to begin with, it’s often not a well-received revelation.
X-Axis - Breeds
Beasts are nightmares incarnate. While there are innumerable individual nightmares, broad patterns have naturally emerged. Groups of nightmares based on the same broad fears. Breeds have formed from these broad fears that plague humanity.
- Aunshéghlien: Nightmares of the unfamiliar. Chaotic Tricksters contorting human minds into utter insanity. (Singular Aunshégh)
- Cipactli: Nightmares of predation. Savage Prowlers mercilessly hunting their furless prey. (Singular Cipac)
- Malakim: Nightmares of despair. Unconquerable Calamities relentlessly laying humanity's works to waste. (Singular Malak)
- Mara: Nightmares of vice. Mirrors reflecting humanity's inner darkness.
- Nyarlahoteps: Nightmares of the unknown. Faceless, incomprehensible Lurkers dwelling in the darkness just beyond humanity's torchlights.
- Shakpana: Nightmares of malady. Revolting Plagues corrupting humanity with disease and madness.
- Turéhu: Nightmares of Deprivation. Ravagers taking everything humanity holds dear.
Y-Axis - Creeds
The Y-axis. Beasts have loose social factions called Creeds; general philosophies for how they manage their feeding.
- Adversaries: Feeding to build people up. They utilize the fear and suffering they cause so their victims can grow from it.
- Dramaturges: Feeding a different way. They explore the World of Darkness to find different means of feeding. The crossover-friendly Creed.
- Gargoyles: Feeding on those that would harm their Family. Family is determined by the individual Gargoyle.
- Nemeses: Feeding on the guilty, both human and inhuman. The Dexter/Hellboy Creed.
- Usurpers: Feeding on Heroes to reverse the Monomyth.
Fiends are Beasts belonging to antagonistic Creeds.
- Devils: Feeding the Monomyth. They view the Monomyth as their true calling in life.
- Kinslayers: Feeding on Family. They hunt down all monsters to feed because they deem all monsters as evil.
- Scourges: Feeding their Hunger. They believe it isn’t wrong for them to feed, it's only natural.
Myth is a Beast's story, the tale they tell with their actions. Since Beasts are creatures of human thought, they can be shaped by thought. By weaving an elaborate narrative through haunting humanity's collective soul, they give their Myth, and by extension themselves, power.
Integrity Analogue - Conformity
Conformity represents a Beast's attunement to the Monomyth. They risk increasing it when they commit Rising Acts, which are actions befitting what the Monomyth says they should do. They can decrease it down to 0 dots by spending Experiences. Beasts start with 3 dots of Conformity at character creation, and become Storyteller characters at 10 dots, as they are consumed by the Monomyth.
Powers
Motifs
Motifs represent the particular fears a Beast embodies and feed from. They also form the prerequisites for their powers. The Motifs are:
- Blight: Fear of disease and pestilence
- Chaos: Fear of order and/or reality breaking.
- Darkness: Fear of the unknown, including sensory deprivation.
- Destruction: Fear of wreckage and disaster.
- Deviance: Fear of the uncanny.
- Falsity: Fear of evil in hiding.
- Futility: Fear of hopelessness.
- Imprisonment: Fear of containment and limitation in all ways.
- Isolation: Fear of loneliness.
- Loss: Fear of losing one’s valuables.
- Madness: Fear of insanity.
- Mutilation: Fear of being mauled.
- Paranoia: Fear of being hunted, not necessarily by a predator.
- Retribution: Fear of facing the consequences for one's sins.
- Shame: Fear of facing one’s sins and regrets.
Each Breed has Motifs that come more easily to them than the others, their Leitmotifs. Beasts spend less Experiences buying Leitmotif dots than for other Motifs. Each Breed also has a Central Leitmotif, which a Beast automatically gains a dot in during character creation. Each Creed also has a Leitmotif, which also grants an automatic dot during character creation. Below is a list of each Breed and Creed's Leitmotifs. Central Leitmotifs are in italics.
- Aunshéghlien: Chaos, Deviance, Madness
- Cipactli: Paranoia, Imprisonment, Mutilation
- Malakim: Futility, Destruction, Retribution
- Mara: Shame, Falsity, Retribution
- Nyarlathoteps: Darkness, Falsity, Isolation
- Shakpana: Blight, Madness, Mutilation
- Turéhu: Loss, Destruction, Isolation
- Adversaries: Imprisonment
- Dramaturges: Deviance
- Gargoyles: Destruction
- Nemeses: Retribution
- Usurpers: Isolation
- Devils: Falsity
- Kinslayers: Madness
- Scourges: Mutilation
Atavisms represent the bodily traits of a Beast’s Id, such as claws and tentacles. For all other types of powers, Beasts have Mala (singular Malum). Both Atavisms and Mala have a Guised/Manifested dynamic representing how obviously and powerfully they're used. If they Manifest an Atavism or Malum in front of any Commoner witnesses, they may risk a Cry (see "Weaknesses" below).
Lair & Elements
Lairs generally work the same way as in Primordial. Lair Traits have been renamed Elements. Other than that and their Theme prerequisites, nothing else about them has changed.
Fuel - Distress
Distress is the fear and suffering in the form of energy that nourishes Beasts. It automatically depletes as they hunger and they can spend it to evoke Atavisms, Elements, and Mala, but they can replenish it by feeding.
Waypoints
Demur & Urge
Demur represents how the Beast acts against the Monomyth; Urge represents the monstrous aspect they tend cave in to. Much like other supernatural Waypoints, they can regain either a single point or all their spent Willpower through them.
Touchstones
Beasts have two types of Touchstones: Family and Humanity. Family Touchstones are the supernaturals (Beasts and Cousins alike) important to them, whereas Humanity Touchstones are the Commoner (or Relative) equivalent.
Weaknesses
Hunger
Beasts automatically consume an amount of Distress based on their Myth dots at intervals based on their Conformity dots. More Myth dots means more Distress consumed and more Conformity dots means shorter intervals.
Bans & Bane
As a Beast's Myth grows in potency, it also grows in complexity. Their Myth gains more nuance and caveats, some of which come in the form of Bans. Each Beast has one particular weakness, their Bane, but it becomes more deadly as they rise in Conformity.
Crying & Signs
If a Beast hastily/harshly feeds on a Commoner, Manifests their powers in front of them, or otherwise displays their inner Beastly nature, they risk producing Signs and causing Commoners to Cry. Cries are basically Hero beacons. Signs are a Beast's taint on places that are invisible except to Heroes and others that have an ability to sense them.
Incitement
The Monomyth prods at Beasts with Inciting Conditions, which cause them to act more obvious and monstrous.
Heroes
Where Beasts prowl, Heroes rise in their wake. When certain Commoners are severely traumatized by a Beast's activities, the Monomyth presents them with an option: slay the Beast who harmed you so. Heroes are both Beasts' greatest enemies and greatest shame.
Calling, Trial, & Forging
Commoners who fulfill the below criteria:
- They have five or more Willpower dots
- Suffer an Integrity breaking point with a total penalty of -3 or greater from a Beast's activities (whether they lose Integrity or not)
- Have a will to fight against Beasts or things of the Primordial Dream in general
X-Axis: Foils
Heroes are the other side of Beasts' coin. Where Beasts come in Breeds, Heroes follow with Foils. The Forged Hero opposes the Beast that made them most of all, so the Monomyth gives them the tools to destroy them. The Foils (with their corresponding Breeds) are as follows:
- Demagogues (Malakim): Rabble-rousers inspiring angry mobs.
- Exemplars (Mara): The pinnacle of humanity's virtues, for all that implies.
- Hierophants (Nyarlathoteps): Spiritual leaders that guide people with their own truths.
- Purgers (Shakpana):
- Paladins (Aunshéghlien): Those who defend their law and order.
- Reclaimers (Turéhu): Those who steal back what was stolen.
- Slayers (Cipactli): Those who hunt down and kill the monsters themselves.
To be honest, I’m not sure whether or not Heroes need Creeds. Sure, Creeds are what Beasts use to give themselves an alternative to the Monomyth (usually), but the real reason they have Creeds is because they once lived human lives and are horrified at what they realize they always were. They hate what they are now, so they try to ease their conscious with a purpose.
Even if a Hero realizes they’re just part of a violent cycle, they don’t need to cause fear and suffering to live like Beasts do. Besides, there’s plenty of genuinely evil Beasts to focus their efforts on. I might end up giving them Creeds in the future, but as of now I don’t see a reason to.
Myth, Conformity, & Motifs
Just like Beasts, Heroes have Myth, Conformity, and Motifs, and they generally work the same way. Albeit, Hero Motifs are based on various “heroic” aspects instead.
- Alms: Ideal of charity.
- Cleansing: Ideal of eradicating evil.
- Fire: Ideal of emotional rousing.
- Glory: Ideal of attained greatness.
- Honor: Ideal of forming and maintaining one's principals.
- Justice: Ideal of righting wrongs.
- Law: Ideal of order and its enforcement.
- Lore: Ideal of gaining and maintaining knowledge.
- Might: Ideal of raw power.
- Ordnance: Ideal of arming oneself and others.
- Revelation: Ideal of revealing the truth.
- Security: Ideal of safety and protection.
- Solidarity: Ideal of unity.
- Tenacity: Ideal of never surrendering.
- Demagogues: Fire, Justice, Solidarity
- Exemplars: Honor, Justice, Revelation
- Hierophants: Lore, Revelation, Solidarity
- Purgers: Cleansing, Alms, Security
- Paladins: Law, Might, Justice
- Reclaimers: Glory, Alms, Security
- Slayers: Ordnance, Might, Tenacity
Gifts have been renamed Boons and have Motif prerequisites. These Boons are powered by Valor, which the Hero can gain mainly through Praise, which Commoners supply. Basically, they can fuel their powers if they become known and praised for dealing with Beasts and other monsters.
Waypoints
Ideal & Life
Ideal represents the specific motivation the Hero has for fighting Beasts. Life is the same as in Primordial.
Touchstones
Heroes simply have Touchstones with Commoners (usually).
Other Antagonists
Delvers
Some lucky Commoners who somehow enter the Primordial Dream manage to escape. Unlucky for them, however, many become addicted to the Primordial Dream, entering it again and again for thrills, power, and knowledge. They often seek Beasts out to study, and typically in unpleasant ways.
Horrors
Pre-Beasts. They’re feral natives of the Primordial Dream. They instinctively compete with Beasts, kill or retreat from Heroes, and prey on Commoners.
The Devoured
If a Commoner astrally projects (Delvers usually do this) into the Primordial Dream and gets eaten by a Horror, they become one of the Devoured. Devoured are Beasts gone wrong, similar to Revenants, Banishers, Pandorans, etc..
Archetypes
Archetypes are Conformity 10 Beasts and Heroes. They can only exist in the Dreams (both Primordial and Bright) and are single-mindedly focused on fulfilling the Monomyth.
The Abomination Chronicles
The Primordial Dream is like a giant sinkhole for the World of Darkness. Commoners, Heroes, Cousins, Relatives, and just about everything else have fallen into it. Those unlucky (or lucky?) enough to not escape wind up becoming Abominations. Unnatural amalgamations of various creatures, Abominations seek to escape the Primordial Dream to satisfy their alien appetites. By sheer proximity, Beasts are the vanguard against these monstrosities.
This is a sample plotline that’s also crossover-friendly.
Lexicon
Commoners: Beast and Hero term for ordinary humans.
Cousins: Beast term for non-Beast major template supernaturals.
Fiends: Protagonist Beast term for Beasts belonging to the antagonist Creeds: Devils, Kinslayers, and Scourges.
Relatives: Beast term for minor templates
Cousins: Beast term for non-Beast major template supernaturals.
Fiends: Protagonist Beast term for Beasts belonging to the antagonist Creeds: Devils, Kinslayers, and Scourges.
Relatives: Beast term for minor templates
It still needs a lot of work before I can begin playtesting, but I've gotten the general idea sussed out. Thoughts? Criticisms? Ideas? Lemme know.
Make post over post about " You MUST agree with me, hod dare you!" is ... not optimal, yes?
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