As noted previously, today I'm posting a take on "spiritual health" or consequence traits for Beast. As with any house rules, we don't especially need a cassus belli regarding why we're doing this. One of the great features of TTRPGs is their flexibility to become the game that a troupe wants to play. Modification through house rules, optional rules, etc., are one of the methods for exercising that flexibility.
What follows is a more fully developed version of the Kinship trait posted in Some Assembly Required, a new take on Lore as Integrity replacement trait, and an example of how to add Breaking Points directly to Satiety (as the game's existing psuedo-replacement for Integrity).
Kinship as Integrity (fully worked and reusing Humanity mechanics from V:tR)
Jilted Kin (Persistent) Condition
Broken Family (Persistent) Condition:
Beast failure states (a.k.a., Inheritance):
Applying Breaking Points Directly to Satiety:
Skipping the traits and applying the “sins” straight to Satiety is an alternate approach that adds an amount of degeneration mechanic without the burden of an additional trait. With respect to the reworked Kinship, simply take the Breaking Points listed in the table and use the Breaking Point and Dice Pool that matches the Beast’s current dots in Satiety. If the roll result in a Failure, the Beast loses 1 dot of Satiety. If it results in a Dramatic Failure, they lose 2 dots of Satiety. If it results in an Exceptional Success, they gain 1 dot of Satiety. This makes it more difficult to maintain high Satiety since the higher the Satiety the greater the chance of suffering a Breaking Point that may deprive you of a Satiety. Conversely, at low Satiety, while Breaking Points are relatively rare, the odds that any Breaking Point will deprive you of a dot of Satiety and “make things worse” are higher. At Satiety 0, not only does the Beast suffer from the Ravenous Condition but it if it experiences a failure on its next Feeding roll then they must initiate the Merger. If it instead experiences a dramatic failure on its next Feeding roll then the Beast evolves into one of the Insatiable. At Satiety 10, not only does the Beast suffer from the Slumbering Condition but, should they suffer a Breaking Point and roll an exceptional success on the Breaking Point roll then they must initiate one of the Retreat, the Divergence, or the Erasure. Inversion and Subversion are still achieved as normal (the "Fulfillment" Inheritances).
A final word on the whole Vampires, etc. can do just as many evil things as Beasts. Well, of course they can but, that's rather confusing the reeds in the quagmire for trees in a forest. All of the other game lines (caveat, I have yet to read my Deviant KS manuscript, so am not sure this applies to Deviants) have degeneration mechanics which showcase the "badness" of the activities through Breaking Points. Far from taking that approach, Beast is rather alone in its position that these activities are not only not Breaking Points but are to be fundamentally rewarded. And seen in this context, while some would claim Beast is unique, IMO, Beast is rather off-brand when compared to all of the other game lines (this is something akin to the "which of these do not belong" question in standardized tests). Degeneration mechanics can go a long way towards rectifying that issue.
What follows is a more fully developed version of the Kinship trait posted in Some Assembly Required, a new take on Lore as Integrity replacement trait, and an example of how to add Breaking Points directly to Satiety (as the game's existing psuedo-replacement for Integrity).
Kinship as Integrity (fully worked and reusing Humanity mechanics from V:tR)
- Kinship – describes the extent to which a Beast is able to maintain their familial ties with other beings. It ranges from 0 to 10 and starts at 7.
- Nurturing (Kinship 10): Gain a +4 dice bonus on all Social rolls made with respect to entities that are Descended from the Dark Mother. Gain a +2 dice bonus on all Social rolls made with respect to entities that are Fundamentally Human. Suffer no penalty on all Social rolls made with respect to entities for whom Kinship Does Not Apply.
- Caring (Kinship 7-9): Gain a +2 dice bonus on all Social rolls made with respect to entities that are Descended from the Dark Mother. Suffer no penalty on all Social rolls made with respect to entities that are Fundamentally Human. Suffer a -2 dice penalty for all rolls with entities for whom Kinship Does Not Apply.
- Stern (Kinship 4-6): Suffer no penalties on all Social rolls made with respect to entities that are Descended from the Dark Mother. Suffer a -2 dice penalty with penalty for all dice rolls with entities that are Fundamentally Human. Suffer a -4 dice penalty for all rolls with entities for whom Kinship Does Not Apply.
- Overbearing (Kinship 1-3): Suffer a -2 dice penalty on all Social rolls made with respect to entities that are Descended from the Dark Mother. Suffer a -4 dice penalty for all Social rolls with entities that are Fundamentally Human. Social rolls with entities for whom Kinship Does Not Apply are reduced to a chance die.
- Selfish (Kinship 0): Suffer a -4 dice penalty with all Social rolls made with respect to entities that are Descended from the Dark Mother. Social rolls with entities that are Fundamentally Human are reduced to a chance die. Social rolls with entities for whom Kinship Does Not Apply automatically fail.
- Breaking Points – depend on the Beast’s level of Kinship. These include things like murdering Kin, stealing from Kin, going without contact with Kin, using superhuman powers on Kin, etc.
- Common Breaking Points
Minimum Kinship | Breaking Point | Dice Pool |
10 | Profaning a Temple to the Dark Mother | |
10 | Creating Temporary Horrorspawn | 5 |
10 | Depriving another of consent through mundane means | 5 |
9 | Gaining the Starving Condition | 5 |
9 | Participating in Family Dinner when uninvited | 5 |
9 | Urging another’s behavior with supernatural powers | 5 |
9 | Sacrificing your own Horrorspawn | 5 |
8 | Invited interference with a Kin Group that results in grievous injuries | 4 |
8 | Rejected by someone who is Descended from the Dark Mother | 4 |
8 | Gaining the Ravenous Condition | 4 |
8 | Depriving another of consent with supernatural powers | 4 |
8 | Using supernatural powers to Feed on someone who is Fundamentally Human and is related to someone who has Family Ties with you | 4 |
7 | 1 week without contact with Kin (someone with Family Ties to you) | 4 |
7 | Invited interference with a Kin group that results in a death or multiple injuries | 4 |
7 | Using supernatural powers to Feed on someone who is Fundamentally Human and has Family Ties with you | 4 |
7 | Using supernatural powers to Feed on someone who is Descended from the Dark Mother and is related to someone who has Family Ties with you | 4 |
6 | Invited interference with a Kin group that results in multiple deaths | 3 |
6 | Death of a family member who is Fundamentally Human | 3 |
6 | Using supernatural powers to Feed on someone who is Descended from the Dark Mother and has Family Ties with you | 3 |
6 | Killing the Dreamform of someone who is Fundamentally Human and has Family Ties to you in order to Feed on them | 3 |
5 | 2 weeks without contact with Kin (someone with Family Ties to you) | 3 |
5 | Killing the Dreamform of someone who is Fundamentally Human for purposes other than Feeding | 3 |
5 | Death of a family member who is Descended from the Dark Mother | 3 |
5 | Killing the Dreamform of someone who is Descended from the Dark Mother and has Family Ties to you in order to Feed on them | 3 |
4 | Uninvited interference in a Kin group that results in grievous injuries to a member of that group | 2 |
4 | Killing the Dreamform of someone who is Descended from the Dark Mother for purposes other than Feeding | 2 |
4 | Using supernatural powers on someone who is Fundamentally Human who has Family Ties with you for purposes other than Feeding | 2 |
4 | Death or a spouse or child that is Fundamentally Human | 2 |
3 | 1 month without contact Kin (someone who has the Family Ties Condition with you) | 2 |
3 | Uninvited interference in a Kin group that results in a death or multiple injuries | 2 |
3 | Killing someone who is Fundamentally Human but does not have Family Ties with you | 2 |
3 | Killing the Dreamform of someone who is Fundamentally Human who has Family Ties to you | 2 |
3 | Using supernatural powers on someone who is Descended From the Dark Mother and has Family Ties with you for purposes other than Feeding | 2 |
2 | 1 year without contact with Kin (someone else who has the Family Ties Condition with you) | 1 |
2 | Uninvited interference in a Kin group that results in multiple deaths | 1 |
2 | Killing someone that is Descended from the Dark Mother but does not have Family Ties with you | 1 |
2 | Killing someone that is Fundamentally Human who has Family Ties with you | 1 |
2 | Killing the Dreamform of someone that is Descended from the Dark Mother who has Family Ties with you | 1 |
1 | Death of a spouse or child that is Descended from the Dark Mother | Chance die |
1 | Killing someone that is Descended from the Dark Mother who has Family Ties with you | Chance die |
- Detachment Rolls – whenever a Beast faces a Breaking point, they must make a Detachment roll
- Systems: Gain 1 beat, then roll the dice pool indicated above
- Dramatic Failure – The Beast loses 1 dot of Kinship. If the Breaking Point is directly related to someone who has the Family Ties Condition with respect to the Beast, they resolve the Family Ties Condition, gain the Jilted Kin (Persistent) Condition, and the Beast gains the Broken Family Condition. Otherwise, the Beast loses 4 dots of Satiety or gains the Broken Condition.
- Failure – The Beast loses 1 dot of Kinship. If the Breaking Point is directly related to someone who has the Family Ties Condition with respect to the Beast, they resolve the Family Ties Condition and the Beast gains their choice of Bestial, Competitive, Guilty, or Wanton Condition. Otherwise, the Beast loses 2 dots of Satiety or gains one of the four listed Conditions.
- Success – The Beast does not lose any Kinship but gains their choice of Bestial, Competitive, Guilty or Wanton Condition or, they may elect to lose 1 dot of Satiety in lieu of accepting a Condition.
- Exceptional Success – The Beast does not lose any Kinship and instead gains the Inspired Condition or, they may elect to gain 1 dot of Satiety in lieu of accepting the Condition.
- Systems: Gain 1 beat, then roll the dice pool indicated above
Jilted Kin (Persistent) Condition
- Beat: Gain a Beat every time you succeed in disrupting one of the aspirations of the Beast who caused this Condition.
- Resolution: Meet with the Beast who caused this Condition and negotiate a settlement.
Broken Family (Persistent) Condition:
- Beat: Gain a Beat every time you suffer a setback due to the interference of anyone you've given the Jilted Kin Condition to.
- Resolution: Meet with the wronged party and negotiate a resolution.
- Lore is a trait that describes how close to their humanity or their mythical essence a Beast is. It ranges from 0 to 10 and begins at 3.
- Breaking Points – certain actions cause Breaking Points (psychological crises) that can push a Beast towards their humanity or towards their mythical essence.
- Breaking Point Rolls – when a Beast faces a Breaking Point, they gain 1 Beat and roll their Resolve + Composure. The Beast may not spend Willpower points to affect this roll. The roll can be modified by a number of factors (see below). Further anytime the Beast gains a dot of Lore from the Breaking Point roll, they also gain 1 dot of Satiety. Anytime the Beast loses a dot of Lore from the Breaking Point roll, they also lose 1 dot of Satiety.
Breaking Point | Dice Modifier | Direction |
Destroying a Chamber of one’s own Lair | -X dice where X equals the Beast’s dots in the Lair trait | Towards Humanity |
Refusing to participate in an Obcascus Rite | +0 dice | Towards Humanity |
Staying out of the Primordial Dream for a week | -1 die | Towards Humanity |
Using an Anathema against another Beast or a Bane against someone Descended from the Dark Mother | +0 dice | Towards Humanity |
Harming someone Descended from the Dark Mother | -2 dice | Towards Humanity |
Staying out of the Primodial Dream for a month | -3 dice | Towards Humanity |
Gaining the Slumbering Condition | -1 die | Towards Humanity [@ Lore 8+] |
Eating processed food | +0 dice | Towards Humanity [@ Lore 8+] |
Mating with someone who is Fundamentally Human | +0 dice | Towards Humanity [@ Lore 8+] |
Staying out of the Primordial Dream for a day | -2 dice | Towards Humanity [@ Lore 8+] |
Killing someone who is Fundamentally Human | +0 dice | Towards Myth |
Staying in the Primordial Dream for a week | -1 die | Towards Myth |
Hunting Kin for Food (anyone with the Family Ties Condition wrt the Beat) | -2 dice | Towards Myth |
Killing Kin (anyone with the Family Ties Condition wrt the Beast) | -2 dice | Towards Myth |
Eating the flesh of anyone who is Fundamentally Human | -3 dice | Towards Myth |
Staying in the Primordial Dream for a month | -3 dice | Towards Myth |
Using Nightmares on a loved one | -1 die | Towards Myth [@ Lore 2 or less] |
Gaining the Ravenous Condition | +0 dice | Towards Myth [@ Lore 2 or less] |
Spending more than 2 days away from your Kin (anyone who has Family Ties wrt the Beast) | +0 dice | Towards Myth [@ Lore 2 or less] |
Staying in the Primordial Dream for a full day | -2 dice | Towards Myth [@ Lore 2 or less] |
- A Beast who achieves Lore 10 is actively in the process of evolving into something else and must initiate one of the following three states: The Merger (becoming the Beast Rampant), The Subversion (committing to the Hero’s rebirth), or The Inversion (emerging as the Beast Incarnate).
- A Beast who achieves Lore 0 is actively in the process of shedding their supernatural connections and must initiate one of the following three states: The Retreat (releasing the Beast Unfettered), The Divergence (culminating in the Beast Divided), or The Erasure (coping with the Horror Eliminated).
Applying Breaking Points Directly to Satiety:
Skipping the traits and applying the “sins” straight to Satiety is an alternate approach that adds an amount of degeneration mechanic without the burden of an additional trait. With respect to the reworked Kinship, simply take the Breaking Points listed in the table and use the Breaking Point and Dice Pool that matches the Beast’s current dots in Satiety. If the roll result in a Failure, the Beast loses 1 dot of Satiety. If it results in a Dramatic Failure, they lose 2 dots of Satiety. If it results in an Exceptional Success, they gain 1 dot of Satiety. This makes it more difficult to maintain high Satiety since the higher the Satiety the greater the chance of suffering a Breaking Point that may deprive you of a Satiety. Conversely, at low Satiety, while Breaking Points are relatively rare, the odds that any Breaking Point will deprive you of a dot of Satiety and “make things worse” are higher. At Satiety 0, not only does the Beast suffer from the Ravenous Condition but it if it experiences a failure on its next Feeding roll then they must initiate the Merger. If it instead experiences a dramatic failure on its next Feeding roll then the Beast evolves into one of the Insatiable. At Satiety 10, not only does the Beast suffer from the Slumbering Condition but, should they suffer a Breaking Point and roll an exceptional success on the Breaking Point roll then they must initiate one of the Retreat, the Divergence, or the Erasure. Inversion and Subversion are still achieved as normal (the "Fulfillment" Inheritances).
A final word on the whole Vampires, etc. can do just as many evil things as Beasts. Well, of course they can but, that's rather confusing the reeds in the quagmire for trees in a forest. All of the other game lines (caveat, I have yet to read my Deviant KS manuscript, so am not sure this applies to Deviants) have degeneration mechanics which showcase the "badness" of the activities through Breaking Points. Far from taking that approach, Beast is rather alone in its position that these activities are not only not Breaking Points but are to be fundamentally rewarded. And seen in this context, while some would claim Beast is unique, IMO, Beast is rather off-brand when compared to all of the other game lines (this is something akin to the "which of these do not belong" question in standardized tests). Degeneration mechanics can go a long way towards rectifying that issue.
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