Other Atavism Ideas?

[Nyrufa]

Blood of Medusa: Legend says that the mythical Gorgon's blood was so acidic that man made weapons would dissolve instantly upon piercing her flesh. Some Begotten, especially Namtaru, have exhibited a similar blood quality, although in a much more diluted state.


Normal: Your blood contains acidic properties that rapidly break down foreign substances they come into contact with. Whenever a melee weapon inflicts Lethal damage to you, your blood causes it to suffer 2 points of Durability damage. If the damage is inflicted with bare hands, the attacker suffers 1 point of Aggravated damage from acidic burns. The acidic properties of your blood do not affect Chosen Blade weapons!


Low Satiety: When your hunger flares, your blood does too, inflicting an additional 2 points of Durability damage to weapons that cause you Lethal damage. Damaged inflicted by unarmed attacks suffer an additional point of Aggravated damage from acidic burns.


Satiety Expenditure: A dormant bloodline flows through the veins of Beasts who possess this Atavism, and for a brief moment, they can awaken its full potential. By spending a point of Satiety, the Beast can reduce the next attack caused by a Lethal weapon to a single point of damage. The weapon is also destroyed in the process, as its material components are dissolved instantly upon breaking the skin. Lethal damage inflicted by unarmed attacks cause the enemy to suffer 4 points of Aggravated damage and receive an appropriate Tilt in the process. Once again, this does not affect Chosen Blade weapons.

[Vent0]

Blood of Medusa: Legend says that the mythical Gorgon's blood was so acidic that man made weapons would dissolve instantly upon piercing her flesh. Some Begotten, especially Namtaru, have exhibited a similar blood quality, although in a much more diluted state.


Normal: Your blood contains acidic properties that rapidly break down foreign substances they come into contact with. Whenever a melee weapon inflicts Lethal damage to you, your blood causes it to suffer 2 points of Durability damage. If the damage is inflicted with bare hands, the attacker suffers 1 point of Aggravated damage from acidic burns. The acidic properties of your blood do not affect Chosen Blade weapons!


Low Satiety: When your hunger flares, your blood does too, inflicting an additional 2 points of Durability damage to weapons that cause you Lethal damage. Damaged inflicted by unarmed attacks suffer an additional point of Aggravated damage from acidic burns.


Satiety Expenditure: A dormant bloodline flows through the veins of Beasts who possess this Atavism, and for a brief moment, they can awaken its full potential. By spending a point of Satiety, the Beast can reduce the next attack caused by a Lethal weapon to a single point of damage. The weapon is also destroyed in the process, as its material components are dissolved instantly upon breaking the skin. Lethal damage inflicted by unarmed attacks cause the enemy to suffer 4 points of Aggravated damage and receive an appropriate Tilt in the process. Once again, this does not affect Chosen Blade weapons.

Thing scales oddly. Low Satiety can be an upgrade of Normal, but the Satiety Expenditure invalidates both, rather than being an additive.

For point of suggestion, what about applying the Fragile tag to any weapon that strikes the Beast (either for Normal or Low)? For the Expenditure, what about instead the blood sprays, affecting not only the weapon that struck them, but creatures and other equipment nearby?

[GibberingEloquence]

ajf115 I like your Inhuman Panoply, but I feel it is a bit clunky and too detailed. I also think it should be Anakim, since some giants are known for exceptional crafting talent. It was the Cyclopes who created Zeus' famous thunderbolts, for example.

Here is my attempt at a simplified version. What do you think?

Inhuman Panoply (Anakim)
Humans like to think that they know all there is to know about making things. After all, they took tin and copper and invented bronze, took wood and shaped it into bows and ships. But there are older things, things which know the ways of making strange substances and eldritch implements.

Action: Instant (Normal Satiety), Reflexive (Low Satiety)
Roll: Intelligence + Crafts

Normal: The Beast can shape objects out of phenomena related to one of his Lair Traits – ice for Extreme Cold, for example, fire for Burning or plant life for Undergrowth. The Beast is immune to all damage and negative effects from that phenomenon and can roll Intelligence + Crafts to shape it without tools into an equivalent of any simple mundane object. Durability is equal to Lair, and Equipment Bonus is equal to Successes (maximum 5). A Beast can maintain a number of such objects equal to their (Resolve) outside the Lair. Within the Lair, an unlimited number of such objects may be maintained. Others may use these objects without physical harm only if they are Broodmates, Primordial Cultists or share Family Ties Condition. The objects are obviously supernatural and trigger Breaking Points when used against or by mortals. The ST may allow more complex objects at a -1 to -5 penalty.

Low Satiety: With the Horror's growing hunger, its malice and power leaks into its creations. The Atavism becomes Reflexive, the Intelligence + Crafts roll gains Rote Quality and the limit of the Equipment Bonus is raised by Lair/2 round up. Furthermore, the Beast can use an Instant action to summon one of their creations to their hand from somewhere within their direct line of sight or may spend a point of Willpower to reflexively summon an object to their hand from their Lair. Lastly, the Beast may shape objects out of an additional Lair Trait.

Satiety Expenditure: For the rest of the scene, this Atavism may inflict the Lair Trait on targets without needing to open a Primordial Pathway. A bow and arrow may have Diseased or Toxic, while a sword with Exposed will ignore all Durability and Cover. Supernatural attempts to counter this trigger a Clash Of Wills.

[wyrdhamster]

It's a bit ironic that 'dwarven smiths' will now be Anakim! But I love the idea for 'forgemasters Giants'.

[Primordial newcomer]

it ain't too surprising, the smiths in Greek mythology were cyclopses afterall

[ajf115]

GibberingEloquence , I like your mechanics better than my own, though I'll stand by my decision to put Inhuman Panoply with the Inguma. I can see your logic, but I personally feel that the 'thrust' of the Atavism, so to speak, is more about 'they match us in our uniqueness and make tools of things we cannot', rather than 'their crafts surpass us so completely that we cannot hope to match them'. Perhaps the Anakim crafting-Atavism is specifically focused around making better things than humans can? I'm not sure. Perhaps there's space for the Inguma to forge curses into things, ala Andvari and the ring he cursed.

Either way, Inhuman Panoply is definitely something which the Anakim should take semi-regularly - how else would they forge thunderbolts into weapons, as you said?

[Adrasalieth]

GibberingEloquence Perhaps there's space for the Inguma to forge curses into things, ala Andvari and the ring he cursed.

That would be vey fitting IMO. The main pattern of the Inguma's nightmares is the fear that something or someone totally unobtrusive could always turn out to be something evil under camouflage, and what would say it better than cursed items ?

[ajf115]

That would be vey fitting IMO. The main pattern of the Inguma's nightmares is the fear that something or someone totally unobtrusive could always turn out to be something evil under camouflage, and what would say it better than cursed items ?

Well, I mean, there's a Mummy Kinship nightmare that does this, but it feels like something that should have an Atavism as well, now that the Inguma are a thing. With the BPG, it's moved from something they need to borrow other supernaturals' themes to do to something that feels native. That said, I'm not sure what the Atavism would be called, or how it would work without being too Nightmare-ish.