You as a Beast

[Nyrufa]

Thanks to Korogra for getting this trend started


You as a Vampire


You as a Werewolf


You as a Mage


So, for those of you just joining us, this is an exercise in which we discuss how we believe our real world selves would fit into the Chronicles of Darkness as one or more of the supernatural splats. We've done Vampire and Werewolf, linked above, and now this one is for Beast.

Don't be afraid to get introspective, this actually helps us discover things about ourselves.


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I'll start us off, of course.


Family: Anakim

Reason: Throughout nearly the entirety of my life, my dreams have had one overarching theme to them; a lack of control. Even during my 'good' dreams, I have never been able to control the situation at will. When I do manage to gain some control, it comes and goes, fluctuating randomly to the point where it is completely unreliable. It is also during my periods of lucid awareness that I find myself waking up shortly afterward. As if something within the depths of my subconsciousness does not want me roaming around unchecked. The only exception to this is when something in my dream causes me to become engulfed in rage, but I will explain more on that in the Atavisms section.

Another 'popular' nightmare that goes on in my head is one in which my visage will be in a state of minor decay, or will be infested with some manner of parasite, like bugs or worms. I also have a terrible case of arachnophobia (as in the high pitched squealing case) and the little poisonous bastards love to mistake me for food!

I also suffer from bouts of sleep paralysis and have had infuriatingly frequent nightmares about being unable to speak. Even when screaming at the top of my lungs, the only thing that comes out is a hoarse, barely audible whisper or hissing sound. Sometimes this is accompanied by being trapped in progressively worsening slow motion that eventually causes me to come to a complete stop as whatever terror is plaguing me at the time closes in for the kill.

The most recent nightmare I have been suffering from has only occurred maybe a few times so far, but it is strangely unique. I will be in a situation in which I suddenly feel a literal wave terror washing over me. I instinctively know something is heading in my direction, but before I even lay sight on whatever it is, my body is completely sapped of strength, causing me to collapse to the ground. I immediately wake up in bed at that point, with no idea of what could have been radiating such an 'aura' of terror.

So with all of this in perspective, it makes sense that the Fear of Powerlessness would be my most likely family as one of the Begotten.

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Nightmares: Using my own personal recurring dreams as inspiration, I have selected what I feel are the most likely nightmares I would have access to.

You Can Not Run - Representing my dreams of being too slow to escape, or even being completely immobile

Everything You Do Is Worthless - Representing my inability to properly control my own dreamscape.

You Are Not Alone- Representing that mysterious aura of fear that has recently begun to shock me back to consciousness.

All Your Teeth Are Falling Out - Representing my dreams of having a decayed, festering body.

Behold My True Form - Representing my dreams of an indescribable 'creature' stalking the land.

Spiders Everywhere - Representing my intense arachnophobia.

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Atavisms: while the bouts in which I have power over my dreams are rare and short lived, I often seem to exhibit abilities which are reflected in this list.

Cyclopean Strength - supernatural strength has been one of my biggest super powers when I'm off in dream land. During one particular instance, I managed to stop a submarine from crushing me at the bottom of the ocean. I did this using only one hand, and it was virtually weightless to me.

Heart of the Ocean - Speaking of being underwater, I have never suffered a dream in which drowning was something I had to worry about. In fact, whenever I find myself submerged, I can still breathe as clearly as though it were air. Cosmetically, this would probably reflect my horror being a vast hive mind who replenishes itself faster than you can drown me!

Infestation - As I said, I've had several dreams in which my body is host to various parasites, or being attacked by spiders.

Looming Presence - I don't know what that unseen monster from my dreams is, but it has to be pretty fucking enormous to exert the level of power I feel coming from it.

Basilisk's Touch - The biggest reason I'm afraid of spiders and such is due to their venom. So having a poisonous attack makes sense in that regard.

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Lair Traits:

Disruption - Don't even bother with technology if you're exploring my dream world. Computers get infected with viruses, light fixtures refuse to shine, sharpened instruments lose their edge and firearms are about as effective as squirt guns. Basically, if you want to get anything done, you're better off relying on your own abilities.

Maze - Need to get somewhere important in a specific amount of time? Well, sucks to be you, because my dreams will fuck with your sense of direction until you miss the rendezvous point and are left to fend for yourself by friends, family and co-workers.

Poor Light - As I said, technology doesn't seem to work very well in my dreams. This has the additional side effect of causing light fixtures such as lamps and flashlights to diminish their brightness, or even fail to work entirely, thus leaving the area shrouded in dark silhouettes.

Heavy - Do you like flying? Well then you don't want to visit my dreams, because the laws of gravity are only slightly less difficult to break than they are in the real world. It takes nothing less than a Mario inspired triple jump before getting off the ground properly, and even then, you'll be lucky to get a few moments of gliding in before you're suddenly bungee snapped back to the ground. If you're really unlucky, you'll find yourself trapped in orbit around something from the environment.

Viscous - Many of my nightmares have resulted in me gradually losing speed and even being completely unable to move. This would likely manifest itself in my lair as a coating of spider webs that clings to travelers as they attempt to force their way through the environment.

Currents - Whether it's an underwater current, a hypnotic compulsion, or even a fucked up gravity well, you'll find that it's often difficult to travel in the direction you want to go while you're in my lair. It's far more likely that the lair itself will determine your next destination, and only a display of brute strength can alter your course.


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Hunger: Punishment

Reason: Okay, I've had another bit of introspection and realize that Hoard is not as great a fit for me as I initially thought. Yeah, I'm fickle, but I'm not the kind of person who feels like I should be on top of the world in terms of material possessions. In fact, my desires are actually quite simplified.

What I do feel intensely about, however, is the pursuit of justice and retribution. I, like most people, was raised on the ideas that honesty is the best policy, crime doesn't pay, and good always triumphs over evil. Unfortunately, the location I grew up in showed me time and time again that this was not the case. The only thing the world cared about was power. If you had more of it, you could get away with anything. I was accused and punished numerous times for things I was completely innocent of because the people accusing me were more influential or better organized than I was.

I even got punished in school for bullying because the people who were bullying ME told the principal that I was the one tormenting them. And the principal, I shit you not, believed them because there were more of them than there were of me. So because my story didn't match up with theirs, I had to be the one lying, right?

Needless to say, this had an intense psychological and emotional impact on my sense of what constitutes as justice. I came to the realization that the only difference between 'justice' and 'vengeance' is how many people support your decision. It's wrong to attach somebody to a pair of jumper cables and electrocute them to death for causing you suffering in the past. It's perfectly justified to have the state put them to death in a similar manner after a bunch of random strangers you've never met come to a unanimous vote that they did, indeed, cause you great suffering.

You see where I'm going with this? I believe that if I became a Beast, I would use my supernatural powers to hunt down those who's crimes went unpunished. But my favorite delicacy would easily be wrong doers who were judged innocent by whatever official was in charge at the time. Those who believed they were free of scrutinization and could go about their day without caring about those who suffered because of their actions. Yeah... fuck you, pal, you're coming with me!

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Horror: While I can not say for certain if this would be the case, deeper contemplation leads me to suspect that my inner monster is not one, but many creatures working in tandem with each other. Specifically, a swarm / colony / hive of skittering, biting arachnids. I read once that dreaming of spiders are supposed to indicate running from your problems, and that's something I can definitely see in myself often as I like to procrastinate a lot.

[Wormwood]

Huh, taking Inspiration from Past nightmares Sounds Like A Pretty Cool access To This one. I'll try to go a slightly different route: taking what scared me to make a Horror, than use that as the Basis for the skillset.

In that case, I had something like arachnophobia When I was younger (no, nor as in "waaah, make it go away" and more as in completely Losing it, crying, stomping, freaking Out About A Spider Being In the room. To this day, my instinctive Response is a bit exaggerated), so Bugs everywhere is definitly a thing. I had tons of nightmares about snakes, was afraid of even falling asleep Until I learned my chinese zodiac is the snake. Curiously, that made me identify with them (despite not taking Stock in zodiacs, I just like the mythology) and the nightmares stopped.
I also had a terrifying dream about Children that were somehow wrong, not Children but things.
And during one Vacation i learned that the depths of the sea really Freak me out, Especially In Murky water.... and I absolutely cannot stand being helpless.
Sooo, taking this together and looking at some other of my characteristics...

Family: Makara
Close one between Namtaru and Eshmaki, who I considered first. However, there is one more thing that figures in here: depth. So let us go with that and say Makara

Hunger: Power
The most likely in my opinion.
So, what Horror would that give me? Let's take the Snake thing Here and say : a Giant sea serpent, like Jormungandr.

Nightmare: Snakes Everywhere, something along the lines of a It is not human! Nightmare. And, of course You cannot wake up! And Run away! And fonally, you must obey! (Hypnotic Kaa Freaked me out)

Atavism:
Basilik's Touch: what scared me most about snakes and spiders - being left helpless by a seemingly harmless bite, and in Addition normal wounds can kill even after escaping.
Looming Presence : it is gigantic. Why does it even take notice of me?!
From the Shadows: despite its size it can be Suddenly gone. Which is so much more scary.
Needs Must: Why does it always know where I am?
Relentless Hunter - it never stops coming, ans seemingly won't die. Just goes all oroborous on itself and is fine again.
Heart of the Ocean - it is a sea creature that lives mostly underwater. Go figure.
limb from limb: what happens when a Giant snake crushes you.

so basically hunting like a komodo dragon, attacking, waiting and following, rinse and repeat.
Lair would be the open stormy sea, with Flooded, Extreme Cold, currents, as well as downpour and Electrified.
The above would be starting with Heart of the Ocean and Basilisk's Touch Atavisms and Flooded and Extreme Cold Lair Traits.

As an Incarnate, We'd go full-on Jormungandr with Unnatural Healing, Legendary Size, Impenetrable Skin, Noxious Poison, Splinter, Terrible Mien, Titanic Onslaught, and Superior Atavism (Needs Must), (Heart of the Ocean) and (Limb from Limb).

Anyway, that would be my first take. Might go with a Namtaru Spiders approach next time. Infestation would be a must for that *shudders*

[Nyrufa]

Yeah, I can relate to the fear of venom. That's one of the big reasons I'm afraid of spiders so much.

"It's more scared of you than you are of it."

I'll call bullshit on that. I don't have a bite that can kill something hundreds of times my size!


I once had a dream that I fell on my back into an entire field of funnel spider nests...

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Oh, something I forgot to mention before; this topic is used to estimate what kind of beast we'd be at full potential.

Meaning up to a full 7 lair traits for anybody who thinks they're applicable!

[Wormwood]

Yeah, spiders are scary, but most are more afraid AND not venomous enough to cause harm. Especially where I live, I think it is irrational over here in Germany to be afraid of being bitten by a venomous spider.
However, they often don't even know what's going on, they have really bad eyesight. Also, remember, to them you are HUGE. They can't know they'll get you, they'll just try to go down fighting. Brave little buggers, all things considered.

Alternatively, I would go with a

Namtaru Nemsis

The Horror would be a Swarm of Spiders, the Lair their Web/Nest: A dark, web-covered cave system, with low-light and cramped (size 3). Later, Engulfing, Maze, Razored, Unstable and Noxious Gases are added.
A horribly confined space where you easily get stuck in, hurt yourself when you are uncarefully progressing, have trouble breathing and then get swarmed by hundreds of venomous spiders on top of that!
Nightmares would be Spiders Everywhere!, Behold my True Form, You Cannot Run and Fear is Infectious.
The Atavisms would be Infestation and Basilisk's Touch, later followed up by From the Shadows, Shadowed Soul, Unbreakable, Looming Presence for the sheer amount of Spiders, and possibly Relentless Hunter (That Fear of Stomping on the spiders, but there are always more, and from the one you stepped on smaller ones come forth...)
Kill it, kill it with Fire!

So yeah, would be a friggin Nightmare (pun intended) as a high-end Beast.

Maybe we should consider Inheritances, too?
If so, as an Incarnate, the Spiders would gain flight. BECAUSE FLYING SPIDERS!
Also, Legendary Size (Because MORE spiders are Scarier!), Impenetrable Skin, Noxious Poison, One with the Shadows, Unnatural Healing, Uncanny Speed and Superior Atavism (Infestation) and (Shadowed Soul).

[ArchonAres]

Family: Anakim

Reason: My dreams tend towards me as an overpowering hero, while my nightmares tend to be me facing an overpowering monster- T-rexes, oversized Velociraptors from Jurassic Park, large xenomorphs. Honestly, if it wasn't for the latter, I'd suspect I'd end up being a hero really.

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Nightmares:

You Can Not Run - In my nightmares and dreams, I never run. I hide, or I fight. But I never run.

You Are Better than Them- Following that theme of trying to go after/stand up to larger monsters. Even in my nightmares, I see myself trying to be the hero, pushing others aside. Truthfully, Everything You Do Is Worthless might work here as well.

Behold My True Form! - no matter what it is, it's always horrifying to look upon. Even if it's something that shouldn't be quite that jarring to see, the critter always seems to make my blood run cold just to see

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Atavisms: I'm going off the powers the monsters have, rather than myself here.

Cyclopean Strength - Always they're unearthly strong. Always.

Looming Presence - Even the smaller creatures seem larger than they should. And then there is that whole getting hit with a truck or other large object and crumpling that instead of hurting.

Limb from Limb - I find this is super fitting. It's always got an enormous maw full of teeth, stretching beyond belief, biting, chewing, swallowing. Also, the whole idea of being eaten alive for some reason terrifies the CRAP out of me. Some have claws too, but mostly it's the maw.

Needs Must - They always find me. Always.

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Lair Traits:

Exposed - In my nightmares, I often try to hide, or try to hole up in a defensible position. It never works. Barricades break, roofs are turned to kindling.

Maze - It's often a familiar area, like my old high school or something, but I just can't seem to find my way around.


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Hunger: Prey

Reason: The thing, it's always coming for me. Not because of a reason, but because it's hungry. It wants to eat. It NEEDS to feed, a terrible hunger that it can never satiate. Fitting, I suppose.

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Horror: Given what I normally see, it'd probably be some sort of mix between Xenomorph, and some sort of large dinosaur. Maw from a rex, the claws of the raptor, the general body features of the xenomorph. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen the creature's eyes.

[Nyrufa]

Maybe we should consider Inheritances, too?
If so, as an Incarnate, the Spiders would gain flight. BECAUSE FLYING SPIDERS!
Also, Legendary Size (Because MORE spiders are Scarier!), Impenetrable Skin, Noxious Poison, One with the Shadows, Unnatural Healing, Uncanny Speed and Superior Atavism (Infestation) and (Shadowed Soul).

Oh, gosh. I think the most likely form of inheritance that I would claim would be Unfettered. I resonate very strongly with the premise of Changeling: the Dreaming, and I think abandoning the mundane, physical world in order to explore the unknown as an immortal spirit would totally be a decision I could support. My hunger would probably translate to hunting for new experiences across the outer realms and seeing what the multiverse has to offer.

IF I became Incarnate, I can't imagine it would be through claiming Apex position. Simply too much work, and then I'd have to compete with challengers forever. Instead, I would probably turn the story back upon whatever Hero happened to be chasing me at the time. I don't know how I'd do that, yet, but my godly Atavisms would probably entail the following:


Legendary Size, One with the Shadows, Titanic Onslaught, Superior Atavism (Infestation, Looming Presence).


Huh... I just had a thought, My dreams of infestation, combined with my fickle nature could stem from having not one, but several monsters inside me. A gestalt hive mind of unfeasible size and scope. Now I'm imagining transforming into a literal tidal wave of roiling arachnids and burying my enemies under countless billions of spiders!

Went ahead and tweaked my Atavisms, Nightmares and Horror to encapsulate this possibility.

[ArchonAres]

Nyrufa That is absolutely terrifying.

I have to admit, I think I would go Incarnate by virtue of Apex. The sheer amount of things to keep me busy- and I do love to stay busy. Plus, it presents a narrative challenge- something I think the horror and I would share and enjoyment of. I'm not sure about the atavisms I'd garner, truth be told. Hadn't thought that far ahead, and now I'll have to sit and dwell on that for a bit. I do imagine that the Cavernous Maw and Banshee's Wail homebrew atavism would probably enter play at some point. Just because the idea of the thing I'm picturing now (mega T-rex roar, swallowing things whole).

[Nyrufa]

Nyrufa That is absolutely terrifying.

You come across a vast, inky abyss and stare into it bravely. Then the abyss shudders at your presence and a pair of glowing eyes shine like pinpricks among the vast darkness. These eyes are shortly joined later by another pair... then another... then another... then another... and within a few moments, the abyss of darkness is filled with a sea of glowing eyes and begins emitting a cacophony of chittering sounds.

That's when the abyss begins to flow towards your direction...

[Wormwood]

You come across a vast, inky abyss and stare into it bravely. Then the abyss shudders at your presence and a pair of glowing eyes shine like pinpricks among the vast darkness. These eyes are shortly joined later by another pair... then another... then another... then another... and within a few moments, the abyss of darkness is filled with a sea of glowing eyes and begins emitting a cacophony of chittering sounds.

That's when the abyss begins to flow towards your direction...

We should have a Brood. I mean, we both have a concept with a huge swarm of spiders /spiderlike things. We both put focus on the sheer size of that thing. It only makes sense.
Now we just need someone with the Swarm, Toxic and Stinging Lair traits, and our Lair would be beyond just nightmarish.

[Nyrufa]

We should have a Brood. I mean, we both have a concept with a huge swarm of spiders /spiderlike things. We both put focus on the sheer size of that thing. It only makes sense.
Now we just need someone with the Swarm, Toxic and Stinging Lair traits, and our Lair would be beyond just nightmarish.

Sure, why not? Beasts have the ability to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye, thanks to their lairs. So having a brood scattered across the continents might actually be doable.

[Arduras]

I'd likely be an Ugallu, most of my dreams (at least growing up) were of me flying over the city and I was able to see it pretty clearly. Likewise, I'm extremely critical of myself and others but my instincts are good when dealing with people (even if the social nuance is a bit lost on me) I also have a habit of being absent minded and yet in the past I've found things people wouldn't have been able to find without me. (ie, pick a window in an entire warehouse of a place that makes them, good luck sifting for that needle in a haystack - somehow I did it)

Nightmares - You Deserve This, You Cannot Run. I'm fast, but more importantly if you're someone who's on the wrong side of my temper you'll quickly know it.
Atavisms - Looming Presence, From The Shadows, Eye of Heaven, Dragonfire, Storm-Lashed or Needs Must (before I ruined my senses with movies/music and games lol)

Lair Traits - Burning (Inferno/Building sized, either torch or bunsen), Fog, Exposed, and either undergrowth or Razored. Throw in Darkness at some point lol.

[The young man in the cafe]

My nightmares as a kid were about various things that would pop out of nowhere and attack or abduct me, so definitely an eshmaki. My hatred of those that deal in falsehoods and use them to motivate fanatics,(Hate groups, anti vaxxers, science denial) as mentioned in my write up of myself as a forsaken would make me a punisher of those sorts, So an Eshmaki Nemisis that punishes such Memetic Plague Rats. I also have a phobia of spiders, so that would have to be reflected as well.

My horror would thus be a giant rat/spider/man that spouts mad truths that stalks and chases such liars and fanatics through my lair, a shadowy, run down insane asylum/mansion filled with my webs and rat burrows where I keep the liars until they accept reality as it really is, rather than the lies that make them feel special or comfortable, with chambers taking the form of rooms based on places I punished the spreaders of falsehoods, or on haunted places that I found in Savannah and discoved the story behind.

Lair traits: Maze, sealed exits, mirages (hallucinations), swarms (rats) electrified (electroshock therapy), thunderous (ranting of the imprisoned liars), diseased, flooded (hive trait)

EDIT: it is worth noting that my lair being an asylum reflects my fear of being committed again. Also made my horror a rat spider hybrid abomination thing

[Draca]

I don't often dream nowadays and I don't remember any from my childhood, so I'm going to have to base this more off of my phobias rather than actual nightmares, it is what it is. My fears

Family: Namtaru; Hunger: Ruin; I was originally going to say Eshmaki based on my extreme fear of the dark and my paranoia about being out at night by myself. But, when I got to Hunger, I realized something that I really didn't want to admit about myself, and that alone is rather Namtaruish, but... what really makes me a Namtaru is what I didn't want to admit, my greatest fear is falling back into what I became while living with my hoarding mother. A polluter, a despoiler of my personal surroundings because of giving up in a feeling of futility. I just didn't care... Piles of trash, rotting food, vermin.... I didn't do Anything to help, just completely surrendered. (Thankfully I'm out on my own now, and cleaning constantly thanks to help from my roommate, while my mother is getting help with the problem herself. But there's Always that chance...)

Nightmares
Behold My True Form - Representing my dread when seeing bugs, being forced to take a needle, the thought of being caught by something in the darkness, etc.
Bugs Everywhere - Representing my fear of insects.
Everything You Do Is Worthless - Representing the most common cause of my anxieties (had a nervous breakdown last year because of this).
Run Away- This is how I react to most of my fears, I know full well how this nightmare would feel.
You Are Not Alone - Representing my phobic sense of being watched whether alone outside at night, or in my room in the dark.

Atavisms
Alien Allure - I have to say that the most terrified I've ever been was when I had a month long hypermanic episode, kept being delusional, having waking nightmares and hallucinations, writing everything I could in rhyme and in shapes... Anyways, I've had a rather... sick obsession with wanting to experience it again, because while yes it was absolutely terrifying, it was also soo surreal and parts were ecstatically beautiful. This could also be representative of the fact that while I'm Phobic of fire and arthropods, I can't help but also be fascinated by them.

Dragonfire - This one is just very representative of my fear of, and counter-intuitively primal fascination with fire. When there's a been a blackout in the past and we're forced to use candles(something I normally would never allow to be lit near me) I can't help but sit there staring deeply into the flickering fire, I've caught myself doing it with campfires as well.

From the Shadows - As I said, I'm extremely afraid of something nabbing me in the dark, to the point where I Bolt back to my house when I have to be out at night, or when alone in my bed in the dark, hiding under my sheet. I tend to be unable to even peek out from under it, let alone work up the courage to get up to turn on the light.

Infestation - There's my fear of bugs(once had one trapped in my ear), then there's the fact that I am Very distractable and always lost in a myriad of thoughts that I can barely comprehend.

Unbreakable - This is based on the fact that no matter what stress I endure I keep bouncing back all thanks to my poor memory and physical toughness, I don't have stamina, but resiliency, both mental and physical, I have that in spades.

Lair: My Lair would more than likely be a series of volcanic chambers and noxious tunnels of rot, all dark, all cramped. Lair Traits would include Burning/Rotting, Extreme Heat/Stench, Maze, Poor Lighting/Darkness, and Sealed Exits.

Horror: I do believe that my horror would be a swarm of some kind, from bugs, to flames, to skulking skittering voices in the darkness, my Fears along with my flighty nature lead me to this fact. What my horror is more specifically... A swarm of some sort of skittering, skulking, smoldering creepy crawlies. One with two appearances. perhaps seeming like beautiful mantids (I really Love Orchid Mantises) or cute lil beetles, but truly being an intrusive sort of ruinous, malodorous roaches....

[Nyrufa]

Yeah, another hive mind!

I understand your fear of the dark. I had a recurring night terror when I was younger that traumatized me so much, it made me sleep with the light on until half way through high school. Now, the dark only bothers me when my sleep paralysis kicks in.

Sorry to hear about the hoarding issue, too. You have my sympathies.

[ArchonAres]

All the bugs with looming presence! And here I am the only non swarm. Though it does make for an interesting potential npc group- a brood themed around hive minds. Suitably creepy.