Ratkin Metis Gifts

Rank One

Form Mastery (Level One)
This Gift empowers the Wyld spark that resides in all Ratkin, granting the character greater control over her shapeshifting abilities. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: When shapeshifting (see p. 285), all difficulties are reduced by 1, and the player no longer needs to roll a single success just to initiate the transformation (thus, shifting from Homid to Crinos would be difficulty 4 and require only one success). Additionally, when enacting partial transformations (see p. 286), the player need no longer spend a Willpower point, and the difficulty of the roll is 7. This Gift’s effects are permanent.

Rat Mother’s Touch (Level One)
The Metis channels spiritual power through her hands, mending the wounds of any other living creature. This Gift may not heal the wererat herself, spirits, or the undead. A bear- or unicorn-spirit teaches it.

System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Empathy (difficulty is the target’s current Rage, or 5 for those with no Rage). Each success heals one level of lethal, bashing, or aggravated damage. The healer may even heal fresh Battle Scars (see p. 259) in this manner, if the Gift is applied during the same scene in which the scar is received and an extra Gnosis point is spent.

Sense Wyrm (Level One)
The wererat can sense nearby manifestations of the Wyrm. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although Ratkin often describe the Wyrm’s spiritual emanations as a stench. This Gift doesn’t necessarily sense dedication to the Wyrm, merely contact with its spiritual essence, which can cling to even blameless souls. Sense Wyrm requires active concentration; the spiritual sense it provides doesn’t function passively. The Gift may be taught by any Gaian spirit.

System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm’s influence: sensing a single fomor in the next room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an hour ago would be difficulty 7. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with Humanity ratings of 7 or higher.

Rank Two

Spirit of the Spiny Rat (Level Two)
The wererat undergoes a startling transformation: Her fur elongates, becoming bristly and sharp like the quills of a porcupine. The wererat must be in Roden form to use this Gift. Porcupine teaches this gift, and he has a strong fondness for metis.

System: In Roden form the character spends a Gnosis point to sharpen her fur. Anyone whom the metis tackles, grapples or immobilizes takes (Strength + 1) aggravated damage from these new found quills. Furthermore, those who strike her with bare flesh and score less than five successes on the attack roll take their own Strength in aggravated damage (this does not negate any damage done to the metis). This Gift lasts for one scene, until the werewolf wills her fur to return to normal or should the metis change out of Roden form.

Stink (Level Two)
With this Gift, the Ratkin can swell his musk glands, allowing him to spray musk like a skunk. It is, of course, taught by a skunk-spirit.

System: The spray is directed with a Dexterity + Primal-Urge roll (difficulty 7, maximum range of 10 feet). A target struck by this attack must spend a Willpower point to do anything but spend the first turn retching. Afterwards, he subtracts one from his dice pools for the rest of the scene for every two successes rolled. Immersion in water negates this Gift, and it is ineffective against targets with no sense of smell.

Rank Three

Rat Thing (Level Three)
With a bit of practice, the Ratkin can learn to take on a form between Crinos and Rodens, rather like the Garou Hispo form. The result is a giant, lumbering Rat Thing: a long, furry quadrupedal rodent the size of a St. Bernard. A capybaraspirit teaches this Gift.

System: This form may be assumed in the same fashion as werewolves assume Hispo form, as a permanent ability. The form’s traits are: Strength +4, Dexterity +1, Stamina +1, Manipulation 0, and the brute can move at triple normal running speed.

Sliver Tooth (Level Three)
The Ratkin’s incisors leave behind nasty splinters in the wound when used to bite her enemies. Beaver-spirits teach this Gift.

System: After a successful bite attack, the player spends one Rage point. Any damage inflicted cannotbe healed until all the splinters are removed (requiring five successes on an extended Dexterity + Medicine roll, difficulty 6).

Rank Four

Rattler’s Bite (Level Four)
The metis’s eyeteeth lengthen, and she can inject a deadly poison with her bite. Spider- and snake-spirits teach this Gift.

System: The player spends a Rage point when attempting to bite an opponent. If the bite is successful, any remaining damage after soak is doubled.

Whelp Body (Level Four)
The Ratkin delivers a devastating curse upon a foe’s body, causing it to weaken or palsy. Many consider the use of this Gift upon a foe to constitute a declaration of eternal enmity. Pain- and disease-spirits teach this Gift.

System:The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis, resisted by the target’s own roll of higher of Gnosis or Stamina. The Ratkin’s difficulty is the opponent’s Willpower, while the victim’s difficulty is the Metis' Gnosis. Each success scored by the Metis allows her to remove one point from any of the victim’s Physical Attributes. The effect is permanent, although the victim may restore these Attributes via experience. This Gift may be used only once ever against a given opponent.

Rank Five

War of Vengeance (Level Five)
The Ratkin travels to the deep wilderness and lets out a long, mournful howl. One of the Great Beasts of antiquity answers the call, appearing in the Realm near the wererat — a mighty and savage being that walked the Earth in ages past. Such creatures include the Willawau (giant owl), the Sabertooth Tiger, the great Megalodon sharks that swam the seas eons ago and the mighty Mammoth, who arrives in herds. Who knows what else the Song might call up?

The Great Beasts possess power in the physical world to rival that of mighty spirits in the Umbra. Once the ancient creature arrives, the Ratkin may make a request of it, but the Great Beast will fulfill it in its own way, according to its nature. Using this Gift is risky, but the results can be truly spectacular. Few spirits know this Gift. It’s said that the reclusive Mokolé (see p. 412)know which spirits can teach the Song of the Great Beast … if any survived the Impergium, and are willing to talk to the Ratkin, that is.

System: The player spends two Gnosis points and rolls Charisma + Primal-Urge (difficulty 8). More successes improve the Great Beast’s disposition. Traits are left to the Storyteller’s discretion, but should always be impressive

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