The Storyteller Guide to Abominations

The Storyteller’s Guide to Abominations The Storyteller's Club: the Rewards of Membership While all of my gaming material (new powers, splats, house rules, etc.) has to be okayed by the Storyteller before introduction to a chronicle, the majority of it is playerfriendly. Most of the time I sit down and write something game-related, I look it over and ask myself, "Would I want a player getting a hold of this?" If the answer is yes, then I put it up on my page. If it's not, then I either make it more workable or reconsider the concept. I try to put everything through story and game balance filters so it can be dropped into any chronicle, allowing players and Storytellers alike to benefit from my efforts. However, this isn't one of those cases. In other words, players, this stuff ain't for you. While I can't keep you from reading this (and I don't want to; by all means, read away), a Storyteller is pretty likely to laugh at you if you ask to create an Abomination character using some house rules you found on the Internet. And rightfully so. This material is designed with Storyteller use in mind; and even with them, I stress judicious use of the game-breaking potential herein.

An Important Question Okay, so you're thinking about including an Abomination in your chronicle. While I'm giving you the tools to do so, you should probably first ask yourself why you want to use an Abomination. I mean, why an Abomination, specifically? Ask yourself if the function you want the character to fill can't be fulfilled by a normal character; e.g., a standard Garou, Kindred or whatever straight out of its respective sourcebook. Whether you're looking for a bruiser for the PCs to whack, or a clandestine nemesis to harry them from the shadows, you're probably better off going with a standard character instead. Why am I giving you rules for Abomination characters, then trying to talk you out of playing one? Well, for one, Abominations are incredibly rare (even as overused as they are). Most Garou don't survive the Embrace, and most of those that do end up killing themselves or being killed within their first nights of unlife. Also, there aren't many Kindred willing to stand in the same area code as a Lupine, much less Embrace the damned thing. Aside from the unlikelihood of there being an Abomination in the area, another issue is game balance. While they don't get the best of both worlds, a properly played Abomination can wreck a lot of havoc on your players' characters, even without boatloads of Dark Gifts, Disciplines and a belly full of ghosts. Also, due to their extreme rarity, every Abomination that exists is a stretch of disbelief – and easily enough of one to compromise a chronicle's integrity. Players may well roll their eyes and scoff when you bring in your Setite-Embraced Silent Strider Galliard, making comments to the effect of, "Oh, one of those". This is probably not your intended effect. Be certain you're up to the task of bringing an Abomination into your game in a meaningful way before you actually do it. (However, if your players don't even

blink when you introduce the Abomination, or they immediately try to recruit the thing, pack up your books immediately and find another group.) (If I seem a little arrogant or obnoxious here, I don't mean to be. I mean, it's your game, and I'm not telling you how to run it or preach at you. However, when I write supplemental game material, I want people to use it and have fun, not to have people bring it into their games and have it blow up in their faces. And Abominations are the nitroglycerin of the World of Darkness; perhaps more than any other type of creature out there, they need to be handled cautiously. So if I've custom-grown a monster, it'd be remiss of me not to give you its care and feeding instructions, right?)

Why All These New Rules? For various reasons, I don't care for any of the Abomination iterations that have seen print. While the concept is valid, the in-game applications have been clunky. This is understandable, considering how rare Abominations are (or rather, should be) in the World of Darkness. However, we all know that the demographics of the typical chronicle often don't reflect what's written for the setting; we've heard of games that feature The Last Cappadocian; cities with a Kiasyd primogen; a three-way alliance between the Glass Walkers, Ventrue and Technocrats against the local Sabbat-infested Pentex subsidiary; and, of course, the ever-popular Abomination that manages to appear in every other chronicle we hear about. So if something is going to be used, then, let's make it as effective and balanced as possible. No need to make Abominations too powerful (as they were in their earliest incarnation), or cripple them with special Harano rules as in Revised. I want to try a different approach. Let me make this clear: Abominations aren't super characters, when all's said and done, the monsters presented here -- despite their unique advantages and diverse capabilities – are weaker than either full changers or vampires. Even so, Abominations aren't complete losers, nor cardboard foes meant to fall down on command; if this were the case, no one would be afraid of them. Though they enjoy only crippled advantages from their Shifter and Cainite sides, these combine into a fairly effective (if short-lived) whole. In addition, their access to the Underworld gives them a considerable advantage over most corporeal foes, though there are dangers to deal with on the other side of the Shroud. And even if you don't like my rules for handling Abominations, please at least read the rest of this, as most of my advice has little to do with systems.

Tips for Using Abominations Abominations should be used sparingly, and with great care. A slip here can make a planned dramatic encounter into a disaster, as the Crinos-form undead monster becomes 600 pounds of pure cheese. At best, the Abomination is a tragic and maligned figure, with great potential as an antagonist or doomed antihero; at its worst, it's an excuse for power gaming, a stock combat monster, or (worst of all) a fallback for an uncreative or disruptive player. Moderation: It's worth minding that Abominations are extremely rare. A coterie, pack or whatever would be lucky (or rather, unlucky) to even encounter an Abomination during a chronicle. Adding any more than one such monster to a chronicle is overkill, and will almost undoubtedly destroy any drama or realism you're trying to create through

their inclusion. Out of all the stuff written here, this is probably the most important bit of advice. Role: Before you throw an Embraced werewolf (or were whatever) into your chronicle, I would hope you'd have an actual reason for doing so. While no one in the World of Darkness that knows Abominations exist likes them, everyone has their own reasons for this dislike, depending on their perspectives: hatred can stem from horrified disgust, religious imperative, and a fear of being eaten. Which is to say: depending on the game you're running, an Abomination will represent a different sort of threat. In Vampire: the Masquerade, Abominations show us how Kindred can sometimes make the dumbest decisions. And it doesn't come much dumber than a Lick who decides to put the bite on a Lupine, then give him immortality. No prince would ever give Embracing rights for a werewolf, making every one running around a violation of the Tradition of Accounting (and probably a Masquerade breech). Sabbat, for their part, can't stand Lupines. As far as Independents go, imagine the outrage of clan elders upon a vampire who wastes the family blood, or the blood of a god, on a walking throw rug. Even Caitiff, autarkis and the like have a damned good reason to stay away from such creatures and not create them; they invariably attract unwanted attention as deadly to them as to the Abomination. And the sire of the creature is due for no less a harsh sentence than the monster itself; unless both are very good at hiding, Final Death is assured for all involved. There's no tolerance for Abominations among the Damned. Abominations have it even rougher in Werewolf: the Apocalypse chronicles. While vampires' reasons for talking out Abominations are mostly pragmatic, Garou and other Fera have practical concerns and religious fervor as motivations. Even more so than a Black Spiral Dancer, an Abomination is a corruption, a freak, an unnatural aberration that must be destroyed -- and this applies whether the subject of the curse was a willing participant or not. (And speaking of Spirals, which tribe is no haven for Abominations; not even many of them are willing to suffer the separation from the Wyrm and the Umbra that undeath entails. The Wyrm-Garou might "accept" an Abomination for a short time, use it for all its worth, and either turn it loose to fend for itself or kill it just to be on the safe side.) A similar zero tolerance approach is taken by Bastet, Ratkin and other Fera. While uses for Abominations in the previous games are obvious enough, another possibility is their incorporation into Wraith: the Oblivion chronicles. A Lupine's shamanistic connection to things spiritual mutates and becomes corrupt once it's undead, granting it access to the Underworld. This is definitely not a good thing for the Restless, as Abominations refuel their spiritual batteries by devouring ghosts. For wraiths, Abominations are monsters and boogiemen to be avoided (or put down, if there are enough strong Restless around to do the deed); however, the rarity of such freaks ensures that most wraiths have never even heard of them. But of all the supernatural beings out there, an Abomination is more likely to be accepted by a wraith than any other being. It has access to the world of the living, allowing a ghost to use – er, employ the creature for Skinland missions. In exchange, the ghost merely has to offer the Abomination shelter in the Shadowlands, or occasional tutelage in mystical "gifts". Sometimes even the possibility of mere companionship is enough to turn a desperate and lonely Abomination into a willing and able servant; the monster's depression and sense of isolation are remarkable even by ghost standards. However, the wraith shouldn't get too attached to his doomed friend, as she's not at to be around for long.

Subtlety: The indirect approach is your friend, here. A good tip for any horror Storytelling is to suggest things, rather than show them outright. Tortured moaning issuing from the darkness is effective because what's making that sound could potentially be anything. Showing the players someone nailed to a table actually takes something from the experience, as you've now given a nameless, unknown fear a finite, defined form. Not that Storytelling should all be misdirection and shadows; the trick is to spring gruesome or horrific images on the players when it's dramatically appropriate. Abominations should be played this way in spades. It's a dumb undead Shifter indeed that assumes Crinos form and starts tossing trucks at any provocation; godlessly powerful killing machine or not, tipping one's hand (or misshapen claw, or whatever) in this fashion isn't a good way to remain undead. It is, however, very effective at bringing Garou and vampires of all sects and persuasions out of the woodwork, all looking to kill the raging freak. No one likes Abominations, so those that want to survive have learned to remain hidden, and are wary of displaying their supernatural gifts openly. Many perpetually remain in Homid form and simply pass themselves off as Caitiff or Gangrel, which is a surprisingly effective way of explaining away some of the peculiarities they exhibit. (One clever Get of Fenris Abomination had two identities he successfully portrayed until he was destroyed: a Brujah Anarch for Homid form, and an occasionally Gangrel autarkis that he portrayed in his Glabro form.) When Abominations strike, they do so from cover and only when sure they can win, unleashing their rage (and Rage) against foes quickly. When things heat up, they're prone to fading into the Shadowlands and moving on. But Abominations are certainly not wimps. Many of the drawbacks of their fuckedup unlives – isolation, dietary issues, being hunted, enough angst to drive a flock of Hollow Ones to suicide – take place "off screen", and are moot points to someone who's currently fighting one. Not that combat is the only option open to Abominations, of course, but admittedly the deck is stacked in their favor there. While putting a roaring Abomination in a clearing and have it challenge all comers isn't the best Storytelling option, even a slightly outnumbered one is more likely to throw down than run when cornered if the odds aren't too stacked against it. While some might attribute this behavior to mindless belligerence (and that shoe may well fit), it's more often born of pragmatism: it's better for you to destroy all witnesses and make a clean break, rather than leaving survivors to gather reinforcements and endlessly pursue you. Given the option, however, vampiric Shifters will flee, then circle around and ambush their foes. Paranoia: When storytelling Abominations, in addition to their unique abilities, be mindful of their overall weakness in comparison with "stock" characters from other games -- even if your players aren't. (In fact, a little in-game propaganda to the contrary might be in order. Have rumors play up the monster as having the best of both worlds, even though it isn't the case. And if this plays into the misconceptions of certain players, all the better...) An Abomination certainly will be aware of its vulnerabilities and shortcomings, and intimately so. It'll play to its strengths, and downplay or overcome its weaknesses; which is what pretty much any other monster in the World of Darkness does, really, except the Abomination has a lot more to compensate for, and -- with no one like itself to turn to -- no margin for error. When Storytelling such a character, play this paranoid desperation to the hilt.

Abomination Player Characters Storytellers, I strongly urge you to retain Abominations for your sole use as a Storyteller. So don't go writing me nasty e-mails if a player using my rules manages to destroy your game. That said, if you do allow a player to play an Abomination, to make certain it's one who can handle the character responsibly. Even then, you may find that much of the mystery and tragedy surrounding the hybrid beasts are lost. An Abomination should never be something that a Garou or other Changer strives to become; treat the condition as a punishment or storytelling tool, instead of a reward or "power-up". Do everything you can to make sure that such an existence sucks for the character; friends turn on her, she has to flee for her unlife by running from town to town, even the most despised Ronin won't associate with her, and the like. A good player will understand what you're doing and play along, while a whiner can be dealt with by allowing the full weight of karma to fall upon his character with a satisfying crunch. Abominations don't work well in troupe-style play, if for no other reason than the negative attention they bring down upon their companions. The Abomination's frenzies and hunger are other issues that often lead to short-lived alliances. Abominations are best suited for solo games, when you and a player have a few hours to dick around and play a one-shot. Another possibility is to construct a mini-chronicle around an Abomination. This option is probably best for letting a player run such a character without killing a complex chronicle that took months to plan, and pissing off the other players in the process. If it needs to be said, a "pack" of Abominations is unfeasible, and so unlikely an event as to be unworthy of consideration. Not to mention a really dumb idea.

Abomination Traits The Basics Damage and Soaking: Soaking damage is one of the few cases where Abominations get the best of both worlds... and a little of the worst. They soak damage as Kindred in Homid and Lupus (or equivalent animal) forms (bashing and lethal are soaked at difficulty 6, and aggravated damage at 7). In all the "between" forms (including the ever-popular Crinos) all damage is soaked against difficulty 6 (with exceptions noted below). In all forms, bashing damage is halved and rounded own after soak, as Abominations are undead. Fortitude adds to soak rolls, if the Kindred possess it. However, Abominations take aggravated damage from sunlight, fire, silver and Wyrm toxins, and can only soak such damage with Fortitude (by itself) and certain Dark Gifts. Abominations no longer regenerate, and must burn blood to heal, as Kindred do. Shape-shifting: Abominations must spend one blood point to shift to any form but their breed form. They can assume breed form with no blood expenditure, however. The character still causes the Delirium in Crinos form (and in Chatro form, for Bastet). Gnosis: All Abominations, without exception, lose all their Gnosis upon Embrace. However, Garou and other changers are innately spiritual creatures, and maintain ties to the spirit world even into undeath. However, their affinity shifts from the "living" Middle

Umbra to the Shadowlands (Dark Umbra). This is represented by the Thanatos trait (see below). Rage, Willpower and Virtues: Abominations keep the Willpower they had at the time of Embrace, and actually gain a point of Rage from the Embrace by being torn away from their connection to the Spirit world: add a point, up to 10, to a werecritter's Rage rating when she is embraced. Abominations have 5 points to spend on the Kindred Virtues Conscience (or Conviction), Self-Control (or Instinct) and Courage. The alternate Rage rules I've written includes a synthesis of the Rage and Virtue systems, which would apply nicely to Abominations. Paths of Enlightenment: Yet another way undeath burdens a Shifter is that it forces the character to adopt a rigid philosophy to keep the Beast at bay; most often, this ends up being Humanity, as the hybrid monster clings to "human" values in ignorance; such a monster will likely find no one willing to instruct it in a Path. However, one could conceivably adapt to Feral Heart or Harmony with little trouble, assuming they can find a teacher, as these Paths arguably would perhaps suit the Shifter mindset better. One option I strongly recommend is to use the Ronin Wyrm corruption chart (in Outcasts: a Player's Guide to Pariahs) as a Path for Abominations, if you can find the book. It's ideal for simulating a Shifter's struggle not to fall to the Wyrm. I'll not reprint it here, for legal reasons.

Thanatos Determining Thanatos: When a werecreature is embraced, roll her Gnosis rating against difficulty 6. The successes on this roll are her Thanatos rating. If no successes are rolled, beginning Thanatos defaults to a 1. If a botch is rolled, then the Abomination starts with no Thanatos but can buy her first dot by spending 10 experience. For those characters with an affinity for death (Silent Striders, Black Spiral Dancers, Bubasti) the Storyteller may opt to add an additional success to the roll, or allow the roll to be made verses difficulty 5. Using Thanatos: Thanatos can be spent to activate Dark Gifts (see Dark Magic). Thanatos is also rolled against the local Shroud to "Descend" into the Shadowlands, much as a living Shifter Steps Sideways into the Penumbra. To descend through the Shroud, the Abomination must meet any requirements to Descend as he had to to Step Sideways in life (staring into a reflective surface, using Gifts allowing spirit travel for Bastet, etc.). Regaining Thanatos: Thanatos is regained from eating wraith plasm; for each three corpus levels (ghost health levels) eaten, they regain a point of Thanatos. This is taken as aggravated damage by ghosts. This act won't necessarily destroy a wraith unless the Abomination eats all her corpus; however, as being eaten alive (or undead) is extremely unpleasant, Abominations are as unpopular among the Restless as the living. Some Abominations steeped in lore of the Underworld, and clued into the distinction between wraiths and Spectres, seek out Spectres and devour them; few wraiths take issue with a few less servants of Oblivion. However, a strict diet of Oblivion-tainted ghosts likely has its own unpleasant side effects... Raising Thanatos: Thanatos is raised at current rating x 3.

Miscellaneous Stuff Almost all Abominations show up as Wyrm-tainted (though there may be rare exceptions to this rule). This is the Storyteller's call, though some factors may include the Path of Enlightenment the character follows, the rating he has in said path, his connection with the Shadowlands, and other factors. Bastet Abominations can only cross the Shroud in the areas corresponding to their den realms, but can do so at difficulty 3 and gain all the benefits of having a den realm in that area; this assumes the Bastet has the Den Realm Background before the Embrace, as they can't be established after. Storytellers should seriously consider what types of Fera they allow to become Abominations: Garou are an obvious choice, as well as Bastet. But do we really need vampiric werespiders, weresharks and werecrocs? My knee-jerk answer is "no," and it's specifically stated that some types of changers aren't even eligible for the Embrace (Nuwisha, Corax, Mekole and Kitsune), which is fine by me. Whatever you allow, however, make the rules for each breed consistent for simplicity's sake, and please, only create such oddballs if it serves the story in some way.

Dark Magic Dark Gifts Being that they no longer have Gnosis, Abominations no longer have actual Gifts, nor can they learn them from living shifters or spirits anymore. Instead, Abominations have powers known as Dark Gifts. Dark Gifts are corruptions of the Gifts they had in life, which are now turned toward affecting the Shadowlands and entropic effects. Some examples of Dark Gifts: Mother's Touch becomes Death's Caress; it heals the dead (vampires, wraiths and Abominations) but now causes harm to living creatures. Parting the Velvet Curtain becomes Parting the Shroud, which brings others into the Shadowlands. Create Element creates plasmic objects and barrow flame. The effects of some Gifts remain unchanged: Sense Wyrm, Truth of Gaia, Might of Thor, Speed of Thought and those Gifts that cause direct damage (Coup de Grace, Fatal Flaw) and affect the mind (Glib Tongue, Persuasion). However, the Embrace will certainly warp the thematic elements and story effects of these Gifts. Dark Gifts have the Thanatos cost of the corresponding Gift's Gnosis cost. Learning New Dark Gifts: with the Storyteller's discretion (and only), Dark Gifts can be learned from other Abominations, wraiths or Banes. Abominations are considered Ronin, and no longer have Rank. They learn all Dark Gifts at a cost of level x5, regardless of their rank before Embrace. And as they have no Tribal Gifts, no Dark Gift above Level Three may be learned after Embrace. Some wraiths may teach Dark Gifts through instruction; for example, a wraith with high Argos might teach Speed of Thought or Leap of the Kangaroo. However, such opportunities to learn new Dark Gifts are very rare.

Disciplines Abominations learn and use vampire Disciplines, but not as easily as other

vampires. They don't have "in-clan" Disciplines (which are raised at current x 5), but have instead several "affinity Disciplines" which can be learned at current x 7. All Abominations have affinities for the following Disciplines: the three clan Disciplines of the Abomination's sire, plus Protean. All other Disciplines are current x 8 to raise. Abominations don't start out with an initial Discipline point spread, but must purchase Disciplines at 10 exp apiece (which start at Level One). Abominations are considered the lowest form of Caitiff, and it's hard for them to find Kindred willing to teach them new Disciplines. However, the potential for learning their affinity Disciplines is already there; all they need do is spend the requisite experience to learn the first dot. Some Disciplines work differently for Abominations, due to their bizarre natures. Unless stated otherwise below, a can be assumed Discipline works the same for Abominations as for vampires (though the Storyteller's call trumps anything printed here, in the books or elsewhere). ) reduces the Animalism: When used on an Abomination, Quell the Beast ( subject's temporary Rage by one per success on the Manipulation + [Empathy/ Intimidation] roll. (Storytellers might want to apply this effect to living Changers as well.) Celerity: Yes, Abominations can use Rage and Celerity in the same turn. Doing so, however, automatically sends the monster into a raging Berserk Frenzy unless a Willpower point is spent; in this case, the character is allowed a roll to avoid Frenzy. Fortitude: An Abomination can use Fortitude to soak aggravated damage delivered by silver, fire, sunlight and Wyrm toxins. Necromancy: While Abominations have no special aptitude with Necromancy, it would grant an enormous boon in their Shadowlands dealings – assuming one were to learn it. Protean: Protean comes easily to Abominations, even those not sired by Gangrel. Those who attain Shadow of the Beast of the Discipline can shape-shift to any of their natural forms with a standard Stamina + Primal Urge roll and no blood point cost, though they can't assume any additional shapes. Thaumaturgy: Though their Gnosis is lost forever, Abominations adapt to the Path of Spirit Manipulation fairly well, and almost always take it as their primary path. However, very few are lucky enough to find those to teach them blood magic. Vicissitude: Most Abominations avoid this unclean Discipline, as they reek of corruption as it is and have enough going against them. As if it needed to be said, statistic bonuses from Horrid Form (level four) do not stack with those for the Abomination's natural forms. However, if Horrid Form is taken while the monster is in a form other than Homid, the highest bonus for Physical Attributes can be taken, though all Social Attributes drop immediately to zero. For example, if a Garou in Crinos form (Strength +4, Dexterity +1, Stamina +3) takes Horrid Form (+3 to Physical Attributes), his final adjustments would be Strength +4, Dexterity +3, Stamina +3. Scary.