Feral Heart also determines how much Essence a character can use, which works just the same as in Werewolf: The Forsaken. It is also what determines how long they may stay in their war-beast form, which cannot be maintained indefinitely like a werewolf's form. Similar to the Primal Urge trait of the Uratha, Feral Heart allows a feral to push above and beyond what normal humans do. New Merits for the Changing Breeds are Animal Companion, Beast-Kin, Den, Pack, Predator's Bearing, Socially Small, and True Breed. Certain "trickster" ferals (werecrows, Sun-Chasers, Celican werecats, and members of the Laughing Strangers breed) gain access to special Bag of Tricks Aspects. no werebears with Aquatic or weresnakes with Extra Limb). With Storyteller permission, a player may choose more Favors in lieu of Aspects, though this must be within reason and make sense according to their species (i.e. As a general rule, a werebeast’s Favor traits show what her breed has, and Aspects reflect what that individual can do. Every character of a species has the same three Favors but they must pick their Aspects to reflect the nature of their Nahual and their role in a community. The Changing Breeds are all born with intrinsic gifts (Favors) and individual powers (Aspects). Some of them are similar to those found in Werewolf: The Forsaken but, true to form, many are different even in surprising ways. Wind-Dancer: Flighty, inquisitive, uncanny.Ĭhanging Breed characters have several new mechanics to keep track of.Sun-Chaser: Devious, passionate, tricky.Root-Weaver: Clever, inventive, imaginative.Heart-Ripper: Ferocious, voracious, implacable.
Land Titans: Elephants and elusive rhino-folk.Species of the same breed might get along very well with each other, fight bitterly, or even have little or no knowledge of each other depending on the specific histories of that breed. The breeds are not like tribes among the Uratha or even like the clans of the vampires, but instead are much looser affiliations of species that are related either in outlook or through their animal kin.
The Changing Folk have a number of different breeds, and within them various species. There are two parts to every Nahual: breed and accord. It comes from an Aztec word meaning "animal shadow soul" and is sometimes used to refer to the Changing Breeds in general but it more accurately describes the atavistic totem that creates the bond between Animal and Man in a feral. The Nahual (nah-HOO-al) is the animal spirit that rules a feral.
Skin Thieves use the flayed skin of killed animals to transform themselves, while several other creatures that have also access to multiple shapes lack a Nahual and therefore are not considered Changing Breeds in the sense how they are represented here. There are other shapechangers beside them. Changing Folk do not experience changes with the moon but instead with the fluctuating harmony between their animal and human selves. They are hurt by silver but do not share the other aspects of the Urathas' pact with Luna, especially their tie to the moon's phases. As with werewolves, the feral condition is not contagious and ferals are able to adopt different forms, but ferals are limited to three. Technically, the Uratha are part of the Changing Breeds but many of the rules that apply to Father Wolf's brood have no bearing on the feral races. The Changing Breeds, also known as ferals (or more rarely therians), are shapechangers who possess in them both Animal and Man, united into a single creature.