Day 22: The Cat
#CharacterCreationChallenge
I realised that I simply cannot keep up with a Shadowrunner a day - they take a long time to build, and between family, work, study and occasionally trying to have a life there’s only so many hours in a day. So I decided to return to the world of Werwolf: the Apocalypse, but with a twist - the next group of five characters will have no Werewolves. Instead, this set focuses on the [i[]Changing Breeds (also known as Fera), all the other kinds of werecreatures out there. In the prehistory of the setting, the Garou drove many of them close (and a few all the way) to extinction in the War of Rage, and while that was a long time ago, none of them are the forgiving kind. They also all have their own culture, spirituality and abilities, and mostly stay among their own kind, although a few attempts at inter-breed cooperation have been made, most importantly the East Asian Beast Courts that have been around since prehistory, and the much more recent Ahadi of Africa. However, my little group will consist of five individuals from… Southern Florida, whose backstories interweave and may lead to them forming a (temporary?) alliance. The first is a Bastet, or Werecat, of the Pumonca tribe of werecougars. Bastet are relatively similar to Garou in many ways (but don’t mention that in front of either), so it’s a good way to “ease into” the plot…
The Old Cat
Background
Among the Bastet, Metis are less reviled than among the Garou, but they are also less common - Bastet are mostly solitary, so there are fewer opportunities for two of them to give in to temptation. This is even more true for the Pumonca than most of the other tribes - they often go years between meeting another of their kind. The Old Cat (the only name he ever knew) is one of those rare few. His mother left him with some human kin as soon as he was old enough to stop nursing, and he mostly left them as soon as he was old enough to take Feline form and claim a piece of the Everglades as his personal hunting grounds and Den Realm. He would have been content to keep his contact with anyone else to the absolute minimum, but one day during a hunt, he encountered a strange, deformed creature that may once have been human, and when he investigated the surrounding land, he found more, both human and animal. A strange sickness seemed to be spreading, and it endangered his home. This could not be tolerated.
Appearance
In his Feline form which he spends most of his time in, The Old Cat appears to be an aging, somewhat haggard Florida Panther (a subspecies of cougar unrelated to the Leopard more commonly referred to as Panther), usually wheezing and sneezing. In homid form, he is an awkward, unshaven man with sun-tanned skin wearing unwashed jeans and T-shirt.
Character Concept
Concept: Swamp Mystic
Changing Breed: Bastet
Tribe: Pumonca
Breed: Metis
Pyrio: Twilight
Attributes:
Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2
Perception (Sixth Sense) 4, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
Abilities
Talents:
Alertness 2
Athletics 2
Brawl 2
Empathy 3
Primal-Urge 1
Skills:
Etiquette 1
Stealth (Silent Paws) 4
Survival 2
Knowledges:
Computer 1
Enigmas 3
Investigation 2
Medicine 1
Occult (Spirit Lore) 4
Rituals 3
Advantages
Backgrounds:
Den-Realm 2
Kinfolk 2
Rites 3
Gifts:
Lick Wounds
Sense Primal Nature
Mockingbird’s Mirror
Renown:
Honor 1
Cunning 2
Others
Rage 4
Gnosis 3
Willpower 4
Rank 1
Backgrounds
The Den-Realm is the territory The Old Cat claims - it is about two square miles of the Everglades. In it, the owner can step sideways into the spirit world (which Bastet normally cannot do without a high-level Gift), lead others across as well, and teleport between different locations.
The Kinfolk are the human relatives he grew up with - he does not have a lot of contact with them, but they are on mostly good terms, and they know about the supernatural to some degree.
The Rites he knows are the Rite of Talisman Dedication that allows him to dedicate items (like a set of clothing) so it adapts to changing forms and can accompany him to the spirit world, and the Rite of Summoning which allows him to summon spirits (but they may not be friendly).
Character Sheet
Published at NZDT