CHIROPTERA

By Stephen K. Robinson

"Remember, bats are only rats with wings..."

-- Catwoman, Batman Returns

Origin

At the time when Gaia sat all of her children in a great circle before her and she gave them their job, Raven spoke and said: "Great Mother, we are very happy with the job you have given us, but we are creatures of the day, for we grow weary from our work and must sleep. We cannot watch your skies in both the night and the day."

Gaia thought about this for a while and said: "I hear you my child and understand your struggle. I shall have to find one of your brethren to watch over my night sky. For I understand that you are not a creature of Luna, you rise with Helios and sleep with him too." Turning to the circle, she said: "Which one of you, my children is willing to watch my skies under Luna?"

There arose great concert among the children for they could not figure out who could possibly carry this burden. Then from the back, a rather diminutive voice spoke and said: "Mother, may I serve you in this role?"

All turned to look and were surprised to see Bat. Wolf, in his usual arrogance, simply laughed at Bat, but Bat was completely serious and frowned at Wolf saying: "Why do you laugh at me cousin?"

Laughing, "You could not seriously hope to protect mother. Look at you. You are small and weak. You have no power. How could you seriously hope to defeat any of Gaia's enemies...?"

Bat interrupted: "Ahhhh...that is where you are mistaken cousin. I have the night and the sky. You are bound to the land, while we are free to roam the heavens. I know the secrets the night holds and that is your weakness."

These statements enraged Wolf and he stomped off into the forest. Gaia looked at bat and smiled saying: "Okay my child...the night sky is yours. Guard it well, because the Wyrm is more active under Luna's madness. Be careful. I give you my power. I have faith in you..."

Description

Of all of the other bete, the Chiroptera have the most strained relationships with the Garou. However, they were probably the least affected by the War of Rage. The Garou see them as creatures of the Wyrm because of their resemblance to vampires using Protean. Also, because of this fact Gangrel respect the chiroptera and are more likely to have a good relationship with them. Thus, the difficulty on all dealings with a Gangrel vampire are -2 and it costs half the points to buy a gangrel ally. They also get a bum wrap, because the totem Bat is a wyrm totem. (I found this out after I started writing this. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper!) Chiroptera are creatures of the night...plain and simple. Though sunlight does not physically hurt Chiroptera, they are very lethargic and disoriented during the day and all difficulties go up by 3 during daylight hours. Chiroptra take no totems, simply because they feel that they don't need it. In homid form, they are usually thin, lanky humans, with a rather high pitched voice (even males) and fair eyesight. It is not uncommen that in homid form Chiroptera need glasses. Since, bats are found all over the world, they are associated with no particular nationality. Also, like the Gurahl, their Bat form takes on the appearance of the bats indigenous to where they are from. (e.g. A Chiroptera from Brazil may resemble a flying fox...etc.) There are not really any official tribes, but bats of the same species tend to stick together. However, there is one group that stands out from the rest.

The Sanguine Society As the title suggests, this is a group entirely made of vampire bats. I haven't exactly figured out what I want to do with this yet, but when I do I will post it. Any suggestions? I kind of think I may go with a kind of wannabe abominations type thing, but I am not sure.

Gifts

Being that the Chiroptera have a very strong connection to Gaia, they are privy to most of the Garou gifts, but they do have a few of their own.

Wail of the Banshee (Level 3)

I have yet to think of any others, but plan to be writing some more, so let me know if any one has some suggestions.

Traits

Homid: They tend to be rather short in stature and with thin frames and builds. Most have rather high piched voices. It is almost impossible to find a Chiroptera bass. They usually do not have good eye sight. Most wear glasses or contacts.

No trait adjustments

Crinos: In this form, the Chiroptera basically turns into a giant man-bat. (To get a better idea of what this might look like look for an episode of Batman: the Animated Series, where there is a man bat floating around.) They cannot talk in this form. They can only emit series of high pitched shrieks. They grow large wings long ears. They can fly in this form, but must check their strength to see if they can hold themselves in the air.

Strength: +2
Dexterity: +3
Stamina: +4
Apearance: 0
Manipulation: -3
Intimidation: +2

Bat Form: (Sorry, haven't thought of a name yet!) In this form, they look like large versions of the types of bats from from what ever part of the world they are from.

Strength: -1
Dexterity: +2
Stamina: +3
Manipulation: -3
-4 to all perception difficulties