RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE
Fenris Lorsai (hconeill@cc.owu.edu)
Author's Notes
Okay, you wanted to bring a ROUS into your game? (Probably not, but let's just pretend) Here's some guidelines for creating your own demented ROUS allies or characters if you wish. (And why did I do this with my spare time? Because one of my characters has an ROUS as an ally and he keeps popping up to make a nuisance of himself. Wouldn't be long before some rules monger was asking for the justification.)Honorah O'Neill
Background
When the Sundering of the Realm and the Umbra occurred, spirit and matter were torn apart. Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule. The Garou would be one. The ROUS would be another. ROUS are Rodents Of Unusual Size, as the Garou refer to them.
History
When the Sundering came, most creatures were torn apart trapping matter in the Realm and spirit in the Umbra. A few were not, but the thin Gauntlet between the world was more than they could handle and so became trapped on one side. So it was with the ROUS. Some became trapped in the Umbra while others became trapped in the Realm. As time went by, the two groups forgot each other but not the worlds they had been denied. Finally, the ROUS of the Umbra discovered the trick of stepping sideways and banded together for their first excursion into the Realm in millennia. They picked nearly the worst time and place. They stepped out on the East Coast of North America to come nose to nose with their own worst nightmares. It was the time in which Eater-Of-Souls had been cut loose to manifest in the Realm itself. Accompanying it were many servants of the Wyrm including much to the Umbral ROUS horror, their long thought lost cousins who had become trapped in the Realm. These cousins had grown filled with Rage and bitterness at being denied the Umbra and so had thrown their lot in with the Wyrm who promised to destroy the world. To their thinking, the world had been destroyed once during the Sundering. Do it again and it would rejoin the Realm and the Umbra. The Umbral ROUS believed no such thing and would be happy to teach their cousins the trick of stepping sideways if they did not think that they would be giving the gift to violent and unpredictable children. Since then, the Umbral ROUS has taken to a very scholarly bent and have been trying to reform their cousins. Of course, they don't mind finding WILLING pupils among other folks.
The Present Day
The Umbral ROUS are much fond of knowledge in any of its forms unlike their cousins who would most likely eat the book rather than read it. So, the Umbral ones like to keep them well sorted out so other folks don't go confusing them with their cousins. They refer to themselves (using Linean classification) as Rattus fictus and their insane cousins as Rattus perditus. The Realm bound ROUS refer to the two groups as "Them" and "Us."
Rattus fictus
All of this group know the trick of stepping sideways and so can be found in either world. Of course, considering that they are giant rodents they tend to stay in the Umbra most of the day and are usually only operating in the Realm at night when humans are far less likely to see them. There are two basic divisions in here, mostly a difference in the opinion of how to go about things.
Teachers
These ROUS believe in teaching just about anything and anything regardless of whether or not it has any practical application. They do not consider violence a good way to convince anyone of anything. They are quite capable of fighting if attacked but will rarely if ever start the fight. These ROUS are most likely to take students from species other than their own. They most often will take Garou as pupils but Mages of the Traditions are not that uncommon either. They do not like the Technomancers however and will not take them as students. Teachers tend to give good advice and often have arcane bits of knowledge that prove useful. The main advantage is that they can teach Garou Gifts. Mages can generally manage to learn useful knowledge pertaining about the Spirit sphere, but the teaching just generally gives them a better understanding of what they can already do. The other spheres are completely foreign concepts to the ROUS, so they're little if any help at all. Of course, having a giant magic throwing rat does have its advantages outside of the teaching aspect.
Warriors
These ROUS are far more concerned with the practical end of knowledge. They also see no problem with letting people learn the hard way or to giving their students a few lumps so they'll learn their lesson that much better. They take a far more active role in trying to re-educate their cousins than the Teachers do since they have a far better chance of actually surviving the encounter. They don't take students as often as the Teachers. Those who manage to convince one to take them as students gain a powerful ally. Not only are these ROUS knowledgeable in the magical end of things, they also tend to be very good fighters. They are found most often in the cities or in corrupted areas than the Teachers are. They also tend to be more nomadic and often arm themselves with modern weaponry. Some Warriors are actually quite capable of using firearms and almost all are capable of using a knife though it is always somewhat awkward.
Physical
ROUS of the Fictus variety appear as large rather slim rats. They walk on all fours and are generally about three feet at the shoulder. Standing up on the rear legs they stand just under six feet. This is rather awkward and they can only take a dozen or so steps while upright. Warriors are far better at walking upright then Teachers though. Generally the fur is very well groomed and is some shade of brown or grey and is soft to the touch. Only their teeth do aggravated damage. Because of their physical structure, most of the Fictus find it very difficult to use weapons effectively since they are designed for someone with free hands. Upping Melee or Firearms skills costs twice normal and they still can use no melee weapons bigger than a short sword. (yes, Claymores are right out) Since Firearms require the ability to balance well upright (without falling over) they are restricted to light, single shot, weaponry such as pistols and revolvers.
Stepping Sideways
As before mentioned, ROUS of the Fictus persuation are capable of stepping sideways. The Gauntlet is halved for them stepping into the Umbra but doubled for stepping out due to their strong ties to the Umbra.
Gifts
ROUS possess Gifts similar to the ones Garou use and can easily teach them to Garou. Teachers have access to Theurge, Philodox, Galliard, Stargazer, Children of Gaia, and Uktena Gifts. Warriors have access to Ragabash, Philodox, Ahroun, Bonegnawer, Glass Walker, and Silent Strider Gifts.In addition to these, ROUS may possess spirit Charms. These are not teachable to Garou though they may be able to give Mages the basic idea of how to do the same thing. Charms cost Power just as with spirits and ROUS have to either spend Gnosis points or spend Power to use them. (They have a Power pool somewhat similar to a vampiric Blood Pool) They can use Charms in the Realm by spending Gnosis but have no access to their Power pool while in the Realm. When in the Umbra, they become far more attuned to their spirit side than their material side. They far prefer using Charms while Umbral and so raise the difficulty for Gift usage by two. (If it goes above ten, they just plain can't concentrate enough to do it at all)
Unfortunately for a ROUS if his Power goes to zero he starts burning Health Levels or goes into Slumber as spirits do. To wake one from Slumber, 5 points of Power or Gnosis must be spent. If he burns all his Power and Health levels, he dies.
Stats
Starting Rage Teacher: 1Starting Rage Warrior: 3
Starting Gnosis: 6
Starting Willpower: 6
Starting Power: 10
Charms
Level 1Airt Sense
Healing
Cleanse the Blight
Tracking
Acquisition
Cling
Ease Pain
Purify
Level 2
Control Electrical System
Open Moon Bridges
Short Out
Updraft
Assess Character
Disable
Hide
Level 3
Scent of Safety
Suggestion
Dream Journey
Flee
Insight
Iron Will
Create Wind
Freeze
Level 4
Ice Shards
Lightning Bolts
Throw Glass
Agony
Inner Pain
Kindle
Open Sky Bridge
Frozen Breath
Level 5
Umbrastorm
Quake
Blood Sucking
Liquefy
Break Reality
Blast Flame
Umbraquake
Create Fires
Rattus perditus
These are the Realm bound ROUS. They are unable to step sideways unless they manage to acquire a Gift that allows them to do so. They are filled with Rage and are all Wyrm-corrupt. From their associations with Black Spirals they have learned to ally themselves with the Bane Totems. Every one of these ROUS is dedicated to one of the Bane Totems. Through making sacrifices to these Totems and going on quests of destruction and corruption in their names, these ROUS may be granted Gifts from their Totems. Through this they have access to Ahroun, Philodox, Glass Walker, and Black Spiral Dancer Gifts. They are incapable of teaching these Gifts to others and must petition their totem to learn any new Gifts. As with Black Spirals, they choose a specific Urge-Wyrm to follow. Also as Black Spirals, they must take a Derangement.
Physical
Physically, these fellows are dirty and unkempt. Their teeth are often out of alignment and their claws are often chipped but still razor sharp. Both their teeth and claws do aggravated damage. They typically have blackish, grey, or dirty brown coat often patchy. The fur is harsh and irritating to the touch. Anyone who bites them will take one die of damage from the irritating glop and roughness of it. They are bigger than their Umbral counterparts and start with two dots in Strength and Stamina but receive no starting dots in Intelligence or Perception. Perditus have been warped by the Wyrm to make them better fighters and are much better at standing up and walking on two legs. The cost for increasing Melee and Firearms is only one more point than normal. They are far more steady on their feet and are capable of using far heavier weaponry. Machetes and rapiers are particularly favorite melee weapons. In the firearms area they are capable of using things up to the size of a small caliber rifle or shotgun but are still not capable of using an automatic weapon.
Stats
Starting Rage: 6Starting Gnosis: 1
Starting Willpower: 4
Rage
ROUS can spend Rage somewhat similar to a Garou but not in nearly the same quantities. Fictus can spend a maximum of one Rage per turn either for using a Gift, for an extra action. Perditus can spend a maximum of two per turn. ROUS can regain Rage the same way as Garou, but do not receive any from the phase of the moon and find it far harder to regain at all. ROUS can frenzy, but raise the difficulty by three for Fictus and by one for Perditus.
Names
Fictus generally take fairly normal names or ones from literature. Teachers favor names of great figures in history while Warriors prefer the names of either fighters or very common names (such as Joe or Bob). Perditus take any name they damn well please, be it an actual name or a random string of sylables.
Character Creation
Choose Species
Rattus fictus or Rattus perditus
If Rattus fictus:
Choose Alignment: Teacher or WarriorPick Attributes: 6/4/2
Pick Abilities: 13/9/5 Teachers may not take points in Firearms or Melee and no more than two in Brawl, Warriors may take no more than one dot in Melee and none in Firearms
Pick Backgrounds: 3 points any Background except Kinfolk or Totem
Take 2 Starting Gifts and 1 Charm
Fill in starting Rage, Gnosis, Willpower, and Power
Freebie cost: 15 freebie points
Attribute 5
Abilities 2
Backgrounds 2
Gnosis 2
Willpower 2
Rage 2
Power 3
Gifts 6
Charms 8
Rattus Perditus
Pick a TotemPick an Urge Wyrm
Pick Attributes: 6/4/2
Pick Abilities: 12/9/4
Pick Backgrounds: 5 points, cannot take Kinfolk, Pure Breed, Familiar Spirit
Take 3 Gifts
Record Staring Rage, Gnosis, and Willpower
Freebie points: 15 points, as above but cannot take Power or Charms
Gaining Rank
For Fictus, they gain Rank as Theurge, if they're Teachers as Ragabash if Warriors. For Perditus, as Ahroun, with Renown being like the Black Spirals. (Infamy, etc.)
Experience Points
Should these be run as PCs, they gain experience points as normal. Point cost for Attributes, Abilities, Rage, Gnosis, and Willpower are the same. Gifts are 5 X Level. Charms are 8 X Level and Power is half the current rating (round up).
A Sample ROUS
Name: Henry
Species: Fictus
Alignment: Teacher
Concept: MeddlerStength 2 | Charisma 3 | Perception 3
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Dexterity 2 | Manipulation 3 | Intelligence 3
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Stamina 2 | Appearance 2 | Wits 3
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Alertness 1 | Animal Ken 3 | Enigmas 2
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Empathy 2 | Etiquette 2 | Investigation 2
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Expression 2 | Performance 2 | Linguistics 1
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Subterfuge 2 | Stealth 2 | Occult 2
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| Survival 3 | Rituals 2
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Fetish 3, Spirit Magnet Level 3, Gnosis 7 When activated, attracts small spirits (of less than 20 Power).
Gifts
Scent of the True Form
Mindspeak
Charms
Airt Sense
Acquisition
Rage: 1
Gnosis: 6
Willpower: 6
Power: 10
Equipment: The spirit Magnet, a pouch with some cookies and granola bars in it, and a Swiss army knife with a can opener
Image: A big brown rodent. Henry tends to grin a lot when pleased with himself or just when he's meddling. This shows off his nice big teeth to great advantage. For some reason some people find that intimidating. Henry tends to play up the charm usually and sometimes affects a British accent. Of course it's a bad British accent, but it's still amusing.
History: Henry used to live in the Umbral reflection of Vanderbuilt Chemical's property. It was the perfect hiding place considering the weirdness of most of the other spirits in the area. Who'd notice one ROUS among the Giant Three Headed Purple Paisley Bunnies? Well, someone finally noticed. A Lunatic Garou that lived up the street took to wandering through the grounds as a short cut. Most of the critters got used to seeing her around so paid her no mind. Henry eventually ended up coming face to face with her one evening. Most Theurges would have left or tried bargaining off some Gnosis to make this big thing go away. Not this one, she bribed him with Girl Scout Cookies. Henry has found this most amusing and has been meddling in Fenris' life ever since. Fenris only seems to find this annoying when he tries setting up dates for her; that's just going too far. Not that that's going to slow him down any.