SALAMANDER

By J. Lance Alloway (lanja@cbn.net.id)

Description

The Salamanders are thought to be one of four Kith (unless one believes the stories of certain Asian Fae) closely tied to primal elemental forces. Salamanders are creatures of fire and passion, and are often mistaken for the true elemental spirits of fire that inhabit the Umbral realms of flame. In fact, many believe these Fae have more in common with those pure elemental spirits that the other Kithain. Changeling Lorekeepers trace the origins of the Salamanders back to ancient times when a group of powerful Fae Lords departed Arcadia on some sort of Umbral quest. They never returned, but some believe that their descendents did. These mysterious Fae are known as terrifying warriors, vicious pranksters and are generally feared for the destruction they bring. Nevertheless, they are also renown for their warm smiles, unnatural beauty and the fiery splendor they are able to create.

Appearance

Almost uniformly beautiful in their humanoid form, the first thing one notices about a Salamander is their hair and skin. Bright red or glowing blond, the Salamander's hair is usually a winding flowing mass of curls or a bizarre, spiked shock standing straight up on the Fae's head. Their skin has a distinct copperish hue, is noticeably warm to the touch and seems to glow faintly with an internal light. Their eyes speak volumes, and their deep blue, green, violet or golden color seems to shimmer and often change entirely. Salamanders come in almost every height range, though often well muscled, they are shapely and usually quite slim -- until they reach old age that is. Most Grump Salamanders are truly impressive figurez. Males sport the bulging arms and barrel chests of a Vulcan smith. Females are both voluptuous and powerful. These are the Fire Giants or Eifreets of lore, and they rival even the Trolls with their imposing size and physique.

Lifestyles

Salamanders are a passionate and impulsive breed. Whether they are warriors, pranksters, crusaders, or priests. Salamanders tend to be constantly active and dynamic. These are not the supporters of the status quo. Change is necessary and to enact change old things and ways must first be torn down, consumed and turned into something new and wonderful. The mortal lives of Salamanders are greatly varied. One might be an inventor, an activist, an artist or a soldier -- anything will do so long as the potential for action and passion is there. One never hears of a Salamander accountant, at least not for long before the company is burned to the ground.

Seemings

Childling: Young Salamanders are known for their innocence and openness. They are also infamously accident-prone. These are the kids who get in trouble for playing with matches and burning down the garage. Already they exhibit some of the impulsiveness of their kind. They tend to be outgoing and talk back to their teachers. When angered, their tantrums are short but potentially dangerous.

Wilder: Impulsive and quick-tempered, Salamander Wilders embody the unpredictable and violent nature of flame. They are a teacher's worst nightmare. Rebellious and often sarcastic, they rush through life consuming everything in their path. Though they tend to be popular amongst their peers, their antics would drive a saint to desperate acts -- and normal people to far worse. An angry Wilder Salamander is a potentially deadly foe, as the short emotional outbursts of childhood grow longer, more focused and far more malicious in nature.

Grump: Slow to anger, the unbridled rage and wholesale destruction of a Fire Giant once roused is a thing of legend. The power and majesty of those rare few Salamanders who reach old age is truly awesome. Ironically, many Greybeards retire to quiet lives of study and introspection, often working diligently toward some cause. Others find some fiery locale and set themselves up as Lord of that demesne. In any case, most maintain some sort of permanent portal between their realms and the elemental realms of fire. Some few depart the mortal world entirely to take up permanent residence in those realms. Of all the Kithain, Salamanders are least concerned with the closing of the trods to Arcadia. Flame is eternal and so is its power to conjure up the dreams and fears of man. What care they for the Kingdoms of the Sidhe?

Affinity

Prop. Given their destructive nature, Salamanders are most skilled at affecting objects that are non-natural or are crafted by human hands. This includes formerly natural objects that are crafted into something else. Wooden objects are the most obvious example of this.

Birthrights

Promethean Heart: The heart of every Salamander is a thing of pure and eternal flame, which extends its influence throughout the Fae's entire fairy mien. This "Heartsflame" causes the Salamander's eyes to blaze with light and tongues of flame lick from their mouths as they speak. The mere snapping of a Salamander's fingers causes sparks to fly into the air. Thus there is always a significant risk of destruction whenever a Salamander is present. The Salamander's fiery nature is also extremely unnerving for most observers. Most animals and mortals will flee if a Salamander flaunts its fiery nature. Creatures such as vampires, which have a natural weakness and aversion to fire must make a Courage check to remain in a Salamander's presence should the Kith wish to drive such creatures away.

Furthermore, Salamanders can call forth some of their heart's flame, sending it forth from their bodies. The Salamander can learn to create all sorts of interesting and potentially harmful pyrotechnic effects using the Heartsflame. Calling forth the Heartsflame requires one turn of concentration and can then be used in the manner described below. All damage done directly by the Heartsflame is dealt with normally, though it is Chimerical in nature unless the Salamander invokes the Wyrd. In doing so, it is believed that Salamanders make their flames real by tapping into the realms of elemental flame within the Umbra and channeling those forces to earth with their Glamour. Normal fires created by the Heartsflame in this manner must have something flammable to consume, but are fully real and cause normal damage. So long as there is fuel, no additional Glamour is needed to maintain them, and they can be manipulated in the same manner as the Salamander's own Heartsflame.

Young Salamanders are capable of only simple tricks such as creating flame in the palm of one's hand or turning one's hair into a corona of flame. With practice, Salamanders can cultivate their Heartsflame to such a degree that they are capable of producing prismatic displays of living fire, which can astound, captivate and potentially terrorize onlookers. An ancient Eifreet could summon forth swarms of creatures made of living flame or could cause the fires within the earth to rise and consume an enemy's stronghold. It is suggested that the Storyteller use the Salamander's age, mastery of the Art Pyretics, and the specifics of the situation to gauge what effects are allowable and within the individual's power to create.

To create any of these effects, the Salamander rolls Dexterity or Wits (player's choice) + Performance/Artistic Expression or Intimidation (depending on the desired effect). The Storyteller assigns difficulties, depending on the complexity of the display. Many are the stories of Sidhe nobles who coaxed, tricked or forced a Salamander into using these skills to delight the noble's court. It is also well known that these stories generally end in tragedy and destruction if the Salamander was coerced, angered or somehow offended.

Skin of Brass: Salamanders are also known for their immunity to all forms of flame. Only a fool would attack a Salamander with flame, as the result would be futile at best. More likely the would-be attacker would find his weapon turned upon him. Salamanders take no damage from fire be it natural, magickal or Chimerical. Other types of magical flame, which are more spiritual in nature have some small chance of damaging the Salamander, requiring a Willpower roll vs. targets of 6 to attune the Heartsflame to this new type of fire.

Fire Giant's Might: Salamanders undergo a drastic transformation when they become Greybeards. The Salamander's lithe and supple form begins to gain both size and mass. Typically, a Salamander will gain 1 to 3 feet in height and put on an additional 25-40% of their starting weight in new muscle mass (The specifics should be agreed to by the Player and Storyteller). This change grants the new Fire Giant a permanent point of Strength and one additional bruised health level. It is generally believed that this transformation results from frequent exposure to the Umbral realms of fire. Should a Fire Giant have no access to those realms the transformation may not occur. Also, if a Fire Giant is later denied access to those realms for an extended period of time, the additional point of strength is lost until contact can be reestablished.

Frailties

The Moth's Curse: When a Salamander sees something involving fire (a bonfire, an arsonist at work, even a passing fire truck, etc.) she must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) or be drawn to the flame like the proverbial moth. If the roll is failed, the Salamander will move towards the flame, even if that means getting in a car to reach the scene of a fire seen on the TV news. The Salamander will then watch the flames lustfully until they either die out or are extinguished. To break off this reverie in order to act or leave, the Salamander must obtain multiple successes in another Willpower roll (difficulty 8). The exact number of successes is determined by the Storyteller, and based on the nature of the situation, the desired action, and the Salamander's personality. Actions that might hasten the actual quenching of the fire should start from a difficulty of 9, though the Storyteller may modify this downward if the situation merits it. Stories abound of fiery spirits saving children from burning houses only to return to the flames and glory in the blaze. If at any point one of these rolls is botched, the desire to join with the flames completely overwhelms the Salamander and she disregards all else in gleeful abandon. In such cases, the Salamander will do all within her power to turn the fire into the largest inferno possible.

Fiery Nature: Salamanders are notorious for their passionate natures and quick tempers. Anger, jealousy and grief are not emotions a Salamander normally deals with in a cold or calculating way. It is not in their nature. This does not mean they are rude in the manner of Nockers, nor are they much like the unsociable Redcaps. In fact, Salamanders are often genial, polite and even kindhearted; that is unless you vex, annoy, belittle or otherwise upset them. It is then that the elemental aspect of their personality shines through. Mourning and remorse manifest as unbearable grief; jealousy burns in their heart and urging them to act; and anger feeds on itself until it becomes an blind and violent rage. In any case, the usual reaction is for the Salamander to lash out at those beings and things nearby.

In game terms this manifests in three ways. 1) It increases one's difficulties for social interaction with the individual(s) causing the negative emotion; 2) It requires a Willpower roll to avoid losing control of one's emotions in such circumstances. And 3), it requires Willpower rolls and expenditures to direct such a rage or once it's begun, and an extended Willpower roll to eventually regain control of one's emotions. How these three factors interrelate depends on the situation and the age of the Salamander.

• Fiery Tantrums: At the Childling stage (for Fae who's nature is still under 12) Social interaction will be a less significant problem. While some have a mean streak or are sullen, they can also be innocently pleasant or genuinely distressed by someone else's hurtfulness or displeasure. By far the biggest problem for Childers is controlling their tempers once they have been angered. Childlings fly in to "tantrums" easily, which is often how the other child being watched by the sitter winds up in uncontrollable tears or the barn gets burned down. Luckily, with only a few notable exceptions, Childer tantrums aren't too violent and subside quickly.



• Burning Anger: At the Wilder stage (13 to adult) Social Interaction difficulties increase as the Fae's teenage rebellion and general bad attitude begin to assert themselves. Wilders have, however, learned a little more self-control over the years and thus are less likely to fly into a rage. But their rebellious nature often leads to significantly longer and more destructive bouts of anger than for Childlings. It is believed that a group of Salamander Wilders was present in Los Angeles a few years ago when the Rodney King verdict was handed down.



• Smoldering Rage: Finally there are the Grumps. Salamander Greybeards, often referred to as Eifreets or Fire Giants, are a mixed bag in terms of Social Interaction. Some still have notoriously foul tempers. They bark and scowl and give off the impression that they are just barely restraining the overwhelming desire to incinerate the person before them. Others, while gruff and unsettling, have become more controlled with time. While the feeling that the Greybeard might well like nothing better than to reduce the source of annoyance to ashes, there is also a sense that the Salamander has control over the choice to do so or not. Some few have even managed to gain a reputation for being polite and restrained, even in dealing with their enemies.
  
  The downside to this is only seen when a Fire Giant loses control of his rage. The intensity and duration of the resulting frenzy is legendary. Whole cities and freeholds have been lost due to the rage of a single Fire Giant. For this reason these Greybeards are often passed over on the guest list, and if invited treated with deference by their host.

Natural Enemies: Fire is only one of four (or five in Asian beliefs) elements. These elemental forces are in some ways at odds with one another. With regard to Salamanders specifically, underwater environments and places of unnatural cold are extremely uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. When underwater, a Salamander can only use his elemental powers with the expenditure of Willpower, and even then, the surrounding environment actively works to counter and overwhelm the effect. This leaves the Salamander extremely vulnerable to attack, as his primary weapon is rendered useless.

Though the effects of cold and entropy are less pronounced that of water, prolonged exposure to extreme environments of this type will slowly sap the Salamander's strength increasing the Salamander's difficulties by one for every day spent exposed them.

Finally there is much misunderstanding and rivalry between Salamanders and the Fae spirits of water. Just as the two elements are diametrically opposed to each other, so are these Kithain bound to complicate each other's plans and get on each other's nerves. Social interaction between these two groups are at +1 difficulty or greater.

Quote

"The power of flame, and its place in the dreams and nightmares of man, is eternal; and so my child are we. "