|
|
Nevermore!
|
|
Local Sanctuaries
| Where |
What |
Private Type? |
Contact
|
| A place
|
of some sort
|
Corax only
|
Who runs it
|
| Another place
|
Another function
|
Mixed Fera
|
Your mom
|
| Another place
|
Another function
|
All Shifters
|
Your face
|
Active PCs
Raven's Laws
- It's your duty to uncover every secret you can, even the unpleasant ones. Left alone in the dark, secrets fester, rot, and turn into some damn unpleasant things. It's our duty to uncover things that others want hidden, because odds are, if someone's taking the effort to hide some information, that information's dangerous. If you hear a rumor or catch a detail that nags at you, you had best follow up to the best of your ability or there'll be hell to pay. You never know if that lead you ignore as being "too ridiculous' will turn into the thing that bites you in the ass.
- Information does no good in a bottle. It doesn't matter if you know the three magic words that will save the world; as long as those words are locked in your brainbox, they're not doing anyone any good, including yourself. Odds are you're not going to be able to do a damn thing about most of the secrets you uncover, but that's not the point. After all, we're not here to take care of the messes, just to uncover them. That's why it's necessary to share what you know. Tell others, who can tell others, who can tell others who might be able to do something about whatever you've stumbled over.
- On a more somber note, the sooner you spread the word over what you know, the safer you are. If you're the only one who knows what the local Pentex subsidiary is up to, you're a prime target. If you tell three other Corax, who tell three more each, who tell a buttload of Garou, well, suddenly you're way down on the hit list priority.
- And if they do catch you, if word of what you found gets out, at least you didn't die in vain.
- Teach Them What They'll Learn
- Not everyone accepts the straight dope from us, or even likes us. And sometimes, the very folks who wont listen are the very same ones you need to get information to. In that case, Raven has Authorized the use of unnecessary and ridiculous force. More to the point, the methods don't matter - The information has to get through. It doesn't matter how. It doesn't matter if you have to get a whole pack of Garou howling for your blood or if you have to make yourself look like an idiot to get a Simba to listen - if they have to know, then it's your job to let them know. And you will do whatever it takes, dig, because there's damned little more important than making sure the right info gets to the right people.
- This one is a no-brainer. Eggs are our future. We're too few as it is. Defend a spirit egg with everything up to, but not including, your own life. We cant afford to lose a single one of us, even to save another, except under the most dire of circumstances. But a threat to an egg is intolerable. If you see anything going after a spirit egg, cowboy the bastard.
- We're night the fighters. We're the scouts and the communications officers. Yeah it's temptng to be the one to save the day and rescue the girl, but we're not built for that and trying stupid heroics is a good way to get yourself killed. Your job is to get information and get out, preferably without the enemy seeing you. If you do get spotted, escape makes more sense than fighting, articularly since he can call on more reinforcements than you can. Before you throw a single punch, consider what you're up against and what your odds of walking away from the fight are. Nine times out of ten, that should be enough to send you scurring in the oposite direction as fast as you can go.
- In the end, it's not important who gets the job done. It's important that the job gets done, and if the job is kicking ass, there are lots of other folks out there better at it than we are.
- Every living soul has a story, and it's part of our mandate to save as many of those stories as we can. That's why we drink the eyes of the dead, after all. It's a great information source, sure, but it's also respect, and making sure some little bit of the corpse's story gets carried away by someone.
- The other part of this rule is that you cannot turn awway. Not now, not ever. No matter how brutal or horrifying what you're looking at might be - and I'm talking about anything from the killing fields of Kampuchea to the worst bits of Bed-Stuy - you have to see it all, so that when you tell the tale, you tell it right. To do any less is disrespectful and dangerous.
- There's no cutting corners in this business.
- Partial or inaccurate information gets people killed. You are not allowed to skimp on your observations for any reason, from your tender sensibilities to the fact that you're getting the heebie-jeebies. If you cant tell the story accurately, if you don't have the facts, then don't tell the story at all. Don't make things up to patch the holes, because that always leads to disaster.
- Everything's Part of the Cycle
- Don't judge anyone or anything out of context. Gaia had a plan when she put this rock together, and everything has a part in it. So don't jump to conclusions about whether someone or something is unnecessary until you figure out why they're doing what they're doing, and what purpose it serves in the grand scheme of things. After all, some day someone might just look at you, with your beak buried in a corpse's peepers, and decide that you were some gross bit of vermin barely worth the round of birdshot he buries in your ass to "protect the sanctity of the body" from your unholy depredations. In other words, judge not lest ye be judged.
- We owe both Helios and Raven tremendous debts, and we show our respect every chance we get. This means whispering every secret we learn into the air, not to mention thanking both of them at every Pariament. Furthermore, it means recognizing that we're damn lucky to have the favor of two powers like that, and that we probably shouldn't do anything to screw that relationship up. So demonstrate proper reverence to both, kiddo. Play favorites with Helios and you just might get burned.
- You've been given an unimaginable gift: Wings. So use 'em! Fly, 'cause it's a dead certainty no one else in your family can. Experience everything you can. Talk to everyone you can. Learn as much as you can and look at things from as many angles as you can. Why? Because you can, that's why. As much fun as just getting airborne is, it's also symbolic of what we're doing here. If you can look at a problem from any other angle, say, from above, you have to do so. Don't let any of your talents or opportunities get wasted. Otherwise, why the hell did someone think you were worth wings to begin with?
- Or you'll cry. In the middle of all the bullshit that we have to put up with - and believe me, it's worse than you can imagine - you have to remember that we've been given some tremendous gifts. In spite of it all, kid, we're lucky - damn lucky. We get to fly, after all.
- So laugh. Look for the humor in everything, because sure as spit it's there, and after drinking dead men's eyes and seeing the horrors this rock holds, you'll need it. A moment of laughter at the right time can tide you over through a bad patch, until you can get the wind behind you again and realize how sweet life really is.
Creeds
Glory
Rules of the Glorious Corax
- Only fight when you have to, Corax aren't built to be infantry
- If you have to fight, then fight to win. If you lose, you're dead. No one cares that you fought 'by the rules' at your funeral
- No second chances. If you have a chance to finish an opponent, do it.
Glory Renown is rare among the Corax, because Corax aren't built for Glorious deeds. It's much more common for a Corax to get someone else to do the dirty work of fighting for him than to stand up and get into a brawl himself; more sensible, too. However, on those rare occasions when a Corax does something worthy of Glory, the whole breed hears about it within a matter of days - and only some of that can be traced to the bragging of the newly minted Glorious Corax themselves.
Corax give Glory for getting into - and surviving - fights that absolutely have to be fought. A Corax who goes around picking fights and winning them through creative use of Gifts isn't like to gather much Glory. On the other hand, a raven who has to take out a trip of fomor guards in order to escape an office with some stolen files - they're likely to be covered in Glory if they make it out alive.
|
Honor
Laws of the Honorable Corax
- If you're going to do it, do it all the way. Trying to do something honorable and backing out halfway through is worse than not trying.
- Get witnesses. The worst thing is having your attempts at honor misinterpreted by those that weren't there. Keep the story straight.
- Don't do it unless you're sure. Performing a selfless action and expecting a reward isn't selfless. Don't even try it unless you're doing what you're doing for the right reasons.
Honor among the Corax is reserved for those who have done something to benefit the Breed as a whole, or for Kinfolk. The latter is frankly more common, as the Corax hold their Kinfolk in high regard. Honor is also bestowed for acts of selflessness, particularly those performed on behalf of the Corax. Then again, there's no tradition limiting that sort of Renown to those helping the feathered folk...
|
Wisdom
Ways of the Wise Corax
- Get it fast. Old information is worthless.
- Get it accurate. Bad information is worse than useless.
- Get out safely so you can tell someone. If you get killed without passing the information along, who the hell cares what you found out?
Some say cats have no honor. With this set of circumstances in mind, Wisdom Renown is the one thing that really matters to the birds, but it's a very Corax-specific style of wisdom the birds venerate. In fact, the Corax definition of Wisdom is a little muddled with Knowledge - Corax who uncover great secrets and pass them along are showered with Wisdom Renown, while those birds who prudently (or wisely) don't go digging through dangerous garbage are routinely dismissed from consideration.
|
Rank Requirements
| Rank
|
Glory
|
Honor
|
Wisdom
|
| 1 (Oviculum)
|
|
|
3
|
| 2 (Neocornix)
|
|
|
6
|
| 3 (Ales)
|
1
|
2
|
8
|
| 4 (Volucris)
|
2
|
3
|
10
|
| 5 (Corvus)
|
3
|
5
|
10
|
If a player is approved at Rank 0 and then goes through their First Year to Rank 1, then they gain gifts and renown as usual for Rank 1 and their Breed, assuming they have earned their first Rank.
- These gifts don't cost XP.
- Any previous renown unconnected to the Rite of Passage is retained on top of the rank baseline.
Sample Renown Awards
Note: These are not uniformly objective. They may be rejected/reduced/increased based on circumstances.
Note: These are not exhaustive. If something doesn't seem to fit here, or isn't found in this list, but still serves one of these types and the Corax's purpose, then go ahead and submit a request.
The following types have been tinted for ease of reading and browsing:
- These awards and penalties are directly from the established renown lists, with changes limited to specifying the Corax breed.
Items in Black are positive renown awards.
Items in Red are negative renown penalties
- These awards and penalties have been either created from scratch, or taken from lists and more heavily reworded for the Corax breed.
Items in Blue are positive home-brew renown awards
Items in Purple are negative home-brew renown penalties
Sources: Players Guide to the Changing Breeds pages 170-173, WtA 2nd ed pages 190-193
Combat and Encounters
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Award given once per combat, not per enemy
|
| Surviving an Incapacitating wound
|
2
|
|
|
| Surviving any toxic waste/flux attack
|
2
|
|
|
| Attacking a much more powerful force without aid
|
|
|
-3
|
| Allowing your allies to attack the enemy before engaging
|
|
|
1
|
| Wounding a powerful foe and prudently retreating
|
1
|
|
1
|
| Avoiding combat entirely
|
|
|
3
|
via trickery, hiding, misdirection or other means to escape active pursuit by enemies
|
| Creating a successful diversion
|
|
|
3
|
| Successfully performing an eye-pluck maneuver in an attempt to escape combat
|
4
|
|
|
| Summoning help when there is no real danger present
|
|
-5
|
|
| Dying in defense to Gaia (posthumous)
|
7
|
7
|
|
| Threats associated with the unbalanced Triat
|
| Threats determined by actual threat posed, not rank
|
| Assisting in the defeat of a minor threat
|
1
|
|
|
Below your strength level
|
| Assisting in the defeat of an average threat
|
2
|
|
|
An even match
|
| Assisting in the defeat of a strong threat
|
3
|
|
|
Stronger than your strength level
|
| Assisting in the defeat of a very powerful threat
|
4
|
|
|
Much more powerful than you
|
| Other supernatural threats
|
| Assisting in the defeat of a strong threat
|
3
|
|
|
| Assisting in the defeat of a very powerful threat
|
4
|
|
|
| Bonuses for either type of threat
|
| ...when the threats were armed with gold
|
+1
|
|
-2
|
| ...being captured by the enemy
|
-1
|
|
-1
|
Detecting Threats of the Wyrm/Weaver/Wyld
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Revealing, with certain proof, that a human or kinfolk is tainted
|
|
|
2
|
| Falsely accusing a Kinfolk of being tainted
|
|
-3
|
-2
|
| Revealing, with certain proof, that an area or object is tainted
|
|
|
3
|
| Revealing, with certain proof, that a Changer is tainted
|
|
|
6
|
| Falsely accusing a Changer of being tainted
|
|
-5
|
-4
|
Mystical
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Purifying a tainted object, person, or place
|
|
1
|
1
|
| Summoning an Incarna avatar
|
|
|
2
|
| Summoning an Incarna avatar for no good reason
|
|
|
-3
|
| Dealing with a spirit rather than Binding it
|
|
|
1
|
| Knowing and offering the correct Chiminage without being asked
|
|
|
1
|
| ...Dealing generously
|
|
+1
|
+1
|
| ...Dealing extravagantly
|
|
|
-1
|
| Helping another fulfill an agreement with a spirit
|
|
1
|
|
| Breaking an agreement with a spirit
|
|
-3
|
-2
|
| Completing a Chiminage quest
|
1
|
2
|
|
| Successfully completing a spirit quest in the umbra
|
|
|
3
|
| Releasing a spirit from a taboo-induced Slumber
|
|
1
|
|
| Causing a spirit to fall into Slumber
|
|
-1
|
| Releasing a spirit from unjust bondage
|
|
2
|
1
|
Including fetishes
|
| Failing to succeed in a spirit quest in the Umbra
|
|
|
-3
|
| Traveling to any Umbral Realm and surviving
|
3
|
|
|
| Having and properly following a prophetic dream of great import
|
|
|
5
|
| Following another's prophetic dream
|
|
|
2
|
| Consulting an oracle and successfully interpreting its advice
|
|
|
2
|
| Giving a prophetic warning that later comes true
|
|
|
5
|
| Giving a prophetic warning that does not come true
|
|
|
-4
|
| Ignoring omens, dreams, and the like for no good reason
|
|
|
-3
|
| Losing the Sun
|
|
2
|
3
|
| Discovering ancient Changer lore
|
|
|
3
|
| Besting someone (including a spirit) in a riddle contest
|
|
|
3
|
Rites and Gifts
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Hosting a Parliament
|
|
2
|
|
| Being banished to the bottom branch during a Parliament
|
|
|
-3
|
| Suffering the Rite of Memory Theft
|
|
|
|
Target reduced to base Rank 1 renown, memory reverted to just after the First Change.
|
| Swiping a Gift
|
|
|
1
|
Fetishes
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Successfully creating talens
|
|
|
1
|
| Using a fetish for the good of the local Gaians
|
|
|
2
|
May depend on cleverly bringing and/or using an appropriate fetish, not just e.g. using the same fetish you always use
|
| Creating a fetish
|
|
|
4
|
Limited to 2 rewards/month (or equivalent with talens); more fetishes/talens can be made, but the requests may not be submitted for the same month
|
| Sacrificing a fetish for the good of the local Gaians
|
|
|
4
|
| Accidentally breaking a fetish or talen
|
|
|
-1 to -5
|
|
| Discovering a talen
|
|
|
1
|
| Discovering a fetish
|
|
|
2
|
Sacred Spaces
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Keeping a Changer 'holy-site' safe from humans through trickery or negotiation
|
|
|
3
|
e.g. 'holy-site' refering to: Garou Caerns, Bastet Den-Realms, etc.
|
| Helping to prevent a Changer holy-site from being overrun by the unbalanced Triat
|
3
|
4
|
|
| Accidentally allowing, through withholding information, a Changer holy-site to be overrun by the unbalanced Triat
|
|
-3
|
-7
|
| Deliberately allowing/enabling a Changer holy-site to be violated by the unbalanced Triat
|
-8
|
-5
|
-10
|
Most likely, your death is the actual outcome
|
Corax Relations and Society
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Teaching other Changers (depends on the depth of study)
|
|
1 to 5
|
3 to 5
|
Teaching rites: 1H 3C per month, regardless of number of rites or students
|
| For a homid Corax, surviving to age 75
|
|
8
|
10
|
| For a corvid Corax, surviving to age 65
|
|
8
|
10
|
| Maintaining loyal service to breed
|
1/year
|
3/year
|
1/year
|
Routinely approved if requested in a timely fashion
|
| Single-handedly being responsible for success in a common goal for the local Corax
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
| Acting selflessly for the greater good of the Corax
|
|
3
|
|
Behavior
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Gaining a new source of information
|
|
|
1
|
| Giving good advice for important matters
|
|
|
2
|
| Giving bad advice for important matters
|
|
|
-2
|
| Keeping an important promise
|
|
2
|
|
| Failing to keep one’s promise
|
|
-3
|
|
| Performing an outrageous and dangerous deed without being harmed
|
5
|
|
|
| Performing an outrageous and dangerous deed and being hurt, causing others to rescue you, thereby exposing them to danger
|
-5
|
|
|
| Dealing respectfully with other Changers
|
|
1
|
|
Information and Lies
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Attempting an information heist of Mission Impossible proportions that succeeds (and reporting it)
|
2
|
|
4
|
| ...without being detected
|
+2
|
|
|
| Being truthful to other Changers in the face of extreme adversity
|
|
5
|
|
Excludes Wyrmy Changers, obviously
|
| Discovering useful information or a secret and sharing it
|
|
|
1
|
| Discovering a major secret or information of great importance and sharing it
|
|
|
5
|
| Discovering a vital secret or information of extreme importance and sharing it
|
|
|
7
|
| Stealing something of value (or of amazing shininess) from an enemy lair
|
|
|
5
|
| Not sharing a secret
|
|
|
-3
|
| Exposed as a liar
|
|
-3
|
-2
|
| Hurting other Corax through lying or withholding information
|
|
|
-5
|
| Being deceptive to other Changers
|
|
-1
|
-1
|
| Withholding information or lying to other Changers when the information is important
|
|
-3
|
-3
|
| Misinforming, exaggerating, embellishing, or misrepresenting information to other Corax
|
|
-2
|
-4
|
| Protecting the Veil
|
|
4
|
|
| Harming or rending the Veil
|
|
-5
|
|
| Repairing the Veil
|
|
3
|
1
|
Protection and Defense
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Protecting a helpless Changer
|
|
4
|
|
| Not protecting a helpless Changer
|
|
-5
|
|
| Protecting a helpless human(s)
|
|
3
|
|
- Includes human kinfolk
- Protecting a group: generally only one counts
- 'Helpless' depends on power level of target (especially if a PC) and attacker
|
| Not protecting a helpless human(s)
|
|
-2
|
|
| Protecting a helpless raven(s)
|
|
3
|
|
|
| Not protecting a helpless raven(s)
|
|
-2
|
|
| Supporting an innocent being accused of a crime
|
|
5
|
|
| Supporting a guilty person accused of a crime
|
|
-4
|
|
Kinfolk and Eggs
| Activity |
Glory |
Honor |
Wisdom |
| Maintaining good relations with nearby Kinfolk
|
|
|
2
|
| Having poor relations with nearby Kinfolk
|
|
|
-3
|
| Performing the Rite of the Fetish Egg
|
|
4
|
4
|
Requires buying the mentioned rite, and sacrificing 3 permenant Gnosis
|
| Becoming the Guardian of a Spirit Egg
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
| Allowing, through negligence, a Spirit Egg to be taken or destroyed
|
-5
|
-5
|
-10
|
| Allowing, through negligence, the death of a Spirit Egg's human or raven child
|
-5
|
-5
|
-10
|
