Balam

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Jaguar Warriors

Prospect, CA is in the Northernmost reaches of Jaguar territory, far from the struggles of the Amazon.

The Balam of Mexico are a proud Aztec bloodline, steeped in Religion and War. In the days of the Aztec Empire their ancestors chose mates from the legendary Jaguar Warriors, and waged an endless feud with a bloodthirsty clan of vampire sorcerers tribal lore refers to as the Tlacique. They made war with the Uktena Garou over magic and secrets, and maintained an uneasy peace with the Pumonca and Qualmi who shared their territory. Their strongest alliance was with the Camazotz; the Werebats were the spiritual counterbalance to the ferocity of the Balam.

When the Spaniards invaded and conquered the native peoples, the Balam went into decline. The extant branches of the tribe were forced to merge, and many retreated into the Amazon--but not all. The Tlacique, for so long untouchable among the Aztec priests, fought a losing war against foreign vampires; some Balam stayed to exact a vicious end to ages of struggle. Others adapted, refusing to abandon their Feline and Human Kinfolk. They sensed the ruthless strength of the Spaniards and took it for themselves, adding the blood of the new nobility to their lineages.

To the Balam of Mexico, things are much as they always were. The land is infested with bloodthirsty vampires who revel in human sacrifice--there is nothing new there. Criminal cartels war with the government and drench the land in blood--it's merely a new form of the old conquests, the old sacrifices. The tribe tries to hang onto its ancestral tona and the old ways, especially in the southern reaches of the country, but endless warfare is nothing new to the children of Tezcatl--in fact, they relish it.

The Balam of Mexico are more urbane than the southern tribe, and they have a claw deep in the criminal cartels currently tearing the country apart--as well as the government vainly trying to hold things together. Those with high Pure Breed tend to be short and stocky, with dark eyes, prominent hooked noses, epicanthic folds at the corners of their eyes, and nut-brown skin. Their Rites and Sorceries evoke the bloodier practices of the Aztecs, and they particularly enjoy stretching Sabbat vampires across their altars and cutting out their hearts as offerings to their spirit-father, Tezcatlipoca. Their most ardent grudge, of course, is against the Shadow Lords; every heart cut from the chest of a living Lord is payback for the slaughter of the Camazotz. There may not be enough heart's blood among the entire tribe to quench the burning hate of the Jaguars, or slake their thirst for vengeance.

** Pictures and Title all taken from Bastet Breedbook pg.# 48-50 **

Balam Gifts

PGttCB 70, Bastet 106-108

Level 1 Curse of Aeolus (Hunter's Mists) Storm of Pests

Level 2 Perfect Cover True Fear (Terrors) Ancestral Wings Smoking Mirror

Level 3 Trackless Waste (Wandering Forest) Touch of the Tree-Frog

Level 4 Vision Cloud Jungle's Vengeance

Level 5 Feed the Gods Redeem the Waste (Heal the Wounded Land)

Balam Gift Details

Rank 1 Hunter's Mists - As the Garou Black Furies Gift: Curse of Aeolus. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p106) Storm of Pests - By singing a plea to Tzinzie the Fly Lord and his kind, a werejaguar can call up a cloud of mosquitoes, gnats, biting flies, or some equally obnoxious bugs. These creatures don't so much damage as distract their prey, although they might at the Storyteller's option, carry diseases like malaria or yellow fever. By drawing the victim's attention to the biting pests, the Balam may prepare either an ambush or an escape. System: The jaguar's player rolls Manipulation + Survival. In most rain forests or coastal areas, the difficulty is 5. In other places, the difficulty rises to 7, and goes to 9 in areas where bugs are scarce. For each success, an area roughly 10 feet square is filled with flying bugs, reducing all dice pool by 2 for one turn per success. After that, the insects disperse. The cat is not immune to bug bites, but usually knows what to expect and can act normally. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p106) Rank 2 Ancestral Wings - According to their folklore, the Balam were once two tribes. One of the original families, the Olioiuqui, had wings. By diffing into this ancestral past, a werejaguar can invoke their gift and fly for short distances. System: The player rolls Intelligence + Primal Urge against difficulty 8 and spends a Gnosis point. If successful, brightly colored wings burst from the Balam's shoulders and carry him aloft. While winged, the cat can fly at 15 yards per turn in any form, and may carry up to 200 pounds of addition weight. This Gift lasts for one scene (or one half-hour), after which the wings atrophy and harmlessly drop off. (Bastet BB p107) Perfect Cover - As the Bastet Feline Gift. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p104) Smoking Mirror - As the Rank Three common Bastet Gift: Farsight. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p98) Terrors - As the Garou Ahroun Gift: True Fear. (PGttCB p70) Rank 3 Touch of the Tree Frog - By touching a victim with her paw, teeth, or even spittle, a Balaam can paralyze him for minutes on end. Some jaguars take this opportunity to get away, or to deliver a warning; others make more sadistic use of that time. This Gift stems from the Tree-Frog spirits, whose fluids coat the arrows of the ancient folk. System: the jaguar spends a Gnosis point to activate the Gift; once done it lingers in her skin until she brushes against someone. Unless the target makes a Stamina + Awareness or Primal Urge roll (difficulty 8), he is frozen for one turn per point of the Balam's current Gnosis (the score she had before she cast the Gift). He may, if he's lucky, break the paralysis with a Willpower roll (difficulty 9); if not, he remains helpless for the duration. (Bastet BB p107) Wandering Forest - As the Garou Red Talon Gift: Trackless Waste. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p107) Rank 4 Vision Cloud - Among the old folk, the jaguars were respected for their insight. Many Olmacs and Maya came to them for visions, and the tribe responded by evoking this ageless Gift. By calling to the spirits of the air and the plants, a modern jaguar can still conjure the Vision Cloud, a swirling fog which wraps itself through the clearing or cave, bringing mystic insights to those who seek them - and to those who do not. System: By rolling Manipulation + Enigmas (difficulty 5) and spending a Gnosis point, the Bastet can fill an area up to 50 feet square qith a misty cloud that affects everyone without breathing gear or magical protection - including the Balam herself. The visions seen are left to the Storyteller's discretion, but should foreshadow possible future events, reveal lost lore, or offer clues that clever characters can decipher. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p107) Jungle's Vengeance - By tapping into her ties with the land, a Balam urges the jungle to turn against any invaders. The assault begins innocently enough, with vines that trip and swarms of hungry bugs; if the outsiders don't get the hint and leave, however, the Vengeance turns nastier. Pool's of quicksand, poisonous plants and insects and clouds of noxious gas spring into existence right in the invader's path. Ultimately, the Gift whittles a determined force of trespassers down to a handful of desperate survivors - easy pickings for an angry werejaguar and her friends... System: The player spends a point of Rage and two points of Gnosis, and sets in motion a purposeful series of events designed to drive invaders away from the werejaguar's domain. Although the Storyteller has the final say about what happens and to whom, the one constant with the Gift is the fact that it gets more and more dangerous as time goes by. It wont be enough to harm supernaturals (much), but it will drive humans to the brink of madness and beyond (and might significantly interfere with Garou operations, should they be unlucky enough to rub the Balam the wrong way...). (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p107) Rank 5 Feed the Gods - By reaching out with his hand, a powerful jaguar can rip the heart out of an enemy from a distance, pull it to his palm, and consume it in a burst of fire. This Gift kills the target if it succeeds. Only strong magic can rebuild the ashes of the heart or grow another one in its place. System: The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty 7) and spends two Gnosis points. If the werejaguar's successes amount to twice the target's dots in Stamina or more, the victim dies. Supernatural defenses (vampiric fortitude, Gifts, etc.) subtract one success for every dot or level of protection. Hence, this Gift isn't useful for killing supernatural foes, but it's devastating against normal humans. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p108) Heal the Wounded Land - As the Rank Four Bastet Metis Gift: Redeem the Waste. (PGttCB p70, Bastet BB p103)