Ratkin Gifts
Contents
Common Ratkin Gifts
PGttCB 144-145, Ratkin 107-110
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Rank 1
Cloak of Shadows - The Ratkin can cloak himself, and anything he is touching, in shadows. This Gift is taught by a Night Spirit, which may demand secrets in exchange for its sacred knowledge.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Stealth. If a witness is present, the difficulty of this roll is the Perception + Alertness of that witness; if several are present, use the one who would present the hightest difficulty. The area cloaked depends on the number of successes, as listed below. If the Ratkin gets less successes than he thought he did, her reputation for trechery will increase - she might be the only one hidden!
| Successes | Area Cloaked |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Ratkin |
| 2 | ...and one other human sized person or object |
| 3 | ...and three other human sized people, or an object as big as a car |
| 4 | ...and eight or more humans, or an object as big as a van or SUV |
| 5+ | ...and twelve or more human-sized creatures, or an object as big as a tractor-trailer truck |
(PGttCB p144, Ratkin BB p107)
Darksight - All wererats possess a low level "night vision" that allows them to peer into the shadowy corners of the world. This Gift magnifies that abiluty. Highly perceptive Ratkin may pick up heat signatures, see sound waves, or possibly see through various methods of supernatural obfuscation. This Gift is taught by a Night spirit.
System: Roll Perception + Occult (difficulty 7); each success adds one die to all Perception rolls for the rest of the scene, up to a maximum of three extra dice. With five successes, he can perform amazing feats like seeing sound or sensing heat signatures. As described in Ratkin Breedbook Chapter Two, any Ratkin can spend a point of Gnosis to gain Night Vision for one scene; Ratkin with this Gift can use Night Vision at any time without spending Gnosis.
It's also possible for a highly perceptive wererat to see through supernatural illusions, like the Uktena Gift: Shroud, or the vampre Disciplines: Obtenebration, Obfuscate, or Chimerstry, but the Ratkin's Rank must be equal to or greater than the Rank of the supernatural creature (treat vampires as being Rank Two in general, modified for age and puissance; mages have a Rank roughly eqyuvalent to their Arete -2, minimum of Rank One). If the Ratkin's Rank is greater, success is automatic. If the wererat is the same equivalent Rank, he must make a resisted Perception + Occult roll against the subject's Stealth + Occult. If the wererat scores more successes, he sees through the supernatural obfuscation.
(PGttCB p144, Ratkin BB p107)
Resist Toxin - As the Garou Fianna Gift.
(Ratkin BB p108)
Snadow Throw - While vocally expressing his anger, the Ratkin can form a shadowy field of power around a dagger or other sharp object balanced for throwing. Knife Skulkers, for instance, may choose to call out a victim's crime ("Murderer!") while forming his instrument of revenge. When the Ratkin hurls his dagger at a foe, the blade is propelled by the darkness around it and strikes with supernatural force. This Gift is taught by a Night spirit, which will usually demand a tale of an unpunished criminal's dark secrets.
System: The Ratkin spends a Rage point and targets a single victim within line-of-sight; the player rolls Perception + Athletics to attack (difficulty 6, with the usual Firearms modifiers). The blade strikes with more force than the wererat can muster, inflicting Strength +3 aggravated damage. If the blade is already magical, it inflicts only +2 damage.
(Ratkin BB p108)
Smell Poison - As a survival skill, Ratkin have learned to sniff out poisons. When a Ratkin discovers that someone is trying to poison a member of his deceit, he may decide to return the "blessing" upon the wouldbe poisoner. This Gift is taught by a Rat spirit.
System: By spending a point of Gnosis, the wererat can sense any poisonous or toxic material nearby. A successful Perception + Medicine roll may give an insight into the nature of the poison involved; with five successes, it even reveals the identity of the would-be murderer. As another application, the Ratkin can seek out chemicals nearby that can be used as poisons.
(Ratkin BB p108)
Stash Cashe - Ratkin aren't usually big on personal possessions. Many prefer to keep everything they need in a knapsack, a briefcase, or their pockets. When they need to hide these meager items, some prefer to step sideways for just an instant, finding a little hidey-hole where they can stash their stuff. The hiding place might be a little Umbra tunnel, a hiding place guarded by Rat spirits, or just some space between the spirit world and the physical world. Rat spirits teach this Gift, but only if they can score a portion of the Ratkin's stash from time to time; they may well extract a slight "payment" from your first stash cache.
System: Roll permanent Gnosis; the difficulty is the local Gauntlet. If you succeed, you've found a clever little place to stash an object smaller than a backpack or knapsack. The number of successes suggests the number of days you can probably keep it there safely. Wait too long, and your valuables will likely either be snagged by a Wyld spirit, calcified by a Weaver spirit, or spoiled by Banes.
(Ratkin BB p108)
Rank 2
Crawling Chaos - As the Ragabash Gift: Fly Feet. Rats are remarkable climbers; they can dexterously grasp tiny surfaces using their curled paws and claws. With this Gift, their ability takes on supernatural proportions. Performing this in rat form is unnerving, doing this in human form is sumilarly nasty, and the sight of a Crinos Ratkin crawling along a sheer vertical surface can be terrifying.
System: Roll Dexterity + Athletics, the user can cling to vertical surfaces or even catch on to them while falling; the difficulty of the roll depends on the surface (5 for wood or stone; 9 for glass or ice). Defying gravity increases the difficulty by 1. Ratkin have been known to scurry up the sides of stone buildings in moonlight just for the sheer joy of it.
(PGttCB p145, Ratkin BB p109)
Deep Pockets - Cant carry enough stuff? This Gift allows you to store lots of little goodies in your pockets, far more than normal. This Gift is taught by a Packrat spirit.
System: Roll Wits + Enigmas and spend one Gnosis. Each success lets you hide an extra small item (no larger than your hand) inside a convenient pocket. If you're ever searched, none of these extra items will turn up, but if you lose the pocket or your clothes, you cant't retrieve the items inside. Each time you remove an item, you need to use the Gift to put it back again. If you need to recall an item instantly from your Deep Pockets, spend a point of Rage, and it's there.
(Ratkin BB p109)
Snitch - You've got a talent for gathering secrets. As long as you can see someone's face, you can read his lips. As long as someone is within line-of-sight, youcan hear her whispers. This Gift is taught by a Stormcrow, a Gaffling of Grandfather Thunder.
System: Just roll Perception + Alertness (difficulty 4) whenever one of these situations presents itself. The amount of information gathered depends on the number of successes; with five successes, you can even gather empathetic information or unspoken subtexts. If the roll fails, you can still spend a point of Gnosis to have a Rat spirit snatch up a small fragment of the conversation for you.
(Ratkin BB p109)
Rank 3
Backbite - The Ratkin can disappear into the Umbra and instantly reappear behind his opponent up to 50 feet away. The wererat then attacks his victim from behind, gleefully exploiting the benefit of surprise. Knife Skulkers have no qualms against using this Gift to fulfil an assassination contract.
System: No roll is necessary, but the character must spend one Gnosis and one Rage. This Umbral "leap" can be up to 50 feet, as long as the victim is within line-of-sight. If the Ratkin chooses to immediately attack, the strike is rolled at a -2 difficulty; the difficulty cannot be reduced below 4. This attack cannot be dodged unless the victim is using Danger Sense, Evasion, Persecution Complex, or a similar supernatural ability.
(PGttCB p145, Ratkin BB p109)
Bolt! - A Ratkin with this Gift can bolt out of any fight. Even if the wererat is totally surrounded, he will find a way to escape from his foes. This works roughly the same way as the Backbite Gift: the wererat "leaps" a short distance through the Umbra to a safe place. A wererat who returns to battle after bolting will lose two points of Cunning Renown; a wererat who chooses the better part of valor will no doubt escape.
System: Spend one Gnosis and one Rage; the Ratkin can appear up to 50 feet away, as long as his destination is within line-of-sight. The Ratkin may spend additional Rage in the turn he uses this Gift to gain exttra actions (usually to run away). The Gift: Halt the Coward's Flight doesn't prevent the initial 50-foot leap, but slows the Ratkin's speed by half. Returning to a fight after using this Gift to escape is foolhardy, resulting in a loss of 2 Cunning.
(Ratkin BB p109)
Squeeze - The rat can collapse part of his skeleton to fit through narrow openings. A typical Rattus Norvegicus can fit through an opening as small as a quarter. A Ratkin with this Gift is far more impressive, especially when he uses his spiritual talents to pass through seemingly solid objects. By briefly passing through the Umbra, the Ratkin can squeeze through solid walls, doors, or other obstacles. This Gift is taught by a Rat spirit, who often leads his protege on a chase through an infested building while teaching it.
System: The player spends one Willpower and rolls Dexterity + Enigmas (difficulty 6); "squeezing" through a solid object increases the difficulty to 8. Three or more successes allow the wererat to pull another person through with him.
(Ratkin BB p110)
Rank 4
Attunement - As the Garou Bone Gnawer Gift.
(PGttCB p145, Ratkin BB p110)
Gnaw - Similar to the Garou Lupus Gift of the same name.
System: Spend one Willpower and roll Stamina + Survival. If you succeed, your Ratkin can chew through just about anything. The difficulty depends on the material you're chewing (3 for wood, 6 for steel cables, 9 for titanium). Chewing through a live human torso is difficulty 5 and inflicts damage equal to the number of successes on the initial roll.
(Ratkin BB p110)
Mind of the Tunnels - Blood calls to blood. Using this Gift, a Ratkin can establish a mental link with any other wererat she knows. The mindsharing is complete: emotional, intellectual and spiritual understanding can be exchanged. The Ratkin has to have actually met the subject in the flesh at least once; "remembering" him through Blood Memory isn't good enough.
System: Spend one Willpower and roll Intelligence + Empathy (difficulty 7). One success allows you to commune completely with the chosen Ratkin. For each additional success, you can bring one more wererat into his psychic friends network". You remain the nexus of all information flowing through the network, and you can limit what sensations each Ratkin receives from the others. Wererats in the "tunnel mind" mode cannot contain information from the other Ratkin by force.
(Ratkin BB p110)
Rank 5
Perfect Poison - The wererat's spittle can be converted into an odorless, colorless, fast acting and nearly undetectable poison. She may even decide to lick her blade to coat it with the foul compound. When exposed to air, the toxin can last for up to three hours. This Gift can be taught by a Snake spirit, although it's easier to learn from a Spider spirit. Snake spirits may try to betray, exploit or eat the Ratkin who study under them.
System: The wererat must spend one Gnosis to poison her saliva. If she can introduce the poison to the victim's blood stream or make him ingest it, the toxin instantly takes effect. A victim takes two levels of aggravated damage each turn once infected; she may soak only with Stamina, soaking a health level with each success. Although Resist Toxin works against the saliva, Mother's Touch does not. If the victim can continue to resist damage for 10 turns and live, the poison is exuded from the body (choose the orifice or sweat gland of your choice). Any shapechanger with Rage can spend a Rage to resist - gaining an automatic success for each point burned - but the changer must immediately check for frenzy as a result.
(Ratkin BB p110)
Plague Bite - Long before the Plague Lords returned to Earth, Ratkin elders developed one of the most virulent diseases the world has ever seen. With one joyous bite, a wererat blessed with this disease can infect a victim's central nervous system. The symptoms of the disease are hideous. The victim cannot stop shaking, his mucous membrains ooze, and he drools continuously.
System: Spend one Gnosis, and your high-ranking Ratkin can transmit contagion through his incisors. A successful bite spreads this disease. Once bitten, the victim will take a health level of aggravated damage each hour. Since he will not stop shaking, all difficulties for his roll at at a +3 penalty. The plague can be cured by the Gift: Resist Toxin and similar Gifts; otherwise, the victim takes aggravated damage each hour until he is Incapacitated. When this happens, he's allowed a final Stamina rool - difficulty 8 (the +3 modifier does not apply to this roll). If he fails, he does. If he succeeds, he remains ill for another day or so, but the plague will not be fatal. If the victim is a shapechanger, the supernatural healing will eventually break down the disease, but in the meantime, the "shakes" will still be a pain in the ass... and everywhere else.
Of course, some Garou harbor a grudge over this sort of thing. Using this sacred knowledge too frequently will remind them of how much they hate your kind, and they'll resume killing every Ratkin on sight. This leads to the use of other insidious Gifts.
(Ratkin BB p110)
Riot - As the Garou Bone Gnawer Gift.
(PGttCB p145, Ratkin BB p110)
Survivor - Similar to the Garou Bone Gnawer Gift of the same name.
System: The Ratkin spends one point of Gnosis; the effects last for one day. The wererat also gains three points of Stamina (although this cannot be used to soak damage from direct physical attacks), ignores all wound penalties, and gains one Willpower if she is ever about to die.
(Ratkin BB p110)
Breed
Homid
PGttCB 145, Ratkin 110-112
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Metis
PGttCB 145, Ratkin 112-113
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Rodens
PGttCB 145, Ratkin 113-114
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Aspect
Tunnel Runner
PGttCB 146, Ratkin 114-116
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Shadow Seer
PGttCB 146, Ratkin 116-117
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Knife Skulker
PGttCB 146, Ratkin 117-118
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Warrior (Blade Slave)
PGttCB 146, Ratkin 118-119
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Freak Aspect
Engineer
Ratkin 120-121
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Plague Lord
Ratkin 121-122
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Munchmausen
Ratkin 122-123
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Twitcher
Ratkin 123-125
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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