Pumonca

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"If you didn't talk so much, you might here a great deal more."
Bastet Breedbook pg.#62

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Storm Walkers

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The werecats of the North American continent, the Pumonca are secretive, loners that watch the world around them, keeping things in place and stepping in when needed. Wanderers who are tied to their native land, and rarely leave it. They can be comfortable anywhere from the eastern forests and mountains to the southern swamps to the western plains and deserts. Their ancestors are Native Americans, but have since expanded as settlers and explorers have made their way in and shaped the continent.

Pumonca are sturdy, wiry and tough in every form. Calluses on their feet or paws from endless wandering, they do not care for much clothing and bring few belongings. Weather, even at it's worst slides right past these Storm Walkers. They tend to be concise, succinct, unless someone or something defiles the land or the beings on it. A Pumonca's rage is vicious, and what she cannot change by strength, she will alter by stealth. These werecats excel at earth-sense, as they know the land even if they just arrived, as their bond with the elements runs very deep.

Tracing their ancestry to Mother Earth and Father Sky, Pumonca tell many stories of their beginnings which includes the great puma spirit, Da-jo-ji, being the guardian of the West Wind, protecting the gates of the Western sky. Reverant of Thunderbird for his honor, wisdom and ferocity, Pumonca take up his charge to defend the scared land even as it has almost led to their own extinction.

Always watching, the Pumonca were considered like bogeymen. If a village grew too careless or prosperous, the touch of the Storm Walker would be felt as these werecats came at night to punish the foolish and bad. They fought beside the Croatan when the Wyrmcomers came. As the humans they watched over were pushed from their land and homes, the cats took their revenge.

Pumonca in the old days would rely more on their physical prowess than on cat magic. When up against the mystic powers, they fell. With the help of a Comanche shaman, Old Stone Face, old bargains were renewed with the element spirits to bring the Pumonca some more power for their fight. The Gifts bolstered their power, along with more taught by the Wendigo and Uktena. Modern Pumoncas prefer to this day to rely on their own abilities. Old Stone Face worked to bring his cousins together, but within the diversity of them all, they still prefer to travel alone. A Storm Walker follows the wind. They speak little, but see everything.


** Pictures and Title all taken from Bastet Breedbook pg.# 60-62 **

Pumonca Gifts

PGttCB 72, Bastet 113-114

Level 1

  • Mockingbird's Mirror
  • Wanderer's Boon

Level 2

  • Speak with Wind Spirits
  • Spirit of the Fish

  • Raincalling
  • Stonework

Level 3

  • Thunderbolt

  • Bayou Shambler

Level 4

  • Call Elemental

  • Element-Folk Favor
  • The Hungry Earth

Level 5

  • Thunderbird's Cry

  • Earthspeaking
Pumonca Gift Details
Rank 1

Mockingbird's Mirror - According to legend, an early Pumonca known as Three Spiders Climb mastered the art of mimicry and ventriloquism, and passed the secret on to his friends. This secret lets a cougar imitate whomever he wishes - birds, animals, humans, even machines - and allows him to throw his new voice for some distance. As the name suggests, a Mockingbird spirit often passes the secret along, usually in return for food.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge to imitate sounds within the normal human vocal range. So long as he's successful, his mimicry is flawless. If he tries to mirror sounds outside the normal range - subsonic vibrations, explosions, high frequency whines, etc. - the cat must spend a Gnosis point and the difficulty is 7. This Gift lasts roughly a scene, and sounds can be "thrown" up to 100 feet away from where the werecat stands.

(PGttCB p72, Bastet BB p113)


Wanderer's Boon - Travel is hard, especially given the Spartan ways of the Pumonca. This Gift allows a cougar to adapt to changing climates quickly, or to ignore the pangs of hunger or thirst for some time. Bird and Bear spirits pass this Gift along.

System: By rolling Stamina + Survival and spending a Willpower point, the player allows her werecat to do one of the following things: ignore the worst effects of normal heat and cold for a week; go one day without water; or go three days without food. The difficulty for the roll is 6, although harsh conditions (blizzards, droughts, heat waves, etc.) can raise it by two or more. The Gift can be repeated, but the difficulty rises by one each time it's performed in succession.

(PGttCB p72, Bastet BB p113)

Rank 2

Raincalling - The spirits of wind and weather are the best friends and worst enemies a Pumonca can have. This Gift, which came from a pact between Old Stone Face and the East Wind, allows a cougar to call forth rain. The shower is more a drizzle than a thunderstorm, but it can cool a hot day, water crops or dampen an empty creed bed in minutes.

System: The cougar's player rolls Manipulation + Survival and spends a Gnosis point to call forth rain. The difficulty depends on the conditions: humid, overcast skies are difficulty 6, while dry, clear skies raise it to 10. If there aren't any clouds in sight, the Gift could take some time to manifest. The intensity and length of the shower depends on the successes rolled; one success might get a brief drizzle, while five successes would make it rain fairly hard for an hour or so. This Gift inflicts no damage and cannot flood most areas.

(Bastet BB p113)


Speak with Wind Spirits - As the Garou Wendigo Gift.

(PGttCB p72)


Spirit of the Fish - As the Garou Uktena Gift.

(PGttCB p72)


Stonework - As the Rank Three Homid Gift: Craft of the Maker, (As the Garou Homid Gift: Reshape Object), except that it only affects stone, dirt, clay and glass, employs a Manipulation + Survival roll, and reshapes the object permanently.

(Bastet BB p113)

Rank 3

Bayou Slumber - Deserts and mountains aren't the only places Pumonca roam. So-called "swamp cats" know the Southern wetlands well. By crooning to the spirits of the bayous and calling upon any favors owed, a Pumonca can call forth a swamp elemental, dropping with plants and ooze, to assist her. While the creature retains its own free will, a Shambler is disposed to be friendly to the cat and hostile towards anyone in her way.

System: The player spends two points each of Rage and Gnosis to animate the Shambler, and rolls Willpower against difficulty 7. The resulting creature is semi-intelligent at best, but smells terrible, and lasts for three turns per success. Suggested Shambler traits are:

Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 5, Wits 1

Abilities: Alertness 1, Brawl 3, Stealth 3

Health Levels: Two per success, and no penalties apply. Once its health levels are gone, the Shambler falls apart.

(Bastet BB p113)


Thunderbolt - A pact with the spirits of the storm allows some Pumonca to call down a thunderbolt. So long as at least one cloud hangs in the air, the cougar can call down lightning. Most cougars learn this mighty spell from Thunderbird himself.

System: The cougar's player spends a point of Rage to summon a bolt of lightning, and rolls Dexterity + Survival to hit the target. Under normal conditions (partly cloudy skies, human-sized target), the roll's difficulty is 8; large targets or stormy skies can decrease it to 7 or 6, while dry conditions or unusually small targets can raise the difficulty to 9 or even 10. The bolt inflicts two health levels worth of fire damage for every point of the werecat's Gnosis. Even if the Thunderbolt misses its victim, it's still a terrifying experience to be on the receiving end of a lightning strike. Wound-be victims roll their Willpower against a difficulty 8 to avoid running in fear.

(PGttCB p72, Bastet BB p113)

Rank 4

Call Elemental - As the Garou Uktena Gift.

(PGttCB p72)


Element-Folk Favor - Old Stone Face made many allies among the elemental spirits, and performed many favors for their kind before passing on. The ageless spirits remember his good deeds by aiding those who invoke their ancient ancestor. A Pumonca who performs this Gift can call up an elemental spirit for help. Once it arrives, the spirit will do what it can to assist the cat; after it finishes one task, the spirit departs.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Enigmas and spends a Gnosis point to summon the elemental. The roll's difficulty is that of the local Gauntlet. The spirit, if it appears, will be friendly toward the cat, so long as she reminds him of her blood-link to Old Stone Face. No other tribe warrants the same kindness; in fact, Bubasti who have tried to swipe this Gift have been destroyed by the angry elemental spirits they called up. When the first service named has been finished or when one hour has elapsed, the elemental departs peacefully.

(Bastet BB p113)


The Hungry Earth - The Mother is not at peace. Some Pumonca know how to rouse her enough to show her displeasure. When this Gift is employed, the ground shakes, opens or gives way, covering tracks, sealing passages or burying the cat's opponents alive.

System: Depending on the cat's environment, this Gift takes many different forms; among hills or mountains, it causes an avalanche; in the swamps it begets quicksand; in deserts and plains, it causes the ground to open up beneath a target. To invoke these disasters, the cat's player rolls Manipulation + Survival, with the difficulty being the area's Gauntlet +2 (maximum 10) and spends a Rage point. The exact effects are up to the Storyteller, but often affect a 100 foot radius for each success rolled. If the attack causes damage, assume that the victim takes two or three normal health levels for each success. Some attacks, like falling rocks, are more deadly, but may allow the target a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 6 - 8) to get clear.

(Bastet BB p114)

Rank 5

Earthspeaking - By sifting dirt and calling on the spirits within the ground, a puma receives visions of things that have happened in the area. These insights can help her follow trails, "witness" past events, or learn where things came from or went. Bird spirits often pass this Gift along, but some worm and elemental chaya do their part too, especially if the Bastet's questions serve the spirit's ends.

System: The Pumonca concentrates while chanting a single question and a plea. While she does, the player rolls Perception + Enigmas to see into the past. Success reveals the answer. The more distant the event, the higher the difficulty, unless it left impressions so vivid that they never fade (like the Trail of Tears), which might reduce the difficulty by one or two. Events that occurred more than a year ago require a Gnosis point to "see". The vision comes from the perspective of the ground nearby, whichc might make details hard to read (imagine a worm's-eye view of a murder); some dreams pass emotional impressions, too, leaving moods that can last for hours.

Time Elapsed Difficulty
A week 4
A month 5
Six months 6
A year 7
10 years 8
50 years 9
100+ years 10

(Bastet BB p114)


Thunderbird's Cry - As the Bastet Metis Gift: Wrath of Nala, except that the storm may last for up to an hour if the player's roll is five or more successes. This Gift is taught by Thunderbird himself.

(PGttCB p72, Bastet BB p114)


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