By Steven Markley ([email protected])
I've done a lot of work to make them sane, sensible Player Character material, and at least this will hopefully give more depth to any Rokea NPCs a Storyteller might run. It's hard enough running or playing a Rokea because you have to stay near the sea all the time; you shouldn't have next to no Gift information, no ability to increase in Rank during play and sketchy form information to make the job that much harder.
Her ward-pack, the Laughing Violators, had successfully stalked and ambushed a pack consisting of a Stargazer, a Fianna and two Children of Gaia. Predictably, the Fianna was the only one to put up a real fight. All involved except for Grumahn were of low Renown and power, and it was supposed to be a simple Rite of Passage for her ward-pack. Then that other Gaia-lover came from out of nowhere -- a Get or Talon, probably -- and single-handedly slew half the Laughing Violators before any of them realized what was happening. The remainder of the pack scattered to the four winds; Grumahn imagined that the rest were hunted down, or would be eventually, not having her experience or knack for quick running. Damn it all . . .
Grumahn hoped at least some of the Laughing Violators survived. She lifted her head and called upon her Galliard heritage, howling a summons to her fellow servants of the Wyrm. The howl would travel no further than a mile or so, too far for any of the non-Wyrm Garou to hear. If she got lucky, one of her fellow Spirals would hear her and come. If nothing else, at least a bane or two was sure to show up. She lit a cigarette, sat on a rock, and waited.
As she was finishing her smoke, she heard something in the water behind her. She spun around.
Some monstrosity was rising out of the brine, no further than ten feet from Grumahn. It was about ten feet tall, and had a shark's head with a humanoid body. Masses of writhing tentacles sprouted from each shoulder. It stank of rotting fish and seaweed. "A fomor, probably" she thought. "Whatever it is I called up, it's a creature of the Wyrm if I ever saw one." Invoking the Speech of the Wyrm, Grumahn greeted it.
Suddenly the thing's tentacles shot out. She tried to move out of the way, but the monster grabbed her and pulled her toward its gaping maw.
Gulls took flight at the screams; then there was silence except for the crashing waves.
Abilities: 13/9/5. Most Rokea are Talent Primary and have few Knowledges.
Backgrounds: Rokea start with no Background Points, but they can purchase Backgrounds with Freebies. No Rokea can take Past Life, Rites, Fetish or Mentor.
Rage: Based on tribe (Ixya 5, Karkha 7, Spynha 6)
Willpower: 4
Gnosis: Based on breed (Homid 1, Squamus 3)
Gifts: One Level One Gift from Breed, two Level One Gifts from General.
Freebie: 15
Renown and Rank: Rokea start with 1 point of Savagery, their only Renown category.
There are homid breed Rokea, though they are damned rare and number probably no more than two dozen in the entire world. They tend to be more empathic and "civilized" than other Rokea, but this really isn't saying very much. Squamus weresharks tolerate their homids but see them for the most part as inferior and weak until they prove otherwise. It is hard for a homid to advance in Rokea society, but their understanding of humans and their culture gives them a valuable advantage other Rokea don't have.
Squamus: Gnosis 3
The shark breed, or squamus, are the Rokea everyone is most familiar with. They dominate Rokea society, feeling those only of shark outlook and instincts are worthy of leading. Many never shift into any form except Crinos, and even then only on rare occasions, never seeing the need to use the weak man-form.
There are no Rokea metis. The Crinos form of a wereshark is designed for short, bloody combats; it does not swim and hunt as well as a shark and it dries out on land. The few metis that are not eaten at birth slowly starve to death. Thus, none survive into adulthood.
Ixya: Rage 5
Breeding primarily with mako and tiger sharks, the Ixya are the fastest predators in the sea. They gain a bonus point of Dexterity in their Crinos and Squamus forms, and swim at 35 plus Dexterity in miles per hour (45 + Dex mph for short bursts).
Karkha: Rage 7
Among the deadliest of all the earth's creatures, the Kharka are of great white stock and can attain lengths of up to twenty feet long in shark form. They gain an extra point of Strength in their Crinos and Squamus forms.
Spynha: Rage 6
Little escapes the keen senses of the werehammerheads as they probe the endless depths of the sea for prey. When in shark or sharkman forms, the Spynha gain an extra point of Perception, and one is subtracted from their difficulties to sense electrical activity (see Shark Senses, below.)
No adjustments. The Homid form tends to be large and primitive-looking, with prominent jaws and feral eyes. Obviously, most Rokea are scary and aren't pleasing to the eye, but a few are passably attractive. This form can only breathe air.
Crinos (sharkman)
Str +4, Dex +1, Sta +4, all Socials 0, +4 to Intimidation-based rolls. A Bite is diff 5 to hit and does Str +3 Agg; a Fin Slash or Claw Rake is diff to hit 6 and does Str +1 Agg.
A true monster, towering from eight to twelve feet tall. This semi-humanoid form can move about on land and breathe air as well as water, but will dry out and will take a level of unsoakable non-Aggravated damage each minute after fifteen minutes out of the water unless it can wet its skin again. The Rokea's scales are serrated and very sharp; any who hit a Crinos Rokea with bare flesh (such as a punch) does his own Strength to himself in non-Agg damage, and any using a Bite or Claw Rake against the wereshark suffers this damage unless she scores 2 or more successes to hit. Any attack involving flesh-to-flesh contact (such as Body Slam or Punch) does an extra die of damage (non-Agg).
Squamus (shark)
Str +3, Dex +3, Stamina +3, 0 Socials, +3 Intimidation. Bite attack and damage from skin as in Crinos.
Helpless on land but deadly without par in the water, the Squamus form can swim up to 25 plus Dexterity in miles per hour; Ixya can exceed even this. This form can only breathe water, and its cartilaginous skeleton collapses outside of a liquid environment. Use the rules for Drowning in the Werewolf source book for Squamus form Rokea trapped on land.
Rokea can detect the electrical activity in the nervous systems of their prey, as do natural sharks; roll Perception + Primal-Urge, difficulty based on the size of the prey-- diff 4 for a killer whale, diff 6 for a human or dolphin, diff 9 for a small fish. This sense can only be used in Squamus form. Spynah have more acute senses, so the listed difficulties are reduced by one for them.
Savagery more or less translates into Garou Glory, and the Renown chart in Werewolf can be used as a rough guide for awarding Savagery. There are some differences between the two, however. Ignore any extra Renown bonuses for defeating or killing "servants of the Wyrm"; the Rokea for the most part do not know of or recognize the Wyrm, Weaver, Wyld or even Gaia for that matter, and thus do not attach any special significance to destroying any servant thereof.
They do respect power, however, and they place a lot of importance on the ability to kill powerful foes -- especially strong supernatural creatures. Basically, a wereshark will gain more status for defeating a Rank Five Get of Fenris Ahroun Jarl than slapping around an old fisherman. All manner of changing breeds, Kindred and mages have fallen prey to ravening, Renown-hungry Rokea roaming the coastlines.
Anything that is a threat to the Rokea is given special priority for destruction. Black Spiral Dancers, Pentex operatives, or Technocrats who pollute the oceans are dealt with mercilessly by weresharks; they may not know or care that these entities serve the Wyrm's interests, but they do not tolerate desecration of their hunting grounds and homes.
Also, Rokea who win the Gorge may be awarded a point or two of Savagery.
Rokea start with one point of permanent Savagery, and every ten points' worth of temporary Renown converts to one permanent point, just as with other changers. Rites of Recognition tend to be bloody and informal among the sharks, and involve yet more killing, hunting elusive prey, or challange by combat.
| Ran | Rank | Title | Savagery Needed |
| 1 | Minnow | 1 | |
| 2 | Barracuda | 5 | |
| 3 | Whale Killer | 10 | |
| 4 | Sea Serpent | 15 | |
| 5 | Megalodon | 20 |
Optionally, the Storyteller may allow players to begin with older characters, allowing them to learn higher-level Gifts, but characters should be no more than twenty years old or so. Perhaps age can be taken as a Background or Merit, with every five Freebie equating to ten years of age. Magical aging, such as through Gifts, Sphere magic or similar effects, has no effect on Renown.
No Gifts can be used during the Gorge (such as Gluttony), and any caught violating this rule loses a great deal of status and is open to attack by her peers.
| Successes | Degree of
control |
| 0-1 | Darn! You don't
Frenzy after all. Maybe next time. |
| 2 | You are visibly upset,
but you can choose to get away from the source of frustration rather than
attacking it outright. You have no problem maintaining Homid
form. |
| 3 | You can still maintain
the man-shape, but you must immediately attack or flee from what triggered
the Rage roll. You can use strategic attacks (such as Brawl
maneuvers). |
| 4 | You must shift to Crinos
or Squamus (if you are not already in one of these forms) and immediately
attack, although you can use some simple strategies (such as Hamstringing
or Punching your opponent). |
| 5 | You are in full, all-out
Frenzy; you can do little but bite and slash your opponent into ribbons.
You can maintain no form but Crinos. |
| 6 | You have been overcome
by the Thrall of Blood; you must assume Crinos and devour every living
thing in sight. It takes a permanent Willpower point to pull yourself out
of this Frenzy. Needless to say, most Rokea save themselves the mental
exertion and ride the wave... |
Squamus: As lupus unless stated otherwise
Level 1: Heightened Senses, Beast Speech (as Galliard)
Level 2: Scent of Sight, Sense the Unnatural
Level 3: Blessings of the Seas (as Red Talons: Elemental Favor, but affects only water), Gnaw (as lupus L4 )
Level 4: Beast Life, No Mind (as Silver Fangs: Mindblock )
Level 5: Neptune's Power (as the lupus: Elemental Gift, but affects only water), Song of the Great Beasts (used to summon megaladon sharks or prehistoric sea monsters)
Level 2: Curse of Aeolus (as Black Furies), Sense of the Prey (as Ragabash), Spirit of the Fray (as Ahroun), True Fear (as Ahroun), Diamond Scales, Touch of the Eel (as Black Spiral Dancer Ragabash; water is considered a conductive material for 20 feet), Surface Attunement (as Stargazers), Echolocation
Level 3: Clarity (as Stargazers), Combat Healing (as Ahroun), Paralyzing Stare (as Shadow Lords), Trackless Waste (as Red Talons), Weak Arm (as Philodox), Gluttony (as Bone Gnawers L5), Embrace of the Kraken, Adaptation (as Silent Striders), Kiss of the Lamprey
Level 4: Attunement (as Silent Striders); Whirlpool, Open Wound (as Shadow Lords), Rot Weavertech (as Red Talons), Venom (as lupus), Stoking Fury's Furnace (as Ahroun), Wound of Rage (as Black Furies: Bacchante's Rage), Aura of the Sea, Sense Weakness (as Ajaba: Culling the Flock; see the Bastet breed book)
Level 5: Terrible Bite (as Get of Fenris: Fenris' Bite), Survivor (as Bone Gnawers), Totem Gift (as Metis), Megaladon Form (as Fianna: Gift of the Spriggan), Swimming the Great Abyss (as Mokole: Walking Between Worlds), Earth Swim
Level 6: Monsoon
Rokea don't have a wide variety of totem spirits. Rokea society is dominated by those who follow Kraken and there is not a lot of room for other totems to have influence over the weresharks. There are a few others, however. Rokea totems are not classified into type: the Rokea know no honor, and they are as wise as they need to be: thus all totems listed here are considered to be Totems of War, as there is no higher purpose for the Rokea. Even gentle Dolphin's talents are often turned towards hunting and combat. There is only so much one can expect of a wereshark.
It should be pointed out that the Rokea do not advocate corruption, the death of Gaia, or any of the goals Garou usually associate with the Wyrm. Weresharks are unsophisticated and simple. They do little but hunt and kill, and thus they do the work of the Wyrm of Balance; whether or not the actual Wyrm or any of its aspects still serve Balance is debated among many. The weresharks themselves care little for such abstract theories and discussions. They follow their primal purpose instinctively, efficiently and without ceremony.
The future of the Rokea and their place in the Triat is uncertain. There have been reports of the odd Wyrm-corrupted wereshark serving Beast-of-War or the Eater-of-Souls, but these cases are extremely rare. It is an interesting note that nearly all known corrupt weresharks were homid. Wyrm-serving Rokea tend to be pariahs among their people, and are often hunted down and killed by their fellows when they attempt to bring the Wyrm's influence to the oceans. Weresharks are not known for their sense of morality, but they make no allowances for those who would despoil their homes and hunting grounds.
The totem Kraken is the primary totem of the Rokea, but he was also reportedly the totem of the Hive of the Glowing Sea, a sept of Black Spiral Dancers off the coast of Russia. It is not known if this was a doppleganger Bane-spirit or an actual avatar of Kraken, but the sunken submarine that serves as the hive's pit was recently subjected to several attacks attack by schools of frenzied weresharks, outraged at the pollution of the sea and apparently serving the interests of Kraken as well. All the hive members were either killed or driven onto land, and the submarine pit was destroyed by the weresharks. How this all fits in with the Rokea, Kraken and the Wyrm remains to be seen.
He stepped on something soft, and then a sharp pain shot up his leg. He felt venom coursing through his blood. He cursed and looked down to see a stingray swimming away slowly. He concentrated and activated Touch of the Eel. He grinned as the ray started floating up slowly. That would teach the little bastard. He reached for the bloated torso.
Then Fur-Like-Oil-Slicks watched in horror as the ray grew, stood up on two legs, and lashed out with a now much bigger tail . . .
Wererays are far more level-headed than the weresharks and require four or more successes on a Rage roll to Frenzy. They are as primitive as the weresharks, but not nearly as savage. They are loners by nature, do not swim in packs and have little contact with one another; they apparently have no social Rituals or culture. Among totems, they most commonly serve Crab, Slash and Old Man Sea. They will on rare occasions have dealings with Rokea, but this is out of neccesity than a desire to chit-chat. For the most part they leave the sharks alone, and the same favor is returned to Xaklah.
Xaklah do not seem to play any role in the Triat or the war for Gaia, and are happy to be left alone (this does not mean they are unwilling or unable to defend themselves when pressed, however.) They have little interest in the surface world, but Tzakti might have some contact with it as they live in the shallow waters along coastlines.
Skhorr: Rage 3
These huge Xaklah are of manta stock and are rather calm and placid in comparison to the other changers with whom they share the sea. They gain an additional Health Level in Crinos and Ray forms. They also have +2 Str in both ray and Crinos forms, and gain a one die bonus to Stealth rolls involving moving silently.
Tzakti: Rage 5
The werestingrays are not terribly strong or intelligent, but are deadly nonetheless. They can inject venom into a foe with a Tail Lash (diff 5, Str +2 Agg, used in Ray or Crinos form) by spending a point of Rage if any damage gets past the soak; the venom does 3 dice of non-Agg damage which can be soaked at difficulty 8, plus it doubles any wound penalties (or -1 die if victim is Bruised or isn't damaged) unless the victim spends a Willpower point; this penalty is not cumulative. Tzakti are masters of camouflage and stealth in the sea, and gain a one die bonus to any roll involving silence or concealment. They are quick to react, and gain a bonus point of Wits in their Crinos and Ray forms.
More horrifying to behold than even the Rokea Crinos, this form stands upright on two legs, has arms and claws merged with its wing-fins, and a razor-toothed maw. Its coloration is sickly pale, revealing purple veins and bizarre organs. Skhorr can be as tall as fifteen ft in this form, while Tzacti range between six and nine ft.
Ray: Dex +3, Sta +1, 0 Socials, +1 Intimidation, +2 Per. Bite as Crinos form; swims at 20 mph.
Pretty much a typical ray, but the eyes are intelligent and alert. Skhorr can be 12 ft long with a 15 ft wingspan, but most are smaller than this. Tzacti never get any larger than a 6 ft span.