
Nagah with a Garland of Skulls. Art by Steve Prescott
Nagah Fetishes are fetishes unique to the Nagah.
Overview[]
For obvious reasons, Nagah are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to crafting fetishes. Only a very limited number of spirits will respond to the Nagah's rites of binding - to create a fetish, the Nagah must either call on one of the Wani's brood, or an elemental affiliated with his auspice. Even so, the Nagah, with their love of crafting beautiful objects, have devised their fair share of fetishes over the millennia.
List of Nagah Fetishes[]
- Yantra - Level 1, Gnosis 6 - A yantra is a complex, radially symmetrical diagram, also called a mandala, that symbolically represents the entire universe. The yantra is meant to serve as a focus of meditation that draws the mind toward the center point, called the bindu. By activating the fetish and meditating on the bindu for three turns, the owner of the yantra may ascertain exactly where he is in the universe. If he is in the distant Umbra, he may need to mediate for up to ten turns, but at the end of that time he'll know how to get back to more familiar territory (though the yantra does not empower him to get there). To create a yantra, one must first inscribe a complex mandala onto an animal hide of some sort and bind into the design a spirit of knowledge.
- Spirit Rattler - Level 2, Gnosis 6 - This simple item is just a snake's rattle tied with sinew to a long bone of any medium-sized animal. When activated and shaken, the spirit rattler causes all spirits in a 30-foor radius to freeze in place with fear for one turn per success in the activation roll. Spirits with Gnosis of 7 or higher may make a contested Gnosis roll against the rattle's wielder to flee. To create a spirit rattler, one finds a rattle from an old rattlesnake, preferably 7 years or older. If a snake is harmed or killed to get the rattle, the fetish will not work. The rattle is tied to the bone so that it can shake freely. The Nagah then binds an appropriate spirit of the Wani's brood into the rattle.
- Jewel of the River Spirit - Level 3, Gnosis 7 - When the owner tosses this jewel into a natural body of water and speaks the name of the spirit within, the elemental shows itself and may be asked to provide some service for the owner of the jewel, including towing a boat, splashing an enemy or chasing away a dangerous fist. The elemental will not endanger itself for the owner of the fetish. The elemental remains for one scene or long enough to complete a single task, whichever is shorter. When the task is done, the elemental returns to the jewel, which shoots out of the water and back into the hands of the owner. Treating the Elemental poorly will probably result in losing its service as it refuses to place the jewel back in the hands of its previous possessor. Creating one of these fetishes requires binding a water elemental into a precious transparent stone of some sort, preferably sapphire, though aquamarine or even a smooth lump of cobalt glass will work.
- Poisoned Chalice - Level 3, Gnosis 7 - Some Nagah like to put their target at ease in a social situation before killing him, a setting accommodated by this fetish. Despite the name, in modern times most Poisoned Chalices take the form of decanters or punch bowls. When activated, the Chalice turns any liquid placed into it a deadly poison without altering the taste, look or scent of the drink. The Nagah activating the fetish and her nestmates are immune to the poison. The spirit of a pufferfish must be bound into this fetish.
- Strangler's Scarves - Level 3, Gnosis 7 - The most famous of India's assassins were the Thuggee, known for strangling their victims with beautiful silk scarves. The Nagah observed the Thugs (as they were called), assimilated their better tactics, and improved upon them. This fetish is a skillfully woven and generally attractive silk scarf that wraps itself tightly around the wearer's neck, strangling her. Each turn the scarf strangles its victim, it inflicts a number of health levels of bashing damage equal to the owner's Gnosis. When activated, the scarf has an effective Strength (to keep from being unwrapped) of 5, a Stamina of 3 and six health levels. To create a scarf of the Thuggee, the Nagah himself weaves the scarf from silk threads, requiring an Intelligence + Crafts roll against a difficulty of 9. This is best done as an extended action; the wereserpent may make one roll for every full day he works on the item. Binding a spirit into a scarf that the wereserpent did not weave is possible, but increases the difficulty by 2. When he reaches 7 successes, the scarf is done. The Nagah must bind an appropriate spirit servant of the Wani into the scarf.
- Danbhalah's Drum - Level 4, Gnosis 6 - Nagah from Africa, the Caribbean and the Southeast United States learned to make these fetishes to summon their targets to them. While they involve more work and are far less subtle than the Gift: Summon the Accused, they have their advantages as well. The drummer keeps his target in mind while pounding out a primal rhythm on the drum. If he stops drumming before the target arrives, the drum loses control over that target permanently. As soon as the drum starts pounding, the target, no matter how far away, does everything she can to get to the location of the drumming without knowing (or caring) why. While the target's main impulse is to find the site of the drums, she doesn't neglect her own well-being. Answering the call of the drum does not cause her to ignore her own survival instincts. She may risk a little violence to answer the drum, but she won't behave stupidly. Though Danbhalah's drum can call a subject from anywhere, it's most efficient when calling someone in the same general region; it can take a long time for a target in Syracuse, New York to arrange for travel to Nahia, Brazil (especially if she doesn't have a passport). The target's finances obviously play a part as well. If the summoner has no idea where the target might be, he had better be prepared to drum continually for weeks. Luckily, a nest of Nagah looking for the same target can alternate drumming so long as the rhythm isn't interrupted (roll Dexterity + performance to check). Each time a new player takes over, he has to make an activation roll. Failing the activation roll frees the target from the drum's control permanently. Botching the activation roll rips the drum pad. Danbhalah's drums are loud. There is no way to quietly play a drum of Danbhalah. If the drummer is n a building, the rhythm will resonate through the entire infrastructure, quickly making enemies of the neighbors. If the drummer is in the wilderness. the target may not be the only one trying to find the drummer....
- Garland of Skulls - Level 4, Gnosis 7 - Rare in the extreme, garlands of skulls are very powerful fetishes to wear during combat. When activated, the wearer gains 5 temporary Rage points and grows two additional arms just under his normal ones. While a garland of skulls is pretty easy to get away with in the depths of the jungle or desert, getting them through customs can be extremely difficulty, and much more trouble than they're worth. Necklaces of skulls (or shrunken heads) are precisely the kind of thing authorities frown upon, particularly in a country like India. To create a garland of skulls, one must first gather at least 8 skulls (shrunken heads will work in a pinch) from enemies and string them together on a thick piece of sinew. Into this grisly garland one must bind one of the Wani's spirits of war.
- Reflection of Reality - Level 4, Gnosis 7 (But special activation rules) - Always make it look like an accident. No body, no crime. And protect the Sacred Secret at all costs. The less evidence left at a crime scene, the better, but some pieces of evidence can't be picked up and carried away. Besides which, it is always better if the evidence simply doesn't exist. Hence, the Reflection of Reality, a fetish mirror that can help accomplish just that. The Reflection is always made by Kamsa Nagah, for they are the only ones who have a hope of convincing the air elemental required by this fetish to agree. Once this spirit is bound into the mirror, the Nagah activates if by rolling Gnosis at a difficulty equal to the local Gauntlet. She looks into the mirror, reflecting the object she wants gone, and blows over the mirror, fogging it. When the fog is wiped off, the reflection of that object vanishes. So does the object. The Reflection actually pulls the object out of the physical world and thrusts it into the Umbra. As a result, if the Nagah needs the object later, she can retrieve it. (Though it may not always be there. In the time it takes the Nagah to return to her Ananta and get back, her enemies may already have gotten hold of it.) It also means that three successes are required to instantly make an object vanish, fewer successes slows the process, just like stepping sideways. Finally, the mirror does not work on living creatures, only inanimate objects. Despite the limitations, it's a favorite among the Nagah. It works to alter crime scenes, it changes investigations and with a bit of forewarning can even save the Nagah if she's careless enough to get caught. ("Nope, no murder weapon on her, chief.")
- Dart of Nullity - Level 5, Gnosis 7 - This dreaded weapon is a dart made from a bird bone, weighted with gold dust and fletched with peacock feathers. When the dart leaves the thrower's hand, it immediately becomes invisible to anyone but the individual to whom it's dedicated. When it strikes, the target neither sees not feels anything. However, so long as the dart is stuck in the target, he is unable to use Gnosis or Rage (nor is a vampire capable of using its blood pool). Sensing the dart is tricky, requiring a Perception + Enigmas roll against a difficulty of 8. Worse still, while pulling out the dart causes no damage, all the pain the target would have felt all along from having a dart stuck in his hide hits at once. The longer the dart has been in, the more pain the target will feel. Though the dart does hardly any damage (Strength bashing damage), the target will suffer wound penalties as though he were wounded for a number of turns equal to the number of turns the dart was lodged in his skin.
List of Nagah Talens[]
- Flood Dust - Gnosis 4 - A pinch of flood dust causes the water in a 30-foot radius of the user to rise by five feet per pinch. The dust typically takes effect within five minutes of hitting the water. Flood dust can be used to cause a river to burst its banks or to overwhelm a dam on a large river. Flood dust works in any natural body of water (within reason; an entire sea or Great Lake is unlikely to flood, although a local beach might). A bag of flood dust generally contains between five to ten pinches. Needless to say, accidentally dropping a bag of flood dust into a body of water is a recipe for disaster. To create flood dust one must take dust from a dried-out riverbed and bind a water elemental into it.
- Snake Oil - Gnosis 5 - Snake oil is a mild restorative or tonic for creatures with either Gnosis or Arete. The creature drinking the snake oil (which tastes terrible and has a texture somewhere between that of phlegm and raw egg yolks) rolls his Gnosis and adds health levels equal to half the successes (rounded up, minimum of 1). The drinker gets no benefit if he is not wounded and snake oil isn't strong enough to heal aggravated wounds. Curiously, creatures without Gnosis also believe that they receive the healing benefits from snake oil (and therefore suffer fewer wound penalties), but no health levels are actually restored. Brewing a batch of snake oil requires pressing oil from castor beans or flax or pumpkin seeds and binding an appropriate spirit into the potion. Snake oil, oddly enough, doesn't actually contain fat or oil from snakes or any other kind of animal.
- Ascetic's Ashes - Gnosis 6 - Hindu folklore is full of tales of wise men, gurus and ascetics wandering the wilds wearing nothing but ashes. This talen reflects the spiritual potency of such a practice. When rubbed over the naked body of the wearer, Ascetic's Ashes grant a potent degree of protection from damage and turns the wearer's skin a dark shade of gray. Any part of the wearer covered by the ashes is protected. When striking against a protected area of the wearer's body with weapons, enemies roll damage against a target number of 7 instead of 6. The ashes don't last especially long, generally no more than one intense combat, but a pouch of ascetic's ashes generally contain enough to cover the entire body three of four times. Creating Ascetic's Ashes requires gathering ashes from a recently burned funeral pyre and binding into them an elemental spirit.
- Cloud Popper - Gnosis 6 - Shooting one of these arrows into a rain or storm cloud causes the cloud to burst and drop its contents in a relatively short period of time. Such storms are generally intense and likely to result in flooding in flat or low lying areas. Any outdoor fires in the affected area must be sheltered immediately or they'll be extinguished by the storm. Provided there are any clouds at all overhead, these arrows are useful for relieving droughts. Storms caused by these arrows typically last between one and four hours depending on the size of the cloud. Making a cloud popper requires the creation of an arrow with a turquoise or quartz arrowhead and binding one of the Wani's rain spirits (or a water elemental) within.
- Lightning Arrow - Gnosis 6 - When a user shoots the lightning arrow directly up at a storm cloud (wispy cirrus clouds will not work) and specifics some general striking point within his range of vision; a bolt of lightening immediately blasts down somewhere in the vicinity specified by the user. These arrows do not come back down. These items aren't accurate enough to be of much use in combat, but they have their uses. The individual shooting the arrow has some small degree of control over where the lightning strikes (Commands like "Strike the lake" or "Strike somewhere on the other side of the river" are fine, but "Strike that Garou" is a bit too specific. If the Garou is in the lake, however, or on the other side of the river, and happens to be the tallest thing around, it's entirely possible that the lightning might strike him anyway.) The lightning can generally be relied on to strike a place within twenty feet of the point the user assigns as the strike point. Any creature struck by lightning takes from one to ten health levels of aggravated damage. To create one of these talens, the creator makes an arrow with an iron arrowhead and binds one of the Wano's storm spirits (or an air elemental) into the arrow.
- Venom Arrows - Gnosis 6 - These arrows are popular among the Nagah who use them to great effect without needing to worry about poisoning themselves. When the arrow damages a creature, the target must roll Stamina + Survival, difficulty 8. If the target does not get at least one success, the arrow does an additional 4 health levels of lethal damage from the venom of the snake spirit. If any non-Nagah user of these arrows botches, he has cut himself and must make the Stamina roll or be poisoned by his own arrow. To create a venom arrow, one fashions an arrow with two separate points (or "fangs"). A crescent moon-shaped arrowhead is the most common type for these kinds of arrows. The creator then binds one of the Wani's snake-spirits into the arrow.
- Blood Blade - Gnosis 8 - Talens are often fairly easy to create. The Blood Blade is a sharp exception. One of the most powerful weapons the Nagah possess, it is bound with the powerful spirit of one of the Wani's closest servants. The blade itself is an intricate design made of bone and blood, carved with detailed designs. When buying this talen, it counts as a Level Two fetish, and is the same when making it. For some, the price is simply too high to be wasted upon a talen. But to the Nagah, who already feel that making a fetish is perhaps too high a price to pay, the Blood Blade is perhaps perfect. It doesn't permanently remove a potential future spirit ally, it is powerful, and perfect for those who don't want to be discovered. When activated, the blade's effects last for a single scene. The blade does Strength +2 aggravated damage, and strikes at difficulty 5. Once the scene is ended and all opponents are defeated, however, the blade dissolves into bone dust and a small splatter of blood, a tangled garble of clues even to DNA testing. But to most Nagah, this isn't a bug, it's a feature. The blade is designed as an assassination weapon, allowing the user to slip in, kill their target, and then dispose of the weapon instantly.
Bindhi[]
See Bindhi
Hengeyokai Fetishes[]
See Hengeyokai Fetishes here.
References[]
- WTA: Nagah, p. 99-102
- WTA/cMET: Laws of the Wild: Changing Breeds 4, p. 98-102
- WTA: Hammer & Klaive, p. 105-106
- W20: Changing Breeds, p. 165
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