Rokea (book)

Rokea is a sourcebook to Werewolf: The Apocalypse. It is the eighth book of the series describing the Changing Breeds, and focuses on the eponymous Rokea weresharks.

Summary[]

From the White Wolf Catalogue:

The Seas Run Red

They have patrolled the lightless depths of the ocean since the time of the dinosaurs. Those that dare to invade their waters die. Those that offend them are devoured. But now it is not enough to simply remain in the oceans. Now the weresharks, the Rokea, walk the land on two legs. Now the balance shifts and anyone who crosses them is prey.

Feeding Frenzy

The Changing Breed Book series continues with a look at the savage defenders of the World of Darkness oceans. Rokea covers the bloodthirsty weresharks in great detail, including their society, abilities, mystical powers and goals. Whether you plan to add a new element to your existing game or try a new all-wereshark chronicle, its time to take your Werewolf game below the seas into the domain of the Rokea!

From the Back Cover:

When the Great Kings roamed Unsea, we were here.

We spoke with them little, but respected them as they respected us.

When they dies, we were still here.

When the warm-blooded came, we were here. We spoke with them not, for they feared us.

We are still here.

When the warm-blooded began to kill each other, we did not care. When they began to war on Sea,

we fought back as best we could. When the Small Wounds opened, we swarm away from the poisons.

We are still here.

When the Unmaking comes, when the Wound closes and the Unsea sinks into Sea whence it came,

we will swim among the dirtwalker's towers and the wreckage of their world.

When all is gone, we will still be here.

- Guards-the-Shoals, Dimwater

Rokea includes:

The oldest Changing Breed's history, culture and perspective on the history of the World of Darkness
Complete rules for wereshark characters, including Gifts, rites, and other shark-specific supernatural powers
Sample Rokea characters, advice for all-Rokea chronicles, a sample Rokea story, and more

Contents[]

Unwelcome Guests[]

A short comic set in the Great Barrier Reef, featuring one of the several ways Garou and Rokea miscommunicate and clash. Written by Matt McFarland and art by Steve Prescott.

Chapter One: Introduction[]

Sources of Inspiration
- Books
  - The Shark Almanac by Thomas B. Allen
  - Jaws by Peter Benchley
  - Shark Attack and Shark! Shark!
- Movies
  - Jaws
  - Deep Blue Sea
  - Other Films: Deep Star Six, Abyss, Virus
- Internet Sites
  - Fiona's Shark Links
  - The International Shark Attack File
- Television
  - Discovery Channel's "Shark Week"

Lexicon

Chapter One: The Long Swim[]

The history of the world from a Rokea perspective.

Chapter Two: Sunlit Waters[]

The society, internal factions and culture of the weresharks.

Chapter Three: Breach[]

Details about Character Creation, along with Totems, Gifts and Rites.

Species/Tribe
- Great White (Karkha)
- Hammerhead (Spynha)
- Bull Shark (Lexcha)
- Tiger Shark (Galchurva)
- Mako (Ixya)
- Goblin Shark (Kagesame)

Abilities
- Seafaring

Backgrounds
- New Background: Remora

Gifts
- Rokea Gifts
  - Breach - Level One
  - Fast - Level One
  - Killing Bite - Level One
  - Teeth of the Skin - Level One
  - Gulp - Level Two
  - Poisoned Flesh - Level Two
  - Restless Water - Level Two
  - Shagreen - Level Two
  - Strange Waters - Level Two
  - Unsea's Blessing - Level Two
  - Consume Taint - Level Three
  - Fathom Sight - Level Three
  - Kun's Warning - Level Three
  - Shark's Bones - Level Three
  - Inundate - Level Four
  - Kun's Maw - Level Four
  - Patient Hunter - Level Four
  - Relentless Hunt - Level Four
  - Salmon's Return - Level Four
  - Set the Mind Adrift - Level Four
  - Mindless Fight - Level Five
  - Great Summons - Level Five
  - Ocean's Peace - Level Five
  - Whirlpool's Maw - Level Five
- Brightwater Gifts
  - Eyes of the Wound - Level One
  - Restraint - Level One
  - Unseen Attack - Level One
  - First Feeling - Level Two
  - Narke's Gift - Level Two
  - Undertow - Level Two
  - Bends - Level Three
  - School's Feat - Level Three
  - Wriggling Teeth - Level Three
  - Best Policy - Level Four
  - No Walls - Level Four
  - Oversea's Cycle - Level Four
  - Blood of Darkness - Level Five
  - Pain of the Wound - Level Five
  - Scuttle - Level Five
  - Sea's Winds - Level Five
- Dimwater Gifts
  - King Fish - Level One
  - Sea's Voice - Level One
  - Strange Blood - Level One
  - True Intentions - Level One
  - Crushing Depths - Level Two
  - Know Oversea's Mind - Level Two
  - Spit Teeth - Level Two
  - Drown - Level Three
  - Lure - Level Three
  - Sea's Wisdom - Level Three
  - Living Sea - Level Four
  - Oversea's Wrath - Level Four
  - Swim Undersea's Bloodstream - Level Four
  - Common Foe - Level Five
  - Leviathan - Level Five
  - Wound Undersea - Level Five
- Darkwater Gifts
  - Blood of the Deeps - Level One
  - Chill - Level One
  - Silent Sending - Level One
  - Qyrl's Blood - Level One
  - Enter Sea's Soul - Level Two
  - Piercing Shriek - Level Two
  - Voice of the Depths - Level Two
  - No Blood - Level Three
  - Summon Scuttlers - Level Three
  - Swim Through the School - Level Three
  - Waves' Passage - Level Four
  - Sea's Breath - Level Four
  - Shock Wave - Level Four
  - Hunger of the Trench - Level Five
  - Oversea's Gift - Level Five
  - Pall - Level Five
  - C'et's Shell - Level Five
- Betweener Gifts
  - Find Sea - Level One
  - Spirit Speech - Level One
  - Enter Unsea's Soul - Level Two
  - C'et's Mysteries - Level Three
  - Form of Sea - Level Four
  - Wall of Granite - Level Five

Rites
- Rite of Rokea Blood - Level One
- Rite of the Hunt - Level One
- Rite of Swimming Alone - Level One
- Rite of Passing the Net - Level Two
- Rite of Talisman Dedication - Level Two
- Rite of Sea's Distant Voice - Level Two
- Rite of the School's Wisdom - Level Three
- Rite of the Black Shark - Level Four
- Rite of the Man-Form - Level Four
- Rite of the Gathering - Level Five

Totems
- Angler
- Crab
- Dolphin
- Hurricane
- Manta Ray
- Moray
- Shark
- Qyrl

Fetishes
- Sea's Garb - Level 1, Gnosis 5
- Marlin's Tail - Level 2, Gnosis 6
- Barnacle Necklace - Level 3, Gnosis 6
- Net of Vengeance - Level 4, Gnosis 7
- Fragment of Oversea - Level 5, Gnosis 8

Merit and Flaws
- Constant Sending (1 point Merit)
- Good-Looking (2 point Merit)
- Venerable (2 point Merit)
- Fin Blades (3 point Merit)
- Swim Sideways (6 point Merit)
- Betweener Sympathizer (1 point Flaw)
- Shark Teeth (1 point Flaw)
- Short-Lived (1 point Flaw)
- Garou Enemy (2 or 4 point Flaw)
- Honest to a Fault (2 point Flaw)
- Known Betweener (3 point Flaw)
- Tonic Immobility (3 point Flaw)
- Unsure Footing (3 point Flaw)
- Uncontrolled Lust (4 point Flaw)

New Combat Maneuvers
- Dash
- Shred
- Great Bite
- Ram
- Tail Strike
- Throat Scrape

Slew Maneuvers
- Circle
- Dismember
- Tail Buffet

Chapter Four: Secrets of the Deep[]

Advice how to storytell a Rokea chronicle, as well as an introductory story.

Other Inhabitants of the Ocean
- Scuttlers
  - Sample Scuttler
    - Pearl Keepers
- Pelageans
  - Sample Pelagean
    - Angler-spirit
      - Charm: Lure
- Qyrlings
  - Sample Qyrling
    - Rider
      - Charm: Drain Gnosis
- Okeans
  - Sample Okean
    - Breaker

Rorqual
- Blue Whale
- Narwhal
- Humpback Whale
- White Whale
- Killer Whale
- Sperm Whale
- Dolphins and Porpoises

The Qyrlings
- Oorl, the Progenitor - Qyrling
- Kluru
- Mind Worms

Chapter Five: The School[]

Character templates for Rokea as well as famous characters.

Templates
- Turna'a Survivor - Squamus Brightwater, White Shark
- Harsh Judge - Squamus Dimwater, Mako
- Runt of the Litter - Squamus Darkwater, Hammerhead
- Shark Wrangler (Betweener) - Squamus Darkwater, Blue Shark
- Finning Survivor (Same-Bito) - Squamus (Tangaroa) Dimewater (Koshoku), Tiger Shark

Appendix[]

Information about real-life sharks in order to give the Rokea more nuance

Background Information[]

Ads at the back of the book include: Tribe Novels: Shadow Lords & Get of Fenris (February 2001), Exalted (June 2001) and Adventure! (August 2001).

The book often references to Blood-Dimmed Tides and Rage Across Australia for additional material.

Memorable Quotes[]

Characters[]

Martin One-Name - Glass Walker Philodox, Died, Comic
Austin Bears-The-Storm-For-The-Dying-Mother - Garou, Died, Comic
Sea-Dog - Garou, Lupus, Died, Comic
Mateo Cordova - Homid Rokea, Brightwater
Guards-the-Shoals - Rokea, Dimwater
Striking Tail - Rokea, Dimwater
Sir Alexander Drake - Past Human Explorer
First-to-Fall - Rokea, formerly "First-to-Kill", Brightwater, Legend
Bitter Tide - Rokea, Dimwater
Lightless-Tides - Rokea Darkwater
Deepest Trench/Mad-With-Pain - Rokea, Darkwater, Created the Ritual of the Black Shark
Leaps-to-the-Wound - Rokea, Darkwater
Storm-Jaws - Rokea, Dimwater
Sun-Shines-Black - Same-Bito
Marla Louis - Human
Stands-Against-the-Cold-Night - Wendigo, Joseph Blows-with-the-Wind's Ancestor

Chapter Four
- The Dim Shallows Slew
  - Wave-Crest - Rokea, Dimwater
  - No-Prey-Remains - Rokea, Brightwater
  - All-Seas - Rokea, Brightwater
  - Dreamtime's Hunter - Rokea, Darkwater
- Other Rokea
  - Chakara Teeth-in-the-Enemy - Rokea, Brightwater
  - Roar of the Sea, "Rory" - Rokea, Darkwater, Betweener
- The Garou
  - Emma Sharptongue - Shadow Lord
  - Heart-of-Impala - Fianna
  - Gabriel Starsmore - Glass Walkers
  - Joseph Blows-with-the-Wind

Notable Rokea
- Mizuchi, disgraced founder of the Same-Bito
  - Meiying - Zhong Lung
- Bleeds-Night, the Rokea most knowledgeable about the surface world
  - Bloody Stripes - Rokea, Brightwater, serves Qyrl
- Swims-the-Small-Seas, a Rokea stranded in the Amazon
- Barnacle Lil, a lone Rokea also known as "Hunted-By-All-Men"
- The Betweener Trio, the first three Betweeners:
  - Blood-Scent - Rokea, Brightwater, Betweener
  - Half-Tail - Rokea, Brightwater, Betweener
  - Sees-Leagues - Rokea, Brightwater, Betweener

Terminology[]

Auspices: Brightwater, Darkwater, Dimwater, Same-Bito Auspices: Irono (Darkwater), Karui (Brightwater), Koshoku (Dimwater); Australia, Beast Courts, Betweener, Betweener Law, Breeds: Homid, Squamus, Same-Bito Breeds: Rongo (Homid) Tangaroa (Squamus); Breakers, Bright Sands Grotto, C'et, Chill Water Bites Grotto, Chulorviah, Code of Sensei Mizuchi, Dagon, Dim Shallows Slew, Dirtwalker, Dragon Kings, Dreamtime's Cry Pack, Eel's Warning Grotto, Forms: Fighting Jaws (Chasmus), Long Fins (Homid), Round Back (Glabrus), Standing Jaws (Gladius), Swimming Jaws (Squamus); Great Barrier Reef Grotto "Long Grotto", Great Flood, Great Kings, Great Unmaking, Grotto, The Hunt, Impala's Horn (Fetish), Jindabyne Council, Kadugo, Kami, Kopa Loei, Kraken, Kun, Kunmind, Kunspawn, Lamprey, Long Swim, Menehune, Merfolk, Mokolé, Moon's Blood, New Wound, Nightmare, Oversea, Oversea's Balm, Okeans, Pelageans, Poisoned Lungs Hive, Qyrl, Qyrlings, Ranks: Surface (1), Shallows (2), Open Sea (3), Cold Sea (4), Deeps (5); Rokea, Rokea Renown: Harmony, Innovation, Valor; Rokean Law, Rorqual, Same-Bito, Scuttlers, Sea, Sea's Soul, Sending, Slew, Small Seas, Small Wounds, Teanoi, Three Daughters, Tower Hill Caern, Turna'a Grotto, Undersea, Unsea, Unsea's Grotto, Waves Whisper Grotto, Whitey's Pub, The Wound, Zhong Lung,

Previous release	Game Books	Next release
WTA: Promo: Tribe Novel Flip Book	Werewolf: The Apocalypse books	WTA: When Will You Rage Second Edition