Enchantress/Darkbrood

Playable Darkbrood

Disclaimer: I don’t know what on earth possessed me to write this, I’d imagine it was a desire to play as the monsters during late night sessions of Call of Cthulhu. I guess it could be helpful to Storytellers that wish to further explore the Mountain Folk and their enemies.

Step One Character Concept

Choose Concept and motivation

Step Two Choosing Attributes

Note that all nine attributes start with one dot automatically before you assign any. Prioritise your attribute categories Physical (Strength, Dexterity, Stamina), Social (Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance) and Mental (Perception, Intelligence, Wits). You have 7 dots to assign to your primary attribute category, 4 to assign to your secondary category and a single attribute dot to place in the tertiary category).

Step Three Choosing Abilities

Choose abilities (25) none may be higher than 3 without spending bonus points. Note a single favoured ability.

Step Four Advantages

Backgrounds (5) and virtues (5) –no background or virtue may be raised above 3 without spending bonus points

Step Five Finishing Touches

Record Essence (1), willpower (sum of the two highest virtues) and determine health levels 7+ any gained from charms or mutations. If applicable: determine essence pool (essence x 2 + willpower + the sum of virtues)

Bonus Points

Spend bonus points at any point during character creation (15)

Species Points

Spend 30 bonus points on suitable merits, flaws, mutations and charms that apply to the character's entire species

Merits and Flaws

Merits
Exceptional Vitality: The Darkbrood can soak lethal damage equal to half it's stamina as though one of the Exalted.
Material Resonance: The Darkbrood gain the full benefits of attunement with a single magic material as if they were an appropriate exalt.

Flaws
External Soul: The Dark Brood's familiar or one of their artifacts is more that that, it's their soul or an extension thereof and if they are separated by it via distance or its destruction prevents them from regaining willpower, essence or health levels. Only powerful sorcery (Celestial or greater) can recreate a soul.
Geas: The Dark Brood have been punished as a whole and given five restrictions on what they can do (invariably returning to the surface of Creation is such a condition) and should they break this Geas they are considered as if having broken the oath of an Eclipse with an essence level equal to their own. Only months of returning to abiding by this geas will break the deadly curse.

Bonus Point Costs

Attribute: 4
Ability: 2 (1 if species or favoured)
Background: 1 (2 if being raised above 3)
Specialty: 1 (two for one if favoured or species)
Virtue: 3
Essence: see enlightened essence blight
Charm: 7

"You look like some kind of bug monster" -sociable with Mutations

Darkbrood aren't Wyld Mutants, they're entire races of creatures who may have once been on a par with the Dragon Kings or the Mountain Folks (more likely they believe this irrespective of the truth) for this reason Storytellers are strongly advised to reconsider what constitutes a negative mutation. "Ugly" and "Plague Carrier" for example aren't going to cause problems if the species within question only reacts to others with hostility. In these situations being ugly and diseased will prove advantageous.

On Linguistics

Though a rare few Darkbrood speak Old Realm from the days before the Primordial War many of them have degenerated into their own unique and hideous methods of communication such as the rapid clicking of mandibles or using their own vile stench to transfer shockingly complex messages. These are considered to be tribal tongues for the purpose of the Linguistics ability.

Innate Powers

Spirit charms brought at character creation are used to represent powers and abilities that come natural to the character’s Darkbrood race rather than a supernatural power they can simply learn. As such new spirit charms may only be purchased with species bonus points and not after character creation.

Other Supernatural Abilities

The Dragon Kings and Mountain Folk each have access to their own precursors to Exalted charms, and in that prehuman era there were surely other creatures that would develop their own means of essence manipulation.

Caution should be taken not to make them too similar to Exalted charms in terms of structure, power and scope- it’s worth paying heed to how the Dragon King and Mountain Folk lack excellencies and their supernatural abilities don’t neatly cover all attributes/abilities. In short the Exalted are adaptable living weapons and the Prehuman races probably weren’t.

Experience

Permanent Essence: current essence x10 (maximum limit = 5)
Species Attribute: current rating x 3
New Charm (favoured): 12
New Charm (non-favoured): 15
New Spell (favoured): 12
New Spell (non-favoured): 15

Storytelling with The Darkbrood

The most obvious role that the Darkbrood is that of the Nameless Hordes that assail the Mountain Folk and any group of Exalts that are brave enough to travel beneath the surface of Creation. After all most of them are there because they were rejected by the Primordials or chose to aid their masters against the Exalted.

Storyteller's who wish to add more drama to their own games merely have to draw attention to the fact that some of the Darkbrood races simply chose the wrong side or failed to meet the impossible standards of chaotic and godlike beings.

It's doubtful that the Mountain Folk have the luxury to make such distinctions- so it could be up to a Circle of Solar Exalted to actually make peace with creatures long since presumed to be enemies of the enemies of the Gods. Would the Mountain Folk allow these creatures to return to the surface while the effects of The Great Geas denies them the same right?

Similarly agents of the Yozis and Neverborn may be able to seek out bitter enemies to the gods and potential allies to their cause hiding in the dark places of the world.

Sample Darkbrood

/Xiotles
/Sot-Har