Beast: The Primordial
| Beast: The Primordial | ||
|---|---|---|
| RPG published by White Wolf / Onyx Path |
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| Rule System | Storytelling System | |
| First Publication | 2016 | |
The newest game to come out for the New World of Darkness, and probably the one most scorned on /tg/. You are a Beast, a living embodiment of humanity's deepest and darkest fears, driven by an inescapable need to sate your Hunger, a manifestation of fear. You may be driven by the urge to Ruin or Dominate, but you cannot help but Feed. Of course, where a Beast lurks, Heroes inevitably arise, driven to slay the Thing lurking in the Dark...
Sounds awesome, right? A chance to both completely blow off the supernatural wangst that bedevils almost all of the other WoD lines (except Geist: The Sin-Eaters and maybe Demon: The Descent) and revel in being the darkly ambiguous villain protagonist: what could possibly wreck that idea?
Then the preview edition came out, and the problems began to show themselves.
For a start, you don't get any shapeshifting powers at all. That's right, you have a "Beast's soul", but not a Beast's body - even your Avatisms are completely invisible to freaking mundies, even when you're squeezing through a too-tight space, ripping them apart with claws or breathing fire (unless you kill your Hero and form become one with your legend incarnate, merge with your beast soul to become a living monster, or decided to drop your Lair (the fancy domain thing that is tied to you) on top of their asses. Though, if that happens, subtlety has gone right out the window). This fact alone got /tg/ mocking the game as appealing to Otherkin: one of the mercifully rare, but not non-existent, branches of the furry fandom that even other furries think are out of their minds. It would have been bad enough, but coming in the wake of Demon: The Descent, which gave excellent modular rules for building a demonic form, fans were expecting a similar level of cool shapeshifting powers in a game that was advertised as "be the beast that haunts humanity's soul".
Next, though the intended flavor of the game was "screw the Heroes, they're really nothing but nutjobs who think they're the Good Guys and insist you're the Bad Guys", the writing of it came off as so sneering and condescending that not only did hordes of people start defending the Heroes (no thanks to that screwy "if you Critical Fail on your Rampage check, you spawn a Hero" rule), but /tg/ began writing Beasts off as otherkin fodder. The "special people with the souls of mythical creatures, picked on and bullied by the normies who just don't understand": that's what /tg/ saw and derided, in a repeat of Changeling: The Dreaming.
But, in a surprising show of self-awareness, Onyx Path actually took the time to respond to the criticisms and began an immediate rewrite of the book to address them. While /tg/ is cautiously optimistic at most about how well they'll work to fix everything, the final released product seems to have changed very little, and leaves Heroes in the same position of 'pointless bullyboys' they started in. For the moment, it's too early to tell whether the line will manage to carve a niche for itself or become a repeat of Changeling: the Dreaming.
Family
To condense down what each family group of beast "souls" are, there are 5 different families of monsters (which again are each an abstract conceptual basis to come up with your own style of monsters). Each beast is the nightmare manifested, a primal fear given shape, and the Beast is always the first inflicted upon by this nightmare, and are no longer troubled by it. This also shapes their respective "Heroes", who will act in direct mirror to the beast. A hero of the collector beast who hoards might become a rampant kleptomaniac. A tyrant beasts hero might become a great public speaker, trying to turn the community against the beast. These families are then mixed with 5 hungers to help build your own "monster", so to speak. Currently the 5 are:
Anakim
Giants, ogres, and the powerful primordials of an earthy disposition. The fear that makes up your soul is the fear of powerlessness. Something that you will likely never allow to happen to you again. These are not your BFG friends, because even the nicest ones feed on the fear of powerlessness and dominate their opponents. As for their powers, expect strength, presence and for a fight in their lairs to become a titanic struggle. Like Attack on Titan where you're the Titan and your enemy forgot their jet pack and cables.
Eshmaki
Lurkers, dwellers in the dark places, and sometimes capable of breathing fire or shredding opponents. Eshmaki are the beasts of the fear of loneliness and destruction. Because they have conquered their fear, they never feel alone, though they might be. Did I mention you can be a dragon with this? Maybe one day you can use your incarnate powers to rule the world as force of change... Or make a really, really good thief and possible killer. After all, what's to stop a dragon except a knight. And Knights are just more tinned food.
Makara
For those wanting to say they be the Kraken, the Makara are the beasts of the fear of drowning. A simple idea, but can easily be extrapolated further into overwhelming knowledge or circumstance. They tend to have the more lethal kinds of lairs. Drop one into reality and watch the world face a natural disaster level threat.
Namtaru
Those that believe in beauty being skin deep might have been referring to these things. Probably before being horribly fossilised. Namtaru are the fear of revulsion, and have Gorgons, and various insectile terrors in their background. They can inflict a single condition once per scene, but they also are potentially some of the easiest people to hide evidence. After all, a statue can't expose you if you're simply a talented stone carver.
Ugallu
Monsters of the air that represent everything from harpies to the majestic Phoenix. They are the fear of exposure, and too few people ever look up. Flight is something that falls among the realms of ease for these creatures. What's terrifying is their birthright ability to breach through facades. That means no glamour or special obfuscation can escape these eyes. It only inflicts a condition, but sometimes that's all it takes.
Hunger
Your Beast's Hunger is what defines the kind of dark monstrous things you need to do to keep your soul happy and full. There is always the feeding on flesh and blood but sometimes a beast can satisfy their craving in other ways. Feeding your Beast is what gives you power, and how full your beast is is the satiety stat. High satiety gives you a lot of power to fuel your awesome abilities like unleashing your dragon breath, or using your titanic strength to kick a vampire through a skyscraper. However, high satiety has risks attached. Your soul could become gluttonous or picky, refusing to feed on anything other than rare and high quality heists or stimulations. A collector might not be satisfied until you have Fort Knox gold, for example. Another possibility is the beast goes into a food coma, leaving the mortal body kind of helpless in the mortal world.
By contrast, not feeding your beast enough means your beast rampages through the dreamscape often. This leads to "Heroes" showing up and cause extreme problems, especially since you're probably not equipped to deal with the murderous glory hounds after the kill of their lives. Walking the middle road between keeping your beast from rampaging and not having it become a glutton is tricky, but manageable. Sure, you might have at least 1 or 2 heroes knocking about causing trouble, but you're still strong enough to take them without as many risks.
There are 5 Hungers. When combined with the five families this creates 25 types of Beasts, even when the various Beasts of the same type can be widely different. These Hungers are:
Collectors
The Hunger for the Hoard. Simply put, the Collectors like to obtain all sorts of stuff. Not because of what it's worth to them, but for what it's worth to others. Anakim Collectors prefer trophies that show off their own strength such as things taken from Heroes or mementos from worthy enemies, Eshmaki Collectors like to terrify the owner before taking things, Makara Collectors prefer ancient relics for their worth and to learn more about the world, Namtaru Collectors collect what seem to be items of great beauty, but look too close and the horror sets in like the stench, insects everywhere or the ground being filthy; other Natamu like to vandalize valuable things. Ugallu Collectors are dragons. Or at least close to them: they look down at the world looking for something they like, mainly hidden objects. If they find something like that they swoop down, grab it and fly up to their out-of-reach lairs.
Nemeses
The Hunger for Punishment. The boogeymen of the Beasts, delivering retribution upon transgressors big and small. Anakim Nemeses solve violence with more violence, going after violent criminals and serving the dish best served cold. Eshmaki Nemeses workby reminding the perpetrator of a crime long forgotten of what they did, stalk them and drive the criminal to paranoia by (reasonably) making them think that there's a monster out to get them. Makara Nemeses protect certain places. Those who break these codes (transgressing somewhere where they shouldn't or killing animals somewhere) will face the wrath of such a Beast, but because of the nature of their Hunger these Beasts will require support from broodmates to help them feed regularly. Namtaru Nemeses tend to be scorned, and repay those who pick on those like them. Bullies, abusive spouses and other cruelty coming from hate will face one of them sooner or later. The Ugallu Nemeses punish secret crimes and other transgressions that are difficult to prove: hypocrisy, deceiving romantic partners, falsely professing belief in a religion and so on. These Beasts too like to torment their prey days or weeks before striking, making the retribution all the better.
Predators
The Hunger for Prey. Not as straighforward as you'd think: while some Beasts do kill their prey it's more about besting the prey than to outright eat it. Anakim Predators prefer to chase their prey down, uncaring about who sees them. Eshmaki like to hurt their prey in subtle ways: either physically or psychologically: for them it's about stalking rather than hurting. Makara Predators prefer to use traps, tricks and bait to lure others to their doom, when the prey falls for it the Beast considers it a job well done. Namtaru Predators tend to do bizarre (and often violent) things with their prey: drink blood from various cuts on their body, lap the sweat from their foreheads or leave a nasty, but not lasting, mark. Ugallu Predators prefer to plan, plot and scheme, picking their prey carefully. But when that's done the Beast strikes swiftly, brutally and efficiently.
Ravagers
The Hunger for Ruin. The most destructive of the Hungers, these Beasts live to destroy, pure and simple. They only go for non-living targets though, because those who target people Hunger for Prey, not Ruin. Anakim Ravagers like to smash first and think later, forcing them to live lives on the road lest they be found out quickly. Eshmaki Ravagers like to break things in the most guarded of places, ruining only their target and nothing else to prove their skill and scare people. Makara Ravagers make the damage they do look like forces of nature, reminding people they are not safe from the fury of nature. Namtaru Ravagers prefer to pollute instead of destroying. Their horror sets in the moment people think themselves to be safe only for them to realize the depth of the damage. These Beasts don't just burn the fields, they also salt the earth. Ugallu Ravagers strike suddenly and precisely, destroying what they need to feed and move on. They are like the drone strikes of the Beasts, terrifying people of the open sky.
Tyrants
The Hunger for Power. Tyrants want to assert their power over others, making people feel small and helpless. Anakim Tyrants like to see people be defeated, Eshmaki Tyrants relish the hunt and give their prey a sporting chance, Makara Tyrants prefer to make people feel like the malevolent forces they face are being guided by some kind of intelligence, Namtaru Tyrants scare peole by being impossibly monstrous looking and Ugallu Tyrants make people freel they're being watched all the time, driving them to paranoia.