Qualmi Tribal Gifts
Insight and enigma. Perception and misdirection. The Qualmi may be a small tribe in both stature and numbers, but they make up for their size with the strength of their riddling magics. Most Qualmi Gifts and rites involve riddles and guessing games. In many cases, the best defense a target has is to figure out what the werelynx is doing and counter it with another riddle before the enigma takes shape. As a rule, Qualmi respect anyone who can out-guess them; the best way to make friends with a lynx is to beat her in a riddling contest. The names given to Qualmi Gifts reflect their fondness for metaphor; a trick rarely does what its name implies.
Level 1
Breakfast of Stones
As the Level One Pumonca Gift: Wanderer’s Boon
Turned Fur
As the Wendigo gift: Camouflage, save that the cat must discard any clothing and gear before the Gift takes effect - the lynx is the only thing that changes color.
Level 2
No Hidden Thing
By reading the riddles of the world as mystic patterns, a Qualmi can discover answers that aren’t immediately obvious to mortals. It’s hard to hid things from a lynx.
System: This Gift combines the Level One Common Gifts: Spirits’ Sight, Dowsing, Pathfinder’s Pride, Sense the Truth, Sense Unmaker’s Hand and Cat Sight. The roll is Perception + Enigmas, and the difficulty ranges from 5 to 9, depending on what the lynx is looking for and how well it’s hidden. The Qualmi must spend one Gnosis, but retains the use of this Gift for the entire scene.
Wind from the West
Words can be as ephemeral as the Pacific fog; by making them dance and shimmer, a Qualmi can lead a less-clever opponent into a mental maze, then leave him there to puzzle his own way out. This takes the form of a series of high-speed riddles designed to tie folks’ minds into knots. Most Qualmi are especially pleased to find someone clever enough to avoid this mental snare.
System: As the Level Two Bubasti Gift: Mousemaze, except that the roll is Manipulation + Enigmas, and does not cost a Gnosis point. To counter the confusion effect, the target might try to figure out the puzzle (Wits + Enigmas) before it takes effect, Oddly enough, it pleases most Qualmi when a victim can hink for himself; this often leads to a ridding contest, with the loser becoming confused by the magic. To simulate this exchange, see “Gamecraft” in Werewolf (page 223), and raise the difficulty by one after each turn. When it reaches 10, check the final result: if someone wins and another loses, the loser suffers magical confusion; if both lose, they’re both confused; if both win, neither is confused. Most Qualmi take defeat well under these circumstances, and can be very generous losers.
Level 3
Drop of Sea
Qualmi are renowned shapeshifters; this Gift, which allows them to take a variety of forms, demonstrates why.
System: This Gift combines the powers of the Level Four Homid Gift: Monkey’s Uncle and Level Five Swara Gift: All the Beasts Under the Sun, with the following differences: The roll is Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty 7); the animal shapes run from hard-sized to bear-sized; and an observer who makes a perception + Enigmas roll (difficulty 9) may see the werecat for what she is. If he wants to undo the magic, he may ask the transformed werecat a riddle (see “Gamecraft”); if she can’t answer it, she changes back to her old form immediately.
Nighttime Web
As the Level Three Common Gift: Cheshire Prank, except that the roll is Intelligence + Enigmas.
Level 4
Dancing on Air
As the Level Four Metis Gift: Moon’s Gateway, except that the roll is Intelligence + Enigmas.
Still Breeze Blowing
Like the Lupus Gift: Elemental Gift, this magic allows a Qualmi to conjure a spirit to shift members of this tribe favor air and ice elementals over fire or earth.
Level 5
Call Down the Stars
Sometimes the best answer to a riddle is force. This Gift recalls the days of Strange Owl Woman, when the white men dragged iron monsters across the open lands. It works by confusing the spirits inside machinery with a staggering combustion forcing them to explode. This tends to fix most problems for good.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Enigmas (difficulty 7) and spends a Willpower point to drive the riddle home. If she succeeds, the power source - be it gas, coal, wood, electricity, kerosene, whatever - ignites. The exact effect are left to the Storyteller, small fires may flare for one or two Health Levels per success, while car gas tanks or steam train furnaces might blow for four Health Levels per success. Some combustion must be involved - a canister of gasoline will not explode on its own. No Qualmi has dared to find out what would happen if the spirits of nuclear power plants were confused; the result might poison the entire land.
Water’s Vision
Water sees everything. By learning to see as the water does, a Qualmi can look through barriers to see what lies beyond them. Walls, vault, the Gauntlet - nothing stops a Qualmi who wants to see around them.
System: Seeing through barriers requires a Perception + Primal-Urge roll against the Gauntlet rating. For each success, the lynx can see 100 feet without obstruction. Every object, from stone walls to living bodies to the Gauntlet, appears translucent and immaterial. Unfortunately, it’s often hard to pick on thing out from among the series of see- through patterns; it often requires a Perception + Alertness roll to notice details. This vision stops at ground level, although the cat can see into basements or cellars if her sight extends far enough. This power lasts one turn per success.