Knacks: Alchemy, Cannibalism, Serpent Eyes, Serpent Fangs, Serpent Scales

Apprentice Degree: Plaguewright
Adept Degree: Cultist
Master Degree: High Priest

There are magic-wielders in Tar-Netjer called farasi, who channel the power of Tar-Netjeran spirits through the art known as N’anga. These spirits, (known as mizimu) represent the elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water, though plant and animal mizimu also share their blessings with farasi. Mizimu are generally benign, and cooperate with the farasi to serve the public good.

There is one mizimu, however, which serves only its own interests and cares only for amassing personal power: Zombi, the Serpent Lord. Zombi does not operate as other mizimu do, flowing into the farasi and thus giving them power. Rather, the Serpent Lord has dived a way to empower his followers with Sorcery in exchange for blind obedience and lifelong servitude. It is a heavy price to pay…but the power Zombi provides is a powerful lure to men and women who, like their master, seek temporal power and ascension to the highest echelon of Zombi’s followers.

This ascension is not simply a measure of influence: as they grow in power (and therefore in usefulness to Zombi), they began to take on sone of the physical traits of their dark master. Masters of Mchawi, the name given to the Sorcery Zombi provides, develop heat-sensing pits on their faces, poisonous fangs in their mouths, and tough, scaled skin that helps protect them from the blows of their enemies. They also learn the darkest secrets of alchemy, designed to spread sickness and dominate the minds of other mortals, and gain the power to strengthen themselves through consumption of their enemies’ hearts.

Apprentice Degree
While the evolution of a Mchawi Sorcerer’s senses, bite, and scales occurs independently of his Mastery of this art, the secrets of alchemy and ritual cannibalism are tied directly to his Mastery Level. At this, the most basic level, Mchawi Sorcerers learn to make a powder that, when sprinkled in a water source or in a pot of food, causes an agonizing sickness that spreads through contact. The Apprentice also learns to increase his physical strength by consuming the hearts of his enemies. Details for these abilities can be found in the Knack descriptions below.

Adept Degree
As an Adept, a Mchawi Sorcerer can create a Zombi powder that overwhelms the individual will of low-ranking soldiers, guards, and militiamen (i.e., Brutes) and places them under the Sorcerer’s control. He also learns the secret of enhancing his quickness through ritual cannibalism.

Master Degree
Masters of Mchawi can create more powerful Zombi powders that allow him to dominate more experienced victims (i.e., Henchmen) and bend them to his will while increasing their physical strength and endurance. They also learn the secret of increasing their own physical endurance through ritual cannibalism.

Sorcerous Knacks
Note that none of these Knacks require a Drama Die to be used.

Alchemy. As an Apprentice, the Sorcerer may use this Knack to create a plague powder which is capable of spreading sickness throughout a community. The Apprentice may choose one (and only one) Trait to target with his plague powder, then make a Wits + Alchemy roll. The result of this roll becomes the Target Number that victims who are directly exposed to the powder (e.g., by drinking from a contaminated well or eating a bowl of contaminated stew) must meet or exceed with a Resolve roll to avoid becoming infected and losing one Rank from the Trait selected by the Sorcerer for a number of days equal to the Sorcerer’s Mastery Level in Mchawi.

Anyone who has not been exposed to the illness who comes into contact with an infected individual must make the same Resolve roll, but he receives two free Raises on the roll. If that individual succumbs to the illness, anyone who comes into contact with him must make a Resolve roll with four Raises, and so on. Once a person has been exposed to the illness (whether he succeeds on his Resolve roll or not), he is immune to that particular strain of the illness, though he will be susceptible to another plague (even if it targets the same Trait) if a new batch of powder is prepared.

As an Adept, the Sorcerer may make a zombi powder that allows him to completely dominate the will of up to five Brutes per Mastery level. To do so, he must make a Wits + Alchemy roll against a TN equal to ten times the Threat Rating of the Brutes he wishes to dominate, taking one Raise for each Brute beyond the first he wishes to affect with that batch of powder. (The Sorcerer may gather zombi Brutes one or two at a time, or all at once if he believes he is capable of meeting the monstrous TN that would create.) Once the powder has been crafted, it must be inhaled by the Brutes it was created for (and only the Brutes it was created for), and it is automatically successful. Brutes affected by Zombi powder have their Threat Rating increased by one (to a maximum of five), attack only with their fists (which inflict six Flesh Wounds per hit), and require an extra “hit” to be eliminated from combat. (These bonuses are cumulative with any nationality bonuses, so Eisen zombis would require three hits to be eliminated.) Zombi brutes can only function in Squads of five or less, and they remain under the Sorcerer’s control for a number of days equal to the Sorcerer’s Mastery Level, though this can be extended by additional applications of zombi powder.

Masters of Mchawi may create zombi powders that can dominate Henchmen. Creating the powder requires a lock of hair, drop of blood, or some other item extracted from the target’s body. Once that is in hand, the Master rolls Wits + Alchemy to set the TN that the target must meet or exceed with a Resolve roll once he has inhaled the powder. If the Henchman fails this roll, he loses all self-direction and becomes a zombi under the complete control of the Sorcerer. The zombi Henchman loses access to all weapon Skills, and will attack only with Dirty Fighting or Pugilism (whichever is better); if it does not have either of these Knacks, it must make all attacks completely untrained. In addition, the zombi is immune to the effects of being Injured, and its Traits are adjusted as follows: +2 Brawn, +1 Resolve, -1 Wits, -2 Panache. The zombi Henchman will remain under the Sorcerer’s complete control for three days, though this duration can be extended if he is dosed with more zombi powder.

Whether Brutes or Henchmen, zombis will follow any orders given by the Sorcerer to the letter, with no room for individual thought or interpretation, even if these orders place the zombi in harm’s way. A zombi will remain under the Sorcerer’s control until the duration of the zombie powder ends (as described above) or until it is Knocked Out.

Cannibalism. By using this Knack, a Mchawi Sorcerer may attempt to increase his physical Traits by consuming the hearts of enemies he has personally sacrificed in a pagan ritual. As an Apprentice, he may attempt to increase his Brawn by one (and only one) Rank by rolling Resolve + Cannibalism vs. a TN equal to five times his current Rank in Brawn plus five. If this roll fails, the Sorcerer may not make this attempt again until the following day. If the Sorcerer succeeds on this roll, his Brawn will remain adjusted for a number of days equal to his Mastery Level, plus one additional day for every Raise he took on his roll.

As an Adept, the Sorcerer may attempt to increase his Panache by one (and only one) Rank by rolling Resolve + Cannibalism vs. a TN equal to five times his current Rank in Panache plus ten. As a Master, he may attempt to increase his Resolve by one (and only one) by rolling Resolve + Cannibalism vs. a TN equal to five times his current Rank in Resolve plus fifteen. In all other ways, these rituals are identical to the Apprentice Ritual. The Sorcerer may not increase any of his Traits by more than one Rank at a time, though he may attempt to increase all three Traits by one Rank at the same time if he has enough victims to sacrifice.

Serpent Eyes. A misleading name, as this Knack actually involves the development of sensory pits between the Zombi Cultist’s nose and mouth that can detect the heat given off by creatures’ bodies. For every Rank the Zombi Cultist has in this Knack, the penalties for fighting against warm-blooded creatures in Dim Lighting and Total Darkness are decreased by one Unkept Die. Thus, a Zombie Cultist with a Rank of 5 in this Knack would actually gain an Unkept Die on rolls in Total Darkness, and gain three Unkept Dice in Dim Lighting, as they will be able to “see” their opponents much more clearly than the opponents will see them. In addition, the Zombi Cultist gets a bonus equal to his Rank in this Knack to all Tracking checks he makes when following any warm-blooded creature.

Serpent Fangs. As Zombi Cultists evolve into their “ascended” form, they develop poisonous fangs which can fold back when not in use. The Zombi Cultist can bite an opponent using his Attack (Dirty Fighting) Knack, inflicting a 0k2 attack (increased for Brawn, as usual). This bite also delivers poison, which Rolls a number of Damage Dice equal to the Zombi Cultist’s Rank in this Knack and Keeps a number of dice equal to his Mastery Level in Mchawi.

If an opponent fails a Wound Check triggered by this poisoned bite, rather than suffering Dramatic Wounds, the opponent loses one Rank of Brawn, plus one more Rank for every twenty full points by which he failed the Wound Check, to a minimum Rank of zero. An opponent reduced to a Rank of zero in Brawn is so weak, he cannot even lift himself up and is effectively helpless. He may spend a Drama Die to rise up for one Round; after that he collapses again. Lost Ranks of Brawn return at the rate of one per day.

Serpent Skin. As Zombi Cultists ascend, they begin to take on some of Zombi’s reptilian appearance. The Cultist’s skin hardens and thickens while a scale-like pattern develops across the surface of his body. The Zombi Cultist may add his Rank in this Knack to his TN to be hit at all times. In addition, the Cultist is able to (and, for that matter, must) shed his skin. He has some control over this process so he may also add his Rank in this Knack to any Contortion or similar Rolls he makes to attempt to slip free of ropes, chains, or other bindings.

Game Master’s Secrets
As mentioned above, Zombi is interested solely in amassing personal power. He is pragmatic in his approach to this, willing to make small-term sacrifices (generally of his followers) for long-term gain. He grants Mchawi freely to any who would serve him…but they are expected to follow his orders as blindly as the zombis they create follow theirs. He tolerates no variation from this ideal; any Mchawi Sorcerer who refuses to do as he has been instructed will soon find the entirety of Zombi’s cult bearing down on him.

Zombi’s master plan, however, is not to spread his Cult throughout Tar-Netjer, squashing all resistance. If that were the only path to victory, he would certainly pursue it. Instead, he is working towards a loftier (or lowlier) goal: to bring down the Barrier and summon the Bargainers back into the world. Surely, Zombi reasons, they will reward the agent of the Barrier’s destruction handsomely with wealth and power, To that end, he has divided his followers’ efforts along two fronts: undermining the work of N’anga and Mganga Sorcers while seeking out information on the Bargain and how the Numan Senators brought the otherworldly beings to Terra.