Karma Ritual

Rank

This talent allows characters to replenish their store of Karma Points. Each time characters perform the ritual, they can purchase a number of Karma Points equal to their rank in Karma Ritual. Each ritual must be performed at dawn, takes 30 minutes to complete and can only be performed once per day.

Restore KARMA Points

Self

Permanent

YES

NO

NO

ALL

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Unarmed Combat

DEX + Rank

A character uses the Unarmed Combat talent when attempting to hit a defender with his hands, feet, or any other part of his body. The character makes an Unarmed Combat Test against the target's Physical Defense. A successful test result means the attack hits the target.

Melee ATTACK

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

NO

Beastmaster

ALL Others as Optional Talent at Journeyman Level

Beastmaster

Claw Shape

STR + Rank +3

The Claw Shape talent changes a Beastmaster's dominant hand into a fearsome clawed weapon. The character uses his Unarmed Combat talent to make Attack Tests with Claw Shape. Make the Damage Test using the Claw Shape step, plus the required Karma dice. If using Claw Shape with Claw Frenzy, the character may use a Karma Point for each Damage Test. Claw Shape lasts until it does damage, then immediately fades away.

(+) DAMAGE

Self

Varies

NO

YES

NO

Beastmaster

--

Animal Bond

CHA + Step

The Animal Bond talent creates a bond of trust between an animal and a character. The character must work with the animal for a week previous to each use of the Animal Bond talent, treating the animal well during this time. The character then makes an Animal Bond Test against either the animal's Social or Spell Defense, whichever is higher.

After the Beastmaster has successfully used this talent once, the animal takes a neutral attitude ("live and let live") toward him. A second successful use makes the animal friendly enough to the character that he will play with the character. The character cannot further attach the animal to him until he improves his Animal Bond talent to at least Rank 4. Once a character has Animal Bond at Rank 4 or more, he can begin to train the animal. When training becomes possible, a successful Animal Bond Test makes the animal loyal to the character as long as the character remains loyal to the animal. The animal willingly takes risks for the character and expects appropriate rewards for doing so (e.g., affection and food). A loyal animal will accompany a character on adventures if the character so desires.

ANIMAL Control

Touch

For life of animal

YES

NO

NO

Beastmaster

--

Borrow Sense

WIL + Rank

Using the Borrow Sense talent, a Beastmaster can temporarily take over one of the five senses of any animal which is loyal to him. The Beastmaster makes a Borrow Sense Test vs. the animal's Spell Defense. Successful use of the Borrow Sense talent earns the character all the benefits of the borrowed sense from the point-of-view of the animal. Thus, the Beastmaster who chooses to Borrow an animal's sense of sight would be able to see what the animal sees and control where the animal looks. An animal must be within line-of-sight of the Beastmaster at all times or the talent effect ends immediately. Additionally, a Beastmaster may perform no other actions while borrowing an animal's sense. If he chooses to perform an action, the talent effect ends immediately.

ANIMAL Control

Line of Sight

(Rank) Rounds

YES

NO

2

Beastmaster

--

Durability

Rank

This talent increases the Death and Unconcsciousness Ratings of a character. For each rank in Durability which characters achieve, their Death Ratings are increased by an amount equal to their Toughness step at the time. The character's Unconsciousness Rating is also increased by an amount equal to its Toughness step - 1. If the character's Toughness step later increases, it will not change the Death Rating or Unconsciousness Rating increases which the character has already received; only those increases to come.

(+) DEATH & UNCON Rating

Touch

Permanent

NO

NO

NO

ALL

--

Cat's Paw

DEX + Rank

The Cat's Paw talent permits a character to move silently. Make a Cat's Paw Test, then use the result as the Difficulty Number for tests by anyone else attempting to detect the character. Because Cat's Paw makes a target even harder to detect than normal, a detecting character must roll a Good success or better to discern a character using the Cat's Paw.

SILENT Movement

Self

(Rank) Rounds

NO

NO

1

Beastmaster

--

Animal Training

CHA + Rank

The Animal Training talent allows a character to train animals to obey simple commands such as "scout ahead for creatures", "smell that rock", and "go home" as well as the more usual "stop", "heel", "fetch" and "kill". Each command requires a separate, successful use of Animal Training. Each use takes 1 week, during which time the character must treat the animal well. The character makes an Animal Training Test against either the creature's Social of Spell Defense, whichever is higher. A successful test means the animal understands and obeys the command given by the character. The animal will not obey a command given by any other character. The effects of Animal Training last for a number of months equal to the character's talent rank. Repeated uses of the Animal Training Talent can extend the duration of the effect.

ANIMAL Control

Touch

(Rank) Months

YES

NO

NO

Beastmaster

--

Heal Animal Servant

TOU + Rank

This talent allows a Beastmaster to heal an animal with whom he has established a bond of loyalty with. To heal an animal servant, the Beastmaster must first be touching the animal. If the character simply wants to heal damage done to the animal, he sacrifices a Karma point and makes a Heal Animal Servant Test. The result of this test is the amount of damage which the animal subtracts from its damage total.

The Beastmaster can heal a Wound taken by his animal servant by sacrificing one of his own Recovery Tests. This use of Heal Animal Servant does not require sacrifice of a Karma Point. A character may automatically heal one Wound for each recovery test which he sacrifices. Only one Wound may be healed per round.

HEAL

Touch

1 Round

YES

Maybe

NO

Beastmaster

--

Threadweaving

PER + Rank

Characters use Thread Weaving talent to create and weave magical threads. Characters can only have a number of threads active equal to their Thread Weaving Rank. The process of weaving a thread is described in the Earthdawn Companion. This talent also gives characters a limited version of the Astral Sense talent. The astral sight provided by Thread Weaving allows characters only enough vision to see threads and patterns.

Manipulate THREADS

Varies

Varies

YES

NO

NO

ALL

--

Lizard Leap

STR + Rank

The Lizard Leap talent enables a character to leap a great distance straight up. To determine how high, the character makes a Lizard Leap Effect Test; the result is the number of yards the character may jump straight up. The character may also make a horizontal jump a number of yards equal to half the Lizard Leap test result. Lizard Leap may be used in the same round as an Attack Test. A character may use the Lizard Leap Talent to engage an opponent and cause extra damage for one attack. If he chooses to do so, he must take 3 points of Strain. The character's damage step is then increased by a number of steps equal to the character's Lizard Leap rank. In addition, the character increases his Physical Defense by +2 for the remainder of the round to reflect the increased difficulty of hitting a target while using Lizard Leap.

JUMP &            (+) DAMAGE & (+) Physical DEFENSE

Self

1 Round

NO

NO

(3)

Beastmaster

Beastmaster

Skunk Cloud

WIL + Rank

This talent allows the Beastmaster to create a cone-shaped cloud of foul gas which causes anyone/anything breathing the gas to experience extreme nausea. The Beastmaster causes the cone to billow out behind him a number of hexes equal to his talent rank. For each hex the cloud expands behind the Beastmaster, the cloud also expands an additional hex in width. For example, a Beastmaster with a talent rank of 4 could create a cloud which was 1 hex wide immediately behind him and 4 hexes wide at the furthest end of the cloud 4 hexes away from him. The cloud forms instantaneously but does not move once created. Additionally, the Beastmaster must remain stationary for the entire round in which he creates the cloud.

When the Beastmaster creates the cloud he makes a Skunk Cloud Test to determine the Strength of the gas. Any character or creature, friend or foe, entering the cloud must make a Willpower Test vs. the Gas Strength or begin to suffer from extreme nausea. This nausea prevents the figure from performing any task which requires an Action to complete. In addition, the character may only move 1 hex per round when affected by the gas. An affected figure remains affected by the gas until moving outside of the cloud area or when the talent's duration expires. A figure must breathe in order to be affected by Skunk Cloud.

Ranged ATTACK (Area)

Self

(Rank) Rounds

YES

NO

1

Beastmaster

Beastmaster

Animal Posession

WIL + Rank

The Animal Possession talent allows a character to place his spirit into the body of an animal. Make an Animal Possession Test against the Willpower step of the animal. If the character makes a successful Animal Possession Test, his spirit takes possession of the animal's body and the animal's spirit goes into the character's body. The character now controls the animal's body, but not vice versa. While using Animal Possession, the character's physical form slumps into a coma-like state. He retains his own intelligence while in the animal body, but cannot perform any actions of which the animal is not normally capable.

The character's control lasts for a number of hours equal to his Animal Possession rank or until the animal and character touch again. When the possession ends or the animal and character touch, both spirits return to their proper bodies. If either the animal's or the character's body is killed, the spirits and bodies will both die.

ANIMAL Control

Touch

(Rank) Hours

YES

NO

2

Beastmaster

--

Claw Frenzy

DEX + Rank

The Claw Frenzy talent allows a Beastmaster to make several Unarmed Combat attacks in the same round. The Beastmaster is able to make these additional attacks only when one, or more, of his loyal animals is engaged in combat against the same group of foes. If one, or more, of his loyal animals is able to harm its target with one of its attacks, the Beastmaster becomes inspired and is able to increase his own efforts to defeat the foe.

For each loyal animal which causes harm with its attack, the Beastmaster can make one additional Unarmed Combat attack. Each additional attack which the Beastmaster makes in a round causes the character 1 point of Strain.

(+) # of ATTACKS / Round

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

Varies

Beastmaster

Beastmaster

Animal Leadership

CHA + Rank

This talent allows a character to lead an animal or group of animals. Make an Animal Leadership Test against the Social Defense of the target animal. For more than 1 animal, use the highest Social Defense in the target group +1 for each additional animal as the Difficulty Number. The Beastmaster needs a Good success to effectively use this talent. If successful the animals treat the character as the pack leader for a number of hours equal to his rank in Animal Leadership. On an Excellent success, the animals treat the character as pack leader for a number of hours equal to his talent rank x2. During this time, the animal's obediently follow the character's lead. They attack if the leader attacks, run if he runs. The leader cannot command the animals to perform an action, however. He can only lead by example.

Animal CONTROL

(Rank) Hexes

Varies

YES

YES

1 / Hour as leader

Beastmaster

--

Bestial Toughness

TOU + Rank

Bestial Toughness increases a Beastmaster's Wound Threshold by a number equal to his talent step.

(+) WOUND Threshold

Self

(Rank) Rounds

NO

NO

1

Beastmaster

--

Howl

CHA + Rank

A character using the Howl talent can make other characters and creatures flee by imitating the aggression sounds of any creature he has trained. The Howl talent only works against living, sentient creatures. The character makes a Howl Test vs. the Social Defense of the target(s). A Good success vs. any target halts the target until it can make a successful Willpower test vs. the character's Howl rank. An Excellent success forces the target to flee at its Full Movement rate for the duration of the talent. A fleeing target affected by the Howl talent cannot return to within Howl range of the Beastmaster without first making a successful Willpower Test vs. the character's Howl rank. At any given time, the maximum number of targets which are being affected by Howl cannot exceed the character's Howl rank.

Induce FEAR

(Rank) Megahexes

(Rank) Rounds

YES

NO

3

Beastmaster

Beastmaster

Lion Spirit

Rank

The Lion Spirit talent increases the character's Social Defense against fear or intimidation effects. Each rank of Lion Spirit increases the Social Defense by 1 when these kinds of attacks are made against the character.

Resist FEAR

Self

Permanent

NO

NO

NO

Beastmaster

--

Chameleon

WIL + Rank

The Chameleon talent allows the Beastmaster to blend into the background, making him or her very difficult to detect. The result of the Chameleon Test is the Difficulty Number for anyone trying to detect the character using the sense of sight. The character may act normally while using Chameleon, but may not attack an opponent without causing the effects of Chameleon to cease. A character in combat cannot use Chameleon.

HIDE

Self

(Rank) Minutes

NO

NO

1

Beastmaster

Beastmaster

Bestial Resilience

TOU + Rank

This talent allows the character to recover from damage more quickly than normal. Using this talent to make a Recovery Test, he uses the Bestial Toughness step instead of his Toughness dice.

(+) RECOVERY TEST Effectiveness

Self

Permanent

YES

NO

NO

Beastmaster

--

Web Astral

STR + Rank + 5

The Web Astral talent allows a character to create a sticky web that can cover a large area equal to the character's talent rank x 100 square feet. The web must be anchored on at least the full length of two opposing sides to some type of immovable object like a tree or a wall. The web extends into astral space and can trap creatures there and in the physical world. The character makes a Web Astral Test and records the result. The web's Strength is equal to the Web Astral step. The web has a Stickiness Rating equal to the result of the Web Astral Test. Any character caught in the web or attempting to cross the area covered by the web must make a Dexterity Test against the Stickiness Rating. Failure results in the character being stuck to the web. For purposes of combat, the character suffers the same effects as if he were Knocked Down.

To free himself, the Web must be attacked. Once the Web has taken damage equal to its Strength, it will free 1 character. The Web cannot be destroyed by damage, but stuck characters will continue to be freed as long as the additional damage done the Web exceeds its Strength. When created, at least one edge of the Web Astral must be anchored within the talent range.

HALT Opponents

(Rank)

Hexes

(Rank) Minutes

YES

NO

1

Beastmaster

--

Venom

TOU + Rank + 5

The Venom talent allows a character to create a fine spray of contact poison. Venom cannot be used with any manufactured weapon, only an unarmed attack. The character first uses Unarmed Combat to hit a target with Venom. If successful, he then makes a Venom Test rather than the normal Damage Test. Venom damage automatically defeats armor unless the target has found some way, magical or mundane, to make the armor completely airtight. The venom continues to do damage for a number of rounds equal to the character's rank in Venom. A target can only be affected by the effects of one Venom attack at a time.

(+) DAMAGE

Touch

1 Round

NO

NO

2

Beastmaster

--

Spirit Strike

WIL + Rank

This talent allows a character in Physical Space to strike an opponent in Astral Space. The character must first be able to detect the presence of his Astral opponent with Astral Sight or Threadweaving talent. The character makes a Spirit Strike Attack Test vs. the opponent's Spell Defense. If successful, the weapon hits the target and does normal damage. The opponent's Physical Armor Rating protects. Defensive talents like Avoid Blow and Riposte cannot be used against Spirit Strike.

Attack ASTRAL Opponent

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

1

Archer

Beastmaster

Guard

Liberator

Lancer

Pathfinder

Pattern Knight

Purifier

Ranger

Sky Raider

Swordmaster

Warrior

Weaponsmith

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