Corporeal Forces: 3
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Ethereal Forces: 2
Intelligence: 4
Precision: 4
Celestial Forces: 2
Will: 4
Perception: 4
Starting Malakats may also increase one of the above
Characteristics by 2, or two Characteristics by 1.
Vessel: equivalent of vessel/3, with Toughness +1
Skills: Acrobatics/3, Dodge/3, Fighting/3, Move
Silently/3, Tracking/3
Songs, Attunements and/or Distinctions: none (see
below)
Reaction modifiers: regular humans will either react
at -2 ("MONSTER!") or +2 ("Wow, a talking cat-guy!
Neat!") when meeting a Malakat for the first time.
Which response occurs in a particular human depends on
GM whim: Malakats may buy Charisma normally (many do,
especially the 'to the opposite sex' version).
Disadvantages: Malakats start with three levels worth
of Disadvantages. Common ones include: Addiction
(Catnip), Angry, Berserk, Celestial Blindness, Fear
(Crowds, Demons, Technology), Lustful, Merciful,
Murderous, Slothful and Vulnerability (Celestial
Resonance). They can be a varied lot.
Total Cost: 16 points.
Malakats are effectively cat-men: they come in a
variety of colors and patterns evocative of various
types of domestic and great felines. All Malakats
sport tails, whiskers and retractable claws (+2 to
Power in punches or kicks). Despite their coloration,
Malakats are all one species, and can thus interbreed
without problems. Their current life expectancy is
unknown: none of them have died of old age yet, but
they don't seem to be aging faster than normal -
presuming that 'normal' has any meaning when
Vaputech's involved. Their reproductive cycle is
bizarre: it's just like humanity's, except that twins
are more common.
The species is currently crammed squarely on whatever
metaphorical line it is that separates human beings
from other animals. Like animals, they automatically
go to Heaven when they die; unfortunately, also like
animals they are unable to become Symphonically Aware.
For that matter, they are incapable of manifesting
more than 7 Forces. However, Malakats are sentient
tool users with the capacity for free will, which
might suggest that this condition might evolve along
with the species. Servitors of Destiny, Fate and
Animals are going to find this race very interesting,
once they get around to discovering them.
As for personalities - well, they have them, and it's
usually decidedly feline. They tend to be fairly
polarized in their personalities. The ones that like
to fight can be starkly terrifying, the ones that like
to sit in the sun tend to be fairly dusty, the ones
that like to mate - well, let's just say that the book
of Leviticus is going to require serious updating.
One thing that most Malakats share is a profound
dislike of both technology and Technology (for reasons
mentioned below), which has led to a certain distrust
of celestials - no doubt reinforced by the above
racial inability to tap into the Symphony.
Still, they would make good semi-Soldiers (Animals and
War seem the most likely, although the War's also a
possibility), provided that one can work around the
problem of their appearance. Of course, what with the
potentials of biotechnology looming on the horizon,
they may end up being practically prosaic...
History
Really, considering the amount of things hiding in
Manhattan's sewers, it's amazing that no one's made a
formal complaint. Giant ants, albino alligators,
rogue constructs, lost tribes of relievers, albino
dragons, sentient dimensional vortices, libertarian
sewer flukes, killer emperor penguins, albino
alligator/dragon hybrids, sewer octopi, tool-using
rats ... and now the Malakats have moved in. True,
they don't particularly want to hang out underground,
but they don't precisely see any alternatives right
now.
There probably aren't, really. Malakats are yet
another in a long line of probably unwise ideas
brought to life by Vaputech's infamous Biological
Research department (motto: "We'll infect you with our
enthusiasm. Well, infect you enthusiastically, at
least"). The researchers there are dedicated: they
have to be, considering that Sparky keeps them under
control by regularly setting off tactical nukes
underneath their laboratories. He'd love to shut down
the department completely, but Vapula takes an
interest now and then.
The particular 'then' that is of specific interest
here was the time that one of the bright boys in the
lab decided that Hell really, really needed
anthropomorphic cat-men super soldiers. So, he made
some. Unfortunately, what he hadn't considered was
the possibility that said cat-men might have had a
somewhat different opinion about the desirability of
their future job prospects. After the inevitable
screaming, explosions and burning buildings, the first
litters of Malakats were off and running - right into
the sewers.
They are not amused.
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