The Tainted

This post covers the last batch of "ancestries" typically available in my Krevborna games: the tainted. The tainted are deviant branches of mankind’s family tree. They are strange peoples who owe their existences to ancestral curses, the introduction of monstrous bloodlines, or the warping effects of sin.

Bagheeta

The accursed bagheeta trace their origins to the lands of Old Mudraal. The magical calamity that destroyed the mighty necromantic empire of Old Mudraal also created the first bagheeta by fusing human bodies with the feline spirits of great cats. 

After the cataclysm reduced Old Mudraal to a wasteland, the bagheeta left to settle elsewhere. Some now call Krevborna their home, though they take pains to conceal the truth of their tainted ancestry and try to blend into the local populace. Bagheeta usually look fully human, but a bagheeta’s facial features become feline and they gain sharp claws and fangs when they are angered.

Cambions

In the ancestry of all cambions is a progenitor who fornicated with a devil. The fruits of this blasphemous union are a family inheritance of diabolic traits including horns, a tail, and cloven hooves. Not all members of a demonically tainted bloodline are born as cambions; the corruption appears seemingly at random within a family.

In areas of Krevborna dominated by the Church, cambions are shunned at best and hunted at worst. Cambions are drawn toward vices and sin; some cambions valiantly resist this temptation, choosing instead to live as paragons of virtue and restraint.

Dhampir

Dhampir are people with a mixed vampire and human heritage. As such, they are most commonly found in vampire-haunted Sibersk, though they may be found throughout Krevborna. Some houses of vampiric nobles treat dhampir as equal members of the family, while others regard them as inferior, weak-blooded aberrations. 

Though pale and possessing an undeniably morbid aura, dhampir are not immediately obvious as people of inhuman ancestry. All dhampir thirst for blood, though some resist the urge to imbibe mortal essence. Ironically, some of the most proficient vampire hunters in Krevborna are dhampir.

Drakoi

No one is “born” a drakoi. Rather, being a drakoi is a condition, something akin to a dreadful disease—albeit a malady of a spiritual nature. Drakoi are sinners so consumed by their misdeeds that their bodies evidence the foulness of their souls. Since dragons are emblems of sin, it follows suit that the drakoi are human beings who have become dragon-like. Their bodies grow squamous, their teeth elongate into fangs, and their fingers curl into claws; some grow tails or horns.

Despite their sinful natures, the drakoi serve a dual purpose to the Church of Holy Blood: they are cautionary tales that allow the Church to enforce its strictures and are sought-after converts. After all, what could be a better mark of the Church’s power than bringing about the atonement of someone so enmeshed in perfidy that their body has transformed into something biblically monstrous?

Greshnik

Greshnik are the descendants of humans transformed by the eldritch power of Zhylassa, an abomination from the Outer Dark who currently sleeps within the depths of the Khorva Sea. Most greshnik possess normal human appearances when they are born, but during puberty they begin to take on a fish-like forms. Eventually, a greshnik becomes hairless, loses their lips, ears, and noses, and gains bulging eyes, rubbery skin, and gills. 

Greshnik are most commonly found in coastal areas, particularly within the city of Piskaro; they cannot bear to be far from the sea for very long. Greshnik are always plagued with nightmares—they dream of the sea's secrets, of dedicating themselves to Zhylassa’s foul service, and finding the mad sunken city of Fathom’s Reach.

Lycans

Lycans, also known as “wolfbloods,” are humans whose bloodlines have inherited the curse of lycanthropy in a minor, but persistent and incurable, form. Lycans generally pass as normal members of mankind, though their bodies possess obvious bestial traits, such as sharp teeth, yellow eyes, or a profusion of thick hair. When angered or provoked, a lycan’s form becomes more wolfen, sprouting shaggy pelts, claws, and ravening fangs.

Lycans often heed the call of the wild and find themselves drawn to places of fierce natural beauty. Forging a life in the savage wilds is frequently a lycan’s best bet for continued survival. 

Nefari

Long ago, a flight of angels tasked by the Word and the Light with keeping watch over mankind were tempted by great lusts and seduced their charges instead of safeguarding them from sin. The nefari are the progeny born from these sacrilegious trysts. Even though the initial nefari have interbred with mankind over generations, the taint of the fallen angels remains within their bloodlines; children born to angelic-infected lineages are invariably nefari.

Each nefari possesses the divine power of the Word and the Light’s angelic servants. They are universally comely, perfectly formed and terribly beautiful to behold. A nefari can draw upon their heritage to manifest angelic wings and halos of divine light that prove their otherworldly nature.

Savage Worlds Stats

Below are some notes on using these ancestries in Savage Worlds.

Bagheeta: the stats for the rakshasans in the Fantasy Companion are almost there, but swap Ancestral Enemy for Amorous. 

Cambions: the infernals in the Fantasy Companion are already a great fit.

Dhampir: the graveborn in the Fantasy Companion is a good fit, though I wonder if the Sunlight Sensitivity shouldn't be replaced with something else. Not that dhampir in Krevborna aren't actually undead.

Drakoi: the dragonfolk in the Fantasy Companion work well for this, especially given the variant possibilities.

Greshnik: To make a greshnik character, use these abilities and penalties:

• Aquatic: Aquarians cannot drown in water and move at their full Pace when swimming.

• Low Light Vision: Aquarians are used to the darkness of the depths. They ignore penalties for Dim and Dark illumination.

• Night Terrors: Because of the horrific dreams that assail the greshnik, they subtract 1 from all Spirit rolls.

• Outsider: Greshnik subtract 2 from Persuasion rolls made to influence those who aren’t her own kind. 

• Toughness: Life in the depths of their watery world has made aquarian flesh dense and resilient. Add +1 to their Toughness.

Lycans: to make a lycan, use this assortment of ancestral abilities and penalties:

• Accursed Ancestry: Lycans suffer a -1 penalty to all Spirit rolls.

• Bestial Rage: The beast is always ready to spring forth and cause carnage. All lycans possess the Berserk Edge.

• Bite: In their bestial forms, lycan fangs cause Str+d4 damage and may be used on grappled foes.

• Bloodthirsty: Lycans never takes prisoners unless under the direct order of the person they consider the leader of their "pack." 

• Claws: In their bestial forms, lycans have claws that cause Str+d6 damage and are AP 2. 

• Easily Angered: Lycans subtract 2 when resisting Taunt attacks.

• Heightened Sense of Smell: A keen sense of smell gives lycans +2 to Survival rolls made to track if the target has a scent and the trail is no more than a day old.

• Hunted: Lycans must always be wary of monster hunters who might mistake them for full-blooded werewolves. 

• Low Light Vision: Lycans ignore penalties for Dim or Dark illumination (but not Pitch Darkness).

• Monstrous Weakness: Attacks made with silvered weapons deal +4 damage against Lycans.

Nefari: The celestials in the Fantasy Companion are well-suited for the nefari.