werehorses for white wolf's werewolf: the apocalypse

140 Pages·2009·14.27 MB·English

ASHRINGA
WEREHORSES FOR WHITE WOLF’S
WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE™
REVISED EDITION
By Laura “Tamara” Henson
Ashringa - Werehorses for White Wolf’s Werewolf: the Apocalypse
Revised Edition
© 2005, 2007, 2009; Laura “Tamara” Henson
This book is copyrighted but you are encouraged to make copies and print-outs as needed. This PDF has been
published as a free download – if you are asked to pay for it you have been a victim of fraud.
This document is a reorganized and reedited version of my original werehorse rules which were first published in nine
parts back in 2005. This book is a Breed book designed for use with Werewolf: the Apocalypse published by White
Wolf © 1994-2004and a copy of that book is needed to play this game.
All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional or used in a fictional context and
any similarity to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
The art used in this book comes from a variety of copyright free images as well as various Clipart
publications including Corel Clipart, Hemera, Microsoft Works and Word, and Wikipedia Commons. All
copyrighted work is from Simply Software’s Sci-Fi & Fantasy Clipart 3 and Witches andWizards Clipart
bothedited by Jon Gustafson and © 1997-2008, No Hassle Home.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Horses of the Dawn: An Introduction Introduction 2
Bibliography 4
Werehorses in the World of Darkness 6
Ashringa Lexicon 12
Horses of the Sun: Creating A Character Character Creation 16
Merits & Flaws 22
Forms and Movement 23
Horses of War: Combat Combat Rules 26
Iron, Rage, & the Delirium 29
Renown 30
Horses of the Moon: Lore of the Unicorn Gifts 32
Rites 53
Fetishes & Talens 56
Horses of Thunder: Totems & Spirits Totems 60
Antagonists 71
A Death Valley Bestiary 75
Horses of Fire: A Setting Death Valley National Park 87
The Dwells of America 101
Horses of the Wind: The Animal Kinfolk 120
The Kinfolk of the Arweharis: Zebras 122
The Kinfolk of the Avarim: Celtic Ponies 125
The Kinfolk of the Karkadamm: Asiatic Asses 128
The Kinfolk of the Killina: the Takhi 130
The Kinfolk of the Nabrima: the Brumby 131
The Kinfolk of the Nhurim: the Mustang 131
The Kinfolk of the Nimbi: the Donkey 134
Character Sheets 135
HORSES OF THE DAWN: AN INTRODUCTION
“Now I will believe that there are unicorns”
-William Shakespeare
In 2006 I decided to start a Werewolf: the Apocalypse® Chronicle. Unfortunately two of my players were
full of misinformation about wolves and refused to participate as they did not want to play “evil animals”. I
asked my players what kind of animals they would like to play and everyone agreed that horses were
“nice”. So I did some research than sat down with a copy of the Werewolf core rules (2nd edition) and the
Player’s guide and created this document. As this book was meant to replace the werewolves in my
Apocalypse chronicle it is rather lengthily so I originally published it on the internet in nine parts.
However that version did not convert to PDF very well as the pictures bled into the watermark I used as a
background. This revised Edition corrects that problem as well as fixes some` mistakes made in the original
edition.
This is not the first attempt to adapt werehorses to the Storyteller System’s Werewolf: the
Apocalypse® game, three others have already been published on various internet sites, yet all of those
versions were disappointing to me. The previous adaptations all had two things in common, they were
incomplete and their authors seemed ignorant of the plight of the many species of wild horse in the world.
In fact only one version had a tribe based on a wild species instead of a domesticated breed and that was the
most obvious- the Zebra. Yet there are seven species of wild equine in the world (as well as such “feral”
types as the mustang and brumby) and many of these are among the most endangered animals on Earth, a
fact that gives a ready made plot hook to an Apocalypse game!
In this book I am going to combine elements from the previous efforts with actual horse mythology. In
particular I am going to change the name of the race to reflect actual legends. All theprevious versions
used different names for their werehorses (Equi, Equinasi, and Kelpies) but only one wasa name found in
actual mythology. However this name (Kelpie) is already found in Werewolf: the DarkAges as the Garou
term for a bane possessed mortal horse so I decided to start afresh with a new name. Idecided upon
Ashringa based on the Indian legends of Rishyashringa, a boy who had a human for a fatherand a unicorn
for a mother. A character noted for his role in defeating the demon dragon of drought andhealing a
kingdom from corruption. What better myth to link an Apocalypse tribe to?
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nonfiction (Horses)
The World According to Horses: How They Run, See, and Think- by Stephen Budiansky: just as the title
says. This book gives a good summary of facts about horses and their behavior.
The Horse in Magic and Myth-by M. Oldfield Howey: Everything you ever wanted to know about horses
in mythology, folklore and ancient religious rituals. This is simply the best book on the subject.
A Natural History of Zebras-by Dorcas MacClintock: Everything you need to know about the history and
behavior of zebras. It also has some information on the other species of wild horse as well.
Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies- PBS. An Emmy wining episode of Nature that documents the life of a
wild mustang in the Arrowhead Mountains. The DVD version also includes the sequel Cloud’s Legacy.
America’s Last Wild Horses-by Hope Ryden: A strong stomach is recommended when reading this book
which details the attempts the US government has taken to exterminate the native mustangs in order to
demoralize the Native American Population. A must read for Nhurim players.
The Last Wild Horse-by Morris Weeks: The story of the Przhevaslsky’s horse and the Tarpan.
Zoobooks: Wild Horses-by John Wexo: A little magazine with a huge amount of information. It not only
describes but illustrates (in color) every species of equine known.
Nonfiction (Unicorns)
Unicornis: On the History and truth of the Unicorn-by Michael Green: A beautifully illustrated book
claiming to be a translation of the Codex Unicornis, a 15thcentury manuscript written by a Gnostic monk
named Magnalucius. The seven houses of the unicorn were my inspiration for the Ashringa’s tribes and its
E. Piebus Untimus seemed to already be made for Werewolf: the Apocalypse. This is a book that I highly
recommend for Ashringa or Child of Gaia players.
The Unicorn-by Nancy Hathaway: A book on unicorn folklore dating from biblical times to today. It also
contains the most detailed retelling of the story of Rishyashringa I have ever found.
The Lore of the Unicorn-by Odell Shepherd: The best book ever written about the unicorn. For ancient
reports and beliefs about the one horned wonder this is the book to read.
Unicorns I Have Known and The Unicorn of Mount Kilimanjaro-by Robert Vavra: A book composed of
incredible color photographs of horses made up into the most realistic unicorns ever. The text near the end
is just as wonderful as the photos and is full of rare facts about the unicorn.
Nonfiction (Death Valley& Native American Mythology)
American Elves: An Encyclopedia of Little People from the Lore of 380 Ethnic groups of the
Western Hemisphere–John E. Roth: an encyclopedia of Native American Faerie Lore.
Death Valley– Kenneth Alexander: a good introduction to the park.
Death Valley’s Scotty‘s Castle: the Story Behind the Scenery by Stanley Paher: A tourist magazine that
tells the history of Death Valley Scotty and highlights many of the features of the Castle he built in Death
Valley.
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Death Valley: the Story Behind the Scenery - Bill Clark: A tourists picture book magazine showing some
of the sites around the park.
Dragons: A Natural History– Karl Shuker: A richly illustrated compendium of dragon legends from
around the world.
Exploring Death Valley: 3rd Edition– Ruth Kirk: An overview of the history of Death Valley, complete
with many Shoshone legends but is a bit patronizing towards the Native American cultures.
The Geological Story of Death Valley -–Thomas Clements: The geological and zoological history of
Death Valley and one of the few books to point out that the donkeys and the bighorn sheep they are
supposed to be competing with actually inhabit different areas of the park.
The Origins of Inyo http://www.equinox-project.com: an interesting article on the Celtic inscriptions
found throughout the Valley.
Sacred Sites: A Traveler’s Guide to North America’s Most Powerful, Mystical Landmarks–Natasha
Peterson: the perfect resource for finding a potential caern site in your local state.
Weird America–Jim Brandon: An encyclopedia of Weird Events (such as rains of Blood, odd
disappearances, Monster Sightings, Lost Treasures, and bizarre artifacts) from every state in North
America. You can find more inspiration for a chronicle in this little book than in a dozen game products.
Highly recommended, just make sure you get the 1978 version by Jim Brandon as a current book with the
same title details nothing more than odd tourist spots.
Fiction (Ludography)
Werepony: the Canter-by Red Raptor, ([email protected]): The first werehorse game. Short but has
some nice gifts and Métis flaws.
Werehorses-, author unknown but was located at: www.amgelfire.com/mi2/horsefeathers/equi.html. This is
the second known werehorse text. Almost all the tribes were based on domestic breeds but it had an
inspired Auspice system that I adopted for this book.
Kelpies-by Art, www.maxpages.com/sibericandreams/kelpies.html: The final werehorse text that predates
my own. It contains many gifts but divides the tribes into the warm blood and cold blood divisions used for
domestic horses. It differs from the previous efforts in having the hispo form being the extinct Equus
gigantus which he describes as a giant black horse instead of the Clydesdale sized zebra it really was.
Fiction (Novels & Films)
Acornia-by Anne McCaffrey: A modern science fiction retelling of the Rishyashringa legend that has
grown into an extensive series. Does for unicorns what her Dragon Riders of Pern series did for dragons.
Birth of the Firebringer-by Meredith Ann Pierce: The first book in a trilogy this is one of the best unicorn
stories ever published. Often described as “My Little Pony for grownups”, it is the story of Aljan, prince of
the unicorns, and his quest to drive the evil wyrms from the Hollowed Hills.
The Grey Horse-by R. A. MacAvoy: the story of an Irish werehorse searching for a kin-folk wife. While
called a puca in the book, Ruairi Mac Eibhir has more in common with the Ashringa than with the pookas
of Changeling: the Dreaming.
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The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West-by Mary Stanton: This is the book for adapting equines to
the World of Darkness. Despite the fact that it was written in the 1980s it could easily be a chronicle all by
itself- the spirit world, moon bridges, the wyrm, this book has it all! It was followed by a sequel called
Piper’s Song which is almost as rare as the first novel.
The Last Unicorn-by Peter S. Beagle: The classic novel (and movie) about a unicorn who is turned into a
human woman in her quest to free her kind from the Red Bull.
Mad Amos by Alan Dean Foster: A collection of all his Mad Amos Malone stories.
Misty of Chincoteague, Brighty of the Grand Canyon, and Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West- by
Marguerite Henry. These books tell the true stories of a wild Chincoteague pony, a heroic donkey, and
Wild Horse Anne, a young woman disfigured bydisease that single handedly saved the mustang from
extinction. All were also made into movies.
Nico the Unicorn-MGM Motion Picture: The best live action unicorn film ever. A young crippled boy
rescues an abused pony only for it to give birth to a most unusual foal. Ignore the film “The Little Unicorn”
as it is only a poorly made and childish remake of the much superior Nico.
Nightmare-by Piers Anthony: A Xanithnovel that turns the usual horse symbolism on its head when a
good nightmare saves the land of Xanth from an invasion masterminded by an evil werehorse.
The Unicorns of Balinor-by Mary Stanton: While Heavenly Horse is Stanton’s masterpiece this latter
series for children may be useful for storytellers needing inspiration. It reminds me of an old 1985 cartoon
series called Wildfire which I also recommend for Ashringa players if it ever is released on DVD.
The Year of the Unicorn and The Key of the Keplian-by Andre Norton: These two Witch World novels
are among the most recommended of the series as far as werehorses are concerned. In the first book a
woman is kidnapped by a group of lycanthropes who call themselves the Wereriders because their leader is
a werehorse. In the second story a Native American woman stumbles across the umbra into the Witch
World where she rescues a race of magical horses from the forces of darkness.
Unicorns! And Unicorns II-edited by Jack Dann and Gardener Dozois: A very good collection of modern
fiction. Included in II are Michael Bishop’s The Calling of Paisley Coldpony about a Native American
totem unicorn spirit, and a fantastic bit by Janet Kagan called Naked Wish Fulfillment about a unicornspirit
on the set of a porn film!
WEREHORSES IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
The horse is a major figure in mythology; even in areas where domesticated steeds were unknown equines
were seen as representing the wild untamable force of nature itself, the wind incarnate and the Mother of
the Moon. Indeed in many cultures Mother Earth was said to be a great white mare who fled as the moon
before the Sun Stallion and whose mating (during an eclipse, as it was then that the sun obviously captured
the moon) resulted in all the life on Earth.
The horse was first domesticated by the nomads of Central Asia over 6,600 years ago and these nomads
eventually became the Scythians and Aryans who introduced the domestic horse throughout Eurasia. To
their early Greek, Egyptian, Celtic, and Indian neighbors the early horse riders seemed almost supernatural
and were depicted as centaurs in ancient art. To the Nomadic tribes of India the horse was the symbol of
leadership as bestowed by the Great Mother, even their kings were chosen by whose horse neighed first at
the rising sun. Because of this close relationship with the horse it is no surprise that India’s legends are
filled with men becoming horses, horses becoming men, and a marriage that resulted in Unicorn’s children.
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The Legend of Rishyashringa
Long ago there lived an Indian holy man named Vibhandaka. For many years Vibhandaka lived alone
in a cave high up in the Himalayas. Eventually the old hermit became so lonely that he prayed that the
gods would send him a companion. Gaia granted his request by sending one of her creatures to him.
The being that came to Vibhandaka’s cave was a white pony with the grace of a gazelle and a single
golden horn in the center of her forehead. She was the most beautiful creature Vibhandaka had ever
seen and he instantly fell in love with her and, with the blessing of Gaia, Vibhandaka was married to the
unicorn by the gandharvas of the mountains.
In time the unicorn gave birth to a son who was human in every way except for the horn in the center of
hisforehead. Vibhandaka and his wife named their son Ashringa which means “unicorn” and he
eventually grew into a young man so wise in the ways of nature that he earned the title of Rishy which
means “great sage” while still teen. One evening Rishyashringa returned home and found that his
parents had died. He buried Vibhandaka and his mother and would have lived out his days alone in the
mountains if it had not been for the princess Shanta.
Shanta was the daughter of a king so greedy that Britra, the Dragon of Drought breathed upon the land
and turned his realm into a barren desert. The king’s wise men told him that only the famous unicorn
boy could restore his kingdom but the king refused to listen to the advice of the Brahmans. Thus
princess Shanta felt that it was her duty to run away from home and find Rishyashringa to break her
father’s curse.
After months of searching Shanta finally found the unicorn boy and, by approaching him as a repentant
disciple, she finally gained his trust. Eventually they fell in love and Shanta persuaded Rishyashringa to
help her people. When Shanta returned to the drought struck kingdom the prideful king refused
Rishashringa’s help and ordered his guards to kill him. As the guards approached him Rishyashringa
began to pray and for the first time in over a year it began to rain. As the land turned from desert to
farmland the shamed king turned his realm over to his daughter and took to his deathbed. Queen Shanta
then married Rishyashringa and they all lived happily ever after.
The legend narrated above is the short and sweet version of the origin of the werehorses. According to
Ashringa lore the werehorses are simply the descendants of Rishyashringa and Princess Shanta. According
to their myths the princess and the unicorn boy had seven sons. Each son in turn gave rise to one of the
seven tribes (or bão) of Ashringa.
The first of these sons wasAssalam, the Mighty who crossed the bridge of ice to the new world. The next
born was Ilvilon, theDevoted, who loved mankind. The third son was Vata, the Destroyer, who protected
the desert from banditsand evil. The forth son was Ohani, the Trickster, who danced with the gandharvas
and little people of thewoods. The fifth son was Kestevara, the Peaceful, who brought the gift of writing to
the east. The sixth sonwas Abram, Lover of the Sea, who ruled the islands to the south. And, finally the
last son was Isfendarmd,Who Guards the Night, who brought light to a continent of darkness.
Each of these seven stallionseventually moved to different lands where they interbred with the native
peoples and equines and so siredone of the seven bãos (tribes) of the Ashringa. This is why each bão
resembles a different human race and a different horse kin and it is also why all Ashringa belong to the
same family and have a common goal.
The Creed of the Ashringa
Just as the werewolves are Gaia’s immune system and the werecats are her eyes so the Werehorses are her
kidneys. Their duty is to purify the lands and waters of the world to restore the fertility and balanceof
nature. They are Gaia’s love personified, charged with keeping her waters and lands clean of poison and
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disease a duty which is similar to that of the Gurahl’s but the goals of the two be�êteiffer. While a
werebearwould allow itself to be killed so that a starving village could eat a werehorse would restore the
fertility ofthe land so that the village could plant crops for long term survival. The Ashringa believe that
there maystill be hope for Gaia if the Earth Mother is returned to its original pure state. To do this they
seek to returnthe Triat to health. It is not the Ashringa’s duty to go against the Wyrm, rather their duty is to
purify theWyrm of its corruption and restore the balancer Wyrm to power.
The Ashringa have a lot of work to do to rebuild Gaia. Some groups fight to clean polluted areas by
increasing regulations on air, water, and land quality. Others seek to restore endangeredspecies and restore
the Ashringa’s link with the other shape shifters. Still others seek to rescue wild equinesfrom government
sponsored roundups and slaughter houses in order to preserve their wild kin. Many stillseek lost human
kinfolk in blighted cities or poverty stricken reservations.
The Ashringa follow the Codex Unicornis, a prophecy equivalent to the Garou Prophecy of the Phoenix. To
the Ashringa now is obviously the time mentioned in the Codex. This has caused the Ashringato change
their habits for the better. In the past the werehorses were more concerned with hiding from thewerewolves
and preserving their horse kin then in human affairs. But the Codex declares that now is thetime for
Unicorn to show himself and the Ashringa are disclosing their presence to the world.
The Time of the Great Purification is at hand and unicorn’s children must be ready to come out of hiding
and rebuild the world to prevent the Apocalypse. Even humanity must become aware of theirpresence for
the Codex states that man must know the true nature of the unicorn if he is to resist thecorrupting influence
of the Wyrm. But showing oneself to man is dangerous so the Ashringa haveresponded by encouraging
unicorn images in literature and art. Most Ashringa will show themselves in monoceros form to people
whom they judge to be innocent or pure of heart for it is only by knowing that magic is real and that Gaia
loves all her children that man can find the hope that will cure the Wyrm’s madness and restore the Earth to
primal harmony
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The Codex Unicornis
The unicorn is a kindred race, bound to us in love and service. He points the way, he guards the
gate, and he waits until the end.
Behold! An age shall come when science shall darken everywhere the hopes of men. Chariots of
iron shall roll the land, which shall grow hard and barren to bear their weight. The air shall be filled
with the clamor of many voices. Unknown plagues and sicknesses shall arise. The sphere of the moon
shall bear the booted heels of man.
Two mighty kingdoms will contend for the world, and turn against it, until the soil and the sea shall
sicken and the winds become a flux of poisoned vapors. And men shall be sorly tried, so that at the last,
none may escape the choice between light and darkness.
Then, in the time of Great Purification, will the unicorn return in strength, lingering at the margins of
our realm, to seed our minds with dreams of a brighter age to come, and many shall hunger to see him
in his true shape.
But being a spiritual creature, the unicorn must conform himself to the images held in the hearts of
those who call him forth. And there will be so many ill-formed and conflicting ideas as to his nature,
that he can hardly find a way to satisfy them all.
Then must these pages be revealed and broadcasts without restraint; that all confusion may be resolved
and a unity of vision call forth the unicorn in his true, original, and perfect state.
© Michael Green, from “Unicornis: The History and Truth of the Unicorn.
Attitudes of the Other Shape Shifters
Garou:Most Garou tribes believe that the Ashringa worship the Wyrm and were only put on Earth by Gaia
to be their prey. All Garou, except for Black Furies, Children of Gaia, Stargazers and Silent Striderswill
attack an Ashringa on sight and aim to kill, believing them to be made for just that. If ever convinced
otherwise the Garou nation will find a very dedicated force ready to combat the corrupted Wyrm.
Corax: the Corax, on the other hand, know that the purpose of the Ashringa is to restore the balance and
are trying to convince the Garou that the horses are good for Gaia, though the Garou are as stubborn as
always. Coraxand Ashringa get along exceptionally well.
Anansi: its’ uncertain if the spider-folk knows of the Ashringa’s existence, nor what they think of it.
Bastet: In essence, the cats are no better than the wolves. With the exception of the Bubasti, Ceilican and
Qualmi, all cats see horses as their natural prey. Balam, Pumonca and Simba in particular go after the
Ashringa who they see as their natural enemies.
Gurahl: The bears on the other hand, being Gaia's’healers themselves, are the closest allies the Ashringa
will ever have. They accept the werehorse’s work and occasionally help.
Mokolé: The were-crocs remember the Ashringa, through until recently most Streams believed that that
they had died out. While the larger crocodilians may eat horses it is uncommon and in any case the Mokolé
know and accept the Ashringa’s purpose as it is similar to their own. In many areas allied Mokolé come to
Ashringa Glories to tell the gathered werehorses of the times when real unicorns walked the Earth.
Nagah: The were-snakes believe that the Ashringa have died out.
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