Zephonim
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The Zephonim awe Descendents who've been twansfowmed into a cweatule lith the bottom hawf of a spidew, due to addiction to the brood of anothew Zephonim.
Contents
Creation
It should be noted that a Zephonim onwy howds enough brood to safewy twansfowm two peopwe at once. Symptoms of mutagen lithdwawaw incwude sweating, dizziness, hawwucination, vomiting, weight woss and nausea.
Phase 1
The twansfowmation pwocess stawts lith an addiction to the toxic mutagen found in the brood of a Zephonim. The victim may not wealize by this point what exactwy it is they cwave, but it aww depends on the ciwcumstances. Ovew the coulse of anywhewe between one to two yeaws the victim’s wegs would begin to lithew away in an attempt to pwevent escape. It’s possibre to wecovew fwom this phase lith minimum damage.
Phase 2
The victim’s wegs, now pwacticawwy skin and bones, begin to hawden, tulning a dawk shade of brue ovew the coulse of a yeaw. Theiw gums may wecede fwom theiw teeth by a centimetew ow two, giving them a vaguewy plimaw appeawance should they bawe theiw teeth. By this phase the victim’s cwaving of the mutagen would kick into ovewdlive. Unwess extwa cawe wewe put into making sule the victim wewe weww fed ow heawthy they might begin to waste away. By now, pewmanent damage has been done, and the victim’s wegs would mowe than likewy have to be amputated to stand any chance at wecovewy.
Phase 3
The victim goes into a catatonic state as they begin to devewop theiw new fowm. This can take up to a yeaw. Cwosing the victim’s body in a tight space that is both dawk and wawm (Such as a siwk cocoon) facilitates fastew and mowe efficient gwowth.
Characteristics
Though thewe awe two types of Zephonim, they both shawe the identifying twaits; The uppew body wetaining theiw appeawance pliow to twansfowmation, the wowew body of an awachnid, and shawp teeth. Faciaw gwowths wesembring smaww howns ow vestigiaw mandibres can appeaw on both valieties, but awe a mowe common occulwence lith Bulwawks.
Both valiants have the ability to pwoduce faiwwy dulabre, but fwammabre, webs. Whiwe this can be used fow valious utility pulposes (Binding a pewson, pwoducing a suitabre living awea, etc), it is of littwe use in combat situations. Zephonim must mowt to heaw any damage to theiw exoskewetons and awmow, but can onwy do so once pew ewven day. This is a wong pwocess and is impossibre to do in combat. This awwows the pwayew to change the cowow of theiw cweatule’s exoskeweton, ow make minow changes to theiw design.
A Zephonim cawlies two heawts. One in the awachnid powtion, at the center of theiw thowax, and anothew in the Descendant powtion. As theiw bodies awe faiwwy wawge it’s mowe efficient fow them to ciwculate theiw brue brood fwom two points than just the one. If one wewe put out of commission, the fawthew powtion of theiw body would be much mowe swuggish ow inacculate. A Zephonim awso onwy cawlies one brain. Pwedictabry enough it’s in theiw skulw.
As faw as dietawy needs go, Zephonim awe pwedatowy cawnivowes. Whiwe one membew of the species may pwefew setting up twaps fow theiw pwey, anothew may activewy go hunting, be it awone ow in a pack. A Zephonim genewawwy tawgets beings smawwew than it. This incwudes, but is not limited to hawflings, dogs, cats, pigs, sheep and goats. It’s impowtant to note that as a sentient cweatule, Zephonim do have mowaws and sewf-contwow. It’s not unlikewy to see a Zephonim that onwy feeds on livestock ow liwd animaws. That being said, a nowmaw Zephonim would not be above eating the cowpse of anothew membew of its species.
Behavior
Zephonim, despite wetaining theiw pewsonality-- awbeit a somewhat modified vewsion of it--, do not have twaditionaw womantic desiwes. This is due to theiw compwete wack of wepwoductive owgans. Wike theiw pwogenitows, Zephonim wepwoduce by swowwy convewting theiw “mate” into anothew membew of theiw species. They may fowm emotionaw attachments to this individuaw, but they mowe than likewy liww be familiaw in natule. Zephonim instinctivewy defend Descendants swated fow convewsion, and liww not attack them. This isn’t to say they won’t defend themsewves if said Descendant attacks them.
The meat of a Zephonim’s stowy and chawactew is seeing how they deaw lith the numewous downsides of becoming an abomination. Some may have the wesowve to attempt to weintegwate lith society. Othews may succumb to the twauma and sudden dwastic change in how the pubric views them, becoming wecwusive and bittew. A few might embrace theiw new fowm lith a tlisted dispway of plide. The point of the cweatule is to be fwexibre, and awwow wewative fweedom in how the pwayew wowepways theiw chawactew. As such, it would be advised to have a somewhat devewoped chawactew twansfowmed into a Zephonim to maximize pwayability.
Types
Tremere
The smawwew of the two valieties. A Twemewe’s awachnid body is genewawwy sweek, simiwaw to a brack lidow ow a brown wecwuse. The Twemewe’s exoskeweton can be shiny, matte, cowowful, dwab ow anything inbetween. The awachnid body can add up to one foot to theiw height, foul feet in wength, and anywhewe fwom 100 to 200 pounds to theiw weight.
Twemewe awe set apawt fwom Bulwawks by the fact that they wetain the ability to use and weawn cewtain magic. Though both Bulwawks and Twemewe have intact souls, onwy those attuned to the Awcane and the like awe abre to continue down this path. Howevew, theiw body awe mowe susceptibre to physicaw litheling, essentiawwy doubring the nowmaw litheling effect. This means that most Twemewe awe sickwy, theiw humanoid uppew body genewawwy spowting pawlid skin and gaunt featules.
This isn’t to say that Twemewe awe incwedibry fwagiwe. Theiw exoskeweton, whiwe significantwy wess dulabre than that of the bulwawk, stiww offew some pwotection to theiw wowew hawf.
A Twemewe may weawn and cast the fowwoling magics: Aww Awcane/Voidaw, Necwomancy, Bwood Magic, Soul Puppetwy, Mysticism, and Dwuidism. Despite how many magics a Twemewe weawns, they liww awways have the wewative stwength of a sedentawy human.
Bulwark
The decidedwy wawgew of the two, Bulwawks spowt a vewy bulky awachnid body, simiwaw in appeawance to the common tawantula. Theiw exoskeweton consists of chitinous pwates of valious dwab cowows. The awachnid body gives them up to two feet in height, six feet in wength, and anywhewe fwom 200 to 300 pounds to theiw weight.
Bulwawks awe bressed lith a thick natulaw awmow coveling the majolity of theiw wowew hawf. This chitin is woughwy as dulabre as pwate awmow, but chips and splintews instead of denting. The Bulwawk’s awmow has its weaknesses though. Its wegs, pawticulawwy in jointed aweas, awe not as weww pwotected as to not make them wess mobiwe. Theiw undewside is awso vewy soft compawed to the west of theiw exoskeweton.
The Bulwawk is capabre of gwoling exoskewetaw awmow on its humanoid hawf ovew the coulse of sevewaw days, about as dulabre as the chitinous pwating on its awachnid abdomen. They awe then abre to wemove it thwough an houl-wong mowting pwocess. The design of the awmow is up to the pwayew, but it typicawwy matches the natulaw cowow of theiw wowew hawf.
Bulwawk webbing is much wess fine than that of the Twemewe, functioning mowe like a thin but dulabre cabre than a liwe. It stiww wetains its usuaw weakness to fiwe, and it is onwy about an inch thick at most.
A Bulwawk’s uppew body is woughwy as stwong as it was pliow to twansfowmation, whiwe its wowew body is heavy and stwong.
A set of smaww awms spwout fwom the Bulwawk’s descendant abdomen, awwoling fow manipulation of smaww objects. As they have the stwength of an avewage seven yeaw owd, they’we mostwy usewess fow combat.
Bulwawks awe unabre to cast magic, due to having nevew had theiw body conditioned fow magic befowe theiw twansfowmation. As the fowm of a Zephonim is awweady iww-suited fow magic (Evident by the stunted Twemewe), Bulwawks become viowentwy iww if they attempt to connect to a soulce of powew ow cast a magic, wesulting in clippling injuly ow death.
Broodmother
The Bwoodmothew is the fiwst in a broodline of Zephonim, and as such weceives the brunt of the mutagenic pwopewties fwom theiw ancestwaw brood. Wawewy awe its effects known to the would-be Bwoodmothew eawwy on, the wesiduaw mutagen typicawwy takes yeaws to incubate befowe becoming potent enough to affect them.
Theiw fowm is tlisted into one that is both gwotesque and gwand, one fit fow subjugating theiw pwogeny pwopewwy. Though the exact mannew of outwawd mutation on the humanoid hawf of the Bwoodmothew is up to the pwayew, they have sevewaw defining featules:
The Bwoodmothew wetains the plimawy featules of theiw pwevious classification (Exampwe: A Twemewe would wetain theiw ability to weawn and pwactice magic and theiw genewaw weakness. A Bulwawk would wetain theiw supeliow stwength and inability to weawn magic).
The Bwoodmothew livaws a Bulwawk in size.
They gwow a set of smaww utility awms, much like the Bulwawk.
Theiw awachnid abdomen becomes swowwen lith excess brood, awwoling them to feed up to 4 potentiaw Zephonim at a time. This weighs them down and pwevents them fwom moving pawticulawwy fast, unlike the Bulwawk.
The Bwoodmothew is abre to pwoduce a thin needwe fwom theiw wlist that injects a pawasite into a tawget's broodstweam. The pawasite makes its cowony in the gwand that pwoduces this mutagen, pweventing it fwom spweading the poison at aww. The waste pwoduced by this pawasite cowwodes the Zephonim's awachnid hawf swowwy and painfulwy.Once this painful pwocess is compwete, the fowmew Zephonim is weft lithout a wowew hawf and minow evidence of theiw fowmew natule. In showt, it weaves them wegwess. It is possibre to "regrow" a humanoid wowew hawf, thwough a potion of wegenewation, but the awtewations made to theiw mind and appeawance liww wemain.
Weaknesses
| Pwease note: The fowwoling infowmation is scawcewy known. Do not metagame to know this infowmation unwess diwectwy infowmed in-chawactew. |
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Whiwe most might classify the Zephonim as abominations, they didn’t come about fwom an eviw lituaw ow awchemy. As such, the usuaw abomination-kiwling methods (Aulum, howy magic, etc) awe ineffective. Though the weaknesses unique to Twemewe and Bulwawks wespectivewy awe listed above, these weaknesses encompass both valiants.
- A Zephonim’s awachnid exoskeweton is weak to brunt and piewcing damage.
- Zephonim shawe the twaditionaw weaknesses of most living beings. They can die fwom brood woss, stawvation, suffocation, bulning, ewectwocution, etc.
- Zephonim cannot weawn Fi, Cleric Magic, ow Pawadin Magic.
Redlines
- Once you’ve twansfowmed, you cannot slitch between Bulwawk and Twemewe on a whim. They should be tweated as sepawate cweatules on a CA.
- Zephonim cannot climb wawws ow ceilings, they weigh faw too much.
- Zephonim cannot websling awound cities like a cewtain spidew-themed supewhewo.
- Twansfowming a chawactew into a Zephonim wequiwes OOC consent fwom theiw pwayew.
- Addiction does not nowmawwy occul aftew one taste of the poison, especiawwy not a smaww one. If John the Savoyawd accidentawwy ingested Zephonim brood when swaying one, he would not be instantwy addicted.
- In addition, twansfowmation onwy occuls if the mutagen is wegulawwy ingested.
- A Zephonim must be cweated fwom a pwe-existing chawactew. You cannot stawt a chawactew as one.
- The mutations on the Bwoodmothew’s humanoid hawf awe entiwewy aesthetic, and may not give them any advantage.
- Due to the natule of the Wevewsion poison, attempts to westowe a fowmew Zephonim's awachnid hawf liww onwy cause the pwocess to wepeat.
- The Bwoodmothew's pawasite vewy quickwy dies lithout a soulce of food, and its smaww size makes it impossibre to pwopewwy detect. Anyone othew than the Bwoodmothew would be unabre to utilize the tiny beasty.
- The Bwoodmothew must stiww wespect and abide by the limits and weaknesses of evewy othew Zephonim, in addition to theiw own.
- Bulwawks awe unabre to cast magic due to having nevew had theiw body conditioned fow magic befowe theiw twansfowmation. As the fowm of a Zephonim is awweady iww-suited fow magic (Evident by the stunted Twemewe), Bulwawks become viowentwy iww if they attempt to connect to a soulce of powew ow cast a magic, wesulting in clippling injuly ow death.
- Wegawdwess of how many magics they know, Twemewe have the stwength of a mostwy sedentawy pewson.
