Wunnborne
Deep within the lower chasms of the Great Mother, darkness looms in the region known as the Teeth. Source of demonic horrors and a people aligned with the shadows buried in the mountain.
by Unknown
The Teeth are called the same in every tongue. They are tall, jagged slopes nestled within the deepest part of the Frozen lands. They are twisted bodies left behind, ripped asunder with intestines steaming. They are whispering tales of the Peoples who dwell in caves above the shrieking cries of its hunger. They are life free from the meddles of people, of sunlight, of peace. The Teeth are death in all its gnawing forms.
It is not spoken of, our birth in this darkness.
Our stories speak of the clawing aberration from beneath us. They speak of the dying screams in the night, of blood and bone and the Teeth’s ever-present hunger. In some tales, we overcame the darkness itself, rending the teeth from the creatures’ maws and their claws from great paws and their hearts from vast broken ribs, cracked open to the glorious sky. In the Whispered Tales my ancestor calmed one, called it lover, and our people were born.
We are metalsmiths. Deep within the Teeth, glittering futures can be gouged and forced into shapes of prophecy. First, we made armour, weapons, shields, structures. Things to fight the dwellers of the dark. We made gates and walls, pikes and arrows.
Still they came, silent as regret. The first mating was borne on a new moon with the blood of fertility. I can only imagine the first silence, when the whispers of their gnashing teeth stopped as she rode in on its sloped back, breeding danger and death.
The Wunn have been our soulmates since that night. We carve their bones into our machines, making new jaws for ourselves with crushing might. Armour from rib cages. Weapons from claws. Our faces hidden behind over-large teeth and the promise of pain. We are human, bear, and machine, inhaling hunger and exhaling death.
They now speak. In the dark of the Teeth, they whisper names, scream cries for help, and echo the night’s lingering starvation. We know each other as none other could. A symbiosis of hunger, lust, and power. The Teeth are vast and filled with the settling tribes and peoples of a dozen places. We need not conquer them so long as they live in fear of us. War has never been lost. Death has never come. We are mated with gods.
It is only now strangers have begun to explore the Teeth’s edges, hoping to find the dark truths that linger there. Memories of a time before life in the Wunn. Their decaying flesh and fur show the death of the world and its slow decay.
We have already mined the Teeth for its secrets. I am their keeper. It is in the Agora of Teeth that the Whispered Tales of time itself can be bought and sold. If you can find your way to me, beyond the Wunn and our voracity, if you can survive the darkness, trick the hunger, endure the whispers, and offer a sacrifice, you will find the ancestral truth you seek.
The Wunnborne (An Optional Homeland)
The cavernous region at the base of the Great Mother is known as the Teeth, a harsh and dangerous outcast region even the noble clans of Khar’tep would not dare to enter. Here they believe is the work of Chaos’ Wrath in the form of demons bonding with humans. Humans who once swore fealty to the Bear Clan. Now they are the Wunnborne, children of demons and servants to no one.
There are three types of Wunnborne: those who remain in human flesh, those who have tapped into their spirit animal, and those who have forsaken flesh altogether. When creating a Wunnborne character, begin with Khar’tep as your homeland and substitute a perk with one provided below. Characters are limited to one Wunnborne perk; if a character needs additional perks, choose from the Khar’tep homeland.
- Human: Some Wunnborne appear completely human but have tapped into the darker natures of the world. A human Wunnborne can see creatures created by Chaos’ Wrath in their true form, even when invisible or disguised and can instantly recognize qi warriors by their aura. With an effective complication roll, a human Wunnborne can decipher a character’s exact qi power without having to witness it.
- Skinchanger: The bonding of human and demon invoked the inner connection the Bear Clan had with their clan animal. Some Wunnborne now walk as humanoid bears of varying appearances and traits, including some who appear to be intelligent bears. Skinchanger Wunnborne gain a bonus resource slot for their claws, strength, or animal senses.
- Shadow: A select few Wunnborne are born as shadows unable to form their own flesh and must instead possess other bodies if they wish to interact with the physical world. A shadow Wunnborne can possess any extra’s body without requiring a complication roll. While possessing a body, the shadow uses their Vitality as points to negate any damage inflicted on them. For example, if a shadow possesses an extra with 3 Vitality, that shadow can ignore the next 3 points of damage. So long as a body is possessed, it cannot regain Vitality and the body is destroyed when it is reduced to 0 Vitality.
So long as a shadow possesses another character’s body, they must spend +1 Vitality whenever they spend Vitality to shift, re-roll, or lose Vitality for any reason other than damage.
While a shadow is incorporeal, they can be harmed by physical attacks.
