Here is the final version of the tharkoldu jakatts write-up. It is largely the same as was posted earlier; the only significant differences are a rise in the Spirit axiom minimums and the support of a world law for the enhancement packages. Other changes are usually minor tidy-ups. Thanks to everybody who made suggestions. Saxon Brenton July 1994 To start with, here is the original idea that I sent as a rumour to Infiniverse back in late '92: "News in Los Angeles is that the San Gabriel tribe has a new, and highly distinctive, member; a 2.5 metre tall humanoid with a thick pelt of green fur. Less certain is where this Jakatt, called Chenrikh, came from; since apart from being huge, furry, and having a complete lack of cyberware, it has all the physical characteristics of a techno-demon. This has earned it the labels "furry demon" and "furry Tharkoldu"; names that it has not rejected, but not justified with an explanation either. "The reaction from the Tharkoldu proper ranges from bemused through concerned to enraged; mostly the latter, naturally. It's true that there was a techno-demon scholar called Chenrikh who specialised in studying the religions of other cosms to find and exploit any weaknesses, but the demons refuse to concede that any Tharkoldu would embrace Living Land reality, even after losing an invoked reality storm. The differences in mindset produced by the Cult of the Dominant and Keta Kalles are too great for the theory to be credible to them. They also find it difficult to believe that Tharkoldu could survive with the low tech/null magic reality of the Living Land, because of their biological magic requirements. The Tharkoldu scholar who suggested that on a world as possibility rich as Earth practically anything could happen, and that Chenrikh could have physically transformed so as to need a minimum axiom of Spirit 9 rather than Magic 9, has since been torn to shreds. "Nevertheless, the Tharkoldu are treating Chenrikh as a serious threat, as the latter has taken an active role in the fight against Jezrael's invaders in both solo and group attacks alongside the Jakatts. Against gangslaves and monsters Chenrikh's methods are brutally simple: mash them to a pulp. However, against Tharkoldu it prefers to use invoked reality storms. So far its opponents have ended up uniformly dead, but these tactics have fuelled speculation that Chenrikh is indeed a transformed Tharkoldu, and that its trying to create more of its type." THARKOLDU JAKATTS ----------------- The tharkoldu jakatts are a small number of techno-demons that have been stormed to Living Land reality, accepted it, adapted to it, and survived. They are mainly based with the jakatt teks in Los Angeles, and their primary goal is to "save" as many techno-demons as possible from being life-negating walking demon-dead. Hopefully this will be by converting them to the cause of Life, but they'll settle for killing them if necessary. They are not adverse to helping save Earth from the other possibility raiders either. The story of the tharkoldu jakatts begins with the techno-demon Chenrikh. Chenrikh is a veteran of many possibility raids and was a specialist in the study of religions of other cosms so that they could be neutralised and/or exploited to the tharkoldu's ends. During the course of the current invasion Chenrikh was met in combat by a storm knight from Takta Ker and stormed to Living Land reality. By rights the complete antithesis of Chenrikh's demonic nature and the life-affirming nature of the Living Land should have simply caused Chenrikh to change realities, and then slowly die in the low tech, null magic environment. However, because of its researches Chenrikh had just enough comprehension of Keta Kalles to latch onto it, desperately, as a stable concept in a totally alien reality. The results were... bizarre. Chenrikh lost all of its nasty dead-thing cyberware and was transformed into a massive, fur covered parody of a tharkoldu - a furry tharkoldu. This transformation has brought about a complete change in Chenrikh's outlook on life, and it dedicated itself to transforming as many techno-demons into furries to save them from being demons. The other jakatt teks in the Los Angeles area support the idea. Not only will it make saving the Earth from the possibility raiders easier if they can convert the enemy to their own side, but they are sure that Lanala will be very pleased if they can waken to life dead things that are dead to the extent that the techno-demons are. These renegade tharkoldu are called many things: furries, furry tharkoldu, tharkoldu jakatts, neanderthal tharkoldu, "bloody great hairy things" and "wookiees with wings". They are also known as demon jakatts and furry demons, although these latter labels are misnomers, for the simple reason that they aren't demons anymore. Their life-negating demonic nature was an anathema to the theology of Keta Kalles, which is dedicated to unity with life. Thus, when a tharkoldu is stormed to Living Land reality, accepts it and Keta Kalles, and physically transforms to survive, it is changed from a demon into a person. Lanala wants all her worshippers to be part of one big happy ecosystem. APPEARANCE Tharkoldu jakatts more or less resemble their techno-tharkoldu kin. They have no cyberware, average between 2 to 2.5 meters in height, and are covered in thick hair except for their faces, hands and feet, and wings. For the most part their coloration remains the same, although outlandish changes are possible. On a roll of 1-15 on a d20 there is no change, on a 16-19 their original colour is tinted slightly by another hue (free choice), and on a 20+ the colour of the tharkoldu's fur can become anything that seems neat (mat black, electric blue, bright yellow, shocking pink...). PERSONALITY AND HABITS Tharkoldu act very much like other jakatts - they seek out sensations to give to Lanala. Unlike when they were demons they are now reasonably sociable, and fight mainly for the sensations that fighting brings rather than inflicting pain for pain's sake. However, considering the Living Land's low Social axiom, this should not be confused with being civilised. They still retain a streak of savagery, and this is especially obvious when they fight. In battle they are vicious and dangerous killers, and many have exhibited tendencies to go berserk. Quite a few retain the opinion that the best thing you can do with a human corpse is scavenge it for the tasty bits. In the heat of the Living Land furries keep cool in three ways. They can spread their wings to catch a breeze and use their wings as heat vanes to radiate away the excess heat. They can go swimming, which also allows them to keep themselves clean, as they like to preen themselves (it isn't the stink of sweaty, smelly fur that worries them, but rather the problem they have with fleas). Finally, they can go flying up to where the air begins to get chilly and soar around for awhile. This latter option is safe only on in the skies above Takta Ker. BIOLOGY The transformation into large, hairy, cyberless creatures that are people rather than demons is not the only change that they have undergone. Another radical metamorphosis is their adaptation to the null magic environment of the Living Land. Standard techno-demons are highly magical creatures that require a minimum Magic axiom of 9 to survive. The tharkoldu jakatts have avoided this problem by having their metabolisms replace the need for magical energy with a need for spiritual energy. Incredible as it seems, they are now creatures that require a minimum Spiritual axiom of 11 to survive. This transformation is attributed by the jakatts to direct intervention by Lanala. Researchers in Aysle are fascinated and excited by the mechanisms and implications of this change. On the other hand, rival religions, particularly the Cyberpapists, are using it to support their claims that Lanala is the devil, and is reclaiming her own. Breeding It had originally been a concern of the jakatt teks that removed from the Law of Domination that they would be unable to procreate, but after finally managing to distract themselves from the battle with the Tharkold realm for long enough to experiment, it appears that these fears were unfounded. The tharkoldu jakatts remain hermaphrodites, and procreate in much the same way as techno- tharkoldu do, with the same breeding and gestation cycles. The only difference is that since the Law of Domination doesn't apply to them any more, they do not need to be in an established dominant/submissive arrangement to breed. Who will be the gestator and who will be the inseminator is decided on a more or less ad hoc basis of whatever seems best at the time. They still engage in combat before mating, but apparently this is now merely as another sensation, as well as a display of virility, rather than an actual biological necessity. It has also become apparent that being a furry is a genetic trait of being a new species, and that they are now too different to produce offspring with techno-tharkoldu. Lifeblight Lifeblight is a disease suffered by the tharkoldu jakatts that is essentially the same as the lightblight suffered by their techno- demon kin. The jakatts simply call it something slightly different. Lifeblight occurs when a furry disconnects into a reality incapable of supporting its metabolism or its enhancement packages (i.e., a reality with a Spiritual axiom of less than 11, and without Lanala's Love of Life, respectively). It also occurs if the tharkoldu transforms to a reality with a Spiritual axiom of less than 11 and does not physically transform to adapt. Finally, it occurs when a furry cannot (or will not) pay the possibilities for the adventure cost of its enhancement packages. Lifeblight causes the spiritual energies that support the tharkoldu jakatt's metabolism to leak from its body as ugly splotches of light, much as lightblight causes the magical energies to leak from techno- demons. Each day that the tharkoldu is affected by lifeblight it takes one shock point; the tharkoldu dies when the shock damage equals its Toughness. The damage may not be healed until the condition causing the lifeblight is removed - either transforming into a reality with a Spiritual axiom of 11 or more, reconnecting, or paying the adventure cost. CREATING MORE FURRIES Jakatts recruit more furries by storming possibility-rated techno- demons to Living Land reality. The jakatts have also experimented with capturing ord techno-demons, imprisoning them in an area of Living Land reality, and waiting to see what happens. They have met with only moderate success with the latter so far, since ord techno- demons tend to disconnect and die long before they transform. Of course, with the Living Land's low Social axiom the jakatts aren't likely to recognise what the problem is since they have no grasp of the concepts of time or probability. Even if a possibility-rated being manages to transform another, the actual chances of getting a physical transformation are small: the standard chance of 1 in 20. Normally the actual chances of getting the type of physical transformation desired are even smaller. After all, a techno-demon could simply lose its need for magical energy, but nothing more. However, for the purposes of these supplementary rules, it is assumed that every techno-demon that physically transforms to Living Land reality becomes a furry through the direct intervention of Lanala. Techno-demons that don't physically transform usually simply die, unless their dominant has a special need of them that makes it bother to storm the unfortunate demon back to Tharkold reality. The jakatts usually kill these tharkoldu straight away, while they have no possibilities to defend themselves. As such the jakatts are expending a lot of energy for small gains when it comes to recruiting new members. Fortunately, each transformation they force on the techno-demons helps with the war effort overall, even if its only by killing another techno-tharkoldu. Also fortunately, a very large proportion of those tharkoldu that become furries elect to remain with the jakatt teks. This may seem surprising considering that many are possibility-rated and almost all were initially stormers rather than storm knights. But it seems that having been converted to the cause of Life that these tharkoldu have no illusions about the ultimate goals of the high lords. As techno- demons they knew perfectly well what possibility raids were for and what the results would be, unlike the inhabitants of other cosms who are usually duped by their high lord. Now that these tharkoldu worship Lanala they are firmly opposed to the notion of possibility raids on general principle. Nevertheless, there are a few who choose not to mend their wicked ways. Some of these have gone to support Baruk Kaah, and a few have even become gotaks. Moreover, with the Saar apparently dead Rec Pakken has been considering some of them as a high lord contenders. The remainder are either operating on their own or have made their way into the Cult of Stalek. REASONS WHY TECHNO-DEMONS REALLY HATE THARKOLDU JAKATTS. 1) HERESY: The furries have abandoned the ultimate dominant Omoo-Zhan for the lizard god Lanala. 2) NO CYBERWARE: The techno-demons' self image has become tied to their use of cyberware, which is why they continue to use it long after the Tharkold Magic axiom has been raised and they no longer need the LifeCyber magic support system. As such the very sight of these hairy monstrosities lumbering about naked without cyberware makes most techno-demons' skin crawl. 3) THEY'RE RENEGADES: Techno-demons view any sort of renegade who rejects a place in the demon hierarchy under the Law of Domination as a dangerous abnormality. The tharkoldu jakatts are no exception. 4) SIDING WITH THE SLAVE RACES: By siding against the techno-demons they have clearly joined with the monkey-humans and other races, all of whom are fit only to be enslaved and used as whim dictates. FURRY CHARACTERS Enhancement Packages Furries gain enhancement packages that harness the power of the Spirit axiom channelled through the world law of Lanala's Love of Life (page 67 of the Living Land sourcebook) (Alternatively, if using Jim Ogle's reinterpretation of the Living Land world laws, the packages function under the Love of Lanala world law). The bias of this world law towards living for the moment grants the enhancement packages as a way of doing more, and thus experiencing more sensations. They must take three packages of three points each, to be distributed whole among any attribute. Since the tharkoldu jakatts are often required to try to storm techno-demons to Living Land reality in order to increase their numbers it is usual for them to boost their Spirit and Reality values more than any other attribute or skill. This also helps in using miracles against the physically superior techno-tharkoldu. The enhancement packages can be paid for in one of two ways. The first way is to pay for them with three possibilities at the end of each adventure, one possibility per package. Alternatively, a character can take a limitation on those attributes that are not enhanced, which fixes the unenhanced attributes at 7. These two methods of paying for enhancement packages cannot be combined. A furry that chooses to pay for its enhancements in possibilities, but at some time fails to pay the adventure cost, loses all of its enhancement packages until such time as it either can pay the possibilities or it dies of lifeblight. Similarly, the use of furry enhancement packages and associated skills are contradictions in realities with Spiritual axioms of less than 11 and/or where Lanala's Love of Life does not function. If a furry disconnects then it loses its enhancement package until such time as it either fully reconnects or perishes of lifeblight. The reconnection must be made four times, once for the character and once each for the three enhancement packages. Spiritual enhancement packages seem to be racially based (as are magical enhancement packages), and in the case of the Living Land are apparently the result of creatures with magically supported metabolisms swapping to spiritually supported ones. Other races may, at the GMs discretion, gain spiritual enhancement packages, but this would require divine intervention by an active god in a reality with an axiom of at least Spirit 19. CHENRIKH DEXTERITY 11 Dodge 13; Energy weapons 12; Fire combat 12; Flight 13; Manoeuvre 13; Melee weapons 12; Stealth 15, Unarmed combat 15 STRENGTH 10 TOUGHNESS 10 PERCEPTION 10 (13) Alteration magic 15; Direction sense 14; Disguise 14; Divination magic 17; Evidence analysis 15; Find 14; Scholar (Keta Kalles) 16; Scholar (religions, general (see skill notes)) 14 MIND 11 Apportation magic 12; Conjuration magic 12; Survival 13; Test of will 13; Willpower 13 CHARISMA 9 Persuasion 10; Taunt 10 SPIRIT 14 (20) Faith (Keta Kalles) 26; Focus 25; Intimidation 22; Reality (Living Land) 26 Possibilities: 27 Equipment: None Natural tools: Wing strike, STR+7/17, unarmed combat to hit; Bite, STR+2/12; Talons, STR+3/13; Wings, speed value 10; Night vision, +5 vs. flashattacks. Skill Notes: Chenrikh has 3 enhancement packages for an adventure cost of 3 possibilities. The adds in Scholar (religions, general) indicate that Chenrikh has studied the major religions of every world that Tharkold has raided as well as those currently involved in the Possibility Wars on Earth. Arcane Knowledges: entity +1; darkness +1; death +1; true knowledge +4 Spells: Chilling darkness; Find things; Monkey form; Mirror of other worlds; Scrying eyes; Summon scholar; Talking dead Chenrikh has a yellowy-green pelt. It is the originator of the furry tharkoldu race, and has become an optant of Keta Kalles. Chenrikh retains its extensive knowledge of other religions, and is something of a sage on the subject. Only rarely does it get some of the more complex concepts of interpersonal relationships muddled because of the low Social axiom of the Living Land. Apparently because of this knowledge it seems to have know how to gain access to a large and eclectic range of miracles from many faiths. To date it has stayed predominantly in the Los Angeles area, and so those miracles that it has somehow learnt have come from those faiths that are represented in the area, but it has been theorised that if it really needed a miracle it would know where and how to be tutored in it. Perhaps the most spectacular example of this habit of collecting miracles was when, on live television, it used the Race miracle of Liberation to free a rampaging mob of gangslaves from techno- tharkoldu domination. In the stunned aftermath of that event, while the techno-demons were still in collective apoplexy, the Race came to the tentative conclusion that Chenrikh was able use Liberation because of the principle of "my enemies' enemy is my friend". But they still haven't figured out who taught it to Chenrikh. Personality: Wise and serious. Chenrikh works very hard to fulfil its responsibilities, and always acts with forethought. Quote: "I have been brought into the paradise of Lanala from the hell of Omoo-Zhan." GARBAGE GUTS DEXTERITY 8 (11) Dodge 12; Flight 13; Stealth 12; Unarmed combat 12 STRENGTH 11 TOUGHNESS 10 PERCEPTION 11 Direction sense 12 MIND 10 Cooking 15; Test of will 11; Willpower 11 CHARISMA 11 Persuasion 12; Taunt 12 SPIRIT 10 (16) Faith (Keta Kalles) 18; Focus 17; Intimidation 18; Reality (Living Land) 19 Possibilities: 12 Equipment: Small packets of favourite herbs, seasonings and condiments; tomato sauce bottle (adds +1 to Intimidation when threatening to eat somebody). Natural tools: Wing strike, STR+7/18, unarmed combat to hit; Bite, STR+2/13; Talons, STR+3/14; Wings, speed value 10; Night vision, +5 vs. flashattacks. Skill Notes: Garbage Guts has 3 enhancement packages for an adventure cost of 3 possibilities. Garbage Guts has a greeny-grey pelt. It is something of a gourmet and likes to sample and cook interesting new food dishes. For this reason it has no problem using dead things, as long as they are for cooking. Its reasoning on this matter is that if something can be used to create delicious tastes to give to Lanala, then its acceptable to use it even if its a dead thing. Nevertheless, Garbage Guts tries to keep this sophistry to a minimum. Despite vigorous exertions that come naturally to jakatts, Garbage Guts is slightly pudgy, although it is difficult to tell this under all that hair. Garbage Guts is one of the tharkoldu jakatts who are interested in travelling beyond the Los Angeles area for reasons other than fighting techno-demons. This is only partly because it is interested in sampling the cuisine of other countries and realms. Despite threats that it might use when Intimidating others, Garbage Guts doesn't really eat other sentients. Personality: Most of the time Garbage Guts acts like a big, amiable lunk, and is highly friendly and sociable. In battle it is a savage and merciless fighter, yet rarely loses control. Consequently it is a cunning and dangerous opponent. Quote: "Give up the ways of death of the high lords, or I'll eat you." RED DEXTERITY 12 Dodge 14; Energy weapons 13; Fire combat 13; Flight 13; Manoeuvre 15; Stealth 13; Unarmed combat 18 STRENGTH 12 (15) Lifting 16 TOUGHNESS 13 (16) PERCEPTION 7 Direction sense 9; Tracking 10 MIND 7 Survival 9; Test of wills 9 CHARISMA 7 SPIRIT 10 (13) Faith (Keta Kalles) 15; Intimidation 14; Reality (Living Land) 16 Possibilities: 13 Equipment: None Natural tools: Wing strike, STR+7/22, unarmed combat to hit; Bite, STR+2/17; Talons, STR+3/18; Wings, speed value 10; Night vision, +5 vs. flashattacks. Skill notes: Red has 3 enhancement packages, paid for with attribute limitations to its Mind, Perception, and Charisma. Red is a berserker member of the jakatt teks, who is named after its deep red pelt, which is the colour of blood. Personality: Red is brooding and silent most of the time, and is something of a loner. While Red revels in sensations for Lanala as much as any other jakatt, its favourite method of gaining sensations is by fighting, and it can be expected to take part in any raid against any of the jakatts' foes, whether they be techno-tharkoldu, gangslaves, or Marsec. Chenrikh tries to keep an eye on Red, and direct its energies into battles where a berserk furry will do the most good - or at least direct it as much as is possible under the low Social axiom of the Living Land. Chenrikh might frequently use a higher Social axiom, but Red almost never does. Quote: "Grrr." TEKLOT DEXTERITY 12 (15) Dodge 16; Energy weapons 17; Fire combat 17; Flight 16; Manoeuvre 16; Unarmed combat 17 STRENGTH 12 (15) TOUGHNESS 11 (14) PERCEPTION 10 Alteration magic 12; Direction sense 11; Divination magic 11; Trick 11 MIND 10 Survival 11 CHARISMA 9 Persuasion 10; Taunt 10 SPIRIT 10 Faith (Cult of the Dominant) 11; Intimidation 14; Occultech 11; Pain weapon 12; Reality (Living Land) 12 Possibilities: 13 Equipment: Pain weapon Natural tools: Wing strike, STR+7/22, unarmed combat to hit; Bite, STR+2/17; Talons, STR+3/18; Wings, speed value 10; Night vision, +5 vs. flashattacks. Skill Notes: Teklot has 3 enhancement packages for an adventure cost of 3 possibilities. Arcane Knowledges: living forces +3; darkness +3; magic +1; fire +2 Spells: Abrasion; Altered fireball; Chilling darkness; Pain flip; Pleasure flip; Ryggin's steel bands Despite being stormed to Living Land reality Teklot has not re- evaluated its ethical position to become a jakatt tek, but neither did it return to its former dominant in the Tharkold realm to be stormed back to techno-horror reality. This was because it had been only a minor warrior of little use to its dominant, and it justifiably feared that it would not be returned to Tharkold reality, but instead treated as a freak and killed for sport. Instead Teklot became one of the tiny number of tharkoldu jakatts who served Baruk Kaah. It has a greyish-brown pelt. Personality: Teklot is an aggressive and sadistic bully that has no scruples about using the greater power its enhancement packages to coerce other jakatts. The other jakatts tolerated it out of fear of Baruk Kaah, who made good use of it and the few other tharkoldu in his camp in his ongoing but losing battle against both the Nippon and Tharkold realms. Now that the Saar is apparently dead, Teklot is likely to try to carve out his own little empire. It will carefully assess the situation before offering its services to whatever new high lord Rec Pakken chooses. Quote: "I don't need the Law of Domination to control you." NEW MIRACLES Intercosm Transport Spiritual Rating: 26 Community Rating: 13 Difficulty: 15 Range: Special Duration: Instantaneous Effect: Transports between dimensions. This miracle allows the Focus character and those in contact with the Focus character (either touching directly or holding hands in a ring) to be teleported instantly from one dimension to another. This may be between dimensions either in or between cosms. It cannot be used to transport directly between two points in the same dimension. The Focus character must be familiar with the point of arrival (having seen it or been there) for the miracle to function. This miracle requires a Spiritual axiom of 26 to function, and so is a four-case contradiction even for jakatts in the Living Land. It's therefore used only by a small number of possibility-rated beings, usually optants. The jakatts use it to take kidnapped ord techno- demons back to the pure zone of Takta Ker to be held while waiting for them to transform, as well as mounting raids on the Tharkold cosm. The jakatts were only able to gain a miracle with a spiritual rating higher than their Spirit 24 axiom because it was both necessary to the war against the techno-demons, fitted so well with the basic theology of Keta Kalles, and because a significant number of jakatts achieved a successful invocation in asking for it. An individual invocation is not sufficient to gain a new miracle for regular use if the miracle operates above the character's home reality's Spirit axiom, no matter how worthy the cause. The fact that the Living Land has such a high Spiritual axiom and that Lanala is the dominant mythos there helped make things easier as well. Disrupt Group Spirit Rating: 22 Community Rating: 7 Difficulty: 14 Range: 11 (150 meters) radius centred on priest Duration: 18 (1 hour) Effect: Lowers Social axiom to 7 This miracle is similar to its fellow, Kill Technology, in most respects save that it lowers the local Social axiom. It creates an area 150 meters in radius wherein social concepts and tools above Social 7 will be unable to function for one hour. There is no Many- on-one penalty, so that everybody and everything within that area is automatically affected. Erecting a reality bubble will not protect against the miracle. Jakatts use it to disrupt large groups with sophisticated hierarchies or tactics. Those possibility-rated jakatts who can grasp the idea of psionics and martial arts find it useful for nullifying those as well. Null Magic Spirit Rating: 22 Community Rating: 7 Difficulty: 14 Range: 11 (150 meters) radius centred on priest Duration: 18 (1 hour) Effect: Renders all magic in area of effect useless This miracle is used by only a few of the jakatts, because at the Living Land's Magic axiom of 0 most jakatts can't even comprehend what magic is, let alone see the need for a miracle to protect against it. As such it is typically used by possibility-rated jakatts and optants, especially ones who have encountered magical attacks before. In almost all respects this miracle is similar to its fellow, Kill Technology. It creates an area 150 meters in radius wherein all magic above Magic 0 will be unable to function for one hour. There is no Many-on-one penalty, so that everything and everybody within that area is automatically affected. Magical effects working on items or people will resume once they are outside the area of radius. Erecting a reality bubble will not protect against the miracle. Pain Threshold Spiritual Rating: 14 Community Rating: 9 Difficulty: 10 Range: voice Duration: Instantaneous Effect: Causes pain. This miracle is similar to Cause Pain, but only inflicts excruciating pain, in the form of shock points, with the intent of causing the target to lose consciousness. The amount of shock points inflicted is equal to the effect value that the Focus character generates. Track Techno-Demon Spiritual Rating: 12 Community Rating: 10 Difficulty: 12 Range: 500 meters from recipient Duration: 1 day Ritual length: 30 minutes Effect: Allows a Jakatt to track a techno-demon by smell. This ritual was only recently granted to the jakatts by Lanala to meet the specific needs of the furries in finding new techno-demons to convert. Other jakatt teks have also taken to using it in their battle with the Tharkold realm. The recipient of this miracle has its sense of smell highly attuned to the scent of techno-demons (although not to the exclusion of other aromas) and can track it by the trail of demon-stink it leaves. Tharkoldu jakatts have a radically different smell, and those using this miracle cannot confuse the two. Unless the demon is currently in range the trail can only be followed if it is ground-based. The scent can be picked up over a distance, so that if the tharkoldu has used the Pop spell or taken flight the trail can be rediscovered if the demon's ground-based trail restarts within range. Scents can be followed for a number of days after they were laid equal to the results of a successful roll on the Power Push Table; if rain has obscured the scent or the demon has attempted to mask its trail by non-magical means apply a -3 modifier. MIRACULOUS PLANT Engam Nak Engam naks are a type of vine that has recently come into being on Takta Ker in much the same way as hrock shoots did - they were modified by Lanala in response to a specific need by her followers. They are woody vines, yet long and supple, which grow in low beds up to 4 meters across. They have many small, almost circular leaves, which are greeny-brown. They are used as restraints to hold techno-demons. For most beings they are Toughness 4, but are Toughness 33 for creatures that are an antithesis to Life (including walking dead, techno-demons, and many Orrorshan horrors). APPENDIX -------- Newsgroups: alt.games.torg From: Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim) Subject: Furry Tharkoldu exist!!! Date: Tue Jun 14 18:37:32 1994 This fits things so perfectly I had to post it...I found it on GEnie last night. ---------- American West Category 13, Topic 47 Message 167 Wed Jun 01, 1994 B.CALVIN [BUFO] at 00:39 EDT I know I've been promising a new WEIRDNESS IN THE WEST listing soon, and it'scoming. I just couldn't let this one wait, though. Near Mt. Rainier (actually between Buckley and Camp One, about Lake Kapowsin), a local youth had an encounter with a really weird creature. He saw it...maybe nine-feet tall, big and furry. It had a face kind of like a wolf, but no fangs. It had blue-tinted fur. That would all be strange enough, but...he would never forget the way it =flew= off! Yes, it had wings, like big bat-wings. Such a critter is not entirely unprecedented: there were the famous Moth Man sightings in West Virginia. This one has been given a different name, though: "Batsquatch". It may be significant that there were many UFO sightings in Moth Man's area...and Mt. Rainier was the sight of the UFO sightings that really started the modern era, in 1947. ------------ Nine feet tall, furry, wolf-like face, BLUE fur (Tharkoldu have blue skin) and batlike wings - what else could it be but a transformed Tharkoldu! Kansas Jim (jogle@aoc.nrao.edu)