Runequest Thursday #186 - Serpentfolk Chimaerification!

In the Savage North, Serpentflk play a signifcant role as adversaries. They are constantly working to bring about the melting of the glaciers and a return to the the days of ancient glory - when the Serpentfolk Empire spanned a verdant jungle stretching from one coast ot the other, and all the other races, humanity among them, served as thralls and food. Of course, that was along time ago, and for the last several thousand years, the snakemen have lurked in the hearts of dead mountains, plotting and building their power. Always masters of sorcery, they have added other arts to their abilities, among them the worship of the Blood God, Yggr, who yearns for the steaming jungles and swamps of that distant age just as strongly as do his people. 

Another art that Serpentfojk have mastered is Chimaerafication - the melding of two creatures together to form a hybrid with the powers and aspects of both. Here is how that works.

Feat of Arms: Because Serpentfolk are not player characters, how they acquire feats of arms is not really relevant (You will probably want to restrict this some more if you intend to let your players have access).

Chimaerae – Sorcerous Hybridization           Prerequisites: Sorcery 60%

You have the skill Chimaerae, which grants you knowledge of chimaerical creatures, as well as the ability to sorcerously to manipulate one creature, infusing it with certain aspects of another creature. Often this work is painful and maddening to the subject creature, but you persevere, secure in the understanding that your work will benefit your people. Sorcerous Hybridization takes weeks or months of work, as well as investments of Magic Points, Permanent POWer and costly ingredients. But its results are indisputable: Chimaera, Gorgons, the cocatrice, even griffons, are all probable products of ancient hybridizations. Your beginning Chimaerae percentage is INT + POW. It is common to serve a period of apprenticeship to a more experienced. Your chimaerae cannot retain skills higher than your Skill, reduced by the number of d6s the hybridization includes. If the specimens have higher percentages, these drop to your skill if that is lower. Your Chimaerae skill can never exceed your Sorcery Skill.

You must have a Lab with ingredients and tools worth 5000 silver or more. You must have living specimens of the creatures you wish to incorporate into your product creature (one of the specimens must function as the Base creature for the product, the other is the Donor), the original of which is always referred to as a “chimaera”. Each feature you choose to hybridize into your “chimaera” costs 1d6x100 silver work of materials, reducing your Lab’s value accordingly, and takes a number of weeks equal to the die roll. Each feature also imposes a reduction on your Chimaerae skill equal to the total number on all d10s rolled for cost (the total negative skill modifier is 1/100 of the monetary cost of the chimaerification attempt). If you succeed, you effect the transformation and have a new Chimaera, which suffers 1 Damage to its total HP for each Die of transformation you managed. If you fail, the cost is paid and each specimen suffers the number of dice as damage to its total hit points, potentially maiming or killing the specimen.

This skill has double the normal fumble chance (determined by the skill after including any reductions for the current Chimaerafication). If you roll a fumble, you must also roll on the Horrific Chimaerae chart to see what else might have occurred to your specimen, lab, and person. Note: If the total Chimaerification cost is higher than your Lab has resources remaining, add 10% per 100 Silver Pieces you were short to your roll on the Horrific Chimaerae chart.

Until you have atttained Mastery of the SKill: Chimaerae, you cannot hybridize more than two specimens.

For the time you spend in Chimaerification, nearly all you time is spoken for. You cast away all your power each day and are constantly recovering. Finally, at the end of the specificed time, you sacrifice 1 POWer per ability gained by the Base Creature.

D100	Effect
01-10	Double damage to specimens, Double cost.
11-30	Triple damage to specimens, Triple cost.
31-50	Reverse Hybridization (Base creature donates, donor becomes Base Creature). Chimeran Lose the POWer.
51-70	Triple damage to specimens, double damage to Lab, normal damage to Chimaeran. Chimaeran lose the POWer.
71-85	Rampant Hybrid (hybrid is more powerful, with unexpected powers and berserk). Chimaeran loses the POWer.
85+	Roll twice, combine effects.

Example:

Sishrassa, attempts to create a gorgriffon, incorporating the transformative gaze of the gorgon’s head on the body of a griffon. At considerable expense and difficulty she has acquired a gorgon and a griffon to serve as specimens. To impose the Gorgon’s gaze as a feature on the griffon specimen will cost 1d6x100 silver, impose a 1d6 reduction on the Chimaerae skill to effect the transformation, and inflict 1 damage on the resulting Chimaera or 1d6 damage on the failed specimen. Sishrassa rolls the 1d10 to determine the multiplier cost of the effect, getting a 4.

Now she knows how long the attempt will take – four weeks.

Her Chimaerae Skill of 72% is reduced by 4% for the attempt

Cost is 400 Silver Pieces in addition to the costs of acquiring the specimens.

She rolls 53%, and succeeds, inflicting 1 damage on the hybrid as the transformation begins. At the end of the four weeks, the gorgriffon has recovered and acquired the petrifying gaze of the gorgon. All skills of the resulting Chimaera are limited to 68% thereafter. 

Had she failed, she would have inflcited 1d10 damage on each of her speciments, ruined 400 Silver worth of supplies, and wasted the time. Had she fumbled, she would also ned to roll on the Horrific Chimaerae Chart to see if these base values of disaster are increased:

It should be noted that the hybrid is not trained or docile unless it were previously. Even then, see the Horrific Chimaerae chart for possible changes to temperament. Control, however is where other sorceries are useful. In addition, Blood Magic and Blood Creatures may be used in conjuction with Chimaerafication.