The Zukuluka Concept Test

tHe zukuluka Description: The zukuluka were once an ordinary Southern tribe. Like most barbarians, they lived off the land and concentrated mostly on farming and hunting, with the occasional ritualized conflict with their neighbors. Unfortunately, something happened to the tribe’s livestock. Some savants theorize that the livestock may have wandered into a small pocket of Wyld left over from the Contagion and been transformed. Others among the educated have suggested that the Zukuluka are the result of an evil trick of the Fair Folk, and a particularly popular explanation is that some of the Zukuluka discovered something from a Wyld area — perhaps food or mutated livestock — and foolishly brought it back into their village. Regardless of the origin, the rest is history. Whatever the truth, none survive to tell the tale. Whatever the source of the mutation, the end result was that the Wyld took hold of the village and subtly warped everything in it. The humans were left mostly alone, but the farm life was twisted mon- strously. The oxen, the chickens and the goats were all warped in small ways, but the pigs were most severe- ly twisted. D e s p e r a t e , foolish or per- haps enthralled, the zukuluka ate the beasts. A pig will eat practically anything you give it — even its own species, given the chance and nothing else to eat. This trait was passed on to the zukuluka. In them, it became a hideous intelligence that allowed the zukuluka to absorb the very souls of the things they ate. Now, the zukuluka look like huge humanoid pigs with the horns of a goat and the build of an ox — with the occasional chicken beak or wing thrown in here and there. What’s more, they retain the memories and the culture of the zukuluka they have eaten. The end result is a race of violent, quite insane mutants with schizoid tendencies, avoided and feared by all who live in the area. For a few generations, the new zukuluka have farmed their lands, putting their massive strength to good use, but they no longer hunt animals — they prefer to raid neighboring villages to fill their larders. At this point, “neighboring” means a relatively long trip, as no one is too eager to live close to these terrible creatures. It is possible for one to have con- versations with the zukuluka, but who would want to? They have been known to talk in several voices and with several personalities, with a forceful, evil and overbearing over- mind directing the conversation. Negotiating with them isn’t wholly impossible, as they do understand tactical advan- tages and long-term planning; indeed, many of them are very in- telligent indeed, having absorbed the minds of several individuals. The individual humans absorbed into these creatures retain their personalities and may even have some influence on the warped beings, but they’re quite subser- vient to the will of the creature’s overmind. What’s more, the thing the zukuluka understand best is their own hunger, and they are very much aware of how terribly good it feels to eat people. A t t r i b u t e s : Strength 5, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4, Charisma 3, Manipulation 4, Appear- ance 1, Perception 3, Intelligence 5, Wits 4 Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, Valor 4 Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Brawl 4, Dodge 3, Endurance 2, Medicine 1, Melee 3 (Spear +1), Presence 1, Resistance 2, Stealth 1, Survival 4 Supernatural Powers: Swallow Body and Soul Base Initiative: 7 Attack: Claws: Speed 7 Accuracy 7 Damage 6L Defense 7 Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 6 Damage 7B Defense 6 Spear: Speed 10 Accuracy 8 Damage 8L Defense 7 Long Bow: Speed 7 Accuracy 6 Damage 7L (Rate 3, Range 200) Dodge Pool: 6/5 Soak: 4L/6B (Breastplate, 4L/2B, -1 mobility penalty) Willpower: 5 Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-1/ -2/-2/-2/-2/-4/-4/Incap Essence: 1 Other Notes: The above statistics are meant to repre- sent an average member of the zukuluka tribe. As their actual Attributes, Abilities, health levels and preferences toward weapons (and, indeed, animal traits such as horns or claws) vary wildly depending on who or what they’ve happened to eat, Storytellers should modify and individualize them as he sees fit. Some zukuluka are weaker but faster, others are more intelligent. It all depends on what they have been eating — one that made its way through a herd of cattle would be particularly strong, whereas one who turned the village council into a buffet would be quite intelligent. All zukuluka suffer from the Shattered Mind and Multiple Personalities derangements and the Swallow Body and Soul mutation unique to them, as well as any other Wyld mutations the Storyteller deems appropriate. Regardless of their Traits, the zukuluka are truly sick and twisted beings, governed by their neverending hunger for meat and memories. sWalloW Body and soul This abomination-level Wyld trait causes its victims to immediately absorb certain traits of anything they eat. When eating small animals, the changes aren’t very noticeable unless many such animals are consumed, but when dealing with, for example, cattle, swine, horses or humans beings, the end results are quite spectacular. Within a few hours of consuming an animal (cooked or un- cooked, it makes no difference), certain relevant traits start to emerge — horns grow, muscles swell, other personalities begin to emerge, and so on. The mutant doesn’t even need to eat the entire animal, just a significant portion of the beast. If the meal happens to be a human being, only the first zukuluka to partake of the meal receives that person’s memories and personality, but the physical traits can be shared by all. Note that the results of this aren’t necessar- ily beneficial, as the resulting hybrid may not be viable. A mutant who ate a fish might end up with gills on dry land. Other mutations make the zukuluka tribesman extremely clumsy or noisy. Those tribesmen who are unable to survive often end up as lunch themselves, which only adds to the zukuluka’s famed insanity. Should a player’s character somehow end up eating of the zukuluka — a somewhat unlikely and disgusting possibility, to be sure — he would gain the same mutation and, presumably, the endless problems, as the abomination brings with it an endless hunger (and an inhuman appetite) for living things. Immediately becoming a vegetarian would be the best way to deal with the problem while looking for a cure, as Swallow Body and Soul only absorbs animals, not plant life.