White Devineko Concept Test

WHite devineko Description: Skin-changing, god-hunting evildo- ers of the Northern wastes, white devineko are creatures of nightmare. White devineko are not demons, though the Yozi would be proud to have them amongst their legions. They are not spirits, not Wyld-touched, not Exalts. Perhaps that is what makes them the most horrifying, they are unlike anything in Creation, and yet, they are most clearly part of it. Some savants claim that devineko were the prototypes for Arad the Hunter, discarded when the be- hemoth proved superior. Others believe that these skin-changers are descend- ed from teodozjia — perhaps from teodozjia and the Queen of Fangs or some feral Lunar. Still other savants postulate that white devineko are the reborn souls of the expedi- tionary force of Terrestrial Exalted slain by Deret Khan. It is unknown which, if any, of these origin tales reflect the truth of the matter. What is known is that white devineko are dedi- cated evildoers who strive continuously to destroy the virtuous. Known from even before the Contagion as god-slayers, these monsters favor the flesh of the virtuous. They can smell a compassionate heart from several hundred yards. White devineko are skin-changers. They wear the skins of their victims to get closer to their next victims. Weapons wielded by mortal men do not harm them. With all these strengths, it is fortunate for the civilized realms that they are dependent on cold to survive. In game terms, outside any region colored white on the map in the Exalted core book, devineko suffer one automatic health level of bashing damage per day. This damage cannot be soaked or healed until the devineko returns to the farthest North, but it heals normally once the creature is back in its natural hunting grounds. These supernatural god-hunters hate holy men and Exalts of all types. They gain supreme joy from snatching priests away from their prayers and gobbling them up. Mortals are largely helpless against them and must rely on Exalted or other Essence-wielders to defend them. Thus, the white devineko are both the hunters and the hunted of the Chosen. If a character who is a priest or holy man wanders the Northern wastes, he is likely to draw the attention of at least one devineko. Characters with a high Compassion are most likely to be targeted. The white-furred skin-changers will not attack directly, but will, instead, attempt to use guile and deception to obtain their prey. In their natural form, the white devineko look like massive, white-furred cat-goblins. When hungry, the skin-chang- ers appear dirty and near skeletal, with their own skin hanging wrinkled on protruding bones. When sated, they are white as fresh snow, and their skin is stretched across impossibly swollen bellies. (Neither of these extremes is apparent when they are wearing the skins of others.) At all times, they are malignant felinoids with twisted limbs and bulbous joints. They tend to dwell among the places of the dead, cemeter- ies and the like. When not in their h o m e s , white devineko attempt to maintain the disguise of humanity at all costs. They will wear their stolen skins and attempt to lure new victims away to isolated locations where they can be killed conveniently. If desperate for sustenance or sufficiently irritated by the presence of high virtue, the creatures will seek to attack by surprise, boldly snatching away and slaying a victim before any potential defenders can react. If pressed to fight, they will shred their borrowed skins and attack viciously. Their backward-turned claws leave jagged white scars, which can be attested to only by those who have hunted a devineko successfully.