As sky hunters, Raptors have a natural affinity for wind and weather, and tempests are often a prominent part of their legends. For example, the Nuu-chah-nulth tell stories of how Thunderbird spread storms as it flew, gathering clouds beneath its wings and carrying lightning in its talons. It was mighty and wrathful and people knew to stay the hell out of its way. Of course, Ugallu are not the only ones who call storms; any Beast whose Lair is lashed by wind and rain might make use of this Atavism.
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Athletics – Defense (Normal Effect); Wits + Occult (Low Satiety)
Action: Instant
Normal Effect: Weather no longer concerns the Beast. He suffers no adverse effects from wind and weather of any kind, including Environmental Tilts, although flooding still impedes his movement on the ground. He can comfortably walk through a blizzard, stare into a sandstorm without blinking, and hear over the din of a hurricane. Similarly, he is unharmed by natural or magically created bolts of lightning.
Furthermore, the Beast can create a powerful blast of wind by beating his Horror’s wings or unleashing a portion of the storm roiling within his Lair. The wind gust has an effective range of 5 yards per dot of Lair and has several potential applications, including the following:
• Disperse: The Beast can disperse smoke, tear gas, and other noxious fumes, creating a temporary area of safety or a clear path out of the cloud. Similarly, he can direct smoke or gas in any direction, though enveloping a particular target with it requires a successful roll of Dexterity + Athletics – the target’s Defense.
• Knock Back: The Beast can knock someone off their feet with a powerful gust of wind. Doing so requires a roll of Dexterity + Athletics – the target’s Defense. If successful, the target suffers the Knocked Down Tilt and is pushed to the wind’s maximum range for the duration — or off the side of a building, as the case may be.
• Sand in the Eyes: The wind gust kicks up any sand, dust, or fine debris around the Beast and hurls it in his enemy’s faces. He rolls Dexterity + Athletics – Defense against every target in front of him. This ability causes no damage, but a successful attack applies the Blinded Tilt to that target for one turn per dot of the Beast’s Lair. Anyone wearing eye and face protection is immune to this attack.
• Whirlwind: The Beast creates a short-lived wall of wind that completely blocks thrown weapons, arrows, and other lightweight projectiles until the end of his next turn. This can be used to shelter allies as well as himself. However, it is useless against bullets and heavy objects such as hurled boulders.
Low Satiety: Dark skies threaten and the wind seethes with barely restrained malevolence in the hungry Beast’s presence. Storms are likely if he stays in one place for very long. Furthermore, given a natural or magically created storm, he can call down bolts of lightning and direct them to strike any target he can see. This requires an attack roll of Wits + Occult – the target’s Defense. Those struck by lightning suffer lethal damage equal to successes, adding his Lair dots as a weapon modifier. This is in addition to the normal effect.
Satiety Expenditure: Drawing down his Lair, the Beast unleashes a supernaturally violent storm upon an unsuspecting world. It could be a wind or sandstorm, tornadic thunderstorm, snowstorm, or anything else the player imagines, notwithstanding any Lair Traits he may have. The storm overrides natural weather patterns for one hour per dot of his Lair.
The storm counts as an Extreme Environment of a level up to (10 – his Satiety dots, maximum 4), causing property damage and injuries in an area several miles across. The player decides on the storm’s severity when it is summoned, but can adjust it up or down as desired. The Beast is always at the heart of the storm when it first forms. After that, he can direct it to move (slowly) in any direction he wishes. Otherwise it follows his movements.