Salamander metamorphoses for Pyrim

In this post I would like to share my ideas for a Salamander metamorphosis. The Salamander appeared in a few editions of the French version and was mentioned in the Ex Oculis fanbook draft.

The Ex Oculis drafts give two different sets of Personality Traits for the Salamander in different docs, so I've decided to split the Salamander into two metamorphoses. Each encompasses different aspects of the diverse folklore surrounding this scaly fire elemental. 

The transformations are taken from the French version, specifically the list of ten transformations in 5e. These were: "Smell of hearth or smoke, Breathy voice, Black eyes, Aura of heat, Acrid sweat, Four-fingered hands, Asexual body, Poisonous blood, Body stains, Aura of flame."

The Firedrake (material fire)

"Salamander" © 2019 Gofelem

The first is the material Firedrake, a stereotypical dragon of Teutonic myth that greedily collects and guards its hoard with fiery breath and poisonous blood. It appears in countless myths, such as the famous epic Beowulf. As Ex Oculis describes it: "If a Djinn is an open flame, a Salamander is a glowing coal. Massive and reptilian, Salamanders brood and plot over their gains."

Angry (vs Joyous)

As the Firedrake grows angrier, this manifests first as an increase in body temperature that makes it difficult for others to touch them, then progressing into an aura of flame. The Firedrake may concentrate this flame for defensive, offensive or utility use, such as to prevent others from getting too close due to convection, to set combustibles on fire, or provide a light source.

Conservative (vs Rebellious)

As the Firedrake grows more conservative, traditional and distasteful of new things, his contempt manifests first as sweat with an acrid odor that causes a burning sensation on touch, then progressing into poisonous blood. The Firedrake may spit their own poisonous blood on enemies like it was pepper spray, causing an irritating burning sensation on skin or  painful blindness if it gets in the eyes.

Possessive (vs Altruistic, Spiritual)

As the Firedrake grows more possessive, it exudes a smell of the hearth or smoke reminding one of a dragon's hoard. Later its hands become four-fingered claws, all the better to keep hold of its hoard.

Proud (vs Modest)

As the Firedrake grows prouder and vainer, its voice grows deeper and breathier as if just waiting to spit fire. Its body grows smoother and loses semblance of gender, as such mortal imperfections grow meaningless to it.

Suspicious (vs Trusting)

As the Firedrake grows more suspicious of others, especially that they might try to steal from it, its eyes grow larger and blacker to better spy on others. Various shifting patterns appear in its skin, as if to throw off pursuers like a camouflaged predator.

The Calcifer (spiritual fire)

"Firey" by 3_eda

The second is the spiritual Calcifer, the bearer of warmth, a spirit of the hearth that personifies the lovely feelings of heat and home. While the name comes from Howl's Moving Castle, the idea comes from a synthesis of traditional fairy lore about hearth spirits and the folklore of salamanders emerging from the hearth.

Energetic (vs Lazy)

As the Calcifer grows increasingly energetic, he increasingly resembles fire given form. His voice grows breathy, as if he just ran a marathon. His body grows androgynous and asexual, more like fire in a humanoid mold than a human body.

Idealistic (vs Cynical)

As the Calcifer cultivates idealism, that idealism spills out of his body. At first it manifests simply as an aura of pleasant warmth, but deepens into the fires of hope and ultimately wings that ferry him aloft this sinful Earth.

Joyous (vs Angry)

As the Calcifer brings joy to himself and others, he exudes a pleasant aroma of the hearth: of chestnuts warming on the fire, of roasting smores, of delicious smoked foods. His hands grow into long delicate tongues of flame that seem to be perpetually full of illusory riches.

Reckless (vs Calm, Prudent)

As the Calcifer grows reckless, his sweat becomes acrid in odor and irritates the skin and senses like hot sauce. His very blood becomes hot sauce in his veins. Whenever cut by a weapon, his poisonous blood travels up the weapon and into the bearer, causing them to be blinded by the same recklessness.

Social (vs Private)

As the Calcifer socializes with others, his eyes grow larger, black and soulful; you could lose yourself for hours within the depths of his gaze. Patterns like dancing flames appear on his skin that draw and fascinate the eye.

Research links

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are the decans?

Image
In astrology, the zodiac signs  are ruled by particular planets  and divided into  three decans per sign  as shown on the figure below:  In the French 3e supplement  Codex des Ar-Kaïm , the concept of Decans is introduced as an additional way to define a character's personality. Each House has its own emotional nature, further modified by the character's Decan. All Houses have three Decans, except for Serpentarius that has none. In other words, the combination of House and Decan serves a similar role to the Nephilim's Metamorphosis. In the US version, this would be represented by BRP's Passions (or Personality Traits as they're labeled in Chronicle of the Awakenings ). I'm still trying to figure out how to integrate Passions into the Ar-Kaïm rules, as Ar-Kaïm lack metamorphoses but the concept overlaps heavily with the Essences mechanic (i.e. their magic points). Ar-Kaïm display environmental manifestations as a result of their Essence values and ...
Read more

"Reverie" as a new degeneration for Ar-Kaïm?

In the character creation for Ar-Kaïm, during the Past step the note determines how much of their mortal life the character remembers. Apprentice means they have total amnesia, Journeyman means they remember only dreams and confuse it with reality, and Master means no memory loss. However, this section contradicts the rest of the book(s): Ar-Kaïm don't suffer any Skill loss and amnesia is never mentioned in their lore. I suspect this text was leftover from an earlier draft as an oversight. It obviously creates problems for roleplaying so I can understand why it was revised. However, the Ar-Kaïm Codex has a short story where the narrator briefly mentions she sometimes has difficulty distinguishing dreams from reality. This inspired me to imagine a new degeneration just for Ar-Kaïm, one I tentatively call "Reverie." Ar-Kaïm have a close bond to the Astral and to the dreams of humanity. The idea behind Reverie is that it represents a loss of control and identity as a result ...
Read more

What are the Minor Tablets?

In the third edition Gamemaster's Screen , the Quest for the Cycle of Destiny is introduced. (The fanzine  Vision-Ka  #3  specifies on p41 that this Quest is one and the same as the Arcane Quest of The Magician.) The goal of this quest is to acquire and study the Minor Tablets, crafted by Akhenaton as supplements to the 22 Major Arcana Trumps. The purpose of these Minor Tablets is to help mortals reach Agartha. There are four Minor Arcana  in total: The Wand (Fire), The Cup (Water), The Sword (Air) and The Coin (Earth). Keen-eyed readers may notice that the symbolism of the suits correspond loosely to the traditional magical tools (see Liber Ka p52). By pursuing this quest, the Nephilim is better able to understand their Simulacrum's Solar-Ka: they can boost their chances of Critical Success based on their Solar-Ka, retain player control during Shouit seizures rather than handing control to the GM, and develop Solar Resistance through initiation into a Minor Arcanum...
Read more