Ajaba Gifts 1

W20 Ajaba Gifts with Descriptions

This document lists all the Gifts that are available to Ajaba characters. For Gifts that are
not Ajaba-specific, I have edited the descriptions to refer to Ajaba rather than to the
original Breed. In some cases, such as Gifts taught by tribal Totems or tribe-specific
spirits that Ajaba would not normally have access to, I have changed the spirit teaching
the Gift to something more appropriate for the Breed (Fenris is replaced by Hyena,
Stormcrows are replaced by crow-spirits, etc.). Some Gifts, like Mans Skin/ Gender
Switch, are valued differently by the Ajaba than by the GarouBlack Furies use Mans
Skin only out of necessity, while the Ajaba Hyena Kings are famous for using Gender
Switch to relate equally to matriarchal hyenas and patriarchal humans. In cases like this I
have altered the descriptionbut not the mechanicsto reflect the cultural difference.
A note on metis: Ajaba metis are far rarer than Garou metis and face no social stigma
in fact, they are often seen as powerful omens. I have altered their breed Gift
descriptions to reflect this.
(Sources: W20 Changing Breeds and http://www.wyrmfoe.com/werewolf-gifts/)
(Gifts in red are Ajaba-specific)

Contents
General Ajaba Gifts ................................................................................................................................. 1
Breed Gifts .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Homid Gifts ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Metis Gifts......................................................................................................................................... 13
Hyaenid Gifts..................................................................................................................................... 19
Aspect Gifts ........................................................................................................................................... 24
Dawn Gifts ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Midnight Gifts ................................................................................................................................... 28
Dusk Gifts .......................................................................................................................................... 33

General Ajaba Gifts

Level One Gifts

Eye of the Hunter (Level One)

Ajaba Gifts 2

Hyenas can sense which animal from a herd is sick or weak and therefore the easiest
prey. Ajaba can do so normally when confronted with a herd of wildebeest, but more
complex creatures like predators or pseudo-predators (like humans) make this difficult.
This Gift, taught by a wolf-spirit, allows the Ajaba to pick out the weakest member of a
group at a glance. It does not reveal why the target is the weak link in a herd, only that
she is, but that alone is often enough to give the werehyena an edge.
System: The player rolls Perception + Primal-Urge (difficulty 7). If the roll succeeds, the
character knows which member of a given group is the weakest (determined by the
Storyteller) and which is the leader. If the Ajaba enters combat against this group, she
gains an extra die to her attack pools against the weakest member.
Feral Grin (Level One)
With a snarl or a glare, the Ajaba forces her opponent to back down, unnerved. A hyenaspirit teaches this gift.
System: The Ajaba adds two dice to all attempts to intimidate others of equal or higher
Willpower. When attempting to intimidate lower-Willpower individuals, the Ajaba adds
the two dice or her Primal-Urge rating, whichever is higher. This Gifts effects are
permanent.
Gift of Terror (Level One)
Some humans cant just be splattered all over the nearest tree. Some of them have to
be taught a lesson and left alive, for whatever reason. However, the Ajaba know how to
make the message stick. This Gift induces a terrible dread of and respect for the forest,
and it makes a human target afraid to tamper with it in any way. Any predator spirit can
teach this Gift.
System: The Ajaba must make eye contact with the target, but she can be in any form
when she does so. The player then rolls Charisma + Primal-Urge (difficulty of the targets
Willpower). The effects last for one day per success. During this time, the human must
roll Willpower to leave his home, and he may not go near anything resembling a forest
without spending a Willpower point. If the human does leave home, he is shaky and
fearful until he returns, and his player loses two dice from all Mental and Social dice
pools. This Gift functions on Kinfolk, mages, ghouls and other supernatural humans,
but the difficulty increases by two to a maximum of 10.
Infectious Laughter (Level One)
Laughter is the tool with which Gaias tricksters promote enlightenment and the knife
that slashes through the veil of Rage. When the Ajaba laughs, those around her are
compelled to follow along, forgetting their grievances. A coyote- or hyena-spirit teaches
this Gift.
System: The Ajaba must make some comment mocking the present situation in which
she finds herself, then laugh at it. The player then rolls Manipulation + Expression
(difficulty of the highest Rage rating of anyone listening). Success causes those who hear
the Ajabas comment and laughter lose hold of their ire, and forget what it was that had
them upset in the first place although their tempers will return if they are reminded
of what the werehyena has made them forget.
Primal Anger (Level One)

Ajaba Gifts 3

The Ajaba learns to focus the anger within her heart and use it to increase her Rage. The
anger takes a physical toll on the werehyena, and it is up to her to unleash it on her
enemies. The spirits of ancient Ajaba teach this Gift. Few members of other Breeds have
suffered enough shame and suffering to learn this Gift.
System: A character with this Gift may sacrifice a single health level, once per scene, and
gain two extra points of Rage in exchange (even if doing so takes her above her
permanent Rage rating). The health level is treated as aggravated damage for purposes
of recovery.
Sense Prey (Level One)
Werehyenas used this ancient Gift during hard winters to feed their packs. The Gift lets
Ajaba locate enough prey to feed a pack. In the urban environment, this Gift guides the
werehyena to prey within the city, usually in parks, sewers, animal shelters and even
zoos. The Gift will tell the werehyena the location of large numbers of prey within 50
miles in the wilds, and within the limits of a city and its suburbs. Humans do not register
as prey animals. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The hunters player rolls Perception + Primal-Urge. The difficulty is 7 in
wilderness environments and 9 in urban environments. Success indicates the location of
enough prey to feed a large pack. In the case of multiple sources, the Gift guides the
werehyena to the nearest source (although not necessarily the easiest or safest).
Level Two Gifts

Crushing Jaws (Level Two)

Only death can loose the Ajabas jaws. By using this Gift together as a group, several
Ajaba can pull apart even the mightiest opponent. A hyena-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point after executing a successful bite attack
to lock her jaws. Each turn thereafter, the Ajaba automatically inflicts one health level of
unsoakable aggravated damage as her jaws crush bone and rend flesh. She may take no
other action, save to voluntarily let go of her prey. While she is locked in, all close-range
attacks against her are made at -2 difficulty due to her relative immobility. Only death
can pry her loose against her will.
Curse of Hatred (Level Two)
The Ajaba may verbalize the hatred in her heart, disheartening opponents with the
intensity of her emotion. A spirit of hate teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends on Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Expression
(difficulty of the opponents Willpower). If she succeeds, her opponent loses two
Willpower points and two Rage points. This Gift may be used on an opponent only once
per scene.
Gender Shift (Level Two)
A favorite of the Hyena Kings of old, this Gift allows an Ajaba to effectively change
gender in the eyes of onlookers. Her features and build become decidedly more
masculine, and her garb seems of a masculine cut. Her hair, eye and skin color remain
the same; the result is a man who shows a slight family resemblance to the werehyena.

Ajaba Gifts 4

This Gift works equally well when male Ajaba employ it to disguise themselves as
women. The Gift is taught by an ancestor-spirit or a seahorse-spirit.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Subterfuge (difficulty 7). The illusion lasts for one
scene per success, or until the Ajaba shifts form. The disguise withstands casual tactile
contact, although heavy or violent contact will reveal the truth.
Odious Aroma (Level Two)
The Ajaba can amplify her (probably already formidable) body odor to the point that it
debilitates any who can smell it. A stinkbug-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one point of Gnosis. For the duration of the scene, all beings
that can smell and are within 20 feet of the Ajaba subtract two from all dice pools as
they fight to breathe.
Pulse of the Prey (Level Two)
If she knows anything about her prey, the character can track it down as rapidly as she
can travel. This unerring sense of direction operates anywhere, and it is useful for
tracking spirits through the Umbra as well as finding beings on Earth. A wolf- or dogspirit teaches this Gift.
System: No roll is required unless the target is hiding actively (intent alone is not
enough), in which case a Perception + Enigmas roll is made against a difficulty of the
targets Wits + Stealth. If the target is a spirit, the difficulty is the spirits Gnosis.
Level Three Gifts

Clenched Jaw (Level Three)

The werehyena with this Gift can bite down with such power that her grip wont loosen
until she chooses to do so; even in death, her jaws bite down. A wolf- or hyena-spirit
teaches this Gift.
System: After making a successful bite attack, the player may invoke this Gift by
spending a Rage point. For each successive turn she opts to maintain her grip, she
makes a bite attack roll (difficulty 3). While foes can make a resisted Strength roll to
break the grip (suffering an additional health level of damage in the process of tearing
free), the Ajaba may add half her Willpower to her dice pool.
Gift of the Skunk (Level Three)
With this Gift, the Ajaba can swell her musk glands, allowing her to spray musk like a
skunk. It is, of course, taught by a skunk-spirit.
System: The spray is directed with a Dexterity + Primal-Urge roll (difficulty 7, maximum
range of 10 feet). A target struck by this attack must spend a Willpower point to do
anything but spend the first turn retching. Afterwards, he subtracts one from his dice
pools for the rest of the scene for every two successes rolled. Immersion in water
negates this Gift, and it is ineffective against targets with no sense of smell.
Laugh of the Hyena (Level Three)
Hyena follows no one; instead, she laughs and mocks anyone who tries to command
her. In the same fashion, an Ajaba who can convince a hyena-spirit to teach her such
defiance can steal the spirits mocking laughter. The Ajaba can learn to resist any
attempt to command, cajole, force, or demand her to do something she doesnt want to

Ajaba Gifts 5

do. This is never subtle. The Ajaba (and the player) must cackle like a hyena-spirit when
calling upon this Gift.
System: The Ajaba has a -2 difficulty to any Willpower roll used to resist mental
domination or control. This includes the Gift: Roll Over; all effects of the vampire
Discipline: Dominate; all effects of the mage Mind Sphere; and all effects of the wraith
Arcanos: Puppetry.
Laughter of the Soul (Level Three)
The Ajabas barking chuckle worms into enemies minds, becoming a harbinger of terror
and madness. Fear-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The Ajaba laughs, and the player rolls Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty of
the victims Willpower). One success makes the target uneasy, three induces shivering
paranoia and anxiety attacks, and five send him fleeing into the night screaming. Rolling
three or more successes drives creatures capable of fear frenzy into that state, unless
they spend 2 Willpower to resist for the rest of the scene. Even then, they remain
unnerved and jumpy.
Level Four Gifts

Culling the Weak (Level Four)

The Ajaba use the strength Gaia granted them to mark the weakand then allow their
enemies very weakness to prepare them for the slaughter. This Gift is taught by a
vulture-spirit.
System: Whenever an opponent who has not yet managed to injure the Ajaba during
the scene attempts to attack the werehyena, but fails to inflict any health levels of
damage with that attack, they automatically lose one point of Willpower and one point
of Rage (if applicable).
Gnaw (Level Four)
The werehyenas jaws strengthen to the point that she can chew through just about
anything, given enough time. In addition, her jaws do more damage in combat, and only
death will break her grip if she clamps her teeth into an opponent. A wolf-spirit teaches
this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Stamina + 4 against a variable
difficulty (3 for wood, 6 for steel handcuffs, 9 for a train car coupling). The length of time
it takes to gnaw through something depends on the number of successes. In addition,
this Gift gives a characters bite two extra dice of damage for the duration of the scene.
Gorge (Level Four)
Natural hyenas will eat as much as possible when food is available, for they never know
when their next meal will arrive. With this Gift, an Ajaba can do much the same thing
with Rage, Gnosis or Willpower, storing such energy against the day when she will need
it. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: Upon learning this Gift, the player chooses which Trait (Rage, Gnosis or
Willpower) her character can store. Thereafter, the character can hold three more
points in the appropriate Trait than her permanent rating. These extra points must be
regained as usual, and they do not add extra dice to rolls involving these Traits. To

Ajaba Gifts 6

amplify more than one Trait the character must lean the Gift (i.e., pay the experience
cost) a second time.
Level Five Gifts

Strength of Kilimanjaro (Level Five)

This powerful Gift grants the Ajaba great endurance and hardiness for a time. This Gift is
taught by a Boar-spirit.
System: The Ajaba spends one Gnosis point and rolls Willpower (difficulty 6). If
successful, her Stamina rating is doubled for the duration of the scene. This will aid
Stamina and Soak rolls.
Survivor (Level Five)
This Gift confers temporary immunity to many environmental factors. The Ajaba has no
need of food, water or sleep, and she does not suffer from temperature extremes. She
is also immune to natural diseases and poisons. Wyrm toxins will still affect her, but at
half their normal potency.
System: The player spends one Gnosis and rolls Stamina + Survival (difficulty 7). The
effects last for one day per success. By spending a second Gnosis point, the Ajaba can
gain three extra points of Stamina, and she suffers no wound penalties, but the Gift will
expire prematurely after 10 rounds of full combat. The Ajaba must sleep for at least
eight hours when the Gift wears off, and she awakens ravenously hungry.
Withering Stare (Level Five)
This gift lets a werehyena kill with a glance, causing victims to die in agonized
convulsions.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Rage. The difficulty is the victims
Willpower, and each success inflicts one level of aggravated damage.

Breed Gifts
Homid Gifts
Level One Gifts

City Running (Level One)

Ajaba with this Gift find that moving vertically is just as easy as moving horizontally;
whether they are walking along a sidewalk, climbing stairs, or scaling the side of a
building, their pace doesnt change in the slightest, nor do they tire out more rapidly.
This Gift doesnt make it any easier or less dangerous to climb in precarious
circumstances a ten-story fall is still a ten-story fall, and a sheer surface remains
sheer but the Gift does make sure that the character can climb as quickly as he walks.
This Gift is taught by a monkey-spirit.

Ajaba Gifts 7

System: The player spends a point of Rage. For the next scene the Ajabas movement
rate is unchanged whether he is climbing or walking; he moves at Dexterity +5 meters
per turn, period. This Gift does not decrease the difficulty for Athletics rolls used to
climb, but it does allow the Ajaba to run, or make an Athletics roll to improve his speed,
just as he could while moving across an empty plain.
Stench and the City (Level One)
Many city Ajaba use this Gift when facing off against just about anything with a
particularly sensitive nose: this can include other Ajaba, Changing Breeds, and a host of
normal animals or Wyrm-creatures. The Gift incapacitates its target by overwhelming its
sense of smell with the stink of the city: sweat, blood, human waste, rot, smoke and car
exhaust. This Gift is taught by a skunk-spirit.
System: The Ajaba should select a target with a sense of smell better than a human,
spend a point of Rage, and roll Stamina + Primal-Urge (difficulty of the targets Stamina
+ 5, maximum of 9). For every success rolled, the target loses one die from all actions for
the next turn; if five successes are rolled, the target is incapacitated for the scene. The
target may resist by holding its breath, if he is aware; if he does so he must follow the
rules for suffocation on p.259 of W20.
Master of Fire (Level One)
Once humans tamed fire to keep them warm and to drive off the wild beasts, they
formed humanitys ancient pact with the spirits of fire. The spirits of flame agree to hold
back their hunger when the werehyena touches them. An ancestor spirit or a fire-spirit
grants this Gift.
System: This Gift allows a werehyena to heal fire damage as if it were bashing. This
requires the expenditure of a Gnosis point; the effects last for a scene.
Persuasion (Level One)
This Gift allows a homid to become more persuasive when dealing with others, in such a
way that his statements and arguments are imbued with added meaning or credibility.
An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Subterfuge. If successful, the Storyteller reduces the
difficulties of all his Social rolls by one for the remainder of the scene. In addition, any
successful Social rolls may have significantly more impact than they would without the
Gift. A werehyena could win arguments with hard line opponents, or cause a coldhearted psychopath to relent (at least for a little while).
Smell of Man (Level One)
Creatures of the wild have learned well that where man goes, death follows. With this
Gift the werehyena enhances the human scent around him greatly, causing wild animals
to feel uneasy and nervous. However, the scent also causes domestic animals to
recognize the werehyena as their master. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: All wild animals (not including supernatural creatures in animal form) lose one
die from their dice pools when within 20 feet of the Ajaba (save when defending
themselves or running away), and they are likely to flee. All domesticated animals
recognize the werehyena as a friend and refuse to harm him. For example, an attacktrained dog ordered to take down the werehyena would run up to the character and
wag its tail. If the domesticated animal is harmed, then it will revert to acting naturally.

Ajaba Gifts 8

The Ajaba may use this Gift at will. He simply states when he is activating it or turning it
off.
Apecrafts Blessings (Level One)
Though many of Gaias children use tools, none have mastered them so thoroughly as
humanity. The homid focuses this mastery into the tools he uses, causing their spirits to
awaken and lend him aid. An ancestor-spirit or spirit of a man-made object teaches this
Gift.
System: The werehyena spends a turn concentrating, and then the player rolls Wits +
Crafts (difficulty 7). Each success reduces the difficulty by one on the next roll she makes
for her character to employ a tool made by human hands. The purpose is irrelevant
this Gift is equally efficacious for attempts to repair an engine, drive a car or fire a gun.
Level Two Gifts

Jam Technology (Level Two)

The werehyena can cause technological devices to cease functioning, albeit temporarily.
Even the simplest of shaped objects will refuse to perform its function. A Gremlin a
type of Wyld-spirit that enjoys breaking things teaches this Gift
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Crafts. The
werehyena may choose the level of complexity he intends to jam. All technological
devices (i.e., any devices shaped from fabricated materials like metal or plastic) of that
complexity within 50 feet cease functioning for one turn per success. The devices
remain unchanged but inert. Knives wont cut, gunpowder wont ignite, gears wont turn
and so on. The difficulty of the roll is based on the following chart:
Device
Difficulty
Computer
4
Phone
6
Automobile
8
Gun
9
Knife
10
Speech of the World (Level Two)
This Gift allows the Ajaba to read and wield the spirit of speech, bypassing the need to
learn different languages and dialects. The Ajaba may speak and understand any human
language he encounters, though he speaks with an obvious accent, marking him as an
outsider. Speech of the World doesnt convey literacy, nor is it an encyclopedia of
cultural information. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Academics (difficulty 7). The effect lasts for one
scene.
Staredown (Level Two)
By staring into the eyes of a human or animal, a werehyena can cause the target to flee
in terror. This Gift can be used against other werebeasts, but the target will freeze in
place rather than flee. A ram- or snake-spirit teaches this gift.
System: The Ajaba using this Gift may focus on only one target per turn; the player rolls
Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty 5 + the victims Rank). The victim flees for one turn

Ajaba Gifts 9

per success, although he may expend a Willpower point to resist the Gifts effects for a
turn. Should the character score five or more successes, the victim flees for the duration
of the scene. Werebeasts (and most powerful Wyrm-monsters) will not flee, but they
cannot attack while the Gifts user continues to stare them down. However, if they are
attacked themselves, all bets are off.
Divide (Level Two)
Humanity excels at making tiny differences into massive gulfs. This can be seen in
racism, sexism, and religious intolerance. This Gift riles up such hatred and suspicion. It
is taught by a dog-spirit.
System: By spending one Gnosis point, and rolling Manipulation + Brawl, difficulty 7, the
Ajaba can exacerbate divisions between individuals or groups. Note that the Gift cannot
actually create anger and divisions; they must already exist to be exploited. If used on
the theoretical perfect family, the Gift would fail. Among humans, the Gift simply
prevents any resolution of issues and difficulties, possibly breaking into violence. One
success might cause targets to raise voices at one another, three would spell lawsuits,
and five might bring them to blows.
Amongst Ajaba and other shapeshifters with Rage, however, the Gift is even more
powerful. Every success on the initial roll adds one success on all Rage rolls the targets
make throughout the scene. With such manipulation, it is doubtful that any peace can
be made, and highly probable new troubles will emerge.
Rooftop Sprint (Level Two)
On occasion, a city Ajaba may find himself in a chase across the rooftops of his town. He
may be pursuing a fleeing Wyrm-spirit or Simba, or he might be running for his life from
similar foes. Rooftop Sprint makes such a chase much more survivable and even
winnable for the Ajaba who uses it. He becomes able to leap up and down several
stories, and easily spring across open alleyways. The primary restriction on the
characters movement is that he cannot touch the ground, or the Gifts effect ends at
once. Rooftop Sprint is taught by an alley-cat-spirit.
System: The player must spend a point of Rage and roll Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty
6). For every success achieved, the character can jump up or down one story (3 meters)
or 3 meters horizontally, without danger or difficulty. Athletics rolls can improve
jumping distances, just as always; the effects of those Athletics rolls just add to the
result given by this Gift. The Gifts effects last for one scene, or until the character
touches the ground at street level if the Ajaba touches pavement, grass, or anything
else commonly considered ground he is considered to have touched ground, but if he
leaps from car roof to car roof he should be okay.
Mark of the Hyena (Level Two)
The werehyena marks those he comes in contact with, leaving them to carry the same
aura of the predator that he does. This subtle curse can wreak havoc in a targets private
or professional life, and is a favorite of many homids looking to provoke discord in the
ranks of the enemy. A Lune teaches this Gift.
System: The player selects a target that has had some interaction with the Ajaba during
the scene (even something as simple as light conversation in an elevator counts), then

Ajaba Gifts 10

rolls Manipulation + Primal-Urge (difficulty 7). The target inherits the Curse (see p. 262)
as though she had a Rage rating equal to that of the Ajaba for one day per success.
Level Three Gifts

Reshape Object (Level Three)

The werehyena can shape once-living material (but not undead!) into a variety of
objects instantly. Trees may become shelter, buck antlers become spears, animal hides
become armor, and flowers become perfumes. The item will resemble the object from
which it was shaped (e.g., the aforementioned spear is made of antler, not wood). A
Pattern Spider one of the Weavers spirits teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Crafts against a variable difficulty (5 to turn a
broken tree limb into a spear, 8 to turn a plant into a floatable raft) and spends a Gnosis
point. The created object is not necessarily permanent; it will last a length of time
according to the following chart. Expending an additional Gnosis point allows a created
weapon to inflect aggravated damage for the scenes duration or until the object
returns to its original form. This effect can be made permanent with the sacrifice of a
permanent point of Gnosis if the object itself if changed permanently.
Successes
Duration
One
5 minutes
Two
10 minutes
Three
One scene
Four
One story
Five
Permanent
Calm the Savage Beast (Level Three)
Even the most callous of homids can sympathize with the Rage that moves their fellow
Ajaba in the final days. This Gift allows the werehyena to lend a frenzying Ajaba the will
to escape her Rages hold over her. It is taught by an ancestor-spirit.
System: The player spends a Willpower point and rolls Manipulation + Primal-Urge
(difficulty 8). If successful, the Willpower point soothes a frenzying Ajaba within 30 feet
(9 m), canceling the frenzy. By spending an extra point of Willpower, this Gift may affect
non-Ajaba in a state of frenzy, such as other shapeshifters or vampires.
Tongues (Level Three)
This Gift allows the user to read or write any human language encountered, no matter
how ancient or obscure. Midnights often use this Gift when translating ancient texts to
revive old legends or compose new songs for moots. This Gift is taught by a Raven-spirit.
System: After spending one Willpower point, the player rolls her Intelligence +
Linguistics. The obscurity and relative age of the language determines the difficulty. A
common modern language such as Spanish is difficulty 4. An ancient and obscure
tongue, such as Etruscan, would be difficulty 10. The number of successes determines
the characters fluency with the language.
Gaias Toolbox (Level Three)
Ajaba are half hyena, and so runners after prey. But they are also half human, and thus
toolmakers and tool users whose brains and hands enable them to control far more of

Ajaba Gifts 11

the cosmos. This Gift allows the Ajaba to see how any tool fits into the greater
toolmaker puzzle: the question of how humans can survive their own cleverness. A
monkey-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The Ajaba holds a tool or thinks of a task. He need not be in Homid form, but
must be able to do what the Gift requires. He breathes carefully, asking Gaias will for
the place of the tool or deed; the player rolls Intelligence + Primal-Urge. The Storyteller,
based on the number of successes, will allow the Ajaba some insight into how the tool
can be used to affect the web of life, often in ways that are not obvious. As the Ajaba
doesnt receive the answer to any one particular question (other than What can this
object/deed accomplish in the greater scheme of things?), this Gift is mainly useful for
gaining hints from the Storyteller as needed.
Cowing the Bullet (Level Three)
The spirits of tools recognize man as their master; as a result, they become reluctant to
harm the homid. A Weaver-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point. For the rest of the scene, the Ajaba gains two
additional soak dice against all crafted weapons not made of silver.
Disquiet (Level Three)
This Gift makes its target feel inexplicably depressed and withdrawn. The subject finds it
difficult to draw on his full emotion or to maintain any type of concentration. An
ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Empathy against a difficulty equal to the
targets Willpower. If successful, that opponent will not be able to recover Rage for the
duration of the scene. Furthermore, all difficulties for extended actions increase by one.
Level Four Gifts

Body Shift (Level Four)

Ajaba raised in the shifting maze of human society are well-prepared for the endless
adaptations Gaia demands of her protectors. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The Ajaba can use his shapeshifting to alter his physical Attributes: a dot of
Dexterity can be shifted to Strength or Stamina, and so forth. The player rolls Stamina +
Primal-Urge (difficulty 9). For each two successes, one physical Attribute dot can be
shifted for the rest of the scene.
Spirit Ward (Level Four)
A werehyena with this Gift may protect himself from spirits by performing a quick
warding rite. To use this Gift, the werehyena draws an invisible pictogram in the air that
scares and unnerves any nearby spirits (except pack totems or caern spirits). The symbol
travels with the werehyena as long as it lasts. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Rituals (difficulty
7). Spirits within 100 feet of the character (again, except the pack totem or local caern
spirits) must subtract one from their dice pools for each success. This Gift lasts for one
scene.
Bury the Hyena (Level Four)

Ajaba Gifts 12

The war against the Wyrm isnt always a matter of slashing claws and righteous fury
sometimes duplicity is required. A werehyena can temporarily restrain his inner beast
and appear to be a normal human. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis (difficulty of the
characters own Willpower). Success causes the character to appear human to all
supernatural scrutiny. The Gift also nullifies the Curse and makes spending Rage
impossible, and locks him in Homid form so long as its effects persist. The number of
successes determines the Gifts duration; to free the hyena before that time elapses
requires a full turn of concentration and another point of Gnosis.
Successes
Duration
One
One Scene
Two
12 hours
Three
One day
Four
One week
Five
One lunar cycle.
Cocoon (Level Four)
The werehyena can wrap himself in a thick, opaque sarcophagus-like epidermis, making
him immobile but near-impervious to harm. This cocoon grants him immunity to fire,
starvation, gas, high pressure, cold and similar environmental hazards. An insect or
Weaver-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The Ajaba spends one Gnosis point. While in the cocoon, the werehyena
ignores any attacks which fail to do damage at least equal to his Stamina + Rituals, but
attacks that pierce the cocoon destroy it. The cocoon lasts for one scene, after which it
dissolves rapidly and evaporates. The player may extend the duration of the Gift by
spending more Gnosis points. Spending days in the cocoon is entirely possible, but the
maximum duration is up to the Storyteller.
Level Five Gifts

Beyond Human (Level Five)

The Ajaba is human plus. Human plus strength, agility and health. Human plus devoted,
assured spirituality and meaning. Human plus animal instinct and lightning reflexes. He
is as man, but greater and more whole. Every Ajaba radiates this to some extent,
causing humans to fear and avoid them instinctively. This Gift warps this perception,
turning the Ajaba from a figure to be avoided into a figure to be admired or adored. An
ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: Once learned, this Gift is always active. Humans dealing with the character will
immediately pick her out as more desirable, attractive, smarter or more charismatic
compared to throw around them, regardless of their actual capacity in such matters.
The Curse still applies, but rather than being instinctively feared as a predator, the
werehyena is dreaded as an intimidating figure of great presence. Also, the character
may boost his Social Attributes by spending Rage or Gnosis, each dot of either spent
raises one Social Attribute by one point for a single scene.
Assimilation (Level Five)

Ajaba Gifts 13

A werehyena with this Gift blends smoothly into any culture, no matter how strange or
unfamiliar he might normally find it. He could slip among Bedouin nomads as if he were
one of them, or he could shop in a Chinese market without anyone noticing that he does
not belong. The Gift doesnt hide racial differences, but it does allow the user to mimic
the behaviors and mannerisms of a native. It also grants the ability to speak and
understand the cultures language, although this knowledge vanishes as the Gift ends.
Ancestor-spirits teach this gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Empathy. If successful, the character interacts
with members of another culture as if he were one of them. This difficulty depends on
how alien the culture is. The difficulty would be 5 for another Ajaba clan, but it could be
as high as 9 when trying to assimilate into a Simba pride in a foreign country. The
character will not suffer Social-roll penalties when interacting with members of the
culture, although he will not receive any special benefits. The Gift lasts for one scene
plus one day per Willpower point spent when activating it.
Part the Veil (Level Five)
With this Gift, a werehyena may immunize any human from the Delirium for a scene. In
this way, the human can interact with Ajaba without deleterious effects. However, the
human will forget much of what he knows if the Delirium is induced in him at a later
date. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Empathy. One success is
all thats required.

Metis Gifts
Level One Gifts

Sense Wyrm (Level One)

The werehyena can sense manifestations of the Wyrm in the nearby area. This Gift
involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although werehyenas using
the Gift sometimes say things like, This place stinks of the Wyrm (with a few more
colorful adjectives). Ajaba should remember that the Wyrms taint can cling to relatively
blameless souls. Werehyenas may sense an innocent person who happens to work in a
Wyrm-controlled factory or who has eaten tainted food. This power requires active
concentration. Any spirit of Gaia may teach this Gift.
System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the
concentration and strength of the Wyrms influence. Sensing a single fomor in the next
room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an
hour ago would be difficulty 8. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with
Humanity Traits of 7 or higher.
Primal Anger (Level One)
The metis learns to focus the anger within her heart and use it to increase her Rage. The
anger takes a physical toll on the werehyena, and it is up to her to unleash it on her

Ajaba Gifts 14

enemies. The spirits of ancient metis teach this Gift. Few members of other breeds are
blessed with the intimate knowledge of their innate Rage necessary to learn this Gift.
System: A character with this Gift may sacrifice a single health level, once per scene, and
gain two extra points of Rage in exchange (even if doing so takes her above her
permanent Rage rating). The health level is treated as aggravated damage for purposes
of recovery.
Shed (Level One)
The Ajaba knows the trick of shedding and growing fur at an alarming rate. This Gift
makes the Ajaba especially difficult to grapple successfully; opponents find themselves
holding tufts of fur instead of their target. The Ajaba can also slide through tight spaces
using his shedding fur as natural lubrication. A lizard-spirit or snake-spirit teaches this
Gift.
System: The Ajaba may use his slick outer coating to avoid being grappled. With a
successful Dexterity + Primal-Urge roll (difficulty 7), he can free himself from any
successful grappling attack. The fur also reduces by two the werehyenas difficulty
whenever he squeezes through tight spaces or slips restraints, such as handcuffs.
Create Element (Level One)
The metis has the power to create a small amount of one of the four basic elements
fire, air, earth or water. In this way, she can replenish the air supply in an airtight room,
make a rock to throw at someone, create a fire without matches or wood, or even fill a
bathtub without any faucet or pipes. The metis cannot create specialized forms of any
element. Precious metals (especially silver), lethal gases and acid are beyond his reach.
This Gift creates only natural air, earth, fire and water. Elementals teach this Gift.
System: The werehyenas player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis. Each success
allows the character to create approximately one cubic foot of the desired element, to a
maximum weight of 100lbs, anywhere he can see within 60 feet. The element remains
in existence until used up (breathed in the case of air or burned up in the case of fire
without any fuel to keep it going). The flames created with this Gift are genuinely hot,
but they are no substitute for a flame-thrower. They inflict one health level of damage
per success, to a maximum of three health levels of damage.
Level Two Gifts

Form Mastery (Level Two)

This Gift empowers the Wyld spark that resides in all Ajaba, granting the character
greater control over her shapeshifting abilities. A hyena-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: When shapeshifting (see p. 285), all difficulties are reduced by 1. Additionally,
when enacting partial transformations (see p. 286), the player need no longer spend a
Willpower point, and the difficulty of the roll is 7. This Gifts effects are permanent.
Curse of Hatred (Level Two)
The metis may verbalize the hatred in her heart, disheartening opponents with the
intensity of her emotion. A spirit of hate teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends on Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Expression
(difficulty of the opponents Willpower). If she succeeds, her opponent loses two

Ajaba Gifts 15

Willpower points and two Rage points. This Gift may be used on an opponent only once
per scene.
Wriggle (Level Two)
Metis sometimes have to hide in all the wrong places at the wrong times. With this Gift,
they can take best advantage of their surroundings to get away and take a breather. The
spirit of a Cockroach teaches this Gift.
System: Spend a Gnosis point, and the Gift takes effect immediately. For the rest of the
scene, no matter what her form, the metis can squeeze into a space no less than half
the size of her body. Storytellers should make judgments on space limitations.
Burrow (Level Two)
Those who learn this Gift gain the ability to burrow through the earth. They make a real
tunnel, and others can follow them through it. The digger creates a burrow just large
enough for her to go through. Others may follow, but they are limited by the size of the
hole. The werehyena must be in Crinos, Crocas, or Hyaenid form to use this Gift as she
needs her claws for digging (although even metis without claws can use this Gift). The
tunnel is not structurally sound, and it will collapse over time. Mole kindly teaches this
Gift to all metis who seek him.
System: The player rolls Strength + Athletics against a difficulty depending on the
substance to be excavated (4 for loose mud, 9 for solid rock). Some alloyed metals (such
as titanium steel) and other reinforced structures will not yield to the werehyena no
matter how hard she digs. The character can burrow one yard per turn for each success.
After the initial roll, the character does not need to roll again to continue at the same
speed.
Level Three Gifts

Shell (Level Three)

Consider the state of a metis cub. From birth, his every action is interpreted as an omen
for the future of his entire clan, he knows this from the moment he can talk, and he is
trapped within a body that reacts powerfully to his slightest emotional twinge. Once you
appreciate this state, it becomes easy to understand how this Gift was first learned.
Shell places an emotional and instinctual barrier around the metis. A turtle-spirit
teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Willpower (difficulty of the characters own Rage). Success
insulates the metis for a scene behind a mystical and psychological barrier, immunizing
him against mind-altering magic of all kinds for the rest of the scene. However, he
cannot gain any successes on Empathy, Primal-Urge or Rage rolls, nor can he spend Rage
points.
Mental Speech (Level Three)
This Gift grants mental communication, even over vast distances. The user must either
know the target personally (although he does not have to be friends with that person)
or have something that belongs to that person, such as a lock of his hair. Bird-spirits and
spirits of intellect teach this Gift. Owl is a particularly sought-after teacher, and those
who learn from him claim to have enhanced abilities at night.

Ajaba Gifts 16

System: The player rolls Charisma + Empathy (difficulty 8) and expends a Willpower
point; the effects last for a scene. His character may hold a mental conversation with a
target at a maximum distance of 10 miles per success. It does not allow mind reading,
but the werehyena may use social Abilities, such as Intimidation.
Frozen Form (Level Three)
Homids and hyaenids have no idea what its like to grow up as a metis, never changing
from Crinos form for years upon years. This Gift, taught by any aerial spirit, lets a metis
give other a taste of what spending extended time in Crinos is really like.
System: Spend a Willpower point and roll Stamina + Primal Urge, difficulty 6. For each
success, the target must spend one full day in Crinos, consecutively if more than one
success is rolled. This Gift works only on other Ajaba and Bastet.
Chameleon (Level Three)
Like the Gifts reptilian namesake, the Ajaba can blend with her natural surroundings.
Unlike the lizard, the werehyena shifts fluidly with changing backgrounds, thus allowing
her to move about and even attack. A chameleon- or octopus-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point to activate the Gift. Anyone trying to see
the werehyena, even in open ground, must make a Perception roll (difficulty of the
Ajabas Wits + Stealth) to detect her. Once the Ajaba attacks, the difficulty drops by 3.
The Gift affects only sight; it does not mask the Ajabas sound or scent.
Eyes of the Cat (Level Three)
The werehyena may see clearly in pitch darkness. His eyes glow a lambent green while
this power is in effect. Any cat-spirit can teach this Gift, although it is rare among the
Ajaba, who have a long-standing enmity with the Bastet.
System: The character must state when the Gift is in effect, but it requires no roll or
expenditure. The character suffers no difficulty or dice-pool penalties from darkness.
Splintered Claw (Level Three)
This painful Gift causes the metis claws to splinter as they pierce flesh. Tiny bits of claw
imbed themselves deep in the victims body, thus causing tremendous irritation. Healing
such a wound without first removing the splinters is both painful and stupid.
Unfortunately, the Gifts user loses her claws until she spends a round regenerating new
ones. A tree-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: After a successful attack that causes at least one Health Level of damage, the
Ajaba may spend a Rage point to activate the Gift. Any damage that the target does not
soak cannot be healed until he removes the bits of claw. As with all other shapeshifter
claw attacks, the wounds are aggravated.
The attacking Ajaba receives one automatic bashing wound. The werehyena cannot soak
this wound but can heal it as normal. Until the Ajaba heals the wound, he has no claws.
Level Four Gifts

Badgers Heart (Level Four)

Metis, born with all the Rage and pain of the Ajaba, often possess angry hearts. In their
own way, they have a keen understanding of Rage, no matter what their aspect. This

Ajaba Gifts 17

Gift allows them to affect the Rage of other werebeasts, causing their enemies to
expend more of it than necessary. A Badger-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: Spend a Gnosis point and roll Willpower, difficulty 7. Three successes are
necessary, but if the roll is made, the target expends twice as many Rage points as he
normally would, without gaining the benefits of the extra Rage point(s). This Gifts
effects last for a day.
Mambas Bite (Level Four)
The metiss eyeteeth lengthen, and she can inject a deadly poison with her bite. In the
past some elder Ajaba looked down upon this Gift as a deformity, but in modern nights,
anything that can give the Ajaba an advantage is welcomed. Spider- and snake-spirits
teach this Gift.
System: The player spends a Rage point when attempting to bite an opponent. If the
bite is successful, any remaining damage after soak is doubled. If the attack fails or
causes no damage, the Rage point is lost.
Gift of the Porcupine (Level Four)
When using this Gift, the werehyena undergoes a startling transformation. Her fur
becomes elongated, bristly and sharp like the quills of a porcupine. This change makes
her an even more fearsome killing machine. A werehyena must be in Crinos, Crocas, or
Hyaenid form to use this Gift. Porcupine teaches this Gift, and he has a great fondness
for metis.
System: The character spends a Gnosis point to sharpen his fur. Anyone whom the metis
tackles, grapples or immobilizes takes aggravated damage from his new found quills
(Strength +1). Furthermore, anyone who strikes him with bare flesh (and scoring fewer
than five successes on the attack roll) takes damage based on the attackers own
Strength, although the metis still takes normal damage. This Gift lasts for one scene or
until the werehyena wills his fur to return to normal.
Wither Limb (Level Four)
With a grin and an angry gaze, the werehyena forces a targets arm or leg to twist,
desiccate and wither, making it useless. Creatures with regenerative abilities will restore
the limb to full function after one scene; otherwise, the effects are permanent. Snakespirits, spider-spirits and other venomous spirits teach this Gift. Some werehyenas even
invoke spirits of disease to learn this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Willpower (difficulty of the victims
Stamina + 4). The victim adds two to the difficulties of all Dexterity rolls. If his leg is
affected, he can move at only half of his normal speed.
Level Five Gifts

Protean Form (Level Five)

Born misshapen, the metis takes her deformity and makes it a source of power. She can
twist her flesh in any number of ways, sprouting a number of unnatural features, from
extra limbs to additional mouths to grasping tentacles. A Chimerling teaches this Gift.
System: The characters ability to partially transform (see p. 286) is permanently
modified, allowing her to make almost any grotesque modifications the player can

Ajaba Gifts 18

imagine. These modifications must logically bestow one of the following benefits: +2
dice on a certain category of attack rolls (extra clawed limbs for claw attacks, tentacles
for clinches, etc.), +2 damage on a certain category of attack rolls (a chest-mounted
squid beak for extra damage on clinches, arms coated in shark teeth for boosted claw
attacks, etc.), or +5 yards per turn of movement (extra legs, vestigial wings, etc.).
Totem Gift (Level Five)
Due to the metis strong ties with Ajaba society, she can plead directly with her clans
totem, gaining some of its power. The effects of this Gift depend on the nature of the
tribal totem power. Rat might send swarms of rats to attack the Ajabas enemies, and
Elephant might drive the Ajabas enemies into a self-destructive madness with his
trumpeting roars. The potential of this Gift depends only on the favor of the totem, and
it may cross over into the miraculous. Only the clan totem teaches this gift.
System: The player spends on Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7). The
greater the number of successes, the more dramatic the effects. One success might
cause a minor distraction, whereas 10 successes is the dramatic equivalent of
summoning a localized twister to destroy the metis foes.
Twist of Fate (Level Five)
Some Dusk metis have used this Gift to deliver a fatal blow to unsuspecting enemies,
even knowing that the cost will be their own lives. After an Ajaba has been dealt her
own deathblow, if she invokes this Gift, she may strike her enemy once more ere she
dies. Its bittersweet but often leads to an enemy falling dead alongside the metis
warrior. This Gift is taught by a Cobra-spirit.
System: The player need only spend one Rage point to get that final shot; no wound
penalties apply. The attack doesnt automatically land, although the metis may spend
Willpower to add to the attack rolls successes (even though shes already spent Rage in
the turn). The metis damage pool is increased by ten dice a metis parting shot
channels a lifetime of Rage, and is almost always lethal.
Umbral Body (Level Five)
The metis body is strange. Born in a form not intended by Gaia or nature, deformed and
occasionally showing signs of animals entirely unrelated to man or hyena, it is little
wonder the breed has been both admired and feared. Some metis have used this body
to their advantage; it is perhaps this strangeness that allows their bodies to withstand
the pressures this Gift inflicts. With this Gift, the metis can partially reach into the
Umbra, sending certain body parts into the Umbra while maintaining others in the
physical world. Doing so makes the metis difficult to hit in combat, to say the least. A
Pattern spider teaches this Gift.
System: The metis rolls Gnosis (difficulty of the local Gauntlet) and if the roll succeeds
spends 1 Gnosis. For the rest of the scene, the metis receives one extra automatic
success on all Dodge rolls.
Madness (Level Five)
The metis struggles his whole life to find his own purpose amid the countless schemes
and expectations of his clan. With this Gift, he can force others to face their inner
demons, including insanity and madness. The nature of the derangement varies among

Ajaba Gifts 19

individuals, but it will always be severe, making it impossible for the victim to function
normally. Lunes, along with spirits of trickery and madness teach this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Intimidation
(difficulty of the victims Willpower). The insanity lasts a number of days equal to the
successes rolled on the attempt. During this time, the metis can increase or decrease
the effects of the madness, granting the victim lucidity and then driving him into
psychosis. Even after the Gift has ended, the repercussions from the bout with madness
often haunt the target for the rest of his life.

Hyaenid Gifts
Level One Gifts

Hares Leap (Level One)

By invoking this Gift, the werehyena may leap incredible distances. Hare-, frog- and catspirits usually teach this Gift.
System: The player rolls Stamina + Athletics (difficulty 7). If successful, she may double
her normal jumping distance.
Heightened Senses (Level One)
The werehyena with this Gift tunes in to the world around her, increasing her senses
vastly. When in Homid or Anthros form, her senses become as sharp as those of a
hyena, allowing her to hear sounds beyond her normal range, granting her superior
night vision and making her sense of smell stronger than that of any dog. In hyena
forms, her senses become preternaturally potent, allowing her to perform feats that
border on precognition. This Gift has drawbacks as well. If a fire alarm were to go off
around an Ajaba using this Gift, it might render her helpless. Cities can barrage the
werehyena with a sensory overload. Wolf-spirits teach this gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point. The effects last for one scene. In Homid or
Anthros forms, the werehyenas Perception difficulties decrease by two, and she may
roll Perception + Primal-Urge to perform sensory feats impossible for humans (such as
tracking by scent). In Crinos, Crocas and Hyaenid forms, Perception difficulties decrease
by three (which is not cumulative with the ordinary Hyaenid-form Perception bonuses),
and the werehyena gains an extra die to Primal-Urge dice pools.
Sense Prey (Level One)
Werehyenas used this ancient Gift during hard summers to feed their packs. This Gift
lets Ajaba locate enough prey to feed a pack. In an urban environment, this Gift guides
the hyaenid to prey within the city, usually in parks, sewers, animal shelters and even
zoos. The Gift will tell the werehyena the location of large numbers of prey within 50
miles in the wilds, and within the limits of a city and its suburbs. Humans do not register
as prey animals. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The hunters player rolls Perception + Primal-Urge. The difficulty is 7 in
wilderness environments and 9 in urban environments. Success indicates the location of

Ajaba Gifts 20

enough prey to feed a large pack. In the case of multiple sources, the Gift guides the
werehyena to the nearest source (although not necessarily the easiest or safest).
Sense Wyld (Level One)
The Ajaba may sense Wyld energies or spirits in the nearby area. Any Gaian spirit can
teach this Gift.
System: The Ajaba rolls Perception + Enigmas against a difficulty determined by the
Storyteller, based on the strength of the presence.
Predators Arsenal (Level One)
One of the most unnerving aspects of the Homid shape is its lack of proper weapons.
This Gift remedies that problem (while still retaining much of the Homid shapes ability
to blend in with the human world), granting the Ajaba battle-ready claws and teeth in
Homid form. It is taught by a wolf-spirit.
System: The werehyena concentrates for a turn to gain access to bite and claw attacks
in Homid form for the rest of the scene, or until she dismisses the transformation. These
attacks inflict lethal rather than aggravated damage, and may be concealed by simple
expediencies such as the werehyena keeping her mouth closed, wearing long sleeves, or
keeping her hands in her pockets. She can even speak normally without giving herself
away, as long as shes careful not to open her mouth too wide or smile so that her teeth
show, although her voice sounds rough and a bit distorted (attempting to discern that
theres something amiss with an Ajaba taking such precautions requires a Perception +
Alertness roll, difficulty 9).
Prey Mind (Level One)
The hyena is not always the predator, as hyaenids sorely realize. Humans capability for
destruction grows ever greater, and more hyenas die at their hands every day. When
the predator becomes prey, it is this Gift that comes to the fore and assists the Ajaba in
evasion, showing them places to hide, ways to run, and even chances to attack back. A
lamb or deer-spirit teaches the Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Primal-Urge, difficulty 7 in wilderness environments, 9 in
urban environments. Success guides the hyena in how to best evade her pursuers; she
gains three dice to any pool made to escape, outdistance, hide from or evade pursuit.
The Gifts effects last for one turn per success, so if the hyaenid hasnt thrown pursuit by
then, shes on her own.
Level Two Gifts

Axis Mundi (Level Two)

By spending a Gnosis point, the hyaenid can center herself in relation to Gaia, and
always know which direction she is traveling in or facing, no matter where she may be in
the Gaia realms. In addition, the hyaenid carries her territory around with her, in a
mystical sense. Hyenas will detect this, and concede her right to travel through their
territories and hunt there. Even other hyaenids must make a Willpower roll not to
recognize this right. Other animals will also recognize this, and not attack the intruder.
Sense the Unnatural (Level Two)

Ajaba Gifts 21

The werehyena can sense any unnatural presence and determine its approximate
strength and type. Supernatural presences can include magic, spirits, the Wyrm, wraiths
and vampires, although it wont pick them out specifically as such. The werehyena may
sense a person plagued by hauntings as easily as a ghost. Any spirit servant of Gaia can
teach this gift.
System: The player rolls Perception + Enigmas. The more successes he rolls, the more
information he gains. The sensory input is somewhat vague and subject to
interpretation though. For instance, a vampire might smell of old blood, of fear, of
rotten flesh, of fresh meat or of whatever else the Storyteller finds appropriate.
Interpreting the information properly might require an Intelligence + Occult roll
(Storytellers option).
Scent of Sight (Level Two)
The werehyena can compensate for her vision completely by using her sense of smell.
She can attack invisible creatures normally or navigate roughly in absolute darkness.
Wolf-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player rolls Perception + Primal-Urge against a Storyteller-determined
difficulty that depends on how powerful local smells are. The Storyteller should require
rolls only when something could cause the Ajaba to lose her opponents scent (such as if
the opponent runs through water or into a reeking alley).
Level Three Gifts

Name the Spirit (Level Three)

A werewolf with this Gift becomes familiar with the ways of the Umbra. She can sense
the type and approximate Trait levels (Rage, Gnosis, Willpower) of spirits. A spirit
servant of the Uktena totem teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty
8).
Catfeet (Level Three)
This Gift gives the werehyena the agility of a cat, making her immune to falls under 100
feet (she lands on her feet just right). She also has perfect balance even on the most
slippery surfaces, and the difficulties of all combat actions involving body slams and
grappling decrease by two. Cat-spirits teach this Gift.
System: This ability becomes innate to those who learn the Gift.
Strength of Gaia (Level Three)
The Goddess blesses the hyaenid with the fullness of her might when she wears the
most natural of her skins. While wearing Hyaenid form, the Ajaba enjoys the full might
of Crinos. A hyena-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Rage point. Her Hyaenid forms base strength increases
by four, rather than the normal one, for the rest of the scene.
Level Four Gifts

Scream of Gaia (Level Four)

Ajaba Gifts 22

The Ajaba emits a horrible, ragged scream imbued with Rage and pain of Gaia. The force
of the scream batters foes and knocks them off their feet. Storm-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Rage. Everyone within a 50-foot
radius is blasted to the ground to suffer one health level of bashing damage per success
as a shockwave rips through the area.
Gnaw (Level Four)
The werehyenas jaws strengthen to the point that she can chew through just about
anything, given enough time. In addition, her jaws do more damage in combat, and only
death will break her grip if she clamps her teeth into an opponent. A wolf-spirit teaches
this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Stamina + 4 against a variable
difficulty (3 for wood, 6 for steel handcuffs, 9 for a train car coupling). The length of time
it takes to gnaw through something depends on the number of successes. In addition,
this Gift gives a characters bite two extra dice of damage for the duration of the scene.
Beast Life (Level Four)
The werehyena with this Gift can communicate with other wild animals and attract (or
even command) them. Domesticated animals will speak with the werehyena, but they
have given themselves to the ways of humans and must be persuaded to obey her. Any
animal spirit may teach this Gift, although Lion and Bear are most often sought as
teachers.
System: The player spends on Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Animal Ken (difficulty
7). The character gains the ability to communicate with all animals automatically. One
success can attract specific types of animals within a 10-mile radius, and those that can
reach the werehyena in a reasonable amount of time will do so. Each additional success
adds 10 miles (two successes indicate a 20-mile radius). All wild animals become friendly
to the character. They follow any reasonable request the character makes, and many
unreasonable ones as well. A character who uses this Gift to force an animal to sacrifice
itself had best pay homage to its spirit or risk angering Gaia. The effect lasts for one
scene, but the time may be extended by spending one Gnosis point per extra scene
desired.
Venom (Level Four)
A common trick of desert-dwelling Ajaba, this Gift allows the user to produce a noxious
venom. The werehyenas bile can incapacitate or even kill a victim. The Ajaba herself is
immune to her own poison, but she can be incapacitated by another Ajabas Venom
attack. A rattlesnake-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: After making a successful bite attack, the Ajaba must roll Stamina + Primal-Urge
in a resisted roll against the targets Stamina +4. For every additional success the
attacker gets, the victim receives an additional unsoakable, aggravated wound along
with whatever damage the bite caused. Each success also reduces the targets Stamina
by one level until the victim loses consciousness. Additional poisonous bites can force
the victim into a coma and eventually kill her.
Terror of the Cave Hyena (Level Four)

Ajaba Gifts 23

Hyenas haunt the ancestral nightmares of humanity, and of those monsters that were
once human. The werehyena lets out a fierce snarl that triggers primordial terror in
opponents and drowns them in the Delirium. A hyena-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends a point of Rage and rolls Manipulation + Primal-Urge
(difficulty of the opponents Willpower or, if he is affecting a group, the highest
Willpower represented). If successful, the werehyena invokes the full effect of the
Delirium on any human, formerly-human, or partly-human creature who can see her
including those normally immune to the Delirium, such as mages and vampires. Only
other shapeshifters are immune. It may be used in any form, although Homid and
Anthros raise the difficulty of the Primal-Urge roll by one.
Level Five Gifts

Elemental Gift (Level Five)

The werehyena calls upon the primal force of Gaia Herself, thereby commanding the
spirits of the elements to rise up, undulate forward and even engulf foes. This Gift
summons an elemental spirit, not merely the raw matter of the elements, but the primal
spirits possessing power enough to challenge even something as powerful as a Nexus
Crawler. The elementals grant this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Occult (difficulty 7). If
successful, she calls an elemental who grants her the ability to control a large volume of
air, earth, water or fire (in any of their forms) that is approximately 20 by 20 per
success. The effect lasts for one scene or until the elemental leaves or is destroyed.
Song of the Great Beast (Level Five)
To use this Gift, the werehyena must travel to the deep wilderness. When she reaches
her destination, she whoops the Song of the Great Beast into the sky, summoning one
of the Great Beasts to her aid. These beasts are terrible and ancient creatures that
walked the Earth in ages past. Examples include the Willawau (giant owl), the Yeti, the
Andrewsarchus (a hoofed carnivore), the great Megaladon sharks that swam in the seas
eons ago and the mighty Mammoth who arrives in herds. Who knows what else an
Ajaba might call? Rumors say that dinosaurs survive in the deep Congo. The surviving
Great Beasts possess abilities in the physical world that rival those of mighty spirits in
the Umbra. Even the wisest of Ajaba are not certain of their natures. Once the ancient
one arrives, the werehyena may make a request, although she should do so with great
caution. If the Great Beast agrees to aid the werehyena, it will do so in its own way, but
enemies of the hyaenid should beware. Few spirits know this Gift. Its said that those
that do dwell in the Realm of Pangaea.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Primal-Urge (difficulty
8) to sing the Song of the Great Beast. More successes improve the Great Beasts
disposition. Traits are left to the Storytellers discretion, but they should be
appropriately impressive.

Ajaba Gifts 24

Aspect Gifts
Dawn Gifts
Level One Gifts

Beat of the Heart-Drum (Level One)

The werehyena becomes an inescapable hunter, drawn ever onward by the beat of her
preys heart until that heart grows still. A spirit servant of Hyena teaches this Gift.
System: The Ajaba must have an object belonging to her target, a piece of the victim (a
blood sample, a lock of hair), or must have tasted her quarrys blood in the past. The
player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Perception + Survival (difficulty 7). The Dawn
can hear her quarrys heartbeat for one day per success, no matter how far away they
may be. The beat grows louder as the werehyena draws near, making tracking
effortless.
Finishing Blow (Level One)
A merely wounded enemy is an enemy that can still fight; dead, he can do no more
harm. This Gift, taught by a lion-spirit, helps the Ajaba finish her kills.
System: When attacking an enemy already suffering a wound penalty of at least -2, the
player may spend one Rage point (before rolling the attack) to double the Ajabas
strength for the purpose of determining damage.
Lightning Reflexes (Level One)
Ajaba of the Dawn are Gaias ultimate warriors, effortlessly switching from offense to
defense as the needs of battle demand. A mongoose-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player reflexively spends one Willpower point. For the next day, the
character need neither make a Willpower roll nor spend a Willpower point to abort to a
defensive action.
Pack Tactics (Level One)
While the Dawns role as the overall leader of the clan is questionable, there is no doubt
at all who should take control of the pack during a battle. By taking the lead and
coordinating pack actions, the Dawn gifts all of her packmates with great competence in
the heat of battle. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends a Willpower point before initiating a Pack Tactics maneuver
(W20, page 300), and divides a pool of extra dice equal to her Leadership score among
everyone performing the maneuver. The dice should be divided as evenly as possible,
although the player may choose where to distribute extra dice (or in case of the Dawns
Leadership score granting fewer dice than the number of packmates involved).
Razor Claws (Level One)
By raking her claws over stone or another hard surface, the Dawn hones them to razor
sharpness. Either a cat- or bear-spirit teaches this Gift.

Ajaba Gifts 25

System: The player spends one Rage point, and the Dawn must take a full turn to
sharpen her claws. For the remainder of the scene, her claw attacks do an additional die
of damage.
Resist Pain (Level One)
Through force of will, the Dawn is able to ignore the pain of her wounds and continue
acting normally. A bear-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point; his character may ignore all wound
penalties for the rest of the scene.
Sense Wyrm (Level One)
The werehyena can sense manifestations of the Wyrm in the nearby area. This Gift
involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although werehyenas using
the Gift sometimes say things like, This place stinks of the Wyrm (with a few more
colorful adjectives). Ajaba should remember that the Wyrms taint can cling to relatively
blameless souls. Werehyenas may sense an innocent person who happens to work in a
Wyrm-controlled factory or who has eaten tainted food. This power requires active
concentration. Any spirit of Gaia may teach this Gift.
System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the
concentration and strength of the Wyrms influence. Sensing a single fomor in the next
room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an
hour ago would be difficulty 8. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with
Humanity Traits of 7 or higher.
Level Two Gifts

Command Spirit (Level Two)

The Dawn can give simple commands to encountered spirits and expect a measure of
compliance. This Gift does not grant the ability to summon spirits. It enables the user
only to coerce them to obey. Any Incarna avatar can teach this Gift.
System: The player must spend a Willpower point and roll Charisma + Leadership
(difficulty of the spirits Gnosis). Each successive command requires the expenditure of
another Willpower point. Note that the Ajaba cannot command spirits to leave areas to
which they have been bound. Doing so requires the Level Three Midnight Gift Exorcism.
Dancing with the Dawn (Level Two)
Pushing the fire in her heart into her limbs, the Dawn hurls herself unharmed through
the ranks of Gaias foes. A mongoose-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player reflexively spends one Rage point, allowing the character to dodge
one attack with her full dice pool, regardless of what other actions she has taken during
the round. Alternately, a Rage point may be spent to enhance a normal dodge action,
adding three dice to the defense.
Shield of Rage (Level Two)
Such is the Rage burning within a Dawns heart that all lesser furies quail before it. A
wolverine-spirit teaches this Gift.

Ajaba Gifts 26

System: The player spends one Willpower point. For the rest of the scene, all spirits
Rage scores are considered two less than their real values for the purpose of rolling
damage against the Dawn.
Spirit of the Fray (Level Two)
This Gift allows the Dawn to attack with lightning speed, striking before any foe. A catspirit teaches this Gift.
System: Once the character learns this Gift, its effects are permanent. The Dawn may
add 10 to all her initiative rolls, which will nearly always ensure that she strikes first. If
she chooses, the Dawn may spend a Gnosis point to add another 10 to her initiative roll.
Remember, though, that doing so prevents her from spending Rage to gain extra
actions; werehyenas cant use Rage and Gnosis in the same turn.
Teeth at Dawn (Level Two)
To act first is a sign of confidence and power; a hyena who has seized the initiative in
battle is nearly unstoppable. A jaguar-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: Whenever the Ajaba has the highest initiative in a combat turn, she adds two
dice to each of her attacks that turn. This Gifts effects are permanent.
Level Three Gifts

Bloody Feast (Level Three)

Hyena, as a hungry, gluttonous spirit, can teach her favored children the ability to gain
added strength from an enemys flesh and blood. An avatar of Hyena teaches this Gift.
System: To activate this Gift, the Ajaba must first bite her opponent and be able to taste
blood meaning she must inflict at least one health level of damage, and her victim
must be something that bleeds. If her opponent has toxic blood or none at all, this Gift
will not work. The player then rolls Gnosis at a difficulty of the opponents Stamina + 3
(maximum of 10). The Dawn gains one extra dot in Strength for every two health levels
of damage inflicted by the bite (maximum of + 5 to Strength). The extra Strength bonus
lasts for one turn per success on the Gnosis roll. However, flesh and blood can be
addictive. The Dawns player must make an immediate frenzy roll the turn after
activating the Gift.
Redirect Pain (Level Three)
If a Dawn is struck in battle, she may rely upon this Gift to retaliate. Her enemy
immediately experiences the pain from wounds received by the Dawn. A cuckoo-spirit
teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Rage point and rolls Manipulation + Primal-Urge
(difficulty 8). For one scene, the target incurs whatever wound penalties indicated by
the Dawns current wound levels, regardless of whether or not the Dawn actually feels
the pain.
Sense the Unnatural (Level Three)
The werehyena can sense any unnatural presence and determine its approximate
strength and type. Supernatural presences can include magic, spirits, the Wyrm, wraiths
and vampires, although it wont pick them out specifically as such. The werehyena may

Ajaba Gifts 27

sense a person plagued by hauntings as easily as a ghost. Any spirit servant of Gaia can
teach this gift.
System: The player rolls Perception + Enigmas. The more successes she rolls, the more
information she gains. The sensory input is somewhat vague and subject to
interpretation though. For instance, a vampire might smell of old blood, of fear, of
rotten flesh, of fresh meat or of whatever else the Storyteller finds appropriate.
Interpreting the information properly might require an Intelligence + Occult roll
(Storytellers option).
Silver Jaws (Level Three)
The Dawn can establish her battlefield primacy against other werebeasts by
transforming her own teeth into silver. A Lune teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty 7) to activate the Gift. The transformation
lasts for the scene or until the Dawn decides to end the Gift. Silver teeth still do
aggravated damage to all targets, and they are naturally unsoakable to the Ajaba and
most other werebeasts. While the Dawn manifests the teeth, she suffers searing
agonies. Each turn, she gains an automatic Rage point. Furthermore, all non-combat
difficulties increase by one because of the distraction. When her Rage points exceed her
Willpower, she must check for frenzy.
Level Four Gifts

Battle Fury Focus (Level Four)

The Ajaba enters a battle trance, minimizing the openings she leaves for opponents. A
mongoose-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 7).
The Ajaba can reflexively dodge all attacks directed at her for the rest of the scene with
a pool of three dice.
Grasp the Beyond (Level Four)
The Ajaba may take things to and from the Umbra without having to dedicate them to
herself (see the Rite of Talisman Dedication). This Gift affects humans and animals, both
willing and unwilling. Ajaba often use this power to take loyal Kinfolk with them on
Umbral quests or to heal injured Kinfolk both body and soul in mystic Glens. Any
Gaian spirit can teach this Gift.
System: The Ajaba must grasp the object or person she wishes to take to the spirit
world. She must then spend a number of Willpower points: one for small items (a
pocket-watch or knife), two for larger items (a backpack or bow) and three for huge
items (including people). The player makes the usual Gnosis roll to pierce the Gauntlet
and step sideways; if successful, both she and the desired object or person pass into the
Umbra. An unwilling target may resist with a Willpower roll; each success subtracts one
from the Ajabas successes. An Ajaba attempting to abduct an unwilling victim must
achieve at least three successes on her Gnosis roll.
Unless he has the ability to step sideways, any person taken to the Umbra must rely on
the Ajaba to escape, or she must find an area with a very thin Gauntlet, such as a caern.
The Gauntlet rating must be 3 or lower for a victim to exit of his own accord. If he does

Ajaba Gifts 28

exit, he may not reenter the Umbra, regardless of the Gauntlet rating. If left in the
Umbra too long, a living creature eventually turns to spirit matter entirely.
Stoking Furys Furnace (Level Four)
No auspice is as closely tied to their Rage as the Dawn, who is the master of directing
her fury. This Gift taught by a wolverine-spirit allows her to channel her Rage even
more effectively.
System: The Ajaba regains one Rage point in any turn that she takes damage, and she
does not have to check for frenzy from that specific stimulus (other stimuli induce frenzy
checks as normal). In addition, the Ajaba can spend one Rage point and only one
per turn without losing any temporary Rage. However, if she spends multiple Rage in
any turn, they are marked off as usual.
Level Five Gifts

Bone Cracker (Level Five)

The Ajabas already vicious bite increases in power terribly, to the point that she can
mangle or even sever limbs with a single bite. An avatar of Hyena teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Rage point and rolls Strength + Medicine (difficulty of
the opponents Stamina + 3). The Ajabas next bite attack, if it hits, will mangle and
disable one of the targets limbs, inflicting three automatic, unsoakable, aggravated
health levels of damage in addition to any damage already rolled. The limb is rendered
useless until the target can regenerate the damage, or permanently in the case of
humans and other creatures who do not regenerate. If the player achieves five or more
successes on the Strength + Medicine roll, the limb is severed.
Strength of Will (Level Five)
The Dawn with this Gift could lead her pack to the gates of Hell itself if that were what it
took. A wolf-spirit or an Incarna avatar teaches this Gift.
System: The Ajabas player spends a point of Willpower and rolls Charisma + Leadership
(difficulty 8). Each success grants all the Ajabas allies within 100 feet an extra point of
Willpower. These extra points last for the rest of the scene, and they can be spent as
usual. This Gift can even raise an allys Willpower above its maximum or even above 10.
This Gift may be used only once per scene.

Midnight Gifts
Level One Gifts

Beast Speech (Level One)

The werehyena with this Gift may communicate with any animals, from fish to
mammals. This Gift does not change their basic reactions; most animals are still afraid of
predators such as werehyenas. Any spirit of nature can teach this Gift.
System: The player simply rolls Charisma + Animal Ken, although each separate
encounter or type of animal requires a separate roll.
Burning the Vision (Level One)

Ajaba Gifts 29

The Midnight can etch a moment into anothers memory, ensuring that they can never
forget so much as a single detail of what they see or hear. This Gift, taught by a servant
of Helios, is often used at the scenes of terrible atrocities against Gaia.
System: The Ajaba touches the one he wishes to force remembrance on and spends one
Willpower point. The Target gains perfect recall of everything that happens during the
scene until his dying day.
Mindspeak (Level One)
By invoking the power of waking dreams, the Ajaba can place any chosen characters into
silent communion. A Chimerling teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point per sentient being chosen and makes a
Manipulation + Expression roll (difficulty of the victims Willpower) if the being is
unwilling. All those included in the dream may interact normally through the
Mindspeak, although they can inflict no damage through it. Their real bodies can still
act, although all dice pools decrease by two. The Mindspeak ends when all the
participants want it to, or on the turn the Midnight fails the roll against an unwilling
member. The beings affected must be within line of sight.
Mothers Touch (Level One)
The Ajaba is able to heal the wounds of any living creature, aggravated or otherwise,
simply by laying hands over the afflicted area. The Ajaba may not heal himself, spirits or
the undead with this Gift. A bear- or unicorn-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends on Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty of
the wounded individuals Rage, or 6 for creatures without Rage). Each success heals one
health level. The Midnight may heal even Battle Scars in this manner if he uses the Gift
in the same scene in which the scar was obtained and he spends a second Gnosis point.
There is no limit to how many times this Gift may be used on a person, but each use
requires the expenditure of one Gnosis.
Perfect Recall (Level One)
Midnight Ajaba often share one trait even before the Change takes them. That trait is
memory. Midnights often have good heads for detail; this Gift, however, accentuates
that capacity. Any Weaver-spirit can teach this Gift, which is one reason it isnt more
common.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point. The Ajaba can then remember any one
detail, no matter how small, from his entire life. A name he only heard once, a scent
that he only smelled faintly whatever the memory, as long as he experienced it, he
can call it to mind. Note that this Gift does not provide context for the memory, but
using it can lower the difficulty on related rolls (remembering a conversation the
character had with his father about cars might aid in fixing an engine, for example). The
Storyteller has final say over whether or not the character has ever experienced a given
detail.
Persuasion (Level One)
This Gift allows a Midnight to become more persuasive when dealing with others, in
such a way that his statements and arguments are imbued with added meaning or
credibility. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.

Ajaba Gifts 30

System: The player rolls Charisma + Subterfuge. If successful, the Storyteller reduces the
difficulties of all his Social rolls by one for the remainder of the scene. In addition, any
successful Social rolls may have significantly more impact than they would without the
Gift. A werehyena could win arguments with hard line opponents, or cause a coldhearted psychopath to relent (at least for a little while).
Tears of the Heavens (Level One)
Raising his arms and reciting a spontaneous poem, the Ajaba calls down the rain. A skyspirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Wits + Expression (difficulty 8).
Success causes rain to fall across an area (Obligation) miles in diameter around the
Ajaba for ten minutes per success.
Level Two Gifts

Bless the Rains (Level Two)

The Ajaba composes words of thanks to the rain falling around him, complimenting it for
sharing its bounty with the dry Earth. The rains respond with generosity. An ancestorspirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Wits + Expression (difficulty 7).
The rain subsequently restores one level of bashing or lethal damage to non-Wyrmtainted beings it touches, and renders any ground it falls on unusually fertile. This Gift
may only be used while standing in the rain, and the Ajaba can only empower a
rainstorm oncethough the effects of the Gift strike everywhere that the same rains
fall.
Distractions (Level Two)
The Ajaba can make annoying yips, yelps and howls to divert the attention of his target.
A coyote-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Performance (difficulty of the victims Willpower) Each
success subtracts one die from the targets dice pool next turn.
Dreamspeak (Level Two)
The Midnight can enter anothers dream and thereby affect the course of that dream.
The werehyena does not have to be anywhere near the target, but he must know or
have seen the dreamer. A Chimerling teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Empathy (difficulty 8). If the dreamer awakens while the
Midnight is still within the dream, the werehyena is thrown out of the dream world, and
he loses a Gnosis point.
Scavenge (Level Two)
The Ajaba may safely consume and digest any physical object he can get into his mouth,
from carrion to pistols to toxic waste: his jaws can chew it, and his stomach can process
it. A goat-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: This Gifts effects are permanent, though it costs a Gnosis point to eat anything
that is actively poisonous (such as toxic waste) rather than merely noxious or inedible.
The Ajabas digestion destroys fetishes and other empowered items, though

Ajaba Gifts 31

supernaturally indestructible items may survive their transit. The Ajaba can even destroy
an opponents armor in battle, one bite at a time.
Shadows of the Serengeti (Level Two)
As the Ajaba sings a song of his fallen Kin, their shadows rise from the dust of the earth
to lend their strength to his cause. A night-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Obligation (difficulty 8). For each
success, one unearthly shadow-hyena rises from the earth around the Ajaba, and aids
him until the end of the scene. These shadows have the traits of a normal hyena, save
that they only possess three health levels. The shadow hyenas have physical presence,
but are neither truly ghosts nor spirits.
Level Three Gifts

Calling the Eshu (Level Three)

The Midnight can call upon ancient pacts between his people and the fae. By emitting a
special whoop, the Ajaba can call whatever fae are in the area to help. They will obey
the Midnight, but not without question. A dream-spirit teaches this Gift, and the
teaching normally involves a quest of some kind. Ajaba use this gift to summon taletelling spirits to enlighten their packs.
System: The player spends at least one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Occult
(difficulty 8). Spending more Gnosis increases the raw power of the faeries who
respond, while more successes on the roll means that more faeries answer. Note that
this Gift may summon changelings or dream-spirits called chimera, but it will call true
fae only in strange Umbral reaches, and even then very rarely. Botching this roll is bad
news; the faeries who respond are vicious and malevolent, and they will act to hinder
the Ajaba.
Exorcism (Level Three)
This is the Gift of ejecting spirits from places or objects, whether they are there
voluntarily or are bound there. Any Incarna avatar can teach this Gift.
System: The Ajaba must concentrate uninterrupted for three turns. If a spirit does not
wish to leave, the player must make a Manipulation + Intimidation roll (difficulty of the
spirits Willpower). If the spirit has been bound to its lodging place (or into a fetish),
then the exorcist must make a Wits + Subterfuge roll (difficulty 8) and gain more
successes than the binder did when tying the spirit to its location. This Gift can be used
to cure fomori, although the host will surely die as the Bane is ejected unless a
powerful healer manages to preserve her life during the exorcism.
Song of Heroes (Level Three)
Reciting a tale of ancient Ajaba heroism, the Midnight conjures up the spirit of fallen
heroes and infuses those listening with some portion of their power. An ancestor-spirit
teaches this Gift.
System: This Gift requires the full recitation of a story of epic heroism, taking at least
several minutes. At the end of the tale, the player spends two Gnosis points and rolls
Charisma + Performance (difficulty 8). Every two successes on this roll add one point to

Ajaba Gifts 32

a single Ability score for all listening Ajaba and Kinfolk, much like the Ancestors
Background (see p. 136). This bonus lasts until the sun rises.
Wisdom of the Ancient Ways (Level Three)
All werehyenas have an innate connection to their ancestors, a form of racial
unconscious accessible through intense meditation. The Midnight can tap into these
deep memories to remember ancient facts and lore. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The character must meditate for a short time, concentrating on the past. The
player then rolls Gnosis (difficulty 9, -1 for each point of Ancestors the Ajaba possesses).
The number of successes determines how detailed and exact the answer he receives will
be.
Level Four Gifts

Bitter Tears (Level Four)

Standing in the pouring rain, the Ajaba composes a spontaneous poem expressing his
sorrow at Gaias fallen state; the intensity of the rain redoubles, and it carries some
measure of his sadness. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Expression
(difficulty 7). All humans touched by the rain whose main dwelling is in a place with a
Gauntlet of 7 or higher are seized with a great listless melancholy so long as the rain
lasts, suffering a -3 penalty to all dice pools. This Gift may only be used while standing in
the rain.
Gift of Dreams (Level Four)
The Midnight crafts a dream, then breathes it into a sleeping individual. A Lune teaches
this Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Expression (difficulty 6) to craft the dream; more
successes allows for more vivid and impactful dreams. To ensure that an individual
experiences this dream, the Midnight must breathe it into the targets mouth while they
sleep. The player spends a Gnosis point to complete the Gift. Dreams crafted with this
Gift are often unusually vivid and dramatic, often leaving even lifelong skeptics
convinced that they hold some deep meaning.
Phantasm (Level Four)
The Ajaba creates an unmoving illusion that contains visual, auditory, olfactory and even
tactile elements. A grain-spirit the so-called spirit of spirits teaches this gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis for each 10-foot area to be covered by the
illusion and then rolls Intelligence + Expression. Anyone who doubts the illusion must
roll Perception + Alertness and exceed the Ajabas successes in order to see through it.
Level Five Gifts

Fabric of the Mind (Level Five)

The highest-ranked Midnights can bring the products of their imagination to very solid
live, crafting creatures from the spiritual essence of dreams. Chimerlings teach this Gift.
System: The player makes an extended roll of Intelligence + Performance (difficulty 8).
He can create any form of life he can imagine, assigning it one dot of Traits for each

Ajaba Gifts 33

success gained on the roll. The werehyena can take as long as he wants to form the
creature, accumulating successes from turn to turn, but once he stops, the dream being
takes form and requires the expenditure of Gnosis to keep it manifested. The cost is one
Gnosis per scene if the dream being remains relatively inactive (such as doing minor
chores or watching a location), or one point per turn if the being engages in combat or
similarly strenuous activity. The werehyena must be careful, because if he botches at
any point, the dream being escapes his control. It will remain in the physical world for as
long as it sees fit.
Rain of Doom (Level Five)
Standing in the rain, the Ajaba points to a man-made object or building and spits insults
and curses at it, expressing his rage and disdain. The rain acts as acid when it strikes the
structure, pitting concrete and corroding steel. A pain-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends three Rage points and rolls Wits + Primal-Urge (difficulty 8).
The successes gained dictate how large a structure may be destroyed. Only one success
would be necessary to tear down a cabin, three for a three-story house, or five for an
office complex. This Gift may only be used while standing in the rain.

Dusk Gifts
Level One Gifts

Blur of the Milky Eye (Level One)

The Ajabas form becomes a shimmering blur, allowing her to pass unnoticed among
others. Once the Ajaba has been seen, however, this Gift is negated until the viewer has
again been distracted. A chameleon-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Stealth (difficulty 8). Although she doesnt
become truly invisible, each success increases the difficulties of all Perception rolls made
to detect her by one.
Fatal Flaw (Level One)
The Dusk can discern a targets weakness, granting an advantage in combat. A crowspirit teaches this Gift.
System: The Dusk must concentrate for one full turn. The player rolls Perception +
Empathy (difficulty of the targets Wits + Subterfuge). Success grants the Ajaba an extra
die of damage during combat with that target. Additional successes grant knowledge of
further weaknesses (although no further damage bonus is gained). Five successes reveal
all of the targets flaws.
Laughter in the Night (Level One)
Like any good hyena, the Ajaba is much more dangerous once the sun goes downand
far bolder in taking prey. A night-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The character permanently adds one die to all Stealth rolls at night.
Open Seal (Level One)
With this Gift, the Ajaba can open nearly any sort of closed or locked physical device. A
raccoon-spirit teaches this Gift.

Ajaba Gifts 34

System: The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty of the local Gauntlet rating).
Scent of Running Water (Level One)
The Ajaba can mask her scent completely, making herself virtually impossible to track. A
fox-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The difficulties of all rolls to track the Ajaba increase by two. This Gift becomes
an innate ability to the Ajaba who learns it. She need not expend any points or make any
rolls. However, the Dusk may still leave a scent behind if she decides to do so voluntarily
(which may be necessary to blend in with hyena clans).
Spirit Snare (Level One)
The Dusk casts out an invisible, mystic net which entangles hostile spirits, confounding
them with a mixture of magical force and long-broken but still potent Gaian law. An owlspirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 8)
as an attack directed at a spirit within 30 feet, which can be defended against normally.
Rather than inflicting damage, this attack reduces the spirits effective Willpower by two
for the purpose of all combat actions for the rest of the scene. Multiple applications of
this Gift dont stack.
Spirit Speech (Level One)
This Gift allows the Ajaba to communicate with encountered spirits. The Ajaba is thus
able to address them whether they wish to be addressed or not. Of course, nothing
(usually) prevents the spirit from ignoring the Dusk or leaving. Any spirit can teach this
Gift.
System: Once learned, this Gift allows the Ajaba to understand the communication of
spirits intuitively. Particularly alien spirits may be difficult or, in the case of many
Banes, outright painful to understand.
Whispers in the Grass (Level One)
The werehyena may move soundlessly through any natural environment; grass bends
without making any noise, and dry twigs break soundlessly beneath her tread. A mousespirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Stealth, difficulty 6. Success reduces the difficulty of
moving quietly in natural environments by 3 (to a minimum of 2). This Gift has no effect
in man-made environments.
Level Two Gifts

Ambush (Level Two)

When the Ajaba strikes from concealment, her blow burns with Rage, felling her
opponent in a single strike. A jaguar-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player may spend one Rage point when making a surprise attack, after
rolling damage, to double the amount of damage inflicted before soak.
Blissful Ignorance (Level Two)
The Ajaba can become completely invisible to all senses, spirits or monitoring devices by
remaining still. A chameleon-spirit teaches this Gift.

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System: The Ajabas player rolls Dexterity + Stealth (difficulty 7). Each success subtracts
one success from the Perception + Alertness rolls of those looking for the character
actively. If no one is doing so, then just one success indicates complete concealment.
Lunas Armor (Level Two)
The Dusk may call for Lunas protection in battle. This Gift even allows limited resistance
to silver. A Lune teaches this Gift.
System: The Ajaba concentrates for one full turn, and the player spends a Gnosis point
and rolls base Stamina + Survival (difficulty 7). The player may add one die per success
to the Ajabas soak pool for the rest of the scene. These bonus dice may also be used to
soak silver damage, but only these dice. For example, if the Ajabas Stamina is 4 and the
player rolls three successes, the Ajaba has seven dice to soak non-silver damage and
three to soak silver.
Sight from Beyond (Level Two)
When danger stalks the Ajaba or momentous events are in the offing, visions begin
striking the Ajaba without warning. The nature of the danger is veiled in metaphor a
powerful vampire may appear in the Dusks dream as a bloody skeleton, while an
impending battle might be heralded by dreams of carrion crows. Crow-spirits teach this
Gift.
System: Interpreting these signs is best handled through roleplaying, but the Storyteller
can require the Ajabas player to roll Wits + Occult (difficulty 7) if he deems appropriate.
Taking the Forgotten (Level Two)
The Dusk with this Gift can steal something from a target, and her victim will forget that
he ever possessed the stolen item. A mouse-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player must score three successes on a Wits + Stealth roll (difficulty of the
victims Intelligence + Streetwise).
Level Three Gifts

Paralyzing Stare (Level Three)

The Dusk directs a terrifying glare at a target, causing her to freeze in terror. A crowspirit teaches this Gift.
System: The Ajaba concentrates for one turn. The player spends one Gnosis point, and
rolls Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty of the targets Willpower). Each success freezes
the target in place for one turn. The target must be able to see the Ajaba.
Pulse of the Invisible (Level Three)
Spirits fill the world around the Ajaba, and none knows this fact better than the Dusk.
This Gift grants constant awareness of the spirit world. Even in the physical world, the
Dusk with this Gift can interact with spirits in the Penumbra at will. While most spirit
activity is barely worth watching, the Dusk will be aware of any dramatic changes. Any
spirit can teach this Gift.
System: If the Ajabas permanent Gnosis equals or exceeds the Gauntlet, she can see
into the Umbra automatically. Otherwise, the player must roll Gnosis to pierce the
Gauntlet (difficult of the Gauntlet rating). Only one success is required. The effect lasts
for an entire scene or until the character enters an area with a higher Gauntlet.

Ajaba Gifts 36

Smoky Passage (Level Three)

Having struck her blow for Gaia, the Dusk may easily escape before the carnage shes
wrought catches her in its jaws. This Gift allows her to leap through a wall as though it
were made of smoke, leaving behind only an unearthly ripple to mark her passage. A
smoke-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point. The Ajaba may spring through any wall
during that turn at her full movement speed, so long as it is no thicker than (Ferocity)
feet.
Umbral Strike (Level Three)
The werehyena disappears and instantly reappears behind an opponent up to 50 feet
away. This Gift is taught by grasshopper mouse-spirits.
System: The player spends one point of Gnosis and Rage; the victim must be within lineof-sight. The werehyena can immediately attack in the same turn at -2 difficulty.
Level Four Gifts

Becoming the Night Jester (Level Four)

Though this Gift offers no power during the day, by night the Dusks Crocas form takes
on an aspect of ancient nocturnal terrora primal, red-eyed, and black-furred hyena
the size of a polar bear. Hyena herself teaches this Gift.
System: At night the characters Crocas form adds one to its Strength, Dexterity, and
Stamina. This Gifts effects are permanent.
Echoes of the Asamando (Level Four)
Powerful Ajaba of the Dusk learn dark roads to victory, gleaning wisdom from voices
most would quail to hear. This Gift, taught by an ancestor-spirit, allows the Ajaba to
speak and be heard by the deadand to hear their voices in return.
System: The character must kill to use this Giftwhether it is beast, or man, or monster
that she slays is irrelevant, but she must end a life to hear the Echoes of Asamando.
Additionally, within a minute of enacting the kill, the player must spend a point of
Gnosis. For the rest of the scene, the Ajabas voice may be heard unmistakably across
the Shroud, and she can hear anything that nearby ghosts might say as clearly as though
she stood in the Underworld herself.
Open Wounds (Level Four)
The Ajaba may cause the next wound she inflicts to bleed profusely, weakening the
target further. A pain-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Strength + Medicine (difficulty 7).
If the Dusks next attack does any damage, the target will bleed continuously, losing one
health level per turn for a number of turns equal to the number of successes rolled. This
hemorrhaging is considered lethal damage.
Level Five Gifts

Reach the Umbra (Level Five)

The Ajaba may step into and out of the Umbra at will, without need of a reflective
surface or even any effort at all. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift.

Ajaba Gifts 37

System: The Ajaba may step sideways instantly, at any time, with no fear of being
caught. No roll is necessary. In addition, all rolls made to enter or leave Umbral
Realms receive a -2 difficulty bonus. She may not, however, spend Rage in the same
turn that she steps sideways.
Shadow Pack (Level Five)
The Ajaba summons up shadowy duplicates of herself to stand by her in battle. These
shadow-hyenas resemble the Dusk and have some of the same capabilities. A nightspirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty 8) and spends a variable number of Gnosis
points. For each point spent, the Garou summons a shadow-duplicate. These duplicates
have the same Attributes and Abilities as the Ajaba, but they may not use Gnosis or
Willpower. Each has only one health level (i.e., any attack that is not soaked destroys it).
The duplicates fade at the end of the scene.