Rabbit Mentor spirit?, looking for creative rule minded people Options

[StormWatcher]

Yes, you read the topic title right-
i am possibly looking into making an npc who follows a Rabbit mentor
spirit...the problem?! No rules material covering such wonders.
Usually, i would probably try to scratch out something myself,
but i am curious as to what you rules proficient fellow runners
might throw towards the pros/cons of a Rabbit mentor spirit-
things i was hoping to find a not rules destroying of touching on
is the traditional outlook of rabbits being a "lucky" animal-
i was thinking of a disadvantage similar to Rats.

So what say you fellow runners/gm's?

[fool]

+2 d to seduction (whatever the appropriate skill is) and +2 to running, combat paralysis. The seduction because of their notable ability to reproduce.
or for the luck aspect
+1 edge and +1 increase to max edge (yes this raises the max for a human to 8 ) and +2 to running or jumping, have to have a cyber foot or focus addiction (mummified foot). or a combination of the two making the mummified foot their own.

[Stahlseele]

maybe a + to shape earth for their burrowing ways, or spirits of the appropriate area of effect(i.e. usual living room of rabbits)

[hermit]

yes this raises the max for a human to 8

9 with the Luck quality. So why not use that? Keeps the game balance a lot better.

+2 to spirits of the earth, +1 to shape earth, +1 to healing spells, +2 to running tests, combat paralysis, luck

Unsure about the sex thing. +2 to seduction doesn't sit wel with me - Rabbit's justa but fucking, not the siren totem. A penalty if the character hasn't had sex in a given amount of time comes to mind, but that can horribly backfire and will make the character seem like an idiot in many situations, so ... I dunno.

[Whipstitch]

Actually, rabbits are associated with fertility, spring, cowardice, trickery and creation in quite a few cultures. The entire idea of the Easter bunny, for example, or Nanabozho, the Great Rabbit of Anishinaabe myth. The lucky rabbit's foot thing I think came outta hoodoo, and I think rabbits are considered pretty lucky in Chinese astrology. Otherwise, it's all tricksters and makin' babies (There's a reason Brer Rabbit seemed a logical canidate to absorb the Anansi tales). Hell, the Aztecs had the Centzon Totochtin, which were apparently a few hundred divine rabbits that meet up for parties and together are essentially the governing deity of drunkeness. Basically, think Bacchus the Bunny(ies). Also, by Japanese folklore rabbits live on the moon and like to make mochi. But, uh, I'm not sure how you'd include that one.


I'd go with a bonus to Health Spells and Con, plus a penalty to combat spells or the has to flee penalty from Rat.

[Screamin Demon]

Extra edge from a totem!? Sign me up on that one!

Not trying to be 'uncreative', but realistically (Not that Mentor spirits are real) I don't see why the rabbit should differ from the rat to much. The disadvantage is very appropriate. You could add dice to running instead of infiltration, and instead of resistance to disease perhaps give a like bonus to listening, digging, or the number of offspring the 'Runner is capable of producing at one time (If thats what really floats your boat).

Remember, that mentor spirits are not actual manifestations of the animal, but manifestations of metahuman perspective of the animal. The edge bonus is appropriate, but a bit too overpowered for my taste.
Oh. And hello everyone. Glad to be here.

[CircuitBoyBlue]

Maybe a bonus to awareness or surprise tests. Or perhaps escape tests. You could maybe give a negative to fear resistance-type tests.

The problem I would have with combat paralysis is that I was a huge fan of the old comic/MTV cartoon the Maxx, which was about a homeless guy that had a rabbit for a spirit animal. I don't think his actions very closely mirrored what a rabbit totem should be in SR, but I'd still be a little peeved if I played a character with a rabbit totem and didn't get to unleash some major pain on some isz.

[hermit]

It basically would - in my iteration - give youa quality you could have anyway (and that's a damn sensible buy for advanced characters).

[StormWatcher]

i like a lot of the ideas so far-
especially the possible awareness/perception bonus
and the earth spirits bonus.

much like another poster, the bonus edge felt a little
overpowering to me as well for a mentor spirit boost.

I am still iffy on the ratlike disadvantage, but currently yes,
it is still the most rabbit like sense rabbits by nature are
easily startled.

[Screamin Demon]

...have you ever read Watership Down?
I would seriously recommend at least browsing it and using such material to assist in RPing the mentor spirit. Lots of nice phrases and other such fluff. Perhaps a bit of a heavy homework assignment just for someone's spirit mentor, but its a great read anyhow.

[Critias]

Screw "Rabbit," I'm gonna be a follower of the Bigwig Totem. It stats up like Wolf. Grrr!

[Squinky]

Oddly enough, when I think of rabbit totems I think of a disadvantage of not respecting boundaries/curiosity. So perhaps a willpower roll to resist "going into the farmers pasture" or getting into something he knows he shouldn't.

The lucky thing, with the feet and whatnot dosen't fit with me. Off the top of my head I would think that you could allow a bonus to the number of bound spirits, or a simple +2 on summoning a certain kind of spirit to represent their fertility (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[StormWatcher]

i like the curiosity/boundaries thing a lot-

[Screamin Demon]

Oddly enough, when I think of rabbit totems I think of a disadvantage of not respecting boundaries/curiosity. So perhaps a willpower roll to resist "going into the farmers pasture" or getting into something he knows he shouldn't.

That brings to mind the classic children's book 'Peter Rabbit'. Knowing he shouldn't pilfer Mr. McGregor's garden, and yet doing so anyway. Good old fashioned American fables, just what Mentor Spirits are made of! What is the ethnicity and loose upbringing of the runner, btw? Might help narrowing down the many cultural interpretations of the essential rabbit.

Perhaps you should have a Willpower+Charisma roll to avoid pursuit of one's curiosity/primal interests. A bit like the seductress for my liking though... How else could one systematically express such leporidian inclinations?

Heh. I wouldn't want to cross the path of a dark rabbit follower... Unless of course I had a Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch near at hand. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)

[FrankTrollman]

+2 to health spells, +2 to running tests.
Rabbits are cowardly as the Rat totem.

Simple and to the point. You can use it for a sexy sex cultist, you can use it for a tricksy coward, you can use it for a lunar patron of justice, you just need to arm him or her with the right health spells.

-Frank

[paws2sky]

+2 to health spells, +2 to running tests.
Rabbits are cowardly as the Rat totem.

Simple and to the point. You can use it for a sexy sex cultist, you can use it for a tricksy coward, you can use it for a lunar patron of justice, you just need to arm him or her with the right health spells.

-Frank

What if you said:

Advantages: +2 for Health. +2 to Running or Con (choose one).
Disadvantages: Cowardly, as Rat totem


That pretty much covers all the myth-related bases, doesn't it?
I guess one could expand it to Health or Illusion, but Con by itself probably fits better.

[Lionhearted]

Funny how no one has mentioned the legendary keen hearing of rabbits.. but myself i was thinking more along the line of The overconfident hare

[fool]

the edge thing was meant to be at least somewhat tongue in cheek. However, I thought the balance was decent. Losing aa foot means automatically having tose a point of magic and the cap to magic; when combined with the focus addiction (mummified foot) that is a very strong drawback.

[Cain]

I really don't like the extra Edge. In addition to all my usual objections, I encountered a SR4 GM who said that he scored a TPK with an otherwise-normal NPC with max Edge.

I'd go with Whipstich. Rabbits have been traditionally associated with luck, trickery, fertility, and creation. While Edge is out, maybe a +2 to illusion and a +2 to con, plus cowardice, would be appropriate?

[b1ffov3rfl0w]

I created (but did not play) a character who had Bugs Bunny as his Mentor Spirit (although it was actually just Trickster). Trickster's great for Rabbits as well as Coyotes, depending on your character's background. Rabbits are also (IRL) quite territorial and will fight pretty impressively considering their lack of claws/horns/fangs. Hares, I think, have sometimes used a system where one would flee to near the hiding spot of another, who would then take off in a sort of relay race to confuse/exhaust a predator.

Anyway, fleeing like Rat is definitely more apt than Combat Paralysis.

[Siege]

Great - what's next? Jackalope? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

-Siege

[fool]

you could name him jackhammer (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Siege]

Nah - Jackalope is nothing more than a horny rabbit. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

-Siege

[Daddy's Litt...]

Jack-a-bassalope? Part jack rabbit, part bassalope?

Some people have hinted at it, but I will try and get the quote right:
All the world will be your enemy prince with a thousand enemies, and if they can catch you, they will kill you.
but first they must catch you.
Digger,
Listener
Prince with the swift warning
Be cunning and your people shall never die.
-Robert Adams


I love the idea of boundries, curiosity but for a benefit I would give "information/detection" spells +2. The rabbit always knows what is going on around him and knows how to best exploit the terrain to best effect. But this can be dangerous as his innate curiosity means he will take great risks to see what is just around the bend.

[BookWyrm]

So, what would the Toxic version of the Rabbit totem be? The Beast of Caerbannog?