Beast-Mastering Behavior
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Template:Duration One week
Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Tied Pet
The Solar holds dominion over the beasts of the field. With this Charm she can train an animal, familiar or otherwise, to follow her commands. Through exercise and repeated practice, she can also train the beast to use special abilities that are latent, such as an eagle's disarm ability (p. 563), or techniques designed by the player or the Storyteller which are appropriate to the animal.
Normally, training an animal to unlock its latent potential requires a minimum of Survival 3, and two specialties: one in animal husbandry, and another specific to the animal—falconry for a hawk, lion taming for a great cat, and so on. The trainer makes an extended roll with an interval of one month and a goal of 10, modified by the animal's attitude—docile and tamed beasts presenting no penalties, familiars representing a number of bonus dice equal to the trainer's Intimacy to the animal, and hostile, wild, or otherwise untrainable animals representing a penalty of -2 or -3. The trainer must spend the entire month interacting with the beast, teaching it words, signals, commands, and running it through exercises daily. Any significant amount of time the trainer spends away from the beast during this time saps successes away at a rate of one success for every two or three days. Success at the extended roll means that the animal learns to use the technique and can be order to do so on command.
A Solar with Beast-Mastering Behavior gains (Essence) automatic successes to this roll, and shortens the interval of the roll to one week. Using this Charm exempts her from the specialty requirements of normal training, while the Charm Friendship with Animals Approach may eliminate the penalty associated with wild or hostile animals.
At Survival 5+, Essence 3+, the Solar can teach a familiar she has enhanced with Spirit-Tied Pet to use magical abilities, such as the eagle's special ability Iron Wings Carry. Doing so costs the Solar two experience points per ability trained.The player and the Storyteller can work together to develop new and appropriate abilities for the Solar to teach her familiar.
Also at Survival 5+, Essence 3+, the Exalt can use Beast- Mastering Behavior on a familiar she has enhanced with Bestial Traits Technique, to teach it to use a special ability that it can only use during Deadly Predator Method, for a cost of two experience points. Such abilities need not be wholly appropriate for the animal in question. A flying squirrel might gain the power to generate a charge like an electric eel, while a tyrant lizard might learn to spit a fireball from its mouth.