Land Titans - Thunder Walks on Royal Feet

More god-man than beast-man, the Land Titan faces an uncertain future. Always rare and now practically extinct, this massive breed melds human forms with elephants and rhinoceroses. Despite those ungainly combinations, these ferals are among the most regal of their kind. In legendary times, such beings were seen as gods, and even now they bear a quiet grace. Traditionally, the Walking Thunder People have been associated with wealth, health, luck and power. Their soul-kin decorate banners from Thailand, India and Burma. Sadly, their magnificence has exposed elephants and rhinos to wholesale murder. Big-game hunters still pit their weapons against the largest land-based beasts, while poachers kill the animals for their tusks. Even when Man hasn’t pulled the trigger, he still ravages the fragile landscapes that maintain these massive beasts. Caught between slaughter and starvation, the animals have dwindled rapidly, from millions in the last century to a few hundred thousand now. The Land Titans are not pleased, and their benefi cent natures have recently turned deadly. In War-Beast form, Land Titans seem profoundly strange. The awkward combination of huge tusked heads and human bodies lend them an uncanny presence. As their bodies swell, their skins thicken while horns or tusks jut from changing faces. Long ago, humans considered it a miracle or curse to see Walking Thunder assume such forms. Now it’s almost always a death sentence. These folk have had enough of human cruelty, and when one attains War-Beast form, it’s too late for mercy. 

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Breed Traits

Even in their human forms, Land Titans are huge — typically over six feet tall and weighing over 300 pounds. The slender Jhaa are shorter and lighter but still powerfully built. Primal Titan forms resemble elephants or rhinos of unusual size and vigor. Land Titans always seem to feel hot, and favor fans or air-conditioning when in their human forms, water and mud otherwise.
Among the breeds, the Walking Thunder seem most sociable. Their scarcity keeps them from associating in large numbers, but each Titan has animal kin nearby. These companions are regarded as beloved family, and no harm against them is allowed. As people, Land Titans are gregarious almost to a fault. They’ll talk your ear off in several languages, and seem incorrigibly curious. Land Titans speak in deep, fluid voices, and the elephant- folk tend to talk a lot. Surprisingly, they’re light on their feet, and can be almost silent when they walk. When angry or aroused, a Titan rumbles in an almost subsonic voice; when happy, he purrs. To a one, Land Titans are zealous about their kin. There are simply too few left to ignore. Almost always active in tribal or national politics, a Walking Thunder uses her humanshape for diplomacy and her Primal shape for power. When possible, a Titan wanders with her kin, often as the leader of her herd. If something threatens that herd, the feral takes whatever measures seem wise — from stealth in the human form to a slashing tusk in Primal or War-Beast. When shown respect or kindness, Walking Thunders are often generous. Although the rhino-folk retain the fractious nature of their kin, elephant-people love children, fi ne food and good company. Offering zawadi (gifts) to their friends, they provide favors and comfort for their favored people. A sense of magnanimity surrounds a happy Titan, as if his sheer size extended to his goodwill. Nothing, however, earned greater enmity than a broken or abused promise. These folk have seen enough treachery to last millennia . . . and yes, their memories are long. 

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Habitats

Native to Africa, India and South Asia, Land Titans rarely leave their homelands. So endangered are their animal kin that it takes a true threat to convince one of the Walking Thunder People to move even temporarily. Most favor rural settlements, although a few enjoy the luxuries of human wealth. Every so often, one of these gargantuan folk winds up captured for a menagerie, zoo or work camp. Fortunately, the enormous shift between the Titan’s beast form and her human one often allows such captives to slip their chains and escape. Would-be captors — or worse, ivory poachers — soon meet gruesome deaths. Although elephants are renowned for gracious temperaments, rhinos are not . . . and everyone has a breaking point. 

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Predators and Prey

Despite their size and occasional ferocity, Land Titans do not eat meat in any form. Even their human bodies seem sickened by the taste. Legend has it that the gods forbade the Titans to eat meat after the first elephant made all Earth his hunting ground. Some individuals use their mouths as weapons, but spit the meat out immediately. Some stories even claim that fl esh kills Land Titans if it hits their stomachs. Very few animals dare to fi ght a Land Titan. Lions, cheetahs and hyenas sometimes hunt elephants, but the huge size of the larger beasts makes them diffi cult prey. For the most part, Man is the greatest threat to the Walking Thunders. Most other animals just get out of the way.

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Spirit-Ties

The great respect such beasts hold for the dead makes the Land Titans excellent spiritualists. Although they rarely deal with nature- or animal-spirits beyond their own kind, the Mholé-Rho and Iravati are notably good with human and animal ghosts. 

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Kin

 The Walking Thunders inspire great loyalty from their human and animal kin. Long ago, those bonds were proudly spoken among the people of India, Africa and lower Asia; today, though, such ties are rarely spoken of at all except among members of royal families or remote clans. Hunters and beast-slavers bribe, torture or ransom the elephant kin, and the proud bonds have become manacles instead. As beasts, all elephants and rhinos are endangered. As kin, they recognize the power of the Walking Thunders and often congregate with them for protection. With their soul-kin, female Iravati, Jhaa and Mholé-Rho are intensely social, gathering with one to 20 normal elephants. These kin are rarely more than a few hundred yards away, and share an empathic bond with the feral, regardless of her shape. Males often prefer to be left alone, but can be ferociously aggressive (especially the rhino-folk) when they’re young.

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Society

Despite the Thunders’ masculine impression, they are matriarchal. When more than one of them gather, their leaders are almost always female. Among this breed, the Changing Gift often seems to pass through blood. Clan Natolo of the Regencies shares a long history with the Mholé-Rho. Gift-giving plays a major role in Titan social behavior. Even in beast forms, these ferals exchange gifts with people or animals the Titans favor. Sometimes called zawadi-waru — “giftbonding” — this custom creates an informal extended family around the exchange. Dozens of families throughout Africa, Asia and India claim to be related to elephants, rhinos or both this way. In times of war or famine, their gift-cousins have come thundering in to save or avenge their people; the people, meanwhile, sometimes come howling to the aid of Titans who face death or abduction. Guns blazing or spears fl ashing, the people uphold the honor of their zawadi-waru.

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Alphas Despite their size and power, Land Titans seldom seek leadership among the Changing Folk. So long as something benefi ts the Titans’ kin, these ferals seem content to take secondary positions in a band. Among the Land Titans’ own kind, Alphas are usually female and nearly always elders — practical in manner, implacable in rage.

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Character Creation

Most Titans favor Physical traits, although Jhaa often have Social Attributes in their dominant position and Mholé-Rho almost always have Empathy and often Socializing Skills.

• Mholé-Rho gain the Huge Merit for free 
• Jhaa start with an additional dot of Strength (before freebies)
• Iravati start with an additional dot of Strength (before freebies)
• Azubuike - not currently playable

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Accords for Land Titans

Den-Warders

As keepers of harmony, these loyal Titans protect their kin, offer fortune and prosperity to their friends and utterly destroy those who hunt the Titans’ cousins or despoil their lands. Den-Ward Titans have aligned themselves with royalty since ancient times, advising and protecting kings of Siam in particular. Oddly, these Titans have either very light or very dark hides in their animal forms. Likewise, they favor rural villages or lavish human courts. 

Heart-Ripper

Sickened by human degradation, Heart-Ripper Thunders use their enormous strength to crush their foes. Sadly, this leads to very short lives among this accord. Smart Rippers shift quickly between forms, rampaging in War-Beast or Primal shapes while sneaking in and out of the area in human guise. 

Root-Weaver

Bright and clever, these Walking Thunders enjoy human technology. Although high tech remains rare in their native lands, ferals from this accord can lose whole days on the Internet or digging through the guts of a good car. 

Sun-Dancer

A rare accord among this breed, the Rebel favors her own company. Roguish and often ultra-civilized in demeanor, this Thunder shuns the “primitive” ways of her people in favor of high-fashion gloss. She usually prefers her lighter, flexible human form, and often diets and exercises to shed her “extra weight.” Still, she is a Titan, and can be rather prankish about when and where she manifests her Changing Gift.

Wind-Chaser

Sometimes called “ghost elephants” and “horned phantoms,” the eerie Thunder Wind People move silently through savannahs. These are the spiritualists of their kind, ghost-talking wanderers with luminescent skin. Without exception, these ferals have pearly white hides in their animal forms, and seem light-skinned even in their human guise. Many possess telepathy, and can seem frighteningly emotional or unnervingly remote.

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Species of Land-Titans

1. Mholé-Rho: African Elephants
2. Jhaa: South Asian Elephants
3. Iravati: Asiatic Elephants
4. Azubuike - Rhinoceros (not currently playable)