The feline contract, to the chagrin of many a ninja, mainly involves cats–as in, housecats. Not nearly enough panthers, tigers, lions, and other great cats for most shinobi’s tastes, and fewer still summonable cats capable of holding their own, let alone turning the tide, in battle between trained shinobi.
In terms of personality, they’re significantly more helpful than their mundane counterparts. What they lack in useful supernatural abilities they make up for with a startling array of mundane talents. While they rarely make an appearance on the field of battle, shinobi with the contract will consistently describe their feline companions as being, if nothing else, ‘useful’.
That is not to say that the feline species have no combatworth specimens, just that the more powerful creatures who answer the contract’s call will come only for similarly powerful shinobi. Their avatar, Byakko, is said to be feared even by the avatars of other contracts.
Felines have an interesting relationship with the summoned canines. The two groups have quarreled frequently in the past, and it has without exception escalated into a horribly violent mess. As such, the two groups have established a truce: summoned felines and canines will never attack or directly act against one another. The avatars of those species, however, ignore this truce when it comes to their opposites; Byakko and Oguchi-no-Makami have no qualms about fighting each other.
Between one and five felines, all the size of large housecats and capable of walking both on all fours on bipedally, appear in front of the summoning. All show up wearing a cooking apron, and one (the leader) will show up with a small chef’s hat.
These cats are expert chefs, and capable of preparing excellent food literally anywhere. When summoned they’ll promptly run off to forage for ingredients; how they can make a soup in the desert is a mystery, and just what’s in the stew is probably best not to ask, but their meals are always nutritious and SO TASTY.
Somehow they will always produce the supplies they need when people aren’t looking (or even so much as blink), from metal pots to grills to firepits.
Effects: The feline chefs can be summoned up to three times a day (rather than once a week, as with most summons). The chef will cook a delicious meal for up to four people. However, the chefs absolutely do not take suggestions or requests, and if anyone tries telling them what to make they’ll pack their things up and leave in a huff, not returning for a week.
It takes about half an hour for the cats to prepare the food; anyone who isn’t there waiting when the meal is finished doesn’t get anything to eat.
Once a month (every 4 weeks), the summoner can inform the chefs that it’s a special occasion (the justification doesn’t even need to be reasonable, as the chefs love the excuse to go all out). The meal will take a full hour to prepare, but will be a stunning gourmet feast. While the shinobi who partake in the meal will be well-fed, this also gives the head chef an excuse to experiment with dishes and seasonings in ways that may not sit well with the stomachs of their diners–not that they much care. After requesting a meal of this magnitude, one has no choice but to eat every last bite.
When eating the gourmet meal, roll 1d6 twice; the first roll determines the benefits, and the second the side-effects. The benefits all last for one day (in-character day, that is), as do the side effects unless their individual description specify otherwise.
Well-Fed
Food Poisoning
When still feeling the effects of one such gourmet meal, an individual will be too full to eat anything else.
The feline summoned by this technique stands upright on its hind legs and is about two and a half feet tall. It carries a cylindrical wicker basket on its back, strapped around its waist and over its shoulders. Its waist strap doubles a belt, where it has several money pouches.
Occasionally these cats will wear some sort of outfits, usually just consisting of a tunic and a shirt, though hats aren’t entirely unheard of. Normally these will display a pawprint somewhere on them, prominently.
Effects: This summon has two tasks it can perform! The first, it can be called upon to run general errands around a town or city. The cat will buy groceries and generally do any shopping you need, assuming you provide it with appropriate funds. It can also requisition items for you from ninja villages, before a mission! It can be summoned to do this once a day.
The second, it does a little bit of work as a merchant. You can ‘sell’ any requisitioned items to it for half their value, and ‘buy’ any items listed under “Gear” (which it produces from its wicker basket full of knick-knacks). For example, you could trade in two explosive tags (200), a katana (150), and a map of Wind Country (50); this would allow you to buy up to 200 ryo of items from the cat–a telescope, for example. This may be done once a week. Any more often than that and the cat will have nothing but useless junk available in its basket (some bits of string, a clawed-up piece of fabric, and so on). Notably, it cannot provide you with poison smoke bombs– while the smoke bombs themselves are in Gear, the necessary poisons are not.
The cat cannot be summoned in battle, and flees if attacked.
This summons a ceramic figurine of a cat, standing about three or four inches tall. It’s a calico bobtail sitting on its hindquarters, with one paw raised up in a beckoning gesture. These statues are said to bring good luck, and are often found (albeit on larger scale) at the entrance to shops and gambling halls.
This particular one actually does bring good luck to its bearer! Or, so the felines claim, and some of the few shinobi with this contract swear by its efficacy.
Effects: Whenever you roll a 5 or lower on a d20, your Maneki Neko receives 1 Luck Counter. It may have up to three Luck Counters stored at a time.
You may spend a Luck Counter at any point to reroll any d20 roll you made, or replace an attack’s Accuracy with an accuracy roll, keeping whichever of the results you prefer (typically the better one). This may be done at the same time you would normally spend Willpower.
You get no Luck Counters from rolls you rerolled this way. If you rolled a 3 on a dodge, and spent a Luck Counter to reroll it and got a 2, you would not receive a Luck Counter (and would still spend one normally). You may spend only one Luck Counter per roll.
If the figurine is lost or stolen, you may not use its effects; however, neither can whoever took it. Instead, whenever they roll a 15 or higher on a d20 they must reroll until they get a result below 15. Getting rid of, or even breaking, the figurine won’t do them any good–as soon as they look away, it reappears in their possession, until the technique would expire normally.
This remains around for a full day, or the duration of a fight (if summoned during, or immediately before, combat) or mission. You may summon this figurine once every four weeks.
Yet another bipedal cat, the Akisu is dressed in a black turtleneck, beanie, and domino mask. The cat burglar requires payment up-front in catnip, and once it’s received its compensation the summoner names their mark. After a moment of preparation the cat burglar gets to work, and in hardly any time at all the summoner will receive a ‘brand new’ item.
Effects: The cat moves unerringly towards its target, at the rate of 4 yards per IC. Even if the target hides or moves outside of the initial range, nothing will stop the cat, which flawlessly dodges all attacks and crosses difficult terrain (aka Ground effects) with ease! Well, almost nothing. It won’t cross areas with an Immobilization penalty of -8 or higher, and if it’s in a damaging area-of-effect technique with an Area of 30 or higher it will be blown comically out of the blast radius before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Though you must be able to see the target when you summon the cat burglar, it willt hen be able to find them on their own no matter what tricks they use; it will break the Stealth of someone who hides from it, and clones created after the cat was summoned will be unable to confuse it.
Upon its arrival, the cat scampers up the victim and begins searching their possessions! When this happens, roll 1d4. On a roll of 1-3, the user selects one item the target has; on a roll of 4, the target makes things difficult for the cat, resulting in it grabbing something less valuable (meaning, the target chooses the item).
The cat takes all items of that type; for example, all Maps, or all Katanas. The only exception is that it cannot disarm its target. If used against someone with Full Pockets, they cannot use their unique to produce any more items of the stolen type until they have an opportunity to resupply. The cat will even steal items inside Storage Scrolls! It’s a very, very good burglar, after all.
It then returns to its summoner, following the same movement rules, though this time an attack which manages to catch the cat in its area results in the cat, after flying through the air yowling, hitting the ground at its summoner’s feet before vanishing. Upon arriving at its summoner (one way or another), said summoner can take any items they wish as a Speed X action, with X being the number of items, but having a minimum of 5 (AP cannot reduce this action’s Speed). Any excess items are dropped on the ground. A cat carrying more than 10 items drops one every 8 yards it travels.
Out of combat, the cat can be instructed to steal either from a person or location, though needs fairly specific instructions (the guard’s keys, that painting, and so on).
A two- to three-foot-tall bipedal cat, much like the merchant and chef cats summoned by this same contract. This one appears wearing simple ninja attire, including a headband or bandana; they even wear forehead protectors, with a feline pawprint in place of a village insignia.
As the summoner trains and becomes a better ninja, so will ‘their’ ninja cat! Over time the cat will expand its arsenal, wearing handguards and a vest, along with holsters for shuriken and the like.
Yes, there really are cat ninjas. They all have impressive credentials, such as being masters of neko-ken (“cat fist”) style martial arts. While their efficacy in battle leaves much to be desired, they do have the advantage of occasionally debilitating opponents with laughter.
Each summoner calls upon their own shinobi cat, who will be a faithful companion in times of need. While handseals are out of the question, these cats train diligently to master the shinobi arts in their off-time!
Vitaity: 600
STR: 40
RES: 50
CHA: 40
DEX: 60
AGI: 80
Accuracy: 22
Dodge: +14
Damage Bonus: 4.0
Genjutsu Defense: +15 Movement: 4 yards per IC
Athletics: +15
Awareness: +15
Espionage: +10
Resistance: +15 Stealth: +15
Survival: +10
Devoted
Your cat trains (sort of) hard to remain a valuable ally in combat! As your XP increases, so does its performance. Whenever you summon a Ninja Cat, subtract the minimum XP required to summon it (1000 XP) from your Earned XP: that is the X value to determine what bonuses, if any, it gets from the following modifiers. X has a maximum of 4000.
In all cases, you round down. The bonus to skill rolls only applies to skills the summon has listed.
Independent
Your ninja cat can act on its own. It does not require you to spend AP for it to take actions unless the action itself specifies that it does.
Small
Due to the Ninja Cat’s size, they can utilize the Hide action without needing to meet its normal requirements, in addition to gaining +5 to any grapple rolls made to end a grapple. When they do Hide, they begin at Stealth level 2, and can move in Stealth level 2 without lowering the level of their Stealth, however none of their attacks are ever considered Surprise Attacks (even if made from hiding), as they just aren’t very threatening. If hit by an area-of-effect technique, the cat takes only half damage. However, it is blown clear of the area (usually in an over-the-top, and likely comedic, fashion), and suffers a knockback equal to the attack’s Area; knockback effects otherwise have their severity doubled.
Ninja Training
Shinobi cats train tirelessly in the ninja arts, up to two hours a day! They’ll work just hard enough to keep up with their summoner; any more would simply be an unreasonable amount of effort. For every 500 XP, pick one of the following improvements. You may not select any of them more than once.
Standard Actions
This Summon can use the Block, Dodge, Move, Parry, and Search actions, as described in the Combat chapter of the PHB. In addition, they can use Escape Grapple (E-rank Grapple jutsu) without having to pay any cost for its use.
Agility (Speed 0, 5 AP)
This ability can be activated at any time, including after the cat is attacked but before its defense has been declared. It ends any immobilization penalties it’s suffering from, and makes it immune to that source (a specific instance of a jutsu, for example) from then on. This does not apply to ‘internal’ penalties–ones caused by poison, for example.
Cat Paw Strike (Speed 10)
Your cat punches, kicks, or occasionally claws, someone! This is a basic unarmed taijutsu attack dealing 4d6 Blunt or Slashing damage. If your cat has the Neko-ken attribute, this is reduced to Speed 6 and adds a Stun 2, and its damage is raised to 8d8. Its damage bonus is multiplied by 10, rather than 6, even at this lower Speed.
Nyanjutsu (Speed Variable)
The cat can perform various ninjutsu techniques after it has the “ninjutsu” attribute. They are as follows:
Sword Attack (Speed 12)
Your cat attacks with its sword! This does require the “Sword” attribute. This weapon deals 8d10 Slashing damage, and follows normal rules for weapon attacks. Additionally, it has a +3 bonus when being used to parry other weapons.
One of the rare exceptions to the rule that summons of the same contract will not work against one another, two ninja cats, if summoned by enemies in a battle, will fight one another!
Legend says that once a cat has lived long enough its tail will split in two and a nekomata will be born. Whether or not that’s the origin of these creatures is hard to say, but doubtful. Nekomata are slightly bigger than a very large housecat, and have the features and coloration of any ordinary breed of cat, though grey and black are the most common colors. They all posssess a pair of long, sinuous tails, and commonly walk on air at face level. When not actively moving about they tend to lounge on people’s shoulders or heads, often in the most awkward or uncomfortable way possible for the recipient.
Nekomata are happy to assist in confusing and tormenting the summoner’s enemies. They’re capable of deploying mirages and illusions with skill rivaling most shinobi, taunting and frustrating their victims. That said, they’re much more cat-like than some of the contract’s other animals, and will typically refuse to perform menial tasks. Nekomata are highly intelligent and can understand human languages, though cannot speak them.
If asked to engage in direct combat the cat will do so reluctantly, and fight to the best of its ability. However, the summoner runs the risk of it getting bored and leaving without any warning.
Vitality: 800
STR: 20
RES: 40
CHA: 100
DEX: 60
AGI: 80
Accuracy: 32
Dodge: +24
Genjutsu: +18
Damage Bonus: 4.0
Movement: 2 yard per IC
Athletics: +10
Awareness: +15
Resistance: +10
Stealth: +20
Chakra Exhaustion: +12
Levitate
The Nekomata is capable of floating, and spends most of its time walking or sitting on empty air. It ignores any effects associated with the condition of the ground, or requiring it to be in contact with it.
Small
The Nekomata is the size of a very large housecat, and can utilize the Hide action without needing to meet its normal requirements, in addition to gaining +5 to any grapple rolls made to end a grapple. When they do Hide, they begin at Stealth level 2, and can move in Stealth level 2 without lowering the level of their Stealth, however none of their attacks are ever considered Surprise Attacks (even if made from hiding), as they just aren’t very threatening. If hit by an area of effect technique, the Nekomata takes only half damage and suffers a knockback equal to the Area of the attack; knockback effects otherwise have their severity doubled.
Trickster
By raising their Chakra cost by 10, the Nekomata can replace its genjutsu roll with 1d20, and the defender’s roll with 1d20+4; this is declared when an appropriate ability is being used. Uniques, abilities, and doujutsu do not provide their normal benefits. The Iron Curtain technique still works, and similarly the Nekomata receives any bonuses specific to individual abilities it uses. Additionally, the Nekomata itself is immune to any targeted genjutsu.
Standard Actions
This Summon can use the Dodge and Move actions without spending any of its Summoner’s AP. They can also use the Hide and Search actions, as described in the Combat chapter of the PHB. Finally, they can use Escape Grapple (E-rank Grapple jutsu) without having to pay any cost for its use.
Cremation (Chakra 16, Speed 6, 4 AP)
This applies an Ignite 1 to everyone present in battle, as pale blue, ghostly flames briefly flicker over them. There is no defense or status roll with this. The Nekomata themselves are immune, but their summoners are not. This Ignite stacks with Spirit Flame’s Ignite.
Spirit Flame (Chakra 10 * X, Speed 8)
The nekomata creates Xd4 wisps of hovering blue fire. You may pay 2 AP to have the Nekomata launch one of these at a target, using its normal Accuracy +3. For the purposes of defending, it is treated as a Speed 8 attack, but it advances the Nekomata’s IC by only 4. After somebody’s been hit by Spirit Fire, they can’t be targeted by it again until at least 5 IC have passed.
Anyone struck by a Spirit Flame suffers Ignite 5 and Burns 3. Both those statuses will stack with multiple uses of Spirit Flame (and with Cremation), increasing the victim’s current severity (from this source) appropriately. By raising the cost to attack with a flame to 5 AP, you may use your Accuracy in place of the Nekomata’s; you may do this no more than once every 10 IC.
Phantasmal Flames (Chakra 16, Speed 10, 8 AP)
This multiplies the number of Spirit Flames present by 1d4. Any ‘extras’ created this way are just illulsions. For example, if there were 3 Spirit Flames, and you rolled a 3 on Illusionary Flames, you would wind up with 3 real flames, and 6 illusions, for (3*3) 9 total. If you use this ability again, it replaces (rather than adds to) any currently-existing phantasmal flames.
Whenever you attack with a Spirit Flame, after it’s determined if your attack would have hit (and your opponent has used, and paid for, their defense appropriately), roll 1dX, with X being the total number of flames. If it’s in the lower (number of real flames), a real flame hits–if not, the attack was an illusion. You do not pay the AP cost to attack with a spirit flame, and the illusion is destroyed.
In the above example, you would roll 1d9. On a roll of 1-3, an actual Spirit Flame would have been launched. On a roll of 4 - 9, it would be an illusion.
Mirage (Chakra 25)
The Nekomata may perform the Double False Surroundings technique (B-rank genjutsu), using False Surroundings for the first layer, and either the genjutsu False Surroundings, Mirage, or Concealment for the second layer, with an additional +5 bonus to its genjutsu rolls. The Nekomata does not need to pay the Upkeep for it, though it ends if the Nekomata is unsummoned. This may only be used out of combat.
Whenever it uses this ability, there is a 25% chance that it will, rather than accompanying the summoner, choose to lounge nearby (entering Level 2 Stealth to do so) and watch its illusion for the next 2d8 hours before unsummoning itself. If the illusion is dispelled before then, the Nekomata will still unsummon itself, but the summoner will somehow, intuitively know that someone removed the illusion.
Illusion of Death (Chakra 16, Speed 10, 8 AP)
An illusion which causes the victim to suffer from, essentially, a dangerously overactive imagination. Whenever faced with an impending attack, they briefly imagine fatal or otherwise crippling outcomes: senbon piercing their trachea, a sword cutting their head clean off, a fireball leaving them a charred corpse, and so forth. This applies a Stun 4 whenever they take a defensive Interrupt action. This follows all normal rules for genjutsu.
Displace (Chakra 15, Speed 4, 4 AP)
Rather than actually avoiding an attack, the Nekomata confounds its assailant with a clever illusion. This may be used as a defensive interrupt, in place of a dodge. The Nekomata makes a genjutsu roll against its attacker; if it succeeds, it dodges the attack. If it succeeds by 10 or more, it may then specify a new target within the attacker’s range (including how far they can move as part of their attack), and redirect the attack at them. Someone defending against this technique does not receive the normal cumulative bonus to genjutsu rolls from being affected by a technique repeatedly.
Vanish (Chakra 20, Speed 10, 6 AP)
The Nekomata makes a Genjutsu roll with a +10 bonus. Anyone who fails their defensive genjutsu roll loses sight of it; it immediately becomes invisible, enters Stealth 3, and moves up to (the result of its Genjutsu roll) yards in any direction.
The movement occurs even if its genjutsu roll failed. To anyone who passed their roll, or later finds it, the Nekomata is fully visible; to anyone else, it remains invisible. The “Point Out” action has no effect when used against a Nekomata hidden this way. If it uses Spirit Flames or Cremation itwill immediately exit stealth; however, attacking with an already created Spirit Flame only reduces its Stealth TN by 4.
As with an ordinary genjutsu, victims receive a cumulative bonus to defend against this technique for each time they’ve been affected by it in combat. Unlike normal genjutsu, this effect doesn’t end if the people who the Nekomata is hidden from are wounded.
Of the animals summoned by the feline contract, nekomata are the closest to ‘normal’ cats in terms of behavior. They’re fickle, lazy, easily distracted, and prone to randomly becoming bored. Any time it uses one of its abilities (other than Mirage, which has its own rules) there’s a 5% chance that it will lose interest and unsummon itself.
Despite appearing in many myths, it’s unclear what exactly rakshasa are; descriptions of their appearances and behavior are wildly inconsistent, from giant black tigers with vicious fangs and claws, to cannibals with flaming eyes and hair, to cruel spirits in human form. Of course, it’s also possible that several of those depictions are true, as rakshasa are also rumored to be capable of changing their form as easily as a human would change clothes.
When called upon by shinobi, however, they tend to follow a consistent appearance, that of a tall man (even ‘female’ rakshasa apparently take on masculine bodies) with the head of a tiger, retractable claws at the ends of their fingers, and orange-and-black fur across their bodies. Most are dressed in robes, typically red and gold in coloration. Some look noble, others feral and violent.
A rakshasa’s behavior and demeanor varies as wildly as their appearance, and so there’s no way of knowing whether the creature summoned genuinely intends to assist the summoner to the best of their ability, or is only helping them for the opportunity to sabotage their goals later on. As such, summoning a Rakshasa is a calculated risk in most circumstances.
All Rakshasa can speak any human language (and some of unclear origin) flawlessly and without accent; while some sound refined and others harsh and guttural, these seem to be personal affectations on the parts of the rakshasa themselves.
Vitality: 2000
STR: 100
RES: 110
CHA: 140
DEX: 120
AGI: 130
Accuracy: 48
Dodge: +32
Genjutsu: +46
Stamina: +15
Chakra Exhaustion: +25
Damage Bonus: 12.0
Movement: 2.6 yards per IC
Athletics: +30
Awareness: +35
Chakra Control: +35
Espionage: +35
Research: +20
Stealth: +35
Survival: +35
Dark Mind
Though a Rakshasa’s mind is not too different from a human’s to affect with genjutsu, doing so can be risky. Attempting to influence its mind risks the person doing so suffering a painful feedback through their chakra, typically in the form of a sudden wave of horror. If a Rakshasa is targeted by a genjutsu and rolls an 11 or above on its defensive genjutsu roll, the person who targeted it automatically loses 1 Willpower. If they have no Willpower remaining, they instead suffer a Stun 10.
Spirit Siphon
Unlike most summons, the Rakshasa may spend Willpower– or, more specifically, its owner’s. This can be done any time Willpower would normally be spent, with the usual effects. If the Rakshasa betrays its summoner (see Treachery, below) in combat, it will always use Spirit Siphon on the attack made against them.
Treachery
Unlike most summons, Rakshasa will sometimes turn against the ninja who called upon them–but there’s no way of knowing that one is planning to do so until it’s too late. Every time the Rakshasa is given a task, or uses one of its abilities, there is a 10% chance that it will somehow turn against the summoner. This could mean informing people who it was sent to spy on that the summoner is nearby, or sabotaging the path it was sent to scout. If the 10% chance takes place when it uses an ability, it instead attacks the summoner with the same technique; if it was to aid them defensively (via Banishment, namely), the Rakshasa instead uses Spirit Siphon to take a WP from the Summoner, and then uses it on the attack they were to defend against, redirecting that attack to the Summoner. Ff both the Rakshasa and the Summoner were targeted by the same attack, it follows normal rules for the attack: the summoner could not be hit twice by the same AoE, or targetted by multiple projectiles if it does not ordinarily allow them to be, or above their normal limit, and Treachery should in that case be checked for before the summoner makes their own defense. After the Rakshasa betrays their summoner this way, it will disappear (often cackling evilly as it does so); after five checks have been made without betraying the summoner, that particular Rakshasa will not do so for the remainder of the time it’s summoned. Rakshasa will not betray summoners with 8000 or more XP.
Rakshasa can use the Dodge and Move actions without spending any of the Summoner’s AP.
Banishment (Speed 6, Chakra 30, 7 AP)
This technique can be used in response to any attack which targets the Rakshasa, including area-of-effect techniques whose radius it’s in. The Rakshasa traces a mandala in mid air, the symbols etching themselves in ghostly flames, and the offending objects are removed. Used against ninjutsu, the technique disappears completely, as if it had never been used (though any costs are still paid). Against weapon taijutsu, the weapons vanish; unique weapons (ones not from the Equipment section of the PHB) reappear 2d100 yards away from the Rakshasa, in the opposite direction from the attacker. Melee attackers instead reappear 2d20 yards in a direction of the Rakshasa’s choosing.
Burning Chains (Speed 12, Chakra 40, 8 AP)
The Rakshasa levels a gaze at a target and speaks in an incomprehensible language; the flames around that person lift themselves off the individual’s body and form chains of dark red fire and burnt iron, anchoring the unfortunate soul to the ground. This can only target someone suffering from Ignite, and cannot be defended against, though the Rakshasa must be able to see the target, and it has a range of 50. All Ignites on the target are suspended, and instead converted into Immobilization penalties; Ignite 8 would become -8 Immobilize. The “Ignite” continues to decay at its normal rate, but effects which remove or reduce Ignite don’t work (since it’s an Immobilize, not an Ignite). Removing the Immobilize penalty from Burning Chains causes the Rakshasa’s Upkeep to end, and the Ignite to return. If the Rakshasa betrays its summoner when ordered to use Burning Chains, it first transfers all Ignites from the target to the summoner, and then uses Burning Chains.
Immolate (Speed 16, Chakra 50, 10 AP)
With a single gesture, the Rakshasa lights its victim ablaze. This applies an automatic Ignite 10; it cannot be blocked, parried, or stopped with ninjutsu-based defensive interrupts (such as Ocean Shield). It can be dodged, though doing so is done at a -10 penalty. If used against summons, this deals damage as a percent of their maximum Vitality (as if it was damaging HP under normal Ignite rules), rather than current, and is reduced at half the normal speed (RES/60 rather than RES/60). Immolate has a range of 40 yards, or 80 yards if used against a summoned creature.
Rake (Speed 12, Stamina 15, 2 AP)
The Rakshasa slashes someone with its claws. This deals 12d20 Slashing damage, ignores armor, and inflicts a Bleed 8 status. Commanding a Rakshasa to use Rake does not trigger Treachery.
Shadow Step (Speed +4, +Delay 8, +6 AP)
The Rakshasa takes a step forward, then dissolves into wisps of pitch black smoke and the smell of charcoal; moments later it reappears with the same show of smoke, striking from its own personal darkness. This augments one of the Rakshasa’s melee attacks (Rake or Soul Rot), and modifies its parameters accordingly. Between the time the action is used and when the Delay ends, the Rakshasa cannot be targeted; after the Delay, it reappears on the battle field, in range of whoever its target is. When a Shadow Step attack is used, the Rakshasa does not need to specify its target. When the Delay ends, it appears behind its target; this can target anyone who within 200 yards and not in Stealth when Shadow Step was used. Entering Stealth, creating clones, or moving away during the Delay will not prevent the Rakshasa from finding its mark. When Shadow Step is declared, the Rakshasa can either sacrifice 10% of its maximum Vitality for a +4 bonus to Accuracy, or 20% for a +8 bonus.
Soul Rot (Speed 18, Chakra 40, 15 AP)
The Rakshasa makes a melee strike against a victim, but rather than dealing a vicious blow lightly rakes its claws across them–and in doing so, bestows a potent curse upon them. The unfortunate recipient will begin experiencing a horrid pain across their body–and, more pressingly, start dying rapidly. Every IC that passes, they lose 20 HP. This persists until the Rakshasa is unsummoned or the combat ends, the victim falls below 0 HP, or the Rakshasa’s summoner orders the creature to end the effect. If a Rakshasa uses this on the summoner after betraying them, the effect instead persists until the summoner’s HP falls below 0 or a Contract Seal is applied to them.
A mythical creature, Byakko is said to be the guardian of the west, and the symbolic representation of autumn, righteousness, and iron. The actual, physical Byakko is also a white tiger large enough to crush houses under a single paw, possessing a roar that can flatten trees and a ferocious gaze that can send all but the mightiest opponents fleeing in terror.
Byakko is the Lord of Beasts, the apex predator of the land. In his eyes, he is the almighty emperor of the world; all other animals, and even shinobi, are his subjects. He is a stern, but magnanimous ruler, free of contempt, scruelty, or scorn for his ‘subjects’–his lordship of them is only natural, in light of his all-eclipsing power. Even other summoned avatars are viewed not as equals by Byakko, but rather as challenging prey.