Alms to the Poor (Level One) – Beggars are an all-too-common feature of the Bubasti homelands. As a kindness (and perhaps as a bribe to the gods), the shadowcats developed this secret, which allows one to conjure up a small bit of food or money to give to a beggar. Naturally, the cat can use the “alms” for himself, but they taste slightly bitter and leave the palm greasy if used for selfish means. System: The player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls his Gnosis against difficulty 6. Each success creates a handful of food or cheap copper coins (no bills, silver or gold). Most Bubasti disguise this “miracle” by reaching into a sack or box before sharing this wealth.

Scholar’s Friend (Level One) – A simple yet helpful Gift, this secret allows a Bubasti to read a book, scroll or tablet in any written language. This talent doesn’t teach the cat any new language, nor will it help him understand esoteric concepts or missing bits of text. Even so, the ability to read anything set in front of you is a subtle yet powerful gift. System: The shadowcat spends a Gnosis point, rolls his Willpower and begins reading. The difficulty of the roll depends not he obscurity of the text: Language Difficulty Modern 5 Scholarly (Latin, Sanskrit) 6 Archaic or dead (Armaic) 7 Common pictorgrams (classic Egyptian) 8 Obscure pictograms/code (Sigils of Mu) 9 Personal codes/lost cuneiform 10 Only one roll is allowed per reading session. The gift lasts for one hour per success, and the cat must rest his eyes for several hours after finishing. A failed roll doesn’t necessarily mean the werecat couldn’t read the text; it may mean that he read it wrong. Storytellers are advised to keep the difficulty of the roll secret, and to base the information given on the success of the roll. One success lets the cat get the general idea, while four successes or more indicate complete understanding.

Mousemaze (Level Two) – An unsettling spell of confusion, this Gift disorients a target until he blunders around in a panic. Walls shift and close in, shadows lengthen, sounds drift to his ears from all corners, and familiar places seem strange and threatening. Although the magic has no real effect on the person’s surroundings, his terror and confusion send him into a frenzy, making him an easy target for the werecat lurking nearby…. System: The cat’s player rolls Manipulation + Empathy, with the target’s Willpower (or Rage, if higher) as a difficulty. Success scrambles his sense of direction and relationship. The better the roll, the more confused the target becomes. Three successes or more send him into a panic; werewolves and vampires must check for frenzy; mages must make Willpower rolls or go into short Quiet; mere humans just freak out. This disorientation lasts about 15 minutes, then slowly fades.

Spirit Ward (Level Two) – By employing the eldritch enigmas of Egypt, a Bubasti can wall an area off from spirit-traffic. No spirit can move in or out of the warded place without the cat’s permission. Naturally, the stronger chaya can shred this barrier like papyrus; still, the wisest werecats can erect stronger barriers than their youngers can…. System: By spending a Gnosis point and rolling her Willpower against difficulty 8, the Bubasti erects a barrier across an area no larger than 30 feet by 30 feet. Each success the player rolls raises the Gauntlet around the area by 1 (maximum 10), and extends it so that the barrier exists in both the material and Penumbral worlds. This irritates the spirits, and they can often tell who’s to blame. The Ward lasts one day per point of Gnosis in the Cat’s permanent pool, unless some spirit destroys it, which a chaya can do by rolling its Rage against the new Gauntlet rating. Three successes or more will turn the Ward to spirit-dust.

Banish Cahlash’s brood (Level Three) – By calling upon the Father of Dark Spirits, a Bubasti may command one of his brood to depart. Of course, powerful spirits or ones bound into fetishes won’t be easily dismissed; doing so may demand great rituals or even a sacrifice. Small independent elementals or Banes, however, may be banished with slight effort. Calling upon Cahlash has a price: Each time the werecat performs this Gift, his fur grows a deeper shade of black and his actions become more … erratic. Garou or Bastet who Sense Wyrm on him will detect the Unmaker’s essence upon him until he purges himself somehow. The more spirits he banishes, the deeper the taint becomes. System: The cat’s player rolls Manipulation + Enigmas and spends a Willpower point to attempt to dismiss a spirit. The difficulty is the spirit’s Gnosis, or its Rage if the latter is higher. Each success removes 10 points of the Spirit’s Power. Banishing a 30 power spirit, then, requires at least three successes. Getting rid of a powerful spirit might require an extended roll or two; a spirit bound into a fetish, meanwhile, sets the difficulty at 6 plus the fetish’s level (a level 4 fetish would be difficulty 10, as would a level 5). Sacrificing a bit of blood to Cahlash may add to the Gift’s effectiveness; for every Health Level “spent” this way, the Bubasti lowers the difficulty by 1. The spirit isn’t under any obligation to sit still during the process, and may attack the Bastet until either the werecat stops or the spirit disappears. Nala help the werecat who botches this Gift; the Wyrm taint fills him utterly, and he must make a Rage roll, difficulty 6, or frenzy. Atonement isn’t impossible, but ridding one’s self of the dark taint often requires a rigorous quest without Renown.

The Many Tongues of Ptah (Level Three) – As the Level Three Homid Gift: Babel’s Cure.

The Scarab’s Flight (Level Four) – By calling together the elements of her soul, a Bubasti can send them out of her body for a while. The body itself enters a deathlike trance until the Scarab return; although it doesn’t decompose, all other signs (magical and otherwise) declare that the cat has died. The flying Scarab resembles an ordinary insect unless inspected with magical sense, in which case it glows brightly. System: Manifesting a soul into a beetle shape requires a Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 8) and a one-Gnosis expenditure. From there, it takes wing from some orifice or crawls away unnoticed (Perception + Alertness, difficulty 9 to spot). The body remains intact for one day per success, during which time the Scarab can reenter and resurrect the cat. After the time limit passes, the body instantly decays, even if it has been preserved somehow.

Shadowplay (Level Four) – As the Theurge Gift of the same name (found in the Players Guide). Unlike the werewolf Gift, the Bubasti does not have to mimic the shadow’s movements; once free, it can go about its business as if it were a perfect duplicate of the Bastet. Also unlike the Garou Gift, some light must be present to cast the shadow in the first place.

Deny the Hungry (Level Five) – As the Level Five Homid Gift

Spirit Wall (Level Five) – One of the greatest tricks a Bubasti learns is the area of calling together minor spirits from around the area and forming them into a wailing Umbral wall. Such magics do not endear a cat to the spirits in general, but by the time she achieves this Rank, a Bubasti should have enough sense to use such power wisely – and enough power to protect herself when she uses it at all. System: The player rolls Manipulation + Enigmas. The difficulty can range from 6 to 10, depending on how many minor spirits are nearby. This takes two turns. To shape the assembled chaya into a wall, she spends two Gnosis points and rolls a contested roll between her Willpower and the spirits (assume a dice Pool of three dice for everyone success the Bubasti scores on the earlier roll). If she succeeds, the resulting wall blocks spirits, imposes a Gauntlet of 10 and lasts for one turn per success on the Willpower roll. If she fails, the spirits remain unbound, unformed and angrier than hell.

The Fleeing Scarab (Level Six) -- One of the Bubasti’s most obscure tribal secrets, this Gift allows a cat to remove her soul, incarnate it, and send it out of harm’s way while her body dies. The soul, which often takes the form of a flyin scarab beetle, searches out an appropriate new host body, climbs into its mouth while it sleeps, and “lays” the old soul into the new host. The Bubasti who knows this forbidden secret (and less than eight such cats exist) is theoretically immortal, though such longevity is purchased in other beings’ lives. System: Collecting the soul for transport requires three Gnosis points and a successful Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 8). Failure traps the soul in the body as it dies (although the Gift may be tried up to three times if the cat has enough time to do so). Once freed, the soul wings forth, searching for a host. It has 24 hours to find one before the soul-essence scatters. Once a host is found, the beetle climbs into his mouth and tries to take the body over. This “possession” demands an additional Gnosis point and a roll of the Bubasti’s current Willpower at the time of her death. This roll's difficulty is the host's current Willpower +3 (maximum 10). If successful, the Bastet takes over the body, retaining her old memories and the host's as well. If not, she can make one final try before her soul fades away forever. To retain command of the host, the cat makes weekly Willpower rolls against the host's original Willpower. Hence, the Bubasti rarely commandeer supernatural creatures or stubborn individuals, at least for long. After a lunar month has passed in one body, the host becomes a Bubasti with five points in the Past Life Background. Although all her previous Gifts are lost in the process, her memories remain intact. Thus, she knows where to learn them again later. A botch at any point in the use of the Gift sends the soul straight into the Oblivion spoken of by the Dead, so this magic is not lightly undertaken.