Ananasi Players Guide

Introduction

The change into an Ananasi is the change from the most understandable faction of the SA game (human) to debatably the most alien. Unlike every other shifter, Ananasi become something not even warm blooded and, with the exception of the Corax, are the only non-mammalian shifter. The mindset and mannerisms follow.

Luckily, the canon details of the Ananasi change are such that the role play difficulty of this major shift is taken into account. The change is very slow, deliberate, and has the advantage of being detached and totally unemotional. There is no sign of the dramatic frenzy and sudden confusion like most other shifters. The biggest aspect of that final shift is not the horror of what you physically have become, just a realization of a long journey – and the sudden hunger that marks the line between human and full shifter.

However, these changes involve and require the player to have some clear knowledge of the faction details, so please talk to a CG way ahead of time. This guide is for the role play aspects, but there is a reason this faction is semi-restricted. This is also only a guide for human born Ananasi - changing from Arachnid is both not supported in the SA system, but has very different and far more foreign aspects.

Preparation: Leading up to the Change

The change begins to take place for months before changes to the final physical form happen, as changes in the mind. Whispers begin to enter your head from your character’s new patron, Queen Ananasa, who guides you internally through new thoughts, the death of your emotions, and teaching the basics of your new purpose. You have time to come to terms with being cold, with the mental changes to being an unemotional predator, and the slow removal of caring about even your closest relatives and friends.

If you are playing a human who you intend to have become an Ananasi (especially if you have turned in your card), then you should immediately begin slowly role playing the change in your own mind into an unemotional and logical predator. If the card stays in for a long time, you can even start stacking “fake” emotions on top of your internal emotional void. There is no real internal role play difference between the changing human and the full Ananasi except that the full shifter has access to gifts and the different forms, and has been given their full (and unique) purpose from the Queen. You should also know by the time you change which of the nine aspects you are going to become. These will likely play heavily into your slow mental changing, as you begin to understand the aspect chosen for you, via the whispers.

The Hunger: The Change Itself

When you change for the first time and put that mask on, the main two role play changes are that you now *know* that the whispers were right and that you are HUNGRY. While not necessarily in the game mechanics, I highly recommend you change with 1 blood essence in your body, to simulate this desperate need to feed. Remember that other shifters are 2 for 1, and fae are 3 for 1. Not only is that an important rule to know, but might influence your ongoing response to feeding and hunger.

In canon, Ananasi cannot feed from other Ananasi - the blood makes them violently ill. While this is not required in game mechanics, I have seen no Ananasi players so far deviate from this aspect of canon. I would heavily encourage all Ananasi players to do the same, as it seems to be a subtle but important aspect of our natures and role play. Beyond that, everything else is a potential food source. (With some exceptions you can find out about in game and/or via the normal Ananasi wiki).

Mental Changes: Psychological Effects

Mental changes are a HUGE part of becoming an Ananasi, and by far the hardest thing to fold into your RP. Your character becomes a cold blooded predator, in both the literal and the figurative sense of the phrase. You only should trust yourself and the whispers of the Queen. All other things in your mind you instinctively know to be less important.

Emotions

While your character might pretend to be Ushaw Moor’s biggest hedonist, caregiver, master of evil, or an emotional wreck - you should never forget that every Ananasi is internally emotionless.

You need to practice this internal detachment. Nothing is actually funny, nobody is truly loved, yet also nothing makes you truly angry, or depressed, or lonely. While many Ananasi characters will fake these emotions to manipulate the town to their end goal, they are a key part of the concept that in the end, only the whispering matters.

This mental state is foreign to a human player (and all we players are human). Hence, it needs practice, and when it slips in game (and it will), be ready for an RP response, like an awkward pause, forcing the laugh to go on a bit too long (or cut it off suddenly), or other ways to show the spider aspects, even when you as the player responds. (Kind of a preparation for the game’s WYSIWYG, when we slip up.)

Quirks

Each aspect you might follow has its own individual quirks. As your change, remember that you have these, based on your aspect. Work on developing these quirks, whether a collection, trophy hunting, seeking out experiences of a specific type, or something else. See the wiki for more on this one, as it gets heavily into lore as well.

Also, many physical quirks can manifest and help the role play very much, as you look at your own movement and physical form with a detached interest instead of the normal human emotional attachment to your own body.

Emotionless vs. “evil” or “bestial”

Ananasi act slowly and tend to focus more on the detail of a situation over the emotional context. That sounds easy to do, but can be very difficult, as your response can often be totally different then you would respond as a player. Does it truly matter, in detail, if that character played by your friend dies? If you reason is because they are your friend, then the Ananasi would let them die. If they fit your Queen-given purpose, then you should act to help them live.

Logical and emotional coldness can be very hard to play, because the Ananasi are not evil, nor tainted, nor bestial. They simply are hyper-focused to their purpose, at the cost of all distractions. Without the “beast” distraction, an Ananasi can be alien to even the well-known vampire role play mindset, as there is neither a dark impulse nor frenzy just below the surface, nor any humanity or path to balance your decisions upon. There is only cold purpose, without either malice or goodwill.

Many vampire character and clan concepts have raging beast below a cold surface. Ananasi have, at best, the opposite.

Physical Forms

Your new body is thought of in the same way as your relatives. It is an important tool, but still simply an aspect of your purpose and the whispers from the Queen. Look upon yourself with detachment. I also highly recommend role playing a certain itchy, uncomfortable feeling in your own human skin, even as a human born. The warm blooded mammal skin is suddenly alien and is closer to an ill-fitting costume then your native birth form.

Your character will not panic as their body changes. Their body will begin the change by slowly showing minor changes (RP only) and they can be controlled through concentration. While in all player instinct, it should be a scary thing - it will not be, since your character no longer feels fear. Your body becomes like all other things – a tool to be used (and there is lots of great lore about that – to be learned in game).

The Truly Alien Aspects (Even More Than the Other Stuff)

You thought it was hard so far, you also need to think about the role play of some very alien aspects.

1. Crawlerling Form (Forums only) You change into a swarm of spiders. Swarm of. Be ready to find a way to internally role play the idea that you can do this. Your consciousness breaks into 2 or more (up to hundreds) of different separate beings. Be glad this is a forum-only form!

2. Meld This used to be called “Cocoon”. Honestly, I am thrilled this is now called “meld”, and the change in rules, because now it can be a major internal role play for an individual Ananasi. Does yours go crawlerling and hide in the trees? Do they actually earth meld? Do they build a cocoon? I see this as a great role play part of the game for internal monologue. (Though I do wonder how to mess with this fun gift in play if it gets taught outside of the faction, or thieving talons is used...)