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Description
This illustration is featured in the recent RIFTS: Vampires” Table-top Role-Playing Game publication by Palladiumbooks.

[link]

Now also available in Color (BTW, the color version's text contains the Bone Werejaguar's transformable Weapons & traps also listed):

Featured: A Bone Werejaguar hunter at the prime moment of his kill, has just delivered the coup-de-grace to this jungle dwelling alien predator (dimensional being or D-Bee). As part of the Bone Were-jaguar‘s hunting magic practices, such a quarry will be converted into supernatural weapons to enhance this hunter’s hunting and combative prowess. In a nutshell, the more dangerous the quarry the more powerful the weapons that can be forged from its carcass.

Description (written by Chris “Slappy” Kluge): The Jaguar People of Palenque are skilled hunters and warriors, but by all rights, this small band of werebeasts should have been wiped out long ago by the superior forces (both numerically and in terms of raw power) from Chichen Itza and the Vampire Kingdoms. What makes the Bone Werejaguars such an unstoppable force is the arsenal of Metamorphic Weapons that each Bone werejaguar wields. The simple looking piercings and ornaments made of bone that adorn their bodies can be removed and transformed into lethal instruments within seconds.

Metamorphic Weapons are forged within the heart of slain prey. The Bone werejaguar performs a simple ritual over his fresh kill causing the item (in its smaller transformed form) to grow within the chambers of the target’s heart. The hunter then cuts the item out of the prey’s heart, and typically eats the heart in celebration. The ritual to forge Metamorphic Weapons is surprisingly quick and inexpensive, but there are some caveats that increase the challenge. For one, the spell caster must be the one solely responsible for the kill. If anyone helps at any point, the ritual will not work. No one is sure why this is. Perhaps if the hunter’s pride is harmed by the assistance, his focus is shaken in the ritual. The other caveat is that the final kill strike must be delivered by hand. Melee weapons are allowed, but the spell caster must be the one wielding it. Long range weapons and traps can be used to inflict damage, but the killing blow must be delivered up close and personal or the ritual will not work.

A small sum of potential psychic energy is spent by the Bone Werejaguar to begin the ritual, the rest of the psychic energy “given” by the prey. Only the Psychic energy from the single sacrifice can be used. Psychic Energy cannot be added from any other source such as ley lines, the spell caster, allies, or additional sacrifices. This potential Psychic Energy (which is doubled at the moment of death) is what determines how powerful the newly forged Metamorphic Weapon will be. Creatures with high potentials of psychic energy give “birth” to incredibly powerful weapons, which allows the hunter to go after even more powerful prey. The temptation to go after prey that is too strong too soon in order to gain their strength is something that has undone many a young hunter. Even veteran hunters fall into the endless cycle of seeking greater and greater challenges until they come up against one too great to overcome. The ease with which the bone Werejaguars can create these powerful weapons is both a blessing and a curse. Note: All Metamorphic Weapons are magic in nature and inflict full Hit Point damage to vampires and other werebeasts. As living weapons, they regenerate (double regeneration speed when on a ley line).

Bone Werejaguars are available in the RIFTS RPG as Optional Player Characters

Alignment: Feline werebeasts, like the Jaguar People, are typically anarchist or any evil (occasionally unprincipled) alignments.
Size: 6 to 7 feet tall in human and humanoid monster form, 5 to 6 feet long in animal form.
Weight: 200 to 300 lbs. (90 to 136 kg).
Hit Points (Special): Like the vampire, the werebeast is invulnerable to most weapons, including mega-damage energy weapons, explosives, bullets, fire, wood, steel, poisons and toxins. However, also like vampires, werebeasts are vulnerable to ordinary silver. Weapons that have at least a 50% silver content inflict double damage to supernatural things. Although Bone Werejaguars possess bio-regenerative powers, they are nothing like the vampires’, so being bludgeoned or stabbed by silver can kill the creature without requiring decapitation and staking.

Natural Abilities: Speak while in animal shape, prowl 80%, swim 60%, climb 90%/80%, acrobatics 80%, track by smell 70%, nightvision 300 ft (91.5 m), and bio-regenerate 2D6 H.P. per hour.

Limited invulnerability: See hit point description. The creature is vulnerable to magic, psionics, and weapons made of silver (double damage). Wolfbay and garlic will hold all werebeasts at bay, like a cross, sunlight and running water have no adverse effect. Powerful mega-damage attacks and explosions that inflict great amount of damage may knock the creature down or stun it. Same Knockdown/Impact table as for vampires.

Shape-changing power: The myth is that a werebeast is human by day and beast by night, but this is not true. The creature can shape-change at will, day or night. The metamorphosis takes about 15 seconds (one melee) and there is no limit to the number of times the creature can perform a metamorphosis or how long he can maintain that particular shape. As stated previously, the creatures are quite intelligent, thus they generally assume the less frightening form of human during the bright sunlight hours when humans are on the prowl, and into monster humanoid form or animal shape during the night. Also, since they are nocturnal hunters, they tend to sleep most of the day and are active during the night. The three shapes are human, jaguar, and its natural shape of jaguar humanoid (half man, half jaguar).

Magic: A typical Bone werejaguar knows tongues, chameleon, astral projection, repel animals, heal wounds, metamorphosis: animal, and metamorphosis: human, but the Jaguar people of Palenque also possess a previously unknown discipline of magic called Hunting Magic. Whether it is instinctively known or taught at some point in their development is a secret that they do not share with outsiders. Whatever the source, every Bone werejaguar from Palenque knows all Hunting Magic spells.

Psionic Abilities: Sixth sense, see the invisible, and mind block.

Hunting Magic : Like the name suggests, Hunting Magic is specifically designed to enhance the hunting skills of the practitioner. Some spells focus on helping the practitioner track down prey, others are meant to conceal the practitioner from his target, and of course, there are spells designed to increase the hunter’s killing power. Hunting Magic is meant for precision tracking and killing. Its one drawback is it can sometimes focus the practitioner so intently on one target that he becomes oblivious to other possible dangers. The Jaguar People of Palenque are such skilled hunters that this is rarely a problem, but many young hunters from their home world fell victim to hidden dangers as they learned their craft.

Commentary: This was one of my favorite illustrations for this book. I wanted to deliver a major illustration that would demonstrate how fierce, powerful and predatory a Bone Werejaguar character could be, hopefully enticing Gamers, particularly players. IMHO, its been a long… time since a good lycanthropic player character class has been provided with such a new taste and flavor for playability. The Bone Werejaguar is one that won’t disappoint. It’s the essence of playing and being an apex predator, with the philosophy of preserving ecosystem balance, high thrill seeking hunts, huntsmen culture and advanced yet primitive aesthetic technology; laced with awesome playable versatility. As much as I love Werewolves, this Player option would be one that I would easily swoop up to play over a Werewolf in RIFTS.
This illustration was done on a Strathmore 14 X 17 Bristol board, smooth surface finish with a Zebra M-301 0.5 lead. Time not clocked.

Description
This illustration is featured in the recent RIFTS: Vampires” Table-top Role-Playing Game publication by Palladiumbooks.

[link]

Now also available in Color (BTW, the color version's text contains the Bone Werejaguar's transformable Weapons & traps also listed):

Featured: A Bone Werejaguar hunter at the prime moment of his kill, has just delivered the coup-de-grace to this jungle dwelling alien predator (dimensional being or D-Bee). As part of the Bone Were-jaguar‘s hunting magic practices, such a quarry will be converted into supernatural weapons to enhance this hunter’s hunting and combative prowess. In a nutshell, the more dangerous the quarry the more powerful the weapons that can be forged from its carcass.

Description (written by Chris “Slappy” Kluge): The Jaguar People of Palenque are skilled hunters and warriors, but by all rights, this small band of werebeasts should have been wiped out long ago by the superior forces (both numerically and in terms of raw power) from Chichen Itza and the Vampire Kingdoms. What makes the Bone Werejaguars such an unstoppable force is the arsenal of Metamorphic Weapons that each Bone werejaguar wields. The simple looking piercings and ornaments made of bone that adorn their bodies can be removed and transformed into lethal instruments within seconds.

Metamorphic Weapons are forged within the heart of slain prey. The Bone werejaguar performs a simple ritual over his fresh kill causing the item (in its smaller transformed form) to grow within the chambers of the target’s heart. The hunter then cuts the item out of the prey’s heart, and typically eats the heart in celebration. The ritual to forge Metamorphic Weapons is surprisingly quick and inexpensive, but there are some caveats that increase the challenge. For one, the spell caster must be the one solely responsible for the kill. If anyone helps at any point, the ritual will not work. No one is sure why this is. Perhaps if the hunter’s pride is harmed by the assistance, his focus is shaken in the ritual. The other caveat is that the final kill strike must be delivered by hand. Melee weapons are allowed, but the spell caster must be the one wielding it. Long range weapons and traps can be used to inflict damage, but the killing blow must be delivered up close and personal or the ritual will not work.

A small sum of potential psychic energy is spent by the Bone Werejaguar to begin the ritual, the rest of the psychic energy “given” by the prey. Only the Psychic energy from the single sacrifice can be used. Psychic Energy cannot be added from any other source such as ley lines, the spell caster, allies, or additional sacrifices. This potential Psychic Energy (which is doubled at the moment of death) is what determines how powerful the newly forged Metamorphic Weapon will be. Creatures with high potentials of psychic energy give “birth” to incredibly powerful weapons, which allows the hunter to go after even more powerful prey. The temptation to go after prey that is too strong too soon in order to gain their strength is something that has undone many a young hunter. Even veteran hunters fall into the endless cycle of seeking greater and greater challenges until they come up against one too great to overcome. The ease with which the bone Werejaguars can create these powerful weapons is both a blessing and a curse. Note: All Metamorphic Weapons are magic in nature and inflict full Hit Point damage to vampires and other werebeasts. As living weapons, they regenerate (double regeneration speed when on a ley line).

Bone Werejaguars are available in the RIFTS RPG as Optional Player Characters

Alignment: Feline werebeasts, like the Jaguar People, are typically anarchist or any evil (occasionally unprincipled) alignments.
Size: 6 to 7 feet tall in human and humanoid monster form, 5 to 6 feet long in animal form.
Weight: 200 to 300 lbs. (90 to 136 kg).
Hit Points (Special): Like the vampire, the werebeast is invulnerable to most weapons, including mega-damage energy weapons, explosives, bullets, fire, wood, steel, poisons and toxins. However, also like vampires, werebeasts are vulnerable to ordinary silver. Weapons that have at least a 50% silver content inflict double damage to supernatural things. Although Bone Werejaguars possess bio-regenerative powers, they are nothing like the vampires’, so being bludgeoned or stabbed by silver can kill the creature without requiring decapitation and staking.

Natural Abilities: Speak while in animal shape, prowl 80%, swim 60%, climb 90%/80%, acrobatics 80%, track by smell 70%, nightvision 300 ft (91.5 m), and bio-regenerate 2D6 H.P. per hour.

Limited invulnerability: See hit point description. The creature is vulnerable to magic, psionics, and weapons made of silver (double damage). Wolfbay and garlic will hold all werebeasts at bay, like a cross, sunlight and running water have no adverse effect. Powerful mega-damage attacks and explosions that inflict great amount of damage may knock the creature down or stun it. Same Knockdown/Impact table as for vampires.

Shape-changing power: The myth is that a werebeast is human by day and beast by night, but this is not true. The creature can shape-change at will, day or night. The metamorphosis takes about 15 seconds (one melee) and there is no limit to the number of times the creature can perform a metamorphosis or how long he can maintain that particular shape. As stated previously, the creatures are quite intelligent, thus they generally assume the less frightening form of human during the bright sunlight hours when humans are on the prowl, and into monster humanoid form or animal shape during the night. Also, since they are nocturnal hunters, they tend to sleep most of the day and are active during the night. The three shapes are human, jaguar, and its natural shape of jaguar humanoid (half man, half jaguar).

Magic: A typical Bone werejaguar knows tongues, chameleon, astral projection, repel animals, heal wounds, metamorphosis: animal, and metamorphosis: human, but the Jaguar people of Palenque also possess a previously unknown discipline of magic called Hunting Magic. Whether it is instinctively known or taught at some point in their development is a secret that they do not share with outsiders. Whatever the source, every Bone werejaguar from Palenque knows all Hunting Magic spells.

Psionic Abilities: Sixth sense, see the invisible, and mind block.

Hunting Magic : Like the name suggests, Hunting Magic is specifically designed to enhance the hunting skills of the practitioner. Some spells focus on helping the practitioner track down prey, others are meant to conceal the practitioner from his target, and of course, there are spells designed to increase the hunter’s killing power. Hunting Magic is meant for precision tracking and killing. Its one drawback is it can sometimes focus the practitioner so intently on one target that he becomes oblivious to other possible dangers. The Jaguar People of Palenque are such skilled hunters that this is rarely a problem, but many young hunters from their home world fell victim to hidden dangers as they learned their craft.

Commentary: This was one of my favorite illustrations for this book. I wanted to deliver a major illustration that would demonstrate how fierce, powerful and predatory a Bone Werejaguar character could be, hopefully enticing Gamers, particularly players. IMHO, its been a long… time since a good lycanthropic player character class has been provided with such a new taste and flavor for playability. The Bone Werejaguar is one that won’t disappoint. It’s the essence of playing and being an apex predator, with the philosophy of preserving ecosystem balance, high thrill seeking hunts, huntsmen culture and advanced yet primitive aesthetic technology; laced with awesome playable versatility. As much as I love Werewolves, this Player option would be one that I would easily swoop up to play over a Werewolf in RIFTS.
This illustration was done on a Strathmore 14 X 17 Bristol board, smooth surface finish with a Zebra M-301 0.5 lead. Time not clocked.