Editing LeviathanTempest:ChapterTwo (section)

==== School ====

Schools are the modes of thought that direct a Leviathan's exploration of their inhuman lineage. With their history lost, and their lack of control over their own divine bloodlines, members of the Tribe are faced with a hostile world and an inability to conduct a normal human life. The focus on some method of making sense of their changing world, and of defining a place for themselves, determines a Leviathan's School. They are not formal associations, but modes of thought – not unlike “critical methods” in academic discourse. A Leviathan's choice of School is perhaps the most meaningful decision he will make regarding how his life will be conducted from that point forward. A Leviathan's choice of School provides him with a free Specialty in one of three Skills linked to that School, and provides him with a discount when investing in Adaptations of certain Vestiges. 

The process of induction to a school is simple: the character must learn its tenets and attempt to apply them to her own life. There are no ritual initiations, hazings, or pledges of loyalty; Schools are philosophical viewpoints, not religions or political organizations. How the character was exposed to the School can be a character-defining moment. Did she receive instruction at the scaly foot of an elder Leviathan? Was she simply handed a heavy, crudely printed book, its pages stained with sea salt? Or did she receive a terse email and a .pdf file summarizing the viewpoints of the known Schools? As Leviathan society has few stable institutions, all of these are possible. It's also more than likely that a young Leviathan will enter Tribal society with some serious misunderstandings about Schools not her own.

Some Leviathans, especially those most new to their lineage, are without a School. Most do not maintain this position for long – while they do not suffer socially for this choice,  the lack of at least a flimsy pretense of a life plan is extremely dangerous to the fragile psyches of a rootless member of the Tribe, and isolation and doubt are quick routes to the descent into madness. A School-less Leviathan may take a free Specialty in either Brawl, Stealth, or Survival – their focus is on the day-to-day struggle, not a long term plan. They do not favor any Vestige. A School-less Leviathan can move into a School later – this, and the possibility of changing one's School, is discussed later.