Werewolf

Werewolf

In Cambria, werewolves have walked among the various races for as long as they have existed. They can blend into human civilization, but rarely for long. They're predators at heart, and people can sense as much on an instinctive level. At their core, a werewolf is a creature of both human (or elf, or dwarf) and wolf nature, but is neither fully. They refer to themselves by a name from their own tongue - the Garou.

Werewolves cannot breed among themselves to preserve their lineage; their blood is too potent, and the result is too much like inbreeding. To continue their bloodlines, werewolves must mate with humans or wolves. However, the chance that any children or cubs that result from such a pairing will breed true is small. In most cases, the spirit half of the werewolf isn't passed on.

Werewolves born to human or wolf families are indistinguishable from their mortal siblings. Newborn werewolves simply appear to be normal humans or wolves in almost every respect. Only a very few are even told by their parents that werewolves exist at all. However, young werewolves are prone to strange dreams and fits of temper that alienate them from their relatives or friends. Finally, some time after adolescence, a young werewolf undergoes their First Change. This event is often brought on by stress or trauma, leading the confused young werewolf to lash out at whatever is hurting them. It is then that the werewolf's Garou relatives arrive to collect them. Once among their own kind, they are initiated into their Garou tribe and taught the purpose and traditions of their people. From that point forward, the young werewolf lives a life of constant danger. Should they persevere, though, they can become a legend among their Garou kin.

Garou society is older at its core than any human culture. Many of its traditions date back to a time before agriculture, before history as we know it. They have managed this amazing longevity while keeping their true nature a secret from humanity by two means: oral tradition and faith.

To the Garou, the past is a living thing. They keep tales of their ancestors alive, retelling them at gatherings to inspire the latest generation to strive for similarly heroic deeds. The laws laid down millennia ago are learned and recounted by each generation until every werewolf knows them by heart. By keeping all their lore alive in an oral tradition, the Garou have retained a sense of continuity that binds each generation to the next.

Garou adhere to the Litany, a code which depicts the laws of the Garou Nation. The place of each individual Garou is dictated by the moon phase under which he or she is born. There are five Auspices that mandate a Garou's function within werewolf society.

Secondly, werewolves believe that Gaia - the living spirit of the world itself - created them to defend her and make war against her enemies. They're aided in this belief by several points that seem to support their claim: their obviously supernatural nature, their allies among the spirit world, and the fact that they are definitely at war with the forces of spiritual corruption. Their war has been going on for millennia - not even the wisest Talesinger among the werewolves can recall a story of their race at peace. According to their traditions, Gaia brought werewolves into being as a response to the rise of their enemy - the Wyrm. The Garou maintain that their true purpose is to fight, kill, and die in the service of the Earth Mother.

The Garou's claim to be a race designed for battle is certainly well founded. Werewolves are deadly creatures, perhaps the most lethal overall of any living being in the world - save dragons. They possess great strength when they shapeshift, allowing them to tear apart metal and stone with their bare claws. They heal remarkably quickly, making them nearly impossible to kill with mundane weaponry such as knives or small firearms. They possess mystical powers that allow them to travel to the spirit world, strike with stealth or monstrous force and even call on the forces of the earth itself. They have all the intelligence and tool-using capability of any human, making some werewolves masters of both technology and occult power. Most importantly, werewolves are pack creatures, which makes them a hundred times stronger. A pack of werewolves is worth more than 10 times its weight in enemies.

If they were more numerous, it's possible that the werewolves would have already won the war. But they are too few in number; since the Fall, they are a dying race. Their enemies are virtually uncountable, and they range from humans who fight with raw intelligence, cunning and resources to monsters from deep in the earth, and even forces from beyond the material plane. Worst of all, Garou fight amongst themselves. Rivalries that started centuries ago continue even today as blood feuds that prevent the Garou from achieving the unity that would make them unstoppable. Just as their pack mentality brings them together, their Rage drives them apart. Such is the tragedy of the Werewolf.

As you can see, the lot of a werewolf is far from an easy one. But therein lies the appeal of trying on a wolf's skin for a while.

Werewolf Traits

Your werewolf character has an assortment of inborn abilities.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Since werewolves are the product of cross-species copulation, the rate of maturation and life expectency depends upon the indivudual werewolf's genetic makeup. A werewolf of human descent will mature at the rate of a human, while a werewolf of elven descent will mature at the rate of an elf. Werewolves are not immortal, but it is the rare, rare werewolf who has the luxury of dying from old age.

Alignment. While werewolves are unquestionably monsters, they tend to represent lawful neutrality.

Size. In Hominid (Human), Glabro, and Lupus forms, your size is Medium. In Crinos and Hispo forms, your size is Large.

Speed. In Hominid (Human) form, your speed is 30 feet. In Glabro and Crinos forms, your speed is 40 feet. In Hispo, your speed is 50 feet. In Lupus, your speed is 60 feet.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Oerid and one extra language of your choice. You also speak the Garou tongue and may converse with wolves in Crinos, Hispo, and Lupus forms.

Darkvision. As a nocturnal predator, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Werewolf Resilience. You are resistant to damage from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons.

Luna's Metal, Nature's Fire You are vulnerable to damage from attacks made with silvered weapons and/or fire. In addition, taking damage from a silvered weapon or fire cancels your next Rapid Regeneration.

Rapid Regeneration. You regenerate 1d6 hit points at the start of your turn. You heal non-critical wounds in moments, and critical wounds in half of the usual time. You must have at least 1 hit point in order to regenerate.

Shapechanger. As an action, the werewolf can polymorph into one of five forms: Hominid (Human), Glabro, Crinos, Hispo, or Lupus. Each form has different strengths and weaknesses (see Forms, below).

Gifts of Gaia. Throughout a werewolf's life, they learn certain special abilities known as Gifts. These are described in further detail below.

Rage. Not to be confused with the Barbarian class mechanic, werewolves utilize a unique resource known as Rage. Rage is explained in further detail below.

Making a Werewolf

Being a special racial choice, werewolf character creation involves some extra steps. These are as follows:

1. Develop a character concept. The character concept acts as an outline, a general idea of what your character is like. Make it something unique and interesting that you will enjoy playing for the long haul. The character concept is something like a thesis sentence for your character.

2. Determine ability scores as outlined in the Campaign Guide. Werewolves receive an Ability Score Increase much like any other race, which is listed to the left.

3. Choose your breed. There are three beeds of werewolf: hominid, metis and lupus. These are explained in the Breed chapter of this race guide. You must select one, and it makes a large impact on how your werewolf character will look, feel and play.

4. Choose your auspice. Your auspice determines a lot about your werewolf character, such as your initial permanent Rage as well as important elements of your personality and temperament. The Foundry has a calendar which tracks the phases of both Luna and Celune, Cambria's two moons, to assist you in determining your auspice.

5. Choose your Gifts. Werewolves have numerous special abilities that are available to them, aside from the traits shown on this page. You begin with two (2) Gifts, chosen from lists provided by your breed and auspice, and you gain an additional Gift each time your character levels up.

6. Choose your Class. This is where the normal process for character creation picks up.

7. Choose equipment, spells, etc.

Forms

A werewolf always feels most comfortable in the form she grew up in, which is known as her breed form. For instance, hominid werewolves prefer to wear a human (or elf, dwarf, etc.) skin, largely because they are the most adept at dealing with mankind. When a werewolf shapeshifts into a human being, he is said to be in Hominid form. By contrast, lupus-breed werewolves prefer having sharpened teeth and claws, warm fur and the heightened senses that come from being a wolf. When a werewolf shapeshifts into a wolf, he has taken the Lupus form. When in this form, he is quite obviously a wolf.

Hominid form and Lupus are the two extremes of shapeshifting - shifting completely from a man into a wolf for the first time is a brutal and painful ordeal. Eventually it becomes easy, and werewolves learn to make more subtle changes. For instance, they make take a shape halfway between Homid and Crinos, one halfway between Crinos and Lupus, or even (with great effort) temporarily shift a small part of the body. Regardless of breed, any werewolf can shift freely between these forms, but he will always be most familiar with his breed form. These three skins - Hominid, Lupus and Crinos form - are the most commonly worn, and they reflect three very different aspects of Garou society.

Hominid

This is a werewolf's "human" form (or elven, or dwarven, etc.), and for Hominid werewolves it is considered their true form. Your statistics and traits are unchanged in this form.

Glabro

Glabro is a special form that is halfway between Hominid and Crinos, and represents a compromise between the two. You stand a head taller than you normally do, and your size is Medium. Your Speed increases to 40 feet and your unarmed attacks deal 1d4 damage instead of just 1. The amount of weight you can push, drag, and carry doubles.

Crinos

This is referred to as the war form by most werewolves, and is the natural form of all metis-bred Garou. Standing between 7 and 9 feet tall, your size becomes Large. Your speed increases to 40 feet and you gain natural weapons: A bite attack, which deals 2d4 piercing damage; and a claw attack, which deals 2d6 slasing damage. The amount of weight you can push, drag, and carry increases three-fold. Due to your increased size and specialized physiology, you have disadvantage when attempting to use tools or items not speficially designed for your Crinos form.

Hispo

In this form, you become a dire wolf. Like Glabro, this form represents a compromise: This time between Crinos, the hulking war-form, and Lupus, the pure wolf form. You stand roughly 5 feet high at the shoulders, and your size is Large. Your speed increases to 50 feet and you gain a bite attack that deals 2d6 damage. Paws lack opposable thumbs, so you are limited to carrying only one item at a time (in your mouth), and you cannot make a bite attack while carrying an object this way. Werewolves in Hispo form cannot speak.

Lupus

The Lupus form is the natural form for all Lupus-bred werewolves. In this form you are virtially identical to a wild wolf, and your size is Medium. Your speed increases to 60 feet and you gain a bite attack that deals 2d4 damage. Like the Hispo form, you are unable to carry objects in your hands (since you have paws), and may only carry a single item in your mouth. Werewolves in Lupus form cannot speak, but have advantage while communicating with wolves. You have advantage on Perception checks.

Rage

Rage is the amount of that primal Beast that still exists in a Garou. It is not just an increased capacity for battle, but a force that could just as easily become mindless violence on a frightening scale. It is the instinctual cunning and hunting ability mixed with savage bloodlust and unpredictable horror.

Rage is a blessing and a curse to the Garou. It is the distilled raw force sent from Gaia that allows them to punish all who seek to destroy Her. This connection to both aspects of Rage makes the Garou frightening warriors. They can walk in the world of the human or that of the beast and be equally powerful in both.

Rage is tracked as a resource, which has two parts: Permanent Rage and current Rage. A werewolf's Permanent Rage is determined by their Auspice (see Auspice, below) and their overall character level.

Using Rage

Rage is a powerful and versatile weapon for the Garou. The following are some of its uses and dangers:

Frenzy. Frenzy is the most frightening drawback of Rage. Frenzy is the violent outburst, the untamed savagery, the animal instinct for blood and brutality that lurks in the heart of every werewolf. Whenever a player scores a critical success on a Rage check (see Rage Checks, below), they enter a frenzy.

Extra Actions. A player can spend Rage to give their character extra actions in a single turn. However, a Garou cannot spend more Rage points in one turn than half of their permanent Rage rating.

Changing Forms. A player may spend a Rage point for their character to change instantly to any form they desire, without having to spend an action.

Recovering from Stun. If a werewolf gains the Stunned condition, they can spend a Rage point to remove the condition.

Remaining Active. If a character falls below 0 hit points, a player can use Rage to keep their character going. The player must make a Rage roll. On a success, the character regains 1 hit point. However, this last-ditch survival effort has its price. Like all Rage rolls, the character is still subject to frenzy. The wound will also remain on the Garou's body as an appropriate Battle Scar.

Beast Within. Occasionally, a Garou is more of the wolf than of the world, and they must pay the price for it. For every point of Rage a character has above their Charisma score, they suffer a -1 penalty on all social interaction rolls. People, even other werewolves, can sense the killer hiding just under the skin, and they don't want to be anywhere near it.

Losing the Wolf. If a character has lost or spent all their Rage, they have "lost the wolf," and they cannot regain Rage until they complete a long rest. The Garou cannot shift to anything except their breed form until their Rage returns.

Gaining Rage

A Rage pool fluctuates, but replenishes in several ways:

• The Moon. The first time a werewolf sees the moon at night, the Beast inside stirs, and Rage floods back into them. Under a new moon, the character gets one point; under a waning moon, two points; under a half or waxing moon, three points; and under a full moon, four points. However, if the moon phase corresponds with the character's auspice, they regain all of their Rage. This phenomenon occurs only at the first sighting of the moon each night.

• Botch. If the GM approves, a werewolf might receive a Rage point after a botched roll (rolling a natural 1). Rage comes from stressful situations, and seeing the action you were attempting blow up in your face, sometimes literally, can be a very stressful situation.

• Humiliation. Rage will also come rushing back if anything a Garou does proves particularly humiliating. The GM decides whether a situation is embarassing enough to warrant a Rage point.

• Confrontation. Again at the GM's approval, a character could receive a Rage point at the beginning of a tense situation, in the moments right before combat starts. This gain accounts for the anticipation and hackle-raising that happens just as tempers start to flare.

Rage Checks

A Rage check is a special Wisdom saving throw. The DC for a Rage check is equal to 10 plus your current Rage. The following conditions might call for a Rage check, at the Game Master's discretion:

• Embarassment or humilation (botching an important roll)
• Any strong emotion (lust, rage, envy)
• Extreme hunger
• Confinement, helplessness
• Being taunted by an enemy
• Large quantities of silver in the area
• Being wounded or seeing a packmate wounded

Rage Check DC = 10 + current Rage

Scoring a critical success (rolling a natural 20) on a Rage check will trigger a frenzy (see Frenzy, below).

Frenzy

Any Rage roll can ignite a frenzy, even those made to activate specific Gifts. Any Rage rolls should be interpreted as an attempt - willing or otherwise - to awaken the primal Beast that drives the Garou. If a player rolls a critical success on a Rage roll, their character frenzies.

There are two types of frenzy, which are:

• Berzerk Frenzy. Garou see only red and moving shapes. They wish only to reduce these shapes to mangled carcasses, A berzerk Garou shifts immediately to Crinos or Hispo (player's choice) and attacks. Exactly who they attack depends on the circumstances. A Garou whose permanent Rage is lower than their Wisdom score will not attack their packmates. She will attack anything else that moves, however, including allied Garou who are not members of her pack. Garou do not remember what happens to them during frenzy. Often, they collapse when the frenzy ends.

• Fox Frenzy. Entering a fox frenzy means that the character flees in terror for their life. They shift into Lupus form and run, atacking anything that gets in their way (although more with the intention of getting past than of killing). Once the character reaches a safe hiding place, they will remain there until the frenzy passes.

In either frenzy, the extent of the werewolf's action capability is to bite, claw or run. The character may spend Rage for extra actions.

Coming out of frenzy requires that the situation that triggered it be over. When the trigger event is over, the player may roll a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to the Garou's own Rage) to escape the frenzy. Even if this roll fails, they may try again each turn.

Breeds

A werewolf’s true nature is shaped long before his First Change. If one of his parents is human, he will grow up in human society, learning the ways of a man. If one of his parents is a wolf, he will be raised by wolves, and human society will be a mystery to him. In almost every case, one of the parents is Garou. Whether the child’s mother’s natural form is that of a human or a wolf determines what his breed will be. There are three such breeds in Garou society: hominid, lupus and metis.

Hominid

You were born to a two-legged mother, who may or may not have been a werewolf or Kinfolk. You grew up among their kind and learned how to live in their society. Yet something has always set you apart. Other kids found you weird, and your feisty temper brought on heaps of trouble more than once. As you inched toward puberty, haunting dreams pestered your nights. Maybe you'd wake up craving raw meat or drowning in a cold sweat. Chances are, someone, perhaps a distant relative, watched you from afar and took you away before your Change, which ended whatever life you may have led. Now you know the realities about yourself and your true people. Even if you really wanted to go back, it would be too hard. You couldn't possibly explain to your human family what really happened.

Hominid characters have no limits on what Abilities they may have. They're skilled with all kinds of modern machinery and they often have a knack for understanding both abstractions and concrete reasoning in subjects such as economics or algebra. In their breed form, hominids can also handle silver with no Gnosis penalty. But being born human has some downsides, though. Homid characters are generally less intuitive and perceptive than lupus or metis. They're likely to rely on what they see and hear, rather than what they feel. Moreover, their innate connections to Gaia are weaker, as represented by their low starting Gnosis. Humanity has simply grown apart from the spirit world. Finally, the other breeds have some understandable concern that hominids outnumber all other werewolves. The lupus fear especially that hominids will prove dominant and desert their wolf cousins. This concern makes for some definite tension when the two groups tangle unexpectedly.

• Nicknames: Apes, Two-Legs, Monkeys
• Beginning Gifts: Master of Fire, Persuasion, Smell of Man

Metis

Metis rank in the lowest echelons of Garou society, for they are the offspring of lawbreakers who disobeyed the Litany and mated. It's a hard, thankless life that's made no better by the fact that all metis bear some kind of obvious deformity. Most werewolves point to this setback as a mark of Gaia's displeasure; others call it evidence of corruption. A few argue that too much werewolf blood is a bad thing — no flesh can contain such pure blood without developing a flaw. Whatever the case, you've survived from a hard birth, through years of living only in your Crinos body ( the natural form of a metis), to finally undergo your First Change. Whether your parents raised you — as an outcast among the sept — or long-suffering but devoted Kinfolk did, you're now ready to take your place in the sept. Unlike hominids, you have a lot of knowledge about werewolf society already —the good, the bad and the very> very ugly. Your birthright has toughened your body, your heart and your spirit. Only time will tell if you maintain your dignity and honor or let your dire Rage consume you utterly.

Metis characters have no restrictions on Abilities. Like hominids, they can understand various theoretical concepts that puzzle the lupus. But like their wolf relatives, the metis also have cunning instincts. While most lupus and homid werewolves would never admit it, the metis have many of the best parts of being wolf and human.

The downside, though, is the mark of deformity that all metis bear. While a few who can do so may try to hide their defect, others reject the sham as dishonorable. They have to bear it, and so should everyone who sees them.

Another flaw of this breed is that all metis are sterile; none can sire or bear children. In a race of beings that is dwindling, this flaw is ironic, especially since the number of metis has grown in recent years.

• Nicknames: Mules, Bastards, Obscenities
• Beginning Gifts: Create Element, Primal Anger, Sense Wyrm

Metis Deformities

Every metis character must have one deformity, chosen during character creation. And while some deformities may have minor benefits, the bad should always outweigh the good. Storytellers should encourage players to choose defects that complement their character concept. Some possibilities for metis deformities include:

• Albino. You have no melanin in your body, no matter what form you take. As a result, your skin is faintly pink, and it burns easily, so stay out of the sun if possible. Your hair is stark white (not silver) and your eyes are blood red, which makes you a real anomaly among the werewolves. Take a +2 difficulty penalty on all Perception rolls if you're trying to operate in bright light without your protective clothing or sunglasses.
• Blind. Whether you have two eyes in the right place that don't work, or no eyes at all, you are totally blind. You fail any rolls involving vision automatically. At the Storyteller's discretion, though, you may take occasional bonuses with other sense groups.

• Fits of Madness. Mental illness plagues you on a periodic basis. Whatever your malaise, you tend to fall to pieces when you get stressed. Make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) whenever situations get tough. Scoring any less than three successes makes you go quietly nuts for a while.
• Hairless. You have no hair or fur in any of your forms, making you a weird sight indeed. You have disadvantage on all social rolls. You might be able to avoid this penalty among humans when you're in Homid form, although some people will be put off by your complete lack of hair even then (particularly if they note your lack of eyebrows).
• Horns. A pair of horns sprouts from your brow. They may be like those of a ram or goat, or perhaps you have a small pair of antelope-like antlers. You might even have a single short horn like a unicorn's. Whatever the shape this disfigurement takes, you have disadvantage on all social rolls, and you are likely to be even more heavily scorned by your fellow Garou. (Horns are a mark of prey, not of a predator, after all.) If you actually try to attack with your horns (which do improvised weapon damage), you will likely lose some amount of Glory Renown for fighting like a prey animal instead of a Garou.
• Hunchback. You were born with a front-to-back or side-to-side curve of your spine that's worsened as you've aged. Not only does it give you a negative social stigma (you have disadvantage on all social rolls), it also impedes your movement, giving you disadvantage on all activities involving Dexterity.
• No Sense of Smell. You have no olfactory nerves, so your sense of smell is nonexistent. This is an unfortunate thing for a creature who relies so much on her nose. You fail all Perception rolls involving smell automatically, and you have disadvantage when tracking prey using your Primal-Urge.
• No Tail. Not having a tail creates serious communication problems with others of your kind. You have disadvantage in all social situations while in Lupus, Hispo or Crinos forms. Likewise, your sense of balance suffers. You have disadvantage on all Dexterity rolls as well while wearing those forms.
• Seizures. When you're under the gun, you lose control of your body. When you fail an important check, make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 15). On a failure you writhe uncontrollably until the GM tells you to make another roll. You can take no actions while experiencing a seizure.
• Tough Hide. Your hide's as tough as old leather, and it's wrinkled and dry with spotty patches of hair. Your Charisma score may never be higher than 10, plus unbearable itching and hot spots are constant aggravations. On the positive side, you have a permanent +2 AC bonus, but it's only a small advantage to weigh against your smelly, scratchy hide.
• Wasting Disease. Your constitution is notably weak. You cough and wheeze, and you can't keep up when your pack trots along for hours on end. You have disadvantage on Constitution saving throws.
• Weak Immune System. Unlike other Garou, you catch almost every germ that comes along. Sniffling constantly and often suffering from flu-like symptoms, you don't have the same ability to resist damage that others have. Because of your condition, you have disadvantage when resisting the effects of disease and infection.
• Withered Limb. You have four limbs, but the muscles of one are atrophied, leaving it withered or paralyzed. Depending on your form, you can't walk well, and you run more slowly than other werewolves. Your movement speed is decreased by 10 feet, and you have disadvantage on Dexterity rolls.

Lupus

Gaia's passion runs deep within your soul, for you were born in the wild as a wolf. You rose through the natural hierarchy of the pack instinctively, perhaps becoming the alpha, even though you sensed that you were somehow different from the others. Then you learned the truth: You weren't an ordinary wolf. You were a shapechanger; a werewolf.

Now you run with a werewolf pack, and you try to see the world through new eyes. The human part of you is often difficult to understand; speech, for example, is layered with more nonsense than is necessary. And those strange manners! To you, every creature has a rank and place, and society is no more complicated than that. Those who rank highest eat first and expect greeting and respect from those who rank lower. Yet the hominids have complex rituals for everything, from greetings to meals, and they speak of strange concepts like equality. To you, they seem to ignore the wolf in them overmuch. That's sad, because one thing you do understand is that the number of lupus werewolves lessens each passing year. And every pup is precious. While you have a number of advantages, including a strong body and keen senses, you also have some limitations in that you know little about technology. Likewise, you don't follow human logic and reasoning. You rely instead on the powerful instincts Gaia has given you, which is reflected in your high Gnosis. However, beginning lupus characters have restrictions on purchasing certain Abilities, since they lack knowledge about human ways of life.

• Nicknames: Feral Ones, Four-Legs, Fleabiters
• Beginning Gifts: Hare's Leap, Heightened Senses, Sense Prey
• Restricted Abilities: Lupus characters have disadvantage on checks made to interact with technology or hominid society.

Auspices

Regardless of their beeed, all werewolves feel an inexorable pull toward Luna, sister of Gaia. Whether ths shines on them with her full face or hides from view, they take comfort from her company and guidance. Luna is the one who shows a werewolf what his path and roll will be in Garou society, and this path is called an auspice.

An auspice is many things: It reflects the werewolf's general personality traits, attitudes and interests, as well as his duties in the pack. All auspices are important, for no werewolf can be all things to his people. As many different auspices are included in a pack, the unit grows stronger as a whole from the diversity of its individual members. Auspice also determines the inner Rage of the werewolf. Some Garou mothers try to use herbs or other methods to induce labour under a specific moon, which is one of the reasons that Ragabash and Ahroun are roughly as common as the other three auspices, even though the full moon and new moon appear only half as often as any other phase.

Each young werewolf studies under an elder of the same auspice, learning particular Gifts and the role Luna has decreed for him in werewolf society. Werewolves often introduce themselves by auspice when meeting others. Whether the werewolf was born under a waxing or waning moon has some bearing on his auspice and temperament. The waxing moon is a sign of rising Rage, while the waning moon hints at a cooler, more somber personality. Players should take this aspect of a character's auspice into account when considering some of the character's minor personality quirks.

Ragabash: The New Moon, The Trickster

Only a real fool ignores the wisdom hiding in the guise of the trickster. She brings mirth to still the anger between two hearts and humility to those who need a dose in full. Moreover, the New Moon often has clever insights that make her a worthy advisor (or conniver). The Ragabash occupies an odd place in werewolf society. Many distrust her unpredictable mannerisms and peculiar sense of humour, but she's usually welcomed and given a free hand in the day-to-day life of the pack. The New Moon enjoys a rare flexibility within the normally rigid structures of werewolf society. When there's tension in the air, the Ragabash is usually the one to lift it, even at the risk of a claw raking across her exposed, laughing throat. She shows a different kind of courage than the warrior, but one that clever elders don't underestimate.

As the "questioner of ways," the Ragabash has an obligation to play devil's advocate. Being a New Moon is more than being given a license to play pranks or undercut authority - it is a real responsibility. The Ragabash must question traditions and decrees not reflexively, but rather from an informed point of view. It isn't enough to cast doubt on an elder's proclamation; the Ragabash must have a solid argument supporting her contrary views. It's her task to make certain that her packmates see both sides to every issue, to be sure that they're taking the right option, not just the most obvious one. Of course, the Ragabash's penchant for cunning, sly tactics and subtle Gifts also tends to bestow a certain amount of responsibility as a scout, saboteur or even assassin. The new moon is the moon of stealth, and its children are the ones charged with using that stealth for the Garou's benefit.

• Initial Rage: 1
• Beginning Gifts: Blue of the Milky Eye, Open Seal, Scent of Running Water

Theurge: The Crescent Moon, The Seer

As Luna's most slender light shines on her sister Gaia, she reveals secrets of the spirits and their vast realms. The Theurge is the child of the crescent moon, and he is wisest in the was of the Umbra and its inhabitants. Some call these seers the daydreamers of the werewolves, and many do seem to be a bit detached from their brethren. They can see and hear things that others cannot, as if they live half in the world of the physical and half in the world of the spirit. For all his alien solitude, the Theurge holds an important place in the pack. Without him, the werewolves would forget the spiritual side of their nature. They might wander lost and blind if they did not have his visions and dreams to guide them.

The Theurge is usually his pack's ritemaster, the one who knows the most rites and takes the responsibility of performing them for the pack's benefit. He is also the one who typically negotates with encountered spirits, as the one most likely to speak their language and understand their unusual modes of thought. The Gifts of the crescent moon assist the Theurge in these endeavours, although it also takes a certain kind of mentality to learn to "think" as spirits do. The closer a Theurge grows to his spirit allies, the less familiar he becomes to people used to thinking more in physical terms.

• Initial Rage: 2
• Beginning Gifts: Mother's Touch, Sense Wyrm, Spirit Speech

Philodox: The Half Moon, The Mediator

The half moon reflects the dualities of Garou natures: wolf and human, flesh and spirit, fury and wisdom, darkness and light. The Philodox is counselor, mediator and lawkeeper of the pack. Just as the Ragabash lives for laughter, the Philodox is born with the wisdom and desire to judge fairly the actions of her people, be those actions bright or ugly. She can't help but try to solve every dispute that falls in her path; such is the role Luna has destined for her. In times of peace, the ranking Philodox is often the leader of the pack. In times of war, she may well give over this mantle to the ranking Galliard or Ahroun. A wise Half Moon bears no grudge and understands that stepping down in such situations is likely for the best. Among the ultra-competitive werewolves, this behaviour exemplifies her natural desire for balance and order more than any other.

The Philodox often takes the role of alpha in her pack, although it's more common for Ahroun to lead in times of war. Whether she gains a leadership position or not, she's expected to remain impartial where her packmates are concerned; it's a poor Half Moon who favours one packmate over another. The Philodox also has the responsibility to keep the laws of the Garou in mind - if a packmate is straying dangerously close to violating the Litany, the Philodox should be the first one to notice and warn him against going any further. This responsibility extends even beyond the pack; a good Philodox is concerned with the honour of each and every werewolf she meets. Of course, it's all too easy for such Half Moons to become quickly disillusioned in these desperate times.

• Initial Rage: 3
• Beginning Gifts: Resist Pain, Scent of the True Form, Truth of Gaia

Galliard: The Gibbous Moon, The Moon Dancer

The Galliard, beloved of the nigh-full moon, is joy incarnate in his songs, stories and poetry. The beauty of Luna's gibbous face inspires him to great deeds on the battlefield as well as around the moot fires. He keeps the traditions of the werewolves perpetually alive through lore carried from generation to generation. A Galliard can rouse the pack from self-pity and suffering when their claws are needed for battle; he can cause even the stodgiest Philodox to weep her heart's last tears just as easily, should the occasion call for it. The entertainment of the Galliard takes many forms. He might be a dancer, a storyteller, a musician or a bit of everything rolled into one. When peace turns to war, the Moon Dancer may well lead the pack. And when tranquility comes again, he'll sing laments for the fallen and epic sagas for the brave survivors who still walk Gaia's sacred places.

A Galliard's role is a tricky one. He must be the lorekeeper of his pack, well-versed in Garou history and able to teach others to learn from past mistakes. He is also the one who recounts his packmates' deeds of bravery, wisdom and honour at moonts, ensuring that they are properly honoured for their efforts. In many cases, the Galliard is also the one who negotiates with mortals and others, just as the Theurge bargains with spirits and the Philodox reasons with other Garou. The talented Galliard has a fine memory, a glib tongue and a brave spirit; his job isn't easy by any measure, and he needs all the talent he can muster.

• Initial Rage: 4
• Beginning Gifts: Beast Speech, Call of the Wyld, Mindspeak

Ahroun: The Full Moon, The Warrior

The Warrior basks in the full glow of Luna, the silver light illuminating his all-consuming Rage. He doesn't hesitate to strike fatal blows; rather, he often doesn't know when to stop his killing. All werewolves are fighters, but the Ahroun is the most destructive and vicious of all Gaia's children. Even the young among this auspice are fearsome to see. The old ones are few, perhaps the Ahroun don't fear death in service to Gaia, and those elders who do live are liekly among the greastest werewolves of legend. The Full Moon knows no cowardice, only his thirst for battle. Like the Galliard, the Ahroun is an inspiration to his people, but for tactical acumen, physical prowess and might rather than pretty words. When peace falters, he takes the reins of command as is his due, being the first to lead his pack into the fray and the last to fall should they meet defeat.

The Ahroun's role in the pack is simple - he must be the consummate warrior, able to physically defend his weaker packmates as well as provide the right tactic for any circumstance. As much general as berserker, the Ahroun is the very definition of Gaia's champion.

• Initial Rage: 5
• Beginning Gifts: Falling Touch, Inspiration, Razor Claws

Gifts

The spirit world shares many secrets with werewolves and other shapeshifters. In accordance with an ancient pact, spirits teach magical abilities called Gifts to the Garou. Gifts allow werewolves to focus their spiritual energy to affect reality.

Gifts are divided into levels. Level One Gifts are the weakest gifts - those taught to raw cubs - and Level Five Gifts are the greatest secrets, taught only to those heroes who have proved themselves time and again. A beginning character begins with two Gifts, which they may choose from the choices provided by their breed and auspice.

As a character advances through the campaign and increases in overall level, more Gifts are learned. One per level, specifically.

Unless otherwise stated, Gifts always require expending an action to activate them. Most Gifts also cost a Rage point to activate.

Learning Gifts

A werewolf must petition a particular spirit to teach him its powers or ask an elder to summon that spirit and petition oh is behalf. Only spirits allied to the Garou teach Gifts willingly. Spirits never teach a high-level Gift to a werewolf who has not attained the proper level himself.

When a werewolf wants to learn a Gift, she must find a willing instructor first. Usually, she travels to a caern with a power level equal to or grater than that of the desired Gift to petition the spirit personally. Traditionally, werwolves have always sought to beseech the teachings of a spirit thus. The act of summoning the spirit to a powerful caern is a sign of respect.

Werewolves may also teach each other Gifts. When a spirit imparts knowledge of a Gift, it involves a total immersion and direct sharing of how to unlock the power within the student. This process takes only a short time, usually no more than an hour, and a night at most. But when werewolves try to teach each other Gifts, it takes much longer. Packmates seem to learn faster from each other, but the process involves experimentation, practice and multiple failures beofre mastery of the Gift is attained. At best, the process takes a full lunar month.

The takeaway here is that learning a Gift is not guaranteed, despite unlocking the ability to learn one every time you level up; additional work must be put in to attain a Gift for your character.

Breed Gifts

Many spirits teach Breed Gifts, usually in accordance with ancient pacts or as rewards for past deeds. For instance, an ancient tale tells of a metis who heped a mole hide from predators. In return, the mole taught the metis how to burrow through the earth, and since that time mole-spirits will teach metis that Gift. When a werewolf wishes to learn a breed Gift, she will have a relatively easy time finding a spirit to teach her.

Hominid Gifts

Hominid Gifts involve humankind's (or that of the demi-humans, such as elves or dwarves) skills and abilities not only as toolmakers and cultural beings, but also conquerors of nature. Humanity's adversarial stand against nature has given them great control over their environment, but also a vague disquiet within their souls. Such are the repercussions of severing their primordial relationship with nature. Humans have become strangers to the world of spirit. Thus, many of the hominid breed's Gifts are taught by their ancestors rather than by nature spirits.

• Master of Fire (Level One): Once humans tamed fire to keep them warm and to drive off the wild beasts, they were on their way to civilization. Werewolves with this Gift invoke humanity's ancient pact with the spirits of fire. The spirits of flame agree to hold back their hunger when the werewolf touches them, giving the werewolf resistance to fire damage. An ancestor-spirit or a fire-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: Whenever the werewolf would receive fire damage from any source, he can spend a Rage point and gain resistance to that damage. Additionally, werewolves with this Gift are no longer vulnerable to fire damage, even if they elect not to make use of the active resistance.

• Persuasion (Level One): This Gift allows a hominid to become more persuasive when dealing with others, in such a way that his statements and arguments are imbued with added meaning or credibility, granting advantage on Persuasion checks. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: This is a passive Gift that is always in effect, granting advantage on all Persuasion checks.

• Smell of Man (Level One): Creature of the wild have learned well that where man goes, death follows. With this Gift, the werewolf enhances the human scent around him greatly, causing wild animals to feel uneasy and nervous. However, the scene also causes domestic animals to recognize the werewolf as their master. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: All wild animals (not including supernatural creatures) are likely to flee. All domesticated animals recognize the werewolf as a friend and refuse to harm him. For example, an attack dog rodered to take down the werewolf would run up to the character and wag its tail. If the domesticated animal is harmed, then it will revert to acting naturally. The Garou may use this Gift at will.

• Jam Technology (Level Two): The werewolf can cause technological devices to cease functioning, albeit temporarily. Even the simplest of shaped objects will refuse to perform its function. A Gremlin (a fey spirit that enjoys breaking things) teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and causes all complex technological devices (devices made from fabricated materials) within 50 feet to cease functioning for one turn. The player may choose to make a second Rage check to also affect simple technological devices within the same radius. Examples of complex technological devices include firearms, automobiles, and computers. Examples of simple technological devices include knives, pulleys, and gears.

• Staredown (Level Two): By staring into the eyes of a human or animal, a werewolf can cause the target to flee in terror. This Gift can be used against other supernaturals, but the target will freeze in place rather than flee. A ram- or snake-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The Garou using this Gift may focus on only one target per turn; the player rolls an Intimidation check (DC = 5 + CR). On a success, the victim flees or is frozen for one turn. The victim can attempt to break this effect early by passing a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 10 + your level). The werewolf must maintain eye contact for this effect to be maintained.

• Disquet (Level Three): This Gift makes its target feel inexplicably depressed and withdrawn. The subject finds it difficult to draw on his full emotion or to maintain any type of concentration. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player rolls an Intimidation check against a difficulty equal to the target's Wisdom score. If successful, that opponent will be unable to concentrate on spells, cast spells involving concentration, or regenerate Rage for the duration of the scene. In addition, challenging tasks, such as carefully balancing on a tightrope, will be done so with disadvantage.

• Reshape Object (Level Three): The werewolf can shape once-living material into a variety of objects instantly. Trees may become shelter, buck antlers become spears, animal hides become armour, and flowers become perfumes. The item will resemble the object from which it was shaped. A Pattern Spider teaches this Gift.
  System: The player makes a Survival check (DC determined by GM, but largely depends on the complexity of the item to be crafted) and spends a Rage point. The object is permanent and magical in nature.

• Cocoon (Level Four): The werewolf wraps himself in a thick, opaque sarcophagus-like epidermis, making him immobile but near-impervious to harm. This cocoon grants him immunity to fire, starvation, gas, high pressure, cold and similar environmental hazards. An insect-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: While in the cocoon, the werewolf ignores any attacks which fail to do damage at least equal to her Constitution score. The cocoon lasts for one scene, after which it dissolves rapidly and evaporates. The werewolf is unable to move, take any action, or communicate while in the cocoon. Creating the cocoon requires expending a Rage point.

• Spirit Ward (Level Four): A werewolf with this Gift may protect himself from spirits by performing quick a quick wardin ritual. To use this Gift, the werewolf draws an invisible pictrogram in the air that scares and unnerves any nearby spirits. The symbol travels with the werewolf as long as it lasts. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point. Spirits within 100 feet of the character have disadvantage on all actions targeting the werewolf.

• Assimilation (Level Five): A werewolf with this Gift blends smoothly into any culture, no matter how strange or unfamiliar he might normally find it. The Gift doesn't hide racial differences, but it does allow the user to mimic the behaviours and mannerisms of a native. It also grants the ability to speak and understand the culture's language, although this knowledge begins to fade once the Gift ends. Ancestor-spirits teach this Gift.
  System: The player makes a Charisma check (DC determined by the GM, but largely depends on how alien the culture is to the character's own). On a success, the werewolf is effectively assimilated into the target culture and makes any applicable social checks with advantage. This Gift lasts for one session.

• Part the Veil (Level Five): With this Gift, a werewolf may immunize any human from the Delirium for a scene. In this way, the human can interact with Garou without deletrious effects. However, the human will forget much of what he knows if the Delirium is induced in him at a later date. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player makes a Charisma check (DC 10). On a success, the target human/demi-human is immune to the effects of Delirium for a scene.

Metis Gifts

Metis are the outcasts of Garou society. Unlike hominid and lupus Garou, however, they are born into werewolf society and raised within it, reminded constantly of their inadequacies. The abuse heaped on a metis usually creates a deeply repressed inner fury, but it also leads them to a deeper connection with the spirit world, possibly as a means of escape from the horror of their lives.

• Create Element (Level One): The metis has the power to create a small amount of one of the four basic elements - fire, air, earth or water. In this way, she can replenish the air supply in an airtight room, make a rock to throw at someone, create a fire without matches or wood, or even fill a bathtub without any faucet or pipes. The metis cannot create specialized forms of any element. Precious metals (especially silver), lethal gases and acid is beyond his reach. This Gift creates only natural air, earth, fire and water. Elementals teach this Gift.
  System: The werewolf's player spends a Rage point and creates one cubic foot of the desired element, to a maximum weight of 100 lbs, anywhere they can see within 60 feet. The element remains in existence until used up (breathed in the case of air or burned up in the case of fire without any fuel to keep it going). The flames created with this Gift are genuinely hot, inflicting 1d6 fire damage.

• Primal Anger (Level One): The metis learns to focus the anger within her heart and use it to increase her Rage. The anger takes a physical toll on the werewolf, and it is up to her to unleash it on her enemies. The spirits of ancient metis teach this Gift.
  System: A character with this Gift may take on a level of exhaustion and gain two extra points of Rage.

• Sense Wyrm (Level One): The werewolf can sense manifestations of the Wyrm in the nearby area. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although werewolves using this Gift sometimes say things like "This place stinks of Wyrm" (with a few more colourful adjectives). Garou should remember that the Wyrm's taint can cling to relatively blameless souls. This power requires active concentration. Any spirit of Gaia may teach this Gift.
  System: The player makes a Perception check, the difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm's influence.

• Burrow (Level Two): Those who learn this Gift gain the ability to burrow through the earth. They make a real tunnel, and others can follow them through it. The digger creates a burrow just large enough for her to go through. thers may follow, but they are limited by the size of the hole. The werewolf must be in Crinos, Hispo, or Lupus form to use this Gift as she needs her claws for digging. The tunnel is not structurally sound, and it will collapse over time. Mole kindly teaches this Gift to all metis who seek him.
  System: The player makes an Athletics check, the difficulty dependent upon how hard the earth is. Some materials cannot be tunneled through, such as reinforced structures made of alloyed metals. The character gains a burrow speed of 15 feet for the remaineder of the scene.

• Curse of Hatred (Level Two): The metis may verbalize the hatred in her heart, disheartening opponents with the intensity of her emotion. A spirit of hate teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point. Enemies of the werewolf that can see her have disadvantage on their next action targeting the werewolf or her allies.

• Eyes of the Cat (Level Three): The werewolf may see clearly in pitch darkness. His eyes glow a lambent green while this power is in effect. Any cat-spirit can teach this Gift.
  System: The werewolf's natural Darkvision is doubled, and can see in magical darkness out to the normal range. This is a passive Gift and is active at all times.

• Mental Speech (Level Three): This Gift grants telepathic communication, even over vast distances. The user must either know the target personally or have something which belongs to that person, such as a lock of his hair. Bird spirits and spirits of intellect teach this Gift.
  System: The werewolf gains the effects of the Telepathy spell for one scene. Activating this Gift requires expending a Rage point.

• Gift of the Porcupine (Level Four): When using this Gift, the werewolf undergoes a startling transformation. her fur becomes elongated, bristly and sharp like the quills of a porcupine. This change makes her an even more fearsome killing machine. A werewolf must be in Crinos, Hispo or Lupus form to use this Gift. Porcupine teaches this Gift, and he has a great fondness for metis.
  System: The character spends a Rage point. In exchange, the werewolf's AC increases by 2 and any creature that succeeds on a melee attack against her receives 2d6 piercing damage. This damage is considered magical.

• Whither Limb (Level Four): With a snarl and an angry gaze, the werewolf forces the target's arm or leg to twist, desiccate and whither, making it useless. Creatures with regenerative abilities will restore the limb to full function after one scene ; otherwise, the effects are permanent. Snake-spirits, spider-spirits and other venomous spirits teach this Gift. Some werewolves even invoke spirits of disease to learn this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested Intimidation roll (vs target's Wisdom save). On a success, the victim either loses the use of an arm or a leg. If a leg, their speed is reduced by half.

• Madness (Level Five): The metis struggles his whole life to find a place, a purpose and a sense of stability in his horrifying existence. With this Gift, he can force others to face their inner demons, inducing insanity and madness. The nature of the derangement varies among individuals, but it will always be severe, making it impossible for the victim to function normally. Lunes, along with spirits of trickery and madness, each this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested Intimidation roll (vs target's Wisdom save). On a success, the target descends into madness for a number of days equal to the margin of success. The victim can roll another Wisdom save at the end of each day to atempt end the effect, though there may be lasting secondary effects to having gone insane. The GM decides the specific nature of the mental illness, taking into account the victim's personality and characteristics.

Lupus Gifts

The Gifts of the lupus breed reflect their strong ties to the natural world and the wilds. Usually these Gifts enhance the natural abilities of the werewolf, allowing her to perform feats that other breeds would find impossible.

• Hare's Leap (Level One): Werewolves with this Gift may leap incredible distances. Hare-, frog- and cat-spirits usually teach this Gift.
  System: Your Long Jump and High Jump distances are doubled. This Gift is passive and is always in effect.

• Heightened Senses (Level One): The werewolf with this Gift tunes into the world around him, increases his senses vastly. When in Hominid or Glabro forms, her senses become as sharp as those of a wolf, allowing her to hear sounds beyond her normal range, granting her superior night vision and making her sense of smell stronger than that of any dog. In wolf forms, her senses become preternaturally potent, allowing him to perform feats that border on precognition. This Gift has drawbacks as well, as powerful stimuli, such as loud noises or bright flashes of light, can overwhelm the senses. Wolf-spirits teach this Gift.
  System: Activating this Gift is free and is active until deactivated. When active, all DCs for Perception checks are halved for you.

• Sense Prey (Level One): Werewolves used this ancient Gift during hard winters to feed their packs. The Gift lets Garou locate enough prey to feed a pack. In urban environments, this Gift guides the lupus to prey within the city, usually in parks, sewers, animal shelters and even zoos. The Gift will tell the werewolf the location of large numbers of prey within 50 miles in the wilds, and within the limits of a city and its suburbs. Humans and demi-humans do not register as prey animals to neutral- and good-aligned werewolves. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The hunter's player rolls Survival with a DC of 10 for wilderness environments and 15 for urban. Success indicates the location of enough prey to feed a large pack. In the case of multiple sources, the Gift guides the werewolf to the nearest source (although not necessarily the easiest or safest).

• Scent of Sight (Level Two): The werewolf can compensate for her vision completely by using her sense of smell. She can attack invisible creatures normally or navigate roughly in absolute darkness. Wolf-spirits teach this Gift.
  System: The werewolf gains Blindsight to 30 feet for one scene. Activating this Gift requires expending a Rage point.

• Sense the Unnatural (Level Two): The werewolf can sense any unnatural presence and determine its approximate strength and type. Supernatural presences can include magic, spirits, the Wyrm, wraiths and vampires, although it won't pick them out specifically as such. The werewolf may sense ap erson plagued by hauntings as easily as a ghost. Any spirit servant of Gaia can teach this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Perception against a flat DC of 10. The higher the roll, the more information he gains. The sensory input is somewhat vague and subject to interpretation, though. For instance, a vampire might smell of old blood, of fear, of rotten flesh, or fresh meat or whatever the GM finds appropriate. Interpreting the information properly might require an Investigation check.

• Catfeet (Level Three): This Gift gives the werewolf the agility of a cat, making him immune to falls under 100 feet (he lands on his feet just right). He also has perfect balance even on the most slippery surfaces, and all Acrobatics checks are made with advantage.
  System: This ability becomes innate to those who learn the Gift.

• Name the Spirit (Level Three): A werewolf with this Gift becomes familiar with the ways of the Umbra. He can sense the type and approximate power levels of spirits. Any spirit servant of Gaia can teach this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Perception against a flat DC of 10. The higher the roll, the more information he gains.

• Beast Life (Level Four): The werewolf with this Gift can communicate with other wild animals and attract (or even command) them. Domesticated animals will speak with the werewolf, but they have given themselves to the ways of humans and must be persuaded to obey the Garou. Any animal spirit may teach this Gift.
  System: Werewolves with this Gift can communicate with all animals. To attract specific types of animals within a 10 mile radius, the player rolls Animal Handling (DC = 10 + the CR of the animal). All wild animals attracted are friendly to the character. They follow any reasonable request the character makes. A character who uses this Gift to force an animal to sacrifice itself had best pay homage to its spirit or risk angering Gaia. The effect lasts for one scene.

• Gnaw (Level Four): The werewolf's jaws strength to the point that she can chew through just about anything, given enough time. In addition, her jaws do more damage in combat, and only death will break her grip if she clamps her teeth into an opponent. Wolf-spirits teach this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and gains the ability to chew through all materials. The amount of time it takes to gnaw through something depends on the thickness of the material, determined by the GM. In addition, this Gift gives a character's bite an additional 2d6 of piercing damage and she has advantage on any rolls to grapple her opponent for the duration of the scene.

• Elemental Gift (Level Five): The werewolf calls upon the primal force of Gaia Herself, thereby commanding the spirits of the elements to rise up, undulate forward and even engulf foes. This Gift summons an elemental spirit, not merely the raw matter of the elements, but primal spirits possessing power enough to challenge even the strongest of foes. The elementals grant this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and calls an elemental who grants him the ability to control a large volume of air, earth, water or fire (in any of their forms) that is approximately 20' by 20'. The effect lasts for one scene or until the elemental leaves or is destroyed.

• Song of the Great Beast (Level Five): To tuse this Gift, the werewolf must travel to the deep wilderness. When she reaches her destination, she howls the Song of the Great Beast into the sky, summoning one of the Great Beasts to her aid. These beasts are the terrible and ancient creatures that walked Cambria in ages past. Once the ancient one arrives, the werewolf may make a request, although she should do so with geat caution. If the Great Beast agrees to aid the werewolf, it will do so in its own way, but enemies of the lupus should beware. Few spirits know this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and rolls Performance (DC 15) to sing the Song of the Great Beast. The Beast shall come. Hold onto your butts!

Auspice Gifts

These Gifts represent the secrets given to Gaia's children by Luna. She bade her many servants teach the Garou their various tricks, giving them magical skills to use in protecting Gaia.

Ragabash

The Ragabash were blessed by Luna with the wit to question rigid tradition and the cunning to use stealth and trickery against the Garou's enemies. The New Moons' Gifts allow them to get the job done in a clever, unconventional fashion.

• Blur of the milky Eye (Level One): The Garou's form becomes a shimmering blur, allowing him to pass unnoticed among others. Once the Garou has been seen, however, this Gift is negated until the viewer has lost line of sight or is otherwise distracted. A chameleon-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The werewolf gains advantage on Stealth rolls to pass undetected. The effect of this Gift lasts for one scene.

• Open Seal (Level One): With this Gift, the Garou can open nearly any sort of closed or locked physical device. A raccoon-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: This functions identical to the spell Knock. Activating this Gift requires the expenditure of a Rage point.

• Scent of Running Water (Level One): The Garou can mask her scent completely, making herself virtually impossible to track. A fox-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: For one scene, the werewolf becomes impossible to track by scent alone. Would-be observers have disadvantage when attempting to detect the werewolf, so long as they lack line of sight.

• Blissful Ignorance (Level Two): The Gaou can become completely invisible to all senses, spirits or monitoring devices by remaining still. A chameleon-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: This Gift works similarly to the spell Invisibility, except that it only works if the werewolf remains still. Activation requires a Rage point and lasts for one scene.

• Sense of the Prey (Level Two): If he knows anything about his prey, the character can trackit down as rapidly as he can travel. This unerring sence of direction operates anywhere, and it is useful for tracking spirits through the Umbra as well as finding beings on Cambria. A wolf- or dog-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: No roll is required unless the target is hiding actively (intent alone is not enough), in which case a Perception roll is made against the target's Stealth.

• Tracking the Forgotten (Level Two): The Ragabash with this Gift can steal something from a target, and his victim will forget that she ever possessed the stolen item. A mouse-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player rolls a Sleight of Hand check (DC = 10 + target's CR). On a success, the item is effectively forgotten by its former owner. Activating this Gift requires expending a Rage point.

• Gremlins (Level Three): The Ragabash can cause a technological device to malfunction merely by touching it. This Gift actually disrupts the spirit energy within the device that aids its function. If the Garou can frighten the spirit sufficiently, it will flee the device, causing it to malfunction permanently. A Gremlin teaches this Gift.
  System: The player rolls an Intimidation check; the difficulty is determined by the complexity of the item. The higher the margin of success on the roll, the more the device is damaged. A margin of five or greater disables the device permanently (the spirit has fled). Good roleplaying can negate the need for a sufficient margin. Activating this Gift requires expending a Rage point.

• Luna's Blessing (Level Four): When the moon is visible in the night sky, silver refuses to cause the Garou wounds. Indeed, if the moon waxes full, silver weapons may well turn on those who would wield them against the character. A Lune teaches this Gift.
  System: While the moon is in a visible phase above the horizon, the werewolf treats damage from silvered weapons as normal damage and can regenerate normally. On a full moon, missed attacks with silvered weapons against the werewolf instead inflict damage to the wielder. This Gift requires spending a Rage point to activate and has no effect during a new moon.

• Whelp Body (Level Four): With this Gift, a Garou may deliver a devastating curse upon a foe's body, causing it to weaken or palsy. Many consider the use of this power on a foe to be a declaration of unending war. Either a pain-spirit or a spirit of disease teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested Intimidation roll (vs target's Wisdom save). Each margin of success in favour of the Ragabash allows him to remove one point from any of the victim's physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution). This effect is permanent. This Gift may be used only once ever against a given opponent.

• Thieving Talons of the Magpie (Level Five): The Garou can steal the powers of others and use them herself. These powers can be Garou Gifts, spirit Charms, vampiric Disciplines, Magic spells, or any other such power. Naturally, a magpie-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested Sleight of Hand check (vs the target's Wisdom save). If successful, the Ragabash can use the specified power (and the victim cannot) for each successive turn she is willing to make a Rage check. The Ragabash must know something about the target's powers, and she must target a power in the terms by which she would understand it.

• Thousand Forms (Level Five): Most trickster archetypes are shapeshifters, and the Ragabash is no different. The Garou with this Gift may change herself into any beast she has encountered. The Garou gains all of the abilities of the target creature (flight, gills, poison, sensory abilities, etc.).
  System: The player makes a Nature check (DC = 10 + CR of the intended beast). On a success, the werewolf is transormed into the intended creature. She gains all of the special abilities of the beast, but her statistics remain the same. The werewolf's ability to communicate is limited to that of her new form. This effect lasts for one scene or until cancelled. Activating this Gift requires the expenditure of a Rage point.

Theurge

Luna's Gifts to her Crescent Moon children grant them insight into power over the spirit world. The Theurge is blessed with the ability to manipulate the Umbra and the intellect of others, all in the name of serving a greater wisdom.

• Mother's Touch (Level One): The Garou is able to heal the wounds of any living creature, simply by laying hands over the afflicted area. The Garou may not heal herself, spirits or the undead with this Gift. A bear- or unicorn-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: This Gift acts identically to the spell Healing Word. Activation requires the expenditure of a Rage point.

• Sense Wyrm (Level One): As the metis Gift.

• Spirit Speech (Level One): This Gift allows the Garou to communicate with encountered spirits. The Garou is thus able to address them whether they wish to be addressed or not. Of course, nothing (usually) prevents the spirit from ignoring the Theurge or leaving. Any spirit can teach this Gift.
  System: Once learned, this Gift allows the Garou to understand the communication of spirits intuitively.

• Command Spirit (Level Two): The Theurge can give simple commands to encountered spirits and expect a measure of compliance. This Gift does not grant the ability to summon spirits. Any Incarna avatar can teach this Gift.
  System: The player must spend a Rage point and triggers a contested Persuasion roll (vs target's Wisdom save). On a success, the spirit will act in compliance to the instructions given by the werewolf. Note that the Garou cannot command spirits to leave areas to which they have been bound, and successive commands require additional activations of this Gift.

• Name the Spirit (Level Two): As the Level Three lupus Gift.

• Sight from Beyond (Level Two): When danger stalks the Garou or momentous events are in the offing, visions begin striking the Garou without warning. The nature of the danger is veiled in metaphor - a powerful vampire may appear in the Theurge's dream as a bloody skeleton, while an impending batle might be heralded by dreams of carrion crows. Crow-spirits teach this Gift.
  System: This is a passive Gift and triggers when dramatically appropriate, as determined by the GM (but it doesn't hurt to remind the poor sod that you have this Gift!). Interpretation of the visions will come down to roleplaying only.

• Exorcism (Level Three): This is the Gift of ejecting spirits from places or objects, whether they are there voluntarily or are bound there. Any Incarna avatar can teach this Gift.
  System: The Garou must concentrate uninterrupted for three turns. If the spirit does not wish to leave, the player must make a contested Intimidation roll (vs the spirit's Wisdom save). If the spirit was bound there, then the exorcist must score higher on a Nature roll than the binder did when tying the spirit to its location. Activating this Gift requires expenditure of a Rage point.

• Pulse of the Invisible (Level Three): Spirits fill the world around the Garou, and none knows this fact better than the Theurge. This Gift grants constant awareness of the spirit world. Even in the physical world, the Theurge with this Gift can interact with spirits in the Penumbra at will. While most spirit activity is barely worth watching, the Theurge will be aware of any dramatic changes. Any spirit can teach this Gift.
  System: The player makes a Perception check (DC determined by the GM, based on the strength of the Gauntlet - the veil between worlds - in that area. The effect lasts for an entire scene or until the character enters an area with a thicker Gauntlet.

• Grasp the Beyond (Level Four): The Garou may take things to and from the Umbra, including people and animals. Garou often use this power to take loyal Kinfolk with them on Umbral quests to heal injured Kinfolk - both body and soul - in mystic glens.
  System: The Garou must grasp the object, person or animal he wishes to take to the spirit world. He must then make a Nature check, with a variable DC depending on what he is trying to convey through (10 for small items, 15 for larger items, and 20 for huge items (including people). The player then follows the usual process to pierce the Gauntlet and step sideways; if successful, both he and the desired thing pass into the Umbra. An unwilling target may resist in the usual way, and be contested in the usual way. Activating this Gift requires expenditure of a Rage point.

• Feral Lobotomy (Level Five): With but a thought, the Garou can devolve an opponent's mind to that of an animal, effectively destroying his intelligence. A griffin-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested Nature roll (vs target's Wisdom save). The margin of success in favour of the Theurge dictates how many points of intelligence the target loses. The effect is permanent, and the target begins acting more animalistic with each point removed. This Gift may be used only once ever against a given opponent.

Philodox

Luna gifts her Half Moon children with the powers of balance, the ability to detect truth and enforce law. As judges and mediators, many Philodox gravitate into leadership positions, and they possess Gifts to aid them in this role.

• Resist Pain (Level One): Through force of will, the Philodox is able to ignore the pain of his wounds and continue acting normally. A bear-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point; his character may continue to act despite gaining the broken condition for the rest of the scene.

• Scent of the True Form (Level One): This Gift allows the Garou to determine the true nature of a person. This information is conveyed as an olfactory sensation - it is actually a scent of the target's natural form. Any spirit servant of Gaia can teach this Gift.
  System: The Garou can tell automatically when someone is a werewolf; anything else requires a successful Perception check (DC depends on how alien the creature is to the werewolf).

• Truth of Gaia (Level One): As judges of the Litany, Philodox have the ability to sense whether others have spoken truth or falsehood. A Gaffling of Falcon teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point. The werewolf is able to reveal whether those nearby are speaking the truth or lies. This effect lasts for a scene.

• Call to Duty (Level Two) Any spirit the Philodox knows by name is a potential servitor. With this Gift, the werewolf can summon and command any spirit she knows by name. Only one command is possible at a time, and the spirit departs after fulfilling the one request. An Incarna avatar teaches this Gift.
  System: Obviously, the Philodox must learn the spirit's name, which usually requires personal acquaintance or use of the Gift: Name the Spirit. The player rolls Persuasion (vs the spirit's Wisdom save). If the player makes two Rage checks, the werewolf can summon all Gaian spirits within one mile to protect or assist her, even if she does not know their names.

• King of the Beasts (Level Two): The Philodox's authority extends even into the realm of beasts, such that he can command the loyalty of any specific animal. If successful, the animal follows his commands willingly and unconditionally. A lion- or falcon-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The Philodox must choose one target within 100 feet. The player rolls Animal Handling against a difficulty based on the werewolf's relationship with the animal (determined by the GM). This power works on only one animal at a time, and it does not attract animals to the Garou's vicinity (see the Level Four lupus Gift: Beast Life).

• Weak Arm (Level Three): Philodox are masters of judgment, and this trait extends even into the field of battle. By watching an opponent's fighting style, the werewolf can evaluate his strengths and weaknesses. Snake- and wind-spirits teach this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Perception (DC = 10 + target's CR). On a success, the player gains advantage on attacks made against the target.

• Wisdom of the Ancient Ways (Level Three): All werewolves have an innate connection to their ancestors, a form of racial subconscious accessible through intense meditation. The Philodox can tap into these deep memories to remember ancient facts and lore. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The character must meditate for a short time, concentrating on the past. The player then gains advantage on the next History, Nature, or Religion checks.

• Roll Over (Level Four): The Philodox can call on her power to radiate a commanding presence that compels others to submit to her. Should she succeed in a test of wills, she dominates her foe, which causes humans to fall to their knees and wolves to roll on their backs. Either a lion- or a wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested Intimidation check (vs target's Wisdom save). If the Gift takes effect, the victim can take no action other than submission unless he is in direct danger.

• Scent of Beyond (Level Four): The werewolf can bring all his senses to bear on one spot with which he is familiar (even an Umbral site), no matter how far away that spot is. The Philodox senses the site from a point of view as if he were standing in the middle of the area being scanned. A bird-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Perception (DC 20). Activation of this Gift requires expenditure of a Rage point.

• Geas (Level Five): This Gift places its target under a geas, a sacred oath to obey the Philodox's bidding. The geas cannot make the targets act contrary to their basic instincts (such as self-preservation). Therefore, she could send a group on a quest, but she could not make its members attack and try to kill each other — unless they were psychotics or werewolves without pack bonds. An Incarna avatar teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested Intimidation check (vs the target's Wisdom save). In the case of a group, the member with the strongest Wisdom save makes the contesting roll. The geas' compulsion lasts until the task is completed or until the target is incapacitated in pursuit of the quest. No victim can labor under more than one geas at a time; the first one laid always takes precedence.

• Wall of Granite (Level Five): Philodox have a stronger relationship with the elementals of the earth than do other werewolves, for just as the earth upholds those upon it, the Philodox uphold their people's ways. While in contact with earth or rock, the Philodox can invoke a wall to protect himself. This wall will move with the Garou, defending him from all angles. Earth elementals teach this Gift.
  System: The Garou spends a Rage point. The wall's dimensions are three yards high, two yards long and one yard thick. It has a damage resistance of 10 (meaning it ignores the first 10 points of damage from each attack), and 150 health. The wall lasts for one scene or until released into the earth by the Garou.

Galliard

The Moon Dancers are filled with passion and song, so Luna gives them Gifts that allow them to weave emotions, dreams and hopes. The Galliard is an artist of the highest order, and all the world is his canvas.

• Beast Speech (Level One): The werewolf with this Gift may communicate with any animals from fish to mammals. This Gift does not change their basic reactions; most animals are still afraid of predators such as werewolves. Any spirit of nature can teach this Gift.
  System: This Gift is innate once learned.

• Call of the Wild (Level One): This Gift augments the Galliard's natural task of communication through howls. The Galliard can howl a cry that stirs and invigorates other werewolves, even those far beyond the normal range of hearing. This Gift is most commonly used at the beginning of revels or other events to charge up the pack, or to call for aid in times of peril. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Performance (DC 10); the margin of success determines how far away the Call can be heard (in miles) and how stirring it is to those who hear it. This Gift can be used in concert with any of the standard Garou howls. The GM determines the actual effects, but they should be linked to the type of howl made and the intent of the Garou.

• Mindspeak (Level One): By invoking the power of waking dreams, the Garou can place any chosen characters into silent communion. A Chimerling teaches this Gift.
  System: The player makes a contested Wisdom roll if a being is unwilling. All those included in the dream may interact normally through the Mindspeak, although they can inflict no damage through it. Their real bodies can still act, although all actions are made with disadvantage. The Mindspeak ends when all the participants want it to, or on the turn the Galliard fails the roll against an unwilling member. The beings affected must be within line of sight.

• Call of the Wyrm (Level Two): This dangerous Gift actually attracts creatures of the Wyrm. Galliards typically use the Call to bait an ambush or to flush prey from hiding. Any spirit servant of Gaia can teach this Gift.
  System: The Garou's player spends a Rage point and triggers a contested roll of Intimidation against the Wyrm creature's Wisdom save. If the Wyrm creature loses the contest, it must come to the source of the Call.

• Distractions (Level Two): The Garou can make annoying yips, yelps and howls to divert the attention of his target. A coyote-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Performance (vs the victim's Wisdom save). On a success, the victim suffers disadvantage on all actions until the start of the werewolf's next turn.

• Dreamspeak (Level Two): The Galliard can enter another's dream and thereby affect the course of that dream. The werewolf does not have to be anywhere near the target, but she must know or have seen the dreamer. A Chimerling teaches this Gift.
  System: The player makes a Persuasion check (vs the target's Wisdom save). If the dreamer awakens while the Galliard is still within the dream, the werewolf is thrown out of the dream world, and he must make a Rage check.

• Eye of the Cobra (Level Three): With but a look, the Garou can attract anyone to his side. A snake-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Persuasion (vs the target's Wisdom save). On a success, the target will move to the Garou's side. Once there, the target can do as he pleases, but he must try his best to get to the Galliard until then.

• Song of Rage (Level Three): This Gift unleashes the Beast in others, forcing werewolves, vampires and other such creatures into frenzy and turning humans into berserkers. A wolverine-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The Garou rolls Intimidation (vs the target's Wisdom save). The victim flies into a violent rage (or frenzy, if naturally prone) for one turn. Activating this Gift requires expending a Rage point.

• Bridge Walker (Level Four): The Galliard has the ability to create minor moon bridges through which she alone can travel. The Garou travels between the ends of this moon bridge in one percent of the time it would take to travel that distance normally, allowing her to disappear from in front of a foe and reappear behind it instantly. Note that these moon bridges are not protected by Lunes, and they attract the interest of spirit creatures occasionally. These beings have even been known to follow the Garou into the physical world. A Lune teaches this Gift.
  System: This Gift works identical to the spell Misty Step and costs a Rage point to activate.

• Shadows by the Firelight (Level Four): By invoking the power of shadows and dreams, the Galliard may create interactive stories in which others take part — willingly or not. Shadows dance around the participants as they act out their roles (as directed by the Galliard). This Gift is used commonly at moots, allowing many Garou to take part in the same legend recounted by the Galliard. However, this Gift can also be used on the unwilling, forcing them to participate in a story of the Garou's choosing. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: When using this Gift on the unwilling, the player must succeed on contested Performance roll (vs the target's Wisdom save). If successful, the player may tell a story and force the victim to perform exactly as the story's character does. This effect lasts one scene or until the story ends, but the victim may attempt to escape with subsequent saves. This Gift requires a Rage check to activate.

• Fabric of the Mind (Level Five): The highest-ranked Galliards can bring the products of their imagination to very solid life, grafting creatures from the spiritual essence of dreams. Chimerlings teach this Gift.
  System: The player makes a Performance check (DC 20). She can create any form of life she can imagine. The werewolf can take as long as she wants to form the creature, accumulating successes from turn to turn, each turn increasing the CR of the creature by 1, but once she stops, the dream being takes form and requires the expenditure of Rage to keep it manifested. The cost is one Rage per scene if the dream being remains relatively inactive (such as doing minor chores or watching a location), or one point per turn if the being engages in combat or similarly strenuous activity. The werewolf must be careful, because if she botches at any point, the dream being escapes her control. It will remain in the physical world for as long as it sees fit.

• Head Games (Level Five): This Gift embodies the Galliard's ability to manipulate emotion in its purest form. The Galliard can change a target's emotions as she pleases, from hate to love and back again. Coyote-spirits teach this Gift.
  System: The Garou rolls Intimidation (vs the target's Wisdom save). Success allows the Garou to steer the emotions of any one individual. The higher the margin of success the player rolls, the more quickly the emotions manifest and the stronger they feel. Some emotions won't last without good cause. A Galliard could make someone fall in love with him, but the love won't last. (It may well even turn into justified resentment.) If the Galliard's actions would reinforce the emotion — treating a "new friend" well or threatening a terrified foe — there's a better chance that the emotions will become the real thing.

Ahroun

When Luna is full, she floods her children with Rage. The Ahroun is her chosen warrior, born to fight and die in her name and Gaia's alike. Luna rewards these brave souls with strength, speed, skill and power, all of which one needs direly in the face of the Enemy.

• Falling Touch (Level One): This Gift allows the Garou to send her foe sprawling with but a touch. Any aerial spirit can teach this Gift.
  System: The Garou's player rolls a Medicine check (vs the target's Constitution save). Success sends the victim to the ground. Doing so counts as an action; activating this Gift and striking a foe with intent to harm are two separate things.

• Inspiration (Level One): Other werewolves look to the Ahroun for leadership in combat. The Gift of Inspiration is one reason. The Garou with this Gift lends new resolve and righteous anger to his brethren. Either a lion- or wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends one Rage point. All comrades (but not the Gift's user) rain advantage on any Wisdom saves made for the duration of the scene.

• Razor Claws (Level One): By raking his claws over stone or another hard surface, the Ahroun hones them to razor sharpness. Either a cat- or bear-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends one Rage point, and the Ahroun must take a full turn to sharpen her claws. For the remainder of the scene, her claw attacks do an additional 1d6 slashing damage.

• Sense Silver (Level Two): As consummate warriors, Ahroun must be prepared for every eventuality — including silver weaponry. This Gift, taught by Lunes, allows the Ahroun to detect the presence of silver.
  System: The Garou rolls Perception (DC 10). If successful, she can detect the presence of any nearby silver. A critical success allows the werewolf to pinpoint the silver's location.

• Spirit of the Fray (Level Two): This Gift allows the Ahroun to attack with lightning speed, striking before any foe. A cat-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: Once the character learns this Gift, its effects are permanent. The Ahroun may add 10 to all his initiative rolls, which will nearly always ensure that he strikes first. If he chooses, the Ahroun may spend a Rage point to add another 10 to his initiative roll.

• True Fear (Level Two): The Ahroun can display the true extent of her power, scaring one chosen foe into quiescence for a number of turns. Spirits of fear teach this Gift.
  System: The player rolls Intimidation (vs the target's Wisdom save). On a success she cows the enemy for one turn; the victim cannot attack at this time. He may defend himself if attacked and otherwise act normally, although his actions will likely be guided by fear.

• Heart of Fury (Level Three): The Garou can steel himself against anger, suppressing his Rage and creating a mental dam against the explosive frenzies of his kind. This anger will catch up with him eventually, though, so he must vent it before it breaks free. A boar-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player can postpone a frenzy for one turn by spending a Rage point. This can be repeated each turn for as long as the player has Rage points to spend.

• Silver Claws (Level Three): The Ahroun can establish her battlefield primacy against other werebeasts by transforming her own claws into silver. A Lune teaches this Gift.
  System: The transformation lasts for the scene or until the Ahroun decides to end the Gift. The werewolf's claws become silvered for the purposes of inflicting damage. While the Ahroun manifests the claws, she suffers searing agonies. Each turn, she gains an automatic Rage point but is unable to regenerate health. Furthermore, all non-combat checks are made with disadvantage due to the distracting pain.

• Clenched Jaw (Level Four): The werewolf with this Gift can bite down with such power that her grip won't loosen until she chooses to do so; even in death, her jaws bite down. A wolf- or hyena-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: After making a successful bite attack, the player may invoke this Gift by spending a Rage point. The target becomes grappled and subsequent bite attacks hit automatically until the target escapes. The target can attempt to escape in the usual manner, via a contested Athletics (you) vs Acrobatics/Athletics (them) roll.

• Stoking Fury's Furnace (Level Four): No auspice is as closely tied to their Rage as the Ahroun, who is the master of directing his fury. This Gift, taught by a wolverine-spirit, allows him to channel his Rage even more effectively.
  System: The Garou regains one Rage point in any turn that he takes damage, and he does not have to check for frenzy from that specific stimulus (other stimuli induce frenzy checks as normal). In addition, the Garou can spend one Rage point — and only one — per turn without losing any Rage. However, if he spends multiple Rage in any turn, they are marked off as usual.

• Kiss of Helios (Level Five): The Ahroun can invoke the sun's power to become completely immune to the damaging effects of fire. Additionally, the Ahroun may ignite any portion of his body and keep it burning for extended periods. Most commonly the Garou will light his mane during rituals, but he can also ignite his claws or mouth without ill effect. A fire elemental or a sun-spirit teaches this Gift.
  System: The player spends one Rage point. For the rest of the scene, the Ahroun cannot be harmed by any natural forms of fire, up to and including molten lava. The Garou does an additional 1d6 fire damage if he attacks with blazing fists, claws or fangs. The effects last for one scene.

Werewolf Lore

Becoming a Werewolf

Contrary to popular belief, werewolves are not made, they are born that way. Werewolf blood is inherited. If one of a child's parents is a werewolf, there is a roughly 1 in 10 chance that he will be one as well. The blessing isn't limited to human or even demi-human children. Many Garou prefer to breed with wolves, leaving their cubs to be raised by lupine mates in the wilderness.

For thousands of years, werewolves bred with both humans and wolves in relatively equal proportions. Unfortunately, the number of wolves has begun to decline in the world, as civilization expands and habitat erodes. One in three werewolves bred with wolves as recently as a thousand years ago, but now the ratio is closer to one in 15.

Kinfolk

Most of a Garou's cubs and children never become full-blooded werewolves. Instead, they are "carriers" for the blood of the Garou, which can survive in their families for generations. Half-blooded children are known as Kinfolk. Although werewolves don't defend these relations as staunchly as they do their full-blooded kin, a wise Garou keeps an eye on them. Some do so by commanding spirits, commonly called Kin-Fetches, to watch over their children. While the spirits pledge to observe all of a werewolf's children carefully, many of them lose their way over the span of years and abandon their charges.

Kinfolk "half-breeds" are markedly different from the rest of mankind. They may have strange and terrifying dreams, wander alone in hopeless reverie for hours at a time or have trouble relating to people around them. An inexplicable longing consumes them. The lucky ones learn about their werewolf relations, and even help them from time to time. Most just remain quietly unaware of the secret world around them.

Cubs

A child of a werewolf has about a 10-percent chance that he himself will be born a "full-blooded" Garou -- not good odds. Some werewolves manage to divine their children's true nature at birth. Those without the proper resources to do so don't discover which, if any, of their cubs are Garou until the young ones reach adolescence. Although the Garou mark their pure-blooded cubs at birth, werewolves all too commonly leave their offspring to be raised by their mates, sometimes in an effort to draw enemies away from their children. A cub's true nature remains dormant throughout her childhood, manifesting only as dreams and visions. Between the ages of 10 and 16 (if human) or between one and two years (for a wolf), hazy memories and "unnatural" urges begin to surface. A troubled wolf may be driven from the pack for her unpredictable behaviour, or an adolescent may be ostracized or even institutionalized. In some way, others begin to notice that this lost soul is different.

As life becomes more difficult, the legacy remains formant until a great trauma forces the First Change. The First Change does not wait for a full moon or a curse. When the time is right, flesh and bone rapidly wrap the child into a hulking, bipedal, nine-foot monster. If the cub is fortunate, she is found by others of her own kind; if she isn't, the experience is even more terrifying. Legends of monsters driven insane by the light of the full moon have basis in fact.

Most cubs are rescued -- or kidnapped, depending on your point of view -- and educated by other werewolves. By necessity, the first lesson is controlling shapeshifting voluntarily. Years of teaching follow. Elders offer tribal lore, although curiously enough, their oral histories differ remarkably from pack to pack. Regardless of age, the "cub" is treated like a child until she decides to accept her destiny and join the community of the Garou.

Coming of Age

Every pack has its own traditions for marking a cub's passage into adulthood. The Garou denote a cub's coming of age with a Rite of Passage, a deadly and dangerous quest that tests a werewolf's strength and wisdom to its very limits. The rite is more than a transition into adulthood. It also shows elders that a cub is worthy of membership in the pack. Until this quest is complete, she does not truly belong to the pack, for she has not proven herself worthy.

Tribal elders usually send the cub to a place where many werewolves gather. There, the child must wait until several cubs are ready to embark on a quest together. This ritual is as much a test of individual prowess as it is a test of the cubs' ability to work together and resolve their differences. The elders often send spirits to watch over the petitioners, if only to verify the greatness of their deeds. Once these cubs return, they become cliath, joining the pack formally as adults.

Garou Pack Hierarchy

Rank is a fundamental part of Garou society, and the fullest manifestation of the hierarchical nature of werewolves.

Rank measures a werewolf's station among other Garou. All Garou begin at Rank 1 and may eventually climb to Rank 5 with time and effort.

A werewolf fresh from its First Change has no rank at all - it is merely a pup or cub, as explained above.

Advancing in Rank

To grow in rank, the werewolf must gain renown through actions that prove their wisdom, honour, and glory, and have these actions recognized before other Garou, usually at a moot.

Just as one faced a great challenge to gain that first rank and enter Garou society - merely having the requisite amount of renown is not enough. The werewolf must challenge a werewolf of a rank equal to or higher than the rank he is currently seeking. The nature of the challenge is dictated by the challenged one, and it can very greatly depending upon the Breed, Auspice, and tribe of both individuals. The difficulty of reaching the next rank increases dramatically with each one; challenges given to a werewolf seeking to become Elders are arduous tasks indeed, and often very life-threatening. Many a werewolf has earned their rank only posthumously, succeeding in their challenge but losing their life to do so.

Following the first rank of Cliath is the second rank, Fostern. The third rank is that of Adren, the fourth rank is that of Athro, and the fifth rank is that of Elder. On extremely rare occasions a werewolf can reach a sixth rank which is not technically possessed of a specific name, but often described either as Elder or Legend.

Benefits of Rank

The most obvious benefit of a higher rank is the social standing it accords. You are given respect for your achievements, and those of lower rank are expected to defer to you. An Adren or higher is generally well-known, achieving a level of fame for their acts.

The challenge is a vital part of Garou life, and generally highly ritualistic. Whenever two (or more) werewolves come into conflict, a challenge is often called to determine who is in the right, who will get their way, who will lead, and so on. However, lawfully a werewolf can only challenge a werewolf of their own rank or one higher, and certainly cannot challenge someone of lower rank than they - authority is assumed in that case. The exception is the previously described challenge for rank as that is not so much a true challenge to the higher-ranking individual's beliefs or authority, but a demand for them to recognize his or her acts and worth. In this case, the werewolf hoping to ascend in rank will often entreat a werewolf of considerably higher rank to recognize their worth.

Another benefit is access to increasingly powerful Gifts. The Spirits can generally sense the rank of a werewolf, and will not teach them gifts they consider to be too powerful for one who has proven themself too little.

Determining Your Rank

Your Rank in Garou society is one part roleplay, one part mechanical. As a baseline, your Rank is tied to your proficiency bonus: Rank 1 is Proficiency Bonus 2, Rank 2 is Proficiency Bonus 3, and so on. Characters are able to advance in rank earlier than they would normally if they earn renown are are recognized by their peers.

Werewolf Beliefs

Werewolf cubs are taught that Gaia created the world and all living things in it. When time began, she released three primal forces upon Cambria: the Weaver, the Wyld, and the Wyrm. These elements of creation are known collectively as the Triat. The spirit world is complex, but werewolves can reduce all of its workings to these three primal forces.

The Weaver created all structure in the world, from the highest mountains to the depths of the oceans. She gave birth to a host of spirits to preserve order, and Weaver-spirits have been known for their predictability, ruthlessness and determination since that primal time. Legions of them weave the fabric of reality with long legs and spinnerets, reinforcing the tapestry of creation. In the modern world, whenever law triumphs over anarchy, whenever technology kicks into overdrive, or when anyone rebuilds what has been torn down, werewolves claim that the spirts of the Weaver are scurrying nearby.

The Wyld was the breath of life in the world, allowing the Weaver's creations to thrive. Wherever nature is alive, the Wyld is there. The spirits that serve it are capricious and effervescent, unpredictable and indefatigable. Just as the Weaver brought order, the Wyld brought chaos, surging with energy wherever it could not be contained. Rebellion, frustration and raw feral instinct all give it strength. Yet nature can also be gentle. Behind every serene glen and tranquil brook, the Wyld returns its energy.

Garou mystics say that Gaia created a third force to maintain the balance between order and chaos, between the Weaver and the Wyld. Like a great serpent wriggling through all creation, the primal Wyrm snipped at the threads of creation that could not otherwise be controlled. Once the Wyrm was the force of balance in the would (as the Garou say), but no longer. The mad Weaver grew too ambitious, trying to tip the balance by trapping the Wyrm within its lifeless web. Confined and denied, the Wyrm went slowly insane, and creation listed out of balance.

Many werewolves feel it is their sole purpose of existence to fight the Wyrm in an effort to bring balance to the forces of nature and, by extension, the world.

Truth & Allegory

As with many origin stories, the truth can prove to be elusive. No one is actually sure who, or what created Cambria, or what exactly these primal forces really are. The reality is that they are there, doing their thing, but they're so intangible and impossible to directly observe that one is almost just as well off believing in campire myths as they are pursuing the actual truth.

The Wyrm and the corruption caused by it that the Garou feel and do battle with are real things, but perhaps not in the way that werewolves understand. The Wyrm is viewed, among supernatural scholars, as allegory for the Warp -- which very much was a force of balance until its corruption and distortion due to unknown causes at some undetermined time in pre-history. So one can agree that the werewolves do fight the Wyrm's corruption -- which is great, and pervasive, and growing.

Werewolves possess a rather unique ability to interact with what they refer to as the Umbra, or the spirit world. This Umbra is separated into two connected yet distinct realms: the Dark Umbra and the Light Umbra. Planar scholars understand that the Garou refer to the Shadowfell and the Feywild, respectively. The "spirits" that the werewolves commune with are most often Fey, Elementals, or extra-planar beings of unknown power.

Garou Society

A werewolf's primal instincts make him a monster, but the noble aspirations of his society make him Garou. Shapechangers live in a vicious, uncaring and brutal world, but they survive because they have learned to live together. Hidden from the rest of society, the preserve their own laws, their own faiths and their own politics. Life is harsh -- elders must often choose who among them will live and who will die -- but the intricacies of Garou societiy plaace them above the status of mere animals... or petty humans.

The Litany

Werewolves are often depicted as solitary monsters, but by gathering in packs and protecting caerns, the Garou have developed a communal culture. Across the ages, they have codified a system of law, handing it down from one generation to the next. As one would expect, it is a largely oral tradition that is subjected to endless interpretation. To preserve the old ways, the Garou have created the Litany, a great song of ages containing the traditions, codes and laws of their people. In its full form, it is as much an epic poem as a legal code. Chanting it in its entirety can take hours.

The Litany can be summarized in 12 basic precepts. If a werewolf violates one of these laws, he'll usually be aware of his transgression. Each pack, of course, has its own views on right and wrong. In fact, a disparity often exists between what Garou elders preach and waht werewolves actually do. Masters of Garou law can cite dozens of examples of precedent, but as fewer cubs learn to chant the details, more argue ways to bend the rules in their favour.

Garou Shall Not Mate With Garou

Werewolves should mate only with humans, demi-humans (elves, dwarves, etc.) or wolves. Because metis offspring are deformed, twisted or even insane, Garou are forbidden to made with their own kind. Of course, this law is enforced laegely because of age-old prejudices against metis. This stricture forms the basis for some of the greatest tragedies of Garou culture. Galliards have been known to move listeners to tears by telling the ballads of two werewolves who fall in love and can never express their passion... or who do so at the cost of their lives.

Combat the Wyrm Wherever it Dwells and Whenever it Breeds

The Wyrm is a source of evil in the world. Gaia created the werewolves to protect humanity, and destroying the Wyrm is the most direct way to do so. The fastest way for a Garou to become respected is to prove himself in battle against the servants of the Wyrm.

Respect the Territory of Another

Whenever a Garou approaches another werewolf's territory, he must announce himself first and ask permission to enter. The traditional method involves the Howl of Introduction, reciting one's name and pack.

Accept an Honourable Surrender

Duels between werewolves are common. While many hominids prefer to talk their way out of disputes, most packs emphasize martial prowess, stressing trial by ordeal and single combat. As a result, many werewolves die. This dictum is intended to limit the unnecessary death that results from these bouts. While no one can stop two werewolves from killing each other, a werewolf being attacked by another Garou can end a duel peacefully by exposing his throat. The loser shouldn't suffer a loss of reputation or renown for doing so, but a victorious Garou should be praised for his mercy. Theoretically, any dueling Garou is honour-bound to accept a surrender.

Submit to Those of Higher Station

Like the wolves with whom they breed, werewolves maintain a strictly hierarchical society. Someone's always alpha, and some poor fool always ends up skuling behind the rest of the pack. Therefore, the concepts of renown and rank are integral to Garou society. A werewolf must always honour reasonable requests from higher-ranking Garou.

The First Share of the Kill for the Greatest in Station

Elders are well known for invoking this custom repeatedly. While this "kill clause" originally applied to hunting, it has since been expanded to include spoils of war. In theory, the most renown Garou has a right to the most powerful fetishes found by their packmates.

Respect Those Beneath Ye - All are of Gaia

The werewolves of human legend are skulking solitary monsters, but Garou are communal creatures. Their legendary ancestors pledged to become the world's protectors, so they must respect every creature's place in the natural world. Every Garou is likewise worthy of respect. Chivalry is a classic Garou concept, and chivalrous behaviour is a respectable way to gain renown.

The Veil Shall Not Be Lifted

Werewolves must be discreet when acting among humans. The world is a dangerous place. Human hunters, religious fanatics, ancient vampires and far more sinister supernatural creatures stalk the night. And, of course, servants of the Wyrm are lurking everywhere, exploiting the weak. If werewolves choose to act like monsters, other creatures will hunt them like the beasts they are.

Garou have an obligation to protect humanity. When human see werewolves lumbering about in Crinos form, insanity grips them, and they concoct all sorts of outrageous rationales for what they've seen. Fear mounts, panic results, and the populace resorts to drastic measures of defense. In short, rampaging werewolves can cause almost as much damage as the Wyrm creatures they hunt.

Do Not Suffer Thy People to Tend Thy Sickness

Sadly, people at war do not always have the resources to care for their infirm. Long ago, an infirm, aged or mortally wounded Garou would be torn to pieces by his packmates. Such a pitiable hero should not suffer further. In the modern world, it is considered more dignified to let such an elder choose how to end his own life. In Garou legends, many of the greatest heroes simply set out on one last journey, never to return.

The Leader May be Challenged at Any Time During Peace

A werewolf's pack mentality may be strong, but he should not tolerate a weak alpha. If no immediate threat is nearby, a Garou of sufficient rank may challenge the pack leader for his position. A contest results, usually a duel, a test of wits or a simple, snarling display of intimidation. This contest is usually resolved quickly and decisively, but in larger packs the assembled werewolves may enact the contest with great drama.

The Leader May Not be Challenged During Wartime

For werewolves, pack tactics are the best defense against the innumerable foes of the Garou. Therefore, obedience in a pack is essential. Once a fight begins, the pack alpha's word is law. A packmate who disobeys may be punished or assaulted by his companions after the danger has passed.

Ye Shall Take No Action That Causes a Caern to be Violated

This law is obeyed as strictly as the need to preserve the Veil. Caerns surge with mystical energy, the lifeblood of the world. If one is destroyed or corrupted, part of the world dies, and so does the power of the Garou. A werewolf who leads a proven or potential enemy to a hidden caern is punished severely, even if the act was unintentional.

Justice

In Garou society, most simple crimes and mistakes are easy to redress. If a problem looms, an Elder can usually caution a younger werewolf of a potential error. Garou settle disputes by reprimand, a mediator or possibly a duel. If these measures are not enough, disapproval from a werewolf's pack is typically enough to correct misbehaviour. Most ambitious cliath do not want to lose renown. However, a few crimes are so severe that they must be punished severely. Simply put, someone must pay when the Litany is violated.

Each pack has its own methods of conducting trials. Once sentence has been passed, a pack enacts a formal rite to punish the offender. If a criminal escapes, the Garou may offer a bounty for his capture... or his skin. The worst punishment is outright ostracism, an offense feared more than death itself. Most Garou believe that great heroes are reborn; some even have visions of past lives to prove it. An outcast, declared a "rogue" or Ronin, is shut out forever from his brothers and sisters. Unless he can commit some great deed to prove his valor, he remains mistrusted and alone.

Moots

Werewolves gather regularly in moots, events that serve a variety of social, political and religious functions. These gatherings are part of what makes them Garou, communal creatures dedicated to common causes and sacred responsibilities. Usually, moots are convened every full moon and involve werewolves from several packs in a region, although a pack may call smaller gatherings as circumstances warrant. For cliath, these gatherings are vital. When a pack returns from one of its adventures, one among them should tell the events that occurred at the next moot. The various werewolves in the pack can then earn renown. By contrast, Garou who avoid moots reguarly are viewed with supicion, often because of their unwillingness to aid their own kind.

Moots are always held at caerns, and powerful spirits are often summoned as part of the proceedings. Theurges perform great rites, Philodox attend to protocol and the "business" aspects of the gathering, Galliards organize the social and storytelling events, and Ahroun see to the defense of the assembly. Werewolves debate policies, discuss plans, send heroes off to perform great tasks, celebrate heroes who have returned triumphant and revile criminals who violate the Litany. Matters are handled with decorum and weighed by the gathered attendees as a whole. When matters become too grim, Ragabash satirize foolish decisions, jape at pretentious elders and taunt those who take themselves too seriously. Most importantly, the spiritual energy expended keeps the caern alive, for as the Garou prosper, so do the sacred sites they attend.

There are many types of moots, varying in size, purpose, grandeur, and attendance.

Hearings may be convened at any time

The Pack

One of the greatest strengths a wolf has is his pack mentality. One wolf can be strong, but he can help bring down a creature 10 times his own weight by working with a pack. Werewolves are no different. Packs make up the foundation of Garou society.

Packs include from two to 10 werewolves, though sometimes more. Usually, each of the five auspices is represented, but this representation is not mandatory.

Each pack shares a common purpose. Cubs always gather together in a pack for a reason, even if it is no more than simple declaration. This declaration may begin as something quite simple ("Aid and defend the sept that brought us together."), something ambitious and long-lasting ("Seek out the breeding places of the Wyrm and destroy them all.") or even a mystical or cryptic agenda ("Travel to the West and share knowledge with other supernatural creatuees."). The pack may, of course, decide to take on other types of tasks along the way, but its unity often comes from dedication to one purpose.

Totems

Each pack dedicates itself to a particular totem when it is first formed. Many of these totems are great animal spirits, such as Raven or Bear. Others, such as Grandfather Thunder are more personified. These great spirits each have their own special strengths, so the choice of a totem often relates to a pack's goals or strengths. The choice is made during an intense and mystical rite. The pack then receives a totem spirit, a spiritual servitor of the totem that can act as their guardian, guide them through the spirit world, and even lend them mystical power.

On some occasions, the pack is gathered expressly to serve a specific totem, and all the cliath who serve it are first brought together to form a pack with this affinity in mind.

The Sept

Larger groups of werewolves, comprised of many packs, gather around caerns, largely for the purpose of guarding a sacred site. Septs are the societies that form around these caerns. The primary task of a sept is guarding its caern. Through powerful mystic rites, a sept can help heroes travel great distances to aid them. Drawing upon Luna's power, mystics form powerful moon bridges between the largest caerns. Because of this ability, septs are also gathering places for travelers. After a wandering pack is welcomed, the elders may extend an opportunity for the pack to stay a while and rest. This honour usually demands that the visitors pay some form of chiminage in return. This payment may be as simple as recidint a story from their journey, as esoteric as bringing back something valuable from the nearby spirit world or as onerous as performing a brief task for the sept's benefit.

Older Garou eventually settle down into one sept that they particularly favour, usually assuming a political position there. An elder may dedicate many years to protecting one caern, and many eventually become laoth to leave it. For this reason, elders commonly offer younger Garou the chance to perform missions on behalf of their sept as an easy path to honour and glory.

Young cliath are wise to remember which elders in a sept are responsible for which tasks. Every sept has a sept leader, the sagacious ruler who organizes the sept and directs the local packs. The highest-ranking Theurge becomes the Master of the Rite, performing many of the day-to-day rituals that maintain the sept. She is also responsible for caring for the spirtual center of the caern, where werewolves meditate. The caern Warder protects the area surrounding the caern, known as the bawn, and keeps an eye out for trouble. Many young metis are enlisted to help him in this task. Septs often have a wealth of other positions, from the den mother or den father who watches over cubs to the Talesinger who chronicles its history. Every werewolf has a place in Garou society, and most are eager to speak to the young heroes in need of advice.

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More to follow...