W5 Werewolf The Apocalypse [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

I'm a Garou, champion of Gaia charged with defending her against the demiurges of chaos, order, and entropy , all seeking her destruction. The Apocalypse has come and gone and we live in its aftermath, the Garou among us, are dying out like their mother. These are the times of the Malady. Now, the only group a werewolf can trust is their own pack. Will you heed their cry? What legends will the Garou sing of you?

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

Rage

Conversão W20 refere-se a lobisomem o apocalipse 20th Edição, V5 to Vampire the Masquerade 5th Edition, H5 to Hunter the Reckoning 5th Edition and W 5 to this Unofficial Doc. All pages refer to PDF pages. Credits: ThatOneGuy, Spins-the-Black-Circle, SilentComedy97 and Yogarpg Atributos: Quando qualquer habilidade, habilidade, dom, etc. em W20 fizer referência a Aparência, substitua por Carisma. Quando qualquer uma dessas mesmas habilidades se referir a Percepção, substitua por Raciocínio ou Determinação. Habilidades: Substitua as seguintes Perícias de W20 a W5: Prontidão por Percepção, Empatia por Intuição, Expressão por Liderança, Habilidade de Instinto Primitivo por Sobrevivência, Computador por Tecnologia, Enigmas por Investigação, Lei por Acadêmicos, Rituais por Ocultismo, Esquiva por Atletismo, Consertar por Arte. Para testes de Fúria, use Dados de Fúria, Gnose use Gnose não gasta e Força de Vontade use Força de Vontade não gasta.

Rage is a trait of supernatural fury all Garou possess, rating from 0 to 7. Each Garou has the potential to call upon this power and test its boundaries within them, this is called "Calling Rage", and a Rage Check is made. However, with each failed roll on a Rage Check, their Rage swells a little further until building up into dangerous levels. Each Auspice offers a threshold their Rage can grow to before it becomes too much for them to hold back frenzy. Checking their Rage and passing means they keep the surge of Luna's fury under control while benefiting from its power, but failing this test means they begin to suffer its curse. The threshold is how many Rage Dice you can accumulate before you begin testing for Frenzy on every Brutal Critical. For the Ragabash, they have quite the leeway, however for the raging Ahroun, every dice risks a struggle of Frenzy. Rage is used like Hunger Dice in V5, but unlike the Hunger Dice, Rage can also be used as a roll, using your current Rage level as the Dice Pool, referred to a Rage Test.

Dificuldade para rolagens que não exigem margem:

Rage Threshold W 20

W5

Dif. up to 6 Dif. 7 Dif. 8 Dif. 9 Dif. 10

Dif. 1 Dif. 2 Dif. 3 Dif. 4 Dif. 5

How many Rage Dice a Garou can have in their dice before they begin to have to roll a Frenzy Test at every Brutal Critical. Rage Threshold is determined by your character's Auspice, for example, a Galliard has a Rage Threshold of 1 and will begin roll a Frenzy Test on each Brutal Critical when her Rage is equal or greater than 2. Your Auspice also determines how much Rage Bonus you have = 3 – Rage Threshold (min. zero).

Modificadores para rolagens que requerem margem:

W 20

W 5 (Dif. 2)

Dif. 3 +3 Dif. 4 +2 Dif. 5 +1 Dif. 6 +0 Dif. 7 −1 Dif. 8 −2 Dif. 9 −3 Dif. 10 −5* * If −5 reduz a parada de dados a 0, apenas será um sucesso rolando um 10

Rage Dice Rage Dice replace dice in all dice pools (but Willpower/Gnosis/Harmony) up to the maximum dice pool possible. Example: An Ahroun with 2 Rage with 4 current dice in her dice pool, replaces 2 of her regular dice in their dice pools with Rage Dice. 4

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RAGE DICE Failure, Feral Failure if the test fails (1)

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Failure (2-5) Success (6-9) Success, Brutal Critical if part of a critical win (10) Rage dice can never be rerolled using Willpower.

Brutal Critical

This Compulsion ends when the werewolf enters in Frenzy. (4-5) Dominance: See V5 page 210 (6-7) Harm: See V5 page 211 (8-9) Paranoia: See V5 page 212 (10) Auspice Role: Garou are pack mentality creatures, just like wolves. They crave a sense of community and instinctually desire to be with and improve their pack.

Auspice Roles:  Trickster (Ragabash): For the scene, the Ragabash must act to deceive an enemy, pull a prank, or help a packmate fulfill their Role, often by becoming the target of their ire or compassion. Any other act suffers your Role Penalty. This lasts until you fulfill your Role, or the scene ends.  Mystic (Theurge): For the scene, the Theurge must discover a new piece of information about the Umbra, meet a new spirit, or share a secret with a packmate. Any other act suffers your Role Penalty. This lasts until you fulfill your role, or the scene ends.  Judge (Philodox): For the scene, the Philodox must seek to solve a problem, correct an injustice, or dole out judgment or reward to a packmate. Any other act suffers your Role Penalty. This lasts until you fulfill your role, or the scene ends.  Skald (Galliard): For the scene, the Galliard must seek to create a work of art, inspire another Garou to action, or improve the mood of a packmate. Any other act suffers your Role Penalty. This lasts until you fulfill your role, or the scene ends.  W arrior (Ahroun): For the scene, the Ahroun must seek to gain an advantage over an enemy, defeat a threat, or end a conflict between packmates. Any other act suffers your Role Penalty. This lasts until you fulfill your role, or the scene ends.

Can have many effects similar to that of a Vampire.  Gain one or more Maladies (see Harmony page 17) for their monstrous action or by demonstrate supernatural strength or speed to humans.  The character loses one dot from an Advantage, for harming them.  Increase their Rage Dice by one as they are infuriated by circumstances. In addition to all these previously mentioned outcomes, any Garou that rolls a Brutal Critical when their Rage exceeds their Rage Threshold, must also make a Frenzy Test not to enter a Berserker Frenzy.

Feral Failure Can cause a number of things to happen, also similar to a Vampire. Such as:  The character must act out a Compulsion, as the Rage starts to subtly dictate their actions, roll a dice to determine which Compulsion.  In combat losing your turn as it pulls all yours focus to control yourself.  Fox Frenzy: As you've failed terribly and the beast inside wants to retreat, fleeing the scene until you calm down.  Increase their Rage Dice by one as they are infuriated by their own incompetence. Compulsions List:  (1-3) Hysteria: A character subject to hysteria cannot control his emotions, and becomes subject to severe mood swings or violent fits when subjected to stress or anxiety. A werewolf with this Compulsion must make Frenzy Tests whenever subjected to extreme stress; the difficulty to frenzy is reduced by 2. 5

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Roll a Rage Check

Staring at the moon for the first time each night can soothe Rage based on the moon’s phase:  New Moon (4)  Crescent Moon (3)  Half Moon (2)  Gibbous Moon (1)  Full Moon (0)  Moon of your Auspice (All Rage)

To make a Rage Check, the player rolls a single die. As always, a result of 6 or higher succeeds. On a success, the werewolf’s Rage remains unchanged. On a failure, the werewolf gains 1 more point of Rage, and thus gains one more Rage Dice.  Rage Mastery: Add your Primary Renown to any roll involving one of your 3 Auspice Skills.  Changing Forms: Auto shift into any form your desire.  Active Gifts  W in at a Cost: At Storyteller discretion  Ignore Impaired penalties for a scene  Remaining Active: Stay alive when sustaining an incapacitating blow (Once per Scene) and earns a battle scar after. Roll a Rage Test, for each success completely heal the last boxes on your Health track regardless of damage, you must do a Frenzy Test after.  W olf Speed: Werewolves are fast — often faster than everyone else. Werewolves engaging a foe with this power act as if already engaged when the turn begins.  Failing to do Soothing Rage methods: See methods below (with the exception of the way of staring at the moon), the number in parentheses will be the amount of Rage Check you must do.

Looking to the moon phase of your Auspice can sooth all of your Rage, this is the only method that can lower Rage below one. However, regardless of the moon's phase, you must first succeed a Frenzy Test (dif. equal to the number that each moon’s phase sooth your Rage) upon seeing the moon. Because Luna blessed you with Rage but it still acts as a curse. If you fail your Frenzy Test, you still sooth your Rage but not until after your frenzy has subsided. This is the hidden truth behind why the full moon is so commonly associated with raging, bloodthirsty werewolves, unable to control themselves under its light.

Berserker Frenzy When a Garou would be forced to make a Frenzy Test, roll his current Willpower + Harmony Dice at a difficulty equal to his Rage (unless otherwise stated). Failure means the Garou loses himself to his Rage and cannot hold on any longer. Ahrouns and those that have grown their Rage further have a struggle with not losing themselves to their own Rage. If a Garou fails this roll they can spend a point of Willpower to hold it off until the next provocation or failed Rage Check at Rage 7 (but her character can’t take any further actions that turn). Other things can cause Garou to frenzy as well. Depending on the seriousness of the provocation:  Looking at the moon for the first time each night (Dif. = Based on the Moon Phase)  Minor nuisance; embarrassment or public humiliation (Dif. = Rage +1)  Place of nature harmed; Touchstone injured with aggravated damage (Dif. = Rage +2)  Caern destroyed; Touchstone killed (Dif. = Rage +3)  Aggravated Willpower Damage (Dif. = Rage + Damage taken)

Soothing Rage Rage starts at 1 and slowly swells until it's all too much to bear. To keep control of yourself there are a few ways to sooth your Rage. Rage is soothed away by a small number of ways, with the amounts indicated in parentheses:  Landing a killing blow (1)  Succeeding in some way against those who insult or humiliate you (1)  Defeating true agents of the Wyrm (2)  Succeeding in the protection of a natural location (2)  Succeeding to defend a Caern (3)  Succeeding to protect Touchstones (not Packmates) in danger (1 to 3)  Whenever the Storyteller deems fitting. Usually no more than 3 at a time for any reason other than the moon. 6

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Thrall of the Wyrm

All frenzy difficulties increase by 2 on the night of your Auspice moon's phase (Including those that are made before soothing Rage by the moon). The werewolf can only see moving targets — targets she wants to reduce to bloody lumps of mangled meat. A berserk Garou shifts (no rolls) immediately to either Crinos or Hispo form (the player decides which), and attacks something. Whom she attacks depends on the circumstances. If the Garou’s Rage does not exceed her unspent Gnosis, she will not tear into her Packmates — unless she’s in the Thrall of the Wyrm. Anything else is fair game, including other were-creatures who are not members of her pack. A Garou whose Rage exceeds his Gnosis attacks anything that moves. He can’t distinguish between targets unless his player spends a point of Willpower, in which case he can select his victim. If he doesn’t spend Willpower, the Storyteller chooses who he attacks. Werewolves in this state don’t remember what happens to them during frenzy. Many collapses once the frenzy is over. A werewolf can only come out of frenzy once the triggering situation is over.

If you your Rage exceeds 5, you’re stretching into the dangers of rage and getting closer to the Wyrm. You can continue to make Rage Checks to summon forth your swelling of your Rage. However, if you Brutal Critical with a Rage of 6+ or fail a Rage Check when at 7 Rage, you must succeed a Frenzy Test equal to the difficulty determined by your Rage and other modifiers (like the moon's phase), not to give into the Thrall of the Wyrm, as your Rage has swelled to the brink of what any child of Gaia can withhold. As a creature of Gaia, the Garou are not tainted by the Wyrm, but that does not stop the Wyrm from trying. Wyrm tainted spirits known as Banes, feed off of intense and negative emotions, such as Rage. While in this state, they lose all sense of self. The Garou becomes controlled by the Storyteller for the rest of the scene, and seeks to mutilate any and all moving targets in the scene, friend or foe. When an enthralled Garou completes a kill, and there is no other target with immediate melee range, they will stop their assault to devour the flesh of their kill. Gorging themselves in cannibalistic savagery, the Garou will not even attempt to defend itself from an attack. Once injured however, they will resume their assault again. Most Garou that witness another become enthralled, do them the favor of putting them down, to save them from the guilt and shame of their actions.

Berserker Frenzy Effects Resist Injury Modifiers: Do not suffer from Crippling Injuries (V5 page 303)  Resist Mental Powers: Resist mental powers (e.g., Dominate, Presence) with three extra dice added to their resistance pools. (If a power has no resistance pool, the user adds +2 to their Difficulty) Drawbacks: May not:  Use any Gifts.  Use maneuvers in a fight.  Communicate with others.  Step sideways.  Spend Gnosis or make Gnosis Tests in general.  Split dice pools.  Shift into other forms during Berserker Frenzy. May only:  Use melee weapons or Brawl attacks. 

Gnosis Gnosis is the spiritual connection of all Garou that tether them to their spiritual nature, and permits them access to the Umbra, as well as Fetishes, and specific Gifts that might require more of an understanding of spiritual energies other than Rage. Gnosis can be spent like Willpower, by sustaining superficial damage to the tracker, and can be restored with some methods described below. Sustaining superficial damage in every box of your Gnosis tracker, results in being Spiritually Impaired. The Garou cannot step sideways, and suffers a –2 to any gift activation, as well as any roll to use a Fetish, or Talen. 7

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

Superficial Damage 

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Stepping Sideways: Roll unspent Gnosis + Harmony Dice at a difficulty set by Gauntlet Chart below, depending on location, and can be reduced by gauntlet rating of your Primal Urge, reflective surfaces, as well as many gifts, and fetishes. Cost 1 Superficial Gnosis damage. Performing Rites Fetishes and Talens: Active both. Gifts

Recovering:

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Meditation: The character must spend at least an hour in one place, focusing deeply on his spiritual side. The player rolls Resolve + Insight (dif. 3). The character regains one superficial Gnosis point, up to a maximum of one point per hour of meditation; additional successes are lost. A Garou can only meditate to regain Gnosis once per day. The difficulty increases by one for each extra day a character attempts it in the same week, to a maximum difficulty of 7. The spirits are gracious, but not always generous.

GAUNTLET CHART Area Science Lab Inner City, downtown Average City Street Rural Countryside Deep Wilderness Urban Caern Active Caern Powerful Caern Greatest Caerns

Aggravated Damage 

Difficulty 9 8 7 6 5 5 4 3 2

MODIFIERS Nighttime Reflective Surfaces Primal Urge Bonus Only peering across the Gauntlet

Carrying Silver: For every object made of or containing silver that a character is carrying, she receives 1 aggravated Gnosis damage once per day (when you get the object).

Recovering:

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Bargaining with Spirits: Ritual hunts are not the only way to get Gnosis out of a spirit; the soft sell can work just as well. A werewolf can simply ask a spirit to share some of its Gnosis. The character must be able to speak in the spirit language through the use of a Gift or similar. The spirit may ask the character to perform some task before it shares its life force with the Garou. Once the bargain is completed, the spirit spends an amount of Essence wit Bleeding, and the werewolf regains that many points of aggravated Gnosis.

–1 –2 See page 16 +3

Resonance

Secret Hunt: The Sacred Hunt is one of the most frequently performed activities at Garou moots. The chosen prey is summoned and then hunted down. This activity can be done in either the Umbra or on Earth. After the prey has been caught and “killed,” werewolves who have taken part in the hunt give thanks to the spirit for the gift of its life. All who participate in the hunt divide up the Essence of the spirit, evenly with the extra odd amount going to the pack leader. The Primal Urge level of the pack leader or single Garou determines the level of the Spirit of which they hunt, see Primal Urge Chart page 16 and Spirits page 25. Each point of Essence the werewolf Bleeds this way, regain one aggravated Gnosis. After the spirit “dies” he will give a Resonance to all involved in the hunt, see Resonance below. See W 20 page 366 for more information of Spirits.

All spirits give off a resonance. It’s the Essence that creates the Resonance. If a pack successfully defeats a spirit and reduces its essence to 0, its essence is granted to the pack and so its resonance. Grant each pack member +1 die to any single skill or attribute roll used related to the Resonance of the spirit for the duration until the next full moon or next Sacred Hunt, whichever comes first. Resonance type is dependent upon the spirit. For instance, a cunning Fox spirit may grant a +1 die to the wolfs Intelligence rolls, where as an Epiphling Murder spirit may grant +1 to Brawl dice pool. Storyteller discretion but usually the Resonance type is self-explanatory.

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rank and respect in their nation, as well as the core mechanic to the very function of using gifts. Each Garou has two Favored Renown, one determined by their Auspice, and one of their choices determined by their chosen Tribe. A Garou then designates which of their Favored Renown, will be their Primary Renown. The chosen primary is often the Renown of their Auspice, but does not have to be, as two Ahroun Garou might both favor Purity, but one may display a greater connection to the Renown of Glory and all it represents.

Rites and Fetishes Rites works almost the same as described in W 20 (page 202), with the difference that the Dice Pool is aways Charisma + Harmony Dice. All Garou present in the Rite roll Harmony, the sum of all successes determining whether the Rite was successful. All Minor Rites are Level 1. LEVEL 1 2 3 4 5

Mystic Rites 3 4 5 6 7

Other Rites 10 14 18 20 25

Cunning Luna hides, but feels no shame. Sometimes she chooses to watch without light, to listen to, touch and feel what happens in the world without alerting her children to her presence. She looks to us to obscure her, to cover her actions and mask her words. Anyone could be Luna on the new moon. Garou hunt things greater than they are. They can’t always win through brute force or superior numbers. Sometimes, raw creativity and clever planning win the day. Feats of Cunning: Killing a foe and making his allies believe the death was accidental; convincing one foe to attack another; avoiding potential human discovery of the Garou without the use of violence; a new and original battle strategy; any monumental act of stealth, manipulation, cleverness or diplomacy.

If the number of successes is not reached, all Garou present may reroll Harmony for the cost of 1 Gnosis, adding the successes to the preceding roll. This adds 5 minutes per level to the Rite. To use a Fetish (W20 page 222), the Garou must first attune herself to it by making a roll with unspent Gnosis, difficulty is the Level of the Fetish. Each time the wielder wishes to use one of the fetish’s powers, the player must spend 1 Gnosis. Talens (W 20 page 228) requires 1 Gnosis to activate, but don't need a test to attune.

Renown

Glory The moon edges toward full, and Luna dreams of days yet to come. The moon slinks toward invisibility, and Luna remembers, nostalgic for the days of glory. Everything that is memory is real under the gibbous moon’s light, every deed remembered as a shining epic, every word as an elegant poem. The future is a dream that remembers events that haven’t happened yet. Fact Truth? Secondary considerations. Facts are forgotten and argued over; truth changes with the teller. Only glory can bestow immortality. Garou stand strong, and fight until their muscles tear apart. They boil with epic fury, storm into battle, and remain in the fray in spite of overwhelming threats.

Werewolves are a fractious race. A werewolf from a different pack or tribe is a rival first and an ally later, if ever. Therefore, it’s necessary for the Garou to have some way of measuring each other’s accomplishments and status. This need is mirrored by the demands of a werewolf’s spirit nature, the need to have a clear place when standing among the spirits that are loosely related to his kin. From these requirements came the system of Renown, allowing other werewolves and even spirits to gauge the deference they should grant a visitor or intruder. Garou live and die by their renown. Renown is everything to the Garou, being both a measure of 9

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

don’t force their views on other werewolves, but they lead by example — and expect their pack and their sept to listen when necessary. Feats of Purity: Discovering a source of the Wyrm’s taint; removing the taint from an area; cleansing humans and spirits of the Wyrm’s touch; holding to the Litany in the face of great temptation; loosening the Weaver’s hold over an area; any other monumental feat of zeal or self-restraint, channeled against the Weaver or Wyrm.

Feats of Glory: Winning a battle or outmaneuvering a foe in a spectacular or especially triumphant way; winning a battle in the name of a lover, ancestor or totem; telling an epic story that is later repeated by others; telling a stirring rendition of a traditional tale; acting as inspiration to fellow Garou; any other monumental feat of bravery, tradition, valor or daring.

Honor The light half or the dark half, wrong or right. Luna, in her half-moon aspect, judges. A statement must be true or false — but which is it? Only by viewing both the bright and the shadowed can one determine the truth. Only by seeing both sides can one make the correct judgment. The Garou fight not because they must, but because it’s right. A werewolf could eschew her ancestral duties, and find a place to hide away from her role. An honorable Garou grabs that role and owns it proudly, standing as a judges and shepherd. Feats of Honor: Adjudicating a fair challenge between other werewolves; performing one’s duties to the pack and totem in the face of extreme adversity; participating in a just challenge; uncovering taint or injustice; striking a diplomatic truce with a potent rival spirit; any monumental feat of justice, truth or fairness.

Wisdom By the crescent moon, Luna thinks. Those who come upon her in this state come away wiser, for she shares her wisdom with those who know how to ask. Those who ask the wrong questions go mad, for she denies no inquiry while her sliver moon shows. But sometimes seeking answers is more important than knowing them. The Garou favor Wisdom as a counterpoint to their savage fury. Sometimes, it’s better to take a holistic approach to a problem, even when the blood of the wolf rears its violent head. After all, Garou are beings half of spirit, and have esoteric answers to many questions. Feats of W isdom: Solving a great spiritual riddle; developing a new rite; binding a potent spirit; discovering and exploiting an enemy spirit’s ban; creating or strengthening a Caern; negotiating a suitable compromise; any monumental act of logic, intelligence, memory or intuition.

Purity All is revealed by Luna’s brightest light. Under the full moon, we can truly be ourselves, pure and unsullied by what the world has become, our hands unbloodied by our past crimes. We cannot wallow in guilt or lose ourselves in Rage, for there is much to be done. Listen to the howls of your fellows and follow me, brother! As the pure light of the full moon highlights corruption, so to do werewolves who adhere to Purity Renown burn out the taint of the Wyrm wherever it is found. Purity is about more than just finding Wyrm spawn and flying into a frenzy, though — it is the strength of Rage tempered with the careful planning of a seasoned warrior. A werewolf who holds to Purity knows well when to send his pack on a surgical strike to cut out the heart of a tainted group, and when to engage in all-out battle. Garou who strive for Purity

Gaining Renown Renown is purchased only after you make the important feats of the Renown in question, for each new Renown level you will need a number of feats equal the cumulative Renown Level (see Renown and Gifts chart below). When gaining a point of Renown, you gain that many levels of Gifts Points, and you can pre-allocate new Gifts with these points, but they will only be gained when learned from Spirits or other Garou. You can choose only Gifts of this Renown or General Gifts (see Gifts below) and the Gift's level cannot exceed your highest Renown.

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Ex: Gaining your 3rd point of Glory could grant you a 3rd level Gift or a level two and a level one, or three level one Gifts.

Auspices

Breeds ■ Homid: Born human and raised by human parents, you were not aware of your heritage until you experienced your First Change — though you’ve felt the effects of Rage burning within you before that. It’s likely that you were completely unaware of the werewolves in your family tree.  Initial Gnosis: +1 ■ Metis: Your parents are both Garou. They broke the Litany in a moment of animal passion and you’re the twisted result. Raised in a sept among other werewolves, you know Garou culture better than most homids or lupus. Your parents’ crime left you malformed and sterile, a visible reminder of their crime.  Initial Gnosis: +2  Special: Choose one Flaw from Metis Conditions (W 20 page 75)

■ Ragabash — New Moon: Questioners and tricksters who stalk the Wyrm with guile and cunning.  Verbs: Trick, Misdirect, Mock, Sneak.  Rage Threshold: 4  Favored Renown: Cunning  Auspice Skills: Larceny, Stealth or Subterfuge

■ Lupus: You were born a wolf and spent your first two years among wolves. Your First Change didn’t come until you were almost fully grown. You haven’t the sophistication or understanding of the human world of a homid, but your instincts and connection to the wild is much stronger.  Initial Gnosis: +3  Skill Restrictions: May not begin with the following Skills without spending experience points to purchase: Academics, Craft, Drive, Etiquette, Finance, Firearms, Larceny, Science, Politics and Technology.

■ Theurge — Crescent Moon: Seers and shamans who clearly understand spirits and their ways.  Verbs: Summon, Invoke, Placate, Bind.  Rage Threshold: 3  Favored Renown: Wisdom  Auspice Skills: Animal Ken, Medicine or Occult ■ Philodox — Half Moon: Judges and lawmakers who balance the dual nature of man and wolf.  Verbs: Evaluate, Interpret, Punish, Judge.  Rage Threshold: 2  Favored Renown: Honor  Auspice Skills: Insight, Investigation or Politics

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■ Galliard — Gibbous Moon: Lore-keepers and tale singers who tell the deeds of Garou past to inspire the present.  Verbs: Regale, Hype, Unite, Bluster.  Rage Threshold: 1  Favored Renown: Glory  Auspice Skills: Craft, Performance or Persuasion

■ Bone Gnawers: As the best-informed tribe, the Bone Gnawers are consummate spies. Members live in poverty, and have a casual regard for Garou traditions.  Verbs: Infiltrate, Pilfer, Eavesdrop, Witness.  Favored Renown: Cunning or Glory  Ban: The Bone Gnawers are looked down upon by the other Tribes. As such, –1 die to all social rolls involving Garou from another Tribe.  Tribe Totem: Rat  Advantages: Contacts 1 (Ratkin/Humans), Kinfolk 1 or Fetish 1.  Specialties: Streets (Survival), Any (Streetwise), Parkour (Athletics) or National (Politics).

■ Ahroun — Full Moon: Warriors and protectors who bring destruction to the Wyrm wherever it dwells and breeds.  Verbs: Fight, Attack, Destroy, Charge.  Rage Threshold: 0  Favored Renown: Purity  Auspice Skills: Brawl, Intimidation or Survival

■ Children of Gaia: The most moderate tribe, the Children of Gaia nurture what little the Wyrm has not corrupted and often speak out on humanity’s side.  Verbs: Discover, Discern, Heal, Puzzle Out.  Favored Renown: Wisdom or Honor  Ban: In an attempt to lower the veil with humans, Humans suffer less Delirium gaining +4 Willpower for the chart (W 20 page 264).  Tribe Totem: Unicorn  Advantages: Ancestors 1, Influence 1 or Mentor 1.  Specialties: Empathy (Insight), Inspiration (Leadership), Any (Streetwise), Any (Performance) or Any (Etiquette).

Tribes Garou Nation ■ Black Furies: Defenders of the wild places and fierce warriors for their fellow women. Most Black Furies are female; the only males in their tribe are metis.  Verbs: Avenge, Overcome, Dismantle, Demolish.  Favored Renown: Purity or Wisdom  Ban: Only females or metis males may be tribal members. All attacks by a male must be met with retaliation tenfold. No slight by a male is permitted against a member of the Tribe. All affronts to a Fury must be answered. When a Fury is confronted by these circumstances, roll for Berserk Frenzy +1 difficulty.  Tribe Totem: Gorgon  Advantages: Allies 1, Contacts 1 or Mentor 1.  Specialties: Any (Brawl), Any (Melee), Any (Survival) or Rituals (Occult).

■ Fianna: Originally of Celtic descent, the Fianna hold on to a lust for both celebration and battle, wherever they are in the world.  Verbs: Reclaim, Cultivate, Nurture, Protect.  Favored Renown: Glory or Honor  Ban: Fianna lack self-control. Willpower rolls are at +1 difficulty.  Tribe Totem: Stag  Advantages: Ancestors 1, Contacts 1 (Changelings/Humans) or Kinfolk 1.  Specialties: Any (Performance), Any (Brawl), Any (Melee) or Any (Athletics). ■ Galestalkers (Previously W endigo): The Galestalkers are cold and insular, guarding their caerns against even other Garou. 12

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Verbs: Track, Ambush, Pursue, Harry. Favored Renown: Purity or Glory Ban: Wheel of Seasons: o Spring: +1 difficulty to all Willpower rolls o Summer: +1 difficulty to resist Frenzy o Autumn: +1 difficulty to shapeshift o Winter: minus 1 to all margins of success in combat Tribe Totem: North Wind Advantages: Allies 1, Mentor 1 or Status 1 (Galestalkers). Specialties: Forest (Survival), Any (Brawl) or Hunting (Survival).

■ Red Talons: Living in the deep wilderness, this tribe only allows lupus and some metis to join. They believe that the only way to beat the Wyrm is to exterminate humanity.  Verbs: Ruin, Ward, Reduce, Purge.  Favored Renown: Purity or Glory  Ban: Due to a Red Talon’s affinity to the Wyld, they may not use essence to gain Gnosis by hunting in the city.  Tribe Totem: Griffin  Advantages: Ancestors 1, Kinfolk 1 or Rites 1.  Specialties: Wilderness (Survival), Any (Brawl), Any (Animal Ken) or Any (Intimidation).

■ Ghost Council (Previously Uktena): Mysterious and mystical, the Ghost Council are a tribe of outsiders charged with guarding the resting places of many powerful Banes, though this taints them by association.  Verbs: Travel, Solve, Subvert, Unearth.  Favored Renown: Honor or Wisdom  Ban: Intense passion for mystical secrets drives the Ghost Council to look for them constantly. When a secret of this nature is learned of; +1 difficulty to Willpower rolls and +1 difficulty in Social Combat, until it has been discovered.  Tribe Totem: Horned Serpent  Advantages: Ancestors 1, Fetish 1 or Rites 1.  Specialties: Rituals (Occult), Fetishes (Craft), Wyrm Taint (Awareness) or Umbra (Survival).

■ Shadow Lords: Cunning, deceptive, and domineering, the Shadow Lords have a burning drive to lead the whole Garou Nation.  Verbs: Envision, Plan, Scheme Intimidate.  Favored Renown: Glory or Cunning  Ban: Lose one point of Renown temporarily when failing in a task of which you would have gained Renown. The type lost is equal to the type that would have been gained if successful. This can lock the use of Gifts. To recover the Renown, you must do a task of the same Renown that you initially failed to do.  Tribe Totem: Thunder  Advantages: Status 1 (Shadow Lords), Contacts 1 (Vampires/Humans) or Rites 1.  Specialties: Any (Insight), Any (Persuasion), Any (Subterfuge) or Any (Politics).

■ Glass W alkers: The ultimate urban predators, the Glass Walkers take the war against the Wyrm into the boardroom and the skyscraper — though other Garou do not trust them.  Verbs: Research, Build, Hack, Repurpose.  Favored Renown: Cunning or Wisdom  Ban: Due to a Glass Walkers affinity to the Weaver, they may not use essence to gain Gnosis from hunting in the wilderness.  Tribe Totem: Spider  Advantages: Contacts 1, Influence 1 or Resources 1.  Specialties: Any (Drive), Any (Firearms) or Any (Technology).

■ Silent Striders: Exiled from their homeland, the Silent Striders travel constantly. Many learn the secrets of the physical or spiritual world on their journeys.  Verbs: Journey, Scout, Deliver, Sabotage.  Favored Renown: Honor or Wisdom  Ban: Attract hostile Wraiths with a failed roll (no successes) in an attempt to step sideways.  Tribe Totem: Owl  Advantages: Allies 1 (Supernatural Creatures), Contacts 1 (Mummies/Wraiths) or Rites 1.

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

Specialties: Any (Survival), Any (Streetwise) or Supernatural Creatures (Occult).

■ Silver Fangs: The hereditary rulers of the Garou Nation, their careful maintenance of royal blood has led to inbreeding and the taint of madness.  Verbs: Motivate, Lead, Rally, Inspire.  Favored Renown: Purity or Honor  Ban: Any Feral Failure is accompanied by an additional stain. The chance for Harano is a Silver Fangs greatest fear.  Tribe Totem: Falcon  Advantages: Fetish 1, Mentor 1 or Status 1 (Garou Nation).  Specialties: Command (Leadership), Any (Intimidation) or Any (Etiquette).

 

werewolf suffers a –1 to Composure and Awareness rolls not directly involved in solving the mystery until the obsession is solved or resolved. Advantages: Ancestors 1, Contacts 1 (Beast Courts/Mages) or Mentor 1. Specialties: Any (Animal Ken), Any (Insight) or Meditation (Occult).

■ Ronin (W 20 page 510): Werewolves that are, for one reason or another, outcasts of the Garou Nation.  Favored Renown: Choose one  Ban: Cannot buy Renown with experience. A Ronin can learn no new Gifts, except under special circumstances. Begin with Dark Secret Flaw •• (Ronin).  Advantages: Any 1.  Specialties: Any (Any).

Outsiders ■ Get of Fenris (Currently Independent): Dedicated to the Wyrm’s destruction, the Get are savage and bloodthirsty warriors who take great pride in their Germanic and Scandinavian heritage.  Favored Renown: Purity or Glory  Ban: Players must define an intolerance for something common; (examples: weakness, humans, cowardice, technology). It can’t be something the Garou already hate (such as Fomori or the Wyrm). And it may not be specific or rare (examples: women, a certain race, octopus). Get characters suffer +1 modifier to Frenzy when their intolerance is involved.  Tribe Totem: Fenris  Advantages: Ancestors 1, Kinfolk 1 or Status 1 (Get of Fenris).  Specialties: Any (Brawl), Hammer (Melee), Any (Survival) or Any (Intimidation).

Wyrm ■ Black Spiral Dancer (W20 page 425): The Black Spiral Dancers are the only werewolf tribe to have wholly turned to the Wyrm (for now). Millennia ago, this tribe was known as the White Howlers. These white furred werewolves were cousins of the Fianna, roaming the lands we now know as Britain and Western Europe.  Favored Renown: Power, Infamy or Cunning (These are your only Renowns)  Ban: Derangement – The Black Spiral breaks the minds of those who dance it. Each Black Spiral Dancer has at least one overt or covert form of insanity, represented with a Derangement (W 20 page 486). Totem must be Whippoorwill.  Advantages: Contacts 2 (Fomori), Retainers 2 or Status 2 (Wyrm Servants).  Flaws: Psychological Traits 2 (Derangement W 20 page 486).  Specialties: Tracker (Awareness), Any (Survival), Wyrm (Occult) or Any (Brawl).

■ Stargazers (Currently in Beast Courts): Ascetics who seek to master their own Rage, the Stargazers wander the world striking at the Wyrm wherever they find it.  Favored Renown: Wisdom or Purity  Ban: Obsessed with mind games and enigmas. When a character encounters these situations, they become obsessed with solving them. The 14

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

Renown and Unfavored use the lowest Renown possessed by the Garou. Ex: Falling Touch (Resolve 3, Purity 3) = dice pool of 6. This brings the potential of the Garou, and their Renown among the spirits into the same action and reflects varying skill levels in execution, as well as varied respect among the spirits, who teach the Gifts. This also incentivizes players to enhance their Renown as all Garou should want to. If has no Relevant Attribute on Gift, for Willpower use Resolve, for Rage use Rage Bonus + Primal Urge halved rounded up and for Gnosis use Harmony Dice + Primal Urge halved rounded up, this can be noted on 2nd page of your Character Sheet.

Gifts Garou start with a number of gifts equal to the cumulative total of their Renown. A Garou can purchase and learn Gifts without increasing their Renown, but can never learn a Gift of higher level than their highest Renown. Gifts can be taught by other Garou, but are commonly taught by spirits the Garou meets in their journey, as rewards for their efforts and willingness to comply with the ever shifting wants and desires of the spirits. The price of one Gift is its Level, as seen in the example below. Ex: Longtooth has 2 in Wisdom and 1 in Purity. This is a cumulative total of 4 Gift Points. She could take 4 level one gifts, 2 level two gifts, or 1 level two, and 2 level one gifts.

GIFTS RENOW N CHART Gifts Renown Breed Your Breed Highest Renown Other Breeds Lowest Renown Auspice Ragabash Cunning Theurge Wisdom Philodox Honor Galliard Glory Ahroun Purity Tribe (Each Gift comes from one Renown) Black Furies Purity Wisdom Bone Gnawers Cunning Glory Children of Gaia Wisdom Honor Fianna Glory Honor Galestalkers Purity Glory Ghost Council Honor Wisdom Glass Walkers Cunning Wisdom Red Talons Purity Glory Shadow Lords Glory Cunning Silent Striders Honor Wisdom Silver Fangs Purity Honor Outsiders Get of Fenris Purity Glory Stargazers Wisdom Purity W yrm Black Spiral Dancers Power Infamy Cunning

RENOW N AND GIFTS Renown Dots ● ●● ●●● ●●●● ●●●●●

Gift Points / Renown Feats Required 1 3 6 10 15

Core Gift Roll: Relevant Attribute + Associated Renown + Modifiers (Gift Power Bonus by Primal Urge; Difficulty for Conversion page 4). Difficulty: If a gift requires No. of Successes, difficulty is 2 and No. of Successes (1 to 5) from W 20 becomes Margin (0 to 4). If not, use the difficulty from the first table (see page 4). No modifier may ever reduce a gift’s dice pool below 1. Gifts will specify the relevant attribute needed for activation, the Associated Renown is determined by the category you chose the gift from (Auspice or Tribe) see Gifts Renown Chart below. Not all Gifts requires a roll for activation. Gifts purchased from your Auspice, Tribe or Breed are called Favored Gifts. In the same way Gifts purchased outside of your Auspice, Tribe and Breed, are considered Unfavored Gifts. General Gifts (Breed Gifts) are Gifts that all Garou can learn. Favored are rolled using your highest

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WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

take the highest of the two rolls. Increasing your ability to hold your rage when extorting it. Frenzy: This is a reduction in the difficulty of your Frenzy Tests. As you become more in tune with your Primal Urge you'll learn to control them better. (Min. Dif. 1) Gauntlet: Like Rage and Frenzy is a part of a Garou, so is Gnosis and the Umbra. As your power grows, you'll find it easier to step sideways. This reduces the difficulty of stepping sideways as your power grows you become a master in stepping sideways no matter where you are. (Min. Dif. 1) Social Penalty: As you become more in tune with who you are as a Garou, you become more terrifying to mortals and normal animals. Apply this negative to any social dice pools with mortals or Animal Ken rules, except for those meant to intimidate or startle them. Gift Power Bonus: Add this bonus to any dice pool involving the activation or use of a Gift and to resist rolls against other Gifts, Disciplines, and other supernatural powers in general. Maximum Gnosis: Increase of your maximum Gnosis. Spirit Rank Hunted: The level of the Spirit of which they can summon and hunt in Sacred Hunt, see page 25 to more information about Spirits.

Primal Urge Primal Urge is the measure of how in touch the Garou is with their primal urges and how the strength of that connection can help them perfect the state of their being, both physical and spiritual. Primal Urge give some benefits has described in the table below. Healing: Garou take superficial damage from all sources except for fire, and silver which are aggravated. Your Primal Urge determines how quickly you naturally regenerate superficial damage. The number listed under healing is how many superficial you heal per turn at the start of your turn. Starting at Primal Urge 3, you can choose to heal one point of aggravated damage instead of your 2 superficial. At primal urge 7 you can choose to heal 2 aggravated instead of your 4 superficial. This is true for all aggravated damage except that dealt by silver weapons. Garou who make it to 6+ levels of Primal Urge become truly terrifying creatures, though they are few and far between, as most Garou don't live that long. Role Penalty: Whenever a Garou is compelled to fulfill their Role, they suffer this penalty to any dice pool that does not meet the requirements of their Role. Gift Rage Reroll: When you roll a Rage Check for the use of a Gift, you can reroll the dice and

PRIMAL URGE CHART Primal Urge 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Healing

Role Penalty

0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

–1 –2 –2 –3 –3 –4 –4 –5 –5 –6 –6

Gift Rage Reroll No Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 2 Level 3 Level 3 Level 4 Level 4 Level 5 Level 5

Frenzy / Gauntlet / Social Penalty –0 –0 –1 –1 –2 –2 –3 –3 –4 –4 –5 16

Gift Power Bonus / Maximum Gnosis +0 +0 +1 +1 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +5

Spirit Rank Hunted None Rank 1 Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 4 Rank 5 Rank 5 and 6

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

shapeshifting powers and Rage to which they can resort. The path of Harmony is not a path of peace or calm — it is the path of accepting the wolf and the human, the spirit and the beast. Harmony starts at 7 and Harmony Dice equal 1/3 rounded down of Harmony rating. Harmony dice are added to resist Berserker Frenzy, Step Sideways, perform Rites and in some Gift Dice Pools.

Harmony Werewolves aren’t human. Although they’re raised with human mores, they find certain ethical credos somewhat counterintuitive. For example, even before her First Change, a werewolf might consider stealing to be not so much a sin. After all, if the owner of the given property wasn’t strong or smart enough to protect it, why shouldn’t the werewolf take it? Yet werewolves often form very close bonds to friends and family, protecting them as a wolf does her packmates. That this affection isn’t always returned — the friends and family aren’t werewolves, and might find the strange child frightening — is a source of constant frustration and angst for these cubs. When the First Change comes, a werewolf suddenly begins to see the world through different eyes. In some ways, the Change brings freedom. Human laws and morals no longer seem quite appropriate. How can the laws of humans not killing one another apply to creatures seemingly designed to kill? Yet this philosophy is deceptive. A werewolf who utterly succumbs to his bestial side loses the ability to control it. In order to retain their sanity and have a chance at some precious peace of mind, the Garou must walk a middle path between animal and human, between spirit and flesh, between Rage and Gnosis, between instinct and reason, and especially between Wyld and Wyrm, they need to balance the influence of Wyrm within, the Malady runs wildly nowadays, the Apocalypse may have passed, but the Wyrm definitely has not. The Harmony credo stresses the need to abide by the laws that the werewolves have set down, to keep Rage in check until it’s needed, to honor Gaia and the totems (both pack and tribal) and to always protect the pack. Those werewolves who obey these structures might never find complete peace, which is denied Garou nature, but they come closest. Those who search for Harmony come nearest to balancing their dual natures, accepting their feral instinct without losing their human reason. Those who don’t are monsters, rampaging beasts with only their

HARMONY DICE 9-10 6-8 3-5 1-2

3 dice 2 dice 1 dice 0 dices

Harmony works like Humanity in V5 (page 241). Maladies (Stains in V5) are caused violating your personal Convictions, Chronicle Tenets or by doing acts universally hideous to Garou.

Convictions Convictions are a little different for werewolves. Rather than being human values that vampires cling to after death, for a Garou they are beliefs that guide the werewolf in his fight, whatever that may be. Start with two Convictions related to your two Favored Renowns (or your Auspice and Tribe) and one additional of your choice. Chronicle Tenets work the same as in V5 (page 174) being just thematically different. If the Conviction or Tenet was violated in the service of another Conviction, reduce the Maladies gained by one or more.

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CONVICTIONS & CHRONICLE TENETS EXAMPLES MALADIES Loses himself to Berserker Frenzy; Disrespecting the beasts of Gaia’s creation; Carrying a silver weapon. Disrespecting those of lower station; Refusing an honorable surrender. Slaying a human or wolf needlessly; Murdering a Garou; Using a silver weapon against another Garou; Disrespecting those of higher station; Depraved indifference towards victims; Falling in Thrall of the Wyrm. Eating the flesh of humans or wolves; Breaching the Veil; Aiding spirits of the Wyrm; Violating a Caern; Betraying your Pack; Eating the flesh of Werewolves.

A character with any Maladies marked on their Harmony track at the end of the session makes a Balance Test (in the same way of Remorse Test described in V5 page 241).

1

2

State of the Soul

3

As a character’s Harmony erodes, he grows less concerned with the world, yielding more to recklessness and violence. He becomes capable of virtually any depraved act against another human, wolf or werewolf. Werewolves with low Harmony scores find interaction with spirits even more difficult. Harmony isn’t the same as human morality, however. A high morality doesn’t grant the same bonus dice on dealing with spirits that a high Harmony does; spirits know nothing of “morality,” but seem to recognize a werewolf with high Harmony as something more akin to them. Similarly, spirits (not Wyrm ones) react even more viciously toward a low Harmony werewolf, as its blasphemous half flesh nature is even further exaggerated. The specific Storytelling and game effects of degeneration are as follows (all spirits related here are non Wyrm ones):

4

5

Look W erewolf Translation Guide page 30 for more details of actions. You can use this to Fera (other Shapeshifters) too, changing accordingly.

Touchstones Each werewolf begins with one to three Touchstones: humans, wolves or spirits who are friends, family and/or loved ones. Additionally, Garou are pack creatures, add one or more Packmates to your Touchstones. Touchstones in one way or another aid the werewolf in his battle, and their deaths echoes in the Garou's Rage and Spirit. In addition to Tenet violations, other acts endanger the werewolves’ Harmony. When such acts occur, the werewolf gains additional Maladies based on the severity of the occurrence. ACTION

MALADIES

Causing any harm to humans or wolves needlessly Killing a human or wolf needlessly Killing a werewolf needlessly Touchstone damaged Touchstone damaged by your actions Touchstone destroyed Touchstone destroyed by your actions

+1

Harmony 10: The werewolf is a paragon of Harmony; the parts of her soul are in perfect balance. Very few werewolves ever reach this degree of enlightenment, and those who do are accorded the same reverence as saints and legendary leaders are among humans. This veneration occasionally carries jealousy and threat of assassination, of course, but only the most depraved Garou would consider raising a hand against such a holy individual. The spirit worlds themselves might demand justice. System: The werewolf receives a +2 modifier to all Mental and Social rolls involving spirits. Harmony 9: The werewolf lives in harmony with the spirits and adheres closely to the Litany. She probably acts as something of a guide to her fellows, making sure that they behave in accordance with the laws, but acknowledges that perfect Harmony still eludes her. She’s much more capable of dealing with spirits than most of her kind are, but still faces the same stigma that all do when dealing with otherworld denizens.

+2 +3 +1 +2 +3 +3

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thinks that’s because she’s a werewolf, not because of her behavior. System: No mechanical bonuses or penalties apply at this level.

System: She receives a +1 modifier to all Mental and Social dealings with spirits. Harmony 8: More enlightened than most of her kind, the werewolf makes a point of harmonious living. Yes, some of the tenets of the Litany can be cumbersome, but they’re still important, and she attempts to live by them at all times. The pack is important to the werewolf, and she feels lost without it. With perfect understanding of the pack comes the realization that she’s never truly alone, which leads to pure Harmony. The spirits still confuse her, but she’s learned to rely on instinct when dealing with them. System: She receives a +1 modifier on all Social rolls with spirits.

Harmony 4: The werewolf loses much of her regard for life at this level. She isn’t necessarily sadistic, but she’s assuredly selfish. Her pack is important to her, but she couldn’t articulate why if she tried. She understands on an intellectual level why killing werewolves is wrong — it makes for tense interactions, can lead to reprisals and violates the Litany — but she doesn’t see it as a violation of the People. In fact, she probably sees her pack as “the People” and everyone else as outsiders. System: She suffers a –1 modifier to Social interactions with spirits.

Harmony 7: Most werewolves fall into the range of Harmony 6 to 7. The werewolf understands the reasons behind the Litany and the need for Harmony, but she can’t always be bothered to observe the more annoying tenets of either. The werewolf wouldn’t dream of turning on her totem or pack or eating another werewolf’s flesh, however — such actions are simply abhorrent. System: The werewolf receives a +1 modifier on Social rolls dealing with spirits of her pack totem’s brood.

Harmony 3: If a werewolf crosses into this character’s territory, the intruder should die. Werewolves at this level don’t tend to work for anything except their own self-betterment, or occasionally their packs’ goals. A werewolf who’s fallen this far into degradation lives by her own vice. She might be so caught up in her own Rage that even her Packmates aren’t safe from her tantrums. Werewolves who’ve fallen so far usually receive gruff advice from elders to shape up or ship out. Sometimes totems give similar advice, but some totems might not even see a werewolf’s behavior as a problem. System: The werewolf receives a –1 modifier to all Social and Mental rolls involving spirits.

Harmony 6: A young werewolf can stay at this level of Harmony until she grows used to Garou society and begins to understand the need for respect of elders and spirits. She still instinctively bonds with her pack and totem to the point that the notion of betrayal of either gives her a sick feeling, but elders (and any werewolves with high Harmony) seem far away and untouchable. The werewolf understands the need to hide the Garou from humanity, inconvenient though it is. System: No mechanical bonuses or penalties apply at this level.

Harmony 2: Neither werewolves nor humans should take joy in injuring and causing pain to others. While killing is sometimes necessary, it should be done cleanly, out of respect to the enemy or prey’s spirit. A werewolf at this depth of morality, however, takes great pleasure in causing as much pain as possible to her foes. She probably doesn’t bother to hunt. When violence is necessary, she leaps in, claws flashing, hoping to spill as much blood and viscera as possible. The werewolf is drunk on her own power, but by acting so far out of accordance with Harmony, she denies herself much of the power that she might have. System: She suffers a –2 penalty to all Social and Mental rolls involving spirits.

Harmony 5: The werewolf worries her Packmates sometimes. While she finds killing other werewolves to be abhorrent, she has little trouble killing humans and has to remind herself not to shapeshift in front of them. She knows that the spirits don’t like her, but she 19

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

where it’s hardest — in the soul. Mechanics alone aren’t enough, though. If Harmony were so easy to achieve, the Forsaken would’ve reclaimed recognition or atoned fully among spirits long ago. A character who wishes to raise his Harmony cannot do so based on any one act. Harmony has less to do with individual good deeds and more to do with living one’s entire life. As a general guideline, the purchase of more Harmony points should come hand in hand with a constant effort to live in accordance with the Litany. Why demand an experience-point cost for an increased Harmony when characters lose the trait so easily? Because being a werewolf is a struggle. One moment of grace can’t absolve the sin that stains a very race of beings. Perfect balance is all the harder to achieve when the bestial fury of millennia predator howls in your veins. Therefore, characters have to earn each step they take toward ideal Harmony, and single acts don’t allow for resounding achievements. It’s a long hard struggle that’s been waged for ages.

Harmony 1: The werewolf teeters on the brink of becoming corrupted by Wyrm. Spirits shun her, not fleeing from her or raging at her, but simply ignoring her. Some Garou notice this and grudgingly admit they need to change their ways. Most simply state that they get along just fine without spirits. Even at this advanced level of moral decay, werewolves feel some remnants of a pack bond, and may fight viciously to protect their packs. Unfortunately, they also lose perspective on what is and isn’t a threat, so the elder who bullies a Packmate at a gathering might get the same treatment as the vampire who attacks with fang and claw. System: The werewolf suffers a –2 modifier to all Social and Mental rolls involving spirits. An additional Gnosis must be spent to activate any Gift. A Gift that normally costs a single Gnosis now costs two, a Gift with no cost associated with it now costs 1 Gnosis, and one that normally requires other trait also requires a spent of 1 Gnosis. Harmony 0: A werewolf with Harmony 0 who does not walk the Black Spiral has her connection to the Umbra permanently severed. The character is locked into his breed form (Metis take either Homid or Lupus form when they lose their last dot of Harmony), and cannot change shape or heal from damage. He cannot use Gifts, rites, or fetishes, and can use only Rage Checks equals any Rage Dices he has left. Forever cut off from part of his soul, he falls into a deep and painful depression. Some such werewolves take their own lives. Others throw themselves into suicidal tasks in the hope of redemption. None have survived. Black Spiral Dancers are the only werewolves to survive long with Harmony 0. Their only connection to the Umbra — and their only real agency — comes directly from the touch of the Wyrm. Everything they are and everything they do is to further the ends of corruption and to slay the very spiritual essence of the Earth.

Shifting Forms The Garou can take several different forms, each responsible for the different myths of what a werewolf looks like while transformed. The claws and fangs of the Garou deal Aggravated damage to humans, and non-halved superficial to supernatural creatures who do not take damage like humans. A forms’ change in size is represented by an increase of Health, and forms that can benefit from the wolf’s natural sense of smell, gain bonus dice to any die pool where the Garou’s sense of smell can benefit them. Non Homid forms receive a penalty to Social Dice Pools when dealing with normal humans or animals, in any social capacity other than intimidation. Crinos form induces the fear of Delirium in humans, causing them to forget what they witnessed. Primal Urge is used to help shift through your many forms. Shifting takes one turn as long as you succeed the roll to shift. Failing to meet the needed successes to shift mean you obtain a partial shift and won’t be completed until a number of turn pass, equal

Regaining Harmony The mechanical side of regaining Harmony is simple enough — it’s an experience point expenditure. The experience-point cost represents the amount of personal investment made in trying to improve oneself 20

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

to the number you failed the roll by. Make a Rage Check to shift forces the change instantly and still allows actions in the same turn. System: Roll Stamina + Primal Urge Homid:  Difficulty: 2  No changes Glabro:  Difficulty: 3  Strength +2, Stamina +2, Social Pools –1  Claws +1  Looks (Ugly Flaw •) Crinos:  Difficulty: 2  Strength +3, Dexterity +3, Stamina +3, Social Pools –3  Claws +2, Fangs +2  Scent Die Bonus +1 Hispo:  Difficulty: 3  Strength +2, Dexterity +2, Stamina +2, Social Pools –2  Claws +1, Fangs +2  Scent Die Bonus +1 Lupus:  Difficulty: 2  Dexterity +3, Stamina +1, Social Pools –1  Fangs +1  Scent Die Bonus +2

Partial transformation (Ex: wolf’s head, wolf's claws) requires the same Shift dice however difficulty is 3 or a Rage Check.

Damage and Health Werewolves in any forms but Homid gain claws and fangs, that deal non-halved Superficial damage on Werewolves and Vampires. And Aggravated damage on humans and other Night-folks in human bodies. Hominid and Lupus Werewolves in the form they were born take Superficial and Aggravated physical damage and heal like a human (V5 Companion page 47). In any other form they heal a number of Superficial damage or Aggravated damage (see Primal Urge Chart page 16) per turn and take Aggravated damage only from silver and fire. Metis are blessed with accelerated Superficial and Aggravated damage healing in all forms, but also take Aggravated damage from silver all the time. Aggravated fire damage can only be healed after all Superficial damage and Aggravated silver damage can only be healed by resting. A character heals one Aggravated damage each day, as long as she spends her time resting in a form that normally regenerates (any other than Homid or Lupus breed form). Willpower damage works the same as V5. 21

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

Blood Archetypes

Superficial damage is recorded as ‘/’, Aggravated as ‘X’ and Aggravated silver damage as ‘#’.

Alpha: The Alpha must be in control. He demands rigid hierarchy, even if he’s not inherently on top of that pile. He needs order. The wolf inside him is a tool for establishing and maintaining that order. Anything violating his idea of order sends him into a rage. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when he puts order above free-thinking logic. He achieves a Major Refresh when he uses the force of his bestial nature to put subordinates in line. Challenger: A Challenger never settles for second place. When things look bleak for the Challenger, he steps up his game. For Garou, this means overwhelming force. Garou dominate on the fight, so the fight is a tool in the Challenger’s pursuit of victory. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when he ignores safety and reason to look superior. He achieves a Major Refresh when he uses Berserker Frenzy on the hunt to dominate a rival. Destroyer: The Destroyer is an embodiment of devastation. He’s a tidal wave, a hurricane, a force of nature. To the Destroyer, anything worth doing is worth doing hard enough to leave rubble in his wake. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when he causes significant, lasting damage in pursuit of success. He achieves a Major Refresh when he abandons himself to Berserker Frenzy without exploring any other options. Fox: A Fox is a survivor. A Fox is clever. A Fox will evade, lie in wait, and wait for the right time to strike. A Fox always favors flight over fight, because dead Garou can’t hunt. This can cause problems for a pack that expects action. It can devastate a pack if he leaves them in a time of dire need. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when he drops everything and flees the scene. If he falls into Fox Frenzy while trying to escape from a violent situation, he achieves a Major Refresh. The Monster: A Monster revels in the shadows, using terror and shock to cripple the victims of his hunts. It’s less important to overwhelm a victim by force than it is to overwhelm it psychologically. By the time his jaws clamp down, the fight should already be over. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when he resorts to disgusting or frightening someone into submission. He achieves a Major Refresh when using

Blood and Bone (This mechanic is optional; you can use Ambition and Desire like in V5 if you want) Blood and Bone offer up two competing facets of a Werewolf: The Apocalypse character. Blood is wild chaos. Bone is her conscious identity, when the haze of instinct isn’t getting in the way. When she’s on the fight, she is her Blood archetype. She’s on autopilot, behaving in accordance with her innermost, darkest self. Everything she does has a little hint of the unknown, and that’s both terrifying and exciting at the same time. When she’s in her home element, she’s her Bone archetype. She knows herself. She can rely on her own behaviors. When your character makes a clearly bad choice in the heat of the moment in accordance with her Blood archetype, she achieves a Minor Refresh (recover one point of Superficial Willpower damage). If she takes it a step further, submitting to Garou or calling a fight on a whim in accordance with her Blood archetype, achieves a Major Refresh (recover one point of Aggravated Willpower damage or two Superficial Damage). When your character forces down her rage, and takes action with what she fundamentally knows as true, if it’s in accordance with her Bone archetype, she achieves a Minor Refresh. When she stands her ground and lets her rational mind interfere with the hunt, or cause conflict within the pack, she achieves a Major Refresh. The Willpower gained from these anchors comes from a reinforced sense of identity. In taking a dangerous action in support of who she is, either by instinct, or by sense of self, she strengthens her resolve. This section offers six examples of Blood and six examples of Bone archetypes. These lists are far from exhaustive. Feel free t make your own, using these as models. You just need to know some reasonable situations in which they would cause a Willpower refresh, both on the small scale and the large scale. 22

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

indulgence. She achieves a Major Refresh when she abandons the hunt for personal pursuits. Lone W olf: The Lone Wolf knows that sometimes, the answer lies not with the pack, but with the individual. She’s not inherently bad at working with a team, but she’s much more willing to handle something herself if she feels it’s the best recourse. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when she acts independently of her pack to solve a pack problem. She achieves a Major Refresh when her pack is on the hunt, and she subverts their plans and solves the problem alone. W allflower: The Wallflower prefers to deal with issues through subtlety and consideration, avoiding the spotlight whenever possible. She walks the quiet road, the safe road, and among the Garou, the lonely road. But not every pack member needs to be a superstar. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when she acts from the shadows, outside any attention her pack draws. She achieves a Major Refresh when she operates independently to complement her pack that’s on the hunt.

their forms or Berserker Frenzy as a terror tactic. Soldier: The Soldier obeys orders. The Soldier is a weapon for his pack. When his alpha speaks, he becomes a tool for the fight. His own safety means nothing to the greater plan, and his pack’s tactics. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when he ignores his own safety in favor of a leader’s order. He achieves a Major Refresh when engaging in a fight or entering Berserker Frenzy to fulfill his alpha’s orders, against his own good sense.

Bone Archetypes Community Organizer: The Community Organizer wins the day through groups and networks. She knows one person is never enough to ensure success, so she navigates interpersonal relationships and bureaucracy to achieve greatness. Your character recovers a point of Willpower when she convinces a group to focus on its internal problems before external ones. She regains all spent Willpower when she convinces her pack to eschew the hunt, in favor of social or political solutions. Cub: The Cub hasn’t quite finished baking. She isn’t ready to take on full responsibility for herself, and relies on the help of others to get by. Her own answers aren’t the best, so she leans on others’ answers to get by. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when she ignores her own impulses in favor of another’s advice. She achieves a Major Refresh when she puts life and limb completely into another’s hands, when she could alternatively use the blood of the wolf to achieve her goals. Guru: The Guru prides herself in knowing practical answers, and sharing that information with others. She guides because her wisdom is valuable. Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when someone achieves success by following her advice. She achieves a Major Refresh when her practical advice leads her pack to an alternative solution to the hunt. Hedonist: The Hedonist finds truth and answers in immediate gratification. When you’re a fucking werewolf, the world’s your oyster. You’re bigger, stronger, faster, and hotter than everyone around you. Why not revel in that fact? Your character achieves a Minor Refresh when she eschews greater success in favor of personal

Advantages Merits Looks: ••• Fair Glabro: Glabro form doesn't gain the Looks Flaw or the –1 to Social rolls, as it looks like a large human  Subtle Condition (Metis Only): •• Subtle Form: You have one form you can shift to that doesn't show your Condition. You still suffer the negatives of it, but that form looks normal. ••• Better Subtle Form: you either have a second form that doesn't show its Condition, or the one form that no longer shows it, no longer suffers from its drawbacks either. You cannot choose your Metis birth form for this merit. 

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Advantages: Mawla 2 (Galestalkers) Ban: You must always help animistic peoples in need. ■ Horned Serpent  Renown: Cunning or Wisdom  Specialization: Occult (Umbra)  Advantages: Status 2 (Ghost Council)  Ban: You must recover any mystical lore, person, place, object, or animal from the Wyrm. ■ Spider  Renown: Cunning or Wisdom  Specialization: Technology (Networks)  Advantages: Resources 2  Ban: You must never kill any insect. ■ Griffin  Renown: Wisdom or Purity  Specialization: Animal Ken (Birds)  Advantages: Kinfolk 2 (Wolves)  Ban: You must never have Allies, Contacts, Mawla, or Retainers, representing human relationships. ■ Thunder  Renown: Cunning or Glory  Specialization: Intimidation (Name Dropping)  Advantages: Influence 2 (High Society)  Ban: You must never behave as a sycophant. ■ Owl  Renown: Wisdom or Honor  Specialization: Stealth (Silent Moving)  Advantages: Contacts 2 (Visions from Owl)  Ban: You must leave rodents as an offering to owls. ■ Falcon  Renown: Honor or Purity  Specialization: Leadership (Pack Tactics)  Advantages: Fame 2 (Garou)  Ban: Honor must always be your highest Renown. ■ Fenris  Renown: Honor or Glory  Specialization: Academics (Warfare)  Advantages: Status 2 (Get of Fenris)  Ban: You must never deny the call of a worthy challenge.

Totems

 

Every character selects a spirit Totem for either personal Totems, or more commonly, as a Pack Totem with the other players. You gain the following benefits:  1 Dot of the Totem’s Favored Renown  One Skill Specialization  Varied Advantages  Totem Spirit Ban A Totem’s Ban is a restriction or requirement needed by that spirit to retain their benefits. If broken, you temporarily lose all benefits gained by the Totem, until atonement can be sought with the spirit. No Totem will demand you uphold their Ban, if the outcome would aid the Wyrm in any way (with exception of Wyrm Totems). ■ Gorgon  Renown: Wisdom or Purity  Specialization: Brawl (Any)  Advantages: Contacts 2 (Black Furies)  Ban: Followers of the Gorgon will not tolerate any abuse from a male gender of any species. Insults are repaid in blood. ■ Rat  Renown: Cunning or Glory  Specialization: Brawl (Biting)  Advantages: Mawla 2 (Bone Gnawers)  Ban: You must never kill vermin of any kind. ■ Unicorn  Renown: Wisdom or Honor  Specialization: Medicine (Natural Remedies)  Advantages: Rites 2  Ban: You must always protect the weak and exploited. ■ Stag  Renown: Glory or Purity  Specialization: Athletics (Running)  Advantages: Status 2 (Fae Folk)  Ban: You must never deny a Fae help when asked. ■ North W ind  Renown: Wisdom or Purity  Specialization: Survival (Tracking Prey) 24

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■ Chimera  Renown: Wisdom or Purity  Specialization: Investigation (Enigmas)  Advantages: Mask 2 (Umbra Only)  Ban: You must pursue your ideal form of Enlightenment. Whatever that may look to you. ■ W hippoorwill (W yrm Bane)  Renown: Cunning or Infamy  Specialization: Survival (Imitate the Calls of Birds)  Advantages: Status 2 (Wyrm)  Ban: Whippoorwill demands a moot in its honor twice a year. Bastards of Whippoorwill are banned from harming any bird. ■ Create a Totem  Renown: Choose one  Specialization: Choose one  Advantages: 2 Dots in a chosen Advantage  Ban: Create one

Rank Two: Animal spirits (Caribou, Rhino), Elementals (Electricity, Data), Banes (Murder, Scryers), Bane Elementals (Hoglings), Net-Spiders, Serpentine, Chimerlings. Rank Three: Naturae (Lune, Stormcrows), Elementals (Whirling Dervish, Lightning), Banes (Pestilence, Bitter Rages), Bane Elementals (Balefire), Chaos Monitor, Hunter Spider), Ephlings. Rank Four: Naturae (Twister, Vector), Elementals (Fire, Water), Banes (Ooralath, Dratossi), Bane Elementals (Toxins), Structural Geomid, Sand of Time, Gagglings. Rank Five: Naturae (Vortex), Elementals (Earthquake, Hurricane), Banes (Nexus Crawler, Wyrmholes), Atomic Spirit, Dreammakers, Jagglings. Rank Six: Some spirits have power beyond understanding.

Spirits

Traits Essence

Rank

Essence Dice are determined by the Rank chart. Essence is rolled just as a werewolf Rage or a vampire Rouse check and referred to as an Essence Check. Success and the spirit successfully use Essence traits without Bleeding essence. Used to activate Charms and Influence, use Manifestations, boost Attributes and Heal. Failure on a roll and a spirit Bleeds one. The spirit may still succeed at Charms, the use of Manifestations or Heal, however, even if it fails its Essence Check. Essence Check at the end of every day to remain active. If Materialized in the material world, Essence Checks once a scene. Boost Attributes beyond Spirit Rank Trait Limits for 1 scene to no more than +2 of Rank with an Essence Check. Spirits sense their essence Resonance when in its Domain.

Rank of spirits range between 1 to 5. Each rank is used to assign traits. A Garou normally may not attempt to bind, command or in general influence a spirit of higher Rank than the higher Renown of the Garou. RANK

1 2 3 4 5

Bane Severity

Attribute Dots

Essence Dice

–1 –2 –3 –4 –5

5-8 9-14 15-25 26-35 36-45

1 2 3 4 5

Essence Check Bonus +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

Rank One: Animal spirits (rabbit, raccoon), Minor Elementals (Wood, Stone), Low Banes (Stink, Corruption), Little Weavers (Junk spirit, Pattern Spiders), Sparks, Englings.

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Bleed

Attributes may be assigned at any level but total dots may still not exceed total Attribute dots for that Rank.

A failure on an Essence Check results in spirit Bleed or Bleed Dice. Bleed is rated from 1 - 5. When a spirit reaches 5 it must enter Slumber and discorporate. Bleed Dice result from a failed Essence Check. Bleed may be caused by boosting an Essence Check. Spirits Bleed 1 and gains 1+ dice (determined by the Rank Chart) to its Essence Check. A spirit may grant essence in the form of essence bleed to an object or a willing subject (Ex: a werewolf) usually in the act of Bargaining with a werewolf. The spirit bleeds an amount it deems worthy of giving without going into slumber. Also, a werewolf who has used the Rite Sacred Hunt and brings a spirits Corpus to zero, bleeds the spirits remaining essence and gains that much essence per the rules of the Sacred Hunt. Failure of an Essence Check equates to a still successful use of a Charm but Bleed 1 (gain a Bleed Dice). Regain essence (lessen Bleed Dice), 1 per day when in proximity of its Resonance. Regain essence (one less Bleed Dice), each day of Slumber per the Slumber rules. When rolling Action dice using Power, Finesse or Resistance, include Bleed Dice just as Hunger or Rage. An Essence Critical (Messy Critical in V5): the spirit lowers its Bleed by 1 to no lower than 0. A Ban Failure (Bestial Failure in V5): increased Bleed by 1 and the spirit follows its Ban.

Skills Ability + Rank = Dice Pool of skills in which the Spirit has a Resonance. May not apply Rank to a skill the spirit has no Resonance with.

Corpus Health levels of a spirit equal to Resistance, referred to as Corpus.

Willpower Resistance + Finesse = Willpower. Heal 1 point of willpower per day. A Willpower may be used to resist a Compulsion for 1 turn. It may be used per normal Willpower use rules. It may not be used for failed Essence checks. Spirits are immune to all mind control powers that do not specifically target spirits. Willpower is used to resist summoning, command etc. Willpower damage is taken and when it reaches 0, it is compelled. Always roll the spirits current Willpower rating in resistance rolls, not its permanent dots in Willpower.

Charms Charms activated by Gnosis or Rage are instead activated with Essence Checks. Some Charms are activated with Rage, use Essence Checks instead for simplicity.

Influence Influence is the power a spirit wields even outside its Domain according to its Resonance. Each level of Influence determines how powerful its sphere of Influence is per the Influence Effects chart. A spirits Rank directly determines its Influence Rating: level of Rank equals total dots of Influence. Those dots of Influence are divided up between each sphere. Each sphere of Influence must be both appropriate and very specific to the spirit. To use a sphere of Influence, it must be activated with an Essence Check. Follow with a Power + Finesse roll. Successes are divided among Effect, Range and Duration. Use below charts. The margins of success are a resisted roll when used in an attack.

Attributes and Skills Spirits have three Attributes: Power, Finesse and Resistance. When converting Spirits in W 20 to W5 rules, use the below Attributes:  Power equals Rage. Abilities: Strength, Intelligence, Charisma.  Finesse equal Gnosis. Abilities: Dexterity, Wits, Manipulation.  Resistance equal Willpower. Abilities: Stamina, Resolve, Composure. When there is a contested roll that calls on an Ability, look for its corresponding Spirit Attribute above.

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Level ● ●● ●●● ●●●● ●●●●●

●●●● Create

INFLUENCE DURATION Duration Successes Required 1 turn 1 success The scene 2 successes The chapter 3 successes The story 4 successes Permanent 5 successes

●●●●● Mass Create

INFLUENCE EFFECTS Effect Successes Required ● Enhance a 1 success Strengthen sphere of influence. Strengthen emotion, add to resistance rolls, enhance, grow and reinforce. ●● Make minor 2 successes Manipulate changes, read minds, change emotion, increase or decrease the actions of others, alter perception. ●●● Make major 3 successes Control changes. control minds, alter the state of reality, change resonance, animate objects. summon spirits. Level

Level ● ●● ●●● ●●●● ●●●●●

Conjure objects, transfer consciousness, reanimate life, make thoughts reality, create resonance, create illusions. Create realms, create reality, create spirits, create paradigm, travel time.

4 successes

5 successes

INFLUENCE RANGE Range Successes Required Self 1 success Touch 2 successes Close 3 successes Sight 4 successes Domain 5 successes

EXAMPLE: A fire-elemental of Rank 1 may have an Influence: Fire •. The spirit makes an Essence Check but fails. The desired effect of its Influence still is used but with a Bleed Dice. The spirit rolls its Power + Finesse with 4 successes. The spirit uses its successes to grow an existing fire (Self), for a single turn doing 2 superficial damage (remaining 2 successes) to anything that may touch it for that duration.

Rules Combat Damage is Superficial unless specified as Aggravated.  Attack: Power + Finesse contested.  Armor: All spirits have a natural Armor equal to Resistance. Cannot decrease Aggravated Damage.  Damage: Damage taken is to Corpus.  Initiative: Finesse + Resistance. 27

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Damage

EXAMPLE: A fire elemental Ban may be to simply burn. While a Dratossi Ban may be to destroy anything that enters its Domain no matter what it is. The fire-elemental may burn until nothing remains in its Domain and the Dratossi may simply be driven to murder everyone in its Domain.

Damage is Superficial unless specified as Aggravated. Wards still cause Aggravated damage to spirits. (See Ward vs Spirits) (V5 page 277 and 280) Contact with a Bane causes Aggravated. Spirits do not suffer Crippling Injuries. Targeted hits have no effect unless the spirit has Materialized but still Storyteller discretion if there are any specific effects. Spirits never Reform from Aggravated damage and are permanently destroyed.

Healing Spirits normally may only heal 1 Superficial Damage a day or 1 Aggravated every 5 days of Slumber. In addition, when healing Aggravated, make an Essence Check. Whether the check is successful or not, the damage is healed. However, a failed check Bleeds 1.

Banes Every spirit has a Bane, perhaps more than one. Banes start as simple: a Rank 1 fire-elemental spirits Bane may be water. A Rank 4 Drattosi Bane may be a memento such as its first victim's locket hung around its own neck by that victim’s relative. A bane should be as difficult to discover as its severity and just as difficult to wield. When a bane is applied, the damage is Aggravated and can never be decreased. Bane Severity is added to margins of success in any attack using that Bane, according to the Rank Chart. Contact with a bane wielded as a weapon suffer direct damage as described. Visual, auditory, smell etc., proximity to a bane (usually visual will suffice) subtract the Bane Severity from all actions in general until the bane is withdrawn. This affects Willpower as well, lowering it temporarily by the Bane Severity to no lower than 0. This also affects Essence Checks, but also may be brought no lower than 0. Banes are determined by the Storyteller, some are more obvious than others depending on the type of spirit.

Slumber A deep sleep for spirits. If a spirit Bleeds 5, it enters Slumber. When Corpus reaches 0, it enters Slumber. A spirit may Discorporate on purpose to enter Slumber as a means of escape. The Spirit awakens after it makes a successful Essence check but this roll may only be made at the end of its slumber. The spirit regains all of its Corpus at the end of its Slumber. The duration a spirit remains in slumber is per the Slumber chart. Failing an Essence Check at the end of slumber extends the slumber and starts all over on the chart. The duration of the slumber is determined by its Rank. The more powerful the spirit, the longer it must Slumber to awake.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Bans Otherwise known as Compulsions. As described in Bleed Dice and a direct result. Each Ban is compulsory and in accordance with the nature of the spirit. Bans are not static and may change according to conditions present. Bans may not be resisted with Willpower and last until the Ban has been acted out.

SLUMBER Duration of Slumber 1 week 1 month 1 year 100 years 1000 years

Twilight Form The spirit enters the material realm without a Gauntlet Breach and may only use Attributes or Charms on other beings in Twilight and may only be seen by the same. Examples of abilities or powers to see a spirit or in some cases interact with this form are: Sense the Unseen, Incorporeal Passage, Visions of Dust, and Sense the Unnatural. Combat with a spirit in Twilight 28

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Form is rolled as normal as long as they have the ability to see the spirit to begin with and possess an ability to interact with spirits to begin with. Standard actions may never affect a spirit in Twilight. A spirit in Twilight may not verbally communicate in the material world unless it uses Image. Other spirits are always aware and may interact with another spirit in Twilight Form as long as they are also in the material world. An additional Essence Check is only required when it wishes to use Attributes or Charms. Twilight Form may only be used in its Domain. Spirits in Twilight Form are still susceptible to its Bane.

Make an Essence Check per the rules for Gauntlet Breach and automatically Bleed 1 per turn of keeping the Gateway open.

Discorporation

The spirit becomes anchored to a particular place or object. The person, place or object is considered ‘Haunted’. Requires a successful Gauntlet Breach. Make an additional Essence Check. The spirit remains in the material world as long as it is anchored to the person, place or object. It does not need to make an Essence Check to remain in the material world when Fettered. If the fettered object is destroyed, the spirit immediately discorporate. A spirit Fettered is a permanent condition. A spirit is considered in Twilight Form when fettered. A spirit may fetter itself to a person. This is a contested roll Power + Finesse vs Resolve + Composure resisted. The spirit may urge a person when successfully fettered to it. Another contested roll is required to read thoughts of its urged target and may make suggestions. An urge may only be something the person would do anyway and not opposite its Desire or Ambition. The difference is, the person must actively perform actions for a scene conducive to its Desire or Ambition. A spirit that is fettered is still considered in Twilight Form.

Image The ability to make a spirit's Twilight form visible and be heard. The same rules apply per Twilight form, the difference is the Spirit is visible but still not solid. Requires Essence Check.

Materialize All spirits may only normally materialize within its Domain. It must cross the gauntlet as werewolves do. Doing so requires an Essence Check.

Fetter

When Corpus reaches 0, the spirit discorporate and reappears in Slumber in its own Resonant location but not necessarily its own Domain. To voluntarily discorporate, make a Resistance test. Successes required are equal to the margin of successes of Ritual, Gift, Discipline etc. meant to bind, command or summon the spirit. The spirit may spend a Willpower to resist for a single turn. That turn is usually used to attack. The spirit may spend Willpower to resist. Failure to resist and the spirit may not voluntarily discorporate. A spirit may not voluntarily discorporate while in the material world.

Reaching The spirit may interact with the material world but may not manifest. The use of Charms or Influence the material world is possible. Each attempt to do either requires an additional Essence Check. Reaching may only be performed in its Domain.

Gauntlet Breach Entering the material world by making an Essence Check. Extended action. See the Gauntlet Chart for werewolves for successes required. The spirit has no Image, and must roll separately to do so. It is in Twilight Form.

Unfetter To temporarily become unfettered, make an Essence Check and the spirit is unfettered. The spirit remains unfettered for the scene. When unfettered, a spirit may only travel in Twilight Form and may not return to the spirit world. When the Unfettered condition ends, the spirit immediately returns to its fettered location.

Gateway Creating a portal through the Gauntlet in which a spirit enters the material and keeps open for further spirits to enter or take others back through to the spirit world.

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Possess

target possession or the spirit, may still affect the spirit however. Claimed inanimate objects and corpses are still temporary and lasts the length of a scene.

To begin the process of possession, the spirit must be in the material world which requires a successful Gauntlet Breach and is considered in Twilight Form. The spirit may possess an object, person or corpse. To possess requires another Essence Check. Possession is considered permanent. Follow the Fetter rules for possession of intelligent beings. Unlike a Fettered person, the spirit may end a possession at any time and return to Twilight Form. A possessed person loses all self-control and memory during possession. A spirit that Bleeds all the way to 5 while in possession, still discorporate and returns to the spirit world in slumber. Possessed beings; retain all its original attributes but the spirit may replace attributes with their own for a single turn with an Essence Check. The spirit may heal a possessed with an Essence Check, each margin of success heals a 1 Superficial Damage but may only heal 1 Aggravated once per day. The spirit may access a single memory of a host with a contested roll. Possessed objects and corpses gain the attributes of the spirit for 1 scene with an Essence Check. The spirit may ‘heal’ the object with an Essence Check as Aggravated damage. Possession also ends if the person or object possessed is destroyed at which time the spirit simply returns to Twilight Form.

MANIFESTATION CHART Manifestation Twilight Form

Discorporate

Reaching Gauntlet Breach Gateway

Image

Materialize Fetter

Claim Claim works the same as Possession with some differences. In addition to the Essence Check and the contested roll to resist when claiming an intelligent being, margins of success are applied to the subject's willpower and considered aggravated Willpower Damage. When the willpower of the subject reaches 0, The Claimed now becomes the spirit and the spirit becomes the person, the two are merged. The host may once again resist a claim when it has completely healed all aggravated willpower damage. The Ambition and Desire of the claimed change. Claimed no longer exist in Twilight nor Essence bleed, however the Claimed still suffers from its Bane and Bans. Aggravated Damage suffered to its host also does Aggravated to the spirit. Claimed still have access to its Influence but not Charms. The Claimed now has the spirits Willpower rating. Spirits are immune to Wards or other powers that indirectly affect the spirit. Powers that explicitly

Unfetter Possess

Claim

Effect Enter the Material World invisible and with no form; may not physically interact. No Essence Check. Voluntary Discorporation - Corpus reduced to zero and enters Slumber. No Essence Check. Use Charms in the Material world. Once Essence Check per turn of Reaching. Cross the Gauntlet physically. Essence Check difficulty of the Gauntlet rating. Extended. Create a portal through the Gauntlet. Gauntlet Breach roll and Bleed 1 automatic. Lasts 1 turn. As Twilight Form but becomes visible and audible. Essence Check. Must materialize in its Domain. Essence Check once a scene. Must successfully Gauntlet Breach and create Image. Must successfully Gauntlet Breach. Make an Essence Check to anchor to an object. Temporarily unfetter from an object. Make an Essence Check. Temporarily possess a person, place or thing. Make an Essence Check, lasts the Scene. Permanently control a person and create a Host. Control objects and corpses. Resisted roll and Essence Check.

Domain A Domain is rated 1 - 5 dots. The rating represents the size of the domain but also must contain its Resonance. There are some special rules for Weaver spirits in Domains. A Domain Rating affects travel through the Gauntlet. It also represents where a spirit has Influence. A Domain does not necessarily 30

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

to create its resonance. A dratossi may urge a human to kill in order to create its resonance. It doesn't matter if the resonance is in the spirit realm or the material world. The essence remains the same, however, it's easier to create a resonance in the material world than the spirit realm. Creating resonance consumes much more time and energy than simply finding it and curating it. Also, finding and creating negative resonance is much easier than doing the same with positive resonance.

determine the Rank of a spirit. Consider a Domain a type of haven for spirits in the material world. Remember, spirits guard their Domain jealousy and must be able to defend its domain from other spirits so a Domain size usually coincides with the approximate Rank of the spirit. A spirit will choose a domain with its same Resonance. A spirit that has claimed a domain will allow other spirits of lower rank to reside within its domain in exchange for added protection of the domain and the understanding that the ranking spirit will not destroy them all. And so, begins fiefdoms and hierarchy in the domain. A spirit knows what any one person is doing at any time within its Domain. A spirit is aware of both when a new presence enters and leaves. Each level of a Domain lowers the number of successes needed to Gauntlet Breach for a spirit. The Gauntlet rating for Weaver spirits is quite the opposite in its Domain. Flip the ratings for successes required for these spirits to breach. DOMAIN Level ● ●● ●●● ●●●● ●●●●●

Size A house, condo, apartment, etc. Housing block, pond, neighborhood park, mansion School, library, skyscraper, wrecking yard, cruise liner City subway system, airport, state park, whole neighborhood or borough A small city, town, forest, an island, Necropolis

Resonance A spirit regains essence and hence, lowers its Bleed Dice by finding its resonance and feeding on it. Every spirit has a Resonance. That resonance typically matches the spirit. Resonance can be anything. Spirits lower their Bleed dice when in a domain that shares its Resonance. For a fire-elemental, resonance may be as simple as fire or as esoteric as a pyromaniac. A dratossi may be as simple as hunger or as esoteric as murder. These resonances attract these spirits because it's how they feed. The surest way to find a resonance is to create one. That same fire-elemental may set fire to a building 31

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Character Creation Summary wolves or spirits who are friends, family and/or loved ones. Additionally, add one or more Packmates to your Touchstones. Together with the Storyteller and other players you choose Chronicle Tenets (V5 page 174). You and other players will now name your Pack and choose or create a Totem. Add all of them (humans, wolves, werewolves and spirits) to the Relationship Map.

CORE CONCEPT What was your character’s name? What did they do? Where and when were they First Change? Where are they now? Write your character’s name on the Relationship Map. W EREW OLF CONCEPT Pick your Breed, Auspice, Tribe and your Ambition and Desire (or your Blood and Bone Archetypes).

RANK Together with the Storyteller and other players, decide if your pack are:  CUB: A werewolf who either has not yet Changed, or has not yet accepted her place as a Garou.  Primal Urge 0  Can't choose Totem yet  CLIATH: A young Garou, not yet of any significant rank.  Primal Urge 1  Each player spends 15 experience points  ADREN: These Garou have taken on major responsibilities within their sept. They hold most of the positions of consequence, such as Warder, Master of the Rite, and Gatekeeper (among others).  Primal Urge 2  Each player adds 2 points of Advantages  Each player adds 2 points of Flaws  Each player subtracts 1 Harmony  Each player spends 35 experience points.

ATTRIBUTES Take one Attribute at 4; three Attributes at 3; four Attributes at 2; one Attribute at 1. Health = Stamina + 3; Willpower = Composure + Resolve. SKILLS Pick one Skill distribution.  Jack of all trades: One Skill at 3; eight Skills at 2; ten Skills at 1  Balanced: Three Skills at 3; five Skills at 2; seven Skills at 1  Specialist: One Skill at 4; three Skills at 3; three Skills at 2; three Skills at 1 Add free specialties to Academics, Craft, Performance, and Science Skills. Take one more free specialty. W OLF AND SPIRIT Set your Rage to 1. Gnosis = 3 + Breed Gnosis and set Harmony to 7. RENOW N AND GIFTS Start with 3 points: 1 point in each of your Favored Renowns and 1 point in the Renown of your choice. Choose your initial Gifts (see Gifts page 15), these Gifts must be of your Favored Gifts. You can't start with more than 3.

TRAIT COSTS: EXPERIENCE TRAIT EXPERIENCE Increase Attribute New Level x 5 Increase Skill New Level x 3 New Specialty 3 Renown New Level x 5 Favored Gift* Gift’s Level x 3 Unfavored Gift* Gift’s Level x 5 Advantages 3 per point Harmony** New Level x 10 Primal Urge New Level x 10

ADVANTAGES Spend 7 points on Advantages, and take 2 points of Flaws. Add any new supporting cast from Advantages and Flaws to the Relationship Map. CONVICTIONS AND TOUCHSTONES Start with two Convictions related to your two Favored Renowns (or your Auspice and Tribe) and one additional of your choice. Create one to three Touchstones: humans,

* If you want to buy a Gift without increasing Renown ** Special conditions

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WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

■ Larceny: Breaking and entering, guarding against that (Physical) ■ Leadership: Directing and inspiring others (Social) ■ Medicine: Healing injuries, diagnosing disease (Mental) ■ Melee: Armed hand-to-hand combat (Physical) ■ Occult: Secret lore, both real and unreal (Mental) ■ Performance: Expressing art in person to an audience (Social) ■ Persuasion: Convincing others (Social) ■ Politics: Handling, moving, and making government (Mental) ■ Science: Knowledge and theory of the physical world (Mental) ■ Stealth: Not being seen, heard, or recognized (Physical) ■ Streetwise: Understanding the ins and outs of criminal and urban society (Social) ■ Subterfuge: Tricking others into doing your will (Social) ■ Survival: Remaining alive in adverse surroundings (Physical) ■ Technology: Understanding and using modern technology, computers, and online activity (Mental)

Summary Sheet ATTRIBUTES ■ Strength: Exertion of force by the muscles (Physical) ■ Dexterity: Agility, grace, eye-hand coordination (Physical) ■ Stamina: Toughness, resilience, endurance (Physical) ■ Charisma: Charm, magnetism, strength of personality (Social) ■ Manipulation: Getting others to do what you want (Social) ■ Composure: Self-control, cool, calm head (Social) ■ Intelligence: Memory, reasoning, intellect (Mental) ■ W its: Cleverness, intuition, spur-of-the-moment decision-making (Mental) ■ Resolve: Focus, concentration, attention (Mental) SKILLS ■ Academics: Humanities and liberal arts, book learning (Mental) ■ Animal Ken: Animal handling and communication (Social) ■ Athletics: Running, jumping, climbing (Physical) ■ Awareness: Senses, being aware of your surroundings, spotting threats (Mental) ■ Brawl: Unarmed combat of all types (Physical) ■ Craft: Crafting, building, shaping (Physical) ■ Drive: Operating vehicles (Physical) ■ Etiquette: Politeness in social settings (Social) ■ Finance: Handling, moving, and making money (Mental) ■ Firearms: Using ranged weapons, such as guns and bows (Physical) ■ Insight: Determining states of mind and motives (Social) ■ Intimidation: Getting another person to back down (Social) ■ Investigation: Following clues, solving mysteries (Mental)

BREEDS (Page 11 and W20 page 74) ■ Homid: Born human and raised by human parents, you were not aware of your heritage until you experienced your First Change — though you’ve felt the effects of Rage burning within you before that. It’s likely that you were completely unaware of the werewolves in your family tree. ■ Metis: Your parents are both Garou. They broke the Litany in a moment of animal passion and you’re the twisted result. Raised in a sept among other werewolves, you know Garou culture better than most homids or lupus. Your parents’ crime left you malformed and sterile, a visible reminder of their crime. ■ Lupus: You were born a wolf and spent your first two years among wolves. Your First Change didn’t come until you were almost fully grown. You haven’t the sophistication or understanding of the human world of a homid, but your instincts and connection to the wild is much stronger.

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WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

AUSPICES (Page 11 and W20 page 77) ■ Ragabash — New Moon: Questioners and tricksters who stalk the Wyrm with guile and cunning. ■ Theurge — Crescent Moon: Seers and shamans who clearly understand spirits and their ways. ■ Philodox — Half Moon: Judges and lawmakers who balance the dual nature of man and wolf. ■ Galliard — Gibbous Moon: Lore-keepers and tale singers who tell the deeds of Garou past to inspire the present. ■ Ahroun — Full Moon: Warriors and protectors who bring destruction to the Wyrm wherever it dwells and breeds.

■ Shadow Lords: Cunning, deceptive, and domineering, the Shadow Lords have a burning drive to lead the whole Garou Nation. ■ Silver Fangs: The hereditary rulers of the Garou Nation, their careful maintenance of royal blood has led to inbreeding and the taint of madness. Outsiders ■ Get of Fenris: Dedicated to the Wyrm’s destruction, the Get are savage and bloodthirsty warriors who take great pride in their Germanic and Scandinavian heritage. ■ Stargazers: Ascetics who seek to master their own Rage, the Stargazers wander the world striking at the Wyrm wherever they find it. ■ Ronin: Werewolves that are, for one reason or another, outcasts of the Garou Nation.

TRIBES (Page 12 and W 20 page 81) Garou Nation ■ Black Furies: Defenders of the wild places and fierce warriors for their fellow women. Most Black Furies are female; the only males in their tribe are metis. ■ Bone Gnawers: As the best-informed tribe, the Bone Gnawers are consummate spies. Members live in poverty, and have a casual regard for Garou traditions. ■ Children of Gaia: The most moderate tribe, the Children of Gaia nurture what little the Wyrm has not corrupted and often speak out on humanity’s side. ■ Fianna: Originally of Celtic descent, the Fianna hold on to a lust for both celebration and battle, wherever they are in the world. ■ Galestalkers (W endigo in W 20): The Galestalkers are cold and insular, guarding their caerns against even other Garou. ■ Ghost Council (Uktena in W 5): Mysterious and mystical, the Ghost Council are a tribe of outsiders charged with guarding the resting places of many powerful Banes, though this taints them by association. ■ Glass W alkers: The ultimate urban predators, the Glass Walkers take the war against the Wyrm into the boardroom and the skyscraper — though other Garou do not trust them. ■ Red Talons: Living in the deep wilderness, this tribe only allows lupus and some metis to join. They believe that the only way to beat the Wyrm is to exterminate humanity. ■ Silent Striders: Exiled from their homeland, the Silent Striders travel constantly. Many learn the secrets of the physical or spiritual world on their journeys.

W yrm ■ Black Spiral Dancer: The Black Spiral Dancers are the only werewolf tribe to have wholly turned to the Wyrm (for now). Millennia ago, this tribe was known as the White Howlers. These white furred werewolves were cousins of the Fianna, roaming the lands we now know as Britain and Western Europe. ADVANTAGES & FLAWS Merits (V5 page 181) ■ Linguistics (All) ■ Looks (All) ■ Archaic (All) ■ Mythic (only Folkloric Bane – adapted) (H5 page 70) ■ Psychological Traits (All) ■ Substance Abuse (All) (W 5 page 23) ■ Looks ■ Subtle Condition (Metis Only) (W 20 page 75) ■ Metis Conditions (Metis Only)

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WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE

*You can adapt Merits and Flaws of W 20 (p. 472) MERITS AND FLAW S TABLE From W 20 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points

For W 5 Don’t use 1 point 2 points 3 points Don’t use

Backgrounds (V5 page 186) ■ Allies (All): Human associates, usually family or friends ■ Contacts (All): The information sources you possess ■ Fame (All): How well-known you are among humans ■ Haven (All but W arding – named as ‘Safe House’): A place to sleep safely ■ Influence (All): Your political power within human society ■ Resources (All): Wealth, belongings, and income ■ Retainers (All): Followers, guards, and servants ■ Status (All – adapted): Your standing in Garou society (H5 page 72) ■ Mask (All): A false identity, complete with documentation ■ Mentor: A Garou who advises and supports you: a mentor, patron, or confederate (W 20 page 136) ■ Ancestors: The ability to channel the knowledge and skills of those Garou who have gone before ■ Fetish: You have an item of some sort with a spirit bound within it, giving it supernatural powers. ■ Kinfolk: Relatives who you are in touch with, human and wolf, who are immune to the Delirium ■ Rites: You know a number of rites, rituals empowered with spirit magic ■ Spirit Heritage: You have the touch of a particular type of spirit on you, and they treat you as their own

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