Renown FAQ
Gaining Renown
In the bulletpoints beneath each requirement, I will list common responses to common questions. Only the bolded text is required reading.
- You must possess the required number of Experience points to purchase that dot of Renown. If playing an incentivized Garou tribe or Fera breed, it will usually be 5 x (New Dot Rating) to a maximum of 25 XP. ‘Less encouraged’ tribes and breeds, if allowed on grid, will pay 6 x (New Dot Rating) to a maximum of 30 XP.
- ICly, this represents the ambition and determination required to conduct your existence in such a way that will earn the respect of your peers and the adulation of the spirit world, bringing with it both vast potential for mystical power and the deference of your lessers.
- The cost increases over time to represent the fact that it is less impressive for a veteran Adren to for example, overcome a Black Spiral Dancer in single combat, than say, a freshly blooded Cliath.
- What could be seen as merely an ‘XP tax’ in a free-for-all sandbox game is alleviated by the following factors in our narrative-based game:
- The granting of a free Gift which aligns with your Auspice, Breed or Tribe (or equivalent if Fera). You may choose any Gift, whose level is equal to or less than the new rating of the Renown dot you just purchased – provided your current Rank allows for it.
- A system (chiefly expounded in its own HR entry) where unlike other races, Shifters can potentially learn level 1-2 Rites for free, given time and a suitable PC teacher or Mentor. In addition, all Rites are capped at only 5 XP, although you will still require a PC teacher or an NPC Mentor. It chooses to mostly replace with time and RP – virtually always in scenes that players can conduct together – what in other games is a significant XP sink. This concession, combined with the point above, goes a very long way towards erasing the ‘tax’. This is intended – since it’s not meant to be a tax. The greatest ‘sheet’ significance long term is that players will usually end up with more Breed/Tribe/Auspice gifts than usual.
- In contrast to virtually every other sphere on the game, the Garou (and many Fera) are comprised of born warriors with a supernatural fixation on certain roles. You will find that Garou receive enormous leeway in pursuing their Auspice-intended roles in ways that other races just don’t mirror as convincingly. (This is important, given that LiberationMUSH is not a self-serve XP sandbox – all spends must be convincingly justified, as in tabletop).
- Most Shifters retain access to several powerful force multipliers, which are made even more pronounced on a ‘lower XP’ game like ours:
- The relatively easier ability to summon Spirits that are usually far more receptive and willing to listen. This can make a potent source of allies and spies, especially on a narrative heavy game like ours.
- The relatively easier access to magic items (in the form of fetishes), on what is a magic item restrictive game. There are no magic item factories in 20th Edition (such as Enchanting/Alchemy M+) and other races (such as Blood Mages) have had such means severely restricted. Most Shifters retain a mechanical and thematic access that isn’t much different from prior editions.
- Finally, Shifters retain multiple, powerful forms they can shapeshift into, granting big dice pools, aggravated damage inflicting natural weapons, and the ability to soak such damage in kind. This is a huge advantage in a game where 6-8 dice is considered a decent dice pool, and the average non-bystander NPC has 4-5.
- You must put in a +request that summarizes what actions you feel that your character has taken recently, or whatever interval of time you wish to cover, that you believe would qualify you in the eyes of the spirit world and your Shifter society for a higher Renown rating.
- I will personally review each of these requests – and since more than likely – I also personally reviewed and approved the plots you were involved in, or ran them myself, I will have an immediate idea as to the validity of your desire, and I might even remember a couple things that you didn’t. You will not be arbitrarily boned here. You will be judged as if we were playing a tabletop game, and I was your storyteller, and that we are motivated by a spirit of collaboration rather than competition.
- The worst thing that can happen is that I will decline the +job and you won’t lose anything. If I think you’re very close to your next Renown threshold, I’ll leave it open so you can add something to it. If you’re farther away, I’ll close it, but you should still feel free to re-apply if something major or significant happens.
- It should be taken for granted that it will be much easier for a Cliath to go to Fostern, than a Fostern to go to Adren, and so on. Garou society simply expects more of you. It is entirely possible to plateau at Fostern or Adren, if you’re not tackling plenty of Fostern or Adren-level challenges.
- Once you have received my approval, you must then carry out the IC ritual that your respective Shifter race requires to have their Rank or Renown officially recognized. If you succeed, I will deduct the XP, set your new Renown (or Rank if appropriate) and set your free, chosen Gift.
- This is more straight-forward for some than others. A Garou Cliath for example, will want to seek out a Galliard to perform a Rite of Accomplishment for them, with everything that entails (see W20, page 217). It is typically hard to fail these, although some have mechanics and rolls to allow for it to be ICly disputed.
- There are often more elaborate rites and challenges required for attaining Rank. Since some of the best roleplay is often had around these challenges, this should be something enjoyed for its intrinsic narrative excitement. Garou follow a very elaborate ritual in attaining new Ranks. Some Fera are more casual or rigorous. In any case, once I’ve validated that your character is technically worthy, everything else that follows – including the Rite’s ultimate success or failure – is dependent on IC roleplay and the rite mechanics. You will not have XP deducted unless you succeed.
- If you do fail, there is always a canonical means to atone and try again, such as simply waiting a moon, or undergoing some penance. Either way, you won’t need to request approval again. We’ll just keep the +job open until you make it through the IC process. Shifter society can be unfair sometimes – lean into it ICly and don’t get frustrated OOCly.
- I am well aware that a few players, despite being great writers, with equal availability and with similar longevity, will inevitably suffer for not being active in the same time zone that most players, Directors and Producers are. This is something of a universal fact of MUSHing, and affects things like XP accrual as well. I promise that I will make every attempt to find and promote approved plot runners that better synch with you, and I will collaborate with you more thoroughly via +job to ensure that purely OOC circumstances don’t hamstring you. It is something I will approach with nuance and empathy.
Losing Renown
- Losing Renown is a very simple process: If you commit a major, egregious sin, or simply continue to commit a more minor offense over and over again despite being repeatedly warned, you will eventually lose Renown. I’ll remove the XP that it took to acquire it from your Softcap, so you won’t be permanently disadvantaged.
- If someone needs to lose Renown, 9 out of 10 times, I’ll be the first one to notice. And even then, I might poke a leadership PC to give the offender a last chance IC talking to first.
- I will consider every situation and inevitable accusation through the prism of your Fera race or Garou tribe’s own code of ethics or unique take on the Litany. I will consider the population of both PCs and NPCs that are likely to condemn or support you, and I’ll rule accordingly. Sometimes, a PC might commit a significant offense and be pushed to the edge of a Renown loss, yet escape with a warning. Then they might get pinged with a minor transgression, and I’ll decide that’s enough to put them over the threshold.
- Mainly, you are just going to need to trust me to handle it as you would a storyteller in a tabletop game. I do not play ‘favorites’ – chiefly because the most entertaining players are those who find creative inspiration from IC adversity rather than be OOCly put out by it. It is typically a red flag for me when a player’s OOC and IC tantrums and rivalries are too closely linked, as it suggests a certain immaturity. That said, it’s okay to be disappointed occasionally and not be friends with everyone, ICly or OOCly. Just be mature about it.
- There will inevitably be one or two players who wish to argue with me about their Renown loss. I’ll never cut you off or turn a deaf ear to a calm appeal.
Encouraged Garou Tribes and Fera
Encouraged tribes and races pay 5 x New Dot Rating for Renown (as described above). Everyone else pays 6 x. This is because some tribes and Fera – along with their attendant hosts of allied spirit hierarchies – are simply more numerous in some parts of the world than others. A Bone Gnawer isn’t going to judge a Silver Fang by only Silver Fang standards, after all – they’re going to inevitably judge them by Bone Gnawer standards as well. This is why the Garou Nation isn’t all one big happy family.
- Encouraged Garou Tribes: Bone Gnawers, Children of Gaia, Glass Walkers and Uktena. Black Furies qualify as well owing to the fact that the nearest Sept via moonbridge, is their Sept of the Western Eye near San Francisco.
- Encouraged Fera: Ratkin (All Non-Freak Aspects), Corax, Nuwisha, and Bastet (Balam, Qualmi, Pumonca and Ceilican). Ananasi (Tenere, or ‘Weaver-dedicated’) qualify as well.