As the rituals and celebrations of the Garou, rites form and reinforce the spiritual and social ties that bind werewolves to each other and to Gaia herself. The common bond formed by rites resonates in the souls of all Garou. Many werewolves maintain that without the continuous practice of such rites, the Garou would lose their ties to the Earth Mother. Theurges warn that werewolves could become something less than their true selves, possibly reverting to simple wolves and humans instead of Gaia’s chosen — or ravening monsters lacking any higher purpose.
The special ties werewolves have with the spirit world allow rites to function. In the dawn of time, shapeshifters struck a great pact — the Pact — with the spirits of Gaia. In return for the shapeshifters’ fealty and service, the spirits would imbue the werebeasts’ rites with supernatural power. For this reason, no one but a shapeshifter can perform rites and expect them to work. The spirits will not answer the call if they are not bound by the Pact to do so. This relationship is unique to the Garou and certain other Fera, and it makes the performance of these rites their sacred right and privilege, and theirs alone.
Through rites, Garou weave the social, emotional and religious fabric that connects werewolf to werewolf, pack to pack and tribe to tribe. When Silver Fang meets Black Fury or Uktena meets Glass Walker, the rites of their ancestors give them common ground on which to tread. Even the simple Rite of Contrition has prevented many meetings between werewolves of different tribes and packs from erupting into violence. Rites also allow tribes and packs the freedom to define themselves and to develop their unique roles in Gaia’s defense. Each of the tribes, and many individual septs, has their own rites and their own versions of common rites.
Learning & Performing Rites
Rites in Chargen
A character can begin the game with knowledge of rites by purchasing the Rites Background. You may learn one Rite per dot purchased in this Background, although whether it is approved or not will depend on whether the Storyteller agrees it makes sense for your Rituals knowledge, Rank level and Auspice. No Garou learns ‘Rite of the Fetish’ without putting in a lot of work in learning other rites first.
Rite Instruction & Experience Costs
In the past (and which is still the case in more traditional septs), in order to gain the knowledge (and tacit permission) to perform a rite, a young werewolf would need to approach an elder who possessed such knowledge. In the vast majority of cases, the elder requested payment (in the form of talens) from the young whelp in question. The number of talens required varies with the amount of teaching needed (level of the rite) and the elder’s opinion of the cub. Elders often allowed the young Garou to do a favor instead of (or in addition to) donating talens. Such favors ranged from providing the elder with fresh rabbit meat and caviar for three full moons to tracking down a minor enemy of the elder’s and tearing out his throat. The favor asked was normally proportionate to the power and importance of the rite.
In modern nights, and especially among the Urrah of the cities where werewolf life is cheap and traditions fray beneath the assault of the Weaver and Wyrm, the nature of ritual instruction is somewhat more informal. There’s often less ceremony involved, and often more of a focus on making yourself useful enough for the Garou teaching you the rite to keep you around (and alive) long enough to learn it.
TEACHERS: Mechanically, a character needs to find a PC or NPC who possesses both the rite they wish to learn, the time to teach and a level of Instruction equal to the level of the rite.
SYSTEM: Learning a rite is an extended action. A Garou must have a Rituals Knowledge at least equal to the level of the rite she wishes to learn; a character with Rituals 3 cannot master a Level Four rite. She must also spend time with the teacher who knows the rite — at least one week per level of the rite she wishes to learn (three days for minor rites).
The player must roll Intelligence + Rituals (difficulty of 10 minus Intelligence or Rituals, whichever is higher.) The number of successes required is equal to (the level of the rite * 2). The student may make one roll per period of teaching (one week for a Level One rite, three weeks for a Level Three rite, etc.)
If your Rank is greater than the level of the rite you’re trying to learn, then the successes required to learn it are halved. If your Rank is equal to the rite, you’ll probably get the benefit of an early completion if you’re just one success away from finishing it.
You may spend Willpower on this roll, but it reduces your maximum Willpower for the entire duration of the learning period.
Kinfolk take twice as long to learn as a Garou would and must spend Willpower.
If the student botches a roll, then she is not yet ready to master the rite in question. The Storyteller will decide when they can attempt learning it again.
COST: A Rite typically costs 2 XP per level.
A Minor Rite costs only 1 XP.
It costs +1 XP per level if you’re attempting to acquire a Rite that isn’t associated with your Auspice role.
It costs another +2 XP per level if the Rite you’re attempting to learn isn’t within one level of your Rank. (There are very few Cliath who have been entrusted with the knowledge for how to craft a fetish and none for how to build a caern, for example.)
Kinfolk pay 5 XP per level of the rite they wish to learn.
Many Garou rites are either inappropriate for Kinfolk or require Gnosis (such as Mystic rites).
If learning from a PC, you may submit a log of being instructed for a 1 XP discount.
Performing Rites
Rites have both religious and magical connotations, and they serve both social and mystical purposes.
LOCATION: Most rites can be performed in either the Umbra or the physical world. Some have additional requirements (especially caern and seasonal rites) such as an explicit location (such a sacred site or place of power such as a caern, or something more mundane like a cave or while standing in water or under moonlight, etc.)
LEADER: Ritemasters generally lead groups of Garou in the performance of rites. These rites are grand ceremonies, usually held at caerns, with much tradition and socializing going on around them. It is the nature of rites to be social affairs. It is the ritemaster’s responsibility to ensure that all the requirements are met and that all Garou present participate fully in the rite. Most rites require the presence of at least three Garou, although a lone werewolf may conduct certain minor rites and mystic rites. Many older septs frown on the practice of performing rites away from the group.
TIME: Rites require great concentration and skill on the part of the celebrant. Most rites take a minimum of 10 minutes per level to cast, though minor rites take from two to five minutes to enact. Rites almost always require some form of trinket or special material.
IMPROVISING: A character can attempt to enact a rite in which he has previously taken part, but which he does not know — though he has little chance of success. The difficulty is three higher than normal, and the player must spend double the amount of Gnosis points (if any are required). In addition, elder Garou often see such an attempt as impertinent or even sacrilegious. Attempting an untutored rite may decrease the Garou’s Honor or Wisdom in the eyes of his sept.
Auspice Roles
When teaching rites, Garou often group them by the purpose each type of rite serves for the Garou and for Gaia: Rites of accord, caern rites, rites of death, mystic rites, rites of punishment, rites of renown, seasonal rites, and minor rites are the most common types of rites that Garou practice.
TRADITION: Garou traditionally view werewolves born under certain auspices as the rightful ritemasters of the tribes. In particular, Theurges and Philodox are groomed for such positions from the time that they first enter the sept as adolescent cubs. It is almost unheard of for a Garou of either auspice not to have at least some skill in the enactment of rites.
In general, Theurges tend to learn mystic rites, seasonal rites, and caern rites, while Philodox traditionally learn rites of accord and punishment.
Galliards are likely to lead rites of death and renown.
Ragabash and Ahroun may also learn and enact rites, although the sept is unlikely to encourage such behavior unless a particular reason comes up for such a Garou to lead a rite. For example, an Ahroun might lead his war party in a Rite of Wounding after a cub’s first battle.
URRAH: Among the city wolves, individual packs are often more flexible when interpreting such traditions, being more concerned with which packmate will best carry out a rite than with following every musty tradition.
You still pay a little more XP to learn some of them (see above) but there’s no real social consequences for straying outside your lane. More traditional Garou will find this laissez-faire approach intolerable.
Rites Reference
Rite Type
Auspice
Description
System
Accord
Philodox
Rites of accord restore a particular place or Garou to harmony and balance with Gaia. These rites purify and renew through a symbolic rebirth from Gaia’s womb.
Any Garou attempting to perform a rite of accord must possess a talen, fetish, or some piece of Gaia never touched by minions of the Wyrm or by human hands. The ritemaster makes a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 7 unless otherwise noted).
Caern
Theurge
These rites are of vital importance to Gaia, for they aid in the opening, protection, and renewal of her most sacred spaces. Without such rites, the mystical flow of Gaia’s spiritual essence might cease, bringing spiritual barrenness and eventually death to even the most ferocious of werewolves.
These rites can be performed only within a caern. The dice pool required varies with each particular rite, but the maximum number of dice used cannot exceed the ritemaster’s Gnosis. Unless otherwise stated, the difficulty is 7.
Death
Galliard
Garou perform rites of death both to honor the departed and to reaffirm their connection to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In facing and acknowledging death as a necessary part of the dance of life, the pack and sept escape the burdens of grief and fear.
The ritemaster must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 8 minus the Rank of the honored Garou).
Mystic
Theurge
These rites bring the Garou into direct contact with the Umbra and its denizens. Unlike most other rites, mystic rites are generally performed alone.
When performing a mystic rite, the ritemaster must make a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7 unless otherwise stated).
Punishment
Philodox
Punishment rites levy the sanction of the tribe or sept against a transgressing werewolf. Such rites strengthen the Garou by establishing clear limits of acceptable behavior. By joining in the punishment, each Garou strengthens her commitment to the pack over the individual, and to the Nation over the pack.
The ritemaster must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 7 unless otherwise stated). A failed rite is considered a sign from Gaia that the offending werewolf’s crimes aren’t significant to warrant such a punishment. Because these rites are enforced and empowered by the spirit world, truly unjust punishment rites may fail automatically.
Renown
Galliard
These rites celebrate the accomplishments of individual werewolves and their achievements as well as the camaraderie of pack and Nation.
The ritemaster’s player must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 6).
Seasonal
Theurge
Each tribe and sept has its own means of celebrating the turning of the seasons. Some septs celebrate only the major rites of the solstices and equinoxes; others perform a rite at least once per moon. These rites renew the People’s connection to Gaia as the Earth Mother.
Seasonal rites must occur at the proper time of year, and at least five Garou must attend. The ritemaster’s player must make a Stamina + Rituals roll (difficulty 8). If performed at a caern, the difficulty of the roll is 8 minus the caern’s level.
Minor
Any
Minor rites are the rituals that the Garou incorporate into daily living. Almost all Garou know and use at least a few such minor rites.
Minor rites may be learned in half the time it takes to learn other rites, and generally take only a few minutes to enact. They can be purchased for half the normal Background cost of other rites (two for one point).
Rite Database
NOTE #1: This is not an exhaustive list of all Garou rituals that White Wolf has ever written. There are many that exist which simply have no place in a game set in Los Angeles, or which no PC would plausibly have (such as the level 5 Black Fury rite ‘Bearing the Caern’). The Revised tribebooks especially like to include unique rites with extraordinarily lengthy descriptions might be used once in a lifetime. There might be Garou somewhere in the wider world with these rites – but they won’t be PCs in Los Angeles.
NOTE #2: Some rites refer to the loss or gain of temporary Renown. Consider this a guideline with the Director having final say as to the exact consequences.
NOTE #3:A few rites (especially mystic ones) have been modified from their original form. You should doublecheck what’s written here before making any assumptions. If it’s been tweaked, it has likely been for worldbuilding reasons or to fit more seamlessly into a MUSH environment. A few new rites have been added where they seemed to enhance the thematic aesthetic.
Rites of AccordCaern RitesRites of DeathMystic RitesPunishment RitesRites of RenownSeasonal RitesMinor Rites
Name
Level
Description
Free the Wayward Child
1
Description
Restriction: Black Furies
This rite, a simple one, frees a male Garou child of a Black Fury from any spiritual ties to Pegasus and the Black Furies. It is a quick, emotional rite; the mother traces the Black Fury glyph on her son’s forehead in tears, and then blows on the boy’s forehead until the glyph dries up.
This rite’s popularity is relatively new as such things go; in the ancient days, a male child was often simply left out to die of exposure.
Rite of Cleansing
1
Description
This rite purifies a person, place or object, allowing it to be used without fear of Wyrm-taint.
The most common form of this rite involves the ritemaster inscribing a circle on the earth, walking counterclockwise around the afflicted person(s) or object(s) while holding a smoldering branch or torch. She must use a branch (preferably willow or birch) dipped in pure water or snow to sprinkle the object or person cleansed.
As the ritemaster does so, all Garou present release an eerie, otherworldly howl in an attempt to frighten away the corrupting influence. Ideally, this rite is performed at dawn, but may function at any time.
System: This rite can be cast upon more than one person or object, but the ritemaster must spend one Gnosis point on each extra thing in need of cleansing. Only one success is required. The difficulty level depends on the level of taint. For instance, taint caused by a spirit might carry a difficulty of the spirit’s Gnosis.
If the rite is performed at dawn, the difficulty decreases by one. This rite cannot heal wounds or damage caused by Wyrm-taint — it only removes the spiritual contamination itself. This rite cannot cleanse taint of the most innate sort, either, instead inflicting agony when performed upon a fomor, vampire, unrepentant Black Spiral Dancer or other similarly corrupt being.
Rite of Contrition
1
Description
This rite is a form of apology. The offending party uses it to prevent the enmity of spirits or Garou whom an individual has offended, or to prevent war between septs or tribes. The rite most often involves the enactor dropping to her belly and sliding forward. The ritemaster may also whine and lick his paws or hands. If performed well, however, a simple inclination of the head may suffice.
To enact the rite successfully, the Garou must either give a small gift to the offended individual or, in the case of a spirit, possess some aspect of the spirit in question (for example, a clay falcon if the Garou is appealing to the totem spirit Falcon) that he pays homage to.
System: The difficulty level of the rite equals the Rage of the target spirit or werewolf. A single success suffices for a gracious apology, but may not be enough to mend friendships or undo grievous errors.
The more successes rolled, the greater the wrong that can be forgiven. Werewolves who refuse to recognize a Rite of Contrition are looked upon poorly by elders. Most spirits will always accept a well-performed rite.
Rite of the Survivor
1
Description
Being born into the war against the Wyrm does not necessarily give one the resources to endure the tragedies and horrors of that war. This ritual allows someone who has seen or experienced a debilitating event to purge it from her mind permanently.
System: Most often, this ritual is performed for, rather than by, the target of the rite, to help him recover from trauma, whether he’s human, Kinfolk, or Garou.
Upon successful completion of the rite, a memory of up to ten minutes can be erased from the target’s mind. It’s replaced with a new memory that, while not directly contradictory to the outcome of the missing scene, is easier to live with.
The direct witness to a torture may remember that scene took place behind a closed door; the memory of stumbling across a mangled body might now include a conveniently placed blanket to block the worst of the gore; a rape victim may now remember that they passed out before the violation.
The target of this rite must be a willing participant; any hesitation on the part of the focus will cause the rite to fail.
Rite of the Pizza
1
Description
Restriction: Bone Gnawers
Rabble-rousers sometimes try to bring Garou together for a quick, temporary enterprise. Buying them food (or beer) is one way to encourage them to work together, but this minor rite formally acknowledges the alliance and calls upon urban spirits for a quick blessing.
This rite requires a public telephone and enough spare change for a call. The goal is to gather enough food to feed everyone for one meal. This may seem like a simple task, but because of a wide variety of urban traditions, it’s actually fraught with peril. Take, for instance, its most common application: ordering a pizza. The Garou must decide where to order from, what toppings to get, what the tip should be, and most distressing, who gets which slices. If they can overcome this Herculean task, there is a chance they may work together to achieve greater goals.
At the culmination of the ritual, the highest-ranking Bone Gnawer “gives thanks” (or “says grace”). This must be done very, very quickly, since many Bone Gnawers are ravenously hungry for warm pizza. The highest-ranking Philodox then declares the reason why the temporary pack has been formed.
(The Storyteller should demand a more specific explanation if the definition is too broad. “Breaking into Warehouse #8 to recover a Croatan fetish” is a specific goal; “killing the Wyrm” or just “killing shit” is not.) While wolfing down hot morsels of food, the group then coordinates its plan.
System: This rite requires at least five Garou, and everyone must eat. The Theurge rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7); Each success yields one temporary die; for the sake of convenience, we’ll call this dice pool the “pizza pool.”
These temporary dice pool lasts until the temporary pack achieves its temporary goal. On any dice roll that directly relates to the goal at hand, a Garou can burn off one of the temporary dice for the pizza pool. The whole group shares the pizza pool.
This rite cannot be performed more than once a day by anyone in the alliance, and the pizza pool can’t last for more than 24 hours.
NOTE:Using this rite in particularly weird or gamey fashion will not end well.
Rite of the Pack's Blood
1
Description
Restriction: Philodox
Most Garou form packs that are bound with and dedicated to a totem spirit. In these days of mixed septs and thinning ranks, some werewolves are forced by necessity to run together temporarily.
This ritual binds a group of werewolves into a pack dedicated to a particular purpose, such as a quest, a battle or a fortnight’s stint of bawn-guarding. The effects of this expire after the task is done, or after a lunar month, whichever comes first. Elders usually expect more permanent associations to ask for the blessings of a totem spirit.
Though the supernatural benefits of this rite eventually end, mutual respect and friendships are a common byproduct. Rival septs may join their warriors with this rite to improve relations. It is not uncommon for such packs to reform into “true” packs down the road, devoted to a specific and appropriate totem spirit.
System: The members of the prospective pack each swear their united purpose as they slice a palm or pad and dribble a small amount of blood into a cup. The blood is mixed and painted on face, hand and chest (over the heart) of each member.
Upon a successful completion of the ritual (Charisma + Rituals, difficulty 7), the pack may take on benefits such as simultaneous initiative and special combat maneuvers. Note that pack members already in a “true” pack may join this temporary pack, but will likely have some explaining to do to a miffed totem.
Rite of Renunciation
2
Description
In this rare rite, a werewolf rejects the auspice under which he was born and chooses a new one.
The Garou must perform this rite during the phase of the moon he wishes to adopt. Most commonly, water from a silver basin exposed to Luna’s radiance is poured over the naked supplicant, washing him clean of all he once was, including all rank.
He is now free to start anew as a member of his adopted auspice. Many werewolves view such a “Shifting Moon” with suspicion, especially Shadow Lords and Silver Fangs — who is the Garou, after all, to decide he knows better than Luna?
System: A character who changes auspices must start anew at Rank 1. Although he keeps any Gifts he has already learned, he may never learn new Gifts from his old auspice no matter the instructor. However, Gifts of his adopted auspice now cost (rank x 3) experience.
Variants of this rite also exist to allow Garou to renounce their tribe and join a new one — but this is counted not only as a grave insult to the abandoned tribe, but also to the tribe’s totem. In no case can this rite be used to return a Garou to a renounced auspice or tribe.
Rite of Acceptance
2
Description
Restriction: Black Furies, Uktena and the Children of Gaia
Although a Garou can give up her tribal affiliation with the Rite of Renunciation, the Black Furies have their own ritual to welcome a female Garou from another tribe into their own.
The prospective Black Fury must fast for 24 hours to purify her body, afterward, she enters a ritual circle while her tribemates-to-be quietly invoke Pegasus from outside the same circle.
Both the Uktena and the Children of Gaia tribes practice a similar rite, which this one may substitute for.
System: The invocation takes a few hours (the Mistress of the Rite should roll Charisma + Occult with a target of the local Gauntlet; the invocation takes 5 hours, minus one for every success after the first, with a minimum of 1 hour). At the end of this period, an avatar of Pegasus arrives. The prospective Fury must prove her worth to the avatar.
This may involve a test, at the Storyteller’s discretion, or it may simply involve a roll of Charisma + Etiquette (difficulty 7). A failure on this roll means that the Fury-to-be must complete a spirit quest to join the tribe; a botch means that she has somehow offended Pegasus and is not welcome to join.
Should the character succeed, however, she is welcomed into the Black Fury tribe, and will be treated as a child of Pegasus from that point forward.
Soothe the Scars
2
Description
Restriction: Black Furies & Children of Gaia
Black Furies perform this rite on human women and children that have suffered at the hands of an abusive spouse or parent. Such abuse can harm the soul in ways still unknown to the Black Furies, but it is certain that sufficient abuse can open a hole wide enough for a Wyrmling to crawl into.
It is in the Furies’ nature to stop such a fate, and while it is their modus operandi to put a halt to such abuse (violently, if need be), Soothe the Scars is one of the Furies’ best tools for healing abuse once it has been stopped.
The rite itself is designed to put the victims at ease immediately; the smoke of gentle incense and scented candles should fill the air, and inoffensive soft music – not necessarily “spiritual” music; folk songs or children’s music are equally appropriate should play.
In the case of victims not acquainted with Gaian spirituality, prayers are offered to the spirit of motherhood across the world, though prayers to Gaia can be said in their place. Memories of abuse are coaxed from the victim, and each one is symbolically cast into a purifying fire. When the rite is over, the victim can begin the long road to real spiritual healing without risking a fall backward into a dangerous cycle of self-degradation.
Note: The Children of Gaia have very similar methods, which this rite may substitute for, with no restrictions.
System: This rite has no game effect; the Storyteller should adjudicate its roleplaying effects.
Rite of Comfort
2
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
This rite is a healing ritual for Harano. it does not cure the condition, although the Rite of Asklepios can indicate possible cures. The ritemaster can, however, prevent the afflicted one from passing any deeper into Harano. The ritemaster chants, burns mystic incense and engages the sufferer in breathing exercises. The dispirited one may leave before the rite begins, but not after it has started. This ritemaster may perform this rite more than once for each werewolf suffering from Harano.
System: The ritemaster chants, leads the sick one in breathing rituals, and makes a Charisma + Rituals roll. The recipient takes the number of successes as extra Willpower, which she may spend to resist Harano. She may not harm herself (such as through self-mutilation or suicide) until all the bonus points of Willpower are gone.
Rite of Unsalting the Earth
2
Description
Restriction: Non-Urrah
Perhaps the gentlest Wyld rite, this serves to re-consecrate barren ground to the service of life and growth. Originally used to restore cropland salted by the Romans, the rite is used more frequently these days to reclaim lands that have been tainted with pollution or paved over and subsequently abandoned.
The rite itself is rather lengthy, beginning with chanting as two Garou stride the perimeter of the area to be affected. One carries a bowl of water, the other a bowl of blood (chicken blood is usually sufficient), and they sprinkle this on the ground as they walk. Ideally, the water and blood will run out as the Garou meet back at their starting point. According to tradition, if they run out beforehand, the rite is doomed to failure. Any other Garou then cross the boundary of blood and water and make a ritual furrow from one end of the field to the other. No tools can be used in this labor, or else the entire effect is spoiled.
System: If the rite is performed properly, the site becomes much more Wyld-friendly and fertile, and may well actually produce life come springtime. In addition, Wyrm-and Weaver-creatures find them. selves at a +1 difficulty on all rolls while in the newly consecrated area, and this effect lasts for a year and a day.
Rite of the Fertile Season
2
Description
Restriction: Non-Urrah
Performed on the day the last snow melts, the Rite of the Fertile Season exists to ensure fertility for all things — plants, animals and those humans and Garou indulging in hanky-panky. Kinfolk are welcomed, nay, demanded at the performance of this rite, which generally grows carnal before much time has passed.
A bacchanal of wine, carnality and passion, the Rite of the Fertile Season has been described as a party with occasional bits of chanting, and that’s fairly close to the truth. The Rite, however, is not outsider-friendly. Any one accidentally intruding has an equal chance of being swept up in the madness or being torn limb from limb. Resisting the ambiance is a sure way to meet an untimely fate, while giving in to it can have unexpected consequences.
System: The Rite of the Fertile Season makes anything exposed to it more fertile – almost. (Metis remain as sterile as ever; a simple rite isn’t good enough to undo one of Gaia’s heaviest decrees — or curses. Most septs won’t allow metis anywhere near the rite, anyway, feeling that their sterility might offend the Wyld-spirits that empower it.) Enterprising young Garou have begun experimenting with bringing everything from window boxes full of cannabis to crystal growth experiments to the rite, to see how far its power extends.
The traditional use of the rite, however, is to ensure the next generation of the Garou Nation. With the Apocalypse straining at the seams, however, some septs have set this rite aside, concerned that there won’t be time for the next generation to reach childhood before the war reaches its peak.
Rite of the Loyal Pack
3
Description
A leader needs respect from those that follow him if he (and they) wish to succeed. Usually, only packs that have been working together for some time and who trust each other enough to further cement those bonds perform this rite. The rite makes the whole pack’s focus and commitment dependent on the pack alpha. In effect, they submit completely to him, in the hope of gaining an advantage from his commitment to working for the benefit of all.
Each member of the pack must take a small item of personal significance and a length of his or her own hair and give it to the ritemaster. She then binds together all the objects using the hairs and buries the bundle within the pack’s home caern.
System: The ritemaster’s player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 9 minus the pack alpha’s Leadership). If the roll succeeds, the entire pack gains two extra points of Willpower at the beginning of each session as long as the pack alpha is acting in the best interests of the whole pack. (Note that this cannot put a character over their maximum Willpower.)
However, if the alpha has not been acting in the pack’s interests, the entire pack loses two points of Willpower at the beginning of each session. The gain or loss is entirely at the Storyteller’s discretion. Should the pack alpha change, the rite’s effects immediately end.
Pledge of the Battle Mate
3
Description
Galliard epics from around the world tell of the mighty deeds accomplished by pairs of Garou that fought side by side always, to the bitter or glorious end, known to the Garou Nation as battle mates. This rite allows two warriors who have fought together for some time to dedicate themselves to each other as sisters or brothers in arms, forging a bond in blood and strife that can only be broken by death or betrayal. While most tales involving battle mates are inspirational, a few are tragedies that teach would-be mates not to grow too close to each other.
The ritemaster performs a chant that details the battles the two werewolves have fought together, both victories they achieved and defeats they survived. The participants cut themselves, and mix their blood with a hallucinogenic brew. When the drugs take effect, the ritemaster appears as a monster that the two petitioners must fight, trying to restrain their Rage enough not to kill her.
At the culmination of the rite, recite a blood oath: never shall one leave the other behind on the battlefield; never shall one fail to come to the other’s aid in a time of need; never shall one betray the other to the enemy.
System: If the rite succeeds, the ancestor-spirits recognize the two warriors as true battle mates and give their blessing. As long as neither mate goes back on her word, the characters each gain one Willpower point and one Rage point per scene in which they fight together against a common foe, and they each gain one point of temporary Glory Renown when they emerge victorious over that foe.
If at any time the blood oath is violated, both Garou instantly know it, and lose five points of Honor Renown and one dot of Willpower each. The mate who was betrayed, left behind, or abandoned must make a Rage roll to see if she frenzies.
Rite of Anger's Purge
3
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
Rage makes a shapeshifter what they are. But it is a curse as well as a blessing. Some Garou can contain their Rage sufficiently to live with a Kinfolk family or enjoy a quiet dinner at a restaurant. But some are so out of balance that they can barely function without exploding. Others require punishment. For whatever reason, a Garou occasionally needs to have his potential for Rage lowered.
In this rite, the subject changes into Crinos and is encircled by the participants who all wield whips, clubs, and other instruments of punishment (the “gauntlet”). They then proceed to beat the subject into submission, until he lies unconscious on the ground. A Garou can have the Beast beaten out of him in this way if such a punishment is required.
System: Each participant in the rite must expend at least one point of Rage. The subject loses one point of permanent Rage for each point spent in this way. If he frenzies shortly thereafter, the Storyteller may decide that the loss of Rage is not permanent, although few Garou have enough Rage to endure this rite and still be capable of frenzy in any but the most extenuating circumstances.
Rite of Balance
3
Description
Restriction: Uktena
The Triat is in everyone, but sometimes one aspect touches a person more strongly than another This imbalance manifests in many ways, from a Wyld-fed madness to Wyrm-spawned depression or the joy. less routine of the Weaver. Packs delving into Cyber realms for extended periods or conducting raids on Black Spiral Dancer Hives come back changed, Tainted. This rite seeks to bring them back into balance, to restore the Garou’s harmony with Gaia.
System: The ritual varies depending on the relative strength of each of the Triatic influences within the subject. The ritemaster and her assistants paint glyphs and sigils of power on the subject, followed by a bath in a stream to wash away the markings. Then, in a medicine lodge or other neutral place, the ritemaster conducts a series of chants and songs and drumming, using sacred herbs, bones and stones, as well as a sacred fire.
At the end of the rite, the player rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7, higher if the Taint is particularly strong). Three successes completely restore the balance within the subject, while fewer successes indicate partial rebalancing. In addition, the untainted subject regains a temporary Willpower point. The rite lasts half a day and usually begins at sunrise or sunset. For particularly strong Taints, the rite may be repeated up to three more times (but must be held consecutively, with no one leaving the lodge).
At the beginning of each repetition, the ritemaster must make a successful Stamina + Rituals roll (difficulty 3 + rite level, failure increases the next roll’s difficulty by one). Note that when a Taint runs more deeply, performing this rite alone won’t cure it. Taints bought as Merits or Flaws must be bought off with experience points, and usually require a more rigorous treatment (often a quest to a sacred place of balance).
This rite treats symptoms – a Triatic Imbalance – without addressing the cause. Someone recently exposed to Wyrmish spiritual energies could be brought into balance, while a Fomori still possessed by a Bane would regain his Taint immediately.
Rite of the Omega
3
Description
Restriction: Ragabash
It is often the duty of the Ragabash to add levity and defuse a tense situation. When division and anger threatens the unity of the sept, some Ragabash choose the dangerous and often sacrificial Rite of the Omega. Once it is performed successfully, the ritemaster becomes reviled; everything she says or does steps on the last nerve of everyone in the sept (plus any visitors there at the time the rite begins). Elders put her to work and punish her for being slack, and the Ahroun want to practice their Ragabash-throwing skills. Even the lowest metis says, “Sucks to be you.”
The ritemaster will be driven from kills, suffer beatings if she isn’t quick and may even have her gear stolen or damaged for spite’s sake. Even her own pack treats her like dirt. All the tension and hate and anger that threatened to tear the sept apart is now directed at one individual, bringing unity and catharsis to the Garou. The effects last a minimum of one day, although for an ongoing situation the Ragabash may continue to play the ultimate omega to ensure harmony.
System: Using her own blood mixed with the soil from the caern site, the ritemaster inscribes the Garou glyph for Shame on her chest and intones a chant. If successful, the Ragabash drops to Rank One for the duration of the rite.
If the tension in the sept is the result of a singular event (a death, a divisive challenge, etc.), the rite’s effects last a single day. In the case of an ongoing crisis (inter-sept negotiations or a heated concolation), the rite may last as long as a week.
At the end of the rite, the glyph disappears and the Ragabash’s Rank is restored, plus 3 temporary Honor (up to 5 for an extended rite) and hopefully some decent treatment to make up for the sacrifice. The sept members will be more inclined to compromise and have greater understanding of opposing views, staying unified for a time.
The put-upon ritemaster may end the rite prematurely simply by wiping the glyph away and shouting “I’ve had enough!” but loses 2 Honor and 1 Wisdom, and worse, the sept loses all benefits of the rite. This is specifically a Ragabash ritual; any other auspice (assuming they can find a teacher) has a +2 difficulty to the roll and gains or loses only 1 Honor.
Enchant the Forest
4
Description
Though the Garou used to rule the wilds, humanity encroaches more and more on their ranges. This rite, Enchant the Forest, awakens the spirits of the land and urges them to protect the Wyld.
These spirits awaken and move to resist any human settlements in the area. Springs dry out. The winter grows harsher than ever before, yet the trees are remarkably fast-growing and resilient. Food decays and rots in no time, and vermin and insects infest the area. Attempts to construct power lines fail inexplicably. On the rare occasions when cell phones are able to get any reception at all, their calls are interrupted by threatening screeches of static and disturbing whispers. Superstitious tales of haunted lands circulate, and many humans give the area wide berth. Unfortunately, many others may become interested — government agencies, paranormal investigators, and other supernatural beings.
The ritemaster must take a twig from a tree never seen by human eyes, make a container from the belly of an animal never hunted by humans, and fill the pouch with water from a pond never touched by mankind. He then stirs the water, pours it close to the borders of the wild woods, and calls on the spirits of nature to awaken and defend themselves. He sends messengers to the north, south, east and west, to call to the spirits there. The ritemaster must sing to the spirits for three days.
System: Standard roll. The immediate effects of this rite last for a full year, if they are not disrupted by some sort of supernatural intervention. The area so charmed cannot exceed the farthest distance the messengers have traveled by foot in the three days. If a caern is located within five miles (8 km) of the ritual location, the difficulty is reduced by one.
Rite of the Opened Sky
4
Description
This rite works in much the same way as the Rite of Cleansing, but can encompass an entire caern and those within it. The ritemaster expends only one point of Gnosis to cleanse an area, but for every two additional points he spends, every character within the caern heals one level of damage — even aggravated damage.
The difficulty of this rite depends on the level of taint, such as a tainted spirit’s Gnosis rating. Like the Rite of Cleansing, the difficulty of this rite can also be lowered by one if performed at dawn. Beings of the Wyrm and vampires suffer excruciating pain if exposed to this rite, though they are not cleansed or genuinely damaged.
To use this rite outside a caern, the ritemaster must spend ten points of Gnosis — a feat only the most potent ritemasters of the Garou are capable of.
System: By sacrificing something of personal value and dancing a complex rain dance, the ritemaster can beckon great, purifying showers of rain to fall from the skies. This rain cleanses all Wyrm impurities, and can even heal wounds.
Rite of the Great Council
4
Description
Restriction: Philodox
In these days when unity is so important, it is often sorely lacking. Too often, a rift pits pack against pack, tribe against tribe, or sept against sept. A popular Garou may be (possibly wrongly) accused and sentenced, or old resentments flare into open warfare. Despite the Half Moons’ best efforts, the fabric of werewolf society is torn asunder.
This risky but impressive ritual draws together the most powerful spirits involved in the contention – usually the totems of contending packs, although caern or tribal totems may also be involved. It is a perilous venture, but success will almost certainly bring peace; when the most powerful spirits of a sept speak with one voice, even warring packs will take notice.
System: The target number for the Charisma + Rituals roll is equal to the highest spirit type summoned (as per Rite of Summoning, page 161 of the core book). What follows should make for some intense roleplaying (although the Storyteller may adjust the totems’ initial attitude by the number of successes rolled).
Once all the spirits are in attendance, the Philodox must lay out the situation and/or plead the case. The spirits give council to, or perhaps interrogate, the Half Moon. If they agree with his decisions, they will stand behind him as he makes (or reiterates) the judgment. If on the other hand they disagree with the arbiter’s decision, that too will be made abundantly clear (usually resulting in a loss of Honor Renown and credibility).
Rite of the Parted Veil
5
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
This rite is the Children of Gaia’s ultimate gift to Gaia-cherishing humans. When it is performed, the Veil is not pierced (as in the deadly Rite of Rending the Veil) but parts seamlessly to admit one or more humans (or wolves!). The person on whom the rite is performed thus becomes Kinfolk.
Two Children unrelated to the human must witness that he loves Gaia and would aid the Children’s cause. Most often this rite is done for mates of Garou or Kin. Some of the Patient Deed say that they hope to extend the rite to whole nations. The rite consists of the Garou dancing round the subject, while the ritemaster chants from the Songs of Welcome. As the rite progresses, the Garou slowly shapeshift, until finally they assume the Crinos form without frightening the human.
System: The ritemaster makes an extended Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty of the human’s Willpower. He must accumulate successes equal to the human’s age before the rite succeeds, children are easier to “adopt” than adults.
Name
Level
Description
Moot Rite
1
Description
A moot cannot open until this rite is completed, recharging the caern with Gnosis.
The rite always includes a prolonged howl led by a werewolf known as the Master of the Howl. This howl varies by tribe and sept, but always expresses the unique nature of the sept. All werewolves present must form a circle within the caern itself before they commence howling.
Numerous variations on the basic requirements exist: The Red Talons often bite their paws and scratch blood into the earth, while Uktena pass their most powerful fetish from one to another as each in turn adds her voice to the howl. However it is done, the howl must echo forth and the eternal circle must form.
System: The rite must be performed at least once per month to keep the caern consecrated. During the course of a moot, the participants must empower the caern with a combined total of five Gnosis points per caern level in order to replenish it fully.
Rite of the Hearthfire
1
Description
Native Wendigo and Uktena have taught this important rite to many, even gifted Kinfolk. The group make a fire and with a few quiet, contemplative blessings, the fire becomes the center of a small sanctuary — a warm field that remains protected from the elements. While the area within isn’t luxurious, it becomes comfortable enough for safe, secure sleeping.
System: Once the fire is built, roll Wits + Rites (difficulty 7). If successful, the fire creates a safe zone, a bubble big enough for three people plus one per success. It lasts a full night. During this time, snow, wind, rain, and other environmental phenomena remain outside the bubble. Inside the bubble, people remain warm and the ground is comfortable for sleeping.
Rite of the Opened Caern
1
Description
Each caern has a specific power associated with it, generally of a beneficial nature. Thus, there are caerns of Rage, caerns of Gnosis, Strength, Enigmas, and so on. If a character is knowledgeable enough, she may tap into the caern’s power and use it herself. Doing so is commonly known as “opening” a caern. Such a feat shouldn’t be attempted lightly — Gaia’s sacred places don’t give up their power easily, and failure to harness such power can seriously harm the Garou.
Each caern has its own requirements of the ritemaster. In order to open a caern of Enigmas, a Garou might walk a spiral path while calling out the Greek myth of Persephone; to open a caern of Rage, the Garou might change into Crinos and chant the litany of his ancestors who have fallen in battle against the Wyrm. The key is forging a connection to the particular spirit of the caern.
This rite can also be used to open a moon bridge between two caerns whose pathstones have been spirit-bonded (see below).
System: To open a caern, the character engages in a resisted, extended test of Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7) against the caern’s spirit, seeking to gain a number of successes equal to the caern’s level. The caern spirit uses the caern’s level as its dice pool (difficulty of the ritemaster’s Gnosis), seeking to gain (Ritemaster’s Willpower) successes. The first party to reach their target number of successes triumphs.
If the character wins the test, she can add the caern’s rating to her dice pool when performing actions appropriate to the caern’s focus. If she loses, she takes lethal damage equal to the number of successes by which the caern beat her; a botch makes this damage aggravated.
Rite of Adoration
2
Description
This particular rite is a way in which the Garou can celebrate and honor Gaia, or other subjects important to him. It generally involves putting up a small shrine, although many caerns have only one such shrine where the local Garou and visitors pay their respects and leave tokens and sanctified symbols as they perform this rite.
The Rite of Adoration has countless ways of being performed, but it has a faint resemblance to certain Buddhist practices, as the practitioner often burns incense, chants, meditates and prays. It always includes leaving an item of personal value, which has some relevance to the subject of adoration.
System: It costs one point of Gnosis to perform this rite, but when all the Garou permanently inhabiting the caern have erected a shrine and performed this rite, the difficulty of opening the caern decreases by one. If the shrine is removed the caern loses this benefit. This rite is usually performed alone, and is thereby subject to some divergence even among the most conservative of the caern.
Rite of the Signpost
2
Description
Restriction:Urrah
The Rite of the Signpost (as it is known among the Urrah) is a simple yet potent rite employed by Garou who wish to guide their kin and allies towards them, making use of the benevolent nature of local spirits. The modern adaption of this ancient rite calls upon the spirits of the city (especially any that might be allied with the caern totem) to manipulate the the unseen forces that guide the pulse and flow of urban life, to subtly direct any friendly Garou or allies towards safety.
To begin, the ritemaster must find a piece of urban detritus—a discarded soda can, a graffiti tag, or a scrap of newspaper—that resonates with the city’s unique energy. The ritemaster marks it with a symbol, a rune, or some form of a sigil that subtly signifies the location (such as a safehouse) or individual (such as the Warder) to whom new arrivals will be guided.
The ritemaster then calls to the urban spirits, those unseen entities that animate city life, and makes a respectful request for their assistance. This may be done through spoken word, a howl distorted to blend with the city noise, or perhaps even a rhythm banged out on a metal trash can lid. Once the call is made, the ritemaster leaves their marked item in a public but inconspicuous place—a message board, a park bench, a subway station. To most, it’s just another piece of urban clutter, but to those attuned to the ways of the Garou and the spirits, it becomes a signpost leading them to the city’s protectors.
System: The ritemaster must first specify exactly who the Rite of the Signpost is intended to help, and where it will lead to (as described above). She then rolls Wits + Streetwise vs 7 (and remember, as a caern rite, this dice pool is limited by the ritemaster’s Gnosis).
The number of successes indicates how actively willing the local urban spirits are to lend their assistance. This could manifest as an unexpectedly lucky series of green traffic lights, mysterious graffiti that seems to give directions, or an uncannily helpful cab driver. A failure indicates the spirits are uncooperative or distracted, while a botch may anger them, causing misleading or potentially dangerous paths to be laid out (i.e., ‘I could’ve sworn my brother told me the sept was in Downtown LA…not Inglewood. Oh well, here we go!’
Rite of the Glorious Past
3
Description
Special: Galliard may learn this rite without an auspice role penalty.
A caern has its own history and heritage, regardless of the Garou that currently inhabit it. Learning the history of a caern is a fascinating undertaking that can take years. However, this rite allows the Garou to experience the nuances of the caern’s development as a fever dream, causing those years to seem to pass in a few short moments.
To enact this rite, the ritemaster must draw up a map of the caern as it was when it was first founded (which may require some research). This map is then burnt at the center of the caern. As the map burns, all Garou present growl quietly as the ritemaster recites the history of the caern. All werewolves present see the caern’s formation and any other important details in its history as though in a dream.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Rituals (difficulty 9 minus the ritemaster’s Ancestors rating). If performed successfully, each participant receives an additional dot of Ancestors until the next dawn; this occurs even if the character is normally incapable of possessing this Background (as the ancestors thus contacted are former guardians of the caern rather than a given character’s personal forebears).
This ritual also “primes” the caern; the next caern rite performed therein receives a –1 difficulty.
Meandering Path
3
Description
The Meandering Path rite is the primary tool that the Garou Nation has historically used to find suitable sites for caerns. Its use is not easy, or rapid, but over a long period of time it helps the Garou settle on a worthwhile location for a new caern. Even in ancient times, finding an appropriate location for a new caern could be difficult and time-consuming; in these days, with a high Gauntlet and the Wyrm and Weaver crowding Gaia in almost everywhere, it’s even harder.
System: First, find an appropriately pristine patch of wilderness by rolling Perception + Survival, difficulty 9 after a month’s worth of investigation. Success on this roll will indicate a broad swath (perhaps a square mile, or even more) with high enough traces of the Wyld that the characters might find a suitable home for a caern within. This roll will automatically fail if the wilderness the character investigates is unsuitable for a caern; if this is the case, success on the Perception + Survival roll will correctly indicate that the entire area is unsuitable.
Then, spend a point of Gnosis and roll Perception +Enigmas (difficulty 9) to carefully explore this swath of land for a low enough Gauntlet and the favor of the spirits. The Garou must collect ten successes on this extended roll; each roll and Gnosis expenditure represents one week of communing with the spirits and cautiously investigating the terrain.
Once a sufficient number of successes have been gained, the Garou still must use the Rite of Caern Building to actually create the Caern. This Gift simply points out the best location for such a thing to be done. Good luck.
Rite of No Trespassing
3
Description
Through the Rite of No Trespassing (which is the Urrah name for this rite), a ritemaster surrounds their home with wards and rituals to discourage passers-by from wanting to notice what’s really going on there. He usually begins by slowly working his way around the perimeter of a stomping ground or urban caern, leaving signs or markings to intimidate, misdirect, or confuse ordinary people from wandering into the bawn.
Glass Walkers may indulge in legal red tape, warning signs and NIMBYism. Bone Gnawers take a more direct approach which often involves marking a few sidewalks and walls with urine and stink. Among the Urrah, trash, graffiti, dead animals, and general signs of squalor can all convince the average human that there are some darkened streets you just don’t want to go down. More traditional tribes, such as the Wendigo, used to make this clear with the heads of their enemies impaled on spears.
System: Enacting this rite requires one hour of activity, the expenditure of ten Gnosis (any participants may contribute to this total), and a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7). Record the number of successes. A human that consciously decides to go against his better judgment and enter the area must beat the number of successes on a Willpower roll (difficulty 7). This rite cannot be performed on an area where the Gauntlet is higher than 8.
As an added effect to a successful rite, humans may get lost in the area surrounding the warded area, even a few blocks away. At least in the city, the rite cannot be performed on an area larger than a single building or alleyway. Past that, the wards begin to fail. Additionally, Garou must inhabit this area at least overnight; you can’t cast this on a random neighborhood just to confuse people.
The ward must be renewed each month (for an urban caern) or each week (for urban stomping grounds).
The Badger's Burrow
4
Description
Special: A Garou with the Sept position of ‘Warder’ pays 1 less XP per level to learn this rite.
The guardians of the caerns become so connected to their bawn that they can sense all that goes on within its boundaries.
The ritemaster enacting this rite gazes intently into a bowl of water, pool of ink, mirror, or some similar focus. At the same time, the werewolf pours a small amount of witch hazel or other strongly scented astringent (even urine) on the ground in front of her.
Any other Garou watching or participating encircle the ritemaster and growl softly in the backs of their throats. Some of the younger Garou (Glass Walkers and Uktena in particular) enhance the ritual through the use of mild psychotropic drugs, although many werewolves frown upon this practice.
System: The celebrant must make a successful Perception + Rituals roll against the given difficulty level. Each success enables the ritemaster (or the caern Warder) to ask one question regarding a defined area. Failure indicates that the Garou sees nothing.
Rite of the Opened Bridge
4
Description
This rite creates a moon bridge, a shimmering portal serving as a mystical means of transportation between two caerns. Moon bridges allow Garou to traverse distances in 1/1000th the normal time required, and as such, are vital links among the sacred spaces of Gaia.
Traditionally, once per year, a caern must renew its connection with other caerns to which it wishes to maintain moon bridges. The longer a caern goes without renewing this connection, the more perilous and treacherous that the moon bridge connecting the two caerns becomes…eventually, it will dissolve entirely.
This rite is always held during a moot, and it must be enacted simultaneously by both participating caerns. The primary requirement to open a moon bridge is a pathstone. Pathstones are found in the Umbra, and they are often the objects of quests. These extraordinarily rare stones resemble flat pearls with the imprint of a wolf’s paw on one side. It is possible to steal a pathstone from a caern, but such a theft is considered blasphemous, and it may well result in war between two septs.
The rite establishes (or reestablishes) a spiritual connection between the pathstones of two separate caerns by way of the caerns’ totem spirits. At the rite’s culmination, a moon bridge opens between the two participating caerns. During this time, Garou from both septs can travel between the caerns to join in a wild revel.
System:The roll is Wits + Enigmas (difficulty 8 minus the level of the ritemaster’s caern). If the rite was unsuccessful previously, the difficulty level of the rite increases by one. The ritemaster needs to obtain a number of successes equal to the target caern’s level to complete the rite.
If the rite succeeds, the moon bridge opens immediately, and the spirit-bond between the two pathstones is established. Moon bridges may now be opened at any time between the two caerns. The bridges may be opened with the Rite of the Opened Caern or the Ragabash Gift: Open Moon Bridge (if performed at the caern).
If the rite fails, no moon bridge opens, and the rite must be tried again next year. Moon bridges to the caern may still be opened, but they aren’t as safe as they might be.
Rite of the Shrouded Glen
4
Description
This rite causes an area within the Umbra to become invisible, so that it cannot be seen from any other part of the spirit world.
At least five people must participate in this ritual, and they must fast for at least three days to purify themselves. The Uktena, who are particularly adept at this rite, maintain that all participants must come to the rite with their bodies clad only in painted symbols representing earth, air, water, fire, and (for the ritemaster) the spirit world.
System: The difficulty of this roll is the caern’s Gauntlet + 4. Any participating Garou can contribute Gnosis to this rite. The participants must spend a total of 10 Gnosis points to make the effect last for one year.
Otherwise, the number of successes achieved equals the number of hours the Umbral Glen remains hidden.
Rite of Caern Building
5
Description
This powerful rite creates a new caern by drawing the spirit world and the physical world closer together.
Simply reciting the rite draws the attention of the Wyrm’s servants, and actually performing the rite has been known to prove fatal. A wise and powerful Theurge is almost always selected to perform this most sacred of rites. Even then, many Garou must channel their energy through this (hopefully) worthy leader to have even a hope of success. Whole packs have been known to die in the agony of failed attempts.
Once the physical focus for the heart of the caern is chosen, the area must be cleansed of all taints in preparation for its transformation. All Garou participating in the rite must undergo a Rite of Cleansing, at minimum. While this is happening, the ritemaster usually performs a series of minor rituals, meditations, and other physical preliminaries to prepare for her awesome task.
When everything (and everyone) is prepared, the sept must post sentries, for servants of the Wyrm almost invariably attempt to disrupt such a great rite. Only the mightiest warriors are chosen for such an assignment, and their protection is critical to the success of the rite. The leader of the rite is helpless while she chants a long litany of verses designed to draw a great spirit into the prepared caern.
System: The rite lasts from dusk until dawn. As the sun breaks over the horizon, the ritemaster makes a Wits + Rituals roll at difficulty 8 (modified downward by one for every five Garou participating in the rite and spending Gnosis over and above the 13 necessary participants, to a minimum of difficulty 4).
Because an enormous amount of Gnosis is needed to break through the Gauntlet and empower the new caern, a minimum of 13 Garou, one for each moon of the year, must participate in the rite. At the end of the rite, the participating Garou channel Gnosis into the nascent caern — a total of 100 points of Gnosis is necessary to awaken the sacred site. If an insufficient amount of Gnosis is offered, the rite’s participants begin to suffer aggravated wounds as their life-force is sacrificed to create the caern. Each wound counts as one more Gnosis point towards the total.
Finally, to complete the ritual, each of the 13 core participants must sacrifice a dot of permanent Gnosis.
The dangers of the rite are many. Failure scours the bodies and spirits of all Garou involved in the rite, both those donating Gnosis and those protecting them, inflicting four levels of lethal damage from spiritual backlash. A botch inflicts seven levels of lethal damage; those driven below Incapacitated by this damage suffer severe Battle Scars (see p. 259).
Minions of the Wyrm ultimately pose the greatest threat to the rite. As soon as it begins, all Wyrm-corrupted beings (Banes, fomori, Black Spiral Dancers, even particularly degenerate vampires or depraved ghosts) for miles around become aware of the rite; many will stop at nothing to prevent its completion. The Garou can expect a siege lasting at least until dawn, and likely longer.
Rite of Anchoring the Divide
5
Description
This is a variation of the Rite of Caern Building that links two parts of the spirit world rather than the physical and spirit worlds. It also draws the attention of spirits but these will not necessarily be minions of the Wyrm.
This rite is simultaneously performed on both sides of the Membrane. Ritemasters must find ways of synchronizing their steps. Some use Gifts to link skilled drummers who beat the time on both sides, others experiment with timepiece fetishes that keep time with each other no matter the distance between them. An object of value — the anchor — is ritually divided in two. The rite’s magic cleanly breaks the anchor regardless of how difficult it would normally be to cleave. Many ritemasters favor Pathstones but any object they value will work.
If the rite succeeds, an Anchorhead opens between the anchors — both appear whole again. Close examination reveals the restored half is ghost-like and unreal. If either one is destroyed, the Anchorhead instantly collapses. Small Realms start to form around the mouths of the new Anchorhead; within a few hours they develop a theme according to the natures and subconscious desires of the ritemasters.
System: Each ritemaster makes an extended Wits + Rituals roll, difficulty 8. Each roll takes one hour performing the rite. Storytellers may modify the difficulty depending on steps taken by the ritemasters to synchronize their actions. Each ritemaster requires five successes.
If one ritemaster gains the required successes before the other she must continue her ritual — and rolling the dice — until the other ritemaster succeeds. If at any time either ritemaster botches, not only does the rite fail, but his half of the anchor becomes spiritually disrupted and no longer suitable to form an Anchorhead.
Rite of the Sacred Peace
5
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia, Black Furies
Only the most brazen would violate a sacred peace. The entire sept, including Kin and representatives of the community, must gather at the caern and each participant must declare himself dedicated to the peace of the land.
System: The strength of the peace equals the number of Garou plus half the number of Kin who join in the rite. Anyone deciding to make war on such a community must make a Willpower roll, difficulty 8, with as many successes as the strength of the peace.
If ever this peace is broken, the leader of the community may utter a destructive curse upon the violator, using as many dice to curse as the strength of the peace. Treat this as the Flaw: Dark Fate with a strength equal to the strength of the broken peace.
Name
Level
Description
Gathering for the Departed
1
Description
This rite is enacted in honor of the newly dead. A Galliard or a packmate of the departed werewolf usually performs the rite.
The specifics of the rite vary dramatically from tribe to tribe. For example, a Fianna ritemaster leads the sept in the telling of tales, both raucous and heroic, about the fallen Garou. In contrast stands the Wendigo’s solemn rite in which the ritemaster and all the fallen one’s packmates stand on the highest peak available, tails to the wind, and howl out their pride and grief to speed their companion onward to her next life. The exact form of the rite is less important than the acknowledgment it represents.
System: The ritemaster leads the release of the Garou’s combined emotions into the spirit world. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this rite may make the deceased’s spirit easier to contact through the Ancestors Background.
Last Blessing
1
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
The mere existence of metis threatens the Veil, as they are born and die in Crinos form. This blessing is given to a dying or just-deceased metis by the ritemaster. It ensures that the corpse will assume the natural form which the metis most preferred — human or wolf — arousing no suspicion. Many metis have received this rite with joy, seeing it as a sign of Gaia’s forgiveness.
System: Standard roll. The ritemaster lays hands on the metis and chants the Song of the True Form, then spends one Gnosis point. The metis’s body changes to Homid or Lupus form, and the change is permanent. This rite must be performed within an hour of death, and has no effect on a live metis.
Rite of Memorial
1
Description
While the Gathering for the Departed is performed for most deceased Garou, the Rite of Memorial is reserved only for a sept’s greatest heroes.
When a memorial or shrine is built in a caern to honor such a hero, this rite dedicates it to the ancestor-spirit in question. Like the Gathering for the Departed, this rite’s form varies from tribe to tribe and from caern type to caern type.
Children of Gaia in a caern dedicated to healing might croon a lullaby while standing in a circle around the shrine to ask the hero to bring blessings of peace, while Get of Fenris in a caern full of Rage might sacrifice an animal or person symbolic of one of the hero’s victories, leaving its entrails to tie the ancestor to its still-living kin.
System: This rite is generally considered offensive to perform for a slain Garou of Rank less than 4, unless his deeds were unquestionably heroic on a scale that affected the entire sept or tribe.
This rite’s ultimate effect, beyond reflecting well on the departed hero’s family and comrades, is to make it slightly more likely that they might be contacted as an ancestor-spirit in the future. Especially if their memory is kept alive for future generations (such as with the Lesser Rite of Mourning).
Rite of Soul Sending
2
Description
In an ideal world, the soul of every being would pass on to wherever it should go when its body dies, whether that’s an afterlife, sweet oblivion, or something even stranger. But this is not an ideal world. This is a world of darkness, and here the Dark Umbra manifests the ghosts of the restless dead in their obsessive agony.
To protect a soul from this unnatural fate, a Garou mystic can perform this rite to help ensure that whatever business the dead soul may wish to resolve is less appealing than the call of the world’s natural cycle of life. Since it’s unheard of for a werewolf’s soul to become trapped as a ghost, this rite is usually performed to send off the spirits of humans (or, occasionally, animals) who died of violent or supernatural causes, or may have compelling reasons to linger.
It’s common for tribes to perform this rite for deceased Kinfolk. Some Garou perform this rite for slain enemies, not wishing to be the objects of otherworldly vengeance, although Wyrm-tainted corpses reject it out of hand. The ritemaster bathes the corpse in clean, cool water to calm any wrath the spirit might feel. Then he dances around the body in a circle while all those in attendance drum or stamp their feet and recite the name of the deceased over and over. They begin loudly, to attract the spirit’s attention, and gradually get softer and softer over the course of the ritual until they whisper the name away into the wind, never to be spoken among them again.
System: This rite will not work on a corpse that has been dead for longer than a number of hours equal to the ritemaster’s Gnosis, or on the corpse of any being touched by the Wyrm. The difficulty of the roll is (5 + number of hours dead), to a maximum of 9.
The spirit of the deceased does not linger as a ghost or appear in the Dark Umbra. Should the ritemaster botch the roll, the dead spirit instead immediately rushes in and becomes a wraith right then and there.
Rite of the Echoing Howl
2
Description
Restriction: Galliard
When a mighty hero falls, sometimes the Gathering for the Departed is not enough. Sometimes the spot upon which her heroic blood touched the soil needs a mark, even if the mark is completely invisible in the Realm. In such an instance, a Garou may enact the Rite of the Echoing Howl.
While this rite can be performed with a pack or an even larger group, it is just as often enacted by one of the fallen werewolf’s packmates. The ritemaster stands at the exact spot at which the hero fell (even if the Garou was taken away to die elsewhere), and walks in a small circle, counterclockwise. She then steps into the Umbra and howls as loud and long as she possibly can. If the rite is successful, that howl echoes for all time, reminding anyone who steps into the Umbra that a champion was lost on that spot.
System: Standard roll. If the roll succeeds, anyone who can perceive spirits hears the howl faintly in the area, and anyone who actually steps sideways hears it as though the ritemaster were still standing there howling.
Any Garou attempting to perform this rite for the wrong reason (such as to “mark” an area of the Umbra) assuredly loses Honor Renown, and the rite won’t work for such purposes anyway.
Lesser Rite of Mourning
3
Description
Through the Lesser Rite of Mourning the Garou honor a dead hero with a small personal ceremony commemorating the great deeds and virtues of the dead.
Unlike the Gathering for the Departed or Rite of Lasting Glory, which takes place once and soon after death, the Rite of Mourning can take place many times (often annually). Only those closest to the memory of the departed partake in this intimate ceremony; loved ones, offspring, packmates and the closest of allies.
The execution of the rite varies greatly from situation to situation and from tribe to tribe, but the most common version is moderately complex. The ritemaster calls the participants to him, and declares the name and deeds of the one to be honored. This can take the form of a long mournful cry, or a barely audible groan. This is followed by a small period of silent contemplation by everyone involved as they meditate upon what is lost. Then one by one the participants approach the site of worship (a dedicated shrine, a grave marker or something else representing the deceased) to offer a small token or gift of remembrance. The token may be a physical object like a weapon or fetish, or a symbolic offering like a teardrop or a smear of one’s own blood. Upon the offering each one offers a remark on why they honor the deceased (whether for a personal reason, or for some quality or virtue they believe the deceased embodied in their life).
As the mourners settle in front of the site of worship the ritemaster leads them in a sharing of tales of the deceased, where everyone shares their fond memories. This is often followed by a chant or song led by the ritemaster, but performed by all, calling on the deceased to watch over them and lend them his strength and virtue in their continuous struggle. As the song concludes the deceased may sometimes appear for a small delicate period of time to be with those closest to him again in his life. (It is not unheard of for those so honored to become ancestor-spirits due to the love and respect offered them during this ritual. After the spirit dissipates, if it shows at all, the participants give a farewell howl before breaking company or partaking in some revelry or another.
System: The ritemaster must succeed on a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 8 minus the rank of the honored Garou, with additional minus 1 for every five participants. On a marginal success (one success) the honored receives one posthumous point of Honor. On a moderate success (two successes), the honoree receives an amount of posthumous Renown equal to the number of participants, to be distributed among the categories the deceased is being remembered for. The participants all receive one point of Honor. On a complete success (three successes), the deceased receives Renown equal to the total ranks of all participants divided by two. The participants all receive an Honor reward equal to the rank of the deceased.
With five or more successes the deceased has a chance of appearing as an apparition to comfort the participants; if this happens, the participants all have their Willpower replenished.
Although the rite can be performed more than once for any given hero, all rites of mourning after the first have no game effect, Renown gains or otherwise.
Rite of the Winter Wolf
3
Description
Restriction: All tribes except Urrah or Children of Gaia.
Once a werewolf becomes too wounded or aged to fight with his tribe, he performs this bleak and solemn rite.
Upon announcing that he will undergo the rite, the werewolf sits at the center of a gathering of his pack- and sept-mates. The meeting is an onerous, solemn affair during which the Moon Dancers sing hymns of the celebrant’s life and deeds and invoke the spirits for glory in the next world or life. The celebrant then slowly and proudly walks through the closed ranks of the tribe. As he passes his people, they begin howling a dirge similar to that sung during the Gathering for the Departed.
Some Garou beat heavy drums or play mournful pipes as the celebrant drags himself to a secluded site where he ends his life, usually with a klaive. Rarely, two werewolves, usually packmates, will perform this rite together, sometimes killing each other simultaneously, although Ahroun may give each other a last fight to finish, with the victor ending his life beside his fallen opponent.
Immediately after the suicide, the sept performs the Gathering for the Departed. Red Talons and Get of Fenris are the staunchest supporters of this rite. It is unheard of among the Children of Gaia and Bone Gnawers, who value the knowledge and experience of their aged and wounded.
The rite is always performed at night, typically under the auspice moon of the departing werewolf. Three other Garou must be present to acknowledge the character’s life and departure. Failure to perform the rite properly is considered an omen that Gaia still needs some final service from the Garou.
Greater Rite of Mourning
4
Description
The martyred hero represents all that is good and righteous to the cause. Unlike the private and intimate Lesser Rite of Mourning, the Greater Rite of Mourning is an elaborate and formal event dedicated to full-scale hero worship. It is typically only performed for those who have already been honored with the Rite of Memorial.
There must be at least 10 participants in addition to the ritemaster. The Greater Rite of Mourning serves a dual purpose. First of all it empowers the chosen cause of the ritemaster and the participants, strengthening their resolve and ability to succeed in their struggle. Second, it bestows great posthumous renown to the honored, strengthening his or her memory and spiritual essence.
As with the lesser version of this rite, the honoree may appear or even become an ancestor-spirit as a result of the worship given during this ritual. Due to the great power of such a rite if well performed, and the difficulty in assembling such large numbers of participants, rites like these are not common except during times of great struggle. The Greater Rite of Mourning is performed only once.
The rite usually commences with the calling to order by the ritemaster. This is followed by a chanting recital of the fundamentals of the honored hero’s career, struggle and death, and its relevance to the struggle at hand. Following is a moment of silent meditation in honor of the deceased. The ritemaster then declares the different virtues of the hero, while offering symbolic sacrifices in the deceased’s name. This leads in to a common chant, where the ritemaster leads the participants in calling to the hero to bless them with his virtues and aid them in finishing his noble struggle. At this point the deceased may or may not appear as an apparition in order to bless them in person. The song flows naturally into a chanting “war speech” by the ritemaster, restating the purpose of their gathering and the necessity of their noble struggle. If delivered properly, the speech whips the participants into a proper mood, and many a Greater Rite of Mourning has been followed by a bloody and heroic attack against the enemies of the People.
System: The ritemaster, who must be of a rank at least equal to the number of participants divided by 10, makes a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 10 minus the rank of the honored hero. The difficulty further decreases by one for every 10 participants.
One success has no other effect than an Honor point to all involved. Two successes grants the honored hero a point of Renown for each 10 participants, plus an additional number of Renown equal to the ritemaster’s rank, to be distributed to the categories the hero was honored for. The participants all regain lost Willpower, as well as a point of spent Rage or Gnosis (depending on the purpose of the rite), and gain two points of honor each. The ritemaster also receives a number of Honor points equal to the rank of the honored hero.
Three or four successes grants three points of Honor to all participants, except for the ritemaster, who receives Renown equal to the rank of the honoree, plus a tenth the total number of participants. All participants also gain the use of one of the hero’s abilities or Gifts for the struggle at hand. The hero being honored receives a point of Renown for every five participants, in addition to the points gained from the ritemaster’s rank.
Five or more successes results in the participants gaining the use of two of the abilities or Gifts of the honored hero, and each participant regains two points of Rage or Gnosis, or one of each. The ritemaster gains the use of an additional Gift. The hero has a chance of actually appearing as an apparition, and gains the ritemaster’s rank plus one for every five participants in Renown.
Name
Level
Description
Appease the Traffic Gods
1
Description
Restriction: Glass Walkers, Bone Gnawers
Glass Walkers and Bone Gnawers know that it’s nearly impossible to get across town in a hurry, especially around the morning and evening rush hour—and in very large cities, those morning and evening rush hours edge closer together every week. Garou can do it in their lupine and near-lupine forms, but most of the time traveling across town as a gigantic wolf isn’t a reasonable thing to do.
This ritual allows a Garou to get the attention of the pattern spiders that nurse the ebb and flow of traffic patterns across a city’s streets and highways. The rite asks them to nudge things here and there to provide the clearest possible path for the Garou’s vehicle. Lights turn green just as the character hits them, or stay green just long enough for the character to sneak through—or, failing that, nearby cops are distracted as the Garou runs the red.
Note that Appease the Traffic Gods can’t perform miracles: if there’s an accident at one of the main intersections in town, the best this rite can do is free up an alternate side route. The “traffic gods” may well simply manifest in the form of a convenient ambulance or fire engine for the characters’ vehicle to slipstream through traffic, but Garou should be aware that this site won’t protect them if they violate the simple and obvious rules of the road. Appease the Traffic Gods will never, for instance, lure a character’s vehicle to drive on the sidewalk.
System: The ritemaster must take a small toy car that looks roughly similar to her vehicle, and roll it across that vehicle’s dashboard while murmuring a quiet invocation to the spirits. The player rolls Charisma + Rituals; hazards and traffic that might interfere with the car’s ability to get across town as quickly as possible are reduced if she succeeds.
If the Storyteller would prefer to just describe the trip, this can be a general reduction in difficulty (and increase in speed) proportional to the number of successes earned. Barring that, the rite reduces difficulty to move around in traffic by 1 per success to a minimum of 2).
Note that this rite won’t help the Garou perform wacky stunts like going up on two wheels or jumping the car into the air: it only helps to move quickly through city streets. That should be considered miraculous enough in Los Angeles.
Baptism of Fire
1
Description
Most tribes attempt to track down all children born to their Kinfolk within one month of the child’s birth to see if they “share the blood.” (Most commonly, this inquiry involves the Gift: Scent of the True Form.) Those who are Garou are “baptized” in the light of their auspice moon, beside a ritual fire.
Note that Gaia often works in mysterious ways and there is absolutely no guarantee that a Kinfolk will ever experience their First Change. There is rarely a Garou on hand with the right Gift at the right time, and even when there is, mistakes can be made. After all, if it were that easy, the Garou Nation would be a very different place. This rite’s true utility is that an adult werewolf has very little expectation of surviving 16-18 more years to personally watch over their offspring…This rite makes it more likely that someone (hopefully of their tribe or sept) will be able to keep an eye on a particularly promising child. This is virtually always a Kinfolk who doesn’t even realize that werewolves exist. After all, if you’re one of the rare few that’s growing up on a bawn in a forest somewhere, what’s even the point?
Such a baptism most commonly involves mingling ashes with a few drops of Garou blood; the mixture is then touched to the child’s ears, nose, eyelids and tongue. In the presence of a lesser tribal spirit known as a Kin-Fetch, the babe is then held up to the moonlight while the baptizing Garou howls Gaia’s greeting to the newborn.
The ritemaster then has the Kin-Fetch kiss the infant. The spirit’s fiery kiss inscribes a spiritual brand upon the babe in the form of the newborn’s tribal glyph. This mark is invisible — a thing of pure spirit — and impossible to remove. It can be traced and recognized by all Garou (including Black Spiral Dancers, who target such cubs and capture them in order to swell their own vile ranks).
The participating Kin-Fetch spirit is assigned to watch over the young Garou as she grows to maturity, so that the tribe may always know the child’s location and whether she is endangered. When the First Change is imminent, the spirit alerts the tribe. Unfortunately, such minor spirits are notoriously weak-willed and easily distracted.
System: The ritemaster makes a Charisma + Rituals roll. Only one success is required, but additional successes improve the chance that the Kin-Fetch will keep track of the child. The rite must be performed at night under the child’s auspice moon. Although generally performed within a month of birth, it remains effective at any time before the First Change. The brand vanishes after the cub’s Rite of Passage.
Preserving the Fetish
1
Description
This rite is designed to honor and preserve a spirit within a fetish, or other spirit-imbued object.
Each Garou who practices the rite introduces small variations, depending on the type of spirit and fetish involved. The rite generally includes cleaning the fetish, and perhaps even re-coating damaged layers of paint or making other such similar repairs, though many Garou (and spirits) prefer fetishes that appear to be veterans, not brand-new.
This rite is often assigned to cubs, apprentices and the occasional callow or kiss-ass Cliath, who are subsequently given the task of maintaining the fetishes of the sept. This is usually also the only time cubs are allowed near the arsenal of the sept.
System: The player rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 8. Good roleplaying and clever ideas for honoring the spirit (emphasis on honoring here) could warrant bonus decreases in difficulty level.
This ritual should be performed at least once a month, but most Garou are encouraged to use it as often as possible, especially after having used the fetish.
Rite of Binding
1
Description
This rite binds a spirit to a werewolf, making it his servant. The more powerful the spirit is, the more difficult the process is.
Although any encountered spirit is subject to binding, the Garou generally feel that spirits should be bound only when needed. Binding spirits for excessive lengths of time is generally viewed as callous abuse of those who should be the allies of the Garou. This point doesn’t go uncontested, however, particularly by the mystics of the Uktena tribe.
Spirits trapped through this rite may be bound into temporary service or into objects to create talens (see p. 227). No spirit allows itself to be bound unless it is friendly to the binding character’s totem. Spirits can be bound into objects, places, and people, although the Garou generally don’t perform the last feat unless the need is great. Failing this rite can be dangerous, for the spirit is very likely to become hostile and attempt to harm the mystic.
System: A Garou can attempt this rite only in the presence of a spirit, and it is virtually always performed in the Umbra.
When attempting to bind a spirit, a Garou must first spend a number of Gnosis points (minimum of one). Each point of Gnosis spent reduces the spirit’s Gnosis rating by one. The Garou’s player must then roll Willpower (difficulty equals the spirit’s adjusted Gnosis).
The number of successes indicates how long the spirit may be forced into service, with each success binding the spirit for one week. In the case of a talen, the spirit is bound until the object is used.
Rite of Feeding the Wolf
1
Description
Restriction: Glass Walkers
The Glass Walkers may be masters of adapting to the urban environment, but it has come at some cost. The wolf blood in them has grown thin, and it has become perilously easy to lose the wolf or fall into Harano out of simple neglect for their wilder side. As such, some Glass Walkers use this site as a means of reconnecting with their more primal self.
System: The Garou must go to a wild place, even if it’s a vacant lot overgrown with mimosa or ailanthus trees, and act in a feral, animalistic fashion for long enough to become sweaty and filthy. He may be in any form while doing this.
The player rolls Primal-Urge + Expression, difficulty 6 in a wild place with animals and plants, 8 in a wild place without animals larger than rats, and 9 in a tame place such as a nicely kept lawn. The player may add one to his Rage for each success on the roll, for the remainder of the scene.
Rite of Growth
1
Description
This favorite of urban Garou, particularly the City Farmers of the Glass Walkers, allows plants to grow in strange locations. The plants don’t grow unusually quickly, but can grow in plastic, concrete, or other unusual places, drawing nutrients from the source.
Three Garou are needed to make this rite work. The ritemaster makes an indentation in the surface using a claw, and plants the seed of the plant into it. The three then hold hands in a triangle around it, kneeling, and request the spirit of the material that it nurture and care for the plant. If the spirit agrees, a small green shoot will appear immediately.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals. The difficulty depends on the surface and area. An abandoned lot is 5, a typical city building is 7, and an oil spill would be 9. Each success guarantees the plant’s survival for one month. After that, as much regular watering and care as for any other plant is required.
Rite of Talisman Dedication
1
Description
This common rite allows a werewolf to bind objects to her body, which has the following effects:
* When a Garou shapeshifts they won’t be destroyed or lost. What happens to them follows the path of least metaphysical resistance, in terms of what is required to adapt them to her new form. For example, if it’s a backpack, then the straps will simply lengthen to accommodate a Crinos form’s greater mass. However, if it were a pair of fucking jeans, rather than magically tailor themselves to fit the complications of a war form or wolf’s digitigrade hindquarters, they’ll simply fade away, submerging into the werewolf’s ‘pattern’. If it’s a significant tool or instrument of some kind, such as a knife sheathed at your hip, it might instead resemble a tattoo when taking Lupus form.
* They accompany the Garou into the Umbra. Yes – this means that you can only take dedicated objects into the Umbra with you, unless they’re a fetish or a talen.
Such talismans are most commonly mundane items, for spiritual items such as fetishes and talens remain with the werewolf in all forms and in the Umbra automatically.
A werewolf must perform this rite upon themselves during the phase of the moon under which she was born, and each auspice (including tribal or geographical variants) has its own peculiar ritual. Be creative.
System: The cost is one Gnosis point per object dedicated, and a character may never have more objects bound to himself than his Gnosis score.
Conceptually linked groups of objects may count as a single object as the Storyteller’s discretion. Here are some examples:
* A set of clothing would be considered one object rather than one shirt, one pair of pants, two socks, and so on. However, this does not extend to jackets, hats or shoes more complicated than say, a baseball cap, a windbreaker or a hoodie, and a pair of tennis shoes. Why is it this way? It’s because sometimes a player comes along who thinks kitting themselves out like a Navy SEAL with tac gear and ammo pouches, should count as one dedication.
* A single magazine of ammunition might be dedicated to the character, rather than requiring one dedication per bullet. In the same way, a quiver of arrows also counts as a single dedication. Why is it this way? Well, the ancient, primordial laws of the spirits work differently than based off sheer mass. Every bullet – just like every arrow – has the metaphysical capacity to end or change a life and achieve its own glory or notoriety (the assassin’s bullet, or the arrow that brings down the buffalo and saves the tribe from starvation). As such, a magazine of bullets or a quiver of arrows is metaphysically the same thing to the spirit world whose ancient pacts with your ancestors powers these rites.
* You can’t just dedicate a duffel bag and shove a bunch of shit in there. What you’re looking for is something like the Magpie’s Swag fetish (level one).
* You must +note every object upon you (preferably using +note/items me/Talisman Dedication) for it to be dedicated. If it’s not +noted, it won’t be honored in a scene.
Rite of the Cardboard Palace
1
Description
A Bone Gnawer favorite (whose name for it is used among the Urrah), this rite allows the Garou to transform any flimsy structure into a decent place to sleep.
Although it often involves a lot of cardboard and newspaper, this rite can be invoked just about anywhere a werewolf needs to call home for the night — a few torn down branches arranged into a messy lean-to in the woods functions as well as a pile of converted trash in an alley. The “walls” of the dwelling become water-resistant and insulated, keeping everyone inside warm and dry. The rite can even be performed in full view of humans without breaking the Veil. For powerful Theurges, the cardboard palace is even a place of healing, as well.
System: The ritemaster’s player rolls Intelligence + Survival (difficulty 6). One success is all that’s needed to create a comfortable place to sleep. If a point of Gnosis is spent before making the roll, the shelter is more than just comfortable — the character who spent it (which could be anyone with access to Gnosis) living inside the cardboard palace can roll Stamina after a full day of rest within; three successes heals one aggravated health level.
A cardboard palace lasts for one full day per success on the activation roll.
Rite of the Questing Stone
1
Description
This rite allows the werewolf to find a person or object (but not a location).
First, the ritemaster must know the name of the object or individual and have a piece of the item or individual (a clipping of hair, a piece of cloth, etc). If there is a particularly strong sympathetic connection (such as a rightful owner searching for a family heirloom or you know the True Name of an entity), then this requirement can sometimes be overcome.
Then, she must dangle a stone or needle from a thread while concentrating on the item or person sought. Glass Walkers often use maps and substitute a compass for the traditional stone and thread.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals vs 7. If they’re trying to find someone who is actively attempting to avoid being found, then for every dot that the target’s Stealth exceeds the ritemaster’s Rank, add one to the difficulty.
This rite takes about ten minutes, during which The werewolf gains only a sense of the object’s general location, not its exact position. It has been known to fail for any number of reasons – as there are quite a few variables that might interfere with it (as often happens with a compass).
Any supernatural interference whatsoever (such as the target possessing Arcane or being kept within a magically concealed vault) makes this level 1 rite completely worthless absent some extremely extenuating circumstance at the Storyteller’s discretion.
NOTE:Using this rite for flippant reasons like, ‘Where’s Caine?’ will get it removed from your sheet.
Rite of the Sacred Fire
1
Description
Restriction: Uktena
The sacred fire is a focal point of spiritual life in many septs, for like the heart of the caern it connects the physical and spirit realms — the flame burns in both. Sacred fires are tended with reverence in medicine lodges or caves, or more rarely outside —spirits are attracted to them like the proverbial moths to a flame, so such a fire would make a site pretty crowded even for an Uktena caern.
Building a sacred fire in turn increases the effectiveness of other mystic endeavors. A sacred fire is to be treated with respect. While an individual may remake sacred fires at need, it is considered more honorable to maintain one. Many septs maintain the fire for a year at a stretch, while others have kept theirs burning for years or even generations.
The fire is built using sanctified materials (including a small pinch of spiritually active tobacco) and started with flint sparks or with wood friction – never a lighter or match. The base of the fire consists of four logs that point in the cardinal directions.
System: At the moment of lighting, the Garou expends a Gnosis point and makes a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty is the local Gauntlet rating). Each additional Gnosis point spent lowers the difficulty by one.
If successful, the flame ignites in the Penumbra and all Mystic Rites or other Rites dealing with spirits (such as Contrition) may be performed at –1 difficulty. For each year that the sacred flame is maintained thereafter, it may grant an additional -1 difficulty, up until the limit of the original rolled successes. Remember that no roll can be reduced to less than difficulty 3.
At the Storyteller’s option, other spirit dealings may go more smoothly, for the building of the fire indicates a respect for the old traditions and knowledge of the ancient pacts between spirit and Garou. The area covered by this rite is typically as far as the flame’s heat can be felt (a medium-sized room or medicine lodge counts). The sacred fire lasts for as long as it is tended with sanctified materials.
NOTE:Getting a reputation for constantly Summoning spirits to your sacred fire just to harass, harangue, bully and enslave them will eventually make the spirit world more wary, transactional and cynical towards your sept.
Call to the Lost
2
Description
Traveling from the material world into the Umbra and back is not only a werewolf’s birthright, but a necessity for maintaining the balance of self that Gaia intended for her defenders. Doing so can be dangerous, though, especially in times such as these.
Sometimes things go wrong in the Umbra. A packmate becomes caught in the Gauntlet itself, trapped between worlds. A werewolf is injured and alone in a Realm far from home, unable to return on her own. A comrade suffers the burden of Harano and walks among the spirits for too long, becoming Disconnected from the physical world, forgetting who she is. A pack strays too far from the path given to them by their spirit guide and can’t find their way back. In cases like these, this rite can be used to call the wandering soul back to where it belongs.
The ritemaster builds a fire scattered with fragrant herbs, burns incense, smokes a large pipe of tobacco and herbs, or otherwise creates a great amount of strong-smelling smoke. Once the fire is lit, he drums and howls, beating the mother rhythm and calling out long and loud. The searching call echoes out across the Umbra, seeking the wandering one by name. In time, if she doesn’t fight the call, the lost soul will arrive at the site of the rite, though she may need the ritemaster’s help to cross over the Gauntlet.
System: The difficulty of the roll is equal to the target’s Gnosis rating; the stronger her connection to the spirit world, the harder it is to call her away from it.
This rite can be performed on either side of the Gauntlet, but if it’s done from the physical world, the ritemaster must make the roll to pierce the Gauntlet and let the target through. It takes a number of hours equal to the target’s Gnosis rating to complete the rite, so if the character is trying to call back a highly spiritual Garou, he should settle in for a test of endurance.
The werewolf being called experiences a series of visions that symbolize the call and the journey, perhaps encountering dream-beings that resemble those performing the ritual.
Prayer of the Seeking
2
Description
Restriction: Uktena
This is actually a modified (and much more complex) Prayer for the Prey, which is only taught to Uktena’s children.
Before a hunt for a specific item of lore or magic (such as a lost fetish or tome), the Garou prays while holding an attuned object (usually a water snake skin or, for the fortunate, an uktena scale). If successful, the Uktena finds the search much easier. If the attuned focus is lost, a new one must be found and attuned in order for the rite to work; attuned foci are personal and cannot be transferred. Smart Garou usually give some token of their gratitude for particularly successful uses of this rite.
System: Initial attunement of an ordinary focus requires the expenditure of a temporary Gnosis point; an uktena scale is already considered attuned to the owner. Before the search begins, the Garou prays to Great Uktena while holding the focus; the player makes a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7, or 6 if the focus is an uktena scale).
For every two successes, the player may add one die to any Enigmas, Investigation or Occult roll related to the search for the object in question. Alternately, in difficult cases the Storyteller may drop hints in the form of omens, waking visions or intuitive leaps to get the ball rolling. The object must be of lore or magical value.
The bonus ends when the Garou diverts from the quest for any reason (including sleep or eating, not including fighting guards who bar the Garou’s path to the goal).
Read All About It
2
Description
Restriction:Urrah
When the Glass Walkers and their Urrah brethren need to spread the word about something important to all Garou in the city, but don’t want to draw direct attention to themselves as they might with a howl, they might use the rite Read All About It.
This rite is most appropriate when the message that needs to be disseminated is important but not urgent—”Be aware that the Chief of Police is in league with a Wyrm-cult” might work, while “We’re under attack by Black Spiral Dancers” is not a good choice for this rite.
The Garou picks out a message of 100 words or fewer and uses Read All About It to insert that message into a local newspaper, concealing it such that only Garou can read it. The message might be placed anywhere in the paper that a short blurb might appear the sidebar along the front page, short local news items, or the classified ads. Anyone subject to the Delirium simply will not see the message, instead glossing over it as an uninteresting news item. Garou can easily identify such messages as being special, however, and their eyes are drawn to them, making it quite likely that any werewolf who reads the paper will realize that it contains a special message for Garou only.
Unfortunately, the Glass Walker who developed this rite didn’t consider that Black Spiral Dancers, being Garou, could also see the messages; however, other creatures in the thrall of the Wyrm cannot see it. It is rumored that the Glass Walkers have developed a similar ritual for use over the Internet, concealing important information in otherwise nonsensical spam email, Usenet, or message board posts.
System: To perform the rite, the ritemaster must write the message out by hand, in block printing, on newsprint. He uses a ball of toy putty to pull the message text off of the paper, and imprint it onto the most recent edition of the newspaper that he wishes to send the message through. He must spend one Willpower and achieve at least one success in a Willpower roll.
Kinfolk who succeed at a Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 8) can also read it. (Note that other creatures immune to the Delirium who are not Kinfolk, such as mages or vampires, typically cannot read the message; even mages or undead who are or were Kin in life are unable to detect the hidden communication.)
The message will appear in the next edition of the paper, its placement depends on the number of successes rolled. One success places the message deep in the classified ads, two in an interior section, three on the front page of an interior section, four successes puts the message on the front page but under the fold, and five successes puts the message on the front page, above the fold.
A botch on this roll puts the message in the paper in such a manner that it is visible to everyone who reads it, not just Garou.
Renewing the Talen
2
Description
As a form of lesser fetishes almost, talens are spirit-imbued items that have a limited number of uses: one. Some talens can be “refueled,” however, with this rite.
This rite charms and seduces the spirit involved to return to the talen, and it must be performed through singing and enticing and other forms of beguiling.
System: By performing this rite prior to the Rite of Binding, the character effectively lowers her difficulty to perform that rite by one.
Rite of Becoming
2
Description
Werewolves must perform this rite at an Anchorhead Domain. Once completed, it enables them to utilize the Anchorhead – travelling wherever it may send them into the Middle or Deep Umbra.
The most common version of this rite requires the Garou to make a braid from three of her hairs, three pieces of fine copper wire, and three tendrils of ivy or other vine. Lengths of silk thread are sometimes substituted for the hair or wire. When the braid has been constructed, the Garou ties it around his own wrist and howls three words of power.
System: Standard roll. While the Garou has the braid in her possession, she will always have a faint idea of which way to go, to return to the Anchorhead she last passed through.
If the braid is destroyed while the Garou is on the other side of the Anchorhead, the werewolf takes one level of aggravated damage and risks becoming lost forever if she doesn’t return quickly find her way back home.
Rite of Crash Space
2
Description
Restriction: Bone Gnawers
Ratkin developed this rite initially, then traded it to a handful of Bone Gnawer Theurges for a big pile of shiny Loot. This rite is much like that of the Cardboard Palace, but further “dedicates” the space for peaceful reflection and meditation.
System: This rite works different for Bone Gnawers than it does for Ratkin. The ritemaster must spend one Gnosis and make a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7). Recovering Gnosis becomes easier in the “crash space”; reduce the difficulty of any rolls to recover Gnosis while inside the structure by 2.
If the ritualist scores three or more successes on the roll for casting this rite, any Garou meditating in the crash space can regain Gnosis by meditating for an hour; the amount of Gnosis regained equals the number of successes he scores on a Wits + Enigmas roll after an hour of meditation. (Outside the crash space, the number of points regained depends on the number of hours spent meditating.)
Rite of Spirit Awakening
2
Description
This rite is used to awaken a sleeping (inactive) spirit.
To perform this rite, a Garou must play a rhythm on some form of instrument (drums are the most common). While the Garou plays, any other participating werewolves pace around the ritemaster, howling and growling in counterpoint to the beat. When performed on a mundane item, this rite enlivens the object’s spirit, causing it to awaken and appear in the Umbra.
For example, if the rite is performed on a VW bus, any Garou stepping sideways could see the bus as a true part of the landscape. However, it would appear as a stationary object in the Penumbra unless someone on the physical plane began to drive it, in which case it would appear as a driverless vehicle to anyone in the Umbra.
When performed on plants, this rite is known as sanctification. Plant-spirits are generally benevolent, and an awakened plant spirit will lend its powers as though it were a talen (one use). Different plants grant different abilities when sanctified. For example, sanctified foxglove protects against faerie magic (adding two to the difficulty of any faerie spell).
System: The ritemaster must play a musical instrument or sing a song (talent doesn’t matter for waking it up – but will surely affect its mood). The difficulty of the roll is the spirit’s Rage. A spirit remains awake for one week per success. Failure means that the spirit remains dormant. A botch is unpleasant for both.
Awakening a spirit doesn’t allow any control over it – nor does it promise gratitude. Indeed, might be actively hostile at being woken up (expect to make some Etiquette rolls limited by your Cosmology). Subsequently Commanding an awakened spirit typically requires something like a Rite of Binding or a Gift.
Rite of Summoning
2
Description
Garou mystics are adept at calling spirits, be they minor Gafflings, totem spirits, or even Incarna. This rite compels spirits to seek those who call them. The chance of a successful summoning depends upon the skill of the mystic, the power of the spirit, and the strength of the area’s Gauntlet.
Summoning spirits involves complex rituals, long periods of meditation, and tribal mantra chanting. Within the Umbra, this process is far easier. The spirit cannot escape its caller once the summoning is completed successfully, and it must attend the mystic. Many spirits, particularly minor ones, are too weak to resist a powerful summoning. Powerful ones come out of curiosity.
System: The ritemaster must first pierce the Gauntlet just as if he were entering the Umbra (Gnosis roll against the local Gauntlet level). A mystic already within the Umbra is not required to pierce the Gauntlet.
The power level of the spirit determines the base difficulty level of the summoning: Gaffling (difficulty 4), lesser Jaggling (difficulty 5), greater Jaggling (difficulty 6), Totem avatar (7), Incarna (8-9), Celestine avatar (10).
For each additional hour (after the first) the Garou spends invoking the spirit, his difficulty drops by one, to a maximum modifier of -3 (requiring a four hour ritual). No difficulty may fall below 3.
The player must then make a Gnosis roll and achieve as many successes as possible (and which is limited by your original successes in piercing the Gauntlet – an added incentive to performing this rite in the Umbra). With 1 success, the spirit comes eventually, though is initially hostile. With 2 successes, the spirit manifests quickly, but is still initially hostile. 3-4 successes results in a spirit that comes right away and is either passively benign or neutral at worst. An exceptional (5+) success results in a spirit that appears immediately and has every incentive to be friendly (absent other factors, such as violated bans or past disrespect).
A botched roll is likely to have disastrous results. Often a botch summons the wrong type of spirit — or even Banes — in great numbers or with great hostility.
The above mechanics are given under what might be considered reasonably ideal circumstances. The Storyteller will adjust the difficulty of the Summoning as makes sense, especially for spirits greater than a Jaggling. In certain cases, a Garou who attempts to summon a specific spirit will have no chance of success. At other times, he will have almost no chance of failure. The Storyteller is advised to treat each use of this rite individually and to use common sense in her decisions.
Rite of the Shopping Cart
2
Description
Restriction: Bone Gnawers
When the ritual is performed on any carrying space or cargo-carrying device, it can be expanded to hold more stuff, loot, or junk. In a sense, the inside becomes slightly larger than the outside. The container doesn’t bulge or distort; even bulky items become easy to carry.
System: Roll Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7) and spend one Gnosis. For each success, you can place another ten pounds in the container. The rite must be renewed each week or the contents will spill out of the container (and possibly into the street). On a botched roll, the container breaks or tears and is rendered useless.
Rite of Tying the Snare
2
Description
Restriction:Urrah
Snare-spirits are subtle and persistent entities of the City’s Umbrascape, trapping humans, other spirits and Banes in the city. This rite invokes their power to bind a specific enemy to a particular location, even if only for a while.
Calling on these Weaver-spirits is a potentially dangerous endeavor; if the rite is performed improperly, the snare-spirits will likely try to bind the ritemaster into the Pattern Web. But success can leave an enemy right where the ritemaster wants him; several vampires have gone up in four-alarm building fires thanks to this rite.
Using this rite, a ritemaster must first walk, run, or otherwise move round the area to be bound. She must name that which she wishes to bind, and the name must be sufficiently accurate – the vampire who works in this building” is not precise enough, whereas “the vampire who works in this building under the alias of Mr. Vincenzo” will suffice. She then invokes the trapping spirit, and “ties a knot” round the area. If the rite is successful, the target of the rite will find it difficult to leave the area – barricades are harder to shift, doors lock themselves, and so on.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals as usual. Each success on the rite locks one door, jams one elevator or otherwise seals one particular avenue of escape for the target. In addition, the difficulty of any rolls or feats of strength made to leave the area (such as Athletics check to jump from roof to roof) is increased by 1 for each of the ritemaster’s successes, to a maximum difficulty of 10.
This rite is at its most potent when combined with more mundane means of blocking exits, such as barricading doors and cutting phone lines. Note that this rite cannot restrict any other activities of the target that aren’t directly related to leaving, nor can it prevent other people from assisting the trapped target; a phone call for help will not be affected, and neither will the firemen arriving to break down the doors.
Calling the Spirit Guide
3
Description
This rite serves as a quicker way to summon spirits while in the Umbra, but only spirits that can guide the summoner to a location.
The spirits summoned with this rite will not teach the character anything or assist in the usual ways, but can be asked to help find a place, person or item within the Umbra. The rite involves calling out through a specialized dance and chant taught to the Garou as she learned this rite.
System: Standard roll for performing this rite, but lower the difficulty by one if the character seeks a particular spirit whose name she knows. As usual, failed or botched rolls often involve angered or hostile spirits appearing.
When the spirit appears, it can lead the character or her pack to a Near Realm without too much difficulty. There is no further roll required here, but as customary it will want something in return for its services. It can also help search for a place or a person. The spirit is not omniscient, and can only help locate the target.
The ritemaster gains five bonus dice to his Perception + Investigation rolls throughout the quest, as long as the spirit assists him.
The spirit can also attempt to lead the characters to the Middle or Deep Umbra. In this case, stakes are much higher, and the characters may need to haggle a great deal (but not so much as to offend the spirit) to get a reasonable price. Also, the characters must locate an Anchorhead themselves, and they travel into the Deep Umbra at their own risk. If the characters manage to persuade the spirit to accompany them on their entire journey, they will be able to return safely to the Anchorhead.
Clear the Miasma
3
Description
Restriction:Urrah
Modern cities are choked with smog, brownish crud filling the air and suffocating the city’s plant and animal life. Drive down any city highway and look closely at the trees that flank it: leaves and branches that face the roadway are brown and stunted. The emissions from heavy industry, automobiles, and power generation facilities combine to create this muck. Garou can use this ritual to temporarily cleanse the skies of their neighborhood around them.
The most obvious benefit of this is that the sky becomes clearer, the air sweeter smelling. Plants grow more than usual; human residents with respiratory difficulty find that their day is easier. Performing this ritual also improves the attitude of Gaian spirits in the neighborhood and gently weakens the wall between the Realm and the Umbra. The ritual’s effects only last for a day; with the morning dew, the surrounding city’s poison will creep back in.
System: The Garou must enact this rite at a site as close to the center of their neighborhood as possible. The rite begins an hour before dawn; the character beseeches spirits of the sky, rain, and sun to cleanse the filth from the sky. At the culmination of the hour-long rite, the character spends one Gnosis and rolls Manipulation + Occult (difficulty of the local Gauntlet).
If the Garou achieves three or more successes, the smog in the sky precipitates as ordinary dirt into the morning dew. The local Gauntlet drops by 1 for the day, and the general attitude of nature-spirits in the city improves as they don’t need to spend their time fighting pollution and Wyrm taint. This last effect reduces the difficulty of all Social rolls dealing with local Gaian spirits by 1 for the next day.
Rite of Blood Kin
3
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
The Children of Gaia have perhaps more and better-organized Kin than any other tribe, but even they are sometimes outside the Kinfolk network.
This rite seeks Kin that the ritemaster does not know. The Garou will entrance himself and then whisper the names of all the ancestors whom he knows. (Some homids write the names, use a computer, etc.) At the end of the rite the names of previously unknown Kin will be added to the list. This rite does not tell the Garou anything at all about the Kin; more than one Child has run afoul of Skin-Dancers this way…
System: The Garou rolls Wits + Empathy, difficulty 5. For each success, one new Kinfolk is added to the list.
Rite of Dreaming
3
Description
Restriction: Fianna, Black Spiral Dancers
Enacting this rite enables any number of shapeshifters to travel together through the Dream Zone. The enactor of the rite must paint a series of symbols on each of the rite’s participants, all the while intoning the mystic phrases to accompany them. After this is done, all participants imbibe a special pasty concoction of certain mystic herbs, then go to sleep.
System: The leader of the rite rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7). The greater the number of successes, the greater the dream’s clarity and the more control the characters have over it. Characters using this rite may enter Dream either from the material world or the Penumbra.
Rite of Talisman Adaptation
3
Description
This is similar to the Rite of Talisman Dedication but is more powerful. Talismans under this rite actually shapeshift into forms which are usable by the Garou, instead of “disappearing.”
Each counts for triple the Gnosis of a dedicated item: a Garou with a 7 Gnosis can have only two items adapted to her. For example, a Garou’s talisman would adapt to the new body shape: a Garou might have a vest for tools in her Homid form, which would change into a Crinos-sized vest, and then shapeshift to Lupus, when it would become fitted to the wolf-body. A backpack would become a dog pack, and so on.
System: The ritemaster recites the rite (the same as Talisman Dedication) while places the item on their body. If extra items are attached, they will be torn or crushed when the Garou shapeshifts.
NOTE:This rite does not work for frivolous items, such as high heels, stereos or coffee mugs, nor for entire suits of riot armor, or really anything the Storyteller deems silly. Don’t argue about it.
Rite of the Blackened Moon
3
Description
This rarely used rite creates a spiritually dead zone, essentially closing off a small space to Umbral access. The space can be no larger than a small hut or large room. Garou feel distinctly uncomfortable in this dead zone, and spirits trapped there can wither away to nothingness.
System: The bounds of the space are inscribed with glyphs, and an herbal smudge or incense is burned to banish spirits and spiritual influences from the room. Each success (Wits + Rituals, difficulty 7) increases the Gauntlet by one, to a maximum of 10.
In addition, no Gnosis can be regained in any way within the warded space, and materialized spirits trapped within begin to unravel at the rate of 1 Essence/hour. The ritual’s effect lasts a number of days equal to the ritemaster’s successes, fading at sundown of the final day. This takes half an hour to perform, and can be continued as often as necessary.
Rite of the Fetish
3
Description
This rite allows a werewolf to create a fetish (an object with a spirit bound into it).
To do so, the Garou must first cleanse the potential fetish by placing it under running water (sufficiently drinkable flowing tap water counts), burying it in pure earth, exposing the object to constant breezes, or suspending it above flame for three consecutive nights.
The Garou must then force or persuade a spirit to enter the prepared object. The Fianna claim that cajoling or flattering a spirit produces the best results, while the Bone Gnawers and Silent Striders claim that bribery (expending Gnosis) works best.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 10). Each point of permanent Gnosis that the character spends during the rite reduces the difficulty by two.
The difficulty can also be lowered by roleplaying, if the ritemaster does a good job persuading the spirit to enter the fetish (by providing chiminage, undergoing a quest to prove her sincerity or worthiness, flattery, etc). If the Garou attempts to force a spirit into the fetish, she must first attack the spirit and reduce it to zero Essence before attempting to bind it into the fetish.
NOTE:You’re still required to buy dots in the Fetish Background to represent the time invested in crafting and maintaining a fetish. You get a lot more XP on a MUSH than you ever would on a tabletop, and too many PCs fixate on magical items as an endless, force multiplying treadmill.
However, there are some considerations: You can lower the XP cost by up 50% via the following methods:
* RPing it out and submitting logs (roughly one logged scene per defrayed XP cost, one scene per four or five days…don’t spam with three in one day, one after the other).
* If you spent a dot of permanent Gnosis to help make the fetish, you can subtract the amount of XP that the Gnosis dot was worth, from the XP cost.
* Every fetish is subject to a vibe check. I don’t like custom combat magic items (I think they rot out a MUSH), and some just aren’t a good thematic fit.
Rite of the Sacred Tattoo
3
Description
Through this rite, a Garou may declare and reinforce their supernatural ties to a particular spirit. The benefits of this declaration vary depending on the nature of the relationship between the spirit and the werewolf.
The sanctity of the bond between Garou and spirit united in this manner has drawbacks as well. Werewolves who undergo this ritual to deepen their bond to a spirit will discover that they often inherit that spirit’s rivals, as well as allies that may demand your assistance on occasion.
System: The Rite of the Sacred Tattoo requires the ritemaster to mark the participant with an intricate tattoo that symbolizes the spirit with which the bond is intended. This rite can be quite lengthy and painful, as the tattoo is more than just a mere image – it’s a spiritual binding of energies between the Garou and the spirit.
To conduct the rite, the ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals against a difficulty of 8. This ritual also requires a cost of one Gnosis from the ritemaster and a dot of permanent willpower from the participant. If successful, the bond is formed, the Garou now carries the symbolic representation of the spirit on their skin, and they experience the benefits of their strengthened connection.
Upon success, the participant Garou reduces the difficulty of all Social rolls involving any spirit they are dedicated to by one. Additional effects or consequences are left to the Storyteller’s discretion.
Rite of the Shadow Play
3
Description
While most Garou are familiar with the friendly spirits known as Lunes, fewer know their more secretive cousins. This rite calls on the Blood Lunes, spirits of lunar eclipses and the far side of the moon.
These elusive Jagglings see all but say little, lurking just beyond sight wherever moonlight shines. A werewolf who coaxes them out properly can draw on their abundance of ancient observations from unseen corners of the world, asking questions about the history of an elusive subject and receiving a cryptic shadow play in answer. Blood Lunes don’t usually care about knowledge that’s known by many, and they tend to forget it. They only retain secrets, and so only secrets can be learned from them.
This rite doesn’t actually summon the Blood Lunes into the material world, if performed there; it only draws them close to the Gauntlet to pass on their hints. This rite must be performed during the full moon, when its light shines fully on a surface. The Garou must have some physical representation of the subject of her inquiry on hand. This could include a lock of hair or a severed finger, a carved bone resembling a spirit, sand from a particular beach, or even a photograph. She sacrifices a nocturnal animal — usually a bat — then takes awakened psilocybin or peyote.
Having done so, she places the token on the ground, lets her shadow fall upon the bright surface, and dances. As she does, her shadow acts out her questions in symbolic gestures. She must repeat these motions until her shadow separates from her and acts out its own story. Other shadows join it, presenting an enigmatic tale that she must interpret for clues that answer the questions. The tale may not even obviously reference the subject of the query, but with the proper interpretation, she can still glean.
System: The player rolls Wits + Enigmas with a difficulty based on the obscurity or specificity of her subject. Well-known or broad subjects such as the Garou Nation, World War I, or the Weaver are difficulty 7. Slightly narrower or more obscure subjects such as a particular mountain range, the Silver Fangs’ tribal lore, or a corporate merger are difficulty 8. Coaxing out Blood Lunes who know about very narrow or arcane subjects such as a particular lost tome of wisdom, an individual not widely-known, or an agreement made between two spirits is difficulty 9.
For each success on the roll, the werewolf learns one secret about the subject’s past, couched in mystery and symbolism. The more successes the player rolls, the easier to interpret these hints should be.
Rite of the Spirit Cage
3
Description
Restriction: Uktena
The Uktena believe that killing a spirit, even a Bane, is not always the best thing to do – particularly when time is needed to question, bargain with or even bind said entity. This rite allows the Uktena to trap a spirit in a cage of energy.
The Uktena begins by creating a circle (usually less than 9 feet in diameter) in the physical realm. The circle is often made of flint or obsidian chips, but sometimes of candles or burning wood.
System: Succeeding in the Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7) “primes” the cage; when the spirit has been lured to the circle, the ritemaster spends a Gnosis point to spring the trap. The Penumbral air around the spirit comes alive with spiritual representations of the circle in the above example, that would be rapidly whirling slivers of obsidian or leaping tongues of flame.
The barrier inhibits the use of most Charms. To push through the barrier, the captive has to score more successes on a Rage roll (difficulty is the ritemaster’s Wits +Rituals) than the ritemaster had. Even if it manages to push through, it suffers Aggravated damage equal to the ritemaster’s successes. This works both ways. Garou cannot breach the circle without damage, although the ritemaster can drop the cage at any time.
The rite lasts an hour per success, and each additional Gnosis contributed extends the duration by an hour. However, if the circle is disturbed (a candle flickers out or the boundary is broken), the power collapses.
Rite of the Totem
3
Description
This rite binds a totem to a group of Garou, joining them together as a pack.
The Glass Walkers and Children of Gaia learned long ago that just as nature combines functions in a forest, Garou can “stack” rites atop one another for more powerful magic. Originally, urban septs performed rites atop ziggurats, in cathedral towers, or even on top of pyramids, but the skyscraper caerns of Glass Walkers make this much easier now than it was earlier.
The City Farmers even take advantage of the principle to grow trees and vines up through lightwells, creating open, Gaian spaces within the huge buildings. The Rite of the Ziggurat unites and strengthens other rites. It is useful when two or more rites (even minor rites) are being performed atop one another in a multilevel structure.
The use of intercoms, cell phones, and even closed-circuit TV and webcams makes this much easier. For example, a group of Garou Greeting the Moon could synchronize their actions with an other pack consecrating a fetish two floors above and a Rite of Renown one floor up.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals as usual. The Storyteller counts the number of rites being performed and may allow the total number of rites as a number of extra dice for the dice pool of the topmost rite. In addition, the background count of spirits may rise in relation to all the rites, with potentially interesting effects.
Sin Eating
3
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
This rite allows the ritemaster to end the suffering of others by taking their Wyrm-taint onto himself. It can cleanse both the living and the dead. The rite is still echoed in a few rural communities where humans attempt to take the sins of others onto themselves to release a dead soul from Hell.
System: The Garou lays out a meal on the body of the person (usually on their chest or in their hands) and eats it. As he does so, he makes a Wits + Rituals roll, with the difficulty being the sinner’s Willpower.
Success transfers the subject’s Wyrm-taint into him; the Storyteller may require extra successes to transfer larger amounts of Wyrm-taint. This rite is said to be able to cleanse even Black Spirals (if huge numbers of successes could be achieved), but no such attempt has succeeded in living memory; Banes and fomori cannot be cleansed in this method, as they are, at least in part, Wyrm-taint itself.
Sing the Many Shapes
3
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
The Garou are warriors, even the Children of Gaia. But the Garou have warred not only on the enemies of Gaia but on the Fera, and even on their own kin among the Bunyip. This rite mourns the lost and brings understanding of the reasons and results connected to the long-ago battles. The Speakers for the Dead often perform it in Australia in Bunyip bora rings or in the Camazotz caves of Mexico.
System: The ritemaster seeks a place associated with one of the long-lost Changers and enters into meditation on the vanished race. She must plead with the dead to hear her apologies or elegies for them (this should be roleplayed). The greater her knowledge of the lost ones, the greater her chance of success. For the following year, the dead will not haunt any that take part in this rite.
At the Storyteller’s discretion, the dead may communicate with the ritemaster; one or two who have partaken in this rite claim to have gained new knowledge or insights thereby.
Descent Into the Underworld
4
Description
Restriction: Silent Striders, Uktena and Black Furies
Most Garou think of the Umbra, the Gaian spirit world, as the only spirit realm that sits close to the physical world. Most Garou are wrong. The Underworld — the Land of the Dead, the Dark Umbra — sits astride the physical realm just as the Umbra does. Within it are trapped the ghosts of countless humans who died unable to let go of their lives and pass on into the cycle of souls, as Gaia intended.
The Underworld is a bleak landscape mirroring all that is decayed or departed in the living world, as the Penumbra is a reflection expressing the world’s spiritual nature. Terrible, unstable portals lead deeper yet into the Underworld, a land of spirit-storms and nightmare mazes where few Garou have ever ventured and from which fewer still have ever returned. This rite is primarily known and used by the Silent Striders, but a few other tribes and camps make use of it as well (most notably among the Black Furies and Uktena).
System: This rite takes five minutes to perform. The ritemaster must sacrifice a living mammal and touch every character to be affected by the rite with at least a fingerprint of its blood. He then draws sigils on the ground nearby with the remaining blood.
The player should roll Intelligence + Occult (difficulty equals the local Gauntlet). Success on this roll takes the ritemaster to the Underworld; each additional success takes one of the other characters marked (if there aren’t enough successes to go around, those with the highest Gnosis are transported first).
Rite of Asklepios
4
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
The ancient Greek healer Asklepios was the greatest physician of the ancient world, and the Children and their Kin aided his cult for a thousand years. This rite allows the ritemaster and his patient(s) to see the correct cure for diseases and wounds untreatable normally. Only a few Children of Gaia still know it.
System: The ritemaster prays over the patient, who then sleeps all night in an underground shrine, either a small room (hence, “incubation”) or a burrow for lupus. The ritemaster then rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 7, or 8 for illnesses of unknown origin.
In the night, a spirit such as Asklepios, Clara Maas or Carlos Finley (the discoverer of yellow fever vaccine) will appear to the patient and explain how to cure the disease. The patient will then awaken and perform the steps described. For each success of the ritemaster, one level of damage will be cured. The patient and the ritemaster will then perform a sacrifice to Gaia. This can be a gift of goods or treasures, but can also be a service or quest to aid the ritemaster.
Rite of Excoriation
4
Description
Restriction: Black Spiral Dancers, Uktena
This dreadful rite forcibly strips the totem bond from a werewolf (or a pack).
To perform this rite, the ritemaster must paint glyphs representing both the totem bond in general and the specific totem in question on the subject’s body. The higher the number of totem dots the totem possesses, the more of the subject must be covered. The ritemaster then carefully flenses the skin beneath the glyphs off and waits until the subject’s regeneration heals the wounds. Finally, the bloody, painted scraps are burned to ash (in the oldest forms of this rite, they are cast into a vat of molten silver).
If the ritemaster performs it on an individual werewolf, it strips that werewolf from the pack. If, however, the rite is performed on a pack’s totem directly, it dissolves the pack bond completely. Totem points in this instance are not lost, but held “in trust” until the pack either reforms the bond or finds a new totem.
Rite of Invitation to the Ancestors
4
Description
Restriction: Uktena
Most often used in conjunction with the Spirit’s Horse Gift, this rite readies a moot or council of Uktena to welcome an ancestor spirit into its midst.
Usually, the werewolves sing and dance to honor the tribal ancestors. Special foods are eaten, and invocations of sacred words may be made to the sun, moon or other natural elements, depending on the cultural backgrounds of the Uktena. Some werewolves use this rite without the Gift of Spirit’s Horse, to honor their ancestors and fallen heroes.
While no rolls are needed, some werewolves expend Gnosis as an offering to their ancestors.
Rite of Resolution
4
Description
Restriction: Children of Gaia
This rite is also called the Rite of the Harena (or the Rite of the Sands). It prevents Garou who combat one another ritually from frenzying during the combat, whether it is wrestling, klaivaskar, Iskakku or kailindo.
Other tribes (especially Urrah often ask the Children to perform this rite lest their warriors slay one another over a minor dispute. Perhaps oddly enough, the Wendigo (who have their own traditions of bloodlessly ‘counting coup’) and Red Talons (packmates rarely if ever fight to the death) respect this rite as well. However, more traditional and/or ruthless tribes such as the Black Furies, Silver Fangs, Shadow Lords or the Get of Fenris would literally rather die than have anything to do with it.
Restriction: The combatants approach one another, shake hands or sniff one another, and howl out their respect for one another. The ritemaster stands as referee and rolls Charisma + Rituals against the highest Rage score of any combatant. For each success, one failed Rage roll for Frenzy may be ignored.
Rite of the 13th Floor
4
Description
Restriction:Urrah
The Garou keep many secrets, something that becomes tricky in the enclosed and overpopulated realm of the city. This rite draws upon the power of local superstition, allowing either the 13th floor of a tall building or room #1 in a hotel to go unnoticed.
The performance of the rite involves placing unlucky symbols such as pictures of black cats (or real ones…) or the number “13” by the entrance of the place to be hidden. Some ritemasters trying to conceal a hotel room perform a fake ritual murder in the bathroom; those with a captive loyal to the Wyrm may go the extra distance to make the ritual real.
System: Standard roll. The resulting successes from the performance of the rite represent the number of successes needed on a Willpower check (difficulty 6) for any observer to actually see the button or entrance to the hidden region.
If an actual captive is sacrificed in a genuine murder, the difficulty for the Willpower check rises to 9. This rite affects the perceptions of anyone, supernatural or mortal, who isn’t present at the ritual. The effects last for one day per success.
Rite of the Cardboard Fortress
4
Description
Restriction: Bone Gnawers
This rite, an amalgam of Rite of the Shopping Cart and Rite of the Cardboard Box, requires thinking “outside the box.”
The results would look something like this: Using duct tape and at least one cardboard box, the ritemaster dedicates the box so that it’s much larger on the inside than it is on the outside. This involves creating a “pocket realm” of the Umbra accessible to anyone with the Gnosis Trait. The box must at least be large enough for the ritemaster to crawl inside, along with a flap that can open and close.
Depending on the success of the ritual, once the proper rites have been finished, up to five Garou can fit into a space roughly the size of a small studio apartment. If the box is opened or destroyed, there is nothing inside it, at least in the physical world. Instead, the Garou may exit their secret cardboard fortress through the Umbra. Multiple cardboard boxes can even be taped together to hold more (each requiring an additional use of this rite).
System: Spend one Gnosis and roll Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7). Each success allows one shapechanger to move about freely inside, even if it’s in the equivalent of Crinos form.
The effects last for one full day or until the cardboard box is destroyed. Fighting in the Cardboard Fortress inevitably destroys the cardboard box.
Rite of the Flayed God
4
Description
Restriction: Black Spiral Dancers, Uktena
This rite is among the most powerful and terrible practiced by the Wyrm’s children. It requires a captive spirit, and can only be performed in the heart of a Pit. Over the course of a ritual lasting from sunset to sunrise, the Black Spiral Dancer ritually murders and hollows out a spirit, usually a bound Gaian spirit, though some Hives are happy to sacrifice lesser Banes for power. This rite destroys the spirit forever, but a tattered shell of its power remains, and is bound into a special fetish.
This fetish is an article of easily donned and removed clothing; usually a cloak or belt, and its construction must incorporate some element symbolic of the spirit. Thus, a flayed bear-spirit might be bound into a bear pelt, while a murdered forest spirit might be bound into a crown of hawthorn. Upon donning the fetish, the Black Spiral Dancer is able to assume the stolen power of the flayed spirit.
With this mantle of power usually comes a dramatic and grotesque physical transformation. The wearer of the bear pelt might grow a second set of powerful, ursine arms, and a gaping set of bear jaws might frame her head, granting her extra attacks and a vicious bite. The wearer of the hawthorn crown might find sharp thorns erupting from her flesh, and her scent masked by the verdant smell of the woods.
System: The difficulty of the rite’s roll is the spirit’s Gnosis rating. Failure means that the spirit dies without empowering the fetish. Donning or removing a flayed spirit to gain its power costs two points of Gnosis. Only the ritemaster can benefit from a fetish created by this rite, and only one such fetish can be worn at a time.
The exact effects of a fetish created by this rite are up to the Storyteller but the transformation is usually physical and grotesque. The benefits are comparable to the Gift: Totem Gift, though focused on personally empowering the werewolf.
Rite of the Wyld Machines
4
Description
Restriction:Urrah
All urban Garou know that machines have spirits, and the potential to awaken. But buried deep, deep within the machine’s Weaver-self is the Wyld seed from which it grew. Every bulldozer was factory-made from iron ore; each vibra-lounger comes from wood and fiber of Gaia. This more specialized version of the Rite of Spirit Awakening awakens the Wyld within any machine, stirring it to behave in ways no ordinary machine-spirit would dream of. Indeed, this rite can lead to stories so bizarre that skeptical elders refuse to award Glory for them.
System: The Garou must howl and dance wildly to awaken the spirit, rolling Expression + Rituals. In some cases, such as a crazy pagan’s motorcycle or a lathe used by generations of blacksmith Kin, the machine is al ready a little bit wild, and the difficulty will be 6. For machines used by unthinking humans, it’s 8, and for machines of the Wyrm (such as a Black Spiral’s torture chair) it is 10.
With one success, the machine will work normally but will aid the Garou. This might include an enemy’s car agreeing to stop (although it’s hard to perform this rite for the requisite ten minutes during a car chase). Three successes cause the machine to act abnormally: radios might bring oracular messages or the voices of ancestors, and vending machines turn out to have surprising contents such as boiled skulls, useful business cards or taser refills. Five successes mean that the machine will acquire mobility and a touch of wit. The Garou who scores seven successes can ask the machine to follow her into any danger (it can also speak), and further successes lead to machines shapeshifting, stepping sideways and so on.
Mockery Curing Way
5
Description
Restriction: Uktena
From time out of mind, one of the worst nightmares for a Garou was for one of her Kinfolk to be possessed by a Bane. Taint could be cleansed, but the Wyrm-spirit joined body and soul too thoroughly to extricate without destroying the host; even with a powerful healer at the ready, an exorcism frequently left the host shattered in mind and spirit. Worse still, the Bane often escaped into the Umbra to possess again another day. More often than not, Garou saw killing the victim as an agonizing but necessary task.
For reasons better left unexplored, the Uktena have historically been more adept at this dangerous business. Rather than ripping the Bane from the body, the rite drains its energy until it shrivels and pulls away like a withered creeper vine.
The fomor is usually bound, and rendered generally powerless, but state of consciousness is irrelevant. The chants that open the rite ensure the Bane is locked within the body for better or worse. Other werewolves may assist the ritemaster, but all must be consecrated to the purpose beforehand by undergoing a purification ritual.
System: The ritemaster spends a Gnosis point; the player rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty is the Bane’s Willpower), adding one die for every additional Gnosis point spent (other participants may contribute). Successes count against the Bane’s Essence; when Essence reaches zero, the Bane falls into Slumber.
Seen from the Umbra the shriveled Bane is draped around the victim and may be pulled off and destroyed. A new roll can be attempted every hour with an additional expenditure of Gnosis, but the ritual is exhausting for all participants (See sidebar). A very powerful Bane can take hours or even days to defeat.
Unfortunately, the host may not be able to stand the strain. The Bane fights back if it can. If it is unable to do so, it tears the victim apart, doing three levels of aggravated damage, minus successes for that hour (in other words, if the ritemaster gets two successes, the victim takes one health level of damage). On a botch, the Bane can make a break for it, doing its Rage in unsoakable aggravated damage on its way out. Damage may be healed by a Gift, assuming the healer can touch the subject.
Afterward, the ritual area and all participants are tainted by the corrupt Essence that hemorrhaged from the Bane during the rite, and all must be thoroughly cleansed through a purification ritual.
Rite of Bane Binding
5
Description
Restriction: Uktena
One of the Uktena’s most important self-appointed tasks is the capture and binding of powerful Banes that, for whatever reason, cannot be destroyed. The Uktena performing this rite consider it one of the most sacred and dangerous of all their mystical duties; they know the chances are great that many will die in completing the ritual, so it is never undertaken without serious forethought.
System: The ritemaster begins by leading participants through a ritual chant and dance intended to subdue the Bane. All the werewolves then sacrifice Gnosis (usually many points) so the ritemaster may weave a net of power to contain the Bane; if all Gnosis is expended, then Willpower and finally Stamina is spent to successfully complete the rite.
The ritemaster’s player then rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 9. For every 20 points of combined Gnosis, Willpower and Stamina spent, the difficulty drops by one, to a minimum of difficulty 7. One success is needed to create the cage that holds the Bane; additional successes add to the strength of the Bane’s confinement.
Should the ritemaster’s player fail the roll, the character remains alive, but the Bane is not contained, and is extremely angry. A botch indicates the immediate and messy death of the ritemaster. All players must also make a roll on their characters’ current Stamina. Even one success at the same difficulty indicates they survive, but are likely exhausted. A failure means the werewolf dies from the rigors of participating in the rite.
Needless to say, living or dead, participants in this rite deserve a good measure of Renown for their bravery and honor. Note that while this Rite works for many powerful Banes, the greatest spiritual evils (such as the Storm Eater) require still more powerful rites, which are specific to the individual Bane.
Rite of Spirit Union
5
Description
Once, long ago, brave Garou heroes ready to risk everything to uphold their sacred duty to Gaia made pacts with spirits to merge with them, creating divine warrior beings with a werewolf’s mind and prowess, and a spirit’s power and nature. The union represents a serious imbalance, however, and is not sustainable. If the Garou becomes drunk on the power, or his need is so great that he cannot afford to let the spirit go before his task is done, he courts disaster.
The petitioner must fast for one day and one night before the rite begins, readying his body to be filled with spiritual energy. He scribes glyphs on his body with his own claws, symbols of his dedication drawn in blood, and opened flesh that offers a gateway to the spirit. Then, he must go to the spirit he wishes to petition and make his case.
The Rite of Spirit Union doesn’t work if the spirit was summoned or commanded with Gifts; it must agree to the union of its own free will. Alternatively, the petitioner can bring along a ritemaster to perform the ritual for him, acting as a mediator. If the Garou (or his ritemaster) persuades the spirit to accede, the pact is made: the spirit agrees to inhabit the body of the petitioner and lend its strength to his cause, and in return the werewolf agrees to take no actions that would go against the spirit’s own nature.
Once the rite is complete, the two beings merge to become one. The werewolf retains full autonomy, and can only faintly sense the spirit’s thoughts and emotions. The merged being takes on the appearance of a fantastical mix between the two.
System: To petition a spirit at all for this rite, the Garou must have a Rank that corresponds to the relative importance of the spirit. At Rank 3, he could only merge with Gafflings, while at Rank 4 he could merge with Jagglings and at Rank 5-6 he could petition even the Incarnae. At the time of the rite, the petitioner takes aggravated damage appropriate to the spirit: 1 level for a Gaffling, 3 for a Jaggling, and 5 for an Incarna.
The ritemaster’s player makes an extended and resisted roll of Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7) against the spirit’s Gnosis (difficulty equal to the werewolf’s Gnosis rating). If the player accumulates successes equal to the spirit’s Willpower before the spirit accumulates successes equal to the werewolf’s Willpower, the rite is successful and the two beings merge.
The werewolf’s player distributes the spirit’s Gnosis rating as dots among his Attributes in any combination, though no Attribute can be increased to more than double its Homid-form rating. The Garou gains access to all the spirit’s Charms, spending Gnosis in place of Essence where appropriate. The player can spend the spirit’s Gnosis, Rage, and Willpower points as though they were the Garou’s own.
The Storyteller chooses an appropriate Ban, similar to those imposed by totem spirits, by which the werewolf must abide; if he violates the Ban, the spirit immediately rips free of the union, deeply offended, and the werewolf suffers unsoakable dice of aggravated damage equal to the spirit’s Rage. In contrast, the werewolf can end the union safely at any time by spending one Willpower point and taking a single level of lethal damage.
The instability of the union means that the werewolf risks burning himself out from the inside if he keeps it going for too long. The Storyteller will adjudicate the consequences of trying to hold on for too long – but they’re never pleasant. Indeed, tales speak of unwise Garou burning themselves up from the inside until they’re rendered a mere shell of their former selves – hollowed out by the power of the spirit they thought to contain. There are some malevolent spirits, especially among the Black Spiral Dancers (who also possess a version of this rite) who actively encourage such arrogance, such that they control what is left…like an unholy hermit crab.
Rite of the Reefweaver
5
Description
The shark-lords are said to have taught this rite to some very brave or very foolish Garou long past, in return for a favor involving a sky-stone (a meteorite). Sadly, the truth has long since been lost.
This rite organizes all the spirits in a given region into ecological harmony: Weaver, Wyld, and even some Wyrm beings can enter into a state of coexistence like the numerous entities of a coral reef. The peace produced by this powerful rite is that of Gaia, not the Weaver. Conflict and death will not cease, but the overall functioning of the system will be balanced and harmonious; humans, Garou, animals and spirits will all know this on some level.
The ritemaster calls out, draws, paints, or otherwise creates a representation of the interconnectedness of all life, spiritual and physical, in the region where he works. He may roleplay this according to the Storyteller’s will. Wyrm entities must be prevented from subverting the process and balanced with spirits of the Weaver and Wyld.
System: The ritemaster must sacrifice both a permanent point of Gnosis and Willpower and make the roll as usual. The result is a state of balance and a stable “food web” of humans, animals and spirits, enduring for as many full moons as the ritemaster has successes.
For example, a battle-spirit which had been inspiring gang attacks might instead draw potential gang members to violent sports which build brotherhood and community, or a lust-spirit which had made men visit prostitutes might be induced to make their wives and partners more sexually attractive. The rite can be renewed as often as desired, although the price is dear.
Name
Level
Description
Rite of the Jackdaw
1
Description
The Rite of the Jackdaw is used to punish those Garou who have broken a promise of secrecy.
It causes the subject to uncontrollably tell everyone he meets about the most private and trivial matters of his life. This ritual won’t cause the subject to reveal other secrets he’s been sworn to keep — and cannot force him to break the Litany by revealing his nature to humans — but it will almost certainly cause him to reveal personal information that embarrasses only him.
This rite can be rather humiliating, and many Garou who are subject to it find themselves overcome by Rage at their embarrassment. It is considered the height of dishonor to take retribution against a Garou who has used this ritual in a just fashion. Subjects who wish to avoid the rite’s effects simply abandon all contact with others for a few days, which is considered to be an acceptable response.
System: This rite takes ten minutes to perform. The ritemaster symbolically carves a number of open-mouth sigils into bits of wood and distributes them ritualistically around the subject of the rite (who must remain more or less still during the rite, though he doesn’t necessarily have to be willing). The ritemaster rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty 7). For each success, the target suffers from the effects described above for one day. The target can expend Willpower to avoid stating some particularly odious personal secret.
Rite of Ostracism
2
Description
Restriction: Philodox
This rite is a fairly common punishment for lesser crimes, yet its effects can be devastating during wartime.
This rite estranges the punished Garou from her tribe, sept, and sometimes even her pack. The tribe will thereafter treat the individual as a nonentity. She is ignored as much as possible and forced to fend for herself for even basic needs, although no hostile actions are taken against the non-wolf (in theory at least, although some Garou have been known to injure ostracized werewolves “accidentally”). In a life-or-death situation, the tribe (friends and packmates in particular) might aid the offender, but even then only grudgingly. Otherwise, the punished Garou is ignored utterly.
Garou present at this rite form a circle around the chastised werewolf (if present), and each participant calls out once to Gaia, then to her brethren the name of the offender, followed by the words: “Of all Gaia’s children, I have no such brother/ sister.” The speaker then turns counterclockwise to face away from the circle. Once all present have spoken, they drift away into the night.
System: This punishment normally lasts from one phase of the moon to the next. It can, however, last as long as the sept or tribe leaders desire. For serious crimes, the punishment may even be decreed permanent, essentially exiling the offender from her sept or tribe. The ostracized Garou loses one point of Glory Renown, five points of Honor Renown, and one point of Wisdom Renown.
Stone of Scorn
2
Description
The Stone of Scorn is a rock imbued with malicious spirit-personifications of shame, sorrow and the like. Some septs have a permanent Stone of Scorn to which an offender is dragged, although most merely imbue a small stone with such energies.
Starting with the ritemaster, this stone passes to each Garou present at the rite. The scorned werewolf is forced by his sept-mates to sit and watch. As each Garou receives the stone, he carves or paints a symbol of derision or shame onto it while telling a mocking or embarrassing tale about the offending behavior and other flaws of the scorned Garou. Moon Dancers are particularly creative in their verbal portrayals of the miscreant.
This rite often lasts all night, with successive stories becoming more and more outrageous and derogatory. Once the night ends, so does the punishment, although the best stories are often whispered behind the offender’s back for some time to come. Such behavior causes the Garou to lose Renown for a time.
System: Standard roll. The punished Garou usually loses eight points of Honor Renown and two points of Wisdom Renown.
Voice of the Jackal
2
Description
When a werewolf’s behavior has shamed not just herself, but her entire sept or tribe, then this rite may be called.
When the ritemaster performs this rite, he blows a handful of dust or ashes onto the offender and speaks the following: “Because thy (cowardice/ gluttony/ selfishness/etc.) has proved thee to be of jackal blood, let thy voice proclaim thy true breed!” As the dust and words envelop the punished Garou, her voice changes. Thereafter, she will speak in an annoyingly shrill and piercing nasal whine until the ritemaster repeals the punishment.
System:Jackal-hounds, as such punished Garou are known, subtract two dice from all Social rolls. They also lose two points of Glory Renown and five points of Honor Renown. The ritemaster can repeal this punishment at any time, although it may be made permanent for particularly serious crimes (and the Renown loss always remains).
Certain jackal-hounds have reclaimed their true voices by completing a quest of great benefit to Gaia.
Rite of Man-Taint
3
Description
Garou ritualists can reveal when a werewolf has eaten human flesh.
The furtive activities of Man-Eaters and Black Spiral Dancers have made this something of a necessity. As the Litany states, “Ye Shall Not Eat the Flesh of Humans.” If enacted within seven days of a transgression against this dictum of the Litany, the rite forcefully expels every chunk of human flesh consumed from the suspect’s body. If the werewolf can’t vomit up incriminating evidence through his mouth, the meat may ooze up out of the skin or surge out of another orifice.
System: The ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7); the subject can resist the rite with a Willpower roll (difficulty 7). If the ritemaster wins the contest by at least one success, the transgression against the Litany is revealed.
Rite of the Leash
3
Description
Restriction:Urrah
Garou hate being treated like dogs. Every Urrah is a wolf at heart; even the lowest among them finds some dignity in that fact. Treating them like mangy curs infuriates and shames them no end. This Punishment Rite is reserved for werewolves who have acted so shamefully that even the lowliest Bone Gnawer would be repulsed.
System: First, the criminal is bound in Lupus form, usually within the bawn of a sept. Then, the ritemaster spends one Gnosis while holding a rope, chain, or leash of some kind. He then states the crime and makes a Manipulation + Law roll (difficulty 7).
If the number of successes is higher than the offender’s Gnosis, the offender can be trapped by the “leash.” Once bound, the Garou cannot be moved or handed off to someone else without freeing him. Through Gaia’s grace, only one of her Philodox can hold the “leash.”
Be warned, if the offender is later found innocent, the Garou who cast this rite loses 5 temporary Wisdom. Casting the rite over trivial offenses also results in a loss of Wisdom.
Rite of the Omega Wolf
3
Description
Some tribes and septs takes the failure of a pack alpha very seriously indeed.
If all the members of a pack agree that their alpha has failed them catastrophically, then they may enact this rite to formally reject his leadership and punish his incompetence.
The pack takes their fallen alpha and sits him on a rock. They then crown him with a mock crown and bow down in pretend obeisance to him. They then stand up and commence mocking him one by one, before tearing the crown from his head and casting him to the ground. When each member of the pack has spat or urinated on the fallen alpha, the rite is done.
System: Standard roll. The fallen alpha loses four points of Honor Renown and two points of Wisdom Renown. If he ever becomes a pack alpha again, he suffers a –3 penalty to all Leadership actions until he either relinquishes the position or wins some great victory for his pack through his leadership.
Satire Rite
3
Description
A more serious version of the Stone of Scorn, a Satire Rite is a special song, dance and/ or drama crafted by the Half Moons and Moon Dancers for the sole purpose of ridiculing the offender.
This rite is always performed at a moot while the offender sits in full view of the sept. Because the Garou keep careful oral histories, the Satire will be remembered and passed down through the ages. Any werewolf so “honored” loses much renown. Cubs snicker as they sing lewd verses from the rite, and adults will forever use some of the wittier quotes and embarrassing movements from the rite when referring to the offender. While such stories are usually confined to members of the offender’s own sept, Tricksters and Moon Dancers are all too happy to spread the new Satire to any Garou they encounter.
System: The difficulty of this rite is the offender’s current Rank + 4. If successful, the offender loses one permanent Rank level (reduce his Renown to the beginning amounts for the next lowest rank). The Garou can earn new renown and rank normally. If this rite fails, the Garou loses nothing, while a botch causes the ritemaster to lose five points of Wisdom as she becomes the object of the rite.
Tears of Luna
3
Description
Restriction: Philodox
The Tears of Luna are said to be a foolproof way of determining the guilt of a suspected criminal. If there is ever any doubt about the guilt of the author of a serious crime such as deliberate violation of the Litany or rape or murder, this rite is invoked.
The suspected offender is first subject to markings on his body made by the ritemaster. Generally this mark can be the shape of the offender’s auspice glyph carved with silver and painted a silvery color. The offender is then splashed with ice-cold water, and exiled for one phase of the moon, starting with his own auspice. From that day to the next moon the offender believes that all rain that falls on him is liquid silver. The rain actually causes him harm, and he is unable to soak or heal these wounds. The wounds themselves are illusory.
If the offender is innocent, he does not take any real damage from this “Silver” rain, only believe that he does, but if guilty he suffers aggravated damage. Assuming he survives, the violator nonetheless suffers terribly.
System: The one moon this trial lasts the suspected criminal cannot replenish his Gnosis. The drops of rain hitting him feels like shards of silver driving into his skin. The “silver” does one point of aggravated damage per rainfall.
The suspected offender can spend Willpower to ignore the illusion for the duration of one scene, but he cannot heal any of the wounds caused by the silver rain until the trial is over. For some reason, it always seems to rain just a little bit more when this rite is invoked.
The Hunt
3
Description
Restriction: Philodox
The Hunt is called against a werewolf who has committed a capital crime such as unwarranted murder, yet who still retains a vestige of honor.
All Garou participating in a Hunt streak their bodies with ancient symbols in paint or clay. These symbols mark the werewolves as part of a Hunting Pack, and all other Garou will make way for Hunters so marked. It is an honor to be chosen for inclusion in a Hunt. The ritemaster, or Master of the Hunt, leads the pack. The Hunt is just that; the criminal is hunted down and killed by the pack.
There is no quarter given, although (for what it’s worth) death exculpates the condemned Garou. Many tragic stories tell of a werewolf forced to choose between violating his word and committing a grave crime. Such Garou, so the stories go, chose to honor their word and were Hunted, but displayed such valor during their last stand that they gained much posthumous renown.
Avenge the Innocent
4
Description
Restriction: Philodox Black Furies
This is one of the few Garou punishment rites that are generally applied to humans, rather than other Garou. It happens, on occasion, that a human — not always a male, despite what some Furies would prefer to believe — commits a serious crime against Gaia and cannot be easily slain. In other cases, the Furies would prefer not to give a violator the honor of a warrior’s swift death. To these criminals, the Black Furies assign curses like Avenge the Innocent.
Avenge the Innocent works simply: once the Furies have some core element of the crime that a violator has committed — a bloodied sheet from a violent crime, an accountant’s ledger from a con-artist’s defrauding a community, or a judge’s gavel from a painfully biased divorce settlement — they take it as close as they can to the place of the crime. With these two elements in place, they do not need the criminal to be present to pass judgment on him.
System: After a suitably bloody and fiery destruction of the weapon, roll Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty 7). If they succeed, the Furies invoke the spirit of Hippogriff to rend the criminal’s youth away. The subject ages one year per day until his death or until the Furies who cast the curse agree to withdraw it – which most will not do for crimes for which restitution cannot be equitably made.
Rite of the Silver Death
4
Description
Restriction: Philodox
Only the Rite of Gaia’s Vengeful Teeth is a worse punishment than the Rite of Silver Death. The werewolves reserve it for those who kill their own kind without provocation or lawful challenge but rather through cold, calculated murder in order to achieve some aim or goal.
For example, a werewolf who kills another to steal a fetish or ascend to power would be a likely candidate to suffer this punishment… if he could be proven guilty. A lesser crime might warrant a Hunt, where the offender may at least redeem herself by dying well; but in the Silver Death there is no redemption, only further shame and humiliation.
Before the assembled werewolves (including at least two others of equivalent or greater Rank to the condemned) and spirits, the ritemaster recites the crime(s) of the offender. As he does so, all strength drains from the offender’s body, so that she may do nothing but cower as one of the Garou (usually the ritemaster, sometimes the murdered one’s packmate or Kin) raises the klaive for the deathblow.
The Elder Philodox of the Garou Nation have historically been very careful in ensuring that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the condemned – as false accusations have lead to terrible, generation-spanning hatreds.
System: The ritemaster makes an extended Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty of the target’s Willpower), having to amass as many successes at the condemned has Rank, with each roll representing one minute of recitations. Even one success robs the offender of all strength to flee until the ritual has been completed. The doomed one cannot step sideways or move from her spot. A Willpower roll (difficulty is 4 + ritemaster’s successes) is necessary to take any defensive action, or even to stand defiantly without groveling pathetically for mercy.
If the ritual succeeds, then the ritemaster (or a designated executioner), must attack as normal, except the entire damage dice pool automatically counts as a success as if performing a coup de grace.
If the ritemaster fails a roll, it simply takes a little longer to reach the coup de grace – providing another round for the condemned to plead or struggle. If the ritual is botched, then the executioner must swing at +2 diff, and without benefiting from a coup de grace. This is certainly fatal when struck by a werewolf wielding a klaive.
In some cases the offender is subsequently spared. In others, they’re butchered by a howling mob of onlookers, regardless. Some of the most terrible internecine wars of the Garou Nation have begun this way.
Rite of the Silver Forge
4
Description
This rare punishment rite is reserved for culprits who have proven themselves to be demonstrably tainted yet who are deemed to yet have some hope of redemption.
If performed correctly, this rite creates a direct link between the target and the Near Realm of Erebus; the next time the target steps sideways, she appears in Erebus rather than the Penumbra, and cannot leave until Charyss has deemed her “cleansed.” This rite works only against Garou targets; non-Garou do not possess the proper connection to Erebus in the first place.
System: The rite is handled with the usual roll for a punishment rite (Charisma + Rituals, difficulty 7).
The participants must know the target and must believe wholeheartedly that she is guilty of crimes against Gaia, but capable of repenting. The rite participants do not have to be in the presence of the target – all that is required is that they know the target’s Garou name and be within 100 miles of the target.
Upon successful completion of the rite, the ritemaster must then make a Gnosis roll (difficulty of the target’s Gnosis). If the rite is cast unjustly, the ritemaster suffers the effect instead, and must account for his lack of fair judgement in Erebus the next time he tries to enter the Umbra.
The Rending of the Veil
4
Description
Sometimes known as Actaeon’s Folly, this rite is used to punish a human who offends the Garou greatly. The offense doesn’t have to be against the Garou per se, but it may be any act against Gaia or Her children. This rite drops the Veil, forcing a human to see and remember the Garou for the duration of an all-night hunt.
The ritemaster leaves a small bag of burning dung and herbs near the sleeping victim. When the victim awakens, the Veil has been burned away from his mind. The following hunt may or may not end in the human’s death. Those humans left alive are often rendered insane, as their unprepared minds are unable to accept the truth revealed by the rite. Some few, however, overcome their fear and heal. This rite is not considered a breach of the Litany.
System: The ritemaster must place the specially prepared bag of dung and herbs within 10 feet of where the victim sleeps. The bag smolders when the ritemaster performs the rite. The ritemaster doesn’t need to be near the bag to enact the rite. Failure leaves the Veil intact. A botch causes the Garou herself to fall under the Delirium for one night.
Curse on the Household
5
Description
Restriction: Black Furies
Curse on the Household is a longer-lasting, more serious curse than Avenge the Innocent. As the name implies, the Mistress of the Rite creates a long-lasting curse that cascades down through generations of the criminal’s family.
This curse is largely left in the hands of the Mistress of the Rite, though there are some restrictions on it (see below). It does not have a set effect. However, for a ritual of this power, it is important that the subject of the rite be physically present for its casting; no doubt he will have to be bound, since no sane person would knowingly allow himself to be cursed in such a fashion. This rite is reserved for the most heinous of criminals against the laws of Gaia: the rapist, the mass-murderer, the incestuous parent, the cannibal.
The Mistress of the Rite chooses four things about the curse: how the curse will pass down the family line, when it takes effect on a particular child, its exact effect, and how the curse may be alleviated: it may pass from parent to all children, and so on down the line; or it may only “infect” the eldest child, or only males (or only females). It usually does not take effect right from birth; it may wait until puberty, or until marriage, or some other simple condition may bring it about. Accordingly, the curse doesn’t generally kill its targets outright — if it did, there would be no future generations to torment. Instead, it makes their lives unpleasant, perhaps eventually unbearable. This could be almost anything: mild schizophrenia; regular bad luck; a plague of ghosts or malevolent minor spirits; inability to hold a regular job; a serious skin condition or non-life-threatening chronic medical condition; or many other things.
System: The Fury who performs this ritual must assign a condition to allow its breaking. She cannot break the curse on her own, under any circumstances. She must inform the cursed what the condition is, even if he cannot possibly satisfy it. The condition is often implausible on its surface: “Your infant child’s sixth daughter must marry a Catholic priest.” The condition cannot be impossible, however. Knowledge of the condition does not have to be passed down from parent to child; if the information is lost, the family will be cursed forever.
To perform this rite, the subject must be present; the Mistress of the Rite rolls Intelligence + Expression, difficulty 8. She must achieve 3 successes on this roll; additional successes have no other effect. If it fails (that is, achieves 2 or fewer successes), the subject of the curse is free to leave the Fury’s presence and that particular curse cannot be used on him in the future.
If the roll botches, the Fury who performs the rite has the curse afflicted upon her and her descendants, and the subject of the curse is forever immune to cursing rituals performed by this Fury.
Gaia's Vengeful Teeth
5
Description
Restriction: Philodox
As one of the greatest punishments among the Garou, this rite is reserved for traitors, those who consort with the Wyrm or cowards whose actions (or lack thereof) cause the deaths of many others.
At least five werewolves drag the traitor to a spot of hard, cracked earth and stones. The ritemaster then stabs a sharpened twig or stone into her own hand as she recites the traitor’s sins against Gaia. Smearing her blood over the traitor’s eyes, ears and forehead, the ritemaster cries in grief and rage. As the blood and tears drip to the hard ground, the rite takes effect. From that moment on, whatever of Gaia touches the traitor transforms into razor-sharp silver so long as it touches his flesh.
Crinos hunters then chase the traitor like a dog. The ground beneath the traitor chews into his feet, and his death becomes an agonizing ordeal. The offender’s name is then stricken from all histories, and it will be spoken only as a curse from that moment forward.
As long as the ritemaster’s blood touches the traitor’s body, the traitor cannot step sideways into the Umbra. No one survives being subject to this rite.
Name
Level
Description
Rite of Boasting
1
Description
Boasting and bragging have always been a vital aspect of warrior cultures. Boasts serve to work up a fighter’s courage while putting fear into the opponent. But to truly impress, the boaster must back up his claims. This rite is more than formalized bragging, for it forces the Garou to “put up or shut up.”
Before a battle or mission, the Garou boasts before all assembled that he will perform a particularly impressive feat (for example, “I will kill three Black Spirals with only my claws,” “I will scale the electrified razorwire of the refinery” or “I will be the first to reach the shield wall, there to wrest the enemy’s standard from his dead hand.”). The boast is performed in a ritual fashion, with a short recitation of lineage and a summary of glorious deeds performed to date.
If he makes good on his boast, he magnifies the Glory of the act. If he fails, the resulting derision of his peers costs him Glory; boasting is only respected if you can back it up. This rite is most commonly used among the Fianna, Get of Fenris, and Wendigo, but most tribes have some version of it.
System: Standard roll, though the difficulty may be modified by the difficulty and glory of the proposed feat — modest goals are harder to boast about than impressive lunacy. For every two successes, the boast earns a potential extra temporary Glory, up to the amount of Glory the feat would ordinarily garner.
If the boast is carried through, the Garou earns the Glory bonus. If he fails and lives, he loses that amount. If he dies while carrying out his deed, there is neither loss nor gain of extra Renown. A single pack may boast of a deed, but only the pack leader can perform the rite. In this case, the difficulty is increased by one, and the entire pack gains or loses the Glory award.
Rite of Heritage
1
Description
Galliards and Philodox alike favor this genealogical rite, albeit for slightly different reasons. Some Garou use it to verify the identity of a hero’s descendants before passing on an inheritance; others use it to identify the father of a metis cub if none is forthcoming.
The ritemaster draws the blood of the subject with a silver knife and sings a long paean to the ancestor-spirits of his tribe and any others that might be watching over the subject. As he completes the song, the ancestor-spirits whisper the subject’s heritage into his ears.
System: Standard roll. Success reveals the subject’s true heritage for one generation back per success (for example, two successes would reveal the subject’s heritage as far back as his grandparents).
In addition, the ritemaster receives the answer to one specific question about the subject’s heritage per success; e.g., “What was this cub’s paternal grandfather’s profession?” or “Does the blood of any other tribe run in this cub’s veins?” The answer will be accurate, as long as the answer can be found within the number of generations revealed; if the ritemaster gained four successes, for example, he could not ask “Is this child descended from Frode,” but he could accurately tell if the child’s great-great-grandfather claimed descent from Frode or not.
The Rite of Heritage works just as well with humans or wolves (although wolves, lacking names, are harder to accurately identify), even non-Kin or mages. It does not, however, work on the undead or on fae.
Rite of Wounding
1
Description
This rite celebrates a Garou’s first battle wound. Each tribe marks this moment differently, but all honor this sign of courage. Many tribes rub ash into at least part of the wound to form a scar of remembrance. The Get of Fenris always end this rite with a fierce all-night revel filled with drinking and fighting. By contrast, the Children of Gaia end their Rites of Wounding with prayers for peace and understanding among all creatures.
System: Only the wounded character and the ritemaster must be present for this rite, although the werewolf’s pack and sept are normally present. The wounded character receives two points of Glory if this rite succeeds.
Call to Arms
2
Description
Restriction: Galliard
‘Call to Arms’ is a useful rite invoked when a werewolf pack must rally their allies for an impending conflict or a crucial task. This rite is not to be used lightly; it summons the allies of the pack and invokes their bonds of kinship, honor, and shared purpose.
The ritemaster begins by carving the sigil of the pack and their allies into a piece of wood or stone. As each sigil is carved, the ritemaster calls out the name of the ally and recounts a shared experience or battle, emphasizing their shared bonds and need for their aid. Upon completion, the sigils are set alight, and the ritemaster howls a mournful call, a haunting sound that echoes in the physical world but resonates even more deeply in the spirit world. This rite is performed at sunset, symbolizing the coming darkness that the pack and their allies will face together.
System: The ritemaster to spend a Gnosis point and roll Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7). Each success on this roll reaches one allied pack, group, or individual, imbuing them with a sense of urgency and an understanding of the pack’s need. Allies who are contacted are not compelled to respond, but the weight of the ritual and the bonds it invokes can be persuasive.
A good response to the Call to Arms can turn the tide in a conflict, but the misuse of this rite can strain or even sever alliances. The Call to Arms represents not just a plea for help, but a reminder of shared Glory – both past and present.
Rite of Accomplishment
2
Description
This rite is used to honor a werewolf and recognize the trials he has endured to attain his current standing. An elder will call the honored Garou forward, much as the Garou might be called forward should the elders want to punish or criticize her.
As the Garou advances, the elder begins listing all of the things the Garou did to gain the acclaim. The Rite of Accomplishment then takes place, and anyone who wishes to speak on behalf of the Garou being honored may do so. In conclusion, the elder says something along the lines of, “She is made greater in her tribe, her sept and greater among the People everywhere. Let this be known.”
System: Only one success is required. A failure on the roll is considered indicative of a failing in the applicant. The ritemaster often receives a portent from Gaia showing the unworthiness of the applicant. If the roll botches, the applicant must undergo a penance before anyone will again give him the Rite of Accomplishment. Such is the injustice of Garou society.
It is possible, although rare, that someone will dispute the rite. In this case, the disputer stands and heckles the ritemaster as he performs the rite, making bold assertions about the negative qualities of the applicant. The applicant so insulted must make a Rage roll not to frenzy; if he frenzies, the rite is over. If he keeps his cool, and the rite is successful, no one can rightfully question his worthiness for at least three moons (i.e., no one can dispute any Rites of Accomplishment performed on him during the next month and a half), and the heckler may lose a point of Honor or Wisdom Renown.
Rite of Passage
3
Description
After a cub undergoes his First Change and becomes aware that he is a werewolf, he must undergo his Rite of Passage. Werewolves are not accorded adulthood or respect until they pass this seminal rite; they are mere cubs until that time. They are not even considered true Garou, and some tribes such as the Get of Fenris or Shadow Lords do not even refer to them as such until this rite is completed.
A cub is technically not a member of any tribe until his Rite of Passage. A male cub born to the Black Furies, for example, becomes a member of whatever tribe will offer him a place among them by use of this rite. During a Rite of Passage, the cubs must complete a dangerous quest meant to prove that they have the courage, honor, and wisdom befitting a werewolf. However, few cubs undergo this rite alone. They are often joined by their pack-to-be, other cubs who are also coming of age.
The ritemaster commands the cub (or would-be pack) to go out into the world with a definite goal to achieve, and he forbids it to return until it has tried its best to accomplish this goal.
Different tribes impose different goals, although multi-tribal septs usually reach a compromise. A Wendigo rite often takes the form of a vision quest, while the Get of Fenris commonly send their cubs into combat with Wyrm-spawn. Invisible spirits sometimes accompany the cubs in order to watch over them and report their doings to the elders.
If the cubs succeed in their quest, a ritemaster performs this rite upon them, marking them with a pictogram that brands them as full-fledged Garou. These pictograms are usually painted, but the Red Talons carve them into the flesh of the young heroes.
If the cubs fail, however, they are considered second-class citizens until they are granted another opportunity to prove themselves.
Rite of Praise
3
Description
This rite honors a werewolf who has given more, risked more, and sacrificed more than necessary for the good of other Garou, Gaia, or anything related. The entire sept is gathered as the ritemaster presents the commendation, often with a token worthy of the honoree, such as a fetish, as a final reward.
This rite is not used lightly, or to reward expected behavior — it honors only the greatest.
System: The ritemaster presents to the sept the deeds and actions of the chosen Garou warranting such praise. For each success on a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 6), the praised Garou gains an extra die to use for Social dice pools within the sept over the next three months.
Rallying Howl
3
Description
Restriction: Galliard
This rite is used to rally Garou for an impending conflict. The ritemaster invokes the warlike spirits and the ancient heroes of the Garou, calling upon their valor and might. The rite imbues the participants with a heightened sense of camaraderie and courage, stoking the fire of their warrior spirits.
The ritemaster begins the rite by marking each participant with a symbol of war, usually in the form of an ancestral or tribal symbol made with ash or paint. The ritemaster then calls out to the spirits of war and honor, asking for their blessings and guidance. A stirring speech or battle cry usually follows this, invoking tales of legendary Garou battles and heroes to inspire the participants.
System: Each participant must howl in response, pledging themselves to the upcoming conflict and vowing to fight with honor. The ritemaster then makes a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 7). Each success imparts a sense of courage and unity amongst the participating Garou, granting them +1 to their Willpower for the duration of the scene. This bonus cannot exceed their permanent Willpower score.
Rite of Succession
3
Description
In traditional septs, this rite is performed whenever a Garou takes up a position of authority or responsibility within the sept. It is less observed among the Urrah – which is one of the many reasons that the Garou Nation looks down upon them. However, sometimes a savvy (or ambitious) Urrah Garou will go to special trouble to earn recognition by doing it the ‘old way’.
The sept gathers to witness the succession, and the ritemaster recites a list of the werewolf’s credentials and accomplishments that qualify her for the position. The successor must bring a worthy animal (or human…) sacrifice, appropriate for her new position, killing it in front of the ritemaster. Everyone present eats a piece of the sacrifice, then the ritemaster takes a bone from the carcass and carves a glyph into it with her claws as a signifier of the new werewolf’s position. In conclusion of this rite, the sept howls honor of the successor to the sky.
System: If the predecessor is present and performs the proper role, the ritemaster gains bonus dice equal to that werewolf’s Rank. The successor gains one point of temporary Honor Renown for every two successes (round up) on this roll.
Name
Level
Description
Memorial Day
2
Description
Restriction:Urrah
While American Glass Walkers and Bone Gnawers enact this rite on Memorial Day, others world-wide do so on days their own countries designate as a time to honor their dead.
Before dawn, Urrah gather on rooftops, in office buildings, warehouses or even within parks and grieve for their fallen comrades and ancestors. The rite honors those who have fallen in Gaia’s service or in an attempt to further the special causes of their tribe (such as technological progress among the Glass Walkers).
As dawn breaks the ritemaster calls the Urrah into their ‘Hall of Honor’, a special room or area where the names and deeds of the honored dead are written. New additions are made to the rolls to honor new martyrs and the ritemaster summons a City Spirit to guard and protect the room for a year in return for a single favor from the Garou.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 6). If the roll is successful the spirit agrees to guard the Memorial Hall for a year. If the roll is botched, the spirit attacks all those gathered.
New Year's Resolution
2
Description
Restriction:Urrah
This rite breaks down into two parts. The first part is marked by gluttony, and as a result tends to take up most of the week. The city wolves eat, drink, fight and make love (to Kinfolk, in theory) to their hearts’ content. Old grudges break down over wine and dinnertime conversations find an informality that lets the Urrah find simpler ways of operating. Among the Glass Walkers, this rite is becoming more global every year by incorporating streaming and video conferences, such that the party can go on in multiple locations at once.
For the second part, the ritemaster supervises the assembled Garou in their predictions and closes the week with a toast to the sept’s good fortune for the oncoming year.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 7. If a simple success is achieved, all participating Garou recover all Willpower to face the new year. If three successes are gained, one Garou also has a vision of a minor event in the oncoming year. If five are gained, several Garou might have minor visions, or one may have a vision of a very major event indeed.
Rejuvenate the Soil
2
Description
Restriction: Autumn
In the earliest days of agriculture, and even before the advent of agriculture, when humans hunted for meat and gathered fruits and vegetables as they could, they were fully aware that spending too long in one place would leach the life from the soil.
When tending to herds of mortals still mattered to the Garou, they taught their charges the ways of the Earth Mother; Rejuvenate the Soil is one of those secrets.
The planter takes a pound of seeds from the choicest crop produced or gathered this year, and burns that mass in a bronze bowl while murmuring prayers to Gaia (often in the form of her various guises within human pantheons such as Demeter, Mat Zemlya, Hòutǔ Niángniáng, Dimǔ or Preah Mae Thoroni). She must insure that no ashes or cinders leave the fire, lest the ritual lose its efficacy. When the fire is complete, the Garou mixes in a few drops of her own blood. Using their claw (or perhaps a labrys), the Garou next carves a glyph of fertility — at least three feet across, and preferably larger into the soil at the center of the area to be affected. She then smears or pours the blood-ash mixture into the glyph. An area radiating out from the glyph will regain some of its bounty over the winter.
System: The player should roll Stamina + Survival, difficulty 6 (unless the area is a former blight, in which case it must be ritually cleansed and even then the difficulty is 8 the first year). Every success yields an acre of improved cropland for the next year.
Rite of Reawakening
2
Description
Note: This rite is most commonly practiced in non-Urrah septs.
This rite celebrates the vernal equinox, the time of rebirth. It is usually performed by only the most traditional of septs – and is virtually unknown among the Urrah whose chaotic existences rarely require an overly elaborate spirit quest to find danger to remind them how precious and fleeting life is, and for whom there is little awareness of the ‘growing season’.
The ritemaster begins the rite at sundown by leading the gathered Garou on a quest into the Umbra. Such a quest is sometimes symbolic, but more and more often as the time of the Apocalypse draws near, the questors seek true danger in the Umbral Realms — or it finds them on its own. The quest always involves seven trials.
These trials represent the seven gates that bar the way to the Underworld. Such trials vary dramatically from tribe to tribe, but there are always a variety of challenges presented to the members. One test might involve facing a Bane in combat, while another challenge might consist of finding a fetish lost within the Deep Umbra. Each test requires the participants to relinquish something of themselves, be it a cherished personal fetish, an old grudge or false pride.
If the Garou can win their way past these challenge gates, they can renew the Earth, banishing the winter-spirits and paving the way for the green, growing season. At the end of the rite, the werewolves return to their bodies.
At this time many tribes seek out Garou Kinfolk, or other humans and wolves, and reacquaint themselves with the joys of the flesh, celebrating the incredible beauty of life and the necessity of its continuation in future generations.
Rite of the Winter Winds
2
Description
Note: This rite is most commonly practiced in non-Urrah septs.
On the longest night of the year, Garou enact this rite as a salute to Helios and an encouragement for him to begin lengthening the days again. Some werewolves believe that if this rite is not performed, the nights will continue to lengthen until Gaia has fallen into a terrible twilight state of perpetual pain.
Most modern werewolves consider this mere superstition, but even such skeptics participate enthusiastically in the rite. The Rite of the Winter Winds is rarely the same from sept to sept. European Garou practice a common version that begins with the ritemaster gathering the Garou in a circle around a small bonfire. She then leads the group in an extended howl that begins as a low, rumbling growl and eventually rises to an ululating crescendo.
When the ritemaster feels that the tension is at its height, she leaps forward, snatches up a burning branch and runs into the woods. The other Garou follow her, grabbing branches as they go. Running as swiftly as they can, the werewolves make as many frightening and strange noises as possible. This rite is performed both to encourage Gaia’s labor in giving birth to the sun, and to frighten off any minions of the Wyrm that might be lurking about, ready to snatch the newborn sun or harm Gaia as she turns her attention away from the surface world.
The ritemaster finally leads the howling pack back to the bonfire, where they hurl their branches into the conflagration. Once the fire is raging, the Garou celebrate with a revel that lasts until dawn, at which time they greet the newborn sun with one last, triumphant howl.
Superbowl Sunday
2
Description
Restriction:Urrah
Every year on Superbowl Sunday American Urrah gather to listen to or watch the game. Glass Walkers and Bone Gnawers in other areas of the world perform similar rites for World Cup soccer matches and the like; in a World Cup year, the local Urrah may be performing this rite for weeks! In truth, it isn’t specific to football or even to sports; There are various Urrah septs around America who are much more interested in the NBA playoffs or American Idol, and Eurovision in Europe.
What matters most is that a critical mass of the local human population are passionately invested in the outcome of an entertaining event. Quite a few Glass Walker septs find forecasting political elections more exciting than anything involving a ball.
During the pre-game show, all who are gathered tell each other what they think the sept ought to do post-game, such as help out someone who is down on his luck, rescue people from abusive spouses, check up on their Kinfolk or hunt down Wyrm creatures. Other suggestions might also be tendered.
Every city has its own unique take on the particulars of the rite. Among the Bone Gnawers (who adhere to this rite most passionately), the ritemaster usually passes around an old hat and each Bone Gnawer throws in something he considers valuable (a CD, an old watch, even an Indian head penny), then predicts which team will win and by how many points. No one can predict the same score, so popular guesses go early. As the hat passes, it becomes a temporary fetish. Worn by the winner, it acts to point that Garou in the exact direction she needs to go to accomplish what she earlier stated she wanted the group to do.
The Great Hunt
3
Description
This rite falls on the eve of the summer solstice, or Midsummer, when Helios stays longest in the sky and is thus at the zenith of his influence. The short hours of darkness offer the creatures of the Wyrm little place to hide, and the werewolves respond by holding a sacred hunt.
Exactly at midnight, just at Midsummer begins, the ritemaster calls upon Gaia to bring to the attention of the sept a creature or creatures worthy of the Great Hunt. In preparation, the Garou chant, howl, and tell tales of bravery. Also common is a ritual bloodletting, wherein each Garou cuts herself and sheds some of her blood into a large bowl. The mingled blood is then used to paint pictograms on the forehead or breastbone of each of the hunters. At dawn, Gaia sends the waiting sept a sign proclaiming the target of the Great Hunt.
This sign may come in any form, from a vision seen by an entranced Wendigo ritemaster to a news story flashing on the screen of an old television in a Bone Gnawer caern. Although the person or creature chosen by Gaia is almost always associated with the Wyrm, Gaia demands on rare occasions that one of her own be sacrificed in the Great Hunt. Only the greatest warriors are ever chosen as the targets of a Great Hunt, and Gaia demands such a sacrifice from her children only in times of great need, for the freed spirit of such a warrior is said to transform immediately into an avenging angel for Gaia.
The Garou have only until midnight to complete the Great Hunt. If successful, the blood of the fallen creature is spilled onto Gaia’s soil (or into the ether if the Great Hunt takes place on the Umbra) as a sacrifice to Gaia. If the hunters fail to slay their quarry, it is considered a terrible omen for the coming year. Some Theurges say that no sept will succeed at the Great Hunt during the year of the Apocalypse. At the least, a failed Great Hunt means poor luck for the sept in the year to come.
Anyone participating in a successful Great Hunt gains Glory. The danger of the particular Great Hunt determines the amount of Glory gained.
The Long Vigil
3
Description
Note: This rite is most commonly practiced in non-Urrah septs.
This rite marks the autumnal equinox, when the season of long days gives way to the season of long nights.
Although summer is the traditional season of war among many human cultures, the Garou know that their shadow war will be all the more difficult during the lengthening hours of darkness. To prepare themselves, they hold the Long Vigil, a rite designed to sharpen their appetite for the battles ahead.
The Long Vigil begins at sundown, around a raging bonfire (some urban caerns make substitutions). The sept spends the day before the Vigil bedecking the caern with trophies of war collected during the previous year. From bent rifles and shredded flak jackets to broken Wyrm-fetishes and strings of teeth, to the skulls of Wyrmish monsters, to smeared blood mixed with the dust of vampires, all manner of mementos adorn the heart of the caern.
As the sun slips below the horizon, the ritemaster begins to chant praise to Helios, thanking him for his blessings during the summer, and praying for his safety in the coming winter. The ritemaster then praises Luna and beseeches her aid in the long nights to come.
To aid in the ritemaster’s plea for aid, the Galliards of the sept come forward and begin to recite tales of the most glorious battles of the last year and the deeds done in her name. They point to each trophy in turn to tell the story of how it was won from its owner. Particularly eloquent members of other auspices who distinguished themselves in the previous year are sometimes allowed the honor of being the first to tell their own tales.
Once the Galliards have finished, the other members of the sept begin to recount their own versions of the great deeds of the previous year. The tale-telling lasts all night; as dawn approaches, the ritemaster invokes Luna one final time. He dedicates all the deeds of the previous year to Luna, her brother Helios, and her sister Gaia, and he promises that the year to come will be just as glorious with Luna’s blessing.
As the rite concludes, the Garou hurl as many trophies as possible into the bonfire, destroying their hard-earned mementos as a sign of faith that they will take many more in the year to come.
The Mysteries
3
Description
Restriction: Black Furies (Highly traditional ones at that)
Performed by the Black Furies at the time of the first new moon after the Winter Solstice (December 20-22), the Mysteries hark back to ancient times.
Greek females would gather to celebrate the mysteries associated with the female sex: birth, death, renewal, and questioning of their place in the ongoing cycles of life. The Furies meet within caves, often with trees atop the tor that houses them, during this dark of the moon. Those too old for childbearing unwind black string and tie it to a rock or tree. Those who have borne children use red string, while those who are still virgin utilize white string, symbolizing the threefold aspect of the goddess as maid, mother, and crone.
The ritemaster shares a tale of a great heroine who has walked a path through darkness to knowledge and the Furies dance, intertwining their strings into a pattern, then share a cup of blood and wine. The rite ends at dawn.
Name
Level
Description
Appease the Prey-Spirit
0
Description
Restriction:Urrah
This is a version of the Prayer for the Prey that acknowledges that not all Garou live by hunting and killing animals.
Bone Gnawers most often perform the rite, but many Glass Walkers perform it also. While wilderness Garou laugh at the thought of “praying to a soda machine,” the Gnawers know that finding food in the urban jungle isn’t always easy. The Garou thanks the spirit that has fed him. This may be a plant-spirit, a machine-spirit (if the food was machine-made) or the Bone Gnawer’s favorite spirit, the Garbage Heap.
System: The Garou gives thanks when eating, and then steps sideways to thank the spirit “in person.” If he does so each time he obtains a meal this way (snacks do not mandate this rite), his difficulty for dealing with such spirits will drop by one.
Augury
0
Description
Restriction: Uktena
By denying herself food, the Garou sharpens her focus, allowing her insight into the world beyond the mundane.
System: The werewolf fasts from sunrise to sunset, consuming nothing but water for the duration. They then must make a Stamina roll (vs difficulty 6, +1 for every day in a row this is attempted).
If successful, until sunrise the next morning, her difficulty numbers in all matters dealing with prophecy, fortune telling, scrying, or interpreting visions, either her own, or others’ is decreased by one.
Bone Rhythms
0
Description
A werewolf performs this rite to honor her totem spirit. Each spirit has a different rhythm connected to it, and the Garou taps out her spirit’s rhythm with special sticks to honor it. Such “sticks” are traditionally made of bone, but they can be fashioned from any material.
System: Any werewolf who performs this rite three times per day for at least three consecutive days gains an additional die to any one roll while in the Umbra. Once this die is used, the Garou must rebuild the energies for an additional three days before regaining the extra die.
Beseech Justice
0
Description
Restriction:Urrah
This rite thanks and praises the spirit of Justice, often neglected by both humans and Garou, but a powerful ally. Most traditional Garou don’t really care much about spirits that are so strongly associated with the values and pathos of human civilization – seeing them as Weaver adjacent at best. The Urrah (such as the Bone Gnawers and Glass Walkers in particular) feel very different.
The Garou must make a concrete offering or sacrifice in the cause of justice (such as spending her last paycheck to bail out protesters unfairly imprisoned by Endron).
System: The Garou may call upon Justice (such as with prayer, a chant or a song). If her recent actions reflect these sentiments, she gets 1 extra die to all Mental rolls when seeking true justice. The effects last for one week.
Breath of Gaia
0
Description
During this rite the werewolf breathes deeply of the Mother’s breath — clean air — 13 times. While so breathing, she clears her mind of all things save her love of Gaia.
System: The character must perform this rite at least once per day for one full cycle of the moon. Doing so enables her to lower the difficulty of any one healing or detection roll by two.
Calling the Directions
0
Description
A mystic uses this ritual to reorient himself spiritually, affirming that he is in balance with all of Gaia. Beginning with the East, the Garou howls or sings in the language of the Wild to each of the four cardinal directions.
System: If the werewolf performs this rite every morning when he wakes for one lunar month, he gains one bonus die to rolls to perform rites as long as he continues to Call the Directions each morning.
Greet the Moon
0
Description
This rite is an exuberant paean to Luna. During this rite, the werewolf howls an elaborate greeting at moonrise; the howl varies with the phase of the moon.
System: Performing this rite each night at moonrise for a full phase of the moon enables the character to add one die to all rolls involving social interactions with Garou of that phase’s auspice the next night the moon is in the phase in question.
Greet the North
0
Description
This rite is similar to Greet the Moon, but is performed when the North Star first appears in the sky after sunset.
System: The werewolf must howl a greeting to the North Star each night for eight consecutive nights. If he does so, he gains one bonus die to all rolls for navigation until he lapses in his nightly greeting.
Greet the Sun
0
Description
Certain Children of Gaia and a few Uktena and Wendigo practice this rite. It is similar to Greet the Moon, but is performed at sunrise.
System: The werewolf must sing Helios’s praises for nine consecutive sunrises. If the Garou does so, Helios grants his devotee an additional die when attempting to sense Wyrm creatures or Wyrm-taint, provided the werewolf continues to sing his praises daily. If even one sunrise is missed, the rite must be begun anew to restore its benefits.
Harness the Living Vessel
0
Description
Restriction:Urrah
This simple rite enables other rites to be performed in less than ideal circumstances. Rites requiring Gaia’s physical presence (that is, that natural earth, air, water or fire be present) are difficult to perform while the ritemaster is in a setting where they do not exist, such as a bleak urban hellhole, a skyscraper or the CyberRealm. However, certain Urrah reason “there’s wind in your lungs, water in your veins, fire in your heart and soil in your bowels.”
System: When a ritemaster performs this rite, she may substitute the body of any living creature for the required earth, wind, etc. for a rite that immediately follows, by rolling her Stamina against the local Gauntlet, requiring only one success.
For example, when a rite requires the ritemaster to touch earth, she may hold another’s hand instead; a fetish may be held over the heart instead of over a fire.
Honoring the Ancestors
0
Description
By paying respects to a beloved tribe ancestor at a caern shrine or memorial with a ritual howl and a few drops of her own blood, a werewolf gains the favor of that ancestor.
System: Performing this rite for five nights in a row, during which the moon’s phase that corresponds to the ancestor’s auspice must be visible at least once, grants the character an additional die to the next roll she makes for social interaction with other members of her tribe.
Hunting Prayer
0
Description
This common rite takes many form, but always involves pausing before the start of a hunt to praise Gaia and all her creatures. In addition, the Garou selects some item to hold her prayers. The item could be anything from an old belt to a shark-tooth necklace, but the werewolf must have it with her when she hunts. If she loses the item, she must choose a new one and begin her devotions anew.
System: If the Garou performs this rite before every hunt for three lunar months, she receives an additional die to all tracking rolls as long as she continues her pre-hunt prayers. If she neglects the prayer before even one hunt, she must begin the cycle again before she regains the bonus.
Prayer for the Prey
0
Description
A specific form of the Rite of Contrition, this rite involves the werewolf stepping sideways into the Umbra just after making a kill, in order to thank her prey’s spirit for giving its life that she might survive.
System: The character must perform this rite upon every beast of Gaia (not including Wyrm-spawn) she slays for one full turning of the moon. Should she do so, all of her difficulty numbers drop by one when dealing with nature spirits. This bonus lasts until she kills an animal without taking time to thank the creature’s spirit.
Rite of the Teachers
0
Description
This rite (mostly practiced by the Children of Gaia and Uktena) involves using the teacher plants of Gaia (hallucinogenic plants) which have had their spirits Awakened (using the Rite of Spirit Awakening). The ritemaster must prepare the plants carefully and then use them in the appropriate manner (such as smoking jimson weed or eating sacred mushrooms). Note that the use of the plants is forbidden in some cases by human law.
System: For each level of bashing damage that the Garou takes from exposure to the drugs in question, the Gauntlet is effectively lowered by one for the purposes of using Gifts or rites or stepping sideways. The reduced difficulty lasts for five minutes after the completion of this rite.
Uncommon Rites
Name
Type
Level
Restriction
Source
Twilight Song
Minor
0
Fianna
Fia p.77
Rite of Hospitality
Accord
2
Fianna
Fia p.74
Rite of the Hero’s Sleep
Death
5
Fianna
Fia p.74
Feast for the Spirits
Mystic
2
Fianna
Fia p.75
Rite of the Foeman’s Vigil
Mystic
3
Fianna
Fia p.75
Rite of Samhain
Seasonal
2
Fianna
Fia p.76
Rite of Imbolc
Seasonal
2
Fianna
Fia p.76
Rite of Beltane
Seasonal
2
Fianna
Fia p.77
Rite of Lughnassa
Seasonal
2
Fianna
Fia p.77
Rite of Rune Carving
Mystic
1
Get of Fenris
Get p.79
Rite of the Lodge House
Mystic
3
Get of Fenris
Get p.80
Rite of Rune Casting
Mystic
3
Get of Fenris
Get p.80
The Coward’s Brand
Punishment
3
Get of Fenris
Get p.81
Rite of War
Renown
2
Get of Fenris
Get p.81
Rite of Challenge
Renown
3
Get of Fenris
Get p.81
Rite of Conquest (Get)
Renown
5
Get of Fenris
Get p.82
Murmur Rite
Caern
2
Shadow Lords
SL p.74
Thunder’s Blessing
Caern
3
Shadow Lords
SL p.74
Communion with the Storm
Mystic
2
Shadow Lords
SL p.75
Rite of the Hurricane
Mystic
5
Shadow Lords
SL p.75
Calling the Storm
Punishment
3
Shadow Lords
SL p.76
Rite of Dominance
Renown
2
Shadow Lords
SL p.76
Rite of Conquest (SL)
Renown
5
Shadow Lords
SL p.76
Rite of the Honorable Oath
Accord
1
Silver Fangs
SF p.78
Rite of the Loyal Pack
Accord
3
Silver Fangs
SF p.78
Rite of Kingship
Accord
4
Silver Fangs
SF p.78
Rite of Breeding
Mystic
1
Silver Fangs
SF p.79
Walking With the Dead
Mystic
3
Silver Fangs
SF p.79
Descent into the Dark Umbra
Mystic
3
Silent Striders, Silver Fangs (Ivory Priesthood)
Umb p.135
Rite of Meeting and Parting
Minor
0
Silent Striders
SS p.79
Rite of the Midwife
Accord
1
Silent Striders
SS p.77
Gathering of Wanderers
Accord
2
Silent Striders
SS p.77
Rite of Purification
Death
2
Silent Striders
SS p.77
Rite for the Watchful
Death
4
Silent Striders
SS p.77
Rite of the Spoken Page
Mystic
2
Silent Striders
SS p.78
Ritual of Life
Mystic
5
Silent Striders (Seekers)
SS p.79
Rite of Dormant Wisdom
Mystic
4
Silent Striders (Eaters of the Dead)
SS p.79
Kinfolk
Like their Garou relatives, Kinfolk find importance and meaning in the performance of rituals to celebrate who they are, recognize significant milestones in their lives and otherwise mark themselves as separate from non-Kinfolk humans.
Most of what follows is clarification from W20 Kinfolk, and somewhat overdue clarification at that.
Kinfolk & Rituals
Kinfolk have access to the Rituals Knowledge, same as Garou. However, this is specifically a Kinfolk version of Rituals as discussed on page 60 of the W20 Kinfolk book: “Garou learn this Knowledge in order to participate in the spiritual life of sept, tribe, and Garou existence in general. Kinfolk have their own version of Rituals that likewise enables them to add a spiritual and communal element to their existence as blood relations of the Garou.”
Kinfolk who possess this Knowledge can participate in rites specifically created for Kinfolk. In addition to unlocking access to various rites, this Knowledge conveys some general awareness of the Garou rites and mysteries (such as the names and intents of most Garou rites and a simplified version of Garou traditions).
While many Kinfolk rites involve the formalized behavior common to most ceremonial events and serve to provide a closer bond among Kinfolk, or between Kinfolk and their Garou Kin. Other rites provide limited access to the spirit world, though any power gained from such rites in no way rivals the potency of Garou rites.
Kinfolk may learn Kinfolk rites up to their level in Rituals. They may learn Garou rites which are relevant to their tribe, if they can find a teacher. However, they may not learn Garou rites beyond Level 1 or 2.
HR: If a Kinfolk has the Gnosis Merit, they may learn a thematically appropriate Garou rite up to Level 3, combined with a great deal of time, effort and experience.
Garou may teach the Rituals Knowledge or Garou rites to Kinfolk of their tribe. It is time consuming. It is only in rare circumstances that a Garou would take on such an instructional role with a Kinfolk not of their tribe. Those rare circumstances are unlikely to ICly be realized in Los Angeles.
A Kinfolk cannot usually teach a Garou. However, the most accomplished Kinfolk elder with a Rituals of 4+ and quite likely a lifetime of experience may potentially instruct a young Garou to Rituals 1, and in Level 1 or 2 Rites.
Remember that even when Kinfolk learn what is technically a Garou rite, they are learning a Kinfolky version of it that leans heavily into their own tribal traditions and ancestry to make the necessary connections.
In terms of general knowledge about Garou rites, traditions, tribal spirits and mystical beliefs, consider a Kinfolk with Rituals 3 to be roughly equivalent to a Garou with Rituals 1.
Kinfolk Rites
Many Garou tribes include Kinfolk in a number of their rites. These rites usually honor Gaia, mark seasonal changes, or address milestones in the life of an individual or family. Some rites, of course, are for Garou only. In the same fashion, Kinfolk have devised their own rites intended to bring them closer to each other as Kinfolk or to mark gatherings of Kinfolk from a number of different tribes.
While most of these rites do not require Gnosis and do not involve mystic powers, they do serve to renew Kinfolk’s connections to their tribes, to Gaia, and to one another.
Usually, a Kinfolk elder acts as ritemaster to enact the rite. If a Garou is present, she is often asked to lead the rite or participate in it as a matter of courtesy or respect. Garou are free to refuse to lead the rite with no negative implications, since these rites are properly led by Kinfolk. For a Garou to refuse participation in a rite when asked might imply some sort of criticism. Therefore, such requests never happen lightly.
Many of these rites are versions of Garou rites of the same name, but a few are unique to Kinfolk, or to Kin of certain tribes. Kinfolk group their unique rites under the same categories as the Garou use, for convenience.
The following list of Kinfolk rites present a sampling of ceremonies and does not purport to be exhaustive. For example: One rite common to many kenning Kinfolk is the Baptism of Fire (p. 210, W20 Corebook), whereby a Kin family can assign a Kin Fetch spirit to one of their offspring. Although the Kin ritemaster cannot usually summon the spirit, a Kin Fetch that is already present to the family can be used. Such a spirit can make itself known and visible to the ritemaster if it so wishes.
Rites of Accord
Rites of Accord for Kinfolk seek to restore or create harmony within a Kinfolk family or group. An element of symbolic rebirth or new beginning is usually present in these rites. They have no supernatural power attached unless the Kin acting as ritemaster possesses Gnosis and chooses to spend it to add to the rite. They are usually quite psychologically and spiritually effective for Kin who practice them.
Dice Pool: Charisma + Rituals vs 7
Rite of Apology (Level One)
When members of a Kinfolk family have a serious disagreement and wish to make amends and permanently put animosity behind them, they may enact the Rite of Apology. The concerned individuals stand facing one another and forswear any feelings of anger or blame, declaring that no disagreement, whoever is at fault, is worth enmity between Kin. Each person focuses on transferring her anger or blame or negative feeling onto a single sheet of good writing paper. Once this is done, each person enacting the rite exchanges papers so that each person touches each piece of paper. The papers are put together and each person takes a turn at ripping the paper in half. With each tear, the anger dissipates. The torn paper is burned and discarded, along with the ill feeling.
That’s how it used to be, anyways.
Sadly, given the greater social mobility of the modern age (especially among Kinfolk belonging to the Urrah werewolves), many who would benefit most from this rite are least inclined to enact it, or even know it exists. Many consider such an elaborate and sincere attempt at healing division to be a lot of bother, and don’t like the implication of guilt. And even when there is someone who wants to do the right thing, there’s no guarantee of such sentiments being returned.
System: Nothing needs to be written on the paper, but the Kinfolk must spend a point of Willpower to transfer her feeling onto it. No roll needs to be made, but the Willpower point cannot be regained for 24 hours. The effect is permanent for that quarrel if the recipient spends a Willpower as well.
Rite of Unity of Purpose (Level Two)
This rite is enacted on one of two occasions. Either some major issue has divided a Kinfolk family and needs to be reconciled, or the family is about to undertake some major project as a group. This can involve moving from one location to another, or going into combat as a family unit.
Sway the Hand of Anger (Level Two)
This Garou rite protects a related Kinfolk from a Garou’s frenzy. The ritemaster convinces a protective trickster-spirit to bond to the Kin. If the designated Garou (who must be related to the Kin by blood or tribe) loses control and attempts to attack or threatens the Kin (or if the Kinfolk feels threatened), the spirit awakens and redirects the Garou to attack other targets. Once this has happened, the spirit is freed. The rite must be repeated each time to continue to provide the Kinfolk with protection.
System:The ritemaster locates a household or trickster-spirit (usually with help from a Garou, a fetish, or through personal encounter) and, through gifts or persuasion, convinces it to latch onto the Kinfolk who is the subject of the rite. The ritemaster spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty of the spirit’s Willpower).
Rites of the Milestones
These rites do not use any mystic power nor do they require the expenditure of Gnosis. Willpower helps strengthen the impression the rite leaves on its participants but is not absolutely necessary. Kinfolk use these rites to mark various stages in their lives, to acknowledge and reaffirm their identities as Kinfolk and as individuals. Tribal variations may distinguish the rites from those of other Garou tribes, but the enactment of each rite differs from household to household. Some Kinfolk do not see the necessity of these rites, while others hold them very near and dear to their hearts.
Dice Pool: Charisma + Rituals vs 7
Rite of Welcoming (Level One)
The birth of a new Kinfolk is a cause for rejoicing. This rite takes place as soon as mother and child return home from the hospital (if the child is born there) or, if the child is born at home, as soon as mother and child are rested and aware.
The family gathers in one room of the house. One of the Kinfolk elders, usually the father, but sometimes a grandparent, aunt, or uncle, takes the infant from the mother and holds him up for everyone to see. The ritemaster introduces the child by his name, first to Gaia, then to the tribe totem, and, finally, to the other family members, by name and relationship. If non-family members are present by invitation and expect to stand in relationship to the child as god-parent, protector, etc., that individual is also introduced to the child by name and relationship.
The child is returned to the mother’s arms after that, and, unless any tribe-specific events occur (of which there are numerous traditions), the rite concludes, usually with a ceremonial meal or a toast. Note, this rite is entirely separate from the Garou rite that attaches a Fetch to the child.
System: The ritemaster conducts the rite using whatever steps and formulae customary to the family or the tribe. A point of Willpower may be used to reinforce the ceremony on the memories of the participants, including that of the infant.
Vow of Partnership (Level One)
While many Kinfolk undergo standard marriage rites, depending on their religious beliefs, as well as the requisite civil ceremony, some also want to solemnify their union under the eyes of Gaia. The Vow of Partnership establishes the nature and duration of the relationship between two Kinfolk or between a Kinfolk and a Garou.
The ceremony usually takes place in the home or on the ground of one of the Kinfolk. Sometimes a location outside the home is used, such as a national or state park, a community center or arboretum. Occasionally, a wilderness site serves as the venue for this rite. If the site is anywhere other than the home of a Kinfolk or on territory claimed by Garou (i.e., the caern or its bawn), someone who can perform the Rite of Cleansing should do so to ensure the place is free of Wyrm-taint.
Once the site is ready, the family and friends gather around the couple to witness their vows to one another. The commitment may be a life-bond, or may have some specific time or condition, such as “until we have a child,” or “for a year and a day.” After the recitation of the vows, the ritemaster pronounces the couple bound to one another in the eyes of Gaia, the Garou, and Kinfolk. Again, each tribe may have a variant to add to the ceremony. The rite ends when the ritemaster introduces the couple to the attendees.
System: No rolls are necessary. The couple may spend a point of Willpower each to seal their vow.
Wake for the Departed (Level One)
This rite honoring a Kinfolk or Garou who has recently died takes place after any official services, such as a funeral or graveside ceremony. The form this rite takes varies from tribe to tribe, and from family to family, and isn’t necessarily a one time event. For example, a Children of Gaia Kinfolk might establish a scholarship fund or make a donation to a charity or cause dear to the heart of the departed, while individuals might pledge volunteer hours in the deceased’s name.
Rites of the Homestead
These rites revolve around the places where Kinfolk reside and serve to dedicate their living places to Gaia, to declare themselves as a household of Kinfolk, and to ask for protection from the spirits. Whenever possible, a ritemaster who possesses Gnosis should perform these rites; otherwise Willpower in sufficient amounts can substitute.
Rite of Homestead Dedication (Level Two)
Whenever a Kinfolk builds, buys, or otherwise acquires a new residence, this rite dedicates the structure and surrounding area to the service of Gaia, much as the Garou Rite of Caern Building, though far less powerful. Indeed, this rite may be performed several times, as appropriate: when a site is purchased or acquired, when building starts, when a manufactured home is put in place, when the structure is complete before the family moves in, and on the first evening in the new home.
The details may vary according to the building stage, but the most ancient form of this rite involves making a circle around the perimeter of the land as well as around the house itself, while calling upon Gaia and the tribe’s totem spirit (and any other spirit that might have attached themselves to the Kin family) to recognize the house in the Umbra and look upon it with favor.
A talisman representing all the family members along with either some building material from the house or yard is buried near the door of the house. At the end of the final ceremony, the family enters the house and offers thanks to Gaia for their home.
System: A point of Gnosis must be spent (or two points of Willpower). The player rolls Charisma + Rituals, difficulty 7. One success is needed.
Rite of Protection (Level Three)
When the home or family of a Kinfolk comes under threat, whether from human agents or from the supernatural community, this rite can give the house and property of a Kinfolk family some temporary protection until their Garou kin can set some better protections or until the family can get to a safe place.
The ritemaster takes a talisman or pouch containing symbols of every person to be protected as well as something of the household (pets, too!) and asks the tribe’s totem spirit or a spirit of protection to prevent anyone who intends harm to the family from entering the house or its grounds. The rite master makes a paste from his own blood and the “blood” of the land around the house (i.e., blood and dirt) and daubs the talisman with the paste while asking the spirit’s help. If the rite succeeds, the talisman disappears, taken into the Umbra by the spirit.
System: The ritemaster must possess Gnosis or an item that allows her to use Gnosis. She must speak a chant composed when she learned the rite while making the paste, another chant while applying the paste to the talisman, and a third chant while she spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Charisma + Rituals (Difficulty 7). Only one success is necessary, but more successes provide stronger protections.
The effects are largely up to the Storyteller, but usually involve making the rolls of any who intend harm to suffer higher difficulties. Attempts to set fire to a protected home might find matches won’t light or the wind snuffs out flame. Those sneaking into a protected home might slip on the steps or accidentally break a window, alerting those inside.
The rite lasts for 24 hours per success, and may be repeated as necessary until no more Gnosis exists. Since the enactment of the rite also notifies the nearest Garou kin of the danger to his Kinfolk, the rite generally does not need to be performed more than once or twice.
Rite of True Seeing (Level Four)
This rite allows a non-Kinfolk who has married or partnered into a Kinfolk or Garou family to gain temporary immunity to the Delirium.
To enact the rite, the Kinfolk must work with a willing Garou and the subject of the rite to create a talisman from some strands of that individual’s hair and a few strands of the Garou’s hair from his Crinos form. The ritemaster explains to the subject that she must burn the talisman while the ritemaster imbues the burning talisman with power.
System: After making the talisman, the ritemaster spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7). Each success grants the individual immunity to the Delirium for seven days and nights, after which the rite must either be repeated or a more permanent solution found.
Rites of Punishment
As with most families, punishment is usually handled within the family as the offense occurs, and usually involves only misbehavior and minor wrongdoings by the children. Depending on the nature of the parents and their philosophy of child-rearing, the external mores exerted by schools and society, and the general tendencies of the tribe, the types of punishment meted out to children vary from extensive lectures (with or without a hefty dose of guilt tripping — Children of Gaia, Bone Gnawers, Uktena), revocation of privileges or allowance (Silver Fangs & Glass Walkers), to more corporal methods of punishment (Get of Fenris & Shadow Lords…)
Kinfolk children already grow up with the weight of Kin responsibilities to some extent, so punishment is just another normal occurrence in a life that most parents want to seem as normal as possible. However, when an adult or older teen Kinfolk commits serious or chronic behaviors that threaten the family’s ability to function as Kinfolk, of these rites might be used to impress upon the errant Kin his need to change his ways. Again, these rites are not enacted at the drop of a hat. Most family problems are just that — family problems.
Rite of Intervention (Level One)
A Kinfolk family may enact this rite when one of their family needs to face some truth about herself or take a course of action that she would otherwise refuse to take. Not unlike interventions in the outside world, this rite differs in that it has the force of Gnosis behind it.
Situations that might warrant a rite of intervention might include convincing a family member to take charge of a chronic disease or affliction and seek help to manage it, to advise a family member to seek counseling for depression or some other mental or emotional disorder, to bring chronically quarrelling family members (siblings, or husband and wife, etc.) together to work out their differences, and other repairable situations.
System: The family arranges for the subject or subjects to be present and confronts them. The ritemaster announces she is beginning the Rite of Intervention. Each family member is expected to contribute to the discussion as well as to express their caring for the rite’s subject. The ritemaster spends a point of Gnosis or two points of Willpower and rolls Charisma + Rituals. The more successes, the more persuasive the intervention, though one success is enough to complete the rite
Rite of Exile (Level Three)
When a member of a Kinfolk family has proven so disruptive as to destroy the family’s unity and interfere with its duty to tribe and to Gaia, the head of the family may choose to enact this rite to send the offending member away, usually for a fixed period of time. In order for this to happen in a fashion that carries any kind of spiritual weight (such as represented by this rite), every mature member of the Kinfolk’s household must agree that nothing further can be done to change the Kinfolk’s bad behavior.
Once a household has made this decision, the ritemaster calls the offending Kinfolk before him for one last chance at change. He reads or lists the bad behavior, usually such things as serious drug or alcohol usage with no intention of reforming, physical abuse of family members, inexcusable criminal behavior, consorting with infernal beings or Wyrmspawn, and the like. The subject of the rite then has a chance to speak for herself, either explaining her behavior or promising under oath to change her actions. During the rite, the subject’s words either have the ring of truth or they sound flat and tinny, indicating lies or insincerity.
If the Kinfolk can successfully explain why she offended the family (“I was enthralled by a vampire,” or “if I didn’t do what they wanted, they were going to hurt you,” or even “I really screwed up because I didn’t think anyone cared about me, and I promise it won’t happen again,” the ritemaster may declare the rite over without completion and works with the rest of the family to help the Kinfolk. Otherwise, such as if the the Kinfolk shows no remorse, the ritemaster continues with the rite and declares the subject of the rite exiled from the family for a certain period of time. This is always at least a year and a day. Sometimes it’s forever – although virtually always with certain conditions attached by which the exiled family member might redeem themselves. The rite ends when the exiled physically departs their home (whether by storming out or thrown out as the case might be.)
If she attempts to return prematurely, she’ll suffer bouts of sickness, crippling anxiety, and general bad luck until she is once more forced away.
System: This rite takes some preparation. The ritemaster prepares a candle to symbolize the person to be exiled. He inscribes the name of the Kinfolk on the candle and places it in a holder in the room where he will hold the rite. When the rite begins, the ritemaster spends a point of Gnosis and lights the candle, which burns throughout the ceremony. The ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals (Difficulty 7). Success enables the candle to continue burning as long as it needs to and creates the aura of truthfulness within which the words of condemnation and defense are spoken.
If the rite is ended without completion, the ritemaster carefully releases the candle to burn out naturally. If the ritemaster completes the rite, he blows out the candle forcefully and snaps it in half. The gesture physically compels the Kinfolk toward the door and, with the exception of a grace period to gather his things, acts as a barrier to prevent the exile from returning within one mile of the household until the time of exile is ended.
Rites of Renown
These rites mark acts of heroism or brave deeds in defense of the family or the tribe or any other of Gaia’s children. While they do not confer Renown among Garou, these rites have meaning among other Kinfolk.
Dice Pool: Charisma + Rituals vs 6
Rite of Challenge (Level One)
During a family gathering or a Kinfolk gathering, one Kinfolk may issue a Rite of Challenge to another Kinfolk. The challenge can be a simple one: I challenge you to a race to see which of us is faster, or complex: I challenge you to go to the cave at the foot of Slickback Mountain and stay the night, and bring me proof you’ve been inside the cave. If the challenged one accepts the challenge, the challenger and challenged work out the details of the challenge, who is to judge it, and how to determine success or failure.
Both Kinfolk spend a Willpower point to seal the challenge. When the action is completed, the second half of the rite takes place. In the presence of the same Kinfolk who witnessed the challenge, the challenged individual makes his claim of success or admits failure. If he succeeds, he gets back the point of Willpower he spent. If he fails, his challenger gets back the point she spent.
System: Willpower is expended in both parts of this rite. No rolls are necessary.
Seasonal Rites
The Garou honor the passing of the year at the solstices and the equinoxes. In most cases, Kinfolk can participate in all or part of these season celebrating rites.
Minor Rites
Minor rites take place throughout the day in the life of a Kinfolk who wishes to reinforce his dedication to Gaia, tribe and family. Specific Kinfolk Minor rites may be learned the same way that Garou learn Minor rites. However, Kinfolk learning a Garou Minor rite treat them as if they were Level One for purposes of cost and instruction.
Minor rites usually require no expenditures of Gnosis or Willpower and do not have to take place in secret.
Rite of the Morning Song (Kinfolk Minor Rite)
The Kinfolk rises before dawn and prepares to greet the first rays of morning fire. Starting with the first true sun rays (not just the lightening of the sky), the Kinfolk offers praise to Helios. She may sing (words are optional), read or speak a poem, intone and chant syllables, or otherwise vocalize her greeting. If she does this for nine straight sunrises, like the Garou Rite Greet the Sun, the Kinfolk gains the ability to Sense Wyrm as if she possessed the Garou Gift. If she subsequently misses even one morning, she must begin again for the effect to take place.
Rite of Evening Chant (Kinfolk Minor Rite)
This rite requires the Kinfolk to sing Luna’s praises beneath the glow of the rising moon to those around her. Songs, poetry, stories, and other verbalizations must be made for at least 15 minutes. After the Kinfolk has completed the requirement, she receives an additional die on all Social interactions with Garou of the same auspice as the moon is that night.
This rite is sometimes performed with other Kinfolk, but the results are separate for each Kinfolk. This effect lasts for the rest of the night.
