Attributes, Abilities & Specialties

PRIMAL-URGE

Description: This Talent describes a character’s connection to her bestial nature, and her level of gut feelings in her various nonhuman forms. A character with high Primal-Urge relies not just on her heightened instincts, but a whole range of sensory information that humans don’t fully understand. Her understanding of her feral nature gives her an easier time when changing form, and can let her instinctively notice signs of supernatural activity — though this rarely goes beyond the level of a chill down the spine or the hairs on her neck standing on end.

Allowed Specialties: Awareness, Hunting, Primal Allure

Rules: Any werewolf worth that name can smell, hear and often feel things that the average person might miss. The truly perceptive among them can sense the current of emotions in a room, or catch tell-tale hints that betray illusions or reveal hidden things. As such, Primal-Urge is treated as a substitute for the Awareness talent.

• Sensing: A werewolf player can take an action and declare “I’m smelling the air/scanning the area/cocking an ear/ searching for cues/etc.” in an effort to notice something that might not be immediately obvious. Under normal circumstances, a non-werewolf character would roll Perception + Alertness to spot sensory clues with the Scan specialty.
  • A character with Primal-Urge can instead roll Perception + Primal-Urge with at least one diff lower even in Homid form (the exact diff bonus dependent on the form and the sensory stimuli in question). Essentially, the character’s animal nature notes things that her ‘human side’ might miss.
  • This does not replace any other use of Alertness, and is never a passive, ongoing effect. It is a deliberate surrendering to of one’s more animalistic half.
  • Werewolves can roll Perception + Primal-Urge to sense dominance or submission in another character instead of using Empathy. If a character (such as another shifter) knows that their measure is being taken in this fashion, they can roll Manipulation + Empathy or Etiquette against a difficulty of the Garou’s total Perception + Primal-Urge to keep themselves from being such an easy read.
    
    
• Animal Attraction: Forbidden sexuality is an essential part of lupine legend, and some Garou enjoy playing the Big Bad Wolf to get what they want. Ethically, such behavior is dark territory. Still, the lure of the Abyss behind a werewolf’s eyes can be almost irresistible when that predator turns on the charm. Some werewolves regard using this potent attraction as a consent issue, no matter how primal and instinctual it may feel. Certainly, it taps into the sense of awe that weaker creatures feel when confronted with powerful beasts – which is all humans were to the Garou during the long millennia of the Impergium.
  • Note: although this ‘talent’ encourages a brief, potent chemistry between a werewolf and her ‘prey’, it can’t force someone to do something they really don’t want to do. That ‘want’ may go against the target’s ‘better nature’ – leading, perhaps, to a liaison or infidelity he’ll regret in the morning – but if he’s really set on remaining faithful to his spouse it ain’t happening. Even if some part of them is open to it, and you fully succeed, factors like sexual orientation and other deeply held convictions still play a part. Not every wild night necessarily leads to sex.
  • In game terms, a player whose werewolf invokes animal attraction rolls her character’s Charisma + Primal-Urge. The difficulty is the prey’s Willpower rating, and she must score enough successes to exceed that character’s Willpower. If she succeeds, her prey gets swept away by the primal passions evoked in them.
    • Many people (especially those with a Willpower rating low enough to be highly susceptible) feel terrified by such urges, especially within themselves. If the werewolf player fails her roll, the prey realizes that he’s essentially raw meat, and will avoid her advances as much as possible. If the werewolf player botches their roll, the ‘prey’ freaks out completely, falling into Delirium’s madness. Even after, he’ll know her, deep down, for the monster she is.
  • Although a vampire may be impressed by bestial allure, the walking dead are mechanically immune to animal attraction. Other supernatural beings, like mages or the fae, are harder to impress than mortals are; in game terms, you would add two levels of the difficulty (on top of what is likely a higher Willpower already) to invoke animal attraction in such powerful prey. Animal attraction doesn’t work on Garou or other werebeasts at all; they’re in touch with that side of themselves already.
    
    
• Shadowing: Stalking prey comes naturally to werewolves. Even in the urban jungles of crowds and alleys, a hunter can track prey – or, if your werewolf is the prey, leave a tracker behind. Shadowing a target involves three steps: 1) slipping behind your target, 2) keeping him in sight, and 3) making sure he doesn’t see you in the process.
  • 1) Roll Perception + Investigation or Streetwise for urban settings, or Perception + Survival or Primal-Urge for rural areas or wilderness. The difficulty depends upon the subject being tracked and the circumstances involved. Following a spry pickpocket through a dense, surging crowd might be difficulty 8, while tracking a lost tourist through Griffith Park at night as a wolf would be difficulty 4 at most.
    • Each success keeps the prey in sight for one turn. That’s when the second step comes in.
  • 2) The Storyteller determines how many more successes the tracker needs in order to follow her target to his destination. A long trip or difficult circumstances might require 10 or more successes. If the tracker fails a roll she loses sight of the prey but can try to spot (or smell) him again; if she fails the next roll, he’s gone for good.
  • 3) The third step consists of remaining unseen. In game terms, the shadowing player rolls Dexterity + Stealth (or Drive, if the chase occurs in cars) each time she rolls her Perception attempt. The difficulty depends on the cover she can employ relative to her quarry. If the prey knows (or even suspects) that they’re being followed, the roll becomes contested, usually rolling Perception + Alertness. They may roll Perception + Primal-Urge if being stalked by another shifter or animal.
    
    
• Tracking: The fearsome hunting instincts all werewolves possess make them skillful trackers. When discerning or following a physical trail, use Perception + Primal-Urge to spot the necessary clues. Often, an extended roll requiring five successes or more, tracking helps the hunter pursue his quarry from a distance. (For closer hunts, see Shadowing, above.)
  • Each successful roll gives the hunter a fairly clear view of the trail for about five minutes. Failure allows him to try and find the trail again (adding one to the next roll’s difficulty), while a botched roll loses the trail completely. If the difficulty rises above 10, the trail goes cold for good.
  • A tracking roll’s base difficulty is 7, but may be modified by several factors: weather, terrain, potentially confusing distractions (flowing water, crowd-scents, unfriendly observers and so forth), and the skill of the character who’s being pursued. Following a Pentex First Team down the Appalachian Trail would be cub’s play, while stalking a suspicious vampire through New Year’s Eve crowds would challenge even the finest hunter.