Les rituels sont écritent pour les loup-garous mais imaginez simplement qu’ils sont adapaté à votre race. Bonne lecture ! RITES CHARTType | Roll | Difficulty |
Accord | Cha + Rituals | 7 |
Caern | varies (max. Gnosis) | 7 |
Death | Cha + Rituals | 8 – Rank |
Mystic | Wits + Rituals | 7 |
Punishment | Cha + Rituals | 7 |
Renown | Cha + Rituals | 6 |
Seasonal | Sta + Rituals | 8 – Caern Level |
Minor | none | none |
These rolls are the standard ones required by type to enact any given rite. If no roll is mentioned in a system’s description, assume that the roll is standard.
Rites of Accord
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.
System: 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).
Rite of Cleansing
Level One
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
Level One
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 Renunciation
Level Two
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 the Loyal Pack
Level Three
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.
Enchant the Forest
Level Four
Everyone’s heard of enchanted forests in which the trees themselves seem aware, strange voices whisper, wicked witches roam, and goblins and fae of all manner plague the weary traveler. Though the Garou used to rule the wilds, humanity encroaches more and more on their ranges. Hundreds of years ago, Theurges developed a rite with which to frustrate such expansion. 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. Humans eventually either leave or die, and the wilderness reclaims its lost property.
The area seems haunted for years afterwards. The trees are dark and threatening, and strange sounds emanate from the woods at night. The spirits, once roused, don’t rest again for a very long time. 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
Level Four
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. System: 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.
Caern Rites
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.
System: 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.
Moot Rite
Level One
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 Opened Caern
Level One
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.
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. See page 310 for a list of caern types, their powers, and the spirits that can be encountered near them.
Rite of the Glorious Past
Level Three
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.
The Badger’s Burrow
Level Four
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 Wendigo 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.
Area Difficulty
Small room 5
Ballroom 6
House 7
Acre of land 8
Small forest 9
Rite of the Opened Bridge
Level Four
This rite creates a moon bridge, a shimmering portal serving as a mystical means of transportation between two caerns. Such moon bridges are vital links among the sacred spaces of Gaia. Once per year, a caern must renew its connection with other caerns to which it wishes to maintain moon bridges. 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. Moon bridges allow Garou to traverse distances in 1/1000th the normal time required. This rite must be renewed once every 13 moons (roughly a year).
System: The roll is Wits + Enigmas (difficulty 8 minus the level of the ritemaster’s caern). If the ritemaster’s pack totem is the same as the totem of the caern, she receives a bonus of three dice to the roll. 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. See page 311 for moon bridge distances.
Rite of the Shrouded Glen
Level Four
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 permanent. Otherwise, the number of successes achieved equals the number of hours the Umbral Glen remains hidden. If the area the Garou attempt to hide is larger than the caern itself, the amount of Gnosis required increases by two for each onemile (1.6 km) radius the participants attempt to enshroud.
Rite of Caern Building
Level Five
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. Only the most powerful and wise mystics dare lead such an undertaking.
A powerful Theurge is almost always selected to perform this most sacred of rites. Many Garou must channel their energy through a powerful 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. The ritemaster performs a series of minor rituals, meditations, and other physical preliminaries to prepare for her awesome task.
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 he chants a long litany of verses designed to draw a great spirit into the prepared caern. Although it is possible to create a specific type of caern, most leaders leave this choice to Gaia and accept whatever caern she grants the sept. The rite must be performed between the hours of sunset and sunrise during the waxing of the moon. Only the Black Spiral Dancers create caerns during the moon’s waning.
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). The number of successes gained determines the level of the resulting caern:
Successes Level
1–3 Level one
4–6 Level two
7–8 Level three
9+ Level four
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 three more Gnosis points toward the total. The complete the ritual, each of the 13 core participants must sacrifice a dot of permanent Gnosis. Such is the damaged state of the world that the Rite of Caern Building can no longer naturally awaken a level five caern — only an additional offering of Gnosis can bring that sort of purity and power back to the dying earth. Offering an additional 100 points of Gnosis — 200 Gnosis in total — empowers the rite, creating a caern one level higher than the ritemaster’s successes would otherwise indicate.
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. If a player’s character should somehow assume the role of ritemaster and succeed, she receives three points of Glory Renown, five points of Honor Renown, and seven points of Wisdom Renown. Anyone else participating in the rite receives five points of Glory Renown and three points of Honor Renown. This task is a legendary one that deserves a suitable reward.
Rites of Death
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.
System: The ritemaster must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 8 minus the Rank of the honored Garou).
Gathering for the Departed
Level One
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
Level One
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 the Winter Wolf
Level Three
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 almost unheard of among the Children of Gaia and Bone Gnawers, who value the knowledge and experience of their aged and wounded.
System: 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.
Mystic Rites
These rites bring the Garou into direct contact with the Umbra and its denizens. Unlike most other rites, mystic rites are generally performed alone.
System : When performing a mystic rite, the ritemaster must make a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7 unless otherwise stated).
Baptism of Fire
Level One
Most tribes attempt to track down all children born to their Kinfolk within one a 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. 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.
Rite of Binding
Level One
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 usually 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 Growth
Level One
This favorite of urban Garou, particularly 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 Heritage
Level One
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 the Cardboard Palace
Level One
A Bone Gnawer favorite, this rite allows the Garou to transform any flimsy structure into a decent place to sleep. This often involves a lot of cardboard and newspaper, but this rite can be invoked just about anywhere a werewolf needs to call home for the night — a few torndown 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 Garou (and any other Fera) 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
Level One
This rite allows the werewolf to find a person or object (but not a location). She must know the name of the object or individual, and 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: Standard roll. If the Garou has a piece of the item or individual (a clipping of hair, a piece of cloth) the difficulty drops by one. The werewolf gains only a sense of the object’s general location, not its exact position.
Rite of Talisman Dedication
Level One
This common rite allows a werewolf to bind objects to her body, allowing them to fit her various forms (jeans will grow to accommodate the Crinos form rather than splitting at the seams, for example) and accompany the Garou into the Umbra. 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 most often performs this rite during the phase of the moon under which she was born. Each auspice has its own peculiar ritual.
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. For example, as a set of clothing would be considered one object rather than one shirt, one pair of pants, two socks, and so on; or a box of ammunition might be dedicated to the character, rather than requiring one dedication per bullet.
Objects will generally resize themselves to accommodate the character’s various forms (such as a backpack’s straps lengthening to accommodate Crinos form), but may simply meld with the character in forms where they can be of no use — for example, a knife may become a knife-shaped tattoo in Hispo. Others must spend a point of Willpower to attempt to steal dedicated objects from the werewolf.
Rite of Becoming
Level Two
Werewolves must perform this rite at an Anchorhead Domain. Once completed, it enables them to travel into the 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: If the braid is destroyed while the Garou is in the Deep Umbra, the werewolf takes one level of aggravated damage and risks becoming lost forever if she doesn’t return quickly to the Near Umbra.
Rite of Spirit Awakening
Level Two
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). The difficulty of the roll is the spirit’s Rage. Failure means that the spirit remains dormant. The Storyteller must decide whether the spirit is hostile or friendly to its awakener. Awakening a spirit doesn’t allow any control over it. Commanding an awakened spirit requires either a Rite of Binding or a Gift. This rite doesn’t work on sentient beings such as humans. Such individuals are already as “awakened” as they’re going to get.
Rite of Summoning
Level Two
Garou mystics are adept at calling spirits, be they minor Gafflings, totem spirits, or even Incarna. Summoning spirits involves complex rituals, long periods of meditation, and tribal mantra chanting. Within the Umbra, this process is far easier. This rite compels spirits to seek those who call them. Furthermore, 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. 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.
System: The ritemaster must 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 difficulty level of a successful summoning. The Storyteller can determine difficulty from the following chart:
Spirit Type Difficulty
Gaffling 4
Jaggling 5
Totem avatar 7
Incarna 8–9
Celestine avatar 10
For each hour the Garou spends invoking the spirit, his difficulty drops by one. No difficulty may fall below 3. The player must then make a Gnosis roll and achieve as many successes as possible, with the following results:
Descent Into the Underworld
Level Three
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 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 the Totem
Level Three
This rite binds a totem to a group of Garou, joining them together as a pack. During the rite, all werewolves who wish to bind their destinies to a particular totem spirit must coat their eyes with an infusion of saliva and mugwort, tobacco, or a similar substance holy to Gaia and step sideways into the Umbra. In the spirit world, the ritemaster leads the Garou in a hunt for the spiritual spoor left by a totem spirit. Such evidence varies with the spirit, but Garou worthy of the totem’s attention can always find it. Even tracking down the spirit doesn’t guarantee success, for the totem must decide whether the Garou are worthy to become its fosterlings. An undecided totem may require a quest of the supplicants, although one is almost never required if the pack has just completed a Rite of Passage successfully.
System: Characters must purchase the Totem Background to benefit from this rite. Otherwise, the rite is simply not performed. The roll is standard.