Gifts de Nezumi

General Ratkin/Nezumi Gifts

• City Running (Level One) — As the homid Gift. — Humans are creatures of the city, raising their steel and glass nests high into the sky. This Gift allows a homid to easily scale the concrete canyons and navigate the tangled back alleys and rooftops of the urban landscape. Some lupus derisively refer to this Gift as “Climb Like an Ape.” It is taught by an ancestor-spirit or an urban city-spirit.
System: The player spends a point of Rage. For the rest of the scene, the character may climb urban features at her full movement speed, and the difficulty of all Athletics rolls to navigate through cities (running down cluttered alleys, climbing the side of buildings, leaping from rooftop to rooftop) is reduced by two.

• Cloak of Shadows (Level One) — The Ratkin can hide himself, and anyone he’s touching, in shadows. A night-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Stealth (difficulty 6). The Ratkin and a number of others equal to his successes gain one automatic success on all Stealth rolls for the rest of the scene.

• Darksight (Level One) — All Ratkin have a degree of night vision; this Gift magnifies that ability. A night-spirit teaches it.
System: When the Ratkin activates its night vision (see Traits, p. 182), the enhancement lasts for eight hours and grants perfect vision in the dark. The player rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty 7); each success adds one die to all Perception rolls for the rest of the scene (maximum of three extra dice). With five successes, the Ratkin might even see sound or sense heat signatures.

• Hunter in Crowds (Level One) — The Nezumi can sense the presence of another shapeshifter in a large group of people. A dog-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Perception + Awareness (difficulty 6 if the shapeshifter is of a Breed the Nezumi is familiar with, 7 if the Nezumi has never encountered it before). The more successes gained, the better the Nezumi can estimate the shapeshifter’s location (or locations). The Storyteller should keep the difficulty of this roll secret, so as not to give away what sort of shifter might be nearby, and might not even tell the player why they’re rolling.

• Crawling Chaos (Level Two) — As the Uktena Gift: Spirit of the Lizard. — The werewolf’s hands and feet spout hundreds of tiny hooks, allowing her to climb across or cling to any surface — even sheer horizontal surfaces and ceilings. A gecko-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis. For the rest of the scene, the character can move across any solid surface at her normal walking speed. Staying attached to a vertical surface or ceiling while taking any more strenuous movement (fighting, moving faster than walking speed, attempting to dislodge a steam grate) requires a reflexive Stamina + Athletics roll, difficulty 7).

• Deep Pockets (Level Two) — The Ratkin can store innumerable items about his person, far more than should be possible. A packrat-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Wits + Enigmas. Each success lets the character hide one extra item (small enough to be held in one hand) somewhere on his person. If searched, none of these items will turn up. Once an item is removed from hiding, this Gift must be used again to put it back.

• Backbite (Level Three) — The wererat disappears and instantly reappears behind an opponent up to 50 feet away. This Gift is taught by grasshopper mouse-spirits.
System: The player spends one point of Gnosis and Rage; the victim must be within line-of-sight. The wererat can immediately attack in the same turn at –2 difficulty.

• Squeeze (Level Three) — So long as there is any sort of a crack or opening (no matter how small), a Ratkin can slip through an otherwise solid object to the other side. This Gift only works to pass through objects that are a yard or less in depth: a locked door, a wall, or a bank vault, but not a mountain. Air-spirits teach this gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower and rolls Dexterity + Enigmas (difficulty 6). With a success, the Ratkin is able to squeeze through the opening and emerge on the other side. Three or more successes allow the wererat to pull another person through with him.

• Attunement (Level Four) — As the Bone Gnawer Gift — The werewolf may commune with the spirits of a city or town and gain information about the area from them, including a rough population estimate, enclaves of Garou or other beings, and any secret tunnels. This Gift doesn’t function in the wilderness, since the Bone Gnawers have lost the knack for conversing with such spirits easily. A rat-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one point of Gnosis and rolls Perception + Streetwise (difficulty 6). The amount and accuracy of the information depend on the number of successes rolled.

• Gnaw (Level Four) — As the lupus Gift. — The werewolf’s jaws strengthen until she can chew through nearly anything. Her fangs inflict more damage in combat, and only death will break her grip if she clamps her teeth into an opponent. Hyena- and wolf-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Stamina + 4 against a variable difficulty (3 for wood, 6 for steel handcuffs, 9 for a train car coupling). The length of time it takes to gnaw through something depends on the number of successes. Additionally, the Gift grants a character’s bite two extra dice of damage for the rest of the scene.

• Riot (Level Five) — As the Bone Gnawer Gift. — The werewolf summons a horde of malevolent spirits to provoke the inhabitants of a city into violent rioting. The Gift plays on the hatred and fear of the down-and-outs of the city: the poor, the homeless, immigrants, and others the citizenry would rather not acknowledge. The Gnawer can direct the riot to a limited degree. A rat-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Wits + Subterfuge (difficulty . If successful, the spirits direct their hosts against a target of the Garou’s choice — though things tend to escalate and spin out of control easily. The riot engulfs an area with a radius of one mile per success rolled.

• Survivor (Level Five) — As the Bone Gnawer Gift. — The werewolf becomes an ultimate survivor, with no need of food, water or sleep. She ignores temperature extremes, natural diseases, and poisons. Wyrm toxins have only half their normal effect on her. A tortoise-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Stamina + Survival. The effects last for one day per success. By spending a second Gnosis point, the character can gain three extra points of Stamina, and suffers no wound penalties, but the Gift will prematurely expire 10 rounds later. The Garou must sleep for at least eight hours when the Gift wears off, and he awakens ravenously hungry.


Breed Gifts

Homid Gifts

• Cooking (Level One) — As the Bone Gnawer Gift. — The Bone Gnawer takes up a small pot (an old coffee can will do) and a spoon, and fills it with whatever he can find — cigarette butts, beer cans, old newspapers, dead leaves, whatever — adds water (spit will do), and stirs. The result is a pasty and bland-tasting, but filling and nutritious mush. A raccoonspirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Survival (difficulty 6). The resulting meal feeds one person per success.

• Eau de Rat (Level One) — As the Bone Gnawer Gift: Odious Aroma. — The Bone Gnawer can amplify his natural musk until it incapacitates his foes. A stinkbug-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one point of Gnosis. For the duration of the scene, all beings other than the werewolf and her packmates that can smell and are within 20 feet (6 m) of the Garou subtract two from all dice pools as they fight to breathe.

• Persuasion (Level One) — As the homid Gift. — This Gift imbues a homid’s words with intrinsic credibility and conviction, causing them to ring true to the ear and lay heavy on the heart. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Subterfuge (difficulty 7). Success lowers the difficulty of all social rolls by one for the rest of the scene, and allows successful rolls to have uncommonly strong impact (such as changing long-held political views, or causing an addict to seriously reconsider the course of his life).

• Filch (Level Two) — The wererat becomes an expert at using misdirection to take what he wants, whenever he wants. Chipmunk-spirits teach this gift.
System: The character permanently adds three dice to all Larceny actions to steal something in plain sight (such as by pickpocketing).

• Instinct (Level Two) — This Gift forces its target to indulge his basest impulses for one turn. The Ratkin must provoke the victim’s reaction in some way. Mousespirits teach this gift.
System: The player spends one Rage point and rolls permanent Rage (difficulty equal to the victim’s Willpower). The target loses all restraint and impulse control for one turn.

• Ratman (Level Three) — With a bit of practice, the wererat learns to assume a new form between Homid and Crinos, rather like a Garou’s Glabro form. Though still mostly human, this new form gains exaggerated “ratlike” features: beady eyes, a long nose, gnarled hands, sharp incisors. A City Mother or City Father teaches this Gift.
System: This form may be assumed in the same fashion as werewolves assume Glabro form, as a permanent ability. The Ratman’s traits are: Dexterity +2, Charisma +1 (to rats), Charisma –1 (to humans), and Perception +2. The difficulty of Subterfuge and Stealth rolls’ difficulties are reduced by 2, and the character may make claw attacks which inflict lethal damage.

• Reshape Object (Level Three) — As the homid Gift. — The Garou can shape once-living (though not undead) material into something else instantly. Trees may become shelter, buck antlers spears, animal hides armor, and flowers sweet perfumes. The item will resemble the object from which it was created (e.g., the aforementioned spear will be made of antler, not wood). A Pattern Spider teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Crafts against a difficulty defined by the scope and complexity of the transformation (a broken tree limb into a spear would be difficulty 5, while a fallen tree into a canoe would be and spends a Gnosis point. The transformation persists for one scene per success, or permanently with five or more successes. Expending an additional Gnosis point allows a created weapon to inflict aggravated damage for the remainder of the scene in which it is created.

• Blink (Level Four) — As the Bone Gnawer Gift. — The Bone Gnawer can duck into a shaded area (an open dumpster, a dark alley, beneath a parked car) and pop out in another shaded area some distance away. A rat-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Stealth (difficulty 6). The character can reappear in any shaded area within (number of successes x 20) yards (18 m per success).

• Body Wrack (Level Four) — As the Black Fury Gift. — Pouring her Rage and pain into an opponent, the Fury induces debilitating agony. Victims tend to fall to the ground, screaming between convulsions. A pain-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis (difficulty equals the victim’s Stamina + 3). If successful, the target is left stunned and convulsing for one round per success. Additionally, the target subtracts one die from all rolls for the rest of the scene.

• Ugly Truth (Level Five) — As the homid Gift: Part the Veil. The Ratkin must bite a human to transmit this Gift. — This potent Gift immunizes a human from the Delirium for a scene. However, the human will forget much of what he knows if exposed to the Delirium at a later date. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Empathy. Only one success is needed.


Metis Gifts

• Form Mastery (Level One) — As the metis Gift. — This Gift empowers the Wyld spark that resides in all Garou, granting the character greater control over her shapeshifting abilities. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: When shapeshifting (see p. 285), all difficulties are reduced by 1, and the player no longer needs to roll a single success just to initiate the transformation (thus, shifting from Homid to Glabro would be difficulty 5 and require only one success). Additionally, when enacting partial transformations (see p. 286), the player need no longer spend a Willpower point, and the difficulty of the roll is 7. This Gift’s effects are permanent.

• Rat Mother’s Touch (Level One) — As the Theurge Gift: Mother’s Touch. — The Theurge channels spiritual power through her hands, mending the wounds of any other living creature. This Gift may not heal the werewolf herself, spirits, or the undead. A bear- or unicorn-spirit teaches it.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Empathy (difficulty is the target’s current Rage, or 5 for those with no Rage). Each success heals one level of lethal, bashing, or aggravated damage. The healer may even heal fresh Battle Scars (see p. 259) in this manner, if the Gift is applied during the same scene in which the scar is received and an extra Gnosis point is spent.


• Sense Wyrm (Level One) — As the metis Gift. — The werewolf can sense nearby manifestations of the Wyrm. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although Garou often describe the Wyrm’s spiritual emanations as a stench. This Gift doesn’t necessarily sense dedication to the Wyrm, merely contact with its spiritual essence, which can cling to even blameless souls. Sense Wyrm requires active concentration; the spiritual sense it provides doesn’t function passively. The Gift may be taught by any Gaian spirit.
System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm’s influence: sensing a single fomor in the next room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an hour ago would be difficulty 7. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with Humanity ratings of 7 or higher.

• Spirit of the Spiny Rat (Level Two) — As the metis Gift: Gift of the Porcupine, but only usable in Rodens form. — The werewolf undergoes a startling transformation: Her fur elongates, becoming bristly and sharp like the quills of a porcupine. The werewolf must be in Crinos, Hispo or Lupus form to use this Gift. Porcupine teaches this gift, and he has a strong fondness for metis.
System: The character spends a Gnosis point to sharpen her fur. Anyone whom the metis tackles, grapples or immobilizes takes (Strength + 1) aggravated damage from these newfound quills. Furthermore, those who strike her with bare flesh and score less than five successes on the attack roll take their own Strength in aggravated damage (this does not negate any damage done to the metis). This Gift lasts for one scene or until the werewolf wills her fur to return to normal.

• Stink (Level Two) — As the Bone Gnawer Gift: Gift of the Skunk. — With this Gift, the Garou can swell his musk glands, allowing him to spray musk like a skunk. It is, of course, taught by a skunk-spirit.
System: The spray is directed with a Dexterity + Primal-Urge roll (difficulty 7, maximum range of 10 feet). A target struck by this attack must spend a Willpower point to do anything but spend the first turn retching. Afterwards, he subtracts one from his dice pools for the rest of the scene for every two successes rolled. Immersion in water negates this Gift, and it is ineffective against targets with no sense of smell.

• Rat Thing (Level Three) — With a bit of practice, the Ratkin can learn to take on a form between Crinos and Rodens, rather like the Garou Hispo form. The result is a giant, lumbering Rat Thing: a long, furry quadrupedal rodent the size of a St. Bernard. A capybaraspirit teaches this Gift.
System: This form may be assumed in the same fashion as werewolves assume Hispo form, as a permanent ability. The form’s traits are: Strength +4, Dexterity +1, Stamina +1, Manipulation 0, and the brute can move at triple normal running speed.

• Sliver Tooth (Level Three) — The Ratkin’s incisors leave behind nasty splinters in the wound when used to bite her enemies. Beaver-spirits teach this Gift.
System: After a successful bite attack, the player spends one Rage point. Any damage inflicted cannot be healed until all the splinters are removed (requiring five successes on an extended Dexterity + Medicine roll, difficulty 6).

• Rattler’s Bite (Level Four) — As the metis Gift. — The metis’s eyeteeth lengthen, and she can inject a deadly poison with her bite. Spider- and snake-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends a Rage point when attempting to bite an opponent. If the bite is successful, any remaining damage after soak is doubled.

• Whelp Body (Level Four) — As the Ragabash Gift. — The Garou delivers a devastating curse upon a foe’s body, causing it to weaken or palsy. Many consider the use of this Gift upon a foe to constitute a declaration of eternal enmity. Pain- and disease-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis, resisted by the target’s own roll of higher of Gnosis or Stamina. The Garou’s difficulty is the opponent’s Willpower, while the victim’s difficulty is the Ragabash’s Gnosis. Each success scored by the Ragabash allows her to remove one point from any of the victim’s Physical Attributes. The effect is permanent, although the victim may restore these Attributes via experience. This Gift may be used only once ever against a given opponent.

• War of Vengeance (Level Five) — As the lupus Gift: Song of the Great Beast. — The Garou travels to the deep wilderness and lets out a long, mournful howl. One of the Great Beasts of antiquity answers the call, appearing in the Realm near the werewolf — a mighty and savage being that walked the Earth in ages past. Such creatures include the Willawau (giant owl), the Sabertooth Tiger, the great Megalodon sharks that swam the seas eons ago and the mighty Mammoth, who arrives in herds. Who knows what else the Song might call up? The Great Beasts possess power in the physical world to rival that of mighty spirits in the Umbra. Once the ancient creature arrives, the Garou may make a request of it, but the Great Beast will fulfill it in its own way, according to its nature. Using this Gift is risky, but the results can be truly spectacular. Few spirits know this Gift. It’s said that the reclusive Mokolé (see p. 412) know which spirits can teach the Song of the Great Beast … if any survived the Impergium, and are willing to talk to the Garou, that is.
System: The player spends two Gnosis points and rolls Charisma + Primal-Urge (difficulty . More successes improve the Great Beast’s disposition. Traits are left to the Storyteller’s discretion, but should always be impressive.




Rodens Gifts

• Absolute Balance (Level One) — As the Stargazer Gift: Balance. — The Stargazer is able to walk across any ledge, rope, or other narrow causeway, no matter how thin or slippery. Wind-spirits teach this Gift.
System: Difficulties for climbing decrease by three, and attempts to maintain balance automatically succeed. This Gift’s effects are permanent.

• Leap of the Kangaroo Rat (Level One) — As the lupus Gift: Hare’s Leap. — The werewolf can
leap impossible distances. Hare-spirits teach this Gift, naturally, though cat-, frog-, kangaroo-, and even fleaspirits occasionally do so as well.
System: The player makes a reflexive Strength + Athletics roll (difficulty 7) to activate this Gift. If successful, the character’s leaping distances are doubled for the scene — or tripled for a single turn with the expenditure of a Willpower point (see Jumping, p. 271).

• Survival (Level One) — The Ratkin can sustain himself with his own Gnosis. A kangaroo rat-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Wits + Survival, difficulty 6. The character need not eat or drink for one day.

• Devour the Dead (Level Two) — This gruesome Gift is used to clean up messes. The Ratkin summons a swarm of rat-spirits to consume a dead body, removing all physical evidence it was there. An avatar of Rat teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point. The body is gone three turns later, all possessions carried off into the Umbra, probably never to be seen again.

• Scamper (Level Two) — This Gift makes a fleeing Ratkin much harder to hit. A rat-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: Once the character decides to flee from the battle, the player may spend one Gnosis point to add four dice to all dodge attempts. If the Ratkin changes her mind and stays in place, turns to fight, or returns to the fray in the same scene, the Gift ends and she immediately loses all remaining Rage and Gnosis.

• Rat Thing (Level Three) — As the Ratkin/Nezumi metis Gift.

• Sliver Tooth (Level Three) — As the Ratkin/Nezumi metis Gift.

• Mind of the Swarm (Level Four) — The wererat with this Gift is able to command a horde of mundane rats through sheer will. An avatar of Rat teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Animal Ken; the effects last for the Ratkin’s Obligation in hours. Each success allows the Ratkin to command up to ten rats.

• Rat Emperor’s Wisdom (Level Four) — As the lupus Gift: Beast Life. — The werewolf can communicate with other wild animals and attract or even command them. Domesticated animals may speak with the Garou, but they have given themselves over to the ways of humans and will provide no aid beyond information. Any animal spirit can teach this Gift, although lupus prefer to learn it from lion- or wolf-spirits.
System: The character gains the permanent ability to communicate with all animals, regardless of the form she wears. To attract animals, the player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Animal Ken (difficulty 7). All animals within 10 miles (16 km) per success respond to the summons, and will follow any requests the Garou makes. It is considered customary to pay homage to the spirit of any animal ordered to sacrifice itself with this Gift; to do otherwise risks angering the spirit world.

• Feral Lobotomy (Level Five) — As the Theurge Gift. — Unleashing a surge of pure Wyld energy, the werewolf can devolve an opponent’s mind into that of an animal, effectively destroying his intelligence. A Wyldling teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Empathy (difficulty of the target’s Willpower + 3, maximum 10) and spends a number of Gnosis points. If successful, the Garou can destroy the target’s Intelligence Attribute permanently; the target loses one Intelligence dot for each two points of Gnosis spent, and cannot lose more Intelligence than the number of successes rolled. Lost Intelligence is replaced with feral, animalistic behavior.



Aspects Gifts

Tunnel Runner Gifts

• Danger Sense (Level One) — When a ship is sinking, the rats leave first. The Tunnel Runner gains an instinctive flash of warning when danger is near. Rat-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The Storyteller warns the character when danger is imminent (though not the nature of the threat) one turn before it appears. This Gift’s effects are permanent.

• Silent Running (Level One) — The Ratkin can hide his tracks from all means of detection, supernatural or otherwise. Wind-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Subterfuge. The Ratkin leaves behind no physical traces of his passage for the rest of the scene, and any magical tracking attempt raises its difficulty by 1 per success to a maximum of 9.

• Sigil (Level Two) — As the Corax Gift: Word Beyond, but also functions outside the Umbra. — This Gift allows the Corax to create a message out of any available materials while in the Umbra, which can be instinctively understood by other wereravens. One of Coyote’s brood teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Wits + Expres​sion(difficulty 6) to create a marker out of nearby Umbral materials. The number of successes indicates the complexity of the message that can be encrypted into the marker; one success would suffice for simple concepts such as “danger” or “safe haven,” while five successes could convey complex concepts equivalent to a short essay. Non-Corax cannot read these markers.

• Urban Camouflage (Level Two) — The wererat becomes utterly nondescript, fading from notice. A fogspirit teaches this gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Stealth (difficulty . Success makes the Ratkin unnoticeable so long as he stays in a crowd and takes no violent actions. This Gift doesn’t work during combat.

• Bolt! (Level Three) — Fighting to the death is for suckers. This Gift allows the Ratkin to escape a fight he can’t win. This Gift is taught by a kangaroo rat-spirit. 
System: The player spends one point of Gnosis and Rage; the Ratkin can teleport up to 50 feet toward the nearest exit within his line-of-sight.

• Evasion (Level Three) — As the Fianna Gift: Flame Dance. — Pushing the fire in his heart into his limbs, the Fianna hurls himself unharmed through the ranks of Gaia’s foes. A mongoose-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player reflexively spends one Rage point, allowing the character to dodge one attack with his full dice pool, regardless of what other actions he has taken during the round. Alternately, a Rage point may be spent to enhance a normal dodge action, adding three dice to the defense.

• Speak in Tongues (Level Four) — As the homid Gift: Speech of the World. — This Gift allows Gaia’s warriors to read and wield the spirit of speech, bypassing the need to learn different languages and dialects. The Garou may speak and understand any human language she encounters, though she speaks with an obvious accent, marking her as an outsider. Speech of the World doesn’t convey literacy, nor is it an encyclopedia of cultural information. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Academics (difficulty 7). The effect lasts for one scene.

• Cheese It! (Level Five) — This Gift allows the Tunnel Runner’s entire pack to escape from danger. This Gift is taught by a kangaroo-rat spirit.
System: The player spends three points of Gnosis and Rage. Every member of the wererat’s pack, including herself, benefits from the effects of Bolt! They need not all teleport toward the same exit.


Shadow Seer Gifts

• Rat Mother’s Touch (Level One) — As the Theurge Gift: Mother’s Touch — The Theurge channels spiritual power through her hands, mending the wounds of any other living creature. This Gift may not heal the werewolf herself, spirits, or the undead. A bear- or unicorn-spirit teaches it.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Empathy (difficulty is the target’s current Rage, or 5 for those with no Rage). Each success heals one level of lethal, bashing, or aggravated damage. The healer may even heal fresh Battle Scars (see p. 259) in this manner, if the Gift is applied during the same scene in which the scar is received and an extra Gnosis point is spent.

• Sense Weaver (Level One) — As the metis Gift: Sense Wyrm, but detecting Weaver emanations.

• Sense Wyrm (Level One) — As the metis Gift. — The werewolf can sense nearby manifestations of the Wyrm. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although Garou often describe the Wyrm’s spiritual emanations as a stench. This Gift doesn’t necessarily sense dedication to the Wyrm, merely contact with its spiritual essence, which can cling to even blameless souls. Sense Wyrm requires active concentration; the spiritual sense it provides doesn’t function passively. The Gift may be taught by any Gaian spirit.
System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm’s influence: sensing a single fomor in the next room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an hour ago would be difficulty 7. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with Humanity ratings of 7 or higher.

• Name the Spirit (Level Two) — As the lupus Gift. — The werewolf gains an instinctive rapport with denizens of the Umbra. He can sense the type and approximate Trait levels (Rage, Gnosis, Willpower) of spirits. Owl- and raven-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower and rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty .

• Spirit Snare (Level Two) — As the Theurge Gift. — The Theurge casts out an invisible, mystic net which entangles hostile spirits, confounding them with a mixture of magical force and long-broken but still potent Gaian law. An owl-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Occult (difficulty as an attack directed at a spirit within 30 feet, which can be defended against normally. Rather than inflicting damage, this attack reduces the spirit’s effective Willpower by two for the purpose of all combat actions for the rest of the scene. Multiple applications of this Gift don’t stack.

• Command Spirit (Level Three) — As the Theurge Gift. — The Theurge can give commands to spirits she meets and expect obedience. The Gift doesn’t grant the ability to summon spirits — only to compel them to obey. As always when dealing with spirits, clear wording is essential, as some clever spirits may attempt to twist the spirit of issued commands while obeying them to the letter. Any Incarna avatar can teach this Gift.
System: The player spends a Willpower point and rolls Charisma + Leadership (difficulty is the spirit’s Gnosis). The character can issue successive commands once the spirit is under her control; each additional command requires that the player expend an additional Willpower point. The spirit cannot be ordered to leave a place or object (or, in the case of fomori, person…) to which it is bound.

• Exorcism (Level Three) — As the Theurge Gift. — This is the Gift of ejecting spirits from places, objects, or even people, whether they are bound or in voluntary possession. Any Incarna avatar can teach this Gift.
System: The werewolf must concentrate for three uninterrupted turns. If the spirit does not wish to leave, the player must roll Manipulation + Intimidation (difficulty of the spirit’s Willpower). If the spirit was bound to its lodging, the exorcist must gain more successes than the binder did when tying the spirit to its location. This Gift can be used to “cure” fomori, although doing so inflicts ten levels of aggravated damage at a rate of one level per turn as the Bane tears free of its fleshly home. This ensures the host’s swift demise unless a powerful healer manages to preserve his life during the exorcism.

• Pulse of the Invisible (Level Four) — As the Theurge Gift. — Spirits fill the world, and none know this fact better than the Theurge. This Gift grants constant awareness of the spirit world. Even in the physical world, the Theurge can interact with spirits in the Penumbra at will. While most spirit activity isn’t worth watching, the Theurge will be automatically aware of any dramatic changes or upheavals nearby. Any spirit can teach this Gift.
System: If the Garou’s permanent Gnosis equals or exceeds the local Gauntlet, he can see into the Umbra automatically. Otherwise, the player must roll Gnosis to look through the Gauntlet (difficulty of the Gauntlet rating). Such awareness lasts for the rest of the scene or until the character enters an area with a stronger Gauntlet.

• Feast of the Dead (Level Five) — By devouring the heart or brain of another, the Ratkin temporarily gains some of that individual’s power. This Gift is taught by a rat-spirit.
System: After eating the heart or brain of another supernatural being, the Ratkin gains three of its powers (chosen at random by the Storyteller) for the next 24 hours. This Gift can only be used once on a single corpse.


Knife Skulker Gifts

• Rat’s Judgment (Level One) — As the Philodox Gift: Fangs of Judgment, but also works against all humans with any trace of Wyrm-taint, no matter its origin. — It falls upon the Philodox to levy not only judgment but also punishment against those who have fallen from their proper stations. This Gift, taught by an ancestor-spirit, causes the werewolf’s claws and fangs to burn with the righteous power of law.
System: The player spends one Willpower point. For the next full day, all of the Garou’s natural weaponry attacks do two extra dice of damage to all beings who have fallen from their original purpose to the service of the Wyrm (such as Black Spiral Dancers, fomori, and corrupted nature spirits; Banes which came into existence as agents of the Wyrm are, regrettably, exempt from this Gift’s sanction).

• Sticky Paws (Level One) — The Ratkin snatches away an opponent’s weapon and may wield it himself. An avatar of Rat teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Rage point and rolls Dexterity + Melee (difficulty of the victim’s Dexterity + 3). The victim cannot resist; such is the nature of the Gift.

• Truth of Gaia (Level One) — As the Philodox Gift. — As judges of the Litany, Philodox may easily separate truth from falsehood. A Gaffling of Falcon teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Empathy (difficulty equals the subject’s Manipulation + Subterfuge). This Gift reveals only which of the words that have been spoken are true and which are false. It doesn’t reveal the truth behind a lie unless the speaker utters it. If the speaker is uncertain whether his words are true or false, the Gift identifies them as neither.

• Chitter (Level Two) — As the Get of Fenris Gift: Snarl of the Predator. — The Garou lets out a feral snarl that terrifies opponents and cows them into submission. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty equals the opponent’s Wits + 3). Each success subtracts one die from an opponent’s dice pools for the next three turns. This Gift takes one full turn to invoke.

• Stalk (Level Two) — As the Ragabash Gift: Pulse of the Prey. — If the werewolf knows anything about her prey—even a nickname, initials, or crude description—she can track it as fast as she can travel. This unerring sense of direction works anywhere, and is as useful for tracking spirits through the Deep Umbra as Pentex executives through Baltimore. A wolf- or dog-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: No roll is required unless the target is actively hiding, in which case the player rolls Perception + Enigmas against a difficulty of the target’s Wits + Stealth. If the target is a spirit, the difficulty is the spirit’s Gnosis.

• Doppelganger (Level Three) — As the Glass Walker Gift. — The Garou may take the exact likeness of any other human, wolf, or Garou. A chameleon-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Performance (difficulty . Traits aren’t duplicated, but everything else, including voice, posture, and scent, are identical. The effects last for one day per success (though the Garou may end them at will).

• Paralyzing Stare (Level Three) — As the Shadow Lord Gift. — The Shadow Lord directs a terrifying glare at a target, causing her to freeze in terror. A Stormcrow teaches this Gift.
System: The Garou concentrates for one turn. The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty of the target’s Willpower). Each success freezes the target in place for one turn, rendering her unable to move or attack (though she may still defend herself). The target must be able to see the Garou.

• Open Wounds (Level Four) — As the Shadow Lord Gift. — The werewolf causes the next wound he inflicts to bleed profusely, weakening his opponent further. A pain-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Strength + Medicine (difficulty 7). If the Shadow Lord’s next attack does any damage, the target will bleed continuously, suffering one unsoakable lethal damage per turn for a number of turns equal to the number of successes rolled.

• Geas (Level Five) — As the Philodox Gift. — This Gift binds an individual or group to a sacred oath. While the geas cannot force and individual to act against her nature (such as to allow herself to be killed), it also doesn’t allow her to act against the task the Philodox has set before her. This Gift is taught by an Incarna avatar.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Leadership (difficulty of the opponent’s Willpower, or the highest Willpower in a group). The compulsion to complete the task set out in the geas lasts until the task is completed or the target is harmed to the point of incapacitation in pursuit of the quest.


Blade Slave Gifts

• Fatal Flaw (Level One) — As the Shadow Lord Gift. — The Shadow Lord can spy a target’s weakness, gaining an advantage in combat. A Stormcrow teaches this Gift.
System: The Shadow Lord concentrates for one full turn, then the player rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty equals the target’s Wits + Subterfuge). Success grants the Garou an extra die of damage during combat with that target. Additional successes grant knowledge of further weaknesses, but not more dice.

• Resist Pain (Level One) — As the Philodox Gift. — Fortifying herself with purpose and will, the werewolf shuts out the pain of her wounds. A bear- or badger-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point; the character ignores all wound penalties for the rest of the scene.

• Slicing Teeth (Level One) — As the Ahroun Gift: Razor Claws, but works with bite attacks. — By raking his claws over stone, steel, or some other hard surface, the werewolf hones them to razor sharpness. A cat- or bear-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Rage point and the Ahroun takes a full turn sharpening her claws. All claw attacks do two additional dice of damage and are made at –1 difficulty for the rest of the scene.

• Curse of Hatred (Level Two) — As the metis Gift. — The metis takes hold of the hate in her soul and layers it into her words, scourging the spirits of those she addresses. A spirit of hate teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Expres​sion(difficulty equal to the target’s Willpower). If she succeeds, her opponent loses two Willpower points and two Rage points. This Gift may be used on an opponent only once per scene.

• Rat’s Teeth (Level Two) — As long as the Ratkin has at least one throwing weapon to hand (Nezumi prefer shuriken and kunai; most Ratkin make do with knives, bricks, and bits of broken glass), she may pull an infinite supply of similar projectiles from various places on her person. This Gift is taught by a gopher-spirit.
System: The player spends one Rage, enjoying infinite duplicates of the selected throwing weapon for the rest of the scene. All duplicate weapons somehow get lost, carried off by spirit rats, etc., and vanish into the Umbra within half an hour.

• Bolt! (Level Three) — As the Ratkin Tunnel Runner Gift.

• Improvisation (Level Three) — Anything may become a lethal weapon in the Blade Slave’s hands. Any of Rat’s brood can teach this Gift.
System: The player spends one Rage point. Whatever improvised weapon the Ratkin seizes may be used to make difficulty 6, Strength + 2 attacks, with damage type determined by the prop in question.

• Persecution Complex (Level Four) — As the Stargazer Gift: Preternatural Awareness. — The Stargazer attunes all her senses to her surroundings, becoming preternaturally aware of her opponent’s doings and allowing her to anticipate them somewhat. A wind-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Perception + Athletics (difficulty 7). All opponents’ dice pools to hit the Garou decrease by a number of dice equal to the successes rolled. This penalty applies even if the werewolf cannot see the attack coming. This Gift’s effects last for one scene.

• Blessed Frenzy (Level Five) — As the Stargazer Gift: Circular Attack. — The greatest Stargazers have no fear of fighting even a horde of opponents. They can not only avoid their foes’ attacks, but can channel those attacks toward other enemies. Thus the Stargazer’s flowing movements turn a mob of murderous fomori into a weapon directed against itself. A wind-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Wits + Athletics (difficulty equals the highest Wits of any present opponent + 3). Each success enables the Garou to perfectly dodge one attack or to redirect one attack directed at her to strike a different target during that turn. The Stargazer may not use this Gift multiple times in one turn or spend Rage during the same turn, although she may take multiple actions in the standard fashion.