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WORK IN PROGRESS
On this page, we discuss how Rage, Gnosis and Willpower works for a Garou as well as how they may work with or against each other. Please note that White Wolf contradicted themselves several times in one PAGE, let alone one book. These rules were detailed out to avoid any confusion when we rule on something regarding the use of Rage, Gnosis or Willpower (or all three at the same time). EVEN THEN, please also remember The Golden Rule. The ST reserves the right to call a ruling that may or may not match the ones listed in the books or on this page if it fits the story for storytelling purposes.
That said, if you feel that the ST has made a mistake and would like to say something to remind them, please do so in DMs. We really don't bite.
Rage
What is Rage to a Garou? It is what gives them the ability to fight against evil. It is what keeps them standing, keeps them going, keeps them alive. That said, it is also a curse. You can't have one and not the other. With Rage comes social difficulties. Keep this in mind when you create and play a Werewolf.
We will be listing here both book rules and house rules in regards to how Rage will work mechanically.
When To Roll Rage?
Whenever you think your character is feeling emotional, you should be rolling Rage. All Garou are emotional. There are no Garou who is stoic and uncaring. We're not playing Vampire with Humanity. That said, any ST can and will call for Rage rolls. Here are some examples for when to roll:
- Embarrassment or Humiliation (e.g. botching an important roll)
- Any strong emotion (lust, rage, envy)
- Extreme hunger
- Confinement
- Helplessness
- Being taunted by a superior enemy
- Large quantities of silver in the area
- Being wounded
- Seeing a packmate wounded
How To Roll Rage?
You roll the highest of either your Permanent or Temporary Rage rating. For example:
- You have default Rage of 5 for an Ahroun. This is your Permanent rating. This is what you roll when you are full on natural Rage.
- You got angry at a sparring match, you roll 5 dice, with the difficulty modifiers listed below.
- If you succeed in the roll, you gain 1 extra Temporary Rage. This will raise your Rage to 6 Temporary points.
- The next time you roll Rage, you will roll 6 dice.
- Now let us say that you used your Rage and now you have 3 Temporary Rage out of 5 Permanent.
- When you next roll Rage, you still roll 5 dice because it is the highest of the two.
Rage Difficulty Modifiers
| Moon Phase | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| New Moon | 8 |
| Crescent Moon | 7 |
| Half Moon | 6 |
| Gibbous Moon | 5 |
| Full Moon | 4 |
| Conditions | Modifiers |
| If the Character's Auspice matches the phase of the moon… | -1 |
| When in Crinos… (not cumulative with above) | -1 |
What Can I Use Rage For?
NOTE: You can only spend Rage in times of stress.
| Action | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Take Extra Actions | For each point of Rage spent, the character can take one extra action that turn. The player must declare that she's spending Rage for extra actions at the beginning of that turn. Once she decides to spend those Rage points, they're officially spent, and cannot be used for anything else that turn. Other limits apply, too - see below. | |
| Extra Action Limitations | ||
| Rage Score | Within a single turn, a player can spend up to half his character's permanent Rage score in Rage points (rounded up) when getting extra actions. A Garou with Rage 5, for example, can spend three Rage for three extra actions that turn. The player could spend more Rage in order to ignore stunning or pain, but cannot get more than three extra actions that turn. | |
| Timing | Rage spent for extra actions must be declared at the beginning of the turn. Other Rage expenditures can be declared at any point within that turn. | |
| Speed | In a single turn, a character can take only as many “normal” extra actions as she has dots in either her Dexterity or Wits, whichever is lower. A Dexterity 4/Wits 3 Garou, for instances, could take only three extra actions without incurring a penalty. If her player chooses to exceed that limit, she suffers a +3 penalty to all difficulties that turn. Essentially, the werewolf is trying to go too fast for her body (Dexterity) or mind (Wits) to process. If she happens to be in frenzy, however, her Rage actions are limited only by her Dexterity, as she’s pretty much “beyond her wits” to start with. | |
| Change Forms | At any point in the turn, a player can decide to spend a point of Rage, immediately shifting his werewolf into any one of the five Garou forms. | |
| Ignore Stunning | Under normal circumstances, a character who takes a lot of damage is stunned, and cannot act for the remainder of that turn. A werewolf, however, can spend a Rage point that turn and keep moving normally. | |
| Ignore Pain | In a similar fashion, a werewolf player can spend a point of Rage to let her character ignore the dice penalty for one health level worth of damage. This option does not heal the damage, it lasts for only one turn, and it alleviates only one health level's penalty for each point of Rage spent this way. After that turn, the pain penalties kick in again. | |
| Remaining Active | If a character falls below the Incapacitated health level, a player can use Rage to keep her character going. Doing so requires a Rage roll (difficulty 8). Each success heals a health level, regardless of the type of wound. A player may attempt this roll only once per scene. If this roll fails, the character doesn’t recover. However, this last-ditch survival effort has its price. Like all Rage rolls, the character is still subject to frenzy. The wound will also remain on the Garou’s body as an appropriate Battle Scar. | |
Acquiring More Temporary Rage
These methods of regaining Rage are usually given outright, not rolled. If however, the ST feels that it would be best to roll, they may call for rolls. If so, follow the guidelines above.
| Trigger | Description | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Moon | This is a HOUSE RULE modification. Due to the setting of the game being a real-time play-by-post, we are ruling it that upon seeing the moon for the first time at night, your werewolf will regain ONE (1) Rage point unless the moon phase corresponds with your Auspice. In that case, your werewolf regains FULL Rage. As Garou generally live outdoors, you may just assume that your werewolf will automatically regain 1 Rage per night until your bar is full. | |||||||||||
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| Botching | If the Storyteller approves, a werewolf might receive a Rage point after a botched a roll. Rage comes from stressful situations, and seeing the action you were attempting blow up in your face, sometimes literally, can be a very stressful situation. | |||||||||||
| Humiliation | Rage will also come rushing back if anything a Garou does proves particularly humiliating. The Storyteller decides whether a situation is embarrassing enough to warrant a Rage point. Garou tend to be very proud, and they don’t take being laughed at well. | |||||||||||
| Confrontation | Again at the Storyteller’s approval, a character could receive a Rage point at the beginning of a tense situation, in the moments right before combat starts. This gain accounts for the anticipation and hackle-raising that happens just as tempers start to flare. |
The Curse Of The Beast Within
This is where the Curse of Luna comes in. Social difficulties WILL happen when you play a werewolf. This is unavoidable. For the Garou to be good at being warriors, Luna gifted them with Rage and unfortunately, Rage doesn't play well with those who don't have it. People, animals, even other Garou, can sense that killer aura and don't want anything to do with it. They shy away from Rage and rightly so. No one wants to be friends with what feels like a serial killer!
For every point of Rage that a character has above her Willpower rating, she loses one die on all social interaction rolls. The difficulty of social rolls may also increase, at ST discretion.
Even outside of mechanics, please ensure that you are roleplaying accordingly. We don't care how charismatic you make your character seem. If they don't have the matching Charisma rating after Rage penalties, they cannot charm people.
Losing The Wolf
White Wolf contradicted themselves here, so we are going to House Rule this. We will be taking out the Willpower trigger for this to happen. When your character loses all of their Rage points, they will "lose the wolf" and immediately revert back to their breed form. They will also become docile and listless. This condition will be resolved the moment the character has regained ONE (1) Rage point. Keep in mind that a listless character isn't keen on getting emotional, so at ST discretion, we may refuse to allow you to roll for Rage. You next best bet would be to wait until the next moon rise.
Depression is a good way to think about this, though it is NOT depression. ONLY at player request, the Harano-prone flaw could be gained after “losing the wolf” several times. It is recommended to think about this thoroughly as Harano is no joke. We will not prevent players from wanting to have fun with a potentially devastating and dark path though.
FRENZY!
Gnosis
Willpower
