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Ability Deficit (5pt.) ==== Whether due to poor education, lack of opportunity, or simple laziness, you’ve fallen short of your potential. You have five fewer points to distribute in one of your Ability categories: Talents, Skills, or Knowledges. Therefore, the most you could initially take in that category would be eight points, and the least would be zero. Of course, you can still spend freebie points to take Abilities in the affected category. However, you cannot have any Ability in that category at three dots or higher at the start of the game. This Flaw is particularly appropriate to lupus characters that have yet to learn much about life as Garou.
Animal Musk (1pt.) ==== You have the odor of an animal, even in Homid form. Whenever you are indoors or in a crowd of people, you make all Social rolls at a +2 difficulty. Outdoors or in situations where you can distance yourself from humans, your odor is not noticeable. Wolves (and lupus-born Garou) take little notice of this Flaw.
Anosmia (1pt.) ==== Whether from birth or due to some illness or accident, you’ve lost all sense of taste and smell. You automatically fail any roll involving these two senses, including Primal Urge rolls for tracking or hunting. In Lupus form, it’s even more crippling, since smell is a wolf’s most acute sense; this Flaw cancels out the –2 difficulty to Perception rolls a Garou gets in that form. There’s a slight benefit, however: At the Storyteller’s discretion, you may be immune to the debilitating effects of environmental conditions, Gifts and supernatural abilities that rely on odors.
Banned Transformation (1-6pt.) ==== Some circumstance, event, or situation inhibits your ability to change forms, except to return to your breed form. To overcome the restricting factor requires the expenditure of a Willpower point and a successful Willpower roll (difficulty 8). Some examples of triggers and their relative point costs include:
- Relaxing music (1 point)
- In the vicinity of wolfsbane (2 points)
- Unless you spend a Rage point (3 points)
- When around silver (4 points)
- During the day or during the night (5 points)
- When the moon is not visible (6 points)
Barren/Sterile (4 pt.) ==== For Kinfolk who serve werewolves as perpetuators of the species, inability to reproduce is a serious Flaw indeed. Not only does it carry a social stigma, it may also incur abuse, neglect, or even exile. Kinfolk who can’t reproduce lose a great deal of their value in Garou eyes. For obvious reasons, vampire and wraith who were Kin can’t take this Flaw.
Camp Enmity (1pt.) ==== You have earned the attention and disfavor of a particular Garou tribal camp. Perhaps you’re a former member of the camp, or have refused to join them and they feel slighted. Perhaps they feel you’ve done them wrong, or the camp you are a part of is ideologically opposed to what they stand for. Regardless, all Social rolls when interacting with that camp are made at +1 difficulty. You may not already be a member of this camp when you first take this Merit, although you can become recruited (or re-recruited) into the camp during play at the Storyteller’s discretion. You may take this Merit multiple times for different camps. Storytellers are encouraged to incorporate Storyteller characters of the appropriate camp into their storylines, so as to make this a meaningful Flaw.
Docile (1-3pt.) ==== Your distance from “the wolf” dampens the fires of Rage within you, hampering your ability to access them in Gaia’s service. For every point of Docile you take, your maximum Rage is lowered by 2, and can never be bought above that level. Others may see you as “domesticated” or “more dog than wolf” and react with derision.
Double Jeopardy (3pt.) ==== Gaia has marked you strongly. You were born not with one, but two significant metis deformities. These may be related, but must be two clearly separate disfigurements. A pair of antlers, or two rows of shark teeth would only be one deformity, but antlers and hooves, or a row of shark’s teeth and a set of gills would be acceptably different. The Storyteller has the final judgment on whether the two deformities are significant enough to qualify for this Flaw. This flaw can be taken only by metis Garou.
Foe from the Past (1-3pt.) ==== You have inherited an enemy, not because of anything you’ve done, but because one of your ancestors incurred his wrath. The strength of the enemy determines the point value of the Flaw.
- (1 point) A werewolf hunter whose parents were killed by your forebear.
- (2 points) A mage whose mentor suffered at the hands of one of your ancestors.
- (3 points) A powerful vampire or spirit creature who has sworn a vendetta against your family line. You should work with the Storyteller to come up with a logical backstory surrounding your ancestor’s enemy, since encounters with your foe may provide an ongoing story arc for your chronicle. You must possess the Ancestors Background to take this Flaw.
Forced Transformation (1-2pt.) ==== Certain circumstances force you to undergo an uncontrollable shift in form. You may resist the change by spending a Willpower point, but once you have made the forced change, you may not change back until the triggering situation has passed. You may use the following examples or design your own circumstances and point costs (with Storyteller approval).
- The full moon forces you to assume your Crinos form. (2 points)
- You automatically change to Crinos when your auspice wanes (2 points)
- Sexual arousal stimulates a forced change (1 point to Glabro; 2 points to Crinos; 2 points to Homid if you are a lupus)
Harano Prone (4pt.) ==== Characters suffering from this Flaw are prone to bouts of deep depression, indolence, and mood swings. You must make a Willpower roll every scene in which you suffer some form of setback. If the roll fails, you fall into a bout of temporary Harano. You may become morose and inactive, or suddenly spring into self-destructive activity. Your perceptions go awry, causing you to lose a die from every dice pool. If you botch the Willpower roll, you also acquire a temporary derangement (see below). You may delay the Harano attack for a single scene by spending a Willpower point.
Inferiority Complex (1 pt.) ==== Nope, you’re not worthy. Never have been, never will be. In situations requiring you to take charge or be personally responsible, all your difficulties are raised by one.
Insane Ancestor (1pt.) ==== An insane ancestor of yours occasionally takes over when you seek help from the spirits of your forebears. Usually, this ancestor appears only under certain common circumstances, such as when Black Spiral Dancers threaten you or whenever a certain common rite is performed in your presence. When the Storyteller deems this circumstance has come about, roll your Ancestors Background, difficulty 6. Any successes indicate that your ancestor takes control of you for the scene, or until someone recognizes what is happening and manages to convince him to relinquish control once more. You should create your ancestor, name him, and describe his madness. You may spend a Willpower point to stifle the ancestor-spirit for the scene. You must purchase the Background: Ancestors to take this Flaw.
Mark of the Predator (2pt.) ==== You give off emanations of a predatory nature. Herbivores shy away from you, while carnivores see you as a potential threat and may offer challenge. You may not possess the Skill: Animal Ken.
Metis Child (4pt.) ==== You begin play as the parent of a metis cub from an illicit relationship with another Garou. You need to decide the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child —who the other parent is, when this happened, if you are currently attempting to raise the child in your own sept, or if the cub was fostered out to another sept to avoid further embarrassment. The effects of this Flaw include a two dice penalty to any Social rolls made regarding Garou who know of your child, as well as the additional burden of being required to take responsibility for your cub’s welfare (you miserable charach). As a Litany-breaker, you will probably be unable to hold any important sept offices or be trusted with important tasks, no matter how much you strive to prove yourself. Metis characters cannot take this Flaw. If a character sires or bears a metis cub during the events of the chronicle, the penalties of this Flaw may apply, but no bonus points are granted for it.
No Partial Transformation (1pt.) ==== You have no ability to mix forms; you cannot shift your larynx in Lupus to be capable of human speech, or grow a wolf’s muzzle in Glabro. You can only change into the complete form.
Outsider (2 pt.) ==== Because of rumors (true or not), an ill-done deed, poor decision, or some other character flaw, you have a poor reputation among Kinfolk and Garou. They don’t necessarily hurt you, but they let you know you aren’t welcome in their camps or homes. Make all Social rolls involving interaction with werewolves and Kin at +2 difficulty.
Pierced Veil (3pt.) ==== Unlike most Garou, your Crinos form does not trigger the Delirium in mortals. This makes you particularly vulnerable to werewolf hunters, who may find it less difficult to pursue you back to your caern, putting the members of your sept in considerable danger.
Persistent Parents (2pt.) ==== Most werewolves, unless they have Kinfolk parents, sacrifice their family ties after their First Change, in order to protect the Veil. Your parents, however, have not given up on you. They may hire detectives to find you, plaster posters with your picture on it around town, pester radio and television stations to run public service ads, or dedicate websites and utilize social media to recruit the aid of the internet in order to try to find you. They may be ignorant of your new life, suspecting instead that you have run away, joined a cult, or been kidnapped. They may instead have ties to Pentex or other organizations with ulterior motives in locating you. Only homids may take this Flaw.
Short Fuse (2pt.) ==== You are closer to the Wyrm than most Garou; your Rage burns hotter within you than most. Your difficulty for Rage rolls is decreased by two, and you fall more readily into the “thrall of the Wyrm.” Be careful when choosing this Flaw; it can bring worlds of trouble down upon you and your pack.
Sign of the Wolf (2pt.) ==== The folklore of werewolves holds true as far as you’re concerned. Like the shapechangers of myth and legend, you possess eyebrows that meet in the middle of your forehead, hair grows on the palms of your hands, and the second and third fingers of your hands are the same length. You may even manifest a pentagram on your palm before and during your auspice’s phase of the moon. While most people may simply wonder at these bizarre physical manifestations, werewolf hunters who notice these signs suspect your true nature.
Slip Sideways (1pt.) ==== You find it difficult to control travel between the physical world and the Umbra, sometimes entering the spirit world when you don’t intend to. When stressed and near a reflective surface, you must roll Wits + Occult (difficulty 7) to avoid shifting into the Umbra unintentionally. In order to overcome the Gauntlet, you must still roll your Gnosis, but the difficulty is 1 less than usual. If you deliberately try to step sideways, you do so at the normal difficulty.
Strict Carnivore (1pt.) ==== “Vegetarian” is just another way of saying “lazy hunter.” Vegetables and grains give you no nutritional benefit; you can only subsist on meat — the closer to raw, the better. You have real problems in areas where meat is scarce.
Taint of Corruption (7pt.) ==== Somehow, the Wyrm has touched you and left its taint upon your spirit. When other Garou invoke the Gift: Sense Wyrm, you register as strongly Wyrm-tainted. The taint is innate, and cannot be removed by a Rite of Cleansing (which serves only to make you ill and sore). Minions of the Wyrm trouble your sleep, attempting to lure you fully into the service of the Destroyer. You are at +2 difficulty on any rolls made to resist the powers of “fellow” Wyrmspawn — fomori powers, Black Spiral Dancer Gifts, Bane Charms, vampiric Disciplines, or the like. Only your pack can keep you from succumbing to the Wyrm, provided they give you their support and assistance. Ridding yourself of this Flaw requires a major quest and can provide the heart of a character-driven chronicle.
Territorial (2pt.) ==== You have the wolf’s territorial nature. You dislike leaving your home turf or having people you don’t know infringe upon your claimed space. Before play starts, work with your Storyteller to define your territory. You must roll to avoid frenzying whenever strangers enter your territory without your permission, and are reluctant to leave there except under desperate circumstances.
Ulterior Motive (2 pt.) ==== Something other than love and respect for your Garou relatives and Kinfolk guides your actions. This “something” may be as simple as greed or a lust for vengeance; you could also be a traitor working for an outside agency. Whatever the case, this ulterior motive holds your ultimate loyalty. Should someone suspect things aren’t as they seem, you could be in big trouble. This Flaw makes a good complement for the Flaw: Dark Secret
Veiled (5 pt.) ==== For some reason, you’re not immune to the Delirium. Gifts such as Part the Veil and the Rending of the Veil rite have no effect on you. You do receive a +1 bonus on the Delirium chart and retain all memories of what you see, but the sight of a Garou in Crinos form still invokes some sort of instinctive, uncontrollable reaction in you. This may convince Garou you’re not really Kinfolk, reduce your likelihood of finding a Garou mate, or throw your heritage into question.
New General Merits
Affinity merits
Weaver affinity (4Pt) - instead of the normal chart to regain gnosis or cross over you use the following instead. Area:
Science lab -3
Inner city 4
Mini-mall-5
Open highway 6
Rural countryside 7
Lonely train track 8
Untouched wilderness 9
The exception is the sept areas still at the same diff. As well, if you spend 1 gnosis and touch a machine, that machine energy will not run out for the next hour, runs normally, and makes no pollution. If a supernatural were to disrupt, disable, or hamper technology affected by this ability you can make a wp roll dc 7 to try to counter it. This doesn’t affect if it’s trying to do direct damage to the machine. Those with this can’t take or use abilities that make it harder for them to resist weaver taint and influence. Those with this merit get a + 1 diff to resisting the call of the weaver. Nor can they take the wyld affinity merit.
Wyld affinity (4 PT) -
You gain -2 diff to cross over or regain gnosis in wyld areas but + 2 in weaver areas. You get a + 2 dice on gnosis rolls. As well, when activating gifts, you can spend a gnosis instead of a WP to get an auto success. You also gain a -1 diff to shifting forms and partial shifting. Those with this can’t take or use abilities that make it harder for them to resist wyld taint and influence. Those with this merit get a + 1 diff to resisting the call of the wyld. Nor can they take the weaver affinity merit.
New Tribal Merits
These are merits of each individual tribe; with some exceptions these have to be earned in game through your tribe and tasks of your tribe.
Merits (Tribe)
Black fury
Sisters in Arms (1 point merit)- Black Furies thrive among their own, taking strength from their common goals. They are blood kin under Luna, sharing their strengths, even if they fight among themselves. Their will as family is ironclad, and their blood runs hot. When you are among one or more other Black Furies, you may substitute the highest Willpower total from any one present allied Black Fury in place of your own when calculating your defensive test pools. Additionally, when you witness an injustice that infringes upon the rights of others, such as a violent crime, or an attack against another Black Fury, you begin combat with an additional rage.
Arrows of Artemis (2-point merit)- Rage flows thick in the spirits of those who serve as Artemis’s avengers; they can pull this weapon from their very blood. You carry a special connection to the goddess of the hunt and are able to channel your Rage in ways beyond simple hand-to-hand combat. When using ranged weapons, such as guns, bows, or spears, or any thrown weapon, you can spend rage to add +2 dice to range attacks and damage. As well you can ignore one 1 on die for damage for range damage.
Crone’s Wisdom (3-point merit)- You have the Crone’s ability to dispense truth and wisdom from a place of personal strength and clarity. Your knowledge is well-known and brings students from all corners of the world. People listen when you speak. Any time you give advice, and the person follows it, or whenever you admonish a wrong doer, so they see the error of their ways, both you and your target replenish your Willpower pools to maximum. You can only use this ability once per hour. In addition, once per game session, you can spend a Wisdom Renown to be treated as though you possess 1 additional dot of the Rank background when discussing and deciding a matter.
Bone Gnawer
Struggling (1 point)- Page 79-80 bone gnawer revised tribe book
Shame (2 point)-Page 80 bone gnawer revised tribe book
Ratkin buddies (3 point)- Page 80-81 bone gnawer revised tribe book
Child of gaia
Distant Relative (1 point)-Page 75-76 Coggie revised tribe book
Supporter (2 point)- Page 76 Coggie revised tribe book
Grandmother’s Touch (3-point merit)- You are a gifted healer, with an exceptionally powerful ability to soothe pain and mend wounds. Whenever you use a healing gift you have a -1 dc. You can spend a gnosis to increase your test pool by 2, and you heal your target for 1 additional point of damage.
Fianna
Essence of Stag (1 point merit)- Fianna are known as a tribe for two notable traits: their legendary stamina, and their willingness to jump into a fight. Blessed by the essence of the Stag, you epitomize these qualities and gain -1 dc to stamina test. Furthermore, when you are the one to initiate a combat by successfully making a Physical attack, you may choose to immediately gain 1 point of Rage.
Seldom Sleep (2-point page)- Page 83 Fianna Tribe book
Child of Tir na nog (3-point merit)- Fae blood runs through your lineage. Though only traces may remain, it has imbued you with the Spriggans’ gift. By expending your standard action to draw upon this power, you can alter your physical size. You may grow to up to triple your normal height, granting you 3 additional health levels. However, you can’t use melee nor Firearms as you are too big and have a -3-test pool to stealth. Damage to these health levels remains when you return to normal size; a careless Fianna can find herself incapacitated or worse after returning to her normal size. Conversely, you may choose to shrink yourself down to one-third of your normal height. When you decrease your size by at least half, you gain a +3 wild card bonus to any challenges using your Stealth skill but have -2 to your Stamina rolls.
Get of Fenris
Skaldi’s Resolve (1 point merit)- Fear and pain are sicknesses of the soul. The Fenrir train their Cubs to purify these weaknesses. You have mastered your fear and pain by smothering them with rage. You are Get a -2 dc to resist fear bases powers. When driven into fox frenzy, you may choose to enter anger frenzy instead. However, Skaldi’s Resolve does not make you immune to the social rituals of Garou nor mundane means of fear. If you have this and Child of Ratatosk flaw, if the Flaw is active, it overrides this merit. This can’t be taken with flaws that increase dc to resist fear-based powers.
The Vigil (2-point merit)- Spend 1 point of Gnosis and use your standard action to declare an oath invoking the name of Heimdallr. As long as you remain awake and stay within 15 steps of the spot where you activated The Vigil, you automatically detect intruders or active threats that come within 10 steps of you. The Vigil does not allow you to see the appearance of someone who is supernaturally concealed, but you know that someone is present, and you can attack her without using the Blind Fighting combat maneuver, even if you cannot see her.
Fenrir’s Bite (3-point merit)- As Tyr learned long ago, the bite of Fenris is savage. You have the spirit of your tribe’s patron in your blood and have inherited his crushing bite. Should you manage to lock jaws around one of your enemy’s limbs, you can render it weaker. Whenever you bite your opponent, you may choose to weaken a limb. If you choose an arm, your target receives a -3 penalty to all Brawl and Melee attacks, and she cannot use two-handed weapons so long as she is afflicted. If you choose a leg, she can move as if she is 1 damage level higher on the table. This effect lasts until she has healed the damage from your attack. You must be in Crinos, Hispo or lupus to use this. A target can only suffer from the effects of one application of Fenris’s Bite at a single time, no matter how many limbs have been incapacitated.
Glasswalker
Pulse of the City (1 point merit)- You know everything that happens in your city, and your clout extends much further than most. You receive a second specialization for every dot of the Allies and Influence backgrounds you purchase. In addition, you have gained control of an influence network that has proven to be particularly adroit and capable. Each week, you regain one spent influence action of your choice.
Technologically advanced (2-point merit)- Glass walkers are more adept to the weaver then most and know how to use it to make a better future using its technology. Choose one of the following, to science, academics, Craft, Technology, Computers or another knowledge that is weaver. You get a +2 dice to that roll and when you gain a spec, you may get a second spec, you can also spend a gnosis and for a roll you can remove one -1 botch die to the roll. This can be purchased more than once.
Shadowlord
Storm crow (1-point merit)- Shadowlord’s are connected to storms and also crows, being just as dark as them. By making a wit + occult dc 7, you can summon a crow for an hour. It lasts an hour, and its dice pool is equal to half the number of successes rounded up, it gains a +2 dice to stealth, primal urge, investigation, flight and athletics. It will follow your orders but will not attack nor defend you or others if attacked. It will also not do something that will destroy itself. You can spend a gnosis and make a dc 7 gnosis, for a number of minutes equal to success on gnosis roll, you can see through its eyes and ears and direct the crow, however it still won’t attack or do something that’ll destroy itself. Any test made use your test pool. While this is active you can’t move, nor see nor hear where your physical body is, you automatically fail any dodge test to your body.
Loophole (2-point merit)- Rules are for suckers too dim to avoid being caught. You’ve learned how to temporarily escape the limits of a supernatural compulsion that governs your free will. You may slip these supernatural shackles for a single turn per point of Gnosis spent. The metaphysical restraints immediately return after you stop spending Gnosis. This doesn’t prevent mundane manipulation.
Thunder’s child (3-point merit)- Page 82 of shadowlord book, reduced from 5 to 3.
Silver Fang
Noble heritage (1 point)- Page 85 Silverfang revised tribe book
House connected (2 point))-Silver fangs are connected deeply to their house, just as much as their tribe. Instead of having their personal totem being Falcon, there personal totem may instead be their house totem, showing deeper connections to their house. This may make it easier to do things within your house, but harder to do things to/with other silver fangs not a part of your house.
A Hero’s Return (3-point merit)-Phoenix is revered by the Silver Fangs. This totem has taken a special interest in your heroic deeds and will grant you a one-time favor. If you are wounded to the point of death while acting in a heroic manner, you are immediately resurrected at full health in a grand flourish of silver flame. For the next five turns, you receive a -2 dc to all test pools.
Before the end of that time, you must kill all of your enemies present, or you must complete a heroic deed worthy of song and the admiration of the Garou Nation. (The interpretation of said heroic deed and its worth is solely at the discretion of the Storyteller.) If you fail to achieve either goal in the allotted time, you meet your death permanently and irrevocably, regardless of health or any other supernatural power. Your body simply fades into silver light and then disappears. The exception to this is if you use your one Get out of jail free card. You cannot use this merit if your initial death resulted from something other than taking damage or is a result of lawful punishment. Phoenix will only intervene if it is a battle worthy of her notice. This merit can only be used once before it must be struck from your character’s sheet without a refund of XP. Once lost you cannot regain this merit.
Stargazer
Mewa Birthmarks (1 point)- Stargazers’ tribe rev Page (80)
Wisdom of the Ages (2-point merit)- As your soul has traveled through the Wheel, you have maintained a spark of knowledge from ages past. Through this spark, you retain a unique connection with your ancestors, carefully cultivated through the ages. This spark also grants you a deeper awareness of the universe around you. With this merit, you may purchase the Ancestors background at a reduced cost, decreased to 3 exp for initial and 2 x CR instead of the standard 4 exp for initial and 3 x CR Additionally, raise your character’s potential maximum number of dots in that background by 1. You must still spend XP at a rate of 2 x CR purchase that background to its maximum level.
Mewa Birthmarks (3 point)-Tranquil soul rev Page (80)
Uktena
Keeper of the Old Ways (1 point merit)- You’ve been entrusted with some of the most important secrets of your tribe. The Uktena Bane Tenders once leveraged ancient rites and lore to trap powerful banes in the great Mesoamerican pyramids. Umbral storms and other changes to the spiritual landscape have lessened the potency of these spiritual prisons, but you’ve learned to jail these creatures in such a way as to protect your territory and master their mysteries. Your secret knowledge protects you from bane attacks, causing any damage dealt to you from a bane to be reduced by 2 unless its agg in which its 1. The banes you have imprisoned continually beg for their release, whispering tantalizing secrets and sharing long-lost tales. You also gain a -1 dc to Wyrm lore and Cosmology.
Fera Friendship (2-point merit)- The Uktena share both friendship and kinfolk with a number of the Fera and have earned a measure of their goodwill. Choose two level 1 gifts that are normally restricted toa type of Fera that isn’t extinct or banned. You can purchase these gifts as out-of-affinity gifts. These purchases don’t require a teacher to learn. This isan exception to the rule preventing Garou from learning you may activate them by spending Gnosis instead of Blood.
Shedding the Snake’s Skin (3-point merit)- Uktena has taught you the secret of shedding your skin to be reborn anew. Expend a standard action to rip the outer layer of skin from your face. Afterwards, your body renews, and you automatically heal 3 levels of damage. The caster of any powers currently active knows that her hold over you has been rebuked by Uktena. Just as a snake infrequently sheds its skin, you are likewise limited to using this power only once per game session, and afterwards your maximum Willpower pool is reduced by 1 for 30. This doesn’t prevent deals such as blood contract, infernalism or extreme cases like blood bonds.
Wendigo
Bonds of Spirit (1 point merit)- Great Wendigo, the cannibal spirit of wind and ice, is the patron of the Wendigo tribe. As his devotee, you are able to call upon the power of the legendary hunter. With only a taste of the blood of your enemy or prey, you gain -1 to dc to tracking. In addition, the ancestor spirits of the tribe can speak through you more readily, granting you an additional +1 dice to the skill granted by the Ancestors background when you call on them. Furthermore, natural wind and cold cannot harm you, and even damage you take from magical cold, such as from an ice spirit, is reduced by 2 unless its agg then 1.
Camouflage (2 point)- Wendigo revised pg 82
Avatar of Wendigo (3-point merit)- Your Crinos form is infused with the cannibal spirit of vengeance. When in this form, you are covered in a thin sheet of living ice and radiate extreme cold. This coating does not impede your movement in any way, is weightless, and does not damage any armor you may be wearing or items you are carrying. However, any living creature who touches you suffers 1 point of unsoakable aggravated damage from severe cold. This damage applies when you are successfully struck by a Brawl attack from an opponent. If you grapple an opponent, she takes 1 point of unsoakable aggravated damage at the end of the Everyman round during every turn that she remains grappled.
