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.