Werewolf References from WtA20 Core Rulebook

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Character type:

Lupus

None are closer to nature and the hidden face of Gaia than you are. You were born a precocious pup, already showing remarkable intelligence above that of your siblings. When the Change overcame you, and you discovered your true nature, the world itself became something you had never expected.

Lupus are quite capable of abstract thought, but much of their experience with the concepts governed by such thought comes after the First Change. They pick up the basics of Garou speech very quickly, and the basics of human languages with surprising speed, but the small nuances and connotations frequently elude them. They are accustomed to the socialization of a pack, not of a greater society — which can be particularly problematic if they were raised in a traditional wolf pack, which is more of a nuclear family than anything else.

The advantages of the lupus are several — many of them spiritual. The wolf-born lack the spiritual disconnection that the homids have gradually developed, and they are also free of the spiritual “static” that comes with the blood of the metis. They have a knack for mastering the animistic rituals of the Garou, as they are closer to “spirit logic” than the more educated reasoning of humankind. Some of this is reflected in their high starting Gnosis. However, lupus characters have little opportunity
to learn many useful skills before their First Change, and are therefore limited during character creation regarding the Abilities they can purchase.

Ragabash: The New Moon, The Trickster

The Ragabash is the mythic trickster, the fool who is alternately foolish and wise. He plays the role of the
contrary, questioning tradition in order to find the wisest path. Although the New Moon may seem disrespectful, his wry humor and incisive insights are meant to serve the greater good of the Garou. The clever Ragabash doesn’t question every decision — only those that need it. In the field, the New Moon is a cunning scout and unconventional tactician, leading the enemy into ambushes and striking at their soft underbellies when they least expect it.

While other auspices have fairly set roles within their sept and tribe, the Ragabash is usually left to his own devises. He has the gift of flexibility: the opportunity to explore options usually off-limits to other Garou. His insights are sometimes unwelcome, but frequently worthy. When there’s tension in the air, the Ragabash is usually the one to lift it, even if it means putting himself at risk of violence at the hands of a humorless Ahroun. But the New Moon frequently risks it anyway — what sort of trickster would he be if he was afraid to do something unpopular?

Stereotype: The Ragabash born under the waxing new moon is usually light-hearted and capricious, while one born under the waning new moon has a slightly more wicked and ruthless streak. It’s a rare Ragabash indeed that lacks a keen wit and the capacity to find some humor in any situation, no matter how bleak. Many other werewolves are slow to take the Ragabash seriously, though, as it’s difficult to tell the difference between a New Moon’s mockery that points out a grievous flaw in a plan and similar mockery that simply amuses him. Sometimes a Ragabash points out that the emperor has no clothes — but sometimes they’re the first to cry wolf, so to speak.

Glass Walkers

The Glass Walkers are werewolves unlike any other. They have largely abandoned the ancestral ways in favor of a cutting-edge, always-adapting blend of technology and shamanism. They actually prefer urban life to the wilderness, and defend the Scabs as centers of a vibrant ecology all its own. Even if that ecology is often wounded or diseased, it can be made healthy, the Glass Walkers argue. The other tribes often call them urrah, or tainted ones — but the children of Cockroach won’t give up the advantages of modern achievement
just to repair their reputation.

The name “Glass Walkers” makes reference to the vast skyscrapers of the modern world. Before there were cities of glass, the tribe was known as Iron Riders, having embraced the trains and machines of the Industrial Age. In the times before then, they were the City Warders, associating themselves with
urban life throughout the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance eras. And before there were even
cities, they were the Warders of Men, a tribe that gathered where humans did and watched what their cousins would do next. Other tribes say this proves they have no pride in their identity — but the Glass Walkers’ identity lies in adaptation.

The Glass Walkers’ fascination with human achievement carries through to their tribal customs. They borrow political structures from human government and corporate organizations, bind spirits into technological devices to create techno-fetishes, create artworks that incorporate fashionable trends and techniques, even preserve some of their tribal lore in shamanically-encrypted hardcopies rather than keeping to the oral traditions. These practices can give them a much-needed edge — after all, most of the forces of the Wyrm, including the Black Spiral Dancers, haven’t adapted quite as well.

But their focus on humanity and its works has also weakened the Glass Walkers in some ways. They have few wolf bloodlines left to them —some of their lupus children find the tribal tenets too confusing and seek refuge with another tribe. They treat their metis well, but the number of metis in the tribe speaks
to an all-too-human tendency to make bad romantic decisions. They have more enemies than most tribes: vampires are thick in the cities, and don’t care to have urban werewolves muscling in on their turf. Glass Walker Theurges are often over-specialized: they’re masters at dealing with spirits of electricity and the Weaver, but have more difficulty with older spirits of Gaia or the Wyld. If the Garou as a whole have trouble balancing their wolf and human natures, the Glass Walkers are a particularly skewed example.

Some say the tribe’s in danger of forgetting that they’re Garou. It may even be true for some — but the
rest make very dangerous enemies of the Wyrm. They establish urban caerns that give their territories a
centralized, organized source of spiritual power. They’ve made an art of sabotage, and delight in “monkey-wrenching” companies or organizations that prey too heavily on Gaia’s creation. They followed enough data streams and paper trails to assemble a more complete picture of Pentex and its activities than any other tribe possesses. They know how the system works. They know how to pull strings. And when the time’s right to hit the Wyrm with high explosives, silver bullets, and anti-personnel ordnance, they still remember how to use their fangs and claws as well.

Tribal Totem: Cockroach may not be pretty, but it’s an avatar of adaptation and survival. The Glass Walkers honor Cockroach and its brood of technological and adaptive entities such as Gremlins, Scab Birds, and the bizarre financial Mula’Krante or “money spiders.”


Gifts:

• Sense Prey (Level One) — This Gift lets a werewolf locate enough prey to feed her pack. In the urban environment, this tends to guide lupus to prey in parks, sewers, animal shelters or even zoos, drawing her unfailingly to the presence of prey animals. Humans and carnivores too large or dangerous for a lone wolf to regard as prey do not register as prey animals. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player rolls Perception + Primal-Urge. The difficulty is 5 in wilderness environments and 7 in
urban environments. Success indicates the location of enough prey to feed a large pack for a day.

• Open Seal (Level One) — The werewolf can open nearly any sort of closed or locked physical device. A
raccoon-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty of the local Gauntlet rating). If the object is sealed with magic, the player must spend a Gnosis point before making the attempt.

• Persuasion (Level One) — 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).

Rites:

Rite of Talisman Dedication (Level One)

This common rite allows a werewolf to bind objects to her body, allowing them to fit her various forms (jeans will grow to accommodate the Crinos form rather than splitting at the seams, for example) and accompany the Garou into the Umbra. Such talismans are most commonly mundane items, for spiritual items such as fetishes and talens remain with the werewolf in all forms and in the Umbra automatically. A werewolf most often performs this rite during the phase of the moon under which she was born. Each auspice has its own peculiar ritual.

System: The cost is one Gnosis point per object dedicated, and a character may never have more objects
bound to himself than his Gnosis score. Conceptually linked groups of objects may count as a single object
as the Storyteller’s discretion. For example, as a set of clothing would be considered one object rather than one shirt, one pair of pants, two socks, and so on; or a box of ammunition might be dedicated to the character, rather than requiring one dedication per bullet.

Objects will generally resize themselves to accommodate the character’s various forms (such as a backpack’s
straps lengthening to accommodate Crinos form), but may simply meld with the character in forms where they
can be of no use — for example, a knife may become a knife-shaped tattoo in Hispo. Others must spend a point
of Willpower to attempt to steal dedicated objects from the werewolf.

Hunting Prayer (Minor Rite)

This common rite takes many form, but always involves pausing before the start of a hunt to praise Gaia and all her creatures. In addition, the Garou selects some item to hold her prayers. The item could be anything
from an old belt to a shark-tooth necklace, but the werewolf must have it with her when she hunts. If she
loses the item, she must choose a new one and begin her devotions anew.

System: If the Garou performs this rite before every hunt for three lunar months, she receives an additional die to all tracking rolls as long as she continues her pre-hunt prayers. If she neglects the prayer before even one hunt, she must begin the cycle again before she regains the bonus.

Prayer for the Prey (Minor Rite)

A specific form of the Rite of Contrition, this rite involves the werewolf stepping sideways into the Umbra
just after making a kill, in order to thank her prey’s spirit for giving its life that she might survive.

System: The character must perform this rite upon every beast of Gaia (not including Wyrm-spawn) she slays for one full turning of the moon. Should she do so, all of her difficulty numbers drop by one when dealing with nature spirits. This bonus lasts until she kills an animal without taking time to thank the creature’s spirit.

Fetish:

Magpie’s Swag (Level One, Gnosis 5)

The magpie’s swag can be pretty much any simple closable bag, satchel, sack, or similar container, which can
hold thrice the amount of a regular bag the same size. If dedicated, it counts as a single item, even if filled with other fetishes or even non-dedicated items, and it is represented by a stripe of fur in Crinos, Hispo, and Lupus forms.

Unfortunately, it cannot contain complex Weaver objects such as guns or laptops, unless these items are broken and useless, or have been independently dedicated.

Variations of this fetish include the corporate brief case of the Glass Walkers, the gym bag of the Bone Gnawers and the medicine bag of the Uktena. Also, a level two variation exists — the spider’s satchel — which is capable of carrying Weaver objects.

To create a magpie’s swag, one must bind a magpie or marsupial spirit into the container.

Merits and Flaws

Metamorph (7 pt. Merit)

Shapechanging for you is as easy as breathing. You do not need to roll to change forms, nor is it necessary to spend a Rage point for an instantaneous shift. You make your changes as if you scored five successes on your roll to shift forms. If you lose consciousness from wounds or for some other reason, you may roll Wits + Primal Urge (difficulty 8) to choose which form you assume rather than reverting to breed form.

Ability Deficit (5 pt. Flaw)

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.

Docile (1 to 3 pt. Flaw)

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.