Ragabash Gifts Total Renown 2 BLISSFUL IGNORANCE By standing completely still, the Garou can render themselves invisible to all observers, including monitoring devices and most spirits. A chameleon-spirit grants this gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Minor
Pool: —
System: The Garou becomes practically invisible, so long as they remain still and silent. Any attempt to spot them is done at a Difficulty of 2 + the Gift user’s Wisdom. Any movement breaks the effect, and attempts to use the Gift for ambush are subject to the normal ambush rules, as the target has a chance to spot the attacker before the attack lands. (Test Wits + Awareness against the attacker’s Composure + Stealth.)
Duration: One scene
CROW’S LAUGHTER The werewolf spreads their jaws wide and directs a laugh of such derision at their target that the subject must exert all their will not to lose their temper. Whatever insecurities the target harbors rise to the fore, and self-control crumbles in their desire to shut the heckler up. Garou can use the Gift to distract a foe by drawing their attention, or as a desperate means to embolden packmates or other allies. A crow-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Manipulation + Honor vs Composure + Insight
System: The Gift must target a subject within sight and hearing of the user. The ragabash attacks the target in a Gift vs Composure + Insight conflict to cause superficial Willpower damage. A target successfully subjected to this Gift must then direct their attention and attacks at the user, unless they spend a point of Willpower to resist this urge. This Gift can also be used in homid form.
Duration: One scene or until resisted.
GREMLINS By intimidating the spirit within a technological device, the Garou can cause that device to malfunction or break down permanently. A havoc-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Charisma + Glory
System: The user targets a device in sight and within five meters and tests Charisma + Glory against the Difficulty of the device (below). A win means that the device is rendered unusable for the rest of the scene; a critical win renders the device completely inoperable and beyond repair. This Gift can also be used in lupus form.
Device Complexity Level | Difficulty |
---|
Computers (including mobile phones) | 2 |
Electronics (including cameras) | 3 |
Electrical or combustion engines (cars, trains, etc.) | 4 |
Firearms and other chemical reactions (explosives, fire, etc.) | 5 |
Strictly mechanical devices (winch, bicycle, mechanical lock) | 6+ |
Duration: One scene or permanent
SPIDER’S SONG By listening to the vibrations of the Weaver’s web, the werewolf can eavesdrop on any kind of long-distance verbal communication, whether sent by airborne signal or through a wired connection. The Garou must be aware that a conversation is happening to listen in on it, though they don’t need to know the identities of all the participants. A spider-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Wisdom
System: The Garou’s player makes a Resolve + Wisdom test, with the number of successes indicating how much of the conversation they manage to catch. A single success yields only a few scattered words, whereas five or more (or a critical win) allows the user to hear every word, and possibly even identify who’s on the other end of the exchange. For conversations via landlines, the werewolf must place their ear against a telephone wire or cord; to listen in on cell phone discussions, they need only see one of the devices being used. Any encryption increases the Difficulty by 1 or more. This Gift can also be used in homid form.
Duration: One scene
Total Renown 5 BLUR OF THE MILKY EYEThe werewolf’s form becomes a shimmering, indistinct blur, as though seen through a thick mist or a skewed lens, even in broad daylight. The Garou does not become invisible, but the Gift makes spotting or attempting to land a physical attack on them much harder. A chameleon-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Minor
Pool: —
System: The ragabash gains their Wisdom bonus to all Stealth tests, as well as to defensive tests against physical attacks for the rest of the scene. The Gift lapses as soon as the user interacts directly with a subject, such as attacking them or engaging them in conversation.
Duration: One scene
OPEN SEAL The werewolf coaxes a spirit to open a physically locked or barred lid, door, or seal. Electronic locks present progressively higher Difficulties, as do devices sealed by mystical means. A raccoon-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Manipulation + Honor
System: Purely mechanical locks or bars open automatically when this Gift is employed. Electronic or supernatural devices requirea Manipulation + Honor test versus a Difficulty set by the Storyteller (2 for a regular electronic lock, 5 for a sorcerously augmented fingerprint scanner). Some extremely advanced locks might even be beyond this Gift’s ability to open, at the Storyteller’s discretion. This Gift can also be used in homid form.
Duration: —
PULSE OF THE PREY The werewolf can home in on anyone and track that individual, as long as the user knows the target’s name and face. Targets actively hiding are harder to track, but even they can be found, given enough time and effort. A dog-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Intelligence + Wisdom
System: No roll is required to track a human who isn’t in hiding. Tracking a supernatural creature, or a human who is actively hiding, requires an Intelligence + Wisdom test against Intelligence + Streetwise (for urban hiding places) or Intelligence + Survival (in rural areas). The Difficulty rises if a target has supernatural ways to conceal themselves. The time required depends both on the distance to the target and the result of the roll. The higher the margin, the quicker the target can be located. This Gift can also be used in lupus form.
Duration: One session
SCENT OF RUNNING WATER Use of this Gift lets the Garou make themselves impossible to track via mundane means while also making supernatural tracking harder. A fox-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: Free / 1 Willpower
Action: Minor
Pool: —
System: Subsequent to the Gift’s activation, the Garou leaves no physical evidence of their passing (footprints, disturbed vegetation, DNA traces, etc.). The Garou also gains their Wisdom as a bonus to any test to avoid supernatural tracking. Activating this Gift is free for its user, but by spending a Willpower the player can extend the Gift’s effects to their character’s pack for one scene. This Gift can also be used in lupus form.
Duration: One scene
Total Renown 8 LUNA’S BLESSING By howling a prayer to Luna while she’s visible in the sky, Garou can convince her to temporarily rescind her silver curse. Until the next sunrise, as long as the user can see the moon in the sky, the Garou is no longer vulnerable to silver, and the lunar metal is treated like any other. A Lune grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Rage Check + 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: —
System: To activate this Gift, the moon must be visible to the Garou. Once activated, by a beseeching howl directed at Luna, treat silver damage up to the Wisdom of the user (per damage source) as Superficial.
Duration: One night
THIEVING TALONS OF THE MAGPIE The Garou can steal the supernatural powers — werewolf Gifts, the blood-curses of vampires, or other equivalents — of others for their own use. While in the user’s possession, these same powers are unavailable to the original owner. A magpie-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Intelligence + Honor
System: This Gift can target a supernatural power or ability of anyone in sight of the user, who needs only to have witnessed the power in use by the subject. The ability must be one learned by, not inherent to, the target. (A Garou’s Gift can be stolen, but their ability to shapeshift cannot, for example.) The player tests Intelligence + Honor against the rating of the power: the Rank of a Gift or appropriate value for another supernatural target. (If no rating exists, the Storyteller should assign an appropriate Difficulty.) On a success, the target loses the power, and any effects derived from it expire immediately. Starting with the next turn, the werewolf is able to use the power as if it was a Gift possessed by them, substituting Honor for any non-Garou Trait required. At the start of each turn thereafter, a Willpower point must be spent or the power returns to the original owner.
Duration: One turn for each Willpower spent
THE THOUSAND FORMS This Gift allows the Garou to transcend the limitations of their werewolf nature and assume the shape of any mundane animal, ranging in size from a chicken to a grizzly bear. The Garou gains the senses of the animal they transform into, but the user is subject to the same limitations in regard to communication as when assuming the lupus form. A Wyld-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 or more Rage Checks
Action: Minor
Pool: Dexterity + Glory
System: The player tests Dexterity + Glory. If the shape desired is particularly large, small, or exotic, the Difficulty may increase by 1 or more at the Storyteller’s discretion. Upon a failure, the user can repeat the attempt by making another Rage check and adding successes to the previous test. The Gift user keeps their Mental Attributes, but their other pools depend on the shape assumed. (For examples, see animals on p. 291.) This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: One scene
WHELP BODY This terrible curse causes a foe’s body to shrivel and weaken, their arms shaking with effort and their legs buckling beneath them. Only those who have enough knowledge of the spirits involved are able to mount an effective defense against the effects. Use of this Gift on fellow Garou is considered a dire affront, and duels have been fought to the death for less. A disease-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Honor vs Stamina + Occult
System: This Gift can target anyone within five meters and in sight of the user, whose player must test Resolve + Honor against Stamina + Occult of the target. For each success in the margin, the target loses a single dot from one of their Physical Attributes (to a minimum of zero) as their bodies are ravaged by a withering spiritual affliction. The effects persist for the rest of the story, though they can sometimes become permanent, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Duration: One story
Theurge Gifts Total Renown 2 ENSNARE SPIRIT Invoking mandates given by Gaia in times of legend, the Garou halts a spirit in its tracks, as well as weakening its defenses against further Gifts. A Weaver-spirit of law grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Wits + Honor vs Power
System: The spirit must be present and in the same realm (physical or spiritual) as the user. The target spirit is subject to a two-dice penalty in any attempt it might make to resist or that the user might make to bargain with it or command it (including the use of Command Spirit). The spirit is also forced to stay where it is, unless it breaks free on a Power test (subject to the two-dice penalty) against the Wits + Honor of the user. This Gift cannot be used on an already hostile spirit, and any attempt to harm the spirit causes the Gift to lapse.
Duration: One scene
MOTHER’S TOUCH The theurge channels spiritual power through their hands to heal the wounds of any other living creature. This Gift may not heal the user, spirits, or the undead. A bear-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Intelligence + Glory
System: Make a Gift test. The subject heals Superficial physical damage equal to the number of successes. If the number of successes exceeds the subject’s current Rage, a single level of Aggravated damage can be healed in place of a Superficial one. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: —
SHADOW SENSE This Gift allows the user to sense the supernatural world around them and pierce supernatural deceptions. It does not automatically allow a Garou to detect intent or allegiance, however, and much of what they see will be colored by their own preconceptions. A raven-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Free
Pool: Wits + Wisdom
System: On a successful Wits + Wisdom test, this Gift alerts the Garou if supernatural elements or creatures are nearby, though it does not specify their exact location or identity. The Difficulty for the test is 2, but it can be modified by powers that allow supernatural creatures to conceal their presence, such as the vampiric ability to elude observation.
Duration: One turn
SIGHT FROM BEYOND The wielder of this Gift receives prophetic visions — glimpses of the Umbral landscape, the future, or the past, sometimes as dreams and other times in waking moments. The visions are rarely clear and appear dream-like or symbolic, but they can warn of immediate danger or act as beacons in the face of difficult choices. A dream-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower or free
Action: Full or free
Pool: Intelligence + Wisdom
System: The prophetic visions can come unbidden, in which case the Storyteller decides when and how they manifest. If desired, the Storyteller can have the player test Intelligence + Wisdom to reveal clues about the story or warn about danger in some degree and clarity determined by the number of successes. Once per scene, a player may also try to provoke these visions intentionally by spending a point of Willpower. A similar test is then made, with the Storyteller revealing clues to clarity and extent based on the number of successes.
Duration: —
Total Renown 5 BANISH SPIRIT Invoking their role as spiritual guardian, the Garou looses their Rage upon a spirit possessing an object or person and attempts to drive it back into the Spirit Wilds. An Incarna avatar grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Glory vs Power
System: The spirit must be present and in the same realm (physical or spiritual) as the user. On a successful Resolve + Glory vs Power test, the spirit is forced to abandon the object or person possessed and retreat fully into the Umbra. Upon leaving, a malevolent spirit can cause its Power minus the margin on the Gift test as Aggravated damage to its possessed subject. Once banished, most spirits cannot inhabit another subject for the entire scene, though some can, at the Storyteller’s discretion. If used in the Umbra, this Gift will instead force the spirit to retreat or flee.
Duration: One scene
GRASP FROM BEYOND This Gift allows the user to bring objects in and out of the Umbra, assuming they have a physical form to begin with, even if they aren’t Dedicated to the user. (See Rite of Dedication, p. 183) A magpie-, beaver-, or possum-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1–3 Willpower
Action: Free
Pool: Resolve + Wisdom
System: As part of crossing the Gauntlet (see p. 230) or while peering into the physical world from the Umbra, the user grips the physical object firmly and pulls it into the Spirit Wilds — or out, making a Resolve + Wisdom test against the local Gauntlet. Failing the test means the object remains where it is, though the user is unaffected. Willpower cost depends on the size of the object, with a small item (a book or laptop) requiring a single point, and a large one (a car or tent) requiring three.
Duration: —
MINDSPEAK The werewolf may send and receive thoughts to a single subject, establishing two-way communication if desired. A dream-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Wisdom
System: The user concentrates and sends a mental message to the chosen subject. If the user hasn’t met the subject in person, the target must be in line of sight. If the subject is known to the user but not present, a Resolve + Wisdom test is required to establish contact. (Difficulty depends on the distance and whether the user is familiar with the subject’s location. A subject relaxing at home is a 2, whereas a subject hidden on another continent is 5.) Once contact is established, thoughts can travel in both directions, so long as both participants are willing. This Gift cannot be used to read the mind of a subject; only thoughts intended for the other party can be sensed. Any major distraction, such as either party being harmed, breaks the connection. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: One scene or until contact is broken.
UMBRAL TETHER Entering the Umbra is always perilous, not least because of its shifting spiritual geography, which one moment corresponds to the physical world and the next appears as something else altogether. This Gift allows the user to find their way back to their entry point by creating a silvery thread that connects them to the point where they first crossed the Gauntlet. A pigeon-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Free
Pool: —
System: The user must activate this Gift as they enter the Umbra. From then until they exit the Umbra, they can always find their way back by following the silver cord, which can be seen only by the user. They also gain their Wisdom as bonus dice to any attempt to navigate the Spirit Wilds, as the tether helps them avoid going in circles or retracing their steps. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: Until exiting the Umbra
Total Renown 8 COMMAND SPIRIT This Gift allows the werewolf to dominate a spirit by issuing commands that must be obeyed. The Gift does not allow a Garou to summon spirits at will, however. Most spirits take offense at being subjected to this Gift, and clever spirits often try to subvert the intent by twisting the word of the command to their benefit — or to the misfortune of the user. An Incarna avatar grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Charisma + Honor vs Power
System: The spirit must be present and in the same realm (physical or spiritual) as the user. For each command, the player must defeat the spirit in a Charisma + Honor vs Power test. Spirits cannot be ordered to inflict harm on themselves or anything that they are bound to or possessing, and neither can they be ordered to depart from a bound or possessed object or creature.
Duration: One scene
DRAIN SPIRIT The Garou is able to suck the essence out of a spirit, draining it like a leech to fuel the user’s own mental reserves. Most werewolves are unwilling to use this power except as a last resort against already antagonistic spirits, but some unscrupulous spirit-talkers have fallen into the callous habit of treating every spirit as a potential battery. Needless to say, use of this Gift will permanently antagonize the spirit subjected to it. A leech- or lamprey-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Glory vs Power
System: The spirit must be present and in the same realm (physical or spiritual) as the user. By the player’s engaging in a Resolve + Glory vs Power test, the werewolf can restore a point of Superficial Willpower damage for each success in the margin, damaging the spirit by an equal amount. Failing the contest causes a point of Aggravated Willpower damage to the user. A spirit can be affected by this Gift only once per scene.
Duration: —
FERAL REGRESSION By channeling the power of the Wyld into a subject, the Garou devolves their target’s mind to that of an animal. Usage of this Gift on other Garou is considered a heinous violation, and reprisals are usually quick and dire. Only those who have enough knowledge of the spirits involved are able to mount a significant defense against the effects. Various Wyld gafflings teach this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage
Action: Full
Pool: Intelligence + Glory vs Resolve + Occult
System: The Gift can target anyone within sight of the user, whose player must test Intelligence + Glory against Resolve + Occult of the target. For each success in the margin, the target loses a single dot from one of their Mental Attributes, though no Attribute can go below 0. The effects persist for the rest of the story, though they can sometimes become permanent, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Duration: One story
LIVING WARD By concentrating, the Garou can turn themselves into a ward against spirits, repelling all but the most powerful Umbral entities. They cannot perform other actions as long as they maintain this ward, however, and upholding it for any length of time takes a heavy toll on their mind. A legendary wolf-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Honor vs Power
System: As long as the user concentrates, no spirit can come within three meters of the living ward without defeating the werewolf’s player in a Power vs Resolve + Honor test. If the Garou using this Gift fails in this contest, they must immediately lower their ward or spend Willpower equal to the amount by which they failed the contest.
Duration: One scene unless lowered earlier
Philodox Gifts Total Renown 2 ANCESTRAL CONVICTION The Philodox taps into the conviction of the Garou as a people, imbuing their words with weight and credibility. A legendary wolf-spirit grants this gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Free
Pool: —
System: The Garou gains their Honor as bonus dice on Persuasion Skill tests versus other Garou. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: One scene
GAIA’S CANDORThe Gift’s user looms over the subject and asks a question, their voice infused with threat and the promise of swift punishment. By the subject’s scent, the user can tell whether the subject believes their own answer or not. (Note that the victim can still decline to answer.) A truth-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Charisma + Glory vs Composure + Subterfuge
System: No test is required for a human unaware of the Garou or their powers. Another supernatural creature or a human with previous experience of the Garou can attempt to resist the effect, in which case the user’s player must win a Charisma + Glory test against Composure + Subterfuge.
Duration: One question
PORCUPINE’S REPRISAL Damage sustained in close combat by the Garou redounds on their assailant, administering instant justice. A hedgehog-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Free
Pool: —
System: Upon receiving damage from a brawl or melee attack, the user can make a Rage Check to immediately deal Superficial damage equal to their Glory on the attacker. The damage cannot exceed the amount sustained in the original attack.
Duration: —
SENSE THE TRUE FORM The Garou is able to smell the true nature of anyone they meet, literally sniffing out an individual’s true form and detecting anything that isn’t a mundane human. Unless they’ve met the creature type before, they might not be able to recognize the scent, though. A vulture-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Free
Pool: Wits + Wisdom
System: The player makes a Wits + Wisdom test against a Difficulty depending on the creature faced: Detecting a fellow Garou is Difficulty 2, Kin before their First Change is 3, whereas something almost indistinguishable from a mundane human, such as a sorcerer, might be Difficulty 5. Vampires lie somewhere between Difficulty 2 and 4, depending on whether they are actively masquerading as mortal and their general level of monstrosity. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: —
Total Renown 5 BEAST’S FEALTY The Garou’s authority extends into the realm of ordinary beasts, so that they can command the loyalty of any single animal. The animal follows their commands unconditionally. A lion- or falcon-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Charisma + Honor
System: The Garou targets one animal within line of sight, and the player rolls Charisma + Honor against Difficulty 3. If successful, the user is able to communicate with and issue commands to the animal, and the animal obeys unto death. The power lasts until the Garou releases the animal from its obligation to them or until the animal dies. This Gift can hold sway over only one animal at a time.
Duration: Until lapsed
COMMAND THE GATHERING The Gift user’s words take on a deific quality, and their magnetism draws the attention of people and beings within hearing and viewing distance. This effect includes animals and people who don’t speak the same language, so care must be taken to not draw unwanted attention. A bird-of-paradise–spirit, or another attention-grabbing animal spirit, can teach this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Free
Pool: —
System: Once active, the Gift makes the user the focus of attention for everyone within hearing or line of sight, and the player can add the character’s Glory as dice bonus to any public speech or presentation involving Persuasion or Performance. Mundane humans and animals are drawn toward the user, and it’s impossible to use this Gift and retain any semblance of discretion. Physical altercation in the presence of the user breaks the effect, and the Gift can’t be used while the werewolf is engaged in a physical conflict or outright combat.
Duration: One scene or until effect is broken or lapses
FANGS OF JUDGMENT The Gift’s user passes sentence on an enemy, declaring their life forfeit. Members of the user’s pack find their claws and fangs sharpened against the designated enemy, the better to send them to an early grave. Any number of predator-spirits grant this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Honor
System: The Gift’s user selects a visible subject who has previously caused harm to a member of their pack, and the player makes a Resolve + Honor test at Difficulty 3. If successful, the pack’s natural weapons gain +1 damage against the designated target. Only one enemy can be marked by a single Garou, and the effects aren’t cumulative if targeted by other Garou with the same Gift. The Gift lasts until that enemy is dead or the sentence is revoked, but the latter can be done only in the presence of the subject.
Duration: Until the death of the selected enemy or the sentence is revoked
SCENT OF THE PAST By inhaling the scent of an object or place, the Garou can catch glimpses of events that occurred in the target’s vicinity. More dramatic events leave stronger scents, and picking out details and minor occurrences calls for great skill. A crow-spirit or another animal-spirit that thrives in multiple environments, witnessing many events, can grant this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Intelligence + Wisdom
System: Make an Intelligence + Wisdom test against a Difficulty depending on the information sought. Sensing the circumstances of a duel fought last week with a specific weapon is Difficulty 2, but gaining information on the members of a covert meeting in a park years ago approaches Difficulty 6 or higher. Each point of margin on the roll allows the user to gain progressively more detailed information. This Gift can also be used in lupus form.
Duration: One turn
Total Renown 8 GEAS The Garou is able to issue an inviolable command to a single person, forcing them to perform an act of the Gift user’s choice. The Gift does not allow for the extraction of information in any way, however, and acts that go against the nature or self-preservation of the victim are often resisted. Weaver-spirits and spirits that observe rigid hierarchies grant this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Manipulation + Glory vs Composure + Resolve
System: The Garou must issue the order vocally and in the presence of the subject. Other supernatural creatures and humans familiar with the Garou can resist (see pool above), as can anyone if the command goes against their nature or would cause harm to those the subject loves. An order that would directly harm the victim, such as shooting themselves or stepping into a fire, automatically fails, as do commands that demand the impossible. Until the target completes the act or the Garou releases them from the geas, the target attempts to accomplish the act for the rest of the scene.
Duration: Until completion of the act, the scene ends, or the geas is lifted
OATHBREAKER’S BANE The Garou can bind another person to a promise and become supernaturally attuned to its upholding. The moment it’s broken, they user knows. An elephant-spirit or snake-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: —
System: The subject must make the oath in person to the user. The oath must be something that the taker both understands and accepts. It can be as succinct or detailed as the Gift’s user wants, but the promise remains in effect while both the oath forger and the oath taker remember it. Thus, it isn’t uncommon for the forger to seek out the taker to remind them of their promise. The Garou immediately senses the oath being broken, no matter the distance or time passed. Thereafter, any attempt by the user to track the oath breaker gives the player bonus dice equal to the Garou’s Honor.
Duration: Indefinitely or until oath is broken
STRENGTH OF PURPOSE Finding strength from their responsibility as Gaia’s protectors, the Gift’s user can replenish their reserves of mental fortitude from their Rage. A stone- or fire-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Minor
Pool: Honor
System: The Garou’s player rolls one die for each point of Honor the character possesses, healing one point of Superficial Willpower damage for each success, or one of Aggravated Willpower damage for two successes. This Gift can be used only once per session and can be used in any form.
Duration: —
TAKE THE TRUE FORM The Garou forces a shapeshifting creature to return to its “natural” form. This includes Garou, some vampires, and other, stranger creatures with the ability to change form. A river-spirit grants this Gift, washing away adornment and deception.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Manipulation + Honor vs Stamina + Resolve
System: The Garou commands the subject to return to their natural form, and the player tests Manipulation + Honor against the target’s Stamina + Resolve. On a win, the subject returns to their normal form, following their usual rules, and are then unable to change shape for a number of turns equal to the margin. This Gift can be used in homid or lupus form, and the Gift ceases to be active if the user changes form during its effect.
Duration: Margin number of turns or the user changes form
Galliard Gifts Song Gifts
Some Gifts are labeled as “Songs.” Only one Song can be active for a pack during a scene, and any attempt by a pack member to sing another Song in the same scene automatically fails. Songs are part of Garou culture and identity, and are granted by the spirits of legendary werewolves unless otherwise noted. Total Renown 2 ANIMAL MAGNETISM At once repellent and attractive, the werewolf exudes a feral aura that draws the attention of humans to them. A peacock-spirit or a spirit associated with attraction (emotional or otherwise) grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Free
Pool: —
System: The Garou’s player gains their Glory as bonus dice on Social Skill tests versus human subjects. This Gift can also be used in homid form.
Duration: One scene
HOWL OF ASSEMBLY The Garou sends their howl far beyond the normal range of sound and imbues it with great emotion, stirring the hearts of fellow werewolves. Those who heed the call find their resolve hardened. A song-spirit or the spirit of an animal known for its unique call grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Minor
Pool: Charisma + Honor
System: The Garou’s player tests Charisma + Honor against a Difficulty of 2. If successful, other Garou who hear the howl and join the presence of the Gift’s user heal a point of Willpower. For each success in the margin, the sound reaches an additional 100 meters. A character can be affected by this Gift only once per session. This Gift can also be used in Lupus form.
Duration: —
SONG OF RAGE The Garou sings a song of past grievances, current peril, and future pain, giving voice to the anguish of Gaia and stoking the Rage in their packmates.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Charisma + Glory
System: Make a Gift test at Difficulty 3. If successful, all other members of the user’s pack within earshot gain a point of Rage, or two points on a critical win. A character can be affected by this Gift only once per session.
Duration: —
SONG OF SERENITY The Garou sings a mellifluous song, calling to mind peaceful times and loved ones, soothing the raging fire in the hearts of the pack.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Composure + Honor
System: Make a Gift test at Difficulty 3. If successful, all members of the user’s pack within earshot lose a point of Rage, or two points on a critical win, to a minimum of 1. Pack members in frenzy can make a Composure + Resolve test at Difficulty 3 to snap out of the frenzy and leave Crinos form as normal (see p. 139). A character can be affected by this Gift only once per scene.
Duration: —
Total Renown 5 CALL THE RIDDEN This Gift attracts creatures possessed by spirits and can lure them into traps or simply flush them from hiding. Any spirit with the ability to possess can teach this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Minor
Pool: Composure + Honor vs Resolve + Insight
System: The Garou’s player makes a Gift test against the Resolve + Insight of any possessed creatures within earshot of the call. The possessed that fail to resist make every effort to reach the source of the call, as long as doing so presents no obvious hazard to their physical wellbeing (such as walking through toxic runoff or jumping unaided into a deep chasm).
Duration: One scene
EYES OF THE COBRA Locking eyes with a subject, the Garou can draw the victim toward them through sheer force of personality. A snake-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Minor
Pool: Charisma + Glory vs Composure + Resolve
System: As long as the user keeps eye contact with a victim, the victim moves toward the Garou, as if in a trance, performing no other action until they are within arm’s reach, at which point the effect ends. Other supernatural creatures and humans aware of the Garou and their powers can attempt to resist the user’s Charisma + Glory with Composure + Resolve, but once under the effect of the Gift they are unable to look away. Catching the eye of someone actively attempting to avoid the Gift user’s gaze requires a contest of the user’s Resolve + Intimidation vs the target’s Wits + Awareness. Any attempt at violence against the victim breaks the effect, as do other life-threatening situations, and the victim can attempt to avoid attacks as normal.
Duration: One scene or until effect is broken, such as by the victim reaching the user
SONG OF VALOR By singing of the heroic deeds of ancient Garou, the Gift’s user inspires their packmates. Those who listen feel a surge of power within them, as if encouraged by Gaia to follow in the footsteps of legendary werewolves.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Charisma + Honor
System: Make a Gift test at Difficulty 3. If successful, all members of the user’s pack within earshot are inspired to greater deeds. When their players spend Willpower to reroll dice, they may reroll any number in a pool, rather than just three (Brutal results still cannot be rerolled, see p. 133). This Gift can be used only once per session.
Duration: One scene
SONG OF INSPIRATION The Garou sings a ballad celebrating the creative use of a specific knowledge or aptitude. Members of the pack attempting feats in that field find their abilities enhanced beyond their usual levels.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full
Pool: Manipulation + Wisdom
System: The Garou’s player chooses a Social or Mental Skill and makes a Gift test at a Difficulty 3, or 2 if the user themselves possesses the Skill at 2 or more dots. On a win, other members of the pack gain a bonus die for tests of that Skill. A critical win on the Gift test yields a two-dice bonus instead.
Duration: One scene
Total Renown 8 AGAINST THE ODDS Summoning inner strength at the brink of defeat, the Garou emboldens their pack and turns the tables in the darkest of hours. A warthog- or badger-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Glory
System: The player rolls a pool equal to the Garou’s Glory. Each success enables each member of the pack (including the Gift user) to restore one level of Superficial Willpower damage. This Gift can be used only once per story.
Duration: —
BREAK THE SHACKLES A Garou can use this gift to cut through supernatural coercion or outright mind control, severing the chains that bind another person’s mind. Any winged spirit may grant this Gift, as may spirits associated with Gorgon.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Glory
System: The Gift’s user looks into the eyes of the subject and lets out a short, sharp roar, and the player makes a Gift test. The Difficulty depends on the type of effect controlling the subject and the power of the creature behind it, but the default is 3. The Storyteller can allow the subject to add their Resolve to the Gift test pool if they are actively trying to resist the effect themselves.
Duration: —
DEFY DEATH Like Garou of legend, the Gift’s user is able to cheat death, their body rapidly healing as they dance at the brink of defeat. A wolf- or bear-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: Free
Action: Free
Pool: Honor
System: If their Health is fully depleted by Aggravated damage, the Garou’s player immediately rolls a pool equal to the character’s Honor. Each success enables them to heal one level of Health damage. This Gift can be used only once per session. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: —
DREAMWALK The Garou can have a spirit enter another’s dreams via strange pathways through the depths of the Umbra, changing those dreams or simply participating in their cryptic narrative. The Gift can be used to leave messages, to unnerve the dreamer, or to gain a better understanding of a stranger’s mind. A dream-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Full scene
Pool: Wits + Wisdom
System: The Gift user’s player makes a Gift test against a Difficulty set by the Storyteller, depending on what they’re trying to accomplish: 2 to simply observe, 3 to leave a message, and up to 4 or more to completely alter the dreamscape to affect the dreamer in some way. If used to unnerve or otherwise frighten the dreamer, the dreamer regains no Willpower through natural means for the rest of the session and loses an additional Willpower point for each success in the margin.
The Gift can be used as long as the user knows the subject’s location, though extreme distances (such as cross-continent) add 1 to the Difficulty. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: One scene
Ahroun Gifts Claw Gifts
Some Gifts change or provide benefits to the Garou’s claws. Only one claw Gift can be active for a Garou at any one time, and using another claw Gift before the previous lapses replaces the effect. Renown 1HALT THE COWARD’S FLIGHT The Garou is able to slow a fleeing target by making their legs buckle, footing soften, and tires slip. A bog-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Resolve + Honor vs Composure + Survival
System: The Garou emits a fearsome howl directed at a visible target fleeing from them or a member of their pack and still within 50 meters. A victim of this Gift has their movement speed reduced to walking pace as long as they try to escape the user. Airborne targets are pulled toward the ground. The Gift succeeds automatically on mundane people, vehicles, and animals. Supernatural victims, such as a vampire or another werewolf, must be bested in a Resolve + Honor vs Composure + Survival test. (At the Storyteller’s discretion, extremely motivated or otherwise prepared humans can resist in a similar manner.)
Duration: One scene
RAPID SHIFT The werewolf is able to shapeshift in the blink of an eye. Doing so comes at a risk, though, as Garou can sustain serious bodily damage if this attempt fails. Any Gaian spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: Free (Shift cost still applies)
Action: Free
Pool: Dexterity + Glory
System: The user shapeshifts, and the player makes a Gift test against the Difficulty of the form: 1 for homid and lupus, 2 for glabro and hispo, and 3 for crinos. On a win, the minor action penalty for the shift is disregarded. If the test fails, the user takes Superficial damage equal to the margin of failure, though the shift dice penalty is still voided. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: —
RAZOR CLAWS The Garou’s natural claws grow supernaturally sharp and vicious, enabling them to deal even greater damage to their enemies. The spirit of a predatory animal grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: Free / 1 Rage Check
Action: Free / minor
Pool: —
System: This Gift is free and instantaneous while in crinos form. Add half the Garou’s Glory (round up) to the damage of their claw attacks. If their current form doesn’t have claws, it gains a claw attack with half Glory damage as the fingernails elongate and harden.
Duration: One scene
SENSE DANGER The Garou becomes supernaturally alert to danger and is able to respond to sudden threats, such as ambush, with uncanny speed. The spirit of a prey animal grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: —
Action: Free
Pool: —
System: The Garou’s player adds the user’s Wisdom to any attempt to detect traps, ambushes, or surprise attacks. Add these dice only when failing would result in immediate danger to the Gift user, not when actively searching an area. This Gift can be used in any form.
Duration: —
Total Renown 5 PRIMAL ANGER Used as a last-ditch resort, this Gift allows the Garou to fuel their Rage with the substance of their own body, consuming flesh, blood, and bone as fuel for their supernatural fury. A legendary wolf-spirit grants this gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: —
Action: Minor
Pool: —
System: Activating this Gift inflicts a single level of Aggravated damage, which feels to the victim like an existential burning. In exchange, the Garou gains Rage equal to the number of successes on a straight Glory test. This Gift can be used only once per session.
Duration: —
SNARL OF CHALLENGE The Garou issues a challenge to all their foes, steeling themselves for opponents’ attacks. A bear-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Minor
Pool: Charisma + Honor vs Composure + Insight
System: The Garou’s player makes a Gift test against all enemies within earshot and line of sight. Make only one roll for the Garou, whereas each enemy resists with their Composure + Insight. Subjects who fail to resist suffer a two-dice penalty to attack anyone other than a user of this Gift. The user gains additional Health levels equal to their Honor if at least one enemy succumbs to the effects. These Health levels absorb one point of Superficial damage each but do not protect against Aggravated damage.
Duration: One scene
TRUE FEAR The werewolf strikes terror into one foe by baring teeth or claws, howling, or simply looming ominously over them and growling. Spirits of fear teach this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Full
Pool: Charisma + Glory vs Composure + Resolve
System: This Gift can be used on a single target within five meters and succeeds automatically against mundane people and animals, whereas supernatural creatures and humans aware of the Garou and their powers must be bested in a Charisma + Glory vs Composure + Resolve test. A subject affected by this Gift is either frozen with fear or struck with such terror that they do anything to escape the presence of the werewolf. Supernatural creatures can shake off the effect after one turn by spending a point of Willpower.
Duration: One scene
WIND CLAWS The Garou’s claws become momentarily incorporeal, enabling them to ignore all forms of armor worn by any target. A wind-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Wisdom
Cost: Free / 1 Willpower
Action: Free / minor
Pool: Wits + Wisdom
System: This Gift is free and instantaneous while in crinos form. Attacks from the Garou’s claws ignore mundane armor or damage reduction by an amount equal to the user’s Wisdom. Supernatural armor is ignored at the Storyteller’s discretion and might require a Wits + Wisdom test at suitable Difficulty to ignore. This test should be performed only once, and the result applies for the rest of the scene.
Duration: One scene
Total Renown 8 CLOSING THE GAP Either through the aid of spirits or by skillfully skirting the Umbra, the user immediately crosses a distance to bring the fight to their foes. A grasshopper- or mantis-spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Minor
Pool: None
System: The Garou instantly moves to within melee range of an enemy within line of sight, crossing an intervening distance of up to three meters per point of Glory while being able to perform an attack during the same turn. (Note that it must still be possible for the user to physically traverse the distance — no moving through cliff faces or imprisoning bars.) The user counts as being already engaged at the beginning of the turn for the purpose of combat priority.
Duration: One turn
KISS OF HELIOS Calling upon the sun-spirit Helios, the werewolf is infused with a supernatural heat and becomes almost immune to fire and other heat-based damage. A sun ray– spirit grants this Gift.
Renown: Glory
Cost: 1 Rage Check
Action: Minor
Pool: —
System: The werewolf takes no damage from fire and other similar heat sources for the duration of this Gift, and reduces damage from stronger sources by an amount of their Glory per turn. In addition, anyone striking the user with their bare flesh sustains Superficial damage equal to the user’s Glory, as the attacker is seared by the smoldering skin of the werewolf.
Duration: One scene
LUNA’S ARMOR Clad in a silvery mist, the werewolf gains protection against harm caused by fire and silver. A Lune grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Minor
Pool: None
System: Whenever the werewolf sustains (normally Aggravated) damage from fire or silver, an amount equal to their Honor is turned to Superficial damage instead (though it is not subsequently halved).
Duration: One scene
SILVER CLAWS In an agonizing transformation, the Garou’s natural claws turn into silver, enabling them to deal lasting damage to other Garou. A spite-spirit or elemental spirit of silver grants this Gift.
Renown: Honor
Cost: Free / 1 Willpower
Action: Free / minor
Pool: —
System: This Gift is free and instantaneous while in crinos form. The Garou’s claw attacks deal Aggravated damage to other Garou. If their current form doesn’t have claws, it also gains a +0 damage claw attack as the fingernails elongate, harden, and gain a silver coating. The silver claws cause a point of Aggravated damage per turn, per the normal silver rules, and the user must make a Resolve + Honor test at Difficulty 3 each turn to maintain this Gift, as the silver-induced agony can become unbearable.
Duration: One scene