Werewolf: The Apocalypse uses mechanical game rules to provide a reliable framework to the world. Neither the Storyteller nor the players want the Storyteller to make up everything as they go along, after all, or to feel forced into a prefabricated plot. Games require interactivity, and the rules help determine the outcomes of players’ choices.

　The most basic of these rules, and thus the fastest and cleanest to use in play, appear here. They are the core of the Storyteller System. Expanded rules that provide systems for less frequent (but still dramatic!) situations can be found at worldofdarkness.com/account, available for free.

　You can run the whole game using nothing but these rules, the character rules, and the rules for Garou and their unique characteristics.

　But here beats the heart of the matter, from rolling dice to shredding flesh to telling time.

Time

　Time passes in the World of Darkness just as it does in our normal world, even if more of it seems to happen at night. That’s because you don’t need to play out every minute, or even every day, of the time that passes in your chronicle. One game session might last four hours of real time but cover two weeks of stalking suspected Black Spiral Dancers and snooping through supply sites or one chase across the tundra and subsequent combat — and it’s all a matter of troupe style and story development.

　Werewolf uses five basic units to describe game time:

Turn: The amount of time needed to take a fairly simple action, such as clawing the lungs out of a fomor, searching a backpack, or attempting to kick down a door. Turns are abstract; they take as long as the action takes. Turns generally get shorter during action scenes and longer in social scenes. It takes longer to buy someone a drink than to snap one’s fangs — in some bars, a lot longer.

Scene: Generally, a compact series of actions and interactions that take place in a single location or among a single set of characters. Raiding the motorcycle club’s compound might constitute a scene, as might a strange conversation between a pack and a spirit trapped in the Umbral shadow of a landfill. You know how scenes work from plays, movies, television. A scene contains as many turns as pacing requires; a scene containing pure dialogue or interaction might have no turns per se in it at all.

Session: One game session, sometimes called a chapter. Werewolf doesn’t rely on this division of time as much as some games do, but it can provide regularity and balance to some rules’ effects. It also has the advantage of being unambiguous: It’s always pretty clear when you’ve stopped playing for the night.

Story: A full narrative arc, complete with introduction, rising action, and climax. Some stories can take several sessions to complete; others can be finished in one. Some short stories are effectively vignettes that are nothing more than a single scene. It might help to think of this term as similar to a “season” of a television show.

Chronicle: A series of stories connected by the characters themselves and their ongoing narrative. Some chronicles possess a unifying theme or specific antagonists. Others are a picaresque series of “one damned thing after another.” Most chronicles maintain a common tone, be it brutal action, thrilling suspense, gangland espionage, operatic tragedy, or spirit-world exploration. Individual stories or chapters can shift tone within the greater context of the chronicle for variety’s sake or to underline changes in the setting. For example, scenes occurring within the Umbra might have a sense of weirdness and “otherwhere,” whereas smuggling a potential Werewolf out of the hospital before her First Change probably juxtaposes the familiarity of a hospital setting with the urgency of the Apocalypse.

战斗中的取半和自动获胜

　《狼人》与其它《黑暗世界》游戏不同，它鼓励叙事人让玩家在战斗中——尤其是在与可能会被迦鲁完胜的对手的战斗中——取半或自动获胜。骰子能创造出统计上不可能出现的结果——当狼群在大本营面对一个雇佣兵时，让他们把他打得落花流水。狼人的奇幻之一就是直接消灭“较弱”的敌人，尤其是在他们孤军奋战的时候，他们可以在叙事中尽可能多地表现这一点。

　一般来讲，在以下情况时掷骰处理战斗：

• 对手实力雄厚，遭遇战有被击败的风险，例如面对超自然对手或训练有素的狼人猎手时

• 时间至关重要，有个对手可以拖慢玩家角色的速度，以便其他人可以逃脱，或等待直升机到达等。

• 战斗的状况或环境很奇怪或危险，例如在影界或在大桶腐蚀性酸液上方的脚手架上

• 显著的成或败，或风险或魂怒，都会带来有趣后果

　在下列情况中让玩家于战斗中自动获胜：

• 对手显然不是狼群——甚至不是单个迦鲁——的对手——被一个前台文员打得屁滚尿流通常不是玩家想要的结果

• 在统计上不太可能，但一组糟糕的掷骰会导致狼群消耗资源，从而影响场景后期的戏剧效果

游戏中的爆骰

　叙事人应习惯于在游戏中出现爆骰成功。骰池越大，它就越常见：10骰池掷出它的几率略高于25%。当然，10骰池代表的是个绝对完美的人——或是个已足够谨慎地计算了可能性的人（或是已汲取了足够超自然力量的人...）。

　在给玩家骰池添加额外骰子时，要注意这种计算方法——若爆骰看起来可能会破坏悬念或损害叙事，只需降低难度即可。从数学上讲，将难度-1多少相当于在角色池中+2骰。

　不过话虽如此，我们的建议还是向爆骰靠拢。它们能让玩家展示自己的角色，即使被对手击中，也能产生快速、戏剧性的效果——我们认为，这非常适合讲述狼人在末日年代呼唤炽热魂怒进行反击的故事。

检定

　检定与测试不同，使用单个骰子。玩家通过掷1骰来做检定，尝试达到6+的目标数字。

　《狼人》主要使用检定来确定各种魂怒表达（请看第133页），其中迦鲁的魂怒可能会通过各种力量和效果表现出来而暂时耗尽。

　玩家不能用意志点来重掷角色的检定。自动获胜和取半永不可用于检定。

谁先出击？

　这个问题主要出现在肉搏战中——在辩论中，说最后一句话可能比先提出指控更有价值。

　除非一方出其不意（通常是由于之前的测试成功，也可能是战术得当或潜行设伏），否则角色会按行动顺序依次行动：

• 已交战双方之间的近身战斗，然后是

• 远程战斗，然后是

• 新发起的近身战，然后是

• 其它任何可能发生的情况

• 必要时，通过比较（敏捷+机敏）来打破平局；如果平局，则通过所使用技能的点数来打破。

范例：

　在上述冲突中，莉娅与她的攻击者同时战斗，因为他们都在近身战斗。特蕾西先于她的攻击者解决，因为远程攻击先于新发起的近身战斗。至于特蕾西是否先于莉娅并不重要。法比安何时行动也不重要，因为没人与他互动。


三振出局

　我们强烈建议在约3回合后结束冲突——除非大家仍玩得很开心。太多掷骰会减缓戏剧性，而且越来越难进行有创意的描述。《黑暗世界》游戏不像某些角色扮演游戏那样注重战争游戏的根源。这款游戏和同类产品都有意牺牲了一些战术细节，转而追求更“厚重”、明确的结果。

　即便是通常被认为是《黑暗世界》中最注重战斗的《狼人》，其暴力也是主题和叙事性的，是为迦鲁的魂怒重担服务的。一个完全疯狂的化狼形狼人不可能是一个战术大师。那种野蛮人只是想杀戮。

　当然，若叙事人和玩家想要体验那种战斗到最后一个健康格的老派感觉，那么，当然欢迎他们这么做。但对于我们其他人来说，这里有几种方法可以在3回合后双方都还站着的情况下决定谁赢了。

• 如上所述，叙事人可让玩家角色使用自动获胜来对付任何“杂兵”敌人——尤其是当他们处于化狼形态时，但前提是月狂（请看第142页）还没有让他们变成无关紧要的东西。

• 若玩家愿意，允许他们中断冲突。叙事人可通过基本竞技（例如，（力量或敏捷+运动）以逃离战斗，或（沉着+礼仪）以转移话题）来达到这一目的，他们的敌人也可直接让他们离开。这里的掷骰是为了暗示背景并提示叙事细节，以描述战斗的结束。

• 若角色的敌人遭受了更多损失——甚至是意想不到的伤害——那么叙事人能如上所述，直接决定让他们脱离冲突。不是谁都想和一帮尖牙利爪的死亡飓风血战到底。

• 只需将胜利判给赢得竞技最多的一方或受到恶性伤害点数最少的一方即可。叙事人会根据之前竞技的结果叙述冲突的结局。理想情况下，若玩家角色输了，他们有机会逃跑或至少体面地投降。

• 改变状况。也许会有新的第三方势力进入场景，比如猎杀怪物的突击队。也许冲突地点只是从小巷转移到附近的仓库，或从山顶转移到山下的河谷。这种变化应为双方提供新选择。

• 使用单次掷骰来决定冲突结果，然后在结果中加入叙述细节（请看第116页的“掷骰”）。

众生之道

　超自然生物有许多特殊情况。并非所有生物都会像人类一样受恶性伤害（例如吸血鬼），某些类型的生物会受到传说中自己族类的诅咒的恶性伤害（例如火和阳光之于吸血鬼，银之于狼人）。有些生物具有超自然潜能，但仍是肉体凡胎，例如术士和巫师，也许还有换生灵。其它如精魂的存在，可能不会像有肉身的人那样受到同样伤害。在本游戏中，每当武器说明浅表或恶性物理伤害时，都是相对于狼人和其它具有强化抗性（请看第243页）的生物而言。我们相信你能搞清楚什么对世俗人类算恶性伤害（一个好的经验法则是“拳头以外的几乎所有东西”。人类是脆弱的生物）。

　敌人的描述通常包括针对各种超自然生物的特殊规则，从他们认为的浅表或恶性伤害，到快速恢复的方法。详见敌人一章。

火焰与烧伤

　火对狼人来说是一种可怕威胁；与银相比，它常常被忽视（请看第134页），被认为是迦鲁的天敌。迦鲁可能会以各种方式遇到危险的火——无论是在开发工地上横冲直撞时点燃的化学火，还是在月会上狂乱的尚武者将挑战者扔进篝火中。

　火焰会对角色造成恶性健康伤害，具体伤害程度取决于角色身体暴露的程度，由叙事人决定。将手伸进明火中可能会造成1点伤害，而被咆哮的地狱之火吞噬则会造成每回合3+的伤害。

　莫洛托夫燃烧瓶和火焰喷射器等特定武器的火焰效果请看第196页。

Using Dice

　Story — not rules — governs a Werewolf chronicle. Proper pacing can build a narrative to thrilling heights of tension, and slack pacing can kill even the deadliest horror. For this reason, Storytellers can change the mode of the game to suit their sense of pacing. Many scenes play just as well — and much faster — without rolling dice at all, as players and Storyteller riff on one another’s contribution, dialogue, and actions.

　As a rule of thumb, roll dice:

• When an action’s outcome is uncertain

• When the degree of success or failure matters

• When a Garou’s Rage might have an effect on an outcome

• When failure could yield an interesting complication

　There’s no need to roll the dice to “run fast,” but when the characters need to run fast and jump a gap between rooftops in a cityscape, that’s the perfect time to consult the Fates.

　Don’t think that you need to roll them throughout an entire scene, either. You can roll them once and then play the scene toward the outcome you pre-determined with the dice at the beginning. (“Okay, looks like you got spotted by the trench coat guy. How did that happen?”) This practice works especially well for dialogue scenes — roll at the beginning to see who wins the debate or whether the suspicious security guard will be persuaded, then both players and Storyteller can shape their narrative toward the known result. Even combat scenes can work this way, should the players and Storyteller prefer it.

　In short, you can play any scene with lots of dice rolls, with one roll at the beginning or the end, or with no dice at all. Use the dice to help the story, not to dictate it. 



Simple Tests

　Most of the things characters do during a game happen without any rules governing them. Characters start cars, scrutinize strangers, search via Google, load weapons, cross streets, read books, and do a thousand other things as easily as anyone in the real world.

　Even a commonplace activity, however, might require a dice roll if performed under stress, in a hurry, or amid obstacles. And activities that invite stress, haste, and obstacles require dice rolls more often than not.

　To begin, tell the Storyteller what your character wants to do. The Storyteller may just tell you that you succeed automatically: Sometimes skipping a roll just speeds up play, especially for an easy or average feat or for something your character really excels at (see “Automatic Wins” on p. 120).

　But let’s say that the outcome is in question, such as when you want to do something harder than usual — scaling a sheer cliff, reading a language in which you’re not fluent, or picking the lock on a door. These activities call for simple tests.

　To determine how successful or unsuccessful such an action is, you make a simple test. Simple tests go like this:

• Describe what your character is trying to achieve and how

• The Storyteller tells you which of your character’s Traits to use to assemble a dice pool

• The Storyteller sets a Difficulty; this number may be kept secret, depending on circumstances and play style

• Unless you are allowed to Take Half or the test is an automatic win (see p. 119), you roll the dice pool and count your successes. Every die that shows 6 or higher is a success. (A 0 on the die means a result of 10: a success.)

• If the number of successes you get equals or exceeds the Difficulty, you win the test and your character accomplishes that action

EXAMPLE:

　Pam’s character has been going through the box of medical records her pack “found” at the clinic to see if they hold any information on workers from a mysterious startup. The Storyteller decides this requires a simple Resolve + Investigation test with a Difficulty of 2: straightforward. Pam’s character has 3 dots in Resolve and 3 dots in Investigation, so she rolls 6 dice and gets three successes, which is more than enough for a win. The Storyteller gives Pam the info her character sought: Two individuals employed by the startup have been treated for an illness that has been redacted in the records.  




Dice Pools

　A dice pool is a number of dice used to determine an action’s margin of success or failure. It is determined by one or more Traits.

　The Storyteller tells you which combination of Traits creates your dice pool, the number of 10-sided dice you roll, for any action. Traits usually have ratings between 0 and 5, so pools generally range from one die (the minimum pool size, if you can roll at all) to 10 dice or more.

　In general, actions use a Skill pool (Attribute + Skill), but a few use only Attributes to build the pool. For example, two Attributes can combine to make a pool such as Resolve + Composure to resist many supernatural effects. A character who lacks a Skill rolls only the pool’s Attribute, with no additional penalties.

　In very specific cases, Traits other than Attributes or Skills form the basis of a dice pool (such as Renown for Gift pools).

　Once you’ve determined your dice pool and the Storyteller is ready to interpret the results of your action, take a number of 10-sided dice (d10s) equal to the pool value and roll them.

EXAMPLE:

　Tomas’ character wants to convince a gas station attendant that there’s no way they just saw a werewolf vanish into the darkness, because there’s no such thing as a werewolf. He has three dots of Manipulation and two dots of Persuasion, and thus possesses a pool of five dice.

　Especially when dealing with social actions, such as seduction or diplomacy, don’t force the dice into the path of the roleplaying. If a player’s character says something particularly inspired (or painfully wrong), opens with a truly tempting (or utterly insulting) gambit, or offers a cunning (or transparently false) explanation, the Storyteller should feel free to modify the Difficulty or even let the character succeed (or fail) without involving dice and Traits.

　The Storyteller should perhaps warn a character with a high Trait away from a disastrous approach — “Given your knowledge of Medicine, you’re pretty sure that reaching into the container of medical waste would be very risky.” But even a one-dot Skill can shine if the player applies the right polish.


Special Cases

Rage Dice: In most cases, werewolves substitute Rage dice for standard dice in their pools to affect the result. See p. 133 for more details.

Specialties: Characters may possess greater aptitude or expertise in one particular aspect of a Trait. If a character attempts an action that falls within one or more of their Specialties for the Trait used, they gain one extra die for their dice pool. For more on Specialties, see p. 89.

Trackers and Pools: Certain Attributes relate directly to three special pools called trackers:

• Health equals Stamina + 3.

• Willpower equals Composure + Resolve.

　Tracker pools go up and down as characters spend from them or take damage to them. Tracker pools cannot exceed their starting value, as determined by their component Traits.

　If the Storyteller calls for a roll using a tracker, the dice pool equals the current pool of that Trait, not the tracker’s full rating. No dice pool can fall below 1 (see “Modifiers,” below), so a roll for an empty pool still has one die.

EXAMPLE:

　Stefan has a Willpower of 6 but has spent 2 points this session, so his player would roll four dice, not six, for a Willpower roll.



Difficulties and Target Numbers

　The Storyteller determines the Difficulty of the action a player wishes to attempt, expressed in terms of how many successes they need to “win” that attempt — that is, to accomplish that action. See the table below for some examples of actions and the Difficulty to accomplish them. The Difficulty is the number of successful dice required to accomplish a task. The target number for individual dice rolled is always 6 or higher.

EXAMPLE:

　Terrence has a dice pool of five, and the Storyteller has determined that the Difficulty is two. Terrence will need two of his five dice to show a 6 or higher on the roll.

　Remember that the duration to perform an action may vary, so the roll itself may represent a few seconds, an entire scene, or even longer. It takes longer to walk a tightrope than to fire a gun.

　Note, too, that sometimes a given action is literally impossible. For example, attempting to log in to a detective’s email account without a computer isn’t going to happen, and you probably can’t pick a lock without a set of lockpicks. Usually common sense applies here, but the Storyteller is, of course, the ultimate arbiter of such.

Difficulty of Action	Number of Successes
Routine (striking a stationary target, convincing a loyal friend to help you)	1 success
Straightforward (aggravating someone who’s already spoiling for a fight, intimidating a weakling)	2 successes
Moderate (leaping a gap between two rooftops, persuading an indifferent bus driver to hold the bus)	3 successes
Challenging (locating the source of a whisper, creating a memorable piece of art)	4 successes
Hard (convincing a cop that this isn’t your cocaine, placating a hostile spirit)	5 successes
Very Hard (running across a narrow ledge while under fire, calming a hostile and violent mob)	6 successes
Nearly Impossible (finding one specific homeless person in Los Angeles in one night, flawlessly reciting a long text in a language you don’t speak)	7 or more successes

Modifiers

　The Storyteller might decide to add or subtract a modifier to any dice pool. Werewolf has two basic types of modifiers:

• Change the size of the dice pool: This modifier reflects a change or circumstance for the character: They are drugged, they use a Specialty, they appear terrifying, etc.

• Alter the Difficulty: This modifier generally reflects an external change or circumstance for the action: rainy weather, badly maintained or superior equipment, performed under gunfire, at a loud concert, etc.

　In general, shifting the dice pool up or down by two dice has roughly the same statistical effect as decreasing or increasing the Difficulty by 1.

　Storytellers should use common sense when stacking modifiers. Unless extreme circumstances apply (in which case, consider whether the roll is necessary), cap modifiers at plus or minus 2 to the Difficulty, or at three dice added or removed from the character’s pool. This guideline applies to ad hoc Storyteller modifiers, not to modifiers from Specialties or other specific rules.

　Penalties can never cause a pool to drop below one die.



Taking Half

　Storytellers may let players “take half” instead of making a roll. To take half, count the number of dice in the pool, divide it in half, rounding down, and treat that as the number of successes attained. Similarly, Storytellers should whenever possible use this method when determining successes for storyteller characters, to save time and avoid the inevitable one-in-a-million statistical outlier (unless desired).

　Knowing when to use this technique is part of the Storyteller’s craft. Taking half saves time and reduces rolls, and therefore uncertainty, and also circumvents Rage dice complications (see p. 133). To keep things interesting, Storytellers can keep the exact Difficulties of tests secret, though descriptive hints such as “this seems really beneath you” or “you’re not sure you can crack this without serious effort” are all fine.


EXAMPLE:

　Marcin’s character is hiding from a PMC security detail, and Marcin attains three successes on his Stealth roll for the character to evade notice. The Storyteller sees that the soldiers have an Awareness pool of four and takes half to keep the scene flowing. Taking half of the pool of four means the soldiers count as having two successes on that Awareness roll, so with his three Stealth successes, Marcin’s character remains unnoticed… for now.

AUTOMATIC WINS

　If a character’s dice pool is twice the task’s Difficulty, the Storyteller may similarly opt to rule that the character wins automatically without a dice roll, even if the player doesn’t opt to take half. Automatic wins streamline play and reduce distracting rules interludes.

　Apply automatic wins as much as possible, especially for tests wherein character failure creates no interesting outcome: information-gathering tests, conversation-openers, or gambits that open up the scene or let it move forward dramatically. Automatic wins are especially valuable to Storytellers, as they allow the Storyteller to determine where chance should play a factor and where certain outcomes are good enough to move the story forward.


 



Dice Pool Results

　When you roll a dice pool, every individual die result of 6 or higher is a success, including a result of 10 (represented as 0 on most d10s).

　If you roll a number of successes equal to or exceeding the Difficulty number, that’s a win.

　Garou can also achieve states of almost inconceivable violence. See p. 133 for more information on Rage dice and their outcomes.


Criticals

　A result of 10 on two regular dice (0, 0) is a critical success. A critical success counts as two additional successes above the two 10s — so that’s four total successes. This rule represents the character performing exceptionally well. A winning roll including at least one critical success is called a critical win, or sometimes just a critical. Be sure to acknowledge the critical win narratively, as the character performs their task quickly, stylishly, or with ruthless finality!

　Each pair of 10s counts as its own critical success, so three 10s (0, 0, 0) would add up to five successes, whereas four 10s (0, 0, 0, 0) would count as eight.

　In some tests, a critical win yields additional effects apart from the one stated above, and the Storyteller can even award complete wins regardless of Difficulty when a situation warrants it.





Margin

　The number of successes exceeding the Difficulty of the roll is called the margin. If the Difficulty was 4 and you rolled seven successes, your margin is three. Damage, many Gift or Rite effects, and some other rules use margin to calculate the degree of effect.

　Even outside those circumstances, the Storyteller should narrate a degree of success depending on the size of the margin rolled: the larger the margin, the greater the success. For example, if a roll to persuade results in no margin, a player’s Garou convinces adequately but unremarkably, but the three-success margin above would, on a roll to persuade, convince the subject quickly, zealously, or might even yield unexpected information.


Total Failure

　If your roll includes no successes at all, your character has totally failed. Total failure sometimes means only that your character didn’t achieve the desired result. At other times it means dire consequences occur. The Storyteller defines what total failure means according to each situation and circumstance, and decides whether you can try again after a total failure.

　Remember, too, that in a narrative sense, failure is a consequence of trying something. Even though an attempt to do something has failed, that failure can create interesting outcomes, and prompt subsequent choices. Once you fail to talk your way out of an arrest, what happens next is probably pretty memorable. And when you fail to outrun the pack of Black Spiral Dancers on your heels, it’s time for Plan B. Ideally, you have a Plan B.

EXAMPLE:

　Rosa rolls no successes when courting a capricious river-spirit. The spirit not only ignores her, but flits away offended, coursing around her as flowing water would around a stone as it departs. 



Permutations

　The following systems allow for variations on the core resolution systems. Storytellers are encouraged to employ them as opportunities to build nuance and purpose into the outcomes of dice rolls, and also to build a sense of common purpose among the players’ packmates.


Teamwork

　By the nature of what they do, Garou are disposed toward helping members of their pack. If two or more characters can effectively work together on a task, such as chasing down prey or breaking into the supply depot, roll the largest pool among the participants, adding one additional die for each character assisting who has at least one dot in the Skill involved. If no Skill is involved, anyone can assist.


Win at a Cost

　If your roll includes any successes, but still fails, the Storyteller may offer you a win at a cost. In such a win, you achieve your goal, but something happens to make things worse for you anyway: You take damage, attract unfriendly (and powerful) notice, lose something you value, etc. You or any other player can suggest the cost, but the Storyteller is the final arbiter. Generally, winning at a cost should scale with the number of missing successes. If it’s too high, you can always opt to fail instead.

EXAMPLE:

　The pack is chasing a group of insurgent survivalists, fleeing in an SUV, whom the werewolves think are connected to the Cult of Fenris. One of the players’ Garou attempts to leap onto the SUV in crinos form but doesn’t quite accomplish a win, so the Storyteller instead offers that character’s player the option to hang on but lose the keys to the survivalists’ bunker. The player can decline, but that would mean the insurgents might escape. Quite a quandary!


Try, Try Again

　If a character fails an action, they can usually try again, unless some circumstance actively prevents them. After all, failing to pick a lock doesn’t mean the character can never insert a lockpick into that door again. To justify such an attempt, the situation must merit it — the character obtains a better set of lockpicks, for example, or their skill has improved, or time simply isn’t an issue and they can make another attempt.

　Characters can repeat most actions in combat, chases, or other conflicts. Conflict is inherently stressful, and failure often carries its own cost in such circumstances.


Spending Willpower

　Characters may spend 1 point of Willpower to re-roll up to three dice on any one Skill or Attribute roll, including a roll involving Gifts or other special advantages. Characters may not spend Willpower to re-roll Brutal outcomes on Rage dice (see p. 133), or on a tracker roll such as Willpower, or on a check die (see below). A spent point of Willpower counts as having sustained a level of Superficial damage to Willpower (see p. 127) and is marked as such.

　For more on Willpower, see p. 88.


 



Describing Roll Results

　After a test is resolved, describe what happens in vivid detail, according to the circumstances. This description narrates what has happened — for better or worse. Let your words be guided by the result of the dice, the mood you’re going for, the personality of the character acting, and the specific circumstances of the situation. The player and the Storyteller are encouraged to help out each other in descriptions, but ultimately the Storyteller is the final arbiter of what the result of any given test or check is.



Contests

　Storytellers use contests to model direct opposition: e.g., negotiating with a truculent customs importer, sneaking past a guard dog trying to sniff out your location, or seducing an investigative reporter.

　In a contest, the acting character and their opponent each determine their dice pool. This process does not have to use the same pool; the Storyteller might tell the sneaking character to use Dexterity + Stealth but roll Wits + Awareness for the guard dog.

　Basic contests go this way:

• Describe what you want your character to do and how

• The Storyteller decides someone opposes your effort and tells you which of your character’s Traits to use to assemble a dice pool

• The Storyteller chooses which of the opponent’s Traits to use to assemble a dice pool

• Each contestant rolls their dice pool and counts their successes

• If the acting character rolled equal to or more than the number of successes rolled by the opposing character, the test is a win

　Players’ characters can definitely engage in contests against each other! The Storyteller still determines which character assembles which dice pool, however. 



Conflicts

　Situations involving basic contests that result in damage — physical or mental — are called conflicts. The basic conflict rules value simplicity and speed of play, and they apply to any hostile interaction, from shotgunning one’s way across a haunted moor to a disagreement with an embittered Silent Strider around the moot-fires. Storytellers and players should invest these basic conflicts with as much narrative detail as they like, clothing the bare dice results in rich narrative context and detail.

　For more advanced conflict systems, a set of free rules additions can be found at the worldofdarkness.com website.


The Conflict Turn

　Conflict happens in a flurry of blows, physical or rhetorical. When each participant in the conflict has acted once (or declined to act), that defines a turn. Turns take as much time as the narrative indicates they should. A single mighty slash with a storied klaive might happen in less than a second and end a fight, whereas a point-counterpoint debate against a fellow theurge on the finer details of Luna’s favor and spirits may take an hour or more. Thus, one roll does not necessarily represent one swing of a baseball bat, unless the Storyteller says it does.


　At the start of every turn of the conflict, each player declares their intent: what they want to achieve. It can be anything, whether trying to dive-tackle the Pentex account executive over the edge of the rooftop helipad, confounding a predatory spirit so the rest of the pack can escape with the would-be possession victim, or simply taking cover.

EXAMPLE:

　Fabian, Tracy, and Leah have been ambushed in the bowels of a medical research facility, and they are now fighting for their lives. Going left to right across the table, the Storyteller asks their players to describe the characters’ intended actions. Fabian wants to dive for cover, Tracy plans to activate a Gift, and Leah seeks to gut the pain-maddened fomor bearing down on her.

　Once all players have decided on their course of action, the Storyteller makes the same decisions for the antagonists (and any Storyteller character allies) and then tells the troupe which dice pools to build. The players then roll to attempt it.

EXAMPLE:

　No one attacks Fabian, Tracy is surprised by a spirit, and the fomor continues coming after Leah.


Conflict Pools

　The dice pool each participant uses in a conflict turn is called their conflict pool. In a fight, the conflict pool might be Strength + Brawl or Composure + Firearms; in a debate, it might be Charisma + Persuasion or Manipulation + Etiquette. Characters might change pools during a conflict — if, for example, they pick up a tire iron or change debate tactics from flattery to bullying.

EXAMPLE:

　Jennifer rolls for her character to shoot at enemy, using Composure + Firearms against the foe’s Dexterity + Athletics, while Malik engages in a Strength + Brawl vs Dexterity + Melee contest with a machete-wielding killer.

　The attacker and defender roll their pools simultaneously in a basic conflict. As with other basic contests, the side that scores the most successes wins that turn of the conflict. The winner subtracts the loser’s successes from their total and applies the remainder as damage to one of the loser’s trackers: Willpower or Health (see Damage, p. 127).

　If the conflict is one-sided, such as when the defender is trying to avoid getting shot, only the attacker can inflict damage. If both participants are able to cause harm to their opponent, the conflict is two-sided, with both sides counting as attackers. In this case, the actions of both parties are merged into a single conflict roll. A tie results in each party inflicting damage on the other with a win margin of one.

RANGED WEAPONS

　Ranged combat is resolved as a contest — usually vs the defender’s Dexterity + Athletics. In cases where two combatants are attacking each other at range, you can resolve it as a two-sided Firearms conflict as above. Standard ranged attacks assume that the subject has access to limited cover, such as a car or the corner of a building. A character with no available cover subtracts 2 from their defense pool, whereas superior cover (sandbags, concrete fortifications, and similar bullet-proof obstacles) merits a bonus of 1–2.



DODGING

　When engaged in a Brawl or Melee conflict, the defender can always opt to use their Dexterity + Athletics instead of a combat Skill to defend. If they do, they inflict no damage on the opponent, no matter the margin, if they win. Sometimes it’s best not to aggravate the rival Garou any further.

MULTIPLE OPPONENTS

　In a conflict during which teaming up makes sense, a character facing multiple opponents loses one die from their pool when they defend against each successive opponent that targets them. This applies only to situations wherein the character strictly evade additional attacks.

　To attack and deal damage to multiple foes, a character must instead split their dice pool, dividing it among those they wish to attack. Any opponents not attacked are defended against as normal: full pool minus a die for each previous opponent.

EXAMPLE:

　Tony’s character is fighting three roughnecks on an oil rig. With Strength 3 and Brawl 4, his character’s conflict pool is seven against the first guard’s attack, six dice against the second guard, and only five dice against the third. He will be able to deal damage only to the first opponent.

　If he wants to deal damage to two of the rig workers during the turn, he must split his seven dice into two pools: four dice and three dice, for example. He would then defend against the third roughneck with five dice — his full pool, minus one for each previous opponent — but will deal no damage to that one.


 




Damage

　When injury occurs, the Storyteller decides which tracker the conflict damages. In a physical conflict, it is normally Health; a social, psychic, or other “sense of self” conflict normally damages Willpower.

　The winner of each contest applies their success margin to the loser’s relevant tracker as damage. A character using ranged weapons likewise has their margin applied from their attack test.

　Sometimes, circumstances mandate extra damage after the contest:

• If the winner used a weapon, add the relevant weapon’s damage rating to the total damage or apply other conditions of the weapon (see p. 195)

• In a social conflict, add damage, depending on the audience. The Storyteller may also add damage if the loser particularly values the audience’s opinion.

EXAMPLE:

　After Clara fires her shotgun at a police officer, Clara’s player achieves a margin of two successes. In adding the shotgun’s weapon rating of +4, the officer suffers 6 points of damage.


Types of Damage

　In the Storyteller System, damage comes in two types:

• Superficial damage causes bruising, sprains, and the like but not immediate life-threatening injury. Fists, kicks, and nonlethal weapons, such as tasers, do Superficial damage to humans. Superficial damage in social conflict means embarrassment, a bruised ego, or shaken confidence and has no lasting effect on the target’s image of others or themselves. Unless otherwise noted, Superficial damage is always halved (round up) before applied to the Health tracker.

• Aggravated damage causes broken bones, wounds, and life-threatening injuries. Cutting and piercing weapons do Aggravated damage to humans, as do fire and firearms. Attacks that reveal secret knowledge about the target or attacks from close friends and trusted figures do Aggravated damage to Willpower. If you’re tired of being all banged up, there are certain ways to recover, of course. For more information, see “Healing” on p. 128.

　Werewolves are especially durable, but they still suffer damage of these same types as other creatures. For more information on Garou recovery, see “Regeneration” on p. 134.




Tracking Damage

　Characters apply their damage to the relevant track: Health or Willpower.

　Unless otherwise stated, divide Superficial damage in half (rounded up) before applying it to the tracker. Mark each level of Superficial damage on the character sheet by making a “/” on one box on the track.

　Mark Aggravated damage on the character sheet by making an “X” on the tracker.

　Certain systems have the same effect as damage, indicating the depletion of personal wellbeing. When a point is voluntarily spent from a tracker, such as when using Willpower to reroll dice, mark it as Superficial damage, a “/”; if all points are already Superficially damaged, turn one into Aggravated damage instead, per the Impairment rules (see below). Superficial damage sustained through spending this way is never halved.



Impairment

　Once the character sustains enough damage (of either type, or a mix) to fill their tracker, they are Impaired. Impaired characters lose two dice from all relevant dice pools: Physical pools from Impaired Health, Social and Mental pools from Impaired Willpower, and any other pools the Storyteller believes to be similarly Impaired. At the Storyteller’s discretion, human characters or other mundane creatures under their control are incapacitated at this stage.

　For every level of damage of either kind, Superficial or Aggravated, that a character takes while Impaired, convert one previously sustained Superficial damage to Aggravated damage on a one-for-one basis. Turn the “/” to a “X” on the track. (Remember to halve Superficial damage as usual before converting it.)

THE END OF THE TRACKER

　A character with their tracker completely filled with Aggravated damage is out of the conflict, possibly permanently. In a physical combat, they are comatose or dead in most cases.

EXAMPLE:

　The officer from the example above suffers 6 levels of Aggravated damage (shotgun vs mortal), but he has only 5 health levels. He promptly expires.

　Filling the Willpower tracker with Aggravated damage outside of a social conflict (due to things like Gifts or spirit abilities) has no immediate effects other than Impairment. If it happens within a social conflict, the defeated character completely breaks down and loses face. They may be shunned by the members of the pack or sept, blackballed by Renowned Garou, publicly embarrassed, or suffer any other consequence the Storyteller decides. (Note that one such consequence may very well be the death of the character.)

EXAMPLE:

　The pack is in hot water at the moot for bringing down the feds on the sept’s territory. Those who lose all their Willpower in the ensuing social conflict are unable to defend or deflect their blame, and it might even be time for chagrin (see below) or even disbanding the pack. Then again, it’s perhaps the first step in an arduous vindication plotline.




Healing

　Below are the rules for humans, as well as Garou in the comparatively mundane homid and lupus forms. Garou possess superlative regenerating powers in certain circumstances — see p. 134 for more detail.

SUPERFICIAL HEALTH DAMAGE

　Characters may remove Superficial damage at the beginning of a session, if the Storyteller determines that enough time has passed since injury that they’d have had time to recover (especially if they’re Garou).

SUPERFICIAL WILLPOWER DAMAGE

　At the beginning of a session, characters can remove a number of Superficial damage levels up to their Composure or Resolve rating (use the higher value) from their Willpower track.


EXAMPLE:

　Mira has Resolve 2 and Composure 4. She suffered 5 levels of Superficial damage to her Willpower tracker during a tense standoff with a Bane trying to possess her. Her player can erase 4 levels of Mira’s Superficial damage at the beginning of the next session.

AGGRAVATED HEALTH DAMAGE

　Aggravated damage is serious business. The comparatively frail nature of the physical body is the reason so many Garou seek to build their Renown, so that they can continue to fight as a legendary spirit after their physical body has given its last. How reliable such a process is, well… that’s a separate conversation.

　A character with Medicine can convert Aggravated damage on the Health tracker to Superficial damage. Their player must succeed at a simple test of Intelligence + Medicine; the Difficulty equals the total Aggravated damage sustained by the patient. Attempts to heal oneself add +1 to the Difficulty.

　The maximum points of Aggravated damage that a character can convert is half that character’s Medicine rating, rounded up.

　This healing happens over the course of the night. The Storyteller decides whether any remaining injuries require only another day of similar treatment or hospitalization.

　Hospitalization avoids the need for more dice rolls, but injuries requires the patient’s total Aggravated damage in weeks to heal fully. The Storyteller can lessen this duration to fit the story better or allow the character to walk around injured — wearing a cast, for example.

AGGRAVATED WILLPOWER DAMAGE

　Like Aggravated Health damage, Aggravated Willpower loss is perilous, especially for Garou, which is why they have such a problem with harano, hauglosk (see p. 140), and the like. At the end of each session, a character who has acted in accordance with their tribe’s associated Renown (see Chapter 3) can heal 1 level of Aggravated Willpower damage. Storytellers should be permissive with these interpretations, and should also be mindful of those Garou who have broken their tribe’s Ban, many of which have Willpower risks of their own.

　However, the other consequences of losing a Social or Mental conflict — a bad reputation, susceptibility to mental control or social dominance, or even the risk of harano — may continue as long as the Storyteller chooses.

Special Cases

　As decidedly physical monsters, werewolves occasionally find themselves lifting or throwing things in expressions of Rage, or find themselves restrained by enemies or even well-meaning packmates who don’t want to see them plunge headlong into disaster. You might see the following systems used more frequently than you’d expect.



Feats of Strength

　Storytellers should feel free to set a Difficulty to perform any given feat of strength based on the character’s Strength Attribute, and completely ignore the chart below. The usual pool for lifting or smashing things is Strength + Athletics; for throwing heavy things, the Storyteller might use the worse between Strength or Dexterity + Athletics.

　Note, too, that Garou have ways to affect their Strength scores, which is why the scale goes beyond 10. Other supernatural creatures might possess remarkable strength, as well. For example, vampires might express undead strength via a Standard or even an Exceptional Dice pool.

　For Storytellers who prefer hard-and-fast numbers, this chart provides the minimum Strength needed to deadlift various weights or perform feats of strength without a test. Characters of lower Strength may use a Strength + Athletics Attribute test to affect heavier weights than their Strength ratings allow.

Strength	Feat	Deadlift Weight (kg)
1	Crush a beer can	20 (Christmas tree, stop sign)
2	Break a wooden chair	45 (toilet)
3	Break down a wooden door	115 (manhole cover, empty coffin, refrigerator)
4	Break a wooden plank; break down a standard interior door	180 (full coffin, empty dumpster)
5	Break open a metal fire door; tear open a chain link fence or chained gate	250 (motorcycle)
6	Throw a motorcycle; snap handcuffs	360 (tall steel street lamp)
7	Flip over a small car; snap a padlock	410 (horse)
8	Break a lead pipe; punch through a brick wall	455 (telephone pole, grand piano)
9	Punch through concrete; break chains; rip open a car door	545 (tree trunk, small plane)
10	Rip open a steel pipe; bend an I-beam	680 (speedboat)
11	Overturn a car; punch through 2.5 cm–thick sheet metal	910 (Predator drone)
12	Break a metal lamp post; throw a wrecking ball	1.3 metric tons (police helicopter, sports car)
13	Overturn an SUV; toss a sports car	1.8 metric tons (police car)
14	Overturn a bus; rip open a vault door	2.25 metric tons (empty shipping container; SUV, pickup truck)
15	Overturn a truck; toss an SUV	2.75 metric tons (Humvee)

　Lifting is all or nothing — if you fail the roll, nothing happens. At the Storyteller’s discretion, dragging an object may be easier than lifting it; increase the character’s effective Strength by 1 in such a case.



Throwing Things

　A character throwing a weapon at a target tests Dexterity + Athletics. For werewolves, this may include things not usually considered weapons, like pieces of I-beam or whole cars or containers of volatile chemicals — or even helpless foes.




Grappling

　A combatant can attempt to grapple, hold, tackle, or otherwise restrain a foe by rolling Strength + Brawl. If the grappler gets more successes than their opponent, they do no damage but, instead, restrain the target, preventing them from moving and from engaging other opponents, though the target can still act against the grappler as normal. In the next round, the grappler may engage their foe in a contest of Strength + Brawl. If the grappler wins, they hold the foe in place and can choose from the following options:

• Damage the foe based on their margin of successes, as a normal attack

• Do nothing apart from hold the foe in place

　If the grappled combatant wins, they escape and can move freely during the next round.

The Golden Rule

　This rule is the most important of all, and the only real rule worth following: The story belongs to you and your troupe. This game should be whatever you want it to be, whether that’s a nearly diceless chronicle of in-character intrigue against the crumbling remains of the Garou Nation or a long-running tactical chronicle with each player controlling their own pack of werewolves.

　If the rules in this book interfere with your enjoyment of the game, change them. The world is far too complex; no set of inflexible rules could possibly reflect it. Think of this book as a collection of guidelines: suggested but not mandatory ways of capturing the World of Darkness in the format of a game. You decide what works best in your game. And you may freely use, alter, abuse, or ignore these rules at your whim.

魂怒经济

　叙事人和玩家都有权利获得魂怒。我们鼓励玩家在他们认为合适的时候提议获得魂怒，就像叙事人不应害怕呼应主题地慷慨给予一样。角色获得魂怒的速度也是叙事人的有力工具。若故事中的角色总能获得魂怒，那么故事就会变得更动作片和暴力，而更少获得魂怒则更能唤起绝望的感觉，因为任何魂怒的使用都会危及狼性。同样，叙事人也应注意玩家是否试图通过使用灵赋或其它能力来钻空子地消耗魂怒。精魂往往会对这种滥用嗤之以鼻，肆无忌惮地召唤它们施展灵赋肯定会带来不好后果。

使用狼人骰：普通骰子

空白面 = 1–5 = 失败
= 6–9 =成功
= 10 = 成功，也许是爆骰获胜


魂怒骰

= 1–2 = 残暴结果
空白面 = 3–5 = 失败
= 6–9 = 成功
= 10 = 成功，也许是爆骰获胜

Ways of the Werewolves

　The following rules specifically reflect the Garou experience. Systems such as those for shifting form, the Delirium, and Rage itself relate to the individual Garou, while Harano and Hauglosk affect the relationship of a Garou to the society of their fellows. Together they demonstrate how Garou wage their desperate battles in the age of Apocalypse. 



Rage

　Perhaps the single most defining characteristic of werewolves, Rage forever roils in the hearts and souls of Garou. It becomes manifest in their bodies and allows them to perform terrifying acts of brutality. Throughout stories, players must decide how to best channel their characters’ Rage — whether to feed its fires or to invoke it but risk not being able to call upon the fury of the Garou at some critical point.

　Rage is a tracker spanning from 0 to 5. Any Garou can achieve Rage 5 — no fixed trait restricts its accumulation, and it is frequently in flux. Rage can most easily be tracked by keeping a corresponding number of Rage dice (see below) at hand and adjusting the number of dice when the Rage value changes.

　Starting value for Rage is determined by the narrative situation. A Garou who isn’t involved in an ongoing conflict and has had a good night’s sleep starts at 1, whereas opening in medias res with a fight-or-flight situation would yield player characters 3. If questions arise, assume a starting Rage value of 2.


Gaining Rage

• The Moon: Howling at the moon for the first time on a given night stirs the Rage and yields one point. If the Garou is at 0 Rage, they have “lost the wolf” (see below), and this method is the only way to gain Rage outside of such mystical means as Rites, where specified.

• Provocation, Harm, or Humiliation: If the Garou suffers harm, pain, or other emotional or physical agitation, they gain a point of Rage, maximum one per turn. Note that once combat begins, most damage and injury don’t yield additional Rage; low-level provocation, such as insults and trash talk, don’t provoke further Rage, either.

• Rites or Rite-like Practices: Spending a scene getting psyched up, performing a tribe- or auspice-related activity ranging from a solemn retelling of past grievances to picking fights at a soccer match can yield one or two points, at the Storyteller’s discretion.

• Gifts: Some Gifts can modify Rage.

　If any effect or provocation would take a Garou’s Rage past 5, the character sustains a point of Superficial Willpower damage for each point of Rage that would exceed 5.




Spending or Losing Rage

• Regenerate: Garou can heal rapidly by expending Rage and making a Rage check (see below)

• Shapeshifting: Changing and maintaining forms can require a Rage check, depending on form (see p. 134)

• Using Gifts: Some Gifts require Rage checks to activate. This restriction is noted in the Gift description.

• Gift Effects: Some Gifts can soothe a Garou and allow them to shed Rage voluntarily, whereas other Gifts can rob them of Rage, their desire to retain it notwithstanding.



Rage Checks

　When a Garou wants to release their Rage-borne powers, their player makes a Rage check with a single die (see “Checks” on p. 122). On a win — a 6 or better — the Garou’s Rage stays the same, but a failed check — 5 or less — causes their Rage to drop by one point. Make the Rage check at the same time as the act provoking it, ideally with its own identifiable die.

　Rage decreasing in this manner doesn’t necessarily represent the Garou becoming “less angry”, but rather models how the Rage is expressed, the pent-up energy manifesting as Gifts or a more vicious supernatural form.

LOSING THE WOLF

　A Garou with no Rage left has “lost the wolf” and can no longer perform acts that require a Rage check, remain in a supernatural form, or use Rites or Gifts. Rage can never go below zero, and any loss that would suggest it — such as one incurred from a failed double Rage check at Rage 1 — is ignored. The only way a Garou can regain the wolf, other than by mystical means, is to howl at the moon (see Gaining Rage, above).

RAGE TRACKER SUMMARY

• Rage is a 0–5 tracker

• Rage is gained from howling at the moon, provocation, and certain Rites or Gifts

• Rage is expended through Rage checks on regenerating, shapeshifting, and Gifts

• Gaining Rage over 5 results in Willpower damage

• A Garou at Rage 0 cannot perform acts requiring Rage checks or sustain a supernatural form  



Rage Dice

　For each point of Rage possessed by a character, one Rage die replaces one of the regular dice when assembling dice pools. Rage dice function like regular dice, but the “1” and “2” faces are considered special: each is a Brutal die result.

　On its own, a single Brutal result is simply treated as a failure, but two or more on a single test yields a Brutal outcome. A Brutal outcome causes a test to fail (usually with something being wrecked, harmed, or destroyed), unless the aim of the test was to cause damage or injury, in which case a Brutal outcome yields four additional successes.

　Note that the Storyteller is the final arbiter in what counts as benefiting from Brutal outcomes. Although firing a sniper rifle to take out an enemy has the goal of causing damage, the activity requires a far too composed mindset to benefit from unbridled Rage. Likewise, some nonviolent acts, such as resisting mental coercion or making a giant leap, might be treated as benefitting from Rage, at the Storyteller’s discretion. (A Brutal outcome would of course also cause destruction and harm, while simultaneously aiding in the attempt. Rage is a double-edged sword.)

　Brutal die results cannot be rerolled by spending Willpower, but other Rage dice results can.

RAGE DICE SUMMARY

• For every point of Rage, replace a regular die with a Rage die in pools

• Rage dice have similar faces to regular 10-sided dice, except that “1” and “2” are considered Brutal die results

• Two or more Brutal results cause a Brutal outcome, usually causing the test to fail, unless the goal was to cause harm or damage

• Brutal die results cannot be rerolled by spending Willpower.


 



Werewolves and Health

　No matter what form werewolves have taken, from the rampaging crinos to the nimble lupus, they are far more hardy than ordinary humans and can survive injuries that would put a regular person in the grave. In werewolves’ supernatural forms, their healing abilities are even greater, as mighty flesh withstands vicious blows and grievous wounds knit themselves together before an onlooker’s eyes.


Regeneration

　Any damage not caused by fire or silver, or that is otherwise stated as doing Aggravated damage to werewolves, is considered Superficial, regardless of form. In addition, while in their supernatural forms, a werewolf rapidly regenerates any Superficial damage sustained. As long as they’re in a supernatural form, a Garou’s player can make a Rage check to instantly heal a level of the character’s Superficial damage each turn, or two levels if the character is in crinos form. Doing so isn’t itself an action and can be performed in addition to any actions the werewolf is performing. Regenerating in this manner is done at the start of the turn, when actions are declared. Aggravated damage takes far more effort: Regenerating each level requires two Rage checks.


Incapacitation and Death

　A Garou who has been incapacitated by Aggravated damage is taken out of action and falls unconscious, unless they’re able to regenerate at least one point of Aggravated damage. (This can be done even if unconscious, providing they have enough Rage.) If allowed to rest for a night they also regenerate one Aggravated health level automatically, as normal, but if they Sustain aggravated damage from fire or silver before resting, they die.

　Note that no other form of damage, short of complete bodily annihilation, can kill a Garou, as their mangled form refuses to yield to anything but the banes of their existence. It’s tough to kill a death-machine that doesn’t want to be killed.

　Once dead, however, the corpse of a dead Garou always reverts to the form of their birth, leaving no trace of their supernatural qualities.


Werewolves and Silver

　Cutting or piercing damage from silver is always Aggravated to a werewolf. Once they transform into one of their supernatural forms, the mere touch of silver burns their flesh as if it were red-hot. A Garou in glabro, crinos, or hispo form sustains one level of Aggravated damage per turn during which they touch silver with their naked flesh or fur. They also gain one point of Rage with each level of Aggravated damage sustained in this way. 



The Forms

　Garou have the ability to transform their bodies into multiple forms. Each form has advantages and disadvantages, as well as limitations with regard to manual and social interaction. The glabro, crinos, and hispo forms are known as the supernatural forms, and they have regenerative properties, as well. Most Gifts can only be performed while in a supernatural form.

　Especially among Garou, taking specific forms is a powerful signifier and has undeniable social impact. Standard pack interactions are almost always in the homid and lupus forms — generally whichever the individual is most comfortable with, or to show deference, as in rolling over for the lupus. Taking other forms usually has a purpose beyond the tool-use and movement benefits. For example, a galliard may adopt the glabro form during a climactic moment while regaling sept-mates with a song of sacrifice; or an indignant Black Fury may go crinos at a moot, signifying, “Fuck politics, I’m challenging you to a fight to the death, right now.” Choose your form wisely.


Shapeshifting

　Shifting form is a two-dice minor action and requires a Rage check, according to the form’s cost. (This cost must also be paid for each additional scene in which the Garou maintains the form.) If the check causes them to lose their final point of Rage, the shift fails and they lose the wolf, as a Garou needs at least one point of Rage to stay in a supernatural form. Just as with Gifts and regeneration, shifting takes place at the beginning of the turn, as actions are declared, and a character can shapeshift only once per turn.


　Note that too-frequent (or frivolous…) shifting takes a terrible toll on body and mind. Should a character shift back and forth multiple times in a short time span, such as by seeking simply to shed Rage, the Storyteller may realize such massive bodily stress by inflicting appropriate levels of Aggravated damage to Health and/or Willpower. (Let the player know before you do so, the better to inform their decision-making.)

　Shapeshifting in front of mundane humans normally causes them an episode of the Delirium (see p. 142). Certain individuals familiar with the truth of the Garou might not be affected, but in almost every case, the self-preservation instinct written into human memory quickly comes to the fore.




Homid: The Human

　The homid form is the one similar to that of a regular human, and it is the natural form of most Garou tonight. For most non-supernatural methods of detection, homid form is indistinguishable from non-Garou. Being homid is great for using tools, communicating, and handling most of the interactions of the modern world.

Cost: None

Abilities and Limitations: In homid form, Garou are unable to regenerate, but they are able to touch silver without suffering damage.



Glabro: The Near-Human

　The glabro form is a big, hunched, and hairy human. It’s not overtly supernatural, and more sinewy than hyper-muscular, but the wolf is just beneath the surface. Close inspection reveals a surprising amount of body hair as well as a loping gait. Taking glabro form is still good for using tools, but is also a bit more durable than homid form — it’s good for wielding weapons and for not making people go holy shit a giant fucking wolf-monster just tore those people to ribbons while you’re doing it.

Cost: One Rage check

Abilities and Limitations: While the form isn’t obviously unnatural, Garou in this form make regular humans uneasy, and non-Intimidation Social tests with them suffer a two-dice penalty. The following also apply:

• A 2-dice bonus to all Physical tests

• The Garou can regenerate one Health level with one Rage check



Crinos: The War-Form, the Monster

　The crinos form is a nightmarish hulk of claws, fangs, and whipcord muscle, combining the most fearsome traits of wolf and man. Walking carnage, the crinos form always means death for something. Just the sight of it terrifies most mundane individuals, whether they’re human, wolf, or anything else is in its path. It’s the form that immediately screams werewolf! to anyone observing it. Having been so horrified, though, they might not recall the experience afterward.

Cost: Two Rage checks

Abilities and Limitations: Ordinary communication is nigh-impossible, and a Garou in crinos has difficulty forming expressions beyond single words — “kill,” “enemy,” “Wyrm,” — usually with a guttural, snarling delivery. This condition makes non-Intimidation Social and Stealth tests automatically fail. The following also apply:

• A 4-dice bonus to all Physical tests

• 4 bonus Health levels (apply any damage to them to the regular track if not regenerated before shifting back)

• Natural +3 damage claws (Superficial vs werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural creatures with similar resistance)

• Natural +1 Aggravated damage bite

• The Garou can regenerate two Health levels with one Rage check

• Mundane humans witnessing it almost certainly experience the Delirium (see p. 142)

　At the start of a turn, if they didn’t kill something in the previous turn, a werewolf in crinos form must spend one Willpower point to avoid going into frenzy (see below). Upon leaving crinos form, their Rage is reduced to 1.




Hispo: The Dire Wolf

　The hispo form resembles that of a huge, primordial wolf. It’s “That’s a really big dog”-big, but not immediately visibly supernatural. The hispo form is great for long-distance travel, both in terms of four-legged speed and remarkable hardiness. It’s not great for speaking or using tools, but it has a fearsome bite, as well as superior senses.

Cost: One Rage check

Abilities and Limitations: In this form, a Garou cannot speak as a human would, but the werewolf can communicate well enough with wolves and other Garou who understand such form-based nuances. Due to the form’s fearsome size and presence, tests to avoid detection are done at a two-dice penalty. The following also apply:

• A 2-dice bonus to all non-Stealth Physical tests

• Natural +1 Aggravated damage bite

• The Garou can regenerate one Health level with one Rage check



Lupus: The Wolf

　The lupus form is that of a regular-sized wolf. Indeed, it might easily be mistaken for a large dog in certain areas (particularly where wolves are infrequent visitors…). The lupus form excels in distance travel at speed and in navigating areas where its comparatively small size aids at stealth or accessing difficult-to-reach areas, such as digging under a fence or creeping into a drainage pipe.

Cost: None

Abilities and Limitations: In this form a Garou cannot regenerate but is not affected by silver. It cannot speak as would a human, but it can communicate well enough with wolves and other Garou via primal body language and vocalization. Depending on the environment it can also gain various two-dice bonuses, such as to Survival or Stealth, depending on whether being a wolf would be beneficial in that specific situation. 



Frenzy

　When in crinos form, Garou always feel under threat of losing control. And while “ordinary” Rage can make them lash out in the moment, frenzy is a complete, extended loss of control as the werewolf unleashes their full fury on everything around them.


Entering Frenzy

　A Garou enters frenzy if, at the start of a turn while in crinos form, they didn’t kill anything in the previous turn and they fail to spend a point of Willpower. This can be voluntarily, as a response to overwhelming odds, or involuntarily if the Garou’s Willpower is completely depleted. The Storyteller can also call for a frenzy test in cases of extreme provocation, such as any harming of Touchstones, in which case a Willpower test must be made against a Difficulty of 2 (or 3 in crinos form).


Frenzy Effects

　When a Garou enters a frenzy, their Rage immediately increases to 5 and they shift to crinos. They then mercilessly attack anything perceived as a threat, starting with whoever, or whatever, provoked the frenzy, if applicable. If anyone is attacking them, the werewolf must try to close the distance and engage the target with their natural weapons. If no one is attacking, they try to pursue those who flee, and thereafter they assail any bystanders. The Garou does not perform any defensive acts, such as taking cover or attempting dodge tests against ranged weapons, but does attempt to regenerate Health, making Rage checks as normal to do so.

　While in frenzy, the Garou becomes immune to Health-based penalties (such as Impairment) short of dismemberment, and they receive a three-dice bonus to resisting Mental Gifts or Gift-like effects, such as vampiric powers, unless the powers specifically affect a target in frenzy. The werewolf cannot themselves use Gifts, however, and must keep acting out frenzy, or the player must yield control of the character to the Storyteller. The player may not use Willpower in any way, such as rerolling dice.


Leaving Frenzy

　Once every perceived threat is dead or silenced, the player can make a Willpower test at Difficulty 2 to leave Frenzy. If they choose not to or the test fails, the frenzy resumes until no one but the frenzying Garou is left standing, their Rage drops to zero, or the scene ends. (Certain Gifts and other abilities can also end the frenzy.) No matter how the frenzy ends, the Garou reverts to their natural form and has their Rage set to zero, losing the wolf (p. 133).


FRENZY SUMMARY

• Garou characters enter frenzy when they fail to spend Willpower due to crinos form or if they are severely provoked and fail a Willpower test.

• On entering frenzy, Garou increase their Rage to 5 and shift to crinos. (Make Rage checks as normal.)

• While in frenzy, Garou ignore impairment penalties and gain a three-dice bonus to resist most mental abilities of effects.

• Garou cannot use Gifts while in frenzy.

• Garou can leave frenzy by winning a Willpower test at Difficulty 2 when all enemies are dead or incapacitated. Failing this they will keep rampaging until out of Rage or the scene ends.

• On leaving frenzy a Garou’s Rage drops to 0, causing them to lose the wolf.  



Harano and Hauglosk

　The Garou have a seemingly impossible task before them, whether they believe their call to be bringing Gaia back from the brink of death, correcting the imbalance of the cosmological Triat, or the outright destruction of the Wyrm and its host. They are intensely passionate creatures, even beyond the violent expressions of bloody rage that characterize them. It’s no surprise, then, to discover that the emotional states of Garou are often affected by the enormity of what lies before them.

　Overall, the Garou are certain of their own principles. Inspired by their spiritual duty to Gaia and guided by their own individual (and pack…) interpretation of that purpose, the stalwart Garou fight on, roused by the pursuit Renown and an innate sense of what’s right in an endless war that quite possibly cannot be won at all.

　For some Garou, though, that righteousness gives way to one of two particularly perilous kinds of fatalism: harano and hauglosk.

　Harano and hauglosk are represented by a mirrored 5-box tracker on the character sheet. (5 left for harano, 5 right for hauglosk)


　Both trackers start empty — the Garou has neither experienced enough failure nor turned callous enough to show.


Harano

　As the werewolf experiences setbacks, and the apparent futility of their struggle becomes apparent, so do they slide toward harano, a state where they succumb to hopelessness and give up on serving Gaia. For such Garou, the war isn’t worth fighting anymore. Wretched creatures, Garou in harano may abandon their Patron Spirit’s Favor and Ban, and some even seem to lose the ability to shapechange at all.

　Little by little, harano can set upon even the most confident of Garou, eroding their confidence with self-doubt and emptying whatever hard won victories that might have been. Harano is most common among werewolves who bear leadership roles, but it can seize any Garou by making them doubt the value of their contribution.

HARANO IN PLAY

　Every time the Garou suffers a major setback, or their Touchstones are put in danger or damaged due to the actions (or inactions) of the Garou, the player must make a Harano test, with a dice pool equal to the amount of filled boxes on both the harano and hauglosk trackers. (This test is made at a minimum of one die; do not use Rage dice for this test.) The Difficulty is usually 1, but the Storyteller can decide that severe setbacks or other crises warrant a higher Difficulty. Failing the test results in a box being filled on the harano tracker, from right to left. If the tracker ever becomes filled, the werewolf has succumbed to harano, leaving the service of Gaia and their role as a playable character.

DESPERATE RAGE

　A Garou player character can voluntarily fill one of the harano boxes to increase their Rage to 5, which represents them tapping into their finite reserves of desperate fury. This action can be done only once per session, and the Storyteller can decide to prohibit this if playing a limited one-shot story.

HARANO SUMMARY

• Harano tests are taken at major setbacks or other tragedies

• The Harano test dice pool is equal to the number of filled boxes on both the harano and hauglosk trackers

• If the test is failed another harano box is filled in

• The player can opt to voluntarily fill a box on the harano tracker to immediately increase their Rage to 5

• If the harano tracker is completely filled the Garou character succumbs to harano, leaving the game


Hauglosk

　Hauglosk is the dread state of a werewolf who has lost all compassion and mercy to the fanaticism of their cause. Every time they disregard consequences and let the ends justify the means, they slide closer to hauglosk.

　Although hauglosk has always been a risk for the Rage-driven Garou, its losses are keenly felt now, in light of the Cult of Fenris having forsaken what remains of the Garou Nation to combat the Wyrm on its own terms. Similarly, debates rage at moots around the world as to whether the Impergium was a period of hauglosk for the entirety of the werewolf kind.

　Note that hauglosk is different from mindless rage (though hauglosk may result in many a mindless rage). Werewolves suffering from hauglosk undertake their course without regard for its consequences, so impassioned are they by the need to do something, anything at all. Hauglosk is also a long-term ongoing state, and many Garou never come out of it.

HAUGLOSK IN PLAY

　Every time a werewolf violates a chronicle Tenet (see p. 199) they must make a Hauglosk test, with a dice pool equal to the amount of filled boxes of both the harano and hauglosk trackers. (This test is made at a minimum of one die; do not use Rage dice for this test.) The Difficulty is usually 1, but the Storyteller can decide that severe violations or transgressions warrant a higher Difficulty. Failing the test results in a box being filled on the hauglosk tracker, from left to right. If the tracker ever becomes filled, the werewolf has succumbed to hauglosk, becoming an unredeemable fanatic and a Storyteller character.

MERCILESS WILLPOWER

　A Garou player character can voluntarily fill one of the hauglosk boxes to restore all Willpower damage, which represents them summoning up a merciless resolve to keep going, everyone else be damned. This action can be done only once per session, and the Storyteller can decide to prohibit this if playing a limited one-shot story.

HAUGLOSK SUMMARY

• Hauglosk tests are taken when a Garou violates a chronicle tenet

• The hauglosk test dice pool is equal to the number of filled boxes on both the harano and hauglosk trackers

• If the test is failed another hauglosk box is filled in

• The player can opt to voluntarily fill a box on the hauglosk tracker to heal all Willpower damage

• If the hauglosk tracker is completely filled the Garou character succumbs to hauglosk, leaving the game  




Renown

　As do many Traits, each Renown score has a ranking of one to five. Overall, a werewolf’s Renown represents how well they embody being Garou, from how virtuous other werewolves perceive them to be to how positively the animistic spirits of the Umbra regard them.

　A Garou’s Renown has a few important functions.

• For most Gifts, the Renown type associated with that Gift contributes to the dice pool to use that Gift and determines how effective it is. See the individual Gift descriptions for more.

• In certain cases, various Renown types may add dice to Social pools, as they represent not only the individual Garou’s growing legend but also their reputation among spirits and other werewolves. The Storyteller determines whether a Garou may rely upon their Renown to affect an interaction with a spirit or another werewolf. In most cases, this use of Renown shouldn’t be the case — specific Skills and the Status Background represent such an episode more fully. But in certain situations, calling upon one’s Renown as a cultural gesture makes sense.

EXAMPLE:

　Diwata Hammer-of-Banes is making an appeal to the Garou in attendance at the moot. It’s a bombastic call to war, and the Storyteller agrees to let her player add her Glory value to Diwata’s Charisma + Persuasion roll.

　General rules for how Renown affects characters can be found on p. 106.


Chagrin

　A werewolf can temporarily suffer a reduction in Renown, affecting not only their reputation but their legend and the willingness of spirits to reward entreaties via Gifts.

　When a Garou acts in overt opposition to a Renown virtue’s creed, and in an especially noteworthy way, the Storyteller may declare that character to be in chagrin. Mark that Renown type on the character sheet as subject to chagrin.

　Chagrin shouldn’t come up in consideration of every action a werewolf undertakes — it’s dramatic when used only in important circumstances, as a temporary but significant consequence for certain actions. Don’t overuse it, and don’t let it complicate the flow of a scene with minutiae.

• Fleeing a battle out of cowardice would potentially cause Glory chagrin; simply retreating from a conflict would not

• Betraying a packmate to a rival Garou would potentially cause Honor chagrin; giving a false name to a cop would not

• Revealing the location of the caern to a Black Spiral Dancer whom one is trying, against the pack’s wishes, to “rehabilitate” would potentially cause Wisdom chagrin; accidentally pursuing one’s quarry into a well-laid ambush would not

　A Garou in chagrin reduces the value of that Glory, Honor, or Wisdom score by 1 (or 2, if subject to the Rite of Shame, p. 184) for all dice pools to which it is relevant. Also, as long as a character has a Renown type subject to chagrin, no experience points can be spent to increase it.

　Chagrin is a temporary status, and emerging from it is based on the character’s contrition. In most cases, performing an act of noteworthy Glory, Honor, or Wisdom suffices. In particularly egregious cases, a Rite of Contrition may be required (see p. 182). Ultimately, the player whose character is in chagrin and the Storyteller should discuss what is needed to emerge from chagrin, with the Storyteller as the ultimate arbiter. 



Delirium

　Why doesn’t the world know about werewolves? Or, rather, why is what the world knows about werewolves inconsistent, clouded by folkloric interpretation, and looked down upon as superstition rather than trusted fact?

　Ironically, humanity does know about the presence of the Garou — it’s just buried at a fundamental, subconscious, racial-memory level. Humans do indeed understand the terror that werewolves can inflict, and people still grasp the cultural lessons of the Impergium, even if no modern individual can remember the specifics of it.

　The result is what Garou know as the Delirium, and what humans recognize as an existential need to avoid werewolves.

　When a human, animal, or other “nonsupernatural” onlooker observes something that obviously reveals an individual as Garou — such as changing shape, especially into the crinos war-form — the onlooker is likely to panic, flee, or even lapse into catatonia. Even afterward, once they regain their senses, affected individuals rationalize what they saw — or even block those memories entirely.

　In general (unless the Storyteller opts otherwise), the effect of the Delirium upon a human witness depends on that individual’s

Composure + Resolve	Composure + Resolve Outcome	Do they forget what they witnessed?
1-5	Fear	Yes
6-9	Controlled fear	Usually
10	Resignation	No

　An outcome of fear usually indicates that the individual will flee if the opportunity exists. Other potential fear responses are panic, disbelief, fetal-position catatonia, and desperate but probably ineffectual “playing possum” responses.

　Controlled fear indicates the urge toward self-preservation, but with possible rational or protective responses, such as shooting at the horror while running away or a desperation to escape that includes locking doors or turning over obstacles in hopes of inhibiting pursuit.

　Resignation indicates that the onlooker accepts what they’re dealing with and makes a decision from there. In most cases, people resigned to a hulking werewolf before them realize that fleeing is the wisest course of action, but some people choose to stand their ground or even fire a desperate shot at the monster. These people usually die, but the important distinction is that they kept their wits about them.

　Forgetting what they witnessed can take a number of forms. It may literally be forgetting the episode, as with a blackout; it may be a rationalization, no matter how implausible (“And then a pack of wild dogs tore the guy apart!”); or it may be an episode of fugue or self-doubt (“I can’t even remember what it was I saw, but there was blood everywhere…”). If the details of what a witness remembers matter, the Storyteller decides what’s most appropriate or dramatically interesting.


Delirium and Technology

　In times past, the Delirium was a failsafe for the Garou. Information traveled slowly, and eminently fallible eyewitness reports were the only way the Garou remained at the edges of human memory and terror.

　In modern times, however, the Delirium hasn’t kept up with the myriad ways humans surveil one another, and therefore the Garou in their midst. Omnipresent security systems, private and institutional drones, and the fact that everyone has at hand a supercomputer with a camera all conspire to stretch the protections offered by the Delirium to the thinnest they ever have been.

　No surprise, then, that certain civil authorities and even long-dormant security agencies have found themselves responding to the exact sort of “unusual threats” represented by rampaging Garou packs. (For more information on werewolf hunting organizations, see pp. 288–290.)

　The Delirium doesn’t take effect for those who observe the behaviors of werewolves through any level of technological remove. That is to say, YouTube and Instagram videos of a werewolf going apeshit don’t send people fleeing in terror when these things show up in people’s feeds. Probably they elicit wonder at the quality of the “special effects” on display. Security camera footage of werewolves tearing a dockside warehouse apart doesn’t send the federal agents watching it into mental shutdown, and it probably ends up in an evidence file somewhere. Audio recordings of werewolves aren’t as immediately damning, because it’s less obvious who or what is making any given noises, but they often include other details that may well bring down trouble on an indiscreet pack’s heads.


Delirium and Other Creatures

　Delirium affects humans in particular. Animals generally recognize the Garou as terrifying predators on their own, especially as werewolves assume the more aggressive forms, and flee instinctively when a Garou assumes more wolfish (and generally faster-moving) shapes. But animals don’t have an innate sense for who’s a werewolf, unless someone reveals themselves as such.

　Other supernatural creatures are often unaffected by the Delirium — at least those beings of a first-order nature. That is to say, vampires seem to be immune to the Delirium, but the miserable, blood-addicted thralls who often travel in their wake are still (usually) affected. Of course, many vampires seem to understand the immediate threat a werewolf poses on its own and choose, rationally, to flee the Garou’s presence, instead of being compelled by the Delirium.

　Will-workers and hunters seem to be special cases. Overall, sorcerers seem to have a fundamental understanding that the supernatural exists, thus negating the effect of the Delirium upon them. Hunters, on the other hand, are affected as normal humans, for the most part, though some of them seem to have the ability to suppress the urge to flee. At least, in most cases, this breakdown is true. Garou who treat its details as universally true may find themselves surprised at a most inconvenient time… ■