Rhys/Gifts
Contents
Gifts
Gifts: Rank 1
Truth of Gaia
As judges of the Litany, Philodox have the ability to sense whether others have spoken truth or falsehood. A Gaffling of Falcon teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Empathy (difficulty of the subject’s Manipulation + Subterfuge). This Gift reveals only whether the target speaks the truth or lies.
Source: Core book revised.
Persuasion
This Gift allows a homid to become more persuasive when dealing with others, in such a way that his statements and arguments are imbued with added meaning or credibility. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Subterfuge. If successful, the Storyteller reduces the difficulties of all Social rolls by one for the remainder of the scene. In addition, any successful Social rolls may have significantly more impact than they would without the Gift. A werewolf could win arguments with hard line opponents, or cause a cold-hearted psychopath to relent (at least for a little while).
Source: Core book revised / 20th Anniversary Edition
Resist Toxin
Many Bone Gnawers learn a preternatural resistance to poisons and toxins of all kinds, doubtless due to their diet of refuse and American beer. A trash-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Stamina + Survival. Success nullifies the effects of most conventional poisons, and adds three dice to the Garou’s Stamina for purposes of resisting Wyrm-enhanced poisons. The effects last for the scene.
Source: Core book revised
Gifts: Rank 2
Fair Fortune
A Fiann with this Gift has a streak of luck a mile wide. She’s dealt a great hand, her prey is extra-clumsy today, or the wind shifts just in time to scent an ambush. A faerie or fortune spirit teaches this Gift.
System: With the expenditure of one Gnosis point, the player may reroll any failed or botched roll. The decision must be made immediately after the failed or botched roll. This Gift is only usable once per scene.
Source: Fianna Tribebook (revised).
Rites
Rites: Rank 1
Rite of Cleansing
This rite purifies a person, place or object, allowing it to be used without fear of contamination by the Wyrm. To perform this rite the Garou must inscribe a circle on the earth, walking widdershins (counterclockwise) around the afflicted person(s) or object(s) while holding a smoldering branch or torch. She must use a branch (preferably willow or birch) dipped in pure water or snow to asperge the object or person cleansed. As this is done, all Garou present release an eerie, otherworldly howl in an attempt to "frighten away" and thus banish the corrupting influence. Ideally, this rite is performed at dawn, but it can be performed at any time.
System: This rite can be cast upon more than one person or object, but the leader must spend one Gnosis point on each extra thing or person in need of cleansing. The difficulty level equals the Gnosis of the spirit that inflicted the contagion (maximum of 10). Only one success is required. If the rite is performed at dawn, the difficulty level of the rite is reduced by one. Note that this rite cannot heal wounds or damage caused by contamination (see the Fianna Gift: Resist Toxin, pg. 127); it only removes any existing contamination.
Source: Werewolf the Apocalypse
Rite of the Opened Caern
Caerns are highly spiritual places and are sacred to those who create them. Each caern has a specific power associated with it, generally of a beneficial nature. Thus, there are caerns of Rage, caerns of Gnosis, Strength, Enigmas, etc. If a character is knowledgeable enough, she may be able to tap into the caern's power and use it herself. This is commonly called "opening" a caern. Opening a caern should not be attempted lightly. Caerns do not easily give up their energies, and failure to harness such power properly can result in serious damage to the Garou. Each caern has its own requirements of the ritemaster. The ritemaster must prove herself worthy of the caern's energies. In order to open a caern of Enigmas, a Garou might walk a spiral path while calling out the Greek myth of Persephone, while to open a caern of Rage, the Garou might transform into Crinos and chant forth the litany of his ancestors who have fallen to the Wyrm. The key is forging a connection to the particular spirit of the caern.
If performed after the Moot rite, this rite temporarily offers the listed bonus to all who are currently participating in the Moot. Any bonuses end at the completion of the accompanying Revel.
System: To open a caern, a character engages in a resisted, extended success test of Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7). The number of successes needed equals the caern's level. The character is opposed by the caern spirit. The caern spirit uses its caern level as a Dice Pool. It's difficulty equals the character's Gnosis, while the number of successes needed equals the character's Willpower. The first one to garner the necessary number of successes wins.
If the character wins the test, she can add the caern's rating to her Dice Pool when performing actions appropriate to that caern's focus. If she loses, however, she takes wounds equal to the number of success by which the caern beat her. A botch indicates the wounds are aggravated. These physical and spiritual wounds are the results of a backlash of spiritual energy.
See the Caerns Chart for a list of caern types, their powers and the spirits that can often be encountered near them.
Source: Werewolf the Apocalypse.
Rite of Silence
Garou who need to be silent use this rite to make up for any lack in natural ability. For the duration of this rite, the Garou are incapable of making any noise even if they bang on a drum or shatter glass. With the assistance of Raven-spirits, the Garou can sneak through dry underbrush or over a gravel road without making a sound.
System The Garou invoking this rite confines herself in a dark room or cave. She whispers her darkest secret and then utters an oath of silence. Raven-spirits, attracted by her secret, carry any sound she makes into the Umbra once she leaves her confinement. If the werewolf chooses to speak for any reason, the rite ends immediately. The Raven-spirits, disappointed that the Garou did not reveal any more secrets, return the sounds they carried. For several minutes, the Garou is surrounded by a cacophony she created earlier. This rite silences only those sounds the Garou would have made directly. If she were to throw a rock at a window, for instance, the whistle of the rock through the air would be silent, but the shattering glass would not. If she punched the glass with her bare hand, the breaking window would not make a sound.
Source: 2nd ed Werewolf Player's Guide
Rites: Rank 2
Stone of Scorn
The Stone of Scorn is a rock imbued with malicious spirit personifications of shame, sorrow, and the like. Some septs have a permanent Stone of Scorn to which an offender is dragged, although most merely imbue a small stone with mocking energies. Starting with the ritemaster, this stone is passed to each Garou present at the rite. The scorned Garou is forced by his septmates to site and watch. As each Garou receives the stone, he carves or paints a symbol of derision, shame, etc. onto it while telling a mocking or embarrassing tale about the offending behaviour and other flaws of the scorned Garou. Moon Dancers are particularly creative in their verbal portrayals of the miscreant. This rite often lasts all night, with successive stories becoming more and more outrageous and derogatory. Once the night ends, so does the punishment, although the best stories and insults are often whispered behind the offender's back for some time to come. Such behaviour causes the Garou to lose Renown for a time.
System: Standard roll. The punished Garou usually loses eight points of Honor and two points of Wisdom until he performs an honorable deed, thus removing the taint of scorn.
Source: Werewolf the Apocalypse
Rites: Rank 3
Satire Rite
A more serious version of the Stone of Scorn, a Satire Rite is a special song, dance and/or drama crafted by the Half Moons and Moon Dancers for the sole purpose of ridiculing the offender. This rite is always performed at a moot while the offender is in full view of the sept. Because the Garou keep careful oral histories, the Satire will be remembered and passed down through the ages. Any Garou so "honored" loses much Renown. Children will snicker as they sing lewd verses, and adults will forever use some of the wittier quotes and embarrassing movements when referring to the offender. While such stories are usually confined to members of the offender's own tribe, Tricksters and Moon Dancers are all too happy to spread the new Satire to any Garou they encounter.
System: The difficulty of this rite is the offender's current Rank + 4. If successful, the offender loses one permanent Rank level (reduce his Renown to the beginning amounts for the next lowest Rank). The Garou can earn new Renown and Rank normally. If this rite fails, the Garou loses no Rank, while a botch causes the ritemaster to lose five points of Wisdom as she becomes the object of the rite.
Source: Werewolf the Apocalypse
