Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

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Chapter III: Special Rules and Systems
not in the form of a weapon. Though it’s uncertain how
true these rumors are, it seems odd that the Pure never
bring silver weapons on their hunting parties against the
Forsaken.
Remember that suffering aggravated damage, whether
from silver or any other attack, threatens a bout of Death
Rage in a werewolf. See the rules on Death Rage on p. 173.
SHAPESHIFTING
The defining facet of the Uratha is their ability to
change forms. All werewolves are capable of assuming five
different forms, each of which has different strengths and
provides different modifiers to a character’s traits.
To change shape, an Uratha draws on the supernatural
power that infuses his body, making his form protean
like quicksilver, forcing muscle and sinew into the desired
shape. While most werewolves consider the five forms
each Uratha inherits sufficient, some delve into the possibility
of assuming other forms. Such Uratha can hail from
any tribe, and are often found conversing with Lunes,
trying to attain the true freedom of shapechanging said to
be the province of Mother Luna.
System: Shapeshifting requires a Stamina + Survival +
Primal Urge roll (using the character’s base Stamina in Hishu
form) as an instant action. Success allows an Uratha to
shift to any form she desires. An exceptional success on this
roll allows the character to shift forms as a reflexive action
and take another action in that turn. Alternatively, a player
may spend a point of Essence for the character to change
shape as a reflexive action with no need for a roll. Uratha
may also change shape as a reflexive action, without a roll
or point expenditure, while their moon is in their auspice
phase. Returning to Hishu form is always a reflexive action
with no roll or point expenditure necessary, as it’s the form
with which werewolves are most familiar.
Trait modifiers listed for the given forms always apply
to the character’s base dots in Hishu form. A character who
is in Gauru form and shifts to Urshul form doesn’t get the
trait bonuses of both forms. The Urshul form modifiers are
simply applied to his Hishu traits. The minimum to which
a trait can drop is 1; a character cannot fall to 0 Manipulation
by shapeshifting. Advantages such as Speed that
are determined by adding dots in a character’s traits also
receive bonuses in various forms. A Speed modifier listed is
applied to a character’s standard Speed in Hishu form. (Any
bonuses to Strength and/or Dexterity listed for a particular
form are already accounted for.) Therefore, the +7 bonus
to Speed in Urshul form already takes into account the +2
increase in Strength and the +1 increase in Dexterity, with
an additional bonus based on the build of the form.
Defense is always the lower of either Dexterity or
Wits, as measured by a character’s Dexterity in his current
form. A character with Dexterity 2 and Wits 3 has a Defense
of 2 in Hishu form. When he shifts to Urshul form,
his Dexterity improves to 4. His Defense is now 3, as his
Wits is lower than his Dexterity.
Due to increases in Stamina and Size, some forms
grant additional Health dots while such a form is maintained.
These dots are added to the right end of your
character’s Health chart. Wounds suffered in corresponding
boxes cycle back into his Health chart when he
assumes a form with fewer overall Health. That is, those
“unaccounted for” injuries push existing, less severe ones
right off his Health chart, or if his Health Chart is full
of injuries they upgrade the least severe wounds he has.
See “Temporary Health Dots” in the World of Darkness
Rulebook, p. 173, for more information.
If a character possesses any Fighting Style Merits,
they are usable only in Hishu and Dalu forms. The other
forms are too unlike human anatomy for the character’s
fighting arts to do any good, and it’s particularly hard to
focus on a disciplined fighting style while Raging.
If a werewolf is knocked unconscious or killed, he immediately
reverts to Hishu form.
HISHU — THE HUMAN
In this form, the werewolf is indistinguishable from
a normal human to casual observation, and even supernatural
attempts to detect him for what he is suffer a –2
modifier. Legends about fingers being the same length or
eyebrows growing together are false. (Some werewolves
display such features, but no more often than normal
humans do.) Uratha don’t inflict Lunacy in this form.
Werewolves are usually lean and healthy-looking in
Hishu form. Werewolves can speak a rough form of the First
Tongue in Hishu form, but their mouths cannot clearly
form the more challenging growls or subvocalizations, so
enunciation isn’t perfect. A werewolf in Hishu form may
attempt to bite someone just as a human might, but he must
first achieve a hold on his target through a grapple (see
“Grapple” in the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 157).
Traits: No modifiers
DALU — THE NEAR-HUMAN
Stronger and tougher than Hishu form, but still small
enough to barely pass for human, Dalu is many werewolves’
form of choice for brawls involving normal people
(or playful cubs). Dalu adds four to six inches in height
and approximately 25-50 pounds of muscle mass to the Hishu
form’s size. Body hair thickens and facial hair becomes
prominent (noticeable even on women). Facial features
become angular and lupine, and the werewolf exhibits
subtle wolf-like behavior. She might bare her teeth when
she’s angry or aggressive, or pant slightly when excited.
Fingernails elongate, as do canine teeth (though neither
reaches a length that allows the werewolf to inflict any
special damage). In poor light, the werewolf simply looks
like a large person with unusually angular features, but in
plain sight, witnesses can observe the bestial light in the
werewolf’s eyes. A werewolf in Dalu form inspires Lunacy,
but to a limited degree. Human observers are treated as
having four more dots of Willpower (to a maximum of 10)
for purposes of determining Lunacy’s effects (see p. 176).