Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

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Chapter III: Special Rules and Systems
ing a werewolf in human or wolf form use an obviously
supernatural power (such as a Gift or rite) have almost
no frame of reference. They suffer similarly to those who
see a Gauru-form werewolf.
MASS LUNACY
If a werewolf induces Lunacy in a crowd, the effect
runs the risk of backfiring. A crowd stricken with fear
might become an angry mob or a panicked stampede.
The Storyteller should make a Resolve + Composure roll
for the human with the highest Willpower in the crowd.
Success indicates that the person may direct the crowd to
some degree. If he simply wants to save himself, the entire
crowd follows his lead, but if he is driven violent with fear,
the mob might turn against the werewolf. Members of
the crowd probably still have problems understanding or
remembering exactly what’s happening, but they could be
incited to riot or swarm a subject.
This phenomenon is one of the reasons werewolves
are unwilling to reveal their presence to humanity.
They’ve seen the danger of mob rule. Yet crowds don’t
always turn violent. Every human knows that he doesn’t
have to be faster or stronger than a predator, just faster
than his fellow prey.
LUNACY AND WOLF BLOOD
Humans with the Wolf-Blooded Merit are treated as
having two more points of Willpower (to a maximum of
10) for purposes of being affected by Lunacy. Most are still
likely to go temporarily mad and forget the experience of
seeing a werewolf in Gauru, but the stronger-willed ones
resist to a greater degree. The Rite of the Moon’s Love
(p. 160) can temporarily increase their ability to resist
Lunacy as well. Strong-willed humans who are cared for by
a werewolf might be fully aware of the true nature of their
parent, child, sibling or lover and even faintly aware of the
plight of the Uratha in general. Yet this knowledge brings
little comfort in the frightening world of the Forsaken.
LUNACY AND THE SUPERNAT URAL
The Uratha share the night with other supernatural
beings, including vampires and human sorcerers. Young
werewolves facing such foes in battle soon discover that
one of their most potent weapons, the Lunacy, does them
no good. Luna loses her hold on the mortal mind once it
awakens to the greater truth of the world. The vampiric
Embrace and the Awakening that mages undergo both free
the mind sufficiently that these beings are no longer subject
to Lunacy. This by no means indicates that such beings can’t
be frightened of werewolves, only that such a reaction isn’t
compulsory. In game terms, any character with a supernatural
template is immune to the Lunacy, including mortal servants
of supernatural beings (such as ghouls and acolytes).
SENSES
One of the greatest advantages of being a werewolf
is the sense acuity that matches, and even exceeds, that
of their wolf cousins. The Uratha enjoy the best of both
worlds. They have full-color vision in Hishu, Dalu and Gauru
form, and they perceive colors as washed-out in Urshul
and Urhan. They also gain the benefit of exceptional hearing
and smell in any form other than Hishu. As a result,
werewolves’ impressions of the world are sharper and almost
alien to human experience. To a werewolf, an old scent is
like a trail laid through time, a glimpse of something that
happened hours ago. A human’s voice contains additional
layers of pitch that the speaker can’t perceive himself, and
his scent tells those who can smell it things he might want
to conceal — say, details of his sex life, his emotional state
and his diet. For all the horror and violence that are part of
a werewolf’s life, few really want to go back to being human,
to being near-deaf and scent-blind again.
TRACKING
Sooner or later, all werewolves hunt or are hunted.
The hunt is ingrained in a werewolf’s very instincts, and
few creatures can truly rival the tracking ability of the
Uratha on the prowl.
Tracking is a Skill task based on Survival. Tracking
by sight, as humans do, is an Intelligence + Survival task.
Tracking by scent (as animals do) is a Wits + Survival
task. Werewolves and other shapechangers that can gain
the senses of an animal may attempt to do either, though
not all animals have an equally keen sense of smell. Successes
must be accumulated for the tracker in an extended
action equal to a number set by the Storyteller. The longer
the trail is, the more successes are necessary to follow it all
the way to the source.
Tracking can also be an extended and contested action
if the quarry attempts to hide his tracks or otherwise conceal
his passage. Wits + Survival may be rolled for him at each
stage of the pursuit. If the quarry ever achieves the most successes
on a single roll, the tracker loses the trail altogether. If
the tracker gets the most successes with each roll, they count
toward the total number needed to follow the trail to its end.
If there’s ever a tie on any particular roll, the Storyteller may
allow the tracker successive attempts at that stage (see the
World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 132) to resume the trail, all
compared to the same number of successes achieved in the
tying roll made for the subject. So, if the tying roll involved
four successes, five or more successes must be achieved for the
tracker for him to ever pick to the trail again. The Storyteller
decides how many successive attempts are allowed, but each
becomes more difficult.
Both tracking and deliberately covering one’s tracks
requires participants to move at half Speed. Moving at a
more desperate clip increases the margin of error: Moving
at three-quarter Speed imposes a –2 penalty, while moving
at full Speed imposes a –4 penalty. These modifiers apply
to the appropriate participant’s rolls.
In time, the trail becomes fainter. The tracker suffers
a –1 penalty for every eight hours that elapses once