Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

without the contact of other Uratha for one week per point
of Primal Urge is subject to a degeneration roll. Such separation
may be by choice or force. It doesn’t matter which; the
separation itself is what’s important.
Each tribe levies its own vow tied to the Oath, and
these vows are not made lightly. A Blood Talon who surrenders
in unworthy fashion has not just demonstrated cowardice,
he’s broken a solemn oath. A Bone Shadow who fails to
repay a spirit for good or ill understands that she is personally
contributing to the imbalance of the world. Minor
violations do not require a degeneration roll; a Storm Lord
may have a smoke around others even though this displays
a minor “weakness.” However, displaying rank cowardice in
front of one’s pack would call for a degeneration roll if the
character is of appropriate Harmony.
• Mating with other Uratha; slaying a human or
wolf needlessly — Once, only Father Wolf had rights and
privileges to take mates, privileges he denied to his werewolf
children. It’s said that Father Wolf even lorded that right
over the People, taunting them with his authority. Denied
and insulted, the People claimed the right from their harsh
Father and slew him. Since that fabled day, mating with
other werewolves is seen as an act akin to incest, a taboo and
constant reminder of that past act. With so much time passed
and perspectives changed, it’s sometimes hard for young werewolves
to accept that they cannot mate with their own kind,
even if they seem to share no direct blood ties.
A character of appropriate Harmony who mates with
another Uratha is subject to a degeneration roll. A roll is
made per sexual encounter.
Werewolves are designed to kill, whether to feed
themselves and their families or to defend themselves or
their packs. If a human threatens his mate or cubs, a werewolf
will tear that person apart without a second thought;
humans have no quality that makes their lives more
“sacred” than other animals. Killing when there is no real
threat, however, is the mark of a rabid beast, not a predator
whose nature is in harmony. A werewolf who seeks
greater control over his own nature must learn to separate
a necessary kill from an act of spite or emotion.
• Slaying a werewolf in the heat of battle — As with
humans, killing one’s own kind is a moral crime, at least to
those who value the lives of their kind. Of course, slaying
another werewolf in battle is a point of contention. Arguably,
one would be killed if he didn’t kill first, yet werewolves’
ability to regenerate is a means to establish the dominance
of one werewolf over another. He who is felled but allowed to
recover and rise again is obviously the lesser of the two, and
death need not make the point. It’s arguable whether members
of the Pure and Forsaken tribes can ever arrive at such
honorable terms, however, and survival demands killing.
A character of appropriate Harmony who kills another
Uratha in battle — whether Pure or Forsaken — is
subject to a degeneration roll.
• Revealing the existence of werewolves to a human
— Werewolves are predators. They’re not afraid of
humanity. They are afraid of what would have to happen if
humanity learned of werewolf existence, however: genocide.
The People would have to cut a swath through the human
masses to protect their own existence. Therefore, this tenet
is honored as much for humanity’s sake as for the Uratha’s.
A character of appropriate Harmony who reveals
his true nature or that of the People to ordinary humans
(but not the wolf-blooded) is subject to a degeneration
roll. Instances include public displays of bestial forms or
Gift uses that prove to have witnesses who understand
and remember what happened. Werewolves therefore
don’t have complete reliance on Lunacy to occlude their
outbursts or indiscretions. There is moral gravity to being
so irresponsible.
• Using a silver weapon against another werewolf
— Whereas carrying a silver weapon is a sign of depraved
indifference, actually turning such a weapon against
another werewolf is a gruesome sin, manifest on a physical
and spiritual level. The act transcends intent and demonstrates
will. This werewolf has turned against his own kind.
Yet, those are the extremes to which some werewolves are
pushed by the abuses of their own kind and the Pure.
A character of appropriate Harmony who wields a
silver weapon against one of his own kind — Forsaken
or Pure — is subject to a degeneration roll. The roll is
made for each individual confrontation, not for each
attack roll made.
• Torturing enemies/prey — A predator respects his
enemies and prey, doing what he must to survive, whether
it means teaching opponents a lesson or eating to survive.
Abuses under either circumstance can lead to imbalance.
The torture of enemies calls for retribution rather than
resolving a competition, perpetuating rather than ending
harm. Likewise, torturing prey exceeds the needs of
survival, delving into cruelty. A true warrior and hunter
recognizes that neither sin is necessary.
A character of appropriate Harmony who inflicts
harm (such as physical torture or rape) unnecessarily on an
opponent or prey — for fun, pettiness or its own sake — is
subject to a degeneration roll.
• Murdering a werewolf — A contest of fangs, claws
and even weapons among the People is often enough to
establish the dominance of the victor. The loser is typically
down, but likely regenerating even in defeat. It’s a
sign of respect to honor a contest by allowing a defeated
foe to rise and accept his place as second. Victors who decide
not to demonstrate such honor finish off their bested
foes when they’re down, before they can rise again.
A character of appropriate Harmony who kills an
unconscious foe rather than allowing him to regenerate is
subject to a degeneration roll.
• Hunting humans, wolves or werewolves for food
— Werewolves are born of human stock, but they’re also
part wolf. To hunt either — or other werewolves — for
food or spiritual nourishment is a form of cannibalism.
Morality — Harmony
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