Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

• In the vicinity of a locus with a rating of •••• or
above (+2)
• Attempting to cross the Gauntlet during the day (–2)
The strength of the Gauntlet varies from place to
place. The Gauntlet’s strength reduces the dice pool according
to the following table:
Location Dice Pool Modifier
Dense Urban Areas –3
City suburbs & towns –2
Small towns, villages, other –1
built-up areas in the countryside
Wilderness +0
The number of successes achieved on the Intelligence
+ Presence + Primal Urge roll indicates how long it takes
the werewolf to adjust himself to the other facet of reality
and cross the Gauntlet.
Dramatic Failure: The werewolf’s attunement goes
badly out of synch. He remains in this aspect of reality
and is rattled by the experience. He may not attempt
to cross the Gauntlet again until the following night
— which could leave him in a precarious position if he’s
currently in the spirit world — though he may be brought
across by a Gift or by a pathfinder.
Failure: The werewolf remains in the same aspect
of reality. He cannot take successive attempts for the
next hour. Further attempts to step sideways during the
next hour automatically fail, though he may be brought
across the Gauntlet by a third party using the Rending the
Gauntlet rite or acting as a pathfinder.
Success: The werewolf fades from the world he’s currently
in (physical or spirit) and enters the Gauntlet. He
reappears on the other side in 30 seconds, or about 10 turns.
He cannot be attacked during this period of transition,
unless by certain mystical abilities that can affect entities
currently between the physical and spirit worlds.
Dramatic Success: Transition is instant. The werewolf
appears on the other side on his next turn and may
act normally.
Alternatively, a player may spend one Essence while
in a locus’ area of influence for his character to step sideways.
In this case, the transition is an instant action.
PATH FINDING
Packs may travel across the Gauntlet as one, allowing
one member to make the transition and take the
other characters with her. The werewolf leading the
attempt is colloquially known as the pathfinder. The
members must all remain in contact with one another for
the attempt to succeed.
The pathfinder’s player’s roll determines the transition
time for the whole pack. If the pathfinder fails or
dramatically fails the roll, she may not try again for the
specified time. Any of her packmates may try to lead the
pack across instead, though (if they haven’t recently tried
to step sideways and failed themselves, that is). A
werewolf cannot act as pathfinder if his character is spending
Essence to make the transition rather than rolling.
Pathfinding is truly effective only when all those
making the transition are a true pack, bound together
by the bonds of a pack totem. If the pathfinder is trying
to bring allies from outside the pack along, it becomes
increasingly difficult. The less connection a creature has
to the spirit world or to the pathfinder, the harder it is
to guide him through the Gauntlet. Each werewolf to be
brought across who’s not a member of the pathfinder’s
pack, or each member of the pathfinder’s pack who’s
currently unconscious, imposes an additional –1 penalty
to the roll. Creatures who aren’t werewolves but are
otherwise capable of crossing between worlds at a locus,
such as spirits, some Ridden and some mages, impose a
–2 penalty for each individual being brought along. And
each person or creature who’s incapable of spiritual travel,
such as a vampire or a human, imposes an additional
–3 penalty to the roll. In no case can a pathfinder bring
across an entity that’s actively resisting transition.
THE GAUNTLET
What is the Gauntlet? Simply speaking, it’s
a barrier between the worlds of flesh and spirit.
Some scientifically minded Ithaeur liken the
Gauntlet to the static between radio frequencies
on the dial, a necessary transition phase between
one station and the next. Yet, this fails to explain
why it’s so much easier to cross it under the light
of Mother Luna than the glare of Helios.
Other Ithaeur view the Gauntlet as a physical
reminder of the scars borne by both the Uratha
and the world of flesh for the murder of Father
Wolf and the loss of Pangaea. Dwellers in the
physical worlds are barred from the spirit world
unless they possess magic to keep their destructive
influence from growing any stronger. Spirits
find it hard to cross, both for their own protection
and to prevent the creation of more hybrid
creatures like the kinslaying race of werewolves.
For the Uratha, crossing between the
worlds should theoretically be nothing
more than a matter of adjusting their focus
from one world to the next. A moment’s
concentration, and they’re across. On some
occasions, crossings like that still occur, giving
the lucky werewolf a taste of the days out of
legend. Most of the time, though, the process
of converting flesh to spirit and slipping
through the wall between worlds is only
possible near a locus. It takes some time, and
often it isn’t even possible until the werewolf
can regain his focus.
The Shadow Realm
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