Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

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Chapter II: Character
THE WORLD BEGAN WITHOUT MAN, AND IT WILL END WITHOUT HIM.
This chapter details the rules that govern building
your character, the first step in taking part in the game.
It includes information on the five lunar auspices, moonsigns
that influence a werewolf’s behavior, as well as the
five tribes (and one tribeless faction) of the Forsaken.
Finally, this chapter details Gifts, the supernatural powers
werewolves derive from the spirit world, and rites, their
system of ritual magic.
CHARACTER CREATION
The act of character creation has two main parts
— creating the narrative gist of a persona and defining
his capabilities in a rules sense — both of which fuel one
another. You might find that a character concept leads you
to select some interesting traits that you hadn’t previously
considered, making your character more fleshed out as an
individual. A number of dots in a trait may lead you to
consider something about his personality, thus developing
the narrative side of your character.
Don’t be too concerned about creating a character
who can “win” in various situations, be it combat, social
situations or stealth — that isn’t the object of the game.
Your character is a werewolf, so he’s fully capable of taking
care of himself. If you worry that he doesn’t seem like a
brawler, don’t worry about rationalizing a way to add dots
of Brawl to your character sheet. There’s plenty of time in
the chronicle for him to learn self-defense, and it could
turn out to be more fun to roleplay the experience.
Ideally, you should work with both your Storyteller and
your fellow players during character creation to make sure
your creation gets along reasonably well with the others
and that everyone has plenty to do in the chronicle. One
of Werewolf’s strengths is the sheer rush of enjoyment
that comes from playing a pack rather than a collection of
individuals. When you know that you can count on your
friends to pull together when a threat arises, and to share
entertaining roleplaying, you enjoy the game all the more.
CHARACTER-CREATION PROCESS
Use the rules from the World of Darkness
Rulebook, and add the following template to
werewolf characters during Step Five.
Choose an auspice (see p. 61).
Choose a tribe (see p. 62).
For beginning Gifts, choose one Gift from
your auspice-affinity lists, one Gift from one of
your tribal-affinity lists, and one “free pick” Gift
from the list of your choice. Players of Ghost
—CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS, TRISTES TROPIQUES
Wolves pick one auspice-affiliated Gift, one from
the common lists available to all werewolves (Father
Wolf or Mother Luna’s Gifts), and one from
a list of their choice. You may use the “free pick”
to take a dot in the Rituals trait, which is purchased
in the same manner as Gifts (see p. 102).
Werewolves can choose additional Merits
from a special list (see p. 79).
Morality is now called Harmony (see p. 65).
If you want to create a wolf-blooded
character rather than a full-blooded werewolf,
you may do so with the Storyteller’s approval. The
process is the same as for creating an ordinary
human as a character; use the character-creation
rules from the World of Darkness Rulebook,
and purchase the Wolf-Blooded Merit (see p.
79), which costs four of your character’s seven
dots to spend on Merits. Werewolves who have
undergone the First Change cannot have this trait,
as they are no longer wolf-blooded humans.
STEP ONE: CHARACTER CONCEPT
At the heart of every character is the concept — a
quick summation of what your character is like. While some
concepts can take more than a paragraph to describe, it’s
usually best to start simple. A concept can be a two-word
phrase (“maverick cop,” “reclusive scholar”), or something
more elaborate (“a wild, over-privileged rich kid desperate
for some sort of greater truth in his life, but too caught up
in his own neuroses to find it alone”). Concept serves as
the foundation on which you build a character. The only
potential limitation is age. The First Change never happens
before the start of puberty or after the age of about 60.
Auspice and tribe choices can be part of your concept,
though they shouldn’t be the core of your concept.
They affect a character’s personality, but they don’t define
it. Information on auspice and tribe is provided in Step
Five. Players creating prelude characters should leave the
choice of auspice and tribe to be determined through play.
STEP TWO: SELECT AT TRIBUTES
With concept decided, the next step is to flesh out your
character mechanically, representing her concept within the
rules of the game. The first and simplest thing is to prioritize
her Attributes, her raw ability and potential. How strong,
tough, smart or likeable she is. Characters have nine Attributes,
divided into three categories: Mental (Intelligence,
Wits, Resolve), Physical (Strength, Dexterity, Stamina), and
Social (Presence, Manipulation, Composure).