Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

Attributes are first prioritized by category, from strongest
(primary) to average (secondary) to weakest (tertiary).
For example, a “dumb jock” concept would probably have
primary Physical Attributes (he’s a star athlete), secondary
Social Attributes (he has little trouble making friends or attracting
romantic attention) and tertiary Mental Attributes
(the “dumb” part). The character concept should help you
prioritize your Attributes, though a concept can be interpreted
in several ways. A park ranger might have primary
Physical Attributes to represent being shaped by constant
grueling exercise, but he could as easily have primary Mental
Attributes to represent a keen intellect and work ethic.
All characters begin with one dot in each Attribute,
reflecting the basic capabilities of all human beings. The
priorities established in the preceding paragraph determine
how many dots are allocated for each Attribute
group. You add five additional dots to the primary group,
four additional dots to the secondary group and three dots
to the tertiary group. For example, the dumb jock has five
dots to be allocated in his Physical category, four in his
Social category and three in his Mental category.
The fifth dot in any single Attribute costs two dots to
purchase. To purchase Wits 5, you need to spend five dots
(the first one comes automatically, the second through
fourth dots costs one each, for a total of three, and the
fifth dot costs two more).
STEP THREE: SELECT SKILLS
Skills are divided into the same three subcategories
as Attributes: Mental, Physical and Social. Mental Skills
are generally intellectual and knowledge capabilities, often
learned through schooling. Physical Skills are as much
trained as learned, frequently tied to natural talent. Social
Skills deal with relating to others (be they animals, humans
or other beings). Some can be trained, while others
are learned through experience.
Like Attributes, Skill groups must be prioritized
during character creation. Select primary, secondary and
tertiary categories for your Skills. The primary group
receives 11 dots, the secondary group gets seven, and the
tertiary group receives four. Note that, unlike Attributes,
characters do not begin the game with an automatic dot
in any Skill. Skills dots are obtained through dedication
to a field, not simply by virtue of existing. Purchasing the
fifth dot in any Skill costs two dots.
STEP FOUR:
SELECT SKILL SPECIALTIES
While most people with extensive training in a given
Skill have a wide general proficiency, some amount of
specialization is inevitable. A computer programmer might
be better with one programming language than with others,
or he might be better at writing graphics code than
retooling a word-processing program. In game terms, he
might have three dots in Computer, with a Specialty in
Computer Graphics.
You may choose three Skill Specialties during
character creation and assign them as you please, even all
three to a single Skill. A character who has spent time in
an animal-rescue organization might have two Specialties
in Animal Ken (Dogs and Horses), and one Specialty in
Medicine (Veterinary). Specialties offer a bonus die to dice
pools when those areas of expertise apply.
Note that werewolf auspices, explored on p. 80, each
offer a free Specialty in one of three Skills. Your character
must possess one of these Skills to have the free Specialty. If
he does not, the extra benefit is lost. You may therefore look
ahead to buy an appropriate Skill if you know what auspice
your character will be, or you may reserve some points to
spend on Skills until Step Five of character creation to
acquire traits that coincide with the auspice you choose.
WEREWOLF ORIGINS
The most common myths of werewolves are
about people who transform into raging amalgamations
of beast and man, or simply beast,
under a full moon. The reality of the werewolf
condition in this game draws from those legends
but isn’t wholly bound by them. The Uratha
can assume various forms that are progressions
between normal human and normal-seeming
wolf, for example. They can also do so under any
moon, not just a full moon.
And then there’s the legend of a man
changing into a wolf. Many Uratha are just such
creatures. While the Forsaken tell stories of
wolves that can assume the forms of men, such
beings are legendary in the modern world. None
of Luna’s chosen can lay claim to being wolfborn
first. Rumors claim that some werewolves
among the Pure Tribes do begin life as wolves
and spend most of their time in feral form, but
no one among the Forsaken can confirm this.
STEP FIVE:
ADD WEREWOLF TEMPLATE
The First Change. The werewolf beneath the skin awakens,
and your character undergoes the metamorphosis into his
true self. The supernatural transformation that your character
experiences is represented by traits that no mortal possesses.
Note that a character cannot possess multiple supernatural
templates, and some Merits are not available
to supernatural characters. A vampire or mage cannot
undergo the First Change, and they lose the benefits of
the Wolf-Blooded Merit (p. 79).
AUSPICE
The phase of the moon that marks a werewolf’s First
Change is called her “auspice moon.” As the term implies,
Character Creation
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