Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

and Wisdom •, to Glory •, Honor • and Wisdom • still
retains use of any two-dot Gifts he learned. Requisite
Renown dots are vital for learning Gifts, not for using the
powers. Spirits demand esteem or respect for their students
before imparting Gifts (measured in Renown dots when
the power is granted), but once those Gifts are taught, they
remain a werewolf’s to use.
In order for a character to join a new tribe, he must
have at least one dot in the tribe’s primary Renown — for
instance, Glory to join the Blood Talons. A character who
lacks any Renown to join his intended tribe is considered
a Ghost Wolf in the interim, and is treated as such. One
who never joins another tribe remains a Ghost Wolf. (A
character who goes tribeless does not lose the Gifts he’s
already learned. Higher rated Gifts in those same lists are
now simply more expensive to acquire, because the character
no longer has a tribal affinity for them.)
MERIT S
A werewolf character can theoretically possess any of
the Merits available to ordinary humans, with a few modifications.
A werewolf might have a wolf-blooded relative
among his allies and contacts, for example. Conversely,
some Merits are less valuable to werewolves. Natural Immunity,
for example, is useful to a werewolf only when resisting
a supernatural source of illness, due to the Uratha’s
already stellar resistance to disease and infection. Fighting
Styles cannot be used in Gauru, Urshul or Urhan form.
Note that any prerequisites necessary to acquire a Merit
are measured against a character’s traits in Hishu form.
You must be innately strong to purchase a given Physical
Merit, not make up for the lack with shapeshifting.
All werewolves have a basic understanding of the
First Tongue, enough to say sentences no more complicated
than “I want… you give” or to understand whether
a spirit is asking them a question, threatening them or
pleading for mercy. This represents a mix of instinctive
understanding and the tutelage received before tribal initiation.
A character must purchase one dot of the Language
Merit for full fluency with the First Tongue; the First
Tongue has no common written form, but the character
will be able to “read” symbols etched by a spirit.
The following Merits are designed for werewolves in
particular, and represent edges unavailable to ordinary
humans.
FETISH (• TO •••••)
Effect: Your character possesses a fetish, a tool or weapon
empowered by a spirit bound within. Perhaps she inherited it
from a relative, received it from another werewolf, crafted it
herself as part of her initiation or took it from a fallen ally during
the prelude. Whatever the reason, your character begins
play with a fetish that is already attuned to her.
The fetish has a level equal to the dots in this
Merit. One dot of Fetish is equal to three talens (small,
minor fetishes; see p. 205), which may be multiple
copies of the same talen. You may purchase multiple fetishes
during character creation as long as the total dots
in this Merit do not exceed five. You could put four dots
into Fetish by assigning your character a Spirit Drum
(one dot) and a Mask of Life (three dots), but your
character could not begin play with a four-dot klaive
and a Fireflash (two dots). Further fetishes can be acquired
through roleplay as the chronicle progresses, but
cannot be purchased by experience points.
Sample fetishes are provided in Chapter Three (pp.
204-209).
TOTEM (VARIES; SPECIAL)
Effect: Werewolves lead a uniquely dangerous existence.
They are closely tied to the spirit world and must
frequently face dangers that human beings cannot conceive.
To help deal with these obstacles, Uratha forge
pacts with various spirits for mutual aid and assistance.
Many packs take this practice to the next level, binding
a spirit to their pack to serve as a patron — their pack
totem. A pack’s relationship with its totem is something
like a compact between wartime allies. The totem looks
after the pack, and the pack works to aid and honor the
totem in a relationship as old as the world itself.
This Merit is shared by all members of the pack;
each member who contributes Merit points to Totem
reaps the benefits, and the totem becomes stronger.
Dots placed in this Merit are spent on the pack totem,
increasing its power in a number of ways. Full systems
for creating a pack totem are found in Chapter Three,
pp. 186-195.
WOLF-BLOODED (••••)
Effect: Your character has blood relations with a
lineage of werewolves, and the blood of the werewolf runs
particularly strong in her. Strange things have probably
occurred around her all her life. Spirits and Uratha might
even keep tabs on her, awaiting a First Change that might
never even occur.
Your character might be fully aware of her heritage
or completely ignorant of it. In the first case, she has been
exposed to the existence of werewolves through stories,
half-glimpsed sights or full disclosure by her kin. In the
second case, she probably lives as an ordinary person,
but still suffers strange encounters that tell her that she
doesn’t quite fit among the masses.
In either case, your character automatically has the
Unseen Sense Merit (World of Darkness Rulebook, p.
109) by virtue of her strong werewolf blood. That free
Merit must be focused on werewolf and spirit activity. Furthermore,
she’s not as subject to Lunacy as ordinary people
are. A Wolf-Blooded character’s effective Willpower is
treated as two higher than normal for purposes of resisting
Lunacy.
Your character has a faint rapport with wolves, and
is able to read lupine body language and growls far better
Traits
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