|
Administrator
- Posts:
- 28
- Group:
- Administrators
- Member
- #1
- Joined:
- Jun 11, 2016
|


Originization
The Predator Kings are primitive monsters. They follow Dire Wolf, oldest of the Firstborn, and they vehemently eschew the soft human lives of modern convenience. The Predator Kings do not hate the Forsaken for the alleged slaying Father Wolf — anything that cannot defend itself has no innate right to live. What the Predator Kings cannot forgive is the loss of the hunter’s paradise that was Pangaea. If Pangaea had been preserved, the Uratha would have been free to hunt openly, to treat humans like the livestock they are. In a way, they respect the Forsaken’s ancestors for the powerful hunters they were, and in a way, they seem to respect those Forsaken strong enough to give them a good fight. But as long as the Forsaken work to preserve the world as it is, the world that was can never return. So the Forsaken must die.
The Predator Kings’ preferred battle form is Urshul, and they scythe down opponents as enormous, ferocious dire wolves. The Ninna Farakh are the most feared warriors of the Pure Tribes, and even their allies give them plenty of room once a fight begins. Their ritual hunts are bloody, wild affairs that often leave a string of unsolved murders in the files of law enforcement agencies. Generally they seem to follow the Ivory Claws’ lead, but it’s uncertain as to whether the Ivory Claws could actually truly control the Predator Kings if it came to it.
Dire Wolf’s ban is that he may not choose to touch anything made by the hand of humans except to destroy it. He cannot walk on roads; he cannot brush up against clothed humans he encounters. Even a sprint across a farmer’s fallow field hurts his paws. Dire Wolf’s children suffer a less stringent ban, but still tend to wear only clothes they have made themselves — often from the skins of prey. |
|

Renown
The Clans primary renown is Harmony, The Predator Kings are the farthest thing from other Clans, as the character progresses, or as they butcher innocents, go against their tribal ban, or kill other Uratha. Their Harmony slowly starts to decrease.
Of all Forsaken or Pure werewolves, the Predator Kings are arguably among those who slide the deepest into degeneration. While the Predator Kings use techniques such as skilled torture less often than the other Pure might, there are still significant factors that drain Harmony away over time. Ironically, the Predator Kings’ lower Harmony scores give lie to their claims that they are the purest expression of natural alpha hunters. Few ever acknowledge the degree that Dire Wolf’s hatred and their own malice affect them. The dedicated Pure warriors put such degeneration down to necessary sacrifices. The pious and spiritual consider it blessed evidence of the close bond with Dire Wolf.
The bestial lifestyle, the easily (and often) broken ban on venturing close to humanity and using human tools, the tendency to kill foes and regard them as weaker prey — all add up after a while. The following section highlights the changes that overtake the Ninna Farakh as they fall into Harmony imbalance, paying special attention to the powerful bond with Dire Wolf.
10 to 9 Harmony 10 to 9 Harmony
Only rarely does a Predator King ever reach or maintain a Harmony of this level, and those who do are not accorded the saintly respect often found for high-Harmony werewolves among the Forsaken. In fact, to some Ninna Farakh, such a high Harmony often belies an ignorance of the goals of the Pure and the fight against the Tribes of the Moon. Although Predator Kings of this Harmony may never violate Dire Wolf’s ban and venture into the cities, they also tend not to kill their foes for pleasure, maybe never killing even accidentally or when lost to Death Rage. This can sour these Predator Kings’ relationships with the more typical and numerous Predator Kings. The division that already exists can increase by magnitudes in some territories, especially those where echoes of the Brethren War can still be found. Predator Kings with such high Harmony never really went to war in the sense of the other Pure, and even today can be reluctant to strike at the Urdaga. Wolves, high-Harmony Predator Kings reason, do not go to war and take life only to survive. This is another aspect of the high-Harmony mindset that earns respect for their concordance with the natural world, but also earns a great deal of scorn for their “impure” attitudes.
Such individuals are not numerous. To many Predator Kings, these tribemates should be praised for their self- control and balance with natural world, but are frequently seen as deluded, ineffectual or both.
With this rating, almost no Predator King displays the bans and compulsions of Pure degeneration. Some spirits can be expected to look upon the werewolf with more respect and admiration than the grudging, fearful fellowship that usually ties Anshega and spirit relationships together. Other spirits, particularly those bound to the more violent and primal aspects of the Pure way of life, might temper their increased respect with wariness for such a unique (and potentially pacifist) individual.
8 to 6 Harmony 8 to 6 Harmony
A supplicant to the tribe often begins at this level of Harmony. Most are soon broken by the savage Rite of Initiation, designed to trigger an immediate fall in Harmony to prepare the werewolf for the harshness of Pure existence and to teach him the feral necessities of the Predator Kings way of life. His Harmony will likely fall further once the werewolf comes to terms with what compromises he must make in order to further his goals and the goals of his tribe, as well as the cause of the Pure.
Some Uratha maintain this level of Harmony throughout their lives as Predator Kings, only rarely venturing into cities and taking care not to kill enemies, leaving them beaten and regenerating once they have fallen. Perhaps some Predator Kings hope such fallen foes will have learned their lesson and don’t deserve death. Perhaps these medium-Harmony werewolves are simply meticulous about never revealing their nature to the Herd or acting out pre-planned murders, and hope that by avoiding greater sins they can keep their souls in lasting balance despite the violations that do occur from time to time.
At this stage, some Predator Kings do begin to display the restrictive bans and compulsions of their tribal totem. Such effects are subtle and generally unobtrusive: circling before sitting down, subtly sniffing the air when meeting a new person, growling under the breath when annoyed, etc. A few werewolves uncomfortable with the changes they feel within themselves amend their behavior in the hopes of raising their Harmony over time, but the majority consider such subtle degeneration part and parcel of Predator King existence and give no thought to worrying about such minor changes.
5 to 3 Harmony 5 to 3 Harmony
This is the level of Harmony that most Predator Kings instinctively hover, with 4 being the most common. At this level, the werewolf regards their tribal ban as an inconvenience and will violate the ban when necessary, with the intention of doing penance at a later date. As these Ninna Farakh generally don’t care if a foe is slain in Rage-clouded battle and many seem to enjoy falling into Kuruth, they are savage warriors among werewolves. Other Anshega become very uncomfortable as the Predator King begins to live out the code of predator and prey (“the strong survive, the weak die”) and introduces this thinking into almost every aspect of their life.
Most Predator Kings at this degree of degeneration would hesitate to torture their enemies without a good reason, not entirely because of guilt but also because such torture goes against the natural behavior of a predator to toy with prey in such a manner. The minds of these Ninna Farakh are a chaotic fusion of animalist instinct, human intelligence and Dire Wolf’s unending hate, all twisted and bound by the soul’s spiritual degeneration.
Although a werewolf might acknowledge his instincts rebelling at the thought of torturing a helpless foe, the intelligent malice at the core of Dire Wolf couples with the Predator King’s low Harmony and drives the werewolf on to some sadistic and violent acts, which he will often enjoy without remorse. Ninna Farakh are well-known for relishing the slaughter at the end of a Hunt, and for revel- ing in their battle prowess as they stand over the bodies of enemies. Such behavior is due in part to the powerful connection between werewolf and totem.
The Predator Kings are still in control of their actions, though. Whether they feel guilt for their actions or care nothing for the consequences is down to an individual’s outlook on the world. Only when the Uratha begins to plunge deeper into Harmony degeneration does the totem bond take such a strong hold on the werewolf that they are no longer entirely themself.
2 to 1 Harmony 2 to 1 Harmony
Very few Predator Kings fall to this level of degeneration. At this stage, many Predator Kings have difficulty recalling much of who they were, and appear barely similar to the werewolves that packmates once knew. In addition to the potential for any number of acquired spirit bans, the Predator King’s mind and senses are saturated in the primal, undying hatred of Dire Wolf. Ninna Farakh who have fallen this low live, breathe, eat and excrete nothing but a desire for revenge, an urge to kill and a hunger for the taste of human and werewolf flesh. They ache to challenge anyone they perceive as a worthy rival, desperate to prove that they alone are the best hunters in the territory.
The cities of the world pain the werewolf’s feet as they walk (though they do not take any permanent damage.) Even looking at human architecture hurts their eyes, though some Predator Kings channel this pain into their bit- terness and loathing for humanity, for the Forsaken, for everything.
What can be most frightening is that not always straightforward desires for vengeance overcome these degenerates. A shattered memory of a cheating partner more than a decade before can flare in the werewolf’s mind, and they will stop at nothing to hunt their ex-lover down to kill him. Any thoughts that interfere with the most primal aspects of the Hunt or taking revenge on one’s enemies are easily forgotten. Clothes are an unnecessary and time-consuming affectation. Speech beyond the most basic First Tongue threats becomes pointless, no longer serving the Hunt in any way at all. The Predator King is a likely a pariah even among their own kind, and might retreat on instinct — or be driven out by their packmates — into the wilderness to dwell alone with their uncontrollable hate and fury.
It is a curious paradox: souls such as these Ninna Farakh are considered honored for carrying such a strong connection to the tribal totem, while at the same time pitied for a lack of self-control. Any Predator King who ever doubts the supernatural hatred of Dire Wolf needs only look at a tribemate whose heart and soul is saturated with hate to see that Dire Wolf’s hate is both very real and very unnerving.
0 Harmony 0 Harmony
Abject pity: This is how best to describe the way most Predator Kings see the Broken Souls. To become Zi’ir is to show how weak-willed one really is, how one has drowned in Dire Wolf’s hate and one’s own spiritual corruption without showing the strength of a Predator King.
Other Predator Kings rarely make attempts at rehabilitating or killing, mercifully, a Broken Soul. When one of the Ninna Farakh falls this far, they are pitied and considered Predator King no more. The tribe tends to relish in one final Hunt to kill such wretches out of spite, not mercy. Other Ninna Farakh let the fallen werewolf wander where they will, excising their name from the oral histories of the tribe and never speaking their name again. To become Zi’ir is to become dead to the tribe.
|
|
Initiation
To hear the Forsaken speak of the Predator Kings’ recruitment methods, the Ninna Farakh elders beat their children into submission, brainwash converts into psychotic beliefs and indoctrinate them into living lives based purely on hate.
First Trial Blood
To be a Predator King is to be a hunter without peer. To be a hunter is to kill without remorse. And so it is that the first trial, Blood, demands that a supplicant take life without regret. Blood is not simply about hunting and killing another living being: this rite is also a matter of the supplicant putting human life and morality behind them. To this end, the Predator Kings demand that the prey must be human, that it must be someone whom the supplicant knows and that the werewolf must shed no tears as they kill the victim.
Aware supplicants will perceive the reason behind the Blood trial — that this Rite of Initiation is designed to break a werewolf from their old life and begin to indoctrinate them into the Predator King mindset. Less perceptive supplicants are likely to regard Blood as a grotesque hazing of sorts, an act of mindless slaughter or a test of callousness and prowess. These latter supplicants are missing the point — the results of Blood are all that matter to the Ninna Farakh. By just going through with such acts, a werewolf is distancing themselves from all they once were, both human or Forsaken. It is an evolution of sorts: to both accept the changes the werewolf must personally go through as well as to understand what is necessary in the cause of the tribe.
It goes almost without saying that during Blood, most werewolves go after an enemy: abusive parents, a criminal who wronged them in life, someone who was promoted above them because of sleeping with the boss. and so on. However, few people have enemies they can despise with true passion. A hated enemy from mortal life is a rare thing — the psychological impact of killing “that guy you hated at the office” or “a guy who stole my lunch money for years at school” can be shattering for months or years afterward. Even with truly detested enemies, it is not easy. And with no real enemies, the werewolf’s wrath often falls upon those with only minor grievances. It is one thing to kill, in Rage or Kuruth, a parent who worked all the time and never gave a child all the attention he wanted, but it’s quite another to consciously set out to murder that person.
Some Predator Kings seek additional approval (or hope to force themselves far from their old lives) by using the time of Blood to go after loved ones. These werewolves believe that by slaughtering someone they truly care for, they are increasing their understanding of the Pure or their standing in the eyes of their Predator King ritemasters. Depending on the ritemaster in question and her own tendencies, this could be the case. In truth, it often is, and many Predator Kings will laud a supplicant with that much devotion to the tribe. Others will set the goal that the potential recruit must hunt down and kill a loved one anyway, without telling the supplicant there is any other way of doing it. This is also a method of renunciation and indoctrination, rather than just pointless cruelty, and most supplicants see that through their anger and sorrow.
Predator Kings often argue about whether Dire Wolf himself cares about who suffers under Blood. The Ninna Farakh’s Firstborn totem seems to require only that some-one the supplicant knows is killed, no matter who it is, so that the recruit suffers psychological strain and begins to understand just what measures the tribe will take compared to other werewolves.
Second Trial Bone
The second trial is Bone. Here the applicant tests their ability to suffer pain in the name of the Pure, the depth of their animal instincts and their capacity to shoulder the burdens laid upon them by Dire Wolf’s ban. The trial is spoken of in many ways by Predator King ritemasters, explaining that it tests the strength in the core of a werewolf’s body — their very bones — or how it is designed to cut a supplicant to the bone to see if they've got what it takes. This trial is meant to strip the werewolf down to their core, laying them bare and forcing them to look deep within themselves.
What few supplicants are told is that this deep introspection and terrible hardship also allows Huzuruth himself to scrutinize the werewolf so that Dire Wolf might decide if they are worthy of a place among his Predator Kings. For the entire duration of Bone, the supplicant is watched in secret by many spirit spies enslaved by fear or awe of Dire Wolf, and tell the totem of all the werewolf’s doings.
For a week, the supplicant must shed any semblance of humanity. For seven days and seven nights, the werewolf must live as a beast in the wilderness. No cell phones, no contact with humans, no clothes — if the supplicant even speaks a word of any human language, they fail and must face the mercies of the Predator King ritemaster who will likely be less than pleased at the time he was wasted on such failure.
This might not seem so bad initially — like a rough camping trip made easier with shapechanging ability and hunting skill — and many werewolves enter the trial of Bone with suspicion that worse is yet to come or assured confidence that this middle step is the easiest. As it happens, those harboring suspicions are correct, because what the supplicant is not told is that they will spend the week on the Hunt.
And they are the prey.
Supplicants are told that during the trial of Bone, they are barred from returning to the pack’s hunting grounds for imin fala Uzuhama muz — “seven turns of the Bitch Mother’s face.” The last words potential recruits hear before the trial begins are that the more pain they suffer, the higher their accolades shall be. They are then escorted in silence to the edge of the hunting ground, and must live alone for seven nights.
After a few hours, the Pure pack they seek to join will hunt them, tearing at them with claws and fangs and beating them unconscious over and over every time they catch them. Not once will they explain why they are doing it, though it isn’t hard for most supplicants to guess that this is part of the trial. When the Pure tire of the game, they will enlist the aid of allied spirits to hound the supplicant and harm them repeatedly, through fire, glass, ice, fear, hallucinations — any weapon in the spirit’s arsenal. The object of Bone is to force the supplicant to endure everything thrown at them, to make them survive on animal instinct as well as human logic, to test them to their limits and then break them in the hopes that they rebuild them higher and stronger the next time. The supplicant knows they only have to survive for a week, but after a few days that can seem like an eternity away.
At some point, the pack likely forces the supplicant into Forsaken hunting grounds, then alerts the local Tribes of the Moon through spirit-allies or by howls that there is a Pure among Forsaken territory. The supplicant can obviously expect no mercy should they fall into the Forsaken’s hands. Newly Changed werewolves undergoing a savage initiation into Pure ways will obviously believe the Forsaken are evil and treacherous creatures who deserve no mercy (perfectly true in some hunting grounds), so they will probably die before allowing themselves to be captured. Worse, Forsaken traitors who seek to join the Pure have the worry of recognized by former packmates or friends during this part of the trial. The Forsaken’s punishment is apt to be much worse if they are caught.
At the end of the week, the supplicant either returns to the pack’s hunting ground or is forgotten and left for dead. Those who return stand before the Predator King ritemaster and the rest of the pack, and are congratulated on the pain they endured, the foes they killed and their ability to survive on animal instinct when the need arises.
They swear an oath in First Tongue to become one of Dire Wolf’s children if the totem himself finds them worthy. Without waiting for an answer, the werewolf then tears off their auspice.
Final Trial Soul
The shredding of the auspice is a spiritual plea, but the shredding has a savagely physical aspect in the Predator Kings’ rites of initiation. Rather than simply imploring Dire Wolf to remove the spirit brands or spiritually forsaking Luna’s forgiveness, the supplicant is told they must also physically rend the blessing of the Mother from their own flesh. Claws, knives, homemade daggers of broken glass — even silver weapons — whatever the werewolf feels is worthy.
Some Forsaken converts cut themselves in the place of their spirit brands, ritually flaying the skin from their muscles over and over as they regenerate. This is not merely sacrifice in the name of differencing themselves from the Forsaken: it is a visceral rejection of the Goddess’s forgiveness. The Ninna Farakh believe the terrible pain of the moment, the shredding itself, lends the mental focus and spiritual power necessary to cast aside the Mother’s forgiveness. |
|
Savagery
As those who hunt even the hunters, the Predator Kings are masters at controlling their feral instincts and manipulating such savagery in others. Above all, these Gifts are used by the Ninna Farakh to make them even more capable killers and even more dangerous to others. Savagery Gifts are taught by spirits that understand what it is to be a true hunter — bears, lions , birds of prey and so on.
Official Abilities
- Predator’s Presence (•)
A werewolf’s innate Primal Urge betrays her to nearby humans, letting the mortals know on a subconscious level that a predator is nearby. This can make people uncomfortable and reluctant to respond favorably to a werewolf in her human form. This Gift allows a Ninna Farakh to turn that discomfort to her favor, generating a sense of palpable threat that unnerves and frightens nearby humans into awkwardness and placid obedience.
- Unending Fury (••)
To fall into Kuruth is to abandon all reason for the purest instinct of all — to survive at any cost. Some Predator Kings have learned not to fear the touch of Death Rage, but to welcome it as the epitome of the hunter’s arsenal against his prey. This Gift suppresses the hunter’s fight or flight instincts, so that characters down to their last three health boxes do not feel the instinctive urge to preserve their life. Instead, they lose themselves to mindless Rage, ripping flesh and lashing out with no desire beyond killing their enemies. Predator Kings who are blinded by hate for the enemies, who simply wish to take down as many of their foes as possible before their own death or who are certain victory can come with a final-breath effort, use this Gift with devastating effects.
- Challenger’s Instinct (•••)
The Predator King with this Gift can sense the depths of Rage boiling within another werewolf, but only when the enemy is immersed in his purest fury. Anshega with this ability use it on foes that have shifted into the Gauru form, to read the telltale signs in body language, spirit brands and the aura of a fellow predator to determine how deep the hunter’s fury runs in their opponent’s psyche. It is a bald, open study of another hunter, often employed to locate and face down the most-skilled combatant in an enemy pack. This Gift only works on Uratha in Gauru form that the character can see directly.
- Embrace the Beast (••••)
Werewolves who use this Gift are often feared by their packmates because of their instability in battle, but no one can deny the incredible killing Rage that pulses in their bones and allows them to tear their enemies apart. This Gift is popular among Predator King elders and lone wolves who walk away from their Anshega brethren to live alone. Although any single werewolf is capable of tremendous physical prowess, this ability infuses an Uratha with unmatched, unreasoning killing power from her proclivity to fall into Death Rage.
- Baresark (•••••)
With this power, the Predator King has mastered his own savagery and anger to the point where he can fiercely project it onto others, making them experience the depths of his potential for viciousness. More than that, he can focus his anger so powerfully that it can steal the rational thoughts of humans and other werewolves, causing humans to act like savage animals, and pushing Uratha close to Kuruth.
|
|
Nature
The Gifts of Nature are similar to Elemental Gifts in that both deal with the environment and the surroundings of the world. Nature Gifts, however, focus not on the elements but on the specific flora and fauna of the wild. The Hunters in Darkness in particular have affinity with these Gifts, and any werewolves who have frequent dealings with animals and growing things find the Gifts useful. Spirits of animals, trees and plants teach these Gifts.
Official Abilities
- Speak with Beasts (•)
Werewolves must often talk with other animals to gather information or make bargains. This Gift allows them to communicate with both voice and body language to speak and listen to animals, though an animal is under no obligation to listen to or agree with what a werewolf says.
The character can speak so as to be understood by any known animal, as well as understand what the animal might “say.” The creature in question is still fearful, and it might not listen to the werewolf.
- Plant Growth (••)
The werewolf can cause any living plant to grow at a phenomenal rate, shaping the growth to their whim. Some Hunter in Darkness packs have thick thorn hedges surrounding their territorial borders, or live in literal tree houses. The vegetation can grow in whatever shape desired. The effects of the growth are permanent, though the plants can be trimmed or destroyed as usual.
- Forest Communion (•••)
The forest is alive, and much can be gleaned by those who know how to listen. With this Gift, a werewolf can sense much about the life around them: the tread of boots on the earth, fleeting images through the eyes of an owl or fox, or the scent of recent visitors.
The user slips into a trancelike state. Successful activation of this Gift allows basic information (presence of intruders, potential threats such as fires) up to 500 yards from the werewolf. The Gift lasts as long as the user remains in the trance, but they are unaware of and cannot react to the outside world, nor can they relay their findings while the Gift is active. This Gift doesn’t function in an urban environment.
- Beast Ride (••••)
With this Gift, the werewolf can enter the mind of a mammal or bird, exerting some influence over where it goes and sensing what it does. The Gift works only on mundane mammals or birds, not on werewolves or other supernatural beings in animal form, or on animals that are Spirit-Ridden.
The werewolf must be able to see the animal to bond with it. Once joined, the character’s body is comatose and cannot be roused. The character is aware of any contact or harm that befalls their body, however, and can return instantly at any time.
While the werewolf possesses an animal, any injuries inflicted on the animal also appear on the werewolf’s body. If the animal is killed, the riding spirit is returned to his body automatically. If the werewolf’s body is killed while the character’s spirit is out, their identity is subsumed and lost into the animal in which he rides.
- Nature’s Vengeance (•••••)
For countless millennia, humans have exploited the forest. This Gift lets the forest fight back. Branches smash, vines constrict and grass entangles those that the werewolf marks as enemies.
|
|
Rage
The spirits recognize the power that Rage grants werewolves, and they respect that power even if they resent how the Uratha came by it. In an effort to appease the Uratha and hopefully convince them to direct their Rage elsewhere, spirits offer these Gifts. The list helps a werewolf derive more power from his Rage, and even ma- nipulate the power that Rage gives rivals and enemies.
Official Abilities
- Mask of Rage (•)
The character makes himself seem preternaturally ter- rifying by exposing onlookers to Lunacy and intensifying its effects. If the character does so in Dalu or Urshul form, Lu- nacy is as intense as it would be if he were in Gauru form. If he does so in Hishu or Urhan form, he emanates a Lunacy- inducing effect as if he were in either Dalu or Urshul form (respectively). This Gift cannot be activated in Gauru form. The effect lasts for as long as the werewolf remains in the form in which he activates it.
- Hone Rage (••)
A character with this Gift can channel the power of his Rage more efficiently than the average character, sacrificing the time he can spend in Gauru form for increased physical prowess.
This Gift can be activated when a character assumes Gauru form, or it can be activated after he’s already in that form, as long as time in Gauru is still available to be sacrificed. If no more time is left to be exchanged, the Gift cannot be used. Activating the Gift doesn’t count as a distraction from attacking while in Gauru, and doesn’t threaten Death Rage. If a character enters Death Rage while using this Gift, the Gift’s effects immediately end, and the character will be subject to Death Rage for the usual duration.
- Leach Rage (•••)
Facing a werewolf with this Gift is a dangerous proposition indeed. A werewolf literally steals the power of a rival’s Rage and adds it to his own. With a hissing inhalation, the Gift-user draws off his opponent’s power in a wash of energy that distorts the air between them. The victim loses a number of turns that could be spent in Gauru form, and the Gift user gains those turns in addition to his own.
A werewolf can use this Gift only on another werewolf, and only on a werewolf who is currently in Gauru form. Furthermore, the victim must still have time available in Gauru form. When a user activates this Gift, he reflexively assumes his own Gauru form as a result, provided he hasn’t already done so in the same scene. If the Gift user has already assumed Gauru form in the same scene prior to activating this power, he may still use it on a subject. Should he activate the Gift successfully, he robs the victim of time in war form, but doesn’t gain those extra time himself. If this Gift is used against a subject currently undergoing the Death Rage, the target may attempt to stop Kuruth; however, the Gift user must make a atempt to resist Death Rage or enter Kuruth himself.
A character who is currently in Gauru form can use this power on another Raging werewolf. Activating the Gift does not count as a distraction from attacking foes.
- Rekindled Rage (••••)
Normally a werewolf character can enter Gauru form only once per scene (with the exception of Death Rage), but a werewolf who has mastered this Gift is not so lim- ited. With a successful energy and a little willpower, the werewolf can enter Gauru an additional time in the same scene, though the second transformation will not last as long.
A character can use this Gift only after he has en- tered and let lapse his first Gauru Rage in a scene.
A character may use the Hone Rage Gift in a Re- kindled Rage, and he is equally susceptible to the Leach Rage Gift. Or he can use the Rekindled Rage Gift in one turn and then use Leach Rage on a Raging victim in a subsequent turn.
- Soured Rage (•••••)
A werewolf in Rage is a powerful warrior and ally. A werewolf with this Gift, however, can turn that warrior’s power into a liability by souring that Rage and taking control of it out of an unsuspecting victim’s hands. With an ugly First- Tongue curse, the Gift user poisons a victim’s Rage such that it is overridden by the instinct for self-preservation.
This Gift works only on a subject who is already in Gauru form. A werewolf cannot use this Gift if he’s currently in his own Gauru form. Nor does the Gift affect a werewolf who is already in a Death Rage.
|
|
Strength
From folklore’s King Lycaon to Hollywood’s Wolf Man, one thing all tales of werewolves seem to agree on is that those cursed with lycanthropy are possessed of superhuman might. While not all aspects of werewolf legend are true where the Uratha are concerned, this fact most certainly is. The average Uratha in Gauru form is easily capable of ripping a man to shreds or overturning an automobile, but with the aid of certain Gifts, he is capable of feats that neither Ovid nor Universal Studios ever imagined.
Strength Gifts are taught by myriad animal spirits, usually those associated with might, and by some earth- spirits or spirits of war.
Official Abilities
- Crushing Blow (•)
Sometimes a werewolf chooses to kill without using his claws or fangs — perhaps to elude hunters search- ing for a “rabid man-eating animal,” perhaps simply as a gesture of scorn for his prey. Crushing Blow allows a character to deliver strikes with bone-shattering force. Few things in nature (or out) can stand against such power.
- Mighty Bound (••)
The power of this Gift allows werewolves to leap across distances that would seem impossible for creatures of their size. An Uratha who has learned this Gift may spring ef- fortlessly from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of his prey.
- Iron-Rending (•••)
Werewolves tap into a source of strength that is older than all the works of man. Iron-Rending infuses a were- wolf’s claws with such destructive power that iron, steel and concrete cannot withstand his might. A character with this Gift can tear apart steel like cardboard and claw stone as easily as clay. This Gift is usable only in Dalu, Gauru or Urshul form.
- Legendary Arm (••••)
With this Gift, a werewolf can hurl even tremendous and unwieldy objects great distances. Whether this means throwing a boulder as a projectile at enemies or tossing a packmate over high flames depends on circumstance.
- Savage Might (•••••)
Though already capable of incredible feats of might, there are times when even Uratha need to perform not the incredible, but the impossible. Calling on the indomitable strength of Father Wolf himself in every muscle, bone and sinew, the character channels a fraction of his progenitor’s might into a single extraordinary display of physical power.
|
|
|