Gurahl Rites

Ceremonies and rituals play a major part in the life of a Gurahl. The werebears originated many rites now practiced by the Garou, particularly those regarding purification and healing. As Gurahl age, they become more concerned with rituals, spending most of their time performing old rites and even creating new ones. Storytellers may modify any of the Garou rites for use with Gurahl characters, though the most typical rites will resemble Rites of Accord or Death, as well as Mystic and Seasonal rites.

Since Gurahl tend toward solitude for much of their lives, many of their rites need only a single werebear to perform them. Other rites involve interaction between two Gurahl, while some require group participation (or else draw additional strength from the number of werebears present).

Gurahl place great emphasis on rites and ceremonies. The following are some of the more important Gurahl rites. The werebears also know most of the rites common to Garou, having taught many of them to the werewolves to begin with.

Many rites require no roll to enact; others require a Charisma + Rituals roll unless otherwise noted in the description of the rite itself.

## Level One Rites

### Rites of Greeting and Leave-taking

Level One

These simple rites involve a formal acknowledgment of the presence of another Gurahl. The basic rite used when one Gurahl meets another involves the use of language and body gestures that tender mutual respect. Variations on the basic rite allow for meeting groups of Gurahl, encountering a werebear of higher or lower rank, entering or leaving the territory of another Gurahl and other kinds of meetings.

System: No roll is necessary unless there is some question as to whether or not one or both of the Gurahl involved in the rite have hostile or unfriendly intentions toward the other. If this is the case, the Gurahl who wishes to keep the greeting on a friendly basis rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty of the target’s Willpower) to ensure that the rite succeeds in averting trouble.

### Rite of Rending the Gauntlet

Level One

Gurahl have such close ties to the Earth itself that entering the Umbra requires a special rite. Unlike the Garou, who can simply “step sideways,” the Gurahl must physically rip a hole in the Gauntlet before they can travel beyond the confines of the physical world. In order to accomplish this feat, the Gurahl transforms into Bjornen, tears an opening into the Umbra and steps through. The tear immediately seals itself behind the Gurahl. This action invokes the Delirium in normal humans who inadvertently come upon a Gurahl in the process of passing between the worlds.

System: The player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Charisma + Rituals versus a difficulty of the local Gauntlet. The time it takes to open a hole in the Gauntlet and pass through depends on the number of successes gained in the roll. One success means that it takes the Gurahl five minutes to enter the Umbra. Two successes shortens the time to 30 seconds, while three or more successes indicates an almost instantaneous ripping and crossing. No successes means that the Gurahl fails to tear the fabric of the Gauntlet, and he may not make another attempt until an hour has passed. A botch strands the Gurahl halfway between the two worlds. The Gurahl’s affinity for the Earth makes returning from the Umbra a simple process, requiring no roll.

### Dreams of Winter

Level One

Although Gurahl do not have to hibernate, those who do are often confused about what occurred while they slept. People she regarded as allies may have changed their attitudes, enemies may have repented, the bear’s territory will have changed around her. This rite is widely known to the Gurahl and is often taught to young bears shortly after their first change.

System: The Gurahl enacts this rite before hibernating, or before a normal night’s sleep. While she sleeps, she dreams of the world around her. These dream sequences usually show events within the werebear’s territory, but may depict scenes from anywhere in the world if they are relevant to the dreamer. The Gurahl’s player can roll Intelligence + Occult to determine if she knows of an event that occurred while he slept. The difficulty of this roll depends on the personal relevance of the event to the Gurahl.

## Level Two Rites

### Rite of the Changing Moon

Level Two

These rites mark a Gurahl’s passage from one auspice to another. The subject of the rite first undergoes a ritual cleansing, including a day-long fast and a ceremonial bath. At the end of her purification, she burns an item symbolic of her old auspice (i.e., a child’s toy for Arcas or a wooden spear for Uzmati). Next she adorns herself in clothing and face paint suitable to her new auspice. Finally, she presents herself before the other participants in the rite and formally states her name and (new) auspice. The other Gurahl greet her in return, again using her name and new auspice title. A celebration usually follows the formal portion of the rite.

System: No roll is necessary, but all the proper steps must be followed for the rite to “succeed.”

### Rite of the Healing Winds

Level Two

The Gurahl use this ceremony to cleanse the land of noxious poisons, whether in the form of gases, liquids (such as chemical spills) or airborne viruses and biological agents. To enact this rite, the Gurahl enters the Umbra (using Rend the Gauntlet), then summons and binds a Chinook-spirit. The Gurahl then sends that spirit to the place that needs cleansing. The Chinook’s purifying cold scours the land, water and air as well as creatures and vegetation, ridding them of toxins. The spirit’s presence causes the temperature in the vicinity to drop up to 10 degrees, an effect which lasts for no more than 24 hours and causes no significant damage to the local flora and fauna.

This rite is a favorite of the Ice Stalkers, who regularly gather in groups to summon Chinook-spirits to send to other Gurahl whose lands need purifying.

System: The Gurahl enters the umbra, and rolls Manipulation + Rituals to locate and summon a Chinook-spirit. (You may use the guidelines described in Axis Mundi: The Book of Spirits for propitiating spirits and offering them chiminage in order to gain the cooperation of the Chinook-spirit.) The difficulty of the roll depends on the level of pollution in the targeted region. A badly poisoned area, for instance may require a difficulty of 8 or higher (to a maximum of 10 for sites of nuclear waste or strong chemical toxins). No successes mean that the rite simply fails, while a botch indicates that the performance of the rite has angered the Chinook-spirit.

### Rite of Replenishment

Level Two

This simple rite enables participating Gurahl to replace lost Gnosis from places sacred to Gaia. The Gurahl involved in the rite must find a suitable place — either in the Umbra or in the physical world — in which to conduct the rite, and cannot draw from the same place more than once in the same month.

System: The player rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 8, –1 per 15 minutes spent dancing and chanting to Gaia). The Gurahl gains one point of temporary Gnosis per success, which she may distribute among participants in the rite.

### Rite of the River-Portent

Level Two

Gurahl use this rite as a means of foretelling the future. The Gurahl enacting the rite snags a fish with his claw from a stream, splits open the fish’s belly and reads the omens contained within. The information gained from this rite usually pertains to the Gurahl who reads the omens and has to do with the immediate future.

System: After catching the fish (which should be accomplished without the use of the Fiddlefish Gift), the Gurahl rolls Intelligence + Enigmas (difficulty 8). The number of successes determines how clear and intelligible the omens and portents are.

### Rite of True Mating

Level Two

This rite, when performed, allows the Gurahl to find a suitable mate from among her Kinfolk. Only Gurahl who have reached full adulthood (i.e., are no longer considered Arcas) may learn this rite, since the werebears do not believe in casual acts of procreation. To enact the rite, the Gurahl fashions a small bag, into which she places a drop of her blood and a cutting of her hair. She wears this bag around her neck for three days and nights, after which the empowered bag acts as a homing beacon, pulling the Gurahl in the direction of a Kinfolk suitable for mating. (Of course, the Gurahl must woo the targeted Kinfolk naturally.)

System: The Gurahl performs the actions described above, then her player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Charisma + Empathy (difficulty 7). Only one success is enough to ensure the proper functioning of the rite; more successes indicate that the Gurahl has found several suitable Kinfolk.

## Level Three Rites

### Rite of the Finding the Ancient Cache

Level Three

This rite enables the Gurahl enacting it to locate the hidden sites of the ancient treasures of his people. Before their withdrawal during the War of Rage, the Gurahl hid many of their treasures and secrets in places deep within the earth. They bound powerful spirits to guard some of these precious items; other treasures rest under the protection of Gurahl elders who lie in the deep sleep of hibernation.

By performing this rite, a Gurahl (or group of Gurahl) gain a sense of the hidden cache’s location. With each enactment of the rite, the Gurahl’s knowledge of where to find the sought-for treasure becomes more precise. Eventually, the rite leads the Gurahl to the actual site itself and opens a gateway or passage to the hiding place. (If the ancient cache lies in the Umbra, the Gurahl must rend the Gauntlet in order to gain access to it.) Once the Gurahl has gained access to the cache, he usually has to discover the secret to opening the complicated locks which seal the actual treasure from intruders. The form this rite takes consists of an elaborate and slow dance containing movements and steps that mimic the actions of a search party.

System: The player rolls Wits + Enigmas (difficulty 8 or 9, depending on how well the cache is hidden). Each success gives the Gurahl a sense of where to go to locate the desired object. The Gurahl must accumulate a total of seven successes in order to home in on the cache. This requirement usually necessitates several repetitions of the rite in order to gather enough successes. A failure simply means that the rite must be performed again and that the Gurahl has come to a temporary snag in the “journey” to the cache. A botch sends the Gurahl off on an entirely wrong direction.

### Rite of the Pure Land

Level Three

The Gurahl use this rite to purify a specific area of pollution, sickness, destruction caused by natural disasters or Wyrm-taint by reestablishing broken connection between Gaia and the damaged or tainted land. To perform this rite, a Gurahl mixes her blood with a handful of soil from the land that needs purification. She uses this paste of blood and earth to describe a line around the perimeter of the designated area. A Gurahl may cleanse as large a space as she wishes, but she pays for the cost in her own blood, taking damage in proportion to the amount of blood she spills to make enough paste to outline the area. (One square mile may be purified per Health Level of damage assumed.) A group of Gurahl may choose to perform this rite together in order to cleanse very large portions of land.

Ritual dances and prayers for healing (spoken in the Gurahl tongue) accompany the drawing of the line to help focus the power of Gaia for the successful completion of the rite.

System: The players of all the Gurahl participating in the rite roll Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 8). Each Gurahl must gain at least one success for the rite to succeed.

## Level Four Rites

### Rite of the Ban

Level Four

The Gurahl use this rite to prevent the spread of secrets that, if known, might cause harm to their people or their Kinfolk. The rite acts as a mental deterrent, blocking the target of the rite from communicating a specific secret in any way. Gurahl frequently use this rite on humans who have either witnessed a Gurahl change forms or on those whom the Gurahl have brought to their Dens for magical healing. The Ban keeps the subject from speaking, writing or otherwise imparting his knowledge to anyone. It does not however remove the information from the individual’s mind unless coercion is used to force that person to overcome the Ban. In such a case, the power of the rite is such that it actually removes the sensitive information from the targeted individual’s mind (a sort of mystical self-destruct mechanism).

Some Gurahl willingly undergo the Rite of the Ban if they intend to spend long periods of time in the company of humans or non-Gurahl (especially Garou). This makes certain that the Gurahl cannot inadvertently give away any secrets.

In the old times, when Gurahl acted as teachers and sharers of information for other Changing Breeds, the Rite of the Ban was not necessary. Since the War of Rage, however, few Gurahl have gone into the world without having the rite performed upon them.

The rite itself requires the Gurahl performing it to intone a hypnotic chant, stating the nature of the information the Ban is meant to protect. The soothing sounds of the chant lull the target into a state of near-slumber from which she awakens refreshed and unchanged, except for the placement of the inner prohibition of the Ban.

System: The player placing the Ban must roll Manipulation + Rituals against the difficulty of the subject’s Willpower + 3 (if the subject resists the rite), or against a difficulty of 6 (if the subject cooperates with the enactment of the Ban). This rite is effective on anyone, including Garou and other Changing Breeds, vampires, mages and normal humans.

### Rite of the Freed Spirit

Level Four

This dangerous rite enables a Gurahl (or a group of Gurahl) to sever the bond between a Bane and a fomor, returning the harried creature to his original, untainted state. Because of the inherent danger to the leader of the rite, most Gurahl are extremely hesitant to perform it. In cases where a lover, companion or friend has undergone the hideous transformation into one of the fomori, this rite provides the only opportunity to rescue that individual. A fomor usually comes to this rite unwillingly, as a captive of the Gurahl who wishes to save him. The rite takes place in the Umbra, where the Bane inhabiting the fomor is clearly visible. Using a dagger consecrated to Gaia, the Gurahl performing the rite traces a mystical pattern in the air above the bound body of the fomor. This action severs the connection that binds the Bane to the human form.

System: The Gurahl and the captive fomor must enter the Umbra to enact the rite. The player must sacrifice a permanent point of Gnosis and roll Willpower (difficulty 9). Only one success is necessary for the rite to work, but the Gurahl may not spend Willpower to achieve an automatic success. If the rite fails, both the fomor and the Gurahl performing the rite die instantly. A botch results in the death of the fomor and the transfer of the Bane to the body of the Gurahl who performed the rite.

### Rite of the Long Sleep

Level Five

With the performance of the rite, the Gurahl may place an individual into a state of suspended animation not unlike the bear’s own natural hibernation ability. While in this state, the subject does not age; bodily functions come to a standstill; respiration drops to the absolute minimum. This rite makes it possible to sustain Incapacitated individuals for an indefinite period of time, keeping them alive so that they can be healed (either naturally or magically) at a later date. Gurahl have used this rite to save the lives of other Changing Breeds (including Garou) as well as humans who have experienced massive bodily trauma and cannot receive immediate attention. Use of this rite on a vampire places the creature in torpor.

System: The Gurahl sets the conditions which determine the length of the target’s slumber, usually expressed in terms such as, “Do not awaken until the eclipse of the moon,” or, “Rise when the earth has completed five rotations around the sun.” The Gurahl rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty of the target’s Willpower). The number of successes determines the actual length of the rite. Three successes or more indicates that rite lasts according to the conditions stated in the enactment. One or two successes means that the target may not sleep for the entire period of time designated within the rite. The Gurahl sacrifices a permanent point of Gnosis to seal the rite.

### Rite of Fighting the Death Bear

Level Five

Whenever a Gurahl wishes to attempt to return a departed soul to its body when the individual has been dead for longer than the period of time outlined by the Gaia’s Breath Gift, he may employ this dangerous rite to wrest the spirit from the lands of the dead and bring it back into the world of the living. The Gurahl first uses the Rite of Rending the Gauntlet to enter the Umbra, where he calls upon Mangi, the Death Bear, making the appropriate acts of chiminage to the Incarna before issuing a challenge for the soul of the departed.

The Gurahl then engages in Umbral combat with the Death Bear. If the Gurahl defeats Mangi in battle, he can then enter the Death Bear’s realm and retrieve the lost spirit, bringing it back to its body. If the Gurahl fails to defeat the Death Bear, the rite fails and the Gurahl is cast out of the Umbra. If the Gurahl dies during the battle, the Death Bear sometimes claims the spirit of the Gurahl instead of the fallen spirit, thus enabling it to return to its body as if the rite had succeeded.

The high potential cost of this rite makes it one that the Gurahl use only rarely, and then only on other Gurahl.

System: After entering the umbra, and summoning the Death Bear, the Gurahl then challenges the totem spirit to ritual combat, using the rules for Umbral Combat outlined in Werewolf: The Apocalypse. The rite automatically fails if used on behalf of an individual who falls under the time limit for or who fails to respond the use of Gaia’s Breath. This rite does not provide a “second chance” to bring a Gurahl back to life. Instead, it provides an alternative for a werebear who has been dead too long for Gaia’s Breath to be effective. As with Gaia’s Breath, only one attempt may ever be made on any single creature.

The statistics of the Death Bear are for the Storyteller to determine, but it should possess at least Rage 10, Gnosis 10, Willpower 10 and 100 Power.