Tribal Fetishes

# Black Fury Fetishes

The most commonly used fetish weapon among the Furies is not the klaive but rather the labrys, a twoheaded war axe said to have been the favored weapon of Isthmene in the tribe’s earliest days. Many of the most powerful fetish artifacts of the tribe (Fetish 4 and 5) are holdovers from the Furies’ golden age in Greece and Mycenae, and those tend to retain distinctive Aegean styling. Most metal artifacts from those days are bronze, rather than steel, but as enchanted items, they rarely suffer as a result of their composition.

Modern Fury fetishes are practical tools as often as they are sacred artifacts. Most of these tools are designed to help the Furies track down and destroy transgressors against Gaia’s law — not merely Wyrm and Weaver creatures, but human rapists and molesters or amoral corporate drones.

## Non-Fetishes

### Labrys (Non-fetish)

The “standard” labrys is a double-headed axe meant to be wielded with two hands in Homid form; Garou can wield a labrys in one hand if her Strength reaches 6. A Garou can wield a labrys in each hand if her Strength reaches 8 (attacking in such a fashion uses the standard rules for multiple attacks — the player must split the character’s dice pool or use Rage for extra actions — but a Crinos Fury successfully wielding twin labryses is a terrifying sight, worthy of an extra +2 dice on Intimidate rolls). The weapon does Strength + 4 lethal damage and is an important component of some rites. Labryses are most often enchanted to act as fetishes in addition to their core usefulness as weapons; this is done as much to honor the weapon as to aid the wielder. They are considered to be the tribal weapon of the Black Furies tribe; most Furies are able to accept a female labrys-wielder from another tribe, but few react kindly to the sight of a male Garou using a labrys.

## Level One Fetishes

### Fertility Charms

Level 1, Gnosis 2

Many different sorts of fertility charms exist; the labrys itself is considered to be a fertility symbol by many. Others include a stylized woman’s body, such as the Venus of Willendorf; catseyes or simply stone or wooden cat pendants; eggs; frogs; the lotus; and many others. Furies bind spirits of particularly fertile animals (rabbits, cats, frogs) into these charms and in so doing create a spot of magic that increases a woman’s chance of conceiving healthy young. Fertility charms work just as well on a female Garou or wolf as they do on a human, though they do not improve the mother’s chance of conceiving a Garou child. And of course, none of them work on metis. Some more powerful versions of these charms also improve the mother’s health through the pregnancy, increasing her chances of surviving it and living to raise her child. Garou rarely need such assistance, and modern medicine does a moderately good job of caring for humans, so these sorts of charms are slowly disappearing. Fertility charms have no game effect; the results of sexual encounters are better left in the hands of the Storyteller than a roll of the dice.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Quiver of Silvered Arrows

Level 2, Gnosis 3

Most of these tools were originally forged during the longago days of open conflict with other tribes; the Shadow Lords and Get of Fenris were particularly anathema to the Furies back then, and were on the receiving end of more of these arrows than other tribes were. There are two enchantments on these arrows: first, they are sharper than typical arrowheads, and second, they do not break under ordinary use. That is to say, a Fury can shoot a silvered arrow at a Wyrm-thing, miss, and have the arrow strike a stone wall or the side of a tank, and it will not break. However, if she were to attempt to use the arrow as a melee weapon, climbing piton, or toothpick, she would risk breaking it.

A quiver holds a dozen arrows, but counts as just one fetish for the purposes of binding. The arrows themselves do an additional die of damage (thus, 5 for shortbows and 6 for longbows), and that damage is silver, unsoakable by Garou without special Gifts or armor. These fetishes typically contain Lunes.

### Bowl of Blood

Level Two, Gnosis 6

The Furies, as seen in Roman and Greek mythology, were the pursuers of sin. Apart from a slight change in focus, the Black Furies would agree strongly with this assessment — they are the hounds upon the heels of those who would sin against women. This makes them just to a degree, but it does not make them kind for a moment. The Bowl is used to collect the blood of a target they believe is lying about important information.

The fetish is activated as the victim is cut and blood flows into the Bowl. This cut must do at least one level of lethal or aggravated damage, and each time the blood must come from a new cut. As the blood fills the Bowl, the victim is asked a single question. If they tell the truth, their blood will flow innocent and red into the Bowl. Should they tell falsehood, however, then the blood will become black as it hits the surface, showing their guilt.

It is possible, though very difficult, to fool the Bowl. Partial truths can confuse it, and carefully worded sentences can conceal valuable information. To attempt to fool the Bowl, the victim must roll Intelligence + Subterfuge (difficulty 8). As the interrogation continues and more blood is lost, however, mental capacities decline and almost inevitably all information is surrendered. Almost all who are subjected to a Bowl of Blood die from their wounds.

The Bowl of Blood is made from copper, decorated with either glyphs or elegant drawings, and is bound with a seawater spirit.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Cavern Torc

Level 3, Gnosis 3

The wearer of a Cavern Torc is blessed when traveling beneath Gaia’s surface and exploring her womb; cave systems become safe harbors for her. When the Cavern Torc is worn, the Garou can see in pitchblackness as well as she could on a cloudy day. In ways, she can see even farther; her senses extend about twenty meters in all directions, while underground. She can sense foes hidden around the bend in a tunnel, or see through a minor cave-in. The torc even works when beneath the earth in modern structures; should a Garou wearing it penetrate the basement of a Wyrm-infested skyscraper, she will benefit from its abilities there. The Cavern Torc only fails if the Gauntlet rises to 9 or above. These fetishes are created with the help of various cavern spirits, such as bat-spirits, mole-spirits or earth elementals.

### Coin Reader

Level 3, Gnosis 3

The Sisterhood first developed fetishes of this nature as early as the sixteenth century; the fetish tracks money backward, to see who owned it previously. Early versions of this fetish are pairs of scales with a quill pen and inkwell; a coin is placed on one side of the scales and the pen leaps up and writes the names of the last seven people who touched it. More modern versions of the fetish have a small platter and a receipt-style printer, but the effect is the same — and note that all versions of these fetishes can track paper money as easily as they do coinage. Electronic transfers, being purely in the realm of the Weaver, cannot be tracked with this fetish. This fetish was first created when a Sisterhood pack found itself to be receiving a great deal of Wyrm-tainted coinage; they had no easy way to track the money backward, and found that they inadvertently intimidated shopkeepers they interrogated. Certain Gifts and Wyrm-powers can conceal past owners’ identities.

Rumors abound of a version of this fetish that continues to track coins for a few days after they leave the fetish; they write out names as the coin goes from owner to owner for a week or so. Such a fetish would surely have a higher Gnosis requirement than that of an “ordinary” coin reader. These fetishes are crafted by binding spirits of avarice.

### Bow of Artemis

Level 3, Gnosis 5

A Bow of Artemis is usable only by a Maiden Black Fury. It is the perfect hunting bow, giving its wielder +4 dice to her Survival dice pools when using it to hunt for food. In battle, it grants its wielder +2 dice to her Archery dice pool, and causes those arrows that strike their targets to do two extra dice of lethal damage. The bow is crafted by binding any spirit of Pegasus’ brood within.

### Pandora’s Box

Level 3, Gnosis 6

In ancient myth, Pandora had a box full of the ills of mankind; as she was unstoppably curious, she did open it and they were released to hassle humanity for all time. This fetish is ironically named for that woman, though it can be used both to trap and release Banes — the ills of mankind embodied. The Box can hold up to ten Wyrm-spirits at a time.

To trap a spirit, the Fury bound to the Box must point its keyhole at the spirit and speak a command word in ancient Greek. The box then rolls its Gnosis in a contest against the spirit’s current Rage; the target is 6 for both Box and Bane. If the Box gets more successes, the Bane is trapped; if the Bane gets as many or more successes, it is free and Pandora’s Box cannot be used on it again that day.

If, for some reason, the Fury wishes to let one or more Banes free, she needs only to open the lid of Pandora’s Box. She must make a Wits roll and achieve 3 successes in order to release just one Bane; fewer than 3 successes means that extra Banes escape, one per success. A botch on this roll frees all the Banes in the box. If she gets the 3 successes, the one Bane that escapes will be the one that has been in the Box for longest.

This fetish is made by binding any spirit with entrapment powers within; usually spider-spirits or spirits of crafts are preferred.

### Labrys (Fetish)

Level 3, Gnosis 7

A fetish labrys is much like the standard doubleheaded axe of the same name (see above). However, thanks to the war-spirit bound within, it inflicts aggravated damage, not lethal.

### Lion Skin

Level Three, Gnosis 8

Prospective researchers of fetishes often look for “enchanted objects” within human cultures. Sometimes these objects are genuine fetishes whose legend was somehow discovered and incorporated into human legends. And even if it wasn’t, it can give the fetish maker ideas. Nobody’s quite sure if the Lion Skin influenced Greek myth or was influenced by Greek myth; the Black Furies stridently claim they had it before a certain wife and child-murdering imbecile who didn’t know his place did. But most who own one of these devices don’t care, and are simply grateful for the protection it affords them.

Like the pelt of the legendary Nemean Lion, spears or arrows cannot pierce this hide. (Or swords, or bullets, or small explosions.) Unlike the Herculean myth and despite its name, the pelt does not actually need to be from a lion; any predatory mammal’s fur will do. However, since most Garou are understandably reluctant to use a wolf pelt, most end up using big cat pelts anyway. For obvious reasons, it is inadvisable to wear one of these when meeting with the Bastet. Some Garou have tried using other animals such as bears, but this presents equally obvious problems elsewhere.

The pelt is imbued with a rock or steel-spirit. When activated, it doubles the wearer’s soak total for that turn.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Lash of the Furies

Level 4, Gnosis 8

These whips are ancient barbed cats o’ nine tails. They are alleged to have been cut from the intestines of a great Wyrm-creature, though some suggest that it might have been the Nemean Lion. This is only likely because the Lion was emphatically a chthonic creature of earth defeated by the male god Heracles, and using its innards as a pain fetish suits the ironic nature of a Fury Crone. These whips are used for punishment or even torture, not combat. A hit from one of the Lashes — only five exist — does Strength +3 aggravated damage, with a soak difficulty of 9. Wounds from the Lash leave permanent scars; Furies can make a Perception + Occult roll, difficulty 8 to attempt to recognize the distinctive scars the Lash makes — two successes are necessary for this.

Spirits inside the Lash ferret out the target’s guilty secrets on a successful hit, and relay this information to the Fury using the whip unless the target rolls more Willpower successes (at a difficulty of 9) than he took wound levels. The Lash of the Furies is not solely used on Wyrmcreatures; it has been used on intransigent Garou of other tribes, but those Garou are rarely allowed to return alive to their tribemates. It is known that Kelonoke Wildhair has a Lash of the Furies in her possession, and that its tender caresses are the least of the agonies that a male Garou who sets foot near the Furies’ home caern will feel.

## Level Five Fetishes

### Bronze Labrys

Level 5, Gnosis 7

The oldest weapons of the Black Furies stem from the tribe’s Golden Age, in Athens during the days after the Trojan War. During that time, they acted as arbiters of justice within the city, to the dismay of lawbreakers throughout Athens. A few fetishes remain with the tribe from those ancient days; accordingly, they are fashioned out of bronze, as were most weapons and armor of the day. The Bronze Labrys is intended as a sample fetish of this sort; Storytellers and players are encouraged to create their own ancient fetish weapon to fit their chronicle’s backstory.

The Bronze Labrys does Strength + 5 dice of aggravated damage; additionally, it moves under the influence of the Gorgons’ spirit invested into it, and gives its wielder a free Block maneuver each turn of combat, at no multi-action penalty. The Bronze Labrys can store up to five points of Gnosis, which its wielder may tap as a free action, to use as she sees fit; she can also invest her own Gnosis into the Bronze Labrys to replenish energy that she has spent. Lastly, once per day the Fury wielding the Bronze Labrys may use it to cut through up to a three-foot depth of almost any inanimate substance; doing so, she can dig a human-sized hole.

# Bone Gnawer Fetishes

Bone Gnawer Theurges recycle all sorts of junk into fetishes useful for survival, stealth, and urban sabotage. Simple fetishes replicate common Bone Gnawer Gifts — in these cases, the level of the fetish usually equals the level of the Gift. Complex fetishes require more desperate applications of creativity. Infusing common household items with the rag-tag spirit of urban life, clever Theurges take what humans use in their everyday lives and pervert them to be useful in the everyday lives of homeless shapeshifting monsters.

Contrary to what some might believe, Bone Gnawers aren’t all that fond of technological fetishes. By the time one of their Theurges gets his hands on high-tech, it’s little more than junk. Functional electronic and mechanical gear is often perverted to perform tasks noticeably different from its original function.

Some of these effects seem trivial to other Garou, but are essential to Rat’s brood. Styrofoam containers refill with lukewarm fast food; milk cartons track missing children; tattered bathtowels become magic cloaks; buckets and car antennas become holy weapons. No matter how ridiculous Bone Gnawer fetishes may look, they can mean the difference between life and death.

## Level One Fetishes

### Ivan’s Molotov

Level 1, Gnosis 5

The first fetish of this kind was crafted by Ivan Ivanovich, an infamous Theurge of the Sept of the People’s Will in Moscow. It is a flask containing a flammable liquid ideal for thrown projectiles. When activated, it can fill up a small flask with a clear, odorless fluid. Ivan’s Molotov can fill three other flasks before it must be “refilled”.

Sticking a cloth in the neck of the bottle prepares it for battle. When the bottle is thrown (Dexterity + Athletics), the object it smashes into receives five dice of aggravated damage. A burst of flame and broken glass then burn and shred anything within three yards of this target, inflicting three dice of aggravated damage. Bottles filled with Ivan’s Molotov must be hurled one at a time, however. If two of these bottles land within five yards of each other, they detonate with a loud bang, produce a cloud of smoke, and fizzle out without inflicting any damage at all.

If the flask filled with Ivan’s Molotov runs dry, the owner can meditate over it, usually by contemplating the last riot, protest or urban upheaval he witnessed. The owner rolls Wits + Enigmas (difficulty 6) and spends one Gnosis to refill the fetish.

### Lost Keyring

Level 1, Gnosis 5

The Garou with this device owns hundreds of keys attached to a six-inch steel ring. By activating the fetish, a Garou can evaluate the complexity of locks on a door, window, or other barrier directly in front of him. For mechanic-minded players, the Storyteller can rate this complexity on a scale of 1 to 5. Overcoming the locks then requires a Perception + Repair roll against a difficulty of (5 + the lock’s complexity). Even one success shows that the Garou has found the right key to jimmy the lock. Unless the key is used immediately, however, the user’s fumbling hand loses it within a few rounds. This fetish works remarkably like the Gift: Open Seal, but in the same fashion, it won’t protect against security systems, motion sensors, or electronic alarms on the lock.

### The Whole Gym Bag

Level 1, Gnosis 5

This battered satchel holds a mass of objects up to twice the actual size of the bag — a perfect fetish for any collection of Junk, Stuff, and Loot. Furthermore, the bag itself, including all its contents, count as one item when it is “dedicated” to the Garou. The Gym Bag appears as a stripe of fur (representing the shoulder strap) when the Garou changes to Crinos form. It disappears completely when the character is in Hispo or Lupus form.

There are limits, however, on what objects can stay inside when the Garou shifts. Because of the Wyld energy within it, it cannot contain complex examples of the Weaver’s handiwork: namely, guns and other weapons or working technological items. Gym Bags can’t contain other smaller Gym Bags (sorry!), nor can they be expanded with the Rite of the Shopping Cart. In other words, if you need to carry a shotgun or a laptop (urrah!), you should dedicate it separately. By contrast, broken or nonfunctional bits of technology (that is, Junk) can easily be carried. If these conditions are not met, the bag drops to the ground and spills its contents when the Garou shifts out of Homid or Glabro form.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Rover’s Whistle

Level 2, Gnosis 5

Humans can’t hear this fetish, but Garou can. When activated with a Gnosis roll and a good solid blow, the whistle alerts all Garou within a city block, helping them find the user. (The effects are similar to the Galliard Gift: Call of the Wyld, but none of that annoying howling is required.) If the user has the Kinfolk Background, he can also summon nearby Kinfolk by blowing the whistle with Charisma + Leadership (difficulty 5); each success can alert one of that Garou’s Kinfolk if they’re in the area.

Keep in mind that this fetish alerts werewolves and Kinfolk that hear it; it doesn’t force them to appear at the user’s beck and call. A Garou does not have to answer this summons. Bone Gnawers respect this fetish, but werewolves of other tribes get irritated when a Bone Gnawer tries to summon them with a glorified “dog whistle.”

Alternatively, with a Charisma + Animal Ken roll (difficulty 6), the fetish alerts all the street dogs in the neighborhood; actually summoning or manipulating them requires further Charisma + Animal Ken rolls. A few Masters of the Rite in urban caerns have quested specifically for this fetish, so that they can summon septs without alerting their human neighbors. Such a worthy hero proudly wears this treasure on a chain around his neck.

### Australian Switchblade

Level Two, Gnosis 6

If you decide to walk around the streets carrying a grand klaive, then you probably need your ass kicked by the police. While no Bone Gnawer is seriously in danger of such a beating, they could really do without the hassle. As such, they have a great love of little weapons that get overlooked when stuffed into a jacket or other pocket.

Enter the Australian Switchblade, created by Bone Gnawers in Sydney. Imbued with a lizard-spirit (traditionally a frill-necked lizard, but enterprising Bone Gnawers have proved any old lizard will do), this common-looking switchblade has a nasty surprise when opened — the blade extends out to three or four feet long. When not activated, the Switchblade works as a normal knife, but if activated it acts as a sword. The weapon deals only lethal damage, making it a favorite for dueling other Garou that you don’t want to see dead; naturally, it also makes fomori and mundane foes pretty dead as well.

Perhaps unfortunately, the Down Under heritage of this weapon and its function has led more than a few Bone Gnawers using it to quip, “That’s not a knife…” just one too many times. Most of the tribe agree this is a bad, bad thing.

### Mask of Justice Level

Two, Gnosis 6

Werewolf justice isn’t blind. It has its eyes wide open, unrestrained by law (though sometimes restrained by custom, tradition or elders), and focused heavily upon vengeance. Like the werewolves themselves, their notion of justice is tribal. But it doesn’t need to be inaccurate. Based upon the classic image of blindfolded justice, the Bone Gnawers created this fetish for just such reasons.

A long strip of gauze dipped in the blood of a murder victim, the Mask of Justice is bound with a spirit of war or Rage. When activated, the fetish allows the wearer to see through the mask, but only the murderer of the victim whose blood it is soaked in appears in full clarity; all other visual input is obscured as is usual for blood-soaked gauze.

When activated, the fetish remains activated until the mask is removed.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Hitching Glove

Level 3, Gnosis 6

One size fits all — this fetish is a worn glove with extra padding around the thumb. By activating the fetish, the wearer can determine the best place within a city block for hitching a ride. The Garou can flag down a passing ride with a Perception + Streetwise roll (difficulty 8). Whether the ride is headed in the right direction depends on the number of successes. One success denotes numerous detours and delays; the ride doesn’t go all the way to the hitchhiker’s destination. Five successes indicate that a friendly driver will go out of his way to accommodate his passenger. The roll isn’t made until the passenger gets into the vehicle, since a botch indicates a dangerous encounter. Once in the company of the stranger driving the car, the hitchhiker is on his own.

### Ever Meal

Level Three, Gnosis 7

An old favorite among the Bone Gnawers of Central Park, NYC, and often dubbed “The Moldy Grail,” the Ever Meal has since been copied in several other major cities throughout the world. Made from a garbage can bound with a spirit of fertility or a prey animal’s spirit, (frequently grain or cow-spirits are employed), the Ever Meal isn’t carried around and owned by a single Bone Gnawer but is shared by all who use it. Often the spirit in an Ever Meal asks for a taboo requiring a brief prayer before use, to ensure its reputation as something beyond a shared resource.

To make use of the Ever Meal, the Bone Gnawer either throws an empty food container into the Ever Meal, or picks up one already put within it. She then activates the fetish, and whichever container she’s holding is suddenly refilled. The state of this food is surprisingly good, though always cheap: Drinks are always generic cola, but it’s cool and has ice. Burgers tend to be pretty basic, but are nice and hot. The box from an expensive gourmet pizza isn’t going to be filled with anything more upscale than a standard delivery supreme, but it’s nonetheless quite tasty. Each food package can only be used once in this manner, after it’s been refilled one time, it never will be again.

Actually making one of these fetishes can be quite an adventure in itself, since the design and implementation of one requires considerable subtlety and cleverness. Simply spraypainting on a few glyphs won’t be enough to make a garbage can attractive to spirits, so stealing a garbage can, decorating it in a way that isn’t immediately obvious to the enemy, and then returning it to its proper place can all become quite a diffi cult undertaking.

### Rolled-Up EC Horror

Level Three, Gnosis 7

A rat, spider or dream-spirit is bound into this fetish, which is an old EC horror comic. Though the better condition it is in the more likely the spirit will enter it, the comic must have been owned, read and loved by an actual human child. Mint “collector’s items” simply don’t work. The comic is rolled up into a stick and pointed at an enemy to activate. The fetish then fills the target’s mind with nightmares of skeletons, murderers and monsters, usually turning the people within his range of vision into the figures of fear. The victim may roll Willpower (difficulty 7) to try and resist, but if he fails he will be unable to tell friend from foe and suffers a -1 difficulty to all actions.

Bone Gnawers have also tried using this with old Silver Age superhero comics, which are used to rally on allies and imbue them with strength of will and purpose. These have worked, but have not been as popular as the Rolled-Up EC Horror. A few fallen Gnawers turned Black Spiral Dancer have tried to emulate this success with underground comics focusing on poorly-drawn but heartfelt murder, sadism and misogyny, and even with stapled-together stills of child pornography or snuff porn, but thankfully these variations have yet to bear fruit.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Spirit Radio

Level 4, Gnosis 7

Don’t touch that dial... unless you’re prepared to deal with the consequences. The spirit radio is a battered little portable that runs off a dead battery. Recharging it at a caern imbues the fetish with enough Gnosis for seven uses. Activating the fetish tunes into the communications of spirits within a city block. Tuning the dial gives a rapid montage announcing all sorts of spiritual activity in the neighborhood. Any Fera or Garou listening can attune to a broadcast (even without the Spirit Speech Gift) and gather what kinds of spirits are nearby. This sounds like squealing or static to everyone else listening.

Each attuned listener gets his own image of what the spirits are like, but identifying them precisely requires a Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 7). The user can then tune into any one spirit within range, hearing a report on what the spirit senses and encounters for up to one scene. If the user has any “requests,” the spirit radio reduces the difficulty of calling the spirit (with a Summoning Rite) by 2.

## Level Five Fetishes

### Umbral CB

Level 5, Gnosis 8

Ripped from the dashboard of an eighteen wheeler, this citizen band radio has been invested with powerful mojo. It won’t pick up transmissions in the physical world, but it can tune in to any one Garou in the Umbra. Typically, powerful Theurges in the Deserters camp craft Umbral CB’s.

Before the werewolf begins his Umbral quest, he places his hand on the radio’s casing. The owner of the fetish can then find the right channel to keep in touch with the Umbral traveler. No matter where the traveler ventures in the Penumbra, the owner of the fetish can hear his voice and broadcast transmissions. If the traveler crosses into the Near Umbra, another activation roll at a +1 difficulty is required to maintain contact. If the Umbral wanderer ventures into the Deep Umbra, an additional activation roll is required at a +3 difficulty.

Using the Umbral CB requires a few sacred phrases to converse with the distant Garou. The owner of the fetish initiates conversation by grabbing the microphone and formally hailing his erstwhile companion beyond the velvet shadow of the Gauntlet. (“Breaker, breaker, Piss-in-the-Wind, come back?”) A brief exchange of cosmological lore establishes where the traveler is in the spirit realm. (“That’s a big 10-4. What’s your 10-20, over?”) Separated by the cruel division of flesh and spirit, the Garou then take turns speaking, poetically acknowledging the distance between them by ending each exchange with sacred phrases (namely, the words “come back” and “over”). Either Garou may sever this mystic link with the proper incantation. (“10-4, over and out.”)

# Children of Gaia Fetishes

Obviously, the Children of Gaia favor fetishes of healing, purification and harmony to fetishes of war. The tribe’s favored fetish weapon is the staff, which can be used to subdue or kill as need be (unlike a claw). Fetish staves are almost never made from silver, as that would make them more lethal against other Garou than the Children would like.

## Level One Fetishes

### Dice of Challenge

Level One, Gnosis 5

This is a pair of dice carved from amber or bone and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, malachite, etc. Philodox use these dice to settle disputes when the Garou at odds will not agree to their judgement. An Ancestor who judged fairly must animate this fetish.

The judge brings out the dice and allows both disputants to handle them, then prays to Gaia to resolve the issue, spending one Gnosis for each Garou involved in the quarrel. He then allows the disputants to roll the dice. The Garou whose cause is “right” (as Unicorn would define it), if either disputant counts, will always win; if both disputants have equally just causes, the dice always come up tied.

### Peace Pipe

Level One, Gnosis 5

The Uktena and Wendigo were not the first Garou to turn a peace pipe into a fetish — that particular idea apparently occurred fi rst to the Children of Gaia. In construction, the Peace Pipe is fairly easily made. It is a simple wooden smoking pipe, carved with three glyphs on each side and a long string of beads embedded underneath, bound with a Lune captured on the night of a new moon. Intriguingly, however, it is also one of the easiest to make wrongly. Many young Children of Gaia make their Peace Pipes to eliminate the smoker’s Rage, reducing it to zero. Instead of facilitating conversation and ensuring lack of confrontation, which is the fetish’s intent, it tends to produce confusion and hostility. Stripped entirely of one of the fundamental parts of their nature, the smokers become angry (though not filled with Rage), and little productive happens.

As such, wiser Children of Gaia make their Peace Pipes to reduce the smoker’s Rage to 1, which stems the worst instincts and behaviors of the Garou while keeping him in a familiar state of mind. The fetish cannot be forced upon anyone, but once someone freely consents to use it, it is impossible to resist. It is also possible for someone else to activate it and then hand it to another Garou to smoke. This works nicely to prevent “cheating” by smoking an inactivated pipe.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Pure Vessel

Level Two, Gnosis 5

During the Dark Ages, it was popular for a noble to have a cup made from a unicorn’s horn. Such a cup would be proof against any poisons a would-be usurper might deliver. Needless to say, the genuine article was somewhat hard to find — rhinoceros horn was the closest one could get — and many nobles died drinking from cups that they thought were “unicorn horn.” However, the Children of Gaia were quite capable of creating a reasonable facsimile, and often did so to protect those rulers they approved of from murder a single touch of poison enter it. After being activated the fetish’s effects last for a lunar month.

A more powerful version of this fetish also exists. While not a unique fetish, the secrets of its creation are now lost (although it is possible that a Child of Gaia ancestor-spirit may still know them), and no more than five ever existed at one time. These are considered Level Five, Gnosis 8. Water poured into these becomes an active anti-toxin and would remove poison in anything it was poured onto or into. These must be activated every time they are poured.

### Belt of the Unicorn

Level Two, Gnosis 6

This is a belt made from white leather in which a Gaffling of Unicorn dwells. When it is worn, it protects the wearer from ingested poison, including Wyrm-venoms, and from all natural sickness; radioactive and supernatural toxins and corrosives that are absorbed through the skin or injected are still a danger. No roll is necessary.

### Noise Generator

Level Two, Gnosis 6

One Glass Walker who caught wind of this most unusually technological device for the Children of Gaia, described the Noise Generator as “a glorifi ed dog whistle.” The charge is somewhat accurate, but so what? As a way to break apart fi ghts in a hurry, there’s little better.

The Noise Generator is a personal alarm bound with a Glade Child. Together, the Noise Generator sounds exactly the right pitch at an impossibly high volume to create pain-inducing noise for those so able to hear it: dogs, certain other animals, and most importantly, Garou in Crinos form. Allowed to continue, it can break a Garou in anything but the heat of frenzy.

Which does, however, create a problem with this solution. Succeeding at a Rage roll at diffi culty 8 enables a Garou to resist the effects of the powerful noise. One success is enough to forge past the painful sound and operate as normal. A failure forces the Garou to change back to Homid or Glabro form to avoid being crippled with pain. (Lupus Garou must also change to Homid to avoid being so disabled, which is another problem with the device to many Children’s mind.) However, should enough successes be rolled, then the Garou can simply enter frenzy, another quite simple and workable solution to the noise.

The effects of this fetish last for one scene or until deactivated.

### Tattoo of True Shape

Level Two, Gnosis 6

This fetish is usually a tattoo or scar, although it can also be worn as a piercing. An octopus-spirit or other shapeshifting spirit is bound into the fetish. Developed by the Ragabash Soldier-of-Paradise, it contours the Garou’s shapeshifting to make him comfortable and functional in any space. Thus the huge Crinos form might become thicker-bodied and smaller in a confined corridor, more able to move or fight. The Hispo would fit into a tiny elevator by being taller and more erect, though its four-footed stance and fighting claws would not change. A Garou can shift from Homid to Lupus while in a cramped tunnel without the Crinos shape being a problem.

The tattoo must be activated during shapeshifting; it’s impossible to spend a Rage point to shift forms and activate the tattoo in the same turn. The five forms are still recognizable no matter what the fetish does, and it does not enable Garou to take new forms. This fetish is especially helpful to Garou who invade Black Spiral labyrinths and other alien Wyrm-spaces. Whether the Black Spirals themselves have learned of it is not known.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Comforter of the Architect

Level Three, Gnosis 5

This is a bedquilt made from scraps of old clothes and embroidered with ancient Garou designs. A Jaggling of the powerful spirit called the Architect of Sleep is stitched into the quilt. Any Garou sleeping in the quilt may pass one of her Abilities to a packmate. Before going to sleep, she speaks to the packmate about the Ability (a “bedtime story”), and then while she is truly asleep the packmate will possess the Ability in question.

To activate the fetish, Garou makes a Wits + Expression roll, with the difficulty being the pack - mate’s Willpower, and spends a Gnosis point. If the situation is stressful, the Storyteller may force the sleeper to make a Willpower roll against her own Willpower to fall asleep. The Ability can be one that the packmate does not have, but cannot be one totally alien to the recipient; for instance, a human cannot be lent Primal-Urge.

### Mirror of Princes

Level Three, Gnosis 7

This precious treasure is a mirror of bronze with two faces. It was created by the Golden Heart Sept in the time of Christine de Pisan, and serves as a corrective to the vanity of earthly rulers. When the mirror’s user holds up one face, anyone looking into the mirror sees the worst thing that she has ever done, or the worst thing that is true about herself, and cannot deny or escape this. The other face brings knowledge about the best in oneself. The Storyteller should invent uses for this mirror.

### Pilgrim’s Staff

Level Three, Gnosis 7

This staff supports pilgrims (either Garou or Kin) as they trek from place to place on great peace pilgrimages. The Brighton Caern was the first to bear such staves in the modern world, although the Children carried them long ago. When the pilgrim begins his journey, the staff is a simple wooden or bamboo stick, with a spirit of travel bound within.

The pilgrim must walk from caern to caern across the land. At each caern that the pilgrim visits, speaking out for peace and gathering followers, artisans among the Kinfolk carve the caern’s symbols into the staff and attach ribbons, banners, and so on with the caern’s col - ors and signs. (Caerns may choose not to participate). When the pilgrim finally arrives at his goal, he will have one extra die to use in peacemaking rolls (of any sort) for each caern represented; these extra dice last for one day per caern represented. Some such pilgrims have wandered for years; Janine Olive-Branches, an elderly Garou from France, has walked for four decades collecting caern tokens against the War of the Apocalypse….

## Level Five Fetishes

### Resounding Sword

Level Five, Gnosis 6

Most Children of Gaia fetishes are decorated quite simply; a strong part of the Children of Gaia ethos is humility, and gaudy fl ashiness doesn’t sit well with that. This blade, however, is pointedly made to defy that design. It is outwardly brilliant, made from perfectly forged silver, and features carved runes that are then painted to accentuate their lines. It draws attention, which is exactly the point. Bound with an earthquakespirit, all who see the blade feel the wounds infl icted by it. And a dazzling display of its use can bring an army to his knees.

When activated, the fetish can force any opponents within sight distance of the blade to make a Willpower roll (diffi culty 7) under one of three circumstances: Whenever the wielder of the blade hits an opponent twice in a row without being hit, whenever the blade does more than four health levels of damage in one blow, and whenever the blade delivers a death blow. Any opponents failing this roll immediately surrender or fl ee, incapable of fi ghting against an opponent so obviously and incredibly superior to them. However, the blade is unfortunately ineffective against those of a higher rank than the wielder.

The Resounding Sword does damage as normal for a sword. It is made out of silver but not bound with a war-spirit, and thus does aggravated damage only to creatures vulnerable to silver.

## Level Six Fetishes

### Chalice of Renewal

Level Six, Gnosis 8

This mystic chalice of gold appeared to Garret Faithful and his warriors as they sat at meat before going to the Amazon. It is known to have appeared from time to time throughout the Children’s legends. Some say it held Mother Gaia’s tears when she wept for her children, the five slain Garou pups who founded the tribe. Others claim that it was the cup sought by Arthur’s knights. Its powers are certain. Only one such chalice has ever existed.

One new moon in three, the chalice fills with seawater. Anyone who drinks this primeval salt-water falls into a deep sleep wherein they have a vision of Gaia.

This vision is different each time but always contains the sorrow of a mother for her fallen children and the renewal of life with the morning. These are the memories of Gaia, but also relate to the dreamer’s own life and work.

On waking, the dreamer is cured of all diseases or wounds.

# Fianna Fetishes

Fianna hold fetishes in special reverence. For this reason, it is rare for a lowly Cliath to own a fetish more powerful than a talen or two. An elder or sept may even withhold a family heirloom until the young Garou is deemed worthy to bear it.

Fianna fetishes come in any manner of objects, but tend to be handcrafted and beautiful. Gold brooches, fine harps or flutes, and weapons are common. The prevalence of weapon fetishes corresponds roughly with tribal weapon preference. Spears are popular with Fianna who are particularly proud of the human side of their heritage; axes are seen as more of a “werewolf’s weapon,” and often contain spirits that grant powers of wisdom and craftsmanship as well as battle prowess. Swords, bows and knives are all secondary, and klaives are notably rare — and very highly prized.

Whatever their preference, Fianna are quite reverential to their fetishes. This goes beyond taking good care of the fetish and keeping the spirit happy (as most Garou do); they are obsessive on learning the details of an item’s history, from who made it to who’s owned it and what they did with it. Should someone discover a lost fetish, that pack will visit sept after sept, researching the item until its background is discovered. Before bestowing a fetish, the old owner will be sure the new owner knows all there is to know about the heirloom. And the Fianna’s interest is not limited to their own fetishes; they discuss their fetishes like people discuss sports, at great length and greater detail. As a result, werewolves of other tribes sometimes come to the Fianna to learn about the lore of their own fetishes!

## Level Two Fetishes

### Pipes of the Otherworld

Level 2, Gnosis 5

This fetish typically appears as a very fine set of black bagpipes (usually of the Highland variety) with an unusually mournful song that pulls at the spirit — literally. When successfully activated, every two successes to a Charisma + Performance (7) roll subtracts one from the difficulty of Mystic Rituals; the difficulty rating for Rituals of Death is decreased by one for every success.

### Blood Jewel

Level Two, Gnosis 6

The Fianna most commonly wear the Blood Jewel, although similar fetishes also exist among the Get of Fenris and Silver Fangs. The Jewel takes the form of a ruby, soaked in the blood of a felled opponent, set in gold; usually the fetish appears as a brooch, though it works perfectly well as a necklace or bracelet. Once activated, any opponent the wearer faces in combat will find it highly difficult to take his eyes off the Jewel, suffering a +2 difficulty to all strike and dodge rolls as a result.

In addition, the spirit of Rage within the ruby pushes the opponent to further and further distraction. Every round, the opponent must make a Rage roll. The difficulty begins at 8, but drops by one every round afterwards to a minimum of 4. (If the opponent does not possess Rage, none of this occurs.)

Employing one of these fetishes is not for the weak of heart, because it almost always results in fighting a creature in frenzy. But for those who are both confi dent and determined, it is a favored trap.

### Goibhniu’s Hammer

Level 2, Gnosis 6

Though not a combat fetish, it is highly prized by Fianna smiths; some of the finest weapons, including several klaives, were forged with these hammers. For every two successes on a Gnosis roll, the smith gains +1 die to the metalworking (Craft) roll, In addition, items crafted with the hammer reduce the difficulty for a Rite of the Fetish by one; such items are more pleasing to spirits. An earth or fire spirit is bound into this fetish.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Spear of Len

Level 4, Gnosis 6

There are only a handful of these weapons known to exist. Named for a legendary smith who made the first of its kind (used by Fionn mac Cumhail himself), it usually appears as a spear with a head of perpetually cold bluish steel. When pressed hard against the forehead, the spear keeps the warrior from being muddled or lulled by magics, whether vampiric, fae, mage or Garou in nature. This is not a general mental defense effect, but does cover mental illusions and sleep spells. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a Willpower roll may be necessary against particularly powerful threats. Naturally, one can’t fight with the spear and use its power simultaneously. Creating such a spear requires the spirit of a north wind.

### Carnyx of Victory

Level 4, Gnosis 7

The Carnyx appears as a tall horn with an animal head at the end. When sounded, it fills the air with a weird, discordant braying that heartens allies and strikes fear into the hearts of the foe. When successfully activated, each success to a Manipulation + Performance roll (difficulty 8) adds one die to the dice pools of all comrades. The effect continues for as long as the Fiann sounds the horn. Requires a war spirit.

## Level Five Fetishes

### Boar’s Tusk

Level 5, Gnosis 7

This fearsome fetish, a large tusk from a boar suspended by a leather thong, marks the wearer as someone you don’t want to mess with. When activated, the fetish adds one health level per success and one Stamina per two successes for one scene.

### Threefold Axe

Level 5, Gnosis 7

The culmination of Fianna smithing skill is the threefold axe, a weapon crafted to be useful against fae, shapeshifters and undead. Each one is forged of a blend of cold iron, silver and gold — a technique that would be all but impossible without the rites of forging and spiritual assistance. The resulting alloy is spiritually hardened to a steel-like quality. Because the alloy dilutes the purity of each metal, the axe is not treated as purely of any particular metal (thus, the damage it inflicts on werewolves is not truly “silver damage,” and therefore not unsoakable). However, the spirits within charge the power of each metal, giving the axe the power of each metal’s mystical affinity.

Threefold axes do Strength +3 aggravated damage, and are difficulty 7 to wield. They do two extra dice of damage against vampires, fae or shapeshifters with a vulnerability to silver or gold; this damage can be soaked if the target is capable of soaking aggravated damage.

To properly finish a threefold axe, the smith must bind an earth-spirit, a solar spirit of some sort, and a lunar spirit into the axe. Convincing the three spirits to coexist is almost as difficult a process as forging the axe in the first place, but the triple mystical power of sun, moon and earth is hard to deny.

### Shining Band

Level Five, Gnosis 8

One of the most treasured fetishes of the tribe, the Shining Band bestows upon the wearer the gift of prophecy. Made from a single thin band of gold, the Shining Band requires elaborate preparation and must embody both the male and female aspects of creation; it must be made by a woman and fi rst worn by a man. Into the molten gold must be melted an object of the past, an object of the present, and an object of the future. Finally, but no less importantly, it must be touched by a bird, a fish, a hare and must be left in a wheat field for one day and one night before finally having a spirit bound into it. The empowering spirit can be the spirit of any of the animals that touched it: bird, hare or fish.

Once worn and activated on a clear night, the wearer may look into the stars and ask of them one question. As she does so, the Shining Band gleams, producing a near blinding light. The Storyteller rolls the Band’s Gnosis in secret against a diffi culty of the local Gauntlet. The more successes, the clearer the answer given. If the roll fails, then the fetish is immediately worthless to that wearer from that point on — she will never again receive an answer from it.

Even if the roll succeeds, the band only answers three questions for each wearer. Many Fianna believe that even though the wearer inevitably asks about what is to come, the band inevitably answers a question about the past, a question about the present, and a question about the future. There are maybe three or four of these fetishes in existence. Generally they fall under the “hundred year rule” of the Fianna — any spirit placed within one of these fetishes is released after a century

## Tattoo Fetishes

Tattoos are common among the Fianna; some have spirits bound into them. These take the form of Celtic designs or Garou glyphs, and must be of quality craftsmanship — a spirit isn’t likely to willingly enter a heart with “Mom” written across it, particularly if such a mark was purchased in a parlor. System-wise, tattoo fetishes are treated like ordinary fetishes with one exception: should the player ever botch her activation roll, the spirit is instantly freed; the tattoo flares, leaving an outline on the skin which gradually fades away.

## Torcs

Level and Gnosis Variable

One of the most common fetishes for the Fianna, particularly among those from Ireland, is the torc. A torc is a Celtic body decoration created from a heavy ring of twisted metal worn around the neck, arms, waists or across the chest. To the Celts, and the Fianna, they represented strength, power and majesty. That they became a favored object in fetish design was inevitable. Numerous varieties of these exist. The following are some examples:

### Messenger Torcs

Level One, Gnosis 5

These are worn by emissaries, diplomats, or other Fianna messengers to other tribes during times of war. Always made from gold or other fl ashy, highly visible metal, messenger torcs are bound with the spirit of a young cub or other infant animal. Their heads are shaped in the form of the glyphs connoting “Travel” and “Observant.” When activated, the torc sends an empathic message to any who see it, telling them not to attack the wearer of the torc. Those who wish to attack the wearer must make a Willpower roll, diffi culty 7; if the torc’s wearer is currently engaged in combat or otherwise posing an obvious threat, no Willpower roll is needed.

This message of the torc wearer holds no actual power over those who receive it, but in all save the most bloodthirsty of wars it gives messengers a chance to safely deliver a message and leave afterwards. This is especially true of battles with other Fianna; the messenger torc is a proud tradition that few ever choose to break. However, it does work against any opponents, human, animal or otherwise. Even the servants of the Wyrm have been known to occasionally honor the very temporary truce a messenger torc suggests, although some propose this is done simply to lure other Fianna into walking right into their claws

### Torc of Wisdom

Level 3, Gnosis 5

When activated, the torc increases the wearer’s permanent Willpower or Gnosis (each torc is dedicated to one or the other; a level four fetish might have the power to increase either one at a time) by one point until the end of the scene. A spirit of wisdom empowers the fetish.

### Battle Torcs

Level Three, Gnosis 7

These are easily the most common fetish torcs among the Fianna. Made at least partially from hard metals (many also incorporate a softer but more beautiful second metal) and bound with a spirit of Rage, the battle torcs are particularly favored by those Fianna that are both proficient with and switch between unarmed, armed and ranged combat. Quite often they are employed in combination with weapons that can be both used hand-to-hand and thrown, allowing the wearer a strong versatility that a fetish weapon can’t provide. Anyone wearing a battle torc makes any Brawl rolls, Melee rolls, or Athletics rolls to hit an opponent with a thrown object at -2 difficulty.

### Torc of the Wolf

Level 4, Gnosis 7

This powerful fetish typically appears as a heavy gold torc, made with nine gold braids (each made with nine gold wires), the ends capped by golden wolfheads with bared fangs. When activated, the torc allows its wearer to shift forms instantly without spending Rage for the duration of the scene.

### Heritage Torcs

Level Five, Gnosis 8

These are handed down along family lines among the Fianna, a practice that inevitably produces chaos and bickering given the Fianna’s haphazard ancestry. (Proving who is the closest Garou descendant can be diffi cult in any family without high levels of Pure Breed.) They are bound with a wolf-spirit, and the heads are always shaped in the form of wolf’s heads. When activated, the fetish envelops the wearer in an aura of nobility that emulates all the greatest heroes of his line. In effect, the wearer gains Pure Breed 5 while the torc is active.

Though they would seem to be a tremendous boon to a young cub attempting to gain respect, this boost lasts only as long as she wears the Torc, and anyone employing such a fetish often makes a lot of enemies eager to get their hands on it. Worse, inevitably someone wearing it falls in battle to someone who steals the torc, forcing the young cub to avenge their ancestor’s death to reclaim her rightful mantle.

# Get of Fenris Fetishes

The Get of Fenris make their fair share of fetishes, as do the members of other tribes, but it’s generally considered poor form to rely on fetishes rather than one’s own innate strengths. Of course, the ability to craft fetishes is one of the strengths given to the Garou — but the Get who goes into battle dripping with fetishes of all shapes and sizes runs a real risk of being derided by his allies for needing all those “toys.”

Fetish weapons are nonetheless popular among the Fenrir, who treat such items with great reverence. To the Fenrir philosophy, a fetish weapon is in a way your battle-brother; the weapon that serves you as well as your own claws and fangs deserves your respect. The Get are particularly harsh on tribe members who lose their fetish weapons without exceptionally extenuating circumstances; such an act is not as dire as leaving an actual packmate behind on the field of battle, but it is the mark of a poor or untrustworthy warrior all the same.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Dagger of Retribution

Level Two, Gnosis 5

This particular fetish, an ugly iron dagger, was devised as a means of tracking down stolen possessions and the thieves responsible. The werewolf concentrates on the lost item while holding the dagger; the weapon gently tugs in the direction of the item until the Garou reclaims it. If the fetish’s owner knows the face or name of the thief, he may use the dagger to locate the thief as well. The fetish is treated as a knife in combat (Strength damage, difficulty 4); the damage may be lethal or aggravated, at the Garou’s discretion.

To create such a dagger, a werewolf must bind a vengeance-spirit inside.

### Torch of Truth

Level Two, Gnosis 6

The Get of Fenris have little time for those who would deceive them, and this fetish means they don’t need to waste any time with liars. The Torch of Truth is made from iron and has a water-spirit bound into it. The fetish is lit as it is activated and should anyone holding the torch actively lie, the flame immediately extinguishes itself. While this fetish could conceivably be used as a lie detector, it is more commonly used by a leader to inspire his soldiers. By holding the torch during a speech, he assures his troops of his honesty and forthrightness.

Some not-so-forthright leaders have made fake Torches and used them. Suffice it to say that those discovered employing such devious tactics are never trusted again, if they are suffered to live at all; this is a display of weakness that the Fenrir fi nd highly infuriating.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Spearskin

Level Three, Gnosis 6

One of the more unusual possessions of the Get of Fenris, this fetish appears to be the cured hide of a large boar. Those septs with a spearskin in their possession typically use it to fortify their septs in times of trouble. To activate it, the owner must shake it out as if it were a rug or blanket. As he does so, a number of stout oaken spears equal to the number of successes on the activation check tumble out. The spears may appear with or without iron heads; those without are quite effective for fighting vampires. The skin may be used as often as the owner likes, although if the activation roll is botched, the skin ceases to function for a week. Spears created by this fetish vanish at the next sunrise.

A werewolf must bind a spirit of war, iron or oak into the skin of a boar to create such a fetish.

### Spirit Skin

Level Three, Gnosis 7

The Spirit Skin is one of the most disgusting fetishes the Garou know of, and indeed the Get of Fenris proudly boast that they “own” the fetish purely by virtue of being the only ones emotionally strong enough to make it. (Rumor has it that there are a few Uktena versions of this fetish around; the Uktena aren’t ones to shy away from a good idea just because it seems “gruesome.”) Creating a Spirit Skin is a harrowing experience — the vessel employed is the Garou’s own skin, delicately sliced from the body and then properly tanned into leather. Since Garou regenerate, this isn’t a life-endangering procedure, but the prospect of fl aying oneself is still something that turns many of Gaia’s fi nest into shivering wrecks. Only those with a Willpower of 6 or above can even attempt to make a Spirit Skin.

Once the leather has been procured, it is fashioned into clothing of any sort that covers the majority of the body. (Coats and cloaks are most popular.) A spirit of bone is then bound into the garment. Once completed, the fetish forms a spiritual second skin that enemy spirits must pierce in addition to the Garou’s normal skin. When activated, the fetish doubles the Garou’s soak pool against attacks made by spirits. A Spirit Skin doesn’t work for anyone but its maker.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Ironhammer

Level Four, Gnosis 5

Lesser versions of the mighty Jarlhammers, these one-handed hammers are potent war fetishes in their own right. They are forged of silver-laced iron, with spirits of war bound within. An Ironhammer inflicts Strength +2 damage, and the damage is aggravated; Garou can soak these wounds, as the silver content is overwhelmed by the iron. A Get may hurl an Ironhammer up to 10 yards for every point of Strength; the hammer returns to its rightful owner after each toss.

### Alvis’s Stone Hammer

Level Four, Gnosis 7

The dwarf Alvis was renowned for his wisdom and judgment, yet was horribly tricked by Thor. Thor’s daughter Thrud was promised to Alvis in exchange for the forging of many weapons, but the wretched creature was then tricked into being outside at daybreak. The first ray of sunlight to hit him turned him to stone. According to some Get of Fenris legends, Alvis created the fi rst example of these fetishes before he died. According to others, the first of these hammers was made from Alvis.

Always made from solid rock and about one foot long, the hammer is bound with a bear-spirit. One taboo the spirit always requests upon creation is: “I will never be touched by someone without wisdom.” It will not activate for anyone without at least one point of permanent Wisdom Renown.

When activated, the hammer strikes at difficulty 4, doing Strength +1 aggravated damage when used hand-to-hand. It can also be thrown up to thirty yards, at difficulty 5, infl icting the same damage. More impressively, it will never strike a friend of the wielder, even if the wielder is in the throes of a berserk frenzy.

## Level Five Fetishes

### Jarlhammer

Level Five, Gnosis 6

These mighty two-handed hammers are the pinnacle of Get craftsmanship. Like the lesser Ironhammers, they are forged from silver-laced iron and cooled in the blood of freshly slain enemies; however, the Get bind spirits of war and silver alike within. Each hammer inflicts Strength +3 damage and causes aggravated wounds; the damage counts as silver damage, and is thus unsoakable to Garou. Only a Garou can throw such a weapon accurately, and only to a distance of 5 yards for every dot of Strength. Whenever a blow from a Jarlhammer slays its target, the hammer resounds with a powerful thunderclap; this has no game effect, but announces to friend and foe alike that another enemy of the Get of Fenris has fallen.

There are seven of these hammers; some are wielded by powerful Jarls, while at least one has been lost. Each one has its own name and secondary power:

• Forge-Crusher blazes with fire when activated, and inflicts an additional health level of fire damage with each blow.

• Grinding-Tooth can smash any stone into powder, obliterating a cubic foot of rock or concrete with every strike.

• Spear-Chaser flies three times as far as its siblings when thrown, and the thrower never suffers any penalties for range.

• Troll-Eater pulverizes bone and smashes armor; opponents lose one die from all soak pools to resist its damage.

• Bright-Arm shines with the light of sun and moon alike; opponents who rely on sight to target opponents lose two dice from their dice pools when attacking its wielder.

• Hag-Talon is fortified against the magic of enemies, granting its wielder three additional dice to any Willpower roll made to resist mind-manipulating powers.

• Pain-Eagle leaves wounds that throb with agony; those wounded by the hammer suffer double the usual dice pool penalties for their wounds.

### Favor of Fenris

Level Five, Gnosis 7

Fortune favors the bold. Fenris, however, favors the strong. He abhors those who would employ crutches, but rewards those who stand tall without any help. The Favor of Fenris reflects this. A copper amulet engraved three times with the mark of Fenris and hung on an iron chain, the Favor is bound with a servant of Fenris and is regarded as a rare honor — Fenris gives his favor to very few. When attempting to make a Favor, all rolls involved in the process are made at +1 diffi culty, however, anyone who owns one of these immediately receives three points of temporary Honor and one point of temporary Glory. (Storytellers may want to forbid these items to starting characters.)

In addition to the three marks of Fenris, each Favor is engraved with a symbol meaning either “War,” “Dance” or “Build.” These three symbols each represent one of the three Attribute groups. War represents Physical, Dance Social, and Build Mental. For every statistic within that category the wearer has at 4, the Favor adds one to bring it up to 5 when activated. For every statistic rated at 5, the Favor adds two and brings it up to 7. So does Fenris reward the strong. Once activated the effect lasts for a scene.

### Watcher’s Shield

Level 5, Gnosis 8

This small wooden token, shaped like a shield, is worn around the neck. When activated, the shield adds five dice to the wearer’s soak roll, but only against cowardly attacks. Only one opponent per round will have a direct shot at the wearer; for all other attacks, from behind or from cover, the wearer receives the extra five soak dice.

To create such a fetish, the crafter must bind a turtle-spirit or spirit of vigilance within.

# Glass Walker Fetishes

The Glass Walkers don’t have much by way of ancestral fetishes; there are few heirlooms in their bloodlines. Most of their fetishes are cutting-edge technology bonded with vital new spirits, always striving for the bleeding edge. (In the eyes of other tribes, the Walkers might as well not bother with fetishes and restrict themselves to talens.) The few exceptions are fetish firearms, which garner a certain amount of mystique and reverence; tales of famous fetish Tommy guns, revolvers and even flintlocks circulate among the tribe.

Fetishes in the Glass Walkers come in three forms. First are regular fetishes, same as any tribe. Next are Cyberfetishes, which are bionics or cybernetics implanted into the body, which then have a spirit bound into them. They automatically shift with the Garou and are nearly the sole domain of the Cyber Dogs. Finally, Softwere are computer programs augmented by binding a spirit into them. Each Softwere program fits onto a single floppy disc. All fetishes use the same rules.

## Level One Fetishes

### Texas Drinking Glass (Regular)

Level 1, Gnosis 1

Particularly favored by Glass Walkers in Texas and Georgia, this cup infers the Gift: Resist Toxin on whoever drinks from it. However, the werewolf becomes intoxicated as normal, suffering standard penalties; he is simply able to handle more alcohol before passing out appropriately (and is incapable of passing out inappropriately). Though the glass always seems half-full, the Glass Walkers that tend to have these fetishes seem anything but optimistic.

### Air Hightops (Regular)

Level 1, Gnosis 2

It’s gotta be the shoes! Invented after a rooftop chase nearly went nasty, these basketball shoes allow the Glass Walker to nearly float when jumping. The Glass Walker adds two dice to any Athletics roll involving jumping. In addition, he takes no damage from falls provided he can make a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty equal to the number of stories fallen). They are bound with a Wind Spirit, and can only be used in Homid or Glabro.

### High Pitch Transmitter (Cyberfetish)

Level 1, Gnosis 2

The ear of a wolf can hear sounds much, much higher than that of a human being. This Cyberfetish raises the Garou’s voice tone beyond the human range of hearing but within the wolf range, allowing the Glass Walker to speak while remaining inaudible to humans. Whilst this fetish may be used in any form, only Garou in Crinos, Hispo or Lupus will hear the signal.

### SpiComs (Regular)

Level 1, Gnosis 2

A favorite of Dies Ultimae, SpiComs are specialized communication systems that employ the Umbra as a medium. The system consists of a mouthpiece, earpiece and a small metal box attached to the belt and wired to the headpiece. Each SpiCom also has a pattern spider bound into it. When someone talks into the mouthpiece, the pattern spider records it and senses whom the message is for, flying instantly to their SpiCom and delivering the message.

This setup means that a message can only be sent from one person to another. In order to facilitate group co-ordination, many packs prefer to configure their SpiComs to contact a central server, which then sends a pattern spider to every SpiCom.

### Hardware Virus (Software)

Level 1, Gnosis 3

As any technical support will tell you, a normal computer virus can’t infect hardware, only software. This is not a normal virus. Bound with a pattern spider, this Softwere can and does attach itself to hardware that is frequently used on many computers (such as digital cameras), and destroys hardware that is mostly used on one computer (such as monitors), in spectacular fashion. As a general rule, they explode. Damage done by exploding printers is best left to the Storyteller to decide.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Security Sniffer (Software)

Level 2, Gnosis 4

A basic search engine program outfitted with the spirit of any urban bird, this program can be run on any security camera system that involves a computer at some point. The program can then be configured to look for anyone fitting a specific description. The value of this program obviously depends on how large the system is, on a government system overseeing many public areas it can be profoundly efficient.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Crescent Moon Waterskin (Regular)

Level 3, Gnosis 5

Still popular among female Middle Eastern Glass Walkers, this fetish was used to disguise female warriors in jihad. A Rage or war-spirit is bound into the waterskin. By pouring the water onto her claws, the Glass Walker gains the benefits of the Razor Claws Gift. Alternatively, by pouring the water on a normal blade she can allow it to do aggravated damage, or by drinking it she can immediately frenzy. Only one of these affects may be in play at any one time, and the effects last for a scene.

### Big Black Book (Regular)

Level 3, Gnosis 6

A personal favorite of many a Corporate Wolf or other contact-minded Glass Walker; this pocket-sized book contains the phone number of every single mortal person on Earth that has one. It is all written in the owner’s handwriting. Curiously enough, a spirit of humor is bound into this fetish.

### Personal Reserves (Cyberfetish)

Level 3, Gnosis 6

Sometimes, there just aren’t enough bullets. This Cyberfetish consists of a long metal tube that goes into the Glass Walkers stomach through his side. This tube can then be inserted into a specially-made firearm. Once the clip in the firearm is exhausted, the Glass Walker can literally feed his own Rage or Gnosis into the gun to reload it, one point for each full reload. The bullets are formed and then stored inside the Glass Walker’s stomach.

### Blaze Pistol (Regular)

Level Three, Gnosis 7

The blaze pistol appears much like any other 9mm pistol, but inside it is bound the spirit of a hawk, owl, or bat. The fetish can be activated while pushing back the slide, and as the slide snaps back into place a round will not be chambered. Instead, the chamber is emptied and a faint light emerges from the barrel. When fired next, this faint light becomes a blaze that arcs from the pistol to its target. The user rolls Firearms as normal to hit the target, with any appropriate modifiers.

If the arc of light hits, it does no damage. But for the rest of the scene, the pistol will constantly point toward the person the light struck. It does this even if a wall or other cover obscures the target, and no matter how far away the person is. The fetish user can’t point the pistol away from the target unless they deactivate the fetish. However, all attempts to shoot that person with the blaze pistol are made at -3 difficulty while the fetish is activated, and tracking the person is a breeze. Cover is also less effective; unless the cover is thick enough to stop the bullet, the shooter can simply fire right through it.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Ultimate Search Engine (Software)

Level 4, Gnosis 6

While finding something on the Internet is best done with a normal search engine, anything off the Internet should be handled with this. This program, bound with a cockroachspirit, can find literally anything (so long as its location is in the physical world) and display its location on a monitor. To search, it rolls its own Gnosis with a difficulty set by the Storyteller, depending on how difficult the object is to find. Finding a misplaced wallet is about difficulty 6; finding one of the lost Talons of the Wyrm would be difficulty 10, if not impossible. As a result, this is not considered the most reliable Softwere on Earth, but if you’re the kind of guy who keeps forgetting where he put his glasses, you’ll love it.

### Body Reformation Engine (Cyberfetish)

Level 4, Gnosis 7

Blatantly abusing the werewolf’s ability to regenerate and shapeshift, this complex system of nanotech grinders spread throughout the Glass Walker’s body deliberately destroys their physical form whilst a hormonal injection stops regeneration returning the body to its natural state but instead rebuilds the body in its new state. By doing this, the Garou can extend limbs out to ridiculous lengths, completely redesign their physical shape (height, weight, etc.), turn their body into a single long snakelike tube, or any other number of tricks.

## Level Six Fetishes

### Fogg’s 9mm (Regular)

Level 6, Gnosis 8

More than any other weapon, Glass Walkers love to turn pistols into fetishes. Numerous variations on the fetish pistol exist, however one of the most famous of these is Fogg’s 9mm. According to legend, Chicago detective Jackson Fogg made it his life’s work to bring Gianluigi Lucci down, and finally found him on an abandoned waterfront with his pack around him. Lucci taunted him for nearly an hour before Fogg suddenly shot, and Lucci gasped as the sheer accuracy and force of the blow from the handgun caught him completely off guard, and he nearly died. His pack tore the policeman apart, but his bravery had attracted a Wind Spirit that bound itself into the gun, explaining the bullet’s profound speed and accuracy. Lucci used the gun himself until the day he died.

Any bullet fired from this unique fetish does aggravated damage, and all Firearms rolls made using the gun are at -3 difficulty. Furthermore, for every turn spent immobile, without changing the gun’s aim, it adds two additional dice of damage. A maximum of twenty dice of damage can be added in this way

# Shadow Lord Fetishes

Generally, Shadow Lords have comparatively little interest in fetishes, or at least in the more obvious ones such as Fang Daggers and Monkey Puzzles. Reliance on trinkets is considered a failing. However, any fetish favoring the Lord’s affinity for guile and subterfuge will definitely get his attention. Further, while most Lords do not typically confront the Wyrm directly, many are nonetheless accomplished klaive duelists (largely because they find themselves challenged on points of honor more often than they’d care to admit). Some also use fetishes for purely utilitarian purposes; a Bringer of Light, for instance, might find a Baneskin to be particularly useful, even if he has no interest in the fetish for its own sake. Similarly, Lords who often interact with Corax find that fetishes and talens of all sorts do much to loosen choice nuggets of information from their feathered allies.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Judge’s Dagger

Level 2, Gnosis 4

These jet-black blades are used exclusively by the Judges of Doom. They are feared weapons, and with good reason — many a target has fallen to a single strike from such a blade. Before they can be useful, however, they must first be attuned to a target. Two things are required before this may happen. First, the target must be guilty of violating the Litany in some fashion. The specifics are not important, but the dagger works much more effectively if the transgression is a serious one. Equally important is the need for an item of significance to the target or (preferably) his blood. If the target is guilty and the item is available, the dagger may be properly attuned.

To attune the blade, the wielder must make a Charisma + Rituals check (difficulty 7) and invest a number of Gnosis points in the dagger equal to the target’s Rank. (Those without Rank are exempt from the law of Litany, of course, although Black Spiral Dancers may still be targeted — they are, after all, criminals against Gaia.) This Gnosis remains in the dagger until the victim is slain, and may not be recovered until that time. Once the dagger is attuned, however, the wielder may learn the direction of the target relative to herself simply by placing the dagger in a pool of water. Any pool will do — some Judges have even used rainpuddles. If there’s room for the dagger to move, it will unerringly point out the target’s location (assuming the victim isn’t using Gifts or other supernatural powers to mask his true location).

Once the Judge has found the target, the second benefit of attunement becomes apparent. Any successful strike by the dagger inflicts a number of levels of aggravated damage equal to the number of Gnosis points stored within it, in addition to normal dagger damage. Only the intended target may be damaged in this fashion — the target’s allies are not affected. Once the target has been eliminated, the wielder’s Gnosis returns to her and the dagger may be attuned to a new target. To create a Judge’s Dagger, a spirit of vengeance or retribution must be bound within the weapon.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Mirror Maze

Level Three, Gnosis 5

Those Shadow Lords who know the secrets of this trick pity the Ragabash, or indeed the Corax, who can be so very curious. Curiosity kills much more than cats.

The Mirror Maze is a tiny, usually no more than a 1/3 of an inch square mirror bound with a Wyld-spirit that is then set within another object, usually a replica of another fetish. When activated the mirror instantly traps the eyes and mind of the person activating it, multiplying itself into an infi nite number of mirrors that appear to be everywhere in every direction. To others, the victim of the tiny trap looks as if he has been drugged, staggering about lost within a maze entirely within his own head. The effect is quite insidious, requiring a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) to resist; if ensnared, the victim is caught until sunrise.

The grip this fetish has upon the victim is actually quite fragile; a few good smacks upside the head will break the trance and bring them back to reality. But most commonly the person administering the blows will be, of course, the Shadow Lord who has returned to her dwellings and found someone nosing around her stuff. What ensues is never pleasant.

## Level Five Fetishes

### Assassin’s Klaive

Level 5, Gnosis 5

The weapon of choice for Theurges who need to see a rival eliminated, these bone-colored blades are also used to quickly and quietly destroy those that prove to be difficult to attack directly. Sleek and deadly, assassin’s klaives are easily hidden underneath clothing, and are quite innocuous if observers don’t know what to look for.

The snake-spirit within the klaive allows the possessor to expend a point of Gnosis to activate one of the following abilities: surround himself with an aura of absolute silence for a scene, mask his scent for one hour, or eradicate his footprints while he walks for one day. The blade is not actually silver, but inflicts the wielder’s Strength in aggravated damage, and the difficulty to soak wounds from an assassin’s klaive is raised by 1.

### Storm Gauntlet

Level Five, Gnosis 7

One of the more visually arresting fetishes among the Garou, the Storm Gauntlet is one of the symbols of a Shadow Lord’s authority and of Grandfather Thunder’s approval. The Storm Gauntlet is slightly oversized (and if activated changes size to fit the Garou’s paw during shifts), made from iron and bound with a Stormcrow. Grandfather Thunder himself sends the Stormcrow bound to such a Gauntlet and only ever sends one when he is convinced of the worthiness of the recipient. Commonly he sends those who would make one of gauntlets these on a quest that in some way furthers his ends.

Once a Stormcrow has been sent (and this does not ensure the successful creation of the fetish, only a permission to try), the Storm Gauntlet can be created. Even when not activated, the Storm Gauntlet is a frightening thing to behold. Any who wear the Storm Gauntlet receive three temporary Honor for owning the Storm Gauntlet. (They will, however, lose four temporary Honor should they lose ownership of it.) Lightning crackles across the iron in pulsing white electric arcs, and the air around the wearer feels hot. When activated, however, it is incredibly dramatic. The lightning bursts from the Gauntlet and strikes the ground, and every strike made by the Gauntlet is accompanied by a crack of thunder. All present when the fetish is activated must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) in order to resist fleeing immediately. (Garou failing the roll fall into Fox Frenzy.)

In addition to its impressive image, the Storm Gauntlet can make a Shadow Lord frightening in combat. Any claw attacks made with the Gauntlet do an additional three dice of aggravated damage, and even a successful parry with the Gauntlet does one die of aggravated damage to the Shadow Lord’s opponent. (Both forms of damage are soakable if the opponent has some means of soaking aggravated damage.)

Most Shadow Lords would kill for one of these fetishes, or at least resort to very underhanded means to relieve someone of it. Whoever can hold one of these is a frightening adversary. Obviously, they cannot be purchased with Background points during character creation.

### Midnight Lightning

Level Five, Gnosis 8

In the year 1759, a pack of Shadow Lords of great experience, notoriety and might each crafted for himself a klaive of deadly power, whose blade was black as the sky at midnight and whose spirit bore the anger of Grandfather Thunder himself. These fi ve Garou were the terror of the soldiers of the Wyrm in Eastern Europe for exactly a decade until in 1769 the Wyrm marshaled its forces against them. For three days and nights, the battle raged atop a craggy peak in the pouring rain before the pack’s alpha fell last beneath the Wyrm’s might. As they died, each packmember threw his blade into the storm, and Grandfather Thunder hurled them all to the four winds, to be scattered across the Earth.

So strong was this pack’s bonds to each other that the klaives formed a part of the pack. Anyone who holds one of these great blades automatically senses the location of the other four blades, who holds them, and the other wielders’ general health (either “Fine,” “Hurt,” or “Near Dead,”) and surface emotions. In addition, any group of Garou each armed with Midnight Lightning may employ pack tactics with each other, even if they are not packmates. As with other grand klaives, they strike at diffi culty 6 and infl ict Strength +2 aggravated damage. Though burnished black, the swords are indeed made of silver. Each is bound with a war-spirit and a Stormcrow.

Finally, each Midnight Lightning klaive never does any visible damage. Though they inflict damage as normal (with opponents suffering wound penalties), and blood pours from where the sword hits, those killed by it simply appear to have died from blood loss and shock. Nowhere will their skin be broken.

## Level Six Fetishes

### Thunder’s Bracers

Level 6, Gnosis 9

This mighty fetish is exactly what its name implies it to be — a pair of armor plates for the forearm which are tied to the storm, infused with a portion of Grandfather Thunder himself. There is, to date, only one set in existence, and the Margrave Konietzko wears them. The bracers appear to be made of a deeply stained metal, set with the teeth of an unknown creature. They are a symbol of his power, but not the source of it — the Margrave was crushing his opponents long before he created these bracers, and he will continue to do so should they leave his possession.

Thunder’s Bracers have many powers. They increase the wielder’s Strength by 4 points, and the wielder may make claw attacks normally. If the wielder uses the bracers to block an attack made with a metal weapon, or with an unarmed attack, the assailant automatically suffers two levels of lethal damage due to the electrical discharge generated by the armor. Additionally, the bracers provide up to four Gnosis points to the wielder per day, which may be used as he sees fit. Finally, the wearer of the bracers may spend three Gnosis points to call forth a bolt of lightning to smite his foes. If there happen to be storm clouds overhead, the lightning comes from them; otherwise, it comes from the bracers themselves. In either case, the lightning deals five levels of aggravated damage to a single target, which may not be soaked by any means.

## Variable Level Fetishes

### Curse Bracelets

Level Variable, Gnosis 5

One problem the Shadow Lords often encounter is that of trust. While they reject the notions of intractable Honor (anything, including personal scruples, must be sacrifi ced if this means it will aid Gaia), there are times when former enemies must work together for Gaia’s benefi t. Curse Bracelets are a way of trying to re-establish trust between those who previously shared none. While many Shadow Lords detest these fetishes with a passion, none deny they are a remarkable example of lateral thinking in fetish design.

Curse Bracelets are always made in sets of two (or more), and can be bound with almost any spirit, though those capable of great destruction are preferred. The power of the spirit determines the level of the fetish, though not the Gnosis, which is always 5. This is because the spirit gets the cushiest job of all time — it is told to sit tight in the bracelets and do absolutely nothing. What makes the fetish useful is that a number of taboos are also attached to it at creation. The fi rst of these is very simple: “You will never take me off your wrist.” All the rest detail the exact nature of the alliance, and what constitutes a breach. Should the taboos be broken, the fetish naturally becomes cursed and begins taking vengeance upon whoever broke the alliance. (The Storyteller can adjudicate how this takes place.) Hence, it’s a powerful incentive to keep the trust of your allies.

This is also the exact reason it is so detested by many Shadow Lords, who feel it fl ies in the face of the very nature of their tribal wisdom. If you learn tomorrow that you must betray the allies you made today in order to save Gaia, they argue, then you absolutely cannot be bound in such a way that will stop you. Nothing, not loyalty, nor pride, nor honor, nor friendship can ever be held above Gaia. These Shadow Lords consider that those who seek alliances should simply weigh up the risks intelligently and make their choices based on this, rather than on the cheap hope offered by tawdry trinkets.

# Silent Strider Fetishes

As just mentioned, Silent Striders travel light. For fetishes, then, they prefer the portable and practical to the grandiose and showy. As a general rule, if it can’t be shoved into a pocket or stuffed into a rucksack, it stays at a Strider caern except in direst need. The d’siah, a smaller, curved blade known to be potent against spirits, is the tribe’s traditional melee weapon — in part simply because it is more easily carried than a massive klaive (the other part being that it is incredibly effective against the tribe’s oldest foes, the serpent-like vampires of Egypt). The bows and arrows favored by other Garou tribes are right out as well; spirits are enticed instead into slings or even guns. Some typical Silent Strider fetishes are detailed later in this chapter.

Of course, the Striders quite often carry fetishes crafted by other tribes, whether received in payment for services or gleaned from the wreckage of a caern that got a warning too late or not at all. Young Striders quickly learn to keep such items out of sight lest their ownership be challenged, or simply resign themselves to handing such items back to the appropriate tribe.

## Level One Fetishes

### Wanderer’s Friend

Level 1, Gnosis 4

The Silent Striders have an image to maintain — that of the unflappable traveler, never lost, and never at a loss for which way to go. With expectations so high, the first step of that first journey can be a doozy. This fetish is often gifted to a young Strider by a mentor after she undergoes her Rite of Passage, as a way of smoothing the road.

At first glance, the fetish appears to be a normal compass. A closer look reveals glyphs on the compass face, and a second needle floating from the center point. When the owner is holding the compass as she gets directions to her destination (and the compass has been successfully activated), the spirit of magnetism housed within hears and remembers the directions. As the Strider travels, the two needles remain together until the owner reaches a landmark or crossroads given in the directions; at that point, the second needle swings to show the next direction. The compass understands every language spoken by the Garou who created the fetish (and thus it might understand a language that its owner does not), and it is even capable of interpreting pantomimed directions with reasonable accuracy. The compass is entirely dependent on the directions received, however, and the directions might always be plain wrong.

Elders grumble that some youths enamored with technology have duplicated this fetish’s functionality with a GPS receiver and an electricity elemental. The warm patina of a compass handed down for generations from mentor to student cannot be duplicated, of course. Since these fetishes are usually of use only to the newest members of the tribe, an elder seen in possession of one that isn’t immediately handed to a cub will be ribbed endlessly and given unbecoming nicknames. Most Striders make it a point to hand their wanderer’s compasses off by Rank Two, or Three at the latest. This also helps ensure in small measure that the tribe’s active wanderers take some interest in helping new arrivals.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Stone-Headed Mace

Level Two, Gnosis 5

These ancient weapons were easy for human hands to craft — a hole was laboriously drilled through a large rock, and a strong wooden haft was inserted. These simple materials were also appealing to spirits allied with the Garou, particularly spirits of nature or the element of earth. Once the weapon was embellished with gold wire and carved with Garou and Egyptian glyphs, a spirit was usually willing to inhabit the fetish and lend it power. When wielded by a Homid-form Garou, a stone-headed mace does Strength + 1 bashing damage. When the wielder changes to Glabro, the mace increases proportionally, and inflicts Strength + 2 bashing damage. When the wielder assumes Crinos form, the mace grows again (resembling a small boulder on a tree trunk), at this size inflicting Strength + 3 bashing damage.

Since these weapons are relatively simple to make, they are still common. Even nature spirits and earth elementals are more jaded in modern times, however, and it may take particularly skillful or precious ornamentation to convince a spirit that the mace is a suitable home.

### Stormcloak

Level Two, Gnosis 7

The Dark Umbra is a foul and forbidding place, even to the Silent Striders who know it better than any other tribe. In recent years this is even truer — the Dark Umbra is more tumultuous and turbulent as storms of the dead roll across its barren plains. While the Stormcloak is a very old fetish, it has regained extra popularity as a response to this increasing turmoil. Stormcloaks are made as traditional desert cloaks covering the body from head to toe, although some more modern Silent Striders have experimented successfully with raincoats and even leather jackets. Into this is woven the spirit of an owl or any armored animal, such as a turtle-spirit. While worn, the Silent Strider doubles his soak pool against any spirits of the Dark Umbra, or any other Dark Umbral phenomenon.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Jambiya

Level Three, Gnosis 5

The fetish jambiya is most often a klaive forged in a form that pays homage to the Silent Strider heritage. The blade of a jambiya is curved, but it lacks the bottom point that would form the full crescent. Both edges of the blade are sharpened. Like the d’siah, it is typically used to slash with the outer edge, but the upswept point can be used to cut into the opponent with a backwards stroke. A fetish jambiya is forged from pure silver, and in larger proportions than ever created for a human wielder — roughly four inches wide at its broadest, and about eighteen inches long, though it loses some of its reach to the curve of the blade. The knife is heavy in Homid form, but a wielder with a Strength of 2 and 1 point in Melee can handle it with one hand.

Because of the relatively short reach of the weapon and the skill required to wield it effectively, the difficulty to hit with a jambiya is 7. A successful strike with the fetish does Strength aggravated damage. Because of the large quantities of silver used to make the blade, the wielder’s effective Gnosis rating is reduced by one while she carries the knife.

### Universal Message Tube

Level Three, Gnosis 6

A common service provided by the Silent Striders, particularly the Wayfarers camp, is smuggling. No matter if that smuggling is information, or precious objects, or people, the Garou have again and again counted upon Silent Striders to move things from places they shouldn’t be to other places they shouldn’t be. To help with this, the Universal Message Tube was created, and has become not just a useful tool of smuggling but also one of the tribe’s best espionage weapons.

Created from hardened leather, the Message Tube is a small, simple letter holder with a stiff cap, and bound with a turtle-spirit. When activated, the Message Tube can hold any single object that is smaller than the Silent Strider carrying it is in Homid form, and once activated a second time the object can be extracted. This was originally designed to help smuggle out treasures and the like, but also quickly became incredibly useful for smuggling things into places as well. Objects kept inside the Message Tube will not set off metal detectors, and are more or less undetectable. Combined with a klaive or a d’siah, the Message Tube is a perfect way to conceal an assassin’s approach.

### Mirror Blade

Level Three, Gnosis 7

The Silent Striders have a constant interest in the spirit world in both the Dark Umbra and the Penumbra. The mirror blade has arisen as a means of defense against those spirits that often dog their heels. A long thin sword made from mirrored metal, the mirror blade is bound with a jackal-spirit and kept as polished as possible at all times — not always an easy task on the road.

When activated, the blade begins to reflect light brilliantly, far more than normal. Against flesh-andblood enemies, it’s more or less worthless. It does standard damage for a sword, far less than what a Garou can wreak with claws and teeth. Against spirits, however, it is impressive. When it shines, it reveals spirits in the Penumbra surrounding the wielder, and the wielder can strike the spirits with it. The first strike against a non-materialized spirit with the mirror blade is at a difficulty equal to the local Gauntlet. If successful, the mirror blade does normal sword damage to the spirit and automatically pulls the Silent Strider into the Umbra. At this point, most sheathe the sword and rely claws and teeth.

## Level Five Fetishes

Owl Talon D’siah

Level Five, Gnosis 7

Only two of these ancient flint blades are known to survive in the modern day. The curved blade is carved to resemble not the crescent moon, but the clutching talons of an owl. The Owl Talon has all the qualities of the standard fetish d’siah above. In addition, a second spirit, that of a desert owl, is bound to the blade; when the knife is activated to drain Gnosis after a successful strike, the owl-spirit snatches the energy up and channels it to the wielder, who adds it to his temporary Gnosis. The wielder’s Gnosis may never exceed his permanent rating in this manner. Also, the wielder may activate the fetish after a successful blow against an Egyptian vampire. If successful, a blood point is drained from the vampire and converted into Gnosis for the d’siah’s wielder. This Gnosis is dark and unnatural, and may push the werewolf into frenzy — as long as the character has the tainted Gnosis in his pool, his difficulties to frenzy are reduced by one per point of tainted Gnosis. Once the affected points of Gnosis are spent, the Garou’s frenzy difficulties return to normal.

# Silver Fang Fetishes

Fetish is a very common Background amongst Silver Fang characters. The tribe probably possesses more klaives and other fetishes, handed down through bloodlines, than any other tribe can claim. The tribe’s reputation for leadership, and propensity for leading from the front, have lead to a great number of fetishes being made which support those roles: boosting the Fang’s leadership abilities, their prowess in combat or their survivability when charging headlong into a knot of Wyrmspawn at the head of a pack.

Obviously, many such fetishes have been lost down through the years, usually on the occasions when the Wyrmspawn proved to be just too strong. Many Silver Fangs whose child has undergone a First Change undertake a quest with their pack to try, often guided by an ancestor-spirit, to reclaim one of these lost fetishes as a coming of age gift for their progeny. On other occasions, the family keeps the fetish of a fallen Fang unused until a new werewolf is born into the line, at which point they take up the family heirloom.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Brooch of Fathers

Level Three, Gnosis 5

The Silver Fangs often indulge in the practice of creating fetish heirlooms, passed down through family or mentor to student lines. The Brooch of Fathers embodies this notion better than any other, however. Handed down at death to its new owner, the Brooch takes the natural connection of the wearer to his forebears, and embodies their legends in the wearer’s image. Through small physical changes, body language and instinct, the Garou resembles the ancestors she is connected to.

In game terms, the Brooch works fairly simply. When activated, the Silver Fang’s Ancestors Background rating is added to his Pure Breed for the remainder of the scene. As both a symbol of memory and a guardian of the underworld, an owl-spirit is bound into this fetish.

### Wind Whistle

Level Three, Gnosis 5

In Russian folklore, the wind is often associated with evil people who blew whistles and were on occasion suspected of summoning up the wind. Those tales are simply Delirium-twisted memories of this fetish. A single, long blow on this whistle will summon a freezing cold wind, laced with snow. It will cover the tracks of the werewolf using the whistle, and his pack if appropriate, while chilling the bones of any pursuers, costing them one die from every roll while they continue to pursue the owner of the wind whistle. The effects of the whistle last for one hour.

The Garou make this fetish by binding a wind elemental into a whistle carved from the bone of an animal that died of the cold during the winter months.

### Latyr Stone

Level Three, Gnosis 6

These small, unremarkable rocks can make the difference between life and death for a Silver Fang in hostile territory. Once a werewolf activates the stone and places it on the ground or in a body of water, it will purify the nearby plants and water enough to ensure that they are safe for the werewolf to eat and drink. Each stone will purify enough food and water for a single pack.

A character can create a latyr stone by binding a water elemental into a stone taken from a river running through a caern’s bawn.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Alpha Klaive

Level Four, Gnosis 8

This is a variation on the klaive unique to the Silver Fangs. This weapon acknowledges that sometimes good leadership is a better quality in an alpha than pure destructive power. Instead of binding a warspirit into the blade, the blade forger uses a falconspirit. Instead of doing aggravated damage against all opponents, the weapon now aids the alpha in making crucial tactical and battlefield decisions, boosting his effective Leadership by two dots.

The difficulty to attack with an alpha klaive is 7, as there is no war-spirit to aid the wielder, but it still inflicts Strength +2 lethal damage. Werewolves cannot soak damage from the weapon and still treat the klaive’s wounds as aggravated, because it is made of silver. The bearer loses one point from his Gnosis rating while carrying the weapon.

### Crystal Javelin

Level Four, Gnosis 8

The word of the righteous shall be as law, and the actions of the Silver Fangs will ring out with the divine right of kings. Falcon’s tribe has held their might and leadership over the years — not by tradition, but with the blessing of Gaia, Luna and Falcon. And while the grand klaive remains the greatest symbol of offi ce, the Crystal Javelin retains great popularity in many quarters, particularly among the descendants of the Roman Silver Fangs that walked among the Patrician families.

Despite the name, most of the fetish is made from wood, but the head is made from a transparent substance. The spearhead need not be crystal; some fetishes boast heads of pure diamonds while others are made of glass.) Into this is bound a Lune. When activated, the Lune fills the head with her moonlight and it turns to silver, causing it to do unsoakable aggravated damage to Garou and many Fera. Much like grand klaives, some are bound with a second spirit, in this case nearly always a spirit of Rage or war. (Those with a second spirit bound into them do aggravated damage to anything, and are Level Five, Gnosis 8.)

In addition, the head of the javelin shines with stunningly bright moonlight. Any attempts to strike someone wielding the Javelin are made at +2 diffi culty. If thrown, the Javelin releases a blast of pure white light when it lands, and anyone in the area who cannot make a Wits + Alertness roll (diffi culty 7) is blinded for one turn.

The Crystal Javelin does damage as per a spear.

## Level Five Fetishes

### Soldier’s Bag

Level Five, Gnosis 7

There is an old Russian tale about a soldier who was given a sack that could and did capture anything. With a single harsh command, any creature, no matter how foul would fi nd itself helpless against the urge to rush within. It is possible the “soldier” was one of Gaia’s warriors; or perhaps one of them heard the story and was inspired to make a bag like his for himself. If the latter tale is true, then the werewolf who chose to follow in the soldier’s footsteps should have listened to the whole story. In his arrogance the soldier made Death fear and refuse to take him, Hell reject him, and Heaven never forgive him. No Garou yet has so far damned himself to wander the Earth eternally, but then none yet have tried to capture Death itself. The first to try (and surely some poor fool soul is saving a Soldier’s Bag for the day they meet) will be very unready for a highly painful eternity of not dying in the vengeful grasp of the Wyrm’s talons.

A Garou who holds a Soldier’s Bag can activate it with a yelled command to anything that he can see, and very few will be capable of resisting the pull within that ensues. Other shapeshifters may defy the bag (with a successful Gnosis roll, difficulty 7), by being both spirit and fl esh, as may fomori, Drones, and gorgons; creatures without Gnosis must roll Willpower, difficulty 9. Spirits roll Gnosis, but at difficulty 9.

The most common use of the bag is to capture a spirit to force a single favor out of it. This can take the form of one of the spirit’s Charms, or it can amount to a quest performed on behalf of the character. But those who extort favors in this fashion should be very careful indeed. To coerce a spirit into aiding him, the Garou must roll Charisma + Intimidation. The difficulty is only 4, since the Bag grants the Garou a considerable amount of leverage.

But if the roll fails, or, even worse, botches, then the Garou must choose between never again opening the bag, or opening the bag and facing the wrath of the spirit trapped within. Storytellers should feel free to come up with imaginative ways for this to happen, and should also not feel afraid to have spirits who are forced to perform tasks also try to fi nd ways to gain revenge at some point down the road. In effect, any player taking this fetish is giving you a free license to introduce new antagonists whenever he uses it, so take the opportunity.

The Soldier’s Bag is bound with the spirit of any predatory animal. Wolves are particularly favored.

### Helm of Svyatogor

Level Five, Gnosis 8

Svyatogor, a giant of Slavic myth, serves as perhaps a very sad (but perhaps apt) analogy for the modern Silver Fang tribe —once a great giant warrior, now tired, old, and fading away. Regardless of the validity of the metaphor (which many Silver Fangs would no doubt like to contest), this helmet hearkens back to his glory days, and many Silver Fangs find comfort in its presence. When wearing it, they too sweep away the clouds when as they pass, at least metaphorically. Lights flicker as they enter rooms, gusts of wind burst through windows in the dead calm, and all who feel its presence are filled with a sense of its powerful might and, should they be the enemy of the Fangs, of dread.

In effect, once activated this fetish creates a Delirium like effect even in other Garou or supernatural creatures. The fetish rolls its own Gnosis (difficulty 7), and anyone within sight of the helm must roll Willpower (difficulty 8 for those the Silver Fang considers enemies, difficulty 6 for those she considers allies). Should the defender roll fewer successes than the fetish, they suffer from the effects Delirium. Start at 10 (“No reaction”) and move down the chart one for each success the fetish scores above the defender. Naturally, the helm is capable of changing shape to fi t a changing Garou head.

This fetish is sometimes bound with a Silver Fang ancestor-spirit, or more commonly with the spirit of a great Wyld beast, defeated in single combat by the fetish maker. Helms of Svyatogor are considerably rare.

# Uktena Fetishes

Uktena and Wendigo fetishes enjoy popularity among both tribes in most cases. They are arranged by the tribe among in which they find the greatest popularity, but both tribes have been known to share their fetishes with the other (though clearly these represent only those secrets the Uktena are willing to share).

Fetishes are more common here than in most other tribes. As might be expected, Uktena prefer natural materials for fetishes and talens. Metal is rarely used and plastic is unheard of. Klaives are practically nonexistent; those they do have are usually recovered in raids against tainted Garou. Talens and minor (i.e. Level One) fetishes are common among young Uktena. While such an item is useful, it is also a test of the cliath’s responsibility. A Garou who abuses, loses or doesn’t properly care for a spiritual item doesn’t deserve anything more powerful. A cliath with a greater fetish surely is highly trusted (and under scrutiny) by the sept elders.

While fetishes are relatively common, Uktena prize these items highly. Other tribes are less enthused with Uktena fetishes, for their spirits seem more sinister or demanding than most. Some of these fetishes are unusual in that no spirit is bound into them; rather, they contain a bit of Uktena’s own spirit (some would say “magical essence” or medicine) to empower the fetish.

## Level One Fetishes

### Jar of Secrets

Level 1, Gnosis 5

An early version of a tape recorder, this small earthen jar stores spoken messages. By spending a Gnosis point, the user may speak into the jar for up to a minute, after which he may seal the words in with the lid. Up to five messages may be so saved. If the pot is opened without being activated, the messages are released in order from newest to oldest, and are heard at the volume with which the pot received them. Once repeated, the message is lost. If the activation roll botches, the jar shatters. Spirits of wind or echoes are bound into this fetish.

### Lie Finder

Level 1, Gnosis 6

This fetish is typically made from the beard of an adult male turkey. The owner uses it by pointing to the subject (who is within speaking distance) and succeeding in a Gnosis roll. The effect lasts until the user stops pointing the fetish at a given person. If successful and the target deliberately lies, one of the bristles snaps off and falls to the ground. When the last bristle breaks off (and there may be several dozen), the spirit is freed. A spirit of truth or honesty is bound into the fetish.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Snake Bow

Level 2, Gnosis 5

This finely crafted bow has the skin of a rattlesnake running along the back (the convex side). Any arrow loosed from the activated bow does, if any of its initial damage is unsoaked, an additional level of aggravated damage on the following turn; the wound burns as if poisoned. A rattlesnake spirit empowers this fetish.

### Uktena Scale

Level 2, Gnosis 6

Those whom Uktena favors may find a reddish or whitish triangular scale (thumbnail- to palm-sized) with a razor-sharp edge — a castoff from the side of an uktena. By giving it the merest taste of his own blood (a Damage-less nick) and succeeding on a Gnosis roll, the owner may make any Enigmas rolls at -2 difficulty for the remainder of the scene. In addition, feeding the scale allows the bearer to shift (even partially shift) at -1 difficulty for one turn per success on the activation roll. When activated, it shimmers and sparkles like fire.

Because finding one is never considered happenstance (and no Uktena in her right mind would challenge for the scale), the Uktena is marked as watched by the totem spirit, receiving a temporary point of Honor. Those who betray that favor suffer in tragic but intriguing ways. Once the owner dies, the scale loses the above abilities. However, it may be used for a different purpose by anyone who knows the proper ritual. The new owner must take splinters from a lightning-struck tree, light it from a natural source (including flint or friction but not matches or a lighter) and burn the scale. Wrapping remaining coal (which is gray or black and always has a reddish glow in the center) in a piece of deerskin grants the bearer +1 per two successes on a Gnosis roll on any hunting or tracking roll. The effects last for a scene. However, the fetish must be hung outside in the woods when not in use, for its energies poison those unlucky enough to be indoors in its presence (one level of Aggravated damage per hour for being in the same room, per two hours in an adjacent room).

### Flint Arrow Shirt

Level 2, Gnosis 7

This armor shirt is made from a hundred or more stone arrow and spear heads, held together by sinew and plaited hair. When active, it allows the wearer an additional soak die per success for one scene (including silver). In addition, activation causes a layer of clear ice to form around the flint, offering similar protection from the effects of fire and intense heat. A flint spirit and an ice spirit are both required to empower this fetish.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Bane Water Bag

Level Three, Gnosis 7

The Gauntlet is, in a way, a mixed blessing. Granted, you can’t attack Banes unless you’re capable of crossing the Gauntlet, but neither can they attack you unless they’re capable of materializing. The trick is in properly judging when it’s safe to step sideways and when you’re better off remaining in the material world. The Bane Water Bag is designed to aid in these decisions.

Bane Water Bags are created from any slightly porous fabric, with long drawstrings at the top, and are bound with a Bane. Once filled with water (often scented with various plants), the Bag is activated and swung gently around the body holding the drawstrings in much the same manner as a censer. As the water drips and falls from the bag to the ground, the ground ripples in the same way as drops of water cause ripples in a lake. Should there be a Bane in the area on the other side of the Gauntlet, then the ground will ripple all the way between the fetish user and the Bane, and the ground will crash in a wave as it reaches the target. This doesn’t reveal the Banes, nor does it offer any information about the Banes other than their locations and a rough approximate of how many there are. The Bane Water Bag has a range of twenty yards.

### Moon Bow

Level 3, Gnosis 7

A Moon Bow appears as a short or longbow of dark wood, with glyphs for each of the moon phases carved on it. The bow shoots more accurately in the light of the moon, even when the moon appears during the day. To attune the bow initially, the Garou must fire an arrow at the moon, spend a point of Gnosis and succeed in a Gnosis roll (difficulty 7). If successful, the bow is attuned to her until she gives it away. When shooting in the moon’s light, she makes another Gnosis check (difficulty depends on the moon’s phase; use Rage roll difficulties, i.e., 8 for new moon, 4 for full); every two successes add an extra die to the attack roll for that shot. A Lune or other moon spirit empowers the bow.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Spirit Axes

Level Four, Gnosis 6

One of the more unusually crafted weapons among the Garou, this carved battleaxe or bladed war-club is a favorite among some Uktena. The blade is carved into three separate edges, and the axe is then bound with the spirit of any predatory animal.

When used against most enemies, the axe functions normally. However, when attacking an enemy possessed by a spirit or ghost, the axe attacks the spirit directly, passing completely through the host and not injuring them in the slightest.

This weapon can even cure fomori by destroying the Banes inside of them, however, the longer the victim has been a fomor the more difficult this is. For every month the victim has been a fomor, he takes one unsoakable health level of damage from any attack made with the Spirit Axe, up to a maximum of the total damage rolled. As the Bane firmly entwines itself into the host’s soul over time, the less the Spirit Axe is capable of distinguishing between the two. Fomori who have been cursed for over a year are probably impossible to save using a Spirit Axe, since the host dies before the Bane does.

By contrast, a Spirit Axe cannot exorcise the spirit possessing a Drone. Unlike the relatively clumsy combination of spirit and mortal that is a Fomor, a Drone is a highly efficient reworking of the mortal at the hands of the spirit. From the moment they are joined, they are one and the Spirit Axe cannot target the spirit directly.

### Spirit Dagger

Level 4, Gnosis 7

This blade has several important properties. The bite of this obsidian blade is grievously painful to spirits (including all manner of Banes), adding two levels (not dice) of damage to any successful attack. But more impressively, the dagger can pierce the Gauntlet. By spending a Willpower point and making a successful Gnosis roll (difficulty is the Gauntlet rating), the wielder may make a single attack into the Penumbra. Note that unless the Garou has some way of seeing exactly where the spirit is, she is subject to the penalties for fighting blind. There are two downsides to this weapon. While the blade is practically unbreakable when striking spirits (including materialized spirits but not fomori), it reacts like volcanic glass when striking anything physical (i.e., it’s liable to shatter when striking bone, wood, metal or almost anything harder than flesh). Also, spirits can sense the blade’s presence and react unfavorably to the bearer. Heron spirits are typically used to make a spirit dagger.

## Level Five Fetishes

### Bane Seal

Level 5, Gnosis 7

The prisons that trap the Great Banes cannot contain their evil forever. The bindings weaken and fade unless a Bane Tender is standing guard. But there have always been too few Tenders, and even they must sleep or periodically find refuge from the Tainted energies lest they weaken and fall. The Bane Seal acts as the lock on the spiritual prison, giving the guardians an extra measure of security.

This fetish varies in appearance. Some are simply slabs of rock carved with runes; others take the form of elaborate sand paintings. A powerful Weaver spirit is bound to the fetish. Although it rarely enters willingly, it can’t go against its nature and is soon hard at work keeping the energy strands of the Bane prison ordered and strong. The Seal is set in an important location close to the Bane (usually on the ground above its resting place or at the mouth of the cave which traps it). Upon activation, the Seal must be fed Gnosis to sustain the spirit’s strength — depending on the Bane’s strength, it may require 5 Gnosis per month or even more (alternately, the Storyteller may rule that the Seal requires one Gnosis for every success scored in the initial binding). If not fed the proper amount, the strands of the prison begin to weaken until they fail. Some Garou bind spirits that can siphon spiritual energy directly from a caern (or a network of caerns), further safeguarding the Bane prison. Small wonder, then that the disruption caused by invasion or destruction of caerns resulted in the release of many great evils.

## Level Six Fetishes

### Ulunsuti

Level 6, Gnosis 9

The Ulunsuti is a rare, if not unique, object, for in order to get it, one of Great Uktena’s most powerful children must die. On the forehead of an uktena is a clear crystal, large as a dinner plate and hard as diamond, with a blood-red streak running through the center from the top to the bottom.

The powers ascribed to this stone are many, but chief among them is the ability to prophesy, seeing images of the future in the crystal “as a tree is reflected in the quiet stream.” In addition, the owner is said to be able to see anywhere he can name, and even cast his eye into the distant past. He is also gifted with luck in his endeavors, so long as the stone’s hunger is sated.

But as with all such power, there is a price to wield it. The Ulunsuti must be given blood every seven days (half a pint — the blood of a small animal will do), which soaks into the stone and makes the streak shimmer. Twice a year, it must drink the blood of a large animal, such as a deer. Some wise men warn that the stone must never be given more than a little human or Garou blood, for it will learn to crave only that and accept no other kind. Since no one currently admits to having an ulunsuti, there is no way to confirm this.

If the stone isn’t fed properly, it flies through the air at night and drinks its fill from the owner or his people. In addition, it is rumored to allow only its owner to touch it, attacking anyone else who ventures within reach. When not in use it must be wrapped in a whole deerskin placed in an earthen pot and hidden in a dark place (a cave is preferable). If the owner intends to store it away for a long time, he must tell the stone he won’t need it for a long time, and (hopefully) it will go to sleep; it must be fed before he again tries to use it, or it will drain his blood.

When the owner dies, the stone must be placed upon his chest; otherwise the Ulunsuti hunts for him every night (presumably feeding as it does so) for seven years before going into Slumber. In either case, after seven years it may be awakened. If the Garou feeds it blood and successfully attunes it, he becomes the new owner (if the Garou fails, the awakened crystal goes back to sleep beside his bloodless corpse).

# Wendigo Fetishes

## Level One Fetishes

### Wild Rice

Level One, Gnosis 5

This fetish created with wild rice can mystically heighten fertility, increasing a female Garou’s chances to conceive and continue the Wendigo bloodline. Stalks of the rice can be gathered into a small bundle, braided together, and bound with a thread or leather thong soaked in her menstrual blood; or the ripened kernels of rice can be shaken free of the stalks and gathered into a small pouch, tied around the werewolf’s neck with the same blood-soaked thread. Then the werewolf who wishes to conceive must bind a spirit of one of her female ancestors, an earth spirit, or another fertility spirit into the fetish. While it is activated, the Garou should not remove it from her person, especially not during sexual congress. The exact game effects are left to the Storyteller’s discretion as to what is appropriate for her chronicle.

### Wendigo Dagger

Level One, Gnosis 6

Most Wendigo blade fetishes are carved from walrus tusks or other bone, impervious to changes in temperature, and frequently have a spirit bound within them by performing the Rite of the Fetish upon its first blooding. Wendigo blades are practical, razor-sharp, and not usually elaborate, although their hafts are often wrapped with a decorative thong or woven quillpattern. The taste of fresh blood on a Wendigo dagger generally serves to awaken the bound spirit inside.

## Level Two Fetishes

### War Whistle

Level Two, Gnosis 5

Crafted from the leg-bone of an eagle or other hunting bird, and usually decorated with porcupine quills or bright dangling feathers, a war-whistle contains a bound war-spirit of ferocious bloodthirstiness. Awarded by the Elders to a chosen battle-leader or war chief before the fighting begins, this fetish only awakens when its bearer blows it with icy Rage in his heart. The shrill, piercing shriek of the whistle carries over the battleground, summoning all the leader’s allies to the fight; it also allows the user to immediately roll Charisma + Intimidation to intimidate all foes on the battlefield. The Wendigo using a War Whistle may add 2 dice to his Intimidation dice pool for this purpose.

### Bird Stone

Level Two, Gnosis 6

According to Wendigo legend, one great battle during the war with the Wyrmcomers was decided with the aid this stone. Outnumbered three to one, the Wendigo situated themselves in the middle of a dry riverbed, and waited for the enemy to attack. When the enemy charged, a Ragabash in the Wendigo pack hurled the Bird Stone into the midst of one pack, and the attackers were suddenly plagued by a flock of owls, hawks, buzzards and other birds. The other packs, surprised by the assault, found themselves split between attacking the Wendigo and aiding their allies. With their foes thus distracted, the Wendigo surrounded the three packs and slaughtered them with arrows, throwing axes, and finally tooth and claw.

The Bird Stone is a polished flat pebble marked with two glyphs, one on each side. The first signals “Prey,” and the second “Predator.” Into this stone is bound the spirit of a prey animal; mice, rats and possums are favored choices. When activated, the stone becomes an unmistakable beacon to any birds in the area (not just birds of prey), which flock around the area. Yet the birds will not attack whoever activated the fetish, which tells the birds that the owner is a predator rather than prey. Those in combat with the owner, however, have no such protection, and suffer -4 to all rolls while in the fetish owner’s immediate presence.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Partridge Wing

Level Three, Gnosis 7

This fetish is made from the wing of a partridge bird, its feathers all completely unbroken and strangely white as snow. The joint of the wing has a golden ring fastened through it, and hangs from a long golden chain. To activate the fetish, a werewolf must concentrate upon a memory that she wishes to remove from her mind, and then swing the partridge wing around herself counter-clockwise three times, letting the tips of the feathers brush in a circle around her on the ground. Memories of another human or Garou can also be swept away in a similar fashion, by dragging the feathers by the chain in a circle around them. This fetish is rarely used on Garou and should never be used without permission, but has come in very handy for restoring Delirious humans to their calmer states.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Wendigo Shield

Level Four, Gnosis Variable

Heating a prepared piece of buffalo hide until it hardens to the thickness of an inch creates this signature fetish of a Wendigo warrior. The hide is then stretched over a frame of whalebone or antler for sturdiness, and decorated as the Wendigo sees fit. Usually buffalo shields are adorned with an assortment of furs, scalps, and other relics of the warrior’s vanquished foes. A shield may have several war-spirits bound to it, and some shields can even be home to the ancestor-spirits of the honorably defeated, who have chosen to aid the Garou who conquered them nobly in combat.

Any Wendigo Shield adds 1 point to its wielder’s Intimidation skill, and increases her soak by an amount equal to half its Gnosis. War-spirits are attracted to fearsomely decorated Wendigo Shields, with successes on a Dexterity + Crafts roll increasing the likelihood of attracting a powerful war spirit into the shield. However, an excessively decorated shield is cumbersome to wield, and costs the Garou who carries it a point of Dexterity. Treasured shields are often used by Theurges in divination rituals before battle. These kinds of fetish shields can also be set up outside a dwelling, opposite the door, in order to guard the warrior within from spirit attacks to his blind side. There are even stories of shields that, when unveiled, drive off the enemy without even a single blow being struck.

### Cedar Bowl

Level Four, Gnosis 6

A carefully fashioned bowl of cedar wood, as perfectly round as the full moon, cradles the spirit of several bound water elementals. The rim of the bowl is bound with a flat ribbon of copper, and the sigil that binds the spirits is etched into the bottom of the bowl and also filled with poured veins of copper. The bowl itself is utterly indestructible and fireproof. When the bowl is activated, by filling it with water and dragging a wet fingernail or claw around the rim in a complete circle, it lets out a penetrating ringing chime that is carried by the wind. The bound water elementals then rise and cause all sources of fire within hearing of the ringing or sight of the bowl to be completely extinguished. The holder of the bowl may spend additional points of Gnosis to encourage a wind-spirit to carry the sound further and further, making it possible to put out fires from considerable distances away. Each point of Gnosis expended doubles the original distance that the sound carries; for example, the chime may ordinarily be heard 150 feet away on a still day, but can be heard 600 feet away with the spending of 2 more points of Gnosis.

### The Ulu of Arnaguatsaaq Chill-That-Waits

Level Four, Gnosis 6, Unique

Lost even beyond the remembrance of most ancestor spirits, this curved bone knife was a gift to Chill-That-Waits from Luna herself, aiding ChillThat-Waits in defeating the great monster Luumajuuq. The haft, tang and edge of the Ulu were one, created from a single piece of silvery bone, shaped to instantly and intimately fit the grip of its wielder, ever sharp and completely unbreakable. Bound within the crescent-shaped blade, it is told, was the righteous spirit of a Lune, dedicated to shedding her purifying light into any corrupted darkness. Some believe that the fetish knife contained, instead, an immortalized war-spirit that fought for Luna with extraordinary skill and fury. Or, perhaps, the two spirits were entwined together. Whatever power was confined within this woman’s knife, though, allowed Arnaguatsaaq to fight the Ice-Breaker and the monstrous bird Aipaloovik with the strength of ten. The Song of Chill-That-Waits says that when Luna is ready to aid Wendigo in a battle of vital importance to Garou, she will cause the Ulu to rise from its hiding place, and allow it to fall into the hands of her chosen, the mightiest female warrior worthy to follow in Chill-That-Waits’ paw prints. Rumor has it that the Ulu has recently been found, which most elders consider to be a bad omen for the immediate future.

### Qallunaat, Tearer of the Veil

Level Four, Gnosis 7, Unique

Legends tell that when the spear Qallunaat is thrown, its bone tip whistles through the air like Wendigo’s screaming wind, doing sonic damage to all creatures that are neither Garou nor Kinfolk. The sound of Qallunaat flying through the air incites Delirium as it rips through the Veil on its way to its target, sending most humans to their knees with paralyzing fear. There is considerable debate as to whether all Kinfolk who carry Garou blood are immune to the sound of Qallunaat, if it only spares those of Wendigo blood. Some stories even say that non-Kin humans who are members of Native American tribes are also safe from the effects of its scream, despite their usual vulnerability to the Delirium. Since Qallunaat has not been found within the living memory of any Wendigo, the debate will likely last for quite a long time.

### Turtle Necklace

Level Four, Gnosis 8

All but gone. The turtle necklace was a rarity in the days of the Wild West, and you can count the remaining Turtle Necklaces left in the world on your fingers, without using your thumbs. Each one, though, remains highly useful. The Turtle Necklace is made from a series of wooden discs, each painted to resemble a turtle shell. When worn and activated, the necklace provides an extra soak die against all attacks for one scene, even against silver.

This fetish perhaps exemplifies better than any other how a fetish isn’t simply a matter of fusing a random spirit with any vessel. The basic principle of a Turtle Necklace is well known; it’s a necklace bound with a turtle-spirit. And yet, no one has been able to create one since the Croatan vanished. Those that still remain are the very rare few gifts left by the Croatan to the Uktena and Wendigo before they were destroyed. And when they died, they took whatever secrets it was that allowed a Turtle Necklace to be created with them.

## Level Five Fetishes

Ghost Dance Shirt

Level Five, Gnosis 7

These fabled war-shirts are sewn of flexible hide or seal intestine, and decorated, armor-like, with intricate breastplates. These breastplates are threaded together with sinew, constructed with elaborate rows of long tubular hairpipe beads, made of shells, bone, reeds, and sometimes glass or other metals. The tailor performs the Rite of the Fetish during the shirt’s construction. Howling and singing prayers to the spirit of the wearer’s choice, exhorting it with every dip of the needle, the tailor convinces the spirit to enter into the growing network of threads and beads. The Ghost Dance Shirt generally has a symbol of the spirit incorporated into its pattern as an additional enticement, and it is only declared finished when the spirit has been successfully bound. Once the wearer activates the shirt, the spirit protects her completely from any non-magical, ranged projectile damage, such as crossbow bolts, arrows, bullets, shrapnel, thrown rocks, or sling pellets. Regular edged attacks or bashing attacks in close combat still hurt the Wendigo normally. If a Ghost Dance Shirt is worn outside of combat, it gradually saps the wearer’s Wits, at a cost of one point per day; the bound spirit becomes so eager to deflect damage that it tries to put itself into harm’s way to make the situation possible. A character that reaches Wits 0 in this fashion frenzies at the slightest inconvenience or provocation.

### Thunder Stick

Level Five, Gnosis 7

The Wendigo are the keepers of the Bones of the Wyld, and no fetish better embodies this than the Thunder Stick, a weapon that surprised and confounded the Wyrmcomers perhaps more than any other when they first came into conflict with the Wendigo. A long decorated walking stick, the Thunder Stick is marked twenty-four times with the glyph meaning “Storm.” It is then bound with a very rare spirit found only in the eye of a tornado, a spirit of no name and pure Wyld. Only the most experienced Wendigo know how to find one.

When activated, the Thunder Stick summons an ever-increasing storm or other natural disaster. The fetish can only be activated by spending one point of Gnosis; a Gnosis roll won’t do. At activation, the user stands perfectly still and then rolls Gnosis (difficulty 9) in addition to spending the Gnosis to activate it; she must roll Gnosis again every ten minutes. Every success achieved on these rolls builds the level of natural disaster higher and higher. The player can keep making these rolls until the Wendigo is forced to move.

At one success, a downpour begins to fall. Two successes bring a thunderstorm with sheet lightning. With three successes, the thunderstorm becomes a small flood and with four successes the flood is devastating. Finally, at five successes the wind has become a hurricane, the flood sweeps everything off its feet, and the lightning strikes nearby objects about every three minutes.

After this, the storm gets no worse, but further successes may call up other environmental conditions such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, depending on the local environment. The Storyteller had best adjudicate such impressive disasters.

### Nogunqaaq and Itungunqaaq, the Spear and Mask of Destiny

Level Five, Gnosis 8, Unique

Nogunqaaq’s vicious point can thrust with deadly might through all Tellurian planes — the Underworld, Earth, the Gauntlet, the Penumbra, the Near Realms, the Membrane, and the Deep Umbra — wounding whatever lies in its path, in any place, reality or manifestation. Nogunqaaq’s tip is made of moon-drenched silver, its shaft a rippling pole of ice with lightning trapped within its depths. Seeing through the slitted wooden eyes of Itungunqaaq lets you glimpse your foe’s thoughts and movements as they ripple through the planes. Nearly always, an enemy’s thoughts change before his flesh shifts, or calls upon spirits who can be seen, warning the wearer of Itungunqaaq of attack, defense or gambit before matter is even set into motion.

Most well-informed Theurges and ritemasters know that Nogunqaaq was last seen in 1896, in the hands of a wily Yukon Ragabash by the name of Hammerpants. In the midst of the Klondike Gold Rush, Hammerpants won the spear in a poker game from a Wyrmcomer in Dawson City, by the name of Joppe Humber. Hammerpants’ local Wendigo friends in Moosehide were, naturally, dubious that the spear was actually Nogunqaaq. Hammerpants proceeded to demonstrate its use to them with frightening effect, stabbing through reality and releasing several troublesome Jagglings and a particularly nasty Vortex from the Deep Umbra. After the fires were put out, he claimed that he had no idea how Humber had come by the precious Spear of Destiny, but that he fully intended to take it with him to Nunavut and give it to the ritemasters there, since he could trust no one else but himself. Unfortunately, the day after he left, an avalanche buried Chilkoot Pass in a hundred feet of snow, apparently swallowing up Hammerpants and Nogunqaaq with him. Since Itungunqaaq the Mask only comes when Nogunqaaq calls it, both fetishes are effectively lost for the time being.

## Variable Level Fetishes

Medicine Bags

Level and Gnosis variable

One of the most common fetishes among the Uktena and Wendigo are medicine bags. A very simple fetish, medicine bags are small leather or cloth pouches filled with specially treated crushed plants. Neither the bag nor the plants are in themselves the fetish, but rather both of them together hold the spirit. Should the bag be ruptured, the fetish is destroyed. Most medicine bags are worn around the neck. Medicine bags are used for a wide variety of purposes. A medicine bag containing peyote and bound with a water-spirit or Glade Child can be used to induce a sense of calm in the wearer (increasing the difficulty of all Rage rolls by 3; Level 1, Gnosis 5). Stuffed with woundwort and bound with a spider-spirit, it halves healing time (Level 4, Gnosis 8), while one filled with crushed water reeds and a Lune causes the wearer to be conveniently ignored (reducing the diffi culty of all Stealth rolls by 2 — Level 3, Gnosis 6). Finally, a medicine bag fi lled with corn and bound with a crow spirit reduces the difficulty for all Physical rolls except attack rolls by 2 (Level 4, Gnosis 6).

In most cases, medicine bags’ effects last for one scene.

# Pure Tribes Fetishes

These fetishes can be taken by any member of a Pure Tribe.

## Level One Fetishes

### Turquoise

Level One, Gnosis 5

This blue-green stone is also called the sky stone. When worn, it protects the wearer from thirst, allowing her to travel far longer in the desert and other dry places without becoming dehydrated. The fetish version might allow a character to go up to a week without any water and still function relatively normally. When used as a focus, the turquoise calls forth a small amount of rain by gathering whatever moisture is diffused in the air into a single place. Thus water may be gained even in arid climes. When a number of turquoise are used in a rain ceremony, they increase the amount of rain garnered.

### Owl’s Talon

Level One, Gnosis 6

This potent talisman is used to counteract witches’ spells. Generally, owl feathers are hung within a dwelling to keep witches’ spells and curses from affecting those within. Some say that hanging owl feathers within the doorway will also keep witches from entering. Though these measures are not always effective, a fetish version of this talisman (which takes the form of a talon tied with feathers) is. Hung around the neck of someone affl icted by a witch’s spell, the owl’s talon breaks the spell’s power. The one affl icted feels as though the owl’s talon is scratching its way inside him, where it locates the “badness” and roots it out. Though not painful enough to cause damage, it is distracting and uncomfortable enough to call for the patient to lie down and relax while a shaman (or concerned family member) chants for his recovery and applies the talon.

### Peace Pipe

Level One, Gnosis 6

Smoking the pipe to release the sacred smoke is a time-honored tradition among the native nations. Many rituals and traditions exist concerning how to hold the pipe, what it is made of, what mixture is to be smoked, how to store the pipe when not in use and other such matters. To misuse the pipe brings great evil upon both the perpetrator and those who witnessed it. The peace pipe is used to call to order Pure Lands councils. The pipe is given into the hands of the person who is to speak in council and none may interrupt the speaker until he or she passes the pipe on. This much is ceremonial. The power of a fetish peace pipe might lie in the smoke that rises from it when it is passed to those within the circle. If the smoke rises, this shows the truth of the words spoken by those who partake. If the smoke hovers, all know that there is something either half-truthful or questionable about the speech. Smoke that falls to the fl oor shows that the speaker is lying. It should be noted that if someone is lying but does not realize he is speaking untruly, the smoke hovers.

### Eagle Claw

Level 1, Gnosis 7

This fetish is usable only by females; legend holds that a woman made a pact with an Eagle-spirit for this fetish. If a Wolf Changer female lightly scratches her arms and above her eyes with the eagle claw, she gains the power of birds. Flight is the first power granted to her, but she also gains an eagle’s magnificent eyesight. Both powers last for only one scene or one hour, whichever comes first. The claw is only usable during the phase of the moon under which the female was born. Thus if she is a Theurge, the power only functions when the moon is in its crescent stage.

## Level Two Fetishes

### Storyknife

Level 2, Gnosis 4

This fetish consists of an elaborately carved ivory knife etched with pictures of a totem animal honored by the individual preparing the knife. When activated by a Wendigo Daebaudjimoot, the knife assists the user’s memory, aiding her in any activities involving Performance or Expression adding an automatic success to any rolls involving these Abilities.

To create this fetish, the Garou must bind a spirit of the animal etched into the knife’s surface.

### Dance Mask

Level 2, Gnosis 5

This elaborately carved and painted wooden mask may represent any number of animals, spirits or other beings. When activated and used in a ceremonial dance or during the performance of an appropriate ceremony, the mask adds an automatic success to any rolls that determine the success of the ritual or ceremony. If no roll is required, the use of the mask increases the effect of the ceremony in some fashion (determined by the Storyteller)

To create this fetish, the Garou must bind a spirit appropriate to the type of mask (i.e., a raven spirit must enter a raven mask).

### Dream Catcher

Level 2, Gnosis 5

Dream catchers are usually constructed of woven twigs, yarn or other pliant material strung in a pattern between crossed sticks and a circular frame. Typically used to “catch” nightmares, they are often placed above the heads of sleepers to grant them restful slumber. Dream catchers used by Garou might ensure that evil infl uences couldn’t reach those who sleep beneath them. Further, if the one who is to sleep beneath the dream catcher spends a point of Gnosis, she may roll Perception + Occult (difficulty 8) to see if she is granted a vision. Those receiving visions may or may not know what they mean. Visions do not always pertain to events transpiring in the Garou’s life at present; often they point to some future event or conflict.

### Porcupine Quill

Level 2, Gnosis 5

These fetishes are sovereign remedies for poison. If the poison spewed forth by a Wyrm creature harms a Garou, scratching the affected area with the porcupine quill releases the toxin from the body. While it does not restore lost health levels, it does cleanse the poison from the person and prevent further damage from that same poison for up to an hour. If poison is ingested, crushing the quill and boiling it in water to make a tea has the same effect.

### Bear Claws

Level Two, Gnosis 6

Though a necklace of bear claws traditionally denotes the power and ferocity of the wearer (who is assumed to have defeated the bear whose claws he wears), when worn by a wolf-changer, this item confers healing power. Bear claws might grant their wearer the ability to perform the Level One Theurge Gift: Mother’s Touch or the Level One Philodox Gift: Resist Pain. These may be used on the wearer or anyone she can touch.

## Level Three Fetishes

### Story Bag

Level 3, Gnosis 5

This fetish is a small rawhide or deerskin bag worn at the waist or carried tucked within a shirt. Often decorated with quillwork, shells or bone, the bag holds within it a number of stories that might be appropriate to a given situation. Once per story, the Garou who possesses a story bag may open it and draw forth a tale. This story will have something in common with a current problem or situation facing the Garou and may give some insight into how others handled similar difficulties. Sometimes it will instead give a clue to what foes the Garou is facing or a hint concerning how to defeat an apparently unbeatable foe. In game terms, the player must tell the Storyteller she intends to consult her story bag at the end of a playing session (or sometime within the game if the Storyteller is good at thinking fast on his feet). The Storyteller then constructs a legend or tale that contains clues on handling the current crisis. They need not be extensive and may even be cryptic, but must always offer a true solution (if the character can but figure it out).

### Badger Claws

Level 3, Gnosis 6

A set of three claws from a badger or a dried and preserved badger paw are known as badger claws. When worn around the neck or held within a medicine bag, badger claws might grant their owner the ability to use the Get of Fenris Level Four Gift: Hero’s Stand. Like the indomitable, immovable badger, the Garou stands her ground until battle has ceased. Badger claws must be invoked to confer their power, which takes one combat turn.

## Level Four Fetishes

### Turtle Shell Rattle

Level 4, Gnosis 7

Turtle shell rattles have two uses. When tied to a stick and the stick planted in the earth, it may be used to attempt to turn away or control a tornado. The user chants and gestures, indicating what direction the twister should take. Evil shamans might use the rattle to summon a tornado toward a particular inhabited location. Though twisters are too chaotic to predict their exact pattern of movement, this can urge it in a particular direction and bring it adjacent to specific spots. From there, it may or may not actually churn through its intended target. Only one attempt at control may be made per rattle.

The second use of the rattle is purely ceremonial. When the Garou attempts to summon or speak with spirits, shaking the rattle in rhythmic fashion increases the chance that the spirit will answer in a favorable manner (lowering difficulties of dealing with nonhostile spirits by one).