Breeds

Werewolves are both wolf and human; these halves of their souls cannot be pried apart or even divided down
a sharp line. Having said that, though, each werewolf is born to a particular breed and raised in a certain manner depending on that breed. What determines breed.' Simply enough, it's the natural form of the werewolf's mother, whether she's Kinfolk, Garou, ordinary human or wolf. If she's a wolf, then the offspring is lupus. If she's human, the child is homid. And if the mother and father are both werewolves, their progeny is metis.

For example, Fireheart is a lupus Red Talon female. If she mates with a packmate who is Kinfolk, any Garou she bears would be considered lupus. And even if Fireheart mates with human Kin while in her two-legged form, any werewolf children from that union are still lupus. Female werewolves who bear offspring always wear their breed form when giving birth.

The only exceptions to this rule are the unlucky females who bear metis. If they didn't assume their Crinos forms, they'd assuredly die from the experience. Note too that every so often, a werewolf child is born to an ordinary human or wolf mother who may be many generations removed from werewolf and Kin. Gaia alone knows whom to choose as her warriors.

Each breed has its own strengths and weaknesses, and each group has a slightly different connection to Gaia. For example, many lupus believe that their link to the Wyld is stronger than that of homids. Then again, some homids become more wolfish than human, while a few of their lupus brethren discover that they like living in their two-legged forms. Homid and lupus alike generally scorn the deformed metis as sick reflections of Gaia's own malaise. Whatever the case, all three breeds provide interesting hooks for developing unique and flavorful characters.

## **Homid**

You were born to a two-legged mother, who may or may not have been a werewolf or Kinfolk. You grew up among humans and learned how to live in their society. Yet something always set you apart. Other kids found you weird, and your feisty temper brought on heaps of trouble more than once. As you inched toward puberty, haunting dreams pestered your nights. Maybe you'd wake up craving raw meat or drowning in a cold sweat. Chances are, someone, perhaps a distant relative, watched you from afar and took you away before your Change, which ended whatever life you may have led. Now you know the realities about yourself and your true people. Even if you really wanted to go back, it would be too hard. You couldn't possibly explain to your human family what really happened.

Homid characters have no limits on what Abilities they may have. They're skilled with all kinds of modern machinery, like cars and computers, and they often have a knack for understanding both abstractions and concrete reasoning in subjects such as economics or algebra. In their breed form, homids can also handle silver with no Gnosis penalty.

But being born human has some downsides, though. Homid characters are generally less intuitive and perceptive than lupus or metis. They're likely to rely on what they see and hear, rather than what they feel. Moreover, their innate connections to Gaia are weaker, as represented by their low starting Gnosis. Humanity has simply grown apart from the spirit world. Finally, the other breeds have some understandable concern that homids outnumber all other werewolves. The lupus fear especially that homids will prove dominant and desert their wolf cousins. This concern makes for some definite tension when the two groups tangle unexpectedly.

**Nicknames:** Apes, Two-Legs, Monkeys

**Initial Gnosis:** 1

**Beginning Gifts:** Master of Fire, Persuasion, Smell of Man

## **Metis**

Metis rank in the lowest echelons of Garou society, for they are the offspring of lawbreakers who disobeyed the Litany and mated. It's a hard, thankless life that's made no better by the fact that all metis bear some kind of obvious deformity. Most werewolves point to this setback as a mark of Gaia's displeasure; others call it evidence of corruption. A few argue that too much werewolf blood is a bad thing — no flesh can contain such pure blood without developing a flaw. Whatever the case, you've survived from a hard birth, through years of living only in your Crinos body ( the natural form of a metis), to finally undergo your First Change. Whether your parents raised you — as an outcast among the sept — or long-suffering but devoted Kinfolk did, you're now ready to take yourplace in the sept. Unlike homids, you have a lot of knowledge about werewolf society already — the good, the bad and the very> very ugly. Your birthright has toughened your body, your heart and your spirit. Only time will tell if you maintain your dignity and honor or let your dire Rage consume you utterly.

Metis characters have no restrictions on Abilities. Like homids, they can understand various theoretical concepts that puzzle the lupus. But like their wolf relatives, the metis also have cunning instincts. While most lupus and homid werewolves would never admit it, the metis have many of the best parts of being wolf and human.

The downside, though, is the mark of deformity that all metis bear. While a few who can do so may try to hide their defect, others reject the sham as dishonorable. They have to bear it, and so should everyone who sees them. Another flaw of this breed is that all metis are sterile; none can sire or bear children. In a race of beings that is dwindling, this flaw is ironic, especially since the number of metis has grown in recent years.

**Nicknames:** Mules, Bastards, Obscenities

**Initial Gnosis:** 3

**Beginning Gifts:** Create Element, Primal Anger, Sense Wyrm

**Deformities:**

Every metis character must have one deformity, chosen during character creation. And while some deformities may have minor benefits, the bad should always outweigh the good. Storytellers should encourage players to choose defects that complement their character concept. Some possibilities for metis deformities include:

• Albino
You have no melanin in your body, no matter what form you take. As a result, your skin is faintly pink, and it burns easily, so stay out of the sun if possible. Your hair is stark white (not silver) and your eyes are blood red, which makes you a real anomaly among the werewolves. Take a +2 difficulty penalty on all Perception rolls if you're trying to operate in bright light without your protective clothing or sunglasses.

• Blind
Whether you have two eyes in the right place that don't work, or no eyes at all, you are totally blind. You fail
any rolls involving vision automatically. At the Storyteller's discretion, though, you may take occasional bonuses with other sense groups.

• Fits of Madness
Mental illness plagues you on a periodic basis. Whatever your malaise, you tend to fall to pieces when you get stressed. Make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) whenever situations get tough. Scoring any less than three successes makes you go quietly nuts for a while.

• Hairless
You have no hair or fur in any of your forms, making you a weird sight indeed. Take a +1 difficulty penalty to all
Social rolls. You might be able to avoid this penalty among humans when you're in Homid form, although some people will be put off by your complete lack of hair even then (particularly if they note your lack of eyebrows).

• Horns
A pair of horns sprouts from your brow. They may be like those of a ram or goat, or perhaps you have a small pair of antelope-like antlers. You might even have a single short horn like a unicorn's. Whatever the shape this disfigurement takes, you suffer a +1 difficulty penalty to all Social rolls, and you are likely to be even more heavily scorned by your fellow Garou. (Horns are a mark of prey, not of a predator, after all.) If you actually try to attack with your horns (which may do Strength +1 bashing damage at best), you will likely lose some amount of Glory Renown for fighting like a prey animal instead of a Garou.

• Hunchback
You were born with a front-to-back or side-to-side curve of your spine that's worsened as you've aged. Not only does it give you a negative social stigma ( + 1 difficulty penalty to Social rolls), it also impedes your movement, adding a +1 difficulty penalty to all Dexterity-based rolls.

• No Sense of Smell
You have no olfactory nerves, so your sense of smell is nonexistent. This is an unfortunate thing for a creature who relies so much on her nose. You fail all Perception rolls involving smell automatically, and you suffer a +2 difficulty penalty to track prey using your Primal-Urge.

• No Tail
Not having a tail creates serious communication problems with others of your kind. You take a +1 difficulty
penalty in all social situations while in Lupus, Hispo or Crinos forms. Likewise, your sense of balance suffers. You take a +1 difficulty penalty to Dexterity rolls as well while wearing those forms.

• Seizures
When you're under the gun, you lose control of your body. When you botch an important roll, make a Willpower check (difficulty 8). Scoring less than three successes makes you writhe uncontrollably until the Storyteller tells you to make another roll. You can take no actions while experiencing a seizure.

• Tough Hide
Your hide's as tough as old leather, and it's wrinkled and dry with spotty patches of hair. Your Appearance can never be greater than 1, plus unbearable itching and hot spots are constant aggravations. On the positive side, you get an extra die on soak rolls, but it's only a small advantage to weigh against your smelly, scratchy hide.

• Wasting Disease
Your constitution is notably weak. You cough and wheeze, and you can't keep up when your pack trots along for hours on end. Take a +2 difficulty penalty on all Stamina rolls, including soak rolls.

• Weak Immune System
Unlike other Garou, you catch almost every germ that comes along. Sniffling constantly and often suffering from flu-like symptoms, you don't have the same ability to resist damage that others have. Because of your condition, you have no Bruised health level. When marking damage, begin at the Hurt level.

• Withered Limb
You have four limbs, but the muscles of one are atrophied, leaving it withered or paralyzed. Depending on your form, you can't walk well, and you run more slowly than other werewolves. You incur a +2 difficulty penalty on all Dexterity rolls when trying to use this limb.

## **Lupus**

Gaia's passion runs deep within your soul, for you were born in the wild as a wolf. You rose through the natural
hierarchy of the pack instinctively, perhaps becoming the alpha, even though you sensed that you were somehow different front the other. Then you learned the truth: You weren't an ordinary wolf. You were a shapechanger; a werewolf.

Now you run with a werewolf pack, and you try to see the world through new eyes. The human part of you is often difficult to understand; speech, for example, is layered with more nonsense than is necessary. And those strange manners. To you, every creature has a rank and place, and society is no more complicated than that. Those who rank highest eat first and expect greeting and respect from those who rank lower. Yet the homids have complex rituals for everything, from greetings to meals, and they speak of strange concepts like equality. To you, they seem to ignore the wolf in them overmuch. That's sad, because one thing you do understand is that the number of lupus werewolves lessens with each passing year. And every pup is precious.

While you have a number of advantages, including a strong body and keen senses, you also have some limitations in that you know little about technology. Likewise, you don't follow human logic and reasoning. You rely instead on the powerful instincts Gaia has given you, which is reflected in your high Gnosis. However, beginning lupus characters have restrictions on purchasing certain Abilities, since they lack knowledge about human ways of life.

**Nicknames:** Feral Ones, Four-Legs, Fleabiters

**Initial Gnosis:** 5

**Beginning Gifts:** Hare's Leap, Heightened Senses, Sense Prey

**Restricted Abilities:** Beginning lupus characters cannot take the following Skills and Knowledges. You may, however, use freebie points to purchase them, perhaps as a result of your character's prelude. Similarly, you can use experience points to add these Abilities as a result of "training" in the course of the chronicle (which is a chance for Storytellers with a sharp sense of humor to have some devilish fun).

**Skills:** Crafts, Drive, Etiquette, Firearms

**Knowledge:** Computer, Law, Linguistics, Politics, Science