Werewolf

*"It is here that my role as a teller of legends ends, and my place as a speaker of what I have seen begins, for my own past, before my First Change, is a mystery to me. I was born, for all intents and purposes, out of the Rage-filled frenzy. My nursery was the ruin of a place I cannot remember, bloodstained, and littered with the corpses of those whose names I cannot recall. This burden I bear, for remembering all that comes later. This is the price I pay, for never being able to forget."* - Morag “Memory of Stone”, White Howler.

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## INTRODUCTION

*"In the beginning, Gaia birthed the Balance to maintain and encourage life, Her three children Wyld, Weaver and Wyrm in perfect harmony. Yet as the dynamic Wyld spawned endless possibility, the static Weaver soon went mad trying to define it all! Her ever-evolving webs ensnared the primordial Wyrm and it too was driven mad by confinement, soon sliced by her surgical strands into a million murderous pieces that seek only the cessation of creation!"*

*"We Garou were born to combat the destruction, defilement and desecration of creation! We are the Earth's custodians, guardians of Nature's purity, Gaia's own immune system! Half-spirit, shape-shifting warriors born of both wolf and man, we seek out the minions of the Wyrm such as Vampires, Banes or any other such cancerous creatures and kill them! This is our sacred duty and, with the Gifts taught to us by our spirit-brethren and a Rage granted by Luna herself, we will cleanse the world!"*

*"Some say we are failing, that we have not curbed the excesses of the Weaver, allowed the greatest of her children and the Wyrm's unwitting pawns, Humanity, to run rampant. It is true that we are few and the foes we face are many, but each new cub born is worth a thousand of the twisted spawn of our foes! You are the living embodiment of hope, of victory in the only struggle that matters, the struggle for life!"*

## Gameplay

Players interested in portraying a Werewolf (or Garou as they call themselves) usually know about their place in the World of Darkness already, and if not then I again recommend reading any relevant material first to make sure you can pass any required interviews and write an appropriate background. That aside, lets see how Garou work in the Dark Lair...

Mortals who Class as Garou gain many benefits. Firstly, the ability to "shift" into 5 Forms, with varying Stat modifiers and regenerative capabilities. Secondly, time spent playing will slowly advance your Rank, allowing access to Auspice, Breed and innate Tribe Gifts which further increase your personal power, with RP allowing more exotic Tribal Gifts to be learned from others.

A factor for all Garou is Rage, which accumulates in combat or via some Gifts, and grants a stacking bonus to AC, HitRoll and DamRoll as it rises. The higher it is, the more powerful in combat you become but beware, as fleeing when consumed by anger is near impossible! Frenzy may overtake those who push their Rage, which will cause you to lash out at all around you until you calm down!

Remember that Garou are living creature and still need to eat, drink and breathe although some Gifts may aid with these things. Your maximum Health and Mana remain the same as before, but the Mana algorithm now divides by 400! This means that your maximum natural Mana is now effectively 25 for most purposes.

## Commands

The following Commands are important for all Garou...

* Calm: Lower your Rage, decreasing the AC, Dam & Hit roll benefits but allowing for easier wimpy etc.
* Gainrank: Increase your Rank by one step, assuming you have spent enough time online.
* Gash: TO BE DETERMINED.
* Howl: A global chat channel that only werewolves can understand.
* Intro: Introduce yourself to all in a room by announcing your name, Auspice, Breed, Tribe and allegiances!
* Rage: Increase your Rage, improving AC, Dam & Hit rolls but with attendant risks (inability to wimpy etc.).
* Shift: Used to shift between the Homid, Glabro, Crinos, Hispo or Lupus forms.
* Teach: Used to teach another werewolf one of the Gifts you know, though some Tribes complicate this.
* Tribe: Display information about other Tribe members who are online.
* Upkeep: Shows what Gifts you currently have activated.
* Wwpower: Lists all the Gifts with commands you can use.
* Wwgift: Used to improve a Gift if you have attained sufficient Rank.

It is recommended for new Garou to change their old Mortal prompts to these instead...

* prompt #G<#n%x:XP#G/#n%h:#RH#G/#n%m:#CM#G/#R%R#G/#c%c:#WAC#G/#n%p:#WHit#G/#n%P:#WDam#G>#n
* cprompt #G<#n%f#G/#n%h:#RH#G/#n%m:#CM#G/#R%R#G/#c%c:#WAC#G/#n%p:#WHit#G/#n%P:#WDam#G>

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## Forms

Regardless of Rank, any Garou may "shift" into a variety of Forms with the effects listed below...

## Rank

Garou gain Rank over time, spending an hour logged-in each 24 hour period lowers the days needed (shown below) by 1, and typing "soulpoints" will show you how long you have to go before you can "gainrank". Yes, currently his means that you'll need to have logged in, for an hour, for 199 days to reach Legendary status! You can sit idle for that time and do nothing and the timer will keep counting down, but be sure to "gainrank" once it's ready as the timer will not resume counting until you do! Bear in mind that it will also cost you the days x 10 in Exp to "gainrank", for example it will cost you 640 Exp to go from Rank 5 to 6.

## BREEDS

Garou have three Breeds: Homid (born as a human), Lupus (born as a wolf) and Metis (born as Crinos!). Breed is determined by the natural form of the child’s mother. If the mother is a human or Homid, then the child is born as a Homid, If the mother is a wolf or a Lupus, then the child will be Lupus and if both parents are Garou the child is born Metis.

A werewolf’s sense of self is shaped long before their First Change. If one of their parents is human, they will likely grow up in a human society and be shocked by the truth. If one of the parents is a wolf, they will be raised by wolves and everything about human society would be a mystery to them. It’s also possible for Garou to be born to two humans or wolves, if the blood is strong enough in that family, though the likelihood is low and such cubs face greater social and spiritual challenges both during and after their First Change!

## Homid

Born to a pairing of human and Garou, generally raised as part of a human culture.

* Homids do not Regenerate in Homid form.
* Homids do not take Aggravated damage from silver in Homid form.
* Homids return in Homid form if killed.

 Jamtech
 Reshape Object
 Disquiet
 Assimilate

## Lupus

Born to a pairing of wolf and Garou, generally raised as a member of a wolf pack.

* Lupus do not Regenerate in Homid or Lupus forms.
* Lupus do not take Aggravated damage from silver in Homid or Lupus forms.
* Lupus return in Lupus form if killed, which may cause issues with certain town guards...

 Catfeet
 Beast Life
 Gnaw
 Elemental Gift

## Metis

Born to two Garou, in violation of the Litany, and generally raised within a Tribe.

* All Metis have -2 Stamina Max to reflect their physical issues. \*NOTE\* This needs clarified and is barfed regarding Items etc.!
* Metis Regenerate in ALL forms.
* Metis take Aggravated damage from silver in ALL forms.
* Metis return in Crinos form if killed, which may cause issues with certain town guards...

Note, Sense Wyrm and PrimalAnger have display issues in "powers" at the moment.

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## AUSPICES

The term for the phase of the moon under which a Garou is born, the blessing of Luna (Gaia's sister) shapes their personality to a great degree as well as establishing their expected role within werewolf society. Each Auspice has set duties and expectations, from the Pack level up to the Nation itself. While each Garou is an individual and all take to their annointed tasks differently, few if any chafe at the role assigned to them from birth.

## Ragabash

Desc here.

 Scent of Running Water
 Blissful Ignorance
 Whelp Body
 Luna's Blessing

## Theurge

Desc here.

 Grandmother's Touch
 Pulse of the Invisible
 Grasp the Beyond
 Feral Lobotomy

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## Philodox

Desc here.

 Scent of the True Form
 Weak Arm
 Scent of Beyond
 Wall of Granite

## Galliard

Desc here.

 Distractions
 Song of Rage
 Bridgewalker

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## Ahroun

Desc here.

 Spirit of the Fray
 Silver Claws
 Stoking Fury's Furnace
 Kiss of Helios

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## TRIBES

These are the factions that make up the Garou Nation, families of shared blood, history and traditions. Whilst many are linked to specific Human cultures, wolf subtypes or geographical areas, they can in theory be found all over the world due to the eons of travel and communication across the Nation. Several Tribes changed their names and a few have been eliminated completely by this point in Dark Lair's timeline. Listed below are all the *currently* playable Tribes on the Lair.

## Black Furies

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Pegasus.
* While their ancestral homeland is Greece, they are well established all across the Mediteranean.

## Black Spiral Dancers

The White Howlers are gone, and all that remains are their fallen descendants. How they came to such a fate is the subject of many stories, but what matters to the Garou now is less the means and more the end result. The Dancers are the only Tribe increasing in number, due to abandoning the Litany and their horrible breeding practices, and they serve their dark master with as much devotion as the Garou serve Gaia! Abandoned by their ancestral spirits, they pact with Banes to gain terrifying powers, twist their tribal traditions into wretched parodies that give some semblance of structure to their insanity, and devote themselves totally to furthering the death of the world! Their greatest hatred is reserved for their pure kin, and if they cannot tempt, trick or trap other Garou into walking the Black Spiral Labyrinth that corrupted them, then they will defile and devour them...slowly.

* Their Tribal Totem is Nightjar, known as Whippoorwill in the Americas.
* The White Howler's homeland was Scotland, but their debased descendants have spread like a cancer worldwide.
* They appear as sickly green wolves in Lupus, hideously-deformed dire wolves in Hispo and twisted, scaly werewolves in Crinos!

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## Bone Gnawers

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Rat.
* They can traditionally be found in any urban area worldwide.

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## Children of Gaia

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Unicorn
* They can traditionally be found worldwide, as they favoured no human or lupine culture over another.

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## Fianna

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Stag.
* They can traditionally be found across Europe, from the British Isles to the Balkan Peninsula, though their stronghold is Ireland.

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## Fenrir

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Fenris.
* They can traditionally be found across Northern Europe, mostly the Scandinavian regions.

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## Red Talons

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Griffon.
* They can be found worldwide, as they followed their lupine kin across Gaia and were never connected to emerging human cultures.

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## Shadow Lords

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Grandfather Thunder.
* They are traditionally found all across the Eurasian Steppe, although focused in Central and Eastern Europe.

 Clap of Thunder
 Paralyzing Stare
 Strength of the Dominator
 Obedience

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## Silent Striders

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Owl.
* Their homeland of Egypt now lost to them, they are scattered worldwide.

 Speed of Thought
 Messenger's Fortitude
 Speed Beyond Thought
 Reach the Umbra

## Silver Fangs

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Falcon.
* Their ancestral homeland is Russia, but their Houses are spread worldwide.

 Lambent Flame
 Wrath of Gaia
 Mastery

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## Stargazers

Tribe Desc here.

Tribe Desc here.

* Their Tribal Totem is Chimera.
* They can traditionally be found all across Asia.
* They appear as completely black wolves in Lupus form.

 Inner Strength
 Clarity
 Strike the Air
 Circular Attack

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## Tetrasomians

Tribe Desc Here

Tribe Desc Here

* Their Tribal Totem is Cockroach.
* They can traditionally be found in any large urban area worldwide.

 Gift of Salt
 Weaponmaster

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## Uktena

Tribe Desc Here

Tribe Desc Here

* Their Tribal Totem is, unsurprisingly, Uktena.
* They can traditionally be found in southern North America, all of Central America and northern South America.

 Spirit of the Fish
 Spirit of the Bird

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## Wendigo

The Wendigo, or "Younger Brother" of the 3 Tribes of the Americas, are renowned as firey and proud with good reason. The have passionately tried to embody the best ideals of their human Kin, as well as preserve the purity and freedom of their lupine relatives, and this constant sense of communal service led to their lands resembling a pre-Impergium paradise of Balance for millenia. Sadly, their assumption of similar excellence elsewhere doomed them to despair at the recently-revealed state of Gaia as a whole and the consumption of their lands by invasive immigration. The Wendigo blame foreigners for the re-introduction of the corrupt Wyrm to their lands and rendering the Tribe's history of devoted duty near-pointless. Some now even call the Uktena Wyrm-tainted by their associations with the invaders, though nowhere near as much as the European Garou.

* Their Tribal Totem is, unsurprisingly, Wendigo.
* They are traditionally found in the northern parts of North America.
* They look like fierce timber wolves in Lupus.

 Cutting Wind
 Bloody Feast
 Heart of Ice
 Invoke the Spirits of the Storm

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## Bunyip

Tribal description to come.

* Wiped out in the War of Tears around roughly 1860, with the last thylacine Kin dying in captivity in the 1930's.
* Their Tribal Totem was Bunyip.
* They were traditionally found across all of Australia.

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## Croatan

Tribal description to come.

* The entire Tribe sacrificed themselves to banish Eater-of-Souls in 1589.
* Their Tribal Totem was Turtle.
* They were traditionally found around the Mississippi and much of the North American East Coast.

 N/A
 N/A
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## White Howlers

Tribal description to come.

* The Howlers fell to the Wyrm around 150 A.D..
* Their Tribal Totem was Lion.
* They were traditionally found in most parts of what is now Scotland.

 N/A
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