Shadow Lord Rites

# Rites of the Shadow Lords

Intensely social, Shadow Lords focus on rites even more than do most other Garou tribes. It seems they have a rite or a ritual for nearly everything they do, at least in the older septs. Many of the newer ones, particularly those in the New World, are less concerned with rites and traditions than their elders back home are.

Shadow Lords are obsessed with keeping their rites secret, more out of principle than any real pragmatism. The rites given below tend to be mostly useless for Garou not of the tribe, but the Lords don’t much care; these are secrets of great import, and they will kill anyone who shares those secrets, no matter the circumstances.

## Caern Rites

### Murmur Rite

Level Two

Developed by the Lords of the Summit, this rite is one of the many ways Shadow Lords keep their activities a secret. A Lord needs to know the Murmur Rite if he plans on leading a Shadow Moot, since it is used to open the moot and keep the discussions therein private. Though normally used to mask the conversations of many werewolves, this rite can be performed with as few as two Garou.

System: Each of the Garou taking part in the rite contributes one Gnosis at the ritemaster’s prompting. Once the Gnosis is collected, the conversations of all of the rite’s participants are masked for the duration of the scene. Any Gifts, technology, or supernatural abilities that allow an individual to eavesdrop on private discussions automatically fail. If the eavesdropper botches whatever roll she was using to try to listen in, she actually gains some piece of misinformation that serves to mask further the activities of the rite’s participants.

### Thunder’s Blessing

Level Three

This rite is used to draw Grandfather Thunder’s favor upon a particular caern, investing it with a portion of his great power. In addition to bolstering the Gnosis of Shadow Lords who visit the caern, the rite also allows those affiliated with the caern to call down bolts of lightning upon their enemies, so long as they are within the confines of the caern.

System: Performed during a raging storm, this rite requires an extended roll of Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 8). The ritemaster must accumulate 10 successes to successfully complete the rite, and may attempt this roll only once per 15 minutes (though for every three Garou beyond the minimum required to complete the rite, the difficulty is reduced by one). If the rite is not completed in one hour, it fails, and the thunderclouds above send down bolts of lightning to punish the offending Garou (inflicting five levels of aggravated damage). If the rite is successful, however, the Garou performing the rite must give up 25 points of temporary Gnosis. Once they do so, a bit of Grandfather Thunder lingers around the caern, granting an additional point of Gnosis to all Shadow Lords so long as they remain within the caern’s boundaries.

## Mystic Rites

### Communion with the Storm

Level Two

It is easy to lose oneself in the intricacies of Garou society, and to forget that the ultimate goal of all the politicking of the Shadow Lords is the defeat of the Wyrm and the restoration of Gaia to her normal state. Many Shadow Lords thus turn to this rite to remind themselves of why they’re fighting, and of what it is that they’re supposed to be fighting for. In the process, they focus their Rage and their ambition so that they may more effectively accomplish their tasks.

This rite is always performed in the midst of a heavy thunderstorm, but that is its only constant. It may be performed singly or in groups, at any time of day or night, and in any part of the world. So long as Grandfather Thunder’s touch is present, that is all that matters.

System: Standard roll. While this rite is in effect, all Enigmas rolls have difficulties three lower than normal (minimum 4). In addition, the ritemaster may bring any single problem (usually nominated beforehand) to the attention of Grandfather Thunder in an attempt to seek his counsel. If he is invoked with a successful Wits + Enigmas roll (difficulty 8), Grandfather Thunder presents them with an appropriate course of action and girds their resolve with either a point of Rage or a point of Gnosis, depending on the nature of the problem.

### Rite of the Hurricane

Level Five

Used almost exclusively by the Shadow Lords of Mexico, this rite is a more potent version of the punishment rite Calling the Storm. Whereas that rite is used to rebel against a corrupt or unjust leader, this rite is designed to focus the fury of the Garou into a powerful storm, which may then be used to shatter the grip of the Wyrm upon the land. It is used to destroy nests of vampires, to sweep oil refineries out to sea, and to attack other artificial structures throughout the storm’s area. Most Garou frown on using this rite in all but the direst emergencies, for it is quite destructive to the land it scours clean. The counter-argument is that Gaia is resilient, and it is better to let Her heal Her wounds than suffer in the coils of the Wyrm. Even so, the questions raised by the rite ensure that the Rite of the Hurricane remains a last resort, to be used only when the need is dire.

System: This rite may only be performed in a tropical area, and even then only during the storm season. If these conditions are met, a single day is enough to call up a storm cell in the general region. Manifesting hurricane-force winds for a single scene is easily done, but maintaining the storm is another matter. Doing so requires the expenditure of three points of Gnosis per day, which may be paid by any number of willing participants. Once the cost is not paid, the storm dissipates normally.

## Rites of Punishment

### Calling the Storm

Level Three

Given the rigors of Shadow Lord society and emphasis on goals, it is inevitable that some become corrupt and put their own selfish desires over the good of the tribe. This rite was developed to counter fallen Lords with Shadow Lord justice. When a leader within the tribe has fallen to the Wyrm, the Garou ruled by him may use an outside agent to announce his transgressions to the tribe at large. If the accusations are true, the Garou may enact this rite. Stormclouds gather above the moot, and the Garou invoking the rite gain the strength they need to destroy the one who has turned his back on Gaia.

System: If the charges leveled against the corrupt Garou are true, the storm that gathers above the moot empowers those who conspire against him. They gain two points of Rage, and if they are Shadow Lords they also gain a point of Gnosis. In addition, Primal-Urge rolls are made at a difficulty two lower than normal. If the charges are untrue, however, the gathering storm punishes the offenders, striking them with lightning that deals five health levels of aggravated damage.

## Rites of Renown

Rites of Renown are extremely important to the Shadow Lords, perhaps moreso than any other aspect of Garou life. Lord society is often regimented and intensely hierarchical, and any time a Garou shifts position in that society he or she must undergo a rite to do so. Most such rites are minor variations of the standard Rites of Renown, having a myriad of different social functions but being otherwise identical. The Lords have a number of unique rites, however, and these are described below.

### Rite of Dominance

Level Two

No matter how true they remain to the ideals of Gaia, Shadow Lords still live in a society where dominance over others is the rule instead of the exception. A Lord uses this rite when she has ousted a corrupt leader, or when she has dominated those beneath her and forced them to submit to her will. By coercing them into taking part in this rite, she ensures that their loyalty to her is strong and that they will be loath to work against her in the future.

System: During the course of this rite, all participating Garou except the ritemaster lose one permanent Willpower, which are given to the totem of the pack for safekeeping. So long as the pack members remain obedient to the ritemaster (who must be the pack’s alpha), they may use the lost Willpower normally. Should they ever act against her, however, they will lose the Willpower permanently. The effects of this rite can be undone using a variety of punishment rites, presupposing the ritemaster has acted inappropriately or abused her position as pack alpha.

### Rite of Conquest

Level Five

More celebratory than it might seem from the name, the Rite of Conquest is performed to welcome back a Bringer of Light who has successfully endured an extended stay in the presence of the Wyrm (and emerged unscathed, both physically and spiritually). It is similar in many respects to a Rite of Cleansing, but it is far more powerful. Recipients of this rite are true paragons among the Garou, and even Garou of other tribes bow down before them in respect, as they have accomplished things few others would even dare to attempt. This rite may only be performed by one who has himself received the rite, and it is only performed under a sky filled with storm clouds, under Grandfather Thunder’s watchful gaze.

System: To receive this rite, a Shadow Lord — typically a Bringer of Light — must endure the horrors of the Wyrm for a period of no less than six months. He must interact with fomori, Banes, or corrupted Garou during this period, and he must successfully resist their influence without falling to the Wyrm, or even being tainted by its presence. If the Garou survives such an ordeal, he may receive this rite and be recognized as one of the strongest of Gaia’s warriors. Truly, he has conquered the Wyrm.

The Garou performing this rite, who must be a Theurge, expends a number of Gnosis points equal to the recipient Garou’s rank. The recipient pours forth all of his Gnosis points, giving them up to the storms above him. Once this is done, the ritemaster makes a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 10 - the target Garou’s Rank) and draws the power of Gaia into the recipient’s body. On receiving the rite, the recipient gains one of several possible benefits (player’s choice). Possible benefits are as follows:

• The recipient becomes highly resistant to the thrall of the Wyrm. He must roll eight or more successes on a Rage roll to enter a frenzy, and 10 or more successes to enter the Thrall of the Wyrm. Further, the character may spend a Willpower point to halt the frenzy normally, even if he would normally fall into the Thrall of the Wyrm.

• The Lightbringer becomes highly resistant to Wyrm toxins. He receives no penalty from supernatural radiation, balefire, Wyrm elementals, and the like (although he does still suffer damage from such attacks). He is likewise immune to Bane possession.

• The character is immune to Harano.

• The character’s sanity is absolute. He becomes immune to any and all circumstances that might inflict him with temporary or permanent insanity, and will maintain his sanity even if forced to dance the Black Spiral (although he is not protected from any other aspect of this gruesome ritual).