Gifts: Auspice Edition

So you know what to expect from the breed Gifts. Here, then, is a sample auspice Gift list to show you what’s going on there. Again, expect consistency; the Theurges won’t be getting more Level Two Gifts than these guys, for instance, even if there are historically more Theurge Gifts. (There might be, but I never counted.)

Philodox and Galliards seemed to be the two most requested for a preview. I went with the Half Moons, in completely arbitrary fashion. I could have flipped a coin for it, but that might have already indicated a previously existing Harvey Dent-style bias.

(There is a secret lesson to this: because Philodox and Galliards were the ones talked up most in the comments, I will probably be figuring out which tribal Gift list to preview based on chatter there as well. Use this knowledge as you best see fit.)

Philodox Gifts

Luna gifts her Half Moon children with powers of balance, judgment, and enforcement of law. The judges and mediators of the Garou nation use their magic to discern the truth, lead in times of peace, and mediate among their fellows.

Fangs of Judgment (Level One) — It falls upon the Philodox to levy not only judgment but also punishment against those who have fallen from their proper stations. This Gift, taught by an ancestor-spirit, causes the werewolf’s claws and fangs to burn with the righteous power of law.

System: The player spends one Willpower point. For the next full day, all of the Garou’s natural weaponry attacks do two extra dice of damage to all beings who have fallen from their original purpose to the service of the Wyrm (such as Black Spiral Dancers, fomori, and corrupted nature spirits; Banes which came into existence as agents of the Wyrm are, regrettably, exempt from this Gift’s sanction).

Persuasion (Level One) — As the homid Gift.

Resist Pain (Level One) — Fortifying herself with purpose and will, the werewolf shuts out the pain of her wounds. A bear- or badger-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player spends one Willpower point; the character ignores all wound penalties for the rest of the scene.

Scent of the True Form (Level One) — The Philodox is able to scent the truth of those she meets, literally sniffing out an individual’s true form. A vulture-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The Garou can smell Kinfolk or a fellow werewolf automatically. In all other cases, the player must roll Perception + Primal-Urge (difficulty 6). One success will identify a normal human or animal; two successes will detect a vampire, changeling, demon, mummy, or other Fera; four successes are needed to sniff out a mage, ghoul, or fomor. The Imbued register as normal humans to this Gift.

Truth of Gaia (Level One) — As judges of the Litany, Philodox may easily separate truth from falsehood. A Gaffling of Falcon teaches this Gift.

System: The player rolls Intelligence + Empathy (difficulty of the subject’s Manipulation + Subterfuge). This Gift reveals only which of the words that have been spoken are true and which are false. It doesn’t reveal the truth behind a lie unless the speaker utters it. If the speaker is uncertain whether his words are true or false, the Gift identifies them as neither.

Call to Duty (Level Two) — Names hold great power in the spirit world, and the Philodox may exploit this to summon and command any spirit she knows by name. Only one command may be given, and the spirit departs immediately after fulfilling it. Alternatively, all spirits in the area may be called in times of great need. An Incarna avatar teaches this Gift.

System: The Garou must know the name of the spirit she wishes to summon. The player rolls Charisma + Leadership (difficulty of the spirit’s Willpower). The second mode of this Gift simply requires the player to spend two Gnosis points to summon all Gaian spirits within a one-mile radius. If the character has abused this Gift in the past (at the Storyteller’s discretion), the spirits might refuse the call — such a general summons is rooted more in appeal to duty than compulsion. The mightiest of spirits (Incarnae and above) are generally able to ignore this Gift if they choose.

Command the Gathering (Level Two) — The Philodox draws all eyes to herself with a great exclamation, a clap of her hands, the striking of klaive to shield, or some other such gesture. Until she has had her say, none may depart or interrupt her. A lion-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Appearance + Leadership (difficulty of the highest Willpower among those whose attention she seeks to gain). If the roll succeeds, all in attendance fall quiet and listen. Any individual who wishes to interrupt the Philodox or walk out before she has finished speaking must spend two points of Willpower to do so.

King of the Beasts (Level Two) — The Philodox’s authority extends even into the realm of beasts, such that he can command the loyalty of any single animal. If successful, the animal follows the letter and spirit of his commands unconditionally. A lion- or falcon-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The Philodox targets one animal within 100 feet. The player rolls Charisma + Animal Ken (difficulty 7). The power lasts until the Garou releases the animal from its obligation to him, but can only hold sway over one animal at a time.

Strength of Purpose (Level Two) — Philodox use this Gift to fortify themselves in the face of the Apocalypse, turning hot passion and burning Rage into cold, steely resolve. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: Once per scene, the player may roll Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 7). For every two successes, the Philodox recovers one point of Willpower up to her maximum.

Mental Speech (Level Three) — As the metis Gift.

Scent of the Oathbreaker (Level Three) — Oaths sanctified before a Philodox are a serious matter indeed, as this Gift grants the judges of the Garou nation the ability to know when an oath has been broken and to track down the oathbreaker to correct him personally. A dog-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The Philodox may spend one Gnosis point to sanctify any oath or promise he personally witnesses, no matter how formal or informal. If at any point in the future one of the individuals sworn to the oath breaks it, the Philodox immediately becomes aware of this, and all rolls for the werewolf to track the oathbreaker by scent drop to difficulty 4. This benefit lasts until the Philodox next stands in the oathbreaker’s presence.

Sense Balance (Level Three) — As the arbitrators of the Garou Nation, the Philodox have developed an attunement with the cosmic forces that balance the Tellurian. The werewolf may sense an overabundance of Wyrm, Wyld, or Weaver energies in a location. A cat-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Perception + Enigmas (difficulty 8) to detect the spiritual balance of an area, if any. Wyrm manifestations feel dense and oily, Weaver presence feels cold and unyielding and Wyld energies feel hot and trembling. The Philodox must be at peace and without distraction to use this Gift.

Weak Arm (Level Three) — By watching an opponent’s fighting style, the Philodox can quickly evaluate his strengths and weaknesses. Snake- and wind-spirits teach this Gift.

System: The player rolls Perception + Brawl (difficulty 8). Each success grants one bonus die to add to her attack or damage rolls against that opponent. For instance, a Philodox who gets four successes could add two dice to her attack rolls and two to her damage pool, or four to her damage rolls, or three to attack and one to damage — whatever combination suits her. However, the distribution of dice cannot be changed once the Gift has been activated. This Gift can be used against a given foe only once per scene, and its benefits are lost at the end of the scene. A full turn of concentration is necessary to use this Gift.

Wisdom of the Ancient Ways (Level Three) — All werewolves have an innate connection to their ancestors, a spiritual racial unconscious accessible through intense meditation. The Philodox can tap into these deep memories to remember ancient lore. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The character must meditate for a short time, concentrating on the past. The player then rolls Gnosis (difficulty 9, -1 for each point of Ancestors the Garou possesses). The number of successes determines how detailed and exact the answer he receives will be.

Roll Over (Level Four) — The werewolf radiates authority and power, allowing him to exert his dominance over others. Humans bow or kneel, while Garou roll over to expose their throats. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player begins an extended, resisted Willpower contest. The results are compared to each of her opponents in turn; when the player has scored three more successes than an opponent, that opponent drops out of the contest and submits. If one of the opponents accumulates three more successes over the character, the contest ends. For the remainder of the scene, any individual who has submitted will take no actions at all without the approval of the character unless their life depends on it.

Scent of Beyond (Level Four) — With a moment’s concentration, the werewolf can hurl her senses to any place with which she is familiar (even an Umbral location) no matter how far away it may be. Because a bird-spirit teaches this Gift, her senses perceive the scene from above.

System: The player rolls Perception + Enigmas (difficulty 8. If the spot is in the Umbra, the difficulty is 8 or the local Gauntlet rating (whichever is higher). This far-seeing continues for as long as the werewolf desires, but the character suffers a -3 penalty to any attempts to react to local stimuli while her senses are projected afar.

Take the True Form (Level Four) — The Philodox can force a being into its true form. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player rolls Manipulation + Primal-Urge (difficulty 7). If successful, Fera (including Garou) are forced to revert to their breed form for one turn per success. Other shapeshifted creatures (such as vampires masquerading as wolves) targeted by this power are likewise forced to revert to their true form.

Geas (Level Five) — This Gift binds an individual or group to a sacred oath. While the geas cannot force and individual to act against her nature (such as to allow herself to be killed), it also doesn’t allow her to act against the task the Philodox has set before her. This Gift is taught by an Incarna avatar.

System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Manipulation + Leadership (difficulty of the opponent’s Willpower, or the highest Willpower in a group). The compulsion to complete the task set out in the geas lasts until the task is completed or the target is harmed to the point of incapacitation in pursuit of the quest.

Wall of Granite (Level Five) — Philodox have a stronger relationship with the elementals of the earth than other werewolves; just as the earth upholds those upon it, the Philodox uphold the Litany that sustains their people. While in contact with earth or rock, the Philodox can invoke a wall to protect himself. This wall moves with the Garou, defending him from all angles. Earth elementals teach this Gift.

System: The player spends one Gnosis point. The wall’s dimensions are three yards high, two yards long and one yard thick, and if the Garou desires, it may be extended to encircle up to (Gnosis) allies, so long as they huddle close. It has a soak pool of 10 dice, and 15 health levels must be inflicted to penetrate it at any point. The wall lasts for one scene or until released into the earth by the Garou.

Break the Bonds (Level Six) — This Gift shatters all bonds, whether physical or mental, from sturdy iron chains to the slavery of a vampire’s bewitched blood. The Garou may use it to benefit any being, including herself. It is taught by any Incarna with the freedom to come and go as they please.

System: The Garou is automatically immune to any supernatural coercion, and may break bonds as though she had Strength 15. She may also break another’s physical bonds with that same Strength, or banish mental bonds from another with a Manipulation + Leadership roll (difficulty 11 – target’s Willpower).


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39 responses to “Gifts: Auspice Edition”

  1. Blue Fox Avatar
    Blue Fox

    Yay more gifts! Me likes 🙂

    I like the selection for the most part. Though strength of purpose is perhaps a little too good for lvl 2, but I guess this would also depend on the ST (as in how long the scenes are in his chronicle).

    I also think that making the guft to convert rage for point by point into WP instead of making a roll, would be more in line with the flavour text.

  2. Ana Mizuki Avatar
    Ana Mizuki

    A nice list ^^

    One thing I have to note about Fangs of Justice, though; How will it work among Black spiral Dancers?

    Yes, you could say the spirits would not teach it, but an corrupt ancestor is still an ancestor.

    1. Blue Fox Avatar
      Blue Fox

      That’s a good question. Would it work just fine on those who are “first generation” spirals but not on the ones whose sire was a spiral… The reasoning being that if a spiral cub is born to spirals he can’t himself technically be considered to have failed his purpose any more than any other “true” wyrm beast has, unless we count the spiral dance as acceptable failure (in the gifts context).

      1. Ana Mizuki Avatar
        Ana Mizuki

        Indeed.

        I think it could focus on something that the Dancers feel has failed their purpose. Like Weaver spirits and Weaver Tainted garou.

        1. Erinys Avatar
          Erinys

          Haha, Ana Mizuki seems to be asking how BSDs would use this Gift, but Blue Fox seems to be talking about how it would affect BSDs when used by a Gaian philodox.

          1. Ana Mizuki Avatar
            Ana Mizuki

            Oh,oops ^^”

    2. ethan Avatar
      ethan

      It’s probably pretty good for murdering your packmates if it comes to that but not so good against Gaian Garou.

      I’d honestly rank it as something like Bane Protector — Gaian Garou don’t automatically convert it to “Naturae Protector” if they choose to learn it. Some Gifts will not be of equal utility on both sides of the fence.

      1. Ana Mizuki Avatar
        Ana Mizuki

        Bane Protector is a tribal gift, though, not an auspice one. BSDs have auspices as much as Gaians do.

        I’m mainly asking out of clarification, because I can imagine someone statting their BSD NPC philo and finding this gift to work fine in reverse. And then an argument at the table breaks out wether or not it does damage to Gaians.

        1. ethan Avatar
          ethan

          Then think of it as Sense Wyrm (Theurge) or Call of the Wyrm (Galliard). Both of those have Wyrm-specific effects, and are not presumed to alter their effects if you happen to be a Black Spiral Dancer.

          There’s not much precedent for cosmological Gifts functioning differently based on a character’s personal philosophy, even if they’re available to both loyal and fallen Garou. Now, of course an ST can say “So they’ve got access to this new Gift, Call of Gaia, which works like Call of the Wyrm but on Gaians.” But when you have cultural variants on a Gift they tend to be explicitly called out as such, as with Elemental Favor affecting different elements depending on who you learn it from.

          1. Holden Avatar
            Holden

            Besides, it’s not like this doesn’t have plenty of utility for inter-hive rivalries, keeping recalcitrant fomori in line, showing other Spiral packs who’s boss, etc.

  3. Erinys Avatar
    Erinys

    My comments on a few individual Gifts:

    Fangs of Judgement:
    It specifies that beings that started in service to the Wyrm are exempt. This makes sense mechanically, but spiritually I think that those individual spirits which started out serving the Balance Wyrm and were corrupted should still be affected. Practically this would probably be limited to a small number of exceptionally ancient, powerful spirits, not random bane #4548.

    Scent of the True Form:
    This Gift does not specify how difficult it is to identify Kuei-Jin, Risen/walking dead/zombies, non-Garou kinfolk, skin-changers, non-Fomor possessed, demon thralls, and faerie kinain. Also, I’d expect sorcerers to smell like normal humans, but I think that (or the difficulty to identify them) should be specified as well.

    Scent of the Oathbreaker:
    I really like this! It reminds me of the Eclipse caste Exalted.

    Take the True Form:
    It would be helpful if this was more specific in how it interacts with other supernaturals. For example, does it force a demon to show its Apocalyptic form? Force a Changeling into its Fae mien? Force a Kuei-Jin to stop whatever freakish flesh-melting power it’s using?

    1. Blue Fox Avatar
      Blue Fox

      Kuei-jin also have some freakish powers such as detaching their heads and growing wings from their ears to be able to fly away.

      Would the gift revert the head back into its body? Would it work on Zulo- or chiropterian marauder-form Zimisce?

      1. Holden Avatar
        Holden

        Ultimately these are questions your Storyteller will have to answer by looking at the provided examples and extrapolating with the aid of logic and common sense. There are so many supernatural boojums rolling around the classic WoD that there simply wasn’t enough room to cover them each specifically.

        1. Yiodan Avatar
          Yiodan

          @Erinys: You’re quite right. Especially if you consider that most of the background story behind the banes in the book specify that they were first spirits from another brood entirely which got corrupted in the service of the Wyrm.

          Most basic exemple ever: Ooralath. They used to serve the Weaver, which is why they’re always physical even in the Umbra.

        2. Yiodan Avatar
          Yiodan

          @Erinys: You’re quite right. Especially if you consider that most of the background story behind the banes in the book specify that they were first spirits from another brood entirely which got corrupted in the service of the Wyrm.

          Most basic exemple ever: Ooralath. They used to serve the Weaver, which is why they’re always physical even in the Umbra.

    2. Ana Mizuki Avatar
      Ana Mizuki

      About Fangs; yeah, recent Banes types might be extempt, but Oolarath are definetly changed. And in general, there are a lot of wyrm beasts that are changed.

      Plus, again, what happens when a BSD philodox uses it?

      1. Adamant Siaka Avatar
        Adamant Siaka

        Strict reading of the effect would suggest that BSDs would still harm what the Gift says they do, allowing them to whoop up on each other extra-well. It explicitly lacks anything like the Axiomatic and Holy Keywords, after all. ^VVVVVVV^

        1. Blue Fox Avatar
          Blue Fox

          That it would be used to “discipline” other spirals was my initial though as well.

  4. Yiodan Avatar
    Yiodan

    Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that.

  5. Heinrich Krebs Avatar

    Like the gifts. However I agree that the list of supernatural beings with “Scent of the true form” is incomplete and probably should be changed to something more generic like “undead or alien beings like vampires, risen etc.” for one success and so on.
    Also it should clearly stat, if “kinfolk” means all kinfolk or just garou-kin. And, in previous editions, it was stated that you didn’t knew right away, what being a certain scent one smelled, but could only discern it as “something not yet smelled”. I mean, doesn’t make any sense ti smell a scent and then know that this is a “Kitsune”, without even knowing what that is.

    I like that “Truth of Gaia” now also specifically detects, if the person doesn’t know a about a given fact he states. However, It should be stated more clearly, that if a person believes something to be true, statements register as true and register as untrue if the person deliberately lies.

  6. Zylo-Kills-The-Foe Avatar
    Zylo-Kills-The-Foe

    Great to see some more new gifts, admittedly, it was a little disheartening to see a couple “same as the…” gifts in there.

    I appreciate the implications of Fangs of Judgment, the chatter here offers plenty to think about in terms of spirals.
    I do wonder about Wisdom of the Ancient Ways in terms of those unfortunate Garou out there without access to their ancestors.

    As far as tribes go, I’d love to see what the future holds for the Striders, Get, Walkers, Lords or Wendigo (the makeup of my current group, little something to keep them excited for the book).

    1. Holden Avatar
      Holden

      Repeat Gifts aren’t as exciting as finding a new Gift in your list, to be sure. However, I felt that a lot of them simply had to be done, or had to stay—as much as they were repeats, they were important tools to let the list-owners do what they do, or pointed strongly to the list-owners’ identities. For example, I couldn’t imagine pulling Mother’s Touch out of the CoG Gift list; it seems even more iconic for them than it does for the Theurges in whose list it first appears.

      Still, I did try to make sure that every Gift got all their classic “core” Gifts (even when that meant repeats), a selection of the very best Gifts from supplementary material (culled from both versions of the Tribebooks, Book of the City, Dark Ages, Wild West, various PGs and Companions, etc), and then at -least- one completely original new 20th anniversary Gift.

      I think the highest number of repeats in any list is 6 (out of 20).

      1. Holden Avatar
        Holden

        every list*, not Gift. dorp.

  7. EndlessKng Avatar
    EndlessKng

    Loving it! The Level Six gift is a particularly interesting idea…

    As for a Tribe I’d like to see, definitely Glass Walkers. Love to see how the list has been expanded!

    1. Torakhan Avatar

      … I’m also curious how a Glasswalker would learn a gift from an Ancestor… is it a faux pas to do so, or considered a necessary evil in the Tribe?

      1. Blue Fox Avatar
        Blue Fox

        I’m leaning on them learning them from elder tribe members rather than ancestors.

        Just imagine a GW youth (with a gang background) going up and meeting an ancestor who lived around 1800 or so and the young punk’s first phrase is something like:
        ” Wass up! Yo foggies! A need some sure fire mojo and ma homies were liek; yo man go check out the old guard..! 😀

        1. Ronald Conner Avatar
          Ronald Conner

          memory seems to recall that learning gifts from other garou is frowned upon by spirits. It’s kind of their turf and they look down on the furry ones putting on airs.

          I would point out that the gift is taught by “an ancestor spirit” no one said it had to be one of “your” ancestors.

          1. Yiodan Avatar
            Yiodan

            Your memory serves you right, sir. And your point is strongly valid, I think.After all, an ancestor spirit can be encountered anywhere just like any other Gaian spirit. It’s possible to deal with them.

          2. Heinrich Krebs Avatar

            Ancestor spirits might appear to be souls of garou that once lived, but they are not. They were described as having aspects, just like any other spirits and that aspects could either be breed, auspice or tribe. Previous editions had glaswalkers and bonegnawers sometimes learn from homid ancestors, simply because their tribes didn’t have a spiritual heritage strong enough to bring forth ancestors spirits (while the Silent Strider were magically separated from them).

      2. The Rusty Avatar
        The Rusty

        Glass Walkers and Bone Gnawers both have Ancestor-Spirits that can be tapped fir Gifts, advice, the usual ancestor-spirit stuff. The tribe’s philosophies generally preclude the Ancestors background, however. The spirits are there, they just don’t “tag along” with hteir descendants.

        The Silent striders are the only tribe with no Ancestor-spirits. When they have to deal with a Gift taught by an ancestor, they have a few options…
        1) Not learn the Gift
        2) beg a favor from the ancestors of another tribe
        3) Beg an even bigger favor from Owl to go learn the Gift from the realm of hte dead and bring it to them later.
        4) Hope like hell that a different spirit can teach a functionally similar Gift (A Sturgeon or Elephant might teach Wisdom of the Ancient Ways, for instance)

  8. Heinrich Krebs Avatar

    Having talked to others about “Scent of true form” we find the new system somewhat flawed, since it doesn’t state, what impression the gift user gets, if he fails the roll.

    Having scored three successes wouldn’t register a mage, but it is more than one, that would register human/animal. So, the player certainly knowns it is something supernatural, that is hard to discern from a human but still would be absolute certain, that is isn’t a human. Doesn’t make too much sense.

    Turning around the table would make more sense.
    One success – Garou and (Garou-)Kin
    Two successes – Identifies beings that aren’t human, like undead and other fera, but also bygones. If subject is a materialized spirit, no further information about the type of spirit is revealed.
    Three successes – Identifies beings that are possessed or merged with spirits like fomori and demons, but also Changelings.
    Four successes – Identifies non-supernaturals humans or animals as well as ghouls and non-garou kin.
    Five successes – Identifies beings that are essentially human, but somewhat enhanced, like mages, sorcerers, mummies or kinain.

    This way you always need to roll, but no successes really means “no information”, not a “false human”. Also, if one scores one to three successes, one can be sure that the being isn’t one of the critters listed, but can’t be certain, whether the subject is human or not. If four successes don’t register as human, there is still the uncertainty that the being is some human with powers.

    Besides that, I would count the Imbuend as identifiable.

    Also, stating that it is fair if the ST replies “subject is a distinct type of creature, you never smelled before”. For the gift should reveal the information what the subject is, but not necessarily the name of the critter in question.

    A complete list of all WoD critters is bound to be incomplete. Generically specifying what a given number of successes should reveal seems more helpful. But the way the gift is written now, with the lack of what three successes reveal is bound to lead to discussion at the game table. That isn’t helpful.
    Also, there is no symmetry I can find. I mean, mummies are alive and humans, not that different from sorcerers, mages or even Imbued in regards to their physical bodies. Why is mummies listed with undead vampires and body possessing demons?

    Hope my thought on the topic make any sense.

  9. PookaWitch Avatar

    Wow, I’m really loving the new additions to philodox gifts. Scent of the Oathbreaker is amazing and perfect for how I envisioned the philodox working.

    I saw the note that it was a choice between showing philodox or galliard gifts, and I hope that you don’t mind if I make a note of a more obscure galliard gift that is hugely popular in my home game…. ‘Primal Howl’ from the Wild West Companion. It’s a simple 1rst rank gift, but had such a perfect galliard RP feel that in my home setting it’s raised in popularity to have become as common place of a galliard gift as mindspeak or beast speech.

    Seriously dedicated and long term player here BTW, I’ve been playing Werewolf since the day it hit the shelves (actually waited around in the games store for it) and never stopped. ^_^ My personal WoD collection has literally made RPers fall to their knees in shock when they saw my bookshelves (well, mine and my husbands, both who have delicately RPed and collected WoD since it’s release. ^_^)

    1. PookaWitch Avatar

      Heh, I just noticed my grammar mistake there. I meant my ‘mine and my husband’s’ (not plural), and that ‘both of us’ have collected WoD since it’s release. (Seriously, literally since the first day Vampire hit the shelves.)

  10. Krylyyk Avatar
    Krylyyk

    Does Truth of Gaia detect ACTUAL truths, or does it detect things the speaker believes to be true? The latter is more in line with previous incarnations of the gift, the former seems like a plot breaker as an ST.

    Not crazy about Sense Balance being taken from the Stargazers and put here with the Philodox.

    1. Heinrich Krebs Avatar

      I think it should be the latter and that should be clarified.

    2. Heinrich Krebs Avatar

      Sense Balance was a Philodox Gift in previous editions, too.

  11. Zarnovich Avatar
    Zarnovich

    I will start by apologizing for how late this post is. I wish I had found out about this blog sooner. That being said I have some suggestions on what could be done on/for gifts that I have held for some time and would offer a significant element of quality to the game.

    Werewolf is a great game, but it was always loosely held together systematically. Gifts were one of the greatest areas to suffer in his regard. Here is what I suggest:
    It is my opinion that EVERY tribe, auspice, and breed, should have, at minimum, four options for gifts at every level. These should include a physical/combat, a social, a mental, and an ‘other’ gift. This allows for significant customization, and avoids the conflict of certain gifts being obviously key choices at certain levels. This also allows for diversity within tribes and auspices and if with a degree of care will allow for an overall balance to the game.

    Examples: I’m not really going to address Rank 1 gifts, as I feel they primarily atmospheric gifts. I will say that Fangs of Judgement, Apecraft’s Belssings, and City Running were the kind of improvements I’m talking about. Those gifts are what the game needs.

    Rank 2 – I think with gifts like Spirit of the Fray and Command Spirit it is pretty clear that Rank 2 is when a werewolf is supposed to begin dominating the role of their auspice compared to those that are not of similar auspice. The gifts should scale to reflect that. A Theurge, for example has Command Spirit, I would label that as the social gift. A physical could be something like ‘spirit strength’ spend gnosis, roll gnosis (spend gnosis for extra successes) adds 1 point assigned as you see fit to physical attributes for the rest of the scene while in the umbra. A mental gift could be something along the lines of identifying, and gaining knowledge akin to lores about a spirit with a simple roll, even if you have a never encountered a spirit before. Maybe even a kind of spirit empathy. Ahroun could get a gift at one point that makes a roll, each success adds to damage against spirits In the umbra for a scene, etc.

    To touch on another auspices, the Philodox could have a physical gift that allowed them to detract dice from other Gaian garou’s dice pools if they have violated the litanty and not been subjected to the proper punishment rights. Galliards could have a gift where they roll, each success creates a pool which the pack can draw on either for extra dice and/or rerolls for the combat. Of course they have to be doing something motivational the whole time, such as singing, waving a banner, or truly outlandish combat maneuvers.
    But I think this diversity and scale could do amazing things with werewolf and would require only slight additions.

    Finally, many gifts need to be curtailed for balance purposes. And many ‘broken’ gifts could deal with minor changes. For example, Whelp Body could cost a permanent gnosis to use, and Paws of the New Born Cub could require the character to make a declaration of what is about to happen and it take a full turn to use, (to the extent where they other character gets to act before it goes off, not just on the gift users initiative.. that way it’s not a one turn annihilation gift). But I digress form the original subject..

    I think with the idea of 4 gifts of 4 types per rank, is a simple guide that will lead towards a wonderful array of play for Werewolf. Alas, I know it’s late notice, and it is but my humble opinion. Either way, I wanted to toss in my two cents, and I am always available for further comment on this or any other aspect of the game;) I have to say, regardless of my random comment, I’m excited about what I see so far.

    Thanks for your time.

  12. Christofer Sandell Avatar
    Christofer Sandell

    Not sure if i’m too late or not but, have you guys thought about folding Staredown (Homid lvl 2) and True Fear (Ahroun lvl 2) into the same Gift, they are basicly the same as far as i can tell

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