Ancestors

Your past is connected to Garou of great renown, warriors of valor and honor or

perhaps healers of exceptional skill. Their superior skills are always in the back of your

mind, and each Trait you possess strengthens the link you share with these ancestors.

The Ancestors Background grants you the ability to spend a Trait and tap into this

ancestral wisdom and experience, substituting a level of an Ability that you do not

already possess. The Storyteller should call for a challenge, and on a win or tie, you can

successfully substitute an Ancestors Trait for a Trait in an unknown Ability.

 

Contacts

With the right Contacts in all walks of life, you can get a line on all sorts of useful

information. Although having an “ear to the wall” doesn’t necessarily provide you

with loyal servants, it does mean that you know whom to ask when looking for the

movers and shakers behind the scenes.

In game terms, your rating in Contacts allows you to discern rumors and

information. When you call on your contacts, you make a few phone calls, check with

likely snitches and grease a few palms. In return, you get rumors and information as if

possessed of a certain amount of Influence. Doing so lets you find out exactly what’s

going on in the city within a particular area. You can get information of a level equal

to however many contacts you use. Ifyou useContactsx3 on Industry, for instance, you

get information as if digging up dirt with Industry x 3 Influence. The advantage of the

Contacts Background is that contacts can be switched from place to place each game,

getting information in different areas at your demand.

Using Contacts for especially dangerous or secret information may require you to

spend some money or perform a few favors, at the discretion of a Storyteller. On

occasion, accidents can cause contacts in one area to dry up, such as astrike that affects

your Industry contacts or a particularly unlucky astronomical conjunction that sends

your Occult contacts running for the hills. Your contacts will not generally function

as aides or lackeys - that is the purview of the Allies and Retainers Backgrounds.

 

Fetish

Many cultures have their own customs and traditions for passing on family heirlooms, from tests of loyalty to primogeniture, distributing all sorts of objects and titles of land, mementos or cold hard cash. The Garou share these similar customs, with

a Fetish valued as the most prized of all possessions to be passed down from generation to generation. A Fetish is an object of mystical properties; it could be anything from a box that stores Gnosis to a weapon of deadly potential. Fetishes are usually the

creations of long-dead werewolves from a time when Gaia’s raw power was not so blemished by the taint of the Wyrm.

Each level of this Background increases the power of the Fetish passed down to your character. Characters may request a specific fetish during character creation, however it is the Storyteller who has the final distribution decisions. It is recommended that characters not start the game with a fetish as it must be earned through game play (and Renown), nor are klavies allowable fetishes to be bought with this Background during character creation. 

 

Kinfolk

You have close ties to one or more Kinfolk, and they will aid you to the best of their ability. Kinfolk are humans and wolves who lack the gene necessary to become true Garou; however they are still immune to the Delirium and are prime candidates

as reproductive partners. Though no more supernaturally effective than a run-of-the-mill mortal, Kinfolk are an invaluable network of hospitality and information. You should work with your Storyteller to determine the capabilities of these Kinfolk; a Kinfolk may be skillful but unmotivated, or loyal but inept. No Kinfolk is perfect, however they all can be a great help.

 

 - A Kinfolk can be assigned to watch over a particular location. Generally, if  someone attempts to break into your house, the      

   Kinfolk there will attempt to stop the intruder.

 

 - A Kinfolk can be used to manage your assets and perform tasks. Kinfolk tied up in this fashion allow you to manage more  

   Influence than normal; they add to the number of Attribute Traits that you possess for purposes of counting your total  

   Influences. Each Kinfolk directed in this fashion adds one to your maximum Influence Traits. If Kinfolk are later lost or killed, the

   excess Influence Traits are lost, starting with the highest levels of Influence held.

 

Mentor

An older or more experienced Garou looks after you and comes to your aid occasionally. Whatever the case, you can get assistance from your Mentor, though his favor may be fickle. When you call on your Mentor, you risk a certain number of Traits to achieve a

given effect. A lowly one-Trait Mentor probably knows only little more than you, while a five-Trait Mentor may well have luminous standing with your region and a wide range of potent powers. Regardless, taking up your Mentor’s valuable time is costly. You

must engage in a Simple Test when you call on your Mentor. If you succeed, your Mentor deigns to aid you. If you tie, your Mentor grants you assistance, but then require something in return. If you fail, your Mentor demands the favor first before helping. In

any case, your Mentor can be called on only once in any given game session, and only if you have an appropriate way to contact him or her. The level of aid that your Mentor can give depends on the number of Traits in this Background (and Storyteller approval, of course): 

 

 - For one Trait, your Mentor is privy to a single piece of specialized information at a level above your won. If you have Gurou Lore x    2, for instance, your Mentor can be called on to gift you with one piece of information from Garou Lore x 3.

 

 - For two Traits, you can borrow one level of Contacts, Influence or Resources from your Mentor for the duration of the game. If      

   your mentor is very powerful (four or five Traits), you can borrow two levels.

 

 - For three Traits, your Mentor can instruct you in an Intermediate Gift. Also at a cost of three Traits, your Mentor can train you in

   the ways of a special Hobby/Professional/Expert Ability that is outside your normal ken, such as Wruith Lore.

 

 - For four Traits, your Mentor can train you in an Advanced Gift.

 

 - For five Traits, your Mentor can train you in the phenomenal powers of the elders if your deeds and Renown are worthy enough

   to merit such secrets. 

 

Since Mentors can prove unbalancing by providing too many different powers over the course of a long game, the Storyteller may lower your total Mentor Traits as you call on this knowledge. This decrease represents the fact that as your character learns the Mentor’s secrets, the Mentor has less left to teach.

 

Purebreed

Just as there was a division between nobility and peasantry, so is there a recognized separation between the descendents of the greatest and lowliest of Gaia’s warriors. It is your pedigree as much as it is a measure of your noble lineage. Garou may claim to

descend from the wisest, most courageous warriors of valor and mettle, but it’s all talk if their lineage is not as distinguishable as the nose on your face, as is the case with Pure Breed. EachTrait in Pure Breed adds to one Social Trait for tests against other Garou. Bear in mind that such a lofty line means you have some mighty big shoes to fill.