Gifts 

 

Gurahl legends state that the Children of Bear learned their Gifts originally from Gaia before She relegated that task to spirits of the Umbra. As the oldest of the Changing Breeds (at least by their account), Gurahl have their own names for many Gifts they share with the Garou. Unlike Garou, however, Gurahl do not have tribe-specific Gifts, having a variety of “general Gifts”
instead. Gurahl learn Gifts in the same fashion as Garou, as described in the Garou gifts section of this website. Gifts may retest with Occult, if another Ability is not specified. Breed gifts can be found on this page, please see the buttons below to take you to the Auspice and Breed gifts. 

 

 

Gurahl Gifts

 

 

Basic Gifts

 

Calm

- As the Children of Gaia Gift; see Laws of the Wild.

 

Fiddlefish

- By using this Gift and scooping her paw (or hand) into a river, stream or other body of fresh or salt water, a Gurahl can guarantee herself a filling and nutritious dinner consisting of a fish large enough to satisfy her hunger. Overuse of this Gift, particularly if a Gurahl consistently uses the same area to sate her appetite, results in Gaia’s displeasure and a failure of the 
Gift to produce any food. The Gurahl wins a Simple Test to acquire a single fish using this Gift. While more than one Gurahl may use this Gift in the same location, the same Gurahl may not snare more than one fish at a time from the same spot. The Storyteller should determine if a Gurahl is overusing this Gift and, if this is the case, should deny the Gift’s efficacy regardless of the 
outcome of the Simple Test. This Gift lasts for one scene (or one fish). 

 

Grisly Aspect

- This Gift endows the Gurahl with an aura and appearance so frightening that it can dishearten opponents enough to cause
them to flee before engaging in combat. While this Gift does not actually make the Gurahl any stronger, it causes an increase in height and mass. In addition, the Gift enhances the ferocity of the Gurahl’s appearance - particularly in Crinos form. While under the effects of this Gift, the Gurahl also emits a pheromone which incites panic among herbivores and invokes a  sense of dread in even the fiercest carnivores. The Gurahl makes a Social  Challenge to evoke this Gift (retest with Intimulation). Normal humans flee from the Gurahl as if suffering from the Delirium (it’s a great big snarling bear, folks). Some humans have been known to suffer heart failure upon seeing  Gurahl use this Gift in Crinos. Supernatural creatures must spend a Willpower Trait and then engage the Gurahl in a Social Challenge to attempt to resist the effects of this Gift. For purposes of this Gift, the Gurahl possesses
Intimidatingx4. (TheseTraitsonlylastaslongas theGift isineffect.) TheGift lasts for one scene.

 

Ignore Wounds

- As the Philodox Gift: Resist Pain

 

Nature’s Plenty

-This Gift allows the Gurahl to locate sufficient food or healing herbs to tend to a creature in need of assistance. Regardless of the
season, the Gurahl can find and retrieve enough of the necessary herbs or plants, even if they are buried in snow or grow in normally inaccessible places. The Gurahl must succeed in astatic Mental Challenge against seven Traits to achieve the benefits of this Gift (retest with Primal-Urge). The Storyteller should describe the materials the Gurahl may locate. This Gift lasts for one scene. 

 

Sense Pattern Breaker

- As the Metis Gift: Sense Wym.

 

Sentinel’s Warning

- This Gift provides the Gurahl with an awareness of threats, hostile forces or other dangerous elements in his protected  lands. The Gift manifests as a sense of unease or discomfort. Unlike the Merit:Danger Sense, which is always “on,” this Gift requires conscious effort to activate it. The Gurahl spends a point of Gnosis and must succeed in a Mental Challenge. The Storyteller then informs the Gurahl of any enemies - natural or supernatural - in his vicinity, thus giving him the opportunity to act first in a combat situation or take steps to neutralize the threat. This Gift lasts for one scene.

 

Treeshake

- This Gift allows the Gurahl to obtain ample food for several individuals by grasping the trunk of a tree and shaking acorns or other  edible tree-fruits from it. The tree does not need to be a fruit-bearing tree nor does it need to be in season for the Gift to extract nutritious food from it. The Gurahl spends a Gnosis Trait and wins a Simple Test. The Storyteller should determine the quantity and kind of fruit found. The Gurahl may feed up to five persons with one use of this Gift.

 

Ursa’s Cleansing

-  As the Fianna Gift: Resist Toxin

 

 

 

Intermediate Gifts

 

Dreams of the Buri-Jaan

- This Gift allows the Gurahl to send out a series of dream visions or spirit callings to a cub she has chosen to mentor. The dreams act as a summons and a homing beacon, allowing the cub to find her teacher (if she heeds her dreams). The Gurahl spends a Gnosis Trait and wins a Static Mental Challenge against seven Traits (adjustable based on the distance between the Gurahl and the cub). After describing the content of the dream or dreams to the Storyteller, the Gurahl waits while the Storyteller relays the information to the chosen target, who may resist with Willpower or follow the visions to find her Buri-Jaan. This Gift becomes most useful in ongoing chronicles to work new players into the story. 

 

Ease the Fevered Mind

-This Gift enables the Gurahl to treat victims of extreme spiritual or emotional trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder, social avoidance disorder and other serious mental or emotional  disturbances. The use of this Gift can temporarily remove or alleviate the symptoms of many derangements. The Gurahl spends a Willpower Trait and engages the patient inaMental Challenge (retestwithMedicine).Thepatient may not relent, but must undergo the challenge, since some individuals are resistant to treatment - even with the help of the Great Bear. The Gurahl may repeat the Mental Challenges until he loses. When the Gurahl loses, he must make two Simple Tests - failing both results in the target’s derangement being inflicted on the Gurahl. For every successful challenge, the Gurahl removes the effect of the trauma or derangement for a scene. Repeated and regular applications of the Gift, coupled with the expenditure of permanent Willpower, can make the treatment permanent - with the approval of
the Storyteller. However, if the source of the problem is not removed, the trauma will reoccur in time.

 

Masking the Hunted

-The Gurahl may, with this Gift, use the terrain around her to create a safe haven for creatures or individuals pursued by hunters.
Under the effects of this Gift, the land responds to the needs of the prey - bushes cluster together to form impassable barriers; grasses conceal tracks or else form the appearance of false paths. Odors contribute to the Gift’s effects as well, leaving false scent trails or masking true scents to confuse creatures who hunt by scent. The Gurahl spends a Gnosis Trait and makes a Static Social
Challenge against the hunter’s Mental Traits to invoke this Gift. While this Gift does not last more than one scene, it usually provides enough time for the hunted individuals to escape. The Gurahl may hide up to 12 human or large mammal-sized individuals or twice as many smaller creatures.

 

Survival of the Bear 

- As the Silent Strider Gift: Adaptation

 

 

Advanced Gifts

 

Gaia’s Breath

- Some Gurahl believe that the desires of other Changing Breeds (particularly the Garou) to possess the knowledge of this
Gift formed a direct cause of the War of Rage. This Gift, known only to the wisest and eldest of the Gurahl, remains the werebears’ most closely guarded secret. Through the use of this Gift, a Gurahl may return the departed spirit to a dead werecreature, bringing it back from death. In ancient times, Gurahl rewarded those among them who sacrificed their lives to provide food for their human Kin or who died in the protection of others. The Gurahl must spend a permanent Gnosis Trait and a permanent Willpower Trait before engaging in a Static Social Challenge versus nine Traits. Success means that the departed spirit returns to its body, returning the creature to life. The recipient awakens as Incapacitated and must receive healing from other Gifts in order to gain strength and restore additional health levels. Missing body parts are not restored through this Gift, though other supernatural means may, if known, be used to regrow limbs. This Gift only succeeds in restoring life to a victim who has died recently (i.e., within the last four hours of game time). A Gurahl who attempts the use of this Gift on an individual who has been dead longer than four hours risks not only failure but the possibility of summoning a Wyrm-creature (such as a Bane) into the corpse. Only one attempt may be made on a single creature at any time. Ever.

 

Great Grandfather’s Summons

-This Gift allows the Great Grandfather or Great Grandmother (or Ancient One) to issue a summons to all Gurahl, gathering them together in a time of great need. The call is so powerful that it even wakens hibernatingGurah1 and reaches into the Umbra. Gurahl who heed the summons gather together healing items, fetishes, weapons and food and travel to the place where the summoner waits for them. Lorekeepers among the Gurahl credit this Gift with the mass awakening of Gurahl in the last century to combat the Storm Eater in the Umbra of the American West. This Gift requires the sacrifice of three Gnosis and one Rage Trait in order to activate it. No test is required.