Rumble Street

The image of the werewolf is inherently tied to that of a snarling, uncontrollable beast. Every Garou carries Rage in his heart. Unless he can control and channel that Rage, he can lose control and run amok.

 

Any Rage roll can lead to a frenzy, even if it's used to activate Gifts. All Rage rolls represent an attempt to awaken the primal beast that drives the Garou. If a Rage roll scores four or more successes, the character frenzies. The player can spend a Willpower point immediately to halt the frenzy, but her character can't take any further actions that turn.

 

Garou who have permanent Rage ratings lower than four can still frenzy, but only under circumstances that touch on a particular psychological trigger: Locking a claustrophobic werewolf in a confined space, or an arachnophobe coming face-to-mandible with one of the Ananasi werespiders. When a werewolf encounters that level of stress, his temporary Rage can exceed his permanent rating. Use the higher of the two ratings for all Rage rolls. Werewolves frenzy in two ways:

 

Berserk Frenzy: The werewolf can only see moving targets -- targets she wants to reduce to bloody lumps of mangled meat. A berserk Garou shifts immediately to either Crinos or Hispo form (the player decides which), and attacks something.

 

Whom she attacks depends on the circumstances. If the Garou's permanent Rage does not exceed her permanent Gnosis, she will not tear into her packmates -- unless she's in the Thrall of the Wyrm. Anything else is fair game, including other were-creatures who are not members of her pack.

 

A Garou whose permanent Rage exceeds his permanent Gnosis attacks anything that moves. He can't distinguish between targets unless his player spends a Willpower point, in which case he can select his victim. If he doesn't have the Willpower to spare, the Storyteller chooses who he attacks. Werewolves in this state don't remember what happens to them during frenzy. Many collapse once the frenzy is over.

 

Fox Frenzy: The werewolf does everything in his power to escape. He takes his Lupus form and runs. The only time he attacks is when something gets in his way, and only for long enough to get past his opponent. The character runs until he can find a safe hiding place, where he will remain until the frenzy passes.

 

Whether in berserk or fox frenzy, combat maneuvers and pack tactics require a level of thought and control that a frenzying werewolf does not have. He has three options: bite, claw, or run. He can spend Rage for extra actions, but can't split dice pools, use Gifts, or step sideways. A frenzied werewolf does not feel pain, and ignores all wound penalties.

 

A werewolf can only come out of frenzy once the triggering situation is over. Once he's escaped, the player rolls Willpower (difficulty equaling the Garou's own Rage) to escape the frenzy. If the roll fails, the player can try again next turn with no increase in difficulty.

 

Rage Rolls

 

At the Storyteller's discretion, any of the following conditions may call for a Rage roll.

• Embarrassment or humiliation (e.g. botching an important roll)

• Any strong emotion (lust, rage, envy)

• Extreme hunger

• Confinement

• Helplessness

• Being taunted by a superior enemy

• Large quantities of silver in the area

• Being wounded

• Seeing a packmate wounded

 

The difficulty for a Rage roll depends on the phase of the moon. Reduce the difficulty by one if the moon phase matches the character's auspice moon. A Garou in Crinos form also subtracts one from her difficulty, though this isn't cumulative with the modifier for her auspice moon.

 

The Thrall Of The Wyrm

 

A werewolf's Rage is not just the supernatural anger of Gaia, caught in the webs of a mad Weaver. It's also a gate that the Wyrm can use to seize control of a Garou when she loses control.

 

When a player rolls six or more successes on a Rage roll, the character enters a berserk frenzy. All the Willpower in the world won't give her a second's control. The character is in the Thrall of the Wyrm. In addition to attacking anything that she can see, with the Storyteller picking her targets, the Thrall brings an even more horrific twist.

 

Each breed of Garou has an affinity to one of the heads of the Triatic Wyrm, and it is that facet that works through them in their worst frenzy.

 

Homid: Eater-of-Souls holds humans as its special children. This twisted favor extends to homid-breed Garou. This Wyrm drives its minions to eat humans, wolves, and even other Garou. A werewolf in this Thrall must roll Wits (difficulty 7) whenever she kills or incapacitates an opponent. If the roll is a botch, she must stop for a turn and eat her kill.

 

Metis: The Defiler Wyrm reserves special attention for those Garou who cannot breed themselves. It drives metis Garou to perform unspeakable sexual acts on their fallen opponents, regardless of their respective genders. If a werewolf kills or incapacitates an opponent, his player must roll Wits (difficulty 7). If the roll botches, the werewolf stops for a turn and slakes his unholy lusts on his opponent's corpse.

 

Lupus: Beast-of-War lays claim to the savage lupus Garou. It forces them to tear into their victims until nothing is left but bloody chunks of meat and bone. The Garou loses all sense of mercy, and exists only to destroy. When a lupus werewolf kills or incapacitates a foe when in the Thrall, her player must roll Wits (difficulty 7). If the roll botches, the werewolf savages his opponent's corpse until it is torn limb from limb.

 

The Thrall of the Wyrm is terrifying for any werewolf. While hardly glorious, falling to frenzy is a defense mechanism against pain, a brutal yet pure method of survival. A Wyrm-touched frenzy is nothing of the kind. It brings to light just how close the Garou come to the Wyrm. That's an ugly truth that most Garou are entirely unprepared to face. Unable to live with what they've done, a number of werewolves end their lives after such a frenzy.