Ragabash Gifts W20th
Luna’s Gifts to the Ragabash defy tradition and conventional wisdom. Well-suited to tricksters, scouts and saboteurs, the eclectic blessings of the new moon are nothing if not effective.
• Blur of the Milky Eye (Level One) — The werewolf’s form becomes a shimmering, indistinct blur, as though seen through heavy cataracts — even in the midday sun. The Ragabash is not truly invisible, however, and if spotted, this Gift’s protection fails until the observer is distracted. A chameleon- or ermine-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Stealth (difficulty 8). Each success increases the difficulty of all Perception rolls made to detect him by one for the rest of the scene.
• Infectious Laughter (Level One) — Laughter is the tool with which Gaia’s tricksters promote enlightenment and the knife that slashes through the veil of Rage. When the Ragabash laughs, those around her are compelled to follow along, forgetting their grievances. A coyote- or hyena-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The Ragabash must make some comment mocking the present situation in which she finds herself, then laugh at it. The player then rolls Manipulation + Expression (difficulty of the highest Rage rating of anyone listening). Success causes those who hear the Ragabash’s comment and laughter lose hold of their ire, and forget what it was that had them upset in the first place — although
their temper will return if they are reminded of what the New Moon has made them forget.
• Liar’s Face (Level One) — The Ragabash wraps herself in such a deceitful attitude that nothing she says can be trusted — not even the clear and unvarnished truth. The werewolf may make a single truthful statement, and no human who hears it will believe her. A platypus-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: After the character makes a truthful statement, the player spends one Willpower point and rolls Charisma + Subterfuge (difficulty 7). This Gift is automatically effective on humans, causing them to believe the Ragabash is lying. Supernatural listeners whose Willpower rating is lower than the Ragabash’s successes also refuse to believe the Ragabash’s words.
• Open Seal (Level One) — The werewolf can open nearly any sort of closed or locked physical device. A raccoon-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty of the local Gauntlet rating). If the object is sealed with magic, the player must spend a Gnosis point before making the attempt.
• Scent of Running Water (Level One) — The werewolf can mask her scent completely, making herself virtually impossible to track. A fox-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The difficulties of all rolls to track the Garou increase by two. This Gift’s effects are permanent, though the Ragabash may temporarily suppress them at will (which may be necessary to blend in with wolf packs).
• Blissful Ignorance (Level Two) — The Garou can become completely invisible to all senses, spirits or monitoring devices by remaining still. A chameleon-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Stamina + Stealth (difficulty 5). Each success subtracts one success from the Perception + Alertness rolls of those looking for the character. If no one is actively seeking the werewolf, one success provides perfect concealment.
• Pulse of the Prey (Level Two) — If the werewolf knows anything about her prey—even a nickname, initials, or crude description—she can track it as fast as she can travel. This unerring sense of direction works anywhere, and is as useful for tracking spirits through the Deep Umbra as Pentex executives through Baltimore. A wolf- or dog-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: No roll is required unless the target is actively hiding, in which case the player rolls Perception + Enigmas against a difficulty of the target’s Wits + Stealth. If the target is a spirit, the difficulty is the spirit’s Gnosis.
• Spider’s Song (Level Two) — The Ragabash can steal messages from the Weaver’s web, plucking them from the air or eavesdropping as they race through telephone lines. The Ragabash must be aware that a conversation is happening to listen in on it (though she doesn’t have to know who’s on the other end of the line). For conversations across land lines, the Ragabash must place her ear against a telephone pole or cord; to listen in on cell phone discussions (or even to intercept text messages) she need only be able to see one of the phones being used. Spiderand raven-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends a Gnosis point. She listens in on the conversation (or receives mental translations of text messages) for as long as she keeps her ear to the line or keeps the cell phone user in sight.
• Taking the Forgotten (Level Two) — A Ragabash with this Gift can steal something from a target and make his victim forget that she ever possessed the stolen item. A mouse-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: After successfully stealing the item, the player must score three successes on a Wits + Larceny roll (difficulty of the victim’s Intelligence + Streetwise).
• Gremlins (Level Three) — The Ragabash can cause a technological device to malfunction merely by touching it. This Gift actually causes the spirit energy within the device to work counter to its function. If the Garou can frighten the spirit sufficiently, it will flee the device, causing it to malfunction permanently. A Gremlin teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Intimidation; the difficulty is determined by the complexity of the item. The more successes the Garou obtains, the more the device is damaged. Three successes disables the device permanently (the spirit has fled). Good roleplaying might certainly warrant one to three additional dice, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Device Difficulty
Computer 4
Phone 6
Car 7
Gun 8
Knife 9
• Liar’s Craft (Level Three) — The Ragabash can tell the most outrageous of lies and have them accepted as truth — for a while, at least. This Gift is taught by a fox-spirit.
System: The character first tells his lie, then the player rolls Wits + Subterfuge (difficulty of the target’s Wits + Subterfuge, or the highest rating in a group of listeners). One success convinces a single individual, while three successes are needed to dupe a crowd. Since the roll is made after the lie is told, this Gift always carries some element of risk.
• Monkey Tail (Level Three) — The lupus may lengthen her tail and use it as a prehensile appendage at will. Although it’s no replacement for a hand, it can grasp objects, wrap around branches, and even allow the Garou to hang upside-down. A monkey-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The Gift may employ her prehensile tail at will in any form which possesses a tail. Successfully manipulating the tail requires a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty varies according to the task).
• Open Moon Bridge (Level Three) — The werewolf has the ability to open a moon bridge, with or without the permission of the totem of that caern. A Lune teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point. See the Rite of the Opened Bridge (p. 207) for more information on opening moon bridges. The maximum distance that can thereby be covered is 1,000 miles (1600 km).
• Pathfinder (Level Three) — The werewolf can strike implausible trails through pristine wilderness and the urban jungle alike, locating the fastest and shortest routes from one place to another. A crow-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Perception + Survival (for wilderness) or Streetwise (for urban environments) against difficulty 7. The number of successes equals the quality of the path she blazes and how much she decreases her travel time. Every success reduces travel time by approximately 10 percent, up to a maximum of half the original travel time. The difficulty of any rolls to track the werewolf increase by two when this Gift is active; this decrease is cumulative with other similar effects, such as Scent of
Running Water.
• Luna’s Blessing (Level Four) — When Luna stands visible in the night sky, silver ceases to act as a bane to the Garou. Indeed, when the moon waxes full, silver may well turn on those who would wield it against Gaia’s children. A Lune teaches this Gift.
System: When the moon shows in the sky in a visible phase, the character suffers lethal or bashing damage from silver, rather than aggravated (damage type depends on the form of attack — a silver-headed cane would do bashing damage, while silver bullets inflict lethal damage). Additionally, all attacks against the werewolf with silver weapons at this time are considered to roll a 1 in addition to all dice actually rolled — or a pair of 1s during the full moon. The Garou retains his normal vulnerability to silver during the day, on nights of the new moon, and when the moon is below the horizon.
• Umbral Dodge (Level Four) — The Ragabash finds that the best way to deal with an enemy is to send him far away — perhaps to a place where he’ll learn the folly of his ways. She may tear open a hole in the Gauntlet while dodging an enemy’s attack, sending them to the land of spirits. A trapdoor spider-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: When attempting to dodge a close-range attack, the player spends one Gnosis point and increases the difficulty of the dodge by one, or to the rating of the local Gauntlet, whichever is higher. If the dodge succeeds in avoiding the attack completely, the attacker is droppedinto the Penumbra (or into the physical world if this Gift is used in the Penumbra).
• Whelp Body (Level Four) — The Garou delivers a devastating curse upon a foe’s body, causing it to weaken palsy. Many consider the use of this Gift upon a foe to constitute a declaration of eternal enmity. Pain- and disease-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis, resisted by the target’s own roll of higher of Gnosis or Stamina. The Garou’s difficulty is the opponent’s Willpower, while the victim’s difficulty is the Ragabash’s Gnosis. Each success scored by the Ragabash allows her to remove one point from any of the victim’s Physical Attributes. The effect is permanent, although the victim
may restore these Attributes via experience. This Gift may be used only once ever against a given opponent. • Thieving Talons of the Magpie (Level Five) — The Ragabash can steal the powers of others and use them herself. These powers can be Gifts (either Garou or
those of other Fera), spirit Charms, vampiric Disciplines, Sphere magic or any other such power (the Edges of the Imbued may be exempt, at the Storyteller’s discretion). Naturally, a magpie-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player must gain three successes on a Wits + Larceny roll (difficulty of the target’s Willpower). If successful, the Ragabash steals the targeted power, depriving its owner of its use. Powers are stolen piecemeal, so a Ragabash who steals a vampire’s power to merge with the earth (Protean •••) doesn’t also gain its ability to see in the dark or grow claws (Protean • and ••). The Garou may keep the power for as many turns as she wishes, so long as she pays a point of Gnosis each turn. The werewolf’s Gnosis is substituted for any Traits exclusive to the victim that might be necessary to work the power, such as a vampire’s blood pool or a mage’s Arete. The Ragabash must know something about her target’s powers, either through observation or rumor, and she must target a power
in the terms by which she would understand it (“I wish to steal the wizard’s ability to command fire!”). This Gift grants no insight into stolen powers, so botches tend to be dramatic and memorable.
• Thousand Forms (Level Five) — The werewolf with this Gift may change herself into any animal between the sizes of a small bird and a bison. The Garou gains all the special capabilities (flight, gills, poison, sensory abilities, etc.) of the animal she mimics. She may not take the form of Wyrm-beasts (not that she would wish to!), but with some extra effort she may take the form of mystical beasts (such as a griffon or unicorn), provided the beast remains within the usual size limitations of the Gift. Wyld-spirits teach this Gift.
System: The player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Intelligence + Animal Ken (difficulty 6). One success allows the character to assume the shape of any normal animal. For the duration of the scene, he may make additional transformation rolls without spending additional Gnosis, provided he only takes the shape of normal animals. To allow the character to take on a mythical form,
the player must spend an additional point of Gnosis and succeed against a difficulty of 9.
• Firebringer (Level Six) — The Ragabash performs the ultimate trick, stealing a supernatural power and turning it into a Gift, which may in turn be bestowed upon to others as though the New Moon were a spirit teacher. Alas, the Ragabash must first survive having the power used upon him. Coyote or another trickster Incarna teaches this Gift.
System: After having a power used on him, the Ragabash may spend one point of permanent Gnosis to internalize it into a Gift. The Ragabash cannot use this Gift himself, and in fact forfeits all defenses against that power if ever used on him in the future; it exists instead as a treasure to bequeath upon the Garou Nation. Any power may become a Gift in this fashion — even the vile magic of the Wyrm may be stolen and turned to the defense of Gaia. The Storyteller determines the new Gift’s appropriate level and what sort of spirit Garou should be able to learn it from. In the case of mages, this power steals particular rotes rather than entire Spheres.
Changing Ways 20th
• Disguise Fetish (Level One) — Werewolves covet one another's treasures as much as anyone else. The clever Ragabash can hide the true nature of his fetishes to deflect curious eyes. A raven-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty 6) to create the illusion that one fetish or talen carried or touched by the character is just a mundane object. Klaives look like ordinary steel daggers, Jarlhammers seem much smaller than they are, and any glyphs or precious stones that ornament the fetish appear as cheap decorations. Gifts and other supernatural powers that could sense the nature of the fetish must overcome the number of successes rolled by the Ragabash's player to accurately identify the object as something extraordinary. The illusion ends if the fetish is used in its intended fashion. Otherwise, the effect lasts for the scene.
• Petal Float (Level Two) — The Ragabash becomes light as a flower petal when falling long distances, spinning, and drifting in the breeze. A Glade Child or flower-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 6). Each success reduces the effective distance of the werewolf's fall by 10 feet (3 meters). If high wind is a factor, it can blow him off course, at the Storyteller's discretion.
• Play Dead (Level Two) — The Garou are loath to let a foe claim victory, but in these fallen times, living to fight another day can trump the satisfaction of refusing to surrender. The Ragabash can “play possum” and appear dead to all witnesses. Unsurprisingly, an opossum-spirit teaches this Gift.
System: The player rolls Stamina + Subterfuge (difficulty 5) and the Garou spends an action shutting down his body. He appears completely dead for one minute per success. He has no discernible pulse, doesn't appear to breathe, and smells like a corpse that has been rotting for several days. His muscles stiffen and he may, if he chooses, revert to breed form as part of this action. If the player spends a point of Gnosis when activating this Gift, the Ragabash can instead use it reflexively when hit with an attack to produce the illusion that it has killed him. In this case, he appears as a fresh corpse instead.
• Terrain Shift (Level Three) — Nature accepts the Ragabash as an ally, and views his pursuers as enemies. Earth and stone move aside to create tunnels or footholds to climb, foliage gathers behind him impassably, and rivers create dry spots for him to cross. A Glade Child or earth elemental teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Gnosis point, and one feature of the terrain in the werewolf's immediate vicinity shifts to either allow him passage where there should be none, or deny passage to anyone pursuing him. These shifts are minor and localized, limited to an area of up to ; he couldn't build a bridge to cross the Grand Canyon this way. If he wishes to create a feature where one didn't
exist, such as an earth bridge or tunnel, and then make it vanish behind him, he must activate the Gift twice.
• Misdirection (Level Four) — Like a stage magician, the Ragabash combines a steady stream of words with expert sleight of hand to capture his target's attention fully. He can perform the most egregious acts of larceny or violence right under the nose of the unwitting witness. An avatar of Coyote teaches this Gift.
System: The player spends one Willpower point when making a roll to Fast-Talk a target (W20, p. 279). For each success, the Garou may take one action that goes completely unnoticed by the target if successful, such as stealing the glasses right off the target's face, or even killing someone behind his back. Any evidence he doesn't manage to hide before the effect wears off remains, though. The Ragabash may also use this Gift to turn a botch on a Fast-Talk roll into a mere failure, buying himself the chance to try some other underhanded tactic.