GAROU Character Creation Process
• Step One: Character Concept
Choose concept, breed, auspice, and tribe.
• Step Two: Select Attributes
Prioritize the three categories: Physical, Social, Mental (7/5/3). Note that each Attribute starts with one dot before you add any.
Rate Physical Traits: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina.
Rate Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance.
Rate Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits.
• Step Three: Select Abilities
Prioritize the three categories: Talents, Skills, Knowledges (13/9/5).
Choose Talents, Skills, Knowledges.
No Ability may be higher than 3 at this stage.
• Step Four:
Select Advantages
Choose Backgrounds (5; selection restricted by tribe), Gifts (three, one each from breed, auspice, and tribe), Renown (by auspice).
• Step Five:
Finishing Touches
Record Rage (by auspice), Gnosis (by breed), Willpower (by tribe), and Rank (1; cliath).
Spend freebie points (15)
Breed
• Homid: Born human and raised by human parents, you were not aware of your heritage until you experienced your First Change — though you’ve felt the effects of Rage burning within you before that. It’s likely that you were completely unaware of the werewolves in your family tree.
Initial Gnosis: 1
Beginning Gifts: Apecraft’s Blessings, City Running, Master of Fire, Persuasion, Smell of Man
• Metis: Your parents are both Garou. They broke the Litany in a moment of animal passion and you’re the twisted result. Raised in a sept among other werewolves, you know Garou culture better than most homids or lupus. Your parents’ crime left you malformed and sterile, a visible reminder of their crime.
Initial Gnosis: 3
Beginning Gifts: Create Element, Primal Anger, Rat Head, Sense Wyrm, Shed
• Lupus: You were born a wolf and spent your first two years among wolves. Your First Change didn’t come until you were almost fully grown. You haven’t the sophistication or understanding of the human world of a homid, but your instincts and connection to the wild is much stronger.
Initial Gnosis: 5
Beginning Gifts: Hare's Leap, Heightened Senses, Predator’s Arsenal, Prey Mind, Sense Prey
Auspice
• Ragabash: New Moon — Questioners and tricksters who stalk the Wyrm with guile and cunning.
Initial Rage: 1
Beginning Gifts: Blur of the Milky Eye, Liar’s Face, Open Seal, Scent of Running Water, Spider's Song
Beginning Renown: Three in any combination
• Theurge: Crescent Moon — Seers and shamans who clearly understand spirits and their ways.
Initial Rage: 2
Beginning Gifts: Mother's Touch, Sense Wyrm, Spirit Binding, Spirit Speech, Umbral Tether
Beginning Renown: 3 Wisdom
• Philodox: Half Moon — Judges and lawmakers who balance the dual nature of man and wolf.
Initial Rage: 3
Beginning Gifts: Fangs of Judgment, Persuasion, Resist Pain, Scent of the True Form, Truth of Gaia
Beginning Renown: 3 Honor
• Galliard: Gibbous Moon — Lore-keepers and talesingers who tell the deeds of Garou past to inspire the present.
Initial Rage: 4
Beginning Gifts: Beast Speech, Call of the Wyld, Heightened Senses, Mindspeak, Perfect Recall
Beginning Renown: 2 Glory, 1 Wisdom
• Ahroun: Full Moon — Warriors and protectors who bring destruction to the Wyrm wherever it dwells and breeds.
Initial Rage: 5
Beginning Gifts: Falling Touch, Inspiration, Pack Tactics, Razor Claws, Spur Claws
Beginning Renown: 2 Glory, 1 Honor
Tribe
• Black Furies: Defenders of the wild places and fierce warriors for their fellow women. Most Black Furies are female; the only males in their tribe are metis.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: None
Beginning Gifts: Breath of the Wyld, Man's Skin, Heightened Senses, Sense Wyrm, Wyld Resurgence
• Bone Gnawers: As the best-informed tribe, the Bone Gnawers are consummate spies. Members live in poverty, and have a casual regard for Garou traditions.
Initial Willpower: 4
Backgrounds: Resources are discouraged; Ancestors and Pure Breed are restricted.
Beginning Gifts: Cooking, Desperate Strength, Resist Toxin, Scent of Sweet Honey
• Children of Gaia: The most moderate tribe, the Children of Gaia nurture what little the Wyrm has not corrupted and often speak out on humanity’s side.
Initial Willpower: 4
Backgrounds: No restrictions.
Beginning Gifts: Brother’s Scent, Jam Weapon, Mercy, Mother's Touch, Resist Pain
• Fianna: Originally of Celtic descent, the Fianna hold on to a lust for both celebration and battle, wherever they are in the world.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: No restrictions
Beginning Gifts: Faerie Light, Hare's Leap, Persuasion, Resist Toxin, Two Tongues
• Get of Fenris: Dedicated to the Wyrm’s destruction, the Get are savage and bloodthirsty warriors who take great pride in their Germanic and Scandinavian heritage.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: Contacts are discouraged.
Beginning Gifts: Lightning Reflexes, Master of Fire, Razor Claws, Resist Pain, Visage of Fenris
• Glass Walkers: The ultimate urban predators, the Glass Walkers take the war against the Wyrm into the boardroom and the skyscraper — though other Garou do not trust them.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: Ancestors and Pure Breed are restricted; Mentor is discouraged.
Beginning Gifts: Control Simple Machine, Diagnostics, Persuasion, Plug and Play, Trick Shot
• Red Talons: Living in the deep wilderness, this tribe only allows lupus and some metis to join. They believe that the only way to beat the Wyrm is to exterminate humanity.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: Allies and Contacts are discouraged; Resources is restricted. Their only Kinfolk are wolves.
Beginning Gifts: Beast Speech, Eye of the Hunter, Hidden Killer, Scent of Running Water, Wolf at the Door
• Shadow Lords: Cunning, deceptive, and domineering, the Shadow Lords have a burning drive to lead the whole Garou Nation.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: Allies and Mentor are discouraged.
Beginning Gifts: Aura of Confidence, Fatal Flaw, Seizing the Edge, Shadow Weaving, Whisper Catching
• Silent Striders: Exiled from their homeland, the Silent Striders travel constantly. Many learn the secrets of the physical or spiritual world on their journeys.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: Ancestors is restricted; Resources is discouraged.
Beginning Gifts: Heaven's Guidance, Sense Wyrm, Silence, Speed of Thought, Visions of Duat
• Silver Fangs: The hereditary rulers of the Garou Nation, their careful maintenance of royal blood has led to inbreeding and the taint of madness.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: All Silver Fangs must purchase at least three dots of Pure Breed.
Beginning Gifts: Eye of the Falcon, Falcon's Grasp, Inspiration, Lambent Flame, Sense Wyrm
• Stargazers: Ascetics who seek to master their own Rage, the Stargazers wander the world striking at the Wyrm wherever they find it.
Initial Willpower: 4
Backgrounds: Allies, Fetish, and Resources are discouraged.
Beginning Gifts: Balance, Channeling, Falling Touch, Iron Resolve, Sense Wyrm
• Uktena: Mysterious and mystical, the Uktena are a tribe of outsiders charged with guarding the resting places of many powerful Banes, though this taints them by association.
Initial Willpower: 3
Backgrounds: No restrictions.
Beginning Gifts: Sense Magic, Sense Wyrm, Shroud, Spirit of the Lizard, Spirit Speech
Wendigo: The only tribe made up of primarily Native American werewolves, the Wendigo are cold and insular, guarding their caerns against even other Garou.
Initial Willpower: 4
Backgrounds: Contacts and Resources are discouraged.
Beginning Gifts: Beat of the Heart-Drum, Call the Breeze, Camouflage, Ice Echo, Resist Pain
Backgrounds
• Allies: Your friends and confidantes among humans and wolves.
• Ancestors: The ability to channel the knowledge and skills of those Garou who have gone before.
• Contacts: A network of people throughout human society that you can tap for information.
• Fate: A prophecy surrounding you and your pack that you will fulfill.
• Fetish: You have an item of some sort with a spirit bound within it, giving it supernatural powers.
• Kinfolk: Relatives who you are in touch with, human and wolf, who are immune to the Delirium.
• Mentor: A Garou of higher Rank who has taken an interest in your progress and offers advice.
• Pure Breed: You have the blood of a Garou hero in your veins, and others can see it within you.
• Resources: Your personal wealth, possessions, and income.
• Rites: You know a number of rites, rituals empowered with spirit magic.
• Spirit Heritage: You have the touch of a particular type of spirit on you, and they treat you as their own.
• Totem: The pack’s totem is a unique spirit, and this Background is pooled among the pack to create it.
Gifts
Choose one each from the “Beginning Gifts” listed under breed, auspice, and tribe above.
Renown
Assign starting Renown according to auspice, as noted above.
Rank
All characters begin play at Rank 1. (Note this is changed in Tainted Web, see game creation for rules)
Rage, Gnosis, and Willpower
Set Rage according to auspice, Gnosis according to breed, and Willpower according to tribe.
Freebie Points Trait Cost
Attributes 5 per dot
Abilities 2 per dot
Backgrounds 1 per dot
Gifts 7 per Gift (7, 9, 11 in costs)
Rage 1 per dot
Gnosis 2 per dot
Willpower 1 per dot
(If it is not on this list then it is not for purchase at creation, such as extra Rites)