Primer

A STORYTELLING GAME OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SPIRITUAL HORROR

 Primer
Authors: Steffie de Vaan with Juhana Pettersson and Kevin Schluter
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Incorporates Material from Werewolf: The Apocalypse

Authors: Justin Achilli, Basheer Ghouse, Christopher Gunning, Dylan Jennings, Sasanehsaeh Jennings, Khaldoun Khelil,
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 PRIMER

Table of Contents
INtroDUCTION: WHY PLAY WEREWOLF? 4
Questions Answered 5
Who Are the Garou? 5
What are the Auspices? 6
What Are the Tribes? 7
What is Rage? 9
What are Harano and Hauglosk? 9
What are Gifts and Rites? 10
What is the Umbra? 10
What are Spirits? 11
What is the Wyrm? 11
What is the Pentex Group? 12
Who are the Cult of Fenris? 12
Who are the Black Spiral Dancers 12
How Does the Game Work? 13
Preparing Your Dice 13
Making the Test 13
Health and Willpower 13
Rage Check (1d10) 13
Frenzy 15
Forms 15
Sample Pack: Wisdom’s’ Fury 15
Penelope “Fuck ‘em Up” Fox 15
Marion “The Baroness” Hawthorn 16
Raul “Big Mountain” Bock 17
Ashley “The Seeker” Taylor Smith 17
Alexandra “Swamp Rat” Pryor 18
Brayden “Stoner” Sanders 18
The Relationship Map 19
Storyteller Advice 20

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 PRIMER
Introduction:

Why Play
Werewolf?
Werewolf: The Apocalypse is a roleplaying game in malevolence attracting vile spirits of destruction and
which you play one of the Garou, a werewolf fighting decay. Werewolves fight to save the earth, to save Gaia,
a war in a desperate attempt to save our world from from the Apocalypse that’s already underway. They
the depredations of human greed and the supernatural may struggle with how to fight because their tools of
horrors it attracts. violence may not always be the right ones. They may
If you’re familiar with previous have to walk the line between despair and zealotry.
editions of Werewolf, please note Yet still, they can fight the good fight and make a real
that this fifth edition is a re- difference, if only for a little while.
imagining. The truths and lore of
previous editions aren’t necessarily 0 Part human: As a werewolf, you’re not just a
true in this edition. slavering monster. You have the remnants of a human
When you play Werewolf, here are some of the things life to tend to. You may have family members and
you can expect: friends who have no idea of the secret life you lead.
0 Everyone is a Rage-filled combat machine: You may struggle with the effects of your Rage on
Werewolves are capable of changing into a terrifying the people around you. Your story might involve
war-form where they tower over their enemies as reconnecting with the family you were forced to
massive, furred monsters of claw and fang. To the abandon when you first changed, ducking the
werewolf, physical violence is as easy as breathing responsibilities of your day job so you can fight the
and, when they change into the intimidating shape enemy, or just seeing your hometown from a different
of war, someone will get hurt. Even a spiritually or viewpoint, that of a protector of Gaia.
intellectually oriented werewolf is going to be stronger 0 Part wolf: Every werewolf has the wolf inside them, and
than most other creatures, capable of ruining their foes some were even born wolf, only finding their human
in straight-up combat. sides after their First Change. For a wolf, life can be
0 Put a face on the evils of the world and rip it simpler — running free in the forests and hunting when
off: Our world is broken. Energy companies try you’re hungry. Of course, that way of life is the most
to squeeze the last drop of oil from rock shale vulnerable of all to the terrible greed of the enemy and is
and sea bottom, while ocean life boils alive, and often a stark reminder of why the werewolves fight.
the atmosphere slowly becomes hostile to human 0 The familiar becomes fantastic: Werewolf takes
existence. In Werewolf, the enemies of our shared place in the World of Darkness, the same as our world
world have a supernatural aspect, their greed and yet subtly different. Many troupes play in a version of

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 PRIMER
their hometown, featuring the same familiar streets
they walk in their real lives. In the game, underneath
Questions Answered
that familiar façade there are supernatural forces at
play, giving a sinister cast to the seemingly familiar. Who Are the Garou?
To play, you don’t need to learn the geography of a Not everyone can be a werewolf. As near as the Garou
fantasy or a science-fiction world — knowing your figure it, who’s going to emerge as Garou is already
own world is enough. decided by the time they’re born, even though the First
0 Member of a pack: Werewolves don’t fight alone. Change doesn’t happen until after maturity.
When you’re a werewolf, you’re part of a pack. Your As creatures partially of spirit and partially of flesh,
pack belongs to a sept. There’s always a group you Garou often find themselves at odds with creatures
belong to, and they have your back. There may be connatural to one of those realms or the other. Part
disagreements and conflicts within the pack, but it is human, part wolf, but not wholly either, Garou are at
still the home all werewolves return to, a found family once feared and even reviled by both wolves and humans.
of their own creation. No surprise, then, that Garou gather in the chosen
families of tribes, local septs that protect sacred places
0 The spiritual is tangible: Werewolves see beyond the
called caerns, and packs. Renown is especially important
ordinary limits of the world into a realm of spirits. They to the Garou in this social context; it represents the deeds
can chat with the spirits of animals and natural features, they’ve accomplished, the spirits’ esteem for them, and
and fight entities inhabited by forces such as despair and thus their standing among the Garou. Over the course of
pollution. They can enter the Umbra, the spirit realm, the story, werewolves thus build their own legend.
and see the soul of the world. They fight to restore The Garou believe Gaia, the mother-spirit of the
balance to these spiritual forces, and their powers have world, created them to be the world’s protectors. To
been granted to them as Gifts by the spirits. aid in this sacred task, they can shapeshift between five
0 Horror and tragedy: The fight to stave off the forms: the human homid, the towering primal-human
Apocalypse has been all but lost. Werewolves fail. glabro, the nightmarish war-form crinos, the primal-wolf
Their teeth and claws cannot solve every problem. hispo, and the wolf lupus.
They fight each other when they should be fighting Driven by Rage, however, the Garou became too
the enemy. They sacrifice themselves so that others aggressive in dealing with humanity, resulting in a reign
might live. All this makes for gripping stories of the of terror known as the Impergium. Centuries of being
last generation of werewolves who can still make a prey to terrifying predators, though now long past, left
difference against an overwhelming enemy. After lasting scars on humankind’s collective consciousness
all, even in the darkest despair and against the most that manifest as the Delirium — a delusion, panic, or
terrifying odds, there’s still hope. And if not hope, fugue state in human observers whenever the truth of
then Rage. Garou comes to light.

Werewolf Basics
• Werewolves have the ability to take numerous forms on a spectrum from lupine to hominid.
• Werewolves belong to multiple worlds — spirit and flesh, wolf and human — but are wholly
accepted by none.
• Werewolves are feared and mistrusted by each of the worlds to which they partially belong.
• Werewolves are creatures of Rage, forever at risk of losing control of themselves.
• Werewolves are charged with an unreliable greater purpose by Gaia, a spiritual entity who is
herself inherently unknowable.
• Werewolves consider the Wyrm — a primal force of entropy and decay — to be the chief threat to
Gaia, and much of Garou existence is spent confronting its agents, real or imagined.

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 PRIMER

Homid Glabro Crinos Hispo LUPUS

As if discovering that one is a werewolf isn’t enough, Tenets of the Litany
the complications of being Garou don’t stop there. So 0 Combat the Wyrm Wherever It Dwells and
much of what shapes Garou society is the reality of being Whenever It Thrives
forever at war. And the war itself is complicated, waged
0 Respect the Territory of Another
against a spiritual force that the rest of the world cannot
or will not see, as the Wyrm is an insidious enemy. 0 Accept an Honorable Surrender
This generation of Garou dwells in the midst of 0 Submit to Those of Higher Station
Apocalypse. It’s too late to avert the end, as Gaia lies 0 Respect Those of Lower Station, for All
dying. That’s no cause for fatalism, however, as Garou Are of Gaia
fight to take back what has been lost. Take back lost
0 The First Share of the Kill for Greatest
places of power, repair the blights in the spirit world, and in Station
rip out the goddamn throats of death merchants who
profiteer off the world’s misery. 0 Eat Not the Flesh of Humans
Otherwise, there will be no tomorrow. 0 The Veil Shall Not Be Lifted
0 The Leader May Be Challenged at Any
What are the Auspices? Time During Peace

Luna imparts an auspice on a Garou at their First 0 The Leader May Not Be Challenged During
Wartime
Change. A werewolf’s auspice may be reflected in their
personality, influences the role they play in the pack, and 0 Take No Action That Causes a Caern to Be
determines which Gifts they may use. Violated

Ragabash Theurge
Changed under the new moon, the ragabash are the Changed under the crescent moon, the theurges are the
tricksters of Garou society and given the greatest latitude mystics of Garou society with great aptitude for interact-
to challenge traditions. ing with spirits.
Ragabash may be capricious or jovial, pointing out Theurges may be eerie or sage or both. Their mastery
foibles with jocularity, or they may be cunning and of the spirit world may be time-tested and traditional, or
cynical. They may pull a practical joke or disrespect an it may be experimental, even conversational. They may
opponent with clever wordplay — so long as someone affect strange accessories, or beguile spirits with subtle
looks foolish or the conventional wisdom is questioned. and esoteric movements of the body.
In play Ragabash might expect to trick a stubborn In play Theurges might expect to summon a reluctant
opponent, misdirect an unsuspecting conspirator, mock a jaggling, invoke ancient pacts, placate elders with their
renowned werewolf, and sneak past a sentry. service, and even bind gafflings.

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 PRIMER
Philodox What Are the Tribes?
Changed under the half-moon, the philodoxes are the
A tribe is a community of werewolves sharing a similar
judges and arbiters of Garou society. They mediate
purpose or mindset. Tribes are a spiritual alignment, as
conflict by interpreting traditions, and know the letter of
tribes are pledged by finding a Patron Spirit and declar-
the Litany.
ing fidelity to them. This is a relationship: the Garou
Philodoxes may be gentle or stentorian, seeking
promises to heed the Patron Spirit’s values — instilling
out all the facts or austerely committed to rules over
the werewolf with a beneficial Favor and reproachful
circumstances. Some offer insights inspired by legend
Ban — and the Patron Spirit thus accepts the Garou.
and lore; others formulate plans that change as new
Furthermore, the werewolf is effectively sworn to the
information reveals itself.
other members of the tribe though, in reality, tribes are
Philodoxes might evaluate secrets an ally has
often hotbeds of rivalry. Tribes can have some heredity to
“discovered,” interpret the strange behavior of a
them, such as with a relative passing along the lessons of
packmate, punish a transgressor at a moot, and judge the
their Patron Spirit or acting as a current Mentor.
virtues of a raid.

Galliard Black Furies

The Black Furies bestow paramount importance on
Changed under the gibbous moon, the galliards are the
justice at any cost, and are renowned for circumventing or
storytellers and lore-keepers of the Garou. They maintain
shattering obstacles, especially for those who find them-
the oral record of werewolves and uphold the spirit of the
selves disadvantaged by others. Even among Garou, the
Litany.
Black Furies have a reputation for escalation.
Galliards may be rambunctious spotlight-stealers or
The patron spirit of the Black Furies is Gorgon, who was
subdued chroniclers. They may aggrandize their pack’s
herself treated unjustly by an even more powerful spirit.
exploits, or recite every honest detail. Some rejoice in the
Black Furies might liberate victims, overcome the
performance of the legend itself, from poems to songs to
media’s biases, dismantle a chemical plant, and demolish a
wild ribaldry; others spin gripping yarns of context and
tainted caern.
sociological understanding.
Galliards might regale other werewolves with a fable or
legend, hype a packmate on the rise, unite the Garou with
Bone Gnawers
a dirge, or bluster their way past a sentry. The Bone Gnawers seek to discover the obscured in all its
forms. They are adept at hiding in plain sight, and often
Ahroun exist amid people of lower socioeconomic status, coun-
tercultures, or castoffs who go unseen by society.
Changed under the full moon, the ahrouns are the fero-
Their patron spirit is Rat, who is often present but unseen,
cious warriors of Garou society. They are looked at for
and sometimes unwelcome when his presence is known.
leadership in times of war, and given the belligerence of
Bone Gnawers might infiltrate an area, pilfer a
many septs, this often means “until further notice.”
journalist’s laptop, eavesdrop on cops, witness an illicit
Ahrouns wreck shit and tear out throats. They may
deal, and surmise how they’re all related.
be frenzied whirlwinds of fang and claw, or methodical
predators inflicting terror with tactical precision.
Packmates might find their fearlessness inspiring, or
Children of Gaia
resent them as reckless gorehounds. The Children of Gaia endeavor to understand the myster-
Ahroun might expect to fight, attack, destroy, and ies of Gaia. A Child of Gaia is challenged by nothing so
charge into a fray. much as a conundrum to investigate or a wound to heal,
literal or figurative, and they are especially drawn to the
esoteric Umbra.
Their patron spirit is Unicorn, herself a mystery and a
wonder to the modern world.
Children of Gaia might discover legendary artifacts,
discern the nature of a trickster-spirit, heal injuries, or
puzzle out the solution to an esoteric quandary.

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 PRIMER
Galestalkers Red Talons
The Galestalkers are tireless and unparalleled trackers The Red Talons include many Garou whose First
who never lose awareness of their prey, regardless of Change happened among wolves. They give a voice to those
whether it hails from the Spirit Wilds or the physical who lack words, including animals and especially wolves,
world. They go to great lengths to bring back what they and pull down human constructs that defile Gaia.
have committed to hunt. Griffin is their Patron Spirit, standing guard against
North Wind itself is their Patron Spirit, with its the Weaver’s encroachment and never prioritizing human
boundless power, great endurance, patience, and ability interests over those of animals.
to rouse the elements. Red Talons ruin polluting factories, ward places of
Galestalkers might track their prey, ambush the foe by Gaia, reduce dependency on human inventions, and
predicting its path, or pursue and harry the prey doggedly. cull or even purge populations of creatures (including
humans) that imbalance nature.
Ghost Council
The werewolves of the Ghost Council — or “Ghosts,” Shadow Lords
individually — are great seekers of mystery, and regarded Dominance and submission constitute the Shadow Lord
as secretive by more straightforward Garou. To the Ghost creed. Those who demonstrate strength deserve to dom-
Council both the destination and the path might be the inate, while the weak must submit. They count among
objective; what matters is that the seeker understands their number some of the great strategists and warlords of
why they have undertaken a journey. Garou legend, and value shrewd intuition and calculat-
Their Patron Spirit is Horned Serpent, no stranger to ing minds.
dark places and hidden truths. Thunder, their Patron Spirit, drives the meek into
Ghost Council werewolves might travel the Umbra, their dens and announces the arrival of vengeful storms.
solve riddles, subvert an enemy’s tools, and unearth secrets. A Shadow Lord might envision detailed plans, plan
the downfall of enemies, scheme to discover an enemy’s
Glass Walkers weakness, and intimidate others.
The Glass Walkers are proficient with applied science, giv-
en their knack for solving problems with technology, or Silent Striders
rather the spirits of technology. They are skilled at making The Silent Striders were cursed by a powerful spirit,
machines work by coaxing the spirits inhabiting them malignant and misunderstood, and as a result often
into performing exceptionally. find sympathetic peoples and familiar practices among
Their Patron Spirit is Spider, whose carefully ever-moving or dispersed cultures. They assume a role as
constructed webs echo in the tribe’s drive to make things travelers, messengers, and news-bearers among the Garou.
of lasting duration and effectiveness. Owl is the Patron Spirit of the Silent Striders, and
Glass Walkers might research blueprints before a raid, encourages his followers to approach all matters on their
build a caern security system, and hack or repurpose own terms.
enemy technology. Silent Striders might journey great distances, scout enemy
territory, deliver a message, or sabotage future antagonists.
Hart Wardens
The Hart Wardens are stewards of nature, whether hallow- Silver Fangs
ing pristine “undiscovered” places in the world or culti- The Silver Fangs, as close to a noble lineage as Garou cul-
vating a farm or orchard. They have one foot each in the ture produces, claimed the mantle of leadership long ago.
modern world and a world of their own mythmaking, and Theirs is a legacy of aristocracy, decisiveness, and unifica-
any of their gatherings soon turn to celebrations of history. tion in dire circumstances.
Their Patron Spirit is Stag, who introduced all the Their Patron Spirit is Falcon, whose keen sight and noble
Garou to the ways of nature. bearing inspires the Silver Fangs to pursue their goals, and to
Hart Wardens might reclaim and protect nature from inspire others to follow them in that enterprise.
polluters, or cultivate and nurture a caern. Silver Fangs might motivate their pack, lead and rally
them into battle, and inspire them to greatness.

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 PRIMER
challenge insurmountable. Smoldering Rage risks
turning any mundane task into a scene of destruction,
and any outburst to a massacre that puts co-workers,
friends, and family at jeopardy.
Rage is even more acutely felt in crinos form, where
being denied a kill or losing control sets the Garou on a
path towards frenzy. While “ordinary” Rage can make
Garou lash out in the moment, frenzy is a complete,
extended loss of control as the werewolf unleashes their
full fury on everything around them. A Garou in frenzy
goes mercilessly on the attack with no regard for their
own — or anyone else’s — safety.

What are Harano and Hauglosk?

The Garou have a seemingly impossible task before
them, whether they believe their duty is bringing Gaia
back from the brink of death, correcting the imbalance
of the cosmological Triat, or the outright destruction
of the Wyrm. They are intensely passionate creatures,
even beyond the violent expressions of bloody Rage that
characterize them, and must balance this calling with
life-altering changes. It’s no surprise, then, to discover
that the emotional states of Garou are often affected by
the enormity of what lies before them.
0 As the werewolf experiences setbacks, and the
apparent futility of the Apocalypse becomes
apparent, they slide toward harano, a state where
they succumb to hopelessness and give up on serving
Gaia. Harano can set upon even the most confident
of Garou, eroding their confidence and emptying
What is Rage? whatever hard won victories that might have been.
Rage forever roils in the hearts and souls of Garou. Rage Harano is most common among werewolves who
is the werewolf’s fury made manifest; the raw, destruc- bear leadership roles, but it can seize any Garou by
tive force of being Garou, at once a blessing and a curse. making them doubt the value of their contribution.
It becomes manifest in their bodies and allows them to 0 Hauglosk is the dread state of a werewolf who has lost
perform terrifying acts of brutality. This Rage makes all compassion and mercy to the fanaticism of their
Garou ideally suited to fuck shit up in individual battles cause. Hauglosk is a state of extreme righteousness.
to stop the exploitation of Gaia, yet leaves them out of A Garou in a state of hauglosk believes that their
their depth when it comes to preventing or reversing the way is the only way. So impassioned by the need to
results of exploitation already in motion. do something, anything at all, they undertake their
Their Rage incited, Garou despise the fact that course without regard for its consequences. Hauglosk
rampant, unmoderated consumption feeds the Wyrm, is a long-term, ongoing state, and many Garou never
forcing the world into an ever-greater despair, driving come out of it.
humans to seek more comfort via consumption, sending
the Triat of Wyld, Weaver, and Wyrm into a downward
spiral towards the Apocalypse.
Although many burgeoning werewolves attempt
a “normal” life after the First Change, most find the

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 PRIMER
What are Gifts and Rites? What is the Umbra?
0 Gifts represent abilities and powers that a werewolf The Umbra is a spiritual counterpart to physical reality; a
can call upon beyond their “regular” werewolf vast reservoir of emotion, legend, and memory. It is an
abilities. A Gift and its effects are the expression of inscrutable place that cannot be definitively known or
a pact between a werewolf and a spirit. Spirits grant mapped. Garou may enter the Umbra to pursue malig-
and enact all Gifts, and they might bestow Gifts nant spirits, seek the patronage of a mighty spirit, or coax
based on tribe, auspice, or Renown in addition to the a spirit into protecting their caern. This is where Gaia’s
Native Gifts available to all Garou. Many Gifts are voice may be heard most clearly, but that communica-
only accessible in glabro, crinos, or hispo forms. tion has been disrupted by Gaia’s Howl, a multisensory
0 Each Gift is different, and even the same Gift appears expression of her pain.
different when employed by different Garou. Some The Umbra is a place of great power, and the Garou
involve a whispered prayer, others the touching of have access to its spaces, Gifts, and wonders. It is also a
a brand signifying the spiritual pact, and yet others place of terrifying unknowableness, and even the half-
begin with a chilling howl. Garou usually recognize spirit Garou are effectively interlopers in a strange world.
that a Gift is being used, even if its nature isn’t Though werewolves are familiar with the Umbra, they
immediately obvious. Humans are less likely to notice shouldn’t trust the Umbra implicitly.
Gifts’ use and, if they do, are prone to mistake the act 0 The Shadow Next Door: The area of the
as a religious or cultural expression. Umbra most proximate to the physical
world has the greatest resemblance to
0 Garou are creatures of volatile Rage, and their its physical counterpart. It’s the most
gatherings are fraught with tension. Rites constitute frequent spiritual destination of Garou,
the glue that bonds the Garou together. Every aspect and it provides their first taste of the
wonders that lie beyond reality.
of werewolf social life and psychology can and often
does take on a ritualized nature, as masters of various 0 Stranger Depths: Three-dimensional space
Rites guide their fellows in the complex forms of and even the concept of time distort as
interaction that help Garou from different packs one moves “deeper” into the Umbra. Things
get weird fast in the Spirit Wilds as one
and septs relate. Werewolves observe Rites for just moves away from cosmological proximity to
about everything. Rites are taught from one Garou the physical world.
to another, allowing packs and septs the freedom
to develop their own unique variants. Each of the
tribes — and many an individual pack — has its own
versions of common Rites.

10

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 PRIMER
Keys to the Umbra What are Spirits?
• There is no one, true way to understand Spirits are the thinking, feeling consciousness of places,
the Umbra — the Umbra is itself at once a individuals, animals, and esoteric concepts. The spirit of
perception and a way of perceiving, and not a river might run through the Umbral reflection of that
inherently true. river, while the spirit of water itself courses through the
• Even the Garou themselves don’t agree on same ephemeral river. Every spirit has a purpose, which it
what things perceived within the Umbra mean, attends, even if it’s inscrutable to the Garou. How a Ga-
but know that it is always in part shaped by its rou interprets a spirit may by shaped by their own culture.
perceiver. Spirits observe a hierarchy evolved from a complicated
interaction of might, duty, and obligation.
• The Umbra cannot be mapped, but must be
deciphered anew each time one ventures into it,
changing both due to influence of the physical What is the Wyrm?
world and from its own strange currents. The Wyrm is a metaphysical force benefiting from the
works of the Garou’s most brutal and insidious enemies.
Frequently, when Gaia’s champions fight the unjust, they
find the Wyrm’s malignant presence. The Wyrm thrives
All Garou possess the ability to travel between the two
where its servants and champions capitalize on the ruin of
worlds by stepping sideways. This knowledge is not
the world.
inherent, and must be learned from another Garou or
spirit. The Gauntlet, variously described as anything
from a metaphysical force to a tangible membrane,
The Triat
separates the physical world from the spirit world. The The Wyrm is a member of the Triat, an ecology of
Gauntlet has become rigid and impermeable in some cosmological, spiritual forces that have neither will
places. Crossing may require great personal and spiritual themselves nor are spirits in the traditional sense.
0 The Wyld: Creation, change, and chaos
sacrifice, ritual behavior, or the participation of one’s
entire pack. Caerns, holy places to werewolves where 0 The Weaver: Order, structure, and stasis
the physical and spirit world are in closer accord, make 0 The Wyrm: Consumption, decay, and entropy
crossing easier.
Traversing the Umbra is an exercise in mystery and Once in balance, the Triat is malfunctioning with the
conviction. In many spirit-spaces, one’s sense of place Wyrm ascendant. Garou frequently find spirits acting to
is effectively one-to-one with the physical world. The the letter of their original purpose, despite the fact that
Umbra, however, isn’t built to be traversed, step-by-step, the intent of their governing forces have changed.
in the manner of the material world. 0 Banes are spirits in service to the
Wyrm. Each reflects something of the
Wyrm-aspect they serve, their form
twisted to exult and embody their
Traveling the Umbra purpose. Although stereotyped as
brutish, ugly, and warped, their forms
• Navigation by analogy is more reliable than
can be as varied as any other spirit’s.
navigation by Umbral geography. Banes are just as likely to engender
• Spirits know the regions in which they pity or sympathy as they are to seduce
or mercilessly maul. Decay, violence,
dwell but often demand payment for their illness, and hate are just a few of
assistance. the ideals that have individual Wyrm-
spirits associated with them.
• Travelers often leave spirit-trails as they move
through the spirit world, which trained Garou 0 Fomori are humans or other hosts who
and local spirits can follow. have been possessed by a Bane for an
extended period. As tragic as they are
dangerous, fomori seldom agree to the
fate to which their Bane has twisted
them. Many fomori lose their will and

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 PRIMER
sense of self, but the most dangerous,
and most unfortunate, know exactly what Who are the Cult of Fenris?
they have become but either cannot or The Cult of Fenris was once a facet of a greater tribe
will not do anything about it. Still,
pledged to Wolf, but the Cult raised its collective voices
the host invites the Bane in, wittingly
or unwittingly. louder, and those pledged to Wolf either joined them or
found membership among the other tribes. The Cult
Prolonged Bane possession warps the body into a mirror
of Fenris called for one final, glorious charge into the
of the spirit within. Often this change is subtle, but
Wyrm’s maw to avert the Apocalypse. The other tribes
observable, as with a fomor possessed by a Bane of wrath,
called out their rally as suicide, whereupon the Cult of
who flushes with anger and violent tension. Or it might
Fenris decided that all Garou had fallen, and only the
be all but invisible, as with a fomor who looks as if they’d
Cult’s pure vision could serve Gaia. The Cult abandoned
merely been sleep deprived, or even made more attractive
the tribes and pledged their enmity.
by the possession of a Bane of temptation. In desperate
The tribe’s outlook is one of non-falsifiable
times, or when they know they’ve been discovered by
orthodoxy — impurity is everywhere and everything
Garou, fomori may drop any attempt at subtlety and
is the Wyrm’s fault, and to disagree is proof of one’s
reveal a body-horror bristling with foul weaponry to use
own collusion with the Wyrm. Many Garou wonder
against their foes.
if the Cult of Fenris has been misled into hauglosk by
pernicious leaders, tricked into serving the Wyrm’s ends
What is the Pentex Group? by blindly raging against it in everything they see.
Of all the enemies the Garou face, perhaps the most Garou often encounter the rogue Cult as ravaging
insidious is the Pentex Group, a holding company whose monsters engaged in some act of ruinous destruction,
upper echelons have aligned themselves with powerful with little regard for whom or what else might be
spirits in service to the Wyrm. The Pentex Group doesn’t harmed in the process. The scariest part is that other
make anything. It is profit-seeking, increasing its wealth Garou and Cult of Fenris packs might actually find
through exploitation and then using that wealth to fund themselves opposing a common enemy against agents of
further exploitation. Pentex is privately owned, neither Triatic imbalance and the Wyrm. Even more dangerous
listed on any public stock exchanges, nor beholden to are entire packs of the Cult — “tribally pure,” with no
even basic regulation. It operates through an ever-chang- members of other tribes — that seek to take caerns away
ing portfolio of unremarkable front companies. from other “traitorous” werewolves.
Pentex Group’s methods are corporate and subtle,
thriving in the resignation that people have been bullied Who are the Black Spiral Dancers
into accepting as the way of the world. Furthermore,
Black Spiral Dancers are werewolves who forsook their
the vast majority of its operations are absolutely and
duty to Gaia and threw in with the Wyrm. They believe
unremarkably mundane. Dealing with Pentex Group
the Apocalypse is over, the Garou lost, and Gaia is dead.
is a war the Garou weren’t made to fight but one this
The Wyrm has done its duty, and all that’s left is for
generation of werewolves must wage.
the remains to decay. Black Spiral Dancers are perverse
Pentex Group arms itself with lawyers and cash and
accelerationists trying to hasten the End of It All, so that
the letter of the law. However, it does have its spiritual
the cosmological cycle can renew. Those Garou still loyal
weapons. Pentex Group’s Board of Directors has pledged
to Gaia are obstacles preventing the wheel from turn-
the company itself to its Patron Spirit Fly, who lays her
ing — and thus must be destroyed.
eggs in carrion and carcasses, just as Pentex uses Gaia’s
Once, the tribe was known as the White Howlers,
dying body to further its foul agendas. Fly grants Rites
who plunged into what they believed to be the lair of the
and Gifts to the Board and others initiated into her
Wyrm hoping to rend the Triatic beast itself. Instead,
mysteries. Banes also grant favors to Pentex loyalists,
they found themselves in a spiritual labyrinth, taunted by
pursuing their own malignant motives that align with
entropic spiral mysteries. They followed an avatar of the
the company’s exploitative extremes. They find frequent
Patron Spirit Bat to exit the maze, but the damage had
hosts to possess — creating fomori — under Pentex’s
been done. The Black Labyrinth and the White Howlers’
spiritually compromised umbrella.
uncontrollable Rage had shattered them.

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 PRIMER
So died the White Howlers, and the Black Spiral
Dancers emerged in their stead: servants of ruin and
Health and Willpower
followers of Bat. Many Black Spiral Dancers also find
themselves working with the servants of Fly, on those
Superficial Health Damage
occasions when their interests overlap with those of 0 Equals margin of success in attack contests, halved
various Pentex fronts. and rounded up
The Black Spiral Dancers are Wyrm-twisted 0 Restored via Rage Checks - 1 per check, or 2 per
aberrations. Their bodies have been tortured into shapes check if in crinos
resembling bats, feral dogs, rats, and things unspeakable,
as much as they resemble wolves. Even when they change Aggravated Health Damage
shape, those shapes are hideous and unnatural.
0 Caused by silver, fire, or exceeding your Health
tracker with Superficial damage
How Does the Game Work? 0 Restore 1 for 2 Rage checks, convert to Superficial
with Intelligence + Medicine roll.

Preparing Your Dice Superficial Willpower Damage

0 Add your relevant Attribute + Skill.
0 Often caused by spending Willpower (1 point spent =
0 Take that number of d10s in one color. 1 damage)
0 Replace dice equal to your Rage with Rage dice of 0 At the start of session, restore amount equal to
another color. Composure or Resolve (pick higher).

Making the Test Aggravated Willpower Damage

0 Fail: 1–5 on a d10 0 Caused by exceeding your Willpower tracker with
Superficial damage and rare in-game occurrences
0 Success: 6–9 on a d10
0 At the end of session, restore 1 if you acted according
0 Success: 10 on a d10 (+2 successes for each pair of 10’s to your tribe’s Renown or spent a scene with
rolled) Touchstone.
0 Pair of Brutal Results (1 or 2 on a Rage die): If aim
was to damage/injure: +4 successes. Else: failure.
You succeed if you roll a number of total successes
Rage Check (1d10)
equal or greater to the Difficulty. The Storyteller (or your Failure (0–5): Lose 1 Rage
opponent’s test) dictates the Difficulty. Success (6–10): No Rage lost
Rage 0: Can’t use Rites, Gifts, and supernatural forms
Gain Rage over 5: Suffer Superficial Willpower damage
Common Tests
Alertness: Wits + Awareness Gaining Rage
Dodging: Dexterity + Athletics 0 Howling at the moon
Wilderness scouting: Intelligence + Survival
0 Provocation, harm, humiliation
Public speech: Charisma + Persuasion
Punching: Strength + Brawl 0 Effect of some rites and Gifts
Reading emotions: Wits + Insight
Sneaking: Dexterity + Stealth Losing/spending Rage
0 Regeneration
0 Shapeshifting
0 Using Gifts/effect of some Gifts ■

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 PRIMER
Preparing Your Dice

Making the Test

Rage Check (d10)

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 PRIMER
Frenzy
0 Enter Frenzy: If in crinos: didn’t kill anything in last Sample Pack: Wisdom’s ’ Fury

A
turn and fail to spend a point of Willpower pack with history, Wisdom’s Fury
0 In Frenzy: Ignore Health-based Impairments, +3 has been active at the local university and its
bonus to resist mental abilities, cannot use Gifts nor campus area for several generations of Garou. The
Willpower, cannot perform defensive acts outside of name of the pack comes from the idea that sometimes
regeneration those with knowledge and insight end up sequestered
and removed from the actual work of trying to make
0 Leaving Frenzy: Willpower test at Difficulty 2 when
things better. According to the pack’s beliefs, those
fight is over, or reaching Rage 0. Leaving frenzy
with wisdom cannot hide in their libraries and study
automatically sets Rage to 0
rooms but must put themselves into the front line of
the fight for Gaia. Wisdom invites understanding, and
Forms understanding leads to fury.
The pack has been designed to work with any large
Homid university with a range of departments. The easiest choice
is to adapt it to your hometown university or the closest
0 Can’t regenerate nor use most Gifts
university town. Universities attract people far and wide,
0 No extra damage from silver from home and abroad, so it makes sense for there to be a
wide range of people from various backgrounds.
Glabro This particular university is known for ecological
0 Can regenerate and use most Gifts research, as well as the work put into preserving local and
Indigenous knowledge. For the Garou of the Wisdom’s
0 2-dice bonus to Physical tests
Fury pack, there’s also a tradition of passing on and
teaching the shadow knowledge of being a werewolf to
Crinos each new generation of Kin.
0 Superior regeneration, some Gift use Note that if you’re going for a different experience,
0 4-dice bonus to Physical tests you can also retool the characters for a college or high
school setting.
0 4 bonus Health levels
0 +3 damage claws
Penelope “Fuck ‘em Up” Fox
0 +1 Aggravated damage bite Penelope is a university teacher with a talent for causing
0 Kill something each turn or spend 1 Willpower, or trouble. Her uncompromising “Feminism in Myth and
enter Frenzy Lore” course has as many stalwart defenders as it has
0 Leaving crinos sets Rage to 1 detractors calling it “extreme” and “woke.” Her human
resources sheet is miles long, mostly owing to Penelope
punching other professors in the face for calling her a
Hispo raging bitch. Then there was that time the local police
0 Can regenerate and use most Gifts station burned down after one of Penelope’s infamous
0 +2 bonus to non-Stealth Physical tests activist speeches. Penelope gets away with it — so
far — because she is really, genuinely charismatic and has a
0 +1 Aggravated damage bite
knack for finding like-minded people in the right places.
Her natural charisma makes Penelope a staple speaker at
Lupus activist rallies. What began as a focus on feminist liberation
0 Can’t regenerate nor use most Gifts (through any means) has since grown to a deeper realization
0 No extra damage from silver that oppression is a web—either all marginalized people are
liberated, or none of them can truly be free. This realization
0 Situationally: +2 dice to Survival/Stealth
has also made her even more uncompromising, setting

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 PRIMER
Penelope on a path of radicalization that might make her of senior university administrator. Or perhaps she’s
university position untenable. just being prudent, as the position is high enough to
Penelope’s outspoken activism also drew the attention put her thumb on the scale when needed but doesn’t
of Jez, a gaffling trying to lead Penelope and the pack draw attention to her. Either way, she placed herself in
to a not yet awakened caern on campus. Ironically, charge of alumni outreach, carefully building a network
despite her education and passion, Penelope is out of of allies in the war for Gaia and enemies who never
her depth dealing with this sacred task. She lacks the suspect that Marion keeps close tabs on them. Ironically,
innate etiquette to facilitate dealing with spirits, and is Marion’s carefully stacked building blocks are becoming
completely unsure how one awakens a caern. Still, this increasingly unsettled as the pack’s visible presence and
is the task she was given, so this is the task — one way or direct activism increases.
another — she will do. Marion met her long-time girlfriend Julianna in
college, before her First Change, and the relationship
Actions has gotten significantly more complicated as Julianna
These are things you can do, but aren’t required to do: is completely unaware that Garou even exist. Making
0 Rile the crowd, even if it makes things worse. matters worse, Julianna herself is a rising financial expert
0 Protect marginalized communities.
and currently being scouted by City Group Investments,
a still unidentified Pentex front company. Marion’s
0 Identify “The Powers That Be” and fuck up their shit. carefully crafted life is teetering on a knife’s edge, and
Tribe: Black Furies when it falls, mere diazepam won’t be enough to soothe
Auspice: Galliard her nerves.
Patron: Gorgon
Touchstone: Aisha Vahidi, a fellow activist close to Actions
Penelope’s heart These are things you can do, but aren’t required to do:
Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; 0 Identify whoever’s in charge. Befriend them.
Charisma 4, Manipulation 3, Composure 2; Intelligence 0 Value long-term goals over short-term victories.
3, Wits 3, Resolve 2
Secondary Attributes: Health 5, Willpower 4 0 Excel in all your chosen pursuits.
Skills: Academics 3, Athletics 2, Awareness 1, Brawl 2, Tribe: Shadow Lords
Insight 3, Intimidation 3, Investigation 2, Leadership 2, Auspice: Philodox
Occult 2, Performance (rallying cry) 4 Patron: Thunder
Renown: Glory 2, Honor 0, Wisdom 1 Touchstone: Julianna Monroe, Marion’s best friend
Gifts: Curse of Aeolus, Hare’s Leap, Song of Rage and fiancé
Rites: Rite of Rage Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2;
Advantages: Day Job (university lecturer, recently put on Charisma 1, Manipulation 3, Composure 3; Intelligence
probation) 2, Contacts (fellow mythologist) 1, Resources 2, Wits 3, Resolve 4
2, Spirit Pact 2 Secondary Attributes: Health 5, Willpower 7
Flaws: Infamy (2) Skills: Academics 2, Brawl 2, Driving 2, Etiquette
3, Insight 3, Investigation 2, Leadership 1, Occult 2,
Marion “The Baroness” Hawthorn Politics 4, Subterfuge 3
Renown: Glory 2, Honor 1, Wisdom 0
Despite her nickname, Marion Hawthorn is not
Gifts: Ancestral Conviction, Cat’s Feet, Fatal Flaw
descended from royalty, but her family has always put
Rites: Rite of Shadow Passage
pressure on her to excel whether it was getting the lead
Advantages: Day Job (university administrator) 2,
in the ballet performance or graduating top of her class.
Contacts (Julianna Monroe) 2, Resources 3
The result is a werewolf who is highly driven, ambitious,
Flaws: Addiction (diazepam) 1, Folkloric Tell (yellow
and riddled with anxiety.
eyes, which she hides behind contacts unless home or
Perhaps in an act of rebellion against expectations,
among Garou)
Marion has carefully avoided rising above the position

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 PRIMER
Raul “Big Mountain” Bock Ashley “The Seeker” Taylor Smith
Working as a janitor at the university, Raul is widely Ashley should have been a mother at seventeen. It wasn’t
liked among the students because he’s big, hairy and ideal, but she wanted to keep the baby, was engaged to
caring. There’s a perception that once he’s present, bad the father, and had the support of her parents. She’d even
things won’t happen. This is largely true, but the story just managed to graduate high school before the baby
is somewhat complicated by the fact that just a couple of was supposed to arrive. Her water broke early while on
years ago Raul was a perfectly ordinary wolf. a road trip with her parents and fiancé, however, which
Raul’s misfortune was to have been captured by triggered her First Change. It was two days before the
hunters and sold to the conceited failson of a wealthy search party found her in the woods.
lawyer as an exotic pet. Having to live in an urban She threw herself into the world of the Garou as an
apartment stressed him so badly he experienced his First escape from the mundane and her fractured relationships.
Change in the midst of a cocaine-fueled house party. His While she loves her family and ex from a distance, she
only memories of that experience are of fear, Rage, and doesn’t want to endanger them further. She finally let
floors slippery with human viscera. herself be coaxed into seeking university admission by
Things could have gone a lot worse for Raul if he Penelope. The guise of a late-blooming student helped
hadn’t been found by the Garou who now make up his keep her mind off of personal relationships.
pack. They helped him figure out a rudimentary human Ashley frequently finds herself clashing with the
identity and even helped him find a job. As far as Raul Mothers of Freedom group, which advocates a version
understands, the university is a place where human cubs of motherhood where the child has no autonomy.
are taught the complicated human things they need to Meanwhile, Ashley had several months to imagine
survive in a very confusing world. Recently, he’s become the kind of mother she would be — and this isn’t it.
more curious about what these things are. To be fair, Ashley’s feelings towards pregnancy and
motherhood are complicated. She knows the miscarriage
Actions wasn’t her fault, but she still feels guilty. Once she works
These are things you can do, but aren’t required to do: through all that and the world is a better place, Ashley
0 Charge into the midst of your enemies with a howl of Rage. wants to be a mom again.
0 Take care of cubs — human, wolf, or otherwise. Give
them food if they seem hungry.
Actions
These are things you can do, but aren’t required to do:
0 Let somebody else do the thinking. 0 Protect your packmates and loved ones.
Tribe: Red Talon 0 Work hard at college.
Auspice: Ahroun
Patron: Griffin 0 Create a world you want to bring a child into.
Touchstone: Malika Haddad, a student whose rent Raul Tribe: Hart Warden
has been helping with from his limited salary Auspice: Theurge
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; Patron: Stag
Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Composure 2; Intelligence Touchstone: Nicholas Hanson, estranged father of late
2, Wits 2, Resolve 2 child; Isabella Smith, younger sister; Tonya Smith, niece
Secondary Attributes: Health 7, Willpower 4 Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2;
Skills: Brawl (confined spaces) 4, Athletics 3, Stealth 3, Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Composure 4; Intelligence
Survival 3, Animal Ken 2, Insight 2, Intimidation 2, 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2
Awareness 1, Streetwise 1, Larceny 1 Secondary Attributes: Health 6, Willpower 7
Renown: Glory 1, Honor 2, Wisdom 0 Skills: Academics (archaeology) 1, Animal Ken 1,
Gifts: Staredown, Rapid Shift, Razor Claws Athletics 3, Brawl (biting) 2, Etiquette 1, Finance 1,
Rites: Rite of Dedication Insight 3, Intimidation 1, Investigation 1, Leadership
Advantages: Corroborated Day Job (janitor at the university) 3, Persuasion 2, Politics 1, Science (earth science) 2,
2, Moon-Riled 3, Contacts (a university administrator) 2 Subterfuge 2, Technology 2
Flaws: Illiterate 2 Renown: Glory 2, Honor 0, Wisdom 1

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 PRIMER
Gifts: Shadow Sense, Sacred Boundary, Penumbral Senses Secondary Attributes: Health 5, Willpower 4
Rites: Rite of Tranquility Skills: Larceny 4, Politics (environmental issues) 3,
Advantages: Mentor (neighboring Sept theurge) 1, Streetwise 3, Stealth 3, Brawl 2, Academics (law) 2,
Moon-quickened 1, Resources 1, Spirit Pact (sparrow) Survival 2, Drive 1, Craft (protest gear) 1, Investigation 1
1, Spirit Pact: Companion 2, Talisman (spirit-catcher, Renown: Glory 1, Honor 0, Wisdom 2
Weaver spirits only) 1 Gifts: Eyes of the Owl, Blissful Ignorance, Brother’s Scent
Flaws: Pact Condition 1, Enemy (Mothers of Freedom) 1 Rites: Rite of Kinseeking
Advantages: Allies (friends from Gaia First!) with
Alexandra “Swamp Rat” Pryor Effectiveness 2 and Reliability of 2, Fame (among local
eco activists) 1, Spirit Pact (a rat spirit) 2
Coming from a family of what might best be described as
Flaws: Addiction (amphetamines) 1, Stalker (a cop who
impoverished academics, Alexandra was born to the world
once arrested Alexandra) 1
of university life. Her parents have always been principled
and radical enough to get into trouble for it. Growing up,
Alexandra learned to revere Gaia (as she now understands Brayden “Stoner” Sanders
it) long before she knew anything about the Garou. She also Brayden once had major ambitions: be the first in his
learned to do a bit of dumpster diving when the necessity family to get a degree, get out of his small hometown, make
arose, because sometimes sticking to their principles meant a comfortable life. It all went to shit with his First Change.
that her father got fired from his university position, and her Pledge week culminated in “the bear incident”, which
mother’s researcher salary wasn’t enough. killed over a dozen students. Only Brayden and his future
Alexandra’s First Change occurred while she was being frat brother Jake survived the massacre. Brayden quickly
hauled away from a protest by the cops. She changed failed all his classes and dropped out. It was three more
and fled, or maybe a cop or two died, hard to say. She hellish months before he was discovered by other Garou.
doesn’t believe in killing humans and the memories of Having made peace with his life, Brayden largely
that experience trouble her. Entering the world of the remains in Garou society except for doing odd jobs and
Garou was akin to a spiritual experience. She felt that supply runs in the city. When he does stay with humans,
everything she had been taught to believe was true, not it’s in the largely empty frat house with his friend Jake, or
metaphorically but literally. Gaia is everywhere. his on-again, off-again boyfriend Simo.
A law student, Alexandra also volunteers for the radical His stoner reputation belies a keen intellect, as he often
ecological organization Gaia First! She also volunteers to knows much more than he lets on. When roused to act,
find Kin for her sept and plans operations for her Garou he often leaves his packmates in awe (or fear). Among the
pack. She doesn’t get a lot of sleep, but her sense of humor Garou he’s largely overlooked, which is how he likes it.
helps keep things on an even keel. Sometimes, when there’s
a chance to humiliate the enemy, she can get a little mean. Actions
These are things you can do, but aren’t required to do:
Actions 0 Pay close attention to everything that’s going on.
These are things you can do, but aren’t required to do: 0 Reveal what you’ve noticed when it benefits you.
0 Sabotage the operations of the enemies of Gaia.
0 Let others take charge when it suits you.
0 Protect human allies.
Tribe: Shadow Lord
0 Find the comedy in any situation. Auspice: Ahroun
Tribe: Children of Gaia Patron: Thunder
Auspice: Ragabash Touchstone: Simo Abdennebi, on-again, off-again
Patron: Unicorn boyfriend; Jake Schmidt, frat brother who survived the
Touchstone: Jean-Luc Zydeco, a local director of massacre; Aunt Paula, only member of family still in touch
operations at Gaia First! Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2;
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; Charisma 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 2; Intelligence
Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Composure 1; Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 4
2, Wits 4, Resolve 3 Secondary Attributes: Health 6, Willpower 6

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 PRIMER
Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 3, Larceny 2, Stealth 3, Insight
(motives) 4, Streetwise 2, Awareness 3, Investigation 1,
The Relationship Map
Occult 1, Politics 2 Before you start play with these characters, ask your
Renown: Glory 2, Honor 0, Wisdom 1 players to fill out the Relationship Map with the
Gifts: Eyes of the Owl, Fatal Flaw, Sense Danger relationships between their characters; with Touchstones,
Rites: Rite of Binding important NPCs that keep them connected and
Advantages: Contacts (Dido the Pot Queen) 2, Looks: grounded; and other relevant Storyteller characters.
Clement Lupus 1, Looks: Beautiful 2, Resources 1, Here is a series of potential relationship ideas between
Loresheet (Black Spiral): Black Spiral Glyph the characters. The players can use these as a starting
Flaws: Infamy (among Garou for “the bear incident”) 2, point for discussion of how the relationships between
Addiction (weed and the occasional recreational drug) 1 their characters work.

RELATIONSHIP MAP
Wisdom’s Fury Pack
Penelope “Fuck’Em Up” Marion “The Baroness”
(Black Fuires Galliard) (Shadow Lord Philodox)

Raul “Big Mountain” Ashley “The Seeker”

(Red Talon Ahroun) (Hart Warden Theurge)

Alexandra “Swamp Rat” Brayden “Stoner”

(Children of Gaia Ragabash) (Shadow Lord Ahroun)

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 PRIMER
Penelope and Marion both act as mentors to Brayden has a difficult relationship with the more
Alexandra. Penelope may have known and have been committed members of the pack like Penelope and
mentored by Alexandra’s parents and feel some sense of Alexandra. On one hand, he appreciates their vision and
obligation. Marion wants to make sure that Alexandra sense of mission, but, on the other, he finds it difficult
doesn’t lose herself in Penelope’s heady “fuck shit up” to keep up with them. Because of this, he enjoys the
style of activism, but she also prepares the young Garou surprise, fear and awe that sometimes result when he
for a world where the fight against the Wyrm equally finally does explode into action.
requires knowing your paperwork.
Penelope is friends with Raul, given their matching
outlook on life: “When in doubt, throw a punch.” They
Storyteller Advice
As the players fill in the Relationship Map for the game,
might just amplify each other’s worst impulses.
pay attention to what they’re interested in. For example,
Penelope is naturally charismatic and the one with
if one character is nervous or jealous of another, you can
a personal spirit pack, so she might serve as the pack’s
introduce a Supporting Character who plays into that
de facto leader. This causes tension with Marion, who
nervousness, validating the fears of the players’ character,
would also like to be the de facto leader or, even better,
whether for good or ill.
be the real power behind the leader — but Penelope is
Similarly, see how players approach Flaws and
notoriously bad at taking advice.
Backgrounds. If a player has the Flaw Adversary and
Marion wants to be supportive of Raul. She really
particularly if they place it on the Relationship Map,
does. But he’s a wolf on campus, and she’s trying to keep
that’s an indication they wish to see it in play. Thus, you
all of them flying under the radar. His presence makes
can follow up on the Flaw during the game.
her nervous.
If you’ve made plans for the chronicle, see if those plans
Marion feels responsible for getting Brayden back on the
should be adjusted after you’ve filled out the Relationship
right track because they’re both Shadow Lords. But she also
Map. For example, you were planning to use a human
doesn’t want him to be a “better” Shadow Lord than her.
enemy who’d show up after the players’ characters have
Brayden and Raul get along and hang out, though
committed acts of violence. You notice that a player has
Raul is confused why Brayden would deliberately
an Adversary, a cop, on the Relationship Map. You can
muddle his senses with weed.
substitute your enemy with the one the player invented,
Raul, Penelope and Marion all serve as mentors to
making the player feel like their choices and actions really
Ashley. From Raul: Sit with your feelings, accept them,
matter, both in the game and during character creation.
and accept yourself. From Penelope: You deserve to be
Another topic to pay particular attention to is
angry, now let’s go break something. From Marion: Take
Touchstones. They often represent strained relationships,
your feelings, push them down, and get your life back
people the character has left behind as they start their new
together like a big girl.
lives as werewolves. In such cases, listen to how players talk
Raul is very comfortable as long as someone else is the
about their Touchstones and what kinds of things they
leader. He’s happy to support either Penelope or Marion
seem to find interesting; that way, you’ll have an idea for
but feels the world is too confusing for him to make
how to keep the Touchstones as part of the game.
decisions for everyone.
Touchstones may end up taking too much space if you
Raul finds Alexandra to be disconcerting because
try to introduce all of them during the same session. The
she’s so gleeful about the violence they inflict on their
best approach is to note which Touchstones have active
enemies. Rage is fine, but her exuberance worries Raul.
relationships with players’ characters and use those in the
Ashley relies on the other members of the pack a lot,
first sessions of the chronicle. Then later, you can bring
asking for favors but also receiving them because many of
in the Touchstones with whom players’ characters have
the others feel like she needs the help.
more strained relationships.
Ashley is happy to have Brayden in the pack because she
The Relationship Map, and the time when the players
feels she can talk to him. The others can be intimidating.
initially fill it out, is a treasure chest of ideas for the
Alexandra sometimes treats Raul as a big, cuddly pet,
Storyteller. Make use of anything the players bring up
imagining him as a symbol of what they’re trying to save:
because that’s what they’re interested in! ■
a real, wolfborn Garou. But this also sometimes makes
her ignore what he actually has to say.

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