Breeds - Birth of a Monster

Werewolves are wolf, human, and spirit melded into one. But they have to come from somewhere. A werewolf’s breed is a function of immediate parentage, never perfectly balanced, always slightly askew. Each Garou’s breed is determined by his or her mother’s natural form. Homids are born to human or homid Garou mothers; lupus are born to wolves or lupus Garou. Only metis, the children of Garou-Garou pairings, are born in a different breed form than their mother’s. The father still contributes some genetics to the child, but affects breed only if he’s a werewolf as well. A female lupus Garou who takes on human form and mates with a human man will bear wolf cubs or, perhaps, a lupus cub or two.

Female werewolves who bear offspring always wear their breed form when giving birth. The only exceptions to this rule are those pregnant with metis; they give birth in Crinos for the sake of survival. Werewolves can be born without a werewolf parent as well. Some come from Kinfolk lines with no immediate Garou parentage. Every so often, a werewolf child is born to an ordinary human or wolf mother who may be many generations removed from werewolf and Kin.

Each breed has its own strengths and weaknesses, and each group has a slightly different connection to Gaia. Lupus have a stronger connection to the wild. Homids have the experience and talent to move in human society. Even metis, despite their flaws, have remarkable advantages thanks to having their natural form be Crinos war-form. Breed should inform your character both with interesting mechanics and inspiring possibilities for a backstory

Homid



Your mother was human, Kin or not, or a homid Garou. You grew up among humans and learned how to live in their society. Yet something always set you apart.

Other kids reacted unconsciously to the predator within you, and to the vicious temper that you couldn’t always keep under control. Strange dreams marked your childhood, and as you grew you remembered more and more of them — dreams of the moon, of the taste of blood, of the smell of war. Maybe they found you before your Change, maybe after, but now there’s no going back. You are what you are — you’re as much wolf as human now.

Homid characters have no limits on what Abilities they may purchase during character creation. They have plenty of experience with the abstract thought that’s newer to their lupus cousins, and they usually grow up surrounded by human technology. No werewolf is better able to deal with the many peculiarities of human society. In their breed form, homids can also handle silver with no Gnosis penalty.

The human-born advantages at navigating human society are balanced against weaker connections with the wolf and spirit portions of their nature. Homids are generally less intuitive and perceptive than lupus or metis. They’re likely to rely on what they see and hear, rather than what they feel. Moreover, their innate spiritual connections are weaker, as represented by their low starting Gnosis. Humanity has simply grown apart from the spirit world.

Nicknames: Apes, Two-Legs, Monkeys

Initial Gnosis: 1

Beginning Gifts: Apecraft’s Blessings, City Running, Master of Fire, Persuasion, Smell of Man

Metis



Born to two werewolves who broke the Litany for love or lust, you were a child that shouldn’t have been — but one raised among the Garou anyway. You endured a hard, thankless life, stemming both from the deformity that is your birthright and your place at the bottom of the social ladder. Many other Garou pointed to your deformity as a sign that you, like all other metis, are a living affront to Gaia — others said it’s a likely side effect of the over-concentration of already powerful werewolf blood.Whatever the case, you’ve survived from a hard birth, through years of living only in your Crinos body (the natural form of a metis), to finally undergo your First Change. Whether your parents raised you — as an outcast among the sept — or
long-suffering but devoted Kinfolk did, you’re now ready to take your place in the sept. Unlike homids, you have a lot of knowledge about werewolf society already — the nobility, the brutality, the wisdom, the spite.

Metis characters have no restrictions on Abilities. Like homids, they have early experience with abstract thought, and are often introduced to technology, education, and other human creations early on as part of being raised at the sept. But like their wolf relatives, the metis also have a strong connection to their animal nature. They have the strengths of both sides to some degree.

On the other hand, all metis bear the mark of deformity. To attempt to hide this shame is considered dishonorable; to wear it openly is to attract the contempt of many other werewolves. Silver is also always harmful to you, no matter your form. Another flaw of this breed is that all metis are sterile; none can sire or bear children. It’s faintly ironic that Garou/Garou pairings are the only matings that invariably produce werewolf offspring — and yet they are no way to ensure the future of the People.

Nicknames: Mules, Bastards, Obscenities

Initial Gnosis: 3

Beginning Gifts: Create Element, Primal Anger, Rat Head, Sense Wyrm, Shed

Deformities: Every metis character has at least one deformity, chosen during character creation. While some deformities may have minor benefits, the bad always outweighs the good. Storytellers should encourage players to choose defects that complement their character concept. Some possibilities for metis deformities include:

• Albino
You have no melanin in your body, in any form. Your skin is faintly pink, and it burns easily. Your hair is stark white (not silver) and your eyes are pinkish to blood red. Take a +2 difficulty penalty on all Perception rolls if you’re trying to operate in bright light without your protective clothing or sunglasses.

• Blind
Whether you have two eyes in the right place that don’t work, or no eyes at all, you are totally blind. You fail any rolls involving vision automatically. At the Storyteller’s discretion, though, you may take occasional bonuses with other sense groups.

• Fits of Madness
Mental illness plagues you on a periodic basis. Whatever your malaise, you tend to fall to pieces when you get stressed. The Storyteller may call on you to make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8 ) whenever situations get tough. Scoring fewer than three successes means that you become non-functional for a period of time, losing your lucidity.

• Hairless
You have no hair or fur in any of your forms. Take a +1 difficulty penalty to all Social rolls. You might be able to avoid this penalty among humans when you’re in Homid form, although some people may be put off by your complete lack of hair even then — you don’t have body hair where it’d be expected, not even eyebrows.

• Horns
You have a pair of horns in every form. They may be like those of a ram or goat, or like a small pair of antelope-like antlers. You might even have a single short horn like a unicorn’s. Whatever the form, you suffer a +1 difficulty penalty to all Social rolls, and you are likely to be even more heavily scorned by your fellow Garou. (Horns are a mark of prey, not of a predator, after all.) If you actually try to attack with your horns (which may do Strength +1 bashing damage at best), you will likely lose some amount of Glory Renown for fighting like a prey animal instead of a Garou. Passing as a human is particularly difficult for you.

• Hunchback
You were born with a front-to-back or side-to-side curve of your spine that’s worsened as you’ve aged. It gives you a negative social stigma (+1 difficulty penalty to Social rolls), and it also impedes your movement, adding a +1 difficulty penalty to all Dexterity-based rolls.

• No Sense of Smell
Your sense of smell is nonexistent, even in Lupus form. You fail all Perception rolls involving smell automatically, and you suffer a +2 difficulty penalty to track prey using your Primal-Urge.

• No Tail
Not having a tail creates serious communication problems with others of your kind. You take a +1 difficulty penalty in all social situations while in Lupus, Hispo or Crinos forms. In addition, your sense of balance suffers. You take a +1 difficulty penalty to Dexterity rolls as well while wearing those forms.

• Seizures
When you’re under the gun, you lose control of your body. When you botch an important roll, make a Willpower check (difficulty . Scoring less than three successes makes you writhe uncontrollably until the Storyteller tells you to make another roll. You can take no actions while experiencing a seizure.

• Tough Hide
Your skin is tough as old leather, and considerably less attractive. You have no coat to speak of, merely a few patches of fur here and there across your wrinkled, dry hide. Your Appearance can never be greater than 1, and unbearable itching and hot spots are constant aggravations. On the positive side, you get an extra die on soak rolls, but it’s only a small advantage to weigh against your smelly, scratchy hide.

• Wasting Disease
Your constitution is notably weak. You cough and wheeze, and have extreme difficulty with the long-term hunts and endurance runs where humans, wolves, and Garou normally excel. Take a +2 difficulty penalty on all Stamina rolls, including soak rolls.

• Weak Immune System
Werewolves are normally very resistant, even immune, to ordinary disease. You lack that level of supernatural constitution, and in fact are more vulnerable to ailments than most humans are. Because of your condition, you have no Bruised health level. When marking damage, begin at the Hurt level.

• Withered Limb
You have four limbs, but the muscles of one are atrophied, leaving it withered or paralyzed. Depending on your form, you can’t walk well, and you run more slowly than other werewolves. You incur a +2 difficulty penalty on all Dexterity rolls when trying to use this limb.

Lupus



None are closer to nature and the hidden face of Gaia than you are. You were born a precocious pup, already showing remarkable intelligence above that of your siblings. When the Change overcame you, and you discovered your true nature, the world itself became something you had never expected.

Lupus are quite capable of abstract thought, but much of their experience with the concepts governed by such thought comes after the First Change. They pick up the basics of Garou speech very quickly, and the basics of human languages with surprising speed, but the small nuances and connotations frequently elude them. They are accustomed to the socialization of a pack, not of a greater society — which can be particularly problematic if they were raised in a traditional wolf pack, which is more of a nuclear family than anything else.

The advantages of the lupus are several — many of them spiritual. The wolf-born lack the spiritual disconnection that the homids have gradually developed, and they are also free of the spiritual “static” that comes with the blood of the metis. They have a knack for mastering the animistic rituals of the Garou, as they are closer to “spirit logic” than the more educated reasoning of humankind. Some of this is reflected in their high starting Gnosis. However, lupus characters have little opportunity to learn many useful skills before their First Change, and are therefore limited during character creation regarding the Abilities they can purchase.

Nicknames: Ferals, Four-Legs, Fleabiters

Initial Gnosis: 5

Beginning Gifts: Hare’s Leap, Heightened Senses, Predator’s Arsenal, Prey Mind, Sense Prey

Restricted Abilities: Beginning lupus characters cannot take the following Skills and Knowledges with their initial dots. You may, however, use freebie points to purchase them, perhaps as a result of your character’s prelude. Similarly, you can use experience points to add these Abilities as a result of training or “life experience” in the course of the chronicle.
Skills: Crafts, Drive, Etiquette, Firearms, Larceny
Knowledges: Academics, Computer, Law, Science, Technology