Thema: WtF Teaser - Diskussionen

[1of3]

Ist auf jeden Fall der Widerstandsbonus gegen magische Einflussnahme.

[Mc666Beth]

So ein erster Blick auf die Gifts:

Gifts From Beyond

The inherent power to change shapes, to walk like a human and run like a wolf, is the key power of any werewolf. But the Uratha have many other abilities, Gifts granted them by those spirits they have convinced of their worth or dominance.

For game-play ease, Gifts are grouped into lists — thematic series of Gifts ranked from • to •••••. Unlike Kindred Disciplines, the earlier Gifts in a list are not requisite to learn later Gifts. Werewolves do have an easier time learning Gifts in lists they have an affinity for (determined by tribe and auspice) and also need to attain sufficient Renown to earn them.

Two-World Eyes (Crescent Moon •)

Although they’re creatures of two worlds, the Uratha can exist fully in only one or the other. They can look from one to the other or cross the boundary that separates them, but doing so is still an all-or-nothing proposition. Ithaeur, however, can peer across the line between worlds without sacrificing their perception of either. In one eye, the werewolf sees the physical world, while in the other eye, she sees what happens in the corresponding area of the Shadow. The eye that sees the world that the werewolf does not currently inhabit films over with the deep indigo of the night sky, lit by pinpoints of starlight.

Cost: None

Dice Pool: Wits + Occult + Wisdom

Action: Instant

Das wirklich interessante ist, das Renown jetzt direkt in den Wurf mit reinspielt. Also nicht mehr nur, wie in W:tA, bestimmt, was für eine Gabe man auf welchen Level haben kann.

[Mc666Beth]

Wieder ein Update:

Blending (Stealth ••)

An expert hunter knows the value of not being seen. A werewolf with this Gift may "hide in plain sight," blending into her surroundings by remaining motionless, even if she isn't directly behind any cover. Casual observers roll Wits to contest the character's roll as a reflexive action; active searchers contest with Wits + Composure as an instant action. If the werewolf wins the roll, she cannot be distinguished as anything other than a landscape feature. (If a supernatural power of observation is used to find the werewolf, successes rolled to activate that effect must exceed those rolled for this Gift.) Even the slightest movement is recognized by an observer, negating the Gift.

Cost: None
Dice Pool: Wits + Stealth + Cunning (versus Wits + Composure)
Action: Instant or contested

[Selganor [n/a]]

Die drei "Pure Tribes" (wohl nur fuer NPCs) sind draussen:

Fire-Touched (Izidakh)

The Fire-Touched are the spiritual leaders of the Pure Tribes, getting their name from the ugly brands on their pelts. They label the Forsaken heretics who venerate Luna when they should have honored Father Wolf. As long as a single descendant of Father Wolf’s murderers remains alive and unrepentant, they say, the bloodstain on their race will never be forgiven. Despite their zealotry, Fire-Touched are happy to accept converts from among the Uratha. Indeed, when they choose to address their prey as a preface to a feud, their words are carefully twisted appeals that can strike doubt into the hearts of the Forsaken.

Totem: The Fire-Touched follow Rabid Wolf, and their Gifts draw on the power of disease and religious conviction.

Tribal Ban: Rabid Wolf’s ban is that he may not let a false statement lie. The Izidakh must challenge lies the moment they are uttered, even if doing so forces them to lose face in front of other werewolves.

Ivory Claws (Tzuumfin)

Where the Fire-Touched rage with passion and fanaticism, the Ivory Claws are almost cold in their fury. They seem to possess the greatest foresight among the Pure and are frequently the ones who make the farthest reaching plans. They are the Pure most prone to maintain some semblance of a human life, though the humans who fall under their power are said to endure dire fates. They are the "purest of the pure" and only those with strong bloodlines rise to positions of power and influence among the Tzuumfin. Power passes hereditarily among them, rather than being based on merit through challenges, as it is with the Forsaken.

Totem: The Ivory Claws follow Silver Wolf, a harsh and haughty purist who will not accept a pledge of service and brotherhood from any werewolf who has served "Luna's weaklings."

Tribal Ban: The Ivory Claws use blood magic of their own to discern a werewolf's lineage. If the recruit descends from the Forsaken, rather than a Pure werewolf, she is not permitted to join the Ivory Claws. Only the "purest of the pure" are granted Silver Wolf's Gifts of blood absolution.

Predator Kings (Ninna Farakh)

The Predator Kings are primitive monsters who vehemently eschew the soft human lives of modern convenience. They routinely hunt down opponents as enormous, ferocious dire wolves, and stand as the most feared warriors of the Pure Tribes. Even their allies give them plenty of room once a fight begins. Unlike the other Pure, the Predator Kings do not hate the Forsaken for the alleged slaying Father Wolf — anything that cannot defend itself has no innate right to live. What the Predator Kings cannot forgive is the loss of the hunter's paradise that was Pangaea. Generally they seem to follow the Ivory Claws' lead, but it's uncertain as to whether the Ivory Claws could actually truly control the Predator Kings if it came to it.

Totem: The Predator Kings follow Dire Wolf, oldest and most savage of the Firstborn.

Tribal Ban: Dire Wolf's ban is that he may not choose to touch anything made by the hand of humans except to destroy it. His children suffer a less stringent ban, but still tend to wear only clothes they have made themselves — often from the skins of prey.

[1of3]

Hmmm.

Jetzt stellt sich mir nur noch die Frage: Wo krieg ich den GttPure her?

Ich find die Reinen Stämme eigentlich fast interessanter als die Parias.

[Mc666Beth]

Wird bestimmt über kurz oder lang nen Splatbook zu den Pure Tribes geben ... ist WW. 

[Selganor [n/a]]

Ethan Skemp (Developer) zu den Totems:

At every point that the story of Father Wolf and Pangaea is mentioned, it is described with "according to legend" or "the Forsaken say" qualifiers.

A tribal totem is not your friend, nor is it your mommy. It does not love you, and did not stretch out its taloned paw out of mercy and compassion. It had to be bested in order to realize that you were worthy, and it will not coddle you and tell you reassuring things about the universe when you are stricken with doubt. It does not manifest to your pack to deliver pronouncements. It is the Wolf that watches over you so long as you are worthy, that was bound to be the patron of your tribe.

You've read what the tribes had to go through in order to subdue and bind their totems. Red Wolf lies. Destroyer Wolf doesn't nurture. Death Wolf is cold and aloof. And none of them keep manifesting every generation to tell the story all over again so that the latest generation can be freed from doubt. If they were that micro-managing, tribes wouldn't be a matter of choice — but they are. An excellent warrior can join the Iron Masters instead of the Blood Talons, and Fenris-Ur won't step in and try to claim him.

The legend of Father Wolf is one of those things that makes a lot of sense and has a lot of adherents, but is taken on faith by those who choose to take it on faith. It can be reconciled with human religion or interpreted differently. You won't be seeing detailed alternate takes on the legend in the core book, but to be honest, there's a lot of stuff that would have been nice to put in the core book had it been roughly double the size it is. And it's overstuffed right now.

[Selganor [n/a]]

Naechste Infos:

Nature of the Beast
This week we reveal some of the most fundamental effects of lycanthropy. Having undergone the First Change, a werewolf stops being a human being and becomes Uratha — let's see just what that means.

MONDAY 1/31 UPDATE

Let's Get Primal — The heart of an ancient predator beast within every werewolf's chest. Her own preternaturally primal nature grants her an inherent bond with the mystical that only absolute neglect and self-indulgence can suppress. The power of the werewolf's spirit half is measured in a trait called Primal Urge, and it compels werewolves in all aspects of their existence. Gaining dots in this advantage indicates a character's rising potency among her own kind and spirits, and it increases the power she can bring to bear through Gifts and rites. She also becomes a formidable warrior, better able to fuse the strengths of spirit and flesh within her own form. Notably, Primal Urge determines how much Essence (the spiritual "fuel" that powers many Gifts) a werewolf can draw upon.

Primal Urge is a double-edged sword, however. All werewolves have some difficulty relating with ordinary humans; their innate predatory nature disturbs and unsettles humans around them. As a werewolf draws on more of her primal nature by increasing her Primal Urge, this unsettling predatory aura increases in strength. All werewolves suffer a penalty to Social rolls made to sway ordinary humans (except through pure intimidation). In addition, as a werewolf's Primal Urge increases, the power of her spirit half begins to exceed the heritage of flesh. A character with Primal Urge of 6 or more becomes subject to Essence bleed — after she spends a certain amount of time in the material world, she loses a point of Essence, and can eventually be driven into a deep sleep.

Klasse: Je hoeher Primal Urge desto "geisterhafter" wird der Werwolf. Gefaellt mir.

[1of3]

Ich weiß nicht. Irgendwie steh ich nicht so auf dieses Fleisch-gewordener-Geist-Zeug.

[Selganor [n/a]]

Als das wurden Werwoelfe aber schon seit WtA1 bezeichnet (nur dass es bisher nie "relevant" wurde)

[1of3]

Jetzt wo dus sagst, fällt mir doch glatt auf, was ich an W:tA nie mochte.

[Selganor [n/a]]

Naechster Teil:

Madness, I Say — Human beings have long recognized the power of the moon to inspire them, to cause them to become contemplative, and to drive them mad. The Uratha benefit from a concentrated form of this power derived from their spiritual mother, Luna. This power wraps around a werewolf like a cloak, infecting human observers with the same sort of insanity that causes them to become more violent under the full moon and to forget what the night led them to do.

When a human observer clearly sees a werewolf in Dalu, Gauru or Urshul, or even sees the use of certain clearly supernatural Gifts, he is affected by the Lunacy. He might run in terror, curl up into a catatonic ball or even stand his ground depending on the severity of the exposure and his underlying will. Lunacy is strongest when facing a werewolf in nightmarish Gauru form, but it is never safe for a werewolf to adopt any hybrid form with humans present.

Even photographic records of the Uratha benefit from the protection of Lunacy to a limited degree. Although a snapshot taken of a werewolf in Gauru doesn't frighten anyone who looks at it, most humans simply refuse to believe that the picture could be more than a hoax.

This protection is hardly perfect, however. Willful humans can shake off the Lunacy for a time and are likely to come looking for explanations for what they've seen. Also, other supernatural denizens of the World of Darkness — vampires and things more dangerous still — do not suffer from the Lunacy.

[Selganor [n/a]]

Es gibt einen neuen Erscheinungstermin:

"Werewolf Hits the Streets on March 14th
We've gotten final confirmation that Werewolf: The Forsaken will release on Monday, March 14th, 2005. Yes, the book was originally set to release in February, but we needed a couple extra weeks to make sure everything was 100% ready. We also wanted to make sure we got a final delivery date from our printer to make sure we didn't have to change the release day multiple times. March 14th is the day."

[Selganor [n/a]]

Talking 'Bout My (re)Generation — Hollywood tells us that only a silver bullet can kill a werewolf. This is not strictly true, but the Uratha can indeed absorb huge amounts of physical punishment without dying. Their bodies quickly rebuild, with even deep gashes and broken bones healing in minutes, leaving no lasting indication. While werewolves can be killed by conventional means, it's much more likely that an assailant simply sees an Uratha slump over and change to human form… and then is unpleasantly surprised when the werewolf flies into frenzy again a moment later.

Werewolf characters regenerate one point of bashing damage per turn. This healing occurs regardless of whether an Uratha rests. She regenerates bashing damage at this rate even in the heat of battle, as an automatic, reflexive action. By spending a point of Essence, the werewolf can choose to regenerate a point of lethal damage instead of a point of bashing. (Uratha who can spend more than one point of Essence per turn, can regenerate more than one point of lethal damage per turn as well.)

Werewolves cannot regenerate aggravated damage (at least no faster than a normal human beings). In addition to certain supernatural attacks, silver weapons also cause aggravated damage to werewolves. Simple contact is not enough — the silver must be made into a weapon (such a bullet or a knife). The Forsaken do not carry silver weapons — doing so is simply an invitation to murder.

[1of3]

Nicht viel neues dabei.

Das die Parias keine Silberwaffen tragen ist interessant.

[Selganor [n/a]]

Don't Make Me Angry — Death Rage, or Kuruth, is the werewolf at his most savage — ignoring mortal danger, desiring nothing but to feel his prey tear apart under his fangs and claws. Death Rage gets its name not only from the likelihood that the werewolf will kill those around her, but also because it is a loss of self akin to death and because it courts the possibility of dying like a rabid beast instead of as a warrior or hunter. Each Death Rage could be a werewolf's last.

A werewolf loses control of his anger and enters Kuruth when he's provoked beyond the bounds of self-control. This provocation is clearest in life-and-death situations in combat (suffering aggravated damage, for example). The true horror of Kuruth, however, is that it can surface apart from life-or-death situations. For example, a werewolf can be driven into Death Rage by discovering that her boyfriend has been cheating on her, only to come to her senses covered in his blood and torn flesh. The lower a werewolf's Harmony, the less egregious the provocation necessary to tip them over the edge. Those with high Harmony might only be sent into Kuruth by the murder of a loved one, while those who have degenerated could be set off by simple humiliation. Regardless of the stimulus, the player rolls Resolve + Composure for the werewolf to resist giving in.

Upon entering Death Rage, a werewolf automatically assumes Gauru form and remains in that form for as long as the rage lasts. While in the grip of Kuruth, a werewolf attempts to destroy any potential target he can see, friend or foe. This berserk state lasts until the end of the scene or the character suffers a wound in one of his last three Health boxes (when he would normally suffer a wound penalty). At this point, the instinct for self-preservation takes over and is overwhelmed by the instinct to survive at all costs, an instinct that takes the form of pure fear. He runs as quickly as possible away from the source of the trouble, attacking those who get in the way.

Whether he's fighting or fleeing, a character in Death Rage is still subject to all the mechanical benefits of Gauru form. In addition, any attempts to mentally or socially coerce or influence the subject through Gifts, vampire Disciplines, mage spells or other means suffer a –3 penalty. It is exceptionally difficult to direct or halt the overwhelming fury of Kuruth.

Next Week: Nasties — We covered the Pure Tribes last week, but there are other threats facing the Forsaken. Tune in next week to learn more.

[Selganor [n/a]]

It's All a Matter of Balance — Werewolves aren't human. Although they're raised with human mores, they find certain ethical credos somewhat counterintuitive. For example, even before her First Change, a werewolf might not consider stealing to be especially criminal. After all, if the owner of the given property wasn't strong or smart enough to protect it, why shouldn't the werewolf take it? On the flip side werewolves often form very close bonds to friends and family, protecting them as a wolf does her packmates, even if the feelings are not mutual.

When the First Change comes, a werewolf suddenly begins to see the world through different eyes. It can seem like pure liberation to some and utter damnation to others. In one case, the werewolf ceases to care about human morays and laws and exults in his bestial nature. In the other, the werewolf feels overcome by those same bloody urges and fears just what moral lines she might cross. In reality, the path toward peace of mind lies in neither extreme, but in balancing wolf and human, spirit and flesh, instinct and reason. It is a tricky line to walk, but all the Forsaken do. This is the path of Harmony.

This credo stresses the need to abide by the laws that the werewolves have set down, to keep Rage in check until it's needed, to honor Luna and the totems (both pack and tribal) and to always protect the pack. It is neither a path of peace nor of unabashed savagery.

Mechanically, Harmony functions much like Morality for human characters (and Humanity for vampires), but the nature of the hierarchy of sins is quite different. The gravest sins include hunting humans or wolves for food, betraying the pack, and murdering another werewolf. Less serious concerns include remaining in one form for prolonged periods, disrespecting a powerful spirit (even an enemy can be respected), or failing to obtain one's own food. Human concerns such as property damage and theft do not appear — and even killing a human must be utterly unjustified to cause a serious moral problem to a werewolf.

[1of3]

So. Die ersten Leute haben scheinbar Preview-Exemplare bekommen und ein bischen was fallen lassen.

- Renown is raised through roleplaying, but costs experience (primary renown for your Auspice and Tribe costs new dots x 6, all other costs new dots x . You cannot learn gifts of a rank higher than your highest primary renown.

- Lodges are essentially factions within each tribe. They're very similar to Covenants in structure, actually. They are elite social groups, and they have stat-based prerequisites to joining as well. For example, the Lodge of Harbingers (a Bone Shadow lodge) requires its members to have: Cunning or Wisdom •, Athletics ••, and Stealth ••. There's a long description of who the Lodge is open to, and how to get in, and as for benefits? Harbingers may learn Stealth Gifts as though they were tribal Gifts. Also, the player may add three modifier dice to any Persuasion rolls made to deal favorably and peaceably with other Forsaken.

There are multiple lodges listed under each tribe, but only five that get a short writeup in the book... Of those, we get:

The Lodge of Garm - Blood Talons only.
The Lodge of Harbingers - Bone Shadows "only" though members of other tribes can join with special intervention from both Death Wolf and White Hare.
The Lodge of Seasons - Hunters in Darkness generally, though members of other tribes are admitted rarely.
The Lodge of Lightning - Iron Masters. There is debate over whether they will allow other tribes... The current decision is that if a werewolf would be willing to forsake his tribe and join the Iron Masters, the lodge would accept him without question.
The Lodge of Crows - Storm Lords ONLY, and very picky about that, as well.

You cannot start with lodge membership, unless you are specifically playing in a veteran game.

[Raphael]

Das Verwechslungsproblem WTF - "What the fuck" vs. WTF - "Werwolf: the Forsaken" haben die Entwickler mit einem, na, sagen wir mal, 90% geek pure Kunstgriff gelöst: Das T-Shirt.