Challenges

Paraphrased from Players Guide to the Garou pg 86 and on.

Challenges

Werewolves are powerful creatures, born to battle. They are attitude made flesh. They have hair-trigger reflexes to match their hair-trigger tempers. The result is a race with the potential to destroy itself without any help from its enemies. Over the millennia, werewolves have developed two safeguards: hierarchy, to smooth over conflicts, and protocols of challenge, to keep the damage to a minimum when conflict is inevitable.

Types of Challenges: When thinking of challenges, probably the first thing that springs to mind is combat between rivals. The rules for such combats may be quite simple or exceedingly complex, and with varying lethality. Opponents may cradle an egg in their fists, the loser being the first one to break the shell. Or perhaps a shield and axe fight where the first to step outside the ring must concede defeat. But combat isn't appropriate to determine superiority in every circumstance. Many other contests don't involve bloodshed. Riddles, chess or other gamecraft are common wits-testers among Philodox or Ragabash, while talespinning or musical challenges are standard fare for Galliards. Others include tests to see who runs fastest, throws farthest and crosses the Gauntlet the quickest.

Knowing When to Challenge: Rank is another serious, if not always clear-cut, consideration. An Elder need not acknowledge the demands of a Fostern - but if she does, the youngster deserves what he gets. If the situation is reversed, however, things get sticky. The Elder could suffer some loss of Renown for stooping so low. The safest bet for formally asserting dominance is someone within one step of one's own rank.

Rules of Challenge: It would be impossible to list all the unspoken rules of challenge and their exceptions as they vary from sept to sept and tribe to tribe. Below are some guidelines applicable to most tribes.

• Open Challenge

The Instigation may be as complex as a ritual intoning of ancestry and grievance, or as simple as a pointed glare, but however it is done there will be no mistaking what has occurred. A challenge must be given, acknowledge and accepted or rejected. An ambush isn't a challenge. Blindsiding an opponent and THEN issues a challenge doesn't count. Either way will certainly incur a loss of renown and standing, as well as instigating a feud.

• Witnesses

When possible, challenge should have witnesses, even if only an Ancestor-Spirit. Packs or septs are preferred, for 'Neutral' parties add legitimacy to the result. Even if your duel to the death was legitimate and fair, the Elders will be doubtful if you sought satisfaction in secret. Indeed, debates and song contests require outside judges.

• Heed the Master

The Master of Challenge wields a great deal of influence in such contests. She seldom forbids a challenge (though if she does so she better be sure her authority is backed up by the sept leadership) but she can impose onerous rules (or even delay a ruling, hoping the challenger will cool off or be talked out of going through with the challenge). Her job is to ensure that the sept is strengthened, or at least not weakened, by challenges, and usually this means resolving the dispute without crippling or killing a sept member. Crossing her not only brings swift retribution from the Master but probably severe punishment from the Elders as well.

• Level Playing Field

Unless stated otherwise a certain level of fair play is expected. For example, in a footrace where the opponents start in Homid form, they are expected to stay that way throughout. The first contestant to resort to a common advantage (in this case Lupus form) loses face, and allows his opponent to do likewise while still appearing to be the injured party. Some Garou allow their opponents to use advantages to either make things interesting or show disdain for their opponents skill.

• Honorable Surrender

In any contest save a fight to the death, surrender by one side is expected - there is certainly no dishonor is showing throat. Not accepting surrender is deeply dishonorable. That is a violation of the Litany and the offender can expect punishment.

Aftermath Ideally, the only repercussion to a challenge is that the winner has her way.