Pancake/gifts

Level 1

Arion's Burden - The Black Furies had many tribeswomen among the ancient Scythians, who were renowned for their use of cavalry. During their battles with other Garou tribes, the Furies often surprised their enemies by showing that they too could employ cavalry, thanks to this Gift. Most animals shy away from creatures of high Rage, and even the Glabro form tended to make a werewolf heavier than the horse could handle. But this Gift perfectly calms the mount’s mind and makes the Black Fury as light as a child to it. It is taught by an avatar of Pegasus.

System: The Black Fury rolls Charisma + Athletics (difficulty 6). A simple success is all that is needed to keep this Gift active for the rest of the scene. While this Gift works to calm any animal normally friendly to the Black Fury, it is most commonly employed on horses. Riding in Crinos form, even with this Gift, is a tricky business, requiring a Dexterity+ Athletics (difficulty 7) roll.

Beast Speech - The werewolf with this GIft may communicate with any animals from fish to mammals. This Gift does not change their basic reactions; most animals are still afraid of predators such as werewolves. Any spirit of nature can teach this Gift.

System: The player simply rolls Charisma + Animal Ken, although each separate encounter or type of animal requires a separate roll.

Breath of the Wyld - As the Furies see it, the problem with most humans (and some Garou) is that they have forgotten that the energy of Creation is nourishing, refreshing and ever present. With this Gift, the Black Fury may instill a feeling of vitality and life in a living being. A spirit servant of Pegasus teaches this Gift.

System: The Fury must touch her target’s skin, and this Gift must be used outdoors in a natural setting (a city park is natural enough for the Gift to function). The player rolls Gnosis (difficulty 6 for humans, 5 for Garou). Success grants a rush of energy and clarity of thought. In game terms, this Gift grants one extra die on all Mental rolls for the next scene. It also adds one to the difficulty of any Rage rolls the target makes in that time.

Create Element - The metis has the power to create a small amount of one of the four basic elements — fire, air, earth or water. In this way, she can replenish the air supply in an airtight room, make a rock to throw at someone, create a fire without matches or wood, or even fill a bathtub without any faucet or pipes. The metis cannot create specialized forms of any element. Precious metals (especially silver), lethal gases and acid are beyond his reach. This Gift creates only natural air, earth, fire and water. Elementals teach this Gift.

System: The werewolf’s player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis. Each success allows the character to create approximately one cubic foot of the desired element, to a maximum weight of 100 lbs, anywhere he can see within 60 feet. The element remains in existence until used up (breathed in the case of air or burned up in the case of fire without any fuel to keep it going). The flames created with this Gift are genuinely hot, but they are no substitute for a flame-thrower. They inflict one health level of damage per success, to a maximum of three health levels of damage.

Master Of Fire - Once humans tamed fire to keep them warm and to drive off the wild beasts, they were humanity’s ancient pact with the spirits of fire. The spirits of flame agree to hold back their hunger when the werewolf touches them. An ancestor spirit or a fire-spirit grants this Gift.

System: This Gift allows a werewolf to heal fire damage as if it were bashing. This requires the expenditure of a Gnosis point; the effects last for a scene.

Mother's Touch - The Garou is able to heal the wounds of any living creature, aggravated or otherwise, simply by laying hands over the afflicted area. The Garou may not heal herself, spirits or the undead with this Gift. A bear- or unicorn-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: The player spends on Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty of the wounded individual’s Rage, or 6 for non-Garou). Each success heals one health level. The Theurge may heal even Battle Scars in this manner if the Theurge uses the Gift in the same scene in which the scar was obtained and she spends a second Gnosis point. There is no limit to how many times this Gift may be used on a person, but each use requires the expenditure of one Gnosis.

Owl Speech - Black Furies may invoke the kinship between their tribe and the owls of Athena. This Gift combines the effects of the Galliard Beast Speech Gift and the Philodox King of the Beasts Gift, though it only works on owls. This Gift is common among the Temple-Keepers of Artemis and the Sisterhood. Many of their Kinfolk share this Gift, and new sisters often receive it as an initiation Gift.

Scent Of The True Form - This Gift allows the Garou to determine the true nature of a person. This information is conveyed as an olfactory sensation — it is actually a scent of the target’s natural form. Any spirit servant of Gaia can teach this Gift.

System: The Garou can tell automatically when someone is a werewolf; anything else requires a Perception + Primal-Urge roll. It takes two successes to detect vampires, faeries or other shapeshifters as such, and it takes four to detect fomori or mages.

Sense Weaver - The Garou may sense Weaver energies or spirits in the nearby area. This Gift is taught by any Gaian spirit.

System: The Garou rolls Perception + Science against a difficulty determined by the Storyteller, based on the strength of the presence.

Sense Wyld - The Garou may sense Wyld energies or spirits in the nearby area. Any Gaian spirit can teach this Gift.

System: The Garou rolls Perception + Enigmas against a difficulty determined by the Storyteller, based on the strength of the presence.

Sense Wyrm - The werewolf can sense manifestations of the Wyrm in the nearby area. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although werewolves using the Gift sometimes say things like, “This place stinks of the Wyrm” (with a few more colorful adjectives). Garou should remember that the Wyrm’s taint can cling to relatively blameless souls. Werewolves may sense an innocent person who happens to work in a Wyrm-controlled factory or who has eated tainted food. This power requires active concentration. Any spirit of Gaia may teach this Gift.

System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm’s influence. Sensing a single fomor in the next room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an hour ago would be difficulty 8. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with Humanity Traits of 7 or higher.

Smell Of Man - Creatures of the wild have leanred well that where man goes, death follows. With this Gift the werewolf enhances the human scent around him greatly, causing wild animals to feel uneasy and nervous. However, the scent also causes domestic animals to recognize the werewolf as their master. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: All wild animals (not including supernatural creatures in animal form) lose one die from their dice pools when within 20 feet of the Garou (save when defending themselves or running away), and they are likely to flee. All domesticated animals recognize the werewolf as a friend and refuse to harm him. For example, an attack-trained dog ordered to take down the werewolf would run up to the character and wag its tail. If the domesticated animal is harmed, then it will revert to acting naturally. The Garou may use this GIft at will. She simply states when she is activating it or turning it off.

Speed of the Messenger - This Gift increases the movement rate of the Garou so that he can travel long distances in short periods of time. The character’s body seems to flow like quicksilver, enabling him to accomplish astounding feats of agility while under the effects of this Gift. Thus, the Garou can travel rapidly across a tree limb or along a narrow wooden beam without slowing down or faltering.

System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 8). One success allows the character to move at twice her normal speed; two successes gives her three times normal speed, while three successes allows the character to move four times as quickly. More than three successes cause the character to assume a blurry form that confers two extra dice to any rolls involving Dexterity while the character is in motion. The effect lasts for one turn or one scene, depending on the circumstance. This Gift affects movement only and cannot allow a character to stop to deliver blows in combat without ending the Gift’s duration. Thus, a character can use the Gift to get to a combat more quickly, but once she engages in battle, she loses the benefits conferred by the Gift.

Spirit Speech - This Gift allows the Garou to communicate with encountered spirits. The Garou is thus able to address them whether they wish to be adddressed or not. Of course, nothing (usually) prevents the spirit from ignoring the Theurge or leaving. Any spirit can teach this Gift.

System: Once learned, this Gift allows the Garou to understand the communication of spirits intuitively. Particularly alien spirits may be difficult — or, in the case of many Banes, outright painful — to understand.

Level 2

Call to Duty - Any spirit the Philodox knows by name is a potential servitor. With this Gift, the werewolf can summon and command any spirit she knows by name. Only one command is possible at a time, and the spirit departs after fulfilling the one request. An Incarna avatar teaches this Gift.

System: Obviously, the Philodox must learn the spirit’s name, which usually requires personal acquaintance or use of the Gift: Name the Spirit. The Player rolls Charisma + Leadership (difficulty of the spirit’s Willpower). If the player spends two Gnosis points, the werewolf can summon all Gaian spirits within one mile to protect or assist her, even if she does not know their names.

Flame of the Wind Rider - This Gift makes the Garou harder to damage by engulfing her in a ghostly blue-white flame. In addition to serving as a form of armor, the flame also offers protection from cold, including the intense cold of the far reaches of the Aetherial Realm and the freezing damage inflicted by certain creatures of the Wyrm.

System: The player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Stamina + Occult (difficulty 7). Each success lowers the difficulty for soaking damage from cold by one. In addition, the Garou gains two dice to add to all soak rolls; these dice can even be used to soak silver. The effects last for one scene.

Mantle of the Land - The Garou draws forth a mist or fog from water in the atmosphere. This misty mantle provides cover in which a Garou may hide herself or someone under her protection. The Gift may be used while the Garou is in motion in order to confuse pursuers by enveloping them in an obscuring fog. The mantle can also surround a Garou and her pack in order to allow them to attack from concealment or ambush.

System: The player spends a point of Gnosis. The fog is dense and heavy, obscuring the vision of anyone within, even muffling sound. Anyone save the Garou and her pack are at +3 difficulty on all Perception rolls while the mist ensures. This Gift lasts one scene or one combat.

Name the Spirit - A werewolf with this Gift becomes familiar with the ways of the Umbra. He can sense the type and approximate Trait levels (Rage, Gnosis, Willpower) of spirits. A spirit servant of the Uktena totem teaches this Gift.

System: The player spends one Willpower point and rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty 8).

Realm Wisdom - A wise Garou knows to obey the laws of a realm for maximum results; however, sometimes those laws aren’t immediately obvious. Although experience is the best teacher, sometimes a Philodox needs to take a shortcut. By channeling the wisdom of a realm’s spirits, the Philodox can intuitively guess important facts about the realm. This Gift is taught by an ancestor-spirit.

System: This Gift works in any realm or zone. The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Perception + Law against a variable difficulty; the more obscure or less traveled the realm, the higher the difficulty. For example, trying to glean wisdom about the CyberRealm or Battleground might be difficulty 6, whereas learning the laws of the Null Zone might be a 9. Each success gains a relevant fact about the realm, to a maximum of five successes. The Storyteller determines which facts are most relevant; for example, if the player gains only one success in the Abyss, the Storyteller might feel that the most important fact is “don’t fall in; if you fall into the Abyss, you’re lost forever.” This Gift functions only once per visit to any given realm, and doesn’t prevent redundancy; a Philodox might “learn” the same fact twice in successive visits to a realm.

Spirit of the Fray - This Gift allows the Ahroun to attack with lightning speed, striking before any foe. A cat-spirit teaches this Gift.

System: Once the character learns this Gift, its effects are permanent. The Ahroun may add 10 to all his initiative rolls, which will nearly always ensure that he strikes first. If he chooses, the Ahroun may spend a Gnosis point to add another 10 to his initiative roll. Remember, though, that doing so prevents him from spending Rage to gain extra actions; werewolves can’t use Rage and Gnosis in the same turn.

Level 3

Parting the Velvet Curtain - The Garou with this Gift may open the Gauntlet, physically transporting creatures other than shapeshifters into the Umbra. This Gift is taught by a turtle-spirit.

System: The Garou must touch the creature to be affected; the player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis against a difficulty equal to the local Gauntlet plus one per creature affected. Kinfolk or other shapeshifters do not add to the difficulty as do other creatures. If the roll is successful, the Gift user automatically steps sideways along with his passengers.

A maximum of eight other creatures may be transported in this fashion. While in the Umbra, the affected creatures are bound to the Garou with silk threads. They will always remain by the Garou’s side and must leave the Umbra when the Garou does. However, the Garou may sever a thread and send a creature back to its starting point by spending a Willpower point.

If the affected creature wants to resist either the initial transition or the return to the physical world, she may make a resisted Willpower roll against the Gift-wielder (difficulty 6 for both rolls).

Pulse of the Invisible - Spirits fill the world around the Garou, and none knows this fact better than the Theurge. This Gift grants constant awareness of the spirit world. Even in the physical world, the Theurge with this Gift can interact with spirits in the Penumbra at will. While most spirit activity is barely worth watching, the Theurge will be aware of any dramatic changes. Any spirit can teach this Gift.

System: If the Garou’s permanent Gnosis equals or exceeds the Gauntlet, he can see into the Umbra automatically. Otherwise, the player must roll Gnosis to pierce the Gauntlet (difficult of the Gauntlet rating). Only one success is required. The effect lasts for an entire scene or until the character enters an area with a higher Gauntlet.

Sing Down the Rain - This Gift is used to bring rain from the heavens, either to nourish crops and cleanse the land, or to cause damage through mudslides and flooding. This Gift is common among Ghost Dancers. A frog-spirit teaches the Gift.

System: The Garou sings or howls a ritual chant; the player spends a Gnosis point and rolls Wits + Occult (difficulty is ordinarily 7; 8 in a cloudless desert, 6 in a temperate rainforest). One or two successes brings down a misty drizzle after a short delay, but three successes causes a heavy rain to fall almost immediately. Four or more successes means the rain comes in heavy torrents. The effects ordinarily last one scene, but the player may spend Gnosis to continue the effects. Depending on the Storyteller, the terrain and the user’s intent, the effects may cause flooding, mudslides or even wash away pollutants.