This totally OOC Stuff
Background Subset.
Kinfolk are your family -- humans or wolves whom Luna may never have blessed with the potential to Change into Garou, but who continue to care for and support your part in the war. Human kinfolk, unlike most other humans, are immune to the Delirium, being able to bear the sight of you in your war-forms without instinctive fear. Kinfolk are prime reproductive partners; children you have by Kinfolk have a chance to become Garou, whereas children you have by non-Kinfolk only have a chance to be Kinfolk themselves.
You can ask your Kinfolk to keep an eye on a particular location for you, often your home. They'll be able to alert you if anything unusual is going on.
You can ask your Kinfolk to manage day-to-day affairs for you, which helps you hold more Influence than usual. Each Kinfolk you employ in this way adds one to the total number of Influence Traits you can maintain. (See the Influence rules for more information.)
- Other People's Secrets(1)
Corax know things. That's what they're all about, after all -- knowing things. Furthermore, Corax have a mandate from Gaia to uncover things that other folks want to keep hidden. A wereraven with this background is already one step ahead of the game, and has uncovered something that she has absolutely no business knowing. The secret could belong to another Corax, or it could be a tidbit about another supernatural creature. It might be something relating to one individual, or it could be a secret relating to a race (or Breed) as a whole. It could even be the knowledge of a particular Gift or rite normally unavailable to Corax.
The point is, however, that a Corax with this background knows something she shouldn't. Other Corax will try to coerce the secret out of her, while those whose beans have been spilled may come looking for vengeance.
Note: Someone Else's Secrets works in a fashion similar, but not identical, to the Bastet's Secrets Background. Other People's Secrets has a definitely nasty and dirty connotation to it. A Corax with this Background knows dangerous, potentially fatal things -- this goes far beyond gossip.
1) A Small Secret
2) A Gift, rite, or other moderately important matter.
3) A matter of life and death for someone.
4) Not earth-shattering, but important on a citywide scale.
5) Something no Corax should have a right to know -- such as a Yava or the sleeping place of an Antediluvian.
- Spirit Heritage with Animal Spirits(1)
Similar to Pure Breed in a sense, Spirit Heritage is a measure of your spirit's noble lineage. It represents your passages through the cycle, and the things your spirit has done before. When you select this background, choose one type of spirit. Examples of possible groups are animal spirits, plant spirits, elementals, urban spirits, and even Banes. When dealing with spirits of this type, the player may add his Spirit Heritage rating to any Social rolls, or rolls involved in challenges. Spirits whom you are attuned to view you, to some degree, as one of their own -- a daunting prospect for those attuned to Banes, when other Garou discover their heritage. Spirits recognize this power innately, and cannot help but be impressed by it. Each level of Spirit Heritage you possess provides a bonus to your Social Traits in Social Challenges with Spirits who favor your lineage. Visible only in the Umbra.
Spirits whom you are attuned to will see you as more than just another Garou, they will also view you as one of their own. If you act against such spirits or ignore their plights, you may be seen as betraying them.
This Background is the spiritual equivalent of Contacts. You maintain good relationships with small spirits in the region, who gladly feed you information about goings-on in the local Penumbra. Sometimes they notice things that physical observers on Earth just wouldn't catch. This Background contributes to the generally creepy reputation of the Theurge Auspice, giving them access to information they would have no real way of knowing.
This background is most often employed in Downtimes or by role-playing with a Storyteller. The level of the Background corresponds to the extent of knowledge the Spirit Network can discover.
Corax run the Umbra as well as, if not better than, anyone. Apart from the Nuwisha, the Corax spend more time in the Umbra than anyone else, and over the millennia the raven-folk have searched out routes, paths and safe back alleys through the Velvet Shadow. More to the point, they've communicated this knowledge and disseminated it, meaning that chances are pretty good that any given wereraven has a chance of knowing at least a few safe routes and safe places in the Umbra. Corax with this background also have a shot at knowing where the local unsafe places are, what lives in them, and possibly, how to lure unfriendly creatures into those places where visitors aren't welcome.
1) One or two safe paths and a hidey-hole or two
2) Multiple routes to frequent destinations
3) Knowledge of safe zones, routes practically anywhere, and where not to go
4) Multiple safe places and hideouts, an encyclopedic knowledge of Umbral pathways and an awareness of what lives where
5) A near-perfect knowledge of the Near Umbra, where to go, and what to avoid
With this Trait, your character has access to a great wealth of information. This 'library' may take the form of books, old scrolls, computer databases or even friends who have it all in their heads and who are happy to share it with you. Most importantly, your character can access this information whenever she wants and study it at will. The knowledge contained in your character's library can include both mundane and occult elements. Although it may not always prove entirely reliable, more often than not your character can take her time, cross-reference and check her information. Best of all, such a library is often a wealth of information that your particular character considers important, so it can have useful knowledge about magic, the supernatural and other obscure topics that wouldn't be found in a more mundane collection.
Libraries are especially useful in unearthing new lore, Sphere knowledge or specialized information. Use a Mental Attribute + Library roll to look up information regarding an arcane of obscure topic. Success helps your character in such an endeavor, possible justifying the expenditure of experience on such Traits.
Depending on the nature of the 'library', your character may choose to keep it somewhere readily available to other characters. In such a case, all player with access can pool their Library scores and benefit from the increased wealth of information (pending Storytelling approval). However, they may run into duplication of information. Thus, a pooled library is only as effective as the best Library rating in the group, plus one for each additional Library thrown in.
x You have no particular information resources.
1)You've got some New-Age paperbacks.
2) Your library is 90% pulp and 10% substance.
3) You have numerous useful texts.
4) You have an enviable collection, both occult and mundane.
5) You can access lore, lost secrets, common wisdom and obscure facts
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$500/month - $1,000 if liquidated - small savings - tiny apartment, cheap vehicle
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$1,200/month - $8,000 if liquidated - middle class - apartment or condo, sturdy vehicle
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$3,000/month - $50,000 if liquidated - large savings - small house, mid-sized vehicle
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$9,000/month - $500,000 if liquidated - well off - large house, luxury vehicle
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$30,000/month - $5,000,000 if liquidated - rich - mansion, limousine
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You maintain a number of informal connections with people in many walks of life. You can work these connections to gain information about activities going on in the city. In your Downtimes, tell the Storytellers what information you want to dig up, and the number of Traits in Contacts you will use to dig. You'll get information as if you had that number of Traits in an Influence appropriate to your inquiry.
Allies represent specific human friends, colleagues, and partners who don't necessarily know about your supernatural secret life, but who will help you out in a pinch. Each dot in Allies represents one person with particular expertise, such as researchers, lawyers, craftsmen, and thugs. Each dot in Allies also represents the maximum number of Ability Traits each person can bring to bear on a problem.
Work with the Storytellers to define these Allies, and then mention them in your Downtimes to have them perform tasks for you. Each dot of Allies you expend in your Downtime brings one level of an ally's Ability to bear on a task.
For example, three dots of allies might represent Mary, Mark and Luke, who are a scientist, a spy and a smith, respectively. In your Downtimes you could spend three points of Allies to have Mark shadow a target with Stealth x3. Or you could have him shadow a target with Stealth x2, while Mary does research with Science x1.
Fame(0)
Your reputation precedes you. You are so well-known within your circles of influence that your name alone can often get things done, no matter where you happen to be.
Fame is an unusual background, mechanically. If you're a member of this chronicle playing this chronicle, Fame doesn't give any particular mechanical benefits. If you're a member of this chronicle playing another chronicle in TGN, you are subject to their rules for Fame -- which might be similar to these, or might not. It's when you are a visiting player from another chronicle playing here that these rules for Fame kick in: Each Trait of Fame you possess allows you to perform a single Influence action in the Twin Cities. On a side note, your level of fame determines how well you are recognized. This can benefit as well as be a hindrance.
