Mental States

Frenzy


     The popular image of the werewolf is that of a snarlin, uncontrollable beast, and that isn't entirely untrue. No matter how centered or citified he is, every werewolf carries Rage in his heart. Any werewolf can lose control and run amok if that Rage is not curtailed.

     Any Rage oll can ignite a frenzy, even those made to activate specific Gifts. Any Rage rolls should be interpreted as an attempt -- willing or otherwise -- to awaken the primal Beast that drives the Garou. If a player rolls four or more successes on a Rage roll, her character frenzies. The player may spend a Willpower point right them to halt the frenzy, but her character loses any further actions that turn.

     Garou with permanent Rage ratings lower than four can frenzy, but only under extreme circumstances. Highly emotional and personal circumstances (such as the threat of rape in a Black Fury's case, or the threat of imprisonment for a claustrophobic Silent Strider) can boost a werewolf's Rage above the permanent rating. It is this higher rating that the player uses for Rage rolls.

     The two types of frenzy follow:

     Berserk Frenzy. Garou see only red and moving shapes. They wish only to reduce these shapes to mangled carcasses. A berserk Garou shifts immediately to Crinos or Hispo (player's choice) and attacks.

     Exactly whom she attacks depends on the circumstances. A Garou whose permanent Gnosis exceeds her permanent Rage will not attack her packmates (unless she is in the Thrall of the Wyrm). She will attack anything else that moves, however, including allied Garou who are not members of her pack.

     If, however, her permanent Rage exceeds her permanent Gnosis, she attacks anything that moves, and she can make no distinction between targets unless her player spends a Willpower point. If such is the case, the Storyteller can direct her as to which target to attack. In addition, such Garou do not remember what happens to them during frenzy. Often, they collapse when the frenzy ends.

     Fox Frenzy. Entering a fox frenzy means that the character flees in terror for her life. She shifts to Lupus form and runs, attacking anything that gets in her way (although more with the intention of getting past than of killing). Once the character reaches a safe hiding place, she will remain there until the frenzy passes.

     In either frenzy, special maneuvers and pack tactics are impossible. The extent of the werewolf's attack capability is to bite, claw or run. The character may spend Rage for extra actions, but he may not split dice pools. Using Gifts in frenzy is normally impossible, as is stepping sideways. A werewolf does not sugger from pain in frenzy, though, so he ignores all wound penalties.

     Coming out of frenzy requires that the situation that triggered it be over. When the trigger event is over, the player may roll Willpower (difficulty of the Garou's own Rage) to escape the frenzy. Even if this roll fails, she may try again each turn.

Rage Rolls


     The following conditions might call for a Rage roll, at the Storyteller's discretion.

     Embarrassment or humiliation (botching an important roll)
     Any strong emotion (lust, rage, envy)
     Extreme hunger
     Confinement, helplessness
     Being taunted by an enemy
     Large quantities of silver in the area
     Being wounded or seeing a packmate wounded

Difficulty for Rage Rolls


     While the old stories of werewolves changing during the full moon aren't really true, they have some basis in fact.

Moon Phase Difficulty
New 8
Crescent 7
Half 6
Gibbous 5
Full 4


     The difficulty drops by one if the moon happens to e the character's auspice moon. A Garou in Crinos form also subtracts one from her difficulty. These modifiers are not cumulative.

The Thrall of the Wyrm


     A werewolf's Rage is fearful enough, but sometimes a frenzy is abnormal. If a werewolf descends too far into frenzy, his Rage is no longer pure. Instead, he has opened himself up to be used by the Wyrm.

     If a player rolls six or more successes on a Rage roll, the character enters a berserk frenzy, and spending Willpower will not bring her out of it. The character is said to be "in the Thrall of the Wyrm." The frenzy follows normal tendencies with regards to attack and duration, but it includes some even more horrific aspects.

     Each of the breeds of Garou carries a piece of the Triatic Wyrm, and during such frenzy, that Wyrm can demand its due.

     Homid: Eater-ofSouls has long held humans as its special childrem, and this attention includes Homid Garou. The Wyrm can drive such Garou to acts of cannibalism upon humans, wolves or eevn other Garou. When a Homid-breed Garou in the Thrall kills or incapacitates an opponent (friend or foe), her player must roll Wits (difficulty 7). If the roll botches, the Garou must stop for a turn and fest.

     Metis: Barred as they are from breeding, metis are special targets of the Defiler Wyrm. Metis Garou in the Thrall sometimes practice unspeakable acts of perversion on fallen opponents, regardless of their respective genders. If a metis kills or incapacitates a foe while in the Thrall, her player must roll Wits (difficulty 7). If the roll botches, the Garou stops fighting for a turn and slakes her unholy lust on her helpless opponent.

     Lupus: The savage, feral lupus feel the pull of Beast-of-War. A lupus Garou in the thrall will savage a fallen opponent, friend or goe, and not pull away until the body lies in pieces around her. The Garou loses all sense of mercy, regardless of her comparative Gnosis and Rage scored. When a lupus Garou kills or incapacitates a foe while in the Thrall, her player must roll Wits (difficulty 7). If the roll botches, the lupus must continues to attack until her opponent is torn limb from limb.

     Succumbing to the Thrall of the Wyrm is terrifying to the Garou. A normal frenzy is considered a defense mechanism against pain, a pure if brutal method of survival. A Wyrm-frenzy is nothing of the kind. It brings to light the inner struggle with the Wyrm, which is something few Garou are prepares to face. Unable to live with their deed, some werewolves even end their lives after such a frenzy.

The Curse


     Frenzy is hardly the only effect that Rage has on Garou, and it is not at all the worst. Other animals, especially humans, can sense the predator in a werewolf, and they shy from him. Whenever a Garou's Rage exceeds a human's Willpower, the human will avoid contact with the Garou as much as possible. This avoidance may consist of crossing the street to avoid "that weirdo" or even running in fear. Since the average human's Willpower is usually from 2 to 4, the Curse is no laughing matter. Wolces are also subject to this dread, and most natural wolves will avoid Garou whenever possible.

     Garou call this phenomenon the Curse, for it makes normal relationships with humans or wolves all but impossible. Garou cannot usually maintain families among humans or wolves, as the Beast makes even their own Kin uncomfortable, albeit to a lesser degree. Only among other werewolves can the Garou find true, honest companionship -- and the logical result of such relationships is prohibited by the Litany.

The Delirium


     Werewolves preyed on humans for over 3000 years, and while most humans have no idea that werewolves truly exist, a part of them remembers. The horrible wolf-man, the Crinos form, incites a kind of madness in humans that Garou call the Delirium.

     The stronger a human's will, the more clearly she can deal with seeing a werewolf. Most humans, however, either panic and run, or they just collapse. Even stronger-willed people tend to forget the encounter later, either by rationalizing what they saw ("A bear! I'm not kidding!") or by omitting the entire incident from their minds. The Garou refer to this subconscious denial as the Veil, and they look at it as one of their greatest assets.

     The following chars shows what a human will do when he sees a Crinos as per his Wilpower score. The chart also shows whether and to what degree the human will forget the encounter, as well as what percentage of the populace will react in that way. Students of the occult might gain some bonus in this chart. Storytellers may choose to allow such humans a Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 9), with each success moving the human up one level on the chart. In addition, members of cultures that didn't sugger the Impergium to a great degree (such as Native Americans and Australian Aborigines) might also be granted a bonus. Photographs or such evidence don't trigger any fear reaction, although human witnesses will probably rationalize the photos away as publicity stunts or some such unless they have a Willpower of 8 or higher. Kinfolk are immune to Delirium.

Delirium
Willpower % of Population Forget? Reaction
1 10% Yes Catatonic Fear: The human collapses and whimpers, or perhaps even faints.
2 20% Yes Panic: The human runs in fear, trying to put as much distance between himself and the Garou as possible.
3 18% Yes Disbelief: The human refuses to accept what he sees, and he will likely retreat to a corner and stare at the "hallucination" until it passes.
4 15% Yes Berserk: The human takes some sort of aggressive action, be it firing a gun (he won't have enough presence of mind to reload, however), throwing crockery or even leaping at the "monster."
5 13% Yes Terror: Much like panic, except with more reason. The human will be reational enough to lock doors behind him or get in a car and flee.
6 10% Yes Conciliatory: The human will try to plead and bargain with the Garou, doing anything possible so as not to get hurt.
7 7% No, but will rationalize Controlled Fear: Perhaps this person is a soldier. Although terrified, he does not panic. The human will flee or fight as appropriate, but remains in control of his actions.
8 5% No, but will rationalize Curiosity: These people are dangerous, because they remember what htey saw (more-or-less), and they might well investigate the matter further. Conspiracy theorists and cryptozoologists often fall into this category.
9 1.5% No Bloodlust: In the far reaches of this human's mind, he remembers the depredations of the Garou, and he refuses to take anymore. The human is afraid but angry, and he will remember the Garou and probably even try to hunt it down.
10 .5% No No reaction: The human is not the slighest bit afraid or bothered by the Garou. Even Kinfolk aren't this stoic, so Garou tend to be very suspicious of such folks.
1
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws