Rite of Offal

Rite of Offal (•••)

In olden times, when all of the material that would litter the landscape was organic in nature and would break down in a matter of months or years, the Lodge of Harmony had an easier time keeping their territories clean. Modern garbage, however, is more resilient, and as plastics and other material that even Boar finds inedible began to pile up, the Sulukka petitioned their totem for a solution. The Rite of Offal provides one, although it has its price.

The Rite of Offal, usually performed directly after the Rite of Churned Earth, converts all man-made debris in the area into a foul-smelling but completely natural sludge. The odor is reminiscent of pig manure and is repulsive even to wolf sensibilities, but it goes away after a few days and helps the area’s plant and animal life flourish.

The rite does not function on corpses or other organic matter, only material fashioned by humanity. Also, it doesn’t work on anything still in use; the Uratha could not use it on a car and cause the vehicle to break down into sludge, unless the car was completely irreparable.

Performing the Rite: The ritemaster splashes the area to be affected with his urine (normally this entails a change to Urhan form, although some male Uratha choose to use Dalu). The ritemaster then chooses the largest chunk of man-made material in the area and spits on it, growling a curse in the First Tongue. Finally, he takes and handful of earth and throws it over the area, asking for Rooting Boar’s aid in returning the land to its normal cycle.

This rite is typically performed under the half moon, but can be performed at any time. It can only be enacted once per day.

Dice Pool: Harmony

Action: Extended (10 successes required; each roll represents one minute)

Roll Results:

Dramatic Failure: All accumulated successes are lost. The ritemaster’s clothes and any other objects carried melt into foul-smelling sludge. This odor levies a -4 penalty on all Social rolls and doesn’t wash off for a week.

Failure: No successes are gained at this time.

Success: Successes are gathered toward the total required. If 10 are gained, any man-made refuse within (yards x ritemaster’s Harmony rating) melt into black, stinking slime. This slime acts as good fertilizer for the land, but causes the area to reek for four days or until the next rainfall. The odor is pungent enough to levy a -1 penalty to anyone within the area of effect, and some Uratha have been known to scoop some of the slime up into glass bottles to hurl at enemies. In addition to the odor, getting the stuff in a target’s eyes (see Specified Targets on p. 165 of the World of Darkness Rulebook) blinds him until he can wash the slime off.

Exceptional Success: The ritemaster makes significant progress toward the goal. If 15+ successes are gathered on the same roll that the ritemaster reaches 10 successes, the ritemaster’s Purity rating is added to her Harmony for purposes of determining the area of effect.

Background Information

 * This rite was inferred in the text of Lodges: The Faithful, but was not actually included, likely cut due to space considerations. Author Matthew McFarland posted the missing rite to the Forsaken LJ Community for public consumption. As such, we consider it official and have mirrored it here.