Hunter in Darkness Fetishes

The fetishes created by the Hunters in Darkness tend to help them protect their territories. Early warning systems, weapons and methods of blending in are common, as are fetishes that allow gathering of information from spirits (whether the spirits are willing or not). Hunter Ithaeur are usually insistent that any fetish they create incorporates spirits that can quest for a spirit to put into a fetish creates a fetish out of touch with the Hunter's territory, and that might well backfire. Questing for the materials with which to create the fetish is another matter, though, and Hunter fetish-crafters often leave their territories to find the perfect home for their chosen spirit.

Below are some sample fetishes that Hunters in Darkness might create.

Hunter in Darkness Fetishes

Broken Sand: Glass is simply heated sand, and with the proper spiritual assistance, one can become the other quickly. Hunters in Darkness scatter this coarse sand across the trail of a pursuer. When the pursuer's feet touch the sand, it immediately changes into broken glass. This inflicts one level of lethal damage to the pursuer, but also subtracts three successes from a pursuer involved in a Foot Chase (see p. 65 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). If the pursuer's bare feet do not touch the sand (that is, the pursuer wears shoes), the sand does not change, and the talen loses its power after one scene. To create this talen, the werewolf smashes a glass bottle or object and then binds a minor spirit earth into the fragments.
Action: Instant

Dedication Cologne (Talen): Not every Hunter knows the Rite of Dedication, and even when a packmate does know it, a werewolf might not want to wear the same outfit every night. This talen takes the form of a thick liquid with a slight musky scent. When sprayed over a werewolf's clothes and activated, the talen dedicates the clothing (per the Rite of Dedication, see p. 150 of Werewolf: The Forsaken). The effect wears off after 12 hours, or if the outfit becomes soaked in water.
Action: Instant

Sirenhowl: Howling in the city is dangerous - it alerts the Herd to the presence of wolves, and that typically brings attention of the wrong sort. Also, any of the werewolf's enemies or rivals can use a howl to pinpoint his location. But for all that, sometimes a wolf must howl, and so the Hunters in Darkness sometimes craft Sirenhowls to mask their cries. A Sirenhowl usually takes the form of a necklace with a piece of red or blue plastic on it. When the Sirenhowl is activated, only the werewolf's pack hears his howl for what it truly is. Any other listener hears a siren's wail. The fetish must be re-activated for each howl. A mockingbird-spirit can be used to create this fetish, but urban spirits of warning (which often follow ambulances and police cars) are a more popular and appropriate choice.
Action: Instant

Vandal Spider: Mystical interference in a werewolf's territory is difficult to detect, and it's the sort of thing that the Hunters in Darkness would rather discover firsthand anyway, so as to gain as much direct ("true") experience as possible with it. Mundane destruction, though - spray-painting, minor fires and other acts of vandalism - can easily constitute a violation of sacred space and is simple enough to understand. The Meninna recognize that spiders are among the most successful hunters in the world, and so they bind spider-spirits into headbands, bandanas and hats to allow the Hunters to feel when vandals strike their territory. Once activated, a Vandal Spider sends a quivering feeling through the werewolf's head and face whenever someone deliberately damages something in her territory. The werewolf has a general sense of the direction, and the sensation continues for as long as the vandalism persists. The Hunter is usually left trying to track down the vandal (unless she's quite close by when it happens), but at least she doesn't have a cold trail. Once activated, this fetish remains so for eight hours.
Action: Instant

Fear-Worm: This fetish drives away human beings, by instilling any who enter the fetish's range of effect (a one-mile radius) with a creeping sense of horror. The fetish takes the form of a snake's skin or skeleton. The head must remain attached with the fangs visible. The werewolf nails the fetish to a wooden structure at the center of the territory she wishes to affect, and activates the fetish. Once activated, the fetish imposes a -2 penalty on all Resolve and Composure rolls made for human beings within the area of effect, and ensures that their dreams while within this area are highly disturbing nightmares (a target receives no Willpower for sleeping while she is thus afflicted). When the human leaves the area, the effect stats to fade immediately, but the dread does not leave the victim entirely until sunrise or sunset. The spirit of a snake, spider or other creature generally regarded as frightening empowers this effect.
Action: Instant

Arrow Chain: A Hunter in Darkness from the Pacific Northwest created this unique fetish to aid in stealthy raids. Activating the fetish does not ensure success. It also takes good archer to make this fetish perform. The fetish actually consists of several parts - a quiver and 20 arrows. Arrows fired from a bow can be made to stick into the air itself, and hold fast even under the weight of a werewolf in war form (Strength 8). The archer merely chooses any point in the sky and aims an arrow there. If the shot is successful, the arrow stops as if it had struck something and is held fast for the scene. The Arrow Chain has many applications, but they are most often used as a ladder or even a bridge (for the dexterous). Lining up the arrows in such a manner is still rather difficult; each shot suffers a -4 to target the appropriate spot, not including range modifiers. After the scene, or upon the command of the master, the arrows return to the quiver. This fetish is made from an air elemental. If the quiver or more than half of the arrows are ruined, the fetish is destroyed.
Arrow: Durability 1 (reinforced to 5), Size 1, Structure 6, Damage 2
Quiver: Durability 1 (reinforced to 5), Size 2, Structure 7
Action: Extended (to form the rungs of a ladder 1 success is needed for every 2' distance between targets, or 3' in Gauru form; each shot takes one turn; maximum of 20 rolls)

Fangs of the Bat (Klaive): These weapons take many forms - daggers, mauls, bows and even sickles. The Fangs of the Bat are sometimes produced in pairs and wielded together using the Two Weapons Fighting Style (see p. 112 of the World of Darkness Rulebook), but this requires crafting two fetishes separately. These klaives incorporate the spirit of the bat, the precise, night-flying hunter who never misses his target no matter how small it might be. The Hunters in Darkness favor these weapons because they cut down on an enemy's chances to scream or otherwise alert others - one swipe, one shot, one strike and the enemy falls dead. In game terms, once activated, Fangs of the Bat reduces the penalties associated with striking a specific target (see p. 165 of the World of Darkness Rulebook) by two.
Such targeted shots might include aiming for a victim's throat (removes enemy's ability to scream or speak), eyes (blinding the victim), Achilles tendon or hamstrings (halves Speed) or back of the head (aggravated damage). This benefit applies only if the werewolf specifies a target, and it can't grant a bonus to such rolls. That is, if the penalty for specify a target is -1, the fetish can negate that penalty but not raise it to +1.
Action: Reflexive

Wolf to Her Den: The Hunters in Darkness are proud, but nor foolish. They know that there are threats in the darkness that can best even the Uratha, and Hunters know that if they fall in defending their territory, it will be violated just the same as if they'd surrendered. Retreat, then, is a viable option sometimes. The Wolf to Her Den fetish makes this possible. The fetish is crafted in two parts, but can take almost any shape. Often, the fetish resembles a small wolf figurine, made to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. The werewolf leaves one half in a safe place (this place is always considered sacred, and must never have been violated) and carries the other her. When activated, this fetish instantly transports the werewolf back to the location of the hidden half. The user must immediately spend Essence equal to her current Size rating (making Urhan the most economical form to use the fetish in), to assist the spirits of the fetish in their transformation and transportation of the werewolf's flesh. The werewolf's pack can be transported as well; the Essence expenditure still applies, though the packmates can spend Essence for each other. Once the fetish has been used, the two halves must be joined and remain so for a short while for the spirits to realign themselves (in game terms, this fetish can be used only once per story). Wolf-spirits are most often used to craft this fetish, but spirits of other animals that mate for life are also viable. Obviously, it takes two such spirits.
Action: Instant

References

• WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 110-112