
Mahmoud Abdul-Rahim, Rahu member of the Lodge of Night
The Lodge of Night is a Lodge of the Blood Talons that use Khonsu's blessing to navigate the darkest reaches of the Shadow
The spirit patron of the Lodge of Night is Khonsu.
Overview[]
The Lodge of Night formed thousands of years ago, when a powerful moon-spirit offered its patronage to the Suthar Anzuth of Thebes. Stories tell of how Egypt during this era was a realm of turmoil, slavery and war — and the Shadow was gravely poisoned around the cities. The moonlight-spirit promised to illuminate the darkest reaches of the Uratha’s territory so the werewolves might hunt down and destroy their enemies. The promise has held for millennia, and the Blood Talons of the Lodge of Night still call upon the blessing of their patron as they hunt. With Khonsu’s light, the Uratha enter the darkness without fear; with his illumination, the werewolves see into the blackest depths of the Shadow. To be a member of the Lodge of Night is to take grave responsibility into your heart. Each of these self-titled “night hunters” knows it is his duty to lead the way into the darkest reaches of the Shadow. As a Blood Talon and as Khonsu’s child, a night hunter must be the strongest, the best-prepared and the first to face any horror that could emerge from the world’s sinister reflection. Upon swearing to the Lune totem, the Uratha of this lodge take an additional oath: “I vow to be the one who faces the darkness first.” If a pack faces an unknown entity from the Shadow, the members turn to their Ithaeur or the Bone Shadows. If the unknown entity becomes a threat, the werewolves turn to the night hunter. Khonsu’s children are the first to enter Wounds, and they are at the vanguard of any assault against a never-before-seen breed of spirit or shartha. The Lodge of Night focuses on taking the fight to the very havens of the hostile Shadow creatures, and flushing out any corruption before it can take root and spread further.
Membership[]
The Lodge of Night is relatively widespread. Approaching a member to seek entrance isn’t fraught with any additional difficulties beyond tracking a lodge member down and initially impressing them enough to consider the application. In contrast, some renowned stories are told of the harrowing trials that a potential night hunter must face before winning acceptance into the lodge. Khonsu’s blessing is a double-edged blade, the lodge members are the vanguard into the unknown and the Lodge of Night strives to accept only those who have proven their ability to bear up under extreme pressure. The exact nature of the rite varies from ritemaster to ritemaster, but the ritual itself is called the Entombing. The premise behind the Entombing is that a werewolf of the Lodge of Night will be facing the blackest, darkest sights of the Shadow, heading first into any danger, and enduring horrors that might make other Uratha cringe and whine. The Entombing tests that by burying the werewolf alive.
The applicant takes Hishu form, and is told to listen carefully for the howl of summoning — just before they are placed in a coffin and buried 10 feet under the ground. The applicant’s pack is allowed to witness the burial if they desire, but they are prevented from unearthing their packmate for the duration of the ritual. Tradition states that the ritemaster must remain in the area, watching over the grave for 72 hours. For these three days and three nights, the applicant remains buried, and with no way to tell how much time has passed. The stale air is difficult to breathe, and painful thirst and hunger set in after a while. Many werewolves reach their breaking points and shift within the confines of their coffin to the Gauru form, tearing their way up through the packed soil and into the fresh air once again. Those who do have survived the test, but have also failed it. After the 72 hours have passed, the ritemaster performs the howl of summoning: a single howl as loud and as long as they are able. This is amplified by the Rite of the Ghost Howl and is almost certain to reach the ears of the entombed werewolf. This is the applicant’s cue to finally tear themself free. Those who pass this ordeal are taught (after recovering) the ideologies and specific powers of the lodge.
Game Mechanics[]
The following are an overview of the game mechanics.
Prerequisites[]
- Brawl or Weaponry ••••
- Glory ••
- Willpower rating of 7 or greater
Benefits[]
Members gain a number of blessings. A lodge member can make their vision adapt to any lighting conditions, seeing with preternatural clarity even in Hishu form and in pitch darkness. The character gains +2 to any rolls involving visual perception at night. Characters may also purchase the Rite of the Ghost Howl with experience points. Lodge members also train in several different areas. The experience costs of purchasing or raising these Skills — Brawl, Occult and Athletics — becomes new dots x2 instead of new dots x3. The final benefit of Khonsu’s Blessing is to heighten the instinctive hunter’s sense of a prey’s weakness. If a character spends a Willpower point to activate this powerful awareness, all foes suffer a –1 Defense against his attacks for the remainder of the scene. However, these potent blessings are not without an additional price. All lodge members suffer a –1 penalty to all Harmony rolls made at night. This instability is one of the reasons many werewolves abandon the lodge’s teaching after years of membership, in order to protect their minds from degeneration.
Rites[]
RITE OF THE GHOST HOWL: The Lodge of Night developed this ritual in order to serve as both a warning and a memoriam for fallen members. This strange dual-purpose aspect to the rite comes from its unique effect, whereby the ritualist howls long and hard in the Shadow, and leaves a faint “echo” of the sound in the area after he has departed. From then on, any spirits or Uratha entering the area might hear the faint ghost of a howl, conveying whatever message the ritemaster put into the original howl. Most often these “ghost howls” are left to linger in a region to warn any hostile spirits that it is Uratha-protected territory, or to warn other werewolves that there are highly dangerous spirits nearby. The rite also sees use among the night hunters to mark the spot of a fellow lodge member’s death, where the howl of sorrow will remain in the Shadow for all time. Members of the Lodge of Night are rarely discouraged from marking a packmate's grave with this rite, even if the fallen Uratha was not a night hunter themself. However, it is forbidden to teach the Rite of the Ghost Howl to non-lodge members, and punishable by expulsion
Reference List[]
- WTF: Lodges: The Faithful, p. 73-76