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Andreas Wehner

Andreas Wehner, Irraka member of the Lodge of Scrolls

The Lodge of Scrolls is the largest lodge of the Iron Masters, they work to discover, compile and record any and all information they can for the sake of the Uratha.

The Lodge of Scrolls answers to no patron spirit. Though the lodge’s goals are expressed as a moral and ethical need as well as a practical one, lodge members avoid the patronage of a spirit that would potentially color and distort the information they collected.

Overview[]

Uratha culture remains, broadly speaking, an oral one. Wisdom and stories, even training and facts, are passed through story, song and conversation. While many amongst the Cahalith maintain that this is the only way to spread true wisdom, rather than the empty knowledge of facts, the Iron Masters have never agreed. The Lodge of Scrolls is the most widespread lodge within the tribe, and many consider this lodge to be almost a sub-tribe rather than just a lodge. The Scroll-Keepers work ceaselessly to discover, compile and record knowledge that will serve the Forsaken well in generations to come. At the heart of the lodge members’ work is repairing what they see as the great folly hidden in the necessary death of Father Wolf. With Father Wolf died more knowledge of the Shadow Realm and the nature of reality than the Uratha now possess. As a race, they have forgotten more than they remember. And that knowledge, the awareness of ignorance, rankles something fierce. The greatest concern, of course, is that the information gathered cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands — and the Scroll-Keepers are violently protective of their gathered lore in the way that only werewolves can be.

Membership[]

The lodge maintains an active and public face within the Iron Masters, and potential mentors are not hard to find at gatherings or, at a push, across the Internet. Once an applicant finds a sponsor, they enter a period of apprenticeship, one that can last a very long time indeed. Traditionally, the apprentice was expected to spend up to several months with their sponsor, and given pack responsibilities, it could take years for to accumulate enough time away from their territory to achieve this. Within the last century, reliable mail services have allowed greater communication between sponsors and apprentices, speeding up this phase of initiation into the lodge. In the last decade, the Internet has sped up the initial phase even further for the lucky few who have Internet-savvy sponsors, who are beginning to exist in steadily growing numbers. Initially, the apprenticeship focuses on the recording part of the lodge’s function. After all, what good is finding out something if it’s not properly recorded? This is indubitably the hardest part of the process for most werewolves to bear. The exacting, pedantic standards can infuriate an apprentice, as can the constant criticism. Should an apprentice give in to that frustration and let loose their Rage, they can forget ever becoming a member of the lodge. Once the sponsor is satisfied with the apprentice’s ability to record information accurately and quickly across multiple media, the two proceed to the second stage of the initiation: questing. The mentor sets the initiate a series of tasks of increasing difficulty, starting with some basic research tasks, moving on to extracting information from other werewolves and, finally, with quests of significant danger into either the Shadow, Pure territory or other hostile environments. The initiate is not expected to perform the last quests on their own; the assistance of a pack is not just allowed, it’s expected. Lodge members are more effective as members of packs, for one thing, and, for another, the mentor is testing the applicant’s ability to selectively reveal information to the pack. If this stage is performed to the mentor’s satisfaction, the applicant will be formally initiated into the lodge at the next convenient gathering.

It’s a mark of the esteem that the lodge holds in the tribe, and amongst Uratha generally, that a lodge initiation is usually held in full view of all werewolves present at the gathering, as early in the proceedings as possible. The new lodge member is expected to repeat the lodge litany with other lodge members present joining in with the repeated phrases. Finally, the lodge initiate is seized by the other lodge members and locked away in a small room. In the room are a pile of scrolls and, if the initiate understands the story of the lodge’s founding, they will set to work transcribing as many of their important memories as they can. At the close of the gathering, the applicant is freed from the room and thrust into a rite held by the lodge members to summon a servant of Old Knowledge. The spirit appears, and devours the most important surface memories of the young initiate, an excruciating and terrifying process. Imagine feeling your history slipping away from you. Would you be who you are if you didn’t know who you had been? This process leaves the initiate drained, scared but with a burning desire for their lost knowledge and a real understanding of the importance of records. With luck, they will be able to reclaim the majority of their memories from the scrolls. If not, they'll understand the purpose of the Lodge of Scrolls on a very personal level.

Game Mechanics[]

The following are an overview of the game mechanics.

Prerequisites[]

  • Intelligence •••
  • Academics ••
  • Investigation •••

Benefits[]

Access to the wide range of material recorded and archived by the lodge gives lodge members two extra dice on any Research or Investigation roll to discover information, even if they’re not directly consulting the Lodge of Scrolls records. Old Knowledge grants lodge members insights into where what they seek might be most easily found. In addition, they learn more easily than most werewolves. The experience cost for all Mental Skills becomes new dots x2.

Rites[]

Rite of Comprhension •••: Many Scroll-Keepers pick up several languages in the course of their studies, but the insular, territorial nature of Uratha life makes a polyglot werewolf a rare thing indeed. However, sometimes lodge members are faced with information in a foreign language that they urgently need to read. This rite is believed to be the result of a bargain struck with specialized language-spirits, a descant within the choir of knowledge-spirits, centuries ago by lodge members. The Rite of Comprehension allows the Uratha to read or hear a foreign language almost as if it were their own, for a limited period of time.

Fetishes[]

Biografia Perfeita ••••: The Biografia was created in Portugal by a member of the Lodge of Scrolls who was fascinated by the stories of each person's life. This handmade, leather folio is rather unwieldy, being two feet wide, three feet in length and over eight inches thick. To activate this fetish, the werewolf must touch the book to the target's skin. The target can resist the effects. If successful, the blank pages of the book begin to fill with raw, stream-of-consciousness writing in longhand (and in Portuguese). The words on the page remain for two hours.
Still, it allows the Uratha to research several questions about the person's life - use the normal rules for research found in the World of Darkness, p. 56. Simple information about the events of a life requires three successes. Basic information requires five, but deep secrets require ten successes. Each roll takes a half an hour; therefor, there is a maximum of four rolls.

  • Durability 1 (reinforced to 5), Size 2, Structure 7, Damage 1
  • Action: Contested (Harmony versus target's Composure)[1]

References[]

Werewolf: The Forsaken Lodges
First Edition
Blood Talons Lodge of CerberusLodge of the EinherjarLodge of GarmLodge of the Lone WolfLodge of NightLodge of the ShieldLodge of SwordsLodge of Wendigo
Bone Shadows Lodge of BaitalLodge of DeathLodge of DoorsLodge of Hallowed HallsLodge of HarbingersLodge of the Hundred DaysLodge of the Hungry GhostsLodge of ProphecyLodge of the ReapingLodge of Voices
Hunters in Darkness Lodge of AshesThe Brotherhood of Eshu's CapLodge of CarrionLodge of the Empty DenLodge of HarmonyLodge of RuinLodge of SeasonsLodge of the Sleeping BearLodge of Wrath
Iron Masters Lodge of 66Lodge of ArmsLodge of the Hidden HuntLodge of LightningLodge of MetalLodge of ScrollsLodge of SpiresLodge of StonesLodge of Wires
Storm Lords Lodge of CrowsLodge of the Final WinterKshatriyasLodge of the MaelstromLodge of NamarrkunLodge of SalvationLodge of the Shadow's StormLodge of the Shadow ThroneLodge of ThunderLodge of Winter
Auspice Lodge of the BoundaryLodge of the Broken PledgeEigner LodgeLodge of the Endless HorizonLodge of the Fury ChoirLodge of the HazzanLodge of Luna's TearsLodge of LycurgusLodge of the Second MoonriseThe Secret TribunalLodge of the Shadow ThroneLodge of the Spirit ChainsLodge of the Spoken WordLodge of the Starless SkyLodge of the Storm's Eye
Pure Lodge of AbsolutionBlood of KingsCouncil of EaglesLodge of Kin's BloodLodge of Night's FearLodge of PlagueLodge of Sana'aLodge of Vermin's Shadow
Others Lodge of the AdderLodge of ArkadiaThe Armée SauvageLodge of AvalonLodge of the Black WoodsLodge of Bloody SpearsBrotherhood of the Crossed SwordsLodge of ChemicsLodge of the CoyoteLodge of the CrossroadsCult of BonesLodge of EchoesLodge of the Endless MoonLodge of the Fallen IdolLodge of the FeastLodge of Fevered LightLodge of the FirestickLodge of Grey HuntersLodge of the GrottoLodge of Howling DeathLodge of the HuntLodge of IliaLodge of KletbyLodge of the LakeLodge of the LionLodge of LondonLodge of the LostLodge of Luna's DevoteesLodge of MammonLodge of ManiaLodge of the ModernistLodge of the Morning StarLodge of the NahualLodge of PraetorsLodge of QuetzalLodge of the Red SandsLodge of the RoseLodge of the SacrificeLodge of SaintsLodge of the SaviorLodge of ScarsLodge of ScavengersLodge of the ShepherdLodge of SilenceLodge of SongkranLodge of TearsLodge of the Thin ShadowLodge of Two WorldsLodge of the UnionLodge of UnityLodge of the Willow Branch
Mots EiwazValkyrja
Second Edition
Blood Talons Lodge of the Einherjar
Bone Shadows Lodge of the Hundred Days
Hunters in Darkness Lodge of the Hook HandLodge of Sleepless Earth
Iron Masters Lodge of the Shield
Storm Lords Lodge of The Roman Ritual
Ghost Wolves Eaters of the DeadLodge of the Field
Auspice Lodge of the ChronicleLodge of Gargoyles
Pure Lodge of Muspell
Others Lodge of GarmDreaming LodgeLodge of Quicksilver ChildrenLodge of the Screaming MoonThe Temple of ApolloThe Thousand Steel Teeth
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