
Lodge of the Reaping Member
The Lodge of the Reaping is a Lodge of the Bone Shadows.
The spirit patron of the Lodge of the Reaping is Prey's Death, "Thimús".
Overview[]
The Lodge of the Reaping was founded by a pack of Bone Shadows that was forced to put one of their members down after he developed a fondness for human flesh and went completely insane. How, they asked, could this have been prevented? Was it possible to take sustenance from humanity in a way that didn't threaten Harmony? As they asked this question, under the new moon, miles from anyone who would hear this blasphemous discussion, a spirit appeared to them. This spirit, called Prey' Death or Thimús, told them that there was a way for them to do what the wished to do, and it would help them. Thus the Lodge of the Reaping was born.
The Lodge of the Reaping is arranged into small cells, often not more than two or three members (when more than three constitute a cell, they usually also form a pack). Each cell serves a death-spirit similar to Thimús. The spirit uses its Soul Snatch Numen to remove the soul of a mortal that the werewolves and the spirit agree is useless, or is going to die soon anyway. The werewolves can then kill the mortal, or let him live on without a soul (which is usually fatal anyway). The spirit takes a tithe from the soul, and the werewolves take the rest.
The Lodge of the Reaping believes that is is trimming the herd, dodging the usual issues related to eating humans in the process. Whether the lodge members are doing anyone any good by killing humans off is questionable, but Harmony loss is another matter. Participating in the removal of a person's soul is a sin against Harmony 4 (roll three dice). Consuming the soul of a human being is a sin against Harmony 2 (roll two dice). Why, then does the lodge persist?
First, consider that the lodge is very small, containing perhaps only 50 members worldwide. For the lodge to work, a spirit powerful enough to pull out a person's soul needs to patronize a group of werewolves, and this is uncommon.
Second, the death-spirits that make up the true leadership of the lodge don't usually introduce the notion of eating souls to a werewolf right away. They make it enticing for the werewolf to eat humans, and then present another option - and look, a whole lodge already exists dedicated to the practice, and they aren't Zi'ir!
Finally, the death-spirits pace themselves. They allow members of the lodge to build up their Harmony before attacking another victim, and the spirits avoid letting their charges violate the precepts of Harmony in other ways.
All of that said, the Reapers do become Zi'ir fairly frequently. The death-spirits, then, encourage them to recruit other Bone Shadows, not to spread the lodge, but to make sure that it doesn't die out.
Membership[]
The Lodge of the Reaping are sometimes abject monsters, but sometimes they have good intentions. They want to help humanity by clearing away some dead weight, and they want to become better werewolves without endangering their sanity. Their methods are flawed, of course, but no Uratha enters the lodge with the intention of eating souls. It just happens as things progress, and the influx of Essence and the other benefits often blind the Uratha to what she is really doing.
Reapers have to keep their affiliation secret, of course, even from their packs. In addition, they are expected to act in a manner consistent with Harmony (with the exception, of course, of eating souls, which isn't specifically part of the Oath). Therefore, many Reapers appear to cleave to the Oath far more faithfully than other werewolves, and so are above reproach for something so base as cannibalism.
Game Mechanics[]
The following are an overview of the game mechanics.
Prerequisites[]
None, though the death-spirits prefer werewolves with high Manipulation, Subterfuge and Stealth ratings, as this allows the spirits to stay inconspicuous.
Benefits[]
Reapers all learn special rites that allow them to prepare jars to hold human souls. These rites don't require purchase with experience or dots in Rituals, and can't be used for other purposes (assume such a jar takes about one hour to prepare). The lodge's practice of eating souls ensures a secondary source of Essence, of course. Finally, the lodge members enjoy the protection of powerful death-spirits. The Storyteller should design a death-spirit that looks after the character's cell (not necessarily pack; it's possible for a member of the lodge to belong to a pack that knows nothing of his predations) of werewolves, and consider that this spirit is prepared to use its Numina and Influence of the werewolf's behalf. The spirit also lets the werewolf know if she is about to take an action that might cause degeneration. Since the spirit doesn't have a sense of how high the character's Harmony trait is, though, the spirit warns the werewolf when she is about to eat prepared food or reminds her to shapeshift, as well as bringing more serious breaches to her attention. This constant spiritual attention hones the werewolf's perceptions where spirits are concerned, and the character receives a +2 on any roll to see or teach across the Gauntlet, and a +3 to any roll made to notice spirits or spirit activity. These modifiers apply to perceptions rolls, Gifts, rites and Skill-related rolls.
Thimús's Brood and the Soul Snatch Numen[]
Prey's Death is a very powerful spirit, probably Rank 5 or even 6. While the death-spirits that serve the lodge (or vice versa) don't always resemble Thimús, it is responsible for elevating them beyond that status of mere death-Gafflings. They end to be Rank 3 or 4, and are powerful spirits in their own rights. They report back to Thimús, wherever it currently is, using the dreams of the lodge members to communicate. Thimús seems to have a plan for the lodge beyond just sustenance, but what it is remains, for now, unknown.
The Soul Snatch Numen is a rare but terrifying Numen, allowing the spirit to steal the soul of a mortal. This acts just as the Claim Numen (p. 276 of Werewolf: The Forsaken) except that success on the spirit's part means it grasps the victim's soul instead of riding its body. The spirit can then do with the soul what it will, though in the Lodge of the Reaping the spirit hands it over to a werewolf, who then seals it in a specially prepared jar. The soul provides twice the victim's Willpower dots in Essence. The death-spirits of the lodge usually consume two points and allow the werewolf to take the rest. They absorb Essence from the very act of the mortal's degradation and death, so they don't have to be greedy.
References[]
- WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 69-70