A listing of Fetishes exclusive to the Storm Lords.
Storm Lord Fetishes[]
Blindwolf Cloth (Talen)[1]: A Blindwolf Cloth is a talen created for a Fear of the Dark initiation rite. The talen usually smells pungent, for its creation involves a piece of white cloth left out in a storm from the start of rainfall to the last drop, then dried by incense smoke. A smoke-spirit is bound within the cloth, and the blindfold disintegrates into ash the moment it is removed from around the initiate's eyes.
While worn, the Blindwolf Cloth completely blinds a character and imposes a -1 die penalty to any perception rolls involving the wearer's sense of smell. However, a character wearing one will find that the talen changes shape to fit them in any form, and provided they are wearing it as part of a Storm Lord initiation rite, the Blindwolf Cloth provides an additional dot of Willpower to be used during the Fear of the Dark ritual.
Kin Caller[2]: Poets know that blood calls to blood. An Iminir poet of the Romantic era created the first of these fetishes for himself, and since then, they have become a common sight throughout the tribe. This fetish is a choker or a collar worn tight around the neck, usually made of leather. In creating the Kin Caller, a werewolf must have drops of three relatives' blood touch the material (no more than the tiniest drops are required) and bind a blood- or love-spirit within the item to seal the deal.
When the fetish is activated, the werewolf wearing the Kin Caller can howl, shout or cry out in any form, though it can be no more complex than a single concept or word, such as a place or a name. To anyone related to the character by blood (or whose blood was used in the creation of the fetish), the howl will be audible so long as he is within a five-mile radius of the werewolf. Further than five miles away, and the reception of the howl becomes unreliable. A perception roll is required to hear the howl between five and 10 miles away. On the plus side, the howl can be heard in both worlds, breaking through the Gauntlet when the fetish is used.
These fetishes are most often used so family members and lovers can find the werewolf in times of stress or danger, but the fetishes are used by some packs as beacons to find one another, allowing howling with no enemies hearing what is being conveyed. Unfortunately, this is not an option for packs larger than four werewolves, for it requires the blood of three other souls to create the fetish, no more and no less.
Action: Instant
to
Storm Rune[3]: "When ol' Ragnar tells you his hammer cracked a mountain, you better believe what he says. A hammer that splits a mountain in two would make short work of your skull, boy." - Ragnar the Red, Storm Lord Rahu, 902 CE
Much like the rest of the weapons of the Forsaken, Storm Lord weapons come in two types: plain and useful, or ornate and useful. When your life is given over to fighting a war every night, no werewolf would make a pretty blade with no use whatsoever on the battlefield. Instead, beautiful or hideous, every Forsaken weapon has a use. Some lament the weapons' lack of craftsmanship, though, and some Storm Lords turn to a traditional method of making their weapons a little less uninspired-looking.
Storm Runes are the Iminir's way of putting even plain and uninspiring weapons a little closer to the realm of the ornate. The Storm Rune is also the fetish largely responsible for some of the tribe's most famous weapons: the Jarlhammer of Ragnar the Red and Ellen Ragnarsdottir, the saber of Al Altan and so on.
A Storm Rune is an enhancement to an existing weapon (fetish or otherwise) whereby the creator etches a stylized lightning bolt into the weapon's surface. These symbols are not the simple zig-zags of a child's drawing but a stylized representation often reflecting ancient cultural art or a personal vision of the essence and power contained within a storm's rage. In some cases, it might be a long spiral from a blade's hilt to tip. In others, a short poem about the fury of the heavens, written in tiny, delicate script along the length of a staff. Sometimes, of course, a bolt of lightning is just a bolt of lightning, but these are seen as the creator lacking imagination as well as talent. Utilitarian, yes. Worthy of respect, no.
Each Storm Rune inscribed upon a fetish weapon makes the fetish one dot more expensive, up to a maximum of five dots (a one-dot weapon with four Storm Runes), Each Storm Rune can either add +1 Strength to the attack roll on the turn the fetish is activated, or the Rune subtracts one from the foe's Defense on the turn following a successful attack. The effect must be chosen at the time of purchasing Storm Rune, but a weapon can feature a mix of these effects. (A five-dot Rune-inscribed weapon could grant +3 to Strength on the attack roll when activated, then also subtract -2 from the foe's Defense on the subsequent turn if the attack roll was successful.)
A spirit of lightning, storms or thunder is bound into these runes.
Action: Reflexive
or
Rune Stone of Balance[4]: Leading by example is an ideal close to the hearts of many Storm Lords. The ever-present threat of Death Rage summering beneath the surface of every werewolf is a terrifying loss of control for any of the Uratha, but it is an awful sign of weakness for some of the Iminir's most devoted members, who can lose heart and faith in themselves if their packmates are forced to see even one of the Lords lose control over his own mind and flesh.
Rune Stones of Balance are created as a way of helping maintain control against the onset of Kuruth, by binding a calming spirit of earth into a fist-sized rock. When activated, these fetishes spread cooling calm through the blood of the Storm Lord, quickly easing the lava heat in his heart ad the burning red streaking across his vision.
Upon activation, a Rune Stone of Balance offers the character a +2 bonus to Resolve + Composure rolls in order to resist Death Rage. A three-point version of this fetish exists, which increases the bonus to +3, and triggers automatically if the Storm Lord falls into Kuruth, offering the character the bonus on his roll to regain control. The three-point of Willpower once a week, usable so long as the character's feet are in contact with the ground. Tarmac, sidewalks and any other artificial human-made surface are still appropriate for the purposes of the weekly Willpower point.
Action: Instant
to
Spirit's Dream[5]: Some fetishes are created not for battle or even with a particular beneficial use in mind. Some are created purely out of curiosity, and any potential uses for the items are discovered after the tool is completed. A Spirit's Dream is one such fetish, made by the Storm Lords of the Lodge of the Final Winter and then spread among the rest of the tribe - even to Irraka and Ithaeur of other tribes, who may sometimes find the tool has some fascinating applications.
A dream-spirits (not always easy prey in itself) is bound into a piece of clear stone, such as quartz or crystal or diamond. The fetish can be created with a shard of glass, though it is notoriously difficult to persuade a dream-spirit to enter such an item.
A Spirit's Dream is activated by a werewolf within arm's reach of a spirit in Slumber, or otherwise inert, such as shackled by a rite or bound within a fetish. The spirit cannot be resisting (or even mobile) in any way, or the fetish will fail to function. Once activated, it allows the werewolf to experience several moments of the spirit's own dreams. The duration is based on the power of the fetish, with each dot allowing a further 30 seconds of perception, during which the Uratha sees the dreams as though she were seeing through the spirit's eyes. The fetish's rating also determines the rank of the spirit that the fetish-user is able to 'pry into,' with one-dot Spirit's Dreams allowing a werewolf only to see into the lowest-ranked spirits, and five-dot fetishes seeing into the dreams of Rank 5 spirits.
A spirit's dreams are not the dreams of a mortal. A werewolf is likely to look into the very essence of the spirit's concept, reliving moments where the spirit has acted out its core nature or important moments in the spirit's existence such as when it devoured other spirits and grew stronger. For some packs, this can be a fascinating look into the psyche of a Shadow-being. For others, it can be an insidious way of learning about a type of spirit, or exploiting a particular spirit's ban.
Action: Instant
Guksu's Headdress[6]: On the surface, a werewolf holds in his hands a tattered headdress of feathers, pebbles on strings, dried leaves and old leather. Not too pretty, and certainly a far cry from the majestic Native American headdresses worn by ranking tribesmen so long ago.
A Guksu Headdresses is a holdover from previous centuries and used almost exclusively by the Storm Lords of North America, especially among those in whose veins still beat Native American blood. A werewolf must create one using seven different materials from his own territory: wire from a chain-link fence, feathers dropped by pigeons or crows, carved pebbles from a public park now shaped like the face of Skolis, leather from a jacket bought at a local store and so on. The only element that must always be present is the fact feathers must be used, though the type of bird they come from doesn't matter. Once the headdresses is created, a raven-, coyote- or lizard-spirit is bound into the fetish to complete it.
Guksu Headdresses were used by Pomo Storm Lords (as well as those in other tribes) to identify auspice roles among the Iminir. More than that, the fetishes enhanced the werewolf's abilities to fulfill her duty, and infused her with the courage and willpower to go one step closer to perfection.
The following section details the Attribute and Skill bonuses imbued by the activated fetish, determined by auspice. Upon creating the fetish, the maker (or the purchasing player, if bought at character creation) can choose the Attribute and Skill boosted by the headdress, which remain the same throughout the fetish's use.
Rahu: Full Moon characters wearing their headdresses gain +1 to any Physical Attribute and +2 to any Physical Skill on the turn it is activated. Any successful rolls using the enhanced Skill while the Headdresses is activated will restore one point of Willpower.
Cahalith: Gibbous Moon character gain +1 to any Social Attribute and +2 to any Social Skill on the turn it is activated. Any successful rolls using the enhanced Skill while the Headdresses is activated will restore one point of Willpower.
Elodoth: Half Moon characters gain +1 to any Social or Mental Attribute and +2 to any Social or Mental Skill on the turn it is activated. Any successful rolls using the enhanced Skill while the Headdresses is activated will restore one point of Willpower.
Ithaeur: Crescent Moon characters gain +1 to any Social or Physical Attribute and +2 to any Social or Physical Skill on the turn it is activated. Any successful rolls using the enhanced Skill while the Headdresses is activated will restore one point of Willpower.
Irraka: No Moon characters gain +1 to any Physical or Mental Attribute and +2 to any Physical or Mental Skill on the turn it is activated. Any successful rolls using the enhanced Skill while the Headdresses is activated will restore one point of Willpower.
Action: Instant
References[]
- WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 181-183
- ↑ WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 181
- ↑ WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 181-182
- ↑ WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 182
- ↑ WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 182
- ↑ WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 182-183
- ↑ WTF: Tribes of the Moon, p. 183