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Talens are mass-produced single use fetishes.

Overview[]

While Fetishes are rare items requiring great effort to create, Talens are far more common. Even a fairly inexperienced Garou can create a Talen. Unlike Fetishes, which are permanent until either the Garou releases the spirit or it somehow breaks free, a Talen is a temporary item, usually good for one use only.

In Garou society, it is considered less disrespectful to force spirits into a Talen than a Fetish, as the spirit is freed upon the talen's use.

Sample Talens[]

Talens don't require attunement, but have a limited number of uses (just once, unless otherwise specified). A successful Gnosis Challenge (retest Primal Urge) activates the spirit within a talen. You may spend a point of Gnosis to force a talen active if the challenge fails. A Garou may only carry a number of talens equal to twice their permanent Gnosis Traits.

The Fetishes and Talens located here are but samples. The list is by no means complete or exhaustive.

Bane Arrows
Gnosis 4
These obsidian-headed arrows seek out and home in on Banes, whether or not they are visible. They hit Banes automatically and inflict three dice of aggravated damage. Furthermore, the bite of a Bane arrow is so painful that no Bane can resist howling in agony. Wyrm spirits can sometimes sense the presence of these Talens, and they may not wait for the archer to fire before acting.

To create a Bane arrow, one must bind a spirit of war, air, or pain into the arrow.

Death Dust
Gnosis 6
When broken open, activated, and sprinkled over the body of a recently (within a day) dead creature, this small jar of dust allows the wielder to communicate with the spirit of the corpse. The Silent Striders sometimes give these Talens to their pups to help them discover knowledge.

To create death dust, one must bind a spirit of death, communication, or divination into the jar.

Moon Glow
Gnosis 8
This Talen is a single moonbeam caught within a small crystal. Upon embarking on a journey into the Umbra, the wielder may activate this Talen from Luna. As long as it is carried continually, the journey should be a safe one. The crystal shatters once the Garou reaches his destination. This Talen keeps away only incidental danger. If a powerful and hostile spirit hunts the werewolf actively, she has more problems than this Talen can solve.

Only a Lune can empower a moon glow Talen.

Moon Sign
Gnosis 5
This small waxen seal bears the sign of the full moon. When activated and thrown down before any werewolf, the werewolf's player must succeed on a Willpower roll (difficulty 7), or the character changes immediately to Lupus form. This Talen works on Black Spiral Dancers and other shapechangers as well, making them shift to their animal form.

To create a moon sign, one must bind a Lune into the seal. One may also use a spirit of the Wyld, a spirit of change or a wolf spirit.

Nightshade
Gnosis 5
This Talen is distilled from the very essence of night. When quaffed, one fluid ounce of this liquid turns the imbiber's body into shadow, rendering her virtually invisible in darkness. Only a watcher searching actively for the user can make a roll to spot her. This effect lasts only an hour. Weaker versions of this Talen exist that last only until the change of the next hour.

To create nightshade, a spirit of night or darkness must be bound into a vial.

Wyrm Scale
Gnosis 8
This sigil possesses some protection against the power of the Wyrm. Servants of the Wyrm revert to their true forms if the sigil activates in their presence. Some believe that this action alerts the Wyrm to the existence of the sigil, but in any event, the sigil combusts in a greenish fire immediately after use, and it is incinerated completely.

To create a Wyrm scale, a Wyrm spirit must be bound into the sigil.

References[]

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