Not to be confused with Mage's Talismans or Vampire's Talismans.
A Talisman is an item that has been bonded with a spirit that a Garou can use. The name originates from the Rite of Talisman Dedication. Talens are a weaker but easier-to-create version of talismans.
(For their counterpart in older editions, see Fetish.)
Overview[]
Some Garou own a talisman - a special object often but not always inhabited by a spirit. A Garou talisman has its own unique function, often tied to werewolves' animistic perspective. Talismans might be weapons, or tools, or things that help the werewolf focus; they could be spiritual or physical in purpose. Whatever the case, they are special, embodying the ability to perform some supernatural function, or to aid a mundane function with spiritual puissance. Garou belonging to specific cultures with magical or occult traditions often have their own names for talismans, as well.
Talismans requires the Talisman Background. Storytellers are encouraged to create their own, and players to suggest them, the better to demonstrate the values of Garou society in their particular chronicles.
Most talismans have "single-use" versions as well, known as talens. A spirit-catcher talen unravels after its one-time use, unable to capture another spirit, whereas a klaive talen shatters upon a successful attack, inflicting its damage and breaking off in the wound like a splintered claw. If taken as a Background the character is assumed to have a way of acquiring the talens and the character receives a new one at the start of a story of the previous one was spent.
Talismans with especially specific or personal effects appear to be easier to create than more generalist ones, as seen by the Emissaries of Athena managing to create multiple copies of their unique 'comerunnin' talisman despite having little in the way of spiritual potency.
List of Talismans[]
- Apeskin -
(Talisman) or
(Talen) - This talisman takes the form of a patch of skin, ape or human. When worn directly on the owner's own skin it makes the wearer immune to silver while in glabro or hispo form, but it also severely inhibits their ability to regenerate. Few Garou now living know how to make these talismans, but their creation is said to be particularly gruesome. Those found using them are treated with suspicion, if not outright hostility.
- Gaia’s Tear - (Talen) - Garou occasionally find strange, stony "fossils" in the Umbra that are infused with the spiritual world-energy of what they believe to be the world-spirit Gaia. These objects may appear gem-like and brilliant, or they might be dull and pliant, almost like folkloric madstone, and draw out sorrow or fury when used. They are exceedingly rare - none can say reliably how they originate (or even if they actually originate with Gaia...) - being unique in that they can actually cross into the physical world and retain their form. When a Garou communes with one of Gaia's Tears, they find it renews their sense of purpose, and perhaps even invigorates their spiritual makeup itself.
- Harmony Flute -
- The peaceful notes from this flute, carved with the images of Luna and Helios dancing, can calm even the most aggressive creatures, Even Garou in the grip of Rage can be soothed, assuming the talisman user lives longer than for a few bars. While flutes are the most common form of this talisman, variants include other kinds of (usually portable) musical instruments.
- Klaive -
(Talisman) or
(Talen) - The signature weapon of Garou culture, the klaive is a reinforced silver dagger used in ritual combat, and their wielders or creators may decorate them with any sort of unique adornments. In certain environments, such as moots, a klaive is a status symbol that invites the owner to tell how they came into its possession, or of glorious kills made with it. Klaives are particularly associated with the Garou Nation, and as such have an air of the old-fashioned or even obsolete about them. That stated, it's hard to argue with a klaive's effectiveness when a rival shoves one through your face and it comes out of the back of your head.
- Partridge Wing -
- A partridge wing sweeps away the ancestral terror humans have when confronting the Garou. It can be fashioned from an actual partridge-spirit in the Umbra, or it can be more metaphorical in its fashioning and crafted from a spirit of forgetfulness or even fear. It may take the form of an actual wing or feather, or it might be, again, something more metaphorical in function, such as a veil or even a spider-web placed across the eyes.
- Shadowshard -
(Single Talen) or
(Pack Talen) - A shadowshard is a fragment of the world's spiritual reflection, a literal piece of the Umbra. It appears as a hunk of glass or other semi-reflective material but seems to contain shadow itself, whether in the form of roiling, turbulent darkness, or a heavy, mist-like gloom. A Garou may break the shadowshard, freeing the shadow within and pulling the werewolf across the Gauntlet, into the Umbra.
- Spirit-Catcher - A spirit-catcher is a talisman that spirits find captivating, to the point that they'll refuse to leave the spirit-catcher's presence when a Garou presents one. They may have almost any physical appearance, whether otherworldly "fossils" of bygone spirits brought back by Ghost Council Garou after journeys into the Spirit Wilds or technological gewgaws dedicated by Glass Walkers.
- Wind Whistle -
(Talisman) or
(Talen) - Blowing this whistle causes a gust of wind to blow up, carrying with it dust, snow, or other local detritus that covers the tracks of the user and their pack. Pursuers find it hard to pick up a trace and any trail looks older than it should be. Making this whistle requires several pacts with spirits of the land and sky, and the whistle itself must be made from the bone of an animal that died from cold or some other form of environmental exposure.
Legendary Talisman[]
Background Information and Trivia[]
- Klaives are stated to only be wielded in Homid or Glabro form, when Klaives could be wielded in Crinos form in the previous editions and even in Werewolf: The Forsaken. Note that this is stated about Klaives in the Core Rulebook, and 5th edition hasn't revealed or hinted at Grand Klaives yet.
- Partridge Wing was previously a Wendigo fetish in Revised.
References[]
- W5: Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition, p. 188-190
Werewolf: The Apocalypse Fetishes and Talens | |
---|---|
Garou | Ancestor · Apocalyptic · Artifacts · Auspice · Breed · Caern · Celestial · Claw Carvings · Cyberfetishes · Drums · General Fetishes · Klaives: Bane Klaives - Grand Klaives · Legendary · Masks · Natural · Scars/Tattoos · Softwere · Special Items · Talens · Torcs · Tribal · Umbral · WeaverTech: Hardware - Software - Wetware · Wyld · Wyrm |
Kinfolk | Kinfolk Fetishes · Kinfolk Talens |
Fera | Ahadi · Ajaba · Camazotz · Drums · Fylfot · Gurahl · Hengeyokai · Kitsune · Masks · Mokolé · Nagah: - Bindhi · Nuwisha · Rokea · Scars/Tattoos · Shiny Things · Trinkets · Toys |
Fomori | Wyrm |
Mages, Dreamspeakers & Spirit Sphere | General Fetishes · Trinkets |
Fifth Edition Talismans | Klaives · Legendary · Talismans · Talens |