War-Fetishes

The People have had ages upon ages to innovate and create many talens and fetishes. Because of their nature, there are many and more dedicated to battle or war. Here is a sampling.

War-Fetishes and Talens

Blast Pod (Talen): Made from a dried pea pod or seed husk, this talen is infused with a spark- or flame-spirit. When thrown, it bursts into a small flame that lights its target on fire. Blast pods are good for staring instant conflagrations as distractions, or as part of a battle tactic - cutting off either escape or pursuit, for example. Objects that are inflammable or too wet to light typically do not catch fire, but two burst pods thrown in succession ight dry out and then light something that is only moderately damp.
Action: Instant

Keep-Your-Distance (Talen): The keep-your-distance is a sealed-up sack about the size of a tangerine. They fit nicely in the palm, are made of cloth or leather and are generally filled only with the spirit that empowers them. A werewolf uses one as part of any Brawl attack, striking with an open, keep-your-distance-filled palm. Ignore armor, because the attack only needs to make contact. The small pouch bursts open in a howl of wind and force, knocking the target backward three yards for every success on the attack. A Dexterity + Athletics toll is necessary for the target to keep from falling prone, penalized one die for every success on the attack.
Being hurled backwards into a solid object inflicts one point of bashing damage on the target but stops the traveling; at the Storyteller's discretion, striking something sharp might inflict lethal damage. Werewolves use these when they are surrounded or really need a moment of breathing time.
Action: Instant

Silver Dust (Talen): Usually kept in a small leather pouch, this talen looks just like its name suggests: dust of ground silver. Closer inspection reveals that it has been cut with something else. There is a mixture of powdered wolfsbane, lead filings and iron dust mixed in. when the mixture is sprinkled on a weapon, the weapon becomes silver for the next three turns. Spirits of the Earth Choir or various weapon descants empower this talen. Carrying this talen is frowned upon by many Forsaken but is not technically a sin. Wielding the altered weapon is.
Action: Reflexive

Tell-Tale (Talen): Werewolves make the tell-tale out of leaves, twigs and nuts, shaping them into a small bird and securing the whole thing with drips of sap. Activating the talen is a matter of naming a specific individual and whispering up to five words to the bird-doll. There is a -1 die penalty on the Harmony roll for every mile of distance to the target; if the bird fails to activate, it may be reused later (but not more than one attempt per scene). Otherwise, the bird animates and flies to the designated target. There, the tell-tale hovers beside the target's ear and whispers the five words before falling to the ground in its constituent pieces.
In war, these talens are produced by the handful and handed out to pack alpha pack keeps a horde of them for running battles or passing secure messages. Spies also find them very useful. Hummingbird-spirits power this talen.
Action: Simple

Wound-Binders (Talen): This talen comes as a collection of potent herbs wrapped tightly in several layers of gauze bandage. With activation, a werewolf slaps it on a lethal wound she has received while it's still fresh. The wound-binder sticks and, temporarily, makes the wound completely ignorable. It is just as though the werewolf had spent a point of Essence to heat the wound - the player erases the rightmost lethal wound on her wound track, but keeps track of it. At the end of the scene, any wounds treated with wound-binders reappear, making them potentially dangerous to use. She cannot choose to end the talen's effect early or heal the lethal wound with regeneration until the effect does end. There is no limit to the number of wound-binders a werewolf can use on herself at once.
Action: Reflexive

Alert-Me: The alert-me is a short rod of something with a little bit flexibility. Nature-oriented Uratha make them out of vegetation or stiff leather while more modern werewolves might use rubber or plastic. Once attuned to the object, a werewolf activates and wears it while putting off sleep. The alert-me strengthens the character against fatigue, adding a +2 bonus to four Stamina + Resolve rolls to stay awake. During this time, the fetish visibly wilts more and more until it's no stiffer than a wet noodle.
Werewolves recharge this fetish by sleeping an additional hour past a full night's rest. With each hour, the alert-me regains the ability to aid one Stamina + Resolve roll and a little more stiffness. Alert-mes are powered by spirits of nocturnal animals.
Action: Reflexive

Mother Bog's Net: This is a small net woven of vine, swamp grasses and light-gauge wire for strength. When activated, it hurls a web of "slow Essence" out over the werewolf' enemies. Up to three enemies, all within the same general direction and about 20 feet, can be targeted at once. They resist the activation roll with Resolve + Primal Urge. Those who achieve success equal to or fewer than the Harmony roll their Speed as half normal on their next actions. This can only be used once per scene, and requires a point of Essence to charge. The spirits that empower this fetish, commonly for spiders, swamps or mud, turn that point of Essence into the effect.
Action: Instant

Stonethrower: The stonethrower is a smooth jade ring engraved with a single line, constantly looping the band, that eventually connects with itself. Bull-spirits and feather-spirits both empower this fetish. When activated, it reduces the effective Size of a stone (or mostly stone) object by one for the purpose of throwing it. This can be activated twice per scene.
Action: Reflexive

Sunshield: Sunshields are small, circular patches of black silk with a short fringe. Silver thread makes the faint shape of a crescent moon on the black circle. Invoking the sunshield requires a werewolf to hold it tightly in one hand. One who really needs its benefit presses it against her heart. Once activated, the sunshield negates any penalty to stepping or looking across the Gauntlet, caused by daytime. Lunes and Shadow-spirits power this fetish, which works for the next three turns and only once per day.
Action: Reflexive

Blunter: Thick leather armbands, blunters often have flat bits of metal or wood tied to them. When struck by an attack that inflicts lethal damage, the werewolf can activate a blunter to change one point of damage per success from lethal into bashing. This only works once per scene. Spirits of geckos, as well as more modern spirits such as those of tires and Kevlar, power this fetish, which requires a point of Essence to use.
Action: Reflexive

or Skinsheath: The skinsheath is always a scar fetish. The ritemaster who creates it makes it in the rough form of a weapon. A couple orthogonal slashes are enough to make a knife or a sword and other patterns represent other weapons. Once completed, the fetish can be used to contain and conceal a single weapon of the type represented by the scar. The werewolf makes an instant activation roll to absorb the weapon into the scar, at which point the weapon fades into nothingness. It requires a reflexive activation roll to draw the weapon out of the skinsheath, which looks as strange as it sounds.
Two-dot skinsheathes hold small weapons, such as knives, brass knuckles, small hammers and the life. Three-dot skinsheathes are for larger weapons such as swords, battle axes and large hammers or a grouping of smaller weapons, for example, a brace of knives. Other than when specifically designed for it, skinsheathes can only hold one weapon at a time. When a skinsheath contains multiple weapons, they can be withdrawn individually or all at once.
Shadow-spirits and spirits of truce and treaties power these fetishes.
Action: Instant to sheathe; reflexive to draw

Off-Switch: There is no reasonable werewolf who doesn't at least somewhat fear what humanity would do to the Uratha if they learned too much. Since battles in a ware are often unpredictable, there will be times when witnesses are unavoidable - especially with modern electronics. The off-switch, which looks like a wall-mounted light switch with runes traced in it and wood-iron backing, can at least take care of those. Flipping it one way, with the accompanying Harmony roll, causes all visual and audio recording devices within a 100-yard radius to register only static. This lasts for a half-hour, long enough for most battles to end, or until the switch is flipped back into the "on" position.
Spirits of electricity, photography and chameleons take part in these fetishes, which are popular among Iron Masters.
Action: Instant

Soulsoother: In times of war, it is difficult for the People to keep high Harmonies. Apart from representing the very degradation of their souls, it also reduces their functionality: a low-Harmony army has more trouble attuning and activating its fetishes, and Essence is often too dear to spend on the purpose. Soulsoothers are thin membranes of skin stretched tightly across a hardwood frame, decorated with calming patterns that help a werewolf ground herself. For the rest of the scene after activating a soulsoother, treat the werewolf's Harmony as 8 when attuning or activating a fetish. Typically, a werewolf uses the soulsoother just before battle, making it easier for her to activate her other fetishes when every second counts.
Wolf-spirits help create this fetish, which can only be activated once per scene.
Action: Instant

Lucky's Brother (Lesser Klaive): Lucky's Brother is a well-balanced throwing knife made of good steel. Horsehair is wound up within the weapon's hilt. It adds a +1 die bonus to the Dexterity + Athletics roll to attack. The weapon's special quality is that it can almost never be lost (though it can be left behind). If its wielder loses track of it in combat (generally by throwing it at someone or sticking it into an enemy and letting go), a successful Harmony roll means that the knife slips out of the wound somehow. Others overlook the weapon, so it remains to be reclaimed by its owner.
An exceptional success on the activation means that Lucky's Brother finds some way to leave the battlefield with its owner, no matter what. Someone steps on it without noticing, flipping it into a backpack that the weapon's wielder later grabs as she leaves, or something even more improbably may happen. Dog-spirits empower this fetish.
Action: Reflexive

Poisontooth (Lesser Klaive): A Poisontooth blade can come in any form that is expected to pierce the skin but not slash it, from stiletto daggers to rapiers. The snake-spirits that help create the klaive infuse it with a poison designed to slowly wear down an enemy. When activated, the next attack made with the weapon causes the victim to suffer three points of lethal damage. An immediate Stamina + Resolve roll that produces more than three successes can alleviate this damage.
Poisontooth can only be used for free once per scene. Each subsequent activation in the same scene costs one point of Essence. There is a more powerful, unique version of the Poisontooth called Moonless Night that inflicts aggravated damage.
Action: Reflexive

Tearer-of-Silk (Lesser Klaive): Though this sword is stiff as steel, it looks like a cut of golden cloth that flutters through the air when swung. Tearer-of-Silk is partly transparent and laced with gold and jade. The sword's single property is that it cannot harm fully material things, instead being able to rend creatures in Twilight as though they and the sword were both material.
Action: Reflexive

Luna's Curse (Greater Klaive): This klaive is a large, single-edged sword with a large canine tooth hanging from its grip. It looks like a machete that's all grown up. There are runes up and down its length, but they are only visible under the light of the moon. When used in moonlight, the blade becomes silver the instant it bites into the flesh of a werewolf. Blood on the blade boils away after a second or two, at which point the blade becomes simple steel once more.
This blade inflicts aggravated damage against werewolves when the moon shines. Using Luna's Curse counts as fighting with a silver weapon. Lunes power this weapon.
Action: Reflexive

Magician's Edge (Greater Klaive): A slim, curving knife with a rough wooden handle, Magician's Edge is the tool for any werewolf who wants to play lots of tricks during battle. Any strike with the knife that inflicts at least one point of damage also transfers one point of Essence from the target's store to the wielder's. For the most part, only werewolves or spirits are valid targets for this effect, since most other creatures (even other supernatural creatures) don't have an Essence score. If receiving the point of Essence puts the wielder over his maximum Essence, he must use it on his next action or lose it. It bleeds off into the spirit world, where it is almost certain to be lapped up by some Lesser Gaffling.
Mosquito-spirits and spirits of some parasites can help power this weapon.
Action: Reflexive

Heartseeker (Greater Klaive): Heartseekers appear to be little more than thin poles of sturdy wood about human-height. Their tops are sharpened, true, but it looks like the sort of thing a woodsman would make as part of a lean-to. In combat, treat the Heartseeker as a spear that inflicts bashing damage.
When activated and used specifically to target the heart, this weapon ignores all penalties to the attack and inflicts lethal damage. Heartseeker can only be used in this fashion once per scene; few werewolves mind, because they tend to leave Heartseekers behind once they pierce a heart. In the event of war with vampires, the Uratha probably seek many allies among the laser-spirits and other spirits of precision that empower these weapons.
Heartseekers are light and balanced to be thrown, if necessary, and may be thrown by characters with as little as Strength 3.
Action: Reflexive

The Hand That Wounds (Greater Klaive): Though commonly made as a mace of bone or iron, the Hand That Wounds can be any weapon. Other common incarnations make it a greatsword or a great axe. When the weapon lands a blow that onlookers would expect to shatter bone, its victim sometimes feels only a light graze, followed after a moment by soul-searing pain. Any time an attack with this weapon inflicts at least three points of damage, the player may make a reflexive Harmony roll to turn three of those points into one point of aggravated damage.
Venomous spirits whose size belies their danger power this klaive, such as small spiders and snakes.
Action: Reflexive

Longseeker's Eye: Strange as it may seem, this is really a glass eye. Its iris is the golden color of a wolf's and may actually be colored with real gold. The pupil itself is of obsidian, and the rear side is marked with a word in the First Tongue: sight. The story of its creation was that of Longseeker Douglass, a werewolf who constantly traveled in search of... something. If his eye is in someone else's hands, then he probably never found it.
Only a werewolf who has lost an eye can attune this tool, and using it involves setting the eye into the missing socket. Longseeker's Eye then provides vision to the werewolf as though it were a real eye. Longseeker's Eye also reveals faint auras around people corresponding to their natures: a haze of violent red floats around someone whose Vice is Wrath, while the Virtue of Fortitude lends a resolute air to the aura. Supernatural creatures also register. Vampires seem laden with death, and mages look noble, for example.
Effects that conceal these auras roll an appropriate base effectiveness against the werewolf's Primal Urge to determine if they remain hidden or are revealed. The spirit of glass that resides within this fetish is powerful and silent, but it has its own agenda for living in Longseeker's Eye.
Action: Reflexive

Rage Warden (Grand Klaive): Ancient and legendary, this massive club is adorned with strips of dried skin, assorted teeth and small metal trinkets. A Blood Talon Elodoth labored many months to create Rage Warden, and many more to entice the proper spirit - an ancestor of his who has supposedly mastered his Rage. When the ritual was complete, Rage Warden stood ready.
Its damage rating is four bashing damage, and its Size is 3. A werewolf wielding the weapon when she dons the wolf-man form causes a reflexive Harmony roll: success double the number of turns she can Rage. The weapon contains and channels her Rage for her.
Action: Reflexive

Bane of Power (Grand Klaive): This massive, double-headed hammer is as tall as a werewolf in Dalu form and carved entirely from very rough stone. Bane of Power cannot be lifted by anyone with less than Strength of 6 and certainly cannot be wielded. Once a werewolf attunes to the hammer, for her it becomes a manageable weapon a damage rating of four bashing damage. She can feel energy in its long haft, and hate. Bane of Power gives her the subtle urge to attack certain targets over others, though it may take some time before she understands why. Once activated for the scene, the hammer doubles its damage rating against creatures with a supernatural power statistic, such as Blood Potency, Primal Urge, Gnosis or another.
Bane of Power has a final, less-known purpose: it destroys sources of power as well. When the Bane of Power kills one of the creatures it is designed to harm within a fount of power, such as a locus, the flow of power diminishes to nothing. It becomes a normal place. The spirit bound within this weapon is affined with some sort of flame, but is otherwise a mystery. The spirit sometimes speaks to the weapon's bearer.
Action: Reflexive

References

• WTF: The War Against the Pure, p. 53-57