Wisdom (WTF Gifts)

Wisdom is a set of Auspice Affinity Gifts for Ithaeur and cannot be learned by Uratha of other auspices. All Wisdom Gifts can be taught by Ithalunim, in addition to any other type of spirits listed under their respective descriptions.

Powers

• The Heart of Things: With wisdom comes insight, and with insight comes power. This Gift allows a werewolf to size up a situation in the blink of an eye, instantly divining who is friend and who is foe, or piecing together the nature of some event based on a quick examination of the evidence left behind. Activating this Gift causes the user's eyes to reflect a thin, crescent-shaped silver of light, as though the Ithalunim shines through them, using its own sight to pull together an accurate picture of the scene.
• Befuddle: Wisdom is a precarious thing, and as the old adage goes, the truly wise man is the man who knows he is a fool. Just as the Ithalunim can bring wisdom, they can also obfuscate truth and cloud men's minds with false knowledge. By speaking in riddles and apparently paradoxical koans, the character sets an Ithalunim upon a rival, confusing him and twisting his perceptions. The victim begins to question his own beliefs, and even the very nature of his soul.
• The Wisdom of Patience: Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread, as the saying goes. By patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike, the wise warrior lands a decisive blow. He might not hit as often as his packmates, but when he does hit, he hits hard and cripples his foe.
• Master's Counsel: Wisdom hoarded is wisdom wasted, and though Ithaeur know many things are best kept secret, they are expected to be advisors to their packmates, offering their knowledge in difficult situations. This Gift allows the Ithaeur to consult the Ithalunim for guidance in a particular action, allowing the Crescent Moon to suggest a course of action that will benefit her pack. The Ithaeur cannot use this Gift on herself.
• Forbidden Knowledge: Some knowledge in this world is not meant for man or Uratha. Beyond the rude boundaries of physics and rational law lies the Shadow. Beyond the Shadow lies the yawning abyss of nothingness upon which the world floats, like an island in a sea of oblivion. In that vast emptiness, things swim, things antithetical to all life and as alien as the idigam, if not more so. The Ithalunim have knowledge of such things (and some Ithaeur even suggest that said knowledge is the reason for the Oracle choir's madness), and though they exact a terrible toll for sharing it, Ithaeur who master this Gift can compel them to share that knowledge; using this blasphemous knowledge, the character cuts through uncertainty and chance, acting with perfect certainty of success.

Simplified Gifts

Wisdom Gifts grant the character information, usually through changing the character's perceptions.

Example Gifts

• Fox's Ears: By cocking an ear, the character can gain more information out of a target's voice than he wants to give. Spend 1 Essence to add Wisdom to any Social or Mental roll meant to discern information about a target, including Subterfuge rolls to detect lies or Empathy rolls to detect an emotional state. This Gift requires that the target speaks, though not necessarily to the character. In addition to fox-spirits, bat-spirits bestow this Gift.
• Precious Lessons: It's a sad face of life in both the animal kingdom and the spirit world: the most important lessons are the ones that you don't get a second chance to learn. This Gift allows the werewolf to benefit from the hard-won wisdom of powerful spirits. Spend 1 Essence to add Wisdom to any roll. If the roll fails, however, the character loses one experience point (learning the hard way, as it were). Any sufficiently powerful spirit can bestow this Gift.
• Vulture's Patience: Werewolves aren't known for their restraint, but a good hunter must be ready to wait for the best time to strike. This Gift duplicates the effect of the Fresh Start Merit (see p. 112 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). Unlike the Merit, however, the character does not have to sacrifice his action for a turn in order to claim the benefit. Vulture-spirits, snake-spirits and other patient predators can bestow this Gift.