Wyrm Fetishes

Wyrm Fetishes are fetishes used by followers of the Wyrm, such as Black Spiral Dancers, Fomori, even Nephandi, etc.

Overview

The following fetishes are often found in the hands of Black Spiral Dancers; at the Storyteller's discretion, other powerful servants of the Wyrm might be able to use some of these fetishes. Forcing a spirit into a Bane fetish is a tortuous process, even to willing Banes. Nonetheless, some Banes readily agree to enter into and empower such fetishes, in the hopes of having a front-row seat for the misery the fetish inflicts.

List of Wyrm Fetishes

• Clothing by Mister Lucian - Smart, stylish, sexy. The best clothing money can buy, crafted to your specifications by the tailors of the world-famous Mr. Lucian. For those of lesser means, Mr. Lucian has an economy line of quality limited-edition suits and gowns. And Mr. Lucian's exclusive line of dress and walking shoes is said to be the best in the world. Comfortable, functional, yet stylish. Each Mr. Lucian creation is a mark of status and distinction. Each Mr. Lucian creation also bears the mark of the Wyrm. Though not fetishes in the classic sense, the clothing of Mr. Lucian is interwoven with spell threads that accent the most negative aspects of the wearer's personality. As Mr. Lucian's usual clients tend to be the aggressively style-conscious rich, this enchanted clothing tends to increase the owner's ruthlessness, greed, vanity and selfishness. Mr. Lucian is actually a Black Spiral Dancer gifted with unusual good looks, impeccable style, and a talent for self-promotion. His rare public appearances and refusal to grant interviews have led the fashion world to christen him a reclusive genius, ensuring a long line to his door. The process of creating the garments is difficult, and not entirely undetectable. The Sense Wyrm or Sense Magic Gifts can spot bespelled clothing for what it is. Garou with a Gnosis of 7 or higher will be uncomfortable in the presence of someone wearing clothing by Mr. Lucian. A full suit of this clothing possesses a Gnosis of 7. A single item possesses a rating of 5. If a Garou wishes to wear an item of bespelled clothing, roll the clothing's Gnosis verses the character's Willpower. Success brings out the character's worst traits. The more successes, the worse the character behaves. Mr. Lucian's clothing carries no special defenses. Anything that would damage normal high-quality clothing will destroy the enchantments. Spell-bound clothing does not protect the wearer in any way. Special suits woven with additional protection are possible, but these items are generally meant to corrupt. Some exceeding exclusive clothiers carry items crafted by Mr. Lucian, starting at over $1,000 a suit. Most of the time, however, Mr. Lucian's clients but directly from him. In addition to allowing the Black Spiral to tailor the spell to the victim's own personality, this arrangement ensures a steady marker from the super-rich, for whom the most unattainable things hold the most value. Clothing bought this way costs no less than $5,000 per outfit, and there is a long waiting list. Locating Mr. Lucian requires at least 10 successes on an Intelligence + Resources roll (difficulty 8); this is an extended action. Only a select few are allowed an appointment. Garou who discover the true purpose of Mr. Lucian's clothing could spend an entire story locating and stopping the Black Spiral Dancer.
• Hunger Stone - A powerful fetish that ensnared much of Falcon's brood, the Children of Karnak.

Black Spiral Dancer Fetishes

• Blightseed - Cratt'ath's Acorn Fetish. Has the ability to turn even the most powerful caern into a Blight. It also torments the holder with visions to drive him to attempt to capture the nearest caern so it can fulfill its purpose.
• Bloodthorns
• Fetish Wolf - Animal Fetish - By binding a bane into an animal in a slightly modified Rite of the Fetish, the Dancer can warp its mind, imbue it with unique properties, and force it to do his evil bidding. One favorite, of course, is the fetish wolf. Making larger animal such as this into fetishes is often a much more difficult procedure, but for some Spirals the extra effort is worth it. They make terrible combat tools (against werewolves, they die quickly) but just the concept of being perversely tortured by a blasphemous, unholy wolf can sometimes be enough to break even the toughest of Gaia's champions.
• Spiral Boomerang - These black, intricately-carved boomerangs are forged in the Pit of Malfeas by twisted metis Black Spiral weaponsmiths. These are horrible weapons indeed, for each one is the home of one to ten Banes waiting patiently for their time to come. When a Garou is struck by a Spiral Boomerang, she is "pushed" sideways into the Umbra unless a successful Gnosis resistance roll is made. Once in the Umbra, the Banes are released from the weapon and instantly attack the Garou victim. If the Garou is victorious, she may step out of the Umbra at will; if not, the Banes will carry the bested Garou warrior to whatever black depths of the Umbra the Bane considers home. Thos could mean a quick death - or slow torture. Justifiably, this weapon is feared by all Garou.
• Wode Paint - Blue body paint. A holdover from the tribe's Pictish origins, some of the tribe openly despise this relic of the past and those who use it. It's too much of a reminder of the pathetic things they once were. For others, if it works, it works. It is not uncommon to see "wode" designs running over a Black Spiral Dancer's body as he charges into battle, and the Banes of Fear inside ensure the design has the intended effect.
• Umbraphone - Level 1, Gnosis 3 - This is a common toy among the Consultants camp of Black Spiral Dancers. It seems to be a simple black cellular phone, but to those who know how to work its numerical codes, it can be used to make calls to and from the Umbra. Naturally, this can make a Dancer's Rolodex a worrisome thing indeed, as there's always the possibility of finding a direct line to someone like Lady Aife - or worse. The Glass Walkers have developed their own version of this fetish, although other tribes rumble that they might have been taught the secret by the wrong teachers....
• Brush of the Ancients, "Omen Brush" - Level 1, Gnosis 8 - Also called the Omen Brush, this small paintbrush allows a Black Spiral Dancer to paint intricate and accurate scenes, guided by the hands of an ancestor. These paintings often reflect signs of things which have past and things yet to come. An Intelligence + Enigmas roll (difficulty 7) is required to fathom the painting's significance and symbolism.
• Power Goggles - Level 2, Gnosis 3 - First seen in the pages of a Pentex propaganda comic distributed among First Teams, these goggles are now available for use in installations around the world. These Bane fetishes are usable by fomori (who attune to them by rolling Willpower instead of Gnosis), and allow the wearer to see Garou as they traverse the Gauntlet from the Penumbra to the physical world. (The wearer must roll Perception + Occult, difficulty 7 to be alerted in time.) This warning may give a fomor that crucial extra instant necessary to save his life.
• Umbrascope - Level 2, Gnosis 4 - These peculiar items usually take the form of tarnished spyglasses, binoculars or even opera glasses within which a Scryer Bane is bound. This fetish allows its user to peek into the Umbra from the material world without actually stepping sideways. The difficulty to actually activate the Umbrascope is one less than the rating of the local Gauntlet.
• Bane Lantern - Level 2, Gnosis 5
• Wyrm-Gut Bonds/Gut Bonds - Level 2, Gnosis 5 - This bizarre fetish takes the form of strands of especially strong gut that cannot be cut or burned (except with appropriate magic). Struggling against the bonds only causes nausea unless the bound character can make a successful Stamina roll against Gnosis of the bonds. The only way to escape is by twisting a certain way and through changing forms in a certain order: Crinos form to stretch the bindings; Hispo or Lupus to slip loops over head; Glabro or Homid to slip lower body through; back to Lupus to slip paws through. All these maneuvers require Dexterity + Athletics rolls, difficulty 7; the character must accumulate five successes. If the character scores more than one but less than five successes, he's free - but has taken one aggravated Health Level of damage for every success less than five (broken bones by resisting the tight bonds).
• Devilwhip - Level 2, Gnosis 6 - This thorned, black, fifteen-foot fetish is actually the severed tentacle of a Bane, specially treated to remain permanently in the material world. The handle is sewn over the torn end of the tentacle, and is always slightly sticky to the touch. The lesser Bane that powers the Devilwhip can animate the whip on command, lashing and directing the whip just as if the Black Spiral Dancer were wielding it herself. A Devilwhip does Strength +1 aggravated damage, giving off a sound like a lunatic's laughter each time it draws blood. When cracked just before an opponent's face and activated, the whip compels the foe prostrate himself on the floor (Willpower roll, difficulty 6 to resist).
• Delirium Mask - Level 2, Gnosis 7 - This fetish takes the shape of a stone helmet with the face plate carved in some grotesque demon's likeness. Anyone wearing the mask, even non-Garou, can cause the effects of the Delirium in a chosen victim by activating the fetish. The victim reacts to the wearer as if she were actually a werewolf in Crinos form, no matter how harmless she would otherwise seem. As Black Spiral Dancers have little use for such fetishes, many are fashioned so that they can be activated by Willpower than Gnosis.
• Moonscreamer: Greyflank's Heart - Level 2, Gnosis 7 - The mummified, glowing heart of Greyflank of the Red Talons, whose murder provoked the Bunyip Wars, beats constantly. The heart obscures the Wyrm-taint of any who carries it.
• Tambertail's Heart - Level 2, Gnosis 7 - The original version of this fetish was the mummified heart of a Fianna Theurge. Now a number of these dirty toys are in existence, each one the preserved heart of a Gaian Garou, but bearing the name of the original nonetheless. The heart begins to beat arrhythmically whenever danger menaces its attuned owner. Furthermore, the heart can also be commanded to drive off unfriendly spirits by casting a reddish glow and making a noise that sounds much like feedback. To use this power, the wielder activates it as normal; any hostile spirits in the area must make Willpower tests (difficulty 7) or flees at top speed for seven turns.
• Frater Vermiis' The Pretanic Keys - Level 3, Gnosis 5 - This nineteenth-century tome is a compilation of lore concerning the legions of the Wyrm. Its original editor wrote under the pseudonym "Father Vermiis" and affected a style reminiscent of Israel Regardie's Golden Dawn. He professed to instruct his readers on methods of channeling the unseen powers of the "Black Labyrinth." His grisly death in 1892 increased the book's notoriety, especially since his limited budget could only finance 92 copies. The chants and invocations are only marginally useful, but the serious intent of occult students still allows various Banes to taint and mislead the reader. If a scholar examines the book for over an hour, increase the difficulty of any roll to resist the Possession Charm (or similar Arcanoi) by 2. Though much of the information is revealed in allegorical and metaphorical form, a few sections make an admirable attempt at categorizing the hierarchies of Malfeas. This makes a perfect Samhain gift for any promising occultist the Black Spiral wants to infect. Through diligent study, the reader may even be able to increase his knowledge of the Wyrm's servitors (that is, a character may increase his proficiency with the Occult skill). Reading the entire book takes at least a day and a half; this requires a Gnosis roll that may result in madness.
• Spirit Net - Level 3, Gnosis 5 - The Spirit Net is similar to a fisherman's net. it can be spread out over an area of several hundred yards. It is invisible in the Umbra, and may be used to capture nearby spirits. The spirits must make Rage rolls (difficulty 9) to escape the net. If more than three successes are made, the spirit tears a hole in the net at that spot and the difficulties of any future escape attempts by spirits are reduced by one. The hole appears in the physical world, as do the outlines of any spirits caught in the net.
• Darren Mate-of-the-Wyrm: Spirit Whip - Level 3, Gnosis 5 - A triple-thronged whip of black sharkhide, the Spirit Whip is capable of flogging spirits in the Penumbra even if they are not Materialized.
• Deathrattler - Level 3, Gnosis 6 - This fetish is made from a dried rattle taken from some unknown rattlesnake-like creature. The rattler has the power to frighten away all animals or humans within hearing range; no roll is necessary. All Garou hearing the rattle, other than the individual using the rattler, may be forced to run away: roll the rattler's Gnosis vs. their Willpower. The number of successes is the number of turns the target will flee.
• Wyrm Fang Dagger - Level 3, Gnosis 6 - These knives are said to be the rotten teeth of the Wyrm, fallen or pulled from it and made into combat weapons. Were they indeed the actual teeth, they would be very rare, but these "relics" are actually quite common. The daggers are found in many gatherings of Black Spiral Dancers. Elders sell them to impressionable young cubs, telling them what a "great and rare item it is, won by harsh and bold means. You are young, and need it more than I do. But such a thing cannot merely be given, so I will accept a token payment, to avoid insulting the beast which gave its tooth. Perhaps a mere (insert very valuable object here)?" The cubs often get savage when they realize they have been taken. However, the strange thing about these knives is that some of them actually possess power. These knives inflict aggravated damage to any wounded by them, causing festering wounds. The wounds will blacken and spread pestilence through the whole body unless the victim can be magically healed (Mother's Touch, Resist Toxin). Only about one in 10 daggers possesses this ability.
• Warshirt of the Wyrm/Wyrmflesh - Level 3, Gnosis 6 - Few Black Spiral Dancers learn to make Wyrmflesh in modern nights - flaying a human over the course of a lunar month, carefully keeping him alive until the last moment, is bound to draw attention from law enforcement or Gaian Garou. The Dancer tattoos the skin with eye-warping glyphs, tans it, and then makes into a tunic. Wyrmflesh increases the wearer's Soak against all damage (including silver) by three dice. It shapeshifts along with the wearer, providing protection in every form. Should any damage get through the Wyrmflesh's protection, it lets out a deafening shriek and blood flows thick and red from even the smallest cut.
• Magic Spewer - Level 4, Gnosis 5 - This fetish is fashioned from a human skull (although homids, young vampires and mages are also excellent sources for raw materials). It has a handle on top allowing it to be carried easily. The lower jaw is still hanged to the rest of the skull by leather bands. On command, the skull issues forth, as if vomiting, a stream of viscous, foul-smelling toxic waste. Anyone hit by the slime of the Spewer will take damage as if it were fire - three Health Levels' worth, difficulty of 7 to soak. The Magic Spewer's eyes glow red when it is active and the lower jaw moves on its own. Obnoxiously enough, anyone hit by the slime will gradually manifest a debilitating disease that comes to a head weeks later. This disease even affects vampires and Garou, who must heal it with Mother's Touch or Resist Toxin or suffer the Storyteller's choice of detrimental effect.
• Sadism Stick - Level 4, Gnosis 6 - The fetish must be crafted from hardwood, left rough and unpolished although it is often carved with glyphs to make it more attractive to Banes. A spirit of pain is bound into it. Characters who have been affected by the fetish must roll Willpower (difficulty 5 + their own Primal-Urge) to resist the urge to violently inflict pain on whoever is nearest to them. Each success resists the urge for ten minutes. Each point of Willpower spent allows the victim to resist the urge for an hour.
• Harzomatuili: Thunderwyrm Egg - Level 4, Gnosis 8 - The Thunderwyrm Egg is in actuality a small thunderwyrm preserved in amber. When activated, it calls any thunderwyrms within a 50 mile radius to the Black Spiral Dancer's aid. If there are no thunderwyrms in the area, the Thunderwyrm Egg will hatch and the Wyrm inside will double in size, coming to the aid of the Dancer. The fetish is only usable once if it hatches, although the thunderwyrm inside will be a willing slave for as long as it lives. Mind you, the master of the thunderwyrm will have to make sure it is fed, or things could get messy.
• Hgienkad: Shadow Mirror - Level 5, Gnosis 7 - This small, circular mirror holds a shadow-spirit, and grants the wielder some disturbing powers. Upon successful activation, the user may enter shadows as though stepping sideways, emerging from any shadow not more than (user's activation successes x 10 in yards) away. The user re-emerges on the next turn, regardless of how many successes are achieved on the "shadow-stepping" roll. The user must emerge from a shadow in a location he has seen before, and if the user is familiar with the location, may use the fetish to appear in a strategic location (-2 difficulty to an attack following use of the fetish). Hgienkad, of course, knows the Hive like the back of his hand and commonly creates a Shroud around his enemies and then uses the fetish to appear, strike, and vanish before anyone knows what's happening.
• Samuel Haight: Shedding the Spirit Skin - Level 5, Gnosis 7 - This "necklace" is actually a mummified snake painted with bizarre runes. Samuel took it from a Black Spiral Dancer he killed a time back. It allows the wearer to Reform in the Umbra as if he were a spirit. The area he reforms in is random, and normally linked to an area under the dominion of the Wyrm.
• Soul Ruby - Level 5, Gnosis 7 - The Soul Ruby is a ruby the size of a woman's fist, cut from the veins of rock at the heart of the Black Spiral Dancers' underground Pits. Priceless by virtue of the stone's value alone, each Soul Ruby also contains the spirit of a fallen Black Spiral Dancer. When activated, the ruby gives telepathic advice to its bearer, allowing the bearer access to whatever Knowledges the Dancer possessed in life. The fallen Dancer's spirit may also visit the fetish holder in his dreams, possibly giving glimpses of the future.
• Mind Snare Drill - Level 5, Gnosis 8 - This vicious fetish takes the form of short, thing drill made of bone, glass or metal with a large solid glass handle. The glass must be perfectly crafted, with no imperfections or bubbles of any sort. The Black Spiral then binds a spider-spirit in its own web and forces it into the fetish, where it becomes pure stasis. The fetish is activated just before being plunged through the skull and into the brain of the victim, wherein it drains the state of consciousness from them and renders it captured in that moment forever, entombed within the glass handle. What makes this such a feared prospect is that the victim is usually tortured in the most emotionally and physically painful ways possible at the moment of the draining, and is doomed to remain in that moment for eternity. The fetish remains activated for an hour, during which time the victim must be slain if his consciousness is to be captured. There is no way to resist the glass hell of this fetish but to die before it is used. However, if the glass handle is broken, the victim's spirit will be released, and if the fetish is activated again, it will release its previous victim to make way for the new one. The Black Spiral Dancers rarely use a mind snare drill twice. Mind snare drills rarely are made with taboos, because of the unusual way in which they are created. However, because the drill must be created by force, there is always the prospect of the fetish being cursed. And should the spider spirit not be rendered static, it may attempt to gain revenge. Some have been known to whisper thoughts to those who touch the fetish, suggesting targets for its use.
• Abraham "Doc" Riegel: Sprite Chewer - Level 5, Gnosis 8 - Riegel is in possession of a one-of-a-kind fetish, a spirit "reprogrammer" he devised not long after his defection. The fetish isn't particularly portable; it takes the form of a home computer system with a generous monitor. (Currently, the fetish is in the form of an iMac; Riegel is a sufficiently accomplished Theurge that he has managed to transfer the spirits within from housing as technological advances permit.) However, it has the power to capture, bind and reconfigure spirits - all from the convenience of your desk. The Sprite Chewer, once activated, allows the user to perform a variant Rite of Summoning without crossing the Gauntlet; however, only spirits connected to electricity and/or the Weaver's Web can be called. The user can also perform a variant Rite of Binding on any spirit thus summoned; the fetish adds two to the user's Willpower for purposes of binding the spirit. Finally, by spending a final Gnosis point, the user can invoke the Theurge Gift: The Malleable Spirit on a spirit thusly summoned and bound. Theoretically, a Theurge with access to Riegel's notes or some other grounding in the Sprite Chewer's workings could craft another of these fetishes. To do so, it would involve binding a Weaver-spirit and a Wyld-spirit into the same housing - an all but impossible feat.
• Churjuroc's Tusk - Level 5, Gnosis 9 - This blackish-purple tusk once belonged to a massive, wormlike creature of the Wyrm. The Black Spiral Dancers gleefully fought alongside it until it began to turn on them out of stupidity and hunger, whereupon they destroyed it in a long, hard battle. There are said to be seven of these tusks (the creature had four mouths) still in existence. The tusk is about two feet long; it's capped with a platinum ball on one end and covered with intricately perverse carvings along its length. The tusk may be used to summon a Nexus Crawler once per full moon. The Bane must be appeased with the sacrifice of a Garou (and if none is provided, the summoner will certainly do). The Crawler will then perform a task for the summoner, as long as the mission doesn't require more than twenty-four hours to complete.
• Elap: The Black Pistol - Level 6, Gnosis 8 - This is a standard issue, old US army .45 Colt automatic, painted black. It takes normal load ammunition, but...does things to these bullets. Once a bullet passes down the barrel of this baby, it won't stop going until it tastes blood. all attack and damage Dice Pools are normal, but the bullet will keep flying around its target until it hits or is destroyed. The owner of this gun can fire his full clip and not hit once. the bullets will keep swarming around their target until they hit. Keep making attack rolls for each bullet every round until every bullet hits. The bullets can be fooled, but exactly how is up to the Storyteller).

Black Spiral Dancer Face Tattoo

• Ooragant: Face of Innocence - Level 5, Gnosis 6 - This facial tattoo fetish allows Ooragant to appear entirely uncorrupted by the Wyrm and makes it possible for him to move amongst the Garou without fear of detection. A Puppeteer Bane is bound into it (yes, bound into the tattoo ink - into Ooragant's face!); this Bane can hide the taint of the Wyrm.

Bane Klaives

See Bane Klaives here.

Black Spiral Dancer Talens

• Pretanic Talisman - 1-5 Background Points - This occult talisman is an actual physical key containing one of the Ninety-nine names of the Wyrm's servitors. This talen is useful for Black Spirals who wish to call up a "deity" without serving as its bastard. By meditating upon the artifact, the occultist bearing it may attempt to open a gate between a Malfean realm and the physical world. The key has a limited number of charges, usually between one and five. Activating the talen requires at least four points of temporary Gnosis and a roll against permanent Gnosis. The difficulty depends on the importance of the entity (e.g., 5 for a Bane, but 9 for a Bane-totem). If the roll is botched, a Nexus Crawler - one of "Those Who Watch the Gates" - arrives to correct any rifts in the spirit world that may result. Many keys have been lost or transferred between occultists (or dimensions) in this manner.
• Wyrm-wood - Gnosis 3 - Wyrm-wood is a blackened, unnatural vine that grows deeps within the earth, absorbing the light of the balefires below. When enough of this woof is collected and burned, it has the power to protect all within the range of its horrible smell from attacks by spirits of all sorts, regardless of how powerful they are.
• Goblin Ale - Gnosis 4 - This alcoholic elixir is typically bartered from the goblin brewers of the Shadow Court. One quaff of these spirits causes the drinker to suffer violently intense hallucinations and may even shift a Garou accidentally into the Umbra. (Roll Gnosis against the local Gauntlet. If the drinker scores four or more successes, he instantly shifts sideways; there or fewer successes and he remains in the physical world.) Goblin Ale is completely intoxicating, and gets even the stoutest Garou drunker, quicker, than could any human brew. (Shapeshifters who get drunk on Goblin Ale are mean drunks - reduce the difficulty to frenzy by 2 while under the influence.) It's a perennial favorite at Black Spiral moots, and usually makes the evening bloodier than usual.
• Dragon's Ichor - Gnosis 5 - Usually found in small jars or vials, Dragon's Ichor is black blood taken from a powerful Wyrm-creature. If the nearly-congealed gunk is rubbed all over one's body it will cause the Black Spiral to become temporarily immune to all attacks from spirits. Usually there is only enough blood contained in one of these jars for two uses.
• Voidstone - Gnosis 5 - This powerful object is a small, smoothy polished black stone. If it is thrown at any one target, and makes a successful Gnosis roll vs. the target's Gnosis, that target is forever banished from the material world, though it may still exist on the Umbra. Voidstones may only be used once each, and they are exceedingly rare.
• Storm in a Bottle - Gnosis 6 - This opaque bottle contains an entire Wyrm-tainted storm within. Once unleashed, the storm rampages across physical world and Penumbra alike; it comes and goes quickly, lasting only five turns in all. Any enemy of the Wyrm caught without shelter will be struck by lightning unless the victim makes a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 7). The lightning does ten dice of aggravated damage, and will only strike an individual once. Rumor has it that the majority of these existing talens were bottled in the 19th century American West, when there were Wyrmish storms aplenty to harvest.
• Bean Bane - Gnosis 7 - A Bean-Bane seems to be a small dried bean of any type, but a Bane slumbers within it. Once the bean is planted in soil, mud or clay, the Bane is freed. For each success on the activation roll, the Bane may manifest itself for one turn without expending any of its Power. Naturally, summoned Banes are rather inclined to help Black Spiral Dancers polite enough to give them such an "in" into the physical realm.
• Spiral Vines - Gnosis 8 - Appearances can be so deceptive. The spinal vine appears to be nothing but a simple grape seed. Bound into it is a Bane of disease that, like cancer, exists to do nothing but grow and destroy what it touches. The fetish is activated by slicing open the victim's back and placing it directly upon the spinal column before activating it. It then plants itself in the victim's spine and begins to grow into a vine along his spinal cord, distorting and bending it, creating incredible pain for the victim. Though horribly painful, the vine is short-lived. It does eight levels of lethal damage, but after this immediately withers and if the victim lives, is expelled from the body in time, like other foreign material. If the victim dies, the vine stays lodged in their spinal cord. These vines often produce seeds of their own during their short lifespan, and the Dancers are very fond of working seeds taken from a successful kill into more spinal vines.

Buzzard Fetishes

• Bauble - Level 1, Gnosis 1 - The handiwork of fallen Corax, a Bauble is nothing more than a piece of metal or glass imbued with an unnaturally bright shine. The shine is so bright, as a matter of fact, that it can be seen up to a mile away, other conditions permitting. And the sparkle of a bright, shiny object is of course irresistible to any true Corax, who will feel compelled to check the bangle out.... The only problem Buzzards have with Baubles is a comical one: Unless they're lucky, they can't tear themselves away from the damn things, either.
• Stolen Eye - Level 1, Gnosis 2 - The Stolen Eye is one of the less pleasant things a Buzzard is likely to have in her pocket. Consisting of a eyeball plucked from a still-living person or creature, the Eye always looks in the direction of the nearest true Corax. All the Buzzard needs to do with his Stolen Eye is to take it out, dip it in salt water, and let it orient itself on a flat surface. The Eye turns in the appropriate direction and comes to rest in under a minute. A Stolen Eye generally stays fresh for a month or until the eye's original possessor dies, whichever comes first. Furthermore, they do tend to smell, and have an unpleasant habit of getting squashed if not cared for properly.

Fomori Fetishes

• Power Goggles - Level 2, Gnosis 3 - Now you can have Power Goggles, just like your hero, Buck Racer! These goggles are a Bane fetish which allow the fomor to see Garou as they traverse the Gauntlet from the Penumbra to the physical world (roll Perception + occult, difficulty 7, to be alerted in time). This may give the fomor that crucial, extra instant necessary to save his life.
• Fomorol - Level 3, Gnosis 5 - This drug is actually constituted from the bodies of "recycled" fomorach. When injected into a fomor, it temporary boosts his Powers. However, it is highly addictive, and the fomor will crave more. After injection, the fomor rolls to activate the fetish. If successful, the effects of any Power he uses are doubled (i.e., claws and fangs do more damage, Mind Bending is easier to use, etc.). After even one use, however, (regardless of whether it was successfully activated or not) the character will suffer from the Taint: Addiction (cycle: once per month), until he gets more Fomorol. Unlike a full-blown addiction, however, once a full cycle has passed without Fomorol, the character's need for the drug disappears - unless he uses it again.
• Putty Buddy - Level 3, Gnosis 5 - Putty Buddy is a Bane fetish distributed to fomori in the service of Pentex. What can it do? Oh, what can't it do?! It stretches, it bounces, it picks up cartoons. If molded over another person's face and then over the fomor's own it will allow the fomor to take on the other's appearance (face only, for one scene). One egg's worth can be stretched out to over 50' long, creating a rope for quick getaways, or to bind one's enemies. If thrown at any target not in the service of the Wyrm, it will entangle the victim (Strength 5). A thousand more uses. Putty Buddies can only be destroyed by fire. They scream as they burn.
• Vibro-Blade - Level 3, Gnosis 5 - This blade is the result of the fusion of a corrupted electricity elemental and a bladed weapon. These weapons are extremely experimental, and few in number. When the fetish is activated, the elemental creates a charge round the blade, causing a low hum and vibration on the knife blade. When thrust into a target, theoretically a discharge of electrical energy will occur, causing three Health Levels of aggravated damage in addition to any damage the knife inflicts. The knife itself is still in an experimental phase. Pentex has had trouble fusing elemental spirits with the knives itself, and has found it works best on fighting knives or shortswords. Unfortunately, they have not learned to control the charge with 100% accuracy, and some unfortunate accidents have happened to those wielding the blade.

Roll	Difficulty	Damage	Conceal
By weapon	By weapon	3+ (Aggravated damage)	By weapon

Pentex and First Team Equipment

The following pieces of equipment have a "Rank" trait. In simple terms, this means that most characters carrying such equipment are presumed to have spent Background points to purchase the gear, much like a fetish's rating. This is a fair yardstick to determine whether or not given operatives are "cleared" to handle such equipment if necessary; that pack of security guards fresh out of Pentex's training camps probably won't be spirting any nerve gas, but good ol' T. F. MacNeil, head of one of the finest First Teams in existence, can be assumed to own as much silver nitrate ammo as he figures he needs for the mission at hand.

• Basic First Team Kit - All First Teamers are given the following equipment and perks. These items are free, and thus do not require the Equipment Background to acquire. Failure to properly upkeep equipment (leading to replacement costs) is routinely punished and the lazy First Teamer is often docked pay.
  • An identity card, which serves as a security clearance to enter company buildings.
  • Rank medallion, signifying the First Teamer's rank. Worn of the collar or over the left breast.
  • A salary and a stipend for expenses, represented by the Resources Background (all characters begin with 1).
  • An M-16 assault rifle (.223 caliber, difficulty 7, damage 7, rate 20, clip 20/30, conceal N, range 200) and three magazines of ammunition. (Retrieval teams are given pistols instead.)
  • A combat/survival knife with a compass in the handle.
  • A flak vest (retrieval teams are given kevlar vests instead).
• Ammunition: Silver Nitrate Hollowpoints/Poison Rounds - Rank 5 - These are hollowpoint bullets filled with silver nitrate. Essentially, they act like regular hollowpoints, exploding inside the wound on impact and releasing the silver nitrate. Aside from the aggravated, non-soakable damage these do to Garou who are not in their breed form (and metis who are), silver nitrate is a poison in its own right, and spreads its toxin to affect the werewolf (regardless of form). The poison causes one Health Level of damage per turn for three turns to an infected Garou; this damage cannot be soaked. Because they are so potentially deadly and would therefore draw considerable attention were they to be discovered by agents of the law, they are issued on an absolute need-to-have basis only.
• Armor: Pus Armor - Rank 3 - This loathsome item is somewhat like Kevlar (affording the wearer an extra soak die), but when the outer part if pieced by claws, teeth or bullets, oozing, highly infectious pus sprays out in a two yard long arc. The pus causes one Health Level of aggravated damage f it contacts unprotected skin. Unless it is wiped off within the next two turns, it causes an ulceration in the area. The ulceration can only be healed by magical means. Each day that the recipient fails to be healed, the ulceration digs deeper, causing another Health Level of aggravated damage. Unless healed, the victim eventually dies as it eats through him. Cutting out the ulceration is an option, but does as much damage as all the damage which the victim has sustained up to that point (i.e. if he has taken two Health Levels of damage, cutting it out causes two more). This armor is still in the Beta testing stage; any problems with the suits (and there surely are some) have yet to be discovered.
• Armor: Silver Bodysuit - Rank 4 - First utilized by lab workers and guards in areas where Garou interference was likely, silver bodysuits have proven to be a great deterrent to werewolf attacks. The suit provides the wearer with three soak dice. However, it is made of woven silver and acrylic fibers which, when pierced, fracture into jagged edges that inflict aggravated, non-soakable damage on werewolves who hit it. Half the damage a Garou rolls against the suit wearer is also taken by the Garou as aggravated, non-soakable damage (round up). Silver bodysuits are very rare. They are only issued to an elite few who are engaged in or protecting vital work.
• Weaponry: Automatic Staplegun - Rank 5 - Pentex's latest creation looks little different than an ordinary staplegun, but the "staples" loaded in it are made from the leftover parts of dead Renitent fomorach and have been thickly coated with the poison Alpha-Fomorol. When the trigger is pulled, the automatic staplegun sends out a spray of 100 staples which lodge themselves in the victim's flesh, injecting the poison. A single burst of staples contains enough Alpha-Fomorol to kill an ordinary human instantly. Targets take one level of aggravated damage from each burst plus seven dice of ordinary damage. The gun must be reloaded every three bursts. Those who do not die from staple damage are infected by the Alpha-Fomorol introduced into their bodies. As Alpha-Fomorol instantly kills humans, victims of this sort are limited to Garou and other supernaturals. For every level of aggravated damage inflicted, the victim accrues one Taint point (Storyteller chooses the Taint), beginning the metamorphosis into a fomor. Moreover, Alpha-Fomorol, like Fomorol, is highly addictive; any victim who takes thre levels of aggravated damage from these staples becomes addicted to Alpha-Fomorol and may die unless he either gets more Alpha-Fomorol or he removes all traces of the Wyrm's poison from his system. Less than three levels will cause lesser withdrawal symptoms, such as vomiting blood, as the victim heals. The Taint can be removed within one moon by a Rite of Cleansing; alas, the addiction to Alpha-Fomorol remains. The Garou currently know no cure for the addiction, although it is rumored that an Umbral quest in Gaia's name might be efficacious.
  • Roll: Dex + Firearms, Difficulty: 7, Damage: 7 + special, Range: 12, Clip: 3, Conceal: J
• Weaponry: Balefire Flamethrower/Balefire Thrower - Rank 5
• Weaponry: Claw Caps - Rank 3 - Claw caps are small explosive charges encased in pointed silver caps which are fitted over a fomor's claws (he must have the Power: Claws) and donned just before a fight. Embedded into the target's skin when the claws make contact, they are timed to explode after one turn, ripping away skin and muscle. Claw caps are wired to a silver base which remains on the fomor's claws after contact; the timing mechanisms in the caps are triggered when the silver on the cap no longer touches the silver on the base. In order to embed the caps into Garou flesh, a fomor must first inflict at least one Health Level of damage with its capped claws. Because of technological limitations, caps have a 30% chance of failing to explode and a 15% chance of exploding while still being worn by the attacking fomor (roll once after being donned), which explains why most fomor wear claw caps only when absolutely necessary. Until they are used, they are kept in lightweight foam-lined containers. When embedded in Garou, the silver in the caps causes one level of aggravated damage per turn. Additionally, the explosive charges cause three Health Levels of aggravated damage. Fortunately for the Garou, the explosion(s) usually also ejects the shards of silver from the skin, so after the caps have gone off the following turn after being embedded, werewolves stop taking silver damage.
• Weaponry: Waldoes - Rank 3 - Initially intended for use in the space program, these are metallic arms which lengthen out on collapsible frameworks to grasp dangerous items or opponents up to three yards away. Their effective Strength and Stamina are each 5, and they can grip and cause crushing damage equal to their Strength. Some are coated with silver, others are made of cold iron to enable their users to deal effectively with Garou and changelings. Waldoes may also be used to grasp items and use them as weapons (utilizing the operator's melee combat abilities), such as thrusting wooden stakes at vampires' hearts or as helpers, by performing such actions as shoving a lit match into a volatile liquid from a safe distance. They are somewhat clumsy, however, and cannot be used to perform delicate manipulations (picking a lock, constructing a bomb). They are also bulky (add one to all Dexterity roll difficulties while wearing them) and hard to conceal (requiring at least a briefcase-sized container when not in use).
• Grenade: Fragmentation Grenades - Rank 3 - A fragmentation grenade has a damage pool of 12 dice at ground zero (such as in a character's hand). for every yard between the grenade explosion and the character, reduce the damage pool by one die. For example, if a grenade detonates 5 yards away from a character, the damage pool for that character would be 12-5, or 7 dice of damage.
• Grenade: Smoke/Tear Gass Grenades - Rank 2 - Smoke grenades emit dense cloud of white or colored smoke. Tear gas grenades emit a cloud of irritating gas. There is no blast from these grenades; the smoke is release through holes in the canister. The cloud fills a 10 yard by 10 yard area in one minute and will last 10 minutes in still air. Pentex operatives usually harm as many of their own troops while firing into the smoke as they do Garou - but nobody ever said that Pentex was afraid of a little collateral damage.
• Grenade: White Phosphorus - Rank 3 - White phosphorus grenades generate a temperature of 2700 F when they explode. A WP grenade has a damage pool of 12 dice at its point of detonation, reduced by one for every two yards between the character and the grenade. This is aggravated damage, although Garou can try to soak the damage. WP grenades will ignite most common materials that are even slightly flammable.
  • Weight: .6 lbs, Size: A 7" x 3' cylinder.
• Poisons: Atropine - Rank 1 - An odorless, colorless liquid that had to be injected. Over a period of (Stamina +3) hours, victims suffer nausea, cramps, vomiting, disorientation and congested breathing before they die. One requires a blood transfusion and hospital care as an antidote.
• Poisons: Cyanide Capsule - Rank 1 - A poison that has a bitter almond taste that has to be ingested. The fomor has a small quantity of cyanide inside a hollowed out tooth. If the fomor is captured by Garou, he knows to expect the tortures of the damned. The cyanide is a quick and relatively painless escape. Fomori who are held prisoner by the Garou are usually considered suspect by most agents of the Wyrm are often destroyed if they escape, anyway. This capsule will not affect those fomori who are immune to poisons.
• Poisons: Ionone Gas - Rank 1 -
• Poisons: Kiss of the Wyrm - Rank 4 -
• Poisons: Mustard Gass - Rank 3 -
• Poisons: Nerve Agent (Sarin) - Rank 4/5 -
• Sensory: Sub-Dermal Radio - Rank 2 -
• Drugs: Fomorol - Rank 3 -
• Full Force Solutions -
• FT-13, PX-667 and more -
• Whisper Rounds -
• Bullseye -
• Avalon Incorporated: Doc Chaney's Involuntary Reaction (IR) Filters -
• Endron Oil: Tarnish -
• Endron Oil: LightUp -
• Sunburst Computers: Squealers -
• Sunburst Computers: SquadNet -
• Magadon Pharmaceuticals: FightBack -

Pentex Products

• Black Dog Game Factory: Space Accountant -
• Black Dog Game Factory: Lycanthrope: The Rapture 17th Anniversary Edition -
• Endron: Endron Regular Unleaded -
• Endron: Falcon Pathfinder -
• King Breweries: Blue Stripe -
• King Breweries: Woody Creek -
• Magadon: FluBuster! -
• Magadon: UltraSheen -
• NikNak Computing: Killer's Pledge -
• NikNak Computing: Thrill of Service -
• NikNak Computing: UMe -
• Red Network: Mega Cage -
• Red Network: Battle News -
• Siren Cosmetics: Rejuviderm
• Siren Cosmetics: Entice
• Siren Cosmetics: Satyr-day Night
• Siren Cosmetics: Kyrysma

Dangerous Toys

The Wyrm's corruption knows no special age group, and Pentex is please to release toys from its subsidiary companies to any and all children, ages two and up. These toys can range from cute little teddy bears and jack-in-the-boxes all the way to computer games with subliminal messages.

These fetishes often work very well, as most children have Willpower ratings of 1 or 2.

• Mister Mystic/Sister Mystic - Level 1, Gnosis 5 - Mister Mystic, and its counterpart Sister Mystic, are simple dolls dressed in the sinister clothing of a stage magician and a fortune teller respectively. Their appeal to children is the fact that these toys actually speak to them, telling them secrets and how to get what they want for nothing. Their appeal to parents is that the little lumps of plastic only cost $3.95 retail and seem to keep children enthralled for hours. These dolls only activate for children or teenagers, and only when the parents are not around. The dolls make suggestions that can only be heard by the person touching them, and only the desire to listen is necessary to start them talking. The Banes that are trapped in these dolls are Corruptive, and attempt to drain the Willpower of the children whenever they are held (Gnosis vs. Willpower in a resisted roll; each success drains one Willpower point). Should the child ever be brought down to zero Willpower, the Banes are released into the child's body with full mental recollection of how the child acts. The child that has been corrupted is imprisoned within the doll and must in turn corrupt another body before being freed. These dolls are brand-new to the marker, but stores have already been selling out within a day of them being placed on the shelves.
• Action Bill Special Police Badge - Level 1, Gnosis 6 - Action Bill's Badge can only be ordered through the mail, free of charge with any two proofs of purchase from other Action Bill products. Like all of the Action Bill products, the Badge is based on the popular weekday cartoon and the monthly comic book. Unlike all the other Action Bill products, the Badge helps your children learn how to get what they want at any cost - preferably through stealth, but if violence is necessary. Action Bill understands. Action Bill's Badge is one of the more blatant fetishes created by the Pentex conglomerate, for it lacks the conniving subtlety of most others. Rather than confuse or possess the child's mind, Action Bill's Badge uses outright enticement, explaining to the child that he or she is now an agent-in-training, and has to keep quiet about the training or be fired before even having a chance to fight the evil minions of W.O.L.F. Name a kid who doesn't want to save the world from Wolf-Commander and his evil troops and Action Bill will show you a coward who loves evil. What kid would want that hanging over his or her head? Action Bill is a hero. Wouldn't you want to train with him too? The Badge and the child make a resisted Gnosis vs. Willpower roll. If the Badge scores more successes than the child, the child will literally lose all moral inhibitions; he will be convinced that Action Bill wants him to join the Danger Squad, and equally convinced that even deaths will be fixed by the Danger Squad. If the only way to get that bottle of rum, the one that Action Bill says is needed to win the next test, is to beat Mommy's head in with a shovel. Action Bill will fix the troubles; after all, not even the bad guys get hurt on the action Bill and The Danger Squad show... The Badge prefers that its bearer not get into too much trouble, simply enough to ensure a definite corruption by the Wyrm. As a result, most of these badges don't goad their owners into acts more felonious than simple shoplifting, at least not until they're old enough to handle a gun. After that, it's time for Action Bill's Advanced Training, where you too can learn how to rob a bank, or pass along that secret antidote to W.O.L.F.'s mind-controlling gasses (in the form of heroin or crack cocaine). Once the Badge has corrupted a child to the Danger Squad, the child will secretly carry the Badge until the day he dies, convinced that the training will soon be over.
• Doctor Chuckles Surgery Kit - Level 1, Gnosis 10 - Want to see a proud parent? Give a kid a Doctor Chuckles Surgery Kit and watch the kid's parents smile, content in the knowledge that their child wants to be a doctor someday. This adorable little fetish all by guarantees it! Soon Junior will have all the necessary skills to remove arms and legs and even those annoying hearts and lungs. Just say where it hurts and go to sleep! Junior'll fix that pain once and for all. With a successful Gnosis vs. Willpower roll, the Doctor Chuckles Surgery Kit will endow your child with all the surgical skills of the very best Grand Inquisitor, and at no extra charge to you, your child gets a syringe full of muscle-paralyzing venom (successful Gnosis vs. the victim's Stamina), good for as many as seven full-grown Garou! The bad news is that only one child can ever use the kit; the good news is that at $3.99 apiece, they're practically a steal! By the time your child is done, you'll be dead, or you too will be a fomor.
• New Glow-In-The-Dark Gooshy Gooze
  • Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 0 (in host body 4), Charisma 0 (in host body 3), Manipulation 0 (in host body 3), Appearance 0 (in host body 2), Perception 2, Intelligence 1, Wits 1
  • Abilities: Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Survival 2
  • Powers: Gooshy Goozes force themselves down their victims' throats (Strength + Athletics vs. Dexterity + Dodge; three successes required). Gooshy Goozes are capable of changing their victims into the same substance they are made of, and while the process is occurring, are capable of anything that the child is physically capable of: knifing Grandma, burning down the house, the usual stuff. The transformation is extremely slow, depleting one Health Level a day from the host until the victim is Incapacitated, at which time the change is complete. This transformation costs one of its host's Gnosis points per day. While in this "breeding stage" the effective Health Levels of the Gooze are the same as those of its host (three to four for a small child).
  • Rage 2 (in host body 6), Gnosis 5, Willpower 5
  • Health Levels: 2, but Gooshy Goozes can only be hurt by fire, electricity or freezing.
  • Image: This snot-like substance comes in seven different colors, all glow-in-the-dark and all neon-bright.
  • Background: Gooshy Gooze is guaranteed to be a million laughs. It swishes, it sloshes, it oozes and it goozes. It also forces itself down the throats of unsuspecting children when they're left alone at night. Gooshy Gooze is another wonderful "non-toxic" creation of the Pentex family of companies. Like most of the dangerous toys from Pentex, Gooshy Gooze doesn't kill, it corrupts. Unlike most of the dangerous toys, this is not a simple fetish; it is a creature with a mind of its own and needs no child to do its work. Gooshy Gooze devours its prey from the inside, destroying innocence and sanity as it goes. By the time Gooshy Gooze has finished its consumption, it has transmogrified the hapless child into an equivalent volume of Gooshy Gooze. Most of the Gooshy Gooze then oozes its way back to any of 200 factories nationwide; it is subsequently redistributed to any of Pentex's countless "bubble gum machines" where it can again be picked up for a measly 25 cents. Many children learn from their friends that these particular machines will sometime even dispense the Gooshy Gooze without a quarter; you just have to turn the knob, and as often as not, the Gooshy Gooze is yours.
  • Storytelling Notes: As they have only rudimentary brains, Gooshy Goozes will attack any individual that is under three feet in height and alone. You too can corrupt a poodle!

References

• WTA: Book of the Wyrm First Edition, p. 110-118
• WTA: Under a Blood Red Moon, p. 88
• WTA: Chicago Chronicles Volume 2, p. UaBRM: 88
• WTA: Rage Across the Amazon, p. 55, 102
• WTA: Rage Across the World Volume 3, p. RAtA: 55, 102
• VTM/WTA/MTAs: The Chaos Factor, p. 65
• VTM/WTA/MTAs: Mage Chronicles Volume 3, p. TCF: 65
• WTA: Rage Across Australia, p. 93-94
• WTA: Rage Across the World Volume 2, p. RAA: 93-94
• WTA: Project Twilight, p. 84-85
• WTA: Rage Across Egypt, p. 128
• WTA: Werewolf Storytellers Screen, p. 10
• WTA: Freak Legion: A Players Guide to Fomori, p. 21, 23-29
• WTA: Book of the Wyrm Second Edition, p. 142-151
• WTA: Subsidiaries: A Guide to Pentex, p. 113
• WTA/cMET: Mind's Eye Theatre: Book of the Wyrm, p. 195-206
• WTA: Hammer & Klaive, p. 34-36, 97-98
• W20: W20 Book of the Wyrm, p. 183-193
• Rage CCG: Wyrm (Blood Dagger, Cellular Phone, Chainsaw, Churjuroc’s Tusk, Corporate Credit Card, Dr. Mordecai’s Home Chemistry Set, Gooshy Gooze, Lander’s Nylon Stocking, Lion’s Pelt, MockMaw’s Battle Axe, Oil of Corruption, Pipe Bomb, Red Hot Baby Powder, Skin of the Hellbound, Submachine Gun, Tear Gas Cannister, Toga of Dionysius, Vampire Blood, War Knife of Benning Simon, Whip of the Wicked)
• Rage CCG: War of the Amazon (Spiral Boomerang)
• Rage CCG: Legacy of the Tribes (Chronicle of the Black Labyrinth, Doc Chaney’s Power Goggles, Tambertail’s Heart)
• Rage CCG: Gauntlet (Devilwhip, Enticer Cosmetics)
• Rage CCG: Curse of Set (Odyssey Brian Serum)
• Rage CCG: Kupala Rising (Fomorol)