Primal-Urge
Introduction
This Ability -- common not just to Garou but to all Fera as well as ordinary animals -- reflects the unconscious, instinctual abilities that guide wild beasts. Characters with a high rating in Primal-Urge find it to be easier to tap into their animal natures than those with a low rating or none at all. Garou use Primal-Urge to hunt, especially in Lupus form. They can also exercise their Primal-Urge to induce a raw, animalistic passion in others they encounter. Primal-Urge is also paired with Stamina in order to shape-shift.
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- ● -- Novice: Either a young animal or an untrained homid Garou.
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- ●● -- Practiced: You are familiar with your animal instincts, but they do not yet govern your activities.
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- ●●● -- Competent: You can slip your mind from the human to the beast from moment to moment.
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- ●●●● -- Expert: Your animal nature guides you without your consciously to do so.
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- ●●●●● -- Master: You are closely tied to Gaia and the Wyld. Even the beast of the wood are further removed from their environment than you.
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Possessed by: The Changing Breeds, Wild Animals, Hunters.
Specialties: Shifting Forms, Hunting, Animal Attraction.
Animal Attraction
Werewolves of both genders radiate an aura of danger and feral magnetism that is hard for ordinary humans to ignore. Most people find such traits attractive on an animal level that they are not entirely aware of. When a Garou wishes to, she can focus her attention on a human and evoke strong sexual desire in him.
The Werewolf does not seduce the human in the ordinary fashion. She need only look him in the eye and let her raw sexuality overwhelm him. This sort of encounter does not lead to a romantic relationship, it leads to fairly feral sex. It's also worth noting that this isn't exactly a persuasive ability for the Garou. A character cannot get a human to perform a task for the promise of sex, though a canny werewolf might use his or her persuasive powers on a human afterwards. It's sex, right now, or nothing.
The character must first look the target in the eye, though he does not need to maintain eye contact throughout the sequence. The player rolls Charisma + Primal-Urge. The difficulty is the target's Willpower, and the player must accumulate more successes than the target's Willpower. This can be an extended test if the player doesn't pull it off in the on the first roll. Success on the test ends with the target becoming strongly and immediately sexually attracted to the character. Any failure during the test results in the target becoming uncomfortable with the Garou's attention and attempting to leave the area immediately. A botch during this test give the target a look at the Rage within the character, and he succumbs to the Delirium as appropriate to his Willpower score.
The target must be of the opposite gender of the werewolf. Eunuchs and those incapable of sex (such as vampires) are entirely immune to this ability. At the Storyteller's discretion, a character who is truly in love with another or devoted to a vow of celibacy or chastity is immune to this ability, but in setting as grim as the Dark Medieval those characters should be few and far between.
Shape Changing
The Garou have five forms (Homid/man, Glabro/near-man, Crinos/wolf-man, Hispo/near-wolf, Lupus/wolf). Each breed of werewolf claims one of these forms as its birth form -- Homid for homids, Lupus for lupus and Crinos for metis. Each form looks different (obviously), has different effects on the werewolf and has different uses.
To change shape, the player rolls the character's Stamina + Primal-Urge. The difficulty is set by the character's current form (not the one he wishes to change to). The player must achieve a number of successes equal to the number of "steps" the Garou has to pass through to get to the target form, plus one. For example, if a character wants to change from Lupus form into Glabro, the player must roll Stamina + Primal-Urge (difficulty 6) and score four successes (one to begin the process, one to get from Lupus to Hispo, one to Crinos and one to Glabro). If the character does not achieve enough successes to do so in one turn, he can try to finish the job on the next turn. If the character fails, he cannot change shape but is not otherwise impeded. If he botches, he is stuck in his current form for the remainder of the scene. Note that "passing through" Crinos does not trigger the Delirium in human onlookers.
Garou can always revert back to their breed form instantly, without taking an action or making a die roll. Similarly, Garou can change to any form they desire instantly, without taking an action or making a die roll, by spending a point of Rage.
Skilled werewolves can shift parts of their bodies, manifesting Crinos claws Homid form, for example, or Homid vocal cords while wearing the Lupus form. Doing so requires the player to spend a point of Willpower and roll Stamina + Primal-Urge (difficulty 9).
Tracking
While werewolves can use the Survival Skill to track prey in the conventional, human manner, they have better avenues open to them. Any werewolf can track a target by scent in Lupus form. Doing so requires a Perception + Primal-Urge roll. The difficulty varies based on how fresh the trail is. Chasing a bleeding animal through a meadow would be difficulty 4, while tracking a vampire whose path crossed a stream would be difficulty 9.
