Mechanical Gremlin
Known since antiquity to Kindred and mages, gremlins are malevolent wildling spirits. Gremlins are nefarious little banes of the mechanical, familiars who hate technology and all things Weaver (see Werewolf: the Apocalypse for more information on Wyldlings and Weaver spirits). This ritual summons a single gremlin who will destroy, deconstruct, or otherwise foul up a specific mechanical device by disrupting the Weaver spirits within the device that permits its function. Gremlins are thought to have taught this ritual to the Kiasyd during the Victorian Era. Those same gremlins are closely aligned with Garou born under the Ragabash auspice, especially those of the Red Talons tribe. At least one Garou-Kiasyd alliance has been broken by gremlin interference.
System: The character spends a Blood point and says the word for "gremlin" (or other trickster spirit) in her tongue three times. She then rolls Manipulation + Intimidation; where the difficulty is determined by the complexity of the item. If the caster has no knowledge of the device she intends. to foul (such as an elder attempting to disrupt a server farm), the difficulty is raised by 2.
Object Difficulty
- Bicycle 6
- Computer 7
- Automobile 8
- Nuclear Reactor 10
The more successes the Kindred obtains, the more the device is damaged. Five successes disable the device permanently (the Weaver spirit has fled). Good roleplaying might certainly warrant one to three additional dice added to the pool, at the discretion of the Storyteller. The extent of the disruption is determined by the number of successes:
Object Successes
- Bicycle 5
- Computer 10
- Automobile 20
- Nuclear Reactor 50
Gremlins will travel a maximum distance of 1 mile to the intended device, as long as the character can give accurate directions. Whether an ability check is required to explain the location of the object is at the discretion of the Storyteller. The gremlins will fight back if attacked but cannot be ordered into combat. If injured, they will immediately return the Wyld by side-stepping through the Veil.
Side Effect: Botching releases Wyld magic effects. If a gremlin is killed, the player may owe a boon to a gremlin family, or, worse, make an enemy.