Gifts

Creating, discovering, and rediscovering rites strengthens the entire Garou Nation by bringing new blood into an an­ cient system of give and take. Doing so almost always earns a werewolf Renown, and a reputation as a potent mystic. Below are some story hooks that Storytellers who wish to bring this aspect of spirit magic into their games can use to give them ideas and jumpstart chapters or even whole stories.

• Bringing History Alive: While exploring an aban­ doned caern that has lain dormant for decades, the pack stumbles across a sleeping werewolf that they cannot wake, no matter what they try. He's clearly not dead, and an ex­ amination by someone with the right expertise can confirm that his health is perfect, but he remains in a deep slumber. Sufficient research or knowledge of ancient lore can reveal that the most likely suspect is the rare Gift: Hibernation (p. 151). To wake the Garou out of his time, the pack sets out on a quest to recast the Rite of Spirit Awakening as a new ritual that acts as a rallying cry (Call to Arms, p. 157). This can also be used to introduce a new player’s character to the group.

• Restless Souls Epidemic: The caern has been trou­ bled by a staggering number of attacks from beyond the grave over the past few weeks, and the pack discovers that a corrupt shaman with a grudge has been forcing the souls of the dead into servitude to harass the werewolves. Going after the shaman head-on while his army of wraith flunkies protects him is a suicide mission, but preparing a plan takes time and in the meantime, every death only increases his power. The pack ventures into the Umbra to petition the spirits for a way to ensure that anyone who dies stays dead.

• Wandering Hero: The sept elders call a moot and an­ nounce that, to their dismay, one among the pack's septmates stepped sideways some time ago and never returned to the physical world. They suspect she has become lost or unaware of time passing, and fear that if she is not found soon, she will disconnect from the world and become an ancestor-spirit before her time. The pack volunteers or is asked to find her. Whether by hunting down a wise but secluded Garou mystic and bargaining for the knowledge, questing after a legendary archive of lost scrolls, or going into the Umbra themselves for clues, the pack discovers a rite that can call wandering souls home, but will they reach their missing septmate in time?

• Risking It All: A breeding ground for Banes has expanded out of control, and fomori have been popping up

in unprecedented numbers around the area. Not only that, but their power seems to be increasing with each wave that shows their ugly faces. The usual tactics aren't working, and someone decides that only by fighting fire with fire can the Garou emerge victorious. It's up to the pack now to figure out a way to merge a werewolf with a spirit, without creating a monstrosity that violates every natural law Gaia holds dear, and then convince that spirit to cooperate.

• Blood Brothers: The pack attends a wild revel, at which the guest of honor is a famous Galliard storyteller who brings tales from every nook and cranny of the world. The highlight of the evening is her mind-blowing rendition of the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which she reveals that the an­ cient figures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu were in fact Garou warriors, according to her sources. She describes how they took ritual oaths to cement their boundless dedication to each other as battle mates in blood and magic, enjoying the blessings of the spirit world as reward for their loyalty. She drops hints that the ritual they used was no metaphor but a true Garou rite, prompting the pack to undertake a quest to find the lost rite and claim its blessings for their own.