Places

You are accorded a greater degree of respect within your sept for one reason or another. You might perform some valuable function for the sept, come from an important or influential lineage, or your deeds might speak for themselves. Either way, you can count on your sept’s support. Kinfolk characters can normally purchase up to two dots of Sept Standing, granting them some duties in the sept.

A character with an unusually high Sept Standing might have been tutored by a famous Garou or come from a well-known family — or perhaps she was thrust into an unusually advanced position when her elders and betters were killed. On the other hand, a character with unusually low Sept Standing for his Rank might be a newcomer, or grappling with a bad reputation, deserved or not.

A character’s Sept Standing has two facets. The first is the degree to which his sept respects him and the second is a character’s position within the sept — his job in Garou society. Each position in a sept has a Sept Standing require-ment (see below). A character must possess that many dots

in Sept Standing to reap the rewards of the position. Any additional dots of Sept Standing grant one extra die per dot to social rolls when dealing with septmates, including Kinfolk.

Garou crave hierarchy, but they are also creatures of action. There’s a limit to how far you can get by relying on how much people like you. The total bonus from social Backgrounds and Merits cannot exceed five dice; any additional dice can only cancel out penalties. • Known: You have established yourself as capable of pulling your own weight. •• Respected: You are viewed as more then competent. Your septmates ask for your advice and the elders invite you to take on responsibilities. ••• Valued: You are a resource to your sept. The sept does its best to make sure you are comfortable and appreciated so you don’t seek a place elsewhere. •••• Honored: Formally or informally, you are one of the sept’s leaders, with much of the sept’s resources at your disposal. ••••• Lauded: You are one of your sept’s greatest heroes.

Septs only survive because Garou fulfill their various functions, from simple cleaning and maintenance to organizing the caern’s defense or rallying the Garou to attack the Wyrm. Septs — and their spirits — honor those Garou who take on these jobs, which makes sept positions an important part of the Garou struggle for dominance.

These positions are traditional, but not written of in the Litany, and vary from location to location. Some of these positions may be absent in some septs, due to local custom or practicality. For example, a very small sept might do away with the position of Keeper, forcing the Keeper of the Land to recruit informally when she needs help. Other septs might split more complex positions into two or more simpler positions — for example, embodying the Wyrm Foe’s ritual and tactical responsibilities in two different Garou.

Many of these positions, especially those that don’t involve combat or interacting with spirits, can be filled by Kinfolk. In particularly small or troubled septs, Kinfolk will be called upon to fulfill even some of those positions that do involve combat or magic to the best of their limited abilities. Because Kinfolk are not full members of the Garou nation, they cannot take on leadership roles. Most of the time, Kinfolk are limited to positions requiring Sept Standing •• or lower. Kinfolk characters with sept positions reap the same mechanical and social benefits as Garou characters.

The sept positions — and the number of dots of Sept Standing required to take them — are described in more detail below. Every position also carries a special benefit for the Garou who fills it, reflecting the respect Garou earn for working on behalf of their sept.