Places

• A shapeshifter in Wolfhome is trapped in its normal animal form and cannot assume any other. • Each shapeshifter’s “animal mind” limits their ability to understand humans. They can’t read written languages, and although they can understand human speech, they may need Intelligence rolls to decipher the meaning or understand abstract concepts. • Humans in Wolfhome dislike most animals. Corax aren’t in as much danger as wolves, but they’re not safe, either. • A shapeshifter using a Gift here must expend a Gnosis point and make a Willpower roll against a difficulty of 5 + the level of the Gift. This is in addition to the other prerequisites. Gifts last a maximum of three turns, even if their effects are normally permanent. No rites work here. • Characters may need to “think like humans” (succeeding at Intelligence rolls to understand abstract concepts) to survive in Wolfhome. However, doing this too often distances a werewolf from his wolf nature, making it harder to leave. • None of the local denizens of Wolfhome know they are spirits. Shapeshifters cannot breed with the local spirits. • All spirits not native to Wolfhome must be bound to a Garou or a dedicated talisman before entering the realm; otherwise, they become dormant during their stay. • The only way to leave this realm is by reaching a true understanding of one’s animal side, as defined by the Storyteller.

Wolfhome is one of the stranger Near Realms. It’s not a pleasant place for most shapeshifters, but it’s not a microcosm of suffering and pain either. Instead, it’s a realm of humility and weakness that strips much of a shapeshifter’s powers and intellect and renders him a hunted animal. Some elders deliberately send a cub to Wolfhome to teach him a valuable lesson. Learning that lesson is the only way out; until the shapeshifter is able to understand, accept, and reconcile with his bestial nature, he may not leave the realm.

Entry to the realm immediately forces all shapeshifters into their Lupus (or equivalent) forms. Garou become wolves, Corax become ravens, Ananasi become a whole swarm of spiders, and so forth. Their mentality becomes that of an animal as well, with their human thought processes suppressed. Even a Lupus-breed Garou, with her natural animal instincts, finds herself at a disadvantage when stripped of higher thought. The character’s personality and habits remain intact, though — a Get of Fenris still has her combat experiences and a Silent Strider is inclined to wander.

Not only can they not think like a human without effort, but they can’t even fully understand the ‘human’ inhabitants of Wolfhome — emanations unaware of their true nature. The things humans do are scary, bizarre, and incomprehensible to a shapeshifter in this state. Unlike the animal-spirits of Wolfhome, shapeshifters have some comprehension of the humans’ language but may have to make Intelligence rolls to understand concepts like “key to the cage door” or “laboratory.” Their own memories may