Custom Fetish Guide. Overview

Transcription

1 Custom Fetish Guide What follows is the Custom Fetish Guide to be used by Players and Storytellers to create Custom Fetishes to enhance personal story and gameplay with their own creativity. The Custom Fetish Guide is designed to be simple and easy to understand and use, while also being flexible enough to accommodate the endless possibilities of Fetishes that lie in the minds of our players and Storytellers. The Custom Fetish Guide is also designed to be balanced for gameplay, and while the Guide is meant to encourage creative freedom Storytellers and Players should be mindful that if they find a design that is abusive to the story or other player s then that Fetish is not right for the game. It should be noted that the Custom Fetish Guide rules don t necessarily fit with the way every existing Fetish is currently built, and comparing Fetishes generated with this Guide to existing Fetishes won t come out the same. Custom Fetishes follow the same approval guidelines as other Fetishes. Overview To sum up how to make a Custom Fetish using the Custom Fetish Guide is easy. Fetishes are limited by two factors, their Fetish Rating and their Gnosis Rating. All Fetishes start at Fetish Rating: 1, and Gnosis Rating: 1, before adding mechanics to them. This is the base Fetish template. If the item to be bound into is made with at least Crafts x5, the initial Fetish Rating of the base Fetish template is zero. For Bone Gnawers, if the item to be bound into by the Bone Gnawer Fetish maker is made with at least Repair x5, the initial Fetish Rating of the base Fetish template is zero. For Red Talons, if the Spirit being bound into the item is a Naturae or Elemental and the Fetish maker is a Red Talon, the initial Fetish Rating of the base Fetish template is zero. If the Fetish maker has at least Spirit Lore x4, the initial Gnosis Rating of the base Fetish template is zero. If the Fetish maker has at least Spirit Lore x5, the initial Fetish Rating of the Fetish template is also zero. If the Fetish maker has at least Spirit Affinity x3 with the Brood of the Spirit being bound into the Fetish, the initial Gnosis Rating of the base Fetish template is zero.

2 If the Fetish maker has at least Spirit Affinity x5 with the Brood of the Spirit being bound into the Fetish, the initial Fetish Rating of the base Fetish template is zero. If the Fetish maker has Spirit Enmity x2 with the Brood of the Spirit being bound into the Fetish, the initial Gnosis Rating of the base Fetish template is two, and is not able to be lowered. If the Fetish maker has Spirit Enmity x3 with the Brood of the Spirit being bound into the Fetish, the initial Fetish Rating of the base Fetish template is also two, and is not able to be lowered. Using a Weaver Spirit to bind into a Fetish increases the Gnosis Rating and the Fetish Rating to two, for all except Bone Gnawers and Glass Walkers Fetish makers. Using a Wyrm Spirit to bind into a Fetish increases the Gnosis Rating and the Fetish Rating of the base Fetish template to two for any Gaian shifter, and it cannot be lowered. For Wyrm servants, binding a Wyrm Spirit into a Fetish lowers the initial Gnosis Rating and Fetish Rating of the base Fetish template to zero. The above modifiers alter the base Fetish template for your Custom Fetish. If a modifier states it cannot be lowered, this means that no other modifier can make the Fetish Rating or Gnosis Rating any lower. If a modifier does not state that it cannot be lowered, then other modifiers can still impact the base Fetish template for your Custom Fetish. After you determine the base Fetish template for your Fetish, you then pick out a number of the mechanics listed below for your Fetish until you have the mechanics you want to match the flavor that both Player and Storyteller agree fit for the Fetish. Each mechanic you add has a Fetish Rating value, and each added mechanic also adds an amount to the Gnosis Rating, representing that each added mechanic is either another Spirit being bound into the Fetish, or represents another facet of a more powerful single Spirit being bound into the Fetish. No more than two spirits can be bound into a Fetish. Grand Klaives may have up to three Spirits bound into them. This also means the more you put into your Fetish, the harder it can be to activate. The Fetish Rating of a Fetish can never exceed 5, and the Gnosis Rating can never exceed 10. This creates a balance on the Fetishes being created. Once you and your Storyteller have agreed on the story and flavor of the Fetish and it s mechanics, it is subject to approval like all of the Fetishes as per the addendum. Your Fetish Rating still determines the Background: Fetish cost of the item, and your Gnosis Rating still serves as the difficulty to activate the Fetish.

3 Creative License While the Fetishes are restricted mechanically by their Fetish Rating and Gnosis Rating, the actual flavor of the Fetish is entirely in the hands of the Storyteller and the Player. The mechanics serve as the framework for you to drape the story and flavor of your Fetish over to have something that is entirely unique to your character. It should be cautioned that even in flavor some things can result in additional mechanical benefits, so Storytellers should pay attention to flavor specifics when working out the details of the Fetish. We would encourage players to use this Custom Fetish Guide to actually make unique Fetishes, and not simply replicas of existing Fetishes or items found in popular culture (Sonic Screwdriver, Lightsabers, etc.) We also ask that Players and Storytellers be mindful that Fetishes are intimate and personal items, and are meant to contribute to the game. Items that are clearly inappropriate for the theme and venue (as those two listed above), should be denied and players encouraged to find more venue appropriate ways to make their Fetishes. When choosing Spirits to bind into your Fetish, keep in mind that the type of Spirit adds a flavor to how the Fetish looks while activated. A Fire spirit bound into boots that give you a boost of movement, may leave small flaming foot prints in your wake. A trenchcoat bound with a Spirit of Shadow to make you more Stealthy may literally pull the shadows in from around you while activated. A small Spider spirit bound into a laptop that adds to your Computer and Security skills, may manifest as a digital spider that speaks to you as you navigate the Web. The type of spirit by it s nature does not add any additional mechanical benefit (IE: choosing to bind a Silver spirit may give something a silvery glow, but it will not make it silver damage), but makes all of the difference in the world for the flavor of your Fetish. This is the nature of how two Fetishes that are mechanically identical can still be nothing alike. The Process The process of a character creating a Custom Fetish is the same as listed in Laws of the Wild, Revised, page 158. Keep in mind with the Custom Fetish Guide you may be binding more than one Spirit into the item, so the process can be significantly more extensive. The process of making a Fetish may even involve multiple characters, because the person conducting the Rite of the Fetish may not also be the person negotiating with the Spirits. The actual Rite is thematically the smallest part of the process of creating a Custom Fetish. The quest to find the appropriate Spirit to suit what you re looking for the Fetish to do is entirely determined by the storyteller. Small spirits that may only represent one mechanic may be easy to find, but convincing them to be bound and accepting their Bans can prove to be very challenging. Large or elusive Spirits that represent multiple mechanics can complicate the process many fold. This part of the process is entirely story, and entirely at the mercy of the interaction with the player and the storyteller. It should be expected that Fetishes that are High Approval or greater will require extensive time, story, and effort to be displayed in order to gain approval.

4 Abuse of Fetishes by giving to those unqualified to have them, using them in frivolous or irresponsible ways, or creating them frivolously or dispensing them casually can be cause for disdain from other Garou, particularly Theurges who view such actions as disrespectful to the Spirits, and may result in the loss of temporary Wisdom Renown at the discretion of the Storyteller. The Guidelines Both PCs and NPCs can have Custom Fetishes, however, PCs can only own and use Custom Fetishes made by PCs. The character casting the Rite of the Fetish is used to determine who made the Fetish in regards to any of the situational modifiers listed above, or the Gifted mechanic. A custom Fetish can be made once every 30 days. PCs cannot enter play with Custom Fetishes. Custom Fetishes adhere to any and all other addendum rules and guidelines regular Fetishes do. Klaives and Grand Klaives follow the rules listed after the mechanics section. Moonsilver is Top Approval to use in making anything due to rarity. The Mechanics The mechanics that follow are, again, a structure for you to put your flavor on top of your Custom Fetish. Two Custom Fetishes can be built with the exact same mechanics, and be very different from each other in form. Some of the following mechanics are limited to the number of times they can be purchased and stack with themselves in one Fetish. All mechanics require the Fetish to be active to function, unless otherwise listed. Ability Aptitude (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): 2 Traits up in non combat challenges using one specific Ability. Can be purchased multiple times, but each time is for a different Ability. Ability Retest (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): One Retest in non combat challenges using one specific Ability, once per scene. Can be purchased multiple times, but each additional time is for a different Ability, or adds an additional non combat Retest to the existing Ability. This mechanic can also be used to Retest non combat Gift activation.

5 Attribute Aptitude (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): 2 Traits up in non combat challenges using one specific Attribute Category (IE: Strength, Perception, or Charisma) for the purpose of resolution of ties or overbids. Can be purchased twice, but the second Attribute Category must be in a different Attribute (Physical, Social, Mental) than the first. Attribute Focus (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): This mechanic bestows one additional Physical, Mental, or Social Trait to the Fetish user while activated. Can be purchased twice, either to add an additional Trait of the same Attribute, or to add a Trait to a different Attribute. Charmed (3 Fetish, 3 Gnosis): This mechanic duplicates the effect of one of the listed Charms. Activation of the Fetish accounts for any Essence expenditure required by the Charm, but any additional expenditures and tests must be made by the Fetish user when activated as per The Spirit Guide listing for the Charm, using the Fetish user s Attributes or tempers. Armor: Negates the first level of damage taken per round while activated. Blast: Deals two aggravated level of damage per activation and successful challenge. Create Fire Create Shadows Create Wind (not Tornados) Control Electrical System Ease Pain Healing: Heals two levels of damage per activation, and can be activated twice per scene. Information Flow Tap Purify Short Out Snatch Wireless Data Tech Sense Deep Wounds (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis): Weapon Fetishes with this mechanic deal an extra level of damage while the Fetish is active. Ranged weapons give this bonus to their ammunition. Putting this on an item that stores smaller thrown weapons could also give this benefit to those items. This mechanic replaces the benefit of Mass Trauma and/or High Caliber on Firearms when activated. Can only be purchased once. The damage from this mechanic cannot be Silver. Far Shot (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis; Ranged or Thrown Weapon): This mechanic doubles the range of a thrown Fetish weapon or the ammunition of a fired Fetish weapon. Putting this mechanic on an item that stores smaller thrown weapons or ammunition could also give this benefit to those items. Can only be purchased twice. Form Fit (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): This mechanic allows Fetish items and armor that normally meld into the shifted form of a creature to instead grow and fit into their new form. This mechanic must be purchased for each shifting form the Fetish is to conform to.

6 Form Shift (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): This mechanic allows a Fetish to retain it s qualities and shift into another form when activated, determined when crafted. IE: A laptop could turn into a cell phone, or a coat into a blanket. The form shifted into has to have the same over all functionality as the base form. A computer could not turn into a boot. Can be purchased multiple times. Each time allows the Fetish to shift into another form. Weapons can only turn into other weapons of the same category (Firearms to Firearms, Melee to Melee or Thrown, Ranged Weapons to Ranged Weapons), and within one step of concealability rating (Pocket > Jacket > Trenchcoat > Not Available). Thrown or Melee weapons cannot turn into molotov cocktails or grenades. Gifted (3 Fetish, 3 Gnosis; HIGH APPROVAL): This mechanic duplicates the effect of any one Basic Gift. The Gift must be in Tribe, in Breed, or in Auspice to the Fetish maker. Activation of the Fetish accounts for up to two Gnosis expenditures required by the Gift. Any other Trait or Temper expenditures and tests must be made by the Fetish user when activated. Any Gift mechanics that are dependent on Rank are treated as if activated by a Gift user of a rank equal to one third (round down) the Fetish s Gnosis Rating. Gifts activated through this mechanic are subject to the same rules and restrictions as the Gift itself (IE: Gifts that have instantaneous durations require the Fetish to be activated between each use, Gifts that require touch still require the target to be touched, Gifts that can only be activated once per scene can only be activated through the Fetish once per scene, etc.). Indestructible (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): The Fetish s physical form cannot be destroyed. When applied to armor, the health levels of the armor are still lost normally, however the armor itself is not destroyed, and all armor levels return at the end of the scene, requiring another activation of the Fetish. Location Sense (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): The one to whom it is bound to always has an innate sense of where the Fetish is and can locate the Fetish. Proprietary (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): The Fetish refuses to activate, even by spending a Gnosis to force the Spirits within, for anyone other than the one to whom the Fetish has been bound, even while the Fetish is not active. Alternatively, Proprietary can also dictate a specific singular feature it will only activate for. Tribe, Breed, Auspice, gender, age, etc. Quickened (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): The Fetish doubles your movement (or adds two steps in combat rounds) for a number of turns equal to the Gnosis Rating of the Fetish. This mechanic can be purchased twice, doubling the duration of the activation. This mechanic can be benefited from multiple times in a scene by activating the Fetish again. Ravager (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis; Weapon): This mechanic converts the damage a weapon does into aggravated damage against all targets when activated. Ranged weapons give this to their ammunition. This mechanic replaces the benefit of Fully Automatic on Firearms when activated. Putting this on an item that stores smaller thrown weapons could also give this benefit to those items. This mechanic cannot represent Silver damage.

7 Resilient (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis): This mechanic adds one Healthy Health level to the Fetish user while activated. This mechanic can only be benefited from once per scene. Can be purchased three times. Resize (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): When added to a Fetish the Fetish crafter decides whether the item grows in size or shrinks in size. Shrinking in size reduces the item s concealability rating by one, growing in size increases the item s concealability rating by one (Not Applicable > Trenchcoat > Jacket > Pocket). The item will hold it s form until activated to return to regular size again. This mechanic can be purchased more than once, and either allow the item to shrink or grow another concealability rating, or allow the Fetish to resize the other way (IE: can grow and shrink). Sentient (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis): The Spirits of the Fetish have merged to form one sentience. The sentience can communicate mentally with whomever it is bound to at a range of the Fetish s Gnosis in miles. The Fetish has Mental and Social Traits equal to it s Gnosis Rating. This mechanic works even when the Fetish is not activated. Summon (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): Any Fetish with this mechanic who is bound to the user can be summoned to the user s hand from any spot within the same scene and will arrive in their hand before their next action. This requires sacrificing the character s movement for that action. This mechanic works even when the Fetish is not activated. Superior (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): This mechanic removes one negative Trait from the Negative Traits of an item. This mechanic can be purchased multiple times. Temper Battery (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis): When this mechanic is picked, choose either Rage, Gnosis, or Willpower. The Fetish will then store up to three Traits of that Temper. The Tempers are then drawn from the Fetish by the Fetish user at activation, and used in the next action. These Tempers refill the Fetish users Tempers up to their Rank maximums. Can be purchased multiple times. Each additional purchase either stores three additional traits of the same temper or three traits of one of the other two tempers. The Fetish user can refill these Tempers from her own Tempers at game or during downtime. Temper Shield (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis): The Fetish gives a 2 Trait bonus to in all challenges defending against either Rage, Gnosis, or Willpower challenges. This mechanic can be purchased once. Tethered (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): This mechanic is always active, even when the Fetish isn t, and prevents the Fetish from being disarmed, dropped, or removed from the Fetish user against their will. Thrower (1 Fetish, 3 Gnosis; Non Thrown Weapon): Any Fetish weapon that does not have a Range, is given a thrown range of the Gnosis Rating of the Fetish in paces on activation. Each

8 additional time that this mechanic is purchased increases the range of throwing this weapon by the Gnosis Rating of the Fetish in paces. Undiscovered Mechanic (Variable Fetish, Variable Gnosis; TOP APPROVAL): The ultimate expression of player creativity, this mechanic is for all the mechanics not yet represented in this guide, but conceived of by a player. A player is able to write their own mechanic and submit it for Top Approval through the database. Approved Undiscovered Mechanics may then later be added to the Custom Fetish Guide for all players to use in the crafting of their Custom Fetishes. Be aware, a very discerning eye will be reviewing all Undiscovered Mechanics, and submitting your Undiscovered Mechanic discussing the possible ways of being abused and the checks and balances to keep that from happening will help the approval process. Unyielding Spirit (1 Fetish, 2 Gnosis): This mechanic represents Spirits who have been fortified against attempts to exorcise them from their binding. If being held or wielded, the Fetish user wins ties in the Contested Social Challenge to exorcise the spirit/s. Any and all other attempts to exorcise the spirit/s of the Fetish test against three times the Gnosis Rating of the Fetish. Klaives and Grand Klaives This section explains the statistics of Klaives, and the mechanics of Grand Klaives. Klaives and Grand Klaives that have been approved prior to this addendum still adhere to their mechanics as listed in their approval. Be aware that Klaives and Grand Klaives still follow the same approvals as listed in the addendum. Klaives More than just a standard Fetish weapon, the Klaive is an artifact of great sentiment and importance to the Garou. Klaives are dagger weapons and are used in Klaivaskar, Garou ritual combat. While the Garou of the different Tribes and cultures have a myriad of Fetish weapons, Klaives are distinctly dagger weapons. Some Tribes have variations of Klaives with different names and different abilities. Klaives typically have a war spirit bound into them that let s them do aggravated damage while activated. Klaives without a war spirit use the same statistics as a Non Activated Klaive. More information on Klaives can be found in Laws of the Wild, Revised, page 255. Klaives use the following statistics: Fetish: 4 Gnosis: 6 Not Activated Bonus Traits: 2 Negative Traits: Short

9 Concealability: Jacket Damage: 2 health levels Special Ability: Silver Activated Bonus Traits: 3 Negative Traits: Short Concealability: Jacket Damage: 3 aggravated health levels Special Ability: Silver Grand Klaives Grand Klaives are larger Klaives, typically the size of a sword, and usually have multiple spirits bound into them beyond the standard War spirit. A Grand Klaive that does not have a spirit bound into it follows the same statistics as a Non Activated Grand Klaive. The Black Spiral Dancers have their own form of Klaives, called Baneklaives that follow the same statistics as Grand Klaives. Grand Klaives use the following statistics: Fetish: 5 Gnosis: 7 Not Activated Bonus Traits: 3 Negative Traits: Heavy Concealability: Trenchcoat Damage: 2 health levels Special Ability: Silver Activated Bonus Traits: 5 Negative Traits: Heavy Concealability: Trenchcoat Damage: 4 aggravated health levels Special Ability: Silver, Additional Spirit The Additional Spirit of a Grand Klaive can comprise up to two of the mechanics listed to make Custom Fetishes, excluding Deep Wounds.