I've been playing Werewolf for several years now, and one of the things that I find strange is the fact that Garou seem to be very vulnerable to their enemies: Wyrm, Mages, Vampires, etc. When put them against the Garou, the latter appear rather weak and vulnerable. How did that happen? If Garou were really that vulnerable, then all of their caerns would of been taken over by mages long ago, and it would be possible to kill a Garou with a slingshot using a silver projectile. Yet, Mages, Vampires almost never go looking for a fight with Garou. Those who do, die rather fast. If Garou were that weak and vulnerable, it would be as simple as sending a bunch of MIBs or Ghouls with AK-47s loaded with silver rounds and kill every Garou on Earth. Yet it doesn't happen. In my opinion, Garou's vulnerability to silver is overstated in the rules. Some can object to me saying that; Vampires can't soak sunlight after all. Well, where do you get sunlight in the middle of the night or underground, huh? Anyway, here are several optional rules that I saw used in several chronicles, including my own.- Silver does soakable aggravated damage to Garou. With a 5 pt merit, silver does non aggravated damage. (Note: in every legend I've read, you have to shoot a werewolf in the heart, or in the head with a silver bullet to kill him. Noone ever mentioned shooting a werewolf in the pinky toe with a silver bullet and killing him)
- In the very same legends, werewolf healing abilities are nothing short of phenomenal; it is understated in the game. My suggestion is that Garou heal 2 non-agg wound level per turn, even in combat and without a Stamina check. As for aggravated damage, Garou heal 1 agg/day. If a Stamina check diff 8 is successful, then 1/hour. With combat rarely lasting for more than 5 rounds, this really won't matter that much.
- Gnosis is a Garou's inner energy. While Vampires and Mages can regain Blood or Quintessence rather quickly, it is a diferent matter with Gnosis. Once again, the game is unbalanced. Let a Garou make a Gnosis roll diff 7. The successes indicate how many Gnosis points a Garou can use during that day without spending a temporary Gnosis point. Gnosis is regain during sleep. Roll Gnosis vs Gauntlet. This temporary Gnosis is regained every 6 hours of sleep.
- Garou are not human; Garou are not wolf; Garou are not spirit. They are all of these things combined. This is their blessing and curse. Thus, Presence, Obfuscate (which makes you think that you saw nothing) and Dominate, the disciplines that can't be used on spirits and animals are less effective on them (their difficulty is increased by Garou's Primal-Urge Rating). Animalism can be used on Garou, but at +2 difficulty.
- Bete are special children of Gaia while mages are just evolved monkeys. Thus it would be really shortsighted to assume that Magics have full effect on Garou. Garou roll their Gnosis as Countermagic.
- Bete are capable of soaking any type of aggravated damage. Now the difficulty is another matter entirely. Radiation is very hard to soak, while toxins may be easier (not by much though).
It is also worth noting that all these changes are of a little help when fighting fomori, Black Spiral Dancers, Pentex rr when fighting against an enemy who is really hard to find and even harder to kill (e.g. a Defiler Wyrm).Examples: A fomori wielding an M-16 fires a short burst of silver bullets at a Garou in Crinos. Lets say he makes his hit roll by 2. Thus, the fomori would roll 11 dice for an aggravated damage, averaging 5-6 Health levels. Let us say that his target is an average Garou with Stamina rating of 3 in Homid (6 in Crinos) Now in Crinos this Garou will soak an average of 3 Health levels, meaning that 2--3 Health levels of damage gets through. Thus, our Garou is Wounded. Next example: the very same poor Garou gets bitten by a fomori with Poision Bite (Wyrm Toxin, non-soakable). If the fomori's strength is 5, the bite will do on average 6 dice of damage, 3 Health levels, on the average, of aggravated Damage. Thus, a silver bullet firing M-16 in the hands of a human is as nasty as a Fomor. This rule of silver resistance doesn't change the issue that much. Remember, Garou usually fight outnumbered. Kicking butt is not what Werewolf is all about. It is about fighting against overwhelming evil and it is about facing and understanding humanity's place in nature.
It is worth noting that all bete are at least part human. Thus, why shouldn't they have human capabilities to at least a certain extent? Why not let them learn Hedge Magick/Thaumaturgy? Bete of more mystically inclined tribes as well as the theurges are capable of learning Hedge Magick. Examples are Uktena, Stargazers, Silent Striders, Hakken, Get of Fenris, as well as all other Bete and Theurges.It is possible for a Bete to be a Highlander-style Immortal. The problems that arise are numerous. Not only is the Wyrm after you, but other Bete sense that you are somehow different. Now, not only do you have Wyrm flunkies after you, but also other Immortals come after you. (For something really scary think Immortal Fomori or Black Spiral Dancer).
A Bete with patience and desire to learn may become a Streetfighter. This especially suits Khan, Bagheera, Hakken, Uktena, Wendigo, Stargazers and Pumonca.
Bete can not be mages!!!!
As far as Bete being vampires, use current rules. There is no way to make a Bete botch that roll. They are a creation of Gaia, and thus, hold immunity to undeath.
Bete make scary revenants; they are powerful and versatile. Yet, their resistance to Vampiric powers is halved. They must always protect their secret (as Dark Secret Flaw but no points are gained). They also have traits of their revenant family.