By POVINEL4838@SNYONEVA.CC.ONEONTA.EDU
Ages ago, several garou of the Stargazer, Silent Strider and Children of Gaia tribes came to the realization that using rage in the fight against the Wyrm only makes it stronger. They all forswore using rage, and went through a grueling ritual to purge themselves of the rage that they possesed. They all voluntarily gave up the Wolf. The loss was terrible at first, for they were unable to change shapes, and they were all but defenseless. They had only themselves and a dream of a glorious future to keep them company. Gaia was silent for a while as well, for she did not know what to make of these "Renegades" who seemed to be abandoning her to her fate. She gave them no visions and no gifts. This loss was the greatest of all the sufferances endured by the new hopefuls, but they still endured. The Mother would see their hearts, and embrace them once more. They knew this to be true.
They went on great spirit journeys to the deepest realms of the Umbra. The Atrocity Realm was the first stop, as all had to face what they had done in the past. They had to re-live their crimes against all the creatures they had raged against. This alone drove most of them mad, for without the rage to comfort them and steel their hearts against their own crimes, how could they endure? Many torturous years passed in the Umbra, as each of the new hopefuls endured pennance after pennance. And they gained knowledge as well. They spoke with all spirits; Wyrm, Weaver and Wyld alike. They learned what it meant to be a spirit, and how the spirits existed. They were even granted the opportunity to become jagglings, but they declined. They had a purpose to accomplish.
They courted the Totems and served them all on many quests, all without the benefit of their rage. Remarkably, all that had made it this far with their minds intact had survived. And they all had something new within themselves. Gnosis. Pure, sweet gnosis, fresh and strong. Free of all Wyrm taint. They made one final journey: to Gaia. There, they threw themselves at her feet and pleaded their case. They begged her to accept them once more into her bosom. And Gaia saw into their souls. She saw the years spent in attonement and learning. She saw the suffering endured in the cause of pursuing another way. And Gaia smiled upon them. She gave them a new name, and declared the henceforth, they and their children shall be known as the White Spirit Dancers.
Willpower: 6
Gnosis: 7
Rage: 3
Cost of Increasing Willpower and Gnosis: 1/2 normal cost.
Bans: Any ability used to kill another creature out of anger. If the player finds a way to kill something using a previously harmless skill, they will be banned from using that skill ever again. The only exceptions are Brawl in Kalindo, subdual combat or spirit combat; Melee in using non-damaging weapons (nets, ropes, saps..) and firearms (dart-guns, net guns, rubber-bullet guns, tasers...).
When a WSD is first created, they are going to be pups. Their Rite Of Passage will be to go on a quest and eliminate the rage that they have inherited from their Garou lineage. This will entail completing the quest without using any rage, and this is not as easy as it sounds. The Garou are still creatures of instinct. The cub must override this instinct and control themselves. The cub must undergo three quests in the Rite of Passage. Each successful quest will reduce their rage score by one. They get no experience for the quest either. Only one gnosis point is granted. When all three quests have been completed, then they are indoctrinated into the tribe. If they fail in any of the quests, their rage is increased by 1 and gnosis dropped by 1. This loss can continue until the cub reaches Rage-7 and Gnosis-3. This means that if they blow all three quests, they still have one last chance. If they make that last chance, they can try again. If they blow it again, then they will not be allowed into the Tribe, and will be sent to another tribe for adoption.
Using Gnosis:
When a WSD has achieved Tribe status, their Gnosis is at level 10. This means that they are at peace with themselves and the spirit world. Spirits willingly serve the WSD's, if they are asked politely. A WSD will NEVER bind a spirit into a fetish! (More on this later...) They exist in the physical and spirit-world simultaneously. Emotions now become visible, and auras are easily seen and understood. Many gifts that allow other garou to percieve spiritual anomalies are now inherently imbued, such as Sense the Unnatural, Sense Wrym, Sense Spirit, etc...
Gnosis is also used in combat. Since the forefathers of the tribe included the Stargazers, Kalindo is taught as a method of combat, and is primarily bloodless. Most attacks consist of diverting the energy of an opponent against themselves, much in the same way as Tai-Chi. Using gnosis in combat is similar to using rage, but not as violent. The expediture of a gnosis point gives the WSD an extra action, but this action must be used to defuse the situation or the opponent. Locking the opponent in a "appendage"- lock and using a nerve-strike is a good example. Gnosis can also be used to calm an opponent. The WSD grapples with the opponent and expends as many gnosis as they have willpower. The "victim" must make a resisted willpower roll or suffer the effects of the Gift: Rollover. (i.e. surrender) For each point spent, the difficulty of the "victim";s roll increases by one, even if it goes beyond 10!
| In the event that an opponent gets tens in the willpower |
| roll, roll the tens over and add the result. This could |
| feasibly override the attempts of the WSD to calm the foe.|
In spirit combat, such as with banes or worse, each expenditure of a gnosis point will drain the spirit's power rating by *FIVE*!!!! YOWZA!!! With other garou, the battle would go on a point-for-point basis. The expenditure also gives the garou the extra action!! Rap em' on the head and sap em' dead! When fighting hostile spirits, the WSD are allowed to use deadly and violent force. They regret such actions, of course, but it is sometimes necessary.
Gnosis Ratings Higher Than Ten:
It is posible for a WSD to get a gnosis rating higher than 10, and lots of strange things begin to happen around those WSD's who do.
11-12: The WSD exists more in the Umbra than the the Terrulian. They are noticeable by mundanes as being "very peaceful people". Mundanes will tend to like the person right away unless they are corrupted or possesed by a spirit. Spirits now talk to the character routinely, and Mundanes witnessing the event will get the feeling that "this weirdo really *is* talking to spirits!!!" Wyrm creatures are annoyed by the presence of the WSD and will usually try to leave the area.
13-14: The WSD is now acting like a spirit magnet. Spirits of all kinds are flocking to the character and asking them to "channel" or let them into the terrulian. This can get rather hairy when the WSD finds themselves in a hell-hole or Wyrm-Caern. Wraiths in particular will be drawn to the character, demanding help in completing their quests. Wyrm creatures are very uncomfortable around the WSD and will try to leave or kill them. The WSD will also gain a visible aura, or "halo", just like in the Bible paintings. Mundanes will flock to the character like bees to honey and bask in their aura, worshipping the character as a "Second Coming".
15-16: We're talking "Living Spirit" here, now. The WSD will have a glow that is visible in full daylight. Mundanes will fall at the feet of the character and worship them as a deity. Atheists will have to make a willpower roll to resist the pull of the character's Spirit Force. They are also going to attract a *LOT* of attention, namely Mages ("Ooo! A walking, talking, furry ball of Tass! Yum!), Wyrm-spawn ("Bright light! Bright light!") and other garou ("No, *you* go and tell him that he's a Wyrm-Spawn...I'll watch!").
17+: The WSD has trancended a physical existence and now exists only as spirit energy. See below.
Transcendence: When the WSD aquires a Gnosis of 17 or higher, they have trancended the realm of the physical and entered the realm of the spirit. They must now designate a purpose for themselves that will further the cause of Gaia in the best possible sense. This goal cannot include the destruction of anyone or anything. Destruction is the domain of the Wyrm. The goal must be creative in some way. Perhaps the spirit will strive to remove the hatred between the garou tribes, or something in a similar light. It must further the cause of peace and co-existance.
When the WSD is ready to "leave", the tribe holds a glorious moot that lasts for a week. At the end of the moot, the "Guest of Honor" will transform their body into pure spirit energy. All points in attributes become Gnosis points, as do skills, knowledges and talents. Upon the completion of the goal, to the best of their ability, the WSD will then join with their totem and become one with them.
If this transcendance pushes the WSD up to 70 gnosis or higher, they can offer themselves up to their totem and become a level 1 caern of healing, love, enigmas, peace or fertility. This will essentially "kill" the character, but they will have some sentience and will also be aware of the goings on in the caern. If they dedicate themselves on an existing caern, that cearn will have it's level raised by one permanently. This caern can also be raised in power if a combined total of fifty gnosis points are dedicated each year for ten years in a row by the tribe.
Problems:
WSD caerns are still very rare. There are only two in the world, and they are under constant attack from the Wyrm, overzealous garou (Shadowlords and Silver Fangs, to name a few.) and Mages. Dreamspeakers, Akasiatic Brotherhood and Celestial Chorus mages are drawn to these places like moths to a flame. The DS's and AB's are welcomed with open arms, but the CC's are kicked out on their butts with due haste. Verbena are also forbidden, since they need to use lots of blood in their magic. Strangely enough, the Euthanatos are allowed to visit, but are forbidden from killing anyone. They are often visited by their former victims who usually have some "choice words" for their "benefactors". All of the other mages are either forbidden or they don't care to visit.
The Technocracy is *very* interested in finding WSD's and disposing of them as quickly as possible. However, this is not easy. The caerns are well hidden from the Technos, and whenever a hitmark is sent after them, the damn thing either becomes spiritually active and leaves them alone, or is whisked away into the Umbra by spirits friendly to the WSD. They are currently developing HM's that are resistant to these types of attack.
The Wyrm and the Weaver are starting to take notice of these annoying little upstarts, and are beginning to delegate some of their resources to the elimination of this new tribe.