Influencers By Night

All characters in Werewolf: The Apocalypse have Attributes, representing the basic abilities of human beings and similar creatures. The majority of people have Attributes rated between 1 dot (poor) and 3 dots (good). A few gifted individuals -- including the pack -- can have ratings of 4 (excellent) or 5 (world-class). The Crinos war-form enhances a werewolf's Physical Attributes to levels far beyond human capacity, while leaving her Social Attributes potentially lower than the human minimum.

Physical Attributes reflect the capacities of the character's body: How strong, agile, and tough the character is. Action-oriented characters, including many Ahroun and lupus, should take Physical Attributes as their primary category. As werewolves shift forms, their Physical Attributes shift with them; space is provided on the character sheet to record these altered values

Social Attributes represent the character's ability to manipulate the people around him. Whether he's good looking, charming, or able to sell sand in the Sahara, his Social Traits determine everything from first impressions to ongoing relationships. Naturally, some penalties apply to these Attributes as the werewolf shifts forms. Galliards and Philodox benefit from high Social Traits.

Mental Traits cover thinking, reasoning, and observation. These Attributes help to determine, among other things, awareness of the world around your character, and her reaction time. Theurges and Ragabash will benefit from high Mental Traits.


Specialties
When a character has at least four dots in an Attribute or Ability, she’s eligible to choose a specialty in the given Trait. Specialties represent a particular focus and proficiency related to the character’s concept or profession. For example, a sprinter might have the “swift-footed” specialty in Dexterity, while a mechanic could have the “Muscle Cars” specialty in Craft. Several specialty suggestions are given with each Trait. Whenever you roll for an action that falls under your character’s specialty, any die that comes up “10” counts as two successes instead of just one.

Let’s look at an example. Dr. Karel Weilbacher, Get of Fenris Theurge, has the Knowledge Medicine at four dots; his specialty is “emergency medicine.” A Black Spiral Dancer has badly wounded one of his sept’s young Ahroun. Karel’s player Monica rolls Intelligence (three dots) + Medicine (four dots), making her dice pool seven. Monica rolls three 10s, one 6 and three 2s. The roll yields a total of seven successes for Karel, who heals the kid quickly enough for him to get back into the fray.

Players should clear any specialties with the Storyteller, who can veto any specialties that are too broad (such as “guns” for Firearms or “healing” for Medicine) or that focus solely on game mechanics (“dealing damage” for Strength or “soak rolls” for Stamina). The player and Storyteller should work together to express the character’s concept through specialties.

Strength

Strength is a measure of how much weight the character can carry, shove, or lift. Strength figures into jumping and leaping, and it also measures the raw damage you can deliver in a fight. The higher your Strength is, the more punishing your blows are. Generally, characters with high Strength are big and brawny, although this is not always the case; the short and wiry types can also pack quite a punch.
Specialties: Steely Grip, Lower Body, Strength Reserves

Dots Description
1 Poor: You can lift 40 lbs (about 20 kgs).
2 Average: You can lift 100 lbs (close to 50 kgs).
3 Good: You can lift 250 lbs (a little over 100 kgs).
4 Exceptional: You can lift 400 lbs (close to 200 kgs).
5 Outstanding: You can lift 650 lbs (nearly 300 kgs) and crush skulls like grapes.


Dexterity

Dexterity measures a character's control over her own body, including agility, speed and manual deftness. Characters with a high Dexterity have good hand-eye coordination. Generally, they're graceful and light on their feet to boot. Dexterity influences accuracy in combat, as well as the ability to do precision work with one's hands.
Specialties: Lightning Reflexes, Preternatural Grace, Nimble Fingers

Dots Description
1 Poor: You trip and stumble just walking across cat.
2 Average: You're no gymnast, but you don't embarrass yourself, either.
3 Good: There's some grace in your movements and lightness to your step.
4 Exceptional: You've got the potential to be a world-class acrobat, dancer or thief.
5 Outstanding: Your agility and control over your movements is possibly the stuff of legends. Every step you take is fluid, graceful and lithe.


Stamina

Stamina is a state of both mind and body. It indicates the physical ability to withstand great strain over a long period of time (such as running for hours on end or going without food for days), but it's also a matter of inner resistance (such as holding up in the face of torture or shrugging off dire wounds to finish a mission). High Stamina allows you to endure an opponent's blows, so it's the Trait of choice for representing tough-as-nails werewolves.
Specialties: Unbreakable, Tireless, Resilient

Dots Description
1 Poor: You gasp for breath after one flight of stairs.
2 Average: You can take a punch.
3 Good: A day's hike without food or water isn't too much for you to bear.
4 Exceptional: Whether it's a two-day forced march or sneering at the faces of your torturers, you're up to the task.
5 Outstanding: Your constitution and will to survive can overcome any threat.

Charisma

Charisma isn't really about good looks; rather, it's innate charm, personality, and power of influence. A character's Charisma comes into question when she tries to win another character's sympathies or encourage others to trust her. Characters with a high Charisma Trait generally serve as inspiration for their fellows, exuding an air of trust and likability. Whether she's a silver-tongued charmer or a personable bully, other people depend on her to provide motivation and encouragement. Characters with low Charisma have a hard time getting people to see things their way. They do and say the wrong things, and they generally end up pissing off people who might otherwise be friends.
Specialties: Air of Confidence, Captivating, Commanding Voice, Infectious Humor

Dots Description
1 Poor: People just don't find it easy to like you.
2 Average: People think you're kind of friendly and fairly easy to get along with.
3 Good: People trust you, and look to you in tough circumstances.
4 Exceptional: You draw in admirers like bees to honey. No one's ever a stranger for long.
5 Outstanding: You're an inspiring leader of both humans and werewolves.


Manipulation

Manipulation is the fine art of getting other people to do what you want through the time-honored means of tricks, bluffs, fast-talking, and railroading. Unlike Charisma, your target doesn't have to trust you, or even like you -- a master manipulator takes her target's attitude into account, relying on subtle personality hooks and reverse psychology to control everyone around him. Botching a Manipulation roll can bring down the wrath of the intended target. Everyone's manipulated every single day, but bringing it to people's attention quickly makes them defensive. This Attribute is generally easier for homids to master than it is for lupus, although many lower-status wolves are no stranger to the idea.
Specialties: Forked Tongue, Unswerving Logic, Doubletalk, Seduction

Dots Description
1 Poor: You'd have trouble getting a starving wolf to eat freshly killed rabbit.
2 Average: You're as sly as the next person; sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't.
3 Good: You always get a discount for cash or one for the road.
4 Exceptional: Folks do what you want them to, whether they realize it or not.
5 Outstanding: You could turn a pack against their own totem, if you wished.


Appearance

Appearance measures how well a character makes a first impression. It covers posture, body language, and unconscious expressions along with physical appearance -- anything remarkable on first impression can contribute to a character's Appearance. Appearance is subconscious and instinctual; as such, even lupus with no context for what makes an "attractive" human being still react to people who make strong first impressions. When first impressions are paramount, or people set a great deal of stock by how someone looks and carries herself, a character can have no more dice in a Social dice pool than her Appearance Trait. It's important to either get to know people or dress to impress before you try convincing them to burn down a Hive.
Specialties: Genial, Exotic, Alluring, Noble Bearing

Dots Description
1 Poor: You turn off both wolves and humans with your presence.
2 Average: You're just another face in the crowd.
3 Good: People keep trying to buy you drinks, even if you refuse.
4 Exceptional: People stop you in the street just to make your acquaintance.
5 Outstanding: Nobody can forget meeting you.

Perception

Perception measures the character's sensitivity to her surroundings. It's a combination of actively monitoring the area around her while also relying on instincts and gut feeling. Perception doesn't normally involve intense concentration; it's more like a certain sensitivity to what's going on in the immediate vicinity. Perception comes in handy when characters search for clues, maintain alertness for ambushes or seek hidden knowledge. Many lupus have high Perception, as they're used to synthesizing information from all of their senses. Characters who are cynical or jaded don't rely on their Perception as much as they should.
Specialties: Eyes in the Back of Your Head, Farsighted, Uncanny Instincts, Detail-Oriented

Dots Description
1 Poor: You wouldn't notice the Wyrm itself in front of you -- Watch out! Car!
2 Average: You get the general idea when trouble brews, but the details can elude you.
3 Good: You know the general feeling of a room when you walk in, and you're rarely suised.
4 Exceptional: You notice just about everything, even when one of your senses is dulled.
5 Outstanding: You didn't need to look to see that click beetle painted with the Magadon logo in the neighbor's potted plant.


Intelligence

The Intelligence Attribute covers a character's grasp of facts and knowledge. It also governs her ability to reason, solve problems, and evaluate situations. It's not just IQ; instead, Intelligence involves how well a character can make sense of seemingly random facts and data, organizing them into usable and constructive patterns. Lateral thinking and leaps of intuition are also part of Intelligence, as is logic, both deductive and inductive. Having a low Intelligence doesn't necessarily imply stupidity; the character could be uneducated, or only able to think in simple patterns. Likewise, a high Intelligence doesn't make a character Stephen Hawking. Instead, the character is just a whiz at pulling together individual bits of information.
Specialties: Lateral Problem Solver, Creative Logic, Probability Calculation, Trivia

Dots Description
1 Poor: Slow on the uptake, you have a hard time with riddles and crosswords.
2 Average: You know enough to know your limits.
3 Good: You can recognize patterns that most people miss, if you've got time.
4 Exceptional: You can easily sort and classify even complex information to draw out new conclusions.
5 Outstanding: You're a genius. Given time, you can figure out just about anything.


Wits

A character's Wits Trait represents her capacity for cleverness, planning, and quick thinking. It affects a character's reaction time in combat and his adaptability to new stimuli. Characters with low Wits are gullible and not particularly fast on the uptake. Characters with high Wits, on the other hand, keep cool in stressful circumstances, and can come up with a new plan in a split second to react to changing circumstances. This Attribute comes in handy both in lively conversation and during the heat of a fight.
Specialties: Ambushes, Cool-Headed, Cunning, Snappy Retorts

Dots Description
1 Poor: You're fodder for every Ragabash you meet.
2 Average: You know that incoming bullets have the right of way.
3 Good: You can handle a fast-paced debate and make a good showing of yourself.
4 Exceptional: You're infamous for your quick retorts; it's difficult to catch you off balance.
5 Outstanding: You think and respond almost before you can act.