Minor Rites

[Xenia]

Minor Rites
Minor rites are the rituals that the Garou incorporate into daily living. Almost all Garou know and use at least a few such minor rites. Many werewolves develop their own unique minor rites to help them reaffirm their connection to Gaia, or to meet the Final Days with bravery and grace.

Minor rites may be learned in half the time it takes to learn other rites (three days), and generally take only a few minutes to enact. At character creation, they can be purchased at a two-for-one value (Rituals 2 could give you 1 standard Rite and 2 Minor Rites).

System: These require no tests to be thrown, but must be mentioned in Downtime Actions as regularly performed, or declared in scenes as is appropriate.

Bone Rhythms
A werewolf performs this rite to honor her totem spirit. Each spirit has a different rhythm connected to it, and the Garou taps out her spirit’s rhythm with special sticks to honor it. Such “sticks” are traditionally made of bone, but they can be fashioned from any material.
System: Any werewolf who performs this rite three times per day for at least three consecutive days gains a +1 bonus to any one test while in the Umbra. Once this bonus is used, the Garou must rebuild the energies for an additional three days before regaining the +1.

Breath of Gaia
During this rite the werewolf breathes deeply of the Mother’s breath — clean air — 13 times. While so breathing, she clears her mind of all things save her love of Gaia.
System: The character must perform this rite at least once per day for one full cycle of the moon. Doing so enables her to add +2 to any one healing or detection challenge a night.

Calling the Directions
A mystic uses this ritual to reorient himself spiritually, affirming that he is in balance with all of Gaia. Beginning with the East, the Garou howls or sings in the language of the Wild to each of the four cardinal directions.
System: If the werewolf performs this rite every morning when he wakes for one lunar month, he gains a +1 bonus to tests to perform rites as long as he continues to Call the Directions each morning.

Greet the Lady of Justice
This rite thanks and praises the spirit of Justice, often neglected by both humans and Garou, but a powerful ally. In some cities, this is embodied in a sacred place or caern, or Justice can be found inhabiting a memorial or the site of a protest. The Garou must offer praises (in song, in prayer, in dance, etc.) to Justice whenever she feels the presence of "the Lady."
System: The Garou must act out her thanks. If she does so faithfully, she gets a +1 bonus to all Mental tests when seeking true justice. The effect lasts for one week.

Greet the Moon
This rite is an exuberant paean to Luna. During this rite, the werewolf howls an elaborate greeting at moonrise; the howl varies with the phase of the moon.
System: Performing this rite each night at moonrise for a full phase of the moon enables the character to add a +1 bonus to all tests involving social interactions with Garou of that phase’s auspice the next night the moon is in the phase in question.

Greet the North Star
This rite is similar to Greet the Moon, but is performed when the North Star first appears in the sky after sunset.
System: The werewolf must howl a greeting to the North Star each night for eight consecutive nights. If he does so, he gains a +1 bonus on all tests for navigation until he lapses in his nightly greeting.

Greet the Sun
Certain Children of Gaia and most followers of Apollo practice this rite. It is similar to Greet the Moon, but is performed at sunrise.
System: The werewolf must sing Helios’s praises for nine consecutive sunrises. If the Garou does so, Helios grants his devotee an +1 bonus when attempting to sense Wyrm creatures or Wyrm-taint, provided the werewolf continues to sing his praises daily. If even one sunrise is missed, the rite must be begun anew to restore its benefits.

Honoring the Ancestors
By paying respects to a beloved tribe ancestor at a caern shrine or memorial with a ritual howl and a few drops of her own blood, a werewolf gains the favor of that ancestor.
System: Performing this rite for five nights in a row, during which the moon's phase that corresponds to the ancestor's auspice must be visible at least once, grants the character an +1 bonus to the next test she makes for social interaction with other members of her tribe.

Hunting Prayer
This common rite takes many form, but always involves pausing before the start of a hunt to praise Gaia and all her creatures. In addition, the Garou selects some item to hold her prayers. The item could be anything from an old belt to a shark-tooth necklace, but the werewolf must have it with her when she hunts. If she loses the item, she must choose a new one and begin her devotions anew.
System: If the Garou performs this rite before every hunt for three lunar months, she receives a +1 bonus to all tracking tests as long as she continues her pre-hunt prayers. If she neglects the prayer before even one hunt, she must begin the cycle again before she regains the bonus.

Prayer for the Prey
A specific form of the Rite of Contrition, this rite involves the werewolf stepping sideways into the Umbra just after making a kill, in order to thank her prey’s spirit for giving its life that she might survive.
System: The character must perform this rite upon every beast of Gaia (not including Wyrm-spawn) she slays for one full turning of the moon. Should she do so, she gains a +2 bonus to all tests when dealing with nature spirits. This bonus lasts until she kills an animal without taking time to thank the creature’s spirit.