Backgrounds

[Xenia]

Backgrounds
Backgrounds are an important part to and game, and should help aid to overall story of the character and game. The Backgrounds posted below have been modified or created to better fit into this game.

Select from the following list:

• Allies
• Ancestors *
• Contacts
• Fame
• Fetish *
• Kinfolk
• Resources
• Spirit Pact *
• Territory
• Totem

* = Restricted for Kinfolk; requires Gnosis for Ancestors/Spirit Pact, and good, good reasoning for Fetish.

Please note that after character creation, the only way to increase Backgrounds are through RP and Downtime. For more spiritual things like Ancestors, Spirit Pact, and Totem, that may be some intense umbral quest stuff. Other Backgrounds may take a fair bit of bureaucracy and DT investment. Be prepared!


Growing Backgrounds
As established in Downtime Actions:

• Gaining a New Background: If you wish to start into a new Background, you must spend a single DTA per new Background. Please disclose: who your Background is, why they are helping you, and where they are located. Please note that this may take more than one DTA due to mitigating factors in the setting.
• Background Growth: If you wish to grow a Background to a higher level, you may do so by putting in a DTA and explaining what steps you take to grow your Background. You may only grow one Background per DTA used. Each Background requires a number of growth actions equal to the level you're trying to get to. As a general practice, Background growth is established like this:
  • Declaring Background growth (1pt of growth)
  • A description of how you're growing it (+1pt of growth)
  • Mentioning any relevant abilities you possess at 3+ (+1pt of growth)

To expand on the above, you will need a number of background growth points equal to the level of the Background you're trying to get to: Kinfolk 5 requires 5 growth points, Territory 4 requires 4 growth points, Resources 3 requires 3 growth points and so on.

By the base declaration of "Growing [Background], you will gain 1 growth point per DTA.
Examples:

• 1 DTA: Growing Fame. (1 pt of Growth into Fame)
• 2 DTA: Grow Contacts. (1 DTA of 1 Growth + 1 DTA of 1 Growth = 2 pts of Growth into Contacts)

By adding the flavor of how the background growth is happening, you will gain +1 growth point per DTA.
Examples:

• 1 DTA: Hosting a philosophical debate in the agora to raise Contacts. (2 pts of Growth into Contacts)
• 2 DTA: Mother Death has agreed to help me with my finances. We'll be going over an audit of my funds and finding a way to cut costs and increase profit, and implementing that across the vineyard to try and find new clients. I'd like to grow Resources. (1 DTA of 2 Growth + 1 DTA of 2 Growth = 4 pts of Growth into Resources)

Lastly, by mentioning relevant abilities you possess at 3+, you will gain +1 growth point per DTA. This does not assume the flavor of how you're growing your background, so if it's not immediately obvious to staff, this point may not be granted. Something like Performance 4 and Fame or Occult 3 and Spirit Pact will be considered obvious, but if you cite Melee 3 and Contacts, we may be more stumped.
Examples:

• 1 DTA: Growing Totem: Occult 3, Empathy 4 (2 pts of Growth into Totem)
• 2 DTA: Territory with Trapped Tag: Crafts 5, Academics 2 (1 DTA of 2 Growth + 1 DTA of 2 Growth = 4 pts of Growth into Territory)

Combination
Obviously, there are various ways to combine these. Assuming only one DTA, we'll build one of each combination.

• Growing Kinfolk: Bodyguard (1 pt of Growth)
• Growing Kinfolk by reaching out politely to my family to try and find a kin they would recommend to try and keep me safe. (2 pts of Growth)
• Growing Kinfolk: Bodyguard (Etiquette 3, Investigation 4) (2 pts of Growth)
• Growing Kinfolk by reaching out politely to my father to try and find a kin they would recommend to try and keep me safe. (Etiquette 3, Investigation 4) (3 pts of Growth)

Multiple DTAs
While you may use the same description to gain multiple Backgrounds, each will require a DTA. Submitting "I'm going to reach out to my totem to gain their favor for my spirit pact, and try to introduce the two spirits to ensure we all bond together better (Occult 3, Empathy 4)" is definitely a 3 point of growth action for either Spirit Pact or Totem. With 1 DTA, you would get this benefit towards EITHER Spirit Pact OR Totem, but not both. With 2 DTAs committed to this, yes, you could use this for both Spirit Pact and Totem.
That said, additional DTAs can also magnify your original growth. If you put together "I'm blocking out several days to fast, pray, and commune with my Ancestors, hoping to trace my lineage through existing ancestor spirits as far back as it goes. (Etiquette 4, Occult 3)" (another 3pt submission) and put 3 DTs into this, that'd be a whopping 9 points of Growth!


Revised 7/2/2022

[Xenia]

Allies
Allies are mortals who support the character. They may be members of their family, friends (from before or after their First Change), fellow members of an organization to which they give allegiance, or related to them in some other way. Whatever the case, they provide them with aid willingly and without coercion. They're not always available - in crucial moments the Storyteller may limit their availability in varying degrees - and they're not bound to provide aid to the point of suicide.

The details of your character's allies depend on your imagination and your Storyteller's approval. Temporal and religious authorities, people prominent in commerce or a profession, family figures and the like are all possibilities. Describe your character's allies before play begins, so that you and your Storyteller both know what you're talking about.

• One ally of moderate influence and power in the immediate community.
•• Two allies, both of moderate power locally and some influence in the country or region.
••• Three allies, one of whom wields significant power, official or otherwise.
•••• Four allies, one of whom is extremely influential.
••••• Five allies, one of whom is a major force in an important institution and can provide aid from far away.

[Xenia]

Ancestors
Not available for Kinfolk PCs without Gnosis.

You can sense the presence of your ancestors and occasionally allow them to guide your actions.

Once per game session, for each dot you possess of the Ancestors background, you can call on your ancestors’ experience. This ability may be used at any time, even before your turn in the initiative order. When you activate this background, an ancestor partially controls your actions. Choose one Ability and increase its value to 5 dots until the end of the turn. This increase does not grant new specializations or areas of focus for the chosen Ability.

You cannot call on your Ancestors more than once per turn, and the Background doesn’t benefit actions that take longer than a single turn to perform. Abilities increased via this background do not gain specialties or areas of focus.

• You have brief, hazy visions from the distant past.
•• You remember faces and places from past lives just as you remember those of your early childhood.
••• You put names to faces among your ancestors.
•••• Ancestors converse with you on a regular basis.
••••• Your ancestors watch your adventures with interest, and they often come to counsel you.

[Xenia]

Contacts
Contacts are people who are willing to provide the character with information, though they are unlikely to offer any service beyond that. Each level of Contacts includes a specific individual, for whom you should work out a description, and a surrounding "halo" of lower-grade connections throughout a social stratum. If you have a specific contact in the local temple, for instance, you can also get at least rudimentary information out of some priests, priestesses, and devout in the area. If your contact is the harbormaster, you can count on getting some information from sailors, longshoremen and tavern-keepers nearby. The difficulty of tests to extract information from these secondary contacts is always greater than ones involving the individuals with whom your character deals most often, however - at least 7, and perhaps higher, depending upon how rapidly you want the information or how esoteric the information is.

When your character needs information in the utmost hurry, test Wits + Contacts against a difficulty of 7. A success produces a distinct piece of information relevant to the topic. Your character needs potentially useful people in the area for this to work, though. (Even the best test is unlikely to turn up anything if your character is searching for advice on tribal traditions in Gaul among Persian slaves, for instance.) To gather information over time, your character can put out queries and wait for the results to trickle back in. Test Charisma + Contacts against a difficulty 7. A success produces one specific piece of information and takes a week to come in. You can shorten this time to three days by raising the difficulty to 8, or one day by raising the difficulty to 9.

• One major contact and two or three secondary contacts.
•• Two major contacts and about five secondary contacts.
••• Three major contacts and eight to 10 secondary contacts.
•••• Four major contacts and 10 to 15 secondary contacts.
••••• Five major contacts and a great many secondary contacts (almost anyone in the general field of experience in the area may share some information).

[Xenia]

Fame
Some werewolves who undergo their First Change hail from the ranks of the wealthy or talented elite. As a result, many Garou can make a claim to some distinction among society. Through such notoriety often fades with the years, your Fame lingers on to influence mortal society. In game terms you will have to decide what makes you famous (Noble, general, priest, poet, wealthy merchant, etc.)

Fame allows you to exercise your connections over a longer distance than usual. Certainly, if you've got the right Influence, you can push things around on a city-state or league, but with Fame, you can just send a few letters and get your Contacts, Influence, or Resources exerted over a greater range without any impediment. This is not to say you must have Fame to get anything done, only that it may help. Your total Fame determines your maximum range for unimpeded use of your Contacts, Influence and Resources.

• Entire Village
•• Entire Island
••• The Delian League OR The Peloponnesian League
•••• Greece
••••• Eastern Mediterranean

[Xenia]

Fetish
Highly Restricted to Kinfolk PCs.

You possess a fetish -- a physical object into which a werewolf has bound a spirit. The spirit grants a number of powers to a fetish, so they are very significant to the Garou. Such things are valuable, and other Garou (or other supernatural beings) may covet them.
We will approve fetishes listed on this website, purely fluff fetishes (Level One), or fetishes that use the mechanic of a specific Gift (which will have a cost equal to the level of that Gift + 1). More specific custom Fetishes must be crafted or discovered IC; you cannot start with them.

• You possess one Level One fetish.
•• You possess one Level Two fetish or two Level One fetishes.
••• You possess one or more fetishes with a total of three levels.
•••• You possess one or more fetishes with a total of four levels.
••••• You possess one or more fetishes with a total of five levels.

[Xenia]

Kinfolk
While humans find the company of werewolves uncomfortable, kinfolk suffer from no such limitation. For that reason, many Garou rely upon their kinfolk to assist when a softer touch is needed. A werewolf’s Kinfolk background may represent humans or wolves, likely family members, fiercely dedicated to helping your cause. Unlike the Allies background, your kinfolk are always available when you need them. They can be trusted to oversee your personal effects, defend your property, and further your goals.

• You've worked with kinfolk before (1 Kinfolk Tag)
•• You are familiar with kinfolk (2 Kinfolk Tags)
••• You are where many kinfolk go to find gainful employment (3 Kinfolk Tags)
•••• You hold sway over an impressive and wide variety of kinfolk (4 Tags)
••••• You are the social hub for Kinfolk all over (5 Tags)

Every time you develop a dot in the Kinfolk Background, choose one of the following types of Kinfolk. You cannot select the same type of Kinfolk more than once, but you may opt to increase dots of Kinfolk without tags to represent an increased number of the same type of Kinfolk. This will not change the mechanics of any detailed type of Kinfolk below.

Tag	Description
Attendant	You have a Kinfolk Attendant who is constantly at your beck and call to attend to minor tasks, such as unfastening your sword, fetching you a drink, etc. Most importantly, you can instruct your Kinfolk to deliver a message to a PC (or NPC) in another scene or otherwise not present. This allows you to contact NPCs not currently present or interact (with travel time) with other scenes, if they're findable. You may send messages as many times in a night as you have dots in Kinfolk.
Bureaucrats	Several of your kinfolk are known Bureaucrats (or Dêmosioi), servants of the state itself. You may call upon them for bureaucratic favors and assistance once per game: leaning on your Dêmosioi will allow you to take an immediate Allies, Contacts, Fame, Resources, or Influence: Politics action equal to your level of Kinfolk.
Bodyguard	You have your own personal Myrmidon: a kinfolk who is willing to fight for you. Your overall dots in Kinfolk will establish how potent they are in a battle.
Cult	Your worship is profound, and you have a group of Hierei (priests) or Hiereiai (priestesses) who happily share in your devotion. You may permanently lose this dot of Kinfolk to contest a loss of Renown through Devotion as your Cult throws itself to your defense, and your Deity takes it out on the cult instead of you. You may regain this dot of Kinfolk through downtimes and roleplay, but it will get harder every time.
Family	Do they need to have jobs? These kin are just your family! They're here for you through thick and thin, and offer emotional support. You may spend 10 minutes out of game to regain a Willpower once per night as you check in with your family.
Lowmen	You just... know people. You have a group of kinfolk who represents a larger number of the uneducated, easily overpowered folk from the peasant class. These individuals will rise to your defense if needed, or cause distractions... think of them as less competent Allies, but at least they're immune to the Delirium and in the know. Every dot of Kinfolk represents 5 more Lowmen at your disposal.
Majordomo	Your very own Jeeves or Alfred in ancient Greece, your Majordomo (or Oikonómos) oversees all the affairs of your household, and is highly competent at executing your will and seeing to your affairs. They're a bountiful source of information, suggestions, and errand-running, often operating with immaculate discretion.
Quartermaster	You're lucky enough to have a Kinfolk who serves as your personal Quartermaster (or Epimelitís), acquiring Equipment for you with relative ease. You may ask your Epimelitís to fetch or improve Equipment for you as many times in a night as you have dots in Kinfolk. They can bring you nearly any manner of Equipment with two tags, or they can repair a broken piece of Equipment by next game.
Staff	Domestic servants are the lifeblood of nearly any Greek household, and you have several in your own oikos. With a Staff tag, your Territory will never be considered empty, and though their diligence, you may gain one extra Downtime action.
Tradesmen	Your kinfolk happen to be talented serfs (Chôris Oikountes in most of Greece, Helots in Sparta, Penestae in Thessaly), known for their ability to output goods and materials. When you choose this Tag, be sure to establish your Tradesman's profession with Staff. This will give you access to either Equipment, Resources, or raw material to get creative with, all depending on your needs.
Wolf Kin	Not all Kinfolk are mortal. You have the privilege of working with a wolf pack of kinfolk, and though their needs are much different than their human brethren, they are still quite useful. You may send one of your wolf kin to either track something (or someone) or hunt for food. Every dot in Kinfolk is assumed to correspond to how many wolf-kin are receptive to you, so you may send them to track or hunt as many times a game session as you have dots of Kinfolk.
Unique (Restricted)	This tag is for anything else that would offer a benefit, but does not fall under the above tags. Gnostic kin, spies, emissaries to foreign septs, etc.  This tag can only be obtained by winning over a Kinfolk after finding something that would qualify as a unique tag.

[Xenia]

Resources
There are many ways to acquire goods, services, property, and luxuries in ancient Athens, but ready access to money is one of the oldest and most reliable. Garou occasionally maintain some kind of financial flow and some even hold down normal jobs. The Resources background measures your character’s purchasing power, accumulated assets, and liquid financial reserves. Resources may be actual drachma, but as you purchase additional dots of this background, it is more likely that your character has significant investments in the form of luxury items, properties and other valuables, rather than piles of coins sitting around. At the upper end of the background, she may gain money by exerting control over an entire marketplace, criminal operations, or massive temple; or she may own a large amount of land, live off a trust fund, smuggle precious objects, or control a massive criminal infrastructure.

No Traits - Poverty; 1 drachma a day. You have a leaky straw hut on the cheap side of town. Going abroad is too rich for your daydreams.

One Trait - Small Savings and holdings; 3 drachma a day. You can maintain a typical residence in the style of social class you choose and seem in-miserly; however such showings are not long lasting. You can maintain a servant or hire specific help as necessary. Though you may entertain thoughts of travel, you do not posses enough wealth to maintain your house from abroad.

Two Traits - Modest savings and holdings; 8 drachma a day. You can display yourself as a member in good standing of your chosen community, with the occasional gift and indulgence becoming a person of quality. You can maintain a small staff of servants. A fraction of your resources are available in readily portable jewelry and other forms that let you maintain a standard of life. Not yet capable of portable wealth to travel.

Three Traits - Significant savings and holdings; 30 drachma a day. You are a prominent and established member of your community, with land and property, and the reputation that lets you draw on credit at very generous terms. Trust is as much a key resource as any particularly valuable commodity at this level. When you travel, you can maintain a one-Trait Resources lifestyle for six months.

Four Traits - Large savings and holdings; 75 drachma a day. Poets spin tales of the richness of your clothes, the health of your livestock and the beauty of your home. You hold more wealth than many of the local authorities (and need to deal with their jealousy from time to time). When you travel, you can maintain a three trait- Resources lifestyle for a year and a two trait lifestyle indefinitely.

Five Traits - Filthy rich; 150 drachma a day. You have vast and widely distributed assets, with large staffs, huge tracts of land and connections to every level of society throughout the region. You travel with a minimum of three-trait Resources comforts and more, with little effort.

Note: Drachma are silver coins, as such carrying excessive amounts of resources on your person costs a point of gnosis while they are on your person and even an honor or wisdom should you carry too much like any spirit might for carrying too much silver; and should you not be in breed form deal aggravated damage as per normal rules for silver. See the rules on silver for a precise guide.

Examples of costs in Ancient Athens:

1 drachma = 6 loaves of bread
5 drachma = gallon of olive oil
8 drachma = a lamb
200 drachma = a servant
400-1000 drachma = a house

[Xenia]

Spirit Pact
Not available for Kinfolk PCs without Gnosis.

You have entered into a spirit pact with a powerful Jaggling spirit through an exchange of service and ritualistic chiminage. This patron spirit sends gnostic substance to you anywhere within the material realm at the Storyteller’s discretion. However, the Jaggling will not fight your battles, nor will it manifest or perform any other task for you unless commanded to via a gift. During a game session you may spend 5 minutes out-of-game communing with this Jaggling, allowing you to regain a number of Gnosis points equal to the number of dots you possess of the Spirit Pact background. You may not offer this benefit to others, nor may you develop a second Spirit Pact background as spirits are jealous and will not form a pact with an individual that is already in a pact with another spirit.


• Regain One Gnosis.
•• Regain Two Gnosis.
••• Regain Three Gnosis.
•••• Regain Four Gnosis.
••••• Regain Five Gnosis.

[Xenia]

Territory
Not every werewolf has a place she can call her own, but many have someplace where they can take shelter. A Lupus werewolf might live and hunt in a secluded cave or a park, while a Warder of man may reside in a house within the city limits.

• You have a simple setup (1 Tag)
•• You own a large house (2 Tags)
••• You have put a lot of work into your Territory (3 Tags)
•••• Your domain is that most Werewolves would dream of having (4 Tags)
••••• You are the Master of your Territory (5 Tags)

Every time you develop a dot in the Territory background choose one of the following advantages. You cannot select the same advantage more than once for a single Territory location.
You can Hold up to 5 named characters within your Territory without any additional tags (if you wish to house more consider the size tag below).

Tag	Description
Inaccessible	Your Territory is located in a difficult to area for the human populace, and approaching it requires either specialized equipment or a special form. It’s possible for humans with climbing gear to assault your territory, but no one ever accidentally wanders into it. This advantage cannot be combined with the Location advantage. To be able to get this tag you must have an appropriate way to get to the domain.
Library	You have brought together a number of books on all topics, though your own writing, stealing, buying or other mean. You may throw a knowledge test a second time after failing by taking 10 minutes out of game at your Territory checking your notes and books.
Linked	Your Territory and other players Territories are connected. Maybe you're neighbors with your best friend(s). Each Territory must have this tag to be linked and must be noted. If anything happens to a Territory with linked. If anything happens to a Territory with the Linked tag, at the start of turn 4 anyone in a linked Territory associated with the one attacked may join the encounter. Members of the same pack may designate the Pack as their link, This enables pack members to be linked with only the need for 1 link tag per territory who wish to benefit. the Territory must be physically next to each other when adding this tag.
Location	Your Territory is located in a prestigious neighborhood. Anyone who wishes to use downtime actions to negatively affect you must spend twice as many downtime actions as long as you regularly stay in your Territory. Additionally, you receive a number of story benefits (city guards respond quickly when you yell, your streets get cleared first when the weather is bad, etc.)
Luxury	You’ve filled your Territory with comfortable and Lavish art. You receive a +3 bonus to mundane Social tests versus mortals when they are in your Territory. You also have a number of Staff at your disposal, Staff doesn’t normally fight, but if forced to engage, treat them as level 1 Retainers with no specialties applicable to combat.
Occult	Your Territory contains a number of simple wards and rites to keep out unwanted guests. You may have runes carved into the window sills or a line of salt at the door. Regardless of the wards used, supernatural Stock NPCs cannot enter your territory without being invited. This advantage has no effect on player-characters or NPCs with full character sheets. You cannot purchase this bonus unless you have the Occult Ability.
Refuge	This location has safe sleeping space, as well as food supplies. This tag gives the territory enough resources for a single individual to remain for 30 days without emerging, and downtimes can be contributed to increase the Refuge stockpile to accommodate either more people, or a longer stay.
Security	Any challenges made to break into your Territory or to bypass detection suffer a −2 penalty. Additionally you will always receive at least one turn of warning when someone attempts to break into your Territory (no matter how well your attacker tests or what powers they have).
Size	Your Territory is enormous with dozens of rooms. You can comfortably house up to 10 additional characters.
Sprawling	Characters unfamiliar with this location find it confusing to navigate. Characters wishing to speak privately should notify the Storyteller of their intent, and they are then considered to be in a different location for the purposes of observation. Furthermore, characters who do not control this stock location may not declare fair escape while present, and a character wishing to leave the site must spend five minutes unchallenged before making her exit.
Trapped	Your Territory is set up with elaborate traps. Anyone attempting to enter your Territory that does not know how your traps are set up Must make a number of tests equal to your Territory background. (Test and retestable with the appropriate ability or Legerdemain ) You may choose any combination of Athletics, Dodge or Stealth and may take them multiple times. [Difficulty of the Territory rating plus 2.] ~ Athletics: -1 Step per round for the encounter (You can only fail at this trap once) ~ Dodge: 2 Lethal ~ Stealth: 1 Extra Round of warning (You can only fail this trap once)
Workshop	You have set up a place with all the needed tools for a specific skill. Though your own hand, stealing, buying or other means you have made this workshop / office. When using a downtime too use this skill skill you may the test twice and take either result. You also Gain 1 downtime (which doesnt count towards you downtime cap) which can be used for mundane uses of the workshop skill. It can be used to Craft, To Plant herbs, go over notes of an investigation, Used to orginize your ritual knowledge so you can learn more in downtime. You may have multiple of these tags on a territory but can only benefit from 1 extra downtime from this tag.
Unique (Restricted)	This tag is for anything else that would offer a benefit, but does not fall under the above tags. Nodes, Trods, Magic locations, etc.  This tag can only be obtained by making a Territory after finding something that would qualify as a unique tag. Example tags: Prison, Grand Size, Laboratory, Node, Sacred Ground.

[Xenia]

Totem
Pack totems are powerful spirits willing to make bargains with Garou in order to help them defend Gaia and her interests. Most packs approach a totem within the first few months of the pack’s existence and beseech it to act as their patron. Many werewolves do not consider a pack truly formed until it has bonded with a totem through Rite of the Totem.

While willing to aid Garou packs with potent spiritual blessings, totems do not physically involve themselves in day-to-day events. They provide a unifying goal and direction to the Garou with which they bond, and they act as both spiritual symbols as well as allies.

System:
Totem operates on a very 'you get out what you put in' dynamic. To gain access to a Totem, you need the first dot of the Totem Background. Your Totem can be nearly any spirit you choose:

Additionally, every Totem has a ban: a specific restriction/command that members of the pack must obey/RP to prove their devotion to the spirit. If a ban is violated, the pack's totem may go into slumber or even leave the pack entirely.

Please note: You gain +1 Totem with every dot of Rank, so all garou PCs should have a free dot of totem per rank. These can go over 5 and do not count towards the 5 points of Totem you can buy with XP.

To build your pack totem please see Dramatic Systems: Totem

Totem Points	Totem Creation Pool
1-5	Two Totemic XP
5-10	Four Totemic XP
11-15	Six Totemic XP
16-20	Eight Totemic XP
21-30	Ten Totemic XP
31+	Fifteen Totemic XP