Shadow Lords

[Xenia]

Shadow Lord Gifts

Level One Gifts

• Fatal Flaw
• Shadow Weaving
• Whisper Catching

Level Two Gifts

• Clap of Thunder
• Disfigurement
• Luna's Armor

Level Three Gifts

• Direct the Storm
• Paralyzing Stare
• Shadow Cutting

Level Four Gifts

• Seeds of Doubt
• Strength of the Dominator

Level Five Gifts

• Shadow Pack
• Withering Stare

[Xenia]

Level One

Fatal Flaw
The Shadow Lord can discern a target’s weakness, granting an advantage in combat. A Stormcrow teaches this Gift.

Cost: N/A

Test Pool: Wits + Empathy vs Target's Resolve + Willpower

System:
Spend a standard action and engage your target in a contested challenge. Success grants the Garou +1 damage against that target for the rest of the night.

Exceptional Success:
In addition to the bonus to damage, you learn one of the target's Flaws, either on their sheet or if they have none then some other weakness.

Affinity:
The bonus to damage remains after the first night, going into dormancy for one lunar month or two sessions (whichever is longer). Should you attack the target again within that time period, the bonus to damage returns for that evening as well. This only will happen once.


Shadow Weaving
Slightly flexing her fingers or claws, the Garou pulls and weaves shadows as she desires — lengthening or shortening them, lightening or darkening, or even twisting them into grotesque and frightening shapes. A shadow-spirit teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: None

System:
Simply spend the cost to activate this Gift for the next 10 minutes, the Shadow Lord may warp shadows within 10 steps as she wishes by spending a simple action. Among other creative uses, this grants a +2 bonus on all Stealth and Intimidation checks.

Affinity:
The range of shadow manipulation increases to line of sight, further, the Shadow Lord may grant this bonus to stealth and intimidation checks to others by spending a Simple action.


Whisper Catching
Secrets are an important commodity, and those who strive to keep their secrets may very well be hiding something dangerous. This Gift was developed to root out potential traitors or plotters against the Garou, but has been open to… certain abuses ever since. The Shadow Lord may supernaturally eavesdrop on whispered conversations nearby, giving her an edge over those with something to hide. This Gift is taught by a bat-spirit.

Cost: None or 1 Willpower (see Gift)

Test Pool:None or Wits + Investigation vs target's Resolve + Willpower, see power

System: Passively, this Gift is always active. Your ears have attuned to hear things at an incredible distance and you may eavesdrop on any conversation within 20 steps as though you were right next to it.

Additionally, you may spend one Willpower point and a standard action to heighten your auditory perception in to a phenomenal degree. You may attempt to pierce any supernatural concealment that is within your line of sight hearing the target moving. You test with your Wits + Investigation vs. their Resolve + Willpower (their power may give them a different defensive pool). If you pierce their concealment power, you become immune to any other concealment powers that character may use for the next 5 minutes.

The Murmur Rite blocks this Gift; the Shadow Lords are not willing to violate the privacy of a shadow moot, even for their own personal gain and this power may not test to try and break the silence granted by that rite.

Affinity:
The range at which you can eavesdrop on conversations is increased to 40 steps.

[Xenia]

Level Two

Clap of Thunder
The Garou slams her hands together and creates a mighty thunderclap that stuns those who hear it. A Stormcrow teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Dexterity + Intimidation vs. Target's Physical Defense

System: Use your standard action to clap your hands together, emitting a deafening thunder clap. All characters within a five-step radius of you, friend or foe, must immediately attempt an opposed challenge against you. Those who fail are automatically knocked prone and pushed two steps away from you, as though affected by the Knockback weapon quality.

In addition, you automatically gain the attention of all characters within your line of sight, even if they were not affected by the Knockback. The use of this power can be effective to fain the focus of a crowd and allow the Shadow Lord to speak while their listeners are momentarily stunned. Some Garou may view the use of this Gift as social aggression and choose to initiate a Stare Down.

To use this Gift, you must be in Homid, Glabro, or Crinos form. The distinctive blast of sound from this Gift is loud enough to be heard from several miles away.

Exceptional Success:
The target is pushed four steps away from you rather than the standard two steps.

Affinity:
Targets affected by this Gift are left in a dazed state. For the next three turns, they are unable to achieve Exceptional Successes. During this time, if they should achieve an Exceptional success, it is automatically downgraded to a normal success.


Disfigurement
The Shadow Lord can place a nasty boil or dishonorable scar on the target. She can disfigure her rival in embarrassing ways that rob him of prestige in the presence of other Garou. Although the lesion isn’t physically handicapping, it certainly limits the victim’s social grace. A baboon-spirit or toad-spirit teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1 Willpower

Test Pool: Manipulation + Primal Urge vs target's Composure + Willpower

System:
Spend a standard action and engage a target within 10 steps in a contested challenge. If successful, the disfigurement manifests on the target. While this disfigurement is active, the target is unable to achieve an exceptional success on any Social Challenges. Further, if someone is testing against them in a Social Challenge, the victim of this power suffers a -3 to resist them achieving an exceptional success. The effects of this power last for 10 minutes.

Some Garou may view the use of this Gift as social aggression and choose to initiate a Stare Down.

Exceptional Success:
If an exceptional success is achieved the disfigurement is exceptionally upsetting a surprising and while the target is getting used to the issue they must push themselves to willingly engage in any social challenges. For the first three turns while affected by this disfigurement, if the target wishes to initiate any social challenges they must spend 1 Willpower.

Affinity:
The penalty to resist a Social exceptional success is increased to a -5.


Luna’s Armor
The Shadow Lord may call for Luna’s protection in battle. This Gift even allows limited resistance to silver. A Lune teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: None

System:
Spend a simple action to activate this Gift. You conjure magical silvery armor that lasts for the next 10 minutes. This armor is either light or medium armor at your discretion. The conjured armor gains all benefits, but still suffers all restrictions of such armor (e.g the minimum strength requirement to move in the armor and the penalty to dexterity tests). In addition, the armor gains a single armor Quality.

While this armor is active, when you are attacked with an attack that uses silver, you gain the ability to attempt to soak the damage, further a Gift retest if you attempt to soak the damage. This is an exception to the normal rules regarding soaking that say as a Garou you may not attempt to soak damage from silver and that you may only use your general retest when attempting to soak.

Affinity:
Shadow Lords know how dangerous a knife that slips between armor can be, and make sure that they don't allow any such weakness. The armor conjured by this Gift is immune Armor Penetration so long as the attack incorporates any silver at all.

[Xenia]

Level Three

Direct the Storm
Having a packmate who is prone to frenzy isn’t safe for anyone. With this Gift, the Shadow Lord can direct the primal instincts of a frenzied Garou — friend or foe — causing him to attack targets of the Lord’s choice. A Stormcrow teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Intelligence + Leadership vs the target's Resolve + current Rage (This is treated as a Mental Attack)

System:
Spend a Standard action and target a frenzying creature. Success indicates that the Shadow Lord controls the target’s frenzy and can dictate who they will attack on their next action.

The frenzying creature must move directly towards the assigned target and attack. They cannot relent to any challenges involving their allies. The frenzying creature must reasonably employ all powers and benefits that assist their attacks, doing their best to inflict maximum ruin on their new prey. While under the effects of this Gift, the frenzying creature may not willingly do any action that would bring them out of frenzy, but if they are pulled out of frenzy by an outside force the effects of this Gift end immediately. Likewise, should the frenzying creature kill or knock out their target the effects of this Gift end immediately.

When using this Gift, you must select a target, if there are no enemies present, you then must choose which ally the frenzying creature will move towards.

An individual affected by Direct the Storm may not be affected by another use of Direct the Storm until the first use has concluded.

Expectational Success:
Upon achieving an exceptional success, you may choose to take a point of Rage from the victim and add that to your own Rage.

Affinity:
Use of this Gift makes your victims blind to your presence. Once a frenzying creature has been affected by this Gift, unless you initiate another opposed challenge with them, they are not able to perceive you or target you for any affects until they are no longer in frenzy. You may still end up caught in Area of Effect powers if you are not careful. Further, another individual with Direct the Storm may send them on you if they are successful in their use of the power.


Paralyzing Stare
The Shadow Lord directs a terrifying glare at a target, causing her to freeze in terror. A Stormcrow teaches this Gift.

Cost: N/A

Test Pool: Charisma + Intimidation + Rank vs. target's Composure + Willpower + Rank

System:
Spend a Standard action and engage a target that is looking at you in a contested challenge. On a success, the target is frozen in fear and is unable to act for a turn. The are still able to make defensive tests during this time without penalty.

Exceptional Success:
On an exceptional success, after the first turn the target remains shaken, losing their simple action for the next two turns after the effect ends.

Affinity:
The Lord's gaze lingers in their target's mind. By expending a simple action each round after activating this effect, the paralysis of the target may be extended, causing the target to lose additional turns;. However, the target is automatically freed from the effect if they are targeted by a hostile contested challenge.


Shadow Cutting
One of the more cunning tactics of the Shadow Lords, this Gift allows a Lord to maim or kill her opponent by attacking the shadow he casts. This tactic makes her attacks difficult to dodge, and can provide a great advantage in situations where the shadow is a larger or more accessible target than the opponent himself. A night-spirit teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Charisma + Occult vs. the target's Resolve + Willpower

System:
Spend a Standard action to pantomime rending the target's shadow and engage them in a contested challenge. If successful, for the next 3 turns you are able to injure your opponent by striking her shadow. During this time, only natural (tooth and claw), fetish, or silver weapons may damage the target through their shadow. The target suffers a -2 penalty to their attempts to dodge such an attack, and may not parry such an attack at all. Further, armor provides no protection from the damage inflicted.

At Storyteller discretion, this penalty may be increased (such as near dusk, or if the target is high up).

Importantly, this Gift does require that the target have a distinct shadow, as such it has no effect if used in pitch darkness.

Exceptional Success:
On a exceptional success, the initial tearing of the shadow was so shocking that the target is stunned. For the duration of this power, the target suffers a -2 on all defensive test pools.

Affinity:
This effect lasts for 10 minutes rather than 3 turns.

[Xenia]

Level Four

Seeds of Doubt
Talented tricksters, Shadow Lords with this Gift may convince a listener of one false idea, no matter how absurd. The Gift only works if the lie told is not obviously harmful to the listener. It is taught by a Raven-spirit.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Charisma + Subterfuge vs. Target's Composure + Willpower

System:
Spend a Simple action when telling a lie to the target and engage in them in a contested challenge. Importantly, this lie must be obviously not harmful to the listener. For example, you could not tell a garou that Silver will not harm them, but if you knew that a coven of vampires was hidden around the corner, you could tell a victim that the road is perfectly safe if they had not seen the creatures. If successful, the target believes the lie and takes it as completely true. No mundane action may convince the target otherwise, unless the lie leads to their direct harm. Importantly, if the Gift fails, the target immediately can tell that they were being told a lie.

Exceptional Success:
The victim finds the lie so persuasive that, so long as it makes sense, they must act on the information. (In the above example, if told the road is safe, they would go out of their way to use the safe road even if it was out of their way.)

Affinity:
A good Shadow Lord knows not to leave themselves open when telling a lie. If the Gift fails, rather than the victim for sure knowing they were being told a lie, they simply don't find the Lord convincing and will just disregard the statement as perhaps a mistake.


Strength of the Dominator
The Garou draws on a target’s anger to feed his own. A Stormcrow teaches this Gift.

Cost: None

Test Pool: Wits + Intimidation + Rank vs Target's Resolve + Willpower + Rank

System:
Spend a Standard action to verbally rebuke and insult your target while summoning forth spiritual indignation. If you succeed in the opposed challenge, you steal 2 points of Rage from your target and immediately add them to your own Rage. The target senses this painful draining and is aware that you have somehow sucked away a portion of their Rage.

Exceptional Success:
Scoring an exceptional success allows you to siphon 3 points of Rage rather than the standard 2.

Affinity:
You may transmute the Rage you absorb via this Gift into Gnosis, regaining a number of Gnosis points equal to the Rage points drained. You cannot regain more than your maximum Gnosis pool.

[Xenia]

Level Five

Shadow Pack
The Garou summons up shadowy duplicates of himself to stand by him in battle. These shadow-wolves resemble the Shadow Lord and have some of the same capabilities. A night-spirit teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1+ Gnosis

Test Pool: None

System:
Spend a Standard action as you seem to direct your shadow to come to your aid. For each point spent, the Garou summons a shadow-duplicate. These duplicates have the same Attributes and Abilities as the Garou, but they may not use Gnosis or Willpower. Each has only one health level (i.e., any attack that is not soaked destroys it). The duplicates fade after 10 minutes.

Affinity:
The Shadow-Duplicates conjured by this Gift gain a number of health levels equal to your Rank, rather than the usual single health level.


Withering Stare
A truly powerful Shadow Lord can darken the skies and devastate their adversaries with but a glance. An avatar of Grandfather Thunder teaches this Gift.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Dexterity + Occult vs. Target's Physical Defense

System:
Spend a standard action as you call clouds into the sky, setting the stage for your demonstration of displeasure in anything from ominous gloom to a raging storm (your choice). You do not spend the cost of the Gift at this time. Over the next 10 minutes, the rumbling clouds gather, darkening the skies across 1 mile radius per dot of Occult. This can lead to other effects at the Storyteller's discretion. After those 10 minutes, the ambience is suitable for a demonstration of the full, terrifying might of the Shadow Lord. Spend the cost of the Gift and an additional standard action and engage a target within line of sight and within the confines of the cloud cover in a contested challenge. On a success, you deal 4 aggravated points of damage as your burning stare withers their very soul.

Exceptional Success:
On a exceptional success, the lighting deals 6 aggravated points of damage.

Affinity:
While the best Lord is a prepared Lord, sometimes the atmospheric support is a bit much. Sometimes you can't afford to wait. Sometimes you'd prefer a nicely packaged surprise. Whatever the reason, you may choose to forego the storm and enact your Withering Stare with a standard action and a spend of Gnosis, boring into your opponent with an entire tribe's disappointment. Doing so, however, reduces the damage dealt to 2 aggravated damage on a normal success, and 4 on an exceptional.

[Xenia]

TBD