Siege

[Write-Up TBA]

Black Fury Rites
Unlike Gifts, rites are always passed from one Garou to the next. Most of the rituals below are considered sacred (and secret) to the Black Furies; their natures are hidden from members of other tribes. Even those rituals that are not secret of the Black Furies will never knowingly be shown to a male of another tribe; a male of another tribe ho reveals knowledge of such a rite to a Black Fury risks his own life.

Siege Tweaks: Several editing issues have been tweaked in red, and some systems have been updated to more closely reflect W20. None of these rites used the Rituals Ability, so we've updated them to reflect its usage.

Rites of Accord
Rite of Motherhood
Level One
This simple Rite marks a Fury's shift from Maiden status to Mother status. As is noted elsewhere, the title "Maiden" is not strictly accurate; the spirits begin to treat a Fury as a Mother as soon as she becomes pregnant. In some septs, this spiritual change is sufficient, while in others it might take until the child is born, and in the most conservative septs a Fury is considered a Maiden until she gives birth to a child who lives for one lunar year. Regardless of when the sept declares the Fury to be a Mother, when the time is right, this ritual is performed.
Mother and child are separated, and the young mother is bound — this may be simply a symbolic binding, a rope lightly draped over her, or it may be shackles and chains. The mother breaks free of the bonds and comes to her child's side while the Mothers and Crones of the sept watch; when she reaches her child again, the older women of the tribe welcome her.
System: Roll Charisma + Rituals, difficulty 7. There are no game mechanics to this rite, though the Fury may have to make a Strength or Willpower roll to escape from sufficiently strong bonds.

Ritual of Acceptance
Level Two
Although a Garou can give up her tribal affiliation with the Rite of Renunciation, the Black Furies have their own ritual to welcome a female Garou from another tribe into their own. The prospective Black Fury must fast for 24 hours to purify her body; afterward, she enters a ritual circle while her tribemates-to-be quietly invoke Pegasus from outside the same circle.
System: The invocation takes a few hours (the Mistress of the Rite should roll Charisma + Rituals with a target of the local Gauntlet; the invocation takes 5 hours, minus one for every success after the first, with a minimum of 1 hour). At the end of this period, an avatar of Pegasus arrives. The prospective Fury must prove her wroth to the avatar. This may involve a test, at the Storyteller's discretion, or it may simply involve a roll of Charisma + Etiquette (difficulty 7). A failure on this roll means that the Fury-to-be must complete a spirit quest to join the tribe; a botch means that she has somehow offended Pegasus and is not welcome to join.
Should the character succeed, however, she is welcomed into the Black Fury tribe, and will be treated as a child of Pegasus from that point forward.

Soothe the Scars
Level Two
Black Furies perform this rite on human women and children that have suffered at the hand of an abusive spouse or parents. Such abuse can harm the soul in ways still unknown to the Black Furies, but it is certain that sufficient abuse can open a hole wide enough for a Wyrmling to crawl into. It is in the Furies' nature to stop such a fate, and while it is their modus operandi to put a halt to such abuse (violently, if need be), Soothe the Scars is one of the Furies' best tools for healing abuse once it has been stopped.
The rite itself is designed to put the victims at ease immediately; the smoke of gentle incense and scented candles should fill the air, and inoffensive soft music — not necessarily "spiritual" music; folk songs or children's music are equally appropriate — should play. In the case of victims not acquainted with Gaian spirituality, prayers are offered to the "spirits of motherhood across the world," though prayers to Gaia can be said in their place. Memories of abuse are coaxed from the victim, and each one is symbolically cast into a purifying fire. When the rite is over, the victim can begin the long road to real spiritual healing without risking a fall backward into a dangerous cycle of self-degradation.
System: This rite has no game effect; the Storyteller should adjudicate its roleplaying effects. Roll Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7) to cast the ritual. This rite will give the target +2 dice on any Willpower roll to resist self-destructive behavior/temptation for a number of months equal to the successes of this ritual.

Fertility Rite
Level Three
Many Garou and human women lack the ability to give birth on their own; perhaps they were born with congenital reproductive difficulties, or have become infertile due to the influence of Wyrm-created technology or chemicals. In the case of Garou, battle scars and similar wounds often lead to infertility. This ritual invokes spirits of fertility, often avatars of Gaia in the Mother aspect, to return fertility to those without. This ritual also improves any ordinarily fertile subject's chance of conceiving. The Fertility Rite does work on males, but it's almost never performed on them. It also works on wolves, and is occasionally used in secret by those Garou who have access to zoos and their wolf populations. The rite does not work on Crinos-born, not that the Furies would be so arrogant as to try such a thing.
The subject of the ritual removes all clothing save possibly a homespun robe, and sits or lays in an obviously growing area: in the midst of a healthy forest, or in tall grass. The Mistress of the Rite traces a circle around the subject, using the menstrual blood of a fertile woman. The Mistress of the Rite then invokes the spirits of Gaia for their aid in restoring the woman's birthright to her. In the case of battle scarring or injury, Gifts such as Mother's Touch may be brought to bear during the Rite, but those Gifts alone will not heal the woman's injury.
System: At the heart of the ritual, the Mistress of the Rite should roll Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 8) to heal the subject. Failure or botching has no further adverse effect on the target; otherwise, the woman's womb will be restored to health in (6 minus successes) weeks. If, rather than healing infertility, the Mistress of the Rite intends to improve an otherwise fertile woman's chances of conceiving, the number of successes should simply serve as a rough indicator to the Storyteller how much more likely it is that the character conceives. The ritual works similarly for men; simply change references from "conception" to "impregnation" and the general rules apply.

Caern Rites
Meandering Path
Level Three
The Freebooters represent one of the premiere groups of Garou when it comes to finding new places to open caerns. Such locations have become extremely rare in these End Times, but every few years another pack of Freebooters will call nearby Garou to open a brand-new caern. The Meandering Path rite is the primary tool in finding such prospective sites. Its use is not easy, or rapid, but over a long period of time it helps Freebooters settle on a worthwhile location for a new caern.
Finding an appropriate location for a new caern has always been difficult and time-consuming; in these days, with a high Gauntlet and the Wyrm and Weaver crowding Gaia in at all times, it's even harder.
In the last few years, the Order of Our Merciful Mother camp of Black Furies has begun to develop a rite similar to this one, which works in appropriately spiritual parts of cities. The Order has approached the Freebooter Theurges for aid with the rite, and that cooperation seems to be leading down a fruitful path.
System: First, an find an appropriately pristine patch of wilderness by rolling Perception + Survival, difficulty 9 after a week's worth of investigation. Success on this roll will indicate a broad swath (perhaps a square mile, or even more) with high enough traces of the Wyld that the characters might find a suitable home for a caern within. This roll will automatically fail if the wilderness the character investigates is unsuitable for a caern; if this is the case, success on the Perception + Survival roll will correctly indicate that the entire area is unsuitable. A botch on the Perception + Survival roll may, at the Storyteller's discretion, suggest a particularly inappropriate location (one with a history of Wyrm or Weaver activity) for a prospective caern.
Then, spend a point of Gnosis and roll Perception + Rituals (difficulty 9) to carefully explore this swath of land for a low enough Gauntlet and the favor of the spirits. The Garou must collect ten successes on this extended roll; each roll and Gnosis expenditure represents three days of communing with the spirits and cautiously investigating the terrain. Note that if multiple Freebooters in the same pack have this Rite, they can pool successes, but the investigation still takes a minimum of three days to complete.
Once a sufficient number of successes have been gained, the Furies still must use the Rite of Caern Building (or Bearing the Caern, below) to actually create the Caern. This Gift simply points out the best location for such a thing to be done.

Bearing the Caern
Level Five
While Black Furies may use the Rite of Caern Building, many traditionally prefer this ritual, which ties the opening of a spiritual site in with one of Gaia's other most sacred mysteries. After the Furies discover, cleanse, and purify an appropriate area, they simply wait until an appropriate focus for the ritual is ready.
The focus, called Maia during the rite, is a pregnant female who is near to term. She can be human, Garou, or wolf — though a Garou who is heavy with a Crinos-born child is an especially inauspicious choice. The woman need not be Kinfolk, but if she is not, she may well suffer the effects of the Delirium if any of the Furies in the rite enter a war-form. In the event that the involved Garou feel that they cannot wait for one of their own (or one of their kin) to reach term, they may kidnap a likely-seeming human or wolf female to act as Maia. In the End Times, this practice is becoming distressingly common.
When Maia is near labor, she is brought to the center of the caern-to-be; female Garou surround her, singing hymns to Gaia. Non-Furies may be present, but they must be female; male Crinos-born of other tribes are forbidden, though Fury male Crinos-born are allowed. A single Crone may aid the mother during her labor, but no other assistance can be given: the Furies present must instead fill their hearts with love for Gaia, beseeching her to take Maia as an inspiration, and create a caern here with the child's birth.
Should the rite succeed, it is said that the fates of the newborn child and caern are tied for the remainder of the child's life. The newborn is forever after immune to the Delirium, even if she is neither Garou nor Kinfolk. Different septs will treat Maia and the newborn caern-child differently, particularly if the pair is not Kinfolk. Some septs take the child from its mother to raise it in its new "soul-home," while others adopt both mother and child as honorary Kinfolk. At least one sept has let mother and child return to their ordinary lives, believing that if the child's fate is tied to the caern's, it is bets for the child to live out its true destiny. Even such liberal septs, however, generally set a minor spirit or low-ranked Ragabash to keep an occasional eye on the child and check after his well-being.
The circumstances of labor and delivery also hold omens for the caern itself. The most auspicious birth is a healthy and quick one, where a Garou is born to a human or wolf Maia. A non-Crinos-born Garou born to a Garou (particularly a Black Fury Maia) is also considered to be a strong omen for the caern's future. If a Garou mother gives birth to human or wolf Kin children, the caern's greatest promise lies in the distant future, after the child's death. As mentioned above, if a Garou Maia is heavy with a Crinos-born, the sept of the new caern will need to work hard to receive respect from other Garou. Long, hard labor tends to suggest the influence of the Wyrm near the caern.
If Maia dies in giving birth, many Theurges believe that the caern and its Garou will play an important roll (for good or ill) in the coming Apocalypse. If the child is stillborn, the rite fails; the death of both Maia and child during the ritual is considered to be a profoundly bad omen for Garou participants.
System: As with the Rite of Caern Building, the Mistress of the Rite must make a series of successful Gnosis rolls against a difficulty of 8, and she must achieve a total of 40 successes. She can make this roll twice per hour during Maia's labor, and must succeed before the child is born. For this ritual to succeed, at least ten Garou (one for each moon of pregnancy) must participate, in addition to the Mistress of the Rite, Maia, and the Crone who attends her. A botch here deals seven health levels of damage to all involved in the Rite, including Maia. However, the Crone attending Maia may roll her Gnosis (difficulty 8) to absorb Maia's damage; she can take one wound level onto herself for every success rolled. Unlike the Rite of Caern Building, the Garou present do not have to sacrifice their Gnosis to fuel the new caern; the creation of new life suffices this spark.
If all goes well with Maia, child, and ritual, the new caern has a base Level of 1, with a Gauntlet of 4. Additional successes improve the caern just as with the Rite of Caern Building. Those Garou participating in Bearing the Caern receive Renown as those participating in the Rite of Caern Building; additionally, Maia, if a Garou, receives additional Renown.

Mystic Rites
Birth the Fire Warrior
Level Three
In ancient days, legend holds that the goddess Coatlicue faced an angry horde of her own children, who charged her with betraying their father, Mixcoatl, by the hand of a sky-spirit. When all seemed lost, Coatlicue crouched and gave birth to the child of her union with the sky-spirit, the god of fire and war Huitzilopochtli. Huitzilopochtli emerged from the womb full-grown and fully armed; he drove off or slaughtered the mass of his half-siblings in his mother's defense.
With Birth the Fire Warrior, a Mother can mimic Coatlicue's desperate act of incarnation, and give birth to a warrior child spirit to fight on her behalf in times of peril. She must ingest a foul mixture of herbs, hot spices, and spring water, and then calmly and quietly invoke Gaia. The warrior emerges from the Mother's womb as bloodily and messily as one might imagine such a thing — however, the spirit "labor" takes place far faster than would otherwise be the case. The warrior emerges from the Mother's loins in a plume of fire, sword in hand, and proceeds to attack her enemies until it is destroyed or there are no enemies remaining. Birth the Fire Warrior can be used whether the Mother is pregnant with a real child or not, and its emergence generally does not effect a child in the womb.
System: Roll Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 8). Success on this roll indicates that the character will be able to birth the Fire Warrior. The spirit takes ten minutes to emerge form the Fury's womb; successes beyond the first decrease this time by 1 minute each or can be used to improve the Fire Warrior's physical traits at the rate of one attribute point per success. The Fire Warrior will fight unceasingly for the Fury until it is destroyed, there are no enemies remaining, or the scene ends.
The Fire Warrior has the following base game traits: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Perception 1, Wits 3. It has Melee 4 and Athletics 3, and an effective Gnosis of 4 and Willpower of 10. Its fiery armor gives 3 additional soak dice against all attacks, and does 5 dice of fire damage against any foe that tries to grapple it. Its fiery sword does 8 dice of damage on a successful hit; this damage is considered aggravated against Wyrm creatures and those vulnerable to fire.

Rite of Python's Trail
Level Four
In the ancient days of Greece, any human who wished to consult the Oracle at Delphi was obliged to pay a tax, the "telono," which gave him the right to approach the great altar of Apollo to offer sacrifices (boars, goats or bulls). Having purified herself in the water of the Kastalian Fountain, Pythia bent over the Navel of the Earth (a cave opening), ate a laurel leaf and, inhaling the vapors emitted from the chasm, entered a state of ecstasy, uttering incoherent words. These were then composed into verses by the Priest, while the interpreter endeavored to render some meaning out of the prophecy.
The Greeks say that Python, a great snake-spirit and Gaia's son, defended the rent in the earth from which oracles could receive visions of the future; they tell of Apollo's great victory against Python and his prophetic works of later days.
Python wasn't truly destroyed, of course; he and his servants walk the tunnels through Gaia's bowels that lead back and forward in history. Loyal and wise Garou can use Python's Trail to walk those same metaphorical tunnels and gain glimpses of the future. Black Furies who use this Rite take on a distant demeanor, and their prophetic utterances obey only dream-logic, not Weaver-think. A second Fury must stand by the Mistress of the Rite while she performs the Rite of Python's Trail, to interpret the nearly mad utterances of her sister.
System: After an hour of trance, roll Perception + Rituals (difficulty 8). Gaia's dream-tunnels travel throughout history, through a character's personal past and future as well as the ages of Gaia. The Mistress of the Rite might well become overwhelmed by the visions before her: she needs three successes to convey anything sensible form the signs she sees — less than three and the character notices only sensations like pain or joy, color, and extremes of sound. Three successes yield poetic or metaphorical visions of important parts of the character's past or future. Four successes let the Garou explore the timeline of a packmate or loved one. Five let her look at the past and future on a larger scale (for her entire pack or tribe, or she may just stare forward to the fires of the Apocalypse). To portray the prophecy correctly, the Priestess must roll Intelligence + Expression, difficulty 8; more successes indicate that more of the Mistress of the Rite's vision is passed on to the pack or sept.
The Storyteller is encouraged to use dream-logic or nightmare-logic to fabricate the character's voyages through the past and future as a result of this Rite.. It is intended to allow the Storyteller to grant glimpses and hints of things to come without forcing him to caper his storylines around madly to fit an overall literal interpretation of a character's vision.

Punishment Rites
Avenge the Innocent
Level Four
This is one of the few Garou punishment rites that are generally applied to humans, rather than other Garou. It happens, on occasion, that a human — not always a male, despite what some Furies would prefer to believe — commits a serious crime against Gaia and cannot be easily slain. In other cases, the Furies would prefer not to give a violator the honor of a warrior's swift death. To these criminals, the Black Furies assign curses like Avenge the Innocent.
Avenge the Innocent works simply: once the Furies have some core element of the crime that a violator has committed — a bloodied sheet form a violent crime, an accountant's ledger form a con artist's defrauding a community, or a judge's gavel from a painfully biased divorce settlement — they take it as close as they can to the place of the crime. With these two elements in place, they do not need the criminal to be present to pass judgment on him.
System: After a suitably bloody and fiery destruction of the object, roll Manipulation + Rituals (difficulty 7). If they succeed, the Furies invoke the spirit of Hippogriff to rend the criminal's youth away. The subject ages one year per day until his death or until the Furies who cast the curse agree to withdraw it — which most will not do for crimes for which restitution cannot be equitably made.

Curse on the Household
Level Five
Curse on the Household is a longer-lasting, more serious curse than Avenge the Innocent. As the name implies, the Mistress of the Rite creates a long-lasting curse that cascades down through generations of the criminals' family. This curse is largely left in the hands of the Mistress of the Rite, though there are some restrictions on it. It does not have a set effect. However, for a ritual of this power, it is important that the subject of the rite be physic ally present for its casting; no doubt he will have to be bound, since no sane person would knowingly allow himself to be cursed in such a fashion. This rite is reserved for the most heinous of criminals against the laws of Gaia: the rapist, the mass-murderer, the incestuous parent, the cannibal.
The Mistress of the Rite chooses four things about the curse: how the curse will pass down the family line, when it takes effect on a particular child, its exact effect, and how the curse may be alleviated. It may pass from parent to all children, and so on down the line; or it may only "infect" the eldest child, or only males (or only females). It usually does not take effect right after birth; it may wait until puberty, or until marriage, or some other simple condition may bring it about. Accordingly, the curse doesn't generally kill its targets outright — if it did, there would be no future generations to torment. Instead, it makes their lives unpleasant, perhaps eventually unbearable. This could be almost anything: mild schizophrenia, regular bad luck, a plague of ghosts or malevolent minor spirits, inability to hold a regular job, a serious skin condition or non-life-threatening chronic medical condition, or many other things.
The Fury who performs this ritual must assign a condition to allow its breaking. She cannot break the curse on her own, under any circumstances. She must inform the cursed what the condition is, even if he cannot possibly satisfy it. The condition is often implausible on its surface: "Your infant child's sixth daughter must marry a Catholic priest." The condition cannot be impossible, however. Knowledge of the condition does not have to be passed down from parent to child; if the information is lost, the family will be cursed forever.
System: To perform this rite, the subject must be present; the Mistress of the Rite rolls Intelligence + Rituals, difficulty 8. She must achieve 3 successes on this roll; additional successes have no other effect. The Fury's player must write down the precise effects of the rite before the roll takes place. If the Rite achieves 2 or fewer successes, the target of the curse will suffer this malady, but it will not pass on to his lineage. if it fails, the subject of the curse is free to leave the Fury's presence and that particular curse cannot be used on him in the future. If the roll botches, the Fury who performs the rite has the curse afflicted upon her and her descendants, and the subject of the curse is forever immune to cursing rituals performed by this Fury.

Seasonal Rites
Autumn: Rejuvenate the Soil
Level One
In the earliest days of agriculture, and even before the advent of agriculture, when humans hunted for meat and gathered fruits and vegetables as they could, they were fully aware that spending too long in one place would leach the life from the soil. When tending to herds of mortals still mattered to the Black Furies, they taught their charges the way of the Earth Mother; Rejuvenate the Soil is one of those secrets.
The planter takes a pound of seeds from the choicest crop produced or gathered this year, and burns that mass in a bronze bowl while murmuring prayers to Gaia in her guise as Demeter. She must insure that no ashes or cinders leave the fire, lest the ritual lose its efficacy. When the fire is complete, the Fury mixes in a few drops of her own blood. Using a labrys, the fury next carves a glyph of fertility — at least htree feet across, and preferably larger — into the soil at the center of the area to be affected. She then smears or pours the blood-ash mixture into the glyph. An area radiating out from the glyph will regain some of its bounty over the winter.
System: The player should roll Stamina + Rituals, difficulty 6 (unless the area is a former blight, in which case it must be ritually cleansed and even then the difficulty is 7 for the first year). Every success yields an acre of improved cropland for the next year.

Age Role Rites
The following rites can only be used by a Garou in the appropriate age roles: Maiden Rites can only be used before the gestation of the Fury's first child — even if, technically, she is no longer a maiden. Mother Rites can be used from the birth of the first child until the Fury can no longer bear children (due to menopause or injury); Crone Rites can only be used after that point.
ST Note: You can teach rituals once you pass the age roll, but you cannot use them (i.e., a Mother can teach Rite of Pure Breeding, but cannot cast it). No OOC restitution will be given for learning a rite and then becoming unable to use it.

Maiden Rites
Rite of Pure Breeding
Level Two
The mysteries of breeding and reproduction can never be wholly eliminated. Gaia gives members of many species tools to discern good mates, and to attract them: cues from symmetry and obvious health to more subtle things, like pheromones, give animals an idea of which mate would be best for them. In the dying days before the Apocalypse, however, the Black Furies use magic to help them discern the bets possible mates; after all, time is short, and wasting time breeding with a male whose bloodline is weak is no longer acceptable. Through the Rite of Pure Breeding, a Black Fury can determine if a particular mate will help her produce Garou or strong-blooded Kinfolk children.
To test a male, the Fury must acquire something meaningful to him, or a part of his body (no, not a finger, unless she's of the Amazons of Diana and he's really patient — hair or fingernail clippings do just fine). The ritual requires a droplet of the Fury's blood, smeared on the stolen thing. She then breaks it (or cuts it, if too small to easily break) over a white sheet and views the pattern created by the bloodstains. Symmetrical or circular patterns mean that the male would be a good mate and more likely to produce Garou children. Wilder, angular patterns suggest a worse match.
System: Adjudication of this rite is best done at the Storyteller's whim, but if the player insists on mechanics, Perception + Rituals can be rolled, with a difficulty of 8 to properly interpret the omens.

Mother Rites
Free the Wayward Child
Level One
This rite, a simple one, frees a male Garou child of a Black Fury from any spiritual ties to Pegasus and the Black Furies. It is a quick, emotional rite; the mothers traces the Black Fury glyph on her son's forehead in tears, and then blows on the boy's forehead until the glyph dries up. This rite's popularity is relatively new as such things go; in the ancient days, a male child was often simply left outside to die of exposure.
System: Roll Wits + Rituals, difficulty 7. Successful casting of this Rite will remove any Pure Breed from the child, and free him to become a full member of whatever tribe will adopt him.

Crone Rites
Curse of the Crone
Level Two
Curse of the Crone is reserved for philanderers; rapists deserve vengeance, not the mockery and numbness this rite creates. This rite renders a male target infertile and impotent, physically causing his member to shrivel into near-uselessness.
The rite requires something representative of the male toxicity of the target — this can be nearly anything from a dirty undershirt to a drop of his semen. This physical element is torn and scattered, while the Crone quietly murmurs an incantation to Gaia.
System: Roll Charisma + Rituals, difficulty 6; every success indicates a week of duration for Curse of the Crone's effects. The Crone can undo her own curse with the snap of a twig and a magic word — if she so chooses.

Find the Scythe
Siege is not using this ritual due to the impact of player agency in a game of this size. No manner of death can be guaranteed for anyone.

Bone Gnawer Rites
Traditional Theurges insist on performing rites exactly as custom dictates. If the Rite of Cleansing requires a willow wand, clear water, and widdershin perambulation, then each of these requirements must be dutifully incorporated. Of course, many tribes have variants of these rites, since the exact "ingredients" are not strictly essential. Younger Brothers, for example, sometimes use consecrated tobacco instead of clear spring water for their cleansing rites, while Fianna consider atonal howling to be the most vital component. Performing rites correctly is an honorable observance of tradition. Many Garou are careful to perform them exactly as they were taught, not only to ensure their success, but also to encourage their elders to award them renown for succeeding.
Bone Gnawers, as with so many other aspects of their culture, break many of these rules. Of all the tribes, they perform the most spontaneous and disorganized rites. Traditional Theurges may speak of their rituals as disrespectful, or even blasphemous. Yet the urrah have reworked these ancient traditions with good reason: many ancient rites cannot be performed formally and correctly in a city. If you're performing the Rite of Cleansing, for instance, then finding a willow branch or a clear spring can take a bit of work.
A clever Theurge learns to substitute urban elements, usually scavenged from whatever refuse can be found. An Older Brother might be shocked to see someone purifying spiritual taint with a bottle of Perrier or a six-pack of soda. Nonetheless, Bone Gnawers encourage such creativity and improvisation. Substituting weird "ingredients" may decrease the chance of a traditional rite working, but it gains the admiration of Bone Gnawer elders. It may not garner as much renown, but it gets the job done.

Siege Tweaks: We've removed the part about 'spontaneous rituals' the Bone Gnawers create, as it runs counter to W20's take on creating rituals. BG Rites that have been accepted into W20 on the whole (Cardboard Palace, etc.) do not appear in this list.

Rites of Accord
Rite of the Pizza
Level One
Rabble-rousers sometimes try to bring Garou together for a quick, temporary enterprise. Buying them food (or beer) is one way to encourage them to work together, but this rite formally acknowledges the alliance and calls upon urban spirits for a quick blessing.
This rite requires a public telephone and enough spare change for a call. The goal is to gather enough food to feed everyone for one meal. This may seem like a simple task, but because of a wide variety of urban traditions, it's actually fraught with peril. Take, for instance, its most common application: ordering a pizza. The Garou must decide where to order from, what toppings to get, what the tip should be, and most distressing, who gets which slices. If they can overcome this Herculean task, there is a chance they may work together to achieve greater goals.
At the culmination of this ritual, the highest-ranking Theurge "gives thanks" (or "says grace"). This must be done very, very quickly, since many Bone Gnawers are ravenously hungry for warm pizza. The highest-ranking Philodox then declares the reason why the temporary pack has been formed. (The Storyteller should demand a more specific explanation if the definition is too broad. "Breaking into Warehouse #8 to recover a Croatan fetish" is a specific goal; "killing the Wyrm" or just "killing shit" is not.) While wolfing down hot morsels of food, the group then coordinates its plan.
System: The Rite Master rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 8); increase the difficulty by 1 for every ten Garou participating in the ceremony. Each success yields one temporary die; for the sake of convenience, we'll call this dice pool the "pizza pool." These temporary dice last until the temporary pack achieves its temporary goal. On any dice roll that directly relates to the goal at hand, a Garou can burn off one of the temporary dice for the pizza pool. The whole group shares the pizza pool. This rite cannot be performed more than once a day by anyone in the alliance, and the pizza pool can't last for more than 24 hours. Additionally, Garou who are already in a pack cannot perform this rite.

Caern Rites
Rite of the Signpost
Level Four
Bone Gnawers often surround their urban homes with wards and rituals to discourage passers-by from wanting to notice what's really going on there. Through the Rite of the Signpost, a ritemaster slowly works his way around a stomping ground or urban caern, leaving signs or markings to intimidate, misdirect, or confuse ordinary people from wandering into the bawn. Trash, graffiti, dead animals, and general signs of squalor can all convince the average human that there are some darkened streets that you just don't want to go down. Participating Theurges and Galliards stomp about the area as part of this rite. As shameful as it may seem, this also involves marking a few sidewalks and walls with urine and stink.
As an added effect to a successful rite, humans may bet lost in the area surrounding the warded area, even a few blocks away. Garou must inhabit this area at least overnight; you can't cast this on a random neighborhood just to confuse people. The rite cannot be performed on an area larger than a single building or alleyway. If the warded area ever approaches the size of a city block, the wards will begin to fail. The ward must be renewed each month (for a caern) or each week (for stomping grounds).
System: Enacting this rite requires one hour of activity, the expenditure of ten Gnosis (any participants may contribute to this total), and a Wits + Ritual roll (difficulty 7). Record the number of successes. A human that consciously decides to go against his better judgment and enter the area must beat the number of successes on a Willpower roll (difficulty 7).This rite cannot be performed on an area where the Gauntlet is higher than 8.

Rite of No Trespassing
Level Five
Performed on rural caerns, this ritual keeps the Bone Gnawers most sacred places hidden from humanity. The ritemaster enacts the help of a pack by slowly working their way around the bawn of a caern. By scratching on trees and stones, marking locations with urine and scent, calling on the steadfast powers of the Earth and even hanging faded "BEWARE OF DOGS" and "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT" signs, they actively discourage humans from finding their way into the heart of the caern. This doesn't act like an absolute "Ward Against Humans." Humans can still uncover the caern if its inhabitants aren't careful, but the rite forces them to take a bit of effort to actually work their way to a caern's spiritual center.
System: The system is much the same as that of the Rite of the Signpost, even to requiring the expenditure of ten Gnosis. Only one ritemaster makes the final Wits + Rituals roll, but any participating Garou may spend one Willpower to grant an automatic success to that roll. Anyone within the bawn of the caern who passes the Caern Ward must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6); if he can't score as many successes as the Garou did on this rite, he gets lost and cannot find his way to the spiritual heart of the caern. If he succeeds, he can only find it by searching the area — an activity that's sure to draw the attention of nearby Garou. Because of the strength of the Weaver, this rite can only be performed in the wilderness, and even then, only in a place where the Gauntlet is below 6.

Mystic Rites
Rite of Crash Space
Ratkin developed this rite initially, then traded it to a handful of Bone Gnawer Theurges for a big pile of shiny Loot. This rite is much like that of the Cardboard Palace, but further "dedicates" the space for peaceful reflection and meditation.
System: This rite works differently for Bone Gnawers than it does for Ratkin. The ritemaster must spend one Gnosis and make a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7). Recovering Gnosis becomes easier in the "crash space"; reduce the difficult of any rolls to recover Gnosis while inside the structure by 2. If the ritualist scores three successes on the roll for casting this rite, any Garou meditating in the crash space can regain Gnosis by meditating for an hour; the amount of Gnosis regained equals the number of successes he scores on a Wits + Enigmas roll after an hour of meditation. (Outside the crash space, the number of points regained depends on the number of hours spent meditating.)

Rite of the Shopping Cart
Level Two
When the ritual is performed on any carrying space or cargo-carrying device, it can be expanded to hold more stuff, loot, or junk. In a sense, the inside becomes slightly larger than the outside. The container doesn't bulge or distort; even bulky items become easy to carry.
System: Roll Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7) and spend one Gnosis. For each success, you can place another ten pounds in the container. The rite must be renewed each week or the contents will spill out of the container (and possibly into the street). On a botched roll, the container breaks or tears and is rendered useless.

Rite of the Cardboard Fortress
Level Three
This rite, an amalgam of Rite of the Shopping Cart and Cardboard Palace, requires thinking "outside the box." The results would look something like this: Using duct tape and at least one cardboard box, the ritemaster dedicates the box so that it's much larger on the inside than it is on the outside. This involves creating a "pocket realm" of the Umbra accessible to anyone with the Gnosis Trait. The box must at least be large enough for the ritemaster to crawl inside, along with a flap that can open and close.
Depending on the success of the ritual, once the proper rites have been finished, up to five Garou can fit inside with enough room to barely move around without bumping into each other. (In theory, they could square dance or do calisthenics, but couldn't play tackle football.) If the box is opened or destroyed, there is nothing inside it, at least in the physical world. Instead, the Garou may exit their secret cardboard fortress through the Umbra. Multiple cardboard boxes can be taped together to hold multiple shapechangers.
System: Spend one Gnosis and roll Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7). Each success allows one shapechanger to move about freely inside, even if it's in the equivalent of Crinos form. This Rite does not work on Corax or Mokolé, perhaps for reasons involving Helios. The effects last for one full day or until the cardboard box is destroyed. Fighting in the Cardboard Fortress inevitably destroys the cardboard box.

Punishment Rites
Rite of Man-Taint
Level Three
Bone Gnawer ritualists can reveal when a wolf has eaten human flesh. The furtive activities of the Man-Eaters have made this something of a necessity. As the Litany states, "Ye Shall Not Eat the Flesh of Humans." If enacted within seven days of a transgression against this dictum of the Litany, the rite forcefully expels every chunk of human flesh consumed by the suspect's body. If the werewolf can't vomit up incriminating evidence through his mouth, the meat may ooze up out of the skin or surge out of another orifice.
System: The ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7); the subject can resist the rite with a Willpower roll (difficulty 7). If the ritemaster wins the contest by at least one success, the transgression against the Litany is revealed.

Rite of the Leash
Level Three
Bone Gnawers hate being treated like dogs. Every Garou is a wolf at heart; even the lowest among them finds some dignity in that fact. Treating them like mangy curs infuriates and shames them to no end. This Punishment Rite is reserved for Gnawers who have acted so shamefully that even the Bone Gnawer tribe is repulsed. The criminal is bound in Lupus form, usually within the bawn of a sept.
System: The ritemaster spends one Gnosis while holding a rope, chain, or leash of some kind. He then states the crime and makes a Manipulation + Rituals roll (difficulty 7). If the number of successes is higher than the offender's Gnosis, the offender can be trapped by the "leash" and loses a point of Renown as chosen by the ritemaser. Once bound, the Garou cannot be moved or handed off to someone else without freeing him. Through Gaia's grace, only one of her Philodox can hold the "leash." However, if the offender is later found innocent, the Garou who cast this rite loses his rite to claim Wisdom for that month. Casting this rite over trivial offenses also results in the same restriction of Wisdom.

Children of Gaia Rites

Siege Tweaks: Some rites without mechanics have had mechanics added. Last Blessing and Talisman Adaptation have been incorporated into W20, and are not listed here. End Time Rite is not relevant to this setting and will not be used.

Rites of Accord
Rite of the Pregnant Mule
Level One
This rite is known only to Crinos-born. No one else would ever want to learn it. It honors Father Mule, patron of the middle breed. It enables Crinos-born to adopt other Crinos-born as their children. Since most Crinos-born are abandoned or worse by their biological parents, older Crinos-born see these Crinos pups as a personal responsibility. And who better to raise a troublesome and often differently abled Crinos-born pup?
System: The adoptive parent asks the consent of the child's biological parents, if they can be found; if not, she asks the sept elders. (They may refuse.) She then takes the cub to the sept's caern and calls Garou, Kin and spirits (especially Mule, whose coming is taken as a blessing on the cub) as witnesses. The cub is put on the earth and allowed to crawl between the adoptive parent's legs as if being born again. The adoptive parents are then counted as the true parents of the child in every way (including Renown). Crinos-born of rank 5 or greater are very rarely allowed to adopt an orphaned homid or lupus cub; the rite is the same.

Rite of Comfort
Level Two
This rite is a healing ritual for Harano. It does not cure the condition, although the rite of Asklepios can indicate possible cures. The ritemaster can, however, prevent the afflicted one from passing any deeper into Harano.
The ritemaster chants, burns mystic incense and engages the sufferer in breathing exercises. The dispirited one may leave before the rite begins, but not after it has started. The ritemaster may perform this rite more than once for each werewolf suffering from Harano.
System: The ritemaster chants, leads the sick one in breathing rituals, and makes a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 7). The recipient takes the number of successes as extra Willpower, which she may spend to resist Harano. She may not harm herself (such as through self-mutilation or suicide) until all the bonus points of Willpower are gone.

Rite of the Clouds and Rain
Level Two, Restricted
This rite is a kept a careful secret by Children of Gaia, and all who so much as know of it must swear never to mention it among non-initiates — if revealed, anyone involved would likely be ostracized by the rest of the Garou nation. It allows the partial control of Rage at a price of violating a basic Garou law: the first precept of the Litany.
The rite involves channeling the force of Rage by having sex in Crinos form. To avoid injury or death to the partners, both must be Garou. Because the fear of producing a Crinos-born is so great, Crinos-born are often asked to perform the rite, as they are sterile. Some Garou actually enjoy multiple partners while performing this rite, although having more than one sexual partner during the rite can be somewhat confusing. Some say that the more Garou are involved, the more powerful this rite becomes. The truth of this is unknown.
System: The sexual partners invoke the spirits of peace and desire, spending a point of Gnosis. They must demonstrate genuine affection for each other, or the rite will not work. If it works, the Garou can control the tendency to frenzy for the rest of the story: they must achieve one success higher than usual in order to frenzy (5 for Cubs-Adren, 6 for Athro, 7 for Elder). The Storyteller must determine the chance of pregnancy, if it is possible at all. Everyone involved in the rite cannot claim Honor for that month; the spirits who empower the rite, permissive though they may be, are still witnesses to the participant's transgressions.

Rite of Anger's Purge
Level Three
Rage makes a shapeshifter what they are. But it is a curse as well as a blessing. Some Garou can contain their Rage sufficiently to live with a Kinfolk family or enjoy a quiet dinner at a restaurant. But some are so out of balance that they can barely function without exploding. Others require punishment. For whatever reason, a Garou occasionally needs to have his potential for Rage lowered. In this rite, the subject changes into Crinos and is encircled by the participants who all wield whips, clubs, and other instruments of punishment (the "gauntlet"). They then proceed to beat the subject into submission, until he lies unconscious on the ground. A Garou can have the Beast beaten out of him in this way if such a punishment is required.
System: Each participant in the rite must expend at least one point of Rage. The subject loses one point of permanent Rage for each point spent in this way. If he frenzies shortly thereafter, the Storyteller may decide that the loss of Rage is not permanent, although few Garou have enough Rage to endure this rite and still be capable of frenzy in any but the most extenuating circumstances. The overseeing ritemaster must succeed in a Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 8). The effects of this rite last for one month per success, and in the event of 5+ successes, the ritemaster may choose to make this permanent.

Mystic Rites
Rite of Asklepios
Level Three, Restricted
The ancient Greek healer Asklepios was the greatest physician of the ancient world, and the Children and their Kin aided his cult for a thousand years. This rite allows the ritemaster and his patient(s) to see the correct cure for diseases and wounds untreatable normally. Only a few Children of Gaia still know it.
System: The ritemaster prays over the patient, who then sleeps all night in an undergrounds shrine, either a small room (hence, "incubation") or a burrow for lupus. The ritemaster then rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 7, or 8 for illnesses of unknown origin. In the night, a spirit such as Asklepios, Clara Maas or Carlos Finley (the discoverer of yellow fever vaccine) will appear to the patient and explain how to cure the disease. The patient will then awaken and perform the steps described. For each success of the ritemaster, one level of damage will be cured. The patient and the ritemaster will then perform a sacrifice to Gaia. This can be a gift of goods or treasures, but can also be a service or quest to aid the ritemaster.

Rite of the Blood Kin
Level Three
The Children of Gaia have perhaps more and better-organized kin than any other tribe, but even they are sometimes outside the Kinfolk network. This rite seeks Kin that the ritemaster does not know. The Garou will entrance himself and then whisper the names of all the ancestors whom he knows. Some homids write the names, sue a computer, etc. At the end of the rite, the names of previously unknown Kin will be added to the list. This rite does not tell the Garou anything at all about the Kin; more than one Child has run afoul of Skin-Dancers this way...
System: The Garou rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 5. For each success, one new Kinfolk is added to the list.

Sin-Eating
Level Three
This rite allows the ritemaster to end the suffering of others by taking their Wyrm-taint onto himself. It can cleanse both the living and the dead The rite is reflected in a few rural communities in the Appalachians and elsewhere, where humans attempt to take the sins of others onto themselves to release a dead soul from Hell.
System: The Garou lays out a meal on teh body of the person (usually on their chest or in their hands) and eats it. As he does so, he makes a Wits + Rituals roll, with the difficulty being the sinner's Willpower. Success transfers the subject's Wyrm-taint onto him; the Storyteller may require extra successes to transfer larger amounts of Wyrm-taint. This rite is said to be able to cleanse even Black Spirals (if huge numbers of successes could be achieved), but no such attempt has succeeded in living memory. Banes and fomori cannot be cleansed in this method, as they are, at least in part, Wyrm-taint itself.

Sings the Many Shapes
Level Three
The Garou are warriors, even the Children of Gaia. But the Garou have warred not only on the enemies of Gaia but on the Fera, and even on their own kin among the Bunyip. This rite mourns the lost and brings understanding of the reasons and results connected to the long-ago battles. The Speakers for the Dead often perform it in Australia in Bunyip bora rings or in the Camazotz caves of Mexico.
System: The ritemaster seeks a place associated with one of the long-lost Changers and enters into meditation on the vanished race. She must plead with the dead to hear her apologies or elegies for them (this should be roleplayed). The greater her knowledge of the lost ones, the greater her chance of success. For the following year, the dead will not haunt any that take part in this rite. At the Storyteller's discretion, the dead may communicate with the ritemaster; one or two who have partaken in this rite claim to have gained new knowledge or insights thereby.

Rite of Resolution
Level Four
This rite is also called the Rite of the Harena, or the Rite of the Sands. It prevents Garou who combat one another ritually from frenzying during the combat, whether it is wrestling, klaivaskar, iskakku or kailindo. Other tribes often ask the Children to perform this rite lest their warriors slay one another over a minor dispute.
System: The combatants approach one another, shake hands or sniff one another, and howl out their respect for one another. The ritemaster stands as referee and rolls Charisma + Rituals against the highest Rage score of any combatant. For each success, one failed Rage roll for Frenzy may be ignored.

Rite of the Sacred Peace
Level Five
Only the most brazen would violate a sacred peace. The entire Sept, including Kin and representatives of the community, must gather at the caern and each participant must declare himself dedicated to the peace of the land.
System:The strength of the peace equals the number of Gnosis contributed by all participants. Anyone deciding to make war on such a community must make a Willpower roll, difficulty 8, with as many successes as the strength of the peace. If ever this peace is broken, the leader of the community may utter a destructive curse upon the violator, using as many dice to curse as the strength of the peace. Treat this as the flaw: Dark Fate with a strength equal to the strength of the broken peace.

Alternation of Generations
Level Five
The ancient lupus among the Children of Gaia beheld the "eternal heat" of humankind and realized that this ability could vastly increase their breeding capability as well as enhancing the pleasures of mating. In the present, as the blood thins more and more, homid women have employed it to increase the measure of wolf blood in the tribe. It allows a homid to bear a lupus offspring and vice versa.
System: At the conclusion of this rite, the Garou spends a permanent Gnosis point, shapeshifts to match the form of the beloved one and approaches their intended. A homid mating in Lupus form must wait until the mating season, of course, but in all cases conception is guaranteed. The mother's breed form temporarily changes to that of her partner; the change lasts from conception to delivery, in order to prevent miscarriages.
Crinos-born, of course, cannot use this rite — and none would teach it to them.

End Time Rite
Level Five
Not in play in this chronicle.

Rite of the Parted Veil
Level Five
This rite is the Children of Gaia's ultimate gift to Gaia-cherishing humans. When it is performed, the Veil is not pierced (as in the deadly Rite of Rending the Veil) but parts seamlessly to admit one or more humans (or wolves!). The person on whom the rite is performed thus becomes Kinfolk. Two Children unrelated to the human must witness that he loves Gaia and would aid the Children's cause. Most often this rite is done for the mates of Garou or Kin. Some of the Patient Deed say that they hope to extend the rite to whole nations.
The rite consists of the Garou dancing round the subject, while the ritemaster chants from the Songs of Welcome. As the rite progresses, the Garou slowly shapeshift, until they finally assume the Crinos form without frightening the human.
System: The ritemaster makes an extended Wits + Rituals roll, difficulty of the human's Willpower (or highest Willpower in the group, if there are multiple targets, though the ritemaster cannot induct more prospective Kinfolk than the ritemaster's Gnosis). He must accumulate successes equal to the human's age before the rite succeeds; children are easier to "adopt" than adults.

Minor Rites
Rite of the Teacher
Minor Rite
This rite usually involves the teacher plants of Gaia (hallucinogenic plants) which have had their spirits Awakened (using the Rite of Spirit Awakening). The ritemaster must prepare the plants carefully and then use them in the appropriate manner (such as smoking jimson weed or eating sacred mushrooms). Note that use of the plants is forbidden in some cases by human law.
System: For each die lost in the penalty that the Garou takes from exposure to the drugs in question, the Gauntlet is effectively lowered by one for the purposes of using Gifts or rite or stepping sideways. The reduced difficulty lasts for five minutes after the completion of this rite.

The Bowels of the Mother
Minor Rite
This simple rite enables other rites to be performed in less than ideal circumstances. The Ragabash Soldier-of-Paradise developed it while serving in the US military. Rites requiring Gaia's physical presence (that is, that natural earth, air, water, or fire be present) are difficult to perform while the ritemaster is in a setting where they do not exist, such as a ship at sea. The clever No-Moon reasoned that "there's wind in your lungs, water in your veins, fire in your heart and soil in your bowels."
System: When a ritemaster performs this rite, she may substitute the body of any living creature for the required earth, wind, etc. for a rite that immediately follows. For example, when a rite requires the ritemaster to touch the earth, she may hold another's hand instead; a fetish may be held over the heart instead of over a fire. No roll is necessary, although the difficulty of the rite for which the substitution is made is increased by one. It has sadly been shown that even the rite of Gaia's Vengeful Teeth can be cast in this way. Soldier-of-Paradise was not successful in his attempts to perform the Rite of Spirit Awakening on his intestinal bacteria, but perseveres nevertheless.

Fianna Rites

Siege Tweaks: Rites that have been incorporated into W20 are not listed here. Rite of the Hero's Sleep is not being used in this chronicle. Rites that give renown have been updated to match our system.

Rites of Accord
Rite of Hospitality
Level Two
Hospitality is one of the three great virtues of the ancient Celts, and a similarly honorable virtue to the modern Fianna. Ordinarily, hospitality is a given at a hearth, but occasionally it needs to be formally stated in a binding fashion; perhaps the seeker is a rival, or has bad blood with others at the sept and needs protection. In such circumstances, the rite is performed. The grantor (typically the righ or the owner of the hall or territory) is required to give his guest food, shelter, and reasonable comforts for three days, as well as protection from foes (without or within). In return, the supplicant is expected to be the model guest, neither stealing, starting fights, nor otherwise bringing trouble to the household. And be sure that even if the offense isn't obvious, the spirits that witnessed the oath will find a way to bring it to everyone's attention.
System: Typically, only the grantor needs to know the ritual. The supplicant formally asks for hospitality, usually reciting the lineage and titles in the formal way. The host replies in formal language, granting her protection and a place in her hall. If the rite fails, the delivery seems forced and all present will feel the awkwardness of the moment. If successful, both parties are bound to their bargain. Should either one break the bargain, that party is unable to claim Honor Renown for that month, and Wisdom or Glory may be refuted by the local ragabash or philodox. Ordinarily, no Renown is gained if both live up to their ends of the bargain, but if there is an element of danger (guest and hosts are bitter rivals or even enemies, for instance), the righ and guest can claim Honor for the month. After three days (usually measured to sunset, but typically stated during the rite), all bets are off; if the guest is in trouble, he'd better make tracks.

Rites of Death
Rite of the Hero's Sleep
Level Five
Not in use in this chronicle.

Mystic Rites
Feast for the Spirits
Level Two
Since the dawn of religion, worshippers have made offerings of food to gods and spirits. The Fianna do so to honor ancestors at feasts, reminding them of their former lives and strengthening their ties to kith and kin. Theurges also enact the rite as chiminage to spirits who want a taste (literally) of what the living enjoy.
System: The ritemaster sings or plays a tune of welcome for the spirits while investing Gnosis in the food (one point is good for a plate of food and a drink), and rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty of the local Gauntlet). Only one success is required to make the essence of the food as tangible to spirits in the Penumbra as it is to the Garou in the physical realm. Once its essence has been consumed, the physical food and drink loses any appealing taste or texture as well as much of its nutritional value.

Rite of the Foeman's/Hero's Vigil
Level Three
Severed heads can be more than a trophy, they can be a ward. In this modified version of the Rite of the Fetish, the ritemaser takes the head of a newly taken foe (within the last 24 hours) and rebinds the spirit within it in service to the Garou. When put in place (usually buried under a pile of stones or placed on a pike or wall), the head emits a shrill, undulating wail if any unwelcome visitor approaches within 20 yards of the head. It will cease to function if moved or broken; if it is activated too many times, or until the third Samhain after its creation, then the spirit flees.
A rarely used variant of this rite (known as a Hero's Vigil) uses he head of a recently killed Fianna hero (should the spirit be agreeable to the binding).
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 10, 9 if the slayer conducts the rite). At the end of the rite the head is placed in its permanent position. It will activate a number of times equal to successes rolled. Normal intruders will automatically be detected if they enter the alert radius; those with supernatural concealment (such as Obfuscate, human magic or a Gift) may evade notice if the being rolls more successes for their respective concealment than the ritemaster. This does not detect intrusion across the Gauntlet, but a Black Spiral Dancer head (for example) could be placed in the Penumbra with similar effects.
If Rite of the Hero's Vigil is enacted on a willing Fianna's Spirit, difficulty is 10 - Rank of the dead Garou, and the head may be good for up to nine Samhains. As the two rites are very similar, Garou who know one only require three days of study to learn the other.

Seasonal Rites
On the Quarter Days of the year (solstices and equinoxes) the Fianna typically perform the appropriate rites. In addition, they celebrate distinct rituals on the Cross Quarter days (days which fall halfway between the Quarter Days). Each of the Level Two Fianna Seasonal Rites (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnassa, described below) must be learned separately. To the ancient Fianna, a new day began at sunset, which is why these festivals last from evening to evening rather than from midnight to midnight.

Samhain (Oct 31-Nov 1)
Level Two
The Fianna calendar year begins on this night. An uncharacteristically subdued celebration with a grand feast, music, and drink, the Samhain Rite is a time for reflecting on the year just passed. Tributes are given to honor the year's fallen, whose spirits are often in attendance; for these honored fallen the sept saves places at the table and choice seats in bardic circles. Theurges frequently enact the rite Feast for the Spirits so the dead may revel once more with their comrades. It's believed by some that the dead wait until this night before moving on to their next life, or perhaps their essences become "fully fledged" spirits at this time. Because the Gauntlet is slightly thinner (-1 to the Gauntlet at Storyteller's discretion) on this night than any other night of the year, it is also a night when all manner of spirits (benign and otherwise) cross over to cause mischief or simply observe the living world.
System: Roll Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 8 - Caern Level). Those who take part in the Samhain ritual regain Gnosis equal to the ritemaster's successes.

Imbolc (Feb 1-Feb 2)
Level Two
Imbolc is a festival of fertility and hope; though many cold nights may lay ahead, winter is ebbing before the promise of spring. Ritual bonfires dot the caern, and the night is filled with tales of struggles won and the surety of better times ahead. It is also the sacred festival honoring the goddess Brigid, and deemed a favorable time to ask for the spirits' aid in endeavors of art or craft. Children born of Garou on this day are considered especially lucky, for more often than not their Garou blood runs true.
System: Roll Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 8 - Caern Level). Participants in the Imbolc rite regain Willpower equal to the ritemaster's successes. Furthermore, Fianna that have overcome Harano often claim that taking part in the Imbolc rite was the moment they began to claw their way back.

Beltane (April 30-May 1)
Level Two
The celebration of the dawning of the light half of the year is as abandoned as that of the dark half (Samhain) is reflective. Just after dark, the ritemaster bids every fire in the caern extinguished; after a few minutes of darkness, a new fire is lit, and its flame distributed to rekindle all the others, symbolizing a fresh start and the return of light. Music, food, dancing and loving are the order of the night. Kinfolk are especially welcome to the party, not only to share the fun; children conceived during Beltane are reputed to have a greater chance of breeding true. On the downside, the Litany is very fragile on this night as the heat of passion burns away all rationality; elders watch over the cubs, but even the older sept members have occasionally succumbed to temptation.
System: Roll Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 8 - Caern Level). Beltane is a festival celebrating new vitality. Those who participate in a successful Beltane rite gain an extra dot of Stamina for the next three days. During the festival, Rites of Cleansing and other purification rituals are at a -1 difficulty.

Lughnassa (August 1-2)
Level Two
In the ancient agrarian communities, this was the celebration of the beginning of the harvest. For the Fianna it represents the fruits of labor, and the gathering of strength for the coming winter. Bread made from grain of the year, and fresh-made mead and beer as well, are ceremoniously consumed.
System: Roll Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 8 - Caern Level). Those who participate in a successful Lughnassa rite gain an extra dot of Strength for the next three days. During the festival, rolls involving lore and wisdom are at a -1 difficulty, as the Fianna find it easier to remember the fruits of mental labor as well.

Minor Rites
Twilight Song
Minor Rite
The period between day and night is considered a magical time by the FIanna, a transitory time when the world grows still and the hidden dances almost within vision.
System: The Fiann must howl or play a mournful tune just before sunrise and just after sunset every day for nine days. The Garou then gains an additional die when attempting to cross or see through the Gauntlet. The bonus lasts until the Fiann fails to perform the ritual; she must then perform it for nine more days before regaining the benefits.

Get of Fenris Rites
The rites of the Get of Fenris are bloody, savage affairs; few are ever performed without retribution or punishment in mind. Fenrir are prone to shed their own blood in rites as a sacrifice to the spirits and an example of their duty (and willingness) to shed blood in the Mother's defense. Undoubtedly much of the "Get as masochist" stereotype has arisen from visitors at Fenrir moots mistaking the Fenrir's devotion for pleasure.

Siege Tweaks: Rites that have been incorporated into W20 are not listed here. Renown-based rules have been tweaked to match our renown system.

Mystic Rites
Rite of Rune Carving
Level One
Get of Fenris Crescent Moons learn early on to respect and appreciate the power of the written rune, whether it takes the form of Garou glyphs or of runes of human origin. This rite is a prerequisite to the Rite of Rune Casting (below); it is with this rite that the rune-seer creates her talismans. The runes must be carved into the bones of enemies slain in battle, but may take whatever form is most spiritually relevant to the ritemaster. Most Fenrir choose Garou glyphs or the Futhark runes of the Norse, but a few Get have been able to make rune-bones carved with the Cherokee alphabet and even I Ching trigrams function.
System: Standard roll; the rite lasts for eight hours of carving and ritual empowerment. At the rite's completion, the Garou must spend a Gnosis point to "charge" the runes. The runes are commonly stored in a bag, and drawn forth just one to three at a time.

Rite of the Lodge House
Level Three
The Fenrir are well aware of the dangers of letting their tempers get out of hand. Although a visitor or rival might deserve to be ripped limb from limb, it is neither honorable nor prudent to slay other Gaian werewolves in a fit of frenzy. Fenrir often bolster their self-control at formal moots with this rite, which sooths the Rage of participants so that they can avoid "diplomatic events."
To enact this rite, the Get must be inside a house pleasing to the spirits in some respect; the lodge-houses, longhalls or other structures within a Get caern are ideal, but any building that has been marked as open to the spirits of Gaia will suffice. The ritemaster opens each door and window in turn, inviting the spirits of wisdom and granting the spirits of Rage permission to leave if they see fit. If the rite is performed correctly, those within the lodge are much less likely to lose control of their Rage until the meeting ends.
System: Standard roll; if successful, the rite's effects last until the first person leaves the lodge. While the rite's effects are in place, any shapeshifters within the lodge are calmer than usual; the difficulty of any Rage roll made within the lodge has a difficulty of 9 (although Rage may be spent without restriction).

Rite of Rune Casting
Level Three
This prophetic rite enables the rune-caster to see hints of the future in the patterns the runes form as they fall. At the climax of the rite, the ritemaster casts a few runes from her personal rune-bag onto a hide skin or other sacred cloth, studying the patterns there to see what the spirits mean to tell her.
System: The rune-caster must use her personal set of runes, created by the Rite of Rune Carving (above); the roll is Wits + Rituals, difficulty 8. Success reveals an accurate, but vague prophecy; the ritemaster may roll Intelligence + Enigmas (difficulty 8) to make more sense of the casting, but prophecy is by nature never crystal-clear. The Storyteller is encouraged to use symbolic language to create the runes' warnings: "you will encounter an obstacle" is rather bland, but "warrior-rune reversed, against ice-run — Ymir's prison walls may sap your strength" is considerably more interesting.

Punishment Rites
The Coward's Brand
Level Three
The Get of Fenris have very little use for cowards. Where other tribes are content to use punishment rites to punish cowards socially, the Get often do so physically. This rite is used to punish those whose cowardice endangered their packmates or Kin without actually causing their deaths (those cravens whose cowardice killed a packmate are more often subject to the Hunt or worse). Although the Get primarily use this rite to punish other Fenrir — werewolves of other tribes are not expected to live up to the Fenrir's high standards — they have been known to give a the Coward's Brand to Garou of other tribes whose cowardice endangered several Get of Fenris.
As the rite begins, the ritemaster repeats a litany of names, names of Garou who lost their lives from being abandoned by cowardly packmates. She then ritually names each packmate or Kinfolk that the accused werewolf abandoned, and anoints the accursed with blood drawn from each. At the conclusion of the rite, the ritemaster brands the sole of the offender's foot with a heated silver brand. The brand is permanent, an encouragement for the offender to never show his heels to his loved ones again.
System: Standard roll. At the culmination of the rite, the offender takes two levels of aggravated damage, and cannot gain renown that month. The brand cannot be removed by healing Gifts, even those that remove Battle Scars. Legend holds that a Fenrir who received the Coward's Brand managed later to atone with deeds of great valor. His reward came when Great Fenris appeared and bit off the branded foot, leaving him crippled but his honor fully restored.

Renown Rites
Rite of War
Level Two
Although the Get are not, as some werewolves joke, "a tribe of Ahroun," it's true that the Get's Full Moons are held to an exacting standard. This rite is a clear illustration of the Fenrir's lofty expectations. After a Modi has successfully challenged for Rank Two, but before she has been formally awarded that rank, she must undergo ritual combat with two fellow Ahroun. She may use no weapons but her natural body, while her attackers are allowed to use weapons if they choose (die-hard traditionalist septs always arm the attackers with silver). If for some reason, there aren't two Get Ahroun available to fight with the aspiring Fostern, the ritemaster may substitute Get of other auspices, or Ahroun of other tribes if no other Get are available. (If no other Ahroun or Get can be found, the rite is waived; combat against non-Ahroun of other tribes is simply not considered sufficiently impressive.)
The young Ahroun need not win against her two combatants (if the other two are of higher rank, she's not even expected to stand a chance); she must merely put up a good fight. The ritemaster paints the wounds achieved during the rite with dyes made form various plants, and these scars become permanent reminders of the Ahroun's success.
System: Standard roll. If the challenger actually wins against two Get Ahroun, even if they are both Rank One, she gains +2 dice to Social Challenges with other Ahrouns for the next month.

Rite of Challenge
Level Three
This rite is the most formal of challenges, most often the challenge for leadership of an entire sept. Although a would-be Jarl need not know this rite to challenge the current sept leader, this rite is accepted as the most formal and proper way to do so. Proper performance of this rite marks the challenger as one well-versed in Fenrir ways and worthy of facing the jarl in challenge, and therefore adds extra weight to his claim to the position. Get of Fenris may also perform this rite to formally challenge rivals of other tribes or positions; the rite has less binding power in such occasions, but still (if performed properly) carries great weight.
The challenger must be the one to perform this rite. He must confront his opponent and formally recite his lineage, deeds and strengths, each one a ritual declaration of worthiness. He then calls out each of the reasons for his challenge — which must be carefully done, as the accusations must be strong enough to win the onlookers' support, yet not so bold as to provoke the challenged party to frenzy. With the final accusation, eh formalizes the challenge. If the rite is performed properly, the challenged party must accept or lose significant Renown.
System: Standard roll of Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 6). If the rite is failed, the challenged party may refuse to meet the challenger (and if both were Fenrir, it would be a disgrace to acknowledge a challenge so poorly made). If the rite is successful, the challenged party cannot refuse the challenge without losing their right to claim Honor renown that month.
The ensuing combat may be to first blood, submission, or even to the death, at the Master of the Challenge's decision; the more successes, the more likely the Master of the Challenge is to choose duel items in keeping with the challenger's wishes. No weapons may be used during the combat.
If the Fenrir uses this rite to challenge someone who is clearly not his equal in battle, the challenged party may decline without fear of Renown loss no matter the result of the roll. The only exception is if the challenged party is a Jarl; a Jarl who is clearly inferior to his challenger is an affront, and should be replaced as quickly as possible.

Rite of Conquest
Level Five
This is one of the rarest of Fenrir rites, performed whenever a Jarl has gained his rank by slaying his predecessor in fair combat. The rite was more popular in olden times, but in these days the Get of Fenris don't have the numbers to permit many lethal challenges for the post of Jarl.
The rite acknowledges the history of both the fallen sept leader and the new Jarl. The ritemaster guides the new Jarl through the steps of establishing his new rank. The new Jarl must devour the heart of his predecessor, thus symbolically gaining his wisdom to rule his sept properly. The fallen leader's possessions are turned over to the new Jarl in accordance with the Litany, but relatives with a claim on weapons or fetishes are allowed to challenge the new Jarl for their possession.
System: Standard roll. If successful, the new Jarl gains instant knowledge of one of the fallen leader's Gifts (Storyteller's choice; higher-level Gifts are more likely, even if the new Jarl is still not yet of rank to use them, at which point they'll need to wait until they gain that rank for the gift to become useable).

Glass Walker Rites

Seasonal Rites
Bonding Rite
Level One, Dies Ultimae ONLY
This literally named rite is quite simple but is absolutely crucial to the entire camp's understanding of modern Garou war tactics. The rite temporarily binds a number of Kinfolk into a pack, asking the pack patron to accept them.
To perform this rite a length of surgical thread is passed through the knuckles of one hand of each pack member and prospective kinfolk. Every Kinfolk must stand next to at least one Garou, which means at least a third of the expanded pack must be werewolves. In the gaps between each hand a steel charm in the shape of a glyph is hung from the surgical thread. The two ends of the thread are tied together to from a circle. Following this the ritemaster recites a prayer to the pack patron three times, speaking more incoherently each time. At the conclusion of the last prayer, each member rips their hand away, causing the surgical thread to rip through their skin. The thread will remain embedded in the ritemaster's knuckles. She then wears the ring of thread like a necklace. From now, she is the lynchpin of the pack. If she dies, the effects of the rite vanish.
System: The ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals, difficulty 6. All Kinfolk involved in the rite receive the blessings of the pack patron exactly as the Garou do and may take part in pack tactics with them. The Gift lasts for one scene or hour (whichever comes first) per success on the initial roll.

Seasonal Rites
Memorial Day
Level Two
Though we belong to many nations, the only one that counts in our hearts (for most of us) is the nation of Gaia and the Garou. Every nation has a day to honor its fallen in war, and on that day, we honor ours too.
At dawn on Memorial Day (which, by the way , varies from country to country; we observe similar holidays in every land), every Glass Walker in the city gathers in the Hall of Honor. It's similar to the Grave of the Hallowed Heroes, but is kept within a caern only if that's our only caern within the city. In the Hall is a record of the name of every Glass Walker in the city that died serving Gaia or Cockroach. Sometimes it's a dedicated computer with a touch screen monitor, other times a more dignified statue or engraved marble wall serves. During the rite, we add any new names to the record and then call a spirit of the city into the Hall. In exchange for a favor, the spirit agrees to keep the Hall, and by symbolic extension the souls of the fallen, safe for another year. May the rest in peace.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 6). If the roll is successful, the spirit agrees to guard the Memorial Hall for a year. If the roll is botched, the spirit attacks all those gathered.

Promethean Daze
Level Two
At first glance, this rite appears almost generic. A weak of feasting and cleansing isn't unique to the Glass Walkers. But look at when we hold it, and the reason behind rite becomes clear. The Promethean Daze happens right at the end of the year, along with human celebrations like Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and, of course, the New Year. We're often called the "tribe of Man" and this rite certainly gives some weight to the moniker.
This rite breaks down into two parts. The first part is marked by gluttony, and as a result tends to take up most of the week. We eat, drink, fight and make love (to Kinfolk, in theory) to our hearts' content. During that time, we supposedly work to throw off our limitations. It all happens through conversations, old grudges break down over wine and dinnertime conversations find an informality that lets us find simpler ways of operating. Thanks to GWnet and video conferencing, this rite becomes more global every year, and thus it can make a great platform for political moves.
The second part begins when everyone is too full to eat anymore and too hung over to party. In this, we try to foresee the oncoming year. It happens in various ways. Theurges call on spirits for guidance, while others try to use clever deduction to make logical predictions. We all try to see concrete ways in which the tribe could further its spiritual, Garou, and human ties. In so doing, we renew ourselves.
The mechanics of the rite refers to the second portion of the week. (All that is necessary to ensure the success of the first portion is good food, wine, and company.) The ritemaster supervises the assembled Garou in their predictions and closes the weak with a toast to the sept's good fortune for the oncoming year. Afterwards, everyone gathered bows their head in a moment's silence. Sometimes this aspect of the rite is performed after other seasonal rites, but delaying the rite so is rare.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 7. If a simple success is achieved, all participating Garou recover all Willpower to face the new year. If three successes are gained, one Garou also has a vision of a minor event in the oncoming year. If five are gained, several Garou might have minor visions, or one may have a vision of a very major event indeed. This is left to Storyteller discretion.

The Little Rite
Level Three
Another way we keep our ties to Cockroach is through the ironically named "Little Rite," which is held on the 15th of March every year. Why the Ides of March? Maybe to remind ourselves not to get above our station like the Roman conspirators, since this rite honors all the things that we forget, but can't live without. Whether it's Cockroach and his tiny children, the machines that make us coffee and keep our juice cold, or the paperboy who never gets a word of thanks; we dedicate this day to keeping our relationships with others pure. To that end, we give gifts. We dump whole sacks of powdered sugar onto our kitchen floor overnight for the cockroaches, or spend time listening to the binary chatter of Net-spiders, or tip the boy a few hundred bucks. Septs often celebrate the Little Rite together as well as with a massive gift to the minimum mage workers in the mail room below the caern, or with an all-out assault on the Banes in a Net-spider nest so that the thing is entirely clean.
However we do it, the Little Rite makes sure that we don't forget anything or anyone. The city is made up of details, and forgetting any one of them is dangerous.
System: After a full day of gift-giving, the ritemaster engages in a private ritual of prayer, frequently before an icon of the sept patron. This is a rare ritual that can only be performed by a single Garou, no more Garou may gather to assist. The player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 9). Every success will grant a -1 difficulty bonus to all dealings with all spirits associated with the Gifts given during the day. This can be flexible; tipping the new paperboy $100 will make money-spirits easier to deal with. This bonus applies to all Garou in the caern for the rest of the year. A failure represents cordial acceptance of the rite for no bonus. A botch here insults the caern patron; all dealings with all spirits in this caern will be at a +1 difficulty for the rest of the year.

Red Talon Rites
The Red Talons use rites just as much as other tribes do. Their interpretations of rites just tend to be somewhat simpler. Where a Silver Fang ritual might take several hours and require a great deal of ceremony, a certain ritual garb, and special material components, a Red Talon version of the same rite might require only a loose pile of items associated with the spirits invoked and some elaborate howls. This doesn't mean the Talons have anything less invested in their rites in terms of emotion or reverence, merely that their practices differ from those of more homid-influenced tribes. In particular, two Red Talons will rarely perform the same ritual exactly the same way — such strict attention to detail and focus on keeping things consistent smacks too much of human behavior to them.

Siege Tweaks: Rite of the Winter Pack, Rite of Feeding the Land, and Rite of Gaia's Rebirth are not included here because they will not be used in our game, but they do exist in canon. The Rite of False Justice is not canon. If a punishment is unjust in the eyes of the spirits, the punishment rite simply fails. There are no alternate rites that can undo a punishment rite.

Caern Rites
Rite of Defiance
Level Two
This rite, a rite that the Talons don't mind teaching to other tribes, is commonly performed by a Red Talon Galliard when a sept suffers a setback. The sept gathers at the caern's heart and the Galliard begins the rite by recounting the sept's recent defeats. The Talons believe in facing their difficulties realistically, and it is considered proper to allow the ritemaster to finish before the next phase of the rite begins.
When the ritemaster finishes the howl, the other Garou begin their own cries. The Talons howl of hope and of possibility, beginning with whichever of them has the most hope to offer. As the howls continue, others join in, until eventually the entire sept stands together, howling their defiance to the sky, their spirits rekindled.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7); her character finishes her song of woe. If successful, the other talons take up the howl, and all Garou present regain one point of temporary Willpower. If the roll is a botch, no one feels hopeful enough to begin the rite, and everyone loses a point of Willpower.

Warding the Lingering Human
Level Two
While Red Talons do not normally have any truck with the restless souls of dead humans, they do manage to create a fair number of ghosts. Human ghosts are capable of doing a great deal of harm to a Red Talon sept, should they put their vengeful minds to it. Leading enemies to the heart of the caern, frightening prey animals away from hunting Red Talons, and generally disrupting the harmony of the area with their very presence are all possibilities. The Red Talons developed (or learned from the Silent Striders, depending on whom one asks) this rite to drive off or forbid a human ghost from entering the bawn of a caern.
Performing the Warding the Lingering Human rite requires the ritemaster to have a piece of the human's body or something that he touched in life (if this object was important to him, the rite works even more effectively). The Talon must then stand behind the object with his back to the caern and snarl, howl and bristle at the object. After a few moments, the Talon grabs the object in his teeth and shakes it until it falls to pieces. The ghost is thereafter forbidden to enter the bawn of the caern without expending a great deal of energy.
System: The Talon must perform the rite as described above. The player rolls Manipulation + Rituals. The difficulty is usually equal to the ghost's Willpower, but if the Talon uses an object important to the ghost in the rite ,the difficulty drops by two. If the roll succeeds, the ghost cannot enter the bawn of the caern without spending one point of Willpower for each success the player achieved on the roll for each day (so if the player rolls three successes, the ghost must spend three Willpower for each day she wishes to remain within the bawn). Note that this rite has no effect on the walking dead or on any other kind of spirit.

Mystic Rites
Rite of Prophecy
Level Three
This rite allows the Red Talon to ask Gaia for a glimpse of things to come. Talons of all auspices use this rite, but the Theurges are normally the only ones who use it more than once.
The Red Talon must of somewhere that she will not be disturbed. She must then find something that holds her attention; the movements of clouds in the sky, a parade of ants marching to their home, the swirling of running water — any of these will do. The supplicant simply allows her mind to unfocus and waits for the vision from Gaia.
The vision thus granted may be helpful and might well grant the Red Talon some insight into an immediate problem. However, Red Talon "history" is fraught with tales of Talons who have foreseen such events as nuclear blasts, the War of Rage, the War of Tears, and battles that might or might not be the Apocalypse itself — and simply haven't been able to interpret the visions in time. While nearly every Master of the Rite at a Red Talon caern knows the Rite of Prophecy, they rarely use it. To know the truth, but not what the truth means is more painful than most Garou can bear.
System: The player rolls Willpower (difficulty 7) to focus the character's attention, and then rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7) to begin the vision. The vision is left entirely to the Storyteller's hands, but it is recommended that the more Pure Breed the character possesses the more likely she will see a vision pertaining to the tribe (or the Garou Nation) as a whole rather than her or her pack.

Shadow Lord Rites
Intensely social, Shadow Lords focus on rites even more than do most other Garou tribes. It seems they have a rite or a ritual for nearly everything they do, at leas tin older septs. Many of the newer ones, particularly those in the New World, are less concerned with rites and traditions than their elders back home are.
Shadow Lords are obsessed with keeping their rites secret, more out of principle than any real pragmatism. The rites given below tend to be mostly useless for Garou not of the tribe, but the Lords don't much care; these are secrets of great import, and they will kill anyone who shares those secrets, no matter the circumstances.

Caern Rites
Murmur Rite
Level Two
Developed by the Lords of the Summit, this rite is one of the many ways Shadow Lords keep their activities a secret. A Lord needs to know the Murmur Rite if he plans on leading a Shadow Moot, since it is used to open the moot and keep the discussions therein private. Though normally used to mask the conversation of many werewolves, this rite can be performed with as few as two Garou.
System: Each of the Garou taking part in the rite contributes one Gnosis at the ritemaster's prompting. Once the Gnosis is collected, the conversations of all the rite's participants are masked for the duration of the scene. Any Gifts, technology, or supernatural abilities that allow an individual to eavesdrop on private discussions automatically fail. If the eavesdropper botches whatever roll she was using to try to listen in, she actually gains some piece of misinformation that serves to mask further the activities of the rite's participants.

Thunder's Blessing
Level Three
This rite is used to draw Grandfather Thunder's favor upon a particular caern, investing it with a portion of his great power. In addition to bolstering the Gnosis of Shadow Lords who visit the caern, the rite also allows those affiliated with the caern to call down bolts of lightning upon their enemies, so long as they are within the confines of the caern.
System: Performed during a raging storm, this rite requires an extended roll of Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 8). The ritemaster must accumulate 10 successes to successfully complete the rite, and may attempt this roll only once per 15 minutes (though for every three Garou beyond the minimum required to complete the rite, the difficulty is reduced by one). If the rite is not completed in one hour, it fails, and the thunderclouds above send down bolts of lightning to punish the offending Garou (inflicting (8 - number of successes achieved in the ritual) aggravated damage). If the rite is successful, however, the Garou performing the rite must give up 25 points of temporary Gnosis. Once they do so, a bit of Grandfather Thunder lingers around the caern, granting an additional point of Gnosis to all Shadow Lords so long as they remain within the caern's boundaries.
Once the rite is successfully cast, any member of the sept may spend a Gnosis to call a lightning bolt dealing 2 aggravated damage while within the caern's boundaries. The effects of this ritual are permanent, but may be revoked if Grandfather Thunder becomes displeased with the sept.
Lastly, in the event that the ritual achieved 1-9 successes (not a failure but not the total required for complete success), participants gain +1 Social dice in any interactions with Grandfather Thunder's brood for the next month. The ritual may be attempted again, but not during the same storm.

Mystic Rites
Communion with the Storm
Level Two
It is easy to lose oneself in the intricacies of Garou society, and to forget that the ultimate goal of all the politicking of the Shadow Lords is the defeat of the Wyrm and the restoration of Gaia to her normal state. Many Shadow Lords thus turn to this rite to remind themselves of why they're fighting, and of what it is that they're supposed to be fighting for. In the process, they focus their Rage and their ambition so that they may more effectively accomplish their tasks.
This rite is always performed in the midst of a heavy thunderstorm, but that is the only constant. It may be performed singly or in groups, at any time of day or night, and in any part of the world. So long as Grandfather Thunder's touch is present, that is all that matters.
System: Standard roll. While this rite is in effect, all Enigmas rolls have difficulties three lower than normal (minimum 4). In addition, the ritemaster may bring any single problem (usually nominated beforehand) to the attention of Grandfather Thunder in an attempt to seek his counsel. If he is invoked with a successful Wits + Enigmas roll (difficulty 8), Grandfather Thunder presents them with an appropriate course of action and girds their resolve with either a point of Rage or a point of Gnosis, depending on the nature of their problem.

Rite of the Hurricane
Level Five
Used almost exclusively by the Shadow Lords of Mexico, this rite is a more potent version of the punishment rite Calling the Storm. Whereas that rite is used to rebel against a corrupt or unjust leader, this rite is designed to focus the fury of the Garou into a powerful storm, which may then be used to shatter the grip of the Wyrm upon the land. It is used to destroy nests of vampires, to sweep oil refineries out to sea, and to attack other artificial structures throughout the storm's area. Most Garou frown on using this rite in all but the direst emergencies, for it is quite destructive to the land it scours clean. The counter-argument is that Gaia is resilient, and it is better to let Her heal Her wounds than suffer in the coils of the Wyrm. Even so, the questions raised by the rite ensure that the Rite of the Hurricane remains a last resort, to be used only when the need is dire.
System: Roll Wits + Rituals, difficulty 8. This rite may only be performed in a tropical area, and even then only during the storm season. If these conditions are met, a single day is enough to call up a storm cell in the general region. Manifesting hurricane-force winds for a single scene is easily done, but maintaining the storm is another matter. Doing do requires the expenditure of three points of Gnosis per day, which may be paid by any number of willing participants. Once the cost is not paid, the storm dissipates normally.

Rites of Punishment
Calling the Storm
Level Three
Given the rigors of Shadow Lord society and emphasis on goals, it is inevitable that some become corrupt and put their own selfish desires over the good of the tribe. This rite was developed to counter fallen Lords with Shadow Lord justice. When a leader within the tribe has fallen to the Wyrm, the Garou ruled by him may use an outside agent to announce his transgressions to the tribe at large. If the accusations are true, the Garou may enact this rite. Stormclouds gather above the moot and the Garou invoking the rite gain the strength they need to destroy the one who turned his back on Gaia.
System: Standard roll. If the charges leveled against the corrupt Garou are true, the storm that gathers above the moot empowers those who conspire against him. They gain two points of Rage, and if they are Shadow Lords they also gain a Gnosis. In addition, Primal-Urge rolls are also made at a difficulty two lower than normal. If the charges are untrue, however, the gathering storm punishes the offenders, striking them with lightning that deals five health levels of aggravated damage.

Rites of Renown
Rites of Renown are extremely important to the Shadow Lords, perhaps moreso than any other aspect of Garou life. Lord society is often regimented and intensely hierarchical, and any time a Garou shifts position in that society he or she must undergo a rite to do so. Most such rites are minor variations of the standard Rites of Renown, having a myriad of different social functions but being otherwise identical. The Lords have a number of unique rites, however, and these are described below.

Rite of Dominance
Level Two
No matter how true they remain to the ideals of Gaia, Shadow Lords still live in a society where dominance over others is the rule instead of the exception. A Lord uses this rite when she has ousted a corrupt leader, or when she has dominated those beneath her and forced them to submit to her will. By coercing them into taking part in this rite, she ensures that their loyalty to her is strong and that they will be loath to work against her in the future.
System: During the course of this rite, all participating Garou except the ritemaster lose one permanent Willpower, which are given to the patron of the pack for safekeeping. So long as the pack members remain obedient to the ritemaster (who must be the pack's alpha), they may use the lost Willpower normally. Should they ever act against her, however, they will lose the Willpower permanently. The effects of this rite can be undone using a variety of punishment rites, presupposing the ritemaster has acted inappropriately or abused her position as pack alpha.

Rite of Conquest
Level Five
More celebratory than it might seem from the name, the Rite of Conquest is performed to welcome back a Bringer of Light who has successfully endured an extended stay in the presence of the Wyrm (and emerged unscathed, both physically and spiritually). It is similar in many respects to a Rite of Cleansing, but it is far more powerful. Recipients of this rite are true paragons among the Garou, and even Garou of other tribes bow down before them in respect, as they have accomplished things few others would even dare to attempt. This rite may only be performed by one who has himself received the rite, and it is only performed under a sky filled with storm clouds, under Grandfather Thunder's watchful gaze.
System: To receive this rite, a Shadow Lord — typically a Bringer of Light — must endure the horrors of the Wyrm for a period of no less than six months. He must interact with fomori, Banes, or corrupted Garou during this period, and he must successfully resist their influence without falling to the Wyrm, or even being tainted by its presence. If the Garou survives such an ordeal, he may receive this rite and be recognized as one of the strongest of Gaia's warriors. Truly, he has conquered the Wyrm.
The Garou performing this rite, who must be a Theurge, expends a number of Gnosis points equal to the recipient Garou's rank The recipient pours forth all of his Gnosis points, giving them up to the storms above him. Once this is done, the ritemaster makes a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 10 - the target Garou's Rank) and draws the power of Gaia into the recipient's body. On receiving the rite, the recipient gains one of several possible benefits (player's choice). Possible benefits are as follows.

• The recipient becomes highly resistant to the thrall of the Wyrm. He must roll eight or more successes on a Rage roll to enter a frenzy, and 10 or more successes to enter the Thrall of the Wyrm. Further, the character may spend a Willpower point to halt the frenzy normally, even if he would normally fall into the Thrall of the Wyrm.
• The Lightbringer becomes highly resistant to Wyrm toxins. He receives no penalty from supernatural radiation, balefire, Wyrm elementals, and the like (although he does still suffer damage from such attacks). He is likewise immune to Bane possession.
• The character is immune to Harano.
• The character's sanity is absolute. He becomes immune to any and all circumstances that might inflict him with temporary or permanent insanity, and will maintain his sanity even if forced to dance the Black Spiral (although he is not protected from any other aspect of this gruesome ritual).

Silent Strider Rites

Siege Tweaks: Rites that have been incorporated into W20 are not listed here.

Rites of Accord
Rite of the Midwife
Level One
This rite is taught as a rite of accord because it is enacted to protect a newborn from harm or taint by hurrying or delaying its birth. The unsullied focus necessary for this rite is an owl's feather, as Owl intercedes on the mother's behalf. The mother must ordinarily be a Silent Strider or one of their Kinfolk, though Owl may be convinced with proper chiminage to intercede on the behalf of Garou or Kinfolk of other tribes, or even a normal human woman. The rite may be performed for several days in a row to achieve the necessary result — in fact, it may be necessary to do so. This rite is often considered the province of female Striders, though most are willing to teach it to any male Strider who wishes to learn.
System: The "midwife" and the mother must first decide whether they will try to hurry the delivery of the child or delay it. Then the ritemaster's player must spend one point of Gnosis and roll Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7). Simple success delays or hastens the birth by one day. If the rite is begun at the onset of labor, it ceases immediately and will not begin again for a full day — in all other case it is difficult to be sure if the rite was effective at all. It may require several days of ritual to bring a child into the world early; usually it is considered preferable to delay the birth unless a healer is sure the child is viable, or the mother is headed into great danger.

Caern Rites
Gathering of Wanderers
Level Two
Even though the Silent Striders hold caerns in the far-flung places of the world, the tribe must occasionally meet in the bare wilderness, farm from any well-spring of Gaia's power. The Garou present take their places in the circle as they would around the heart of a caern. As their howls reverberate, a silent call races through the Umbra summoning an Engling into the circle to sanctify the proceedings. The Striders say that the location of one vagabond moot, where great deeds were done and great stories told, was later successfully opened as a caern by another tribe.
System: The player whose character leads the rite must roll Wits + Enigmas (target 7). If successful, the Engling arrives at the center of the circle within the hour. The leader of the rite must give the Engling a point of Gnosis; also, each Garou who wishes to bring a matter before the moot must also donate a point of Gnosis. When the moot is over, the Engling returns to the Umbra without having been hunted.

Rites of Death
Rite of Purification
Level Two
This is a burial ritual to honor the dead that is only performed by Silent Striders for their fallen tribemates, only in the company of other Striders. If there are members of other tribes who wish to mourn, a Gathering for the Departed will be held at another time and place.
System: The body of the deceased must first be washed (the Rite of Cleansing may be necessary if the werewolf died fighting minions of the Wyrm). After the body is laid out, the Master of the Rite invokes Scarab, who sends beetle-spirits from her brood to strip the hair, skin and flesh from the body (the player rolls Charisma + Rituals, difficulty 8 minus the Rank of the honored Strider). When only bones remain, the spirits depart, and the bones are placed in a small grave, preferably at a caern. Other times the bones are laid to rest in some place significant to the departed, or simply by the roadside. This is no dishonor among the Striders — it is the reality of a wanderer's life. Better to bury the bones when there is time, than die carrying them and so leave two unburied.

Rite for the Watchful
Level Four
This rite is not concerned with tracing a Garou's heritage — that is a matter for Galliard songs. Rather, this rite deals with the more practical matter of which of those ancestors take sufficient interest in the doings of their descendant to watch over her and lend her aid in times of need (in other words, what spirits the werewolf can channel using her Ancestors Background). It may be considered strange that a tribe cut off from its ancestors would know this rite, but they were not always thus deprived. They have preserved the rite through the many years of their homeless travels, often bartering the knowledge provided by the rite for passage on moon bridges or access to caerns. An unexpected benefit of maintaining the rite has become clear: it can be used to discover which Strider cubs have the ability to call on the lost ancestor-spirits, or who have the potential to do so in the future.
System: The ritemaster pulls on the nebulous energy of the Dark Umbra to reveal the faint traces left on the Garou's spirit by her ancestors. The player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 8). For each success, he learns the deed name of an interested ancestor-spirit and its relationship with the Garou.

Mystic Rites
Rite of the Spoken Page
Level Two
The Garou seldom write things down, and the Silent Striders commit words to paper even less frequently. Humans write all the time, however — and so do some other supernatural beings. This rite summons an ibis-spirit and sets it to reading the designated manuscript (or sarcophagus, or hand-written notebook) aloud. It has practical uses beyond simple hands-free reading: it has been used to "read" many books at once, listening for a key word or phrase; to learn to read a language the Garou can only speak; or to simply decipher criminally bad handwriting. Curiously, if the writing is less than one month old, enough of the author remains with the message that the ibis-spirit reads it in the author's voice.
System: The player makes a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7). If successful, the ibis-spirit arrives and begins reading, and will continue for one hour per success or until dismissed. The spirit reads aloud in the language written — it does not translate the material. If the message is less than one month old, the hearers may attempt to identify the voice of the author (which may require an Intelligence roll), or even make guesses as to the meaning behind the author's words as if she were there in person (requiring a Perception + Empathy roll).

Minor Rites
Rite of Meeting and Parting
Two Striders meeting on the road is a rare occurrence, but often a pleasant one. Even if one or both are traveling on missions of desperate importance or even certain doom, at least for a short time neither has to travel alone. Each traveler greets the other with a traditional salutation in his or her native tongue. If time permits, they share food and water, and exchange news of their travels. On parting, they exchange blessings in the Garou tongue; the most common is "Gaia soft beneath your feat, Luna's light on your path." Even in emergencies, two Striders who recognize each other will howl out as much of the greeting and farewell as they can as they pass each other at a full sprint.
This rite is not usually performed on arrival at a caern, but Silent Strider caerns often have their own rituals to welcome travelers.

Silver Fang Rites

Siege Tweaks: Rites that have been incorporated into W20 are not listed here. Rite of Kingship will not come up in this game, so it is not listed, but exists in canon. Renown tweaks have been made as necessary to suit our system.

Rites of Accord
Rite of the Honorable Oath
Level One
The Silver Fangs take their oaths of service very seriously indeed. When anyone wishes to swear service to a Silver Fang Lord who follows the old traditions of the tribe, the Lord may ask them to undergo this rite, but will never press the point. Many Silver Fangs voluntarily undergo it if offering service to another werewolf, but are offended if others demand it of them. To swear the oath, the character swears to undertake a single task, which is outlined by the recipient of the oath and repeated by the character undergoing it. The character offering service then gives a small object of value to himself to the recipient of the oath.
Should the oath taker stay true to their word, he will receive Renown whether or not the mission is successful. The recipient of the oath should return the gifted item at the conclusion of the service.
Sytem: The player of the oath giver spends one Gnosis to activate the rite. If the character keeps her word and attempts the mission to the best of her abilities, she may claim the deed for Honor that month, irrespective of the quest's outcome. If she does not do so, she loses her ability to claim Honor for that month. The recipient of the oath is under no compulsion to return the object gifted to them, but may lose renown if she does not do so.

Mystic Rites
Rite of Breeding
Level One
The rite is one of the secrets behind the Silver Fang's unusually high levels of Pure Breed. When a Fang feels that it is time for her to star ta family, he enacts this rite and asks her house's patron to guide her to her best-matched mate. The werewolf meditates on her ancestry, using pictures, stories, photos or keepsakes and then calls to the patron for guidance. If the rite is successful, the patron grants her a vision of herself carried aloft in the talons of the patron to the home of the best prospect for a strong, worthy child. The rite does not guarantee that the prospective mate will welcome the werewolf's advances; just that he is a good genetic and spiritual match.
System: Standard roll. This rite normally takes place within the boundaries of the home caern, and shows the Kinfolk most likely to prove a good mate within a few days' travel. The more successes achieved the more details the vision gives about the prospective mate and his location. This ritual does not help with seducing or winning the heart of the Kinfolk in any way.

Walking With the Dead
Level Three, Ivory Priesthood ONLY
To perform this rite, the priest must first spend a day ritually purifying herself of all sins, according to the Priesthood's creed, and any negative thoughts. She must also spend a few hours meditating on the idea of her own death and her attitude towards it. A priest who is not reconciled to her own mortality can find the Dark Umbra a disturbing and unsettling place, especially in recent years when a terrible spirit storm has rendered it even more dangerous than usual.
Once the purification is complete, the Garou faces a Death's Breath spirit in the early twilight of that evening. She must let it breathe into her mouth, which sends a chill like a rod of solid ice through her body. She may then step sideways into the Dark Umbra. She may remain there until dawn the following morning.
System: The player spends a point of Gnosis and rolls Willpower (difficulty 7). If the roll fails, the rite ends and the character is plunged into a terrible Harano-like depression that costs her two dice from every dice pool for the next 24 hours. If it succeeds, the character may make a normal stepping sideways roll to enter the Dark Umbra, as described above. Once in the Dark Umbra, the priest appears as a dark patch in the normal Penumbra. If she fails to return to the material world by dawn the next morning, she is trapped in the Dark Umbra unless another Ivory Priest or a kindly Silent Strider helps her back across into the material world.

Stargazer Rites
Stargazer tradition includes many ceremonies and customs, many of which translate directly into supernatural rites. Much of what a Stargazer learns is exemplified through these rites. Rites aren't merely a means to an end, they aren't tools meant to gain some new ability, skill, or power. They're exacting traditions meant to give the Stargazer a deeper understanding of herself, her tribe, her ancestors — and how all of that connects with the Emerald Mother. Yes, they often come with boons granted from the spirits; but even without these fortunate blessings, the Stargazer would still perform the rites because they are her duty as a member of the tribe. Most rites among the Stargazers are not secret, as they are meant to all to understand and (when ready) to perform.

Rites of Accord
The Rite of Meeting
Level One
The population of living Stargazers is growing thin, and as such, many of the tribe consider themselves fortunate when encountering a new (or previously unmet) Stargazer. This rite, known in India as the "Rite of Namah-te" and in China as the "Rite of Gong'Xi," is meant to allow two tribe members to greet one another with proper respect. The rite is a traditional greeting that's been used for many centuries. Two Stargazers meeting for the first time place the flat of their palms against their chest, and bow their heads at one another. They hold the bow for as long as necessary, and then each Garou takes a small smear of ash or soil and anoints the other's forehead with it. Finally, both Stargazers utter a prayer to Gaia. The meanings to this ritual are many. It is a wish for extended friendship, but in it is also the unspoken wish to have both minds joined in service to both Gaia (the Emerald Mother) and the Jade Emperor. Both Garou are equal in the eyes of those two cosmic forces, even if they are not technically equal in rank. In this meeting, egos are set aside and the two are — however briefly — conjoined in the service of Gaia.
System: A Stargazer may only enact this rite when meeting another Stargazer for the first time. If the two have met previously, the rite may be performed, but without any spiritual benefits. Each Stargazer bows his head for a number of minutes equal to the other Stargazer's Rank. When the rite is completed, the player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 6). If 1-2 successes are rolled, the Stargazer gains a single die on any Social roll involving the encountered Garou. However, if 3 or more successes are rolled, the Stargazer also gains a Willpower point alongside the bonus die.

Rite of Rebalancing
Level Three
This variation on the Rite of Renunciation has been all but lost — though some Stargazers know it and see it as the only means to bolster their tribe's numbers. By means of this rite, a Garou of another tribe loses his tribal affiliation and instead becomes a Stargazer in blood, if not by birth. The Garou wishing to become a Stargazer may not perform the rite herself; it must instead be performed upon her by an able and willing ritemaster. In this rite, the ritemaster must take the Garou beneath the new moon ane together they must stand in a body of running water (a creek, stream, or river will do). The ritemaster must, with a claw, etch the Stargazer glyph into the Garou's body. and let the blood mingle with the flowing water below. The Garou mustn't let the wound heal right away, and instead must allow it to scab over and become a natural scar. After seven days have passed, the Garou is now a full-blooded member of the Stargazer tribe regardless of her tribe of origin.
System: The rite is performed according to the description above. The player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty of the Rage + 2 of the changing Garou, to a maximum of 10> The river washes away a Garou's tribe, and it also removes any semblance of Rank. Garou with this ritual performed willingly upon them begin at Rank 1. The Garou may keep the Gifts she has learned from her old tribe, but she is unlikely to learn any new ones except under very special circumstances, and Gifts of a higher rank cannot be used until they reach the necessary rank once more. However, Stargazer Gifts are now available to her. The Garou may never return to her old tribe, nor will she ever gain favor again with her past tribal patron.

Thaipusam
Level Three
The rite called "Thaipusam" is an act of consecration meant to separate a Stargazer from the profane world and officially become part of the greater sacred sphere. Few Stargazers practice it; it's mostly prominent among the Stargazers of India, despite the fact that its origins actually lie among the native peoples of Malaysia. At its roots, Thaipusam is an act of ritual piercing. The Stargazer, after washing his hands in both milk and honey, then pierces his own flesh to insert a ring. While chanting the universal mantra (aum), salt is rubbed in the wound to heighten the pain and ensure that it won't heal over immediately. The ring itself needn't be made of any specific material though may Stargazers favor simple rings of steel, jade, or hematite, though some decorate their bodies with more ornate trimmings. The bodily location of the piercing is insignificant. Many pierce their ears, lips, nipples, and some even go so far as to pierce genitals, the flesh around the throat, or bunches of pinched skin around the forehead. Many elder Stargazers can be seen with countless rings adorning their scarred body.
System: The player rolls Stamina + Rituals (difficulty 7). If the roll is successful, the ritemaster takes a single, unsoakable aggravated level of damage. For the month following the enacting of the rite, the Stargazer may freely step in and out of the Umbra without a roll. Merely concentrating on the cleansing pain of the Thaipusam rite allows her to ease between worlds with nary a thought. This rite may only be performed (for its benefit) once a year.

Banishment of the Self
Level Four
This rite allows a Stargazer to dampen her own ego so she may give aid to those closest to her (typically her pack or sentai). The werewolf meditates for an hour beneath the moon and continually recites the following in whatever language she chooses: "I give my body to the hungry, my blood to the thirsty, my skin to the naked, and my bones as fuel to those who suffer cold. I give my good fortune to the unlucky, and may the breath of my life restore the dying. Shame on me if I draw back from this sacrifice! Shame on all who hesitate to accept it!
System: The player rolls Strength + Rituals (difficulty 7) and must spend a Willpower point for each werewolf within her pack or sentai that she intends to aid with this rite. If she desires to extend the benefits of this rite to another outside the pack or sentai, she must spend two Willpower points per individual not in her pack. For the next 24-hour period, those "gifted" with the advantages from this rite can ignore all wound penalties. At the end of that 24-hour period, the Stargazer who performed the rite must sleep for a full eight hours. Until she does, she acts at +1 difficulty to all rolls.

Caern Rites
Rite of the Beating Heart
Level Five, Restricted
These days, Stargazer caerns are particularly vulnerable places. There is, however, a rather perilous Stargazer rite that some have learned in case their caern is threatened and beyond the ability of the guardians to protect it. With this rite, a Stargazer may take the powerful heart of the caern into her own heart and secret it away from the place so its power may be planted anew, or at least added to the strength of an already existing caern. In performing the rite, a single Stargazer must first successfully perform the Rite of the Opened Caern. Once this is complete, the werewolf must then consume some part of the land surrounding the caern — this may be soil from the ground, water from a lake, or even pieces of brick or concrete if it's an urban caern. Finally, the Stargazer must plead with the patron spirit of the caern, begging and cajoling until finally the caern heart is relinquished for a time, taken deep into the Stargazer's own still-beating organ. But this rite carries with it an exhausting price; the Stargazer who takes this burden unto herself will die soon after performing the rite, as her flesh is simply too frail tor handle the potent energies that accompany a caern's own spirit. Her time to affix the caern's heart back to the flesh of the Emerald Mother is severely limited. Knowledge of this rite is exceedingly rare.
System: As directed, the Stargazer must first successfully open the caern using the Rite of the Opened Caern. After consuming some part of the caern, the player must roll for the Stargazer to engage in a contest of pleas and supplications versus the caern's patron spirit. The player rolls the ritemaster's Charisma + Rituals, with a difficulty of the caern's rating + 4. Even a single success allows the caern heart to be "carried" by the Stargazer, but every success increases the time the Stargazer may "carry" the caern with her. One success allows the Stargazer to hold the caern spirit within for a number of hours to 10 minus the caern's rating. Every success beyond the first on the roll allows for one full day to be added onto the time allowed. If the Stargazer attempts to keep the caern within past this "time limit," she takes one unsoakable aggravated level of damage per hour until she dies. If the Stargazer dies, the caern dies and cannot be recovered.
"Dropping" the caern heart into a new location requires that a number of permanent Gnosis be spent equal tot he caern's rating. If the Stargazer does not have the requisite Gnosis to spend, she may take two aggravated levels per one Gnosis point missing. She must still spend at least one permanent Gnosis point in this manner, however, or the caern is not re-anchored to a new location. At any time during the "carrying" of the caern's heart, the Stargazer may simply reject the caern spirit and eject it from her form without any roll or Gnosis expenditure — but this unequivocally destroys the caern, and it may never return.

Rites of Death
Vigor of the Departed
Level Two
Two things are important to many Stargazers: the veneration of their ancestry and the tamping down of uncontrollable Rage. This ritual is an answer, somewhat, to both of these presumed Stargazer "duties."
With this rite (which can only be performed under the werewolf's own birth moon) a Stargazer calls upon his ancestors to help him understand some mastery (however temporary) over his anger, wrath, and fury. The Garou must sit in the middle of an empty room, or if outdoors must perform the rite where there are no people within sight. Then, the Stargazer must concoct a makeshift shrine to his ancestors, cobbled together of items that were important to his ancestors or somehow symbolize the departed. Finally, the Garou must also place two slips of paper, one in each palm. On the slips of paper, called kangshin, there must be written a list of her ancestor's names. From there, the Stargazer meditates upon her antecedents, and seeks enlightenment from those who have come from him.
Come morning, the werewolf will find that his Rage has been lessened. The primal fury within has been dampened, and until the next dawn of his auspice moon, the Stargazer can try to deny any frenzy with a simple memory of her ancestor's wisdom. The vigor of the departed is thus transferred, for a short time, to the Garou.
System: The Stargazer must perform this rite as described above. The player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 8). If even one success is obtained, the rite is successful. When successful, the Stargazer can attempt to deny any potential frenzy that may happen until the next rise of his auspice moon. The player may re-roll any failed frenzy check called for during this period; the results of the second roll stand. If the roll to perform the rite fails, nothing happens. If the roll botches, the Stargazer enters an instant frenzy that lasts for the remainder of the scene. This rite only functions when performed under the Stargazer's own birth moon.

Bringing Back the Soul
Level Two
Also called the "Rite of Lalu-chilu," this rite is meant to help a Stargazer track the next incarnation of another of his tribe. Incarnations are important to the Stargazers — when one dies, it's believed that, while their spirit may linger for a time, the Emerald Mother returns them quickly to the world to do her work once again. The quandary is then, so why aren't there the same number of Stargazers now as there were in the beginning? The problem is, new Garou aren't being born. The body is like a vessel, and while in the womb it sits, vacant of the ancestral incarnation. But the biology is already determined. While the ancestral spirit may "become" the new child, that new child is more than likely not a Stargazer werewolf. Hence, the incarnations are still being born, but into the bodies of kin, not Garou.
To perform this rite, the ritemaster must be present at the death of the Stargazer whose soul he wishes to track. Once the Garou has departed, this rite must be performed within twelve hours, or it will provide no answers. The one performing the rite mixes some of the fallen Garou's blood in a bowl with equal parts milk. The liquid must be stirred by the ritemaster's own fingers or hands, and then a piece of cake or bread must be soaked thoroughly in the mixture. The ritemaster eats the bread or cake, and when next he sleeps, he will be granted a vision of the newborn meant to house the next incarnation of the dead Stargazer. He will also be given a location, but no name or other pertinent information. Many Garou performing this will then seek out the newborn caught up in this transmigration of souls in the hopes that a kin-fetch spirit will be there and the child will be Garou.
System: The Stargazer must enact the rite as described above, with all conditions present. The player rolls Perceptions + Rituals, and the difficulty of the roll is the departed Garou's permanent Rage score. The greater the successes, the longer the vision. This allows the ritemaster to more clearly see details of the identity (or other pertinent information) regarding the child. At the Storyteller's behest, the player can roll a Perception + Investigation roll, with the difficulty being 10 minus the number of successes gained on the roll to perform the rite. This roll can allow the Stargazer to pick up on key details that may help her further track the child. Note that any presence of this rite does not guarantee that any given Stargazer will undergo a second incarnation; if all Stargazers reincarnated, the tribe would have no ancestor-spirits.

Mystic Rites
Rite of Knowing
Level Two
The Stargazers, ever on a quest to answer the riddles of the cosmos, often turn to divination to puzzle out some of the more oblique conundrums of the universe — sometimes to even solve those quarantines that haven't yet been asked. There are many forms of divination available to Stargazers (or to anybody, really). Sciomancy is divination by shadows or darkness. Divination by smoke is called Capnomancy. Onomancy is the divination by the letters in a person's name. Tephramancy is divination by ashes, catoptromancy is divination by mirrors, and austromancy is divination using the wind as a guide. There are other popular divination tools, as well. The chosen form of divination ultimately doesn't matter, only that the Stargazer uses it and believes in it. The Stargazer lays out her divination tools as proper (which may involve throwing bones, dice, or standing on a peak and examining the winds). The items before her then literally become infused with their spiritual counterparts. Dice may be rolling of their own accord, the winds may be blowing and whispering in the Stargazer's ear, and ashes may hang suspended in the air and reveal a shadowy face. Secret truths are imparted to the Stargazer, though they are not particularly clear at first.
System: The ritemaster rolls Wits + Ritual (difficulty 7). She must perform the divination for at least the scope of an entire scene. Each success on the roll to perform the rite allows her to "collect" an additional Enigmas die that may be used at a later time. These added bonus dice do not need to used all at once. (For instance, Matthias Heavens-Turning performs the rite and achieves four successes will translate into added dice for later Enigmas rolls. The next day he is trying to solve a particularly frustrating riddle given to him by his mentor, so he uses three of the four dice then. The following night he is stargazing, seeking truth about his own mission from the celestial bodies, and he adds his final bonus die to the Enigmas roll called for by the Storyteller). The additional dice, if unused after 24 hours, go away. A Stargazer can only perform this rite once in a given week, and thus may not accumulate further bonuses by performing this rite several times in a row.

Rite of the Seed of Desire
Level Three
Desire, in and of itself, is unavoidable. Everybody wants something, and few Stargazers deny this. However, many Stargazers also openly deny their own desires, giving in only to the beneficial desires of others (or the desires of the world). Lust, Greed, gluttony — these traditional "sins" are also the seeds of desire that afflict all. Stargazers would seem the model of desire denial, and many of them are. Unfortunately, however, this repression also lends itself to the theory that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and sometimes tamping down one's own desire desires causes them to pop up later at twice the strength. The longer one denies, sometimes the harder it is to deny the sweet succor of want.
This ritual helps curtail that, to a degree. When performed, it literally gives spiritual form to a Stargazer's desires, in the form of an Urge-Spirit. In the Umbra, around the Stargazer, the Urge-Spirit manifests and can thus be communicated with, defeated, or even bound into a fetish. If the spirit is thus diminished, so are the Stargazer's prevalent "bad" desires. This rite is only performed on those Stargazers found truly desirous of negative things, however. For instance, a Stargazer with a bad chocolate habit or unrequited love in his heart doesn't usually count as one who is besieged by negative urges. Only those Stargazers who are plagued by grievous desires (or who have already given into them) are the subject of this rite. A Stargazer who is addicted to pain medication (or, alternatively, pain) is a good choice, as is a Stargazer with a dangerous love of money, women, or alcohol.
The ritemaster must spend at least eight hours in the company of the "afflicted." After the eight hours is complete, the ritemaster must speak the mantra of desire (Aum-Klim) over the subject before blowing bone dust in the subject's face.
System: The rite must be performed as above. The player rolls Charisma + Rituals. The difficulty begins at 10, and is reduced by the number of Willpower points spent. Both the ritemaster and the subject of this rite can spend Willpower to reduce the difficulty of this roll. The successes achieved determine the temperament and demeanor of the Urge-spirit that manifests according to the following results:
Successes / Effects
1 / Spirit comes eventually and is initially hostile
2 / Spirit manifests quickly, but is still initially hostile
3 / Spirit comes immediately and is neutral
4 / Spirit comes immediately and is passively benign
5 / Spirit comes immediately and is friendly
If the roll botches, there are disastrous consequences. The Urge-spirit doesn't manifest, but becomes Wyrm taint that afflicts both subject and ritemaster.
If the Urge-spirit is successfully summoned and dealt with, the subject is "clean" of the negative desire (although it may grow strong again if unchecked). If the spirit isn't successfully dealt with and is allowed to escape and return "home" to the Stargazer at the end of the scene, neither the Stargazer nor the ritemaster may not claim Wisdom renown that month. The Urge-Spirit has the following Traits:
Willpower 7, Rage 9, Gnosis 5, Essence 20-30
Charms: Materialize, Blast, Corruption

Punishment Rites
Pilgrimage of Non-Being
Level Four
This rite is forced upon a Stargazer who has committed a grievous sin against sept or tribe. It is reserved for one who has brought deep shame to himself and others. The Stargazer's hands are bound, and he is lead over a period of months to a number of Stargazer holy places. At each caern, the offending Garou must eat ashes while the caern guardians condemn and then ignore the Stargazer. At the final caern, upon completing this grim pilgrimage, the Stargazer's entire identity and memory fall away, toppling like a house of cards that can never be rebuilt. He becomes a tabula rasa, a clean slate, unable to regain the most simple and intimate of memories — not even his own name.
Most of the tribe views this rite as the utmost of punishments, but a rare few view it as a reward. Some believe that one of the highest states of being is actually a state of non-being, and they seek to have this rite performed upon them so that their souls may transcend. There is even a lesser held belief that this rite is useful for curing Harano; however, to make that worthwhile, one would have to find a way to allow the old memories and identity to resurface after the rite is completed, but as yet, nobody has come forth with a means to make that happen.
System: The ritemaster must travel with the Stargazer to be punished, and must escort him to a number of caerns equal to the offender's Rage score. The punished must be taken to the very heart of each caern, where each guardian congregates, aiding in the ritual as defined above. Once this pilgrimage is completed and all caerns have been visited accordingly, the player rolls Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty of the offender's current Rank + 4). If successful, the punished Garou loses all Renown, and must start anew. He also loses his identity and all the memories associated with it. All other Traits, however, remain the same. If this rite fails, it's assumed to be a sign from the Emerald Mother that the offending Stargazer can be redeemed by other means. Needless to say, due to the involved nature of this rite and the number of locations it requires, it is best handled during downtime, and the Storyteller is highly encouraged to make it as memorable as possible — this may well be the offending Stargazer's last hurrah, in this identity at least.

Minor Rites
Tea Ceremony
Minor Rite
The Stargazer tea ceremony is both a social occasion and a meditation practice. It allows a Stargazer to center herself, both through uncomplicated conversation and through the calming simplicity of drinking hot tea.
System: The Stargazer must engage in the tea ceremony with at least one other person (they need not be a Garou) once a day for an entire lunar cycle. Should the Stargazer do so, she gains an extra die on all rolls involving understanding the motivations and desires of others. If the Garou misses even a single day's ceremony, she must start anew during the next lunar cycle.

Ancestor Veneration
Minor Rite
As has been stated, Stargazers are often closer to their forebears and spiritual ancestors than most other Garou. They tend to erect and maintain sometimes simple, other times elaborate shrines to their antecedents, hoping to gain favor from them and elevate them above their once-living stations. Many Stargazers sit at these constructed shrines and pray in an effort to venerate their ancestors, partially to honor them, and partially to gain a greater connection to them.
System: The Stargazer's shrine must be composed of items appropriate to their ancestors — ancestral items, pictures, writings, or anything else that elicits an honorable and wise memory of them. If the Stargazer worships and pray sat the shrine for at least an hour every day, for a month, he may reroll one die on any Ancestors roll (the second result stands, however) provided he makes an effort to continue venerating his ancestors daily.

Older Brother Rites
Since rites are the Garou's sacred ceremonies and celebrations, Older Brothers take great joy and pride in performing these rituals. Some rites are held to evoke a certain mood or connection among werewolves. Others ask for a specific blessing or aid from spiritual allies. Rites are important to Older Brother because they keep memories of ancestors and tradition vibrant and strong, despite the changes in the tribe through the long years. Even so-called minor rites are practiced regularly by cub and elder, for such elemental rituals are considered fundamental to building the trust necessary for strong relationships between Garou and spirit. Even common rites (such as the Moot Rite) have a "flavor" unique to Older Brother; many of those listed below are rarely shared with Wyrmcomer tribes.

ST Tweaks: We won't be enforcing Ritual Endurance from the Tribebook, and have removed Mockery Curing Way from being available IC.

Rites of Accord
Rites of Accord are specifically made for maintaining harmony and balance, concepts integral to several of the cultural traditions within the Older Brother's tribe. Though they are warriors to the core, Older Brothers do not believe in unnecessary conflict, particularly among Garou.

Rite of Balance
Level Three
The Triat is in everyone, but sometimes one aspect touches a person more strongly than another. This imbalance manifests in many ways, from a Wyld-fed madness to Wyrm-spawned depression or the joyless routine of the Weaver. Packs delving into Cyberrealms for extended periods or conducting raids on Black Spiral Dancer Hives come back changed, Tainted. This rite seeks to bring them back into balance, to restore the Garou's harmony with Gaia.
System: The ritual varies depending on the relative strength of each of the Triatic influences within the subject. The ritemaster and her assistants paint glyphs and sigils of power on the subject, followed by a bath in a stream to wash away the markings. Then, in a medicine lodge or other neutral place, the ritemaster conducts a series of chants and songs and drumming, using sacred herbs, bones and stones, as well as a sacred fire. At the end of the rite, the player rolls Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7, higher if the Taint is particularly strong). Three successes completely restore the balance within the subject, while fewer successes indicate partial rebalancing. In addition, the untainted subject regains a temporary Willpower point.
The rite lasts half a day and usually begins at sunrise or sunset. For particularly strong Taints, the rite may be repeated up to three times (but must be held consecutively, with no one leaving the lodge). At the beginning of each repetition, the ritemaster must make a successful Stamina + Rituals roll (difficulty 6).
Note that when a Taint runs more deeply, performing this rite alone won't cure it. taints bought as Merits or Flaws must be bought off with experience points, and usually require a more rigorous treatment (often a quest to a sacred place of balance). This rite treats symptoms — a Triatic Imbalance — without addressing the cause. Someone recently exposed to Wyrmish spiritual energies could be brought into balance, while a Fomori still possessed by a Bane would regain his Taint immediately.

Mystic Rites
Mystic Rites focus on the relationship between werewolves and spirits. They also strengthen the connection a werewolf has with the Umbra. Since the Older Brothers consider themselves particularly protective of the spirit world, these rites are widely used among the tribe.

Rite of the Sacred Fire
Level One
The sacred fire is a focal point of spiritual life in many septs, for like the heart of the caern it connects the physical and spirit realms — the flame burns in both. Sacred fires are tended with reverence in medicine lodges or caves, or more rarely outside — spirits are attracted to them like the proverbial moths to a flame, so such a fire would make a site pretty crowded even for an Older Brother caern. Building a sacred fire in turn increases the effectiveness of other mystic endeavors.
A sacred fire is to be treated with respect. While an individual may remake sacred fires at need, it is considered more honorable to maintain one. Many septs maintain the fire for a year at a stretch, while others have kept theirs burning for years or even generations.
System: The fire is built using sanctified materials (including a small pinch of spiritually active tobacco) and started with flint sparks or with wood friction — never a lighter or match. The base of the fire consists of four logs that point in the cardinal directions. At the moment of lighting, the Garou expends a Gnosis point and makes a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty is the local gauntlet rating). Each additional Gnosis point spent lowers the difficulty by one. If successful, the flame ignites in the Penumbra and all Mystic Rites or other Rites dealing with spirits (such as Contrition) may be performed at a -1 difficulty per two successes (after the first). At the Storyteller's option, other spirit dealings may go more smoothly, for the building of the fire indicates a respect for the old traditions and knowledge of the ancient pacts between spirit and Garou. The area covered by this rite is typically as far as the flame's heat can be felt (a medium-sized room or medicine lodge counts). The sacred fire lasts for as long as it is tended with sanctified materials.

Prayer of the Seeking
Level One
This is actually a modified (and much more complex) Prayer for the Prey, which is only taught to Horned Serpent's children. Before a hunt for a specific item of lore or magic (such as a lost fetish or tome), the Garou prays while holding an attuned object (usually a water snake skin or, for the fortunate, a Horned Serpent scale). If successful, the Older Brother finds the search much easier. If the attuned focus is lost, a new one must be found and attuned in order for the rite to work; attuned foci are personal and cannot be transferred. Smart Garou usually give some token of their gratitude for particularly successful uses of this rite.
System: Initial attunement of an ordinary focus requires the expenditure of a temporary Gnosis point; a Horned Serpent scale is already considered attuned to the owner. Before the search begins, the Garou prays to Great Horned Serpent while holding the focus; the player makes a Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7, or 6 if the focus is a Horned Serpent scale). For every two successes, the player may add one die to any Enigmas, Investigation, or Occult roll related to the search for the object in question. Alternately, in difficult cases the Storyteller may drop hints in the form of omens, waking visions or intuitive leaps to get the ball rolling. The object must be of lore or magical value. The bonus ends when the Garou diverts from the quest for any reason (including sleep or eating, not including fighting guards who bar the Garou's path to the goal).

Rite of the Spirit Cage
Level Three
The Older Brothers believe that killing a spirit, even a Bane, is not always the best thing to do — particularly when time is needed to question, bargain with or even bind said entity. This rite allows the Older Brother to trap a spirit in a cage of energy.
System: The Older Brother creates a circle (usually less than 9 feet in diameter) in the physical realm. The circle is often made of flint or obsidian chips, but sometimes of candles or burning wood. Succeeding in the Wits + Rituals roll (difficulty 7) "primes" the cage; when the spirit has been lured to the circle, the ritemaster spends a Gnosis to spring the trap. The Penumbral air around the spirit comes alive with spiritual representations of the circle — in the above examples, that would be rapidly whirling slivers of obsidian or leaping tongues of flame. The barrier inhibits the use of most Charms.
To push through the barrier, the captive has to score more successes on a Rage roll (difficulty is the ritemaster's Wits + Rituals) than the ritemaster had. Even if it manages to push through it, it suffers Aggravated damage equal to the ritemaster's successes. This works both ways. Garou cannot reach the circle without any damage, although the ritemaster can drop the cage at any time.
The rite lasts an hour per success, and each additional Gnosis contributed extends the duration by an hour. However, if the circle is disturbed (a candle flickers out or the boundary is broken), the power collapses.

Rite of Invitation to the Ancestors
Level Four
Most often used in conjunction with the Spirit's Horse Gift, this rite readies a moot or council of Older Brothers to welcome an ancestor spirit into its midst. Usually, the werewolves sing and dance to honor the tribal ancestors. Special foods are eaten, and invocations of sacred words may be made to the sun, moon, or other natural elements, depending on the cultural backgrounds of the Older Brother. Some werewolves use this rite without the Gift of Spirit's Horse, to honor their ancestors and fallen heroes.
System: While no rolls are needed, some werewolves expend Gnosis as an offering to their ancestors.

Rite of Bane Binding
Level Five
One of the Older Brothers' most important self-appointed tasks is the capture and binding of powerful Banes that, for whatever reason, cannot be destroyed. The Older Brother performing this rite consider it one of the most sacred and dangerous of all their mystical duties; they know the chances are great that many will die in completing the ritual, so it is never undertaken without serious forethought.
System: The ritemaster begins by leading participants through a ritual chant and dance intended to subdue the Bane. All the werewolves then sacrifice Gnosis (usually man points) so the ritemaster may weave a net of power to contain the Bane; if all Gnosis is expended, then Willpower and finally Stamina is spent to successfully complete the rite. The ritemaster's player then rolls Wits + Rituals, difficulty 9. For every 20 points of combined Gnosis, Willpower, and Stamina spent, the difficulty drops by one, to a minimum of difficulty 7.
One success is needed to create the cage that holds the Bane; additional successes add to the strength of the Bane's confinement. Should the ritemaster's player fail the roll, the character remains alive, but the Bane is not contained, and is extremely angry. A botch indicates the immediate and messy death of the ritemaster. All players must also make a roll on their characters' current Stamina. Even one success at the same difficulty indicates they survive, but are likely exhausted. A failure means the werewolf dies from the rigors of participating in the rite. Needless to say, living or dead, participants in this rite deserve a good measure of Renown for their bravery and honor. Note that while this Rite works for many powerful Banes, the greatest spiritual evils (such as the Storm Eater) require still more powerful rites, which are specific to the individual Bane.

Mockery Curing Way
Level Five
While it exists in canon, it doesn't exist outside of a single pack. Just use the gift Exorcism.

Younger Brothers Rites

Siege Tweaks: Rite of the Great Bear exists only as a flavor modification on the Rite of the Great Hunt, and has not been included here. Rite of the Vipers exist in canon, but will not be used in this chronicle. Rite of Luna's Answer does not exist in the canon of this universe.

Rites of Accord
Song of the Longest Night
Even the wild spirit of Great Winter Wind grows weary, after eons of battle against the ever-encroaching madness of the Wyrm and the Weaver. His cold fury, like all sources of Gaia's might, needs renewal and respite in order that he continue to guide and guard his children. In gratitude for the blessings he grants his tribe, for the enduring strength he lends them, once every year, Winter Wind 's children offer to him the gift of rest. On the longest night of the winter, all Younger Brothers gather respectfully at their closest caern, or simply in a place of safety with their pack. Upon the setting of the sun and the rise of Luna, the Garou joins their voices together in a howling lullaby, serenading Winter Storm into his only night of sleep. The sound of these gentle, sustained and soothing howls allows him to rest in the bosom of Gaia, replenishing himself from the uncorrupted and chaotic fount of the Wyld. Meanwhile, Winter Storm's children remain quiet and awake, keeping a vigil through darkness, protecting their Kinfolk and themselves. On Midwinter morning, when the sun rises, the Garou waken Great Winter Storm with a howl of welcome and joy akin to the Cry of Elation, welcoming him back with pride and singing the glories of the coming year. Then the party begins; all should rejoice with feasting, merrymaking, brawling, and reveling in their bonds to each other and to Great Winter Storm. Often Galliards regale their Kin with stories of exceptional bravery, gratitude, and wisdom. Camp celebrations have been known to last for several days. Usually all activities and travel come to a stop on the Longest Night, and it is considered a damnable crime to perform any rites or use any Gifts that would need Winter Storm's attention or participation. Winter Storm himself deals with the foolish Garou who wakes him before dawn immediately and severely, if other werewolves don't get to her first. Interrupting Great Winter Storm's sleep may endanger the lives and spirits of the entire tribe — nobody knows for sure what horrible things may happen, though, because so far no one has been quite that stupid.
System: In addition to the usual roll of Charisma + Rituals made by the ritemaster at a difficulty level of 6, in order to mark the beginning of the rite, every participating Garou has the option of spending a point of Gnosis, as their personal offering of energy to aid in Great Winter Storm's rejuvenation. Whether Winter Storm returns the favor later remains at the Storyteller's discretion.

Rite of the Heavy Heart
Level Three
This rite is generally performed after the completion of any rite where a Garou is killed for her transgressions, in an attempt to restore Gaia's balance to the tribe. For example, the rite's ameliorating effects are cast upon a pack or sept after the conclusion of the Hunt of a cannibal Garou, the Rite of the Vipers, Gaia's Vengeful Teeth, or the Summoning of the Tupilaq. The participants chant to Gaia and Great Winter Storm their regret for the killing of a brother or sister; regardless of the fact that she deserved to die, the loss of a Garou life is not a thing to celebrate. No matter how difficult it may be, each werewolf at the rite should recite something redeeming, worthwhile, or memorable about the dead Garou. The ritemaster and the participants then declare to the spirits their sorrow that they were unable to lead the traitor back from her offending path, and request that Gaia bear the traitor's spirit into the afterlife of the ancestors with forgiveness and relief from shame.
System: The ritemaster spends one point of Gnosis to awaken an untouched talen of Gaia, symbolizing the purity that is sought, and then makes a Charisma + Rituals roll at a difficulty 8. Al participants int he rite also spend one point of Gnosis. Finally, at a difficulty of the Storyteller's discretion, each participant should roll their Charisma + Empathy, in order to manage a sincere offering-tale for the redemption of the traitor Garou's spirit.

Rite of the Second Birth
Level Five, Restricted
This rarest of ceremonies is performed in order to absolve a cannibal Garou of their sin and remove the taint of their actions, at the cost of all their Rank and Renown. Because of the difficulty in completing this rite, and the ghastly nature of the situation itself, it is seldom finished, always performed in utter secrecy, and even more seldom discussed. Many ritemasters have argued that the risk of redeeming a cannibal can never be outweighed by the cannibal's usefulness to the pack or tribe. It is generally decided, in a secret Council of Second Birth, that the Garou in question possesses an ability or asset that is absolutely vital to the survival of the tribe. Only when this Council has come to this conclusion will the rite be prepared. The details of the rite are simple in contrast to the politics surrounding it. At he full moon, the cannibal Garou is brought blindfolded, bound, and gagged to the center of a concealed earthen circle. If the circle is discovered by anyone outside of the rite's council, the area is considered polluted and the rite fails. This ritual area must have been purified and consecrated to Gaia nightly over the course of one entire lunar month, using the Rite of Cleansing , the smoke of burnt birch or willow branches, and copious amounts of blood from two different ritemasters. One of the ritemasters howls the transgressions of the cannibal Garou in a Curse of Ignominy, standing at the westernmost point of the circle, reviling the villain's deeds with discordant disdain. Simultaneously, the other ritemaster performs a Howl of Introduction from the easternmost point, reciting the new identity that the Garou will assume, assigning all the committed signs to the previous, vile persona. Both howls must end at precisely the same time. At this moment the target of the rite, for all intents and purposes, has his Wyrm Taint torn out by the hand of Gaia. Note that this taint remains a coherent spirit-thing in the nearby Umbra: it may evaporate, manifest as a spirit of some kind, or affix itself to another target, as befits the Storyteller's needs.
System: At the conclusion of the chanting, the ritemaster must succeed in a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 4 + the current rank of the subject. While only one success is needed for the rite to have effect, the number of successes afterwards will denote the potency and aggression of the Wyrm entity torn out of the cannibal. A single success may produce a warped, ravenous bane that wreaks havoc in the umbra, while five or more may result in the quick evaporation of the entity. This reborn Garou (always an Ahroun) can only access the powers and Gifts that a cliath could access. He retains any Gifts of his previous auspice, but any further gifts of that Auspice are now considered Out-of-Auspice.

Caern Rites
Rite of the Fire Dance
Level Two
To renew the power residing in a caern of Healing, werewolves may perform this rite, which counteracts the effects of pain and allows the cooling powers of a Water elemental or other spirit to rise further to the surface. The ritemaster should prepare a layer of burning coals, wood chips, peat, moss, or caribou droppings. The participating werewolves then dance upon the fire, howling and capering, proudly declaring their imperviousness to the searing heat. Sometimes the dancers smear their paws or feet with layers of white clay, if such can be had, to prevent burns and blisters. They can also chew the leaves of several herbs known to reduce pain. Only these worldly natural gifts of Gaia, such as plants, animals, earth, or wind may be used to protect a dancer form being burned. Mystical aids only drain more power, and so a fire dancer should never use another Gift, fetish, talen, or other rite to guard her form the fire. Young Brothers believe that they should enact this rite on the night of the 13th full moon of each year.
System: A fire dancer must roll her Stamina + Rituals successfully to take part in the rite without damaging herself. Together all the dancers must spend more combined Gnosis than five times the current level of the caern, in order to refresh the caern's power. It is considered particularly good luck if the ritemaster cannot keep the fires lit once the rite has begun.

Rites of Death
Rite of Remembrance
Level One
To perform this rite, the werewolves in mourning for a dead Garou gather in solemnity. Occasionally, human Kinfolk are invited to join, if they were particularly close tot he departed Garou, or of her bloodline. Everyone in attendance at the rite should bring with them an object or item: one that belonged to the deceased, was given to them by the deceased, or commemorates something about her life and deeds. Then, during the rite, each participant should step forward and display the item, relating its story. The objects are often collected into a medicine bundle, or stored in a ritually carved box or chest, although what is done with the items varies from tribe to tribe. The items and the sadness should all be sacrificed, regardless. The box can be burnt, sending the collected smoke of all the memories onto the wind, into the next world along with the spirit of the dead Garou; or the box can be buried for a period of time (usually a lunar year) until the pain of mourning has lessened, then unearthed to signify the continuance of life, before being destroyed. The place where the box is buried is considered sacred, like a caern, for the duration of its interment.
System: The ritemaster indicates who is to tell their story, usually in order of rank, from lowest to highest. Enemies of the deceased Garou have been known to attend a Rite of Remembrance. Unlike a simple Gathering or the Departed, which sometimes can make a connection tot he spirit world through the power of released emotion, this is a rite performed chiefly to aid in the grieving of the living, and does not influence the spirits of the dead or any other ancestor-spirits.

Rite of the Sin-Eater
Level Two
Performing this rite allows the ritemaster to take into herself, literally, the outstanding issues or sins of a restless spirit or ghost. She does this by meditating and summoning the spirit, binding it into a prepared piece of food, and eating it. She then calls out the name of the ghost and chants aloud the essence of the unsolved matter, declaring that she has taken the matter upon herself to settle. The ritemaster is then compelled to right whatever wrongs keep the ghost from passing on peacefully. Only when the matter is resolved can the spirit find its way to its deserved next life in the afterworld. Since the ghost in question usually brings itself to someone's attention through its unquiet nature, it is much easier for a mystic to summon it. However, depending on how unsettled the spirit is, it may be conversely much more difficult to coerce it to cooperate with the rite, admit that it cannot solve the problem itself, and allow itself to be bound and consumed. Often other trusted kin of the spirit attend this ceremony and help the ritemaster to convince the ghost that the rite can help it.
System: The ritemaster does not need to pierce the Gauntlet or enter the Umbra, as in most Mystic rites such as the Rite of Summoning, but she does need to spend a point of Gnosis in order to contact the spirit. The Storyteller should determine ahead of time what crime or sin has kept the ghost from passing on to the lands of its ancestors, and what clues this rite might provide the sin-eater to aid it. To bind the ghost to the piece of food, she must successfully make a Charisma + Intimidation (or Empathy) roll against the difficulty of the ghost's Willpower. Once the binding has been achieved and the ritemaster has consumed the food, she makes a Charisma + Rituals roll against the difficulty of the ghost's Rage. The more successes she rolls, the easier it for her to absolve the sin or find the source of the problem and solve it, restoring all things to their natural balance.

Right of the Nightshade
Level Four
The Garou participating in this rite must all partake of a carefully brewed tea that contains a considerable amount of a particular narcotic, usually including nightshade as one of the ingredients. This sends all who drink it into a state of Reaching — piercing the Gauntlet and allowing the Near Umbra to become more accessible — that generally lasts for at least three days. The ritemaster and the participants must then focus their attention upon a particular object that is placed at the center of a ritual circle. The ritemaster calls upon Young Brother ancestor-spirits, asking them to tell the story of the object, from its birth until the current time. In this way, the rite can chain together a history of whoever touched the object, what the object was used for, or what it saw, heard, or experienced. If the object is the focus of a very powerful emotion or meaningful event, the ancestor-spirits are more likely to retrieve and share more of their memories.
System: Anyone drinking the poisonous nightshade tea automatically spends a point of Gnosis and loses a Health Level. The ritual participants must spend at least 6 Gnosis points to discover any useful information about the object. The success of the rite is dependent on the Gauntlet rating of the place where the rite is being performed. The ritemaster must match this number with an extended test of Charisma + Rituals. If she does not make this roll, she may spend a point of Health and a point of Gnosis to add an additional success. As the rite continues, the ritemaster may make one roll on this extended test every hour.

Mystic Rites
Rite of the Sun Dance
Level Two
A worthy Younger Brother can make contact with the spirit-world without the use of drugs or smoke, driving herself into a state of Reaching simply by enduring pain. At the center of a caern or Glade, the participant must carve and erect a wooden totem pole, decorating it with long straps of rawhide or caribou skin. A the top of the pole, a caribou skull should be affixed, facing northwards. At the end of each strap hangs a sharpened hook, sometimes made of sliver. At sunrise, the ritemaster, or the Garou who will undergo the rite, allows the hooks to be fastened into her flesh. Once the hooks are secured, the participants encourage the werewolf with a Howl of Introduction, announcing her intentions to Helios and the spirit world. Then they depart, leaving her alone, and the Sun Dance begins. Frequently, the Garou also cuts or otherwise mutilates herself repeatedly for a maximum amount of pain, offering up her blood in a sacrifice to Gaia and Great Winter Storm. The Dance usually lasts until the werewolf rips free of the hooks or otherwise collapses, although the longer she can continue through the pain and blood loss, the more power she can draw to herself.
System: The ritemaster or the invoking Garou makes a Charisma + Rituals roll to announce the rite to the Umbra. She then makes a Gnosis roll, and any successes above the single one required add to the effectiveness of the rite, which endows the Garou with increased blessings of Helios. Whenever the sun shines upon her, for the remainder of the month, she is guarded by mystic spirits of Helios, the power level of the summoned constrained by the difficulty level of the rite, as determined by the Storyteller (as in the Rite of Summoning):
Spirit Type / Difficulty
Gaffling / 4
Jaggling / 5
Avatar / 6
Incarna / 8-9
Avatar of Helios / 10
Additionally, Garou who fully take part in this rite may claim it as Glory Renown for the month, as well as gaining an additional die to Social dice pools when interacting with any of Helios' brood.

Rite of Deliverance
Level Three
Like the Gift of Wormwood's Balance, this rite is performed so that Garou close to each other in a pack may depend upon each other to defeat the poison of the Wyrm. However, the spirit of Great Winter Storm can bestow an even greater strength upon the bonds among his tribe. During this rite, the ritemaster may learn to combat Derangements that another Younger Brother close to her may possess — even the Derangements of a Crinos-born, although she must be of Younger Brother blood. The two Younger Brothers must belong to the same pack, and both the characters must have fought together in a battle where the werewolf's Derangement has taken hold and caused a defeat to their pack or sept. A controlled situation is set up, preferably with the target Garou's knowledge, to cause her to become Deranged. At her side, offering complete trust, the ritemaster as deliverer guides them both through the ritual, fully sharing in and enduring the effects of this Derangement alongside her, forging a link between them through the Umbra. Through this bond, the deliverer forces her will upon the Derangement, subduing it herself, and then lends courage and support, aiding the Deranged character to do the same. When the effect of the Derangement has been mastered, the two linked Garou both complete the ritual by calling upon the spirits of Gaia and Great Winter Wind and offering thanks.
System: The rite itself begins with the triggering of the Derangement. The ritemaster then spends a point of Gnosis and makes a Wits + Rituals roll against her target's Willpower, to share the Derangement. Finally, the ritemaster must then make a successful Willpower roll of her own (difficulty 5) to gain enough control to complete the rite. For every failure, the difficulty rises by one point. If she succeeds, the target character may automatically resist her Derangement for the next lunar month. If the rite should fail, then the ritemaster absorbs the target's Derangement, instead, for the same period of time.

Rite of Luna's Answer
This rite does not exist in Siege's canon.

Rites of Punishment
Rite of Counting Coup
Level Two
At the new moon, the ritemaster must carve a wooden rod or wand, preferably from the trunk of an ash tree or a pine tree. The rod must be the length of her own forearm, from tip of the elbow to tip of the longest claw. Into the rod, the ritemaster must carve a message of punishment, detailing either with symbols or words the transgressions of the Garou to be punished. Three eagle feathers are sometimes tied to the end of the rod, using a strip of leather or sinew. The ritemaster may keep this rod, or award it to someone who has been wronged by the werewolf in question. To complete the rite, she only needs to tap the target Garou on the shoulder or head with the rod. The taking of this coup triggers deep submission and remorse in the punished Garou, lessening their Renown, an effect that is not relieved until the next new moon.
System: The ritemaster must make the standard Charisma + Rituals roll at a difficulty of 7. The act of counting coup must take place in public. If the punished Garou is guilty, they may not claim renown for that month. Similarly, the coup-giver and/or the ritemaster may absolutely claim Honor for the month for participation in this rite. However, if the Garou is not guilty of the deeds that have been inscribed onto the coup, it breaks when she takes the coup, and the ritemaster and wielder of the wand suffer a scar across their lips denoting their dishonor that will not heal until the next new moon.

Summon the Tupilaq
This rite summons a horrible hunter spirit known as the Tupilaq to hunt down and slaughter its quarry. The ritemaster must ascertain, through the successful completion of another Rite of Punishment of lower level, that the traitor Garou is worthy of death. Because of the horrible nature of this rite, it is generally reserved only for those who commit the worst offenses, such as eating the flesh of humans or wolves, openly ignoring an honorable surrender, or damaging or destroying a caern. The Tupilaq is summoned by assembling a group of accusers, each of whom offer their own knowledge of the traitor's transgressions during the rite, either aloud or silently.
System: The ritemaster must make a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 7, and all other participants in the rite must spend a point of Gnosis to contribute to the rite. Once the Tupilaq has been unleashed, nothing keeps it from killing its quarry.
The Tupilaq: This spirit is a remorseless, unstoppable predator, completely single-minded in its pursuit of the wretch that has been selected as its prey. It obeys the desires of Great Winter Storm and Gaia alone, who decide if the targeted Garou has gone astray from the pack and the tribe, beyond any redemption or forgiveness. The Tupilaq always wears the shambling skin of a wolf, but the jumbles of bones inside it are never Garou, signifying the complete alienation of its target. Everything about the Spirit is repulsive, from the vile stink it leaves in its wake, tot he blank spaces behind its empty eyeholes.
The Tupilaq does not suffer a loss of Essence if it fails its Tracking or Disorient rolls.
Willpower 10, Rage 7, Gnosis 10, Essence 24
Charms: Tracking, Materialize, Airt Sense, Disorient

Rites of Renown
Rite of the Great Bear
Level Three
You can use this rite as flavor for the seasonal Rite of the Great Hunt, but mechanics will not be used, so we're not listing it here.

Rite of the Vipers
While this rite likewise exists in canon, we will not be running it in Siege.