Rites of Renown
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 9:51 pm
Rites of Renown
These rites celebrate both the specific accomplishments of an individual werewolf and his achievement of a new station in the pack or sept. Garou long to receive such rites as much as they fear facing a rite of punishment.
System: The ritemaster’s player must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 6).
Siege Tweaks: Our Renown system varies greatly from the book in order to make tracking and earning Renown easier. As such, the systems of these rites have been changed significantly. We recognize that this makes most of these rites systematically useless (with the exception of Rite of Passage), but you're welcome to take these for flavor to flesh out your character. Most garou won't be frowned upon for not having these rites.
You can review our Renown system here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=34
Additionally, the flavor on the Rite of Passage has been modified in the interest of story and metaphysics.
Level One
Rite of Boasting
Level One
Boasting and bragging have always been a vital aspect of warrior cultures. Boasts serve to work up a fighter’s courage while putting fear into the opponent. But to truly impress, the boaster must back up his claims. This rite is more than formalized bragging, for it forces the Garou to “put up or shut up.” Before a battle or mission, the Garou boasts before all assembled that he will perform a particularly impressive feat (for example, “I will kill three Black Spirals with only my claws,” “I will scale the electrified razorwire of the refinery” or “I will be the first to reach the shield wall, there to wrest the enemy’s standard from his dead hand.”). The boast is performed in a ritual fashion, with a short recitation of lineage and a summary of glorious deeds performed to date. If he makes good on his boast, he magnifies the Glory of the act. If he fails, the resulting derision of his peers costs him Glory; boasting is only respected if you can back it up. This rite is most commonly used among the Fianna, Get of Fenris, and Younger Brother, but most tribes have some version of it.
System: Standard roll, though the difficulty may be modified by the difficulty and glory of the proposed feat — modest goals are harder to boast about than impressive lunacy. If the boast is carried through, the Garou earns an additional die on Social rolls for every two successes on the rite. If he fails and lives, he loses that amount. If he dies while carrying out his deed, there is no effect. This bonus/penalty lasts for a full lunar month from the day the boast was accomplished or failed.
A single pack may boast of a deed, but only the pack leader can perform the rite. In this case, the difficulty is increased by one, and the entire pack gains or loses the Social modifier.
Source: W20 p. 216
Rite of Wounding
Level One
This rite celebrates a Garou’s first battle wound. Each tribe marks this moment differently, but all honor this sign of courage. Many tribes rub ash into at least part of the wound to form a scar of remembrance. The Get of Fenris always end this rite with a fierce all-night revel filled with drinking and fighting. By contrast, the Children of Gaia end their Rites of Wounding with prayers for peace and understanding among all creatures.
System: Only the wounded character and the ritemaster must be present for this rite, although the werewolf’s pack and sept are normally present. This rite guarantees that this scar will never be healed, and may be claimed as a source of Glory for the month.
Source: W20 p. 217
Level Two
Rite of Accomplishment
Level Two
This rite is used to honor a werewolf and recognize the trials he has endured to attain his current standing. An elder will call the honored Garou forward, much as the Garou might be called forward should the elders want to punish or criticize her. As the Garou advances, the elder begins listing all of the things the Garou did to gain the acclaim. The Rite of Accomplishment then takes place, and anyone who wishes to speak on behalf of the Garou being honored may do so. In conclusion, the elder says something along the lines of, “She is made greater in her tribe, her sept and greater among the People everywhere. Let this be known.”
System: This rite is a formality to honor the time of the month when renown is awarded.
Source: W20 p. 217
Rite of Passage
Level Two
After a cub undergoes his First Change and becomes aware that he is a werewolf, he must undergo his Rite of Passage. Werewolves are not accorded adulthood or respect until they pass this seminal rite; they are mere cubs until that time. They are not even considered true Garou, and Shadow Lords do not refer to them as such until this rite is completed. Similarly, a cub is not a member of any tribe until his Rite of Passage. A male cub born to the Black Furies, for example, becomes a member of whatever tribe will offer him a place among them by use of this rite.
During a Rite of Passage, the cubs must complete a dangerous quest meant to prove that they have the courage, honor, and wisdom befitting a werewolf. However, few cubs undergo this rite alone. They are often joined by their pack-to-be, other cubs who are also coming of age. The ritemaster commands the would-be pack to go out into the world with a definite goal to achieve, and he forbids it to return until it has tried its best to accomplish this goal. Different tribes impose different goals, although multi-tribal septs usually reach a compromise. A Younger Brother rite often takes the form of a vision quest, while the Get of Fenris commonly send their cubs into combat with Wyrm-spawn. Invisible spirits sometimes accompany the cubs in order to watch over them and report their doings to the elders.
If the cubs succeed in their quest, a ritemaster performs this rite upon them, marking them with a pictogram that brands them as full-fledged Garou. These pictograms are usually painted, but the Red Talons carve them into the flesh of the young heroes. At the moment a cub is marked, avatars of tribal patrons will manifest to offer the cub a place in their tribe, at which point the cub may choose their tribe. If the tribe chosen is one that does not permit Pure Breed as a Background, a spiritual erosion will remove the cub's Pure Breed over the course of the next month, though spirits are usually generous enough to help enrich them otherwise.
If the cubs fail, however, they are considered second-class citizens until they are granted another opportunity to prove themselves.
System: Before the Rite of Passage, Garou are not yet Rank 1. If a Garou moves to a tribe that will cost them their Pure Breed, the player may reallocate their points in Pure Breed into different Backgrounds within the next month.
Source: W20 p. 217
Rite of Praise
Level Two
This rite honors a werewolf who has given more, risked more, and sacrificed more than necessary for the good of other Garou, Gaia, or anything related. The entire sept is gathered as the ritemaster presents the commendation, often with a token worthy of the honoree, such as a fetish, as a final reward. This rite is not used lightly, or to reward expected behavior — it honors only the greatest.
System: The ritemaster presents to the sept the deeds and actions of the chosen Garou warranting such praise. For each success on a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 6), the praised Garou gains an extra die to use for Social dice pools within the sept over the next three months.
Source: W20 p. 217
Level Three
Rite of Succession
Level Three
This rite is performed whenever a Garou takes up a position of authority or responsibility within the sept. The sept gathers to witness the succession, and the ritemaster recites a list of the werewolf's credentials and accomplishments that qualify her for the position. The successor must bring a human or animal sacrifice, appropriate for her new position, killing it in front of the ritemaster. Everyone present eats a piece of the sacrifice, then the ritemaster takes a bone from the carcass and carves a glyph into it with her claws as a signifier of the new werewolf’s position. In conclusion of this rite, the sept howls honor of the successor to the sky.
System: If the predecessor is present and performs the proper role, the ritemaster gains bonus dice equal to that werewolf's Rank. The successor gains one additional dice in Social rolls for every two successes (round up) on this roll, which are valid for the first month they hold the position.
Source: Changing Ways p. 158
These rites celebrate both the specific accomplishments of an individual werewolf and his achievement of a new station in the pack or sept. Garou long to receive such rites as much as they fear facing a rite of punishment.
System: The ritemaster’s player must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 6).
Siege Tweaks: Our Renown system varies greatly from the book in order to make tracking and earning Renown easier. As such, the systems of these rites have been changed significantly. We recognize that this makes most of these rites systematically useless (with the exception of Rite of Passage), but you're welcome to take these for flavor to flesh out your character. Most garou won't be frowned upon for not having these rites.
You can review our Renown system here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=34
Additionally, the flavor on the Rite of Passage has been modified in the interest of story and metaphysics.
Level One
Rite of Boasting
Level One
Boasting and bragging have always been a vital aspect of warrior cultures. Boasts serve to work up a fighter’s courage while putting fear into the opponent. But to truly impress, the boaster must back up his claims. This rite is more than formalized bragging, for it forces the Garou to “put up or shut up.” Before a battle or mission, the Garou boasts before all assembled that he will perform a particularly impressive feat (for example, “I will kill three Black Spirals with only my claws,” “I will scale the electrified razorwire of the refinery” or “I will be the first to reach the shield wall, there to wrest the enemy’s standard from his dead hand.”). The boast is performed in a ritual fashion, with a short recitation of lineage and a summary of glorious deeds performed to date. If he makes good on his boast, he magnifies the Glory of the act. If he fails, the resulting derision of his peers costs him Glory; boasting is only respected if you can back it up. This rite is most commonly used among the Fianna, Get of Fenris, and Younger Brother, but most tribes have some version of it.
System: Standard roll, though the difficulty may be modified by the difficulty and glory of the proposed feat — modest goals are harder to boast about than impressive lunacy. If the boast is carried through, the Garou earns an additional die on Social rolls for every two successes on the rite. If he fails and lives, he loses that amount. If he dies while carrying out his deed, there is no effect. This bonus/penalty lasts for a full lunar month from the day the boast was accomplished or failed.
A single pack may boast of a deed, but only the pack leader can perform the rite. In this case, the difficulty is increased by one, and the entire pack gains or loses the Social modifier.
Source: W20 p. 216
Rite of Wounding
Level One
This rite celebrates a Garou’s first battle wound. Each tribe marks this moment differently, but all honor this sign of courage. Many tribes rub ash into at least part of the wound to form a scar of remembrance. The Get of Fenris always end this rite with a fierce all-night revel filled with drinking and fighting. By contrast, the Children of Gaia end their Rites of Wounding with prayers for peace and understanding among all creatures.
System: Only the wounded character and the ritemaster must be present for this rite, although the werewolf’s pack and sept are normally present. This rite guarantees that this scar will never be healed, and may be claimed as a source of Glory for the month.
Source: W20 p. 217
Level Two
Rite of Accomplishment
Level Two
This rite is used to honor a werewolf and recognize the trials he has endured to attain his current standing. An elder will call the honored Garou forward, much as the Garou might be called forward should the elders want to punish or criticize her. As the Garou advances, the elder begins listing all of the things the Garou did to gain the acclaim. The Rite of Accomplishment then takes place, and anyone who wishes to speak on behalf of the Garou being honored may do so. In conclusion, the elder says something along the lines of, “She is made greater in her tribe, her sept and greater among the People everywhere. Let this be known.”
System: This rite is a formality to honor the time of the month when renown is awarded.
Source: W20 p. 217
Rite of Passage
Level Two
After a cub undergoes his First Change and becomes aware that he is a werewolf, he must undergo his Rite of Passage. Werewolves are not accorded adulthood or respect until they pass this seminal rite; they are mere cubs until that time. They are not even considered true Garou, and Shadow Lords do not refer to them as such until this rite is completed. Similarly, a cub is not a member of any tribe until his Rite of Passage. A male cub born to the Black Furies, for example, becomes a member of whatever tribe will offer him a place among them by use of this rite.
During a Rite of Passage, the cubs must complete a dangerous quest meant to prove that they have the courage, honor, and wisdom befitting a werewolf. However, few cubs undergo this rite alone. They are often joined by their pack-to-be, other cubs who are also coming of age. The ritemaster commands the would-be pack to go out into the world with a definite goal to achieve, and he forbids it to return until it has tried its best to accomplish this goal. Different tribes impose different goals, although multi-tribal septs usually reach a compromise. A Younger Brother rite often takes the form of a vision quest, while the Get of Fenris commonly send their cubs into combat with Wyrm-spawn. Invisible spirits sometimes accompany the cubs in order to watch over them and report their doings to the elders.
If the cubs succeed in their quest, a ritemaster performs this rite upon them, marking them with a pictogram that brands them as full-fledged Garou. These pictograms are usually painted, but the Red Talons carve them into the flesh of the young heroes. At the moment a cub is marked, avatars of tribal patrons will manifest to offer the cub a place in their tribe, at which point the cub may choose their tribe. If the tribe chosen is one that does not permit Pure Breed as a Background, a spiritual erosion will remove the cub's Pure Breed over the course of the next month, though spirits are usually generous enough to help enrich them otherwise.
If the cubs fail, however, they are considered second-class citizens until they are granted another opportunity to prove themselves.
System: Before the Rite of Passage, Garou are not yet Rank 1. If a Garou moves to a tribe that will cost them their Pure Breed, the player may reallocate their points in Pure Breed into different Backgrounds within the next month.
Source: W20 p. 217
Rite of Praise
Level Two
This rite honors a werewolf who has given more, risked more, and sacrificed more than necessary for the good of other Garou, Gaia, or anything related. The entire sept is gathered as the ritemaster presents the commendation, often with a token worthy of the honoree, such as a fetish, as a final reward. This rite is not used lightly, or to reward expected behavior — it honors only the greatest.
System: The ritemaster presents to the sept the deeds and actions of the chosen Garou warranting such praise. For each success on a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 6), the praised Garou gains an extra die to use for Social dice pools within the sept over the next three months.
Source: W20 p. 217
Level Three
Rite of Succession
Level Three
This rite is performed whenever a Garou takes up a position of authority or responsibility within the sept. The sept gathers to witness the succession, and the ritemaster recites a list of the werewolf's credentials and accomplishments that qualify her for the position. The successor must bring a human or animal sacrifice, appropriate for her new position, killing it in front of the ritemaster. Everyone present eats a piece of the sacrifice, then the ritemaster takes a bone from the carcass and carves a glyph into it with her claws as a signifier of the new werewolf’s position. In conclusion of this rite, the sept howls honor of the successor to the sky.
System: If the predecessor is present and performs the proper role, the ritemaster gains bonus dice equal to that werewolf's Rank. The successor gains one additional dice in Social rolls for every two successes (round up) on this roll, which are valid for the first month they hold the position.
Source: Changing Ways p. 158