Rites of Death
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 11:28 pm
Rites of Death
Garou perform rites of death both to honor the departed and to reaffirm their connection to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In facing and acknowledging death as a necessary part of the dance of life, the pack and sept escape the burdens of grief and fear.
System: The ritemaster must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 8 minus the Rank of the honored Garou).
Level One
Gathering for the Departed
Level One
This rite is enacted in honor of the newly dead. A Galliard or a packmate of the departed werewolf usually performs the rite. The specifics of the rite vary dramatically from tribe to tribe. For example, a Fianna ritemaster leads the sept in the telling of tales, both raucous and heroic, about the fallen Garou. In contrast stands the Younger Brother’s solemn rite in which the ritemaster and all the fallen one’s packmates stand on the highest peak available, tails to the wind, and howl out their pride and grief to speed their companion onward to her next life. The exact form of the rite is less important than the acknowledgment it represents.
System: The ritemaster leads the release of the Garou’s combined emotions into the spirit world. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this rite may make the deceased’s spirit easier to contact through the Ancestors Background.
Source: W20 p. 209
Last Blessing
Level One
The mere existence of Crinos-born threatens the Veil, as they are born and die in Crinos form. This blessing is given to a dying or just-deceased Crinos-born by the ritemaster. It ensures that the corpse will assume the natural form which the Crinos-born most preferred — human or wolf — arousing no suspicion. Many Crinos-born have received this rite with joy, seeing it as a sign of Gaia’s forgiveness.
System: Standard roll. The ritemaster lays hands on the Crinos-born and chants the Song of the True Form, then spends one Gnosis point. The Crinos-born’s body changes to Homid or Lupus form, and the change is permanent. This rite must be performed within an hour of death, and has no effect on a live Crinos-born.
Source: W20 p. 209
Rite of Memorial
Level One
While the Gathering for the Departed is performed for most deceased Garou, the Rite of Memorial is reserved only for a sept's greatest heroes. When a memorial or shrine is built in a caern to honor such a hero, this rite dedicates it to the ancestor-spirit in question. Like the Gathering for the Departed, this rite's form varies from tribe to tribe and from caern type to caern type. Children of Gaia in a caern dedicated to healing might croon a lullaby while standing in a circle around the shrine to ask the hero to bring blessings of peace, while Get of Fenris in a caern full of Rage might sacrifice an animal or person symbolic of one of the hero’s victories, leaving its entrails to tie the ancestor to its still-living kin.
System: This rite is generally considered offensive to perform for a slain Garou of Rank less than 4, unless his deeds were unquestionably heroic on a scale that affected the entire sept or tribe. If successful, the hero's accomplishments reflect favorably on his comrades. Each of the deceased's septmates present gains one temporary point of Willpower, and each of his packmates present gains one additional point.
Source: Changing Ways, p. 156
Level Two
Rite of the Echoing Howl
Level Two
When a mighty hero falls, sometimes the Gathering for the Departed is not enough. Sometimes the spot upon which her heroic blood touched the soil needs a mark, even if the mark is completely invisible in the Realm. In such an instance, a Garou may enact the Rite of the Echoing Howl. While this rite can be performed with a pack or an even larger group, it is just as often enacted by one of the fallen werewolf's packmates.
The ritemaster stands at the exact spot at which the hero fell (even if the Garou was taken away to die elsewhere), and walks in a small circle, counterclockwise. She then steps into the Umbra and howls as loud and as long as she possibly can. If the rite is successful, that howl echoes for all time, reminding anyone who steps into the Umbra that a champion was lost on that spot.
System: Standard roll. If the roll succeeds, anyone who can perceive spirits hears the howl faintly int eh area, and anyone who actually steps sideways hears it as though the ritemaster were still standing there howling. Any Garou attempting to perform this rite for the wrong reason (such as to "mark" an area of the Umbra) assuredly loses the ability to claim Honor renown for that month, and the rite won't work for such purposes anyway.
Source: Book of Auspices p. 102
Lesser Rite of Mourning
Level Two
Through the Lesser Rite of Mourning the Garou honor a dead hero with a small personal ceremony commemorating the great deeds and virtues of the dead. Unlike the Gathering for the Departed or Rite of Lasting Glory, which take place once and soon after death, the Rite of Mourning can take place many times (often annually). There should be no more than ten participants at this rite, and only those closest to the memory of the departed partake in this intimate ceremony; loved ones, offspring, packmates and the closest of allies.
The execution of the rite varies greatly from situation to situation and from tribe to tribe, but the most common version is moderately complex. The ritemaster calls the participants to him, and declares the name and deeds of the one to be honored. This can take the form of a long mournful cry, or a barely audible groan. This is followed by a small period of silent contemplation by everyone involved as they meditate upon what is lost. Then one by one the participants approach the site of worship (a dedicated shrine, a grave marker or something else representing the deceased) to offer a small token or gift o remembrance. The token may be a physical object like a weapon or fetish, or a symbolic offering like a teardrop or a smear of one's own blood. Upon the offering each one offers a remark on why they honor the deceased (whether for a personal reason, or for some quality or virtue they believe the deceased embodied in their life). As the mourners settle in front of the site of worship the ritemaster leads them in a sharing of tales of the deceased, where everyone shares their fond memories. This is often followed by a chant or song led by the ritemaster, but performed by all, calling on the deceased to watch over them and lend them his strength and virtue in the continuous struggle. As the song concludes the deceased may sometimes appear for a small delicate period of time to be with those closest to him again in his life. It is not unheard of for those so honored to become ancestor-spirits due to the love and respect offered them during this ritual. After the spirit dissipates, if it shows at all, the participants give a farewell howl before breaking company or partaking in some revelry or another.
System: The ritemaster must succeed on a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 8 minus the rank of the honored Garou, with an additional minus 1 for every five participants. If the rite is successful, the deceased Garou gains a posthumous Renown (though no more than one a year). If five or more successes are gained, the deceased will manifest to speak with those present.
Source: Players Guide Revised p. 197
Rite of Soul Sending
Level Two
In an ideal world, the soul of every being would pass on to wherever it should go when its body dies, whether that's an afterlife, sweet oblivion, or something even stranger. But this is not an ideal world. This is a world of darkness, and here the Dark Umbra manifests the ghosts of the restless dead in their obsessive agony. To protect a soul from this unnatural fate, a Garou mystic can perform this rite to help ensure that whatever business the dead soul may wish to resolve is less appealing than the call of the world's natural cycle of life. Since it's extremely rare, if not unheard of, for a werewolf's soul to become trapped as a ghost, this rite is usually performed to send off the spirits of humans (or, occasionally, animals) who died of violent or supernatural causes, or may have compelling reasons to linger. It's common for tribes to perform this rite for deceased Kinfolk. Some Garou perform this rite for slain enemies, not wishing to be the objects of otherworldly vengeance, although Wyrm-tainted corpses reject it out of hand.
The ritemaster bathes the corpse in clean, cool water to calm any wrath the spirit might feel. Then he dances around the body in a circle while all those in attendance drum or stamp their feet and recite the name of the deceased over and over. They begin loudly, to attract the spirit's attention, and gradually get softer and softer over the course of the ritual until they whisper the name away into the wind, never to be spoken among them again.
System: This rite will not work on a corpse that has been dead for longer than a number of hours equal to the ritemaster's Gnosis, or on the corpse of any being touched by the Wyrm. The difficulty of the roll is (5 + number of hours dead), to a maximum of 9. The spirit of the deceased does not linger as a ghost or appear in the Dark Umbra. Should the ritemaster botch the roll, the dead spirit instead immediately rushes in and becomes a wraith right then and there.
Source: Changing Ways p. 157
Level Three
Rite of the Winter Wolf
Level Three
Once a werewolf becomes too wounded or aged to fight with his tribe, he performs this bleak and solemn rite. Upon announcing that he will undergo the rite, the werewolf sits at the center of a gathering of his pack- and sept-mates. The meeting is an onerous, solemn affair during which the Moon Dancers sing hymns of the celebrant’s life and deeds and invoke the spirits for glory in the next world or life. The celebrant then slowly and proudly walks through the closed ranks of the tribe. As he passes his people, they begin howling a dirge similar to that sung during the Gathering for the Departed. Some Garou beat heavy drums or play mournful pipes as the celebrant drags himself to a secluded site where he ends his life, usually with a klaive. Rarely, two werewolves, usually packmates, will perform this rite together, sometimes killing each other simultaneously, although Ahroun may give each other a last fight to finish, with the victor ending his life beside his fallen opponent. Immediately after the suicide, the sept performs the Gathering for the Departed.
Red Talons and Get of Fenris are the staunchest supporters of this rite. It is almost unheard of among the Children of Gaia and Bone Gnawers, who value the knowledge and experience of their aged and wounded.
System: The rite is always performed at night, typically under the auspice moon of the departing werewolf. Three other Garou must be present to acknowledge the character’s life and departure. Failure to perform the rite properly is considered an omen that Gaia still needs some final service from the Garou.
Source: W20 p. 209
Level Five
Greater Rite of Mourning
Level Five
The martyred hero represents all that is good and righteous to the cause. Unlike the private and intimate Lesser Rite of Mourning, the Greater Rite of Mourning is an elaborate and formal event dedicated to full-scale hero worship. There must be at least 10 participants in addition to the ritemaster.
The Greater Rite of Mourning serves a dual purpose. First of all it empowers the chosen cause of the ritemaster and the participants, strengthening their resolve and ability to succeed in their struggle. Second, it bestows great posthumous renown to the honored, strengthening his or her memory and spiritual essence. As with the lesser version of this rite, the honoree may appear or even become an ancestor-spirit as a result of the worship given during this ritual. Due to the great power of such a rite if well performed, and the difficulty in assembling such large numbers in participants, rites like these are not common except during times of great struggle. The Greater Rite of Mourning is performed only once.
The rite usually commences with the calling to order by the ritemater. This is followed by a chanting recital of the fundamentals of the honored hero's career, struggle and death, and its relevance to the struggle at hand. Following is a moment of silent meditation in honor of the deceased. The ritemaster then declares the different virtues of the hero, while offering symbolic sacrifices in the deceased's name. This leads in to a common chant, where the ritemaster leads the participants in calling to the hero to bless them with his virtues and aid them in finishing his noble struggle. At this point the deceased may or may not appear as an apparition in order to bless them in person. The song flows naturally into a chanting "war speech" by the ritemaster, restating the purpose of their gathering and the necessity of their noble struggle. If delivered properly, the speech whips the participants into a proper mood, and many a Greater Rite of Mourning has been followed by a bloody and heroic attack against the enemies of the People.
System: The ritemaster, who must be of a rank at least equal to the number of participants divided by 10, makes a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 10 minus the rank of the honored hero. The difficulty further decreases by one for every 10 participants. In the event the rite succeeds, all participants may use this rite as a source of Honor for that month.
Garou perform rites of death both to honor the departed and to reaffirm their connection to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In facing and acknowledging death as a necessary part of the dance of life, the pack and sept escape the burdens of grief and fear.
System: The ritemaster must make a Charisma + Rituals roll (difficulty 8 minus the Rank of the honored Garou).
Level One
Gathering for the Departed
Level One
This rite is enacted in honor of the newly dead. A Galliard or a packmate of the departed werewolf usually performs the rite. The specifics of the rite vary dramatically from tribe to tribe. For example, a Fianna ritemaster leads the sept in the telling of tales, both raucous and heroic, about the fallen Garou. In contrast stands the Younger Brother’s solemn rite in which the ritemaster and all the fallen one’s packmates stand on the highest peak available, tails to the wind, and howl out their pride and grief to speed their companion onward to her next life. The exact form of the rite is less important than the acknowledgment it represents.
System: The ritemaster leads the release of the Garou’s combined emotions into the spirit world. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this rite may make the deceased’s spirit easier to contact through the Ancestors Background.
Source: W20 p. 209
Last Blessing
Level One
The mere existence of Crinos-born threatens the Veil, as they are born and die in Crinos form. This blessing is given to a dying or just-deceased Crinos-born by the ritemaster. It ensures that the corpse will assume the natural form which the Crinos-born most preferred — human or wolf — arousing no suspicion. Many Crinos-born have received this rite with joy, seeing it as a sign of Gaia’s forgiveness.
System: Standard roll. The ritemaster lays hands on the Crinos-born and chants the Song of the True Form, then spends one Gnosis point. The Crinos-born’s body changes to Homid or Lupus form, and the change is permanent. This rite must be performed within an hour of death, and has no effect on a live Crinos-born.
Source: W20 p. 209
Rite of Memorial
Level One
While the Gathering for the Departed is performed for most deceased Garou, the Rite of Memorial is reserved only for a sept's greatest heroes. When a memorial or shrine is built in a caern to honor such a hero, this rite dedicates it to the ancestor-spirit in question. Like the Gathering for the Departed, this rite's form varies from tribe to tribe and from caern type to caern type. Children of Gaia in a caern dedicated to healing might croon a lullaby while standing in a circle around the shrine to ask the hero to bring blessings of peace, while Get of Fenris in a caern full of Rage might sacrifice an animal or person symbolic of one of the hero’s victories, leaving its entrails to tie the ancestor to its still-living kin.
System: This rite is generally considered offensive to perform for a slain Garou of Rank less than 4, unless his deeds were unquestionably heroic on a scale that affected the entire sept or tribe. If successful, the hero's accomplishments reflect favorably on his comrades. Each of the deceased's septmates present gains one temporary point of Willpower, and each of his packmates present gains one additional point.
Source: Changing Ways, p. 156
Level Two
Rite of the Echoing Howl
Level Two
When a mighty hero falls, sometimes the Gathering for the Departed is not enough. Sometimes the spot upon which her heroic blood touched the soil needs a mark, even if the mark is completely invisible in the Realm. In such an instance, a Garou may enact the Rite of the Echoing Howl. While this rite can be performed with a pack or an even larger group, it is just as often enacted by one of the fallen werewolf's packmates.
The ritemaster stands at the exact spot at which the hero fell (even if the Garou was taken away to die elsewhere), and walks in a small circle, counterclockwise. She then steps into the Umbra and howls as loud and as long as she possibly can. If the rite is successful, that howl echoes for all time, reminding anyone who steps into the Umbra that a champion was lost on that spot.
System: Standard roll. If the roll succeeds, anyone who can perceive spirits hears the howl faintly int eh area, and anyone who actually steps sideways hears it as though the ritemaster were still standing there howling. Any Garou attempting to perform this rite for the wrong reason (such as to "mark" an area of the Umbra) assuredly loses the ability to claim Honor renown for that month, and the rite won't work for such purposes anyway.
Source: Book of Auspices p. 102
Lesser Rite of Mourning
Level Two
Through the Lesser Rite of Mourning the Garou honor a dead hero with a small personal ceremony commemorating the great deeds and virtues of the dead. Unlike the Gathering for the Departed or Rite of Lasting Glory, which take place once and soon after death, the Rite of Mourning can take place many times (often annually). There should be no more than ten participants at this rite, and only those closest to the memory of the departed partake in this intimate ceremony; loved ones, offspring, packmates and the closest of allies.
The execution of the rite varies greatly from situation to situation and from tribe to tribe, but the most common version is moderately complex. The ritemaster calls the participants to him, and declares the name and deeds of the one to be honored. This can take the form of a long mournful cry, or a barely audible groan. This is followed by a small period of silent contemplation by everyone involved as they meditate upon what is lost. Then one by one the participants approach the site of worship (a dedicated shrine, a grave marker or something else representing the deceased) to offer a small token or gift o remembrance. The token may be a physical object like a weapon or fetish, or a symbolic offering like a teardrop or a smear of one's own blood. Upon the offering each one offers a remark on why they honor the deceased (whether for a personal reason, or for some quality or virtue they believe the deceased embodied in their life). As the mourners settle in front of the site of worship the ritemaster leads them in a sharing of tales of the deceased, where everyone shares their fond memories. This is often followed by a chant or song led by the ritemaster, but performed by all, calling on the deceased to watch over them and lend them his strength and virtue in the continuous struggle. As the song concludes the deceased may sometimes appear for a small delicate period of time to be with those closest to him again in his life. It is not unheard of for those so honored to become ancestor-spirits due to the love and respect offered them during this ritual. After the spirit dissipates, if it shows at all, the participants give a farewell howl before breaking company or partaking in some revelry or another.
System: The ritemaster must succeed on a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 8 minus the rank of the honored Garou, with an additional minus 1 for every five participants. If the rite is successful, the deceased Garou gains a posthumous Renown (though no more than one a year). If five or more successes are gained, the deceased will manifest to speak with those present.
Source: Players Guide Revised p. 197
Rite of Soul Sending
Level Two
In an ideal world, the soul of every being would pass on to wherever it should go when its body dies, whether that's an afterlife, sweet oblivion, or something even stranger. But this is not an ideal world. This is a world of darkness, and here the Dark Umbra manifests the ghosts of the restless dead in their obsessive agony. To protect a soul from this unnatural fate, a Garou mystic can perform this rite to help ensure that whatever business the dead soul may wish to resolve is less appealing than the call of the world's natural cycle of life. Since it's extremely rare, if not unheard of, for a werewolf's soul to become trapped as a ghost, this rite is usually performed to send off the spirits of humans (or, occasionally, animals) who died of violent or supernatural causes, or may have compelling reasons to linger. It's common for tribes to perform this rite for deceased Kinfolk. Some Garou perform this rite for slain enemies, not wishing to be the objects of otherworldly vengeance, although Wyrm-tainted corpses reject it out of hand.
The ritemaster bathes the corpse in clean, cool water to calm any wrath the spirit might feel. Then he dances around the body in a circle while all those in attendance drum or stamp their feet and recite the name of the deceased over and over. They begin loudly, to attract the spirit's attention, and gradually get softer and softer over the course of the ritual until they whisper the name away into the wind, never to be spoken among them again.
System: This rite will not work on a corpse that has been dead for longer than a number of hours equal to the ritemaster's Gnosis, or on the corpse of any being touched by the Wyrm. The difficulty of the roll is (5 + number of hours dead), to a maximum of 9. The spirit of the deceased does not linger as a ghost or appear in the Dark Umbra. Should the ritemaster botch the roll, the dead spirit instead immediately rushes in and becomes a wraith right then and there.
Source: Changing Ways p. 157
Level Three
Rite of the Winter Wolf
Level Three
Once a werewolf becomes too wounded or aged to fight with his tribe, he performs this bleak and solemn rite. Upon announcing that he will undergo the rite, the werewolf sits at the center of a gathering of his pack- and sept-mates. The meeting is an onerous, solemn affair during which the Moon Dancers sing hymns of the celebrant’s life and deeds and invoke the spirits for glory in the next world or life. The celebrant then slowly and proudly walks through the closed ranks of the tribe. As he passes his people, they begin howling a dirge similar to that sung during the Gathering for the Departed. Some Garou beat heavy drums or play mournful pipes as the celebrant drags himself to a secluded site where he ends his life, usually with a klaive. Rarely, two werewolves, usually packmates, will perform this rite together, sometimes killing each other simultaneously, although Ahroun may give each other a last fight to finish, with the victor ending his life beside his fallen opponent. Immediately after the suicide, the sept performs the Gathering for the Departed.
Red Talons and Get of Fenris are the staunchest supporters of this rite. It is almost unheard of among the Children of Gaia and Bone Gnawers, who value the knowledge and experience of their aged and wounded.
System: The rite is always performed at night, typically under the auspice moon of the departing werewolf. Three other Garou must be present to acknowledge the character’s life and departure. Failure to perform the rite properly is considered an omen that Gaia still needs some final service from the Garou.
Source: W20 p. 209
Level Five
Greater Rite of Mourning
Level Five
The martyred hero represents all that is good and righteous to the cause. Unlike the private and intimate Lesser Rite of Mourning, the Greater Rite of Mourning is an elaborate and formal event dedicated to full-scale hero worship. There must be at least 10 participants in addition to the ritemaster.
The Greater Rite of Mourning serves a dual purpose. First of all it empowers the chosen cause of the ritemaster and the participants, strengthening their resolve and ability to succeed in their struggle. Second, it bestows great posthumous renown to the honored, strengthening his or her memory and spiritual essence. As with the lesser version of this rite, the honoree may appear or even become an ancestor-spirit as a result of the worship given during this ritual. Due to the great power of such a rite if well performed, and the difficulty in assembling such large numbers in participants, rites like these are not common except during times of great struggle. The Greater Rite of Mourning is performed only once.
The rite usually commences with the calling to order by the ritemater. This is followed by a chanting recital of the fundamentals of the honored hero's career, struggle and death, and its relevance to the struggle at hand. Following is a moment of silent meditation in honor of the deceased. The ritemaster then declares the different virtues of the hero, while offering symbolic sacrifices in the deceased's name. This leads in to a common chant, where the ritemaster leads the participants in calling to the hero to bless them with his virtues and aid them in finishing his noble struggle. At this point the deceased may or may not appear as an apparition in order to bless them in person. The song flows naturally into a chanting "war speech" by the ritemaster, restating the purpose of their gathering and the necessity of their noble struggle. If delivered properly, the speech whips the participants into a proper mood, and many a Greater Rite of Mourning has been followed by a bloody and heroic attack against the enemies of the People.
System: The ritemaster, who must be of a rank at least equal to the number of participants divided by 10, makes a Charisma + Rituals roll, difficulty 10 minus the rank of the honored hero. The difficulty further decreases by one for every 10 participants. In the event the rite succeeds, all participants may use this rite as a source of Honor for that month.
- One Success - Participants all regain lost Willpower, as well as a point of spent Rage or Gnosis (depending on the purpose of the rite).
- Two successes - Participants regain all lost Willpower, and a point of spent Rage or Gnosis. The honored hero gains a posthumous permanent renown.
- Three successes - Participants regain all lost Willpower, and a point of spent Rage or Gnosis. The honored hero gains a posthumous permanent renown. All participants may draw upon an extra point of Ancestors for the next lunar month in the form of this great hero.
- Four successes - Conjures the spirit of the warrior himself, who may speak to those gathered. Participants regain all lost Willpower and one point of spent Rage or Gnosis.
- Five successes - Participants gain the use of two of the abilities or Gifts of the honored hero possessed for the next lunar month. Each participant regains two points of spent Rage or Gnosis, or one of each, and all their lost Willpower.
- Six or more successes - Participants regain all lost Rage, Gnosis, and Willpower. They also gain access to a dot of Ancestors, and the use of two abilities or Gifts of the hero for the next lunar month. They will also gain a permanent Honor Renown for this month, in excess of the standard monthly gain.