Houserules: Fundamentals & Clarifications

Note: Rules are still being finalised. STs reserve the right to alter the following.

Base Rules Set
We are using the (new) World of Darkness rules set, NOT the Mind’s Eye Theatre rules set

Damage and Success Caps
We will be using success caps on damaging abilities/attacks, with the success cap being the same as the MET damage cap (pg 211); ie the highest contributing factor to the draw pool.  This will make minimal difference in most cases, the most notable difference being with Thunderbolt.  The optional rule ‘Weapons are deadly’ is not in use.

Draw System
We are using the 40 Card Draw System, with no reshuffle before drawing explosions.

Experience Points Awards
Characters who attend a game will be awarded 6XP, arriving on time (before briefing) and staying for the whole game are each an extra 1xp.  Characters who have monthly actions on the forum by the due date will be awarded 2XP.  There is an additional 2xp from those who attend dangerous scenes to keep with harmony and renown.

Werewolves and Humans
As the werewolf gains more Primal Urge, they become more akin to Spirits than their human cousins, and so gain a penalty to social interactions with humans, as per the table on WtF pg76. Note that this also applies to Influence draws.

Shape Changing and Grappling
When you change size in a grapple, you do not auto break a grapple as other games, instead you gain a bonus equal to the number of size categories changed to escape from a grapple

Skill specialities
Specialities will apply for all applicable situations.  While they will be listed under the 'normal' skill, if you are using another skill where it would apply, the bonus is counted.

Retainer
The draw pool of a retainers speciality area is (Dots in retainer)*2, in other skills they have their dots. Additionally, retainers have a number of speciality areas (equivalent to character skills) equal to their dots.
For example, a three dot retainer could have specialities in Investigation, Computer, and Academics, and would have draw pool of 6 in each of those skills, in all other skill draws they would have a draw pool of 3.
You may use your retainers draw pool for one action a month instead of yours, however the multiple action penalty will still apply.  You may not use this for influence actions
Drawback:
Retainers are not wolf blooded by nature, therefore you cannot reveal you werewolf nature to them without breaking Oath of the Moon, and they will suffer the effects of Lunacy as would a normal human.

Totem
Totem is restricted to one dot per month per pack member, however it is not a standard merit and you are able to purchase merits as normal the same month you purchase totem.

Totem Bans
A Totem spirit will require something from each member of the pack. This may be a way to behave, a specific task performed, or some deal or bargain struck. This is an obligation that each member of the pack must meet consistently, for to fail to do so is poor form at best, and risks angering and alienating the Totem spirit ally at worst.

Totem Gift Radius
Packs who hold territory in London are able to benefit from their totem's gifts within the borders of the Dragon Who Rings London, aka the M25.
Outside of this area, the totem must be within miles equal to the Uratha's primal urge.
This is an unusual effect as far as the rest of the world is concerned.

Gaining Essence
A werewolf can gain Essence by the following means. Note that these means might be available during play, but for downtime actions they are less relevant.

1. When a werewolf sees her Auspice moon in the sky the first time in a night, she regains one point of Essence.
2. A werewolf can draw Essence from a locus. A locus generates Essence with a resonance that matches the locus.
3. Rites exist that can be performed to regain Essence.
4. A werewolf who eats the flesh of wolf or human regains one point of Essence for every point of damage inflicted with the intent of devouring the live target's meat. This is a grave sin against the Oath of the Moon and it will lose Harmony.

Game Essence
The Essence on which your character starts each game is equal to their Harmony.

Additional Essence can be gained by controlling a locus (or loci) and using actions:
The number of actions spent at a locus in your territory by pack members gives that bonus in Essence for all pack members, to a maximum of the locus value.

Scene Essence
The Essence on which your character starts a scene will be equal to the amount that they start a game on, provided that you have put in an action to prepare for that scene. If you have not put in an action for a scene, then your character may attend that scene, but as your character is unprepared they will only be on half base Essence, i.e. a number equal to half their Harmony rounded up.

Metabolic Control (••)
Prerequisite: Stamina •••

Effect: Your character has more control over his body than most werewolves. This allows him to stop his body from regenerating, and in addition allows the werewolf to slow down other aspects of his physique. When normal people are out of breath, werewolves normally aren’t. When normal people are shocked by injury, werewolves normally aren’t. This Merit allows your character to appear no better than a normal human, slipping under the radar of anything that would hunt him.

Camouflaging himself in this way takes a Stamina + Survival roll, with a success indicating that your character has suppressed his metabolism for one scene, or one day for an exceptional success.

Drawback: Suppressing his metabolism does not take conscious effort to keep active, but instead it takes the conscious effort to force the body to slow down. Thereafter it takes the requisite time for the body to catch up again, such that regeneration is suspended for the duration of successes achieved. Any werewolf going into a dangerous situation would need to consider whether or not suppressing the body's natural regeneration is going to be wise.
As such, preventing regeneration in a particularly stressful situation may also require spending a Willpower point, at the Storyteller’s discretion.

Swarm Rules:
Animals of Size 1 or 2 are generally best recorded in swarms, flocks and other groupings of the animals, as they are most effective in such groupings. This includes not just insects, but also most birds and smaller creatures such as rats.
Swarms are measured by their size in yards radius.  A swarm generally inflicts one die of bashing damage to anyone within its radius. A swarm can inflict more damage by condensing. Every time the swarm condenses to cover half of its full area, it inflicts one additional die of damage per turn.  Therefore, a swarm of eight yards in radius inflicts two bashing damage per turn if it constricts down to a four-yard radius, three bashing if it halves that again to a two-yard radius, and four bashing damage per turn it if condensed itself down to a one-yard radius. Though condensing doesn’t usually happen all that often in nature (save in the case of creatures such as killer bees), it is an easy enough thing for most supernatural powers that command animals to bid them to do so.
Armor is effective against a swarm only if it covers one’s full body, but even then it provides only half its rating. In addition, targets are distracted by the swarm, suffering -2 dice on perception and concentration rolls while they are within the radius, even if they’re not specifically attacked.
The swarm cannot be attacked with fists, clubs, swords or guns. Only area-affect attacks such as a torch affect it. Each point of damage inflicted by a flame or other applicable attack halves the swarm’s size. Once the swarm is reduced below a one-yard radius, either all insects are dead or the few remaining disperse.

Please note that all characters benefit from this merit under the prerequisites below. GM discretion on whether a speciality is appropriate for a draw is final, but please do ask us!

Interdisciplinary Specialty
This Merit lets a character duplicate her Specialty in one Skill with another Skill. For example, a Medicine Specialty in Anatomy could be duplicated under Weaponry to describe a character’s deadly precision. Or a Craft Specialty in Motorcycles could be duplicated under Drive to reflect a character’s honed experience. The character must have three dots in both Skills used by this Merit.
Note: Because the GM judges access to any Merit on a case-by-case basis, the application of this Merit is left deliberately vague — it essentially saves a player an experience point in exchange for adding cohesion to her Specialties. Individual GM must decide what Skills are suitable to be paired through this Merit based on the background and nature of the character involved. Some combinations (Anatomy as a Specialty for Weaponry, for example) will seem appropriate in some cases and inappropriate in others.