The first edition corebook introduced various concepts that did not seem the get developed afterwards. One of those were the Old Ones. Old Ones are Garou who have left their pack and retired to a caern. They are no longer required to partake in the routine affairs of the Garou, but are expected to advise the young.
Now these are not the leaders – they aren't allowed to take sept or tribal positions. They are also beyond affairs of challenge or dominance. They are given proper respect as elders. However, in the current age much younger Garou have appeared to fill that role – often because they were abandoned by their packs and see the sept as a place of comfort. Kind of like drop outs. These younger Garou are often driven off by true Old Ones who see them as scavengers, but sometimes accept one who has shown sufficient wisdom.
Later we are told that Old Ones are extremely important because Garou must impress them if they are to advance within their tribe. There are even mechanics on how to do so (roll your Manipulation + Ability you are showing off against the difficulty of the sum of the Old One's Perception and that same Ability). The book gives examples of what successfully impressing Old Ones can mean – gaining a Mentor, or being forgiven trespasses against tribal law. This attempt can be made once per moot by any character. If he succeeds, he gets the bonus and can try again next moot as well. If he fails, there is no penalty other than he cannot attempt such a roll at the next moot.
The definition of moot is unclear here as first edition seemed to combine the idea of sept moots and tribal moots. But Old Ones are mainly a function of septs, but tribal advancement is a function of tribes. Not every sept will have an Old One for each tribe, and it is highly unlikely a tribe would accept the impressions of a member outside their tribe. I'd rule that this happens at tribal moots, but that the Old Ones in question were simply any Old Ones from that tribe who showed up from whatever sept they were at.
This is in the same section as Renown and Rank so clearly this was meant to be important. In first edition, Renown was handled differently, and the corebook did not contain the Rite of Accomplishment. It's possible impressing Old Ones served some sort of equivalent function – a perfunctory thing you should do while you gain Renown and before you make a Challenge for rank.
This is about the only thing we're told about Old Ones. I haven't found mentions in other books, unlike Lunatics which had an entire scenario book published about them, although I may have just missed any references.
This is one of those aspects of the game which seemed to have been abandoned for whatever reason. I find the concept interesting, but wonder how much it would really add to the game and player's experiences. Has anyone else used this concept? What benefits do you think it would add to your game?
Now these are not the leaders – they aren't allowed to take sept or tribal positions. They are also beyond affairs of challenge or dominance. They are given proper respect as elders. However, in the current age much younger Garou have appeared to fill that role – often because they were abandoned by their packs and see the sept as a place of comfort. Kind of like drop outs. These younger Garou are often driven off by true Old Ones who see them as scavengers, but sometimes accept one who has shown sufficient wisdom.
Later we are told that Old Ones are extremely important because Garou must impress them if they are to advance within their tribe. There are even mechanics on how to do so (roll your Manipulation + Ability you are showing off against the difficulty of the sum of the Old One's Perception and that same Ability). The book gives examples of what successfully impressing Old Ones can mean – gaining a Mentor, or being forgiven trespasses against tribal law. This attempt can be made once per moot by any character. If he succeeds, he gets the bonus and can try again next moot as well. If he fails, there is no penalty other than he cannot attempt such a roll at the next moot.
The definition of moot is unclear here as first edition seemed to combine the idea of sept moots and tribal moots. But Old Ones are mainly a function of septs, but tribal advancement is a function of tribes. Not every sept will have an Old One for each tribe, and it is highly unlikely a tribe would accept the impressions of a member outside their tribe. I'd rule that this happens at tribal moots, but that the Old Ones in question were simply any Old Ones from that tribe who showed up from whatever sept they were at.
This is in the same section as Renown and Rank so clearly this was meant to be important. In first edition, Renown was handled differently, and the corebook did not contain the Rite of Accomplishment. It's possible impressing Old Ones served some sort of equivalent function – a perfunctory thing you should do while you gain Renown and before you make a Challenge for rank.
This is about the only thing we're told about Old Ones. I haven't found mentions in other books, unlike Lunatics which had an entire scenario book published about them, although I may have just missed any references.
This is one of those aspects of the game which seemed to have been abandoned for whatever reason. I find the concept interesting, but wonder how much it would really add to the game and player's experiences. Has anyone else used this concept? What benefits do you think it would add to your game?
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