Gray Masses: using 'em and killing 'em

[Argonot]

Hi!

Have you used Gray Masses in your stories before? Im thinking about using them as antagonists soon and Im looking for ideas. Any idea you can give me will be appreciated.

On the other hand, how do you kill those things? They are described, basically, as microscopic banes...

[Black Fox]

I've never used them, but I have prepared them as part of a faction based on Dark Fungus that I'd like to use one day.

The purpose of Gray Masses is to create the Gray Man fomori. So the fomori should be your primary foe against Garou, and the Gray Masses simply be the reason they are being created. There are various ways to present the fomori threat. I was inspired by the parasitic fungus that created "zombie ants". Later on I found out it was the same inspiration for the computer game The Last of Us. So while I've never played it, there might be good ideas to steal from there.

As for the Gray Masses themselves, I'd treat killing them would require similar actions as it takes to kill real world fungi and mold infections. Use bleach, fire, alcohol, disinfectants, etc. to kill real world materialization, and then make sure the spiritual component is removed by the Rite of Cleansing. Once identified, most Garou shouldn't have a problem with destroying the bane. You just have to realize you can't claw or bite it. The problem is noticing the infection BEFORE it spreads enough that it can create the Gray Men fomori; or cutting through the Gray Men to get to their source of creation.

If you're in the Umbra and want to "kill" it, there are a lot of useful Theurge Gifts that directly affect spirits. You could also summon Fire Elementals to burn its presence, or possibly use the Rite of Spirit Awakening on disinfectants, alcohol, cleaners, etc. so they can do the same job in the Umbra that their real world counterparts do. You might even try something like summoning the spirit of Penicilin or some other antibiotics to attack it for you.

You can't ever really kill all mold, spores, and fungi. You can just remove its food and kill most of it so it doesn't noticeably come back. But in terms of Gray Masses, there is probably a minimum amount of microscopic spores that is required to sustain its presence and allow the bane to materialize, so as long as the Garou achieve that, they win. The horror should come from the question whether they truly found every place it could have gotten to...

[Erinys]

...and from the "killed" Banes recovering after some time in slumber.