Feint Reach : help me workshop a new fighting merit or two?

[Kvark]

I have a concept for WtF and I've workshopped it with my players and Discord but I'm keen to get other input on it. I'm still not certain whether it's best represented as an individual merit, a fighting style, or even expanded into a gift.

The core of the idea is that a Werewolf has learned to feint a Reach attempt as a combat tactic. They aren't actually trying to cross the Gauntlet, just to struggle against it and come back out the same side. Werewolves can do this cool thing where they can instantly disappear from this plane, and it would be really nifty to take advantage of that.

Here's one iteration I've put together as an example:

Feint Reach (•••)
Preqrequisite: Cunning ••, Wits •••, Occult ••
Effect: Your character has had practice incorporating Reaching as a tactical maneuver to dodge incoming blows. Because her goal is not to cross the Gauntlet, she may use Feint Reach without a Locus, even if Reaching would normally require one.

Your character may attempt to Feint Reach as a reflexive action any time she declares a Dodge maneuver. Her dice pool for Feint Reach is equal to her dice pool for Reaching (including all normal Gauntlet penalties) plus her Cunning renown. If the character would normally not need to Reach (due to out-of-balance Harmony, a rite, or any other reason), then the success is automatic. She may still choose to roll to attempt an exceptional success, however.

Dramatic Failure: Your character's attempt to Feint Reach backfires. She not only fails to Feint Reach, she is dazed by the Gauntlet and does not get to benefit from her Dodge action.
Failure: The maneuver fails and she Dodges, unmodified.
Success: Your character may add her Cunning renown to her Defense before doubling it. She may also move up to her Speed while Dodging.
Exceptional Success: In addition to the above, on her next turn, your character's opponent may not apply Defense against your character. If your character decides not to attack on her next turn, this bonus is lost.

I'm in over my head... I've homebrewed a lot of things, but never werewolf fighting merits, and I think this concept at its core is pretty cool and I want to do it justice for a player.

What's the right way to take something like this? I like the merit giving the character an enhancement to Dodge, but I can also see this as the beginning of a Wolf Gift, Gift of the Gauntlet. How would you fine folk do it? Feel free to propose something completely different. I'm all ears.

[All_of_Antarctica]

Sounds sort of like the mundane merit Defensive Fighting. Although that merit increases your Defense stat instead of making it a dodge action. If you want it to be a merit I would keep the stat requirements but make it a temporary buff to your defense stat, maybe by swapping out the Dex component of Defense with Occult or Essense. The tables for successes and failures I see no problem with. However if you want to expand it to a full on Gift I'll just say that's going to require a lot more work since you'd need to have a different power for each type of renown. Alternatively, if you want players to use this move more often you can make it a standard pack maneuver instead of a merit. WtF book's got a ton of pack maneuvers like flanking etc that can be used by anyone with the perquisite stats IIC.

[thenate]

Quick and dirty draft of a complete gift related

Gift of Walls

Purity: Predatory Pin: After successfully grappling a target, the werewolf can spend a Willpower to activate this gift to entangle them partway in the Gauntlet itself. They cannot roll to Reach until they free their self from the grapple.

Cunning: Shadow Step: When the gift bearer is able to Reach across the Gauntlet, they can use this ability. Use requires roughly a yard/meter of movement for the round, but in exchange, the flickering step adds Cunning to Defense. This applies to Dodge actions as well as incoming attacks.

Wisdom: Open a Way: This gift requires an Essence and a Willpower to activate, allowing the user to become the center of an effect that lowers the Gauntlet rating by up to Wisdom for the scene. The werewolf can choose to become a Verge or not, selecting a Gauntlet rating of 1 or 0 reflexively once a round, though it's otherwise fixed until the effect is dropped.

Honor: Taste of the Shadow Wind: Any verge that opens in the territory of the gift bearer is automatically detected.
I couldn't think of simple rules to make increasing Honor improve accuracy. I was also considering including detection of spirits crossing into the world an Honor + Rank in miles kind of deal, but with vague positioning outside territory.

Glory: Gate Guardian: The werewolf can bar entry through a verge or locus in sight with a snarl or howl and a single Willpower. Attempts to cross require a Clash of Wills and, unless their Resistance or Resolve + Primal Urge is greater than the gift user's Glory + Primal Urge, they must spend a Willpower. The effect lasts the scene.

[Hamborger]

Quick and dirty draft of a complete gift related

Gift of Walls

Purity: Predatory Pin: After successfully grappling a target, the werewolf can spend a Willpower to activate this gift to entangle them partway in the Gauntlet itself. They cannot roll to Reach until they free their self from the grapple.

Cunning: Shadow Step: When the gift bearer is able to Reach across the Gauntlet, they can use this ability. Use requires roughly a yard/meter of movement for the round, but in exchange, the flickering step adds Cunning to Defense. This applies to Dodge actions as well as incoming attacks.

Wisdom: Open a Way: This gift requires an Essence and a Willpower to activate, allowing the user to become the center of an effect that lowers the Gauntlet rating by up to Wisdom for the scene. The werewolf can choose to become a Verge or not, selecting a Gauntlet rating of 1 or 0 reflexively once a round, though it's otherwise fixed until the effect is dropped.

Honor: Taste of the Shadow Wind: Any verge that opens in the territory of the gift bearer is automatically detected.
I couldn't think of simple rules to make increasing Honor improve accuracy. I was also considering including detection of spirits crossing into the world an Honor + Rank in miles kind of deal, but with vague positioning outside territory.

Glory: Gate Guardian: The werewolf can bar entry through a verge or locus in sight with a snarl or howl and a single Willpower. Attempts to cross require a Clash of Wills and, unless their Resistance or Resolve + Primal Urge is greater than the gift user's Glory + Primal Urge, they must spend a Willpower. The effect lasts the scene.

I like the idea of a 'Gauntlet' gift, but some of this facets kinda overlaps with others. Taste of the Shadow Wind is basically a weaker Ward The Wolf's Den for example. Predatory Pin is genuinely good though having the cost be Essence is enough, but it's a bit too narrow IMO. Just penalizing Reaching is way too minimal. Also what does Shadow Step mean by able to Reach across the gauntlet? One needs a locus to do that and a Def bonus is good but that's way too restricting.

[Kvark]

Thank you all for your suggestions. With Discord I workshopped some gift facets as well.

Still haven't found something I like for Honor renown, and still some details left to work out....

Gauntlet Cowl (Cunning): The Uratha has learned to take cover in the Gauntlet.
Cost: 1 Essence
Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge + Cunning
Action: Reflexive
When declaring a Dodge, your character may dodge through the Gauntlet.
Dramatic Failure: Your character's attempt to dodge through the Gauntlet backfires. She not only fails, she is dazed by the Gauntlet and does not get to benefit from her Dodge action.
Failure: The maneuver fails and she Dodges, unmodified.
Success: Your character may add her Cunning renown to her Defense before doubling it. She may also move up to her Speed while Dodging.
Exceptional Success: In addition to the above, on her next turn, your character's opponent may not apply Defense against your character. If your character decides not to attack on her next turn, this bonus is lost.

Sundering Howl (Glory): The Uratha releases a howl like Urfarah's, that cleaves the worlds in two.
Cost: Varies
Dice Pool: None
The Uratha may spend up to her Glory renown in Essence. For each Essence spent, the local Gauntlet strength increases by one. The effect covers an area equal to her Glory Renown * 100 yards.

Pangean Legacy (Purity): It is the sacred duty of the Uratha to keep the balance between worlds, and it is their birthright to travel freely between them.
Duration: Permanent
Your character adds her Purity renown to any dice rolls penalized by the local Gauntlet Strength.

Shadow Sight (Wisdom): The gaze of the Uratha penetrates the thick mist of the Gauntlet.
Cost: 1 Essence
Dice Pool: ???
Action: Instant
Dramatic Failure: The Uratha's senses are overloaded, and she suffers -2 to all rolls involving perception.
Failure: The facet has no effect.
Success: When the Uratha uses her Spirit Senses (p 95), her senses reveal both sides of the Gauntlet simultaneously. She still suffers the local Gauntlet Strength as a penalty to Perception rolls across the Gauntlet, but suffers no penalties to sense anything on the same side.
Exceptional Success: ??