Ask a simple question, get a simple answer: Werewolf 2e Edition

[Scarlet Witch]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I cannot for the love of me figure out where I last saw this, so I have to ask cuz I can't find it.

How possible is it (if at all) for a Pure to return to being Forsaken? I'm guessing it is impossible, but I wanna be certain. How impossible is it? Like, say the Pure is earnest and there's a Forsaken pack willing to play ball, what sort of obstacles would make it impossible, or make it simply unlikely?

I have another question--I know people talk a lot about how bipolar or much of a bitch Luna is, but, I've not seen anything outside of epithets and some vague lore stuff like how werewolves suffer under the rage and all that, to get a good feel on how much of a bitch Luna is. I know the Warden Moon communicates through Lunes, but, exactly what sort of characterization should I be considering for Luna? Or does it matter? Like how mercurial or callous should the god(dess) be to Her/His own children? Or is it only the Pure that really characterize her as a mad, piece of shit god?

[nofather]

How possible is it (if at all) for a Pure to return to being Forsaken? I'm guessing it is impossible, but I wanna be certain. How impossible is it? Like, say the Pure is earnest and there's a Forsaken pack willing to play ball, what sort of obstacles would make it impossible, or make it simply unlikely?

It's rare enough that the only times it's mentioned in the setting is when there's specifically an option for redeeming them. Usually you want a high bar for it, so you don't just have a tug of war with Forsaken grabbing Pure and giving them Auspices, then Pure grabbing them back and ripping them off. You can see some options for it scattered across the books, one of the more notable ones is the Lodge of Salvation, a lodge about, well, saving Pure and re-Baptizing them with a new (only Rahu) auspice.

I have another question--I know people talk a lot about how bipolar or much of a bitch Luna is, but, I've not seen anything outside of epithets and some vague lore stuff like how werewolves suffer under the rage and all that, to get a good feel on how much of a bitch Luna is. I know the Warden Moon communicates through Lunes, but, exactly what sort of characterization should I be considering for Luna? Or does it matter? Like how mercurial or callous should the god(dess) be to Her/His own children? Or is it only the Pure that really characterize her as a mad, piece of shit god?

Mostly a vestige of first edition, where the Pure put forth the theory that the bane of silver was a curse from Luna for killing Urfarah (though later she embraced the Forsaken), this sort of led to her being considered cruel and mercurial, especially since Luna seemed to want werewolves to act one way, but still made them all suffer from the bane of silver. In second edition, we see in Dark Eras before Urfarah is dead that werewolves already had the bane of silver (though it's not as much of an obstacle in an era without much in the way of metallurgy), and perhaps the Pure were wrong. It's still possible Luna gave them the bane from the start, but when we've seen focuses on her it's less as a 'sad Queen crying over her King's death thousands of years ago' and more 'distant barrier god.'

Also keep in mind that werewolves don't really usually get direct words from Luna, what they usually hear from is instead lunes. And while lunes are ostensibly servants of Luna it's impossible to say how loyal, truthful, and right they are, especially since lunes can seem pretty arbitrary and you can probably find more lunes with conflicting agendas than lunes that agree with one another. Exceptions mostly revolve around things like the void spirits and Pure. So if you take for granted that lunes carry the word of Luna, seeing lunes with such differing outlooks and demands can lead to the idea that maybe Luna is as fractured as they are. And as a spirit god of change and basically everything under the moon there's a ton of portfolios under her belt and she may well be (as fractured as all the lunes seem).

[Scarlet Witch]

(plentiful useful information) .

Wow thanks for the fast response ;o, yeah, I'd mentioned the Lune thing cuz I figured that would make it near impossible to know what Luna is like "personally" if such a thing can even work. Sundered World was soooo goood.
I'm glad you said all this, it was what I was hoping would be the case, infact! Its funny you mention Rahu cuz my Ivory Claw from a failed game, was JUUUST who I had in mind!! So this Lodge is perfect. Does she have to join it or just meet someone from it though?

I'm leaning toward a Lune putting her up to it to restore her Auspice and become a Blood Talon.

[nofather]

Wow thanks for the fast response ;o, yeah, I'd mentioned the Lune thing cuz I figured that would make it near impossible to know what Luna is like "personally" if such a thing can even work. Sundered World was soooo goood.
I'm glad you said all this, it was what I was hoping would be the case, infact! Its funny you mention Rahu cuz my Ivory Claw from a failed game, was JUUUST who I had in mind!! So this Lodge is perfect. Does she have to join it or just meet someone from it though?

No problem, though I might have gotten some details wrong, the rite says it can let you join the Tribes of the Moon, and it gets rid of your Pure renown, but it doesn't give you a new auspice, it just sort of makes you a Forsaken. There were some plot hooks for getting your full auspice blessing back, however. The lodge is more about finding and helping Pure convert back, so the ex-Pure don't have to join, but it's easy to imagine them joining up to help others later.

I'm leaning toward a Lune putting her up to it to restore her Auspice and become a Blood Talon.

I say go for it, I always liked the idea of quests to earn the auspice back, something to make yourself open and available to lunes and Luna's blessing. I think someone on the forum once posted about having to find your original, scoured Auspice, the idea being that they weren't just ripped off and destroyed but instead stashed away somewhere. Which seemed like a neat hook too.

[wamesahau]

Another (possibly dumb) question: Is Locus required in order for Uratha to cross the gauntlet? Is it possible to Reach at any other place than Locus? My understanding is that Locus provides strong mechanical bonus which, for most Uratha, is neccessary to Reach, but there are some descriptions throughout the book, that are being intepreted as indications that Reaching is possible only at Locus, and cannot be done anywhere else. Is that correct?

[Tessie]

Another (possibly dumb) question: Is Locus required in order for Uratha to cross the gauntlet? Is it possible to Reach at any other place than Locus? My understanding is that Locus provides strong mechanical bonus which, for most Uratha, is neccessary to Reach, but there are some descriptions throughout the book, that are being intepreted as indications that Reaching is possible only at Locus, and cannot be done anywhere else. Is that correct?

"Normally, werewolves need to Reach at a locus."

"Werewolves with Harmony 3 or lower do not require a locus to enter the Shadow. Werewolves with Harmony 8 or higher do not require a locus to enter the physical world."

[Bunyip]

Another (possibly dumb) question: Is Locus required in order for Uratha to cross the gauntlet? Is it possible to Reach at any other place than Locus? My understanding is that Locus provides strong mechanical bonus which, for most Uratha, is neccessary to Reach, but there are some descriptions throughout the book, that are being intepreted as indications that Reaching is possible only at Locus, and cannot be done anywhere else. Is that correct?

In general terms, Uratha can only Reach at a locus, unless they have a Gift or some other power that specifically allows it, or Harmony imbalance.

For individual games, settings, and scenarios, the Storyteller may introduce other phenomena/situations that work for Reaching. Additionally, some other creatures have their own powers that they could use on a Uratha, or that a Uratha could take advantage of, but they’re not the werewolf’s inherent Reaching ability.

Edit: Ninja’d by Tessie 🙂

[Penny]

Does the Pack Totem is still around its pack or it's roaming free and come to the pack if asked? How independent being is the Pack Totem?

If the pack doesn't have locus where the Pack Totem would reside?

[Tessie]

It varies from pack to pack. Some pack totems are free to do whatever they want, some totems are forced to behave according to certain rules by their pack, and some totems boss around with their pack.

[nofather]

Does the Pack Totem is still around its pack or it's roaming free and come to the pack if asked? How independent being is the Pack Totem?

If the pack doesn't have locus where the Pack Totem would reside?

This gets more detailed in the Pack book.

But if the pack is at rest and nothing's going on, the totem is usually at rest as well. When the Pack is active, say, responding to a threat or investigating something new, it gets more active as well. And most totems participate on the hunt, so if there's a hunt it's usually going with. An obvious exception is totems based on a location, say a lake or marketplace, who might not be able to leave it (and may even have a ban keeping them from leaving it).

What kind of totem it is can make a big difference. One more about watchful vigilance would probably always be watching over the territory and pack, while one of Death and Silence might hang out at a graveyard whenever it's not being called upon for something else.

[Penny]

How Uratha sense Spirit-Ridden, especially Urged? It's only by Scent the Unnatural gift?

[Neos01]

How Uratha sense Spirit-Ridden, especially Urged? It's only by Scent the Unnatural gift?

With their Spirit senses uratha can see spirits in twilight and across the gauntlet

[Malus]

Another (possibly dumb) question: Is Locus required in order for Uratha to cross the gauntlet? Is it possible to Reach at any other place than Locus? My understanding is that Locus provides strong mechanical bonus which, for most Uratha, is neccessary to Reach, but there are some descriptions throughout the book, that are being intepreted as indications that Reaching is possible only at Locus, and cannot be done anywhere else. Is that correct?

There's also the Waystone Tell, for another example.

[Malus]

How Uratha sense Spirit-Ridden, especially Urged? It's only by Scent the Unnatural gift?

Spirits urging a mount suffuse it entirely, so they aren't visible - but there's signs to the educated, and they can probably sniff out influences with a successful Wits+Primal Urge roll penalized by the spirit's Resistance.

Claimed are usually readily apparent.

[Acrozatarim]

The Storm Lord Sacred Hunt also offers the ability to perceive the Riding spirits.