Post by Tameh on Jan 5, 2013 9:58:30 GMT -6
The following maneuvers can be performed only by a pack of werewolves or by members of the same pack. A spiritual bond must exist between the participants (provided by the pack’s totem) in order for the Garou to coordinate their actions enough to make these attacks work properly.
A pack can know only a number of pack maneuvers equal to the lowest Gnosis score in the pack. For example, if a pack includes two members with Gnosis ratings of 5, one with a rating of 7, one with a rating of 4 and one with a rating of 1, the pack knows only one pack tactic. This restriction applies even if the whole pack is not necessary to perform the maneuver. The greater the Gnosis of the pack, the more “in tune” they are with their totem and each other.
The descriptions of these maneuvers contain notations as to how many Garou are necessary to perform the maneuver and whether it is possible to do so alone.
The maneuvers presented here only scratch the surface of what a creative pack (not to mention a creative group of players) will dream up. A really original and effective pack tactic should be worth a point of Glory and/ or Wisdom.
Sidenote: Pack Tactics Ahroun Gift (Rank 1)
While the Ahroun’s role as the overall leader of Garou is questionable, there is no doubt at all who should take control of the pack during a battle. By taking the lead and coordinating pack actions, the Ahroun gifts all of her packmates with great competence in the heat of battle. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System:
The player spends a Willpower point before initiating a Pack Tactics maneuver (3rd ed WWtA Corebook, page 212), and divides a pool of extra dice equal to her Leadership score among everyone performing the maneuver. The dice should be divided as evenly as possible, although the player may choose where to distribute extra dice (or in case of the Ahroun’s Leadership score granting fewer dice than the number of packmates involved).
Source: Book of Auspices
Fur Gnarl: Usually performed by two Garou in rapid succession, this attack consists of the first packmate stripping away the natural protection (or even artificial armor) of an opponent, leaving a vulnerable spot for the next packmate to attack.
The first attacker rolls Dexterity + Brawl for a claw attack, shredding the opponent’s fur or armor and hopefully taking a good chunk of it along (the difficulty on the roll is 7). For every two damage successes rolled (before soak), the target loses a die from soak rolls for that area. The next packmate may then attack as usual, although his difficulty increases by two because 7 he must target the same area that the first attacker hit. This penalty lasts until the target can heal the damage or get new armor.
Example: Not long after Fangs and Walks’ little wrestling match, they find themselves besieged by a much more deadly threat — a chitinous, clawed beast from some Wyrmish spawning pit. Fangs shoots a look at Walks, who nods and launches himself at the beast to execute a furg narl. (Granted, the beast doesn’t exactly have fur, but the same principle applies.)
Walks’ attack strikes true, and his player rolls six successes for damage! Although the creature soaks most of this damage, the shell is now stripped from a portion of its left flank. When Fangs attacks, he will target this area (at a + l difficulty penalty). If he succeeds, the creature will soak at a three-die penalty.
Packmates Required: 2
Performable Alone?: Yes
Harrying: Wolves do not attack prey outright, even in packs. Instead, they chase and harass their intended meal until it collapses from exhaustion. Werewolves use a similar method to attack and confuse enemies.
Harrying requires at least four Garou: one in front of the victim, one in back and one to each side. The rearmost Garou chases the prey either to one of the Garou on the side or to the lead Garou. The rearmost stalker then reassumes his position and the new stalker surprises the prey, growling and snapping, and chases him toward one of the other Garou, and so on until the victim is exhausted. A human victim will lose a Willpower point each time he is “handed off” to another werewolf.
The system for harrying is as follows: Make a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 5) for both the chasing Garou and the prey. If the Garou scores more successes, he is chases the victim successfully to another Garou. Generally, the Garou must win five such tests to force the victim close enough to pass him off.
If, however, the prey scores more successes, he has outdistanced his attacker, and he may attempt to escape. Make the same rolls again, but this time the Garou’s player adds the prey’s excess successes to her difficulty. For example, if the Garou’s player rolled one success on the first harrying roll and the Storyteller rolled five for the prey, the Garou’s player adds four to her difficulty, making it 9. The Garou must exceed the prey’s successes — at the adjusted difficulty — in order to catch up with the prey and begin steering him toward the waiting hunters. If the prey escapes, the Garou must resort to tracking to find the prey.
If the prey chooses to stand and fight, normal combat begins. Unlike normal wolves, werewolves will not back down from their prey. It’s their nature to fight, not flee.
Harrying can be performed in any quadrupedal form. Some tribes, notably the Get of Fenris and the Shadow Lords, use this method to kidnap cubs from their human or wolf families. They wear the pup down to exhaustion, which makes her much easier to capture and transport to her new home.
Packmates Required: 4
Performable Alone?: No
Savage: Also called a “dogpile” by the Bone Gnawers, this brutal attack requires at least three packmates, although it can involve five or more for larger opponents. This tactic involves one werewolf hurling herself at an opponent to knock him to the ground, whereupon the rest of the pack rushes him in Lupus or Hispo form to bite him while he’s down.
The system is simple; the first Garou executes a body tackle or sweep attack as usual. Then, his packmates surround the fallen foe and bite whatever part of him they can reach. This attack can slay most enemies in seconds, but even opponents who are not killed outright must roll Strength + Athletics (difficulty 4 + 1 for each Garou involved, maximum 10) to stand up.
Packmates Required: 3
Performable Alone?: No
Wishbone: This maneuver consists of one or more Garou grabbing an opponent’s extremities and pulling him apart. It’s not very subtle, true, but it’s a superb way to get an uncooperative foe to talk or to scare the hell out of any remaining enemies.
Each player must roll his character’s Dexterity + Brawl to grab an extremity. The difficulty begins at 6 and drops by one for each Garou thereafter (as the opponent’s ability to dodge is gradually reduced). After all possible extremities are restrained, each player rolls Strength for damage. This damage is considered lethal. The Garou involved may choose to either pull slowly as a torture method (in which case the damage is considered bashing) or to simply give a quick jerk, maximizing damage. If any one Garou inflicts more than three health levels of damage after soak, the extremity is broken or severed (Storyteller’s discretion).
This maneuver is possible to perform in Lupus or Hispo; it just requires knocking the victim down first.
Packmates Required: 2 +
Performable Alone?: No
The Wedge
Effects: The pack forms a Wedge shape with the Primary Actor at it’s head and 2 Werewolves forming a “V” shape to either side of him making Strength + Brawl diff 8 rolls to fend off enemy forces and for each success on that roll allows the primary actor to add a die to their defense rolls. Thus allowing them to attack a target in the middle of the battlefield.
Required Werewolves 5
Prerequisites: Brawl 3, Strength 2
Fastball Special
Effects: A Garou in homid is thrown by someone in Crinos at an enemy. In the air, the thrown Garou shifts into Crinos or Hispo form and attacks. For each success on the Dexterity + Athletics diff 7 to throw the Primary adds +1 to their attack roll.
Required Werewolves 2
Prerequisites: Athletics 3, Dexterity 3 or Strength 3
Shadow Games
Effects: Each Garou circles a target, making small yips or other sounds.
Each Secondary Actor makes a contested Dex + Brawl diff 6 vs. Wits + Survival diff 6 to make the target believe that an attack is coming. For each success on the Dex + Brawl tests reduces the defense of the target by one for the primary actors next attack in the same turn. This tactic can only be used once per combat on a single target.
Required Werewolves 2+
Prerequisites: Stealth 4, Dex 3
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Effects: When interrogating or negotiating (either with Physical or Spiritual beings) the secondary actor (bad cop) makes a Manipulation + Intimidation Roll vs. the targets Willpower. For each success on the Manipulation + Intimidation Roll, the Primary Actor gets +1 to their next persuasion rolls with the target.
Required Werewolves: 2
Prerequisites: Manipulation 2, Intimidation 2
Circle of Protection
Effects: The secondary actors encircle the Primary actor while they perform a Rite. While encircled, the Primary Actor gets -1 diff for that turn for each successful attack that the Secondary actors have (up to a maximum of +4) to cast the Rite.
Required Werewolves: 4
Prerequisites: Strength 3, Brawl or firearms 3
Harassment
Effects: At least two Crinos attack a single target in hand-to-hand combat. Regardless of whether their attacks connect or not, the pack forces the target into a more vulnerable position. On the turn after this tactic is used, the target’s Defence is reduced by the number of Crinos who used it. This tactic can be used by more than two packmates at once, up to the usual maximum (typically four assailants on one target).
Required Werewolves: 2
Prerequisites: Dexterity 2, Brawl 1
A pack can know only a number of pack maneuvers equal to the lowest Gnosis score in the pack. For example, if a pack includes two members with Gnosis ratings of 5, one with a rating of 7, one with a rating of 4 and one with a rating of 1, the pack knows only one pack tactic. This restriction applies even if the whole pack is not necessary to perform the maneuver. The greater the Gnosis of the pack, the more “in tune” they are with their totem and each other.
The descriptions of these maneuvers contain notations as to how many Garou are necessary to perform the maneuver and whether it is possible to do so alone.
The maneuvers presented here only scratch the surface of what a creative pack (not to mention a creative group of players) will dream up. A really original and effective pack tactic should be worth a point of Glory and/ or Wisdom.
Sidenote: Pack Tactics Ahroun Gift (Rank 1)
While the Ahroun’s role as the overall leader of Garou is questionable, there is no doubt at all who should take control of the pack during a battle. By taking the lead and coordinating pack actions, the Ahroun gifts all of her packmates with great competence in the heat of battle. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.
System:
The player spends a Willpower point before initiating a Pack Tactics maneuver (3rd ed WWtA Corebook, page 212), and divides a pool of extra dice equal to her Leadership score among everyone performing the maneuver. The dice should be divided as evenly as possible, although the player may choose where to distribute extra dice (or in case of the Ahroun’s Leadership score granting fewer dice than the number of packmates involved).
Source: Book of Auspices
Fur Gnarl: Usually performed by two Garou in rapid succession, this attack consists of the first packmate stripping away the natural protection (or even artificial armor) of an opponent, leaving a vulnerable spot for the next packmate to attack.
The first attacker rolls Dexterity + Brawl for a claw attack, shredding the opponent’s fur or armor and hopefully taking a good chunk of it along (the difficulty on the roll is 7). For every two damage successes rolled (before soak), the target loses a die from soak rolls for that area. The next packmate may then attack as usual, although his difficulty increases by two because 7 he must target the same area that the first attacker hit. This penalty lasts until the target can heal the damage or get new armor.
Example: Not long after Fangs and Walks’ little wrestling match, they find themselves besieged by a much more deadly threat — a chitinous, clawed beast from some Wyrmish spawning pit. Fangs shoots a look at Walks, who nods and launches himself at the beast to execute a furg narl. (Granted, the beast doesn’t exactly have fur, but the same principle applies.)
Walks’ attack strikes true, and his player rolls six successes for damage! Although the creature soaks most of this damage, the shell is now stripped from a portion of its left flank. When Fangs attacks, he will target this area (at a + l difficulty penalty). If he succeeds, the creature will soak at a three-die penalty.
Packmates Required: 2
Performable Alone?: Yes
Harrying: Wolves do not attack prey outright, even in packs. Instead, they chase and harass their intended meal until it collapses from exhaustion. Werewolves use a similar method to attack and confuse enemies.
Harrying requires at least four Garou: one in front of the victim, one in back and one to each side. The rearmost Garou chases the prey either to one of the Garou on the side or to the lead Garou. The rearmost stalker then reassumes his position and the new stalker surprises the prey, growling and snapping, and chases him toward one of the other Garou, and so on until the victim is exhausted. A human victim will lose a Willpower point each time he is “handed off” to another werewolf.
The system for harrying is as follows: Make a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 5) for both the chasing Garou and the prey. If the Garou scores more successes, he is chases the victim successfully to another Garou. Generally, the Garou must win five such tests to force the victim close enough to pass him off.
If, however, the prey scores more successes, he has outdistanced his attacker, and he may attempt to escape. Make the same rolls again, but this time the Garou’s player adds the prey’s excess successes to her difficulty. For example, if the Garou’s player rolled one success on the first harrying roll and the Storyteller rolled five for the prey, the Garou’s player adds four to her difficulty, making it 9. The Garou must exceed the prey’s successes — at the adjusted difficulty — in order to catch up with the prey and begin steering him toward the waiting hunters. If the prey escapes, the Garou must resort to tracking to find the prey.
If the prey chooses to stand and fight, normal combat begins. Unlike normal wolves, werewolves will not back down from their prey. It’s their nature to fight, not flee.
Harrying can be performed in any quadrupedal form. Some tribes, notably the Get of Fenris and the Shadow Lords, use this method to kidnap cubs from their human or wolf families. They wear the pup down to exhaustion, which makes her much easier to capture and transport to her new home.
Packmates Required: 4
Performable Alone?: No
Savage: Also called a “dogpile” by the Bone Gnawers, this brutal attack requires at least three packmates, although it can involve five or more for larger opponents. This tactic involves one werewolf hurling herself at an opponent to knock him to the ground, whereupon the rest of the pack rushes him in Lupus or Hispo form to bite him while he’s down.
The system is simple; the first Garou executes a body tackle or sweep attack as usual. Then, his packmates surround the fallen foe and bite whatever part of him they can reach. This attack can slay most enemies in seconds, but even opponents who are not killed outright must roll Strength + Athletics (difficulty 4 + 1 for each Garou involved, maximum 10) to stand up.
Packmates Required: 3
Performable Alone?: No
Wishbone: This maneuver consists of one or more Garou grabbing an opponent’s extremities and pulling him apart. It’s not very subtle, true, but it’s a superb way to get an uncooperative foe to talk or to scare the hell out of any remaining enemies.
Each player must roll his character’s Dexterity + Brawl to grab an extremity. The difficulty begins at 6 and drops by one for each Garou thereafter (as the opponent’s ability to dodge is gradually reduced). After all possible extremities are restrained, each player rolls Strength for damage. This damage is considered lethal. The Garou involved may choose to either pull slowly as a torture method (in which case the damage is considered bashing) or to simply give a quick jerk, maximizing damage. If any one Garou inflicts more than three health levels of damage after soak, the extremity is broken or severed (Storyteller’s discretion).
This maneuver is possible to perform in Lupus or Hispo; it just requires knocking the victim down first.
Packmates Required: 2 +
Performable Alone?: No
The Wedge
Effects: The pack forms a Wedge shape with the Primary Actor at it’s head and 2 Werewolves forming a “V” shape to either side of him making Strength + Brawl diff 8 rolls to fend off enemy forces and for each success on that roll allows the primary actor to add a die to their defense rolls. Thus allowing them to attack a target in the middle of the battlefield.
Required Werewolves 5
Prerequisites: Brawl 3, Strength 2
Fastball Special
Effects: A Garou in homid is thrown by someone in Crinos at an enemy. In the air, the thrown Garou shifts into Crinos or Hispo form and attacks. For each success on the Dexterity + Athletics diff 7 to throw the Primary adds +1 to their attack roll.
Required Werewolves 2
Prerequisites: Athletics 3, Dexterity 3 or Strength 3
Shadow Games
Effects: Each Garou circles a target, making small yips or other sounds.
Each Secondary Actor makes a contested Dex + Brawl diff 6 vs. Wits + Survival diff 6 to make the target believe that an attack is coming. For each success on the Dex + Brawl tests reduces the defense of the target by one for the primary actors next attack in the same turn. This tactic can only be used once per combat on a single target.
Required Werewolves 2+
Prerequisites: Stealth 4, Dex 3
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Effects: When interrogating or negotiating (either with Physical or Spiritual beings) the secondary actor (bad cop) makes a Manipulation + Intimidation Roll vs. the targets Willpower. For each success on the Manipulation + Intimidation Roll, the Primary Actor gets +1 to their next persuasion rolls with the target.
Required Werewolves: 2
Prerequisites: Manipulation 2, Intimidation 2
Circle of Protection
Effects: The secondary actors encircle the Primary actor while they perform a Rite. While encircled, the Primary Actor gets -1 diff for that turn for each successful attack that the Secondary actors have (up to a maximum of +4) to cast the Rite.
Required Werewolves: 4
Prerequisites: Strength 3, Brawl or firearms 3
Harassment
Effects: At least two Crinos attack a single target in hand-to-hand combat. Regardless of whether their attacks connect or not, the pack forces the target into a more vulnerable position. On the turn after this tactic is used, the target’s Defence is reduced by the number of Crinos who used it. This tactic can be used by more than two packmates at once, up to the usual maximum (typically four assailants on one target).
Required Werewolves: 2
Prerequisites: Dexterity 2, Brawl 1