Retesting with Might

The House Rule goes as follows: When you reach Fostern Rank (Rank Two) you gain the Physical Trait "Might". Might can be used as a Third (or later) Retest to any Physical Challenge. It can be used in any and all Physical Challenges, from basic Unarmed and Melee combat and all the way up to using a Firearm (unless you use Mental instead).

Jack's Mental Traits are higher than his Physical, so he has desided to use that catagory while firing his Magnum Desert Eagle ("Jack's Anger"). The Spiral he's unloading into, however, obviously wants to get out of the way, and bids that he is Lithe enough to Dodge.

Jack and the NPC both throw. Jack's Player throws Rock and the ST throws Scissors. The Spiral has a Dodge Retest, but fails that throw as well. However, since the Spiral is at least Rank Two and is using his Physical Traits, he has the Might Retest in addition to his Dodge retest (though, if he wanted, he could have used Might first). The ST wins this throw, but luckily for Jack, he's still got his Firearms retest.

Might illustrates that Garou are Warriors for Gaia, and are thusly created for war. Ataining Fostern Rank shows that you are no longer a "child" in Garou Society, and shows that you have grown stronger in spirit as well. Renown is not just some arbitrary signification of you being higher in the pecking order than another Garou. It's a mark that flows through your spiritual being, showing other Garou that you have indeed gained the rank that you claim, and you are stronger because of it. Might is one of Rank's "perks"2

2. For more detailed information on Renown, See: More Than Rank.

Lucky Enough to Dodge

Luck is a Merit that comes in two forms (in this Game), a One Point and a Three Point. The Single Point version of it allows you to retest any single action over the course of one whole Game. This Retest (which is what Luck is, an extra Retest) comes after the Initial Challenge, but may come before Might, your Ability Retest, or even Ancesstors, if you so choose. Most people, however, use it as their last resort, after all other options have been used. This is usually the same moment in which their character may die because of the results of this throw.

The Three Point Version allows you to a free Retest, Once a Scene throughout Game. Once again, just as above, it allows you to use it as a Retest after to your Initial Challenge. The benifit here is much as it allows you a somewhat replenishable Retest throughout the cource of the entire Game, so long as Game is not one long scene (like, for example, a Caern Creation Game).

You only ever end up with Lucky with Storyteller disgression, and generally that will only happen at Character Creation. Policing over the Merit is something we've only had to rarely do in the past, but is something we will do again at any time that the ST's think a Player may end up abusing it.

Of final note, Luck can be used for a three-out-of-three test, but only for the purposes of rethrowing. It does not allow you to redo the Initial Challenge if you have already thrown the results of the three-out-of-three test, but it can allow you to redo the three-out-of-three itself.

Thomas Ivanov, now Athro, is taking part in the Rite which will Recreate the Sept of the Bitten Tongue at a higher level than it was before. Early on in the battle, a Black Spiral Dancer comes at him from behind with a Long Sword, slashing into his side. His Player doesn't think much of this—even though it is a Surprise Attack—and throws the Initital Challenge. Thomas looses his first Quick when he tries to Dodge to the side. Then, he looses his Dodge Retest. He throws Might, finally, and looses on that test as well. His mun thinks this is all fine and good, and throws for the three-out-of-three to see if he takes a heavy hit to the side. It turns out, he looses all three throws. The ST informs him that, unfortunately, a three-out-of-three loss means that he gets chopped in half and that it will kill him. His Player looks at the NPC with a look of shock and says "Luck!".

Now, in the above example the Challenge has already been thrown. Luck will not allow a rethrowing of the Initial Challenge, but it will effectively Reset the three-out-of-three. The connection of the sword, and thus the damage, will occur regardless of the new result... but being able to rethrow the three-out-of-three will give the Player a chance to at least not have his character straight-up die from the six-loss streak of thows he just had. After all, he'd been at Full Health before the attack.

The Power Of Overbidding

Set Up Us the Bomb

Very few characters reach Adren Rank (Rank Three), unfortunately... but for those that do, you get another kind of Throw to spice things up. You get "The Bomb", and you throw it just as you would Rock, Paper, or Scissors. The Bomb can only be beaten by Scissors (by snipping the fuse), and is yet another advantage to gaining Rank in game.

More Than Rank

Renown is an impression left on your very being by the spirits themselves that no other Garou, save maybe a Black Spiral Dancer, can possibly ignore. Your Renown is in your characters's blood, and is a mark upon their very being.