The Curse
When it comes to dealing with mortals, the Garou inherit otherness tends to get in their way. This is known as the Curse. The Curse is a penalty to all social actions involving mortals that a Garou suffers equal to their current Rage. The one exception is Intimidation, which does not suffer a penalty.
Reflecting this, Garou struggle greatly to become influential in mortal society. The maximum amount of Influence a garou can earn is capped by 5 - (half Permanent Rage).
Further, even without trying to directly talk with mortals, a Garou's Rage sets mortals (both human and wolf) around him ill at ease, and given enough time such stress will cause those that are around to turn hostile on the Garou.
- Introduction: When a human or wolf meets a Garou, they immediately feel anxious in her presence. Those who previously met or had close relationships with the Garou may wonder why they suddenly feel awkward, but often attempt to rationalize the feeling away. All eyes may suddenly turn to a Garou as she enters a room, and mothers clutch their children protectively when she walks by.
- Five Minutes: The anxiety deepens, resulting in changes in speech patterns, such as stuttering or becoming unable to complete sentences. A human falls back on nervous behaviors, such as avoiding eye contact or pulling on her hair. Wolves raise their hackles, as they determine the new wolf smells different, and begin to circle her.
- 30 Minutes: After 30 minutes in a Garou’s presence, physical changes begin. Humans and wolves feel a crushing sensation in their chests and find it hard to catch their breath. Humans start to wheeze, while wolves begin to pant heavily. Humans frequently attribute this feeling to the beginning of a panic or heart attack. Both lupine and human pupils dilate, and they start to feel afraid of the Garou, moving away from her and creating as much distance as possible.
- 60 Minutes: When an hour has passed, humans and lupines know there is something wrong with the Garou. They become actively hostile in their social interactions and verbally antagonistic, especially if the Garou enters what they consider to be their personal space. Humans will threaten a Garou in order to create a circle of safety around themselves, pushing, shoving, or brandishing weaponry if they get too close. Wolves growl and snarl, nipping at a Garou if she comes within range, unafraid to draw blood. Both suffer pressing terror, their flight or fight response fully engaged as they look for a way to end the interaction.
- 90 Minutes: Humans undergo the symptoms of Delirium (see below), as all of their senses become overwhelmed by intense fear. Humans and wolves may run away, screaming or howling, or they may attack the Garou, unsatisfied by anything but tearing them to shreds. The panic removes all ability to reason or resolve the situation—there is only instinctual fear and the desire to end it.
A way to protect the veil, or at least that is what most Garou now call it. In truth, it is a hold over from the Impergium, where all humans learned to fear the Garou that came to slaughter them by the droves. Depending on a mortal's willpower their reaction to seeing a Garou in Crinos varies, but all but the most stalwart will buckle under the pressure of even seeing one of their ancient predators. Note, the Delirium only holds sway over mortal humans, even slightly supernatural humans such as Kinfolk or Ghouls might be frightened, but the supernatural terror of the Delirium holds no sway over them.
| Willpower | Forget? | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yes | Catatonic Fear: The human faints, or collapses in fear |
| 2 | Yes | Panic: The human bolts, trying to put as much distance between himself and the Garou as possible |
| 3 | Yes | Disbelief: The human retreats to a corner to avoid the “hallucination” until it passes, but doesn’t collapse in fear |
| 4 | Yes | Berserk: The human attacks, be it firing an arrow, throwing crockery or even leaping at the “monster” |
| 5 | Yes | Terror: Much like panic, except with rational thought. The human is able to think enough to lock doors behind him or to get in a car and flee |
| 6 | Yes | Conciliatory: The human will try to plead and bargain with the Garou, doing anything possible so as not to get hurt |
| 7 | No, but will rationalize | Controlled Fear: Although terrified, he does not panic. The human will flee or fight as appropriate, but remains in control of his actions |
| 8 | No, but will rationalize | Curiosity: These people are dangerous, because they remember what they saw (more-or-less), and they might well investigate the matter further |
| 9 | No | Bloodlust: This human refuses to take anymore. She is afraid but angry, and she will remember the Garou and probably even try to hunt it down |
| 10 | No | No reaction: The human is not the slightest bit afraid or bothered by the Garou. Even Kinfolk aren’t this stoic, so Garou tend to be very suspicious of such folks |