Expanded Guide: Rank
Defining Rank
Based on their renown, each werewolf also holds a certain rank in Garou society, and he is often addressed by his proper title. For instance:
- Cubs are at the bottom of the pecking order, treated as little more than children. They’re eager to learn, and they ask many confusing questions.
- Once a cub completes her Rite of Passage, she becomes a cliath, a young Garou enlisted continually to perform all sorts of tasks for her sept. Some travel all over the world, completing missions and learning about werewolf society.
- As cliath continue to gain esteem, they eventually become fostern. These Garou have risen high enough to act as emissaries between septs. At this stage in life, an entire pack may undergo a period of fosterage in a distant and seemingly alien caern.
- Adren outrank fostern, often taking on some of the lesser political positions in a sept. By this time, a pack of adren usually limits its travel to a handful of caerns. Political rivalries develop over time.
- Athro outrank all these commoners. They are typically swept up in some of the most perilous and compelling adventures their tribes can offer. Silent Strider messengers have been known to travel around the world to summon the right pack of athro for critical adventures.
- Only the most esteemed and highest-ranking Garou are addressed as elders. Even if an elder does not currently serve as a tribal elder, as a sept leader, or some other esteemed position, a werewolf with enough renown is still treated with the greatest respect.
When two Garou of vastly different rank interact — as in a conversation between young cliath and their elders — their relative positions are fairly obvious. When two werewolves have roughly the same Rank or Renown, social niceties are not so clean-cut. When heroes of equal status disagree, matters may come to blows. Fortunately, Garou society has developed protocols for dealing with such conflict: tests of dominance that are usually based on the type of problem facing the sept.
Rank Effects
As garou rise in rank, various benefits become available based on rank. Similarly, as garou become busier with increased rank, they stumble upon downsides as well. Please see below for some alterations based on rank:
- Bonus Attributes – At certain ranks a Garou grows in power, at the Rank of Adren a Garou gains the ability to raise the limit on one Attribute by 1. As an Athro, they gain another limit increase that may be applied to the same attribute, or a different one. Again as an Elder, they gain a third such attribute limit increase. These bonus dots must still be purchased with XP and confer no benefit until then. Attributes developed beyond 5 have special rules associated with them. Please check the Attributes post for more information.
- Totem Points - The more a garou, the more the spirits reward them. A garou gets an extra dot in Totem at every rank (this does not count towards the 5 point max for the Background). This means that every Cliath starts with a free dot of Totem, and can go up to 6, and an Elder can have a connection so strong, they have a max potential of 10 points in Totem. This benefit does nothing for packless garou, which is part of why packing is so essential in the garou nation.
- Gift Level – Unlike typical rules, any rank may purchase any Gift level (a cub can develop a level 5 Gift if they so wish, if a story reason is provided); however, the Spirits demand extra chiminage for such power. If you are using a Gift that is above your rank’s Gift level, increase the cost by 1 temper (this is 1 temper total no matter how great the difference). The one exception are level 6 Gifts, which may only be learned by a Legend.
- Downtime Action Bonus/Requirement – Depending on your rank you either have plenty of free time, or your time is filled with work for your pack or the sept. The lower ranks get bonus downtimes, and higher ranked characters suffer a penalty to their free downtimes.
- Ability Cost – Younger Garou spend much of their time learning. This is reflected by the Ability Cost: at lower ranks all Abilities cost 1xp per dot, at higher ranks all Abilities cost 2xp per dot.
- Stare Down Retests - Depending on your Rank you get a number of additional Retests when you engage in a Stare Down Challenge. Please reference Dramatic Systems: Stare Down for more information on those specific mechanics.
- Self Control - Characters of high rank have shown discipline, and have immersed themselves in the structure of Garou society so much that they are less likely to frenzy. Based on your rank, you get a Frenzy Modifier to add to your Resolve + Current Willpower pool in order to resist frenzy.
- Young Moniker - Both Cubs and Cliaths are known as young and new members of the nation. Anyone possessing these ranks are given more understanding by other Garou. Unless they commit the most egregious of crimes their punishments are expected to be much lighter - and anyone who does seriously punish basically a child without good cause can expect the spirits to deny their glory, honor, and wisdom. Cubs especially are under the protection of the Den Parent who may take any would be punisher of a Cub to task should they over-reach. Anyone possessing the Young Moniker is encouraged to ask questions when they do not understand and it is expected that senior Garou will answer these questions when asked. It is recommended that individuals with the Young Moniker do not abuse this power, as silly or trivial questions (e.g. "But why?" "But why?" "But why?") may lead to being on the receiving end of a Stare Down to make you shut up - and no the spirits do not care if the Garou looked at you mean if you were being annoying. The intention of this moniker is to give new players to Garou a chance to interface with the game and learn all of the rules in play while being sheltered from the more serious punishments and politicking that the Garou Nation can sometimes get into.
Please refer to the table below for the advantages and disadvantages of each rank.
Rank Effects
| Rank |
Bonus Attribute |
Totem Points |
Gift Level |
Downtime Actions |
Ability Cost |
Stare Down Retests |
Frenzy Modifier |
Young Moniker |
| Rank 0 (Cub)/Kinfolk |
0 |
0 |
None |
+2 DTA |
1 XP |
0 |
0 |
Yes |
| Rank 1 (Cliath) |
0 |
1 |
Level 1 |
+1 DTA |
1 XP |
0 |
0 |
Yes |
| Rank 2 (Fostern) |
0 |
2 |
Level 2 |
Default |
1 XP |
0 |
0 |
No |
| Rank 3 (Adren) |
1 |
3 |
Level 3 |
Default |
2 XP |
1 |
+1 |
No |
| Rank 4 (Athro) |
2 |
4 |
Level 4 |
-1 DTA |
2 XP |
2 |
+2 |
No |
| Rank 5 (Elder) |
3 |
5 |
Level 5 |
-1 DTA |
2 XP |
3 |
+3 |
No |
| Rank 6 (Legend) |
6 |
6 |
Level 6 |
Default |
2 XP |
5 |
+4 |
No |
A character needs to acquire enough permanent Gaian Renown for their auspice to progress to the next rank (see below). Once they have enough points, they must choose a Garou of equal or higher Rank to the one they want to attain to challenge, and inform the Philodox of their intent to challenge this individual. During end game announcements, the philodox (or staff, if the philodox would prefer) will announce who intends to challenge who for what rank. This will give the challenged ample time to consider a challenge to pose, and allow Ragabash in objection to this to formulate a formal dispute to the challenge.
Gaian Renown Rank Requirements
| Rank |
Ragabash Any Combination |
Theurge G/H/W |
Philodox G/H/W |
Galliard G/H/W |
Ahroun G/H/W |
| Cub (Rank 0) |
0 |
0G | 0H | 0W |
0G | 0H | 0W |
0G | 0H | 0W |
0G | 0H | 0W |
| Cliath (Rank 1) |
3 |
0G | 0H | 3W |
0G | 3H | 0W |
2G | 0H | 1W |
2G | 1H | 0W |
| Fostern (Rank 2) |
7 |
1G | 0H | 5W |
1G | 4H | 1W |
4G | 0H | 2W |
4G | 1H | 1W |
| Adren (Rank 3) |
13 |
2G | 1H | 7W |
2G | 6H | 2W |
4G | 2H | 4W |
6G | 3H | 1W |
| Athro (Rank 4) |
19 |
4G | 2H | 9W |
3G | 8H | 4W |
7G | 2H | 6W |
8G | 5H | 2W |
| Elder (Rank 5) |
28 |
8G | 5H | 10W |
4G | 10H | 9W |
9G | 5H | 9W |
10G | 9H | 4W |
At the beginning of next game, any ragabash intending to dispute the challenge must make this known within the first hour of game. They are not obligated to present the full dispute at that time, but the philodox must be at least informed of the intent to do so before the end of the night, and given an ETA on when the dispute will be presented. If this deadline is missed, the philodox may choose to advance with the rank challenge or wait further.
Once the dispute has been presented, the philodox may ask questions, seek to verify information, and do whatever else they need to gauge whether or not this proves the garou in question is not yet worthy to challenge for his next rank. If the philodox disagrees with the dispute of the ragabash, they may choose to proceed with the challenge. If the philodox sees merit and validity with the ragabash's dispute, they may elect to place further conditions on the challenging garou that they must meet before a challenge is officiated. It's generally frowned upon if these conditions would take beyond the game session to complete, as that signifies a more egregious issue that should be handled in a different way.
For egregious issues, a Philodox may elect to perform a Punishment Rite to reduce the challenger's renown, ensuring they must earn that regard back before a challenge can be issued. Doing so essentially nulls the initial challenge, and the overseeing philodox no longer holds purview over the rank challenge. The challenger may request the Philodox's oversight once more when he earns the renown back, or seek out a different philodox.
If another onlooking philodox takes issue with how the overseeing philodox is handling the rank challenge at any point, they may challenge the overseeing philodox for the right to take on the responsibility of overseeing the initial garou's rank challenge. If they win, the initial philodox loses authority over the challenge and it's passed on to the winner. A Master of the Challenge may claim oversight of someone else's rank challenge without having to win a challenge first, but this is seem as particularly ham-handed and frowned upon.
The Challenge Itself
If no ragabash has come forth within the first hour, the ragabash misses the proposed time to deliver their dispute, or the philodox disagrees with the dispute, the philodox may proceed with the challenge.
The challenge itself follows standard
challenge rules. The form must be either Stare Down, Gamecraft, or Duel, although Stare Down becomes increasingly less compelling an option the higher in rank one gets and you'll see more and more Gamecraft as a 'catch all' for great quests to prove worth. The challenged selects which form of challenge to give and proposes what the challenge will look like, at which point it becomes a collaborative effort between the overseeing philodox, challenger, and challenged. Only the philodox has veto authority on the challenged's demands.
From there, everything is pretty straight forward. If the philodox names the challenger the winner of the challenge, he increases in rank. If the challenger fails the challenge, he must wait until the next game to lick his wounds and to announce his intent to challenge someone else to a philodox. This means that he challenges game 1, fails the challenge game 2, challenges again game 3, and has a second chance game 4. The challenger may select a different philodox and/or higher ranking garou to challenge, or they're welcome to turn to one or both of the parties involved in the previous challenge. It's worth noting that failing challenges is
very common at higher ranks and not regarded as a sign that someone is unworthy of their renown, just not ready for the responsibilities of the next rank.
If you're unsure what manner of challenge to offer someone who has challenged you, sample challenges from the books are listed below.
Errata
- Cubs are often given their cliath rank without a challenge, should they complete their Rite of Passage. A lot of Den Parents will incorporate a challenge equivalent into the cub's Rite of Passage so they have a talking point.
-
Nobody can rank up more than once every three months, no matter the circumstances.
Sample Challenges
Challenges can be standard, or devised by the challenged Garou. They can be as simple as a dominance challenge, or as elaborate as a quest. They are often specific to the challenger, based on her tribe, auspice, and skills. The following are some examples of Rank challenges – use them as presented, or based your own custom challenges on these.
Fostern
Acquiring the rank of Fostern means that the Garou has grown from a raw recruit into a seasoned veteran. These werewolves have some familiarity with Garou society, and they have learned the nature of the war they are part of. Suitable challenges for this Rank should be moderately difficult — they should test the challenger, not overwhelm her.
- “Acquire” a specific item hidden by a Ragabash of appropriate Rank.
- Receive a boon from a minor spirit.
- Convince the challenged Garou through impassioned speech and debate to recognize your Rank.
- Compose a song, poem, or tale honoring the challenged Garou.
- Defeat an Ahroun of appropriate Rank in a formal duel.
- Stand guard at the caern for seventy-two hours without falling asleep.
Adren
Those that reach the Rank of Adren have taken on major responsibilities within their sept. They hold most of the positions of consequence, such as Warder, Master of the Rite, and Gatekeeper (among others). Challenges for this Rank should be designed to weed out those who can’t act quickly or think on their feet; these are, after all, the future leaders of the sept and the tribe. Very few Garou pass their Adren challenge the first time.
- Borrow a fetish from the challenged using body language, gestures, and non-verbal cues to ask for it.
- Finish a difficult scavenger hunt within a predefined time.
- Create an original (and useful) fetish from scratch within a certain amount of time.
- Make peace with an enemy or negotiate a truce between two feuding werewolves.
- Find an obscure hero of the Garou and create a fitting tribute.
- Withstand severe beatings or taunting from your septmates without frenzying.
Athro
Athro have risen very high in the hierarchy of the Garou. They are mighty warriors, renowned lorekeepers, wise leaders, notorious tricksters, and famous judges. Werewolves that want a place among this elite group need to demonstrate exceptional skill and intelligence, and those very rare Garou who manage to attain this Rank on the first try are held in awe even by their peers.
- Uncover every aspect of the business plan of an organization of potential interest, and do it without getting caught.
- Restore a lost treasure of the tribe or sept.
- Convince a spirit to act in a fashion completely contrary to its nature without harming it.
- Talk a local street gang (or similar group) into a month of community service.
- Write a song praising a rival, and use it to end your differences with him.
- Rescue a Garou captured by powerful enemies of some sort, such Black Spiral Dancers, Pentex teams, vampires, or magi.
Elder
The most difficult challenges await those who seek the Rank of Elder. Elders are at the heart of a sept or tribe, and they hold the fate of the Garou Nation in their hands. Their decisions guide the Garou. Their deeds are held up as examples for younger werewolves to follow. Their mistakes can cause severe harm to Gaia, the Garou, or the war against the Wyrm. These kinds of challenges should test every quality the werewolf has.
- Visit a caern of each tribe without being noticed, recognized, or challenged, and bring back proof of each visit.
- Locate a lost caern and convince a totem spirit to adopt it.
- Redeem, cleanse, and rename a powerful Bane without using Gifts (other than Spirit Speech).
- Find a Garou lost in Harano and reclaim him.
- Destroy a powerful Wyrm artifact.
- Lead a group against a major Wyrm creature or other enemy, and defeat it without losing any of your comrades.
Losing Rank
A rank can only be lost in one of three ways:
- Satire Rite - The most common. This rite has the ability to strip a current rank and all Renown cards from a Garou and set him back at the beginning of the rank prior (Adren to Fostern, etc.)
- Rite of Renunciation - This goes beyond, where you lose not only one rank, but all ranks, starting as a freshly minted cliath with a new identity in hopes of a fresh start and a new chance. This rite can only be done willingly, however.
- Spiritual Interference - Only totems and greater have the ability to strip away a garou's rank. This is almost utterly unheard of, and should be considered an egregious shame of not only the offender, but the lax members of his sept for failing to handle it on their own.
