Level Four
Cunning Koan
Legends tell of ancient Stargazers who once spent their days in meditation, their minds and spirits tuned to the universe around them. These venerable elders carried the power to divine the future and view the past with perfect clarity. You have mastered this particular facet of meditation, allowing you to connect to the universe and discern the truth surrounding you. An ancestor-spirit teaches the Garou this Gift.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: Wits + Awareness vs Target's Resolve + Willpower
System:
Spend a standard action to open yourself to the knowledge of the universe. As your metaphorical third eye opens, you are able to see the interconnections of the world around you. These delicate strands of fate stretch from everything you see, allowing you to piece together pieces of a greater puzzle.
It is important to remember that fate is not set in stone, as the strands will often shift and move before your very eyes. However, some fates, such as those forged by the Gift Tangling The Thread, appear as a strong pulsating light.
Make an opposed challenge against your target. If you succeed, you may ask and receive an answer to one of the following questions:
- What is your current emotional state?
- What is your highest attribute?
- What is your lowest attribute?
- What is your highest ability?
- What is your lowest ability?
- Are you under any effects that limit your free will (such as Dominate or Mastery)?
- How many points of Willpower do you currently possess?
- How many points of Rage do you currently possess?
- Have you harmed anyone in the past 24 hours?
- What is your occupation or position, if any?
In the event that there are multiple answers to a question posed, the target need only provide a single answer. For example, if a target has two abilities that meet the criteria of being her highest rated, she need only provide a single answer.
Exceptional Success:
Scoring an exceptional success allows you to ask the target two questions from the above list.
Affinity:
Understanding the universe means getting as wide an image as possible, as such when a question has multiple answers, the Stargazer receives all of the answers. For example, if a target has two abilities that meet the criteria of being her highest rated, she now must provide both when answering.
Strike the Air
The Garou becomes the ultimate example of passive resistance. She becomes unable to attack an opponent, but she is also unable to be hit, allowing her opponents to exhaust himself in the attempt. A mongoose-spirit teaches this Gift.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Test Pool: N/A
System:
Spend a simple action to center yourself, quelling any urges to do violence. Until your next initiative on the next Universal Round, so long as you do not attempt to initiate an opposed challenge, double your dots of your Dodge ability for the purpose of defending against incoming attacks. If you initiate an opposed challenge, the effects of Strike the Air immediately end. Attempting the Assist Defender combat tactic does not count as initiating an opposed challenge for the purpose of using Strike the Air.
Affinity:
When using your Dodge skill in combat, you receive a +5 bonus to defend against, or to test for, exceptional successes.