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More info?)
marc17@painandgreed.com (marc17) wrote:
> Ok, so in my current chronicle, the prince has just fallen to some
> werewolves (long story) and the PCs, at the suggestion of
> Glasswalkers, went in to finish off the last of the Wendigo that did
: it.
The Wendigo being thinned-out and any information the Glasswalker
passed on should be counted in the vampires' favor. So, how many
Wendigo were left to take part in this battle? Wendigo is plural
and singular, and you switch back and forth. Do you mean last as
in very last one?
If that's the case, it's not unreasonable for two combat oriented
characters of the experience you describe to defeat one werewolf.
It's unlikely that they would fight to the death, as the werewolf
would probably try to escape, if it's without a pack and losing.
Also, out of curiosity, what were the surroundings when the fight
began?
: The Wendigo were a sufficient cause of fear through the last
> story, but when it finally came to a fight, I (and the PCs) found them
> lacking (despite Kiss of Helios, Razor Claws, and Stoking Fury's
> Furnace although True Fear was very effective). Can somebody show me
> what I'm doing wrong by building me a level five homid auroun wendigo
> and telling giving me some instructions on how they would go about
> running them in a fight? Actually, a rank five glasswalker (200 exp)
> might be better since the Wendigo are all dead now until the PCs head
> to Vancouver.
Okay, let's start with the simple things - arms and armor. The
character should have a bow, rifle or shotgun, and possibly a
pistol. He should have a blade weapon, such as a large hunting
knife or a klaive. He may have backup weapons, through possibly
not - his natural weaponry generally outweighs their usefulness.
Remember, this is the Garou equivalent of an Archon or powerful
Scourge - someone who was not only in the profession of killing
other supernaturals, but very much a veteran at it.
I'd expect the character to possess at least one Fetish weapon.
If the character is a vampire hunter, expect him to have talens
as well that would be useful against vampires in particular (a
talen is a single-use fetish - an arrow, a medicine bag filled
with powder, an intricate knot that releases a spirit when it's
untied, etc.).
A bladed weapon is more for dealing with other Garou (fangs and
claws put you on even terms with another garou, but silver will
put you ahead); ranged weapons are more useful for dealing with
vampires and the more noxious Wyrm creatures. Overall, I think
ranged weapons are more likely to be fetishes because Garou can
always fall back on claws and teeth for melee/brawl combat.
A rank 5 Garou may have between 3 and 9 dots in various Fetishes,
depending on the fetishes and the character. The character will
likely have at least one fetish that's level 3 or greater; given
the character's an Ahroun, if it's not a weapon or armor, it will
probably still be something useful in combat. Also note that the
surviving Wendigo may have fallen packmates' weapons, and as a
result may be more heavily armed and armored than the character
would be under normal circumstances.
Sample weapon: War Bow (level 4 fetish; Werewolf: the Wild West)
A War Bow deals out Strength+2 aggravated damage on successful
attacks. The difficulty (target number) on the attack roll is
lowered by two, and the base difficulty is the number of yards
to the target divided by the attacker's strength.
For your rank 5 Wendigo, let's give him Strength 4, Dexterity 4,
Athletics 4 and assume the character has at least one applicable
specialty (such as Archery for Athletics). This gives the
character a Strength of 8 in Crinos form and a target number of
4 at a range out to 32 yards. He'll have 9 dice for the attack
roll and may attack several times in a turn thanks to Rage. If
he hits, he rolls 10 dice of damage, against which vampires can
only use Fortitude and armor to soak. In addition, the Garou
may be carrying talen arrows or know Gifts that have additional
effects to enhance arrows, if he feels they are necessary.
The character is very much a veteran of fighting wyrm creatures
and vampires as a member of a pack. He will have worked out
tactics that allow him to work effectively with others, such as
recognizing when a packmate is leaving open an opportunity for
the archer to take a shot at the packmate's opponent. Garou as
pack hunters know the importance of cutting down an enemy through
teamwork so that they can work to double-team remaining targets.
Likewise, the character knows the importance of taking down an
enemy early in a fight, and will spend Willpower to 'guarantee'
a hit early on; if nothing else, this will (probably) inflict
a wound penalty that should last for the remainder of the scene.
(Ww:tWW came out before the revised edition rules; in revised
rules, I would expect the bow to be dropped to Strength+1, but
successes on the attack will add to damage rolls.)
If the Garou wants to stake a vampire with an arrow, he must do
so with a +3 difficulty modifier (TN 7 our to 96 feet or 6 at 48
feet, in this case). He gains an additional +2 dice of damage.
If he hits and scores at least three net successes, the vampire
is staked (assuming the arrow doesn't go through...and that the
vampire wasn't killed outright by the aggravated damage). Note
that targeting the heart is not taking your time to aim, per se,
and it can be done on any or every attack.
Armor - the Wendigo are the Garou most likely to possess a ghost
shirt. Also, see the link below for a description of real ghost
shirts. A ghost shirt is a sacred garment (not necessarily in
the form of a shirt) that protects the wearer. The Wendigo Ghost
Shirt fetish in canon is a level 5 fetish that gives absolute
protection against bullets and other projectile weapons (magical
attacks and enchanted projectiles may still get through). I have
seen rank 4 fetishes provide 4 dice of protection without penalty
but can't find a specific example.
Either would be possible for a rank 5 Ahroun, though even at rank
5, a character's unlikely to possess both. Keep in mind my note
about retaining a fallen character's fetishes, however.
For a little more information on real ghost shirts (and dresses):
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/gddescrp.htm
> Admittedly, the two vampires are combat characters with lots of
> expereince (150+ experience), a Brujah and a Gangrel. Both have lots
> of potence and celerity. The Gangrel had wolf claws and the Brujah had
> a silver bowie knife. Their celerity allowed them to make good use of
> dodge while the potence really skewed the damage rolls.
First, I have a feeling the Garou immediately recognize them as a
serious threat. It may sound silly to say, but if two vampires
elect to take on two or more Wendigo (how many Wendigo were there
left at the start of the attack?), the Garou are going to take it
on faith they're badasses. Most vampires, even combat oriented
ones, are going to feel the urge to run if they see a werewolf in
the flesh - attacking one or more is homicidal or suicidal mania!
As a result, the Wendigo will to try to take at least one of them
down immediately. If the Wendigo has experience with vampires, I
would expect it to be the Brujah - not because he's a Brujah, but
because the other is a Gangrel, and can probably be recognized as
such.
Let me explain: I assume the rank 5 Ahroun(s) have significant
experience, to the point that they believe leeches that look like
feral beasts - and any Gangrel with 150 experience points should
have some telling features - are tough, but not especially fast
or tricky (in terms of mind control or miscellaneous mojo). Ones
that look relatively human are wildcards, but tend not to be as
tough on average. As a result, killing off the potentially weak
but potentially more tricky character isn't such a bad bet. The
Wendigo would do better trying to kill one vampire than try to
wound both, even though Storyteller takes wound penalties into
account. If more than one Wendigo survived, two should work to
ensure the wildcard is taken down, and then pair up against the
feral leech. They shouldn't deliberately leave themselves open
to attacks by the Gangrel, but the focus of their own attacks is
going to be the same vampire.
An alternate approach would be to try to take down the Gangrel
first; if combat goes poorly, the Wendigo may need to flee and
a feral leech is more likely to be able to change into a bat or
wolf and pursue effectively - or to escape as mist, though this
may be pushing the limit on what an experienced Garou may know
(or think they know) about vampires.
If possible, the Wendigo will try to take down a vampire before
they get too close. An arrow through the heart or eyesocket's
a good idea. So is a talen bullet that affects everyone like a
silver bullet affects a Garou (aggravated damage, no soak except
through armor).
If the Garou has no ranged weapon he may improvise something, in
hopes of a knockdown. Let me reiterate: the Wendigo is a combat
veteran, and will not pass up opportunities to disable, distract,
or weaken his opponent's position. A knockdown would do only a
trivial amount of damage, but a) may cost the attacking vampire
an action, b) will slow him down (initiative penalty), and c) be
disruptive to the vampire's plan of attack (+1 penalty to *every*
action on the next turn).
Never allow a rank 5 anything to waste an action. This monster
has killed hundreds if not thousands of Wyrm minions. It makes
the real world's most hardened assassin or mercenary look naive.
We are in ultimate killing machine territory, here, and you are
tasked with bringing it to life. Think tactically. Be brutal.
Most of all, be a professional killer. Beyond werewolf, beyond
Wendigo, that's what an Ahroun of this rank is. And it's up to
the players of the 150+ experience combat-oriented vampires to do
the same for their characters.
It's getting rather late, so apologies if I sound like I haven't
thought this all through. I'll follow up with more thoughts, if
time permits, later in the week.
Vis Sierra