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The Curse and the Delirium

Page history last edited by TC STs 8 months, 4 weeks ago

The Curse

As a werewolf, you are a predator. Humans and animals sense this, by instinct. On a primal level they're aware of the Rage that seethes inside you, even if you happen to be smiling and relaxed, calmly ordering a mocha latte at the corner cafe. You're projecting psychic waves of raw aggression, and they know it in a way they can't articulate.

 

Humans and wolves feel this discomfort most acutely when your Rage exceeds a their Willpower. At that point, they can't relax around you -- your presence feels dangerous and frightening. Humans will cross the street to avoid walking by you; they'll close up shop just to make an excuse to lock you out.  Wolves will flee.

 

Garou call this state of affairs the Curse: it makes normal relationships with humans and wolves all but impossible. You cannot easily maintain a relationship with a human family or wolf pack. Only among other Garou can you truly relax, feel accepted, find understanding and love -- and court violations of the Litany.

 

The Delirium

Thousands of years ago, in a period of prehistory called the Impergium, the Garou hunted humanity. They culled the sick, weak and foolish, making night a time of terror and the wilderness a place of fear. They tended small enclaves of their own kinfolk, but all other humans were fair game if they disrespected the territory of a werewolf.

 

This period of history ended long ago -- but its echoes live on, in the subconscious of every human. The sight of a werewolf in its terrible Crinos form triggers feelings of panic and terror so fundamental that most humans lose all capability for rational thought. They revert to the mentality of a prey animal -- cowering, hiding, fleeing, and if cornered, fighting.

 

The Garou call this reaction the Delirium. In a way, it's a blessing: humans who suffer Delirium cannot clearly remember afterward what they saw. Their minds cleave to the first explanation that seems plausible: they were attacked by a bear, or a hairy man on PCP, or a big feral dog. Certainly not a werewolf -- those don't exist. Even a photograph or evidence after the fact triggers an automatic chill of such disbelief. In this way, the Delirium helps keep the Veil, a conspiracy of secrecy that hides the Garou from human attention.

 

But it's a tragic reaction as well. If you ever trigger a Delirium reaction in someone you know, that friend will never be comfortable around you again. The Curse is amplified. On a subconscious level, they know -- they have proof -- that you are truly a monster. Repeatedly subject a human to Delirium, and you will damage their sanity, likely inflicting permanent Derangements.

 

In a small measure of grace, those human bloodlines with which the Garou have interbred through generations -- their Kinfolk -- do not experience the Delirium.

 

Willpower and The Curse: Whose effected and who is not?

 

For the most part, anything supernatural is resistant to being effected by the curse. Usually humans with high willpower and those with certain merits or flaws would be immune to such effects. Sometimes humans who have lived a very traumatic experience or those who deal with supernatural things on a semi constant basis are also immune.

 

There are certain gifts that can override willpower or a human's burned out nature. These still effect everyone that lists them as affected. 

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