Uratha cut through enemies like paper. They heal gunshots the way we heal paper cuts. However, they’re hardly invincible. They have their faults and weaknesses.
Silver
Silver, the metal of Luna, burns Uratha flesh like nothing else. Silver weapons always deal aggravated damage to Uratha. A non-damaging touch with silver doesn’t cause damage, but causes intense pain so long as the werewolf remains in contact, and leaves lasting scars as if from aggravated wounds. The item has to be real silver (not compounds like silver nitrate), and alloys or mixtures need to be at least 80% silver. Weapons with silver coatings only work for one damaging hit before losing effectiveness. Unless a weapon is forged out of silver, it counts as an improvised weapon.
Lunacy
Lunacy is the deep down, ancestral fear of the wolf at the door. When a person sees a werewolf in Dalu, Gauru, or Urshul up close, or witnesses a werewolf shapeshifting or regenerating damage, she suffers a breaking point. The roll doesn’t necessarily come immediately; it comes at the dramatically appropriate moment when the witness would otherwise take a rational breath and come to her senses.
The witness’s roll takes a penalty from the werewolf’s Primal Urge, and is further modified by the werewolf’s form. Dalu adds a +2 bonus to the observer’s dice pool, while Gauru inflicts a –2 penalty. A werewolf’s prey is less likely to respond to the Lunacy than an average bystander. If the Uratha has caused lethal damage to the witness, she gains a +1 bonus to the roll. If the victim is suffering a wound penalty, add that penalty as well (instead of subtracting it). After all, wounded animals show alarming clarity.
If the character succeeds in the breaking point, she gains a Guilty, Shaken, or Spooked Condition. She acts with a –2 penalty on all actions for the scene, as the Lunacy pushes at the back of her mind. She’s likely to reinvent events in her mind in order to better understand what happened, in keeping with her understanding of the world.
With exceptional success, the witness does not gain a Condition or suffer a penalty to her actions. She also regains all her spent Willpower, to redouble her efforts against the monster before her. She remembers the scene with perfect clarity.
If the witness fails, she loses a dot of Integrity, and also gains a Lunacy Condition — Atavism, Delusion, or Reception, dependent on the circumstances. She will either flee or panic, and after the events she will rationalize what she’s seen, building a story to fill in the blanks and keep her world intact. If the Lunacy Condition persists for a number of days equal to the Uratha’s Primal Urge dots without resolution, it fades without offering a Beat.
On a dramatic failure, she becomes Wolf-Blooded.
When groups of witnesses work together, they suffer lessened Lunacy. When two characters are focused on the same task together, each receives a +1 bonus to his breaking point rolls. When a small group (usually around five or less) works together, they each receive +2. Large groups (ten or fewer) gain +3. Any larger mob receives +4.
Wolf-Blooded do not suffer Lunacy, nor do creatures that do not use Integrity. This includes vampires, spirits, other Uratha, and stranger creatures besides.
Death Rage: Kuruth
Death Rage, Kuruth, is a monster lying in wait in the back of every Uratha’s mind. It is power and fury incarnate; it’s a ticking time bomb all Uratha risk with every waking moment. Kuruth is called Death Rage for a reason. Entering Kuruth always results in death — usually to the werewolf’s enemies, sometimes to her friends, and often to herself.
When Death Rage overtakes the Uratha, it comes in phases. The first phase is Wasu-Im, the Soft Rage. It’s the last gasp of control for a werewolf who will soon have the monster overcome him. It allows for a short period when he can find a safe place to unleash the brunt of his rage. Basu-Im, the Hard Rage, is what most Uratha think of as Kuruth, the instinct and urge to kill and destroy. Basu-Im is a total loss of control. It’s a period where the Forsaken becomes an unbridled, rampaging monster.
The two stages rely on a werewolf’s Harmony and Primal Urge as a foundation. Both what draws him into Death Rage and how long he can maintain control in Wasu-Im depends on the Uratha’s Harmony. Basu-Im’s minimum duration depends on his Primal Urge. Normally, a werewolf who encounters a Kuruth trigger enters Wasu-Im. If he takes Gauru at any point, or falls into Kuruth while already in Gauru form (such as by taking Gauru outside of combat), he immediately enters Basu-Im.
Wasu-Im: The Soft Rage
In Wasu-Im, the werewolf shifts immediately into Urshul or Dalu form and remains in that form for the duration. He suffers from a modified form of Gauru’s Rage. If he fails the Resolve + Composure roll for taking other actions, he enters Basu-Im.
Instead of attacking, he can roll Resolve + Composure as an instant action to get some breathing room. Each success on the roll to resist offers him a turn of lucidity. If he rolls an exceptional success, he can end Wasu-Im.
He remains in Wasu-Im for a length of time determined by his Harmony. If he hasn’t pulled himself out of it, he enters Basu-Im. Alternatively, he can enter Basu-Im voluntarily at any time during Wasu-Im.
Basu-Im: The Hard Rage
After a period of Wasu-Im, a raging Uratha falls to Basu-Im, the true Death Rage. He immediately shifts into Gauru form, and remains in that form for the time specified by his Primal Urge. This happens even if he has already taken Gauru earlier in the scene, and ignores the normal time limit on using the form.
While in Basu-Im, the werewolf ignores wound penalties, and any attempts to influence, intimidate, or otherwise change the Uratha’s course of action by mundane or supernatural means suffer twice the werewolf’s Primal Urge as a penalty. This is over and above any Supernatural Tolerance applied to supernatural powers.
When an Uratha falls to Kuruth, the fire of the hunt rouses his packmates to a frenzy as well. Werewolf packmates within 10 yards who can see or smell the raging werewolf fall into Basu-Im after a turn. Each packmate can attempt to resist with a Resolve + Composure roll, needing one success per character in the scene currently in Kuruth — but he must make this roll every time a packmate falls into Basu-Im.
When in Basu-Im, a werewolf suffers rage as though in Gauru, but everyone is a victim except other werewolves in Basu-Im. He will happily attack packmates, especially Wolf-Blooded and humans, until they join him or die. If no prey presents itself, he’ll cause property damage until he can find fresh meat.
After his time in Basu-Im is up, he collapses into Hishu. He has no memory of what happened. He will likely suffer a breaking point toward Spirit if he learns the terrible things he did.