Every Uratha finds herself torn between two extremes. On one hand, she’s a hunter wearing the skin of human and wolf, a creature of nature unlike anything else in the natural world. She’s flesh incarnate. On the other hand, she’s a creature of spirit, an entity that exists among the denizens of the Hisil, feeding on the ephemeral Essence of the world of Spirit. These two extremes pull the Forsaken in two directions. Harmony reflects her ability to balance these two sides of her identity.

In game terms, Harmony is a trait that ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being a werewolf limited to the world of Spirit, and 10 being a werewolf locked in the world of Flesh, The ideal point, the balance, is five dots. All werewolves begin play with Harmony 7 — closer to balance than at the First Change, but still mired in the physical. Players can’t spend Experiences to raise or lower Harmony — it can only change by experiencing breaking points.

Harmony replaces the Integrity trait used by human characters. It fills a different niche, as Uratha struggle with a dualist nature, while human characters muster the mental fortitude to withstand trauma. Humans who go through the First Change replace Integrity with Harmony, and start with nine dots regardless of their Integrity. The two traits are not equivalent; a werewolf with seven dots of Harmony is in a very different state from a human with seven dots of Integrity.

Werewolves suffer two kinds of breaking points: those that break them towards Flesh and those that break towards Spirit. The base dice pool is Resolve + Composure. Willpower cannot modify this dice pool. Where a breaking point lists a modifier, apply that penalty to the breaking point roll.

When a character hits a breaking point towards Spirit, he subtracts one die from the roll for each point of Harmony below 5. If the roll fails, he loses a point of Harmony. When he hits a breaking point towards Flesh, he gets a penalty for each point of Harmony above 5. If the roll is a failure, the character gains a point of Harmony. This means an Uratha’s Harmony can fluctuate wildly over the course of play.

The breaking points below apply to all Uratha. They’re a starting point rather than a definitive list. The player and Storyteller should work together to define one or two breaking points in each direction for her character based on her auspice, tribe, and Touchstones. Breaking points toward Flesh involve actively denying her Uratha nature. Breaking points toward Spirit instead require her to turn her back on her heritage in the world of Flesh.

A character’s Harmony trait affects how much effort and spiritual power she must invest into changing shape — or not shapeshifting in a stressful situation.

Harmony also determines a character’s ability to cross into the Shadow. At Harmony 10, he cannot Reach at all. Harmony 0, he is stuck in the Shadow and cannot Reach into the physical world. A character’s Harmony is used to determine the dice pool for Reaching; those with Harmony 8 or above do not need a locus to enter the world of Flesh, while those with Harmony 3 or less do not need a locus to enter the world of Spirit.

With four or fewer dots of Harmony, your character is struck with a ban much like a spirit. The ban may have something to do with a spirit your character has interacted with, her personality, or events in the story. She gains a persistent Ban Condition, which is only resolved when she raises her Harmony high enough to discard it. A character with particularly low Harmony must deal with more than one spirit ban; when her Harmony rises enough that she may discard one, the player decides which is resolved.

Finally, the severity of a character’s Kuruth trigger and the length of time she can remain in control during Wasu-Im depend on her Harmony dots. If she has Harmony 5 she’s not affected by her personal trigger.

Breaking Points to Flesh

• Defiling a locus.

• Refusing to participate in Siskur-Dah.

• Staying out of the Hisil for a week.

• Using a silver weapon against another werewolf.

• Violating the Oath of the Moon. (Forsaken only, –2)

• Staying out of the Hisil for a month. (–3)

• Harmony 3 or lower

• Allowing a spirit safe passage into the physical world.

• Eating processed food.

• Mating with a human.

• Staying out of the Hisil for a day.

Breaking Points to Spirit

• Killing a human or wolf.

• Staying in the Hisil for a week.

• Hunting humans or wolves for food (–2)

• Killing a packmate. (–2)

• Eating human or wolf flesh for Essence (–3)

• Staying in the Hisil for a month. (–3)

• Harmony 8 or more

• Inflicting Lunacy on a loved one.

• Leading the Siskur-Dah.

• Spending more than two days away from your pack.

• Staying in the Hisil for a full day.