Can you Ghoul and blood bond a Were-creature.

It is possible, but very tough. Both Ghouls: Fatal Addiction and the Werewolf Players Guide (2nd edition) refer to Garou being violently allergic to vitae. If a Garou drinks vitae (or has it through another source, such as injection), roll the Garou's Rage, difficulty 5. Each success purges one point of vitae, along with any effects it would have. This includes preventing ageing and a step towards blood bonding. Keep rolling until either all the blood is gone, or the Garou botches their roll. Only if the Garou botches does the vitae remain, and then it is treated as normal.

Vitae in living creatures is consumed by the creatures metabolism, as is the effects of the blood bond, being gradually eroded. Garou have a far more powerful metabolisms, and one point of vitae will hold off ageing for just one week before being burnt up. It takes one month for one step of the blood bond to metabolized.

What about other shapechangers? Well those with Rage are treated the same as Garou. Nuwisha seem to have some immunity to vitae, as they cannot be embraced. They can happily guzzle vitae without any effect, either positive or negative. Ananasi convert vitae into their own unique blood type, in the process removing any of the special vampiric properties.

Do vampire hearts ever beat?

Yes, but only when they spend blood. This is completely unofficial, but a very cool idea. Creatures with really potent perceptual powers might even be able to hear it.

What about sex?

Vampires are physically capable of having sex, its just in general they don't enjoy it very much. Probably on account of not having hormones. Still, people get turned on by all sorts of things, so a vampire might well have a "sex fetish", after all there can be a lot more to it than just the physical pleasure. Drinking the blood of someone who is aroused might help to (since they do have hormones and those will end up in the vampire in the same manner as drugs).

But aren't all the bodily fluids blood?

No. If they were all vampires eyes and mouths would have either a) dried out or b) be bright red from blood. Since they aren't we can assume that they must be capable of generating clear bodily fluids.

If Vampires deal with spirits, are they always Banes?

No. Of the Middle Umbral Spirits generally only Banes will willingly work for Vampires. However much Thaumaturgy compels the spirits giving them no choice in the matter. Any spirit can be so compelled, although obviously they will tend to resent it. A few very rare Disciplines are exceptions to this, notably Ogham in the Dark Ages and Spiritus in modern nights, and nature spirits invoked through these powers are apparently neither forced or corrupted.

High Umbral spirits aren't normally subject to the same prejudices about dealing with walking corpses and may deal with vampires if the Kindred can persuade them to. Indeed Demons are often all to keen to do so...

Kindred of the East

What is rolled for balance?

When rolling for Dharma with the Thousand Whispers, use the average of your highest and lowest virtue, from among Yin, Yang, Hun, and P'o. Thus, if you have 2 Yin, 4 Yang, 4 Hun, and 3 P'o, you'd roll 3 dice (average of high/4 and low/2).

What happens with Kuei-jin in the Umbra?

Ignore all the stuff about Hun for Gnosis and P'o for Rage, it seems silly to simply roll Hun for all Social and Mental rolls. Kuei-jin in the Umbra are physical beings, and follow exactly the same rules as Mages and Werewolves. That is use normal Attribute + Ability rolls, but add +1 to all physical difficulties. Kuei-jin are solid in the Umbra and can interact with spirits, they soak damage by rolling their Dharma scores.

Werewolf

How does shapeshifter breeding work?

OK, in general something like this.

• Shapeshifter + human or animal = either Shapeshifter with breed determined by mother or Kinfolk with species determined by non-shapeshifter
• Shapeshifter + shapeshifter of same species = Metis
• Shapeshifter + shapeshifter of different species = Either Kinfolk to both, or shapeshifter of one species and Kinfolk of the other. Breed is determined by the mother

Some races work differently (e.g. Nuwisha don't have Metis), if so it will be in the Werewolf Players Guide or the appropriate Breedbook.

What happens when a female shapeshifter is pregnant?

A Garou mothers body won't let them shapeshift into a form that will harm the baby. For the first trimester they can change however they like. After that they can only change into larger forms that would not harm the child. So a mother with a human/Homid baby could be in Homid, Glabro or Crinos, while one with a wolf/lupus baby could only be in Lupus, Hispo or Crinos.

If a werewolf takes more than 7 aggravated damage, are they dead?

They get to try and regenerate with a Rage roll, difficulty 8. If they can get the aggravated damage down to 7 or less they are still alive. If not they are dead. They can't do this if the damage taken is beyond regeneration (e.g. decapitation)

Can Metis and Lupus regenerate in Homid form?

Yes, but they can't soak silver.

How do they recover Rage by seeing the moon?

They get it back according to how full it is, the first time they see it that night. If the moon is the same as their auspice, they get it all back, if not

This isn't quite the same as the book, which has waxing and half at 3 and waning at 2. This seems a bit silly as a waning gibbous gives less than a waning half.

As always a Garou seeing their Auspice moon get back their full Rage.

What about other Shapeshifters?

Those with a silver vulnerability have ties to Luna and get back Rage from seeing the moon. This is the Bastet, Ratkin, Gurahl, Nagha and Rokea. None, except Gurahl, have Auspices so they do not get the Garou advantage of regaining all their Rage under their Auspice moon.

Mokolé and Corax have a closer tie to Hellos than Luna. They regain Rage from seeing the sun the first time during the day. They get back between 1 and 3 points depending upon how visible and bright it is, or 0 if its totally obscured by cloud cover.

Nuwisha and Ananasi don't have Rage anyway.

Can non-shapeshifters learn Gifts?

Only shapeshifters and a few lucky (and living) Kinfolk can learn Gifts, they are the only ones with the right spiritual connection to be able to do this. Now other supernatural type can, even if they are Kinfolk.

Some of the stats in Hengeyokai are different from the Players Guide, which is right?

Hengeyokai for Nagah, and the Rokea use the bite damage, shark-skin and the Chasmus form Stamina of the Same-Bito the Players Guide had a few mistakes.

Do vampires on Path ratings smell of the Wyrm?

It depends on the Path in question. Paths such as Harmony or Self-Focus don't generally smell of the Wyrm if they are at high (7+) levels. Paths like Night or Typhon always smell of the Wyrm. Consider the vampire in question and how they act. Do they show compassion? Do they corrupt or destroy with good (to a Werewolf) reason?

Do Demons and Infernalists smell of the Wyrm?

Sort of, they will turn up on the Gift, at a higher difficulty. However the smell is rather different. While some Garou may not notice this subtlety it might give others cause for thought. The same goes for Specters and other servants of Oblivion, although the difference is less pronounced in such cases.

Can a you use a melee weapon in Frenzy?

Yes, under some circumstances. Using a weapon must be a natural thing for the character, they must have a Melee (or Klaive dueling) skill of at least 2 and it must cannot be more than one point lower than their brawl skill. Also the weapon must be in their hand and they can only make a basic attack with it.

What's the deal with Klaive Dueling and the maneuvers?

If you have a point in Klaive Dueling you can use all the maneuvers. Indeed, if you have a point in melee you can use them all as they are common to almost all human fighting styles as well. Klaive Dueling is a secondary Skill, so its cheaper to buy, it also provides knowledge about famous Klaives, dueling champions and dueling etiquette, but will not help with any other melee weapon.

The Disarm maneuver in the Player's Guide is different from the on in the main book, which one is right?

Use the one from the main rule book, otherwise its just too easy to disarm an opponent in a fight.

Must Rage expenditure be announced at the start of the turn?

No, otherwise Garou vs. Garou fights become bluffing contests on spending Rage. A player can spend Rage during the turn for extra actions or to ignore a stun. However only Rage spent at the start of the turn for extra actions will add to the initiative roll (see above). If your spending Rage so you can dodge or parry an attack then you must announce this before the dice are rolled for the attack.

Who is immune to the Delirium?

Any living creature that isn't human, this includes animals and Bygones. Spirits are immune, even those emanations that appear like humans. Mages, Vampires, Wraiths and Reborn are all immune, as are Changelings unless they have forgotten themselves. Kinfolk are immune as are humans with 3 or more points in a single type of Numina. Most Ghouls and Kithain are effected but less susceptible, give them +3 on the Delirium chart. Ghouls with 3 or more points in Disciplines are completely immune. Fomori are susceptible unless they have the Immunity to Delirium Power, and most do. Familiars are immune, as is any natural inhabitant of an Otherworld such as an Umbral Realm.

If a Werewolf below Incapacitated changes to breed from, how do they heal?

Using the Werewolf Revised Rules they don't necessarily revert to breed form. Even if they do, a Garou in any from below Incapacitated heals one non-aggravated Health Level per hour until they are above incapacitated. After that they heal normally for the form they are in.

Some Gifts are described as being taught by Faeries, does this mean Changelings?

No, it mean actual True Fae, like those found in the Arcadia Gateway.

The Hakarr has different stats in the Bastet book and the Players Guide, which one is right?

Use the Bastet stats, (Diff. 6 Str +4). Even that's rather generous, Hunga-Munga may look intimidating but they are primarily hunting weapons, not used in a melee.

What Auspice is a Garou who is born during an eclipse?

Whatever Auspice she would have been had the eclipse not happened.

Can Wild West and Dark Ages Gifts be learnt in the modern age?

Yes, although finding a spirit to teach them will be tricky. Also Gifts that draw power from or rely on the Storm Umbra won't work in the modern day, as there is no Storm Umbra.

Mage

Damage

Damage is calculated by the following formula:

Successes x Sphere level = dice of damage

As always, Forces adds one success, Mind deducts one success. For conjunctual Magick, take the highest Sphere level. Alternatively, to cut down on dice rolls, just halve the number of damage dice and round up, and take this as the number of health levels inflicted.

Hitting

If a target can dodge an attack, the it follows that the Mage can miss the attack. It is also rather unfair that the Mage has only their Arete pool to hit with, where the target has their Dex + Dodge. In a situation where the Mage could miss the target, the Mage rolls Perception + Sphere as their dice pool to hit. This happens at the same time as the Arete roll and does not require a split dice pool, or another action.

It the Mage is using a Foci that must hit the target, she can substitute an appropriate Attribute + Ability roll for the Perception + Sphere roll, with the same rules applying. Typical rolls might be Dex + Do for a punch or Perception + Technology for a death ray.

If they foci is also doing damage itself, such as a weapon or a blow, then the accompanying Magick will be fast casting with an appropriate penalty. This only applies if it is happening in a fight where the opponent is active as the Mage will have to quickly pick their moment to strike.

The target may roll Dex + Dodge, the difficulty will depend on the availability of cover for ranged attacks, just like a firearms attack, or 6 for brawl or melee combat.

Countermagick

Any power that directly affects the Mage. The Mage must have certain Spheres however. Generally the Mage must have at least one point in each of the Spheres that would be required to duplicate the effect in the same way. Without knowledge of the Spirit Sphere (or Dimension Science influence for Technocrats) all attempts to counter Gifts, Arcanos and Charms are at +1 difficulty.

Hedge Magic and Thaumaturgy can be countered with basic countermagick, with no special Sphere requirements. Cantrips can also be countered without any special Sphere requirements.

(For the record, Obfuscate does not affect the vampire using it, but the minds of those around it. Mind Magick will counter Obfuscate, but will only make things clear to the Mage, not reveal the vampire to anyone else.)

For Cantrips are two different systems, one in the Mage book, and one in the Book of Lost Dreams. Use the ones in Mage p234 the Mage can roll either Willpower difficulty 7, or Arete difficulty 6 but not both.

Creating Opposing Effects

If the Mage cannot use basic countermagick she may still be able to oppose an effect by using Magick. If the mage can interfere with the power, or create the opposite effect then use the normal rules for opposition to determine who wins. Any power can be opposed if the mage if she has the right combination of spheres. Often more than one combination will do the job. However, this is a normal Magickal effect and therefore brings with it the normal risks of paradox. Against Gifts that get a spirit to do something, or Wraithly Arcanos, Spirit Magick can often be used to raise the Gauntlet or Shroud rating. Although this might in theory increase difficulty numbers it is often easier just to treat this as a normal opposed roll. Creating opposing effects should be treated as opposition.

Sphere vs. Sphere countermagick

This is replaced by opposing effects. The Mage creates an effect that will disrupt his opponents Magick, and it is resolved by standard opposition rules. This does require the Mage equal or beat the opponents initiative to pull it off in time.

Who can coutermagic Magick?

Hedge Magicians may counter True Magick if they have the counterspell ritual (WoD: Sorcerer p87), the roll is Wits + Occult difficulty 8.

Mummies with a Buckle of Isis Amulet (Mummy 2nd edition p93) receive 5 dice countermagick. Other Amulet Wards will deduct success from magick is they protect what the magick is targeting. So an Ab Ward will deduct success from Mind magick and an Ujat Ward will deduct success from Life magick, or Entropy magick which targets the Mummy's body.

Vampires can use the countermagic rules from the Vampire Storyteller's Handbook, page 164. That is they roll Thuamaturgy + Thuamaturgical Countermagic, difficulty the Mage's Willpower, with every two successes removing one of the Mage's.

Changelings may counter magick with Glamour difficulty 7. They usually gain a point of Banality for this, but may not do for countering some effects, usually technomagickal ones, at the ST's discretion.

Rotes

As presented in the Mage 2nd edition rules, rote are just example effects. Any Mage with the correct Spheres can perform the effect for the first time as easily as a Mage who has practiced the effect a hundred times. Also rotes are described as being teaching tools, a way for Mages to practice and learn new powers.

A Mage may buy a rote with experience. The cost is equal to the number of Sphere levels in the rote. So the Spirit Blast rote (Force 3, Prime 2, Spirit 2) would cost 7 experience. Once bought a rote is at -1 difficulty to cast, provided it is cast in the way learned. This means that the Mage must use the same set rituals and foci in the same manner (i.e. do it by rote). If a Mage learns a rote with a foci, and that foci later becomes unnecessary, he must still use it with the rote to gain the difficulty modifier, although nothing stops him performing exactly the same effect without using the foci. The rote could always be bought a second time, this time without foci.

Rotes were designed as ways to teach Mages, and that is there real benefit. If the rote is learnt from a teacher or library, one level in one Sphere of the rote may be one point higher than the Mage possesses (still limited by Arete). This represents the Mage slowly learning about the higher levels of Magick. When the Sphere in question is actual bought, one experience point is deducted from the cost, as the Mage has already had some practice with the Sphere. Rotes that contain a Sphere higher than the Mage possess are at +1 difficulty, as the Mage is trying to use something he has not yet fully mastered.

For example, Bloodoak the Verbena has Arete 3, Mind 1 and Life 2. He wants to learn the Stirring the Blood rote (Life 3, Mind 1), and provided he has a source to learn from, may do so for 4 experience. Later, when he increases his Life sphere to 3, it costs him one less experience point.

Affecting other Supernaturals with magick

• Vampire - requires Life and Matter, their bodies are dead but their vitae contains life energies. You need both spheres at the required levels to do the effect you want. So healing would require Life 3 (to heal) and Matter 3 (to reshape).
• Kuei-jin - Balanced Kuei-jin are affected like western vampires. Yin aspected Kuei-jin are affected by Matter with only one point required in Life, and Yang aspected ones are affected by Life with only one point required in Matter
• Spirits and Wraiths - Spirit replaces Life in the Umbra when used on them (so healing a Spirit would be Spirit 3, transforming them into another shape Spirit 5). If they Materialise they are effected by Life as normal, but the Mage must have at least on point in the Spirit Sphere (or Dimensional Science for Technomancers)
• Risen - Matter effects them as instead of Life
• Shapechangers - are part spirit. They are effected by Life, although at least a point of Spirit is required.
• Changelings - their physical bodies are affected by Life, their Fae selves are effected by Spirit

What happens with direct Pattern Magick attacks that are described as unsoakable?

These are described as unsoakable because they cause Aggravated damage which under the standard Mage rules cannot be soaked. The official ruling is that creatures that can soak Aggravated damage can soak these attacks. Under these house rules everyone can soak Aggravated under most circumstances including these attacks.

How can magick be resisted?

Any effect that do damage give soak (unless the target has a specific weakness). Direct effects that don't do damage can be resisted with Willpower, difficulty 8. Indirect effects may usually be dodged, although this requires the target be aware of the attack. All Mind magicks may be resisted with Willpower, difficulty 8 provided the target is aware of the magick.

Remember, supernatural creatures get a Perception + Alertness (or Awareness, Primal-Urge or Kenning if they have it) roll to sense incoming magick.

How much Quintessence can a Mage spend?

Up to her rating in either Avatar or Prime, which ever is highest. The difficulty of a magick roll can never be reduced by more than -3, but more than 3 points can be spent to offset positive modifiers.

When is Quintessence and Willpower spent for Arete rolls?

Quintessence is always spent before the dice are rolled. Willpower may be spent either before for one automatic success or afterwards to negate a botch, but not both.

Can a Mage be a Ghoul or a Revenant?

Yes, but there are some problems. The only Disciplines they can learn are Potence, Celerity and Fortitude which are purely physical. The others are beyond them due the inability of Mages to work static magic. Prime 1 can turn one point of ingested vitae into Quintessence, as it can with normal blood.

Why do some spirits have a Quintessence rating and a Power rating if 1 Power is 1 Quintessence?

Beats me, add them together and let the spirits use Power as Quintessence. Spirits don't have Avatars as such, so spending Power for magick is limited by Prime. Remember no modifier can reduce the magick by more than -3. 

Does successful vulgar magick only ever gain 1 Paradox point?

No, the ST can always award more for spectacularly vulgar effects. For extended effects 1 Paradox point per roll made is not unreasonable.

How does dropping foci work?

Tradition Mages may drop one foci for every point of Arete after the first. Mages normally drop Arete for the Spheres in which they are most advanced.

Tradition and Orphan Technomancers may drop one foci at Arete 5. They then drop two foci per point of Arete until they reach Arete 8. At Arete 9 and 10 they drop just foci.

Members of the Technocracy may never drop foci.

Craft Mages may drop foci purely at the ST's discretion. With exposure to other magickal styles a Craft Mage could drop foci as quickly as a traditionalist. On the other hand an isolated Craft Mage who remains locked in his own paradigm might never lose a foci.

How does the Spirit Sphere work in the Umbra?

Use the rules from the Book of Worlds, it effects Spirits (and Wraiths) as life and objects made of ephemera (or plasm) as Matter. So a Spirit could be healed with Spirit 3 and ephemeral object created with Prime and Spirit.

The Gauntlet

Crossing the Gauntlet is resolved at the normal difficulty, determined by the Sphere level. The Gauntlet rating determines the number of successes needed.

The presence of a Node can reduce the or increase the number of successes needed. Most Nodes reduce the difficulty for Spirit, but increase it for Dimensional Science. Technocratic nodes do the opposite.

With Spirit 3, taking basic clothing and small items requires an additional success, taking large or bulky items require 2 additional successes. With Spirit 4 each additional person requires an extra success.

Mages crossing the Gauntlet do not have to roll for damage, whatever there Arete or Permanent Paradox.

What about Do?

Use the rules from WoD: Combat, minus the mystical moves as they require magick. In essence it functions as Brawl but provides +1 Accuracy, +1 to damage and the special combat maneuvers. Be sensible with the maneuvers, deflecting bullets and other really outlandish things will require magick, although the Do maneuver may be a focus for it. Damage is rolled and not automatic.

What about Jhor?

Ignore it. People mucking around with death magicks may pick up a resonance, but it requires no special rules.