Croatan Gifts

The Garou can turn raw, unprocessed food into a cooked meal without need of fire. In addition, the meal tastes first class. This Gift is taught by earth-spirits allied to Corn Maiden.

Once humans tamed fire to keep them warm and to drive off the wild beasts, they were humanity's ancient pact with the spirits of fire. The spirits of flame agree to hold back their hunger when the werewolf touches them. An ancestor spirit or a fire-spirit grants this Gift.

By invoking the power of waking dreams, the Garou can place any chosen characters into silent communion. A Chimerling teaches this Gift.

The Garou can call upon one of the powers of Turtle and greatly slow his metabolism. He must remain inactive, but can exist without breathing for hours at a time. In addition, uncontrolled bleeding halts. Extremes of heat or cold can be ignored. Ingested or injected poisons slow their passage through the body, and do not take full effect for hours, allowing someone to fetch an antidote before that time. This Gift is taught by a turtle-spirit.

Bent to Gaia’s service, the creative, living essence of the Wyld roars through the Fury’s body, shining beneath her skin as a rippling wave of prismatic energy which focuses on and shines out through her wounds. This surge supercharges the werewolf’s regenerative powers, quickly mending even the most grievous of wounds. A servant of Pegasus teaches this Gift.

The Garou can see Wyld energy in all its manifestations, thus allowing him to prevent it from growing too powerful or to defend himself against it. For instance, the Garou can see the mystic swirling of the Umbral wind that presages a tornado in the physical realm or feel the shaking of the Umbral earth before a real earthquake. A Garou using Wyld Sight in the physical world can also sense Wyld spirits in the nearby Penumbra, although the user must enter the Umbra to get more details. This Gift is taught by a Wyld-spirit.

The Garou can cause the earth to split before him, creating a hole into a small cave that can hold up to five more Crinos-sized people. The hole can be sealed once within the cave, so that no one outside can discern its presence without supernatural means. Any burrowing or earth-spirit can teach this Gift.

Croatan Kinfolk nations used to use all sorts of things as mediums of exchange; colorful seashells were the most popular. With this Gift, a Garou can transform a shell into another method of exchange: dollars, coins, English pounds, Japanese yen, whatever. This Gift is taught by a trickster-spirit.

(Camp: Fangs of Garm)

Some Garou feel so strongly about their place in the pack, the tribe and the world that they can draw on this resolve in times of need. The Philodox can pull new resolve from his deepest reserves. A wolf-spirit teaches this Gift.

By calling upon Turtle, the Croatan can seal himself in a mystic protective shield that resembles a turtle’s shell. The shell is opaque from the outside, but those on the inside can see through it. The werewolf can opt to bring others into the shell with him, if his power is sufficient. This Gift is taught by a turtle-spirit.

This Gift is another of those that draws on the ancient alliance with Turtle, summoning an earth-spirit to rampage forth and crush things or people at the werewolf’s bidding. The Garou must have some earth at hand to invoke the earth-spirit, although a handful of earth or a smallish rock will suffice. This Gift is taught by an earth elemental.

Fertility spirits beholden to the Corn Maiden teach this Gift, by which a single chosen object can be multiplied into many duplicate objects. In this way, a warrior can make several arrows from one prototype arrow or more bullets from a single bullet. Any object with spiritual power (such as a fetish) cannot be duplicated. Anything else, from $20 bills to food can be multiplied using this Gift.

Consider the state of a metis cub. He is outcast from birth, knows this from the moment he can talk, and is trapped within a body that reacts powerfully to his slightest emotional twinge. Once you appreciate this state, it becomes easy to understand how this Gift was first learned. Shell places an emotional and instinctual barrier around the metis. A turtle-spirit teaches this Gift.

By drawing on the land's energies, the Uktena can move any one object weighing up to 1000 pounds telekinetically. An air elemental and an earth elemental must teach this Gift in concert.

Just as the Uktena were mighty in the waters and the Wendigo drew power from the winds, the Croatan were at their strongest when standing on the earth itself. This Gift allows a werewolf to mimic that strength — the closer the Garou’s tie to earth, the stronger he gets.

Since Turtle went into his coma-like sleep, many secrets of earth powers once known are now forgotten — such as the Umbral tunnels beneath the Umbrascape. The Croatan did not always rely on Luna’s moon paths when traveling the Umbra. This Gift allowed them to use the secret tunnels under the earth, known to many earth-burrowing spirits and totems, such as Mole, Badger and Groundhog (who taught them the Gift). In such a way, the Croatan could travel long distances in the safety of the Umbral underground.

Some cultures that the Croatan took as Kin were sun-worshippers. The Croatan in turn established strong ties with Helios and the Planetary Incarna of the sun, Katanka-Sonnak. This Gift springs from this alliance; by invoking the power of the sun, the Garou can call a shaft of fire from the sky to impale an enemy and immolate him in continuously burning flames. An avatar of Katanka-Sonnak teaches this Gift.

The Croatan’s legendary stubbornness and strength of purpose was often a hindrance, but they often drew great power from it as well. A Garou with this Gift can persevere against all odds, pursuing a goal of vengeance or a spiritual quest to its end when even great heroes would turn back. Croatan ancestor-spirits teach this Gift.

This Gift confers temporary immunity to many environmental factors. The Garou has no need of food, water or sleep, and she does not suffer from temperature extremes. She is also immune to natural diseases and poisons. Wyrm toxins will still affect her, but at half their normal potency.

This Gift allows a Croatian to dig his own Umbral tunnel which he can travel through just as in the gift Underearth. The tunnel must connect two points and, as it is unoccupied, is always safe to travel. The spirits of burrowing animals teach this Gift.

Philodox have a stronger relationship with the elementals of the earth than do other werewolves, for just as the earth upholds those upon it, the Philodox uphold their people's ways. While in contact with earth or rock, the Philodox can invoke a wall to protect himself. This wall will move with the Garou, defending him from all angles. Earth elementals teach this gift.