Fetishes
Talens and Fetishes
(All talens and fetishes must be approved by staff.)
At the moment, these are only available in game via the Outsider Fetish merit, which may only be purchased by members of The Lord Sages of the Unknown Reaches.
Mechanically, the merit allows you to buy either a Talen, a 1-dot Fetish or a 2-dot Fetish.
For those unfamiliar with Werewolf, talens and fetishes aren't always things spirits are HAPPY to be crammed into. Better hope your Werewolf contact practiced rite-ing responsibly!
Talens
A Talen is, mechanically, a vessel which either contains a petty Spirit or some of a more powerful Spirit's energy.
Talens are single-use items, and become powerless once the energy bound within them has been used.
Talens are created
- 1) through a rite,
- 2) through a spirit spinning off part of its being into the item (and taking 1L per dot), or
- 3) rarely, by an item naturally gathering power in a place saturated with strong Resonance.
A talen is rated • to •••••, and typically contains either a single Facet or spiritual Influence, though some can have unusual effects. See the Werewolf: the Forsaken 2e book p.147 onward for examples.
- No roll is necessary to use a talen.
- Influences are an instant action. In place of Power + Finesse, roll your Presence + Wits.
- Facets are instant or reflexive, according to their book write-up.
(Due to Sanctity of Merits, whenever a Lord Sage uses up the power in their Talen, they may get in touch with their supernatural contacts and acquire a new Talen to replace it.)
Fetishes
A Fetish is, mechanically, a physical prison which contains a bound Spirit and harnesses its Essence flow. They possess unique and often rather strange powers and benefits, born from the symbolic power of the caged spirit.
For purposes of the Outsider Fetish merit, Lord Sages may only have a Fetish of • or ••.
The dot level indicates the Rank of the Spirit bound into the item, and just how powerful the Fetish is.
• | A weak fetish with a minor or specialized effect. This could be a minor dice bonus under specific circumstances, such as a bonus Specialty or two, access to a 1-dot Influence (or, rarely, a 2-dot for something niche), or a very simple utility like a sturdy padlock that chews up lockpicks used on it. |
•• | A useful fetish. This could be a weapon with a minor bonus, like inflicting a minor Tilt on its first strike in combat, or a moderate bonus (+3) to a dice pool, or something that replicates the benefits of a modern technological item and improves on them by adding the Fetish's dot rating to the item's equipment modifier. |