A Basic Guide To The Umbra

A note on the umbra and this guide

The umbra is a strange, spiritual place that doesn't always conform to the rules of nature or physics, like the physical world does. Locations, paths, and space can fold, extend, disappear, or be created for no reason whatsoever. Reality in the umbra is sometimes fluid, seemingly altering with no rhyme or reason. Thus, this guide presents only "normal" situations in the umbra. There are exceptions and there are unusual things that can and do happen--particularly near places with a strong Wyld presence. While these strange events can happen, it is best to run any abnormal events past one or more spirit wizards prior to running an one night stand (ONS) or introducing something new or unusual into the MUSH's worldview.

What is the umbra?

The umbra is a spiritual reflection of the physical world, but not an exact replica. Things in the realm generally have no spiritual presence unless they have been around a very long time--50 or more years perhaps. Or, if the structure has an extremely strong emotional/spiritual influence (a prison, a church, a hospital, etc.), it might beging to manifest spiritually in a few years. An incredibly traumatic and massive event (an apartment building that collapsed and killed most of the occupants, trapping many of them under tons of rubble where they slowly died over the course of many days, or a house that is used to torture large numbers humans and twist them into fomori) might create un umbral resonance in a few months or maybe almost instantly in the most horrific/beautific instances. As an example, a new road is run through a forest. Umbrally, there is nothing there but forest. Over the next 5 or so years, a path through the forest might develop. Then it grows wider and wider, the trees part, and a weaver-wyrm swath appears on the ground. In 10 (well-used highway), 50 (rarely used road) or 100 (driveway) years, there might be a spiritual reflection of that road in the umbra. Some places will have a stronger, faster established spiritual presence (Route 66) than others (Highway 51? Never heard of it.). Some roads (driveways, footpaths through the woods) will never produce an umbral presence. For instance, the abandoned railroad tracks going through WWNP have no spiritual presence. Stepping sideways from the top story of a brand new skyscraper or the bathroom of a passenger jet in flight would be highly, highly inadvisable.

Other spiritual realms and the deep umbra

There are junctures, wrinkles, and gates in the fabric of the umbra that allow access to the Deep Umbra and, through the deep umbra, other realms. Most cliath garou are not privy to such knowledge as the deep umbra connecting these realms is vast, confusing, dangerous, and easy to get lost permanently in. Such is the domain of more experienced, higher ranked theurges.

Urban and rural places and the umbra

With a few extremely rare exceptions, a location in the physical world that has a lot of technology, a lot of pollution, and a lot of people in it is going to have an umbral reflection that is far more dangerous than the umbral reflection of a rural area. Hence, the umbra in the city is a hostile place for Garou to venture into, and it's not advisable to do so alone.

Day, night, and moon phases in the umbra

Garou, the moon (and eclipses), and danger levels in the umbra can be summed up neatly in one phrase: "The less moon, the more dangerous." During the day, the entire umbra is crawling with Weaver spirits. There are various theories as to why this happens, none of which I'll explain here. Garou caught in the umbra during the day hopefully have their will up to date, because they're probably going to be dead or encased forever in weaver webs--if they're lucky. During the night, the Weaver spirits largely retreat back to their strongholds in the cities, though they're still out and about. Night is when the Wyld and Wyrm spirits are out, generally depending on the moon's phase. There are more Wyld spirits out during a full moon and more Wyrm spirits out during a new moon. Why? Depends on who you ask. Garou going umbral during a full moon is fine--but never, ever safe. Garou going umbral during a new moon is extremely dangerous, expect a really bad fight or death. Generally, most Garou will not go umbral between a new moon and a half-moon-that's-almost-a-crescent-moon unless there is an absolutely dire or desperate need to do so.

Spirits

What a spirit actually is is the subject of a lot of debate and interpretation. I'll be skipping over all that. Spirits are, however, of a very alien mindset than garou, wolves, or humanity. The spirits in a given area are a lot like the Garou living in the same area--very diverse and each is an individual with a variety of goals and motivations. Think of them as another foil-type character, or a person that may or may not help out the Garou--depending on how they are treated, if what is being asked of them is dangerous or not, how much energy/time it will take, sacrifices of freedom, if it jives with their own moral guidelines, and if it serves their incarna (the Biggest, Head Cougar Spirit from which all Cougar spirits spring from, etc.) or not. Spirits can also be very clever, tricking, misleading, or using Garou to their own ends. A garou that believes everything any Wyld spirit says is a walking sucker waiting to be used. And spirits may break deals too as many spirits, particularly Wyld spirits (though Weaver spirits tend to be much better about keeping oaths/contracts), are not always inclined to respect agreements or care about the Garou's conception of Honor. Wyld spirits are not necessarily allies of the Garou, but, on average, they are certainly "less an enemy" than everything else out there. Usually.

Unlike Garou, spirits cannot peek through the umbra nor can they naturally go to and from the physical and spiritual worlds. In order to appear in a physical form, a spirit must have the Materialize charm. Materializing in a shape roughly equivalent in strength to an average human will cost approximately 10 points of power (about half what the average spirit has in total.) Materializing in a form about as tough and damaging as an average claith crinos Garou will cost approximately 25 power points--well above what most spirits have at their disposal. Spirits also do not have social skills to interact with humanity in a normal fashion, unless they're spirits of Man.

Because of this, Garou are extremely valuable allies to spirits who wish to accomplish something in the physical world. They can go places most spirits can't, and are far more powerful than those few spirits that canMaterialize.

Spirit Speech

Like the Garou's Mother Tongue, Spirits have Spirit Speech. To speak the language of spirits, a garou must have the Spirit Speech gift. Beast Speech will not work in communicating with the spirits of animals. Just as some Garou have Spirit Speech, some spirits can also speak with garou--but might not advertise that fact. Garou who speak Spirit Speech to spirits who can speak the Garou tongue are generally seen as being more respectful/formal to spirits.

Unlike the Mother Tongue used by the Garou, Spirits do not have their own language that can be learned. Spirit Speech is more akin to an empathic universal translator. A Garou using Spirit Speech speaks as he normally would, using English or the mother tongue or whatever language they understand--it doesn't matter, so long as it's a language. Other Garou, if they speak this language, can understand what is being said by the Garou, but not the spirit.

Reaching: crossing into and out of the umbra

Reaching or sidestepping is how the Garou move between the physical and the spiritual worlds. In order to reach, a Garou must have a smooth, reflective surface--on whatever side they happen to be on at the time. This also means that unless a Garou is conscious enough to stare at their own reflection, they cannot cross over the Gauntlet--the barrier between the physical and spiritual worlds. Unconscious (or dead) Garou cannot be carried across by packmates. For instance, if a Garou carries a pocket mirror (about the smallest size of a reflective surface for reaching) with them decides, while out in the woods, to go to the umbra, they can do so. However, unless that mirror is Dedicated, the mirror gets left in the physical world and the Garou, now mirrorless, is going to have to hunt down a new reflective surface. A garou that does such a thing in the dry, wide-open midwestern plains may be frantically running around hoping that the sun doesn't rise before they get lucky and find something reflective. Reaching is a dangerous process and should not be taken lightly. A lone Garou with a low Gnosis score that reaches, particularly in an urban setting, is all but asking to be trapped in the guantlet and killed by the first spirit that happens by. Reaching through the gauntlet is by no means a quick escape route. Use the following table as a guideline for how long it takes to get through the gauntlet:

• Gnosis 1-3: 5 minutes
• Gnosis 4-6: 30 seconds
• Gnosis 7+: Instant

A Garou with a gnosis of 1 or 2 will be unable to cross the gauntlet at all about 25-50% of the time, and has about a 1 in 10 chance of getting trapped in the gauntlet. Other Garou have about a 1 in 20-30 chance of getting trapped.

Many, if not most, Garou will spend willpower when crossing the Gauntlet to avoid getting stuck between worlds. Garou who spend willpower can decrease their time spent crossing by an appropriate step up on the table above.

Obviously, "jumping through to the umbra" or "jumping out of the umbra" is simply impossible for the overwhelming majority of Garou, even when spending willpower to that effect.

Also, the gauntlet is harder and easier to cross in some areas than others--generally depending on the amount of Weaver in the area. Reaching in the city is about twice as hard to do as reaching in the woods. Reaching in a science lab is about four times harder than reaching at a caern.

While in the process of reaching, Garou cannot move or attack. They are frozen in place, staring at their reflection, existing in two worlds at one time and open to attack and detection at both places. If a Garou is trapped in the gauntlet, he or she must be pulled through (in one way or the other) by another Garou, a spirit, or whatever--on the side that the puller is on. Thus, a Garou that was trapped while reaching from realm to umbra can be pulled back into the realm by a human or into the umbra by a bane. Whatever comes along first. Or the human or bane can simply choose to slay the immobilized Garou, or, my personal preference, use it as a hat rack. (Pulling a Garou to one side of the Gauntlet or the other is a willfull act on the puller's part . A garou that is frozen in place while reaching can be attacked repeatedly by an umbral spirit without the contact drawing the Garou back into the spirit world or expelling it into the realm.)

Obviously, reaching when you're alone or as a means of escape is a very, very, very bad idea--one that will eventually kill the garou that does this. (Garou form packs for a reason, and this is one.)

Much like Garou have no idea what is happening in the spirit world when they are in the realm, spirits have no idea what is happening in the realm when they are in the spirit world. Asking a spirit if they saw something happen yesterday in the realm is akin to asking a Garou who never went umbral the day before if they noticed something in the umbra. It just ain't gonna happen. You might want to consider Rite of Spirit Awakening.

Rite of Spirit Awakening

"This rite awakens a slumbering spirit, and is also necessary to open a Moon Bridge to other Caerns."

So what does all that mean? Well, it means that this rite is performed on the pathstone to open a moonbridge at a caern or, more commonly, an object in the realm that hasn't been around long enough to develop a spiritualpresence. So this rite is useful for, say, awakening the weaver spirit in a computer and then asking it about what kind of information it is storing. (It might need to be bribed first before giving up encoded or classified files, or threatened with "impromptu tech support".) Or the spirit in a sword, awakened, would be slightly stronger and tougher than an unawakened sword--but not worthy of Fetish status. Herbs can be made more purified and potent.

Awakening a sidewalk in a park might give an indication as to how many people come that way each day and a basic idea of when they come that way, based upon the amount of sunlight that warmed the cement and the number of people that trod across it. (A cement sidewalk spirit would have no other concept of time.) If you want to know who was in the area recently, an awakened video camera spirit would prove helpful in providing descriptions. An awakened fire in a trashcan could tell you what it'd burned or cooked recently.

Awakened spirits have limitations on their perceptive and communicative abilities that tie in with their nature. A sidewalk cannot tell a Garou if a man in a yellow suit walked over it thirty minutes ago, nor could it tell the Garou that he met with another man named "Bob" and they talked about whether sheer or ultra panty hose felt best. It might be able to tell a Garou how many people walked over it recently and in which directions and if anyone was unusually heavy or light. What this rite is not is a means of awakening a spirit and learning detailed accounts as to what transpired in or around an area--it's more like potentiall getting a clue of pseudo-forensics evidence, if the right question is asked of the right kind of spirit.

Remember that this is a level 2 rite and therefore takes twenty minutes to perform. One of the powerful aspects of the rite is that the awakened object has both a spiritual and physical presence, so it also essentially awakens the spirit in a manifested (in the physical world) form. Obviously, performing this kind of ritual in a public place, and any resulting interaction with a spirit in the physical world, is going to be obvious, possibly considered a veil breach among certain parties, and potentially attract unwanted attention of normal people and supernatural entities that might be passing by in the realm.

Awakened spirits will eventually return to slumber if left alone as their weak and unmoving spiritual manifestation is killed off or withers away back to normal. The spirit generally stays awake for about 1 week per rank of the Garou who performed the rite.

Rite of Talisman Dedication

"This rite allows a Garou to bind objects to his/her body so that the object stays with the Garou regardless of the Garou's form."

This rite allows a garou to spiritually tie an object to his or her body. When the Garou shifts form, the object melds with the Garou and becomes an extention of the Garou in that different form. For instance, leather gloves will transform to fur, possibly black fur, on the forepaws of the lupus form of a Garou. In addition, these objects will cross over into the umbra with the Garou and have a spiritual presence.

The permanent gnosis rating of a Garou indicates how many objects that Garou is able to dedicate: one object per gnosis point, but larger or complex objects may require more than one gnosis point. A knife would cost 1 point. A sword would cost two. A dead body will cost 7+. A motorbike, 10+.

There is an exception to this rule: GarouMUSH has a house rule that a Garou may dedicate a "sensible set of clothes" for just one point--rather than 9 points for two shoes, two socks, underwear, pants, a shirt, and two earrings. (There's no TS on GarouMUSH, and by avoiding nekid bodies, we thus avoid potentialslip-ups!)

Most garou are particular about what they eat. Few would subsist exclusively on Twinkies, Jolt cola, fast food, and whatever happens to be in the upper strata of the dumpster that day. Likewise, Most Garou tend to be particular about what they bind to their body and spirit alike. Hence, you're likely to only see a BSD, Strider or maybe an Uktena bind a dead body to themselves--that's just downright icky. Likely only a Walker would bind a boombox (2-3 points) or MP3 player (1 pt) to themselves--few others would want, or risk, taking such a strong aspect of the Weaver and bind it into their own flesh, blood, and spirit. Anyone powerful in spirit to bind a motorcycle (10 gnosis) to them is very likely to know better than to ever do that in the first place.

Talisman dedication works only on one object, imbuing it with a spiritual resonace _as that item only_. It is possible to dedicate a small backpack like you'd take to high school (1 pt) and then put a brick of C4 explosives and a detonator in it. However, once in the umbra, unzipping the backpack will reveal only the ghostly, almost-impossible-to-see image of the C4 and detonator. You didn't spend the gnosis (1 point for the C4 brick and 1 point for the detonator) required for the items to exist in the umbra, so they don't exist in the umbra. However, these items can be carried through the umbra and to a different location. Likewise, car keys and wallets in pockets can be transported along with a garou rather than simply getting dropped at the scene when a Garou steps sideways.

Likewise, a gun that is dedicate can be brought and used in the umbra. But if you shoot the gun, each bullet must have a spiritual presence or the gun doesn't fire. A six-shot revolver, with all six bullets, costs seven gnosis to dedicate and use in the umbra--with no reloads.

Welcome to the spirit world: leave your mundane items behind.

If a dedicated item is destroyed or lost, additional items can still be dedicated. Basically, when the rite is performed, the items with the closest proximity override the dedication of not-present objects. So if someone steals your dedicated leather underwear, you can always just dedicate a new pair. This undedicated your old leather underpants, though.

Rite of Binding: making talens

"This is a rite to bind a spirit to yourself, thereby making it your servant for a short time. The more powerful the spirit, the more difficult the process."

This level 1 rite is an exception to the usual rule of a rite taking 10 minutes per level to perform. In fact, most bindings take days or weeks to accomplish. Some could take months or even years, though these are exceptionally rare and fantastically dangerous to undertake and would likely be the centerpiece of a major story.

All attempts at binding or talen-making must be run past a spirit wizard prior to beginning the process. If your talen was not approved, it doesn't work.

Talens are not made lightly nor for frivilous purposes. Imagine that a spirit materialized in the realm, walked over to your Garou PC, and said this:

Hi! I'd like you to help me out. I need you to get into this inescapable box here that has holes so people can stab inside it with silver spears or swords, but you can't stab back. Then I'll lock you in there for some vague period of time, and you'll just have to trust me when I say that I promise to let you out later. After you're all snug in your box, where you can do absolultely nothing but sit, not talk, or carry out your other daily duties, I'll cart you over into the strange and inhospitable umbra. Then, at a later date, probably in the middle of a really big fight, I'll release you from your confinement and you must leap out and use one of your gifts at whatever I point at, regardless of whether you want to or not. Then you're free to go--assuming I don't actually get killed in the battle, in which case you'll likely be picked up, totally helpless, by our mutual enemy, who will very likely torment you, keep you imprisoned as long as possible, or corrupt you so you become one of them. Sound like fun?

Every time a Garou attempts to enlist a spirit to be bound into a talen, this is basically what is being asked of that spirit. Spirits therefore do not like to be bound into talens, and will often ask favors of Garou who wish to make a talen--generally carrying out deeds for these spirits in the realm (where it's hard for them to reach), gifts of gnosis, furthering a cause of the spirit, or maybe enlisting the garou temporarily as personal thugs in going off to thump some other spirit. So, basically, creating a talen is generally equivalent to running an ONS (hence another reason why wizardly approval is important).

The reason that many spirits will even agree to a binding at all is because a talen allows a spirit that otherwise could not cross over to the realm--or would have to spend a great deal of energy crossing over--to perform a single attack/effect in the realm once released. Unlike the Garou, who can all travel between worlds, the majority of spirits cannot.

Garou do not make talens for use in the umbra except in very rare instances. Why? It's less costly and time consume and far more effective to simply ask an umbral spirit for aid or assistance. A free spirit is capable of far more than a bound one, so binding a talen for use in the umbra is simply very, very inefficient use of both the Garou's time and the spirits. This is also why spirits are generally bound in the umbra--it's rare (and a huge waste of a spirit's power reserves) to manifest in the realm to be bound by a Garou.

The process for making a talen, on an IC and OOC level, is as follows:

1. IC: Come up with the desired effect a talen will have.
2. IC: Determine what kind of spirit is likely to be able to make that desired effect, how easy said spirit will be able to find, and what kind of bribe/barter/exchange will lbe offered. (Having Spirit Speech in addition to Rite of Binding is highly useful.)
3. IC: Determine what an appropriate and respectful vessel for binding that spirit would be. (These are often hand-made artifacts by the garou or rare or unusual objects found in nature that will take some time to discover--i.e. for binding a glass elemental, a piece of glass obtained from a lightning strike onto sand.)
4. IC: Estimate how long it will likely take to do all of the above as well as how long the spirit is to be bound ("expiration date"). Generally, two weeks is about as long as most spirits are willing to be bound. Longer periods of time will cost the Garou more time, efforts, and favors--or risk the emnity of the bound spirit once it is released.
5. IC: Come up with a plan of action for doing steps 1-4 above. Generally, a person creating a talen will want additional garou assisting in the rite--if for nothing other than helping to protect the theurge during the lengthy binding process taking place in the umbra.
6. OOC: +mail the spirit wizards with all of the above and wait for approval before starting things IC. Wizards may modify the effects of the talen or better clarify its effects.
7. IC: After gaining approval, roleplay the talen making process.
8. OOC: After the process is completed, alert the spirit wizards with a +mail and a reminder of the agreed upon effect and expiration date for the talen. Wait for a +mailed response from a wizard. Like +learns, talen making attempts might fail at the wizards' whim, and sometimes they don't work quite like intended. The more effort put into making the talen, the more experienced the garou, and the more the talen-making contributes to RP for people assisting in the process, the less likely this is to happen.
9. IC: Go enjoy your talen!

If a spirit is kept bound in a talen past its expiration date--the date the spirit was promised to be let go--the spirit inside rapidly begins to distrust the garou as a whole--and the garou that bound it and lied to it in particular. Don't be too surprised if the Garou PC gets attacked or ambushed or tricked by the spirit at a later date. And if multiple spirits are mistreated in this fashion, word of this particular garou's offenses spread and it becomes more and more difficult for the offending garou to bind any kind of spirit.

Some garou, particularly those that are in a hurry, may bind spirits in a short period of time--perhaps half a day. This involves obtaining almost any object--even an inappropriate one--to serve as a binding object, locating an appropriate spirit to get the desired effect, then beating the spirit until it is helpless and can be bound to the talen using a 10-minute ritual. This process is typically only used in times of war or in utmost emergencies, as the bound spirit will most assuredly be very angered by this blatent mistreatment and disrespect. While one or three low-powered angered spirits are not too much of a concern for a capable Garou, and they may be able to make up for the transgression afterwards, this practice becomes very dangerous over time or if the ritual involves more powerful or respected spirits.

The reason that talen making is so complex is that this level 1 rite is far more powerful than all other level one rites, and even most level 2 and many level 3 rites. Otherwise, theurges (with Spirit Speech and RoBinding) would be far too overpowered as an auspice.

[Category:Information about spirits][Category:Information about the Garou]