Unofficial GarouMUSH Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Totem of Cunning Background Cost: 5

Humans may have given her shape and form, but Luck has been around since the dawn of time and she remains a strange Totem, composed of seeming contradictions and inclined to strange preferences and changes of mood. Those who earn her favour gain a powerful but unpredictable ally. Packs who follow her are often seen as peculiar and possibly unreliable, but far better as friends than as enemies. Lady Luck may appear as a woman, but takes many other guises. In human or animal shape her eyes are always solid green, without white or pupil. She often prefers not to manifest in any tangible form, instead indicating her presence in other ways: the glint of a coin in the gutter, maybe, or a long-lost item found in a pocket. The Lady may be found anywhere but the worst Weaver-blights: anywhere where chance can still play a hand. Locations such as racetracks, casinos and gambling dens are particular favourites. She does not care whether children claim territory, nor where it lies if they do.

Boons

  • Any time a packmember's contested action results in a tie, luck intervenes in the packmember's favour to tip the balance of the outcome her way.
  • The Lady's favourites sometimes seem to be supernaturally lucky. Once per scene, each packmember may call for a lucky break that amends the results of any one action (their own or that of an opponent). This does not negate the immediate outcome of the result, but causes some additional factor to turn the apparent advantage into a disadvantage or vice versa (A weapon might break while dealing a successful attack, or a packmember who slips and falls from a roof might just happen to land right on top of the enemy he was pursuing). The exact nature of the lucky break should be agreed by or chosen by the GM, or agreed among the players involved in the scene, as appropriate.
  • The Lady attunes her children to the pulse of pure chance. This helps to alert them to the manipulations of others. Packmembers find it easy to detect foul play and cheating where there is a large element of chance involved (+2 bonus to PER, Streetwise, or equivalent relevant ability for these situations). They may also be alerted if anyone nearby is manipulating luck using supernatural means, although they will not necessarily become aware of any specifics.
  • The Lady is unpredictable, even when she favours her chosen. GMs may choose to visit any packmember at any time with random (or not-so-random) good fortune of some kind. As a guideline this may be used once per scene, but it may be varied at the GM's discretion. This may be used (among other things) to further the plot , to provide one-use access to a dot of some Background the pack do not otherwise have, to avert certain death, or just to put a smile on someone's face.
  • The Lady is protective of her chosen. Packmembers are resistant to the effects of luck-manipulating magic (Magick, Disciplines, Charms, Gifts, etc. with descriptions indicating the control of chance, fate, luck, prediction of outcomes, etc.). The user of such a supernatural ability is at a difficulty 2 higher than usual if trying to directly affect the PC.

Bans

  • Luck asks above all that her children trust in her favour and the boons she grants. They may not spend Willpower to improve their chances of success. (This does not prevent them from spending Willpower on other things, such as holding back Frenzy).
  • The Lady recognises the need for balance. Her children are not immune to bad luck, and often find that minor inconveniences increase after she has particularly favoured them, as the balance of fortune is restored. Because they are her favourites, however, such runs of misfortune will tend to be irritating rather than dangerous. Players are encouraged to have fun inflicting their characters with occasional days when nothing seems to go right for them.
  • Packmembers may not try to influence their regular luck, as that would indicate a lack of trust in their patron. They may never cheat at games of chance. They must additionally renounce all superstition concerning the influencing of good or bad luck- they must not 'touch wood', avoid walking under ladders, and so on (although packmembers may wear a token of their allegiance, in the same way that followers of other Totems sometimes adopt a representative piece of jewellery or tattoo). Packmembers may use euphemisms such as 'break a leg', and refer to 'The Lady' rather than 'Lady Luck' or one of her other names, lest by naming her aloud it seems that they are demanding her attention.
  • Lady Luck comes and goes when she will. The pack may not take the power: 'Totem is nearly always with the pack', and the Lady will almost never take direct action in a fight herself, preferring to manipulate the outcome in other ways.
  • Because of their tie to pure chance, it becomes hard to predict any outcome in advance when packmembers are around. Rites such as Precognition will tend not to give good results when children of Luck are directly involved in any way.

Totems of the Garou
Totems of cunning: Alley Cat | Coyote | Cuckoo | Fox | Lady Luck | Magpie | Opossum | Rabbit | Raccoon | Whitewater
Totems of respect: Bison | Eagle | Falcon | Grandfather Thunder | Ice Wolf | Lion | Merlin | Moose | Mule | Osprey | Pegasus | Sphinx | Stag | Stallion | Swan
Totems of war: Bear | Black Unicorn | Bull | Cougar | Dog | Fenris | Flea | Griffin | Hummingbird | Panther | Rat | Triune Goddess | Weasel | Wendigo | Winter Manitous | Wolverine | Wyvern
Totems of wisdom: Centaur | Chimera | City Father | Cockroach | Dana | Dragonfly | Fog | Frog | Grandmother Tree | Otter | Owl | Peregrine | Phoebe | Salmon | Trout | Uktena | Unicorn | Wind Incarna | Winter Wolf


Advertisement