WOD - Werewolf - The Apocalypse - Umbra - The Velvet Shadows.pdf - Werewolf - The Apocalypse - elwaro

Authors: Brian Campbell and Rob Hatch

Developer: Ethan Skemp

Editor: Aileen E. Miles

Art Director: Aileen E. Miles

Art: Ron Brown, Richard Kane Ferguson, Jeff Holt,

Ron Spencer

Cover Art: Rebecca Guay ^

Cover Design, Layout & Typesetting: Aileen E. Miles

Brian "Demonic Colonel Sanders" Glass, for getting

his bar stocked by the generous booze fairies.

Steve "Method to my Madness" Wieck, for seeing

profitable opportunities where the rest of us saw screaming,

ravening death.

Rich "That Would Be All of Us, Steve" Thomas, for

not being afraid to admit to seeing screaming, ravening

death instead of profitable opportunities.

Jess "Did You Know Everyone Hates You?" Heinig, for

not dashing his computer against the floor every time he logs

on to Usenet.

Fred "Pact With Satan" Yelk, for his damnable Wolf

Blight record. You will fall!

Conrad "Goat for Azazel" Hubbard, for being the

handy guy to blame every time something goes wrong with

the forums.

Mike "Battle Pope" Chaney, for being, well, Battle

Pope. Ave Heckler! Ave Koch!

And to the Editorial Posse, for adapting a firm "strength

in numbers" policy. Still won't get you a corner office, guys.

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The basic underpinnings of the Umbra and how shapeshifteri|jj|eract with it

The Near Reakos and sub-realms of the lÄ?lJmbra

Advice on handling spirits and new spirit allies and enemies

124

How to tell the perfect Umbral story

Ä:

Gallie Heart-Like-a-Fist had hated the smell of the

clinicfrom the moment she'd walked in the door. The lights

<were too artificial, the angles too sharp, the surfaces too

smooth—but worst ofall was the smell, an antiseptic stink

like ammonia gone sour. As a place ofhealing, it le/t much

to be desired.

Now she stood on the clinic's roof under a halfmoon,

staring down through the spotlight into the main lobby.

Even outside, it smelled wrong to her. God, she thought,

no wonder teenage girls are afraid to come here. How

the hell are they supposed to think the people here

care about them as human beings when the place

doesn't look like humans are allowed inside? She

shook her heod. Well, Anya may be reaching the staff

one step ät a time, but she doesn't havc that kind of

time. She needs help.

Gallie took a deep breath, then shoved herself side-

ways, into the Gauntlet. It was like pulling herself through

halfårozen water—it dragged ät her, pressing down on her

from all sides — but the sensation didn't last long, and then

she u>as through.

The halfmoon overhead seemed a bit dimmer; the haze

of the night sky was all the more telling. A tiny speck ofred

caught ät the corner of her eye, hut she forced herself not to

look ät it. Instead, she stared down ät the layers ofwebbing

under herfeet, webs like gleaming cables, each one laid in

perfect symmetry to the rest.

Like I figured, she thought, watchingan errantglass-

and-metal sf>ider scurry along the webs. Anya's not going

to get anything done ät this råte — the webs are too

thick here. lt'd take a crowbar to force any life, any new

ideas into the people living here.

She drew in a breath, feeling the breath coalesce into

bone and muscle, her clothes tightening, her already

over-long arms lengthening further. I start pulling

those webs apart, she grumbled to herself, and there's

no telling what happens. Maybe I make the place

unstable. Maybe the walls come crashing down. She

cracked her knuckles. But it's not like I have time to

try anything else.

She reached out, plucked one of the smaller spider*

spirits from the web, and crushed it in her oversizedfist. It

was dissolving into a pixel'like mist even as she began

opening her fingers again. Withasigh, she knelt down and

took a long, strong cable-strand in either hand, braäng

herself against the webbingrooftop.

As above — so below.

She pulled.

Virtually every culture has its stories of journeys

into the spirit world, of f igures that dåre to walk beyond

the world as we know it. From the stories of people

descending into the underworld to retrieve dead lovers

to the tales of heroes who travel into the heavens to

steal fire for their people, these legends are part of the

human yearning for something more.

In the World of Darkness, the human connection

with that "something more" has been löst. It's a rare

person who's able to sense that there is something

beyond the world of flesh and soil. Many humans —

possibly most — don't have much faith ät all in a

greater realm of existence, and live their lives accord-

ingly. But the werewolves know.

In some old legends, wolves were described as "mes-

sengers from the spirit world." That much is true. Just as the

old European legends of wolves that thirst for the blood of

humans have their basis in gruesome fäet, the tales of

animals that walk between this world and the next also

have some root in truth. This ability is a great privilege for

the Garou and more than that — it's an awesome respon-

sibility. A werewolf must keep the health of both spirit and

physical worlds in mind, because what ails one ails the

other. And as the world spirals toward the final days of the

Apocalypse, the spirit world has continued to worsen.

This is the plight of the Umbra.

personalities to interact socially and politically with the

characters. It holds the objects of many quests, and the

tools for deeply introspective, character-based stories. The

Umbra can be anything — anything — for your chronicle.

It just depends on what you want to get out of it.

And it's not even as if the Umbra's added story

elements replace the physical concerns of the Garou

— far from it. No story should be "either-or," either

Umbral or not. If the pack goes off on a quest into the

Umbra, leaving their loved ones behind, they may

encounter realms or challenges along the way that

mirror their earthly desires (or threaten their mortal

relatives). If a pack is fighting a decidedly earthly foe,

they'll probably rely on their spirit allies or Umbral

travel abilities ät some point along their hunt.

Werewolves are creatures of both worlds — the one's

just as vital as the other. The physical world you

already know about; it's a darker version of the one

outside your window. The spirit world — well, that's

bigger. A little extra guidance is always helpful, right?

Hence, this book.

Umbra isn't a book of adventures, nor is it the

definitive guide to every portion of the spirit land-

scape. Instead, this book is a resource dedicated to

helping the Storyteller adjudicate the obstacles and

rewards of quests into the spirit world. Inside are all the

building blocks necessary to start running packs through

the Gauntlet and into the greater portion of reality.

If you're a new Storyteller who's looking for some

advice on handling stories that deal with the spirit world,

congratulations and welcome aboard; it's our hope that

you'll find plenty here to inspire your stories for years to

come. If you're a long-time Storyteller who already owns a

copy of Umbra: The Velvet Shadow, hopefully you'll find

some things worthwhile in this volume, too; things have

changed in the spirit world, and not always for the better.

• Chapter One: Cosmology covers the general

setup of the Umbra, from the relations and connec-

tions between the Near, Dark and Deep Umbrae to the

logistics of maneuvering throughout the Penumbra.

• Chapter Two: The Realms details the fourteen

most prominent Near Realms, their laws and layout, as

well as touching on some of the more frequented Zones

and sub-realms. EachNear Realm is described in terms of

geography and "laws of the realm," although these

shouldn't be seen as absolutes; the Umbra isn't a static

place (no thanks to the Weaver's efforts) , and any amount

of customization is not only possible, but encouraged.

• Chapter Three: Spirits expands on the spirit

material presented in the main rulebook, from relations

with the spirit world to a number of new spirits to act as

The Umbra should be ät the heart of every Werewolf

chronicle. Yes, the Garou are the warriors of Gaia, and

conflict (usually bloody) is what drives a game of savage

horror — but the Umbra epitomizes why the Garou

fight, and how they learn to be better warriors. Not every

session should involve a spirit quest, and not every

plotline should revolve around a threat from the Umbra

— but in the World of Darkness, werewolves are one of

the few creatures who still perceive the spirit world.

Nobody else is as intimately tied to the Umbra; nobody

else knows better the vital blessings — or obscene

horrors — that can pour from the other side of the

Gauntlet if they 're summoned properly.

The spirit world adds an entire layer of possibilities to

the Werewolf universe — and to your game. The brutal

conflict key to the savage horror genre and the webs of

politicking that come with any game focused on social

interaction and society are certainly enough material to

fuel sessions. But the Umbra adds something more — in

fäet, it holds so many more possibilities, it's härd to define

as a single layer ät all. The Umbra is a source of more foes,

true — foes that can be fought tooth and nail, or that have

to be fought by trying to win the hearts of humanity. It's

also a change of backdrop for a story, or a source for more

Sfi'^'f

allies and enemies. In particular, a spirit from each of the

tribal totems' broods is offered, so that the Storyteller

can offer spirit allies for characters of any tribe.

• Chapter Four: Storytelling in the Umbra con-

tains advice for the Storyteller on running Umbral

stories, particularly when it comes to presenting the

Umbra as something special.

• Finally, the Appendix collects virtually all the

hard-and-fast rules bits from throughout the book,

from new Gifts and fetishes designed for making Um-

bral travel easier to notable personages that packs

might encounter while walking in the spirit world.

As vast as the Umbra is, it's probably no surprise that

there are several supplements available that go further

than the scope of this book. Rage Across the Heavens

details the Aetherial Realm with great fervor; with tons

of story seeds and information on each of the Planetary

Incarnae, it's well worth a look. Book of the Weaver is

particularly useful when dealing with the Weaver's webs;

Book of the Wyrm contains numerous Bane threats and

a more detailed description of Malfeas. The out-of-print

(but still handy) Werewolf: The Wild West supplement

Ghost Towns is a good source of information on the Dark

Umbra, particularly in crossing over Werewolf materials

with Wraith: The Oblivion materials. (Speaking of

which, Wraith is of course the ultimate source of ideas for

the Dark Umbra; the recent fall of the Stygian Empire is

detailed in Ends of Empire, for those interested.) Axis

Mundi: The Book of Spirits is likewise out of print, but

full of interesting spirits that require only a little tinkering

to fit into Revised rules. Book of Worlds, while heavily

rooted in Mage cosmology (expect contradictions with

the way things work in Werewolf), may provide some

ideas for stories that range significantly farther afield.

Of course, everything we provide is rooted in an-

other source as well—human myth. Browsing through

the mythology section of your bookstore or library

should give you ideas aplenty for journeys into the

Underworld or spirit realm, from anthologies of Native

American myths to Joseph Campbell's works on the

Hero's Journey. Even works of fiction like Dante's

Inferno are applicable — the Inferno isn't just about a

descent into hell, it's a satire on the Italian society of the

time. Such escapades in symbolism are hard to beat.

Is this a lot of material to digest? It sure is. But we're

talking about the Umbra here. You could gather your

group to play every weekforyears and still only scratch the

surface of everything the spirit world has to offer. If you're

interested in doing other reading, it's probably worth your

while; if not, the Umbra's certainly big and wild enough

that you can devise whatever you like off the top of your

head. The sky isn't even the limit any more.

WOD - Werewolf - The Apocalypse - Umbra - The Velvet Shadows.pdf

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