WOD - Werewolf - The Apocalypse - Umbra - The Velvet Shadows.pdf
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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.
GJME STUDIO
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The basic underpinnings of the Umbra and how shapeshifteri|jj|eract with it
M
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.
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