Warlord

From Gothpoodle

Predator King Alpha (Lodge of Night's Fear)

The Warlord is leader of the Mountain-Walkers Confederation. He maintains a den on Mount Diablo. Killed on October 30, 2007 by the pack.

Description

Hishu

A huge Native American man in his mid 50s with long black hair in an elaborate braid, black eyes, and dark weathered skin. He has black spiral tattoos up both of his arms and an incalculable number of scars on every part of his body. He wears beautifully crafted buckskin and a heavy cloak of wolf skins. He carries an elaborately carved spear and a huge stone hammer as long as he is tall.

Urhan

A massive black wolf.

Storytelling Hints

The Warlord is a creature balanced between a burning hatred for the Forsaken and a keen, patient mind capable of biding his time, planning, and applying tactics to succeed. He is, in many ways, a perfect avatar of the cold, emotionless Dire Wolf. He is the perfect predator, better than any wolf could be because he has a mind to calculate and analyze and plan. He despises the frothing adherents to Fenris Wolf and chides Predator Kings who relish loss of control and vicious savagery for its own sake. He sees the Predator Kings as higher than that.

Stats

• Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 6, Resolve 4.
• Physical Attributes: Strength 6/7/9/8/6 (6/8/11/9/7 with Alphaskin), Dexterity 6/6/7/8/8, Stamina 6/7/8/8/7.
• Social Attributes: Presence 6, Manipulation 4/3/-/1/4, Composure 4.
• Mental Skills: Crafts 3, Investigation 5, Medicine 2, Occult 6, Politics 4.
• Physical Skills: Athletics 5, Brawl (Claws) 6, Stealth 5, Survival (Tracking) 5, Weaponry (Hammer) 6.
• Social Skills: Animal Ken 4, Empathy 2, Expression 3, Intimidation 6, Persuasion 5, Socialize 1, Subterfuge 2.
• Merits: Danger Sense 2, Fighting Style (Tooth and Claw) 5, Fighting Style (Savage Fury) 5, Giant 4, Iron Stamina 3.
• Primal Urge: 9
• Willpower: 8
• Harmony: 4 (-1 Social rolls with spirits)
• Ban: Obsessed with the recovery of San Francisco from the Forsaken.
• Virtue: Prudence
• Vice: Envy
• Size: 6/7/8/7/5 (6/7/8/8/6 with Alphaskin)
• Health: 12/14/16/15/12 (12/14/16/16/13 with Alphaskin)
• Initiative: 10/10/11/12/12
• Defense: 6 (7 with spear)
• Armor: 1/1 in Gauru and Urshul
• Speed: 17/18/21/24/22 (17/18/21/25/24 with Alphaskin)
• Perception: 10/12/13/13/14
• Essence: 50/10 (-4 Social rolls with humans, 1 Essence drain every 8 hours)
• Renown: Cunning 4, Glory 5, Honor 3, Purity 4, Wisdom 3.
• Gift Lists: Father Wolf, Mother Luna, Nature, Predator, Rage, Savagery, Strength.
• Gifts: (1) Bestial Fellowship, Crushing Blow, Find Conflict, Mask of Rage, Predator's Presence, Speak with Beasts; (2) Anybeast, Father Wolf's Speed, Hone Rage, Hunter's Fortitude, Notice Defeat, Unending Fury; (3) Challenger's Instinct, Forest Communion, Leech Rage, Primal Howl, Savage Hunt, Whispers on the Wind; (4) Beast Ride, Echoes of Opposing Brilliance, Human Health, Rekindled Rage, Savage Rending; (5) Nature's Vengeance, Savage Might, Shared Battle Mind, Soured Rage.
• Rituals: 5; Rites: All first through fifth-level rites in the main book, plus: (1) Taste of the Ancestors; (3) Rite of the Found; (4) Rite of Purity, Offering of Blood and Silver.
• Fetishes: Face of Blood (Talen; Instant; spirits in Hisil get -1 to attack rolls until sunrise), Breath of Agony (Reflexive; roll Strength + Athletics attack that does three Bashing but doubles wound penalties for three turns) 1, Chargebreaker (Instant; short out an electrical device within sight once a week) 1, Turtle Brands (Reflexive; +1/1 Armor in Urshul form) 3, Soulsoother (Instant; treat Harmony as 8 for purposes of activating fetishes for the scene) 3, Parasite Shard (Reflexive; burrows into target, who has a single turn to do a Strength + Athletics roll needing an extraordinary success to remove it, and starves them for 10 - Stamina days, then pushes out for two more Lethal) 4, Sequoia's Spear (Instant; when thrust into the ground, if user stays within 10 yards, he gains +1 Strength, +1 Size, and +1 Composure) 4, Decay Tattoos (Reflexive; deal aggravated damage to human-made objects or their spirits, ignoring Durability) 5, Alphaskin (Reflexive; gain boosts to forms for one minute per success, but at -1 to degeneration rolls) 5, Bane of Power (Reflexive; doubles its damage rating versus supernaturals for the scene, drains places of power if it kills a supernatural within one) 5.

Combat

Type	Damage	Hishu	Dalu	Gauru	Urshul	Urhan	Shots	Notes
Bite	2 (L)			17/19	16/17	14/15
Claw	1 (L)			17/19	16/17
Grapple	0 (B)	12	13/14	15/17	14/15	12/13
Spear	3 (L)	15	16/17					+1 Defense
Hammer	4 (B)	17	18/19	20/22
Hammer (against supernaturals)	8 (B)	21	22/23	24/26

Number after the slash is with Alphaskin active.

Abilities

• Father Wolf's Gifts
  • Father Wolf's Speed: Spend one Essence reflexively to double Speed for the scene.
  • Primal Howl: Spend one Essence and roll Presence + Expression + Purity (13 dice) versus Composure to induce Lunacy in everyone within 90 yards.
  • Savage Rending: Spend one Essence reflexively to do aggravated damage for the scene with claws and bite.
• Mother Luna's Gifts
  • Anybeast: Spend one Essence to appear as another predator for the scene.
• Nature Gifts:
  • Speak with Beasts: Reflexively roll Manipulation + Animal Ken + Purity (12 dice) to speak with animals for one minute.
  • Forest Communion: Spend one Essence and roll Manipulation + Survival + Cunning (13 dice) to sense goings on within 500 yards plus 100 per success.
  • Beast Ride: Spend one Essence and roll Wits + Animal Ken + Wisdom (13 dice) - animal's Resolve to ride an animal's sense for one hour per success.
  • Nature's Vengeance: Spend one Essence and roll Intelligence + Survival + Glory (13 dice) to animate 25 square yard of vegetation to cause -2 Speed, -1 to actions, and inflict one to three Bashing per turn for the scene.
• Predator Gifts
  • Bestial Fellowship: Spend one Essence reflexively to get +4 to Animal Ken rolls with predators until the moon next rises or sets.
  • Hunter's Fortitude: Spend one Essence and roll Stamina + Survival + Honor (14 dice) to remain focused on the hunt for three hours per success without need for food, water, or sleep.
  • Savage Hunt: Spend one Essence and one Willpower and roll Dexterity + Athletics + Purity (15 dice) to mark prety, giving +1 to track or find them and doing aggravated damage with tooth and claw until the next moon rises or sets.
• Rage Gifts
  • Mask of Rage: Spend one Essence to induce Lunacy for the scene.
  • Hone Rage: Spend one Essence and roll Stamina + Survival + Purity (15 dice) to sacrifice a round of Gauru to boost Strength or Dexterity while in Gauru.
  • Leach Rage: Spend one Essence and roll Presence + Empathy + Cunning (12 dice) - subject's Composure to enter Gauru and steal one round per success from the target in Gauru.
  • Rekindled Rage: Spend one Willpower and roll Stamina + Expression + Glory (14 dice) to be allowed to enter Gauru a second time for two less turns than the first time.
  • Soured Rage: Spend one Essence and roll Manipulation + Intimidation + Purity (14 dice) versus Composure + Primal Urge to force a target in Gauru into flight Death Rage for the scene.
• Savagery Gifts
  • Predator's Presence: Spend one Willpower and roll Presence + Intimidation + Purity (16 dice) to impose their Primal Urge Social penalty on nearby humans (EX: -1).
  • Unending Fury: Spend one Essence reflexively to ignore the flight reflex in Death Rage.
  • Challenger's Instinct: Spend one Essence reflexively and roll Wits + Investigation + Cunning (15 dice) analyze the Rage of an Uratha in Gauru (EX: +1 Brawl and +1 Defense versus target).
• Strength Gifts
  • Crushing Blow: Spend one Willpower reflexively to do lethal instead of bashing for a scene.
  • Savage Might: Spend one Essence for every three added to Strength for the turn.
• War Gifts
  • Find Conflict: Roll Composure + Investigation + Cunning (13 dice) to become aware of the fiercest conflict within one mile, plus one per success. (EX: numbers on each side)
  • Notice Defeat: Spend one Willpower reflexively and roll Wits + Empathy + Wisdom (11 dice) to learn about units in trouble. He knows instinctively that someone is, the Willpower and roll are for details.
  • Whispers on the Wind: Spend one Essence to have his words carry up to three miles to people he commands. Targets hear the words a minute later.
  • Echoes of Opposing Brilliance: Spend one Essence and roll Wits + Investigation + Wisdom (14 dice) to hear words spoken by enemy commanders, giving a +2 (EX: +3) on tactical rolls.
  • Shared Battle Mind: Spend two Essence and roll Presence + Socialize + Purity (11 dice) in an extended roll (5 success + 1 per werewolf affected, one minute per roll) to give those under him an instinctive sense for his desires.
• Wolfslayer Gifts
  • Human Health: Spend one Essence and roll Wits + Medicine + Purity (12 dice) versus Composure + Primal Urge to force an Uratha to heal like a human for an hour (EX: day), only able to spend Essence to heal Bashing damage (unless EX).

Merits

• Savage Fury
  • Caged Fear: Gains +1 Defense versus grappling initiation and can swap Dexterity for Strength to escape.
  • Beast's Bluster: Spend one Willpower and roll Presence + Intimidation (12 dice) to strip a point of Willpower and force -2 (EX: -4) on attacks against him next turn.
  • Predatory Defense: Spend one Willpower and gain +3 Defense for the scene but at -2 to Death Rage rolls.
  • Baiting: Spend one Willpower and reflexively roll Strength + Subterfuge (8 dice) versus Wits + Empathy to gain +2 Defense on incoming attacks from foe. Gain +3 next turn if that foe attacked.
  • Furious Assault: Gain +6 on an all-out attack but roll immediately at -3 for Death Rage.
• Tooth and Claw
  • Hunter's Eye: Observe enemy for one turn to lower Defense by one for the scene.
  • Slip Through: Attack for no damage to make foe lose Defense on next attack.
  • Pounce: If attack does more successes than foe's Size, they are knocked prone (+2 to attack), but you get -2 to Defense when you use it.
  • Fury: Lose Defense and attack with claw and bite at +1 in the same round.
  • Throat Tear: Spend one Willpower and reserve +2 on Bite to add as automatic successes.

Background

Born around 1800, the Warlord has always known war as his tribe, the Yelamu, and its associated Pure pack fought tooth and nail against the incursion of the Brotherhood of Crossed Swords working out of the San Francisco Mission. He was also the last of the pure-blooded generation as the decimation of the native people required them to abduct Spanish wolf-blooded to continue their line. By the time of the Gold Rush, he was beta of the pack and in the hard days that followed, he became their leader. By the time of the Park Wars, their people were dead and they fought for territory and a lack of will to submit to the newcomers. Despite the rest of pack being killed in a final confrontation with the Phelans in 1880, he managed to kill Doyle and retreat alive to the mountains to the south. There, he tried to gather support for a continued war but was not strong enough to challenge their mighty elders. Unwilling to give up, he spent the better part of two decades wandering California and learning the art of war, taking on spirits in single combat to force their secrets out of them. When he returned, he was able to unify the Protectorate under his banner. Using knowledge from the Lodge of Night's Fear, the Predator Kings woke the Earthquake Incarna beneath the city and nearly destroyed it entirely on the hundred year anniversary of the measles epidemic with decimated his people when he was a child. They ran through the burning streets, killing any Forsaken they could find in an orgy of death under the careful direction of the Warlord. In the end, though, the Forsaken were able to drive them out with the assistance of the MacLellan Ivory Claws, who were furious over the destruction of their city. San Francisco managed to rebuild and the Warlord's delicate alliance was shattered by the perceived failure of the venture.

The story of the glorious attack, though, proved tenacious and was passed down among the Mountain-Walkers even after he left. He became a legend and his war against the city an unfinished holy crusade. Within a generation, the alphas of the packs who drove him off were considered cowards and their successors dreamed of finishing the war. Meanwhile, the Warlord increased his power and spread his Lodge's influence throughout the West Coast. He slept for long periods of time as he became more spirit than flesh and honed his skills. Finally, he was awoken by the 1989 Earthquake, a pale homage to his 1906 efforts but enough to convince him that the time had come. He gathered packs to him during the 90s and initiated the Brethren War, leading the Pure to kill hundreds of Forsaken across the country. He left San Francisco alone, though, saving it for his special attention. When the war was over and the acquired territory secured, he made his way back to his home and made contact with the packs of the old Protectorate. Many bowed down before his legend and tales of his recent efforts. Those who did not, he defeated in combat. By the early years of the new century, he was alpha of the Protectorate and began to plan his new war. He has no need for the efforts the Pure took in 1989 to raise the Big One because he still has the Rite his lodge uncovered to do so in 1906.

Renown

• Cunning 4: Forming the alliance to raze the city in 1906.
• Glory 4: The killing of Doyle Phelan and routing of his pack by himself in 1880.
• Glory 5: His glorious return during the Brethren War and the inspiration he gave to the Pure.
• Purity 4: The destruction of San Francisco in 1906.