Fetish and Klaive Information

The signature weapon of the werewolf race, klaives are fetish daggers of a singular design, made to be used in Homid and Crinos form alike. Klaives are rare weapons that are made from the purest silver.


Silver is greviously harmful to garou as well as saps their spiritual essense (gnosis). A war-spirit is usually bound into the klaive, allowing the weapon to inflict aggravated damage upon non-Garou foes. Without the spirit, a klaive does not inflict aggraveted damage (at least, not to creatures that aren't vulnerable to silver). However, a Garou does not need to attune a klaive that has no spirit in it.


Pulling a klaive on another werewolf is considered a grave action, for a klaive duel is almost always a duel to the death.

Nonetheless, klaive duels among Garou are dangerously common as the tension of the Final Days grows. The martial art of Klaive Dueling has developed around the Ritualized Combat. Elders complain that too many of these sacred artifacts are in the hands of reckless youths who see nothing wrong with using them for everyday tasks. Young werewolves argue that too many klaives are kept hidden away for rituals and great quests instead of being used to slice the hearts out of their enemies.

So, What is the Difference between a Non-Spirit Bound Klaive and a Basic Klaive?


As stated above, a spirit bound Klaive deals additional aggravated damage and the Garou must attune him or herself to the weapon (Which means you need to get along with the spirit inside, or it may reject you and still not deal additional aggravated damage).

A Non-Spirit bound klaive is generally a basic, yet still hand crafted garou weapon. However, it still generally just does basic damage depending on the properties (A Warhammer that still bashes normally, or a dagger that simply just cuts) and does not deal aggravated damage.

There is a possibility to later on, bind a spirit to your Klaive, so you can have a non-spirit bound klaive, then spirit-bind it later on.


Now, what is the difference between a Fetish and a Klaive?


A fetish can be a weapon or other bodily equipment such as a belt, or earring, boots or amulet, preferably a Klaive, that shapechanges with the Garou, an example of this is Storm-Eye, a Red Talon from the Garou books, who used a Klaive Spear, that when she shapeshifted forms, to lets say Lupis, a large patch of fur on her body resembled a spear.

This is handy due to the fact that the garou doesn't need to worry about the item, such as carrying it around, when thinking of shapeshifting.

A normal Spirit-bound Klaive, or Non-Spirit Bound klaive cannot do this, and if the Garou wants it to, they must undergo the ritual of turning it into a fetish.

Since this Concerns information on Fetishes, I pulled this information from The Spirits [A Guide to Everyday Spirits] post.



Fetishes

A fetish is the most valuable item a Garou can hold. With their Fetishes, werewolves gain even more formidable abilities. They can activate the powers of the fetish to defeat their enemies, matching the hell-powers of the Wyrm and the technology of the Weaver.

Becoming a fetish offers many advantages to a spirit as well. It allows the spirit to take a more direct role in the War of the Apocalypse. Being encased in a material object protects the spirit from the myriad dangers of the Umbra. The spirit also has the opportunity to influence and guide the Garou, furthering its own purpose or its brood's goals on the material plane.


In order to create a fetish, a Garou must locate a spirit with three characteristics.

- Willingness to bond with the fetish object

- A focus and personality that will allow it to be compatible with the Garou

- and finally the spirit must have charms and abilities that will enable the fetish to serve the purpose for which is is created.




Bonding




Spirits will only choose to join items that contain one or more of their material correspondence. For example, an eagle spirit might enter a staff decorated with eagle feathers or a stone with an eagle image carved into it. The higher the quality of the item, and the greater the number of correspondences with the spirit, the more likely the spirit will be to accept bonding with the item.


Convincing a spirit to enter a fetish takes a great deal of work. Most spirits are not willing to join with a fetish, unless the creator will provide chiminage and go out of their way to appease the whims of the spirit. The spirit must be convinced that they can trust the Garou implicitly.


While a spirit lies in a fetish, it exist in a state of half-Slumber. It cannot be attacked or harmed directly, unless the fetish itself is destroyed. The spirit relies on the spirit of the Garou to activate its power through the fetish.


Spirits will only remain in fetishes if they are treated well. Many fetishes require the highest degree of care. For example, most spirits within klaives demand that the blood of their enemies be cleaned from their blades before they are sheathed. Some require thanks after they are used. Individual spirits have a variety of individual demands.

Fetish Rankings



Rank 1



Level One fetishes are useful, though not incredibly
powerful, within the specific field they have been
designed for. They typically have very limited use and
may not be useful at all to some Garou. (For example,
Apeskins are useless for homid werewolves.) The creation
of a Level One fetish is good "apprentice's work,"
useful practice in fetish-making with a handy (if not
overly imposing) result.



Rank 2



Fetishes that can act on their own as a solution
to a problem in limited circumstances are at least Level
Two. Level Two fetishes rarely get much use, but when
they are needed can be an invaluable help. (For example,
a Spirit Tracer is only of any aid when trying to
deal with spirits, but it can hunt down a specific spirit
very easily.) Fetish weapons of this level are as effective
as a Garou's natural weaponry at best. Creating and
bearing a fetish of this level will earn you raised
eyebrows of respect.



Rank 3



If a fetish has enough versatility to be of use in
a variety of situations, then it's probably Level Three
or above. Fetish weapons at this level begin to have
useful effects that make them often preferable to claws
and teeth (such as the Fang Dagger) while non-weapon
fetishes have uses that are universal enough to see a lot
of use. (The Baneskin is a good example here. Track ing
down one specific spirit is sometimes useful, but Garou
run into Banes enough to make a Baneskin highly
attractive.) Creating and bearing a fetish of this level
will earn you admirers seeking advice.



Rank 4




Level Four fetishes go beyond this and produce
unusual and potent effects over a sustained period,
such as a Monkey Puzzle, or have devastating singular
effects, like a Spirit Whistle. Fetish weapons at this
level are extremely dangerous even to other Garou,
and merely presenting one will bring any Garou with
some sense to reconsider his actions. Fetishes at this
level, particularly weapons, are part of the myth of
the bearer and often become a suffix to their owner's
name. ("Mourns-the-Dead, carrying the Edge of Dusk
with her....")



Rank 5




A fetish of Level Five stature is the greatest of the
great. Much like Gnosis 8 fetishes, if it's flat out too
powerful to consider in anything below, then this is
where it goes. There shouldn't be any debate over what
constitutes a Level Five fetish, since if there is it's likely
not powerful enough to be worth Level Five. A nonweapon
fetish of this caliber can work miracles, and
producing such a weapon as this can bring a whole
pack to reconsider their actions. Fetishes of this level
may possess more than one power, and are sept treasures,
and sometimes even tribal treasures! Such fetishes
are legends in their own right, and can even
overshadow the Garou who own them.



Rank 6



Level Six fetishes, however, are greater than the
greatest of the great. Garou do not make these fetishes
of their own accord — that implies that they had
control over their creation. Instead, sometimes one
may somehow be involved in its creation. Often these
fetishes are created by Incarnae from one of their most
trusted servants, or from a part of itself, or even giving
itself over to the fetish entirely of its own volition.
They are legends that pass down through the centuries,
can never be replicated, hardly even understood.
They wreck the lives of those seeking them, and make
the lives of those finding them. Needless to say, helping
to create one of these fetishes would be the goal of
an entire chronicle rather than a part of one, and such
creation is better adjudicated by story and drama
rather than rules.