Wolfbanner

The old traditions of the wolf-hunter in the Black Forest gave rise to a certain breed of huntsman. One who knew that more than just animals prowled the deep shadows of those woods. This kind of huntsman learned the strange ways of wolf-spirits, and came to make use of those arts to ward wolves away from settlements and the paths men trod. But with those arts came other, darker knowledges, such as the art of cursing an enemy so that his very presence drew wolf-attacks.

Though they have an ancient tradition of gathering wolf-pelts, wolfbanner are not werewolf hunters. If there is any mixture between them, it is simply because wolfbanner understand wolf-spirits so well, and werewolves are wolf-spirits trapped in the forms of men.

Tradition Skills

• Animal Ken: Understanding the natural urges of animals plays an important role in mastering the arts of wolfbanner.
• Expression: The etching, carving, and inking of runic sigils is an old art to the wolfbanner, who use a set of symbols that resemble Futhark runes.
• Melee: The Black Forest was too dense to allow its hunters easy use of bows, so those who hunted its depths were forced to close with their prey. Wolfbanner are frequently skilled with sword, knife, and spear.
• Occult: Understanding the ways of spirits and the other things that haunt the night ensures a wolfbanner might live to see the dawn.
• Survival: Careful trackers and hunters in the wild places, wolfbanner understand the nuances of the wild in order to understand its magics.

Praxis

Wolfbanner (Style; • to •••••)

Prerequisites: Animal Ken 2, Expression 2
Also called wolfssegner, these are magicians whose magic taps into that of wolf spirits, using wolfssegen to keep wolves from attacking someone, or wolfbann to cause them to attack. They are tattooed with the wolfsangel symbol as part of their initiation.

• Witch Trait: Wolfsangle. An occult tattoo, the wolfsangle imbues the wolfbanner with magical potency over wolves.

Apprentice (•)

• Rituals: You can serve as an assistant in any extended roll involving ritual magic for others who are also using wolfsbanner. Your basic rites are performed by working unique blade drills (a Resolve + Melee check); success on this check allows you to recover Willpower no more than once per day. You learn the techniques for Abjuration and Warding for Artificial and Natural spirits.
• Senses: You gain the benefits of the Unseen Sense Merit, but only for supernatural effects tied to wolfbanner, and to spirits of the Artificial and Natural Nations; you can purchase the full version of Unseen Sense for half the normal cost.

Initiate (••)

• Rituals: You learn the techniques for Abjuring and Warding spirits of any Nation, and for Summoning and Exorcism of spirits of the Artificial and Natural Nations.
• Other Merits: You may gain up to First Tongue ••.
• Resonance: You are considered Resonant to Artificial and Natural spirits. You become Aligned with a single Nation of spirits (Artificial or Natural), gaining bonuses when interacting with them, and penalties when interacting with others.
• Knowledge: You gain a bonus equal to your rating in this Merit to researching Artificial and Natural spirits.
• Wolfssegen: Instead of the normal time it takes to construct a Ward, a wolfbanner of his proficiency may make one roll per turn if he is using powdered rowan in the construction of a ward against wolves and wolf-spirits. Such a quick-ward will not suffice against any other entity, even if it has rowan as a Bane.

Adept (•••)

Prerequisite: Ability to wield Essence (natural, Invested, Second Sight ••• or Hag-Riding)

• Rituals: You learn the techniques for Summoning and Exorcism of spirits of any Nation.
• Other Merits: May gain up to First Tongue ••• or Rites ••.
• Wolfsangle: You may gain up to Wolfsangle ••.
• Jagdkunst: You are possessed of the so-called "Hunter's Art:" against wolf-creatures or wolf-spirits, you gain 9-Agains on all Melee attack rolls.

Master (••••)

• Resonance: You are considered Aligned with the second Nation of spirits (either Artificial or Natural) associated with wolfsbanner.
• Other Merits: You may gain up to First Tongue •••• or Rites ••••
• Wolfsangle: You may gain up to Wolfsangle ••••
• Geheul: You are able to hear Wolf's Howls as they echo through Shadow, and even understand what they mean as though you were a werewolf.

Grandmaster (•••••)

• Other Merits: You may gain up to First Tongue ••••• or Rites •••••
• Wolfsangle: You may gain up to Wolfsangle •••••
• Wolftafeln:. When you kill a wolf creature, you may feast on its Essence. Make a Presence + Animal Ken + Wolfsangle roll. Each success steals one of the entity's remaining points of Essence just before it dies and grants them to you.

• Walking the Wilds: Wolfbanner witches frequently take meandering travels through the woods, seeking wisdom in its omens and insight in its wild, twisting paths.
• The Hunt: For the wolfbanner, the Hunt is everything: to identify a goal, to marshal one's resources, and to drive forward inexorably toward its fulfillment is invested with occult meaning.
• Laying Traps: Wolfbanner understand the concept of laying traps, in both a mundane and an esoteric sense. The cautious hunter seeks to control the environs by means of these traps, anticipating the quarry's direction of flight or retaliation, and preparing a deadly welcome for that eventuality.

Correspondences

• The Wolfsangle: The symbol - which has, in the modern day, been unfortunately appropriated by some neo-Nazi groups for its similarity to the swastika - represents a primitive wolf-trap of the type that was once embedded in carcasses, to be swallowed by hungry wolves and digging into their throats. They were anchored to trees by chains, forcing wolves to either tear themselves free (usually injuring themselves lethally) or stay by the tree and wait for the arrival of the hunter.
  • Today, the wolfsangle is used as a reminder of several things: that the wolfbanner is a hunter, but also a craftsman, creating weapons and traps. It also reminds the wolfbanner that the best trap is the one that seems to give the quarry what they want, only to limit and inhibit the prey, allowing the hunter to approach and finish the scenario in his own terms.
• A Silvered Blade: Each wolfbanner is given a blade into which has been worked fine silver filigree. The blade is a symbol of the wolfbanner and the deadly edge of his crafts. It is also a symbol of the wolfbanner and his education in the occultic arts: the witch himself is the simple iron, common and unrefined, but the silver filigree represents the learning necessary for the wolfbanner to be made into a weapon of great purpose.
• Herbs and Simples: In practical terms, a wolfbanner uses herbs to make poultices and herbal concoctions - some mundane, but others made with the assistance of certain plant spirits. Symbolically, wolfbanner remember that the whole of the environment in which a hunt occurs is itself a potential weapon to the one willing and wise in its use as such.

Patrons of Wolfsbanner

None. Wolfsbanner are never empowered to their craft through the use of the Invested Condition.

Spirits of Wolfsbanner

• Wolf spirits are the central spirits the wolfbanner tradition interacts with routinely. These are Nature spirits.
• Plant spirits - particularly the spirits of wolfsbane and rowan - often act as important allies for wolfsbanner. These are Natural spirits.
• Blade spirits are rarely-invoked directly. They are often used to strengthen wolfbanner weapons, many of which are magical fetishes and relics of various kinds. These are Artificial Spirits.
• Writing spirits, particularly those aligned with sigils, signs, and letters, are rarely invoked by wolfbanner. They often use them to uncover information, empower their Wards, or similar feats. These are Artificial Spirits.