Challenges

Dominance and Passion

Garou society is constantly fluctuating, thus ensuring that the werewolf most fit to lead the others in a given
situation does so. Garou society has evolved a variety of contests to establish dominance as the werewolves
forever test one another. This continuing testing has the purpose of keeping the Garou strong, the cause because
the passion of the Garou prevents them from idly sitting by and doing nothing.

There are a few specific ways that Garou use to resolve a dispute or establish dominance:

• Working it out themselves. This is pretty self-explanatory.

• Engaging in a facedown. A common behavior of wolves that Garou have adopted, two Garou will face
one another until one of them submits to the other.
• Going to a Philodox Tribunal for Judgment. The Philodox Tribunal uses a format similar to that of
Napoleonic Law. Each side presents it's case, the Tribunal tries to determine the truth and then renders a
decision.
• Challenging one another. This is a form of the "pistols at 10 paces at dawn" sort of duel with or without
witnesses (in the form of a Philodox Tribunal). This form can also handle non-physical duels like debates
and Bardic contests.

There are a few specific areas where disputes and challenges arise:

• General disputes over rights to territory, rights to a spoil of war, etc.

• Rank: Garou must Challenge one another to gain Rank.
• Position: Few positions in Garou society are appointed, most are won (and held) by succeeding in
Challenges.

The resolutions to many disputes happen in public, at moots or other gatherings for the Garou's life is shared
with that of his pack, auspice, tribe and sept. The nature of Garou is such that issues are quickly brought to a
resolution, and though there are usually ramifications to the resolution there is no loss of face for making a good
case or challenge and losing, while respect increases for those who are involved in disputes and respect the
outcomes.

How to Have a Facedown

One special form of a challenge is a facedown between two Garou. The two Garou will stand there for
some period of time, staring at one another, until one looks away at which point the Garou still looking has
won. The loser is expected to immediately make a submission display to the other, just as in a regular
challenge.

[System: It is very easy to decide that you want something and are going to stop at nothing to get it, which in
the case of a facedown could make it last a long time and would hamper role-playing. Therefore, you should
decide for yourself in the course of the facedown whether it might make a better story for you to back down and
accept the results of the facedown. Enemies might become friends, friends might become enemies, who knows
what could happen. In any case, if a facedown takes longer than about a minute, then the two characters must
immediately enter a two-out-of-three Static Mental Challenge. The loser of that Static Challenge is considered
to have looked away. Leadership abilities can be used to retest.]
How the Philodox Judge

When parties that disagree decide to go to a Philodox Tribunal for Judgment, they use the following procedure:

• The parties seek out a Philodox. They are expected to use the first Philodox that they come upon.
Picking and choosing the most acceptable Philodox is dishonorable.
• Upon hearing the description of the dispute, the Philodox may recuse herself if she chooses, though not
recusing herself is acceptable as well - the Honor of the Philodox is unquestioned. The Philodox may
also decide that the matter requires a tribunal of more than one Philodox to consider the issue, in which
case the Philodox gathers the additional members of her auspice. [For the rest of this document we'll use
the term tribunal]. Tribunals of more than one Philodox are generally only used for matters involving a
large portion of the sept.
• The parties then present their cases to the tribunal, who will ask questions as necessary to get to the truth -
the heart of the matter. The parties are expected to have their cases ready. The cases are presented in
their entirety at once - rarely is a Judgment deferred to a later time or place.
• The tribunal confers, then renders the final Judgment. This Judgment may be a rearrangement of property
or territory, who can represent one's auspice/tribe/sept/etc., whatever is appropriate to the dispute. The
Philodox usually couch their Judgment within the applicable tenets of the Litany.
• Unless all Garou present (including witnesses) disagree with the Judgment, the Judgment is accepted by
all Garou. Not accepting a Judgment is a dishonorable act and grounds for loss of Renown.
• Only the assembled Philodox Council (all of the Philodox in a Sept) can overturn a Judgment, and they
rarely do. The Philodox stand behind one anther's Judgments.

It should also be noted that Philodox will not sit in a Tribunal unless specifically asked to by another Garou
(who may be a Philodox herself) - the Philodox are not an inquisitorial force, but a useful source of moderation
and wisdom.

How a Challenge is Performed

When a full Challenge is necessary, the following procedure is used:

• The challenger approaches the challenged Garou and states what is being disputed, and what the outcome of
the challenge would be.
• Should the challenger realize his folly, he may choose to withdraw the Challenge; otherwise it is accepted
by the challenged Garou.
• The challenged Garou then defines the terms of the Challenge:
• Form - what manner the challenge will be resolved in, e.g. a recitation of the Litany, a riddle
game, single combat, etc.
• Time - when the challenge occurs, typically it is as soon as possible (right now). Garou who are
looking to make a public statement will often have Challenges during moots.
• Location - where the challenge occurs.
• Whether to have the challenge Judged by a Philodox tribunal or to resolve it alone - e.g. pistols
at dawn, with witnesses, or having it out in the back alley and may the best Garou win.

It is expected that Challenges will not be unnecessarily delayed, and the form of the challenge cannot be
totally uneven, neither too easy nor too hard. For example, the Galliard choosing a song contest against an
Ahroun fighter who doesn't know the wrong end of a guitar would be an example of a challenge that is too
difficult, while making that Galliard recall the Litany would be too easy. Recalling a specific piece of the
Litany and creating a set of arguments for and against it, with backing statements from the Silver Record would
be an excellent challenge for a mid to high-ranking Theurge, Philodox or Galliard, or maybe even a good
variation for an elder Ahroun or Ragabash - after all, the greatest of Garou must excel in many areas. Some
other examples of challenges appear below.

If a Philodox tribunal is to be called, then the parties seek out a Philodox. They are expected to use the first
Philodox that they come upon. Picking and choosing the most acceptable Philodox is dishonorable. Upon
hearing the description of the dispute, the Philodox may recuse herself if she chooses, though not recusing
herself is acceptable as well - the Honor of the Philodox is unquestioned. The Philodox may also decide that
the matter requires a tribunal of more than one Philodox to consider the issue, in which case the Philodox
gathers the additional members of her auspice. Tribunals are generally only used for matters involving a large
portion of the sept.

One special case for the tribunal is when a Challenge is performed in the caern and the challenged Garou
requests a Philodox. In that case, the Master of the Challenge must always be sought out as he has authority
over all challenges in the caern, and may choose to Judge them himself or hand over the task to another tribunal.
[Restated the other way - if you're in the caern and you don't want a Philodox, go for it. Otherwise, you need
the Master of the Challenge.]

• At the appointed time and place, the Challenge proceeds.

• If a Philodox tribunal is judging the challenge, the tribunal ensures that the Challenge is performed
honorably. A number of challenged Garou will request Philodox presence for just this reason. The
tribunal also renders a final judgment that is accepted by all, for example calling when first blood is
drawn, etc. The loser is expected to immediately display submission: falling to the ground, exposing the
throat, lowering one's head, urinating, or what have you. In the case of disputes, not holding to the
resolution of the challenge over time (e.g. ignoring the results of a dispute over territory) is grounds for
loss of Honor.

• In olden days, if the loser did not immediately display submission then the winner was free to kill the
loser, as the loser was violating the Litany by not honorably surrendering. In these days of fewer and
fewer Garou, the winner is generally expected to accept even a dishonorable surrender.

• Should the Garou involved in the challenge wish it, they should communicate with a Galliard so the story
of the challenge can be told at the next moot.

General Disputes

The particular dispute a set of Garou are having may be over honor, who has a stronger right to something, a
spoil of war, territory, the right to represent one's auspice/tribe/pack in some matter, or whatever else Garou will
come into conflict about. If the Garou cannot resolve the matter themselves, then they typically bring the
dispute before the Philodox for Judgment by a tribunal of them. In other cases, a Garou may a Garou may
Challenge another to resolve the dispute. The Challenge may occur at any time, though the Litany must be
respected.

Rank

In order to gain rank, a Garou must have received sufficient Renown appropriate to his auspice. The Garou
must Challenge a Garou of that Rank or beyond and succeed to be acknowledged in that Rank. The challenge
must be made to a Garou outside of one's pack. The challenge is first made to another of the same auspice, if
none other is available then the Philodox are used, then one's tribe. The challenged Garou can make the
challenge as easy or as hard as he chooses. The results of the challenge will be announced at a moot by a
Galliard, though the challenge may occur at any time. If the Garou seeking Rank loses, she may not challenge
for Rank again until she has earned additional Renown.

Though this form of challenge may simply be a test between the two Garou involved - for example, asking
the Garou to recite a portion of the Litany or Silver Record, or to have a combat - it may also be a specific task
that the higher-ranking Garou defines for the challenger. The task may even be something in the self-interest of
the higher-ranking Garou. For example, an Ahroun might ask for a young Ahroun to perform a feat of strength
by lifting a large boulder, while a Theurge might ask for a young Theurge to seek out and find a dragon's claw
for the elder Theurge. In the latter case, the adventures the Theurge and his associates go through may be
worthy of additional Renown themselves!

[System: In the case of a test between the two Garou, in most cases the players can deal with that challenge
themselves. In the case the challenge for Rank is a task for the younger Garou, then the higher-ranking Garou
must seek out a GM and give a specific description of the form and goal of the task, and then the GM will
narrate the challenge to the character(s) involved.]

Challenge for Position

Unless a caern, sept, or pack position is open and uncontested, there will be at least one challenge to
determine who holds that position. A Garou may only challenge another Garou who is of one Rank less than
the Garou or higher or face loss of Honor, e.g. a Cliath may challenge an Athro, but the Athro should not
challenge anyone less than Adren rank. The challenge may occur at any time, though the Litany must be
respected, and the results of the challenge must be communicated to the Galliards, who will tell the story of the
challenge at the next sept moot, unless the challenge occurs at a moot.

Note that in general, caern, sept and pack positions are only available to characters of Adren rank or higher
unless there are special circumstances, such as lack of an Adren to occupy the position. The positions that can
generally be challenged for include:

• Sept Leader
• Master of the Challenge
• Den Mother/Father
• Warder of the Caern. The Guardians of the Caern are typically chosen by the Warder, who would require
tests of the prospective Guardians similar to those for a challenge for rank.
• Master of the Rite. The Gatekeeper is typically chosen by the Master of the Rite, though she may require
tests of the prospective Gatekeeper similar to those for a challenge for rank.
• Elders of the Auspices
• Elders of the Tribes
• Elders of the Breeds
• Pack Leader - the alpha of the pack
• Position in the barking order - if it is not clear who is the beta, etc. of a pack then challenges may occur
within the pack to determine this. In this case, the restrictions on rank are removed.

It is customary that challenges for sept and caern positions occur in public, at moots or other gatherings.
Challenges for pack leadership generally occur in public, for having them in private is often an indicator of
dangerous divisions in the pack that harm the reputation and position of the entire pack, not just those having
the challenge. Challenges for positions in the barking order may be public, or may not as the pack members
desire.

Examples of Challenges

Physical Challenges:

• Combat - Breed form, any form, with weapons, without weapons. Note that the combat challenges can be
made a sparring match, in which case the "damage" done to each character disappears at the end of
combat.
• Feats of strength – e.g. lifting
• Feats of dexterity – e.g. walking a tightrope
• Feats of endurance – e.g. drinking games, long races

Mental Challenges:

• Chase – hide & seek, tracking, tag, chase in Umbra

• Riddle game
• Debate
• Recitation of the Litany
• Finding something
• Playing a trick
• Chess match, other game of skill

Social Challenges:

• Facedown
• Storytelling
• Musical Performance
• Oration
• Bardic contest

Renown and Challenges

Renown can only be earned when the form of the challenge is particularly difficult for the challenger and
the challenge is a public one. Generally, Glory is earned for Physical challenges, Wisdom for Mental
challenges, and Honor for Social Challenges. It is much easier for the challenger to lose Wisdom and/or Honor
Renown by making a poor challenge or not performing well. The challenged Garou generally won't gain any
Renown during a challenge - after all, in matters of position or dispute the Garou is only holding her own - and
can lose Glory, Wisdom and/or Honor Renown by making the challenge too easy or difficult or choosing a bad
form. If a Philodox makes a good judgment of a difficult situation, or a poor judgment of any situation, the
Philodox may gain or lose Wisdom and/or Honor Renown. This is indicated by the general approbation or
rejection of the results of the challenge by the public witnesses to the challenge.