First Change mechanics

Right now I'm running a Mortals game, and have given the players the option to become supernaturals later on. One of the players wants to become a werewolf, and next session is likely when he goes through his First Change. At the most inconvienient moment ;)

From what I know of the FC, the character involuntarily shifts through all 5 forms and runs rampant. I've looked through the corebook however, and can't find any mechanics for it, only a bit of fluff. The actual mechanics will be quite important, as the rest of the party will be there, and probably a few NPCs too. Has the FC been explained, and if not, what would be the best way of running it?

I figured the order would be human->dalu->wolf->dire wolf->gauru (save the worst 'til last!). He'd spend a turn or two in human form rolling about in agony as his body rebels, then he'd start shifting. But how long would he spend in each form? I thought maybe the same as gauru, but that would mean he spends 16 turns running wild. He's going to be taken down long before that. I can have him change away from the group, or have them distracted, but 16 turns still seems like a huge amount of time.

Any suggestions?

Most of the change is typically fluff for background, I don't know that there are hard rules for it- the core book and blood of the wolf talk about it in detail, but "Every chance is different" seems to be the rule they go with.

I'd not have them go through each form myself, just sit and partial change for a while, then let the gauru form burst forth in a flurry of blood and fur.  But 16 turns is only 48 seconds if you're in a combat type scenario (which I assume you'd be in given that the NPCs and PCs will be freaking out as well).  48 seconds doesn't seem like too long of a period to be writhing in agony as the conscious tries to maintain control over the things that are going on.  Youtube has the change scene from American Werewolf in London, which is pretty good, and it's about 2 minutes long, which would be 40 (forty) 3 second combat turns.

Also remember that each of the forms aside from Hishu and Urshal invoke Lunacy in onlookers- I'm pretty sure partial changes invoke it as well (I'd rule that way anyhow).  The lunacy reaction is based on willpower, so 'taking him down' may not be a realistic option for many of the onlookers- most will probably flee, the other unlucky ones will probably be eaten.

What are the other PCs/NPCs?  Is this a hunters type game, or a 'bunch of normal people fnd out about the dark' type of game?  Either way, sounds like an interesting chronicle.

In regards to the First Change the character is usually plagued and harassed by Spirits prior to the change.

This might attract the attention of another werewolf or Pack to take notice of the changing character which usually results in being bitten by said werewolf or Pack member.

As the character's world makes less sense the anger starts to build.

It reaches it's climax when the anger switches to rage which happens under Luna's watchful gaze.

The books have different ways to describe the First Change based on the character's Auspice.

As Charmander mentioned there are no hard rules for the First Change.

I believe that the charcter goes through all the different forms and maybe partial changes throughout the time period for the body to adjust.

The initial trigger is rage though, and Death Rage last the duration of the scene.

Again Charmander has already mentioned Lunacy which will play a big factor on any mortal present.

Having said all that, unless it's going to end up being strictly a Forsaken game, it doesn't matter how the First Change is played out.

It's a Mortals game set during WW2. The players are commandos in the British Army, fighting the supernatural forces of the Third Reich. So far the campaign has been them getting back to England after a failed attack on French soil (leading them to join the commandos), and slowly uncovering supernatural forces. They've been tested by their superiors, and now promoted to the 'special ops'. The public and the rest of the military think they just do sensitive missions. In reality they're stopping a Nazi Promethean conspiracy and other such horrors.

I've given the PCs the option to become supernaturals if they want (the whole "men who hunt monsters", as well as working together against the greater evil), but so far only one person has had that happen (a psychic). The players have met a werewolf before, and know full well the problem of lunacy (they dropped a church on it in the end). I'm fully expecting them to panic and do their best to either incapacitate or do huge damage to him. Plus, the mission will be set on a train full of POWs. If he changes in the middle of a packed carriage, chances are the prisoners, crazed with lunacy and trapped, will turn on him.

This is why I asked about turn length; chances are combat is going to erupt and certain events go down (like stopping a runaway train), so I thought it might be better to have set rules for it as opposed to handwaving and going "Yeah, you're changing now".

Plus, deep down, I really want to see how the players handle being trapped on a speeding train with a raging gauru :D

Darck: In my canon werewolves are nearly extinct in England, so chances of him finding a pack is slim. On the continent however they're more plentiful, so he could very well be stuck in the middle of two foreign packs wanting him. Does he run with his own kind, or keep loyal to the crown and his fellow commandos? That might be an interesting thing to develop later...

HPD:

I thought maybe the same as gauru, but that would mean he spends 16 turns running wild

How is he going to be able to maintain the gauru form for 16 turns? He will be able to hold it for 3-4 turns maximum, unless he falls into death rage but then we come to the question what will provoke him that much and if your player fails the roll.

Darck Child:

I believe that the charcter goes through all the different forms

I don't agree with that, in fact one time a player of mine had the following first change: one night as he was walking the roads at his university he sees 3 men harrassing one girl, and he (with his stupidity rating off the charts) rushes to the rescue, he takes the attention of the men off the girl and onto him and they start beat him pretty badly, then suddenly he shifts to dalu and kicks real hard one of them and then the 3 men ran away in fear (because of lunacy but he didn't know it back then), then when he calmed and continue walking he shifted back to hishu, it was pure lack that a few days later an other werewolf smelled him for what it is and was able to bring him to the people.

Darck Child:

and maybe partial changes throughout the time period for the body to adjust.

How is he going to partial change without the gift?

HPD:

Plus, the mission will be set on a train full of POWs. If he changes in the middle of a packed carriage, chances are the prisoners, crazed with lunacy and trapped, will turn on him.

Firstly i take that the POWs means prisoners of war right? Secondly WHY attack him, how much willpower can those prisoners have?

HPD:

The players have met a werewolf before, and know full well the problem of lunacy (they dropped a church on it in the end). I'm fully expecting them to panic and do their best to either incapacitate or do huge damage to him.

How much willpower dots do your players have? 6 to 8?

By the way the story sounds very good.

leo1925:

How is he going to partial change without the gift?

Technically you're right, you aren't able to partial change without the gift- however the fluff describes pretty clearly that you can undergo partial changes during your first change as your mind fights what's happening- you try to change into a wolf but your brain tries to stop it, resulting in partial changes.

leo1925:

How much willpower dots do your players have? 6 to 8?

I agree here, it's important to remember that most of the lower (or normal) willpower ranges result in the onlooker fleeing the scene.  Only at mid to high willpower do people either fight back or think clearly.

leo1925:

I don't agree with that, in fact one time a player of mine had the following first change: one night as he was walking the roads at his university he sees 3 men harrassing one girl, and he (with his stupidity rating off the charts) rushes to the rescue, he takes the attention of the men off the girl and onto him and they start beat him pretty badly, then suddenly he shifts to dalu and kicks real hard one of them and then the 3 men ran away in fear (because of lunacy but he didn't know it back then), then when he calmed and continue walking he shifted back to hishu, it was pure lack that a few days later an other werewolf smelled him for what it is and was able to bring him to the people.

As the Storyteller's prerogative you have the final say on what happens in your game and how you would like to see the First Change play out.  According to the core book that character's First Change is not the typical way it happens.

Which is cool if that's the way you want it.

leo1925:

How is he going to partial change without the gift?

You might want to re-read p.26 of the Forsaken core book.

Apart from what has already been said, I think the easiest way to mechanise the First Change as a playable scene would be to have the werewolf-to-be enter Death Rage and have the other PCs attempt to escape/survive the experience. You could have the player narrate how his PC undergoes a series of horrific partial changes for a few agonising turns and then finally erupts into Gauru, at which point you engage the mechanics and see what happens.

To be fairer to the other PCs, it might be better for the werewolf to attack the PoWs in the train at the start of the scene and then the other PCs can decide how to deal with their monstrous buddy. Should they intervene and try and rescue some PoWs or leave them to their (deserved?) fate? Do they attempt to kill or maim their former comrade? Don't forget the effect of Lunacy! 

However, I think there are a couple dangers with this scene that you should be aware of. First, it pits one PC against the others, regardless of what the PCs do. The other is that there is a high chance of PC vs. PC fatality, especially if the mortal PCs decide to go mano-a-mano on the werewolf. Alternatively, the werewolf could be on the losing side if the PCs manage to blow up the train or something.
 
Because of these risks, I'd prefer to handle this scene with the mortal PCs having to make Wits + Composure (or whatever) rolls to avoid running away because of Lunacy. If they all run away, then the werewolf kills every NPC on the train - no need to roll for the werewolf at all. If one or more PCs make the Wits + Composure roll, then they can act - maybe save a few PoWs or attempt to drive off the beast. In the end, the PCs might find their buddy back in Hishu form, covered in blood amidst a train full of butchered victims. What do they do then?

Darck Child:

s the Storyteller's prerogative you have the final say on what happens in your game and how you would like to see the First Change play out.  According to the core book that character's First Change is not the typical way it happens.

First of all what does prerogative mean? Secondly, yes i know that this isn't the typical first change but i thought that it might happen and i was quite happy about it because the other characters' first change had AT LEAST 3 dead people, so i was happy that at least one first change didn't end into a bloodbath and a pile of dead bodies.

Charmander:

however the fluff describes pretty clearly that you can undergo partial changes during your first change as your mind fights what's happening- you try to change into a wolf but your brain tries to stop it, resulting in partial changes.

Sorry i didn't quite remember that.

leo1925:

First of all what does prerogative mean?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/prerogative

leo1925:

Secondly, yes i know that this isn't the typical first change but i thought that it might happen and i was quite happy about it because the other characters' first change had AT LEAST 3 dead people, so i was happy that at least one first change didn't end into a bloodbath and a pile of dead bodies.

Which is absolutely fine.  You were the Storyteller and it was your game.

leo1925:

Secondly, yes i know that this isn't the typical first change but i thought that it might happen and i was quite happy about it because the other characters' first change had AT LEAST 3 dead people, so i was happy that at least one first change didn't end into a bloodbath and a pile of dead bodies.

The general trend is that the First Change is brutal on any bystanders. Friends and family alike are commmonly killed by the newly Changed werewolf and this has the effect of pushing the werewolf away from his past life as a human. At least, this appears to be the description of the First Change of most NPC werewolves - I am not sure about PCs.