Dominance and Passion

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 Judgement.  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.

• 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.

How to Have a Facedown

[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

• 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 Judgement deferred to a later time or place.
• The tribunal confers, then renders the final Judgement.  This Judgement 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 Judgement within the applicable tenets of the Litany.
• Unless all Garou present (including witnesses) disagree with the Judgement, the Judgement is accepted by all Garou.  Not accepting a Judgement 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 Judgement, and they rarely do.  The Philodox stand behind one anther's Judgements.

How a Challenge is Performed

• 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 judgement 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

Rank

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

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.

For more information about these positions, refer to the Septs and Packs bluesheet, as well as the Caerns and Rites bluesheet.
 

Examples of 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

• chase - hide&seek, tracking, tag, chase in Umbra
• riddle game
• debate
• recitation of the Litany
• finding something
• playing a trick
• chessmatch, other game of skill

• facedown
• storytelling
• musical performance
• oration
• bardic contest

Renown and Challenges