KLAIVE MASTERY

The signature weapon of theGarou Nation, klaives are fetishdaggers of a singular design, made to beused in Homid, Glabro, or Crinos formwith equal ease. Klaives are rare weaponsmade from the purest silver, treasured andpassed down from hero to hero. A werewolfwho carries a klaive loses one point fromhis effective Gnosis rating, thanks to thesilver. A war-spirit is usually bound intothe klaive, allowing it to inflict aggravateddamage even to non-Garou foes.Pulling a klaive on another werewolf isconsidered a grave action, for a klaive duelis almost always to the death. Nonetheless,such duels have always been dangerouslycommon, and this practice shows nosign of abating even in the FinalDays. Elders complain that toomany of these sacred artifactsare in the ranks of recklessyouths quick to use themfor mundane tasks or to spillkin-blood; young werewolvesargue that too manyklaives are kept hidden awayfor rituals and great quests,when they could be better putto use against Black Spiral Dancersand other foes.The difficulty to attack with a klaive is 6, and it inflictsStrength + 2 aggravated damage. This damage is silver,and therefore unsoakable to werewolves and most Fera.

The Klaive-bearer’s Bond

However the character acquires the weapon, shemust attune it to herself before she can use it. It is, afterall, a living being, infused with several spirits. The twogrow accustomed to one another through the rituals ofpractice and meditation that the Master of the Challengeteaches the new bearer over a period of weeks.However, this attuning carries with it a risk. Whena bearer dies, there is a risk that the shock will destroythe blade. When a klaive-bearer dies, her player rollsthe blade’s Gnosis against a difficulty of 10 - thecharacter’s Gnosis. A failure frees the spirits within theblade, rendering it a normal silver weapon. In mostGarou’s eyes such a trinket is useless for anything morethan making an ornamental grave marker for the fallenwerewolf. A botch splinters the blade, sending shrapnelinto the flesh of anyone within five yards of thefallen werewolf, for 3 dice of aggravated damage.The DuelA fully-fledged klaive duel is a source of muchinterest and speculation across the local caerns, andfurther afield if the participants are of particular noteor renown. Few duels occur without a few observersfrom other caerns. This helps the participants torecognize the seriousness of what they are about to doand helps many of them keep the discipline andcontrol to stop themselves from frenzying to theirlasting disgrace.Most duels are fought in a circular arena about 15meters in diameter. Half a dozen Ahroun, if available,are stationed equidistantly around the edge of thefield, called a klaivaskeriste, ready to subdue one of theparticipants should he frenzy, thus costing himself theduel. They are also charged with preventing any interferencein the duel from other parties. The caern’sMaster of the Challenge usually stays within the circle,adjudging the fairness of the duel, and watching for thefirst blood or strike, if that is the condition of the duel.The Ahroun observers around the edge of the circle areoccasionally called upon to help judge the result if theparticipants’ bodies block the Master’s view.When the combatants arrive, they stand facingone another within the circle, about six or seven yardsapart. Each states their full name and any honorificsthey have earned as well as their version of the eventsthat lead to the duel. The challenger always speaksfirst. Once both have stated their cases, the duel beginswhen the Master of the Challenge — usually in Crinos— speaks the Garou word for “begin”: agrarek. Oncethe duel has started, nothing less than a full-scaleinvasion of the caern will stop it.Duel RulesThe terms of the duel are agreed upon by the twoparticipants and the Master of the Challenge prior tothe duel itself. One rule that is common to every duelis that a werewolf who frenzies is automatically declaredthe loser. Klaive duels are tests of the Garou’sskill, control and cunning, not contests of mindless,brutal strength. In some caerns the contestants areallowed to try and taunt each other into frenzy, particularlyFianna and Shadow Lord caerns. In others —usually Silver Fang and Get of Fenris-dominated caerns— such behavior is frowned upon and may actually beconsidered a violation of the rules of the duel.There is no common standard on use of Gifts in aduel. Some werewolves hold that duels should bepurely tests of martial skill and that recourse to otherabilities profanes that struggle, while others argue thatduels are tests of a Garou’s whole prowess and as suchall their talents should be brought to bear in thestruggle. In disputes of this nature, the Master of theChallenge’s word is final. If a “no Gifts” rule is in place,a Theurge will usually observe the duel with the aid ofthe spirits and report any violation of the rules to theMaster of the Challenge.Duels are normally fought to first strike, firstblood, incapacity or death.First strike duels are rare, simply because few Garouconsider it a sufficiently telling defeat, especially inPGG214- 217 11/25/02, 10:02 PM218 Players Guide to Garoumatters serious enough to demand a klaive duel. MostMasters of the Challenge push for a first blood duel, asit allows the winning werewolf an obvious victory yetkeeps the loser fit enough to fight and continue herduties in the caern. A werewolf who loses a fight toincapacity is likely to be out of action for weeks if notmonths and thus of little use to the caern or the GarouNation as a whole. Of course, some Garou are willing tosettle for nothing less that the complete defeat of theirenemy, so duels to incapacity are fairly common.Official duels to the death are almost unheardof in recent years, unless the offense that triggeredthe duel is of the most serious nature.The only conditions where a Master ofthe Challenge might accept a duel tothe death is if the offense is a graveviolation of the Litany, primarilyallowing violation of acaern.However, many sept elders turn blind eyes to “unofficial”klaive duels, held outside the bawn of the caern,with only the members of the two combatants’ packs aswitnesses. These duels almost always result in thedeath of one or more of the participants and arebecoming more and more common of late.Klaive Duels: the RulesKlaive duels follow the normal combat procedureoutlined in Werewolf: the Apocalypse. However,you are encouraged to invest more time andeffort than usual in describing how your character isfeeling and reacting and detailing exactly what he’sdoing.Learning to DuelKlaive dueling or klaivaskar is a specialty of Melee(or, optionally, a secondary Ability found in ChapterFour), and can be taught by a Master of the Challengeor any klaive-bearer that has used his weapon incombat for a period of more than a year. Asan optional rule, and with theagreement of your Storyteller, youPGG214- 218 11/25/02, 10:02 PMChapter Five: The Long Run 219may purchase klaivaskar as a secondary skill instead.Werewolves who carry klaives generally learn theskill as they practice with their weapon, incorporatingwhat they have learned in battle into their duelingtechnique. However, those who are given klaivespurely for a duel receive a set of quick lessons to allowthem to actually use the weapon, but not enough toallow them to carry out some of the more advancedmaneuvers listed below.Some of these maneuvers may not be attempteduntil the character has the Klaive Dueling specialty orability. These maneuvers are indicated in the descriptions.• Bind: The duelist attempts to entrap hisopponent’s blade with his own. Each success after thefirst prevents the opponent taking one action withtheir klaive that turn. The opponent loses any Rageshe has spent to gain extra actions. The duelist may donothing but maintain the bind and taunt his foe. Aftera successful bind, the duelist may attempt a Disarm orPrise d’Argent at -2 Difficulty. This maneuver requiresspecific klaive dueling skill.Roll: Dexterity + MeleeDifficulty: Opponent’s Dexterity + MeleeDamage: NoneActions: Special — see above• Blind: Garou bleed profusely from any woundinflicted by a klaive. Some sneaky duelists attempt totake advantage of this to blind their opponents. Asingle swipe to the forehead can send blood pouringinto the opponent’s eyes for the rest of the fight.Should this maneuver succeed, the difficulty of all theopponent’s attack rolls as well as parries and dodges areincreased by 1. This maneuver requires specific klaivedueling skill.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 8Damage: Weapon -1 Actions: 1• Disarm: The duelist attempts to twist hisopponent’s klaive out of their hands, in a contestedStrength + Melee roll. If the duelist wins, his opponent’sblade lands one yard away for each net success. If theroll fails, the opponent keeps her weapon. If it botches,the duelist loses his own weapon, which lands hisopponent’s successes in yards away from him. Thismaneuver requires specific klaive dueling skill.Roll: Strength + Melee Difficulty: 6Damage: None Actions: 1• Feint: The duelist pretends to be attacking inone direction, and then dodges any attempt to block,aiming to hit elsewhere on his opponent’s body. Thisis a resisted roll, made against the opponent’s Perception+ Melee. The duelist may add one die per successscored above his opponent’s total to his dice pool forhis next attack. However, should his opponent scoremore successes, the duelist loses the number of successesthe opponent scored above the duelist from hisnext roll, as he is caught out in his feint and tries torecover his guard. The bonus dice are lost if the nextattack is not made within two actions of the feint.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 7Damage: None Actions: 1• Flèche: The maneuver sees the duelist lose allsubtlety in an all-out attack on his opponent, launchinghimself like an arrow at the opponent, blade first.After the strike, the duelist comes to a halt somedistance behind his opponent, and is vulnerable for adeadly few seconds while he regains his balance andturns to face his opponent. This maneuver requiresspecific klaive dueling skill.Roll: Dexterity + Athletics Difficulty: 7Damage: Weapon + 4 Actions: 3• Probe: A probe is a quick jab to test theopponent’s defenses and speed of reaction. A probedoes not have the full weight of the duelist’s strengthbehind it, as it is intended only to gauge the opponent’sskill, not to actually injure her.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 5Damage: Weapon -2 Actions: 1• Parry: The parry is a simple move to block theopponent’s blade with the duelist’s own. If the duelist’ssuccesses outnumber the attacker’s, he has successfullyparried the blow. A successful parry allows the duelistto make an immediate riposte (see below) if he had anyactions remaining this turn, or gives him a +2 Initiativebonus for the following turn.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 6Damage: None Actions: 1• Prise d’Argent: Literally “pressing of the silver,”this maneuver, much favored by Silver Fang duelists,uses the opponent’s blade as a guide for an attack. Theduelist slides his klaive along his opponent’s blade anddrives it into her body. This maneuver can only becarried out after a successful Riposte or Bind. Thismaneuver requires specific klaive dueling skill.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 4Damage: Weapon Actions: 1• Riposte: The duelist makes a swift attack at hisexposed opponent, straight after a parry. This maneuvermay only be used directly after a parry. The opponentmay attempt to parry if they have any actions leftthat turn.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 4Damage: Weapon Actions: 1PGG214- 219 11/25/02, 10:02 PM220 Players Guide to Garou• Silver Shield: The duelist uses his speed and thebulk of the klaive to create a “shield of silver” in frontof him as he swings the blade in a defensive pattern.Every success scored on this roll may be added to anyparry attempts made during this turn. This maneuverrequires specific klaive dueling skill.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 7Damage: None Actions: 1• Swinging Slash: The duelist commits his wholeeffort into a single, massive swipe at his opponent,exposing himself, but hoping to do enough damage tomake that irrelevant. The difficulty of any furtheractions this turn is increased by 2. This maneuverrequires specific klaive dueling skill.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 7Damage: Weapon + 3 Actions: 2• Stop Hit: A duelist who has an initiativeadvantage over her opponent can choose to defer heraction until her opponent acts. If her opponentattempts to attack, the duelist attempts to step insidehis guard and deliver a fast, deadly blow that stops theopponent in his tracks, using his own forward momentumto make the blow more deadly. This attackcannot be parried or dodged, because the opponent isalready committed to his attack. However, if the StopHit fails to incapacitate or knock down the opponent,the duelist cannot dodge or parry the attack.This maneuver may only be attempted if the characterhas the klaive dueling specialty.Roll: Dexterity + Melee Difficulty: 7Damage: Weapon +2 Actions: 1

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