Iron Master Rites

New Rites

• Rite of Hallowed Ground: An Iron Master must never forget his territory. Without a place, a people or an institution to call his own, he will never truly understand Sagrim-Ur's tenet. Some werewolves find that honoring the spirit of their territory - whatever that territory might be - helps tie them to the words and the spirit of what they swore before Red Wolf after their initiation. Spirits that find themselves honored this wat reward a successful Rite of Hallowed Ground with a small amount of Essence.
• Some Farsil Luhal consider this rite pointless. They consider that a werewolf should honor his territory through hard work rather than sucking up to the spirits behind it. Many still use the rite, showing the spirits what the werewolves have done and claiming the Essence for doing so. A werewolf must treat the rite as an addition to everything else that he does to honor his territory, rather than the only thing.
• Mark of Change: Many Iron Masters decorate their bodies, changing the forms that they have worn since birth. For some, outlandish hairstyles are enough, others prefer tattoos or piercings and yet others go for branding, scarification or implants. A changed body indicates a changed mind, and some werewolves use this rite to channel spirit magics into their body modifications.
• Rumor has that this rite comes from Mother Luna herself, but others speak of a darker source. Whatever the source, body modifications empowered by this rite give a werewolf the edge when using her auspice. Rather than bootstrapping a novice, a Mark of Change offers the most benefit to an Uratha who is aware of his role under the moon and wishes to become even more effective. An Iron Master Elodoth will often take a Mark before investigating a major event.
• Eyes of Sagrim-Ur: Sagrim-Ur never missed a chance to question the established ways of things. She pestered Father Wolf constantly, driving her siblings mad because she wasn't content with the tried-and-tested ways of doing things. This rite channels some of Red Wolf's mindset, putting the werewolf into an altered state of consciousness where she see opportunities that she would otherwise have missed. Items that she could make into improvised weapons glow with a faint green aura. Electric blue threads wind along paths she's never taken through her territory. Ghostly visages overlay the faces of people, offering suggestions on new ways to deal with them. The rite's mindset expands to a higher level by meditating for a few minutes. As long as she has one specific situation in mind - how to deal with a nest of Azlu without the local authorities being aware, what she can do to get a pack of Fire-Touched to leave her territory alone - the ritualist sees potential courses of action that she had not considered. The rite doesn't tell her what will happen, only what she could try.
• Iron Masters seek out others who know this rite when they feel like they're stuck in a rut, or when they are faced with a problem and just don't know how to proceed. When their internal creativity is at a loss, they turn to the cunning of Sagrim-Ur. For that reason, many Farsil Luhal are ashamed of using this rite too often. A night spent in the ritual mindset, re-learning cunning and adaptability is all well and good, but the spirit magic is addictive. It's too easy for a werewolf to outsource his cunning and inventiveness to this rite. Some Iron Masters use the rite to give Uratha of other tribes a taste of what it's like to feel Red Wolf's favor. Though Iron Masters would never teach this rite to a werewolf of another tribe, they enjoy giving others the chance to think as they do.
• Rite of Permanence: Nothing's worse than being unprepared. Farsil Luhal the world over face similar problems, from needing to pick a lock without tools to being trapped in a junkyard with a powerful Claimed hunting for them. Whatever the situation, Red Wolf's chosen improvise. She may use scraps of wire to pick a lock or a car hood to deflect powerful blows. When she's desperate, it's the work of mere moments to grab something and put it to use. Whatever she chooses won't e ideal, but several werewolves become attached to their ramshackle solutions, especially those without the working capital to afford top-grade equipment. This rite bridges the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Through a combination of bribery and intimidation, the werewolf slowly changes the object's spirit, making his temporary tool more permanent. A shard of glass partially wrapped in duct tape becomes less brittle and more knife-like, and a zip gun is easier to reload and less prone to jamming.
• Other werewolves who know of this rite use it as another reason to brand the Farsil Luhal as irreverent materialists who focus on tools at the expense of their own capabilities. That said, some situations need tools that aren't readily available without dealing with the wrong sort of people - and when they're in your territory, that's bad news. Better to improvise. Iron Masters who use this rite a lot develop their own style. While the function of their items changes over time, the original form does not. Some Iron Masters look like urban primitives, wielding trash and junk as surprisingly effective weapons.
• Community Spirit: Every Farsil Luhal has a territory that she must honor. For some, their territory is their pack's territory; others have close ties to a community, an institution or even an ideal. Everything an Iron Master does is for her territory. This rite taps the tribe's role as the wardens of humanity, making her territory give her something in return.
• Enacting this rite at the start of a hunt allows a werewolf to exert an innate authority over people with a connection to her territory. Those who live there, those who are part of her community, those who belong to the same institution or hold the same ideal in high regard - anyone who has a strong connection to the werewolf's territory does whatever she needs without realizing it. Channeling her Rage out into her territory can quickly raise a lynch mob or rally crowds to the pack's defense. Whomever the pack is hunting, people refuse him service, cops arrest him and gang members beat him. The ritemaster has ultimate authority over the fate of her victim, but it will not be pretty.
• Even a werewolf who holds the ideal of the Farsil Luhal themselves as her territory gains great benefit from this rite. If she focuses on the idea of the tribe as watchers over humanity, humans who take a similar role - such as cops - act to her benefit. A werewolf who focuses on the tribe as the innovators of the Uratha find that artists, creators and technologists follow her command.