'Those Who Watch the Seas'
Even if the Uratha had double their numbers, they couldn’t be everywhere they might be needed. The entire world casts a Shadow, even the parts of the world that are inhospitable to werewolves. And strange things can be born away from humans and wolves alike, things that might follow a faint scent or sound to civilization. The Lodge of the Maelstrom knows this all too well, for lodge members have taken it upon themselves to watch the coastlines for signs of horrors that are born at sea. In an ideal world, those things that spawned down in the depths would remain in their lightless environment and never venture forth to warm air and dry land. But the world is not ideal.
The Lodge of the Maelstrom has its origins in Europe, presumably during the Dark Ages. The lodge spread as its members sailed among unknowing humans for new shores, arriving in Africa and the Americas as early as the Viking expeditions (if the legend is true). Members claim to be part of a brotherhood that extends around the globe, from lonely sentinels scattered among the islands of the South Pacific to packs that have carved out territory for themselves on desolate northern beaches. Wherever the lodge has spread, it has carried a simple teaching: watch the seas.
Prerequisites
Resolve •••, Athletics ••, Occult •
Benefits
Sea-watchers are attuned to the rhythms of the sea, and gain +2 bonus dice to Perception rolls related to perceiving something on or under the sea’s surface, or anywhere that the ocean’s waters may touch. A sea-watcher has little difficulty tracking something along a beach by scent, where other werewolves would have difficulty smelling anything but salt and fish. Lodge members also receive affinity with any water-based Elemental Gifts, and gain the Sea Specialty to Occult rolls, which applies to spirits and folklore associated with the ocean. A less tangible benefit of membership is the lodge’s extended network of information. With as many far-sailing sea-watchers as there are within the lodge, news can travel for a surprising distance. A seawatcher in New England is far more likely to hear of the latest supernatural troubles in Hong Kong than a landlocked pack would be, although this information tends to apply only to troubles that affect the harbors or oceans.
