Watched

From Edge of Darkness Wiki

The character is important to a werewolf or a pack of werewolves. This is usually because the character is a direct relation, but sometimes Uratha ask their packmates to watch over their children or siblings, should the werewolf die prematurely. In any case, the character has a sort of feral guardian angel.

The degree to which the uragarum is protected depends on the number of points spent on this Merit.

• One dot means that the werewolf or pack isn’t local or is busy with other concerns, and only checks in on the character once a month or so. Unless the character knows about her protectors (at the player’s and Storyteller’s discretion), she has no protection from immediate threats unless the werewolf happens to be in the area when something unfortunate occurs. Alternately, one dot could indicate that the character’s protector is young, weak, stupid, elderly or is in some other way sub-par, or that he simply doesn’t care about the wolf- blood all that much.

• Two dots indicates that the protector takes his responsibility seriously, and looks in on the wolf-blood at least twice a month. Again, this is better protection against an ongoing threat than an enemy who simply appears one night, fangs glistening, but it’s certainly better than nothing.

• A three-dot Watcher visits the wolf-blood once a week or so. This level indicates either a pack of young or mostly disinterested werewolves or a single but experienced or dedicated Uratha. The werewolf might even give the uragarum a method of contacting him should anything urgent arise (but Uratha take an extremely dim view of “crying wolf” and wasting the protector’s time often results in a lowering of this Merit’s rating or in the Merit disappearing altogether).

• For four dots, the wolf-blood enjoys the dedicated protection of a pack or a seasoned and loyal warrior. This level of devotion usually indicates a parent-child relationship. The wolf-blood probably has a way to contact the werewolf, and if the Uratha is sufficiently talented, it might even take the form of a Running Rabbit talen. Woe unto anyone who crosses the wolf-blood with this level of Watched.

• Finally, for five dots the uragarum enjoys the protection of the Lodge of the Shepherd. The members of the lodge look in on the character at least once a week, normally more frequently, and she probably has some sort of spiritual protection in her home (whether she knows about it or not).

Drawbacks: The major advantage of this Merit is also its biggest drawback — the character is periodically in close proximity to werewolves. The Uratha might mean well, but one bad day can lead to an unfortunate incidence of Death Rage, and the wolf-blooded always come out the losers in such instances. Also, enemies of the Watcher might follow him right to the wolf-blood’s door (although a werewolf willing to put in the effort to watch over a human is usually conscientious enough to avoid such mishaps).

If the wolf-blood ever becomes a werewolf, this Merit disappears. Traditionally, the Merit dots spent are lost, although the Storyteller may choose to allow the player to retain and reassign one or more of the Merit dots spent to a new Merit such as Allies or Contacts (representing the same werewolves).

See Also Watched

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