Spirits and the Umbra on GarouMUSH:

A note on the umbra and this guide
What is the umbra?
Other spiritual realms and the deep umbra
The Gauntlet
Passing through the gauntlet
Reaching and reflective surfaces
Peeking into and out of the umbra
Danger levels in the umbra
Garou and damage in the umbra
The relationship between garou and spirits
Spirit Speech

A Note On the Umbra and this Guide

The umbra is a different world, a separate spiritual world that is a partial echo of our world, but which doesn't always conform to the rules of nature or physics of the physical world. Locations, paths, and space can fold, extend, disappear, or be created for no reason whatsoever. The umbral landscape is not always a direct spiritual mirror of the realm, and inexperienced umbral travelers can quickly and easily get lost.

If the Garou is still lost come sunrise, they would do well to find cover.

Reality in the umbra is sometimes fluid, seemingly altering with no rhyme or reason. Thus, this guide presents only "normal" situations in the umbra. There are exceptions and there are unusual things that can and do happen, particularly near places with a strong spiritual presence, especially a Wyld presence.

While these strange events can happen, it is best to run any truly abnormal events past one or more spirit wizards prior to running an one night stand (ONS) or introducing something new or unusual into the MUSH's worldview.

What Is the Umbra?

The umbra is a spiritual reflection of the physical world, but not an exact replica of the physical world. Things like direction, distance, and even the connection between the realm and umbra can vary widely.

Things in the realm generally have no spiritual presence unless they have been around a very long time and have become a fixture in many people's lives (decades or half a century). A new home has no spiritual resonance in the umbra and would not exist at all. A home that has been lived in for 10+ years will have an umbral presence.

Alternately, if an object/structure in the realm has a strong emotional/spiritual influence where there's a constant and/or regular spiritual or emotional investment of energy from a number of people (a prison, a church, a hospital, etc.), it might develop a spiritual reflection much quicker; months or years depending on the intensity/frequency/number of people.

Truly horrific events, such as an apartment building collapse or fire that kills dozens and dozens of people, burns dozens and dozens more, and destroys the homes of hundreds and hundreds of people, could effect a direct umbral change within a few weeks or a month.

It's difficult if not impossible to bring about an instant change in the realm or umbra from the opposite side of the gauntlet. To affect both sides at once requires actions to be taken simultaneously in the realm and the umbra. This is the pivotal aspect of the relationship that the umbral spirits have with the Garou.

Stepping sideways from the top story of a brand new skyscraper or the bathroom of a passenger jet in flight would be highly, highly inadvisable. Indeed, even if your character is on the Umbral ground, it is best to Peek, to make sure they're not reaching into, say, a wall which has no Umbral reflection.

Other Spiritual Realms and the Deep Umbra

There are junctures, wrinkles, and gates in the fabric of the umbra that allow access to the Deep Umbra and, through the deep umbra, other realms. Most cliath Garou don't have direct knowledge of the Deep Umbra, since it is vast, confusing, dangerous, and there is potential to get permanently lost there. It is primarily the domain of more experienced, higher ranked Garou. These other realms--be they tribal homelands or small pocket realms long since forgotten or recently created--often do not conform to anything resembling the realm or the near umbra.

Before having your character or other characters venture off into the deep umbra or, indeed, the near realms, contact the wizards to ensure that a) it's feasible, and that b) a GM can craft a difficult and rewarding RP challenge.

The Gauntlet

The thing that keeps ordinary people and cars and buildings from popping into the spirit world--and spirits from popping into the physical world--is called the gauntlet.

The "thickness" of the gauntlet is generally directly related to how spiritually connected the physical section of the world is to the umbra. The more technology or technological influence, the harder it is to cross over to or from the umbra. The less technology or technological influence, the easier it is to cross over to or from the umbra. Normally this translates to "the more people, the thicker the gauntlet"--so that cities have higher gauntlets than small towns, small towns higher than a suburb, suburbs higher than a park, parks higher than the woods.

Passing Through the Gauntlet

It takes time to pass through the gauntlet, and generally far too much time to consider using a "jump" to the realm or the umbra as a convenient means of escaping a threat. The table below gives a rough idea of how long it takes to cross the gauntlet:

Green indicates there's better than 75% chance of successfully passing through the gauntlet. Yellow indicates there's about a 50% chance of failing to pass through the gauntlet and a 5% chance of getting stuck. Red indicates that there's greater than a 75% chance of failing to pass through the gauntlet and about a 10% chance of getting stuck.

If a Garou expends a point of willpower while crossing the gauntlet, add 2 points to their gnosis rating used on this table (thus speeding up the process), and there is no chance of getting stuck.

It should be noted that if a Garou is in a pack, their pack may designate a leader to bring them into the Umbra. This is usually the pack member with the highest Gnosis. (If the leader gets 'stuck', then so does the whole pack.)

If a Garou fails to cross over the gauntlet, they don't know they've failed until after the time has been spent trying to get across. They may, of course, make subsequent attempts.

While attempting to reach through the gauntlet, a Garou must be completely focused on the act of reaching. Other actions are not possible.

Furthermore, as a Garou reaches, their being begins to co-locate--residing in both the umbra and the realm at the same time. They are not clearly visible in either, and cannot be attacked by physical beings. A Garou that is interfered with while reaching (by malevolent spirits) has a high probability of getting trapped in the gauntlet if their concentration is broken or their attention diverted.

A Garou that gets stuck in the gauntlet can only be pushed back to the side they were reaching from. They can't be pulled through to the other side. And a Garou cannot "unstick" themselves. Often, they will be subject to distressing visions. After an hour has passed, the Garou can again try to complete the travel.

In game terms, of course, one can indicate this time passage with one pose. In terms of dealing with the visibility issue, it would seem reasonable and called for for characters to have small city boltholes, to use both as cache areas for extraneous material, and as places to cross over. Or, in the case of places such as Harbor Park, one can use the sewers. In other words, the time factor is not meant as an RP impediment. Nor is the danger of being stuck. Getting stuck can be used as interesting RP, in fact.

Reaching and Reflective Surfaces

In order to reach, a Garou must have a smooth, reflective surface that is located on whatever side of the gauntlet that they happen to be currently on. The reflective surface must be large enough so that the Garou can see their own face in it--roughly the size of a smallish side view mirror on a car. (Dedicating a small mirror is a common practice.)

In order to reach, a Garou must be able to see their own face reflected in the reflective surface and be conscious enough to focus their concentration on reaching through the gauntlet. Unconscious (or dead) Garou cannot be carried across by packmates.

Here's an example: Goes-Far is a newly rited Silent Strider who is carrying a decent-sized handmirror with her, but it's not Dedicated. While trekking across the desert wastelands at night, Goes-Far pulls the mirror out and uses it to go into the umbra. As she disappears into the umbra, the mirror drops to the ground--still in the realm and now inaccessible. Goes-Far then realizes that she is stuck in the desert umbra with no mirror, no visible reflective surface, and she's not likely to find any still pool of water in the desert umbra. Ooops.

Peeking Into and Out of the Umbra

Being able to see from the realm into the umbra requires the use of a rank 3 gift, Umbral Sight. There is also the Level 0 Rite Reveal The Shadow, but that lasts for a short time only, specifically needs a mirror, gets far less detail, and can attract the attention of spirits in the Umbra.

Peeking is extremely useful in making sure that the Garou doesn't reach through the gauntlet into a crowded public bathroom. However, peeking through from the umbra into the realm doesn't give a very clear view of things--one sees a shadowy, monochromatic view of the scene, as if something is hazing out their site. (Something is: it's called the Gauntlet!) So Garou that are peeking from the umbra to the realm can't see more than about 20-30 or so feet away and couldn't read most text--unless it was a large sign or banner. (Nor can they, say, read lips.) They have to cross over into the realm to get a clear idea of what's actually there.

Additionally, one can choose, rather than using vision, to use other senses, so that one could hear vague hints of what's going on in the Realm, or smell things; these would both have the same indistinctness due to the Gauntlet as vision.

Peeking from the umbra into the realm has the same difficulty as reaching through the gauntlet. Just consult the color-coded reaching table above.

When a Garou is peeking through the umbra, they are undetectable to people within the realm--unless they can somehow detect spiritual presences in the umbra, which is a very rare ability.

Unlike Garou, most spirits cannot peek through the umbra. They learn about matters in the Realm via changes in the Penumbra or other drastic spiritual changes. (In general, of course, they don't necessarily care intimately about the matters in the Realm, so this is little hardship to them.) Spirits such as Caern totems do tend to know just about everything going on in their area, however.

Danger Levels In the Umbra

In general, while the Umbra is the Garou's spiritual home, it is a tricky, confusing, difficult sort of home. But home nonetheless.

There are a number of factors that should be considered in that equation.

For one thing, it should be noted that Umbra is lit by the moon, not the sun. Therefore, at the full moon, it is quite light out, whereas at crescent moon, it is quite murky, and at the new moon, it is just plain dark. During the daytime, as well, it is dark; without light; one is, indeed, unable to see. The Garou stuck in the Umbra during daylight should find a place to take cover, and hunker down until evening.

(This is, of course, a roleplaying convention; the moon's rising and setting does not, obviously, fully correspond to daytime hours. In addition, for those who won't have time to RP during the evening, there is the option of timewarping. Do please make it clear in the scene that you're doing so, of course, because otherwise, there might well spring up an ONS in your location.)

The Garou's allies in the Umbra (such as lunes) are affected, tide-like, by the phases of the moon. At darker moons, they are either scarce or do not have as warm an attitude toward the Garou. In addition, there are more neutral spirits about (weaver drones, say), or actively mischievous ones. So at darker moons, there are both more creatures of the Wyrm, and also more creatures neutral or simply hostile to the Garou. This is true in both city and woods.

The moon phase also influences the power levels of certain spirits. During the darker moon phases, Wyrm spirits are more powerful than usual. During the lighter moon phases, Wyld spirits are more powerful than usual. During the day, the Weaver rules the umbra.

So, at the full moon at a Caern or a Glade, things are fairly safe. At lower moons and outside of the protection of those areas, Garou are wise to wander the Umbra with care, and frequently explore and protect their territories in packs. This is not to say that the Garou don't wander the Umbra; it is, after all, their spiritual home.

To add to that provision, as a general rule of thumb, the higher the gauntlet rating, the greater the potential danger that a Garou in the umbra might encounter.

However, packs of Garou in the Umbra (or tribes working together) can be said to be able to hack out their own territories and work and exist in the Umbra. Of course, from half moon to crescent moon, Garou anywhere, though particularly City Garou, may well encounter hostile and difficult spirits, or trickster spirits, or just spirits uninterested in cooperating. This should not, however, be an indication that they will automatically die; it should instead be an indication that one should RP caution, and RP a rich spiritual life which is, at times, uninterested in or hostile to the Garou. And this should, therefore, be an invitation to ONSes and other stories.

The Umbra at the new moon, however, should be trod only at definite need.

Garou and Damage In the Umbra

The Umbra is, as noted, the spirits' territory, and while it is the Garou's second home, it is no longer their actual domain. While they are, in fact, part spirit, Garou are very /weak/ spirits, and this must be taken into account.

What this means in practice, when talking about damage, is that in the Umbra, if attacked by a spirit, Garou absorb damage (soak) with Gnosis, not the generally larger Stamina they soak with in the Realm. (If attacked by non-spirits, they soak with Stamina.) This puts them at less of an advantage than they have in the Realm, but one must also remember that spirits can't soak at all, so while they tend to have more health levels than a Garou does, the Garou's Rage, and their pack nature, gives them more than a mild chance.

Though keep their pack nature in mind; particularly at low moons, it's best to explore the Umbra in groups. After all, spirits are variably inclined toward the Garou (Wyrm and Weaver spirits are almost always hostile; Wyld spirits less so, but are unpredictable), so one should take the Boy Scout motto to heart, and be prepared for trouble. Or for something ineffable and interesting one could never have predicted.

The Relationship Between Garou and Spirits

The Garou/spirit relationship can be summed up as a symbiotic one.

Spirits are far more at home and powerful in the Umbra; the Garou, for the most part, are more capable and powerful in the Realm, and can, more flexibly, go back and forth from Realm to Umbra. (Most spirits can't Materialize in the Realm easily.)

Both, however, often have need to do things in their respective away turfs, and that's where the Garou/spirit relationship comes into play. Garou will often perform actions for friendly spirits who can't act in the Realm, while spirits will often (for some kind of chiminage/payment) help out a Garou in the Umbra.

For background, there are four main classifications of spirits: gafflings, jagglings, incarna, and celestines. Any given Garou on GarouMUSH will probably never meet an Incarna or a Celestine. Gafflings are weak and fairly stupid, the worker bees of the spiritual world; Incarna are the "lesser gods" of the spirit world; Celestines are those all encompassingly vast spirits such as Helios, Luna, and the Triat, which collectively form Gaia.

Gafflings and Jagglings are the spirits Garou interact with most often.

Jagglings are "adult" spirits and are intelligent, sometimes, depending on their natures, even crafty and deceptive. It's not uncommon to see a Jaggling in the umbra, and while often they won't wish to interact with the Garou (they have their own lives and jobs, after all), at other times, they will. Weaker jagglings might occasionally join with a pack of Garou as a pack totem, or, in their day to day lives, find there's something they could work with the Garou on

They do, generally, save their energy and their power, acting to further the cause of their spiritual essence, but will make exceptions if there is a long-term payoff that rewards their brief, small sacrifice. For instance, a Jaggling fire elemental might agree to stop manifesting and setting fires to dumpsters in a park in exchange for being allowed to set fires in a much larger park or forest, where it could successfully spark off a significantly larger fire.

Jagglings--generally the weak ones--are used in talens that are moderately to very powerful. (Any type of spirit, Wyrm, Weaver, or Wyld, can be used in a talen.)

One thing that must always be remembered is that spirits live in a totally different reality than humans, Garou, wolves, and other animals. They are often hard to understand, ineffable, magical, with their own agendas, realities, and spiritual essences. They're aliens. The interactions Garou have with them can be fraught with confusion, misunderstanding, and difficulty-- but also with possibility, magic, and wonder.

If you want certainty in your dealings, speak with a Weaver Jaggling, as they tend to keep to their oaths. Meanwhile, a Wyld Jaggling is quite capable of pulling a fast one on a Garou--and the totems of Cunning are very, very, very good at such things. On the other hand, some jagglings will work with the Garou, and, indeed, form close, fond bonds with them. Some see the Garou as tools or pawns to be used and expended as needed. Some wouldn't give the Garou the time of day. There are, to sum up, a wide variety of reactions.

Almost all are busy tending to minding gafflings, garnering power, or otherwise doing the day-to-day stuff that spirits need to be doing in order to serve their Incarna. The Umbra is an active, magical world all its own; treat it as such.

Spirit Speech

The Garou have their Mother Tongue that allows them all to communicate regardless of whether they were born wolf or human, raised as an American, Hispanic, French, or Russian. It is the common denominator of language for the Garou.

Spirits have Spirit Speech, allowing all the diverse kinds of spirits to communicate with one another in a common language. Some Garou have the ability to speak the language of spirits through a gift: Spirit Speech. Generally it's only worthwhile to communicate with jagglings. Gafflings are barely sentient--about the equivalent intellectually as a domestic dog or house cat--and can generally only string together at best a 2-3 word simple sentence.

Just as some Garou have Spirit Speech, some spirits can also speak with Garou--but might not advertise that fact. Garou who speak Spirit Speech to spirits--even if the spirit can speak and understand the Mother Tongue--are generally seen as being more respectful/formal by the spirits being addressed. It's like trying to adapt oneself to the customs of a household where you're a guest.

Spirit Speech is actually less of a language than it is an empathic means of communication. Spirits "speak" inside a garou's heads and do not need to employ any sounds--though a few do just to be polite in turn to the Garou. However, a Garou that uses Spirit Speech to reply to a spirit must speak out loud and use a language of some kind (or the lupus equivalent of language). The Spirit Speech gift conveys the empathic meaning of what is being said to the spirit listener. For example, a spirit could silently communicate with a Garou (like using Mind Speak). In responding, the Garou must speak out loud and use a language that they know--the Spirit Speech gift simply translates the spoken language into kind of a spiritual empathy that spirits can understand. The Garou that is speaking using Spirit Speech can be heard and understood by the spirit--though Garou without spirit speech may be privy to only one half of the conversation.

Beast Speech, another Garou gift, can not be used to communicate with animal spirits.