From Edge of Darkness Wiki
Gauntlet
The barrier that separates the physical world from the Shadow Realm (Hisil in First Tongue), the spirit world.
Once, it’s said, werewolves could walk freely between the worlds. They had only to concentrate for a moment and bring the spirit part of their natures to the fore, and they were treading the paths of the spirit wilds. It was as if the physical world were just one more aspect of the spirit world, a different level within it that the werewolves could reach easily. Conversely, spirits could slip across the Border Marches and into the physical world, taking their leisure and alien pleasures among the creatures of flesh.
Now, though, the spirit world resists that transition.
The wall that has risen between the worlds is virtually impassible in most places, and it takes considerable effort and energy to move through even in those places where it is weak. This wall is called the Gauntlet, or Zathu. Some Ithaeur talk of the Gauntlet as a scar, a barrier formed as the wound of Father Wolf’s murder healed. Others say it’s a natural defense, formed by the spirit of the world itself.
The spirit world, while still tied to the material world, seems to shun anything that comes from there. Most people cannot travel between the worlds or even perceive that anything apart from the material world exists. The resistance runs both ways. Spirits attempting to pass into the physical world, perhaps to avoid the constant decay that threatens the Shadow, must find a place where the Gauntlet is weak before making the crossing.
These loci, areas where the Gauntlet is shallow, have thus become shadow battlefields. Spirits seek to enter the physical world to carry out their unearthly imperatives, the Azlu and Beshilu strive to either seal off these weak spots or tear them wide open, and the Uratha fight among themselves for control of the most valuable crossings.
Even other supernatural entities — vampires, warlocks or stranger things — have been known to vie for control of a spirit locus in order to tap the power for their own reasons.
Stepping Sideways
For a character to step from one world to the next, the player rolls Intelligence + Presence + Primal Urge. The werewolf must be in the area influenced by a locus to even attempt stepping sideways, unless he’s using the Rending the Gauntlet rite (p. 165). The following factors affect the roll:
- The werewolf stares into a reflective surface (+1)
- Near a locus with a rating of •• or ••• (+1)
- In the vicinity of a locus with a rating of •••• or above (+2)
- Attempting to cross the Gauntlet during the day (–2)
The strength of the Gauntlet varies from place to place. The Gauntlet’s strength reduces the dice pool according to the following table:
| Location
| Dice Pool Modifier
|
| Dense Urban Areas
| –3
|
| City suburbs & towns
| –2
|
| Small towns, villages, other built-up areas in the countryside
| –1
|
| Wilderness
| +0
|
The number of successes achieved on the Intelligence + Presence + Primal Urge roll indicates how long it takes the werewolf to adjust himself to the other facet of reality and cross the Gauntlet.
- Dramatic Failure: The werewolf’s attunement goes badly out of synch. He remains in this aspect of reality and is rattled by the experience. He may not attempt to cross the Gauntlet again until the following night — which could leave him in a precarious position if he’s currently in the spirit world — though he may be brought across by a Gift or by a pathfinder.
- Failure: The werewolf remains in the same aspect of reality. He cannot take successive attempts for the next hour. Further attempts to step sideways during the next hour automatically fail, though he may be brought across the Gauntlet by a third party using the Rending the Gauntlet rite or acting as a pathfinder.
- Success: The werewolf fades from the world he’s currently in (physical or spirit) and enters the Gauntlet. He reappears on the other side in 30 seconds, or about 10 turns. He cannot be attacked during this period of transition, unless by certain mystical abilities that can affect entities currently between the physical and spirit worlds.
- Dramatic Success: Transition is instant. The werewolf appears on the other side on his next turn and may act normally.
Alternatively, a player may spend one Essence while in a locus’ area of influence for his character to step sideways. In this case, the transition is an instant action.
Path Finding
Packs may travel across the Gauntlet as one, allowing one member to make the transition and take the other characters with her. The werewolf leading the attempt is colloquially known as the pathfinder. The members must all remain in contact with one another for the attempt to succeed.
The pathfinder’s player’s roll determines the transition time for the whole pack. If the pathfinder fails or dramatically fails the roll, she may not try again for the specified time. Any of her packmates may try to lead the pack across instead, though (if they haven’t recently tried to step sideways and failed themselves, that is). A werewolf cannot act as pathfinder if his character is spending Essence to make the transition rather than rolling.
Pathfinding is truly effective only when all those making the transition are a true pack, bound together by the bonds of a pack totem. If the pathfinder is trying to bring allies from outside the pack along, it becomes increasingly difficult. The less connection a creature has to the spirit world or to the pathfinder, the harder it is to guide him through the Gauntlet. Each werewolf to be brought across who’s not a member of the pathfinder’s pack, or each member of the pathfinder’s pack who’s currently unconscious, imposes an additional –1 penalty to the roll. Creatures who aren’t werewolves but are otherwise capable of crossing between worlds at a locus,
such as spirits, some Ridden and some mages, impose a –2 penalty for each individual being brought along. And each person or creature who’s incapable of spiritual travel, such as a vampire or a human, imposes an additional –3 penalty to the roll. In no case can a pathfinder bring across an entity that’s actively resisting transition.
