References: Werewolf the Forsaken pg. 262 and Lore of the Forsaken pg. 130
At the first game of the month, the players decide what they want to do with their loci.
Normal Mode
The Normal mode is the default, and assumes that the characters spend some time patrolling the loci borders. The Essence is drawn from the locus on a regular basis so that it does not spill onto the pale and attract spirit attention. The Essence is used to defend the locus and the territory that the Forsaken pack has chosen. At the game, the pack can choose to distribute 5 * the locus rating in Essence among the pack members. Normal mode is assumed unless the players state otherwise, and does not require any additional downtime actions.
Growth Mode
Growing a locus takes quite a bit of work and attention. As the locus fills beyond it’s maximum capacity, the Essence spills onto the pale where it serves as a beacon for nearby spirits. It takes only a moment of inattention for a spirit to steal several points of the carefully accumulated Essence. As the locus grows, it attracts more and more spiritual attention. The higher the rating of the locus, the more powerful the spirits attracted by the overflowing Essence. While in Growth mode, the pack cannot use any of the Essence from that locus during a game. The usual 5 * locus rating is not available for distribution at a game. In addition, downtimes must be spent to reflect the constant vigilance.
Maintenance Mode
On occasion, the pack may want to stop accumulating Essence and simply maintain and protect the already accumulated Essence. This often happens when the pack is in need of immediate Essence at a game, but wants to continue growing the locus after the emergency has passed. While in Maintenance mode, all the Essence accumulated in the locus is available for use during a game (including the usual 5 * locus rating). However, the choice to use that Essence comes at a price. The pack cannot grow for the next month, and must instead concentrate on not losing any more of what they have accumulated.
Locus Growth
The process of growing a loci begins when the pack inform the ST of their intention to do so at a game and do not draw any Essence from that specific locus during that game.
For Example: The pack
of the Crimson Claws decide to grow their level 1 loci to level 2. They realize that the process will take
several months of constant attention and effort. At the next game, they inform the storyteller that they want to
grow their locus. The Essence from that
locus is not available at that game.
However, since the pack also has a level 2 locus, they can use the
Essence from that locus normally. The
pack has 10 Essence rather than the usual 15 to distribute among pack members
before the game begins.
To grow a locus requires an accumulation of 150 Essence after the locus has reached maximum capacity (ie. when it is full). A locus can hold 10 * its rating before becoming full. After the appropriate amount of Essence has been accumulated, the Essence has to settle for an entire week before the locus rating is increased.
For example: A level 2
locus can normally hold 20 Essence before the locus overflows and the Essence
begins to collect on the pale (attracting lots of attention). 170 Essence (20 + 150) would be required to
raise a level 2 locus to level 3.
Resolve Downtime Actions are spent to represent the effort involved in patrolling the locus at all times against any Essence thieves. For each Resolve downtime spent to grow a locus, the player draws a single card. This represents the net amount of Essence the pack was able to accumulate and defend. Multiple downtimes per character can be dedicated to growth.
A pull of 1 results in a net growth of 0. 10-again does apply to this pull. The total Essence gained in a single month cannot exceed the maximum produced by the locus (rating * 30 days * 3 / day = rating * 90).
Note that the locus rating is not factored into the growth formula to represent that the amount of Essence lost to thieves or used in defense of the locus are greater because of the increased strength of the enemies attacking.
For Example: During the following month, the 5 pack
members each submit two Resolve Downtime actions to represent the effort of
constantly watching and guarding the locus from thieves. They each get to pull twice at the next
game. They pull well and gain 65
Essence in their first month.
The total accumulated Essence is tallied from month to month and should include the Essence normally available for distribution at a game.
For example, a level 2
locus normally has 10 Essence available for distribution at a game (2 *
5). At every game, the accumulated
Essence pool increases by 10 in addition to whatever Downtimes are spent to
grow the locus.
A minimum number of downtimes are required to grow the locus effectively. For every Action the players lack to reach the minimum listed in Table 1, the ST pulls a card to represent the amount of Essence lost to thieves. As below, a pull of 1 counts as a 0 and 10-again does not apply.
|
Table 1: Growth |
|
|
|
Locus Rank |
Minimum Actions Required |
|
|
1 |
3 |
|
|
2 |
6 |
|
|
3 |
9 |
|
|
4 |
12 |
|
|
5 |
15 |
|
Locus Maintenance
If players use any of the accumulated Essence during the game, growth during the month is not possible. The next month is spent trying to maintain any accumulated growth. At the next game, a number of pulls equal to the following chart (Table 2) is made. The amount of the pull represents the amount of Essence that was lost during that month. Downtimes may be spent to reduce the number of pulls on a 1 for 1 basis. A pull of 1 counts as a 0 and 10-again does not apply.
|
Table 2:
Maintenance |
|
|
Locus Rank |
Number of pulls |
|
1 |
3 |
|
2 |
6 |
|
3 |
9 |
|
4 |
12 |
|
5 |
15 |
For example: The pack
has worked diligently for two months and has accumulated 100 Essence. At the September game an unexpected crisis
results in the decision to use some of the carefully stored Essence. The players approach the ST and inform her
that they need to withdraw 20 Essence from the locus. The Storyteller reminds them that they will not be able to grow
during the following month and then subtracts 20 from the accumulated 100. During the month of September, the pack must
spend at least 3 downtimes to protect the locus from thieves. The pack manages to spend 2 downtime
actions. At the first game of October,
the ST pulls a single card to determine how much Essence was lost. The ST pulls a 4 and notes that the pack is
again attempting to grow their locus. The
locus normally produces 5 Essence for use during the games, and the ST notes
that these 5 Essence are added to the pool (for a total of 81 Essence).
Downtimes submitted in excess of the minimum required have no additional mechanical benefit.