Merits and Flaws are optional tools for fleshing out your characters. Purchase Merits with Freebies points; Flaws, up to a maximum of seven points, earn you freebie points. In addition to these Merits and Flaws, the Werewolf Players Guide and Project Twilight list others (as do the Players Guides for Vampire, Mage, Warith and Changeling) that may be appropriate for your character (particularly if she is a supernatural kinfolk). Consult with your Storyteller on what Merits and Flaws he prefers in the chronicle. Many Stroytellers may want to use Flaws (or a charcter's getting rid them) as the basis for stories, too.

Audacity, guts, plucks - whatever it's called, you've got it. You aren't even afraid to stand up to anyone, from naughty children to tribal leaders. This isn't brash, foolhardy behaviour; you're still polite, after all. You simply don't get the shakes when the Silver Fang Ahroun comes over to speak to you. Many werewolves and Kin respect you for your honesty and forthrightness. Add an extra dice to Social roll involving a display of backbone.

Nope, your not worthy. Never have been, never will be. You'll keep trying, and tackle whatever task the Garou set to you, but even if you succeed and make a goog job of it, it still won't be good enough for you. In situations requiring you to take charge and strut your stuff, all your difficulties are raised by one.

You like to suffer for the Garou! Pain, torture and ridicule are your meat and drink, so you glady volunteer for any venture that guarantees physical or mental agony. Masochism goes beyond a desire to prove your worth and loyalty; your mind finds pleasure in it. Less caring werewolves take advantage of this Flaw; wiser ones think you're sick in the head.

Something other than love and respect for your Garou relatives and Kinfolk guides your actions. This "something" may be as simple as greed or a lust for vengeance against an enemy; it could also be that you're a traitor working for an outside agency, such as Kindred ot the SAD. Whatever the case, the cause of your secret employer holds your ultimate loyalty. Should someone suspect things aren't what they seem, you could be in big trouble.

This Merit is a blend of folk wisdom, pratical sense and animal instincts. If you have Wolf-sense and make a successful Intelligence roll, the Storyteller can opt to give you advice on whether you're about to do something stupid. It doesn't mean she'll tell you what you should or shouldn't do, but at least you'll have some warning.

You're so wrapped up in your own little world, you don't have a clue about reality! Prehaps you retreat into yourself because you're afraid or avoiding a problem, but more likely, you simply aren't using your grey cells. Maybe you fall in and out of conversations and spout non sequiturs. Whatever the case, the werewolves and other Kin snicker at you behind your back.

Over the years, you've become adept at picking out the werewolves in a crowd. Rather than having any kind of mystical awarness, you've simply learned what physical and personality traits tend to mark Gaia's warriors. They just stand out to you, once they've undergone the Change. This Merit doesn't allow you to find werewolf cubs on the verge of Firsting, but you may notice their propensity for violence. All preception attempts to notice which people in the room seem to have that special touch of Rage or wildness that could indicate they're werewolves at -2 difficulty.

You own a fetish, one you can actually use (or, at the very least, lend to Garou, ostensibly in return for favors). You may have inherited this item, recieved it as a gift or found it on your own. In any case, the fetish is highly valuable. Fetishes aren't commonly among Garou, much less Kin. You and your Storyteller should work together on constructing the item and establishing how it came to your possession. Five points equals a Level One fetish, six points a Level Two fetish and seven points a Level Three fetish. {See Equipment for sample fetishes} A few rare fetishes allow expenditure of Willpower rather than Gnosis for attunemet and activation.

More than any other blessing, the possession of Gnosis among Kin is a special mark of Gaia's favor. It's extremely rare for mortals to be so gifted. Having Gnosis grants you many privileges, such as the ability to learn Gifts, use fetishes and, in the case of a vampire's Embrace, the chance to die with dignity and honor, rather than suffer unlife. Even the stuffiest Garou gives a nod of respect to a Kin who possess Gnosis. Kinfolk luck enough to possess Gnosis recover it in the same manner as Garou. Kinfolk cannot have Rage; they do not have the fury of Gaia with them. Five points spent of the Merit grants one point of Gnosis; six points, two points of Gnosis; and seven points, three points of Gnosis.

Not actually intended for mortals, this Merit is necessary for vampire, wraith, mage and changeling characters who are Kin as well. Despite your undead, magikal or faerie status, your tribe accepts you as Kin (although they don't necessarily think of you in glowing terms). Individuals outside your immediate family may not like you, and other tribes probably won't treat you well-they may not even recognize you as Kin. After all, most werewolves view mages and wraiths as caern raiders and vampires as Wyrm-spawn. Likewise, your "other" life may sometimes impinge on Kinfolk business. Still, there's value in knowing about both worlds.

Supernatural Kinfolk is a 4-point Merit for changelings, mages and wraiths. It cost 5 points for vampires; the werecreatures and vampires have always been at odds, and even family ties do little to erase the gulf between their ideologies. If you have an especially close friend among the Garou, you'll also need to buy Werewolf Companion (3-pt. Merit). If you build a Kinfolk character with the standard rules who's not dead, Embraced, Awakened or Kithain, you may not take this Merit; it's strictly for characters comstructed as wraiths, vampires, mages or changelings and based upon rules from other World of Darkness games. {See Supernatural Kinfolk for further details}.

Whether through your own twisted service to the Wyrm, an unfortunate quirk of heredity or just because of a supernatural accident, you reek of the enemy's blight. A number of Gifts allow shapechangers to notice your foul stench and most may want to kill you outright. This is a risky Flaw!

You may believe in Gaia and the Garou with all your heart and soul, but, for some reason, you're not immune to the Delirium. Gifts such as Rending the Veil and the Rite of the Parted Veil have no effect on you. You do recieve a +1 bonus on the Delirium chart and retain all your memories of what you see, but the sight of a Garou in Crinos form still invokes some sort of instinctive, uncontrollable reaction in you.

For either gender, this Merit means the same thing: You're an intrinsically nice person, and you genuinely care about your fellows. Depending upon the setting, werewolves and other Kin (both human and wolf) tend to like you and confide in you. Even lupus Garou may approach you in a friendly manner; something about you just seems trustworthy and inviting. Take an extra die on all Social rolls involving interaction with Garou or Kinfolk.

Because of false rumors, an ill done deed or some other reason, you have a poor reputation among Kinfolk and Garou. They don't necessarily hurt you, but they let you know you aren't welcome in their camps or homes. Make all Social rolls involving interaction with werewolves and Kin at a +2 difficulty.

Whether you're more hirsute than the average person or have a lean, hungry look to your features, the werewolves like what they see. It isn't a matter of physical beauty; there's just something about you that stirs up their animal natures. You get an extra die on all rolls involving Apperance when dealing with homid Garou, and you are considered to have an extra dot of Charisma among lupus Garou (although it can't exceed 5).

For some reason, you have a no discernable scent; it's completely missing from your body. While this condition might be an advantage when hiding from predators, it's a disadvantage among werewolves. They might pounce on you, unaware you're Kin. No Gifts, such as Scent of the True Form, can detect you as Kinfolk. Worse, the more suspicious types may think it's some sort of Wyrm power! Among a people who rely so heavily on the sense of smell, you've got a disability.

Kinfolk fill a limted number of roles in Garou society. For Kinfolk who serve werewolves as perpetuators of the species, inability to reproduce is a serious Flaw indeed. Not only does it carry a social stigma, it may also call down abuse, neglect or exile. Kinfolk men or women who can't reproduce lose a great deal of their usefulness in Garou eyes. For obvious reasons, vampire and wraith Kin can't take this Flaw.