Rite of Caern Building~5~Caern~All~WtA~
This powerful rite creates a caern, a permanent area where the spirit
world and the physical world touch. Simply reciting the rite draws the
attention of the Wyrm's servitors, and actually performing the rite has
been known to prove fatal. Only the most powerful and wise mystics dare
lead such an undertaking.

A power Theurge is almost always selected to perform this most sacred of
rites. Many Garou must channel their energy through a powerful leader to
have even a hope of success. Whole packs have been known to die in agony 
should the attempt fail.

Once the physical focus for the heart of the caern is chosen, the area
must be cleansed of all taint in preparation for its transformation. All
Garou participating in the rite must undergo a Rite of Cleansing. The
ritemaster performs a series of minor rituals, meditation, and other
physical preliminaries to prepare for her awesome tasks.

Sentries must by posted (very often the players' characters), for servants
of the Wyrm almost invariably attempt to disrupt such a great rite. Only
the mightiest warriors are chosen for such an assignment, and their 
protection is critical to the success of the rite. The leader of the rite
is helpless while he chants a long litany of verses designed to draw a
great spirit into the prepared caern. Although it is possible to create
a specific type of caern, most leaders leave this to Gaia and accept 
whatever caern she grants the sept.

Because an enormous amount of Gnosis is needed to create a new caern, a
minimum of 13 Garou, one for each moon of the year, must participate in
this rite. Regardless of the number of Garou aiding her, the ritemaster
can only channel such a power stream of Gnosis through her system once
per hour. The rite must performed at night. This means that in most
places and at most times of the year, the ritemaster has only eight rolls
(one per hour) to accomplish her task. This makes success fairly unlikely.
If, indeed, the rite does fail, all involved suffer five wounds. These
are not aggravated, but are very painful and always leave small
teardrop-shaped scars scattered across the Garou's body. Such scars are
considered marks of bravery , and these "Tears of Gaia" are often
highlighted by tattoos or paint and worn with pride by the Garou. The Garou
say the scars are the result of Gaia crying out for her children's pain.

Time: The rite must be performed between the hours of sunset and sunrise
during the waxing of the moon. Only the Black Spiral Dancers create
caerns during the moon's waning.

System: The rite requires an extended roll of Wits + Rituals, though
the leader may only use as many dice as she Gnosis. The difficulty is always
8, and 40 successes are needed. Only one roll can be attempted per hour
of the ritual.

Once the leader scores the required number of successes, all those involved
in the rite must contribute Gnosis points - 100 are needed. If the total
Gnosis available is not 100, all those participating in the rite begin to
suffer aggravated wounds. Each wound counts as three more Gnosis points
toward the total.

Botches during this rite are particularly deadly. All characters involved
suffer seven Health Levels of damage, which means that even a Garou 
previously at full health becomes Incapacitated. Those Garou reduced to
below Incapacitated must roll on the Battle Scars table, adding one die
to the roll.

If the minimum number of success is rolled (40), the caern is ranked
Level One. The Gauntlet of such an area is 4, and the spirits bound into
the caern will grant powers approximately equal to Level One Gifts. Every
five additional successes raises the level of the caern by one, 
correspondingly raising the magnitude of the powers the caern grants. At
Level Three the Gauntlet of the area is 3, while at Level Five it is but
2. Immediately upon the rite's successful completion, the ritemaster
must sacrifice a number of permanent Gnosis points equal to the level
of the caern.

If a player's character should somehow assume the role of ritemaster and 
succeed, she receives three points of Glory, five points of Honor and
seven points of Wisdom. Anyone else participating in the rite receives
five points of Glory and three points of Honor. This is a legendary task
and should be suitably rewarded.
