Frenzy

Frenzy is both the greatest weapon and most feared curse of the Garou. It is the moment when instinct, Rage, and raw primal essence overwhelm reason, driving a werewolf into a state of unstoppable savagery. In Frenzy, the Garou loses all restraint: claws and fangs lash out, allies and enemies alike become indistinguishable, and the only imperative is destruction. To outsiders, it looks like madness, but Frenzy is less insanity than the pure embodiment of what Garou are: Gaia’s predators, avatars of the wild’s fury.

There are many triggers for Frenzy. The most common is threat — when a Garou is cornered, wounded, or humiliated, Rage rises like a storm. Pain, loss of packmates, violations of honor, or the stink of the Wyrm can all ignite it. Even triumph may spark Frenzy; in the heat of battle, victory itself can taste so intoxicating that reason slips away. Moon phases play their role as well — full moons make Frenzy far more likely, while new moons dampen it.

Not all Frenzies are identical. There is the Berserk Frenzy, a whirlwind of violence that annihilates everything nearby. The Fox Frenzy manifests as overwhelming fear, driving the Garou to flee rather than fight — shameful, yet equally uncontrollable. In both, the Garou loses their conscious self, replaced by instinctual urges tied to Rage.

Culturally, Frenzy is a double-edged truth among the Garou Nation. On one hand, it is feared: a Garou who Frenzies in the wrong place may kill kinfolk, destroy sacred caerns, or expose the Nation to human eyes. On the other hand, Frenzy is respected as the unfiltered voice of Gaia’s fury. To enter Frenzy is to embody the wild at its most terrible and pure, a reminder that the Garou were not meant to be tame. Some tribes even ritualize Frenzy, provoking it during sacred battles or in rites of passage, believing that only by embracing the beast fully can one truly know their purpose.

Other supernaturals fear Frenzy above almost anything. Vampires whisper about it as a predator’s madness that even their Disciplines cannot easily counter. Mages view it as proof that Garou are creatures too close to primal chaos. Even Wraiths avoid a Garou in Frenzy, sensing the storm of Rage burning through the Umbra. Frenzy ensures that the Garou are respected, but also feared — not just as wolves, but as walking catastrophes waiting for the wrong spark.