Fomori are often misunderstood. Many players and Storytellers have asked me why I like playing fomori so much. They see the surface and assume that I have some form of deeply rooted psychological problems.

The truth is, I probably do. But that has nothing to do with why I enjoy playing fomori characters. Allow me to explain things from my viewpoint.

The very first RPG I ever played was AD&D. This is something that many gamers and I have in common. From there, I branched off into a few other games, like Palladium's Heroes Unlimited and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as TSR's Marvel Super Heroes RPG. Having been an avid comic book fan for many years, I enjoyed these games and their modern settings. The idea of playing a superhero, fighting villains and righting wrongs in today's world was a very potent form of escapist entertainment.

Years went by, and I was introduced to a new system of games. I first heard the title, "Vampire: the Masquerade," and thought that I was delving into another hack-and-slash dungeon of doom game. Vampires are a figment of the collective imaginations of the people of centuries past, right?

Wrong. Vampire opened my eyes to a new style of role-playing. It was a vivid and surreal experience. I started to play Vampire and Werewolf with old friends. I began to play the live action version of Vampire, and when Apocalypse (live-action Werewolf) came on the market, I was all over that too.

But I never really stopped enjoying the idea of being a superhero. I never gave up the ideas of chivalry, honor, truth, justice, the American way, hot apple pie, et al.

I got into Werewolf a bit deeper as a result of online RP. I started to enjoy playing a bad guy every now and then. A foil to the heroes, simply because nobody was doing it, or at least not enough. But there are only so many Black Spirals and evil kinfolk that carry shotguns with silver buckshot. I needed to create an army… a fleet of creatures, if you will, ready to destroy the good guys at a moment's notice.

Naturally, I thought of the fomori.

Human beings are readily available. With the Wyrm's influence everywhere, even the garou can't be protected 100% of the time. Everyone is vulnerable somehow. Toxins and poisons touch the water they drink; the food they eat at O'Malley's Family Restaurant is tainted. The toys they buy for their innocent little children are corrupting them slowly, twisting their minds and souls to the bent of the Wyrm's will.

All it takes is one moment of weakness while the bane is watching, one second of hatred or insane jealousy. One pang of unreasoning lust in the heart of a married man, and a willing and able bane can possess the body and soul of one who is weakened and tainted.

That's where the fun starts.

Now, just because most people see the fomori as evil, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're right. After all, if some 9-foot monstrosity with fur and fangs slashed up your best friend right in front of you because he was the owner of a chemical plant, would you be happy about it? Would you call that were-thing a noble and tragic creature? Hell no! You'd gladly take up arms against the evil beast and his host of followers for the defense of your very life! That's what First Team logic is like. There's a rationale to their actions. In civilian life, killing a foreigner just because they're foreign is illegal and highly frowned upon. In a war, if an American soldier sees an enemy soldier and they kill him, then he's doing his job, and is called a hero, a man of valor and bravery. The First Teams are always at war. They see the garou as the evil enemy, bent on the destruction and enslavement of the human race. As such, their sense of duty is not spawned from hatred, but from a misunderstanding of the truth and a bent for survival. They are fed lies from the start, that they may further the goals of the Wyrm.

The sad part is that they're not entirely off the mark. Many garou feel that all the humans need to be enslaved again, as in the days of the impergium. The fomori just fail to see the reasoning behind it. Such is the way of things. When I play a fomor, they do not (under most circumstances) think of themselves as "Evil" or "Bad." They are doing a service to humanity by pounding those shapeshifting, murdering bastards into the dirt and pumping them full of silver and lead. And they're damned happy to do it.

The directions for making and serving fomori are fairly simple: Take one human, add one bane, and stir. Let loose on garou population. For best results, add 80cc Fomorol daily.

But to make a fomor truly stand out amongst the myriad of other beasts, one must put thought and care into the creation. We have a few decisions to make. Do you want a combat monster? A manipulator? Someone who alone wouldn't stand a chance with a pack of garou in a dark alley, but can corrupt the souls of countless humans?

Let's assume for now that you're going to make a combat monster fomor. These seem to be the most popular among players who are new to the idea of playing a "bad guy."

Combat monster fomori are quite easy to make, if you know what you're doing. Since you're reading this, I'm going to assume that you don't. So I'll help you learn the process.

To start, rather than going down the character sheet from top to bottom, think of a concept. If you haven't thought of one, or you can't seem to think of one that's sufficiently cool, don't worry. These things happen. Just flip through the list of powers and taints. Ideas will jump out at you.

A good way to start making the character is to pick a few powers that work reasonably well together in combat. Claws and Mega-Strength work well together, as do Fangs or Lashing Tail and Venomous Bite. Once you have these initial powers, look for other powers to help flesh the fomor out. If you want extra attacks, like garou using rage or vampires with celerity, then Extra Speed and/or Berserker are good choices. If there's a garou gift that you really like, then take the rank of the gift, add one point, and presto, you've got a new fomori power! (See page 33, "Garou Gifts.")

Keep in mind that for every power point you take, one taint point must be purchased to offset your powers. A behemoth with 8 strength, Extra Speed, Fangs, Venomous Bite and Claws is going to have a tougher time surviving day-to-day life than someone with a few minor powers like Darksight and Foot Pads. The more taints you buy, the worse your life tends to be.

Which brings us to taints. Good taints for starting combat monster fomori are readily available. Addictions are popular, as are taints like Brainwashed and Walking Bomb. Derangements seem to be common as well. But the more taints you have piled up, the more difficult your life will be. A cunning and clever Storyteller will be more than eager to take advantage of those taints in the course of a game.

Now that you have your main ideas, start to make the character. Fomori get the standard mortal stats of 6/4/3, 11/7/4, with no humanity or numina to worry about. Initial Willpower is 3, and can be bought up for 2 freebie points per extra willpower point. Fomori have a small selection of unique merits and flaws, and these are often good springboards for concepts. Keep in mind that if your character was a housewife before her possession, she probably will not have a 4 or 5 rating in melee and firearms. Be reasonable. Now, this isn't to say that she can't be good at these things; fomori are often given intense military-style training when in the employ of a Pentex firm. But ratings as high as 4 or 5 are usually reserved for those with years of training and experience. They are among the best in the mortal world.

Characters with Claws and/or Fangs may want to put a couple of dots in brawl. Characters with no combat powers other than speed-based skills may want to place a few dots in firearms to ensure their combat effectiveness. Alertness is always good to pump, since it affects initiative rolls and perception rolls in many cases. Dodge is helpful for those days when the were-thingies are carrying weapons and you're not. In any case, keep in mind that your character is going to have to seem realistic. If all they can do is fight, then you have a very two-dimensional character, and most players aren't after that sort of thing when it comes to RP.

Backgrounds require a bit of thought. If your character is a Pentex employee, then you get one dot for free in resources. Good backgrounds to consider are Resources, Rank, Equipment, Favors, Contacts, and the like. Things that can get you out of trouble in a hurry. You receive 5 points to spend initially.

Now we move to Powers and Taints. Since you had a few ideas chosen at the start, this will move much more quickly. Write down the powers and their costs, and then select the taints that your character will have. The point totals must match EXACTLY for a starting character. Keep in mind that your character should have Immunity to the Delirium (1pt. Power) if you intend for them to face garou in combat.

After taking care of the powers and taints, spend the freebie points that you start with. (21) Merits and Flaws can cost freebies and/or give you extra. No more than seven points of flaws may be taken, but you may choose as many merits as you can afford. If you intend for your character to have visible powers, like Claws, Wings, Body Barbs, Exoskeleton, and the like, and still be able to pass for a normal human in polite society, the 2-point Merit "Hidden Power" is a necessity. Keep in mind that your starting willpower is a measly 3, and you may want to pump that as well as your attributes or skills. If you have Berserker or Spirit Ties as a power, you can spend freebie points to purchase rage or gnosis, respectively. Rage points are one freebie apiece, gnosis points two.

After spending the freebies, work out your totals for combat. Add your bonuses for powers like Exoskeleton and Mega-Strength, write down starting equipment, etc. After the character is properly fleshed out with a concept, you're basically ready to role-play.

Ah, here we are. This section is for the truly twisted; for those who want some real fun. This section will disclose many (but not all) of my dirty little secrets and tricks for making incredibly deadly fomori.

Many players will read this section and see some of these tactics as twinkery or powergaming. To them, I say, "Kiss my grits, yo."

I'm writing this, and they can learn to deal or stop reading and go play with their My Little Ponies and their Rainbow Brite dolls.

Hehe. That having been said, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

My tips for building a real combat monster go a few different directions. Stay with me on this, it will be more than worth it.

The first rule is to make physical attributes primary. Always. Strength and stamina are the least, repeat, least important stats to put dots in during the initial 6-point allotment phase. Plenty of powers can be used to pump them up cheaply. Make them both 2. This will give you a 5 in dexterity. Trust me on this. I'll get to the reasons in a moment. If you're paranoid and you want to put extras in strength or stamina, you can, but you'll make up for it later. Believe me.

Now that you've allotted the necessary points, go directly to powers.

Warbeast: This is a catchall category for fomori with Claws or Body Barbs and some form of pumped-up Strength or damage capacity. Here's a few ways of doing it.

A good starting Warbeast character will have Claws, Mega-Strength three times, Exoskeleton, and Berserker, in addition to Immunity to the Delirium. If you followed the earlier advice, this will leave you with 6 strength, 5 dexterity, 3 stamina, and the ability to burn rage points for extra actions. Claws let you do strength +2 dice of aggravated damage. All this for a paltry 18 points of powers. Not too bad. But there are far more interesting ways to do things.

An excellent Warbeast will have Claws and Extra speed or Berserker, as well as Exoskeleton and the garou gift Spirit of the Fray as a three-point power. Immunity to the Delirium is a must as well. This puts the total power points so far at 12. If you purchase Body Expansion for 2 points, you get to do strength +4 normally, pushing the Claws to strength +6. Numbing, an additional 3-point power, provides 3 additional health levels and immunity to wound penalties. Very hip.

Another possibility for a Warbeast involves a slightly different skill set. Phoenix Fire, Extra Speed or Berserker, Exoskeleton, and Mega-Stamina. This is a particularly intriguing combo. Phoenix fire provides both offense and defense for 5 points, dealing 3 dice of agg. damage, difficulty 9 to soak, to anyone coming in contact with the fomor. The roll for that is Stamina+Occult, which shows the reasoning behind Mega-Stamina. It costs one willpower, so freebies should be spent there, as well as on Stamina and Occult. Total power points: 13, 16, or 19, depending on how many times you take Mega-stamina. Add Immunity to the Delirium, and you're set.

Finally, we come to the consummate combat monster badass. This requires a bit of work. Start off with a respectable dexterity of 5. Use freebies to pump Strength to 4 or 5. Take Body Barbs as a 10-point power. Take Body Expansion for 2. Take Extra Speed twice for 6. Take Immunity to the delirium for 1, Exoskeleton for 2, and Mega-Strength for 6. For incredible results, add Phoenix Fire for 5 more points.

Total: 27 or 32 power points. Now is where the fun begins. With this stat set and power combination, you have a character with Strength 7 or 8, doing Strength +4 damage, +5 more for body barbs. Dexterity is 5, Stamina is around 3 or 4. Extra Speed twice gives you 3 total actions per turn. With Phoenix Fire, each time you attack or are touched, you deal 3 levels of agg., difficulty 9 to soak.

There's a way to enhance this even more. You have lots of taints to take, right? Make one of them an addiction to fomorol. (See pages 28-29) Fomorol will double the intensity of your powers. That means you go from two extra attacks a round to four, your strength goes to +6 instead of +3, Body Expansion makes you do +8 damage instead of +4, Body Barbs go from +5 to +10, Stamina increases by one point. If you took Phoenix Fire, then you do 6 agg., with a difficulty of 9 to soak, with any contact. Total damage capacity: Punch with Body Barbs and no Phoenix Fire, 31 or 32 dice of agg. With Phoenix fire, add the 6 agg. levels at diff. 9 to soak. That's 37-38 possible damage levels from one punch. You get four extra actions every round. That's a few dodges and a punch, or any combination thereof.

Note: 30+ damage dice from a single punch is a clear example of overkill. It's gratuitous, and it's the mark of a powergamer. But it sure is fun to watch the other player's reaction when they see you counting out dice. Hehe.

Fomorol should be brought up here. It doubles the strength of your powers. Very hip; A good thing to be addicted to if you're a Warbeast. Use it with the other suggested power combos mentioned above and see what results you get! I've never been disappointed.

Slasher: Less power-based than the Warbeasts, Slashers depend on a garou's weakness against silver. They use silver blades, usually knives (diff 4, Str+1 dam) or hunga-mungas/hakarr (diff 5, Str+5 dam, see Werewolf Players Guide, 2^nd edition, page 195) in addition to speed-based powers and powers that boost damage capacity. Silver causes non-soakable aggravated damage to most garou when they are not in homid form. A homid form garou usually won't last long in a fight with a few combat monster fomori anyway.

To start, dexterity and strength should be decent. Stamina is less of a concern, and may be left at 2. (See below for details) Dexterity should usually be at 4, putting strength at 3. This is a decent combination. Freebie points may be spent to raise dexterity and strength.

Melee is a highly important ability for a Slasher. I recommend a rating of at least 3. Storytellers often frown upon beginning characters with skill ratings of 5, if only because they show signs of powergaming. Feel free to use your own discretion.

Powers are always the most fun part of a fomor. Good choices for Slasher fomori are Extra Speed, Berserker, Spirit of the Fray as a 3-point power, and Immunity to the Delirium. "Extra" powers that can add interesting twists include Molecular Weakening, (4 points; Double damage, anyone?) Size one time, (2 points; +1 Strength or Stamina and +1 health level, no penalties if taken only once) and Body Expansion. (2 points; +4 Strength damage on hand-to-hand attacks) These all make for an even more potent fomor, at the cost of picking more taints to offset the powers. The key to a good Slasher fomor is the ability to hit first and hit hard enough with silver to put the garou target down in one hit. Extra attacks will help you finish the job in the case of a miss or a garou with resistance to silver. Note that one good claw swipe from a garou in crinos is usually enough to put your average human at crippled or worse. The key is to hit first and avoid that unpleasant recovery period in the infirmary or the even more unpleasant trip to the morgue.

Scorpion/Viper: These fomori are, as the names suggest, deadly because of venom. They use the rather potent power of Venomous Bite paired with Fangs or Lashing Tail and a few other powers. The main advantage here is the lovely feature that Venomous Bite offers: non-soakable aggravated damage. Do not pass go, do not make a soak roll. The key to designing an excellent one-shot-one-kill Viper or Scorpion is the way you allot your points, both for attributes and powers.

Attributes are easy. Place only one dot in Dexterity. You can start with the stats of 3 Strength, a 2 in Dexterity, and a 4 in Stamina. This will in no way hinder your desired method of attack. 5 Freebies should go to stamina, putting it at 5, and more can be allotted to strength or dexterity as you see fit.

Brawl is highly important here. The rating should be a 4 or better, allowing you to specialize in bite or tail, depending on whether you are taking the viper route or the scorpion route. The rest of the ratings are best dealt with according to your character concept.

Next we discuss powers. The key here is the wording of Venomous Bite:

"The fomor must first inflict at least one health level of damage through a bite attack." (Note that the description of Lashing Tail, page 34, states that the power may also be used with Venomous Bite.)

This is why we have Fangs or Lashing Tail. The venom must be injected. Fangs are difficulty 5 on a dexterity+brawl roll, inflicting Strength+1 in aggravated damage. A Lashing Tail costs the same number of power points, 3, but has a difficulty of 7, inflicting Strength+2 aggravated damage. Each has an advantage over the other. Pick the one that suits your concept better. We continue:

"The poison inflicts Stamina + 2 aggravated damage; this damage cannot be soaked. (The Fianna Gift: Resist Toxin will prevent the poison damage.)"

As you see, the fomor's Stamina is the key attribute here. The higher one's stamina, the easier it is to inflict large amounts of non-soakable aggravated damage. Hence, we come to the other powers that enhance the Fangs/Lashing Tail + Venomous Bite combination.

Size: (Once, 2-point power)

Size offers a +1 to either strength or stamina, plus an additional health level. No drawbacks if taken only once. Excellent way to pump the bite/tail damage or the non-soakable agg.

Body Expansion: (2-point power) This allows the fomor to inflict 4 additional dice of damage with the bite or tail lash. This is an excellent way to assure that the bite/tail attack succeeds so that the poison may take effect.

Mega-Stamina: (3 points per additional point of Stamina) When you absolutely need more Stamina to pump your venom's potency, this is an expensive way to do it, but it's a good last resort. Note that you cannot pump stats above 8 without the use of fomorol or the like.

Exoskeleton: (2-point power) An old favorite of the combat monster, this offers one strength and one stamina. That's the equivalent of ten freebie points!

Spirit of the Fray: (3-point power, see page 33, "Garou Gifts") Allows the fomor to automatically attack first regardless of who wins the initiative roll. Very efficient method of ensuring that the bite is the first and only blow that is struck.

Extra Speed/Berserker: (3 or 6 for Extra Speed, 3 for Berserker) These allow extra actions. Forethought is the key here. Extra Speed is usually the better buy, since you never run out, unlike rage, which is used up little by little and then is gone until it is regained. However, with Extra Speed, electing to spend 4 rage in one turn is not an option; you are stuck with your limitations of one or two extra actions per turn. Conversely, Extra Speed does offer the bonus to movement rates, which can help when chasing a lupus garou or the like. Berserker does not. Berserker also makes the fomor susceptible to frenzy, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on the circumstances.

Now that I've covered Combat Monster Fomori in detail, I think I should discuss a few taints to watch out for. Addictions to things like Fizzy-Glug Cola and Dunkie's Donuts are not the springboards for interesting RP that addictions to heroin or fomorol are. Players with combat-oriented characters can easily explain away derangements like sadism. These should be expected depravities. What of the hidden self? What of the fomori with Hallucinations or Amnesia? Surely the workings of a Bane in one's soul cause more than relentless anger and a craving for chocolate. If you intend to be a badass with your powers, don't pull punches when you give your character taints. Gripping, realistic, believable characters have flaws. They have things that give them trouble. They face adversity. They grow and change. A character who always kills simply because he can is not necessarily a good character, even if he has sadism and homicidal as derangements. There is usually more to madness than the visible workings of those so afflicted.

Which brings me to the taint of Mutoid Cancer. It's a cool taint for a powergamer. They resolve that their character will be big and bad, going out and busting heads, crushing and maiming garou left and right. The bonuses of increased size and strength and even stamina and health levels seem like a blessing, and indeed, they can be. But if you simply play up the positives, then you're missing the idea. Mutoid Cancer is a taint for a reason. A fomori with it is unable to pass for a human 3 out of each 4 weeks of their life. They are a monster, a deformed and hideous creature with pus-oozing sores, knotted lumps of fat and muscle, and a hideous stench.

It only gets worse from there. Lost mental capacity, severe internal pain, the ability to transmit the disease through fluid transfer, et al. Then after the cycle ends, you roll to check for a permanent loss of intelligence. Not a fun time.

I'm not pointing fingers. I'm not saying that people who use Mutoid Cancer are bad players or powergaming zips. I'm saying that they need to be careful to take the flaws inherent in the character's new physiology into account when they role-play.

One of the biggest problems with fomori is that when a player makes a brand new character, they tend to choose taints that will hinder them as little as possible; addictions that require someone to smoke once a day, or to drink soda once a week. Brainwashed and Walking Bomb is a common combination. It stands to reason that if one totally trusts and loves the organization, they would never need to worry about betraying the organization and as such, would never worry about the bomb in their head. Another common taint is Balefire Curse. They figure that if they get too close to Balefire, they'll be dead anyway, so why care? That's 7 points of taints right there. Done.

The key is for the Storyteller, or, in most online RP, the player herself, to make sure that the taints are not ignored when it is convenient or chosen in such a way as to create no sense of hindrance or weakness in the finished character. Fomori are not super-soldiers. They are not super-heroes. They are not perfect creatures of science, they are not a shining example for humanity to follow. Let that come through in your RP.

Thus endeth the sermon.

The combat monster may seem self sufficient, but they can always do better with a little help from their friends. This is where the idea of support comes in. Here are a couple of my favorite types of supporting characters to use in filling out a First Team:

The Stunner: This character is built around the power of Mind Blast. The fomor, if successful enough, can deprive a target of the ability to take ANY actions whatsoever, even blocking or dodging, for a number of turns. The key here is to pump Wits and intimidation, as well as buy more willpower with freebies. Powers like Mega-Wits can help, as can Spirit of the Fray. Attacking first in any given situation is usually a blessing. Again, Immunity to the Delirium cannot be forgotten. The key to using this character properly depends on the situation. In the case of a single target, then the choice is obvious: stun the target and then let the combat monster do their job. With multiple targets, things get trickier. A good rule of thumb is to stun the leader and then stun the best fighters in turn. If you survive a few rounds, then well placed shots at the stunned garou (using silver bullets, of course) will often drop them before they can react, assuming they haven't already been dispatched by the over-eager combat monsters or an eagle-eyed gunner.

Having delved deeply into the experience of fomori character creation and development, I see that there are several challenges inherent in the type of RP that is so easily produced with a fomor. Nobody really wants to run combat scenes every time they role-play. Nobody likes to lose a character.

However, there is a time and place for combat. When the garou and the fomori cross paths, such things usually occur. And players who cannot deal with the loss of a character in a rational and mature manner should not be playing "Games for Mature Minds" such as Werewolf: the Apocalypse.

You may note that there was no mention of Savage Genitalia or Enticers here. I was trying to explain and illustrate how to create a decent combat fomor. A first character for most, or an advanced fomor for players who are already in the know. Enticers and fomori with Savage Genitalia use sex to obtain prey. This happens far too often in the real world. It is discussed at length elsewhere, and I felt no need to speak of it at length here. If you want to play an Enticer, go ahead. I happen to like the idea behind them. They prey upon weaknesses, like any predator. They have adapted talents that enable them to lure in prey, like any predator. But when they are used as a device to obtain cyber-sex and little else, they lose their sense of power and become something to make fun of. This is something that is far too common among a few select character types in online RP. Malkavians dress like mimes and throw jellybeans while talking to teddy bears. Get of Fenris kill for no apparent reason and shift to crinos in public with no worry of repercussions. Vampires wantonly reveal their powers to mortals and see no torches or inquisitors in the night. 4th Generation Assamites hang out in bars and fail miserably at attempts to seduce women. We all laugh or shake our heads in silent pity and then move on.

This is not what I want to see happening to fomori. They are intense creatures, with goals, inner desires, fires of passion, a tortured and bound soul, a stolen body…

And the garou are their enemies. May they be hunted and destroyed until the last one is run down and rent asunder, that they may plague humanity no more. Only then can mankind truly be free.

At least, that's what Headquarters says.