Auspices

The house shall have
a well
a hearth
a fire
a roof
and a pillar
to hold them upright
and keep them apart.

— Hengeyokai proverb

The root word of "auspicious" is "auspice." It should come as no surprise, then, that the hengeyokai concept of a balanced and well-ordered sentai closely matches the Western Garou ideal of a pack — each one has members to fulfill five vital roles. However, the hengeyokai place less import on the moon-sign of one's birth (which influences relatively few hengeyokai other than the Hakken), emphasizing more the roles assigned to the sentai members at the time of the war party's formation.

Essentially, the difference between a sentai and a simple band of hengeyokai is the Way of Emerald Virtue. In a sentai, the various members are sworn subjects of the Beast Courts, and gain Renown as appropriate for their auspice roles. Loosely affiliated hengeyokai who gain Renown according to the guidelines of their Changing Breed are considered wave sentai at best, and more often simple "packs" (not the Garou definition, since the Garou are a minority among the Courts).

Mountain sentai are the definition of the traditional war party; members take a common totem (as per the Background), one hengeyokai is present for each auspice, and many Breeds are usually represented. If a court doesn't have enough available hengeyokai for the full five members, a mountain sentai is still possible, although the spirits tend to look on it as half-formed and incomplete. Those courts lucky enough to have extra available shapechangers will sometimes assign a hengeyokai or two to assist a mountain sentai, creating a war party of six or seven, but usually only the core five members are bound by the Rite of the Harmonious Journey. Generally speaking, if more or less than five hengeyokai are available for a war party, the courts will instead form a wave sentai.

Wave sentai do not have to include a member of each auspice, but ignoring this tradition is considered unlucky — and in a setting where the spirits react poorly to inauspicious behavior, with visible results, luck is worth quite a bit. Unfortunately, sometimes an unlucky sentai is all that's available. Although members of such sentai may have to work twice as hard to overcome the low expectations that the Courts show them, individuals may prove themselves worthy of respect by overcoming this handicap.

Unlucky Behavior

Here and there, various practices throughout this book are said to be "considered unlucky" or "inauspicious." This is no idle matter to the hengeyokai, who depend on the good will of spirits to perform their rites and serve the Emerald Mother. Consequently, it should be stressed that hengeyokai are very reluctant to undertake "unlucky" endeavors, as the consequences are more than a simple breaking of superstition. Storytellers should enforce the mystical feel of Hengeyokai games by punishing, indirectly or directly, hengeyokai who ignore the traditions of auspicious behavior — they may be shunned by their courts, lose Renown or be treated poorly by spirits. These punishments shouldn't be too stringent, but should certainly leave the offender with the realization that the traditions are there for a purpose.

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Lantern

The heart of the war party is the Lantern; he is the beacon that guides the paths of his fellows, and the heat that draws them together. He often leads the sentai, coordinating the actions of his comrades into an effective whole. However, the Lantern may also temporarily relinquish command to the sentai member more qualified to lead in a given situation — letting the Fist take over battle tactics or the Leaf coordinate a stealth mission. The Lantern is expected to be wise and just in all his actions, and follows a most exacting path; but if he distinguishes himself in such a demanding role, then his renown is assured.

Concepts: Judge, mediator, sergeant, sifu, detective, crusader, everyman hero, noble, executive, student

Fist

A sentai without a Fist is doomed indeed — in the World of Darkness, violence is constantly a threat, and the Fist is the sentai's first line of defense. Like the general of the court, the Fist is the martial arm of the sentai. He may be the weapons master of the team, the fiercest fighter, or even a physically weak warrior with a talent for tactics. Whatever his specialization, he is responsible for ensuring the safety of his sentai in times of battle. Considering the shapeshifters' penchant for Rage and bloody combat, this role is usually easy to fill.

Concepts: Soldier, predator, gunsmith, enforcer, weapon master, goblin slayer, martial arts sensei, gun runner, supercop, hit man

Mirror

The Mirror is the sentai's tongue. She is the one who calls spirits, who bends strangers into allies, who pronounces sorceries. Like the reflection on a still pond, she is the link to the spirit world, and like a silvered looking glass, she is the cool presence that disarms the prideful. The Mirror performs a dangerous role; like a court's seer, she is the one singled out by spirits as the sentai's representative. Nonetheless, this role comes with a myriad of opportunities to prove one's wisdom, and most Mirrors are glad to accept the challenge.

Concepts: Healer, mystic, negotiator, sorcerer, seducer, medium, ritemaster, animist, outsider

Leaf

Like her namesake, the Leaf rides the wind into the deepest forests, passing unnoticed above the mightiest camps of the enemy. The Leaf serves as the sentai's eyes, and quietly gathers information to aid her comrades. Whether jester or cold-blooded murderer, this auspice is the way of stealth and stealing- in. The most accomplished Leaf is one who dares much and acts with great cleverness; and if the rest of the sentai must act to draw her out of the trouble she discovers, such is to be expected from time to time.

Concepts: Spy, orphan, trickster, computer hacker, sentinel, Umbral scout, assassin, wild cub, detective, teacher

Pillar

Perhaps the least glamorous of the sentai roles, the Pillar serves as the legs of the war party. His is the role of support, of the strong back that can bear a fallen comrade or the optimistic voice that rouses the spirits of the sentai. The Pillar is often a skilled fighter as well, and is in many cases a jack-of-all-trades, capable of aiding each of his teammates in their tasks if necessary. Although not always highly visible, the Pillar holds an honored position and can enjoy great Renown for his role in ensuring the sentai's efficiency.

Concepts: Bard, pilot, medic, artist, machinesmith, strongman, artisan, salt of the earth, sage, Zen master

Elemental Mind

The Europeans recognized four elemental forces: air, earth, fire and water. Asian thought put it at five primal elements: earth, water, fire, wood and metal. Who's a hengeyokai to believe? Well, the truth of the spirit world is that both sides are right, to an extent. A hengeyokai who uses the Gift: Create Element may conjure up metal or wood, if such is his attunement. Alternately, a more Western-minded shapechanger might he attuned to the classical four. Certainly the spirit world supports bo|h theories; Serpentals of all sorts have been in existence for as long as people have had words for earth and water.

In the interest of formality, the Gaian Court recognizes the five elements as Wind, water, fire, earth and moon. Wind is the breath of the world, or so the maxim goes; earth the bones, water the blood, fire the heat that beats in the heart and moon the cool spirit of the land. Players may choose to have their hengeyokai characters be attuned to this "aspect" of the elements, or may opt for their characters to be more closely aligned to the more humanistic set of earth, fire, water, wood and metal. In a cosmic Sense, it makes really no difference at all, so long as the hengeyokai honors the appropriate elemental spirits.

Symbolically, though, what do the elements mean when applied to hengeyokai personalities and auspice roles? It depends. The following are just a few examples of ways that the elders might associate a young hengeyokai's personality with an element.

• Air is often associated with the winds, as well as clouds, vision, breath (and thereby life), music, birds, ghosts, freedom arid even Kailindo, It is often given to Leaves, but certainly not all the time.

• Earth can mean many things to shapeshifters, from the Mother's flesh to the unyielding power of mountains. Among other things, it has ties to stone, steadfastness, willpower, metal, tools, wood, caves, fertility, luck, roads, meditation and endurance. A hengeyokai who is strong in earth often exudes a feel of being rooted to the world wherever he goes.

• Fire  is pure Yang, hot and energetic It can imply aggression, destruction, warmth, instinct, Speed, violence, Rage, hard martial arts, thunder and lightning, even sorcery. Most hengeyokai recognize at least a little of themselves in the element of fire

• Water is one of the classic Yin elements, and may alternately imply healing, creativity, adaptability, compassion, tranquillity, or in some cases, simply being female (the lifegiving symbolism of water is not restricted to Western culture). It also has associations with weather, travel, "soft" martial arts like judo, ice, blood, cleansing, arid even divine retribution in the form of floods).

• Moon has obvious connotations of spirituality, and is tied to many Mirrors. However, moon as an element also implies night, shadows, enigmas, Gnosis, trickery, light, metal (particularly silver), love, vanity and elusiveness. The moon has a strong pull on the tides of the shapeshifters' blood.

So should players change perfectly good character concepts in order%o make the perfect setai? No, they shouldn't. Think of it as an exercise in creativity — look at the hengeyokai involved as the elders would, and see which would be best suited for which element. The results can enrich the sentai's personality tremendously.

Changing Auspice

The auspice of a hengeyokai is often considered foreordained in some respects; a Hakken Ahroun is obviously best suited to the path of the Fist, for instance, while a Tengu can serve as a Leaf nonpareil. However, it's entirely possible to switch from one path to another, particularly with the dissolution of a sentai and the need to take on other duties. The changing of auspice is carried out via the Rite of the Second Face. It is considered unlucky for a hengeyokai to undergo this more than once, and in any case it is often difficult to accumulate sufficient Renown to prove that one is well suited to one's new task.

However, a hengeyokai who wishes to turn from the Path of Emerald Virtue to the service of his own tribe, or vice versa, must undergo the Rite of the Great Burden. This is in all respects like the Garou Rite of Renunciation, and the shapeshifter may never learn the Gifts of his abandoned road again. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of hengeyokai are perfectly content to serve either the Courts or their Breeds for as long as they live. Such is the way of things.

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