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See also: Umbra: The Velvet Shadow (first edition) and Umbra Revised (revised edition)

W20 Umbra: The Velvet Shadow is a sourcebook for Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, detailing the parts of the Umbra most often visited by Garou and their spirit denizens.

Summary[]

From the Onyx Path catalog:

Beyond the Material
Only foolish werewolves believe that they can win the war against the Wyrm in the physical world alone. Some use the Penumbra as a shortcut, a staging ground, or as a way to set traps for spiritually-aware foes. Others take Moon Bridges to the Realms of the Near Umbra, seeking powerful spirit magics or a concentration of the Wyrm’s forces headed to attack Gaia. Some cross into different spirit worlds again, hoping to find some undiscovered lore that might turn the tide in their favor. And a few werewolves whisper of the existence of creatures blessed by Gaia herself, giving of Herself to stave off the Wyrm’s corruption.
The World’s Reflection
This book presents the spirit world of the Umbra as seen and understood by the Garou and their fellow shapeshifters, providing players and Storytellers both with new information about the various spirit worlds. It includes a detailed look at the animistic Umbra as the werewolves know it, with new information on the Penumbra and the Realms. Storytellers can use the information on the Astral and Dark Umbrae — in both the Penumbra and the spirit world itself — to present unfamiliar spirit worlds that bring new challenges to the Garou. The book also contains details on the Kami, creatures and places possessed by the energies of Gaia herself.
Umbra: Velvet Shadow contains:
  • A detailed look at the Penumbra, the major Realms of the Near Umbra, and the Astral and Dark Umbrae.
  • New information on the animistic spirits of the Near Umbra, including plenty of new spirits to liven up the spirit world.
  • New lore and systems for the Kami, chosen of Gaia, and a host of example chosen.

Contents[]

Introduction[]

Chapter One: Penumbra[]

Covers the taste, smell, and feel of the Penumbra for what it is. See it for what it appears to be. This chapter will take you through the process of crossing over in detail as well as give you usable, story driven examples of places in the real world affected by the spirits in the Penumbra and how places in the Penumbra are affected by the events in those real world places.

  • Blights
  • Chimares
  • Epiphs
  • Glen
  • Hellholes
    • Nuclear Repository Hellholes - New Mexico
  • Urban Hellholes
    • The Fresh Kills Landfill - New York Hellhole
  • Trods
    • Loch Laggan Trod
    • Rend Trod - Level Three Mystic Rite
  • Webs
  • Wylding
  • Astral Penumbra
  • Dark Umbra
    • Faces in the Mirror:
      • St. Jacinta's Medical Center
      • Clayton City Park
      • Moors Bottling Company Chemical Waste Plant
      • Festival Market Town
      • Tall Pines Cemetery
      • Oak Ridge Library
      • Alsart Oasis
      • Primrose Orphanage
      • Panacea Pharmaceuticals Office Building
      • Lonely Highway
    • Hashima, The Ghost Island (Japan):
      • The Refinery (Blight)
      • Tomorrow Brings Opportunity (Chimare)
      • Wild Reclamation (Epiph)
      • The Woods (Glen)

Chapter Two: The Near Umbra[]

Explores the Realms in great detail, showing how, or if, they interact with one another, and why a werewolf would visit them. Further, this chapter explains what the Near Umbra is like between the Realms and what it looks and feels like to be in this vast nothing between Realms and how does it work? What is a Moonlit Airt, and what exciting and terrible things can happen when traveling along it?

Chapter Three: Worlds Beyond[]

Takes a look at plot hooks and story fodder that will take you through the Realms and into the Anchorheads. What is the Membrane and what happens when you cross it? What is Disconnection and how do werewolves protect themselves against it? Further, this chapter explores the Deep Umbra - the vast nothing, full of possibility. A place where outsider horror and two fisted pulp science fiction are separated only by chance, what can the characters experience here?

  • Example Minor Realms:
    • Search Engine
    • Synesthesia
  • The Membrane:
    • Anchorheads
    • Rite of Anchoring the Divide - Level Five Caern Rite
  • Example Anchorheads:
    • Dimensional Portal - Glass Walker
    • River Rapids - Uktena/Wendigo
    • Briar Patch - Red Talons

Chapter Four: Spirits[]

Explores the cosmology and metaphysics of spirits. Here you'll get details on how spirits operate, how they 'think' or if they even do. Players and Storytellers alike can draw both story ideas and roleplaying guidelines for dealing with spirits. In addition, find well over fifty new spirits for use in your chronicle. Strange, unique spirits updated to bring new culture to the Umbra and give you ideas of just how much our world affects the next.

  • Banes:
    • Bioweapon
    • Blood Currency
    • Consciousness
      • Charm: Incite Frenzy
    • Flame Wars
      • Charm: Brother Against Brother
    • Reroute
      • Charm: Obscure
    • Obscenity
    • Trendy Hat
    • Witch Hunt
  • Gaian Spirits:
    • City Mascot
    • City Tree
      • Charm: City Tree's Trunk
    • Crowdfunding
    • Gridlock Beetle
      • Charm: Charmed Journey
      • Charm: Road Rage
    • Meme
    • Murica
    • Nuntius
    • Srador - King of Pets
      • Charm: Demand Audience
      • Charm: Royal Decree
      • Charm: Tongues
    • The Road Warrior
  • Weaver Spirits:
    • Bot-Net
    • Brand Loyalty
    • Consumer Entertainment
    • Cultural Appropriation
    • Digital Game
    • Downtown Train
    • Lenocinor
    • Old Is New Again
    • Pervium
    • Polyteron
      • Charm: Time Rend
    • Silver Screen
      • Charm: Coercion
    • Skepticism
    • Truck Guardian
      • Charm: Gremlin
  • Wyld Spirits:
    • Anonymous
    • Beleben
      • Charm: Inspire
    • Chirurgeon
    • Creepypasta
    • Farm-to-Table
    • GMO
    • Made-Me-Do-It Devil
      • Charm: Secure Permission
    • Stood Ground
    • Superhero
    • Urban Art
    • You-Only-Live-Once

Chapter Five: The Chosen[]

Who are the real Chosen of Gaia? Is it her warriors, or is it the Kami? Spirit-things created by Gaia to a specific task and filled with her blessings, what are these rare and mysterious entities, and how can you use them in your game? What is their history, and are they really Gaia's fomori? It s also includes several example Kami to pick and choose from to bring directly into your game.

  • Powers:
    • Aura of Tranquility
    • Beast of Burden
    • Curse of Gaia
    • Elemental Resistance
    • Footpads
    • Gifted Kami
    • Heart Sense
    • Longevity
    • Mercy
    • Piercing Gaze
    • Plant Animation
    • Plant Kinship
    • Ritekeeper
    • Season's Blessing
    • Size
    • Shapeshifter Kin
    • Spirit Awakening
    • Spirit Charm
    • Spirit Kinship
    • Spirit Sense
    • Transformation
    • Triatic Sense
    • Universal Tongue
      • The Might of the Immobile:
        • Animate Self
        • Incarnate
        • Lord of the Land
        • Moonstone
        • Safe Place
        • Spirit Den
        • Wellspring
  • Sample Kami:
    • Agatha Prim
    • Cousin Rabbit
    • Drosera glanduligera
    • The Hive
    • Misha Bush
    • The One-Oh-Oh
    • Opinnartokua
    • Shallowbranch
    • Shrewton Village

Background Information[]

(...)

Memorable Quotes[]

(...)

Characters[]

  • Joseph Star-Treader - Garou
  • Amari - Garou
  • Nightmaster
  • Grythyg - Black Spiral Dancer, lost the leadership of Hive of the Jagged Maw
  • Queen Marianna - Rules the Unseelie Court of the Arcadia Gateway
  • Lord Lysander - Ruled the Seelie Court of the Arcadia Gateway, disappeared
  • Charyss - Incarna of Erebus
  • The Coil - Wyld Incarna in the Flux
  • The Elder Serpent - Rules the Pangaea Realm
  • The Barons of Industry - Like-minded Wyrm/Weaver Spirits in the Scar Realm
  • Wepauwet - Silent Strider Ancestor Spirit
  • Sword Singer - Elder Stargazer Galliard, travels the Astral Umbra
  • Dreaming Vision - Uktena Theurge lost in the Astral Umbra, Lake Mohave Sept
  • Raven Eyes - Master of Rites, Lake Mohave Sept
  • Joel - Stargazer Ragabash, travels the Astral Umbra
  • Cororuc - White Howler Wraith in the Dark Umbra
  • Ethan "Soul's Fury" - Silent Strider
  • Chris "Son of Earth" - Elder Silent Strider Theurge
  • Ignamia - Celestine
  • Truth Seeker - Children of Gaia Ragabash Athro, thought to be lost in the Deep Umbra
  • Teliah - Garou Athro in Truth Seeker's Sept
  • Speaker-for-the-Ancients - Children of Gaia Theurge of the Hays Woods Sept
  • Diana "Unpronounceable" Gallacci - Garou
  • Catherine "Chatty Cathy" Novak - Glass Walker Theurge
  • Dreams-of-the-Horizon - Chimerling Jaggling Spirit
  • Marcus "Owl's Drifting Feather" Hakimi - Silent Strider Philodox and Alpha of the Crossroads Pack
  • The Memory-Broker - Jaggling of Things Forgotten
  • Martina "Clears-the-Ancient-Path" Sarris - Black Fury Ragabash
  • Tibia, the first among Cats - Spirit
  • Carla - Garou
  • Jin Shei - Garou, banished
  • San-chan - Garou
  • Ibis of the East - Garou
  • Hanna - Garou, died, Spirit
  • Mr. Vo - Glass Walker Kin and Guardian of 5th Street
  • Raymond Terry - Human
  • Pete - Ghost
  • Chuck the Liar - Garou
  • Jerri - Garou
  • Jerome - Human Kami
  • Mannon Jedd - Human Kami, hunts Black Spiral Dancers and helps lost cubs
  • Mad Molly Green - Black Fury elder

Terminology[]

Stepping Sideways, The Second Breath, The Trait, Gnosis, Sept of the Green (New York), 'Lady Aife, the Caliph of Pain', Wage Slaves (Weaver Spirits), Epiphlings, Curiosi, Airts, Moonlit Airts: Moon Bridges and Moon Paths, Pathstone, Spirit Gates, Owl's Wings (Packs that serves Owl), Spirit Trains: 'the Subway', 'Midnight Express', 'Ghost Train'; Pattern Web, Domains, Dream Zone, Malfeas, Hive of the Jagged Maw, Mitanu, Tambiyah, Nerigal, Rorg, Zarok, Lu-Bat, Ruatma, Shantar, Meros, Seelie, Unseelie, Cyber Dogs, Wyldstorms, The Savage Tribes: The Desert Barbarians, The Thulan, The Zarak-Ur, The Mountain People; Gnosis Batteries, Amalgamated Iron (Union of Bone Gnawers and Ratkin in the Scar Realm), Sept of the River Cave, Nightmare (Astral Spirit), Lake Mohave Sept (Arizona, Colorado River), Croatan Ghosts, White Howler Ghosts, Sept of the Bright Skies, Bunyip Spirits, Celestines, Umbral Danse (Nuwisha), Hays Woods Sept, Chiminage, Broods, Gafflings, Jagglings, Incarnae, Emanations, Sept of the Bronze (Bone Gnawer, North Philadelphia), Rorqual, Intertec Core Unlimited (Pentex company),

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