Why should Werewolf get a Grimoire?

1. It would give Werewolf players a 6th skill they can pick from, meaning they will have much more build diversity than before.
2. It would allow Werewolf players to swap one skill for another, creating an implicit power tradeoff.
3. It would source additional effects and ability types into Werewolf's toolkit, mitigating inherent problems with the playstyle's locked-down nature.
4. Werewolf is the only playstyle which cannot use Scribing abilities, due to the strict skill limitation while transformed.

How would a Werewolf Grimoire be justified in the lore?

1. Scribing is described as a way to customize and specialize both spell-craft and skill-craft. This means a Scribing skill does not need to be magical in nature; it can instead be Martial in nature.
2. There are several interested parties in the world who would create a Grimoire for werewolves to use. Banner Bearer was created after Scribing was discovered and is recorded as the first new Grimoire. A Werewolf Grimoire could be created some time after Banner Bearer, perhaps by a Reachman or a witch, who would view werewolves in a different light than most.
3. The physical Grimoire that we Scribe the Scripts and Luminous Ink onto is never used by our characters to know how to use these skills. A werewolf would have no problem remembering how to perform the action of a Werewolf Grimoire, especially if the skill was more martial and savage in nature.
4. The physical Grimoire does not need to be sold by the Scribing merchant if it is deemed a Criminal Act to do so. Instead, the Grimoire can be sourced through another game system like Antiquities, or through another merchant who would supply Criminal Act Grimoires.

The Update 50 Werewolf skills have this general theme:

• (Ultimate) A transformation into or out of your werewolf form. If you use enough Werewolf skills, you can go on a rampage.
• A pounce/leap onto your target from a range. In melee range, you slam down with your claws to apply a bleed.
• A howl which heals and buffs you.
• A roar which scares/debuffs enemies and buffs allies.
• A bite attack.
• A claw swipe attack.

This list is not exhaustive with every function of the skills, but rather this summary is meant to capture the general theme.

The question is, what theme for a 6th Werewolf skill could we possibly get that would fit in with these existing skills? Here's a few different ideas:

• If the Grimoire was more magical in nature, it would logically make sense to be power derived from Hircine. Just like how Hircine's Bounty invokes the Huntsman's blessing, a Werewolf Grimoire that is more magical in nature would similarly involve Hircine.
  1. My personal favorite idea I've come up with is a ground effect, to play off the name of Hircine's Hunting Grounds. The Scripts used here could do anything from making the area snare enemies, heal/buff allies, deal damage, and so on. The visuals could have flora taken from The Hunting Grounds, with the color changing depending on the focus script used.
  2. Maybe we could get a Grimoire that functions like Shadow Cloak, since we don't get to properly sneak. Invisibility is one way we can be stealthy hunters. Conversely, a skill which makes it easier to pursue fleeing enemies (like a Movement Speed buff and a snare purge) would be another way to stay thematic to the hunting theme.
  3. It may be a stretch, but the Werewolf Behemoth is capable of basic elemental magic. Why not something nature themed that functions like Imbue Weapon?
• If the Grimoire was more martial in nature, it would need to be something we'd expect a werewolf to be able to do, without overlapping with any of the themes of the other Werewolf skills.
  1. Werewolves can use their sense of smell, but what about their hearing? Maybe the Grimoire could be a utility skill that highlights enemies through walls, like the Detect Life effect when using the Totem of the Hunt ability as a werewolf in TES V: Skyrim. You could pair both senses together to be able to sense just about anything nearby.
  2. We could get a displacement ability (similar to Piercing Javelin or Scatter Shot) which knocks enemies back. This could be themed as us throwing the enemy using our jaws (like that one Slaughter animation) or simply grabbing the enemy and tossing them. Maybe we could just kick the enemy back if we wanted something more inspired by martial arts in the same vein as our "uppercut" bash animation.
  3. We could go back to the origins of Piercing Howl, before it lost the ability to knock the target down. A Werewolf Grimoire could have us shout at the enemy, knocking them to the ground and immobilizing them.

Most of my better ideas from the last time I made a thread like this were realized in the skill line itself this update. I'm just trying to show that there's still potential here for a 6th Werewolf skill in the form of a customizable Grimoire.

Here's a few ideas for various Scripts:

Wayfarer's Mastery (improved functionality of skill line passives)

• Insatiable Hunger also generates Stamina and Magicka per tick while this ability is slotted.
• Blood Rage generates x Ultimate once every y seconds when dealing damage while this ability is slotted.
• (Feral Cruelty) Gain Minor Resolve and gain an additional x% Weapon and Spell Damage while this ability is slotted.
• (Call of the Hunt) Completely negate the cost of remaining transformed while this ability is slotted.
• This ability is x% more effective per stack of Blood Hunger. Consumes all stacks of Blood Hunger.
• This ability generates x stacks of Blood Hunger.
• This ability generates double Fury.

Class Flourish (unique effects based on your base Class)
Note that Banner Bearer has a different implementation of Class Flourish, so this Werewolf Grimoire can, too!

Certain Class Flourish effects would need to be modified to be useful in Werewolf form, such as Arcanist's "generate a Crux", which in this context could be changed entirely to do something with status effects instead. Sorcerer can get pets with Pack Leader or go without pets with Werewolf Berserker, so a description change there may or may not be desired. Templar Werewolf can only get the Sacred Ground needed for their Class Flourish from using their Class Mastery passives. Necromancer Werewolf can proc all relevant corpse-related effects with Insatiable Hunger, which is (literally) a corpse-consuming ability. The rest of the Class Flourish effects don't require Class abilities and should be fine to use in the Werewolf Grimoire as-is.


And here's a list of buffs and other effects which Werewolf may want to source (not exhaustive):

• Some form of crossheal (Healing focus script, preferably on an AoE skill)
• A snare (Hunter's Snare signature script)
• Minor Resolve (Resolve affix script)
• Increased movement speed (Expedition affix script, Thief's Swiftness signature script)
• A snare purge (Crusader's Defiance signature script)
• Disease Damage put back in the kit (Disease Damage focus script)
• Ultimate generation (Generate Ultimate focus script, Heroism affix script)
• A heal over time (Sage's Remedy signature script)

Remember that with 6 skills, we aren't guaranteed the slotted buffs from any of the original 5 Werewolf skills. We're only guaranteed the buffs from the passives (and whichever effects are shared between all morphs of the Werewolf Transformation Ultimate), so buffs given from the Grimoire like Major Resolve (sourced in-kit from the Feral Cruelty passive) should instead offer Minor Resolve. It's okay to offer buffs like Major Savagery from the affix scripts, since it's not guaranteed that we'll be using the morph of Roar that gives it (or that we'll be using Roar or its morphs at all).