Echoes of the Beast question.

[gojj]

Say I choose to have a keen sense of smell for Beast Senses. One of the examples in Beast Trappings is the ability to track by scent, does this mean that I can't use my Beast Senses bonus for Tracking (survival) unless I also pick up the ability to track by scent with Beast Trappings?

[Sanctaphrax]

You can still use the bonus if your beastly senses would be an advantage. But unless your quarry is soaked in blood or perfume or something, I don't imagine a keen sense of smell would help much with human-style tracking.

[wyvern]

Depends on situation.  If you're tracking a person across the forest floor, being able to better see (or smell) small changes in the environment might make sense for getting the bonus.  On the other hand, if you're tracking someone in an urban environment by looking through security camera recordings, beast senses won't do anything.

The Track By Scent trapping is, in general, more powerful; sure, it's not giving you a numerical bonus - but without it, you've got no chance at tracking someone across, say, an empty parking lot, or in some other environment where they won't leave visible clues to their passage.

[gojj]

The game takes place in the old west, and currently our most "urban" environment is a boom town in decline and my character is a were-coyote tracker.

While I understand that I cannot track excursively by scent without the Beast Trapping can it be assumed that, because I now have the anatomy of a coyote, my sense of smell is at least slightly better, allowing me to use it in conjunction with traditional, human tracking methods? Basically, if it is plausible that I can track my target by human means, I can get the +1 if I can narrate some way that my good sense of smell would help me.

Does this help clarify what I'm asking or did it make it worse? I know that "Ask the GM" is the ultimate answer, but I wanted to get a general consensus from more experienced players before I brought it up to him/her.

[wyvern]

Well, I can't speak for anyone else (and it sounds like Sanctaphrax has the opposite answer, so no consensus here), but I'd generally allow the +1 to apply to tracking in the sort of setting you've described.  With the caveat that, if you've explicitly got a superior sense of smell, you can lose the +1 if the person you're tracking makes a successful maneuver like "waded upstream half a mile", or if environmental conditions (it's raining!) don't allow, or... etc.

I.E., yes, unless there's some specific reason otherwise.

[Taran]

I don't know if I completely understand the question but I'd allow the +1.  In fact it could be used in a lot of situations.  Like piercing disguises, for instance.  Dogs have an incredible sense of smell and I imagine they could tell one person from another just by smelling them.

I feel like I don't understand what's being asked though. 

If you have a keen sense of smell, what other 'ability' would you choose, other than tracking by smell.

As far as what sanctaphrax is saying, I think it's the same as what Wyvern is saying.  Human-style tracking focuses on sight, not smell.  Just like checking a camera is different from smelling someone who's crossed a parking lot.  It uses different senses.  Tracking by smell lets you track in impossible situations where a mundane tracker would get stumped.  In a regular situation, where mundane tracking still works, the smell would give you a bonus.

[PirateJack]

The game takes place in the old west, and currently our most "urban" environment is a boom town in decline and my character is a were-coyote tracker.

While I understand that I cannot track excursively by scent without the Beast Trapping can it be assumed that, because I now have the anatomy of a coyote, my sense of smell is at least slightly better, allowing me to use it in conjunction with traditional, human tracking methods? Basically, if it is plausible that I can track my target by human means, I can get the +1 if I can narrate some way that my good sense of smell would help me.

Does this help clarify what I'm asking or did it make it worse? I know that "Ask the GM" is the ultimate answer, but I wanted to get a general consensus from more experienced players before I brought it up to him/her.

Hi there!

The thing about Echoes of the Beast is that it was built to model the Alphas, who had to learn how to use their new senses rather than having the instincts implanted in their minds (like the Hexenwulf belts granted). There are suggestions I have for this, but I'll keep them to the character creation thread. Easier to keep track of that way.

Also, coyotes have a very well developed sense of smell, at least on par with the best of domestic dogs, probably better. Smell is also their primary means of tracking and detecting danger as they're able to catch the scent of humans/animals from several hundred yards away if they're downwind. Further, if it's a strong wind.