DP Tool Club 17/CD_ASCQ_17_101194.iso/vrac/vampires.zip/GAROU.VMP

Internet Message Format | 1993-09-07 | 9KB

Date: 4 Apr 93   01:40:21 EDT
From: [e-mail], Dark Lord of the Sith <[e-mail]>
Subject: South American Garou tribe...

Okay... post #2 to the mailing list. Lemme know what you think.

This is my attempt at the maned-wolf tribe. I haven't gotten much yet; I've
just roughed out the outline, haven't even written up the gifts or the
totem properly yet. (Well, I did it during my calculus class. What can I
say? Maned wolf tribe beats Maclaurin and Taylor series every time...)
ANYway. What I wanted to say was, let me know what you think of these
basics here, and I'll try and edit what you see into something workable.
Then I'll do more work on the totem and the Gifts. Okay? Thanks.

BTW, I'm WIDE open for suggestions for a better name for the tribe.

The 'Stilts' (for lack of a better name; I can't think of anything)

   As the Garou know, the lands of South America are full of shapechangers
of all kinds. Driven there by the Garou who viewed them as Wyrm spawn, the
other lycanthropes that still exist have little reason to love the Garou,
and the land itself is said to be hostile. The Wyrm spreads its coils even
now over the Amazon jungles, threatening to bring its unholy creations into
the daylight, and the Garou can do nothing... almost.
   Almost, indeed, for hidden in South America is a tribe of Garou
heretofore unknown. And with good reason- what Garou might enter those
lands, and penetrate far enough to see their kindred, or pass through the
Umbra guarded so jealously by the other shapechangers? The other tribe,
indeed, has been secluded for so long that some would argue them to be
other than Garou. They know little of the other werewolves, and only now
are starting to come to the light. The tribe's true name is unknown, but
among the other Garou they are called the Stilts.
   Stilts are werewolves that, like the extinct Bunyip, carry the blood of
a different wolf-creature. The Bunyip bred with Tasmanian wolves, marsupial
predators now believed extinct (though none are quite certain; rumors tell
of unconfirmed sightings, every so often). The Stilts have a much easier
time of it. They are born of a creature called the maned wolf, which,
according to the homids, is a canid related to timber wolves but of a
different genus and species. Nevertheless, they are, indeed, were_wolves_,
and are accepted by the other Garou, albeit grudgingly in most cases. Their
numbers are few, but they represent, perhaps, the best hope of the Garou in
South America. The other lycanthropes have no reason to fear them; indeed,
in many cases, the other weres accept them as brothers and sisters. And in
this lies a slim chance for Gaia's warriors to meet the Wyrm with full
force...

Totem: Flying Fox- yes, a bat.

Initial Willpower: 4

Backgrounds: 3 points, but they may not be spent on Resources, Allies, or
Pure Breed. (These Garou are too different, too odd, for the rest of the
Garou to be able to perceive the subtle cues that go into recognizing
whether or not an individual is pure bred.)

Beginning Gifts: Beast Speech (as per Galliards), Size of Surprise (okay,
it's a stupid name. Sorry. By spending one Rage point, the character not
only raises its mane- or in Homid or Glabro form, pull a version of goose-
pimples that makes their hair stand on end to a degree that they actually
appear a good deal larger- but also uses this occurrence to take on an aura
of threat and danger that adds one die to rolls involving intimidation.)

Wolf Form: The South American maned wolf. This creature has been described
as looking like "a giant fox on stilts", hence its name. It is the same
height as an ordinary wolf, though markedly lighter in build. Its legs
appear longer than they should in proportion to the body. The head is shaped
very much like a fox's head, though the ears are slightly different. All
maned wolves have a fairly long mane of hair on their necks, which they
raise when angry or threatened. They are, for the most part, russet-
colored, though not nearly as dark as red foxes. Their legs are generally
black from the knees on down, and their tails are slightly longer than
ordinary wolves.
Homid form- Generally that of whatever South American tribe their homid
blood comes from, though taller, slenderer, and with limbs in longer
proportion to the body than usual. A few are of White stock, and resemble
Whites instead, though most often Whites with a good blend of native.

Organization: Most of the Stilts have South American natives as their
source of homid blood (though a few have Spanish/Portuguese-descended homid
ancestors, and a few have managed to breed with field researchers). They
hold their moots most often at times when the local natives are having some
kind of sacred festival or ceremony. The Philodoxes and Theurges provide most
of the leadership to this tribe.
   A bit needs to be said here about this tribe's treatment of Metis pups
and/or children. This tribe is only slightly larger than the Stargazers; it
is not often that the homid members of the tribe are in the same region
long enough to breed. The tribe has fairly strong Lupus blood- something
like twenty-seven percent of its members are Lupus. However, since their
numbers are few as well, they seek to spread their genes as much as they
can- this is done mainly by instinct. It takes a great deal to make Stilt
Lupus mate with each other. The homids, for their part, know how few their
people are, and consequently have fewer Metis births than any other tribe.
However, from time to time, some kind of Garou or homid ritual will involve
powerful forces that sway the Garou; whether it is mind-altering
chemicals, or spirit influences, or something else, it happens. The vast
majority (90%) of this tribe's Metis young are conceived under these
circumstances.  They are viewed as being crippled and twisted by the
spirits in sympathy with what is happening to the lands they live in.
Such children are almost invariably Theurges, or if they are not, still have
strong ties to the spirit world. Metis are some of this tribe's most
powerful Theurges.

Habitat: The Stilts may be found throughout the Amazon basin and parts of
Argentina, having been scattered about through their history as their
original habitats were destroyed or ruined.

Protectorate: The native peoples of South America; the Lupus members of the
tribe, however, protect the remaining maned wolves exclusively. Maned
wolves, by this time, are so rare that roughly half of those left alive are
Stilt kinfolk. Most Stilts hold views similar to the Wendigos regarding
treatment of the Whites, but they realize that right now, it is far more
important to protect their homelands (from Whites and other weres) and
fight off the encroachment into the wild places than it is to launch a
homicidal war against the Euros.

   Most Garou view the Stilts with a degree of suspicion, considering their
land of origin. The Silver Fangs are least likely to trust them, but at
least concede that they are Garou. The Get of Fenris, on the other hand,
claim that they don't even qualify as Garou, and should be treated as all
other lycanthropes have been. The Shadow Lords have tried, on a few
occasions, to make overtures to this tribe, but have met with little
success. Overall, their best relations are with the Black Furies and the
Children of Gaia, with the Wendigos very close behind.

   This tribe has had a number of Philodoxes and Galliards enter the homid
science fields- specifically, anthropology, zoology, and botany. These
members believe that they must make their preparations, NOW, to try and
convey the value of the lands they know so well to the homids- and if not,
then at least something of their people, and the homids they guard, will be
remembered.


Flying Fox: I haven't worked up much on Flying Fox yet. I figure that
Flying Fox will cost five points. Grants +1 on Perception rolls in darkness,
and teaches Stealth 2, Alertness 2, and Survival 1. Dunno about the rest.

Flying Fox's Children may communicate with bats without a special gift; they
cannot, however, perceive radar. Though I'm thinking of writing up such a
gift as a level three or four tribe gift.

Flying Fox's ban: Children of Flying Fox are required to leave small, soft
fruits in high places every so often, as flying foxes are fruit-eating bats.

Well, thass all I've got so far... anybody? *waits for flames*




--
Waves of regret, waves of joy                         | J. McGeary
I reached out for the one I tried to destroy          | [e-mail]
You- you said you'd wait                              | Dark Lord of the Sith
'Till the end of the world  -U2                       |    Yoda Lives!