What is the actual purpose of the Garou?

[MyWifeIsScary]

You might say to protect Gaia and fight the Wyrm, or heal the wyrm, but really?



To keep the status quo by eliminating the worst excesses of the wyrm?
To restore nature or fight technological progress?
To protect or promote wolves?
To look after their own interests and the interests of their spirit patrons? (IE no real purpose, the war with the wyrm is just a way for elders to secure their interests.)

Were they once the creation of a mage or god that got out of hand? Did they manifest from Gaia's will? Were they a freak accident or mutation where man merged with spirit?

Werewolves have a great disgust for imbalances of the triat (namely things that are wyrmy) but is that due to divine duty or merely an evolved self-preservation response? Compared to the other Fera, Garou are more militant and destructive than most, they are arguably more in line with the wyrm than other shifters.

[voidshaper]

That's one of the best features of the WtA setting, imo.

The Garou had a clear role and purpose in the order of things along with the other Fera, decided they could do everything better than anyone else, and proceeded to crash the whole operation in consequence. The current purpose, as best as any Garou can figure, is to wade through the shambles of a formerly working system and come up with something to make it work again.

Basically, the Dear Venerated Ancestors completely stripped any specific purpose from the Garou when they declared themselves the absolute authority on everything. And I really like that, because it leaves your questions for the players and their characters to figure out for themselves. Focus on eliminating the Wyrm? The Weaver? Save Nature? Embrace technology?

The Tribes have each decided to fix the mess in their own way, because it's obvious that nobody can fix everything at once. At the same time, the disagreement over how to fix things has made working together and synergy between the different foci of the Tribes increasingly difficult. A Setite in knowledge of the whole disaster would shed a bloody tear in awe of the beautiful corruption the Garou have wrought on themselves, far beyond of what any outside force could ever have done to them.

[Saur Ops Specialist]

According to the Nagah's accounting of it, they were meant to kill and make war, as simple as that. Trying to do everything else as well just exposes how bad they are at not killing other monsters or engaging direct threats in battle. Of course, they have different arms of this, just as many military forces that stick around and endure have other avenues of service; infantry for most, but some need to be in recon (necessary adjuncts to the Fera that do this), some need to process the information from recon, and others need to ensure that the spirits are on their side in a conflict.

But they're all waiting for the howl that tells them when it's time to cut loose and take on the far, far worse things of the WoD.

[AnubisXy]

Werewolves have a great disgust for imbalances of the triat (namely things that are wyrmy) but is that due to divine duty or merely an evolved self-preservation response? Compared to the other Fera, Garou are more militant and destructive than most, they are arguably more in line with the wyrm than other shifters.

Interestingly, you might see some werewolves agreeing with that. There is a belief, to some degree, that werewolves were tainted by the Wyrm, and they blame that Wyrm taint on stuff they do when 'falling to the Thrall of the Wyrm" during frenzy. Are werewolves really cursed by the Wyrm? Is their Rage tainted by the Wyrm? Are they just blaming the Wyrm for their own failings? Who knows, but none of the other shapeshifters have the Thrall of the Wyrm mechanics, so it does suggest that werewolves are touched by the Wyrm in a way that other shifters aren't.

[Saur Ops Specialist]

Interestingly, you might see some werewolves agreeing with that. There is a belief, to some degree, that werewolves were tainted by the Wyrm, and they blame that Wyrm taint on stuff they do when 'falling to the Thrall of the Wyrm" during frenzy. Are werewolves really cursed by the Wyrm? Is their Rage tainted by the Wyrm? Are they just blaming the Wyrm for their own failings? Who knows, but none of the other shapeshifters have the Thrall of the Wyrm mechanics, so it does suggest that werewolves are touched by the Wyrm in a way that other shifters aren't.

That's primarily a product of 2e angst. 1e didn't have Thrall of the Wyrm, and any conjecture that Rage came from the Wyrm was just that - in-character speculation. Also, a number of Fera do have TotW mechanics, in that there's nothing that differentiates their frenzies or Rage from that of the Garou. Rokea attributed their lack of control to the Wyld and called it Kunmind, and Nagah are cooler-burning and balanced, but that's about it.

[Asmodai]

Well the soldiers decided they could run everything better and their pride was hurt when all the other professionals disagreed. Their purpose was to be Gaia's immune system, efficiently killing anything that was a risk for her.

Sadly, they ended up too human and too stuck on power and control instead of being simple members of a balanced ecosystem.

[11twiggins]

The segment on Kami in W20's Umbra book is very interesting; it suggests that the first Garou were Kami. A Theurge's speech prior to her exile is included, one in which she explains that the first Garou were likely spiritually empowered by Gaia for a narrow purpose, and that it's a project that has grown and spun out of control. That the beautiful tree they're debating about is just like the very first of their ancestors; an organism that Gaia shone her light upon, in a sense.

It's possible that the Garou weren't created by a conscious decision-making aspect of Gaia. It's possible that they were intended to fight one very specific threat, or that they were built to be the warriors and soldiers of the other breeds. As stated above they've wound up having to be environmental clean-up, healers, spiritualists, leaders, spies and so on all because they butchered most of their allies.