Your (New/Revamped) Tribes

[Derzhuzad]

So I have this thing I do when I get bored sometimes. I do workups for non-canon tribes that I sometimes work into my games and sometimes they just sit in a binder waiting for me to find a use for them. Sometimes I will take tribe genesis concepts from canon and just build on them like the Hollow Walkers or the White Howlers that are amassing in is the Dark Umbra. Other times I will take a concept like merging camps from multiple tribes under a common Totem; Like the Man Eaters, Eaters of the Dead, and (Various Red Talons) under a totem that doesn't mind their cannibalistic ways.

My question is, does anyone else have any non-canon tribe they have come up with that they have worked into any of their games? or maybe had an existing tribe fall to a trait? (Glasswalkers are due for a new incarnation, maybe its one under the thrall of the Weaver)

[CeltSPZ]

I never created a new tribe or revamped one. Closest I came was creating a pan American (North and South) version of the Ahadi which we called the "Shifter Confederation of the Americas" or the SCA in short (we had a few players who were in the Society of Creative Anachronism at the time who found the abbreviation amusing). This we created back in 2nd ed before the Ahadi was even a thing...or at least before our playing group was aware it was a thing. We based the government heavily off of the Iroquois confederation.

[Ana Mizuki]

I got two, one an older tribe idea, a sort of Lancea Sanctum for Garou. And another a historical take on Glass Walkers.


Domini Canis

"Let the way of God guide you in your battles"

Most of the garou nation is quite pagan. They know what job gaia fullfills in their lives, they know her rules and her laws.

The hounds, however, doubt the truth of this. They believe God created all, Gaia,Triat, and something went wrong. Very wrong. And it is the garou nation's sacret duty to fix things. The hounds are one of the more confusing pariah tribes, united by religion and often being one of the most profilic tribes in supporting human rights. But when the battle calls, hounds have been seen in the front lines just as well. The tribe fully believes in their own dogma, and thus, they see their mission as absolute, no few times has a Shadow Lord or a Red Talon felt the claws of the Hounds.

Unfortunately to anyone thinking to use the hounds using their religion, the hounds do not see themselves as 'human' anymore than other tribes. In fact, they denounce that notion quite violently, and any garou daring to pray the human way will be considered a blasbemer.



Lycaon (Roman Wardens of Men)

One wrinkle in the British's Warden's plans is that their tribal homelands of Italy have become an empire. Not only that, but an empire said to be born of wolves. The Roman Wardens, sometimes calling themselves Lycaon, have gotten the taste of the politics and high life of the higher tribes. They also hold most of the tribe's purest bred members, and so they can come across as arrogant to outsiders. And they often are, having gotten used to living in a society that fits them perfectly. And those Wardens from outside Rome are unsure how to treat these cousins and their empire. On the other hand, it all seems so arrogant to try to oust those tribe who rule with heritage of Kings and Lords. On the other, the efficent roads, army and society seems much better than the isolated villages of the Celtic tribes.

[Derzhuzad]

Celt, what tribes were part of the coalition? did they ever clash with the Garou Nation over territory? Did they have anything special like how the Hengeyokai or Ahadi have group gifts, or were they like the nation in that they were just a loosely drawn together group?

Ana, how developed were the Domini Canis? Unique totem(s), gifts, etc?

[Ana Mizuki]

Ana, how developed were the Domini Canis? Unique totem(s), gifts, etc?

Sadly, I'm not good at that stuff at all ^^''

What I had is pretty much what I posted there. The idea was basically to have a christian tribe that served as the wolves that made people act proper. That meant they denied any sort of view they were human, even disliking any tribes that took to Christianity the 'human' way.

[CeltSPZ]

For the Fera you had the Mokole, Ghural, Bastet and Corax, with the Nuwisha being...tentative on a case by case situation. I'll admit I wanted the Nagah in there really badly, but we just couldn't come up with a reason for them to out themselves in the West. I thought long and hard on HOW to do it, but just couldn't come up with anything without feeling cheap.

Fera Opposed: Ratkin- They saw it as too strongly of the weaver, this form of organization, and also were still too bitter with the garou. They saw working along side the wolves as selling out, when really they should be slaughtered. The Ratkin were violently opposed to the organization and did fight a shadow war against it.

As for Garou tribes, most aligned with it with the exception of a few. The Shadow Lords (Feared a garou version of "White Guilt" and the garou being pushed under by a minority group of Fera), Red Talons (Saw the breeds as meant to work separate) and two others were split as a tribe: Glass Walkers (feared being seen as obsolete with the Bastet and Corax working so closley now with the garou), Bone Gnawers (didn't want to lose what they had to the Fera, and the Ratkin were strongly opposed as well) were the major opponents.

The tribes we had backing strongly being the Fangs and the Fenrir. The reason for the Fenrir was in game a Mokole crowned challenged and fought Gol Gol to a stand still. The stats we used for Gol Gol were pulled from Rage Across the Amazon. With that the Mokole won the respect of the Fenrir. This allowed for a major push in the Amazon, as the Mokole were also a great go between with the Bastet. The Fangs were played under Albrecht who as a gaming group always viewed him as too level headed to say no. At the time in the game due to players actions the Fianna and Furies were closely tied with the Fangs, so there fell in step quickly with the new plan. The CoG of course were also behind this grand idea of peace and cooperation. The Wendigo and Uktena were pulled in because the Mokole crowned had the merit where they had mnesis from dead breeds, only instead it was the Croatan, and was of a turtle varna back before it was a cannon varna to have, along with following turtle. As a result the Uktena and Wendigo saw him as a way to keep middle brother alive (memories, gifts, rites, the fact he's a turtle who follows turtle) in spirit. The Crowned really played up the peace and alliance building angle of the auspice.

They were definitely not a nation, and that's why the Mokole Crowned who was the major pusher of the group used the Iroquois as a model for the governing body (He was of Mohawk descent, we figured only having the memory living around the equator as a bad idea and the point of a turtle varna in our game was to have mokole living in a more northern region). He new that no breed would be willing to give anything up to the others. Instead it was more a council where the breeds came together to discuss plans, each having an agreed upon representative. The big basic laws they had was to respect the territory of the other, and to not control how they each did their own jobs. They also could be looked upon to aide one another, assuming that the others were capable of doing so in some fashion. Its ok to expect the bear to heal you, but if the bear says you can't be resurrected, accept it sort of thing. Likewise the bears should heal those they can, in return for being respected and believed when they say it can't be done.

The factions didn't fight so much violently so much as there was a lot of politicking going on, with each side trying to look better then the others. The Red Talons and Fenrir were more the muscle for each side. We had a rite created that would allow for the creation of a pan-shifter holy site we called a "lodge" as it was meant to house any who belonged to gaia. The goal was to make it so no side had to give up anything but only to gain in the peace. We only had 1 success in the game, but at the time it was viewed as a major success.

As for gifts we had a few, but never really built it up too much. Here were the ones we did come up with:

lvl 1: Talk- from the Mokole book

lvl 3: Total Eclipse
System: The player spends 1 gnosis and rolls Manipulation+Primal Urge (diff 8), success means the character is now immune to any metal allergy that they may possess. However this comes at the cost of not being able to access their Rage. This gift lasts for a scene and cannot be dispelled willingly.

lvl 4: Tear Down The Wall-
As far as pop culture, American’s love to play fast and loose with the rules. The SCA has also adopted this method of thought. Through this philosophy a SCAdian is able to take the laws of the major realms (Pangea, Flux, Scar, etc.) and apply them to the realm they are currently in.
System:
The character burns 3 gnosis, then rolls Int+Occult diff 8. Each success will increase the radius of the effect by 15 yards. The player can then select 1 law to inject into the current realm they are in. This effect will last for one scene. In the event that a law would affect individuals directly (i.e. Spirals affected by Pangea), the character can roll gnosis diff 8. If they receive more successes than the gift user, they are able to “opt out” of the laws.

lvl 5:

Totem gift- From the Core Book
Shifter’s Assemble!
System: Same as the Kucha Ekundu gift “Crocodile’s pact” but it summons nearby SCAdians. The player spends a gnosis, and rolls Charisma+Leadership diff 7, summoning all SCAdians within 10 miles per suxx to their location. This gift does not supply a method of transportation, but more lets out a distress call. SCAdians are free to ignore this, but may face renown loss if

At the time the gifts were considered lvlX3 for xp, as none of us were aware the Beast Courts didn't have it so cheap (we didn't actually have the Beast Court book at the time, we just knew they had gifts of their own).

[Boneguard]

There are a few ideas I've been toying with -mostly for historical campaign- but that never got define more then a few brief lines.

1) "Early" Warder of Man, And I mean early. Agriculture/Hunter Gatherer era. As well as Akkadian/AssyrianBabylonian/ and other early Mesopotamian culture era.
2) Pre-australian Bunyip. How were they before they breed with the Tasmanian Tiger...and before having gift that seems to be closerly related to the Indigenous Australian mythos).
3) Pre-Curse Silent Striders.

The last one, I was alaso considering for a Campiagn them, where the Striders would seek to Break the curse.

Again, it's not much and need to be fleshed out quite a lot, but those are the 3 such revamped Tribe Ideas I have.

[Derzhuzad]

Boneguard I like the idea of the per-australian Bunyip, When I read about the Singing-Dogs sub-tribe, I imagined they were what the Bunyip used to be once upon a time.

The three I mentioned above are the ones that I have been working on. They are:

The Dusk Warders - They are basically based on an exert from the new Umbra book that talks about the last white howler ancestor spirit is a Wraith in the Dark umbra and has found a way to purify BSD. He has been there building up a sizable force from BSD that has wondered into the wrong place and has been teaching them the ways of the howlers. Gifts would be based on manipulating wraiths and spirits of the dark umbra. Have a few totem ideas, but they will never follow Lion hence they will never be White Howlers. They can not side step into the Near Umbra any longer, only the Dark Umbra, handled much like the Camazots side stepping. They have access to the Near Umbra only through a few places where the Near and Dark Umbra overlap.

The Hollow Walkers are basically a fallen bunch that were based on the Bunyip. They lure in the Bunyip Totem be pretending to be his former followers reborn, then they use his despair over realizing they are not truly them to reawaken the old wounds of his loss. He falls and becomes their official tribal totem. They are distinct from the BSD because they have an instinctual hatred for all other garou.

The last actually doesn't have an a set name yet. Tossing around Hungry Ghosts and Endless Hunger. They are my most fleshed out of the three. The are basically Garou who have no problem with eating humans, or really anything at all. They are the members of the Man Eaters camp of the Bone Gnawers, the Eaters of the Dead from the Silent Stiders, and Members of all camps of the Red Talons but mostly Predator Kings. Their leader is a former Uktena Bane Tender who has come under the guidance of the powerful bane spirit it used to be warder of. Their leader calls her Dzoonokwa from her human tribes mythology, the spirit was betrayed by the Wyrm so she has no love for either side, but she has many spirits that follow her upon her awaking. Their are many Cannibalistic/Ogre spirits all around the world that offer them aid. Their gifts enhance their ability to hunt their prey or to gain something back during their cannibalistic acts.

Oh I was tinkering with an Uktena offshoot in South America as well. They have something their called the Maned Wolf/Large Fox/Golden Dog which are all misnomers because its actually its own species entirely, but it would make a perfect edition to a lost subtribe of the Uktena who has made their own pact with the local Mokole. It also gives a native player in the amazon war. I have only used them once as an NPC and my players just assumed it was a Nuwisha or Kistune that was messing with them. As with most sub-tribes presented they have about 1 unique gift per rank, and theirs were most prankster oriented gifts.

[Boneguard]

Oh I was tinkering with an Uktena offshoot in South America as well. They have something their called the Maned Wolf/Large Fox/Golden Dog which are all misnomers because its actually its own species entirely, but it would make a perfect edition to a lost subtribe of the Uktena who has made their own pact with the local Mokole. It also gives a native player in the amazon war. I have only used them once as an NPC and my players just assumed it was a Nuwisha or Kistune that was messing with them. As with most sub-tribes presented they have about 1 unique gift per rank, and theirs were most prankster oriented gifts.

I like this idea and it makes great sense that the Uktena would have made their way this far South along side their Indigenous Kinfolk and cohabit with the local Fera...even if they are simply a minor players. and ike the Red Talon in Africa (with the African Wild Dogs) they took an indigenous canid as there were no wolf to breed with.

I could also see the Dhole (more closely related to african wild dogs) being used by the Hakken and Stargaser in Asia in a similar fashion too.

[Black Fox]

In First Edition, it is mentioned that “most tribes originated out of a sept, and most septs first originate our of a pack”. The spirits of tribes were first “only” the totems of a sept and before that a pack. This describes that the Tribes of Garou were not ordained from the start, but developed over the course of history. At some very old point in time, there might have been far more “proto-tribes” than what is accepted today, except that eventually those proto-tribes fell apart at some point – going extinct or being assimilated by one of the greater tribes. However, if history had turned out differently, maybe there would be Garou Tribes whose tribal totem was Boar, Fox, Raven, or even Bear (the concept of discovering that there was once an almost tribe of Bear that was collaterla damage during the War of Rage would make an impressive epic Chronicle all itself)! This may even explain why the most popular pack totems in the corebook are the Tribal Totems, there are just as popular options which are not tribal totems.

So a good start would be taking these "extra" Totems and building new tribes out of them. It's just a matter of determining what their original kinfolk/territory was. Raven would be a good pick for a fourth Pure Ones tribe, probably based around the Pacific Northwest while moving the Wendigo Tribe more towards the central North America. There are lots of under explored territories - Garou are very European heavy, but Asia has lots of wolves. A Tribe with kinfolk at Mongolia or northern China whose totem is Boar might spice things up.

I also have a pet theory that the original Warders of Man were not Glasswalkers. Cockroach as a totem does not make much sense until urbanization achieves such size that the cockroach becomes synonymous with the city. A very early Weaver tribe would more likely have the Ant or Honeybee as a Totem since they connote industriousness and cooperation.

[Ana Mizuki]

Boneguard I like the idea of the per-australian Bunyip, When I read about the Singing-Dogs sub-tribe, I imagined they were what the Bunyip used to be once upon a time.

Ditto, it makes sense that they'd be related.

The Dusk Warders - They are basically based on an exert from the new Umbra book that talks about the last white howler ancestor spirit is a Wraith in the Dark umbra and has found a way to purify BSD. He has been there building up a sizable force from BSD that has wondered into the wrong place and has been teaching them the ways of the howlers. Gifts would be based on manipulating wraiths and spirits of the dark umbra. Have a few totem ideas, but they will never follow Lion hence they will never be White Howlers. They can not side step into the Near Umbra any longer, only the Dark Umbra, handled much like the Camazots side stepping. They have access to the Near Umbra only through a few places where the Near and Dark Umbra overlap.

These I honestly want to see detailed in the books, its such a great idea of bringing the tribe back in some way.

[Derzhuzad]

These I honestly want to see detailed in the books, its such a great idea of bringing the tribe back in some way.

They offer a couple of ways to justify having them in the modern day in the White Howlers tribe book. And besides the Ancestor Spirit in the the Dark Umbra they also have one more member of the tribe frozen somewhere in ice like Captain America who's totem always bring him back to life. Lots of possibilities to bring them back or never have them leave.

@Black Fox, that is pretty much how my write up for the yet unnamed tribe started. These camps already existed and were pariah of their parent tribes so they left. They found refuge in each others company and acceptance of what they have in common. They founded their own place to call their own and they got a spirit that was like minded to offer them aid.

[Boneguard]

Boneguard I like the idea of the per-australian Bunyip, When I read about the Singing-Dogs sub-tribe, I imagined they were what the Bunyip used to be once upon a time..

Ditto, it makes sense that they'd be related.

I was wondering that too. Are the Signing Dogs a "proto-bunyip" tribe that survive or a "post-bunyip" hold over that tried to find a new canid stock before going extinct.

Or are the Signing Dogs to the Bunyip was the Siberakh are to the Silver Fangs and the Los Infeliz to the Shadow Lord.

[Ana Mizuki]

I was wondering that too. Are the Signing Dogs a "proto-bunyip" tribe that survive or a "post-bunyip" hold over that tried to find a new canid stock before going extinct.

Or are the Signing Dogs to the Bunyip was the Siberakh are to the Silver Fangs and the Los Infeliz to the Shadow Lord.

To me, its neither. Remember than the White Howler TB involves the Ice Age as a event AFTER Howler's were formed. That means that the tribe that became Singing Dogs/Bunyip could have easily had its animal kin become the singing dogs over time. What I think the Singing Dogs are the Bunyip who didn't move to Australia. Remember that there was a tribe of wolves there once before the thyclacines. Considering how far other tribes have spread(outside xenophobic howlers), it makes sense that some garou didn't go to Australia with the majority of the tribe. As Rainbow Serpent/Bunyip left its blessing, Birds of Paradise took it over.

I'd actually give the Singing Dogs decent numbers, not just five members. To give an idea that tribes don't die easily, they change. So why haven't western garou encountered them much? Well, the area is VERY Fera friendly. Not as much garou friendly.

Off-topic, but why didn't W20 include Los Infeliz at all ;_;

[Derzhuzad]

Off-topic, but why didn't W20 include Los Infeliz at all ;_;

I never got the sense that they were actually achieved sub-tribe status. They felt more like a camp in the Shadowlords, albeit a pariah camp, and then they died out in the late 1800's.